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:
Nov. 02, 2010
Filed:
Jan. 05, 2007
Majd Alwan, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Glenn S. Wasson, Crozet, VA (US);
Pradip N. Sheth, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Alexandre Ledoux, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Cunjun Huang, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Majd Alwan, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Glenn S. Wasson, Crozet, VA (US);
Pradip N. Sheth, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Alexandre Ledoux, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Cunjun Huang, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
Various implementations are disclosed for an instrumented mobility assistance device, such as an instrumented walker. The device includes an attached sensor that is operable to convert an operational action of a user of the mobility assistance device into a sensor signal. A use analyzer is operable to relate the sensor signal to a contact attribute associated with a contact of the user of the mobility assistance device with an underlying surface. The use analyzer is further operable to determine a gait characteristic of the user, based on the contact attribute. The sensor may include a force or moment sensor. The contact attribute may include a foot-initial contact, or a foot-off contact. In this way, gait characteristics of the user may be determined during normal operation of the instrumented device. Also, the sensor may be used to determine a stability measure associated with the device.