Spring-Loaded Leg Augmentation Harness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Repetitive leg movements with heavy loads often lead to muscle fatigue and joint injuries, particularly in individuals with injuries, arthritis, or disabilities, and can irritate aging joints, necessitating support systems that alleviate fatigue and stabilize joints during everyday tasks.
Innovation Solution
A spring-loaded leg augmentation system that includes a harness with leg supports and compensation elements, such as pulleys and springs, to apply an offset force that varies based on leg orientation, allowing for movement without interfering with natural leg motion and reducing gravitational load on joints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a leg support system is designed to provide strong gravitational compensation force, then the support effectiveness improves, but the device complexity increases due to additional compensation elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies counterweight principle by using springs and pulleys to generate an offset force that opposes gravitational force acting on the leg. The compensation elements create a counterbalancing mechanism that reduces the net gravitational load on the user's leg and joint structures throughout the range of motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses pulleys as intermediary elements to transmit and modify the force generated by springs. The pulley system allows the compensation force to be applied at the appropriate location and orientation on the leg support structure, mediating between the spring force generation and the actual gravitational compensation at the leg.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the leg support structure is made rigid to provide stable support, then the stability improves, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to interference with natural leg movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics principle by making the leg support structure pivotally coupled to the hip strut, allowing the leg bracket to rotate and follow the natural movement of the user's leg. This dynamic configuration maintains stability through controlled movement rather than rigid fixation, accommodating the full range of motion without interference.
3Device complexity
If the compensation force is constant to simplify the mechanism, then the device complexity reduces, but the support effectiveness deteriorates during dynamic leg movements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action through the pulley-spring mechanism where the compensation force varies periodically with the leg's position and movement. As the leg moves through its range of motion, the spring extension and pulley geometry change, automatically adjusting the compensation force to match the varying gravitational components at different angles.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enhances muscle function, stabilizes joints, reduces fatigue and injury risk, and enables individuals to perform tasks with reduced strain on knees, hips, and back, facilitating longer durations and improved stability during leg movements.
Implementation Method 1
including a resilient element and one or more pulleys mounted on the leg support
Implementation Method 2
one or more compensation elements are configured to provide a force profile that varies the offset force based on an orientation of the leg support, e.g., including a resilient element
Implementation Method 3
including a resilient element and one or more pulleys mounted on the leg support
Implementation Method 4
the leg bracket is pivotable about to accommodate movement of the user's leg while following the movement without substantially interfering with the movement of the user's leg
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for supporting one or both legs of a user using a harness configured to be worn on a body of a user; and a leg support coupled to the harness configured to support a leg of the user, the leg support configured to accommodate movement of the leg while following the movement without substantially interfering with the movement of the user's arm. One or more compensation elements may be coupled to the leg support to apply an offset force to at least partially offset a gravitational force acting on the leg as the user moves and the leg support follows the movement of the user's leg, the one or more compensation elements providing a force profile that varies the offset force based on an orientation of the leg support.