Walking assistance method and apparatuses performing the same
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorsJun-Won Jang, Kyung-Rock Kim, Youngbo Shim, Jusuk Lee, Bokman Lim
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A walking assistance method may include: detecting a landing time of a foot of a user; and/or initiating gait assistance based on a first joint location of a first leg of the user sensed at the landing time and a second joint location of the user sensed after the landing time. A walking assistance apparatus may include: a driver configured to perform gait assistance of a user; and/or a controller configured to control the driver to initiate the gait assistance based on a first joint location of a first leg of the user sensed at a landing time of a foot of the user and a second joint location sensed after the landing time.
Claims19
A walking assistance method, comprising:
- detecting a landing time associated with a foot of a first leg of a user contacting a ground;
- sensing a joint angle of a first hip joint of the user at the landing time as first hip joint angle information, the first hip joint being associated with the first leg of the user;
- continually sensing the joint angle of the first hip joint of the user after the landing time as second hip joint angle information;
- determining whether the second hip joint angle information satisfies a condition;
- and
- initiating gait assistance in response to the second hip joint angle information satisfying the condition such that the gait assistance is delayed a duration of time after the landing time.
A walking assistance apparatus, comprising:
- a sensor;
- a driver configured to perform gait assistance of a user;
- and
- a controller configured to control the driver by,
- detecting a landing time associated with a foot of a first leg of the user contacting a ground,
- sensing a joint angle of a first hip joint of the user at the landing time as first hip joint angle information, the first hip joint being associated with the first leg of the user,
- continually sensing the joint angle of the first hip joint of the user after the landing time as second hip joint angle information,
- determining whether the second hip joint angle information satisfies a condition, and
- initiating the gait assistance in response to the second hip joint angle information satisfying the condition such that the gait assistance is delayed a duration of time after the landing time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.