Prosthetic joint assembly

Claim 2

A prosthetic joint assembly for supporting first and second bone members for relative movement comprising a pin member adapted to seat in a pocket formed in the first bone member, a socket assembly adapted to be mounted in the second bone member including a bearing socket having a spherical seat, a connecting member having a stem end rigidly secured to said pin member and having at its opposite end a ball journalled in the seat of said bearing socket and an angularly offset section connecting said stem end and ball and an outer seal member defining a sealed lubricant pocket connected at one end adjacent said stem end and at its opposite end adjacent said bearing socket thereby enclosing the ball end of the connecting member and seat, said stem being in a plane disposed transversely relative to said pin member and said offset section being angularly disposed in a downwardly direction relative to the plane of said stem whereby the forces acting on said prosthetic assembly act in a direction tending to firmly seat said ball in said seat of the bearing pocket.

Claim 3

A prosthetic joint assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spherical seat extends at least 180* and is faced in an angularly offset position so that the center line of the seat is directed inwardly and upwardly, the lower side of said spherical seat terminating in a truncated conical section.

Claim 4

A prosthetic joint assembly as claimed in claim 1 including a flanged sleeve circumscribing the stem end of said connecting member, said sleeve being of reduced cross section at one end engaging on a bore in said pin and providing a shoulder abutting said pin around said bore.

Claim 5

A prosthetic joint assembly as claimed in claim 3 including means for mounting said sleeve stem end to said pin in a manner preventing relative rotation.

Claim 6

A prosthetic joint assembly as claimed in claim 3 including confronting circumferentially extending grooves in said shoulder and pin to receive one terminal end of said seal assembly which has an X-shaped bead to provide a fluid-tight joint at this juncture.

Claim 7

A prosthetic joint assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein said sleeve includes a radially outwardly projecting flange and wherein said seal assembly comprises a ribbed bulbous section surrounding said sleeve, a bellows section surrounding the ball end and a central section supporting a ring which is spaced from and overlies said flange.

Claim 8

A prosthetic joint assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ball is supported in said socket assembly by means of two rows of rollers, each roller being hourglass configuration to conform to the contour of the ball and wherein a pair of circumferential raceways are formed in the socket assembly for the rollers.

Claim 9

A prosthetic joint assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said connecting member stem end engages directly in said pin and has formed integrally therewith a radially outward circumferentially extending flange for serving as a guide for the seal assembly.

Claim 10

A prosthetic joint assembly for supporting first and second bone members for relative movement comprising a pin member adapted to seat in a pocket formed in the first bone member, a socket assembly adapted to be mounted in the second bone member, including a bearing socket having a spherical seat, a connecting member connected at one end to said pin member and having at its opposite end a ball journalled in the socket assembly and an outer seal member connected at one end adjacent the pin member and at its opposite end adjacent said bearing socket defining a lubricant pocket for the ball end of the connecting member and seat, said seal member comprising a ribbed bulbous section, a bellows section and a central section having imbedded therein a rigidifying ring.

Claim 11

A prosthetic joint assembly for supporting first and second bone members for relative movement comprising a pin member adapted to seat in a pocket formed in the first bone member, a socket assembly adapted to be mounted in the second bone member, including a bearing socket having a spherical seat, a connecting member connected at one end to said pin member and having at its opposite end a ball journalled in the socket assembly and an outer seal member connected at one end adjacent the pin member and at its opposite end adjacent said bearing socket defining a lubricant pocket for the ball end of the connecting member and seat, said seal member comprising a ribbed bulbous section, a bellows section and a central section having imbedded therein a rigidifying ring.

Claim 12

A prosthetic joint assembly for supporting first and second bone members for relative movement comprising a pin member adapted to seat in a pocket formed in the first bone member, a socket assembly adapted to be mounted in the second bone member including a bearing socket having a spherical seat, a connecting member having a stem end rigidly secured to said pin member and having at its opposite end a ball journalled in the seat of said bearing socket and an outer seal member defining a sealed lubricant pocket for the ball end of the connecting member and seat, said outer seal member extending from adjacent The pin member to said bearing socket in sealing engagement therewith and comprising first and second sections connected by a central section, said first section having means operable to withstand twisting thereby accommodating rotating movement of the parts and said second section having means operable to withstand compression and extension thereby accommodating limited universal movement of the ball and bearing socket relative to one another, said central section providing separating means insuring said twisting, compression and extension of the seal are directed to the appropriate sections during relative movement of the parts.

Claim 13

A prosthetic joint assembly for supporting first and second bone members for relative movement comprising a pin member adapted to seat in a pocket formed in the first bone member, a socket assembly adapted to be mounted in the second bone member including a bearing socket having a spherical seat, a connecting member having a stem end rigidly secured to said pin member and having at its opposite end a ball journalled in the seat of said bearing socket and an outer seal member defining a sealed lubricant pocket for the ball end of the connecting member and seat, said outer seal member extending from adjacent The pin member to said bearing socket in sealing engagement therewith and comprising first and second sections connected by a central section, said first section having means operable to withstand twisting thereby accommodating rotating movement of the parts and said second section having means operable to withstand compression and extension thereby accommodating limited universal movement of the ball and bearing socket relative to one another, said central section providing separating means insuring said twisting, compression and extension of the seal are directed to the appropriate sections during relative movement of the parts.