Ankle-foot orthotic boot
Ankle-foot orthotics are used by many people suffering from foot drop. Some are applied to the foot and then inserted into standard footwear. They present many disadvantages. Alternatively, the orthotic is external causing extra attention to the orthotic. Disclosed herein is an ankle-foot orthotic (AFO) that is integrated into a boot. The AFO is less obvious and the boot material is in contact with the wearer's foot rather than the orthotic itself. A calf plate hinged with a sole plate are inserted into the shoe, as well as a member in tension biasing the foot toward dorsiflexion.
1. An ankle-foot orthotic (AFO) boot, comprising:
a sole;
a sole plate having a vertical portion and a horizontal portion wherein an upper end of the vertical portion has a tab extending upwardly with an orifice defined through the tab;
a calf plate having an upper portion that is substantially half of a cylinder and a lower portion that has a tab extending downwardly with an orifice defined through the tab;
a pin of rotation extending into the orifice in the tab of the sole plate and into the orifice in the tab of the calf plate;
a member in tension coupled between the upper portion of the calf plate and the sole;
a boot upper affixed to the sole, the boot upper having pockets therein to accommodate the calf plate and a portion of the sole plate; and
a first fastener portion coupled to a first side of the boot upper and a second fastener portion coupled to a second side of the boot upper, the first and second fastener portions located proximate the upper portion of the calf plate.
2. The AFO boot of claim 1 , further comprising:
a pin of affixment extending into the sole; and
a cylinder integrated into the upper portion of the calf plate wherein the member in tension comprises:
a spring disposed in the cylinder; and
a slender cable affixed to the spring at a first end and affixed to the pin of affixment at a second end.
3. The AFO boot of claim 1 wherein the member coupled between the upper portion of the calf plate and the sole is a first member, the AFO boot further comprising:
a second member coupled between the upper portion of the calf plate and the sole wherein the first member is coupled to a first side of the sole and the second member is coupled to a second side of the sole; and the first side is opposite the second side.
4. The AFO boot of claim 1 wherein a casing is defined in the boot upper and the member in tension is threaded through the casing.
5. The AFO boot of claim 1 wherein the first fastener portion comprises a hook portion of a hook-and-loop tape and the second fastener comprises a loop portion of the hook-and-loop tape.
6. The AFO boot of claim 1 , further comprising:
a third fastener portion coupled to the first side of the boot upper; and
a fourth fastener portion coupled to a second side of the boot upper wherein the third and fourth fastener portions are located proximate the sole.
7. The AFO boot of claim 1 wherein a first of the pockets is closed after the calf plate is inserted therein to thereby prevent the calf plate from coming out of the first of the pockets.
8. The AFO boot of claim 1 wherein:
the boot upper comprises at least a first side, a second side, and a tongue;
the tongue is coupled to one of the sole, the first side, and the second side; and
the tongue is attached to the first side and the second side to allow the tongue to be folded back to provide a substantially unobstructed vertical entrance of a foot.
9. The AFO boot of claim 8 , further comprising:
a first fastener portion coupled to the first side; and
a second fastener portion coupled to the second side wherein the first and second fastener portions are arranged on the first and second sides such that the first fastener portion and the second fastener portion to secure the tongue when fastened.
10. An ankle-foot orthotic (AFO) boot, comprising:
a sole having a heel end and a toe end;
a boot upper coupled to the sole;
two members in tension with one end of each of the members coupled to the sole at a location closer to the toe end of the sole than the heel end and one end of each of the members coupled to a portion of the boot upper distal from the sole wherein two casings are provided in the boot upper with one of the two members in tension threaded through each of the casings;
a sole plate having a vertical portion and a horizontal portion wherein an upper end of the vertical portion has a tab extending upwardly with an orifice defined through the tab;
a calf plate having an upper portion that is substantially half of a cylinder and a lower portion that has a tab extending downwardly with an orifice defined through the tab; and
a pin of rotation extending into the orifice in the tab of the sole plate and into the orifice in the tab of the calf plate.
11. The AFO boot of claim 10 , further comprising:
a first fastener portion coupled to a first side of the boot upper; and
a second fastener portion coupled to a second side of the boot upper wherein the first and second fastener portions are located proximate the upper portion of the calf plate.
12. The AFO boot of claim 11 wherein the first and second fastener portions comprise one of: a buckle system and a loop-and-pile closure system.
13. The AFO boot of claim 10 wherein:
the boot upper comprises at least a first side, a second side, and a tongue;
the tongue is coupled to one of the first side, the second side and the sole; and
the tongue is attached so as to allow the tongue to be folded away from the sole to provide a substantially unobstructed vertical entrance of a foot into the boot, the AFO boot further comprising:
an insole placed inside the AFO boot over the sole.
14. The AFO boot of claim 10 wherein the boot upper is coupled to the sole; and the boot upper has pockets therein to accommodate the calf plate.
15. The AFO boot of claim 10
wherein a first of the two members in tension is coupled to a first side of the sole; a second of the two members in tension is coupled to a second side of the sole; and the first side is opposite the second side.
16. A method to assemble an ankle-foot orthotic boot, comprising:
cutting and forming a boot upper;
forming a pocket in the boot upper;
manufacturing a calf plate;
inserting the calf plate into the pocket in the boot upper;
manufacturing a sole;
affixing the sole to the boot upper; and
attaching a member in tension between the calf plate and the sole.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein the calf plate has an upper portion that is substantially half of a cylinder and a lower portion that has a tab extending downwardly with an orifice defined through the tab, the method further comprising:
manufacturing a sole plate that has a vertical portion and a horizontal portion with an upper end of the vertical portion having a tab extending upwardly and an orifice defined through the tab; and
placing a pin of rotation through the orifice in the tab of the sole plate and through the orifice in the tab of the calf plate.
18. The method of claim 16 wherein the boot upper has a first side, a second side and a tongue between the first and second side, the method further including:
providing a first fastener portion on the first side of the boot upper; and
providing a second fastener portion on the second side of the boot upper wherein the first and second fasters secure the tongue when fastened.
19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising: placing an insole onto the sole and a horizontal portion of the sole plate.