Semi-powered lower extremity exoskeleton
First Claim
1. A lower extremity exoskeleton, configurable to be coupled to a person, said lower extremity exoskeleton comprising:
- two leg supports configurable to be coupled to said person'"'"'s lower limbs and configured to rest on the ground during their stance phases alongside said person'"'"'s feet resting on the ground, wherein each said leg support comprises a thigh link and a shank link, and said two leg supports, during their stance phases, transfer forces from their shank links to the ground;
two knee joints, each configured to allow flexion and extension between the respective shank link and the respective thigh link; and
an exoskeleton trunk configurable to be coupled to said person'"'"'s upper body, rotatably connectable to said thigh links of said leg supports allowing for flexion and extension between said leg supports and said exoskeleton trunk;
two torque generators coupled to said knee joints; and
a power unit, capable of providing power, coupled to said torque generators, wherein the power unit is configured to operate in at least two modes for each torque generator, with said power unit including a power injecting subcomponent capable of injecting power to the torque generator, and a power dissipating subcomponent capable of dissipating power from the torque generator, wherein;
when said power unit operates in its first mode with respect to one of said torque generators, said power unit injects power into the one of said torque generators to extend a respective knee angle defined between the respective shank link and respective thigh link, andwhen said power unit operates in its second mode with respect to the one of said torque generators, the energy required for said flexion and extension between the respective shank link and the respective thigh link of said corresponding leg support over a cyclic knee motion is provided by said person but said power unit causes the one of said torque generators to resist flexion.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The lower extremity exoskeleton comprises two leg supports connectable to person'"'"'s lower limbs and configured to rest on the ground during their stance phase. Each leg support comprises a thigh link and a shank link; a knee joint configured to allow flexion and extension between the shank link and the thigh link. The lower extremity exoskeleton further comprises an exoskeleton trunk connectable to the person'"'"'supper body. The exoskeleton trunk is connectable to the thigh links of the leg supports allowing for the flexion and extension between the leg supports and the exoskeleton trunk. Two torque generators are coupled to each of the knee joints. A power unit, capable of providing power, is coupled to the torque generators. In operation when a leg support is in a stance phase and climbing a slope or stairs, the power unit injects power into the respective torque generator thereby extending the respective knee angle. When a leg support is in stance phase and not climbing a slope or stairs, the power unit does not inject any power to the respective torque generator, but without dissipating any stored power in said power unit, it forces the torque generator to resist flexion of the respective knee joint. When a leg support is in a swing phase, the power unit does not inject any power to the respective torque generator, but without dissipating any stored power in said power unit, it forces the torque generator to minimize its resistance to knee flexion and extension.
-
Citations
79 Claims
-
1. A lower extremity exoskeleton, configurable to be coupled to a person, said lower extremity exoskeleton comprising:
-
two leg supports configurable to be coupled to said person'"'"'s lower limbs and configured to rest on the ground during their stance phases alongside said person'"'"'s feet resting on the ground, wherein each said leg support comprises a thigh link and a shank link, and said two leg supports, during their stance phases, transfer forces from their shank links to the ground; two knee joints, each configured to allow flexion and extension between the respective shank link and the respective thigh link; and an exoskeleton trunk configurable to be coupled to said person'"'"'s upper body, rotatably connectable to said thigh links of said leg supports allowing for flexion and extension between said leg supports and said exoskeleton trunk; two torque generators coupled to said knee joints; and a power unit, capable of providing power, coupled to said torque generators, wherein the power unit is configured to operate in at least two modes for each torque generator, with said power unit including a power injecting subcomponent capable of injecting power to the torque generator, and a power dissipating subcomponent capable of dissipating power from the torque generator, wherein; when said power unit operates in its first mode with respect to one of said torque generators, said power unit injects power into the one of said torque generators to extend a respective knee angle defined between the respective shank link and respective thigh link, and when said power unit operates in its second mode with respect to the one of said torque generators, the energy required for said flexion and extension between the respective shank link and the respective thigh link of said corresponding leg support over a cyclic knee motion is provided by said person but said power unit causes the one of said torque generators to resist flexion. - 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, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
-
-
73. A method of operating a lower extremity exoskeleton, said lower extremity exoskeleton comprising:
-
two leg supports configurable to be coupled to a person'"'"'s lower limbs and configured to rest on the ground during their stance phases alongside a person'"'"'s feet, wherein each said leg support comprises a thigh link and a shank link, and said two leg supports, during their stance phases, transfer forces from their shank links to the ground;
two knee joints, each configured to allow flexion and extension between the respective shank link and the respective thigh link; and
an exoskeleton trunk configurable to be coupled to said person'"'"'s upper body, rotatably connectable to said thigh links of said leg supports allowing for flexion and extension between said leg supports and said exoskeleton trunk; and
two torque generators coupled to each said knee joints;said method comprising; coupling a person to said exoskeleton; automatically operating a power unit to allow the flexion of said respective knee joint during a swing phase; automatically operating the power unit to cease injecting power into a respective torque generator and resist flexion of said respective knee joint during the stance phase of the respective leg support when a signal indicates that said leg support is not posed to climb stairs or a slope; and automatically operating the power unit to resist flexion of said respective knee joint and inject power into the respective torque generator during the stance phase to extend a respective knee angle when a signal indicates that said leg support is posed to climb stairs or a slope. - View Dependent Claims (79)
-
-
74. A method of stowing an exoskeleton configurable to be coupled to a person'"'"'s upper body including an exoskeleton leg rotatably coupled to a trunk of the exoskeleton at a thigh joint, the exoskeleton leg having a thigh link connected to a shank link, and a knee joint allowing flexion and extension between the thigh link and the shank link, said method comprising:
- abducting the exoskeleton leg about the knee joint and the thigh joint to rotate the thigh link and the shank link such that the exoskeleton leg is rotated a full 180 degrees with respect to the trunk of the exoskeleton to a stowed position.
-
75. A system to operate an artificial knee disposed between a thigh link and a shank link, wherein a knee angle is defined between the thigh link and the shank link, and wherein the thigh link and the shank link comprise a leg support, the system comprising:
-
a hydraulic actuator coupled to said artificial knee; and a power unit coupled to the hydraulic actuator, wherein said power unit is configured to operate automatically in at least one of two modes, wherein; when said power unit operates in its first mode with respect to said hydraulic actuator, said power unit injects power into the hydraulic actuator through a power injecting subcomponent to extend said knee angle; and when said power unit operates in its second mode with respect to said hydraulic actuator, the energy required for said flexion and extension between the shank link and the respective thigh link of said artificial knee over a cyclic knee motion is provided by a person but said power unit causes the torque generator to resist flexion through a power dissipating subcomponent when signals indicate that the leg support rests on the ground, alongside a person'"'"'s foot, in a stance phase.
-
-
76. A lower extremity exoskeleton, configurable to be coupled to a person, said lower extremity exoskeleton comprising:
-
two leg supports configurable to be coupled to a person'"'"'s lower limbs and configured to rest on the ground during their stance phases alongside a person'"'"'s feet resting on the ground, wherein each said leg support comprises a thigh link and a shank link, and said two leg supports, during their stance phases, transfer forces from their shank links to the ground; two knee joints, each configured to allow flexion and extension between the respective shank link and the respective thigh link; an exoskeleton trunk configurable to be coupled to a person'"'"'s upper body, rotatably connectable to said thigh links of said leg supports allowing for flexion and extension between said leg supports and said exoskeleton trunk; two torque generators coupled to said knee joints; and a power unit configured to operate automatically in one of at least two modes, the power unit comprising a hydraulic circuit connecting the power unit and the two torque generators, a hydraulic pump coupled to a motor, and an actuated flow restricting valve between the power unit and the two torque generators, wherein; when said power unit operates in a first mode with respect to one of said torque generators, said hydraulic pump injects hydraulic fluid into the one of said torque generators to cause said knee joint of said corresponding leg support to extend and, when said power unit operates in a second mode with respect to the one of said torque generators, the hydraulic pump does not inject hydraulic fluid into the one of said torque generators, the energy required for said flexion and extension between the respective shank link and the respective thigh link of said corresponding leg support over a cyclic knee motion is provided by said person and said actuated flow restricting valve restricts the hydraulic fluid flow from the one of said torque generators to the hydraulic circuit. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78)
-
Specification