Design and Development of a Knee Mechanism for a Passive-Dynamic Walker

Passive-dynamic walkers are mechanical devices that walk down a slope without being propelled by motors or controllers. In this paper we present the design of two different knee mechanisms intended for use with such walkers. At first we developed a knee mechanism that uses permanent magnets to lock...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kalin TRIFONOV, Shuji HASHIMOTO
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers 2009-03-01
Series:Journal of Advanced Mechanical Design, Systems, and Manufacturing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jamdsm/3/1/3_1_76/_pdf/-char/en
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author Kalin TRIFONOV
Shuji HASHIMOTO
author_facet Kalin TRIFONOV
Shuji HASHIMOTO
author_sort Kalin TRIFONOV
collection DOAJ
description Passive-dynamic walkers are mechanical devices that walk down a slope without being propelled by motors or controllers. In this paper we present the design of two different knee mechanisms intended for use with such walkers. At first we developed a knee mechanism that uses permanent magnets to lock the knee in the extended position and conducted walking experiments with a planar passive-dynamic walker, which was built beforehand. The walker moved down an incline and we counted the steps that it made. After performing several hundred trials we developed our second knee mechanism featuring an active release from the extended position and performed the same experiments with the same walker outfitted with the new mechanism. We compared the results achieved with the two different knee mechanisms. The active mechanism made an increased number of successful walks down the slope from which we concluded that it is more reliable and easier to use and set up than the one with permanent magnets.
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spelling doaj.art-6b4791ac1fba4ce2b42762f7cf64517a2022-12-22T01:24:21ZengThe Japan Society of Mechanical EngineersJournal of Advanced Mechanical Design, Systems, and Manufacturing1881-30542009-03-0131768410.1299/jamdsm.3.76jamdsmDesign and Development of a Knee Mechanism for a Passive-Dynamic WalkerKalin TRIFONOV0Shuji HASHIMOTO1School of Science and Engineering, Waseda UniversitySchool of Science and Engineering, Waseda UniversityPassive-dynamic walkers are mechanical devices that walk down a slope without being propelled by motors or controllers. In this paper we present the design of two different knee mechanisms intended for use with such walkers. At first we developed a knee mechanism that uses permanent magnets to lock the knee in the extended position and conducted walking experiments with a planar passive-dynamic walker, which was built beforehand. The walker moved down an incline and we counted the steps that it made. After performing several hundred trials we developed our second knee mechanism featuring an active release from the extended position and performed the same experiments with the same walker outfitted with the new mechanism. We compared the results achieved with the two different knee mechanisms. The active mechanism made an increased number of successful walks down the slope from which we concluded that it is more reliable and easier to use and set up than the one with permanent magnets.https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jamdsm/3/1/3_1_76/_pdf/-char/enkneemechanismpassivewalkerdesign
spellingShingle Kalin TRIFONOV
Shuji HASHIMOTO
Design and Development of a Knee Mechanism for a Passive-Dynamic Walker
Journal of Advanced Mechanical Design, Systems, and Manufacturing
knee
mechanism
passive
walker
design
title Design and Development of a Knee Mechanism for a Passive-Dynamic Walker
title_full Design and Development of a Knee Mechanism for a Passive-Dynamic Walker
title_fullStr Design and Development of a Knee Mechanism for a Passive-Dynamic Walker
title_full_unstemmed Design and Development of a Knee Mechanism for a Passive-Dynamic Walker
title_short Design and Development of a Knee Mechanism for a Passive-Dynamic Walker
title_sort design and development of a knee mechanism for a passive dynamic walker
topic knee
mechanism
passive
walker
design
url https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jamdsm/3/1/3_1_76/_pdf/-char/en
work_keys_str_mv AT kalintrifonov designanddevelopmentofakneemechanismforapassivedynamicwalker
AT shujihashimoto designanddevelopmentofakneemechanismforapassivedynamicwalker