Orthopedic walker boot having a removable heel plate

Inventors

Fout, James M. • Regan, Jeffrey R. • Bell, Tiffany A. • Nelson, Paul H.

Assignees

Breg Inc

Abstract

An orthopedic walker boot for wearing on a lower limb of a wearer has a rigid external shell, a pliant internal boot positioned in the external shell, and a heel plate selectively detachable or attachable to the external shell. Selective transition of the heel plate between the detached condition and attached condition selectively provides the orthopedic walker boot with an open-heel configuration or a closed-heel configuration. The external shell includes an outer sole having a walking surface which is configured with two curved axes to facilitate walking while wearing the orthopedic walker boot.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to an orthopedic walker boot that includes a substantially rigid external shell configured to receive a lower limb of a wearer. The external shell includes an inner platform with an outer perimeter sized in substantial correspondence with the outer perimeter of the sole of the foot so that the outer perimeter of the inner platform substantially encircles the outer perimeter of the sole when the lower limb is received. The inner platform is substantially horizontally aligned when the wearer is standing with the lower limb received in the external shell.

A substantially rigid heel plate is selectively transitionable between a detached condition and an attached condition with respect to the external shell. The external shell is provided with an open-heel configuration when the heel plate is in the detached condition and a closed-heel configuration when the heel plate is in the attached condition. In the attached condition, the heel plate is substantially vertically aligned perpendicular to the inner platform when the wearer is standing, and the heel plate extends posteriorly around the external shell in substantially continuous correspondence with a posterior edge of the inner platform.

In the attached condition, the heel plate forms a substantially continuous shield around the vertical posterior face of the heel of the foot, whereas the detached condition does not substantially shield the vertical posterior surface of the heel. The heel plate includes an attachment structure in which a heel plate retention segment forms a retention slot that slidably receives male guide runners on the heel plate, and the adjacent interface geometry is configured to provide an essentially smooth continuous posterior surface when the heel plate is attached.

Claims Coverage

The document includes two independent claims that define an orthopedic walker boot with two mutually exclusive heel configurations, open-heel and closed-heel. Across the claims, the inventive coverage focuses on the rigid external shell with an inner platform sized to the sole perimeter, a selectively removable substantially rigid heel plate with detached and attached conditions, a pliant internal boot sized to enclose the ankle and foot, and heel-plate attachment features that preserve shielding and an essentially smooth continuous posterior surface.

Across the two independent claims, the core inventive coverage is the orthopedic walker boot architecture that enables switching between open-heel and closed-heel configurations using a selectively transitionable heel plate. In the attached condition, the heel plate continuously shields the vertical posterior surface of the heel, and the attachment features further define an essentially smooth continuous posterior surface.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found