Energy conservation of a motor-driven digit
AssigneeTouch Bionics Limited
InventorsSteven Byrne, Neil Alexander Shaw
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Routines and methods disclosed herein can increase a power efficiency of a prosthetic hand without drastically reducing the speed at which it operates. A prosthesis can implement an acceleration profile, which can reduce an energy consumption of a motor, or an amount of electrical and/or mechanical noise produced by a motor, as the motor transitions from an idle state to a non-idle state. A prosthesis can implement a deceleration profile, which can reduce the energy consumption of the motor, or an amount of electrical and/or mechanical noise produced by a motor, as the motor transitions from a non-idle state to an idle state.
Claims20
A prosthetic device, comprising:
- a finger digit;
- a controller;
- and
- a motor configured to move the finger digit based at least in part on one or more control signals received from the controller, wherein the controller is configured to:
- determine, based at least in part on a command signal, to move the finger digit from a first position to a second position, and
- based at least in part on a determination that the finger digit satisfies a location threshold with respect to the second position, communicate at least one control signal of the one or more control signals to the motor;
- wherein the at least one control signal causes a duty cycle of the motor to systematically decrease.
A method of conserving power in a powered prosthetic device comprising a finger digit, a controller, and a motor configured to move the finger digit based at least in part on one or more control signals received from the controller, the method comprising:
- determining, based at least in part on a command signal, to move the finger digit from a first position to a second position, and
- based at least in part on a determination that the finger digit satisfies a location threshold with respect to the second position, communicating at least one control signal of the one or more control signals to the motor;
- wherein the at least one control signal causes a duty cycle of the motor to systematically decrease.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.