Nintendo improves upon another creator's patent for a passive walking apparatus

Nintendo has quite the history with unique and interesting patents, and that legacy continues today with a patent that improves a passive walking apparatus. The original patent was filed in the US in May 2017, and isn't tied to video games in any way.

Again, this is Nintendo improving upon a patent that was not filed by them. The original idea came from researchers at Nagoya Institute of Technology back in 2011. This piece of tech aims to help carry heavy items via legs rather than wheels, which helps it travel more types of terrain and deal with various obstacles in the way. This patent doesn't require any electric energy source, and instead has the user simply push it along.

What did Nintendo improve upon for their update to the patent? Nintendo's idea offers a method of coordination for the legs via cogs and cranks. Nintendo's idea helps the device move about with a greater amount of stability.

Why Nintendo felt the need to jump in on this patent with an improvement is unknown. We also have no idea if Nintendo is planning further interaction with/ideas for the patent. No matter what, it's pretty interesting to see Nintendo spending some of their time working on products like this, which could eventually be used to help those with disabilities or those unable to do heavy lifting due to age/size.