US 12,239,599 B2
Movement assistance apparatus and movement assistance system
Hiroaki Kawamura, Nagoya (JP); Mashio Taniguchi, Toyota (JP); and Naoya Hashidate, Toyota (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Aichi-Ken (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Aichi-ken (JP)
Filed on Jan. 9, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/151,471.
Claims priority of application No. 2022-018933 (JP), filed on Feb. 9, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0248605 A1, Aug. 10, 2023
Int. Cl. A61H 3/06 (2006.01)
CPC A61H 3/061 (2013.01) [A61H 3/068 (2013.01); A61H 2003/063 (2013.01); A61H 2201/5064 (2013.01); A61H 2201/5079 (2013.01); A61H 2201/5084 (2013.01); A61H 2201/5092 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A movement assistance apparatus to be provided in a movement assistance device and configured to execute a movement assistance operation for assisting movement of a user, the movement assistance apparatus comprising a mode switching control unit configured to switch, based on a magnitude of a surrounding risk on the movement of the user, a power mode between a normal mode in which the movement assistance operation is executable and a power saving mode in which a power consumption is smaller than a power consumption in the normal mode, wherein a condition for setting the power mode to the power saving mode includes a condition that the surrounding risk satisfies a predetermined low-risk condition;
a risk index acquisition unit configured to acquire a risk index correlated to the magnitude of the surrounding risk on the movement of the user, wherein the surrounding risk satisfies the predetermined low-risk condition when the risk index acquired by the risk index acquisition unit is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold; and
wherein: the surrounding risk is related to approaches of one or more vehicles to the user;
the risk index acquisition unit includes:
one or more resonance devices configured to resonate with sounds emitted by the one or more vehicles approaching the user;
one or more power generation devices configured to generate electric power along with resonances of the one or more resonance devices; and
one or more detection devices configured to detect physical quantities related to power generations of the one or more power generation devices; and
the surrounding risk satisfies the predetermined low-risk condition when each of the physical quantities detected by the one or more detection devices is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold.