CN108836765B

CN108836765B - Intelligent walking aid device and method for controlling intelligent walking aid device to provide walking aid

Info

Publication number: CN108836765B
Application number: CN201810757657.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陶春静; 樊瑜波; 马俪芳; 季润; 黄剑
Original assignee: National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical Aids
Current assignee: National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical Aids
Priority date: 2018-07-11
Filing date: 2018-07-11
Publication date: 2021-03-26
Anticipated expiration: 2038-07-11
Also published as: CN108836765A

Abstract

An intelligent walker device and method for controlling the same to provide a walker. The intelligent walking aid device comprises a device main body and a walking controller, wherein the device main body comprises an upper supporting assembly and a lower supporting assembly which are respectively arranged at the upper part and the lower part of the intelligent walking aid device, the upper supporting assembly comprises at least one handrail plate, the lower supporting assembly comprises at least one bottom supporting frame and a chassis moving device connected with the at least one bottom supporting frame, and the device main body also comprises at least one middle supporting frame arranged between the upper supporting assembly and the lower supporting assembly; the walking controller is disposed on the device body and configured to acquire force data generated by a user manipulating the intelligent walker device and analyze walking intent of the user based on the force data, and then control the chassis moving device to move based on the walking intent of the user and/or a set walking strategy previously stored in the controller according to a walking control mode of the intelligent walker device.

Description

Intelligent walking aid device and method for controlling intelligent walking aid device to provide walking aid

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an intelligent walking aid device, and more particularly, to an intelligent walking aid device capable of providing assisted walking assistance and guidance to a user and a method for controlling the same to provide walking aid.

Background

Patients with damaged lower limbs due to accidents, injuries and the like often need to continuously carry out walking training to achieve the aim of rehabilitation in order to prevent muscular atrophy caused by long-time bed rest. In addition, the weakness of the leg muscles of the elderly often causes the mobility of the elderly to be inconvenient and even the mobility of the elderly to be lost, which seriously affects the life quality of the elderly. Therefore, there is a wide social demand for an intelligent device capable of assisting patients with lower limb dysfunction and the elderly to walk safely.

A lot of individuals and mechanisms make great efforts in this respect, but the existing related devices are relatively single in function, only can simply realize the walking assisting function, and are not high in intelligent degree, so that the walking assisting and/or guiding of the user is difficult to realize. Furthermore, the robots of the prior art are poorly adaptable to walking aid applications and are relatively costly.

Therefore, there is a need for an intelligent walker device that can solve at least one of the above problems and has a high cost performance.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides an intelligent walking aid device, a system and a method for controlling the intelligent walking aid device to provide walking aid, which can adapt to various application environments.

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an intelligent walker device comprising a device body and a walking controller, wherein,

the device body comprises an upper supporting assembly and a lower supporting assembly which are respectively arranged at the upper part and the lower part of the intelligent walking aid device, the upper supporting assembly comprises at least one handrail plate, the lower supporting assembly comprises at least one bottom supporting frame and a chassis moving device connected with the at least one bottom supporting frame, and the device body further comprises at least one middle supporting frame arranged between the upper supporting assembly and the lower supporting assembly;

the walking controller is provided on the device body and configured to acquire force data generated by a user manipulating the intelligent walker device and analyze a walking intention of the user based on the force data of the user, and then control the chassis moving device to move based on the walking intention of the user and/or a set walking strategy previously stored in the walking controller according to a walking control mode of the intelligent walker device.

The patent discloses an intelligence helps capable device, this intelligence helps capable device can assist low limbs muscle power to weaken the patient and walk helping hand and guide, has the walking training to the user simultaneously and protects and prevent the function of tumbleing, can assist the user from this to walk rehabilitation training. In addition, the intelligent walking aid device can detect the motion state of the user in real time in the walking process, and performs cooperative assistance and anti-falling safety protection on the user according to the current motion state of the user.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the walking control mode of the intelligent walking aid device includes a man-machine shared control mode and a device autonomous control mode, and the intelligent walking aid device is capable of recognizing environmental obstacle information by a laser sensor and/or an ultrasonic sensor provided on the device body, wherein,

in the human-machine sharing control mode, if no obstacle is detected within a predetermined safety range, the walking controller is configured to control the chassis mobile device to move according to the walking intention of the user, so as to assist the user in walking; if the obstacle is detected, the walking controller guides the chassis moving device to move to avoid the obstacle under the condition of conforming to the walking intention of the user, so that the user is assisted to avoid the obstacle;

in the device autonomous control mode, if no obstacle is detected within a predetermined safety range, the walking controller is configured to control the chassis moving device to move and guide the user to walk based on a set walking strategy stored in the walking controller in advance; if the obstacle is detected, the walking controller guides the chassis moving device to move away from the obstacle under the condition of complying with the set walking strategy so as to guide the user to avoid the obstacle.

According to the first aspect or a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, there is provided a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the intelligent walker device further comprises at least one force sensing device, each of the at least one force sensing device comprising at least one manipulating component and at least one force sensor directly or indirectly connected with the at least one manipulating component, the at least one manipulating component being provided at the upper support assembly, the at least one force sensor being configured to sense a pressure value in at least one direction resulting when the at least one manipulating component is manipulated by a user and to generate force data of the user.

According to a second possible embodiment of the first aspect, there is provided a third possible embodiment of the first aspect, wherein the manipulation member includes at least one of a push rod, a screw, and a manipulation handle.

According to a fourth possible embodiment of the first aspect, there is provided a walking controller comprising a plurality of force sensing devices, wherein each of the force sensing devices comprises a manipulation member and at least two force-sensitive sensors directly or indirectly connected to the manipulation member, wherein each of the at least two force-sensitive sensors is configured to sense a pressure value in at least one direction generated when the manipulation member connected thereto is manipulated by a user, and wherein the walking controller is configured to determine a magnitude of torque desired by the user based on the pressure values in either direction sensed from the two force sensing devices.

According to a fifth possible embodiment of the first aspect, there is provided a method of monitoring a condition of a user, the method comprising the steps of providing an intelligent walker device comprising two force sensing devices arranged on each of the left and right sides of an upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, wherein one of the two force sensing devices comprises a manipulating component and at least two force sensitive sensors directly or indirectly connected to the manipulating component, and the other of the two force sensing devices comprises a further manipulating component and an associated torque sensor arranged within or directly or indirectly connected to the further manipulating component, wherein the at least two force sensitive sensors are configured to sense a pressure value in at least one direction generated when the manipulating component connected thereto is manipulated by the user, and the torque sensor is configured to sense a torque generated when the manipulating component connected thereto is manipulated by the user The magnitude of the moment.

According to a third possible implementation form of the first aspect, there is provided a sixth possible implementation form of the first aspect, wherein the intelligent walker device comprises a force sensing device arranged at the upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, the force sensing device comprising a manipulating member and a multi-axis force sensor connected to the manipulating member, the multi-axis force sensor being configured to sense a force value and/or a torque magnitude in at least one direction generated when the manipulating member connected thereto is manipulated by the user.

According to a fourth or fifth possible embodiment of the first aspect, there is provided a seventh possible embodiment of the first aspect, wherein in case the intelligent walker device comprises one manipulating part and at least two force sensitive sensors directly or indirectly connected to the manipulating part, a manipulating part connecting plate connected thereto is provided below the manipulating part, the manipulating part connecting plate having a first hole provided in an upper surface thereof, the manipulating part being provided in the first hole of the manipulating part connecting plate, the at least two force sensitive sensors being provided in at least two mounting locations respectively in the upper surface of the manipulating part connecting plate, the at least two mounting locations being evenly spaced in a circumferential direction around the first hole in the manipulating part connecting plate.

According to a seventh possible implementation form of the first aspect, there is provided the eighth possible implementation form of the first aspect, wherein the manipulating member further comprises a protective cover having a second hole therein, the manipulating member being capable of passing through the second hole in the protective cover and covering over the manipulating member connecting disc to protect the at least two force-sensitive sensors disposed in the manipulating member connecting disc.

According to an eighth possible embodiment of the first aspect, there is provided a ninth possible embodiment of the first aspect, wherein the manipulating part connecting disc further comprises at least two grooves provided in an upper surface thereof, the at least two grooves are evenly spaced between the at least two mounting locations, a screw and a spring connected to the screw are provided in each of the at least two grooves, the screw can fix a lower end of the spring in place in the groove, and an upper end of the spring can support the protective cover when the protective cover is placed over the manipulating part connecting disc, so that there is a space between the protective cover and the upper surface of the manipulating part connecting disc.

According to a sixth possible implementation form of the first aspect, there is provided a tenth possible implementation form of the first aspect, wherein in case the intelligent walker device comprises a multi-axis force sensor, an upper mounting plate and a lower mounting plate are provided above and below the multi-axis force sensor, respectively, the upper mounting plate having a third hole in an upper surface thereof, the manipulating part being provided in at least the third hole of the upper mounting plate.

According to the first aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, there is provided an eleventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the at least one upper support assembly includes two handrail plates respectively arranged at left and right sides of the upper portion of the device body, an intermediate connection member located at a front portion of the intelligent walker device for connecting the two handrail plates, and a safety belt provided between the two handrail plates, both ends of the safety belt being respectively connected to bottom surfaces of rear portions of the two handrail plates.

According to an eleventh possible implementation of the first aspect, there is provided the twelfth possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the at least one lower support assembly includes two bottom supports disposed at left and right sides of a lower portion of the apparatus body, front portions of the two bottom supports are connected to the chassis moving apparatus, and rear portions of the two bottom supports are respectively provided with driven wheels.

According to a twelfth possible implementation form of the first aspect, there is provided a thirteenth possible implementation form of the first aspect, wherein the at least one intermediate support frame comprises one or more of a telescopic support frame and a telescopic pin, the telescopic support frame being disposed between the rear portions of the two balustrade panels and the rear portions of the two bottom support frames, the telescopic pin being disposed between the chassis moving device and an intermediate connecting member connecting the two balustrade panels.

According to a thirteenth possible embodiment of the first aspect, there is provided the fourteenth possible embodiment of the first aspect, wherein the telescopic support frame comprises at least two telescopic support bars that can be nested together or at least two fixed bars connected by a spring therebetween.

According to the first aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, a fifteenth possible implementation manner of the first aspect is provided, wherein the chassis moving device comprises a housing of the chassis moving device, a chassis supporting plate arranged within the housing, and at least one motor mounted to the chassis supporting plate and at least one driving wheel connected with the at least one motor.

According to a fifteenth possible implementation form of the first aspect, there is provided the sixteenth possible implementation form of the first aspect, wherein the chassis moving device includes three motors and three omni-directional moving wheels connected to each of the three motors, the three omni-directional moving wheels being evenly spaced apart at three ends of the chassis support plate, the three motors being evenly spaced apart on the chassis support plate, thereby controlling the chassis moving device to move at an arbitrary speed in an arbitrary direction.

According to a sixteenth possible implementation of the first aspect, there is provided the seventeenth possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the omni-directional wheel comprises any one of a mecanum wheel and an omni-wheel.

According to a sixteenth possible implementation of the first aspect, there is provided an eighteenth possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the intelligent walker device further comprises a motor controller disposed above or below the chassis support plate, the motor controller being connected with the walking controller to receive instructions from the walking controller and control the at least one motor to rotate forward or backward at a corresponding speed according to the instructions, and a power source disposed inside or outside a housing of the chassis moving device and configured to provide power supply for the three motors.

According to a fifteenth possible implementation form of the first aspect, a nineteenth possible implementation form of the first aspect is provided, wherein at least one speed reducer is further provided between the at least one motor and at least one driving wheel connected with the at least one motor, the speed reducer being configured to control a rotational speed of the at least one motor and thereby control an operation of the at least one motor and the at least one driving wheel connected with the at least one motor.

In a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for controlling the intelligent walker device of the first aspect as described above to provide a walker, wherein the method comprises:

the walking controller acquiring force data generated by a user manipulating the intelligent walker device and analyzing a user's walking intent based on the user's force data;

the walking controller controls the chassis moving device to move according to a walking control mode of the intelligent walking aid device based on the walking intention of the user and/or a set walking strategy stored in the walking controller in advance.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a first possible implementation of the second aspect, wherein the walking control mode of the intelligent walking aid device includes a man-machine shared control mode and a device autonomous control mode, and the intelligent walking aid device is capable of recognizing environmental obstacle information by a laser sensor and/or an ultrasonic sensor provided on the device body, wherein the method further comprises:

in the man-machine sharing control mode, if no obstacle is detected within a preset safety range, the walking controller controls the chassis mobile device to move according to the walking intention of the user; if an obstacle is detected, the walking controller guides the chassis mobile device to move away from the obstacle while conforming to the walking intention of the user;

in the device autonomous control mode, if no obstacle is detected within a predetermined safety range, the walking controller controls the chassis moving device to move based on a set walking strategy stored in the walking controller in advance; if an obstacle is detected, the walking controller guides the chassis moving device to move away from the obstacle under the condition of complying with the set walking strategy.

According to a second aspect or a first possible implementation of the second aspect, there is provided a second possible implementation of the second aspect, wherein the intelligent walker device further comprises at least one force sensing device, each of the at least one force sensing device comprising at least one manipulating component and at least one force sensor directly or indirectly connected to the at least one manipulating component, the at least one manipulating component being provided at the upper support assembly, wherein the method further comprises:

sensing a pressure value in at least one direction resulting from the at least one manipulation component being manipulated by a user using the at least one force sensor and generating force data for the user.

According to a second possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a third possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the manipulation member includes at least one of a push rod, a screw, and a manipulation handle.

According to a third possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a fourth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the intelligent walker device comprises two of the force sensing devices respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, wherein each of the two force sensing devices respectively comprises a manipulating member and at least two force sensitive sensors directly or indirectly connected to the manipulating member, wherein the method further comprises:

each of the at least two force sensitive sensors sensing a pressure value in at least one direction generated when the manipulation member connected thereto is manipulated by a user;

the walking controller determines the magnitude of the user's desired torque based on the pressure values in either direction sensed from the two force sensing devices, respectively.

According to a fifth possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a method of operating a walking aid device, the method comprising the steps of providing a plurality of force sensing devices, each of the force sensing devices being disposed on a respective left or right side of an upper support assembly of the device, wherein one of the force sensing devices comprises a manipulating member and at least two force sensitive sensors directly or indirectly connected to the manipulating member, and wherein the other of the force sensing devices comprises a further manipulating member and an associated torque sensor disposed within or directly or indirectly connected to the further manipulating member, wherein the method further comprises:

the at least two force-sensitive sensors sense pressure values in at least one direction generated when a manipulation part connected thereto is manipulated by a user;

the torque sensor senses the amount of torque generated when a manipulation member connected thereto is manipulated by a user.

According to a third possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a sixth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the intelligent walker device comprises a force sensing device disposed at the upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, the force sensing device comprising a manipulating member and a multi-axis force sensor coupled to the manipulating member, wherein the method further comprises:

the multi-axis force sensor senses a magnitude of a pressure and/or a torque in at least one direction generated when a manipulation member connected thereto is manipulated by a user.

According to a fourth or fifth possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a seventh possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein in case the intelligent walker device comprises one manipulating part and at least two force sensitive sensors connected directly or indirectly to the manipulating part, a manipulating part connecting plate connected thereto is provided below the manipulating part, the manipulating part connecting plate having a first hole provided in an upper surface thereof, the manipulating part being provided in the first hole of the manipulating part connecting plate, the at least two force sensitive sensors being provided in at least two mounting locations respectively provided in the upper surface of the manipulating part connecting plate, the at least two mounting locations being evenly spaced apart in a circumferential direction around the first hole in the manipulating part connecting plate.

According to a seventh possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided an eighth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the manipulating member further comprises a protective cover having a second hole therein, the manipulating member being capable of passing through the second hole in the protective cover and covering over the manipulating member connecting pad to protect the at least two force-sensitive sensors provided in the manipulating member connecting pad.

According to an eighth possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a ninth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the manipulating member connecting disc further comprises at least two grooves provided in an upper surface thereof, the at least two grooves being evenly spaced between the at least two mounting locations, a screw and a spring connected to the screw are provided in each of the at least two grooves, the screw being capable of fixing a lower end of the spring in place in the groove, an upper end of the spring being capable of supporting the protective cover when the protective cover is placed over the manipulating member connecting disc such that there is a space between the protective cover and the upper surface of the manipulating member connecting disc.

According to a sixth possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a tenth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein in case the intelligent walker device comprises a multi-axis force sensor, an upper mounting plate and a lower mounting plate are provided above and below the multi-axis force sensor, respectively, the upper mounting plate having a third hole in an upper surface thereof, the manipulating part being provided in at least the third hole of the upper mounting plate.

According to the second aspect or the first possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided an eleventh possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the at least one upper support assembly includes two balustrade panels respectively disposed at left and right sides of an upper portion of the device body, an intermediate connecting member located at a front portion of the intelligent walker device for connecting the two balustrade panels, and a safety belt disposed between the two balustrade panels, both ends of the safety belt being respectively connected to bottom surfaces of rear portions of the two balustrade panels.

According to an eleventh possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided the twelfth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the at least one lower support assembly includes two bottom support frames disposed at left and right sides of a lower portion of the apparatus main body, front portions of the two bottom support frames are connected to the chassis moving apparatus, and rear portions of the two bottom support frames are provided with driven wheels, respectively.

According to a twelfth possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a thirteenth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the at least one intermediate support frame comprises one or more of a telescopic support frame disposed between the rear portions of the two balustrade panels and the rear portions of the two bottom support frames and a telescopic pin disposed between the chassis moving device and an intermediate connecting member connecting the two balustrade panels.

According to a thirteenth possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided the fourteenth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the telescopic support frame comprises at least two telescopic support bars that can be nested together or at least two fixed bars connected by a spring therebetween.

According to a second aspect or a first possible embodiment of the second aspect, a fifteenth possible embodiment of the second aspect is provided, wherein the chassis moving device comprises a housing of the chassis moving device, a chassis support plate arranged within the housing, and at least one motor mounted to the chassis support plate and at least one drive wheel connected to the at least one motor.

According to a fifteenth possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided the sixteenth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the chassis moving device includes three motors and three omni-directional moving wheels connected to each of the three motors, the three omni-directional moving wheels being evenly spaced apart at three ends of the chassis supporting plate, the three motors being evenly spaced apart on the chassis supporting plate, thereby controlling the chassis moving device to move at an arbitrary speed in an arbitrary direction.

According to a sixteenth possible embodiment of the second aspect, there is provided a seventeenth possible embodiment of the second aspect, wherein the omni-directional wheel includes any one of a mecanum wheel and an omni-directional wheel.

According to a sixteenth possible implementation of the second aspect, there is provided an eighteenth possible implementation of the second aspect, wherein the intelligent walker device further comprises a motor controller disposed above or below the chassis support plate, the motor controller being connected with the walking controller to receive instructions from the walking controller and control the at least one motor to rotate forward or backward at a corresponding speed according to the instructions, and a power source disposed inside or outside a housing of the chassis moving device and configured to provide power supply for the three motors.

According to a fifteenth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, a nineteenth possible implementation manner of the second aspect is provided, wherein at least one speed reducer is further disposed between the at least one motor and at least one driving wheel connected to the at least one motor, and the method further includes:

controlling the rotational speed of the at least one motor using the speed reducer and thereby controlling the operation of the at least one motor and at least one drive wheel connected to the at least one motor.

In a third aspect of the invention, an intelligent walker device is provided, which is characterized in that the intelligent walker device comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein the processor, when executing the computer program, is capable of implementing the functions of the walking controller in the method according to any one of the second aspect.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, a computer storage medium is provided, wherein the computer storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed, is capable of implementing the functionality of the walking controller in the method of any of the second aspects.

According to the intelligent walking aid device and the method for controlling the intelligent walking aid device to provide the walking aid, the control component arranged on the main body and the force sensing device connected with the control component are adopted, so that the intelligent walking aid device can adapt to various application environments, the walking aid control cost and complexity of the intelligent walking aid device are greatly reduced, and the reliability and the stability of the walking aid control are effectively improved. In order to make the above objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of one embodiment of an intelligent walker device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2(a) shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a force sensing device in an intelligent walker;

FIG. 2(b) shows a schematic view of one embodiment of a protective cover for a force sensing device;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of an installation for one embodiment of a force sensitive sensor;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a force sensing device including a torque sensor;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of one embodiment of a force sensing device including a multi-axis force sensor;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a chassis mobile device housing in an intelligent walker device;

FIG. 7(a) shows a top view of one embodiment of the internal components of a chassis moving device in an intelligent walker;

fig. 7(b) illustrates a bottom view of one embodiment of the internal components of the chassis mobility device in the intelligent walker.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a method for controlling the intelligent walker device to provide walking.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Additionally, as used herein, orientation terms such as "front," "back," "left," "right," "up," "down," and the like generally refer to the orientation that a user determines using an intelligent walker device, and those orientations may be determined by one skilled in the art in view of the drawings and context.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of one embodiment of an intelligent walker device according to the present invention.

The intelligent walker device (which may also be referred to as a "walker robot") shown in fig. 1 includes a device body 100 and a walking controller 300. The device body 100 may generally include three upper, middle and lower portions, i.e., an upper support member, a middle support member and a lower support member. The upper supporting assembly and the lower supporting assembly are respectively arranged at the upper part and the lower part of the intelligent walking aid device, and the middle supporting frame is arranged between the upper supporting assembly and the lower supporting assembly. The upper support assembly comprises at least one balustrade panel 7 and the lower support assembly comprises at least one bottom support frame 10 and a chassis moving device 5 connected to the at least one bottom support frame. The walking controller 300 is provided on the device body 100 and configured to acquire force data of a user generated by the user manipulating the intelligent walker device through the force sensor 2 and analyze walking intention of the user based on the force data of the user, and then control the chassis moving device to move based on the walking intention of the user and/or a set walking strategy previously stored in the walking controller according to a walking control mode of the intelligent walker device, thereby assisting the user in walking.

Preferably, the upper support assembly may include two balustrade panels 7 respectively disposed at left and right sides of the upper portion of the device body, an intermediate connecting member 6 positioned at the front of the intelligent walker for connecting the two balustrade panels, and a safety belt 8 disposed between the two balustrade panels, both ends of the safety belt being respectively connected to bottom surfaces of rear portions of the two balustrade panels 7.

Preferably, the lower support assembly may include two bottom support frames 10 and one chassis moving device 5 disposed at left and right sides of the lower portion of the device body, front portions of the two bottom support frames 10 are connected to the chassis moving device 5, and rear portions of the two bottom support frames 10 are respectively provided with driven wheels 11. The chassis moving device includes a chassis moving device housing, a chassis support plate disposed within the housing, and at least one motor mounted to the chassis support plate and at least one drive wheel connected to the at least one motor, as described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 7(a) and 7 (b).

Preferably, the at least one intermediate support may comprise one or more of a telescopic support 9 and a telescopic pin 3. The telescopic support frame 9 may be disposed between the rear portions of the two balustrade panels 7 and the rear portions of the two bottom support frames 10, and the telescopic pin 3 may be disposed between the chassis moving device 5 and the intermediate connecting member 6 connecting the two balustrade panels. The telescopic support 9 may comprise at least two telescopic support rods (as shown in fig. 1) that can be nested together or at least two fixed rods connected by springs (not shown) therebetween. The telescopic deformation of the telescopic support frame has two effects: the telescopic deformation of the support frame is beneficial to adjusting the overall height of the intelligent walking aid device according to the height of a user, so that the structure stability of the intelligent walking aid device is ensured, and the left and right inclination of the walking aid robot in the walking aid rehabilitation training process is effectively prevented; when the user has the tendency of falling down in the left-right direction, the counterforce generated by the telescopic deformation of the support frame can help to prevent the falling tendency of the user to a certain extent.

As shown in the embodiment of fig. 1, one or more force sensing devices 2 may be provided at the upper support assembly. The force sensing device 2 and the walking controller 300 may both rest on the balustrade panel 7 or be arranged on an intermediate connecting part 6 connecting the two balustrade panels. When necessary, the user can lie on the balustrade panel 7 and/or the intermediate connecting member 6, for example, with the upper limbs supported on the balustrade panel 7 so as to relieve the leg pressure. In addition, the seat belt 8 is also suspended below the balustrade panel 7. Once the leg of the user is weak and falls suddenly, the safety belt 8 can support the back and the hip of the user, so as to prevent the falling accident caused by the leg weakness of the user during the rehabilitation walking training process, and ensure the safety of the user.

Advantageously, the intelligent walker device also has laser and/or ultrasound sensors 4 placed in front of the device body that are capable of identifying obstacle information in the environment, or other sensors capable of identifying obstacles known in the art may be employed. The laser sensor and/or the ultrasonic sensor 4 can transmit the sensed front obstacle information to the walking controller 300 through a serial port, the walking controller 300 judges whether an obstacle exists in a front preset range according to the received information, and if the obstacle exists, the walking controller 300 sends an instruction to the chassis moving device 5 to stop moving or bypass the obstacle.

Preferably, the walking aid control modes of the intelligent walking aid device can be divided into two types: a man-machine sharing control mode and a device autonomous control mode.

For a user with an autonomous training ability, when the user wishes to walk autonomously, a man-machine shared control mode can be used, the intelligent walking aid device is required to move according to the intention of the user under a safe condition so as to assist the user in walking, and the intelligent walking aid device can recognize environmental obstacle information to make judgment and decision. Or, more specifically, in the man-machine sharing control mode, if no obstacle is detected within a predetermined safety range, the controller may control the chassis moving device to move according to the walking intention of the user and assist the user in walking in the direction of the intention; if the environmental obstacle information is detected within the preset safety range, the walking controller guides the chassis moving device to move away from the obstacle according to the walking intention of the user under the condition of ensuring safety, so that the user is guided and assisted to avoid the obstacle.

The user with weak self-training ability needs external guidance to perform rehabilitation training normally. When the user uses the intelligent walking aid device to perform rehabilitation training, the device can be used in an automatic control mode, namely, the intelligent walking aid device can perform motion control according to rehabilitation training paths and speeds with different difficulty levels set by a rehabilitation trainer or an attending physician, and assist and guide the user to perform rehabilitation training walking according to a set walking strategy (for example, a fixed path mode or a fixed speed mode). Or, more specifically, in the device autonomous control mode, if no obstacle is detected within a predetermined safety range, the walking controller is configured to control the chassis moving device to move based on a set walking strategy stored in advance in the walking controller; if the obstacle is detected, the walking controller guides the chassis moving device to move away from the obstacle under the condition of complying with the set walking strategy, so that the user is guided and assisted to avoid the obstacle.

The walking controller 300 of the present invention may be a control device with or without a display screen, which may be mounted on the intermediate connection member 6. With a display screen, a user can see displayed information on a walking controller when manipulating the intelligent walker device, which may include one or more of an environmental map for navigation, a set walking strategy pre-stored in the walking controller, analyzed walking intent of the user and/or obstacle information, to facilitate the user to more intuitively view related information and to perform more convenient manipulation. The walking controller can be in the form of an industrial personal computer and is configured to receive and comprehensively process information of the force sensing device and the laser sensor and/or the ultrasonic sensor, then the processed result is sent to the chassis moving device through a serial port, and the chassis moving device enables the intelligent walking aid device to correspondingly move according to an instruction sent by the walking controller so as to assist a user in walking.

FIG. 2(a) shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a force sensing device in an intelligent walker.

Preferably, the intelligent walker device further comprises at least one force sensing device, which may be one force sensing device, two, three or more than three identical or different force sensing devices, such as the two identical force sensing devices 2 shown in fig. 1.

In one embodiment of the force sensing device as shown in fig. 2(a), the force sensing device may comprise at least one manipulating member 201 and at least one force sensor (e.g., 21, 22, 23, and/or 24) directly or indirectly connected to the at least one manipulating member. The force sensing device may be provided at the upper support assembly (e.g., the balustrade panel 7 or the intermediate connecting member 6), and at least one force sensor included in the force sensing device may be configured to sense a pressure value in at least one direction generated when the at least one manipulation member 201 is manipulated by a user and generate the force data. The two identical force sensing devices 2 included in the intelligent walker device as shown in fig. 1 may both be force sensing devices as shown in fig. 2(a), which may be disposed on the left and right sides of the walking controller 300.

In one embodiment of the force sensing device as shown in FIG. 2(a), the intelligent walker device may include a manipulating member 201 and at least two force sensitive sensors (e.g., four force sensitive sensors) directly or indirectly connected to the manipulating member. Four force sensitive sensors, such as pressure sensitive sensors or other known simple, small sensors for sensing forces commonly used in the art, constitute a force sensing recording unit. In fig. 2(a), reference numerals 21-24 show the mounting locations of four force sensitive sensors. A manipulating part connecting plate 202 connected to the manipulating part 201 is provided below the manipulating part 201. The handling member interface pad 202 has a first hole provided in an upper surface thereof, and the handling member 201 may be provided in the first hole of the handling member interface pad. The at least two force sensitive sensors are respectively arranged in at least two mounting locations in an upper surface of the manipulating part connecting disc, the at least two mounting locations being evenly spaced in a circumferential direction around the first hole in the manipulating part connecting disc.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2(a), the force sensing means comprises an operating member 201 in the form of a cylindrical push rod. But as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art after reading this document, the manipulating member may also be a screw or a manipulating handle or other manipulating member of various shapes suitable for manipulation by the user, as long as it is possible to realize that the force-sensitive sensor senses the force data of the user using the walking aid and thus knows the walking intention of the user.

The handling member attachment pad 202 may further include at least two grooves (25-27 as shown in fig. 2 (a)) disposed in an upper surface thereof, the at least two grooves being evenly spaced between the at least two mounting locations. A screw capable of fixing a lower end of the spring in place in the groove and a spring connected to the screw capable of supporting a protective cover of the manipulating part when the protective cover is placed over the manipulating part connecting plate so that a space exists between the protective cover and an upper surface of the manipulating part connecting plate may be provided in each of the at least two grooves. Specifically, when the force sensing device is not subjected to the thrust action, the force-sensitive sensor cannot be contacted with the push rod due to the supporting action of the spring, so that the zero drift of the force-sensitive sensor caused by the gravity of the force sensing device is eliminated. If the user promotes the push rod, the spring receives the extrusion, and the push rod inclines along user's thrust direction, thereby the force sensor of this direction has received the pressure of push rod can measure the numerical value of this pressure, in case thrust disappears, the spring can jack-up the push rod again and make it reconversion. The pressure values collected by the force sensor may be transmitted to the travel controller 300 via a data collection card.

FIG. 2(b) shows a schematic view of one embodiment of a protective cover for a force sensing device.

As shown in fig. 2(b), the force sensing device may further include a protective cover 29 having a second hole therein, the manipulating member being capable of passing through the second hole in the protective cover and covering over the manipulating member coupling pad 202 to protect the force sensor provided in the manipulating member coupling pad.

The protective cover shown in fig. 2(b) snaps over the push rod when installed, serving as a design enhancement and protecting the force sensitive sensor at the bottom of the push rod. It should be noted that fig. 2(a) shows one of the left and right push rods of the force sensing device 2 in fig. 1. The structure of the left and right push rods can be identical or different. A push rod arrangement together with, for example, 4 force sensors connected thereto may form a force sensor device. Under the condition that the intelligent walking aid device comprises two force sensing devices, the controller can simultaneously obtain pressure values acquired by 8 force-sensitive sensors so as to comprehensively judge the walking intention of the user.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of an installation for one embodiment of a force sensitive sensor.

Preferably, the force sensor 211 itself may be a thin sheet, and the surface of the force sensor may be treated with silica gel or have silica gel sheets mounted on the top and bottom to ensure uniform force. As illustrated in fig. 3, an upper silicone sheet 210 may be mounted at an upper surface of the force sensor 211, and a lower silicone sheet 212 may be mounted at a lower surface of the force sensor 211.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a force sensing device including a torque sensor.

In one embodiment, the intelligent walker device may include two of the force sensing devices disposed on the left and right sides, respectively, of the upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, wherein one of the two force sensing devices includes a manipulating member and at least two force sensitive sensors directly or indirectly connected to the manipulating member, and the other of the two force sensing devices (as shown in FIG. 4) includes another manipulating member and associated torque sensor 203. The torque sensor 203 is disposed inside or directly or indirectly connected with the other manipulating part, and the torque sensor 203 is configured to sense an amount of torque generated when the manipulating part connected thereto is manipulated by a user.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a force sensing device including a multi-axis force sensor.

In one embodiment, the intelligent walker device includes a force sensing device disposed on the upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, the force sensing device including a manipulating member and a multi-axis force sensor 205 (shown in FIG. 5) coupled to the manipulating member. The multi-axis force sensor 205 is configured to sense a magnitude of pressure and/or torque in at least one direction generated when a manipulation member coupled thereto is manipulated by a user. The multi-axis force sensor is capable of detecting forces in multiple degrees of freedom, and a tri-axis force sensor may be employed herein to detect walking intent (or intent force) of a user.

In case the intelligent walker device comprises a multi-axial force sensor 205, an upper mounting plate 204 and a lower mounting plate 206 may be provided above and below the multi-axial force sensor, respectively, the upper mounting plate having a third hole in its upper surface, the manipulating member being provided in at least the third hole of the upper mounting plate 204.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a chassis mobile device housing 59 in an intelligent walker device. Fig. 7(a) shows a top view of one embodiment of the internal components of a chassis moving device in an intelligent walker. Fig. 7(b) illustrates a bottom view of one embodiment of the internal components of the chassis mobility device in the intelligent walker.

Preferably, the chassis moving device 5 comprises a chassis moving device housing 59, a chassis support plate 57 arranged within the housing 59, and at least one motor mounted to the chassis support plate 57 and at least one drive wheel connected to the at least one motor. The housing 59 may be integrally formed and designed to accommodate the chassis support plate, motor and associated drive wheels, and the specific configuration of the housing 59 may be determined by the shape and size of the chassis support plate, motor and drive wheels.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 7(a) and 7(b), the chassis moving device may include three

motors

51, 52, 53 and three omni-directional moving

wheels

54, 55, 56 connected to each of the three motors. The

motors

51, 52, 53 may be servo motors, and the rotation speed thereof is adjustable, and the rotation direction may be forward rotation or reverse rotation. The three omni-directional moving wheels may be disposed at three ends of the chassis support plate 57 at regular intervals, and the three motors are disposed on the chassis support plate 57 at regular intervals (e.g., 120 degrees apart), thereby controlling the chassis moving device to move at any speed in any direction. For example, one ends of the three motors may be connected to the three omni-directional moving wheels, respectively, and the other ends of the three motors may be disposed at a central hole of the chassis support plate 57, connected to a motor controller, respectively. In addition, the omni-directional moving

wheels

54, 55, 56 may be any one of mecanum wheels and omni wheels. A plurality of small wheel shafts are mounted on the wheel of the omni-directional moving wheel, so that the omni-directional moving wheel can move in the rotating direction of the wheel, and the wheel shaft can also serve as a driven wheel to move in the normal direction of the wheel. The three omni-directional moving wheels are arranged according to the angles of the images 7(a) and 7(b), so that any speed vector calculated by the walking controller 1 can be decomposed into different rotating speeds of the three Mecanum wheels, and the intelligent walking aid device is prevented from sliding in a static state.

Preferably, the intelligent walking aid device can further comprise a motor controller and a power supply. The motor controller (not shown) may be disposed above or below the chassis support plate and may include a DSP control board. The motor controller is connected with the walking controller to receive instructions from the walking controller and control the at least one motor to rotate forwards or backwards at a corresponding speed according to the instructions. Specifically, the motor controller may control the servo motors to rotate forward or backward at a predetermined speed according to an instruction of the walking controller 300, and the rotation directions and the rotation speeds of the three servo motors are independent of each other. The power source (e.g., a dc power source) may be disposed inside or outside of the chassis mobile device's housing and configured to provide a supply of power to the three motors. As one example, the motor controller may be mounted on the back of the chassis support plate; a dc power supply may be installed between the laser and/or ultrasonic sensor 4 and the chassis moving device 5.

Preferably, at least one speed reducer (not shown) may be further disposed between the at least one motor and the at least one drive wheel connected with the at least one motor, the speed reducer being configured to control a rotational speed of the at least one motor and thereby control smooth operation of the at least one motor and the at least one drive wheel connected with the at least one motor.

In addition, the chassis support plate 57 of the chassis moving device 5 may be a chassis support plate made of metal (e.g., iron or aluminum) which is structurally strong enough to support the weight of the entire intelligent walker device. The chassis moving device 5 bears most of the weight of a user and the intelligent walking aid device, the driven wheel 11 is mounted on the bottom support frame 10, so that the intelligent walking aid device can move along with the chassis moving device 5, and the stability of the intelligent walking aid device is enhanced by the extending structure. The upper supporting component and the lower supporting component can be connected through the pin shaft 3 and the telescopic supporting frame 9, and the height of the intelligent walking aid device can be adjusted through adjusting the tightness of the pin shaft 3 and the length of the telescopic supporting frame 9 so as to adapt to users with different heights.

Preferably, the intelligent walker device may further comprise an emergency stop switch 6, and the emergency stop switch 6 may be located at a conspicuous position near the walking controller 1 of the intelligent walker device, and the user may immediately press the emergency stop switch to stop the movement of the chassis moving device 5 upon the occurrence of an abnormal situation. The laser sensor and/or the ultrasonic sensor 4, the emergency stop switch 6 and the safety belt 8 ensure the use safety of the intelligent walking aid device together.

In another aspect of the invention, a method for controlling the intelligent walker device to provide a walker is provided.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a method for controlling the intelligent walker device to provide walking aid, as shown in FIG. 8, the method for controlling the intelligent walker device to provide walking aid may include:

in S110, the walking controller acquires force data generated by the user manipulating the intelligent walker device and analyzes the walking intent of the user based on the force data;

in S210, the walking controller controls the chassis moving device to move according to a walking control mode of the intelligent walking aid device based on the walking intention of the user and/or a set walking strategy pre-stored in the walking controller.

Specifically, in combination with the specific situation of the user using the intelligent walking aid device of the present invention, the user can first stand in place in the two arm boards 7 of the intelligent walking aid device, stand facing the walking controller 300, then fasten the safety belt 8, then open the walking controller 300, hold the force sensing device 2 for operation, and then push the intelligent walking aid device to walk slowly back and forth, left and right, or make a turning motion. During travel, the walking controller acquires force data generated by a user manipulating the intelligent walker device and analyzes the walking intent of the user based on the force data; the walking controller controls the chassis moving device to move according to a walking control mode of the intelligent walking aid device based on the walking intention of the user and/or a set walking strategy stored in the walking controller in advance. Furthermore, the laser sensor and/or the ultrasonic sensor 4 can detect peripheral obstacles in real time during the traveling process, and the intelligent walking aid stops moving once the obstacles are found.

Preferably, the walking aid control mode of the intelligent walking aid device includes a man-machine shared control mode and a device autonomous control mode, and the intelligent walking aid device is capable of recognizing environmental obstacle information through a laser sensor and/or an ultrasonic sensor provided on the device body, wherein the method further includes:

Preferably, the intelligent walker device may further comprise at least one force sensing device, each of the at least one force sensing device comprising at least one manipulating component and at least one force sensor directly or indirectly connected to the at least one manipulating component, wherein the method further comprises:

sensing a pressure value in at least one direction resulting when the at least one manipulation component is manipulated by a user using the at least one force sensor and generating force data for use of the walker by the user.

Preferably, the intelligent walker device may comprise two of said force sensing devices respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, wherein each of the two force sensing devices respectively comprises a manipulating member and at least two force sensitive sensors directly or indirectly connected to the manipulating member, wherein the method further comprises:

the walking controller determines the torque in the rotating direction expected by the user through the pressure values respectively sensed by the two force sensing devices.

Preferably, the intelligent walker device may comprise two of said force sensing devices disposed on each of the left and right sides of the upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, wherein one of the two force sensing devices comprises a manipulating member and at least two force sensitive sensors directly or indirectly connected to the manipulating member, and the other of the two force sensing devices comprises another manipulating member and an associated torque sensor disposed within or directly or indirectly connected to the other manipulating member, wherein the method further comprises:

Preferably, the intelligent walker device may include a force sensing device disposed on an upper support assembly of the intelligent walker device, the force sensing device including a manipulating member and a multi-axis force sensor coupled to the manipulating member, wherein the method further comprises:

It can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working processes of the system, the apparatus and the components described in the above method embodiments may refer to corresponding technical features in the foregoing apparatus embodiments, and are not described herein again. Thus, the method embodiments may be supplemented, explained and may serve as a basis for modifications thereof, based on the solutions or features mentioned in the previous device embodiments of the intelligent walker device.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an intelligent walker device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the processor when executing the computer program being capable of implementing the functions of the walking controller in any of the above methods.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a computer storage medium storing a computer program capable of implementing the functions of the walking controller in any one of the above methods when executed.

As will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art after reading the present disclosure, in one embodiment the walking controller and/or the motor controller may be implemented by means of corresponding computer program code, as long as the corresponding technical effect is achieved.

It should be noted that the embodiments provided in this application are only the alternative embodiments described in this application, and those skilled in the art can make various modifications and/or changes based on the disclosure herein, and design more embodiments, and such modifications and/or changes are considered to fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative components and/or steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the technical solution. Those of ordinary skill in the art may implement the described functionality in varying ways depending on the particular application, and such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In one or more of the embodiments provided above, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, a division of a unit or a component is merely a logical division, and an actual implementation may have another division, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. Further, the connections shown or discussed as to each other (direct or indirect) may be through some interfaces, and the indirect or communicative connection of devices or units may be electrical, mechanical or otherwise.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed in multiple places. Some or all of the elements may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the present embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computing device or a mobile terminal, a server or a network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

The flowchart and/or block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart and/or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The above embodiments of the present application are provided only, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present disclosure, and such changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An intelligent walking aid device, which is characterized by comprising a device main body and a walking controller, wherein,

the walking controller is arranged on the device body and is configured to acquire force data generated by a user manipulating the intelligent walking aid device and analyze walking intention of the user based on the force data of the user, and then control the chassis moving device to move based on the walking intention of the user and/or a set walking strategy stored in the walking controller in advance according to a walking control mode of the intelligent walking aid device;

the intelligent walker device further comprising at least one force sensing device, wherein one of the at least one force sensing device comprises at least one manipulating component and at least two force-sensitive sensors indirectly connected to the manipulating component, the at least one manipulating component is disposed at the upper support assembly, the at least one force sensing device is configured to sense a pressure value in at least one direction generated when the at least one manipulating component is manipulated by a user and generate force data of the user, a manipulating component interface pad connected thereto is disposed below the at least one manipulating component, the manipulating component interface pad has a first hole disposed in an upper surface thereof, the at least one manipulating component is disposed in the first hole of the manipulating component interface pad, the at least two force-sensitive sensors are respectively disposed in at least two mounting locations in the upper surface of the manipulating component interface pad, the at least two mounting locations are evenly spaced in the circumferential direction around the first hole in the manipulating part connecting disc;

the force sensing device further comprises a protective cover having a second hole therein and covering over the manipulating member connecting pad to protect the at least two force-sensitive sensors provided in the manipulating member connecting pad, the one manipulating member being capable of passing through the second hole in the protective cover;

the operating part connecting disc also comprises at least two grooves arranged in the upper surface of the operating part connecting disc, the at least two grooves are uniformly distributed between the at least two mounting positions at intervals, each of the at least two grooves is provided with a screw and a spring connected with the screw, the screw can fix the lower end of the spring in the groove, and the upper end of the spring can support the protective cover when the protective cover is placed above the operating part connecting disc, so that a gap exists between the protective cover and the upper surface of the operating part connecting disc;

the at least one force sensing device further comprises another force sensing device that is at least one of:

the other force sensing device comprises another manipulating part and at least two force-sensitive sensors indirectly connected with the manipulating part, each of the at least two force-sensitive sensors is configured to sense a pressure value in at least one direction generated when the manipulating part connected with the at least two force-sensitive sensors is manipulated by a user, and the walking controller is further configured to determine a torque magnitude desired by the user based on the pressure values respectively sensed from the at least two force-sensitive sensors;

the further force sensing device comprises a further manipulation member and an associated torque sensor arranged within or directly or indirectly connected to the further manipulation member, the torque sensor being configured to sense an amount of torque generated by the manipulation member connected thereto when manipulated by a user; and/or

The other force sensing device includes another manipulation member and a multi-axis force sensor connected to the other manipulation member, the multi-axis force sensor being configured to sense a torque in at least one direction generated when the other manipulation member connected thereto is manipulated by a user, an upper mounting plate and a lower mounting plate being respectively provided above and below the multi-axis force sensor, the upper mounting plate having a third hole in an upper surface thereof, the other manipulation member being provided in the third hole of the upper mounting plate.

2. The intelligent walker device of claim 1 wherein the walker control modes of the intelligent walker device include a man-machine shared control mode and a device autonomous control mode, and the intelligent walker device is capable of recognizing environmental obstacle information via laser sensors and/or ultrasonic sensors provided on the device body, wherein,

in the human-machine sharing control mode, if no obstacle is detected within a predetermined safety range, the walking controller is configured to control the chassis mobile device to move according to the walking intention of the user; if an obstacle is detected, the walking controller guides the chassis mobile device to move away from the obstacle while conforming to the walking intention of the user;

in the device autonomous control mode, if no obstacle is detected within a predetermined safety range, the walking controller is configured to control the chassis moving device to move based on a set walking strategy stored in the walking controller in advance; if an obstacle is detected, the walking controller guides the chassis moving device to move away from the obstacle under the condition of complying with the set walking strategy.

3. The intelligent walker device of claim 1 wherein the at least one upper support assembly comprises two arm panels respectively disposed at left and right sides of the upper portion of the device body, a middle connection member located at the front of the intelligent walker device for connecting the two arm panels, and a safety belt disposed between the two arm panels, both ends of the safety belt being respectively connected to bottom surfaces of rear portions of the two arm panels;

the chassis moving device comprises a shell of the chassis moving device, a chassis supporting plate arranged in the shell, three motors mounted on the chassis supporting plate and three omnibearing moving wheels respectively connected with each of the three motors, wherein the three omnibearing moving wheels are uniformly arranged at three ends of the chassis supporting plate at intervals, and the three motors are uniformly arranged on the chassis supporting plate at intervals, so that the chassis moving device is controlled to move in any direction at any speed;

the omni-directional moving wheel includes any one of a mecanum wheel and an omni wheel.

4. The intelligent walker device of any one of claims 1-3 wherein the manipulation member includes at least one of a push rod, a threaded rod, and a manipulation handle.

5. A method for controlling an intelligent walker device as claimed in any one of claims 1-4 to provide walking aid, wherein the method comprises:

6. An intelligent walker device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the processor when executing the computer program being capable of implementing the functions of the walking controller in the method of claim 5.

7. A computer storage medium, characterized in that it stores a computer program which, when executed, is capable of implementing the functions of a walking controller in the method according to claim 5.