Patents by Inventor Yukinobu MAKIHARA

Yukinobu MAKIHARA has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11529281
    Abstract: A gait motion assisting apparatus of the present invention includes an actuator unit controlling driver so that assisting force calculated by applying gait motion timing based on detected thigh phase angle to output pattern saved data is imparted to lower leg, and a terminal device capable of wireless-communicating with control device of the actuator unit. The terminal device can receive assisting force setting value including assisting force imparting period during gait cycle and create, based on the assisting force setting value, output pattern setting data indicating a relationship between the gait motion timing and a size of assisting force to be imparted to the lower leg. The control device is configured to overwrite-save the output pattern setting data received from the terminal device as the output pattern saved data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignees: Suncall Corporation, Kyoto University, National University Corporation Kyoto institute of Technology
    Inventors: Rei Takahashi, Yukinobu Makihara, Tadao Tsuboyama, Koji Ohata, Yuichi Sawada, Yoshiyuki Higashi
  • Patent number: 11504292
    Abstract: The gait motion assisting device according to the present invention replicates movement of user's leg including thigh and lower leg around hip joint by pendulum movement of a rod-like rigid body, estimates hip joint angle and hip joint angular velocity of thigh calculated based on equation of motion of the pendulum movement by a state estimator using angle-related signal received from a thigh orientation detecting means as the observation, calculates the thigh phase angle using the estimated hip joint angle and the estimated hip joint angular velocity, and outputs assisting force having torque value calculated based on the thigh phase angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Suncall Corporation
    Inventors: Rei Takahashi, Yukinobu Makihara, Yuichi Sawada, Yoshiyuki Higashi, Tadao Tsuboyama, Noriaki Ichihashi, Koji Ohata
  • Patent number: 11357692
    Abstract: To provide a joint support unit, etc. capable of being worn on both left and right joints. A joint support unit 20 includes a first link 21 worn on one end side of a knee joint, a second link 22 worn on the other end side of the knee joint, and a driving unit 30 configured to cause the first link 21 and the second link 22 to perform rotational movement, or to relatively perform rotational movement while moving a rotation center and to perform sliding movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignees: University of Yamanashi, Kofu City, Suncall Corporation
    Inventors: Hidetsugu Terada, Koji Makino, Teppei Ogura, Masahiro Nakamura, Rei Takahashi, Masaru Hoshino, Yukinobu Makihara
  • Publication number: 20220175608
    Abstract: In a gait motion assisting apparatus of the present invention, a thigh phase angle calculating unit calculating a thigh phase angle divides an unnormalized hip joint angle obtained based on a angle-related signal from a thigh orientation detecting unit by a stored hip joint angle normalization coefficient to calculate a normalized hip joint angle, divides an unnormalized hip joint angular velocity obtained by differentiating the unnormalized hip joint angle by a stored hip joint angular velocity normalization coefficient to calculate a normalized hip joint angular velocity, and calculate the thigh phase angle by using the normalized hip joint angle and the normalized hip joint angular velocity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Publication date: June 9, 2022
    Inventors: Rei TAKAHASHI, Yukinobu MAKIHARA, Yuichi SAWADA, Yoshiyuki HIGASHI, Koji OHATA
  • Publication number: 20220168166
    Abstract: A gait motion assisting apparatus is provided, in which a thigh phase angle calculating unit has a latest data transmission process to transmit a thigh phase angle ?(k) at sampling timing S(k) (k is an integer of 1 or more) to a gait motion timing calculating unit and store the same as a reference thigh phase angle ?c. Also, a stored data transmission process transmits, instead of the thigh phase angle ?(k), a currently stored reference thigh phase angle ?c to the gait motion timing calculating unit and performs the stored data transmission process only when conditions are satisfied such that a thigh phase angle at one sampling timing is smaller than the currently stored reference thigh phase angle and an absolute value of a deviation therebetween is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, and performs the latest data transmission process in other cases.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Publication date: June 2, 2022
    Inventors: Rei TAKAHASHI, Yukinobu MAKIHARA, Yuichi SAWADA, Yoshiyuki HIGASHI, Koji OHATA
  • Publication number: 20220110816
    Abstract: A gait motion assisting apparatus of the present invention includes a casing attachable to right and left knee ankle foot orthoses, an electric motor, a drive arm having a proximal end driven around a drive-side pivot axis by driving force from the electric motor and a distal end operatively connected to a lower leg frame of the orthosis, a rotation sensor detecting a swinging position of the drive arm around the drive-side pivot axis, a gait motion state detection sensor and a control device. The control device recognizes as a reference value a detection signal from the rotation sensor when the lower leg is fully extended, and judges right or left of leg to which the orthosis is mounted based on a detection signal other than the reference value to select right or left of assisting force control data used when calculating assisting force to be output from the electric motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Publication date: April 14, 2022
    Inventors: Shin AOKI, Yukinobu MAKIHARA
  • Publication number: 20210085552
    Abstract: A gait motion assisting apparatus of the present invention includes an actuator unit controlling driver so that assisting force calculated by applying gait motion timing based on detected thigh phase angle to output pattern saved data is imparted to lower leg, and a terminal device capable of wireless-communicating with control device of the actuator unit. The terminal device can receive assisting force setting value including assisting force imparting period during gait cycle and create, based on the assisting force setting value, output pattern setting data indicating a relationship between the gait motion timing and a size of assisting force to be imparted to the lower leg. The control device is configured to overwrite-save the output pattern setting data received from the terminal device as the output pattern saved data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2018
    Publication date: March 25, 2021
    Inventors: Rei TAKAHASHI, Yukinobu MAKIHARA, Tadao TSUBOYAMA, Koji OHATA, Yuichi SAWADA, Yoshiyuki HIGASHI
  • Publication number: 20210069053
    Abstract: To provide a joint support unit, etc. capable of being worn on both left and right joints. A joint support unit 20 includes a first link 21 worn on one end side of a knee joint, a second link 22 worn on the other end side of the knee joint, and a driving unit 30 configured to cause the first link 21 and the second link 22 to perform rotational movement, or to relatively perform rotational movement while moving a rotation center and to perform sliding movement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2018
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Inventors: Hidetsugu Terada, Koji Makino, Teppei Ogura, Masahiro Nakamura, Rei Takahashi, Masaru Hoshino, Yukinobu Makihara
  • Publication number: 20200297571
    Abstract: The gait motion assisting device according to the present invention replicates movement of user's leg including thigh and lower leg around hip joint by pendulum movement of a rod-like rigid body, estimates hip joint angle and hip joint angular velocity of thigh calculated based on equation of motion of the pendulum movement by a state estimator using angle-related signal received from a thigh orientation detecting means as the observation, calculates the thigh phase angle using the estimated hip joint angle and the estimated hip joint angular velocity, and outputs assisting force having torque value calculated based on the thigh phase angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2018
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventors: Rei TAKAHASHI, Yukinobu MAKIHARA, Yuichi SAWADA, Yoshiyuki HIGASHI, Tadao TSUBOYAMA, Noriaki ICHIHASHI, Koji OHATA