Hinge for knee joint bandage

Claim 1

A hinge device for a knee joint bandage, comprising first and second elongated links (3, 4) adapted to be secured to supporting sleeves (2, 3) above and below a user's knee, respectively, and connected to each other for mutual pivoting movement in a plane by means of a pivot pin (18), said links having at least partially overlapping flat end portions (3a, 4a) adjacent to said pivot pin, said links being flat over their entire length, the end portion (4a) of said second link (4) being parallely displaced by a distance substantially corresponding to the thickness of the first link, the rest of said links being arranged in a common plane, the end portion (4a) of said second link (4) being provided with a plurality of holes (19, 20, 21, 22) distributed about a circular arc about said pivot pin, a stop pin for insertion in said holes, a circular arcuate recess in the end portion of said first link, said recess having abutment means for cooperating with said stop pin to limit the end position of the pivoting movement of said links, wherein (a) said circular arcuate recess (15) of said first link (3) extends along an angular range substantially in excess of 180°, said recess and two adjoining abutment surfaces (15a, 15b) being symmetrically located in relation to the longitudinal axis (L) of said first link (3); (b) said plurality of holes (18, 20, 21, 22) selectively receiving said stop pin (16) and being symmetrically located in relation to the longitudinal axis (L') of said second link (4); (c) said hinge device being securable to said supporting sleeves (1, 2) on either side of either knee of the user so as to limit the maximum knee joint angle to a selectable value determined by the positioning of said stop pin in a selected one of said holes; (d) said recess is constituted by a slot with walls on both sides thereof.