Patent ID: 8409117

Claim:
A wearable device to assist with the movement of limbs connected at a joint, the device comprising: a linear actuator having a motor that is capable of generating linear motion in a controlled and incremental manner by converting rotary motion, a first limb fastener for attaching to a first limb and a second limb fastener for attaching to a second limb, the limb fasteners being exclusively interconnected by the linear actuator's respective distal ends; the combination of the limb fasteners and the linear actuator configured such that linear motion generated by the linear actuator imparts an active force to move and pivot the limbs about the joint, wherein the active force exclusively augments voluntary limb movement; a load cell configured to measure a force applied to the linear actuator; a potentiometer configured to measure the displacement of the linear actuator when linear motion is generated; and a microcontroller unit for processing the force and displacement measurements, wherein when a measured change of force applied by the limbs to the linear actuator is greater than a pre-defined stationary threshold, the microcontroller unit activates the linear actuator to generate a linear motion correlated to the measured change of force above the stationary threshold and the displacement, thereby providing an assistive force.