Abstract
When a person suffers from a loss of muscle mass, basic movements of his limbs can be harmed. This loss is called muscle atrophy and can exist in different degrees. In irreversible situations, exoskeletons are an option to bring back the ability to execute these lost movements. This work presents the design and modeling of a 3 DOF bilaterally static balanced exoskeleton for the upper limbs. The main feature of the mechanism lies in the passive switching between two springs in the elbow joint. Thus, the agonist/antagonist relationship is preserved and the workspace reached by the upper limb becomes larger if compared to the existing passive cable-driven exoskeletons. For the development of this work, gravity compensation techniques associated with Davies’ Method and virtual chains were used to obtain the equilibrium equations of the mechanism.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brazil, and CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brazil, for the financial support.
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Victorette, A.W.D.B., Simas, H., de Souza Vieira, R., da Silva, E.S., Martins, D. (2023). Modeling and Design of a Bilaterally Statically Balanced Passive Exoskeleton. In: Okada, M. (eds) Advances in Mechanism and Machine Science. IFToMM WC 2023. Mechanisms and Machine Science, vol 147. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45705-0_74
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