Active pivot joint device

摘要

An addition (20) to a pivot joint or pivot hinge device, more specifically to a rehabilitative pivot joint brace (10), either within the manufacturing process or as a suitable attachment, which provides the ability to bias or resist the rotation of the pivot joint when such a resistive force would be beneficial. The addition (20) is suitably attached to a pivot joint device (14) composed of an upper frame section (16) connected to a lower frame section (18) by a pivot joint assembly (26) which enables the upper and lower frame sections to pivot about a transverse axis (12). The addition (20) produces a desired level of resistance to the flexion and extension of the body joint and in a determined degree of equilibrium through the combined efforts of a tension control assembly (30) and an equilibrium control assembly (28) which are associated by a connection (36). The selectively adjustable levels of resistance to the flexing and extending of the body joint are provided by the tension control assembly (30) which is suitably attached to the lower frame section (18) of the pivot joint device (14). The degree of equilibrium, that is the angle at which the rotational resistance is at rest, is regulated by the equilibrium control assembly (28) which is suitably attached to the pivot joint assembly (26) in alignment with the transverse axis of rotation (12). A change in this degree of equilibrium will result in more resistance to flexion and less resistance to extension or to the contrary or to an equal amount of resistance to both while the present invention is in use. During such periods of use, the body joint is exercised simply by the flexing and the extending of the joint.