ON THE DESIGN OF THE NOVEL PNEUMATIC POWER ASSISTED LOWER LIMB FOR OUTDOOR WALKING

In previous researches, a novel portable pneumatic power source, called a Dry Ice Power Cell, and a novel pneumatic power assisted lower limb for outdoor walking powered by Dry Ice Power Cell, called a DPAL were developed. In this paper, an improvement in design of the DPAL is presented. For those people whose muscle and balance remains in good condition but who have joint pain (hip or knee joint) in their leg and are unable to walk outdoors for long, the developed device can partially lift the patient in a comfortable way by pneumatic cylinder when the affected leg touches the floor, reducing the load to which it is subject as well as the pain joint forces, thus relieving pain during walking. The developed device has the characteristics of a simple structure, low weight, easy to don and doff, and with sufficient capability to bear about 40% of the body weight. In this paper, the structure, function and experiments are described.