Photo Gallery: Hydraulic Knee

The pictures are of a knee joint for an artificial leg, to enable the wearer to walk properly, the knee must lock when pressure is applied to the foot.

The upward thrust from the foot is sensed by a small valve, which closes, and blocks the oilways within the knee joint. This stops the hydraulic oil from flowing and so locks the knee.

The amount the valves closes and the load required to close the valve is adjustable to ensure the limb is suitable for all wearers.

We completely designed the knee from scratch and had the prototypes manufactured for evaluation, we are currently manufacturing the preproduction prototypes after testing the initial design.

Click image for close-up