Design of a Controlled Locking/Unlocking

Wrap Spring Clutch Knee Joint

Project Engineers: Derek Carr, Kevin Smyth, Dillon Younge

Project Co-Advisors: Dr. Anne Robertson, Dr. Nitin Sharma, Nicholas Kirsch

Introduction
Creating a system which would allow paraplegics to walk for a brief period would improve
their cardiovascular health, increase bone density, and stimulate their muscles. Such a
system would benefit millions of paraplegics worldwide. Many researchers, including those
here at the University of Pittsburgh, are trying to create such a system. In other labs, either
Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) or fully-powered orthosis systems have been
designed to achieve this. What makes our project unique is that it combines the use of a
motor for hip extension and flexion and FES to control extension and flexion at the knee.
However, the use of FES quickly leads to muscle fatigue. Our solution to minimize muscle
fatigue caused by FES during the gait cycle was to create a controllable locking/unlocking
knee joint. This knee joint will unlock to allow the knee to bend during the swing phase of
the gait cycle, but be able to lock to support the weight of a person during the stance phase.
While FES will still be used to extend the leg during the swing phase, it will no longer be
needed to lock the knee during the stance phase.

3
2

7
4

9
10
6
8

11

Figure 1: Gait Cycle with Clutch Condition

Project Objective
Overall Project:
The mechanism for the walking orthosis must meet the following criteria during a gait cycle:
Lock during standing to prevent knee buckling
Unlock at the start of the swing phase to allow both knee flexion and extension
Only allow knee extension and prevent hip flexion at the end of the swing phase
Lock at the end of swing phase and beginning of stance phase
Allow a controllable knee flexion during the stance phase
Our Scope:
Our specific objective was to design a one way wrap-spring clutch mechanism to lock and
unlock the knee joint during walking and standing via a linear actuator. The mechanism
must support the weight of a person to provide stability during standing or in the stance
phase.

Design
Based on our research, we discovered that the knee joint must withstand a minimum
of 0.6 N-m of torque for every kilogram of body mass [2]. Thus, for a 200 lb person,
the required torque was determined to be ~54 N-m.
The equations used to determine the gripping and overrunning torques
of the wrap spring clutch are shown below. As seen in these
equations, the number of active coils of the torsion spring and the
coefficient of friction between the spring and the arbors exponentially
influence the torques.

For the gripping direction, [1]

2 1 2
= 2

1
2
1 2
For the overrunning direction,
2 1
2
0 = 2
1

1 22
Where,
=
=
2 =
1 =
2 =
=
=

Design Components:
1. Thigh Bracket Connects to upper thigh portion of the existing frame. (actuator support is
bolted on)
2. Inner Cylinder Pressed and welded to thigh bracket with ease-of-weld flange design.
3. Linear Actuator Controls wrapped condition of Wrap Spring by actuation of the Control
Collar. Maximum actuation force of 24N with 20mm stroke.
4. Flanged Bushing Separates the Brackets and prevents binding from metal on metal
contact. Delrin resin polymer
5. Calf Arbor Hub Pressed and welded to Calf Bracket with ease-of-weld flange design.
6. Calf Bracket Connects to lower calf portion of the existing frame (near ankle).
7. Bushing Prevents friction and binding between the two, aluminum Arbor Hubs. Delrin
resin polymer
8. Wrap Spring Creates torque through interference with Arbor Hubs. Maximum torque of
112 N*m. 4 turns with 0.01 mm interference. End tangs fit into Control Collar and Thigh
Arbor Hub.
9. Control Collar Connects the control tang of the Wrap Spring to the Linear Actuator. SLA
3D Printed.
10. Thigh Arbor Hub Connects to Thigh Bracket by way of hex fit on Inner Cylinder. Fixes the
stationary tang of the Wrap Spring.
11. E-Clip Holds clutch components together.

Testing
When both the machining and assembly of the clutch were completed, the holding
torque (gripping torque) was tested. A spring scale was used to determine the
maximum torque that the clutch could handle. Based on the required torque of ~54 N-m
mentioned earlier, the clutch had to hold a minimum of ~40 lbs at a distance of one foot
from the pivot point. To test for this, the thigh bracket was clamped in a vice while the
calf bracket had a load of 40 lbs applied (at 12 inches from the center) and measured
with the spring scale.

Discussion and Conclusions

The wrap spring clutch knee joint we designed will be incorporated into the complete
walking orthosis in Dr. Sharmas lab. By locking during the stance phase and
supporting the weight of the user, the knee-joint will minimize the use of FES, thereby
limiting muscle fatigue. Our design is lighter and slimmer in profile than commercially
available wrap spring clutches. Future work to be completed on this design includes
incorporating the control system to lock/unlock the clutch via the linear actuator at
specific intervals in the gait cycle.

Bibliography
[1] Irby, Steven E., et al. "Optimization and Application of a Wrap-Spring." IEEE Transactions on
Rehabilitation Engineering June 1999: 130-134.
[2] Winter, David A. Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement. Fourth. Hoboken: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 2009.

Acknowledgements
Mr. Robert Powner, Ace Wire Spring & Form Company
Mr. Thorin Tobiassen, Swanson School of Engineering Machine Shop
Mr. Andrew Holmes, Swanson School of Engineering Machine Shop
Dr. Stephen Ludwick, Aerotech, Inc.