Adjustable splint

Claim 2

An adjustable splint assembly comprising a lower strut and an upper strut pivotably connected to said lower strut, adjustable means for rotating one of said pivotably-connected struts relative to the other and for applying a quantifiable force tending to align or approximate said upper and lower struts, at least one of the struts being comprised of outer and inner telescoping portions, the outer telescoping portion being provided with a wire assembly for facilitating attachment of the splint assembly to the limb, said wire assembly comprising an upper wire portion and a lower wire portion, each of which extends subtantially the length of and is attaced to said outer telescoping portion, means for fixedly securing together said telescoping portions and means for securing said splint assembly to a limb.

Claim 3

An adjustable splint means according to claim 1 wherein one of said struts has at one end a pivotably mounted head portion defining a cam surface, and said adjustable means comprises an adjustable biasing means mounted with the other strut and biased into engagement with said cam surface.

Claim 4

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 2 wherein the adjustable biasing means is an adjustable spring means.

Claim 5

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 3 wherein the adjustable spring means comprises a spring, a nose element connected to one end of said spring, an adjustable screw means engageable with the other end of said spring.

Claim 6

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 4 wherein the adjustable screw means comprises a spring-abutting member, a screw member threadly engaged in a threaded member fixed to said strut, one end said screw member having a rotatable head and the other end of said screw member being engageable with said spring-abutting member.

Claim 7

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 5 wherein the head is a socket.

Claim 8

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 5 wherein the spring-abutting member is provided with an indicator marking.

Claim 9

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 7 wherein the strut in which the adjustable spring means is mounted is hollow.

Claim 10

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 8 wherein the hollow strut contains a slot having a scale along its length through which the screw member and indicator marking are visible, provided with a scale for setting the force to be applied.

Claim 11

An adjustable splint assembly comprising a pair of lower struts and a pair of upper struts, each member of the pair of lower struts being pivotably connected to a member of the pair of upper struts, said members of each pair being spaced apart a distance to accomodate limb parts distal and proximal to the limb joint, adjustable means for rotating one pivotably connected strut relative to the other and for applying a quantifiable force tending to align or approximate the struts, at least one of the struts being comprised of outer and inner telescoping portions, the outer telescoping portion being provided with a wire assembly for facilitating attachment of the splint assembly to the limb, said wire assembly comprising an upper wire portion and a lower wire portion, each of which extends substantially the length of and is attached to said outer telescoping portion, means for fixedly securing together said telescoping portions and means provided said pair of upper struts and said pair of lower struts for securely holding therebetween said distal and proximal parts of a limb.

Claim 12

An adjustable splint assembly comprising a pair of lower struts and a pair of upper struts, each member of the pair of lower struts being pivotably connected to a member of the pair of upper struts, said members of each pair being spaced apart a distance to accomodate limb parts distal and proximal to the limb joint, adjustable means for rotating one pivotably connected strut relative to the other and for applying a quantifiable force tending to align or approximate the struts, at least one of the struts being comprised of outer and inner telescoping portions, the outer telescoping portion being provided with a wire assembly for facilitating attachment of the splint assembly to the limb, said wire assembly comprising an upper wire portion and a lower wire portion, each of which extends substantially the length of and is attached to said outer telescoping portion, means for fixedly securing together said telescoping portions and means provided said pair of upper struts and said pair of lower struts for securely holding therebetween said distal and proximal parts of a limb.

Claim 13

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 10 wherein the adjustable spring means comprises a spring, a nose element connected to one end of said spring, an adjustable screw means engageable with the other end of said spring.

Claim 14

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 11 wherein the adjustble screw means comprises a spring-abutting member, a screw member threadly engaged in a threaded member fixed to said strut, one end of said screw member having a rotatable head and the other end of said screw member being engageable with said spring-abutting member.

Claim 15

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 11 wherein the head is a socket.

Claim 16

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 11 wherein the spring-abutting member is provided with an indicator marking.

Claim 17

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 14 wherein the strut in which the spring means is mounted is hollow.

Claim 18

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 15 wherein the hollow strut contains a slot having a scale along its length through which the screw member and indicator marking are visible, provided with a scale for setting the force to be applied.

Claim 19

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 1 wherein the wire portions of the wire assembly taking the most pressure during use are provided with a reinforcing member which telescopes along the wire portion and is securable onto one split end of said wire portion.

Claim 20

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 10 wherein at least one strut of said pair of struts has at one end a pivotably mounted head portion defining a cam surface and said adjustable means comprising adjustable spring means mounted within the strut pivotably connected to said cam surface-containing strut and biased into engagement with said cam surface.

Claim 21

In combination, an adjustable splint assembly comprising a pair of lower struts and a pair of upper struts said members of each pair being spaced apart a distance to accomodate limb parts distal and proximal to the limb joint, adjustable means for rotating one pivotably connected strut relative to the other and for applying a quantifiable force tending to align or approximate said struts, wedge-shaped snap-on comfort pads provided on each of the distal and proximal struts within the wire assembly on the medial side of the strut between the limb and strut and in a fashion whereby the thick portion of each wedge-shaped comfort pad is proximal to the point of pivotable engagement of said struts, rectangular-type snap-on comfort pads provided on each of the distal and proximal struts on the lateral side of the strut and means provided said pair of upper struts and pair of lower struts for securely holding therebetween said distal and proximal parts of the limb.

Claim 22

In combination, an adjustable splint assembly comprising a pair of lower struts and a pair of upper struts said members of each pair being spaced apart a distance to accomodate limb parts distal and proximal to the limb joint, adjustable means for rotating one pivotably connected strut relative to the other and for applying a quantifiable force tending to align or approximate said struts, wedge-shaped snap-on comfort pads provided on each of the distal and proximal struts within the wire assembly on the medial side of the strut between the limb and strut and in a fashion whereby the thick portion of each wedge-shaped comfort pad is proximal to the point of pivotable engagement of said struts, rectangular-type snap-on comfort pads provided on each of the distal and proximal struts on the lateral side of the strut and means provided said pair of upper struts and pair of lower struts for securely holding therebetween said distal and proximal parts of the limb.

Claim 23

An adjustable splint assembly according to claim 1 wherein each of one pair of struts is comprised of outer and inner telescoping portions, outer telescoping portion being provided with a wire assembly for facilitating attachment of the splint assembly to the limb, said wire assembly comprising an upper wire portion and a lower wire portion, each of which extends substantially the length of and is attached to said outer telescoping portion.

Claim 24

In combination, the adjustable splint assembly according to claim 19 and rectangular-type snap-on comfort pads provided each of the struts on both the lateral and medial sides of the struts.

Claim 25

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 19 wherein the means for securely holding the distal and proximal parts of a limb between said pair of lower struts and pair of upper struts comprises an elongate cuff member having on the outside thereof at least one velcro loop section spaced apart from at least one velcro hook section, said loop and hook sections each being followed by a zone therebetween containing both velcro hook and velcro loop sections.

Claim 26

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 22 wherein the zone between the spaced apart velcro hook and loop sections is comprised of an intermediate area constituted of a velcro loop section or hook section identical to the preceding section, flanked on each side by areas having a velcro loop section or a velcro hook section identical to the section of velcro hooks or loops that follows.

Claim 27

An adjustable spring-loaded splint assembly according to claim 22 wherein the cuff end section is provided on the outside thereof with stay-receiving means for receipt of a stay that extends substantially the width of the cuff and wherein the inside of the cuff is provided with a plurality of spaced apart stay-receiving means positioned along the length of the cuff for receipt of stays that extend substantially the width of the cuff.