Soft Textile Joint Actuator Harness for Shoulder Assistance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rigid exoskeletons for shoulder assistance are bulky, prone to misaligning joints, and limited in clinical evaluation, particularly for at-home or outpatient rehabilitation, leading to therapist fatigue and restricted use in tight spaces.
Innovation Solution
Development of a soft textile actuator system integrated into a wearable harness that provides muscular assistance through inflatable, compliant, and lightweight actuators, allowing for comfortable, all-day wear and easy portability, with sensors for controlled actuation and adjustable placement for effective rehabilitation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid exoskeletons are used for shoulder assistance, then structural strength and support capability are improved, but device bulkiness and joint misalignment risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid exoskeleton structures with soft textile actuators that have pre-determined geometries. These actuators use flexible textile materials to provide the necessary structural support while conforming to the user's body, eliminating the bulkiness of rigid devices. The textile actuators maintain strength through their geometric design and material properties rather than rigid construction.
2Strength
If rigid exoskeletons are used for shoulder assistance, then support capability is improved, but joint misalignment and unnatural loadings occur
Solution Approach 1:
The soft textile actuators conform to the user's body contours and joint movements, ensuring proper alignment with the shoulder joint. The flexibility of the textile materials allows the actuator to adapt to natural joint motion paths, preventing misalignment and unnatural loadings that occur with rigid devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state of the actuator from rigid to soft/compliant, allowing it to dynamically adjust its properties to match the user's anatomy and movement patterns. This parameter change enables the actuator to maintain proper joint alignment while providing support.
3Ease of operation
If soft textile actuators are used, then compliance and comfort are improved, but actuator structural stability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The textile actuator is divided into multiple segments or layers with different functional properties. The outer layer provides structural stability with pre-determined geometry, while inner layers provide compliance and comfort. This segmentation allows each layer to optimize its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator uses composite textile structures combining materials with different properties - some providing structural stability and others providing compliance. This composite construction enables the actuator to simultaneously achieve both comfort through softness and stability through geometric design.
4Force
If traditional electromagnetic actuators are used, then actuation force is improved, but device weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs pneumatic or hydraulic actuation through inflatable bladders within the textile structure. This fluid-based actuation system provides sufficient actuation force while being significantly lighter and simpler than electromagnetic actuators. The fluid pressure directly translates to mechanical force without requiring heavy motors or complex electrical systems.
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 soft textile actuator system reduces therapist fatigue, enhances rehabilitation outcomes by increasing arm repetitions, and enables at-home therapy, while being ergonomically safe and comfortable, allowing for effective support in various environments and patient conditions.
Implementation Method 1
inflation of the textile envelope during a relative increase in pressure inside the chamber
Implementation Method 2
a fluid-impermeable bladder contained in the textile envelope
Data Source
AI summary
A textile actuator and harness system can include a harness configured to be worn with a portion extending across a wearer's joint. The harness comprises a substantially inextensible section and at least two mounting locations spaced for positioning across the joint, with at least one located along the substantially inextensible section of the harness. A textile envelope defines a chamber and is made fluid-impermeable by (a) a fluid-impermeable bladder contained in the textile envelope and/or (b) a fluid-impermeable structure incorporated into the textile envelope. The textile envelope is secured to the harness at each mounting location, and the textile envelope has a pre-determined geometry configured to produce assistance to the joint due to inflation of the textile envelope during a relative increase in pressure inside the chamber.