Air valve for external prosthesis

摘要

A valve device regulates the air pressure in the space between a residual limb, or liner-covered limb, and a hard socket of an external prosthesis. A manually-controlled air-outlet and -inlet valve may optionally include an automatic one-way valve (or “expulsion” valve). The manually-controlled valve is opened and closed by twisting a handle, to open a two-way air passageway by slightly separating the handle and base portions, or by aligning bores in the handle and base portions. At least one stop surface limits the amount of relative rotation of the handle and base portions of the valve, so that the user need only rotate the handle a small amount, for example, less than 90 degrees, to affect opening or closing the valve.

主权项

1. A pressure-control system for a prosthetic hard socket, the pressure-control system comprising:
a prosthetic socket comprising a wall defining a space for receiving a residual limb, the space comprising a well between the lower end of the limb and the lower end of the socket, wherein a hole extends through said wall in the vicinity of the well; and a valve device comprising: a housing comprising a base at a rear end of the valve device and connected to the socket wall at the hole, and a handle at a front end of the valve device and rotatably connected to the base, wherein each of the base and the handle comprises an axial bore; and wherein the handle is rotatable to an open position wherein the axial bore of the handle is aligned with the axial bore of the base so that the axial bores form an air passageway between the front and rear of the valve device for air-flow from the socket well to the ambient atmosphere outside the socket and air-flow from said ambient atmosphere to the socket well; wherein the handle is rotatable to said open position on a longitudinal axis, both the axial bore of the handle and the axial bore of the base are radially offset from said longitudinal axis, and the handle is rotatable relative to said base on said longitudinal axis to a closed position wherein the axial bore of the handle is angularly distanced from the axial bore of the base to block said air passageway.