LOAD DETERMINATION METHOD

• US 20160150999A1
• Filed: 10/20/2015
• Published: 06/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Sugata, Hikaru
• Granted Patent: US 11,051,717 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1036 Measuring load distribution, e.g. podologic studies
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/70 electrical
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/607 Lower legs
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/7635 for measuring force, pressure or mechanical tension
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 3/00 Appliances for aiding patients or disabled persons to walk about apparatus for helping babies to walk A47D13/04; orthopaedic devices for correcting deformities of, or supporting, limbs A61F5/0102; exercising apparatus for the feet or toes A63B23/10; stairways or ramps E04F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/085 Force or torque sensors B25J13/082, B25J13/084 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0006 Exoskeletons, i.e. resembling a human figure

Abstract

A load determination method that determines, based on a load acting on a leg part of a user that is detected, whether the leg part is in a loaded state, which is a ground-contact state, or an unloaded state, which is an idling leg state, in which the load determination method determines that the leg part is in the loaded state instead of determining that the leg part is in the unloaded state even when the load acting on the leg part of the user that is detected becomes smaller than a threshold at which it is determined that the state of the leg part has been switched from the loaded state to the unloaded state within a predetermined period after it is determined that the state of the leg part has been switched from the unloaded state to the loaded state.

Claims

1. A load determination method that determines, based on a load acting on a leg part of a user that is detected, whether the leg part is in a loaded state, which is a ground-contact state, or an unloaded state, which is an idling leg state,

wherein the load determination method determines that the leg part is in the loaded state instead of determining that the leg part is in the unloaded state even when the load acting on the leg part of the user that is detected becomes smaller than a threshold at which it is determined that the state of the leg part has been switched from the loaded state to the unloaded state within a predetermined period after it is determined that the state of the leg part has been switched from the unloaded state to the loaded state.

2. The load determination method according to claim 1, wherein the load acting on the leg part of the user is detected by a uniaxial load sensor.