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AssigneeVanderbilt University
InventorsMatthew YANDELL, Chad ICE, Karl ZELIK
Estimating the term…
A wearable assistance device that comprises an upper-body interface, a lower-body interface, and at least one elastic member that couples the upper-body interface to the lower-body interface and is configured to provide an assistive force to the back of the wearer. An automatic clutch mechanism is coupled to the elastic member and is configured for selectively adjusting the assistive force provided by the elastic member. The automatic clutch mechanism may include cooperating spring-biased engagement features that are configured to self-engage. An actuator is provided for switching the clutch mechanism between engaged and disengaged modes. The spring-biased cooperating engagement features are configured to self-engage upon activation of the actuator such that the clutch mechanism is automatically engaged.
A wearable assistance device, comprising:
A method of using an automatic clutch mechanism of a wearable assistance device, the automatic clutch mechanism being coupled to at least one elastic member of the wearable assistance device that is configured to provide an assistive force to the back of the wearer and the clutch mechanism being configured for selectively adjusting the assistive force provided by the at least one elastic member, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.