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Clutch Mechanism for Ankle Exoskeleton
Hi,
I am designing a passive ankle exoskeleton with a spring in parallel with the calf ****** to provide a torque assist during walk. A clutch mechanism is needed to engage and disengage the spring during the different phases of gait, to be able to time the release of energy at the end of the stance phase and at the same time allow free rotation of the ankle during the swing phase (disengaged position).
The mechanism is a two tier pawl (orange part) with a ratchet gear (blue part) with is attached to the foot plate (dark green part). An Engagement Arm (bright green part), when moved by two timing screws (represented by the 2 gray cylinders), pushes the pawl back to disengage the mechanism. The pawl is constantly pushed against the ratchet gear thanks to a spring.
I'm struggling to keep the engagement arm up so that the mechanism stays in the disengaged position, allowing free rotation of the ankle, until the other timing screw pushes the Engagement Arm down.
Should I modify the whole thing to place a detent pin? or is there a simpler solution?
Thank you in advance for any help/insight.
If any precision is needed, let me know.