Design and Analysis of a Novel Lightweight, Energy Economic Powered Knee Orthotic Device

The task of a powered knee orthotic device (PKOD) is to assist the knee joint so that its natural behavior can be restored. The key features of a PKOD that may help to regain such characteristics are low power consumption, fast response, compactness, and lightweight. This study proposes a novel design of PKOD, where we have focused on the betterment of the mentioned features with the help of a new mechanism, namely a four-bar controlled compliance actuator (FCCA). In FCCA, instead of using the widely used screw transmission mechanism, a four-bar mechanism is used to modify the joint's angular deviation and stiffness. The main advantages of using FCCA over other existing mechanisms are to reduce the power consumption by amplification of input motor torque and to achieve a faster response at the same time, and these are achieved by utilizing a simple four-bar mechanism. In the proposed design, FCCA controls both the stiffness of the artificial knee joint using a compliance mechanism as well as knee flexion with the help of a pulley arrangement. A three-dimensional (3D)-printed prototype of the proposed design has been developed, after optimizing the inherent design parameters. Simulation and experimental analysis are carried out in order to justify the performance of the proposed PKOD. The results have shown strong agreement with that obtained using analytical study and optimization. Moreover, the torque amplification is achieved, as desired.