Knee brace with flexible secondary joint

Claim 1

A knee brace having a primary joint and a flexible secondary joint, the brace comprising: (a) an upper member for the support of a lateral side of a leg above the knee thereof, said upper member having an upper end and a lower end; (b) a lower means for the support of said lateral side of the leg below the knee thereof, said lower member having an upper end and a lower end; (c) a bi-axial element having a primary axis and a second axis, said lower end of said upper member being rotationally coupled to said primary axis, said upper end of said lower member being rotationally coupled to said secondary axis; (d) lock means for selectively locking said lower end of said upper member to said primary axis, thereby selectably overriding said rotational coupling between said upper member and said primary axis of said bi-axial element, in which actuation of said locking means operates to change the effective axis of said bi-axial element from said primary axis to said second axis; and (e) mechanical damping means oriented in said bi-axial element and applied against said secondary axis, said damping means comprising means for angularly biasing said secondary axis relative to said primary axis in a direction of rotation anterior to said primary axis, whereby said knee brace will permit a more natural flexibility of the knee and of the lower leg, both when the knee is straight and when the knee is bent as is the case during sitting.