Ball and socket prosthetic joint

Claim 1

A prosthetic joint of the ball-and-socket type which includes a first socket-carrying member and a second ball-carrying member, both of said members having a stem portion at one end thereof for insertion into the medullary canal of the bone and having the socket or the ball formed at the opposite end thereof, said socket including a generally cylindrical passageway which extends downward from an upper surface and which terminates in a bottom surface having a generally spherical shape, said socket containing a slot which intersects said passageway, said slot terminating a substantial distance short of the upper surface of said socket portion, said stem of said second member being proportioned to fit through said slot, said ball portion of said second member being proportioned to be received in said passageway and having a curvature which generally matches the curvature of said generally spherical bottom surface, and retaining means connected to said second member at a shank portion of said second member which interconnects said ball and said stem, which is spaced from said ball a distance at least equal to the distance between the undersurface of said socket and said generally spherical bottom surface, which retaining means locks said first and second members in hinged relationship to each other with said second member stem portion extending out of said slot.