Tensegrity joints for prosthetic, orthotic, and robotic devices
First Claim
1. At least a portion of an artificial prosthetic or orthotic foot for a human, or a robotic foot comprising:
- an artificial midfoot joint;
an artificial metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint; and
a mechanical coupler configured to coordinate movement of the artificial midfoot joint relative to the artificial MTP joint.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodments of the invention relate to a prosthetic, orthotic, or robotic foot having at least two joints. One joint is located in a position analogous to the human MTP joint, and the other is located in a position analogous to the human subtalar joint. Motions of these two joints are mechanically couples. Furthermore, these joints are created using “tensegrity” design principals, where connections between the compression members are made by a network of tension members. These tension members create axes of motion, and limitations on those axes of motion. Actuators or linear elastic “springs” are use to alter the torque/angular deflection response curve of these joints, so that the rollover profile of the human foot can be duplicated by this invention.
122 Citations
28 Claims
-
1. At least a portion of an artificial prosthetic or orthotic foot for a human, or a robotic foot comprising:
-
an artificial midfoot joint;
an artificial metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint; and
a mechanical coupler configured to coordinate movement of the artificial midfoot joint relative to the artificial MTP joint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
Specification