MECHANISM FOR EFFICIENT DONNING AND DOFFING OF AN EXOSKELETON
A manual apparatus of the present disclosure enables quick connection and disconnection of an exoskeleton leg from a remaining body of an exoskeleton. The apparatus comprises a cavity defined by a housing coupled to the remaining body of the exoskeleton; a latch coupled to the remaining body of the exoskeleton, the latch comprising a latching feature; a clip body including a projection element extending from an end thereof, the clip body coupled to the exoskeleton leg; a handle rotatably coupled to a clip base on the clip body; and a hook rotatably coupled to the handle. When the hook is engaged with the latching feature and the handle rotated from a first unlatched position to a second latched position, the projection element moves inside the cavity.
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This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/190,920, entitled “A MECHANISM FOR EFFICIENT DONNING AND DOFFING OF AN EXOSKELETON,” filed on Jun. 23, 2016, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/183,407, filed on Jun. 23, 2015. Both of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure pertains to the art of medical exoskeletons. More specifically, this disclosure describes a mechanism that allows for improved donning and doffing of a medical exoskeleton.
BACKGROUND ARTA medical exoskeleton is often divided into two sections: the exoskeleton legs (which support the user's legs), and the remaining body of the exoskeleton (which supports the user's upper body). The location at which the exoskeleton legs and remaining body of the exoskeleton connect is called the torso-leg interface. If an exoskeleton is unable to separate at the torso-leg interface, the donning and doffing processes can be quite difficult and may require assistance from another individual. However, if the exoskeleton is modular and therefore can separate at the torso-leg interface, it has been shown that the donning and doffing processes can be performed independently by the exoskeleton user with increased ease.
Examples of modular medical exoskeletons include U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,190,141 B2 and 9,101,451, B2, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0351995 A1. All three aforementioned examples explicitly discuss the concept of an exoskeleton that can be separated into components and configured in a plethora of embodiments (i.e., modular). However, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,190,141 B2 and 9,101,451, B2 do not go into detail about the actual apparatus needed to connect and disconnect components of said modular exoskeleton. U.S. Application Publication No. 2015/0351995 A1 mentions that various components of a modular exoskeleton could be connected and disconnected by the user “on the fly”. However, the '995 publication provides very little detail about the structure of such a connection/disconnection apparatus and only briefly mentions that a connection interface exists and is “constituted by a simple bolted connection”. Thus, while the aforementioned patent documents teach a general desire for a modular exoskeleton, they do not teach infrastructure required to mechanically connect and disconnect components of a modular exoskeleton.
SUMMARYIn embodiments, a manual apparatus provides for quick connection and disconnection of an exoskeleton leg from a remaining body of an exoskeleton. The manual apparatus comprises: a cavity defined by a housing coupled to the remaining body of the exoskeleton; a latch coupled to the remaining body of the exoskeleton, the latch comprising a latching feature; a clip body including a projection element extending from an end thereof, the clip body coupled to the exoskeleton leg; a handle rotatably coupled to a clip base on the clip body; and a hook rotatable coupled to the handle. When the hook is engaged with the latching feature and the handle rotated from a first unlatched position to a second latched position, the projection element moves inside the cavity.
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Claims
1. A manual apparatus for quick connection and disconnection of components of an exoskeleton, the manual apparatus comprising:
- a clip body, comprising a projection element extending therefrom, the clip body configured to be coupled to a first component of the exoskeleton;
- a housing, comprising a cavity, the cavity configured to be coupled to a second component of the exoskeleton, wherein the second component of the exoskeleton is separate and distinct from the first component of the exoskeleton when in a disconnected position;
- a latch, configured to be coupled to either the first component or the second component of the exoskeleton, the latch comprising a latching feature;
- a handle, configured to be rotatably coupled to either the first component or the second component of the exoskeleton, opposite the latch; and
- a hook, configured to be rotatably coupled to the handle, wherein when the hook is engaged with the latch and the handle is moved from an unlatched position to a latched position, the projection element of the clip body is drawn inside the cavity of the housing, thereby connecting the first component of the exoskeleton to the second component of the exoskeleton; and
- a stopper, configured to be disposed on either the first component or the second component of the exoskeleton, wherein when the handle is moved from the latched position to the unlatched position while the stopper constrains the hook, the projection element is drawn out of the cavity of the housing, thereby disconnecting the first component of the exoskeleton from the second component of the exoskeleton.
2. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first component of the exoskeleton is an exoskeleton leg, and wherein the second component of the exoskeleton is a remaining body of the exoskeleton.
3. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second component of the exoskeleton is an exoskeleton leg, and wherein the first component of the exoskeleton is a remaining body of the exoskeleton.
4. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the projection element of the clip body is an integral part of the first component of the exoskeleton.
5. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing is an integral part of the second component of the exoskeleton.
6. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the latch is configured to be coupled to the first component of the exoskeleton.
7. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the latch is configured to be coupled to the second component of the exoskeleton.
8. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the latch is an integral part of the first component of the exoskeleton.
9. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the latch is an integral part of the second component of the exoskeleton.
10. The manual apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cavity of the housing is formed with a contour angle that matches a contour angle of the projection element of the clip body, such that no relative motion occurs between the projection element and the cavity when the projection element is fully inserted into the cavity.
11. A manual apparatus for quick connection and disconnection of components of an exoskeleton, the manual apparatus comprising:
- a projection element, configured to be coupled to a first component of the exoskeleton;
- a housing, comprising a cavity, the cavity configured to be coupled to a second component of the exoskeleton, wherein the second component of the exoskeleton is separate and distinct from the first component of the exoskeleton when in a disconnected position;
- a latch, configured to be coupled to either the first component or the second component of the exoskeleton;
- a handle, configured to be rotatably coupled to either the first component or the second component of the exoskeleton, opposite the latch; and
- a hook, configured to be rotatably coupled to the handle, wherein when the hook is engaged with the latch and the handle is moved from an unlatched position to a latched position, the projection element is drawn inside the cavity of the housing, thereby connecting the first component of the exoskeleton to the second component of the exoskeleton; and
- a stopper, configured to be disposed on either the first component or the second component of the exoskeleton, wherein when the handle is moved from the latched position to the unlatched position while the stopper constrains the hook, the projection element is drawn out of the cavity of the cavity, thereby disconnecting the first component of the exoskeleton from the second component of the exoskeleton.
12. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first component of the exoskeleton is an exoskeleton leg, and wherein the second component of the exoskeleton is a remaining body of the exoskeleton.
13. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second component of the exoskeleton is an exoskeleton leg, and wherein the first component of the exoskeleton is a remaining body of the exoskeleton.
14. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the projection element is an integral part of the first component of the exoskeleton.
15. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the housing is an integral part of the second component of the exoskeleton.
16. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the latch is configured to be coupled to the first component of the exoskeleton.
17. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the latch is configured to be coupled to the second component of the exoskeleton.
18. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the latch is an integral part of the first component of the exoskeleton.
19. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the latch is an integral part of the second component of the exoskeleton.
20. The manual apparatus of claim 11, wherein the cavity of the housing is formed with a contour angle that matches a contour angle of the projection element, such that no relative motion occurs between the projection element and the cavity when the projection element is fully inserted into the cavity.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 20, 2017
Publication Date: Apr 26, 2018
Applicant: The Regents of the University of California (Oakland, CA)
Inventors: Nicholas Errico (Berkeley, CA), Homayoon KAZEROONI (Berkeley, CA), Yoon Jung JEONG (Berkeley, CA)
Application Number: 15/848,363