Samsung · Battery & power · Filed Mar 27, 2026 · USPTO published Nov 12, 2026 · This week's release

Samsung Patents a Leg-Assist Wearable That Won't Power Up Until It's Strapped On Right

Samsung's walking-assist wearable has a motor that pushes on your legs, so this patent has the device confirm the straps are snug before the motor is allowed to move. It treats a loose strap as a safety problem.

By Patentlyze Team · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · 3 min read

A motorized hip and leg frame helps a person walk by applying assistive force to the thighs. Drawing from patent filing US 2026/0355042 A1. — A motorized hip and leg frame helps a person walk by applying assistive force to the thighs.All 12 drawings ↓

Publication number: US 2026/0355042 A1(US20260355042A1)
Applicant: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Filed · Published: Mar 27, 2026 · Nov 12, 2026
Inventors: Taehyun LEE
Status when we published: Waiting for an examiner
Document: 20 claims
US classification: 601/5
Parent application: Continuation of PCT/KR2024/014714 (filed Sep 27, 2024)(PCTKR2024014714)

What Samsung's strap-checking wearable does

Every time you strap on a walking-assist wearable, a few belts are all that stand between a motor's push and your thighs. If a strap is loose, some of that push gets lost instead of moving your leg.

Samsung's patent application adds pressure sensors to the inside of the thigh straps. Until those sensors feel firm contact, the device stays in an idle mode where the motor is not allowed to produce force. If the contact is too light, it buzzes or speaks a prompt asking you to re-fit it.

The filing also describes checking while you exercise, since straps loosen as you move. Some versions even tighten the straps on their own.

From the filing · THE ABSTRACT

… changing the operating mode of the wearable device to an active mode in response to a determination that the wearable device is properly worn by the user.

Translation: The motor only turns on after the system confirms it is strapped on right.

How the thigh straps tell the motor to start

Claim 1 describes a motorized wearable that pushes or pulls on your legs. It has a driving module (the motor), a torque transmission frame (a rigid arm that carries the motor's twisting force to your leg), and a thigh fastener (the strap that holds that arm to your thigh).

The new piece is a pressure sensor on the side of the thigh fastener that faces your body. A processor reads it and decides whether the device is worn properly. In the described version, a reading above a reference value counts as snug and a reading at or below it counts as loose. Until the check passes, the device sits in an idle mode, where the motor can't produce force. Once it passes, it switches to an active mode, where an exercise program or a user command can start the motor.

If the fit fails, the device can vibrate or play a voice prompt asking you to re-fit it. During use it keeps watching, using the pressure sensor and, optionally, a torque sensor (which measures the motor's twisting force), because a gap under a strap changes both readings.

The filing also describes some extras:

A second pressure sensor in the lower-back base to check the waist side.
Optional self-tightening adjusters, using air pressure or a motor-and-wire dial, that tighten the thigh and waist straps until the pressure reads right.
Detecting when you take the device off, then returning it to idle.

Why a loose strap is a safety problem here

Anything that pushes on your body needs to be strapped on correctly, and most people won't notice a slightly loose strap. This filing moves that check from your judgment to the device. In practice that could mean less fiddling before each session and less of the motor's effort leaking away through a gap.

The description is plain about the motive: proper fit matters for safety and ease of use. It also ties the idea into a wider setup, with prompts through earphones, a smartwatch or a phone, and automatic exercise suggestions once the fit is right. As a patent application, it describes an idea, not a product you can buy.

Samsung's 46th entry in our battery & power coverage since May joins earlier applications like the crooked phone wireless charging fix and the side-agnostic health ring.

Editorial take

Claim 1 is short, and that makes it broad in one direction. It needs a motor, a frame that carries torque to a leg, a thigh strap, one pressure sensor between that strap and the leg, and a processor that switches the device to an active mode once it judges the fit to be right.

Notice what the claim leaves out. It names no specific pressure threshold, no voice prompt, no lower-back sensor and no self-tightening strap; those appear only in the later claims. If it were granted as written, any motorized leg wearable that gates its active mode on thigh-strap pressure would fall within its wording, however the fit is judged.

The limit is the thigh sensor itself. A design that judged fit only by torque readings or a lower-back sensor would sit outside claim 1. Overall it is a sensible, modest safety feature wrapped around a fairly wide core idea.

Source: US 2026/0355042 A1 at the USPTO (PDF). Full patent text and figures are in the official publication.

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The drawings · 12 sheets

12 drawing sheets from US 2026/0355042 A1 · click any drawing to enlarge

A person walking while wearing the leg assist device, drawing sheet 1 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 1 A person walking while wearing the leg assist device

Connected gadgets and servers that link to the wearable, drawing sheet 2 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 2 Connected gadgets and servers that link to the wearable

Rear view of the waist frame and leg supports, drawing sheet 3 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 3 Rear view of the waist frame and leg supports

Side view showing how the frame straps onto a leg, drawing sheet 4 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 4 Side view showing how the frame straps onto a leg

Internal parts that power and control the wearable, drawing sheet 5 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 5 Internal parts that power and control the wearable

Built in sensors that track pressure, torque, and movement, drawing sheet 6 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 6 Built in sensors that track pressure, torque, and movement

How the phone app exchanges commands and sensor data, drawing sheet 7 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 7 How the phone app exchanges commands and sensor data

Checking whether the straps are secure before starting exercises, drawing sheet 8 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 8 Checking whether the straps are secure before starting exercises

Show the other 4 sheets

Sensors placed along the thigh straps and waist support, drawing sheet 9 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 9 Sensors placed along the thigh straps and waist support

Checking fit and belt tightness during a workout, drawing sheet 10 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 10 Checking fit and belt tightness during a workout

Motorized adjusters on the side of the leg frame, drawing sheet 11 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 11 Motorized adjusters on the side of the leg frame

How the system verifies fit before activating leg power, drawing sheet 12 from US 2026/0355042 A1 — Sheet 12 How the system verifies fit before activating leg power

The drawings · 12 sheets

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