Prosthetic foot

1. A multi-plate prosthetic foot, comprising:

a first, lower plate;

a second, upper plate spaced apart from and residing above the lower plate, the upper plate graduating into a shank portion from a foot portion that overlies at least a portion of the lower plate;

a rearwardly extending heel plate connected to an underside of the second plate so as to be interposed between the lower plate and the upper plate;

at least one toe bumper assembly coupling a toe end of the lower plate to a toe end of the upper plate; and

at least one heel bumper assembly coupling a heel end of the lower plate to the heel plate;

wherein each of the bumper assemblies includes a sleeved elastomeric snubber that resides between the coupled plates and a threaded fastener assembly that couples the plates through the snubber such that the coupled plates are maintained in a spaced apart but constantly connected relationship.

2. The prosthetic foot of claim 1 , wherein:

the sleeved elastomeric snubber includes separate sleeve and snubber elements; and

the sleeve element is selected from the group consisting of a rigid material and an elastomeric material.

3. The prosthetic foot of claim 2 , wherein the material properties of the sleeve element and the snubber element may be independently selected to adjust overall shock absorption and rebound characteristics of the prosthetic foot.

4. The prosthetic foot of claim 2 , wherein the sleeve element passes through a mounting hole in the toe end of the upper plate and into a bore in the snubber element.

5. The prosthetic foot of claim 1 , wherein the sleeved elastomeric snubber is a unitary element.

6. The prosthetic foot of claim 1 , wherein the shape of the elastomeric snubber is selected from the group consisting of cylindrical, oval, frusto-conical and hyperbolic.

7. The prosthetic foot of claim 1 , wherein the fastener assembly includes a threaded male fastener and a mating T-nut.

8. The prosthetic foot of claim 7 , wherein the T-nut passes through a mounting hole in the lower plate, and wherein the threaded male fastener passes through a mounting hole in the upper plate and through the sleeved elastomeric snubber to engage the T-nut.

9. The prosthetic foot of claim 1 , wherein the shank portion of the upper plate is substantially vertically oriented and extends above the height of a typical human ankle joint.

10. The prosthetic foot of claim 1 , wherein the shank portion of the upper plate curves gradually upward to a free end termination point that approximates the height of a typical human ankle joint, and is adapted to receive and retain a prosthetic ankle joint.

11. The prosthetic foot of claim 1 , wherein the toe end of the upper plate includes a bumper assembly mounting slot that permits the upper plate to slide in an anterior/posterior direction relative to the lower plate during foot flexion, while the lower plate and the upper plate remain coupled.

12. The prosthetic foot of claim 1 , wherein the toe end of the upper plate includes an oversized bumper assembly mounting hole that permits the upper plate to slide in an anterior/posterior direction and in a medial/lateral direction relative to the lower plate during foot flexion, while the lower plate and the upper plate remain coupled.

13. A multi-plate prosthetic foot, comprising:

a first, lower plate having a curved heel and toe portion;

a second, upper plate spaced apart from and residing above the lower plate, the upper plate graduating into a shank portion from a curved foot portion that overlies at least a portion of the lower plate;

a rearwardly extending heel plate connected to an underside of the second plate so as to be interposed between the lower plate and the upper plate;

a toe bumper assembly coupling a toe end of the lower plate to a toe end of the upper plate; and

a heel bumper assembly coupling a heel end of the lower plate to the heel plate;

wherein each of the bumper assemblies includes a sleeved elastomeric snubber that resides between the coupled plates and a threaded fastener assembly that couples the plates through the snubber such that the coupled plates are maintained in a spaced apart but constantly connected relationship, the threaded fastener assembly comprising a threaded male fastener that extends through an opening in one of the lower and upper plates and through the sleeved elastomeric snubber to engage a complimentary female fastener that extends through an opening in the other one of the lower and upper plates.

14. The prosthetic foot of claim 13 , wherein:

the sleeved elastomeric snubber includes separate sleeve and snubber elements;

the sleeve element is selected from the group consisting of a rigid material and an elastomeric material; and

the material properties of the sleeve element and the snubber element may be independently selected to adjust overall shock absorption and rebound characteristics of the prosthetic foot.

15. The prosthetic foot of claim 13 , wherein the sleeved elastomeric snubber is a unitary element.

16. The prosthetic foot of claim 13 , wherein the toe end of the upper plate includes a bumper assembly mounting slot that permits the upper plate to slide in an anterior/posterior direction relative to the lower plate during foot flexion, while the lower plate and the upper plate remain coupled.

17. The prosthetic foot of claim 13 , wherein the toe end of the upper plate includes an oversized bumper assembly mounting hole that permits the upper plate to slide in an anterior/posterior direction and in a medial/lateral direction relative to the lower plate during foot flexion, while the lower plate and the upper plate remain coupled.

18. A multi-plate prosthetic foot, comprising:

a first, lower plate having a curved heel and toe portion;

a second, upper plate spaced apart from and residing above the lower plate, the upper plate graduating into a shank portion from a curved foot portion that overlies at least a portion of the lower plate;

a rearwardly extending heel plate connected to an underside of the second plate so as to be interposed between the lower plate and the upper plate;

a toe bumper assembly coupling a toe end of the lower plate to a toe end of the upper plate; and

a heel bumper assembly coupling a heel end of the lower plate to the heel plate;

wherein each of the bumper assemblies includes a sleeve that extends through an opening in the upper plate, an elastomeric snubber that resides between the coupled plates, and a threaded fastener assembly that couples the plates through the sleeve and snubber such that the coupled plates are maintained in a spaced apart but constantly connected relationship, the threaded fastener assembly comprising a threaded male fastener that passes through the opening in the upper plate, and through the sleeve and the elastomeric snubber to engage a T-nut that extends through an opening in the lower plate; and

wherein the sleeve is selected from the group consisting of a rigid material and an elastomeric material and the material properties of the sleeve and the elastomeric snubber may be independently selected to adjust overall shock absorption and rebound characteristics of the prosthetic foot.

19. The prosthetic foot of claim 18 , wherein the toe end of the upper plate includes a bumper assembly mounting slot that permits the upper plate to slide in an anterior/posterior direction relative to the lower plate during foot flexion, while the lower plate and the upper plate remain coupled.

20. The prosthetic foot of claim 18 , wherein the toe end of the upper plate includes an bumper assembly mounting hole that is oversized relative to the sleeve so as to permit the upper plate to slide in an anterior/posterior direction and in a medial/lateral direction relative to the lower plate during foot flexion, while the lower plate and the upper plate remain coupled.