Semi-actuated transfemoral prosthetic knee

摘要

A semi-actuated above knee prosthetic system, which is mostly passive in nature and includes a shank link coupled to an artificial foot, a knee mechanism connected to the shank link and a thigh link attached to an above-knee remaining lower limb of an amputee, is operable in either an actuated mode or an un-actuated mode controlled by a signal processor linked to various prosthetic mounted sensors. In the actuated mode, power is delivered to a torque generator connected to the knee mechanism to cause a forced movement between the thigh and shank links. In the un-actuated mode, a control circuit operates in a non-powered manner to allow operation of the knee mechanism with modulated resistance. Power is delivered through an electric motor connected to a battery source and employed to drive a hydraulic pump which is part of an overall hydraulic power unit including the torque generator.