Valve and prosthetic knee joint having such a valve

Abstract

A valve with an inlet, an outlet that is connected to the inlet via a fluid connection, and a valve body, which can be brought by displacing it along a displacement direction into a first position, in which the fluid connection is blocked, and a second position, in which the fluid connection is open, wherein the inlet is designed and arranged in such a way that a fluid entering through the inlet exerts a total force on the valve body that at least also acts in a force direction which is perpendicular to the displacement direction when the valve body is in the first position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A prosthetic knee joint, comprising
 a valve that comprises
 an inlet, 
 an outlet that is connected to the inlet via a fluid connection, and 
 a valve body which is movable into a first position in which the fluid connection is blocked, and wherein the valve body is moveable into a second position in which the fluid connection is open; 
   a lower leg part; and   an upper leg part arranged on the lower leg part such that the upper leg part is moveable relative to the lower leg part when the fluid connection is open,   wherein the valve body is configured such that a switch force is required to be applied to the valve body to move the valve body from the first position to the second position,   wherein the valve body is configured such that the valve body is maintained in the second position when a fluid is flowing in the fluid connection and a pressure of the fluid is greater than a predetermined threshold even if the switch force is no longer present.   
     
     
         2 . The prosthetic knee joint of  claim 1 , wherein the switch force required to be applied to the valve body to move the valve body from the first position to the second position occurs when the prosthetic knee joint is subjected to an external load. 
     
     
         3 . The prosthetic knee joint of  claim 1 , wherein the valve body is only moveable from the first position to the second position when the prosthetic knee joint is extended. 
     
     
         4 . The prosthetic knee joint of  claim 1 , wherein the valve body is immovable from the first position to the second position when the pressure of the fluid is greater than a predetermined limit. 
     
     
         5 . The prosthetic knee joint of  claim 1 , wherein the valve is configured such that an increase in pressure of the fluid at the inlet counteracts a displacement of the valve body from the first position into the second position.