Torque control characterization of a rotary series elastic actuator for knee rehabilitation

Author

dos Santos, Walbermark M. ; Caurin, Glauco A. P. ; Siqueira, Adriano A. G.

Author_Institution

Center for Robot. of Sao Carlos, Univ. of Sao Paulo, Sao Carlos, Brazil

fYear

2013

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

6

Abstract

This paper presents the evaluation of a rotary Series Elastic Actuator (SEA) designed to assist in flexion/extension of the knee joint during physical therapy. The proposed device includes a DC motor, a worm gear and a customized torsion spring. Since the elastic element is the most important component in the SEA design, an analysis procedure based on Finite Element Method (FEM) is used in order to meet the specific requirements of knee assistance. With a total weight of 2.53 kg, it is possible to directly mount the actuator on a knee orthosis frame. Torque controller is implemented to ensure secure interaction with the patient and enable new strategies for rehabilitation. The design specifications as well as the controllers performance are verified by experiments.

Keywords

actuators; finite element analysis; orthotics; patient rehabilitation; torque control; DC motor; FEM; SEA; customized torsion spring; elastic element; finite element method; knee assistance; knee joint flexion-extension; knee orthosis frame; knee rehabilitation; mass 2.53 kg; physical therapy; rotary series elastic actuator; torque control characterization; worm gear; Actuators; Finite element analysis; Joints; Knee; Springs; Stress; Torque;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Advanced Robotics (ICAR), 2013 16th International Conference on

Conference_Location

Montevideo

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICAR.2013.6766567

Filename

6766567