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US 12,458,847 B2Granted
Amphibious exoskeleton propulsion footwear
OwnerMark Costin Roserinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of footwear to optimize propulsion while swimming in the water and walking on land, in particular, amphibious footwear capable of duty on land and in the water as well as versions that are optimized for predominantly use in the water for swimming. The exoskeleton amphibious footwear reduces metabolic demand of walking and swimming while also improving gait speed and swim speed. This is accomplished by assisting plantar flexion during land mode, and assisting dorsiflexion in water mode.
Claims25
A method of using an exoskeleton, the method comprising:
- attaching a base of the exoskeleton to a user's foot, the base comprising a flipper and a yoke;
- attaching the yoke to the user's leg above the user's ankle and below the user's knee;
- applying force to the yoke with the user's leg;
- and
- applying a dorsiflexion assisting torque between the yoke and the flipper with at least one spring in response to the force applied to the yoke with the user's leg.
2 more elements
A method of using an exoskeleton, the method comprising:
- attaching a base of the exoskeleton to a user's foot, the base comprising a flipper and a yoke configured to be attached to the user's leg above the user's ankle and below the user's knee;
- rotating the flipper between a swim mode and a land mode, wherein the flipper is disposed adjacent to the base in the swim mode and adjacent to the yoke and/or the user's shin in the land mode;
- applying force to the yoke with the user's leg;
- rotating the yoke in a sagittal plane of the user relative to the flipper in response to the applied force;
- and
- applying a dorsiflexion assisting torque between the yoke and the flipper with at least one spring in response to the force applied to the yoke with the user's leg when the flipper is in the swim mode;
- wherein rotating the yoke in the sagittal plane comprises rotating the yoke about a rotatable connection between the yoke and the base, wherein an axis of rotation of the rotatable connection is approximately aligned with an axis of rotation of the user's ankle in the sagittal plane of the user when the base is attached to the user's foot.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.