The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 08, 2021
Filed:
Dec. 13, 2016
Controlling power in a prosthesis or orthosis based on predicted walking speed or surrogate for same
Bionx Medical Technologies, Inc., Bedford, MA (US);
Hugh Miller Herr, Somerville, MA (US);
Richard J. Casler, Jr., Lowell, MA (US);
Zhixiu Han, Acton, MA (US);
Christopher Eric Barnhart, Carlisle, MA (US);
Gary Girzon, Sudbury, MA (US);
OTTO BOCK HEALTHCARE LP, Austin, TX (US);
Abstract
In some embodiments of a prosthetic or orthotic ankle/foot, a prediction is made of what the walking speed will be during an upcoming step. When the predicted walking speed is slow, the characteristics of the apparatus are then modified so that less net-work that is performed during that step (as compared to when the predicted walking speed is fast). This may be implemented using one sensor from which the walking speed can be predicted, and a second sensor from which ankle torque can be determined. A controller receives inputs from those sensors, and controls a motor's torque so that the torque for slow walking speeds is lower than the torque for fast walking speeds. A controller determines a desired torque based on the output, and controls the motor's torque based on the determined desired torque.