• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.165-171
• /
• 2016

A prosthetic knee for above-knee (AK) amputee is categorized into passive and active type. The passive prosthetic knee is generally made by elastic material. Although AK amputee can easily walk by using passive prosthetic leg, knee joint motions are not similar to ordinary persons. The active prosthetic leg can control the knee angle owing to the actuator and microprocessor. However, the active type is not cost-effective and the stability may be lost due to the malfunction of sensors. In order to resolve these disadvantages of passive and active type, a semi-active prosthetic knee which can control the knee angle is proposed in this work. The proposed semi-active one requires a less input energy but provides active type performance. In order to achieve this goal, in this work, a semi-active prosthetic knee using magneto-rheological (MR) damper for AK amputees is designed. The MR damper can support the weight of body by using less energy than actuator of active prosthetic. It can control knee angle by inducing the magnetic field at the time of stance phase. This salient characteristic is evaluated and presented in this work.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2000.10a
• /
• pp.244-244
• /
• 2000

We proposed the above-knee prosthesis using rotary MR damper in which knee joint is semi-actively controlled by microprocessor. Dissipation torque in the knee joint can be controlled by the magnetic field which is induced by applying current to a solenoid, Tracking control of knee joint angle was tested by 3-DOF Leg simulator. The experimental results show that the proposed above-knee prosthesis system had good performance in swing phase tracking and repetitive controller in conjunction with a computed control law and PD control law, reduced RMS tracking error as the repetitions of tracking. Moreover, desired knee angle trajectory was generated based on the estimation of gait period with the gyro signal and the tracking control was performed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.188-193
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this paper is to develop a more precise damper model of the joint for the quantification of the joint mechanical properties. We modified the linear damper model of a knee joint model to nonlinear one. The normalized RMS errors between the simulated and measured joint angle trajectories during passive pendulum test became smaller with the nonlinear damper model than those of the linear one which indicates the nonlinear damper model is better in precision and accuracy. The error between the experimental and simulated knee joint moment also reduced with the nonlinear damper model. The reduction in both the trajectory error and the moment error was significant at the latter part of the pendulum test where the joint angular velocity was small. The nonlinearity of the damper was significantly greater at thin subject group and this indicates the nonlinearity is a useful index of joint mechanical properties.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.579-585
• /
• 2010

In this paper, an assistive device for a knee joint to help a disabled person to stand up by supporting power is presented. The device is designed and controlled by using damping characteristics of the MR (Magneto-Rheological) damper. The MR damper helps the person to sit slowly and safely. A DC motor supports muscle power in the case of standing motion. Thus the device helps the disabled person to sit down and stand up. Through the experiments, it is feasible that an assistive device can help the disabled person to standup according to the foot pressure change.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.275-296
• /
• 2016

This paper focuses on developing a new configuration on magnetorheological (MR) brake damper as prosthetic knee. Prosthetic knee uses magnetic fields to vary the viscosity of the MR fluid, and thereby its flexion resistance. Exerted transmissibility torque of the knee greatly depends on the magnetic field intensity in the MR fluid. In this study a rotary damper using MR fluid is addressed in which a single rotary disc will act as a brake while MR fluid is activated by magnetic field in different walking gait. The main objective of this study is to investigate a prosthetic knee with one activating rotary disc to accomplish necessary braking torque in walking gait via T-shaped drum with arc surface boundary and implementing of Newton's equation of motion to derive generated torque at the inner surface of the rotary drum. For this purpose a novel configuration of a T-shaped drum based on the effects of a material deformation process is proposed. In this new design, the T-shaped disc will increase the effective areas of influences in between drum and MR fluid together and the arc wall crushes the particles chains (fibrils) of the MR fluid together instead of breaking them via strain in a conventional MR brake. To verify the proposed MR brake, results of the proposed and conventional MR brakes are compared together and demonstrated that the resisting torque of the proposed MR brake is almost two times greater than that of the conventional brake.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.685-694
• /
• 2001

In this study, a transfemoral prosthesis system of which both stance phase and swing phase are controllable has been developed for the recovery of the biomechanical function of the amputated leg. It consists of a 5 bar link mechanism, a hydraulic-rubber knee damper for stance phase control and a pneumatic cylinder controlled via a microprocessor for stance phase control. The mechanical characteristics of the knee damper which absorbs the impact energy generated at the heel contact were investigated. The characteristics of the pneumatic cylinder essential for the speed adaptation of the prosthesis during swing phase were also studied for its mechanical characteristics. The prosthesis was subject to the clinical tests, and the gait characteristics obtained were very close to those of normal subjects. The stance and swing controlled prosthesis that were developed in this study showed good stability during the stance phase and showed good controllability during the swing phase.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2000.11a
• /
• pp.504-509
• /
• 2000

In this study, a transfemoral prosthesis system of which stance phase and swing phase are controlled during walking has been developed for the recovery of the biomechanical function of the amputated leg. It consists of a 5 bar link mechanism, a hydraulic-rubber knee damper for stance phase control and a pneumatic cylinder controlled via a microprocessor for stance phase control. The mechanical characteristics and behaviour of the knee damper which absorbs the impact energy generated at the heel contact was investigated. The characteristics of the pneumatic cylinder essential for the speed adaptation of the prosthesis during swing phase was also studied for its mechanical characteristics. The prosthesis was subject to the clinical test ant the gait characteristics obtained were very close to those of normal. The stance and swing controlled prosthesis that were developed in this study showed good stability during the stance phase and showed good controllability during the swing phase.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.1-21
• /
• 2014

Knee Braced Frame (KBF) is a special form of ductile eccentrically braced frame having a diagonal brace connected to a knee element, as a hysteretic damper, instead of beam-column joint. This paper first presents an experimental investigation on cyclic performance of two knee braced single span one-story frame specimens. The general test arrangement, specimen details, and most relevant results (failure modes and hysteretic curves) are explained. Some indexes to assess the seismic performance of KBFs, including ductility; response reduction factor and energy dissipation capabilities are also subsequently discussed. Experimental results indicate that the maximum equivalent damping ratios achieved by test frames are 21.8 and 23% for the specimens, prior to failure. Finally, a simplified analytical model is derived to predict the bilinear behavior of the KBFs. Acceptable conformity between analytical and experimental results proves the accuracy of the proposed model.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.64-73
• /
• 2013

The purposes of this study were to develop a new orthosis controlling ankle and knee joint motion during the gait cycle and to identify the effects of the newly designed orthosis on gait kinematics and tempospatial parameters, including coordination of the extremities in stroke patients. Fifteen individuals who had sustained a stroke, onset was 16 months, participated in this study. Before application of the measurement equipment the subjects were accustomed to walking on the ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) or stance control knee with knee flexion assisted-oil damper ankle-foot orthosis (SCKAFO) for 5 minutes. Fifteen patients were investigated for 45 days with a 3-day interval between sessions. Measurements were walking in fifteen stroke with hemiparesis on the 3D motion analysis system. Comparison of AFO and SCKAFO are gait pattern. The difference between the AFO and SCKAFO conditions was significant in the gait velocity, step length of the right affected side, stance time of both legs, step-length asymmetry ratio, single-support-time asymmetry ratio, ${\phi}$-thigh angle and ${\phi}$-shank angle in the mid swing (p<.001). Using a SCKAFO in stroke patients has shown similar to normal walking speeds can be attained for walking efficiency and is therefore desirable. In this study, the support time of the affected leg with the SCKAFO was longer than with the AFO and the asymmetry ratio of single support time decreased by more than with the AFO. This indicates that the SCKAFO was effective for improving gait symmetry, single-support-time symmetry. This may be due to the decrease of gait asymmetry. Thus, the newly designed SCKAFO may be useful for promoting gait performance by improving the coordination of the extremity and decreasing gait asymmetry in chronic stroke patients.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2001

본 연구의 목적은 대퇴부가 절단된 다리의 생체 역학적 기능을 복구할 수 있게 하는 의지의 개발을 위하여 5축 링크, 슬관절 완충장치를 사용하여 보행시 입각기를 제어할 수 있는 대퇴 의지 시스템 개발에 있다. 이를 위하여 입각기시 대퇴의지와 지면간 접촉 중 충격 에너지 흡수를 하는 슬관절 완충장치의 기계적 특성 및 거동을 분석하였다. 임상시험을 통하여 개발된 대퇴의지의 성능을 검증한 결과 대퇴 절단 피검자들의 보행특성은 정상인의 보행에 근접한 경향을 보였다. 결론적으로 본 연구에서 개발된 입각기 대퇴의지는 입각기시 현저한 보행 안전성을 보였다.