Leg amputee support assembly for use with a wheelchair

Abstract

An amputee support assembly includes a seat, a limb support and a pivot point disposed between the seat and limb support. The seat is attached to a first pivot member, a second pivot member, and a cam lock mechanism. The first pivot member and the second pivot member are adapted to rotatably engage one another when the cam lock mechanism is used. Each pivot member includes a hub portion having a circular face and a number of teeth defined within the face. The first pivot member includes a hub recess that is designed to receive a hub extension of the second pivot member. The outer periphery of the hub portion of the second pivot member also includes a lip that precludes access to the teeth that lie between the first and second pivot members. The cam lock mechanism includes a cam lock lever that is pivotally attached to a lock post. Rotation of the cam lock lever effects a pulling force on the lock post, forcing the pivot members together to prevent rotation between them. The second pivot member is attached to the limb support.

1 . An amputee support assembly for use with a wheelchair comprising 
 a seat member,    a first pivot member,    a second pivot member, said second pivot member being movable relative to the first pivot member,    means for releasably fixing the position of the first pivot member relative to the second pivot member,    means for affixing the first pivot member to the seat member, a limb support member, and    means for affixing the second pivot member to the limb support member whereby the limb support member may be used to support one or more limbs of a user seated in the wheelchair.    
   
   
       2 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 1  wherein the first pivot member includes a generally circular face portion having a plurality of teeth defined within the face portion and extending radially outwardly from its center, the second pivot member includes a generally circular face portion having a plurality of teeth defined within the face portion and extending radially outwardly from its center, and the means for fixing the position of the first pivot member relative to the second pivot member includes means for meshing the teeth of the first pivot member face with the teeth of the second pivot member face.  
   
   
       3 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 2  wherein the first pivot member face includes an aperture located generally within the center of the first pivot member face, the second pivot member face includes an aperture located generally within the center of the second pivot member face, said face apertures being substantially aligned when the first pivot member face is engaged with the second pivot member face, and the means for fixing the position of the first pivot member relative to the second pivot member includes a cam lock mechanism that is insertable within the aligned apertures.  
   
   
       4 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 3  wherein the cam lock mechanism further includes a lock post that extends through the aligned apertures, said lock post having a first end and a second end, and includes a stop device at the first end and a cam lever at the second end whereby actuation of the cam lever draws the stop device toward the cam lever and engages the pivot member teeth to prevent rotational movement thereby.  
   
   
       5 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 4  including a hub recess defined within the first pivot member and a hub extension defined within the second pivot member whereby the hub extension is receivable within the hub recess.  
   
   
       6 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 5  including means for preventing access to the meshing teeth of the pivot members.  
   
   
       7 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 6  wherein the access preventing means comprises a lip surrounding the outer periphery of the face portion of the second pivot member.  
   
   
       8 . An amputee support assembly for use with a conventional wheelchair, said wheelchair including a support frame and a seat, which comprises 
 a seat member,    means for removably attaching the seat member to the wheelchair support frame such that the seat member of the assembly rests atop the wheelchair seat,    at least one limb support member,    a first pivot point member,    a second pivot point member, said second pivot point member being movable relative to the first pivot point member,    means for releasably fixing the position of the first pivot point member relative to the second pivot point member,    means for attaching the first pivot point member to the seat member, and    means for attaching the second pivot member to the at least one limb support member such that the angle of elevation is variably adjustable.    
   
   
       9 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 8  wherein the first pivot point member includes a generally circular face having a center and a plurality of teeth defined within the face and extending radially outwardly from the center, the second pivot point member includes a generally circular face portion having a center and a plurality of teeth defined within the face and extending radially outwardly from the center, and the means for fixing the position of the first pivot point member relative to the second pivot point member includes means for meshing the teeth of the first pivot point member face with the teeth of the second pivot point member face.  
   
   
       10 . The amputee support point assembly of  claim 9  wherein the first pivot point member face includes an aperture located generally within the center of the first pivot point member face, the second pivot point member face includes an aperture located generally within the center of the second pivot point member face, said face apertures being substantially aligned when the first pivot point member face is engaged with the second pivot point member face, and the means for fixing the position of the first pivot point member relative to the second pivot point member includes a cam lock mechanism that is insertable within the aligned apertures.  
   
   
       11 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 10  wherein the cam lock mechanism further includes a lock post that extends through the aligned apertures, said lock post having a first end and a second end, and includes a stop device at the first end and a cam lever at the second end whereby actuation of the cam lever draws the stop device toward the cam lever and engages the pivot point member teeth to prevent relative rotational movement therebetween.  
   
   
       12 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 11  including a hub recess defined within the first pivot point member and a hub extension defined within the second pivot point member whereby the hub extension is receivable within the hub recess.  
   
   
       13 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 12  including means for preventing access to the meshing teeth of the pivot point members.  
   
   
       14 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 13  wherein the access preventing means comprises a lip surrounding the outer periphery of the face portion of the second pivot point member.  
   
   
       15 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 11  including a hub recess defined within the second pivot point member and a hub extension defined within the first pivot point member whereby the hub extension is receivable within the hub recess.  
   
   
       16 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 15  including means for preventing access to the meshing teeth of the pivot point members.  
   
   
       17 . The amputee support assembly of  claim 16  wherein the access preventing means comprises a lip surrounding the outer periphery of the face portion of the first pivot point member.  
   
   
       18 . An amputee support pivot assembly for use with a conventional wheelchair that has a frame, said wheelchair frame having a front frame portion and a rear frame portion, a backrest and a seat, which comprises 
 a seat,    a first pivot member, said first pivot member being attachable to the seat and comprising a first pivot member bracket having a face portion,    a residual limb support,    a second pivot member, said second pivot member being attachable to the residual limb support and comprising a second pivot member bracket having a face portion,    a set of radially disposed teeth defined within the face portion of each pivot member, said teeth extending radially outwardly from a center point of the face portion, and    means for engaging the teeth of the first pivot member with the teeth of the second pivot member    wherein the angle of elevation of the residual limb support is variably adjustable relative to the seat.    
   
   
       19 . The amputee support pivot assembly of  claim 18  wherein the first pivot member face includes an aperture located generally within the center of the first pivot member face, the second pivot member face includes an aperture located generally within the center of the second pivot member face, said face apertures being substantially aligned when the first pivot member face is engaged with the second pivot member face, and the teeth engagement means includes a cam lock mechanism that is insertable within the aligned apertures, the cam lock mechanism further including a lock post that extends through the aligned apertures, said lock post having a first end and a second end, and including a stop device at the first end and a cam lever at the second end such that actuation of the cam lever draws the stop device toward the cam lever and engages the pivot member teeth to prevent rotational movement therebetween.  
   
   
       20 . The amputee support pivot assembly of  claim 19  including a hub recess defined within the first pivot member, a hub extension defined within the second pivot member whereby the hub extension is receivable within the hub recess, and a lip surrounding the outer periphery of the face portion of the second pivot member to prevent access to the meshing teeth.