Hingeless Knee Brace with Intersecting Force Straps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional knee braces for treating compartmental osteoarthritis are bulky, difficult to configure, and uncomfortable due to their design, which limits their effectiveness in providing adequate unloading forces and stability, particularly in generating valgus or varus moments at the knee joint.
Innovation Solution
A knee brace design featuring multiple force straps intersecting at a single point posterior to the knee's axis, with breathable spacer elements and a hingeless structure to minimize rotational forces and enhance unloading capabilities, allowing for greater pressure distribution and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional knee braces use hinge components and force straps to apply moments at the knee joint, then they can provide some unloading effect, but the design becomes bulky and complex with poor comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the hinge component from the brace system entirely. Instead of using a hinge to generate valgus moment, the invention uses a simplified force strap system that directly applies forces to the knee joint, eliminating the bulky hinge structure while maintaining the unloading function.
Solution Approach 2:
The brace is divided into separate functional components: proximal and distal frame members connected by force straps. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall structure compared to integrated hinge designs.
2Force
If the force strap is tightened to increase unloading force, then the knee unloading effect improves, but the hinge produces counteracting forces that reduce effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potentially harmful interaction between the force strap and hinge into a beneficial configuration by eliminating the hinge. The force strap is positioned and configured to apply pure valgus force without the counteracting moments that would occur with a hinge, turning a problematic force interaction into an optimized single-force system.
3Length of stationary object
If a hinge is aligned close to the knee to reduce brace size, then the brace profile improves, but the rigidity of the hinge limits displacement and reduces comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the rigid hinge with a flexible force strap system that can dynamically adapt to knee movement. The force straps maintain appropriate tension throughout the range of motion, allowing natural knee displacement and flexion without the rigidity constraints of a mechanical hinge.
4Reliability
If conventional braces use multiple force application points to improve stability, then the unloading effect improves, but the brace becomes bulky and difficult to configure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple force application functions into a simplified system of two force straps applied at specific locations. The proximal force strap applies force above the knee joint and the distal force strap applies force below the joint, creating the necessary moments through their relative positioning rather than through complex multi-point mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A knee brace having a frame with separate proximal and distal portions extending across an anterior side of the brace. The brace also includes a ventilated spacer element connected to the frame, and generally corresponding in size to the proximal and distal frame portions. The spacer element has a compressible core and a frictional feature disposed over the core. The frictional feature is arranged to prevent rotation of the brace on a leg of a wearer of the brace.