Granted Patent B2

US 12,636,218 · App. 18/594,930 · Granted May 26, 2026

Inventors: Luke Mooney (Sudbury, MA); Jean-François Duval (Belmont, MA); Rachel Harris (Cambridge, MA); Jonathan Kaplan (Waltham, MA)

A61H3/00A61H2003/007A61H2201/1207A61H2201/1642A61H2201/165A61H2201/5061A61H2201/5064A61H2201/5069A61H2201/5079A61H2201/5082A61H2201/5084A61H2230/605A61H2230/625

Abstract

Claims (43)

1 . A method, comprising:

determining, by one or more processors coupled with memory, a temperature of an exoskeleton for a limb including at least one of a foot or an ankle of a user during a first movement of one or more movements; and

increasing, by the one or more processors and based on the temperature, a level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton for a second movement of the one or more movements of the limb using the exoskeleton,

wherein an amount of power used by a battery of the exoskeleton during the second movement is less than an amount of power used by the battery during the first movement.

2 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining, by the one or more processors, that the temperature of the exoskeleton is greater than a threshold.

3 . The method of claim 2 , comprising:

decreasing, by the one or more processors responsive to the determination that the temperature is greater than the threshold, the level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton for the one or more movements.

4 . The method of claim 2 , comprising:

capping, by the one or more processors responsive to the determination that the temperature is greater than the threshold, the level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton for the one or more movements.

5 . The method of claim 2 , comprising:

increasing, by the one or more processors responsive to the determination that the temperature is greater than the threshold, an amount of torque generated about an axis of rotation of an ankle joint of the user.

6 . The method of claim 2 , comprising:

decreasing, by the one or more processors responsive to the determination that the temperature is greater than the threshold, an amount of torque generated about an axis of rotation of an ankle joint of the user.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the temperature of the exoskeleton comprises a temperature of a plurality of battery cells of the exoskeleton.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the temperature of the exoskeleton is responsive to movement of the limb using the exoskeleton.

9 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data from the exoskeleton.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the exoskeleton comprises one or more temperature sensors.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the one or more temperature sensors are disposed between a plurality of battery cells.

12 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

controlling, by the one or more processors and based on the temperature, electrical power applied to a motor of the exoskeleton to modify the level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton.

13 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining, by the one or more processors, a metric indicative of a level of collaboration between the user and the exoskeleton during the first movement of the one or more movements based on a combination of one or more biomechanical measurements of the user during the first movement of the limb using the exoskeleton and one or more parameters of the exoskeleton;

determining, by the one or more processors, that the metric indicative of the level of collaboration between the user and the exoskeleton is less than a threshold; and

increasing, by the one or more processors responsive to the determination that the metric is less than the threshold, the level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton for the second movement of the one or more movements subsequent to the first movement.

14 . The method of claim 13 , comprising:

controlling, by the one or more processors, the level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton for the second movement such that the level of mechanical power in the second movement is greater than the level of mechanical power in the first movement.

15 . The method of claim 13 , comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data from the exoskeleton;

wherein the sensor data includes data corresponding to at least one of motion, force, torque, temperature, speed, gait transitions, or angle measurements.

16 . The method of claim 13 , comprising:

determining, by the one or more processors, a second metric indicative of a level of collaboration between the user and the exoskeleton during a third movement of the one or more movements subsequent to the second movement; and

determining, by the one or more processors responsive to increasing the level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton for the third movement, that the second metric indicative of the level of collaboration between the user and the exoskeleton during the third movement is greater than the threshold.

17 . A device, comprising:

a processor coupled to memory, the processor configured to:

determine a temperature of an exoskeleton for a limb including at least one of a foot or an ankle of a user during a first movement of one or more movements; and

increase, based on the temperature, a level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton for a second movement of the one or more movements of the limb using the exoskeleton,

wherein an amount of power used by a battery of the exoskeleton during the second movement is less than an amount of power used by the battery during the first movement.

18 . The device of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine that the temperature of the exoskeleton is greater than a threshold.

19 . The device of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

control, based on the temperature, electrical power applied to a motor of the exoskeleton to modify the level of mechanical power generated by the exoskeleton.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (277)