1. An orthopedic knee brace mechanism incorporating upper and lower side braces adapted to support a portion of a user’s leg above and below the user’s knee with a knee joint housing there between adapted for pivotal movement, and leg bands adapted to secure the side braces against the user’s leg, the knee joint housing comprising inner and outer housing members, the upper side brace being integral with the outer housing member so as to move therewith, and the lower side brace being integral with the inner housing member so as to move with it, a ratchet ring having internal teeth, the ratchet ring being mounted in the outer housing member so as to rotate when the upper side brace swivels, a plurality of cam action pawls mounted for operation around a central shaft in the inner housing member, the pawls being provided with teeth adapted to engage the internal ratchet ring teeth, and also with return springs to hold the pawl teeth in engagement with the ratchet ring teeth when they are engaged, means for coupling the inner and outer housing members to form a knee joint hinge in which the cam action pawls in the inner housing member engage the teeth inside the ratchet ring in the outer housing member, forming a ratchet within the housing, a control mechanism within the housing adapted to move the pawls into and out of a locking engagement with the ratchet ring teeth, the cam action return springs and the shape of the cam action pawl teeth being adapted so that the pawls allow rotation of the ratchet ring in a leg straightening direction while still supporting a load so that the leg can be extended for walking while at the same time being prevented by the cam action pawls from buckling in the knee bending direction, and an actuating rod adapted to drive the control mechanism to bring the cam action pawls into and out of a locking engagement with the ratchet ring teeth, advancing the cam action pawls when the user’s foot engages a walking surface and disengaging the cam action pawls when the user’s foot is not in the load bearing phase of walking.
2. The orthopedic knee brace mechanism of claim 1 wherein four cam action pawls are mounted for operation around the central shaft in the inner housing member, wherein the control mechanism within the housing is a star shaped cam spool mounted for rotation in the central shaft, the cam spool having four points adapted on forward or rearward rotation to engage and disengage the cam action pawls, and wherein the actuating rod supports a crank pin extending into a hole eccentrically positioned in the bottom of the cam spool, and spring means enabling the crank pin to move the cam action pawls into engagement and disengagement with the ratchet ring internal teeth.
3. The orthopedic knee brace mechanism of claim 1 wherein two cam action pawls are mounted for operation around the central shaft in the inner housing member, wherein the control mechanism within the housing is a spindle shaped cam spool mounted for rotation in the central shaft, the cam spool having two points adapted on forward or rearward rotation to engage and disengage the cam action pawls, and wherein the actuating rod supports a crank pin extending into a hole eccentrically positioned in the bottom of the cam spool, and spring means enabling the crank pin to move the cam action pawls into engagement and disengagement with the ratchet ring internal teeth.
4. A pivotal knee joint hinge for inclusion in a knee joint housing between upper and lower side braces of an orthopedic knee brace mechanism, the pivotal knee joint hinge including a ratchet ring mounted in the knee joint housing and adapted to rotate when the upper side brace swivels, the ratchet ring being provided with a plurality of internal teeth, at least two cam action pawls so mounted in the housing that they are able to engage the teeth inside the ratchet ring during use, a control mechanism within the housing adapted to advance the cam action pawls so that during use one of the cam action pawls is able to engage the ratchet ring teeth to hold the ratchet ring in a locked position in a knee bending direction to prevent a user’s knee from buckling, the slopes of the ratchet rings internal teeth being such that the ratchet ring can be rotated out of the locked position by movement of the side brace in a knee straightening direction while at the same time allowing a second cam action pawl to engage teeth of the ratchet ring, thus decreasing to increments the distance the ratchet ring moves between locking positions by cam action pawls moving into, and out of, locking engagement with the ratchet ring internal teeth, the size of the increments being a function of the number of cam action pawls, and the number of internal ratchet ring teeth, and an actuating mechanism adapted to actuate the control mechanism to advance the pawls when the users foot presses on a walking surface, and to disengage the pawls when the users foot does not press on a walking surface.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An electronic component comprising:
a casing;
an electrically-conductive body placed in an inner space defined in the casing;
a lead extending from an inner end to an outer end, the inner end welded to the electrically-conductive body, the outer end projecting outward out of the casing through a through hole formed in the casing; and
an enlarged portion formed in the lead at a position between the inner end and the outer end, the enlarged portion set in the through hole to close the through hole.
2. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the lead is coated with a plating film at a position between the enlarged portion and the outer end.
3. A lead unit for an electronic component, comprising:
an electrically-conductive tab;
a spherical member having electric conductivity, the spherical member welded to the electrically-conductive tab;
a lead having one end welded to the spherical member; and
a plating film formed at least partly on the spherical member and the lead.