Ankle Brace Pivot Leg Design for Bone Irritation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional ankle braces are bulky and cause irritation due to the location of hinges near the ankle bone, and existing designs either lack separability or fail to reduce contact with the bone effectively.
Innovation Solution
An ankle brace design featuring a stirrup with pivot legs that are removeably, releasably, and rotatably connected, with circular openings that allow the malleolus bone to protrude, reducing irritation by minimizing contact with the hinge surface and providing a more comfortable, user-friendly fit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hinge is located adjacent the ankle bone to control ankle movement, then the ankle brace provides effective support and control, but the hinge causes pressure, rubbing and irritation of the protruding ankle bones
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional hinge component entirely and replaces it with a lace-up closure system. The lace-up mechanism provides ankle support and control without requiring a physical hinge adjacent to the ankle bone, thereby eliminating the source of pressure and irritation while maintaining the necessary support function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces padding as an intermediary layer between the brace structure and the ankle bone. This padding layer distributes pressure and reduces direct contact between rigid brace components and the protruding ankle bone, thereby mitigating irritation while preserving support functionality.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a circular hinge with large openings is used to accommodate the ankle bone, then pressure on the ankle bone is reduced, but the device becomes non-separable and more bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the circular hinge component entirely and replaces it with a lace-up closure system. This eliminates the need for large openings while maintaining comfort, and simultaneously enables the brace to be separable into upper and lower portions for storage and convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the ankle brace into separable upper and lower portions that can be independently removed and stored. This segmentation allows the user to remove the upper portion while leaving the lower portion in the shoe, reducing bulk when not in use while maintaining support when needed.
3Ease of manufacture
If a separable hinge design is used to allow removal of the upper portion, then manufacturing is easier and storage is improved, but the hinge surface rotates about the ankle bone causing irritation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the separable hinge component entirely and replaces it with a lace-up closure system on the upper portion. This eliminates the rotating hinge surface that causes irritation while maintaining the ability to easily remove and store the upper portion separately from the lower portion.
Data Source
AI summary
An ankle brace has a stirrup with a flat bottom portion and a first and second upright leg. Each of the first and second upright legs has an upper end and a lower end, the upper end having a circular opening therethrough and the lower end attached to the flat bottom portion. First and second pivot legs, each having a circular opening therethrough, are removeably and rotatably connected to the first and second upright legs respectively. First and second leg extensions are removeably connected to the first and second pivot legs, respectively. When connected, the circular openings in the pivot legs overlap the respective circular openings in the upright legs, and each pivot leg is rotatable about an axis through and perpendicular to the pivot leg circular opening. The circular openings in the first and second upright legs are positioned and sufficiently large to allow at least a portion of the malleolus bone of an ankle to protrude therethrough.