Prosthetic leg, knee joint, and control method and control program for knee joint

The prosthetic leg's rotational resistance control mechanism addresses the challenge of unnatural sitting by limiting knee flexion beyond a predetermined angle and transitioning to a seated posture based on load position and duration, ensuring smooth and natural movement.

WO2026177130A1 Publication Date: 2026-08-27NABTESCO CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
PCT/JP2026/005713
Authority / Receiving Office
WO · WO
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2025-02-19
Filing Date
2026-02-17
Publication Date
2026-08-27

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing prosthetic knees for individuals with low exercise ability or the elderly face challenges in transitioning from a bouncing state to a seated position naturally, often requiring unnatural movements due to restricted knee flexion during sitting.

Method used

A prosthetic leg with a rotational resistance control mechanism that includes a load acquisition unit, knee angle acquisition unit, and rotational resistance control unit, which performs bouncing control to limit further knee angle increase beyond a predetermined angle and terminates this control based on load position and duration, allowing a natural transition to a seated posture.

Benefits of technology

Enables users to sit down comfortably without worrying about knee collapse by naturally transitioning from a bouncing state to a yielding state, ensuring smooth movement and reducing the need for unnatural leg positioning.

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Abstract

A prosthetic leg 10 comprises: a thigh connection part; a lower leg section that is connected to the thigh connection part and that is provided rotatably around a knee shaft; a load acquisition unit 130 that acquires a load applied to the prosthetic leg via a thigh section; a knee angle acquisition unit 110 that acquires a knee angle formed between a shaft of the lower leg section and a shaft of the thigh section; and a rotation resistance control unit 100 that controls the rotation resistance of the knee shaft. When the knee angle exceeds a prescribed bouncing angle, the rotation resistance control part 100 executes bouncing control for strengthening the rotation resistance so as to limit a further increase of the knee angle, determines, on the basis of the load acquired by the load acquisition part 130 during execution of the bouncing control, whether the position of the load is in an end position state within a prescribed end range, and ends the bouncing control when a continuation time of the end position state exceeds a prescribed time.
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