Device and Method for Decreasing Energy Consumption of a Person by Use of a Lower Extremity Exoskeleton

摘要

A lower extremity exoskeleton, configurable to be coupled to a person, includes: leg supports configurable to be coupled to the person's lower limbs and designed to rest on the ground during stance phases, with each leg support having a thigh link and a shank link; two knee joints, each configured to allow flexion and extension between respective shank and thigh links; an exoskeleton trunk configurable to be coupled to the person's upper body, rotatably connectable to the thigh links of the leg supports, allowing for the flexion and extension between the leg supports and the exoskeleton trunk; two hip actuators configured to create torques between the exoskeleton trunk and the leg supports; and at least one power unit capable of providing power to the hip actuators. In use, power is supplied to the hip actuators in an amount to reduce the energy consumed by a user during a walking cycle.

主权项

1. A method of reducing energy consumption of a person in motion along a trajectory in a forward direction of movement coupled to an exoskeleton device including at least one power unit, two leg supports for coupling to said person's lower limbs rotatably connected to an exoskeleton trunk, and two hip actuators for creating torques between said leg supports and said exoskeleton trunk, said method comprising: supplying energy from said at least one power unit to said hip actuator of the leg support coupled to said person's lower limb in a stance phase wherein said energy is determined based on a force between said exoskeleton trunk and the person's upper body along the person's forward velocity direction and established to be larger than an amount of energy required to move said exoskeleton trunk and said leg support in the stance phase through the same trajectory in the forward direction of movement when not worn by said person.