JP4110113B2 - Walking aids - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a walking assistance device including a thigh brace that is worn on a user's thigh, a lower leg brace that is worn on a lower leg, and a foot brace that is worn on a foot.

  In order to demonstrate the leg strength beyond human ability, the power assist leg fixed along the thigh and the power assist leg fixed along the lower leg are pivotally supported at the bent part corresponding to the knee position. A device in which the bent portion is bent and stretched by a driving source such as a motor is known from Patent Document 1 below.

  In addition, the moment generator provided on the waist and the moment generator provided on the knee are connected by a beam along the thigh to assist the walking and exercise of the elderly and sick, and the moment generator provided on the knee Patent Document 2 below discloses that the moment generating portion provided on the ankle and the ankle joint are connected by a beam along the lower leg and the hip joint, knee joint and ankle joint are bent and stretched by the moment generated by the moment generating portion. .

In addition, the pelvic trunk support mechanism fixed to the waist and the foot part supporting the foot are connected by a strut along both sides of the leg, and the lower member and the upper member are connected by a link so that the walking handicapped person can walk. Patent Document 3 below discloses a structure in which a strut length variable mechanism that is approached and separated by an air cylinder is provided on the bottom surface of the foot.
JP 2003-250844 A JP 2003-220102 A JP-A-9-173398

  By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional one, there is a possibility that the weight of the brace may be added to the leg to the user, so that not only the burden on the user is increased and the assist effect due to power may be reduced, but also the ankle of the user Since there is no degree of freedom of the joint or only the degree of freedom around the left and right axis, the free bending of the ankle joint may be hindered, and smooth walking may be difficult.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to prevent the weight of walking assistive devices from being a burden on the user and to prevent the degree of freedom of bending of the user's ankle joint from being hindered. To do.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a thigh brace to be worn on the user's thigh, a crus brace to be worn on the lower leg, and a foot worn. In the walking assistance device including the foot orthosis, the thigh orthosis, the lower leg orthosis and the foot orthosis are connected to each other so that the weight of the thigh orthosis and the lower leg orthosis is transmitted from the foot orthosis to the floor surface. It includes left and right-axis coupling means for allowing the rotation around lateral axis of the foot, and the foot orthosis or the lower leg brace is provided with a vertical-axis coupling means for allowing the rotation around the vertical axis of the user's foot The vertical axis connecting means includes a sliding member that fits outside the user's lower leg, and a connecting member that is connected to a member of the foot orthosis, along the rear curved portion of the sliding member. By connecting the connecting members in a slidable manner, Walking assistance device, characterized in that it allows the rotation around the lower shaft is proposed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the foot orthosis includes the front-rear axis connecting means for allowing the user's foot to rotate about the front-rear axis, A walking assistance device is proposed in which the axis, the vertical axis, and the front-rear axis intersect at the position of the user's ankle .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the walking includes a thigh brace attached to the user's thigh, a lower leg brace attached to the lower leg, and a foot orthosis attached to the foot. In the auxiliary orthosis, the foot orthosis includes a left-right axis connecting means that allows the user's foot to rotate about the left-right axis, and the foot orthosis or the lower leg orthosis supports the upper-lower axis that allows the user's foot to rotate about the vertical axis. The foot orthosis includes a front-rear axis connecting means that allows the user's foot to rotate about the front-rear axis, and the left-right axis, the vertical axis, and the front-rear axis are the positions of the user's ankles. And the connecting means connected to the outside of the user's lower leg part and a connecting member connected to the member of the foot orthosis, and the rear curve of the sliding member By slidably connecting the connecting member along the portion, the user's Walking assistance device is proposed which is characterized in allowing the rotation around the vertical axis.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or third aspect , the foot orthosis further comprises an adjusting means for adjusting a vertical position relative to the lower leg orthosis. Auxiliary orthosis is proposed.

According to the invention described in claim 5 , in addition to the structure of claim 1 or claim 3 , an actuator provided on the foot orthosis to rotate the user's foot around the left-right axis is provided. A featured walking aid is proposed.

According to the invention described in claim 6 , in addition to the configuration of claim 1 or claim 3 , both left and right end portions of the lower leg brace that are opened in a U-shape toward the rear, and a U-shape toward the front A walking assistance device is proposed in which the left and right ends of the sliding member of the foot orthosis that are opened in a detachable manner are detachably coupled.

Incidentally, in response to the lateral axis around coupling means of the fulcrum pins 34 present invention embodiment, the fulcrum pins 30 of the real施例corresponds to longitudinal axis around connection means of the invention, the upper member of the foot orthosis of Example 26 Corresponds to the member of the foot orthosis of the present invention, and the bolt 29 of the embodiment corresponds to the adjusting means of the present invention.

  According to the configuration of claim 1, the thigh brace, the lower leg brace, and the foot brace of the walking assist brace are connected to each other so that the weight of the femoral brace and the lower leg brace is transmitted from the leg brace to the floor surface. The burden can be reduced by eliminating the need to support the weight of the brace with the strength of the leg of the user. In addition, the foot orthosis has a left and right axis connecting means that allows the user's foot to rotate about the left and right axis, and the foot orthosis or the lower leg orthosis allows the user's foot to rotate about the vertical axis. Since it has a connecting means, it is possible not only to twist the toes up and down around the left and right axis, but also to twist the toes around the up and down axis in the left and right direction, increasing the flexibility of the ankle joint and walking Can be easily.

According to the configuration of claim 2, the left and right axis connecting means for allowing the foot to rotate about the left and right axis, the vertical axis connecting means for allowing the foot to rotate about the vertical axis, and the foot about the front and rear axis And the left and right axis, the vertical axis and the front and rear axis intersect at the position of the ankle, so that the degree of freedom of the ankle joint is almost completely ensured and walking is further improved. It can be made easier .

According to the configuration of claim 3 , the foot orthosis comprises a left-right axis connecting means for allowing the user's foot to turn about the left-right axis, and a front-rear axis connecting means for allowing the user to turn about the front-rear axis. Since the foot orthosis or lower leg orthosis has a vertical axis connecting means that allows the user's foot to rotate about the vertical axis, not only twist the toe up and down around the left and right axis, but also move the toe up and down It is possible to twist the foot in the left-right direction or twist the sole in the left-right direction around the front-rear axis, and the left-right axis, the vertical axis, and the front-rear axis intersect at the position of the ankle. Almost completely secured to make walking even easier.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the vertical position of the leg brace with respect to the leg brace can be adjusted by the adjusting means, the walking assist brace can be fitted to users having different leg lengths. It is possible to improve the wearing feeling.

According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, since the user's foot is rotated around the left and right axes by the actuator provided on the foot orthosis, walking can be assisted by moving the ankle joint by the driving force of the actuator.

According to the configuration of the sixth aspect , the left and right ends of the lower leg device that are opened in a U shape toward the rear and the left and right ends of the foot device that are opened in a U shape toward the front are detachably coupled. Therefore, it is easy to attach and detach the lower leg orthosis and foot orthosis.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a walking assistance device, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a state where the walking assistance device is mounted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a walking assistance device that is attached to a human leg and assists walking is an assembly of a plurality of press-molded metal plates, a thigh device 11 that is attached to the thigh, and a lower part. It comprises a lower leg device 12 to be attached to the thigh and a foot device 13 to be attached to the foot.

  The thigh orthosis 11 that opens rearward includes a U-shaped first portion 11a positioned at the upper end, a U-shaped second portion 11b positioned at the lower end, and first and second portions extending vertically. And a third portion 11c for connecting the front surfaces of 11a and 11b. The thigh orthosis 11 is attached to the thigh from the front, and is a fixing device including a pair of buckles 35a and 35a attached to the first portion 11a and a cloth belt 35b inserted through the buckles 35a and 35a. It is fixed at 35. The belt 35b can be easily attached and detached with a hook-and-loop fastener.

  The lower leg brace 12 that opens rearward is composed of an upper member 15, intermediate members 16 and 16, and a lower member 17 that are integrally joined. The upper member 15 includes a U-shaped first portion 15a located at the upper end, a U-shaped second portion 15b located at the lower end, and a front surface of the first and second portions 15a and 15b extending in the vertical direction. And a third portion 15c for connecting the two. The pair of left and right intermediate members 16, 16 are rectangular members extending in the vertical direction, and the upper ends thereof are fixed to the left and right rear ends of the second portion 15 b of the upper member 15, and the lower ends thereof are U-shaped lower members 17. It is fixed to the left and right rear ends. The second portion 11b of the thigh brace 11 and the first portion 15a of the upper member 15 of the crus brace 12 are coupled to each other around the left and right axis y by fulcrum pins 33, 33. On the other hand, the actuator 18 made of an electric motor is rotated around the left and right axis y.

  The connecting mechanism 14 provided at the upper end of the foot orthosis 13 that opens toward the front is composed of a sliding member 19 and a connecting member 20, and is formed at the left and right front ends of the U-shaped sliding member 19. Has engagement grooves 19a, 19a formed in the two engagement pins 21, 21; 22, 22 provided at the rear end of the lower member 17 of the lower leg brace 12. Engage. The diameter of one of the engaging pins 21 and 21 is substantially the same as the groove width of the engaging grooves 19a and 19a, but the diameter of the other engaging pins 22 and 22 is slightly larger than that, When the engagement pins 22 and 22 are elastically pushed into the engagement grooves 19a and 19a, the engagement pins 22 and 22 are locked by engaging with recesses formed in the upper and lower edges of the engagement grooves 19a and 19a.

  A guide plate 24 is fixed to the upper end of the connecting member 20 through four guide pins 23... And the sliding member 19 is rotatable between the connecting member 20 and the guide plate 24 around the vertical axis Z. Supported. At this time, the four guide pins 23 are guided in the guide grooves 19b, 19b formed in the rear portion of the sliding member 19. The lower leg brace 12 and the leg brace 13 are attached to the lower leg and the leg from the front and rear, respectively, and are inserted through a pair of buckles 36a, 36a attached to the upper ends of the intermediate members 16, 16 and the buckles 36a, 36a. It is fixed with a fixture 36 composed of a cloth belt 36b. The belt 36b can be easily attached and detached with a hook-and-loop fastener.

  The foot orthosis 13 further includes a connecting member 25, an upper member 26, intermediate members 27 and 27, and a lower member 28. The connecting member 25 is fixed to the connecting member 20 of the connecting mechanism 14 with two bolts 29, 29. At this time, the relative positions of the connecting members 20, 25 in the vertical direction can be adjusted in a plurality of stages. A connecting member 25 is pivotally supported by a fulcrum pin 30 at the rear end of the U-shaped upper member 26, so that the upper member 26 can rotate about the front-rear axis X with respect to the connecting member 25. The left and right front ends of the upper member 26 and the upper ends of the left and right intermediate members 27 and 27 are pivotally supported about the left and right axis Y by fulcrum pins 34 and 34, and the connecting member 25 is connected by an actuator 31 made of an electric motor. It rotates with respect to the upper member 26.

  A plate-like lower member 28 is fixed to the lower ends of the left and right intermediate members 27, 27, and a shoe cover 32 is fixed to the lower member 28. In the state where the user fixes the shoe to the shoe cover 32, the position of the ankle substantially coincides with the intersection point O of the longitudinal axis X, the lateral axis Y, and the vertical axis Z.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

  In order to wear the walking assistance device, the user first wears the foot device 13 by fixing the shoe to the shoe cover 32. In this state, the U-shaped sliding member 19 of the coupling mechanism 14 of the foot orthosis 13 is in a state of surrounding the rear of the upper portion of the ankle and the left and right side portions. Subsequently, the integrated thigh brace 11 and lower leg brace 12 are attached to the user's thigh and lower leg from the front, and engaging pins 21 provided on the left and right sides of the lower member 17 of the lower leg brace 12 are provided. 21; 22, 22 are engaged with the engaging grooves 19 a, 19 a of the sliding member 19 of the coupling mechanism 14 of the foot orthosis 13. Then, the thigh brace 11 and the lower leg brace 12 are fixed to the user's thigh and lower leg with a belt.

  At this time, by inserting bolts 29 and 29 into predetermined bolt holes among a plurality of sets of bolt holes formed in the connecting member 25 of the foot orthosis 13 and fastening the connecting member 20 of the connecting mechanism 14, the length is increased. The walking assistive device can be fitted to different crus. Further, the lower leg brace 12 and the foot brace 13 can be attached and detached by the engagement of the engagement pins 21, 21; 22, 22, and the engagement grooves 19a, 19a.

  When the walking assistance device is mounted in this manner, the torque generated by the actuator 18 prevents the thigh device 11 and the lower thigh device 12 around the fulcrum pins 33 and 33 from being bent due to gravity, and the torque generated by the actuator 31 supports the fulcrum pin. Since the upper member 26 and the intermediate members 27, 27 around the 34, 34 are prevented from bending due to gravity, the thigh orthosis 11, the lower thigh orthosis 12, and the foot orthosis 13 are rigidized. Therefore, the weights of the thigh brace 11 and the actuator 18 are transmitted to the lower member 17 via the upper member 15 and the intermediate members 16 and 16 of the crus brace 12, and the weights of the thigh brace 11, the actuator 18 and the crus brace 12 are further connected. 14, the sliding member 19 and the connecting member 20 are transmitted to the floor surface via the connecting member 25, the upper member 26, the intermediate members 27 and 27, and the lower member 28. As a result, the weight of the walking assistance device is all supported by the floor surface, and it is not necessary to support the weight with the muscle strength of the user's leg, thereby reducing the burden.

  Thus, by rotating the thigh orthosis 12 pivotally supported on the thigh orthosis 11 via the fulcrum pins 33, 33 by the driving force of the actuator 18, the rotation of the knee joint of the user around the left and right axis y is assisted. The intermediate members 27 and 27 pivotally supported on the upper member 26 of the foot orthosis 13 via the fulcrum pins 34 and 34 are rotated by the driving force of the actuator 31 to rotate the user's ankle joint around the left and right axis Y. It is possible to walk with assistance.

  At this time, the ankle joint can be rotated not only about the left and right axis Y by the fulcrum pins 34 and 34 but also about the vertical axis Z by the guide pins 23 and the guide grooves 19b and 19b. Since it can be rotated around X, it is possible to prevent the ankle joint from being lost due to the wearing of the walking assisting device and to further facilitate walking. In particular, since the longitudinal axis X, the lateral axis Y, and the vertical axis Z intersect at an intersection point O corresponding to the position of the ankle joint, the degree of freedom of the ankle joint can be almost completely ensured.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. It is.

  For example, in the embodiment, a connection mechanism 14 that allows the user's foot to rotate about the vertical axis Z is provided on the foot brace 13, but it can be provided on the lower leg brace 12. Specifically, the lower leg device 12 may be divided into two parts, and the lower half part may be connected to the upper half part so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis Z.

  Moreover, although the walking assistance device of the embodiment has been described as being used when assisting walking, it may be used to increase leg strength when lifting heavy objects.

  In the embodiment, the rotation about the vertical axis Z is performed at the ankle joint, but the rotation about the vertical axis Z may be performed at the hip joint.

Exploded perspective view of walking aids A perspective view of a state where a walking assistive device is worn

Explanation of symbols

11 thigh orthosis 12 thigh orthosis 13 foot orthosis
19 sliding members
20 connecting members
26 Upper member of foot orthosis (member of foot orthosis)
30 fulcrum pin (connecting means around the front and rear axis)
29 bolts (adjustment means)
31 Actuator 34 Support point pin (connecting means around left and right axis)
X Front / rear axis Y Left / right axis Z Vertical axis

Claims (6)

A walking assistance device comprising a thigh brace (11) to be worn on a user's thigh, a lower leg brace (12) to be worn on a lower leg, and a foot brace (13) to be worn on a foot,
The thigh brace (11), the lower leg brace (12), and the foot brace (13) are connected to each other so that the weight of the thigh brace (11) and the lower leg brace (12) is transmitted from the leg brace (13) to the floor surface. The foot orthosis (13) includes a left-right axis connecting means (34) that allows the user's foot to rotate about the left-right axis (Y), and the foot orthosis (13) or the lower leg orthosis (12) is used. A vertical axis connecting means that allows the person's foot to rotate about the vertical axis (Z) ,
The vertical axis connecting means includes a sliding member (19) that fits outside the user's lower leg and a connecting member (20) that is connected to the member (26) of the foot orthosis (13). The connecting member (20) is slidably connected along the rear curved portion of the sliding member (19), thereby allowing the user's foot to rotate about the vertical axis (Z). A featured walking aid. The foot orthosis (13) includes a front-rear axis connecting means (30) that allows the user's foot to rotate about the front-rear axis (X), and includes a left-right axis (Y), a vertical axis (Z), and a front-rear axis. The walking assistance device according to claim 1, wherein (X) intersects at the position of the user's ankle . A walking assistance device comprising a thigh brace (11) to be worn on a user's thigh, a lower leg brace (12) to be worn on a lower leg, and a foot brace (13) to be worn on a foot,
The foot orthosis (13) includes a left-right axis connecting means (34) that allows the user's foot to rotate about the left-right axis (Y), and the foot orthosis (13) or the lower leg orthosis (12) is the user's foot. And a vertical axis connecting means for allowing rotation about the vertical axis (Z) of the user, and the foot orthosis (13) is a connecting means for rotating around the front and rear axis for allowing the user's foot to rotate about the longitudinal axis (X). (30), the left and right axis (Y), the vertical axis (Z) and the front and rear axis (X) intersect at the position of the user's ankle ,
The vertical axis connecting means includes a sliding member (19) that fits outside the user's lower leg and a connecting member (20) that is connected to the member (26) of the foot orthosis (13). The connecting member (20) is slidably connected along the rear curved portion of the sliding member (19), thereby allowing the user's foot to rotate about the vertical axis (Z). A featured walking aid. The walking assistance device according to claim 1 or 3 , characterized in that the foot orthosis (13) is provided with adjusting means (29) for adjusting the position in the vertical direction with respect to the lower leg orthosis (12). The walking assistance device according to claim 1 or 3 , further comprising an actuator (31) provided on the foot orthosis (13) to rotate the user's foot about the left-right axis (Y). . The left and right ends of the lower leg brace (12) that opens in a U shape toward the rear, and the left and right ends of the sliding member (19) of the foot brace (13) that opens in a U shape toward the front The walking assistance device according to claim 1 , wherein the walking assistance device is detachably coupled.

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