Patent ID: 9682006
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: A61G,A61H,A61N

Claim:
1. A method of controlling an apparatus comprising an exoskeleton system having a plurality of sensors for generating signals indicating a current motion and a current arrangement of at least the exoskeleton system, a hip segment, and at least one lower limb segment, the at least one lower limb segment comprising a thigh segment and a shank segment for coupling to a lateral surface of a leg of a user, a first powered joint for providing motion of the thigh segment relative to the hip segment, and a second powered joint providing motion of the shank segment relative to the thigh segment, the plurality of sensors being disposed at least at both the first powered joint and the second powered joint, the method comprising: receiving the signals from the plurality of sensors, the signals comprising angles of each hip joint, each knee joint, and each thigh segment with respect to a vertical direction corresponding to a gravity vector in a sagittal plane; determining a current state of the exoskeleton within a state map based on the signals; inferring a current intent of the user based on at least the current state of the exoskeleton; determining a next state of the state map for the exoskeleton based at least on the current state and the current intent; and generating control signals to cause the exoskeleton to transition to the next state.