US842609A - Artificial leg. - Google Patents

Description

No. 942,699. v PAIIINTED JAN. 29, 1997.

I. I. AIGAII.

ARTIFICIAL LEG.

APPLICATION FILED SBPTJZ. 1906.

UNITE If STATES PATENT ornron.

JOHN T. APGAR, NEW YORK, N. Y.

ARTIFICIAL LEG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 29, 1907.

Application filed September 8, 1906. Serial No. 333,768.

. zen of the United States, residing at New York city, borough oi Manhattan, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Legs, of which the following is a clear, full, and exact description.

This invention relates toarticial legs, and has for its object to provide a simple, cheap, and ellicient adjusting means by which the tension or friction of the upper end of' the socket member of the artiiicial leg may be regulated in order to '[irmly hold the stump oi a leg therein. As these sockets are usually made oi leather, climatic changes or the moisture of the body causes the leather to swell or otherwise atleet the same, and my invention is intended to adjust the socket member to suit the conditions.

To these and other ends, which will hereinafter appear, my invention comprises the novel features of improvement and combination and arrangement of parts, which I will new proceed to describe and finally claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, wherein Figure 1 illustrates a perspective rear view of a portion of a leg or a stump to which the socket member of an artiiicial leg is applied having my improved adjusting device attached. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view thereof, the section being taken on a line a a in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged rear elevation of the adjustable region of the socket member and showing a modified form ol adjusting means in which a right and left hand threaded screw is used. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view thereof, the section being taken ona line l) b in Fig. 3 g and Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a modii'ied form oi' adjusting means in which a swivel-screw and wing-nut are used.

Like reference characters are intended to indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 4 indicates the upper or socket member of an artilicial leg, while 5 indicates a leg-stump held thereby. As it is impracticable to rporetell the requisite amount of tension required to hold the stump -lirmly within the socket member, it is necessary to provide an adjustable device by which the said tension can be regulated to suit conditions. For instance, if the weather be damp the leather will swell, which mayalso happen by reason of moisture emanating from the leg-stump,

thus causing the socket member to loosen, in.

which case the upper end of the socket member embodying my improvement can readily be tightened, and, on the other hand, when the leather dries out it can easily be loosened, as may be desired. In order to elect such adjustability, the rear or other portion of the socket member is vertically slotted, as at 6, Fig. l, and at about the corners 7 and 8 I preferably rivet angle-brackets 9 and 10 and through the members 11 and `12 thereof I' pass a threaded adjusting-screw 13. rBy reterring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the said screw engages a threaded opening in the.

member 11 of thebracket 9, but passes freely through the member 12 of the bracket 10. The screw 13 is provided with a slotted head 14, into which a screw-driver or other means can be inserted in order to turn the screw 13, whereby the corners 7 and 8 of the socket member can be drawn together or loosened for the purposes hereinbelore mentioned.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the openings in the members 11 and 12 of the brackets 9 and 10 are threaded oppositely or right and left handed. To doubly secure the said brackets and to increase their resistance to lateral displacement, I provide upon each bracket a prong or pointed liange 15, which can be embedded in the material, as shown. In order to draw the corners 7 and 8 together or force them apart, a right and left hand threaded adjusting-screw 16 is provided, the same carrying a thumb-wheel 17. It will be understood that the said screw engages the correspondingly-threaded openings of the said brackets 9 and 10. By turning the wheel 17 the said socket member can be adjusted at will. The presence of the thumb-wheel 17 obviates the necessity of -employing a screw-driver for rotating the screw.

In the form of my invention shown in Fig. 5 ysomewhat different brackets are used, the bracket 18being provided with a aw 19, into which the eye 19 of an adjusting-screw 20 is loosely fitted and held by a pin 21, the other bracket 21 being slotted, as at 22. The screw 20 is threaded, as shown, and carries a wingenut 23. By manipulating the said wing-nut the corners 7 and 8 can be drawn together or allowed to spring away from each other in obvious manner. When it is desired to entirely withdraw the socket IOO IIO

member from the leg-stump, the screw 2O can be swung outwardly and away from the bracket 21 By having the regulating or adjusting device attached to the socket member any chances of loss or neglect in applying are 0bviated, and by my improved construction less weight is added to the leg than if the said adjusting device was a band or the like.

` Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An artiiicial leg having a vertical slot at the upper end of the socket member, said socket member being provided with brackets adjacent to said slot, one ot said brackets having an adjust-ing device pivotally connected thereto, the other of said brackets being adapted to engage said adjusting device and means carried by said adjusting device whereby the tension of said socket member can be adjusted.

2. A n artificial leg having a vertical slot at the upper end of the socket member, said socket member being provided with brackets adjacent to said slot, an adj listing-screw pivotally connected to one of the said brackets, the other of said brackets being adapted to engage said adjusting-screw, and a nut carried by said adj usting-screw adapted to regulate the tension ot said socket member.

3. A n artiiicial leg having avertical slot at the upper end of the socket member, said socket member being provided with brackets adjacent to said slot, an adj Listing-screw pivotally connected to one of the said brackets, the other of said brackets being provided with a slot adapted to receive the said adj usting-screw, said adjusting-screw being provided with a nut adapted to regulate the tension of said socket member.

Signed at New York, N. Y., this 6th day of September, 1906.

JOHN T, APGAR.

Witnesses:

EDWARD JARvrs, LILLIAN HARRIS.

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