Print Email Facebook Twitter Gravity Balancing Flexure Spring Mechanisms for Shoulder Support in Assistive Orthoses Title Gravity Balancing Flexure Spring Mechanisms for Shoulder Support in Assistive Orthoses Author Tschiersky, Martin (University of Twente) Hekman, Edsko E.G. (University of Twente) Herder, J.L. (TU Delft Precision and Microsystems Engineering) Brouwer, Dannis M. (University of Twente) Department Precision and Microsystems Engineering Date 2022 Abstract Passive shoulder supports show large potential for a wide range of applications, such as assisting activities of daily living and supporting work-related tasks. The rigid-link architecture used in currently available devices, however, may pose an obstacle to finding designs that offer low protrusion and close-to-body alignment. This study explores the use of mechanisms that employ a flexible element which connects the supported arm to an attachment at the back and acts as energy storage, transmission and part of the load bearing structure. Based on the synthesis method explained in this paper, a large scope investigation into possible flexure-based mechanism topologies is conducted. Thereby, many potential designs are discovered, which are presented, categorized and compared. Two promising designs are developed into prototypes, and are built and tested on a dedicated test bench. These two mechanisms reduce the necessary moment to lift the arm by more than 80 % throughout 85 % of the range of motion, while staying within 18 cm and 10 cm distance from the body, respectively. The study indicates that, due to its lower protrusion and interface loads, a design with a tapered flexure connecting the upper arm via a hinge to a spring-loaded slider at the back offers the most promising solution. Subject Armsassistive orthosisBiomimeticsExoskeletonsflexure spring.Gravitygravity balancingKinematicsShouldershoulder supportSpringswearable device To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:0cb98b4c-d227-4096-ade7-0666ea470d2b DOI https://doi.org/10.1109/TMRB.2022.3155293 Embargo date 2023-07-01 ISSN 2576-3202 Source IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, 4 (2), 448-459 Bibliographical note Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public. Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2022 Martin Tschiersky, Edsko E.G. Hekman, J.L. Herder, Dannis M. Brouwer Files PDF Gravity_Balancing_Flexure ... thoses.pdf 8.43 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:0cb98b4c-d227-4096-ade7-0666ea470d2b/datastream/OBJ/view