Backbone Orthopedic Support Brace with Rotary Lumbar Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional orthopedic braces with rigid connections between the vertical rod and lumbar strap restrict lateral movements, causing the lumbar strap to slide with the hips and pelvis, disrupting the proprioceptive action and reducing the effectiveness of the brace by preventing the vertical structure from remaining solidly constrained to the trunk.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a rotary coupling between the lumbar strap and the vertical dorsal structure to allow a degree of freedom for lateral rotation, ensuring the vertical structure remains constrained to the trunk and the lumbar strap to the hips and pelvis, while maintaining anteroposterior stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid connection is used between the vertical rod and lumbar strap, then the brace provides strong structural support and stability, but the patient cannot perform lateral rotation movements and the lumbar strap slides with hip movements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by replacing the rigid fixed connection with a rotary coupling that allows controlled rotational movement. The rotary coupling enables the lumbar strap to rotate relative to the vertical rod, accommodating lateral hip movements while maintaining vertical support stability. This dynamic connection adapts to the patient's movement needs without compromising the overall structural integrity of the brace.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid connection is used between the vertical rod and lumbar strap, then the brace maintains fixed positional relationship, but the lumbar strap displaces during lateral movements reducing proprioceptive action
Solution Approach 1:
The rotary coupling introduces controlled dynamics between the lumbar strap and vertical rod, allowing the strap to rotate with lateral movements while the vertical rod maintains its fixed proprioceptive action on the trunk. This resolves the contradiction by enabling relative movement at the coupling point while preserving the positional stability needed for therapeutic effectiveness.
3Ease of operation
If a rotary coupling is introduced between the lumbar strap and vertical rod, then lateral movement freedom is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotary coupling serves as an intermediary element between the simple lumbar strap and the vertical rod. This mediator component provides the necessary rotational freedom while maintaining a relatively simple mechanical design. The coupling acts as a dedicated interface that isolates the complexity to a single well-defined mechanism rather than complicating the entire brace structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An orthopedic brace for the correct anatomical locking and support of the backbone includes a semi-rigid dorsal structure with a vertical extension, closed inside a casing, having a conformation corresponding to a backbone, allowing the trend thereof to be followed and the spine itself to be supported. The lower part of the dorsal structure is connected to a lumbar strap that can be fastened at the front to a constraint in turn connected to the upper part of the dorsal structure. The dorsal structure and the lumbar strap are associated with each other through a rotary junction configured for retaining and mutual rotation on one plane of the dorsal structure relative to the lumbar strap.