CN111360790B - A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton - Google Patents

Abstract

A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton, which relates to an exoskeleton, which includes a back carrying device, two shoulder motion mechanisms and two big arm assisting mechanisms; two sides of the back carrying device are arranged respectively Shoulder mechanism and a big arm power-assisted mechanism; each said big arm power-assisted mechanism includes a big arm binding, an elastic expansion part and a shoulder connecting part; one end of the elastic expansion part is rotatably installed on the big arm binding, and the other end rotates Installed on the shoulder connecting piece, the shoulder connecting piece is fixedly connected with the shoulder movement mechanism, and the big arm tie is rotatably arranged on the shoulder connecting piece; The rotation axes are all parallel; the shoulder movement mechanism is connected with the back carrying device, and is used for passive movement with the shoulder of the human body. The invention has a compact structure, helps to reduce the pressure load on the shoulder and neck of the staff during long-term work, and reduces the fatigue damage of the wearer.

Description

A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton

technical field

The invention relates to an exoskeleton, in particular to a gas spring energy storage passive upper limb assisted exoskeleton.

Background technique

The exoskeleton robot is a special human-machine collaborative robot. Its special feature is that it needs to be worn by the operator to perform operations, so as to realize the cooperative work of the robot's driving ability and human body functions. As an important branch of exoskeleton robot research, the research on power-assisted upper limb exoskeleton devices is aimed at ordinary people with healthy bodies. When performing work such as assembly and disassembly of automobile chassis, the upper limbs need to maintain a lifting posture for a long time, and As the movement position of the upper limbs changes, the load moment of the weight on the shoulder joint will also change continuously, which will cause greater fatigue damage to the shoulder and neck, and the situation will become more serious with the increase of the moment arm, prone to tool damage. Safety issues such as falling out of hands, thus affecting normal work tasks and work efficiency.

Contents of the invention

The present invention aims to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton. The upper limb exoskeleton has a compact structure, which helps to reduce the pressure load on the shoulder and neck of the staff during long-term work and avoid safety accidents happened.

A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton includes a back load-carrying device, two shoulder motion mechanisms and two big arm power-assist mechanisms; a shoulder mechanism and a big-arm power-assisted mechanism are respectively arranged on both sides of the back load-carrying device ;

Each of the boom booster mechanisms includes a boom binding, an elastic telescopic piece and a shoulder connecting piece; one end of the elastic stretching piece is rotatably mounted on the boom tying, and the other end is rotatably mounted on the shoulder connecting piece, and the shoulder The connecting piece is fixedly connected with the shoulder movement mechanism, and the big arm binding is rotatably arranged on the shoulder connecting piece; the rotation axis of the big arm binding is parallel to the rotation axes of both ends of the elastic telescopic piece; the shoulder movement The mechanism is connected with the back carrying device, and is used for passive movement with the shoulder of the human body.

The beneficial effect of the present invention compared with prior art is:

When the upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton of the present invention is in a certain state, the elastic telescopic part in the big arm power-assisted mechanism forms a force balance with the whole big-arm power-assisted mechanism and the upper limbs. When the passive exoskeleton is in use after being worn, the large The arm is under force, and the whole is in a downward state, so that the angle formed by the arm assist mechanism and the horizontal plane is reduced, so that the elastic expansion part is compressed and contracted, providing a certain amount of counter force, and supporting the workers to maintain the lifting action. Through the reasonable mechanical structure design, the present invention assists the upper limbs of the operator when performing actions such as carrying and lifting. While enhancing the output capacity of the upper limbs of the human body, the load can be transferred from the shoulders and necks with weak bearing capacity through the mechanical structure. The upper part of the body is transmitted to the lower back with a stronger load-bearing capacity, thereby reducing the load on the upper limbs of the human body when working for a long time, reducing the fatigue damage of the wearer, and avoiding safety accidents. The present invention can be widely used in occasions such as production assembly, cargo handling, rescue and rescue, and other occasions where long-term load output is required for the upper limbs.

Below in conjunction with accompanying drawing and embodiment the technical scheme of the present invention is described further:

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the external structural diagram of the big arm bundle kidnapping;

Fig. 3 is the internal structural diagram of the big arm bundle kidnapping;

Fig. 4 is a structural diagram of the big arm bundle with the inner cover removed;

Fig. 5 is a structural diagram of the shoulder kinematic mechanism and the back carrying device;

Fig. 6 is the structural diagram of connecting device;

Fig. 7 is a working principle diagram of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a diagram of the relationship between load changes and exoskeleton assistance during work.

Detailed ways

Referring to Figures 1-3, a gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton in this embodiment includes a back bearing device 3, two shoulder motion mechanisms 2 and two arm power-assisted mechanisms 1;

A shoulder movement mechanism 2 and a big arm power-assisted mechanism 1 are respectively arranged on both sides of the back carrying device 3;

Each of the boom booster mechanisms 1 includes a boom tying 1-1, an elastic expansion member 1-2 and a shoulder connector 1-3; one end of the elastic expansion 1-2 is rotatably mounted on the boom tying 1- 1, the other end is rotatably installed on the shoulder connecting piece 1-3, the shoulder connecting piece 1-3 is fixedly connected with the shoulder movement mechanism 2, and the big arm binding 1-1 is rotatably set on the shoulder connecting piece 1 -3 up;

The rotation axis of the boom binding 1-1 is parallel to the rotation axes of both ends of the elastic telescopic member 1-2;

The shoulder movement mechanism 2 is connected with the back carrying device 3 for passive movement with the shoulder of the human body. Two sets of shoulder mechanisms 2 and two sets of arm booster mechanisms 1 are respectively arranged in mirror images.

Such a connection method makes the big arm binding 1-1, the shoulder connecting part 1-3 and the elastic expansion part 1-2 form a triangular structure with variable length on one side, and the passive linear expansion and contraction of the elastic expansion part 1-2 Deformation to provide workers with a certain amount of upper arm lifting force.

Optionally, the elastic telescopic member 1-2 is a gas spring. The passive driving method of the gas spring ensures the compact structure of the exoskeleton, and at the same time improves the portability, facilitates the later maintenance, and reduces the maintenance cost. The exoskeleton of this embodiment can reduce the pressure load on the shoulder and neck of the worker during long-term work, and at each posture position during the movement of the upper limbs, the load can be balanced and offset to the greatest extent, thereby improving work efficiency and avoiding safety accidents. occur. The exoskeleton takes into account portability, light weight and wearability, reducing the pressure load caused by unnecessary mechanisms.

Optionally, as shown in Fig. 2-Fig. 4, the boom tying system 1-1 includes an outer cover 1-11, an inner cover 1-12 and a strap 1-13; the outer cover 1-11 and the inner cover 1-12 are buckled together, the gas spring and the shoulder connector 1-3 are arranged in the buckled cavity, one end of the gas spring is rotationally connected to the outer cover 1-11 through a bearing, and the other end is connected to the shoulder connector through a bearing 1-3 is rotationally connected, the shoulder connecting piece 1-3 is installed on the outer cover 1-11 and the inner cover 1-12 through bearings, and the strap part 1-13 is installed on the inner cover 1-12. The bearing described in this embodiment is a deep groove ball bearing.

As an example: as shown in Fig. 3, the shoulder connecting piece 1-3 is a channel steel type or a member with grooves, and the gas spring can be placed in the groove of the shoulder connecting piece 1-3 during operation. The upper part of the shoulder connector 1-3 is fixed radially and axially by two deep groove ball bearings, and is respectively connected with the outer cover 1-11, the inner cover 1-12 and the shoulder movement mechanism 2; at the same time, the shoulder The lower part of the connector 1-3 is connected to the gas spring hinge through two deep groove ball bearings to realize linkage with the gas spring; and the gas spring is fixed on the bearing seat on the outer cover 1-11 through bolts and bearings.

As another example: as shown in Figure 4, the strap 1-13 is fixed to the inner cover 1-12 through the strap connector 1-4, so that the force on the arm of the workers passes through the strap 1 when they are working. -13 translates to a load in the booster structure. Optionally, the strap parts 1-13 are strap plates with straps. Multiple side-by-side punching holes on the strapping board are connected with the binding connectors 1-4 to realize the position adjustment of the strapping parts 1-13. By punching multiple holes side by side on the strapping board, different workers can be better satisfied. physical conditions to improve the wearable performance of this device.

As shown in Figure 5, each said shoulder motion mechanism 2 is a link mechanism, and said link mechanism includes a front link 2-1, a middle link 2-2 and a rear link 2-3; 2-1 One end is fixedly connected to the shoulder connector 1-3, and the other end is rotationally connected to one end of the middle connecting rod 2-2; the other end of the middle connecting rod 2-2 is rotated to one end of the rear connecting rod 2-3 connection, the other end of the rear connecting rod 2-3 is rotationally connected with the back bearing device 3, the front connecting rod 2-1 and the middle connecting rod 2-2, the middle connecting rod 2-2 and the rear connecting rod 2-3 and the rear The connecting rod 2-3 is parallel to the rotation axis of the back carrying device 3, and is arranged vertically when worn. The three connecting rods are connected together through two deep groove ball bearings to form a connecting rod mechanism to improve the freedom of workers when using the device; at the same time, the rear connecting rods 2-3 are connected to the back carrying device 3 through deep groove ball bearings. Together, the overall linkage between the link mechanism, the boom booster mechanism 1 and the back carrying device 3 is realized, and the flexibility of use is ensured.

As shown in Figure 5, the back carrying device 3 includes a front backboard 3-1, a backboard 3-2 and a crotch fixing part 3-3;

The front backboard 3-1 is connected with the backboard 3-2 for being worn on the back of the human body; the crotch fixing part 3-3 is fixed on the backboard 3-2 for being worn on the lower back of the human body; The connecting rod 2-3 is connected with the backboard 3-2. The front backplane 3-1 is fixedly connected with the backplane 3-2 through bolt connection; as an example: the front backplane 3-1 is a hollowed-out board with a hollowed-out shape in the middle to reduce the overall weight of the device, improve portability and use The low load of the time; while the external shape of the front back plate 3-1 is designed to fit the shape of the back of the human body, to a large extent ensure the range of motion of the hands and shoulders of the workers when they are working; at the same time, the strap 3-11 is installed on it, It is easy to wear and transmits the carrying capacity to the shoulders of the human body, as shown in Figure 5. Optionally, the material of the back supporting device 3 is carbon fiber. The whole or individual parts of the back carrying device 3 are carbon fibers. It is made of high-strength carbon fiber board, which satisfies the requirement of light weight under the premise of ensuring sufficient strength. It is estimated that the total weight of the entire back carrying device 3 does not exceed 2kg. The lightweight design can meet the requirements of high flexibility and high assist energy density during work, and has good human-machine coordination.

As shown in Figure 6, as an example: the back carrying device 3 is connected with the shoulder movement mechanism 2 through the connecting device, and each set of the connecting device includes a front clip 4-1 and a rear clip 4. -2, the shaft 4-3 and the back connecting plate 4-4; the front clip 4-1 is fixed on the back connecting plate 4-4, and the back connecting plate 4-4 is fixed on the back plate 3-2, The front clip 4-1 and the rear clip 4-2 that are connected together are fixed to the axle 4-3, and the rear connecting rod 2-3 is installed on the upper end of the axle 4-3 by a bearing. The front clamp 4-1 and the rear clamp 4-2 are fixedly connected with bolts so that the shaft 4-3 is fixed therein, and the fixed connection between the rear connecting rod 2-3 and the connecting device is realized; the front clamp 4-1 is connected by bolts The connection can be fixed on the back connecting plate 4-4, thereby realizing the integral connection of the shoulder motion mechanism 2 and the back carrying device 3, and carrying the transfer to the back of the shoulder during work. Simultaneously, as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the structure of multi-hole is designed on the back connecting plate 4-4, and the back plate 3-2 passes through the front back plate 3-1 and the back connecting plate 4-4. The bolts are fastened tightly, and this design provides a greater degree of size adaptability, through which the back plate 3-2 and the back connecting plate 4-4 can be continuously adjusted up and down to ensure wearing comfort. A certain amount of coarse adjustment can be realized according to the requirements of use, so as to improve the comfort of the device during use.

As shown in FIG. 5, the crotch connecting part 3-3 is fixedly connected to the back panel 3-2. Optionally, the crotch fixing part 3-3 is a U-shaped groove plate with mesh holes, and the groove plate is equipped with straps. The overall design fits the waist and back of the human body, and a strap is added on it to adjust the tightness when wearing it. At the same time, a mesh hole design is made on it to reduce the overall weight of the device to a large extent. The back carrying device 3 adopts such a separate design as a whole, and it is divided into a front backboard 3-1, a rear backboard 3-2 and a crotch fixing part 3-3, which improves the portability during use and is also convenient It can simplify the replacement and adjustment in the later period and reduce the maintenance cost.

working principle

When the exoskeleton is in the state as shown in Figure 3, the gas spring in the arm assist mechanism 1 forms a force balance with the arm assist mechanism 1 as a whole and the upper limbs. When the exoskeleton is in use after being worn, the upper arm is under force at this time, and the whole is in a downward pressure state, so that the angle formed by the upper arm assist mechanism 1 and the horizontal plane is reduced, and the gas spring is compressed and contracted to provide a certain amount of feedback. Support the workers to maintain the lifting action.

As shown in Figure 7, this process can be equivalent to a triangular problem where the length of one side changes: the distance between the two points where the outer cover 1-11 is fixed to the gas spring and the shoulder connector 1-3 is fixed, which can be equivalent to The length AB; the length of the shoulder connector 1-3 remains unchanged, which can be equivalent to the side length BC, and the shoulder connector 1-3 is kept perpendicular to the horizontal plane through the structure of Figure 1 and Figure 3; the length of the gas spring changes, which can be Equivalent to side length AC. Initially α=90°, α represents the angle between AB (connecting the two bearings on the outer cover 1-11) and the horizontal direction;

When the pressure is applied, α becomes smaller, so that AC becomes shorter, and the pressure of the gas spring produces the force situation as shown in Figure 7:

Calculated to get: AC·h=AB·BC·cosα:

T _exo = F _gas · h = F _gas · AB · BC · cosα / AC, T _load = F _load · AB · cosα;

Available: F _gas = 250N, F _load = 5kgf, AB = 164mm, BC = 38mm

Among them, T _exo represents the output torque of the exoskeleton, F _gas represents the force of the gas spring, F _load represents the force of the load during exercise, and T _load represents the load moment when the person is working;

The graph is shown in Figure 8. In the figure, the ordinate on the left represents the torque, the ordinate on the right represents the balance error, and the abscissa represents the working angle α, where the curves corresponding to the torque value on the left are: the first double-dot dash line curve represents the output torque of the exoskeleton- The difference of the load moment during work (expressed by ΔT); the second single-dotted line curve represents the difference between the output torque of the exoskeleton and the load moment during work, and the ratio of the load moment during work, which is the error ratio (expressed by ΔT /T _load ); the third solid line curve represents the output torque of the exoskeleton (expressed by T _exo ); the fourth dotted line curve represents the load moment when the person is working (expressed by T _load ); at this time: through the structural parameters Optimization, in the assisted range of 90° to 0°, the exoskeleton can completely balance the moment generated by the load at the load end, and the error is controlled between -4 and +5%, realizing the automatic load at each working position in the assisted area. Balance means that the exoskeleton can fully balance the load assistance required by people in each working position, which is equivalent to no effort by people.

Among them: the movable range of α design is from 90° to -90°, the human body assisting work area is 90° to 0°, when α reaches 90° or -90°, the inner edge of the 1-3 groove of the shoulder connector is used Limit the gas spring to play a protective role. Simultaneously, the use of the shoulder kinematic mechanism 2 ensures the best flexibility of the horizontal plane when the workers are working, and ensures complete freedom in the range of motion. The reaction force generated by the compression of the gas spring is transmitted to the back bearing device 3 through the link mechanism, and then the lower back with a stronger bearing capacity bears the load to realize load transfer and reduce the load on the shoulder and neck.

The present invention has been disclosed above with preferred implementation examples, but it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any skilled person who is familiar with the profession can use the structure and technical content disclosed above to make some Changes or modifications to equivalent implementation examples of equivalent changes still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims (7)

1. A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton, characterized in that: it includes a back carrying device (3), two shoulder motion mechanisms (2) and two big arm power-assisted mechanisms (1); A shoulder motion mechanism (2) and a big arm power-assisted mechanism (1) are respectively arranged on both sides of the back carrying device (3); Each said big arm booster mechanism (1) comprises a big arm binding kidnapping (1-1), an elastic expansion part (1-2) and a shoulder connecting part (1-3); the elastic expansion part (1-2) One end is rotatably mounted on the arm bundle (1-1), the other end is rotatably mounted on the shoulder connecting piece (1-3), and the shoulder connecting piece (1-3) is fixedly connected to the shoulder movement mechanism (2) , the big arm binding (1-1) is rotatably arranged on the shoulder connecting piece (1-3); The rotation axes of the ends are all parallel; the shoulder movement mechanism (2) is connected with the back carrying device (3) for passive movement with the shoulder of the human body; the big arm binding (1-1) includes an outer cover (1- 11), the inner cover (1-12) and the strap (1-13), the outer cover (1-11) and the inner cover (1-12) are fastened together, and the elastic telescopic member (1-2) It is a gas spring, and the gas spring and the shoulder connecting piece (1-3) are arranged in a buckled cavity, the shoulder connecting piece (1-3) is a channel steel type or a grooved member, and the shoulder connecting piece (1-3) -3) The two upper parts are fixed radially and axially by bearings, and are respectively connected with the outer cover (1-11), inner cover (1-12) and shoulder mechanism (2), and the shoulder connector ( The lower part of 1-3) is connected to the gas spring hinge through a bearing, one end of the gas spring is rotatably connected to the outer cover (1-11) through the bearing, and the other end is rotatably connected to the shoulder connector (1-3) through the bearing, tied The belt (1-13) is installed on the inner cover (1-12), initially α=90°, α represents the angle between the line of the two bearings on the outer cover (1-11) and the horizontal direction, when the pressure When α becomes smaller, the elastic expansion part (1-2) is shortened, and the α of the human body assisting work area is 90° to 0°. 2. A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that: each of the shoulder motion mechanisms (2) is a link mechanism, and the link mechanism includes a front link (2-1), middle connecting rod (2-2) and rear connecting rod (2-3); one end of the front connecting rod (2-1) is fixedly connected to the shoulder connector (1-3), and the other end is connected One end of the middle connecting rod (2-2) is rotationally connected; the other end of the middle connecting rod (2-2) is rotationally connected with one end of the rear connecting rod (2-3), and the other end of the rear connecting rod (2-3) Rotately connected with the back bearing device (3), the front connecting rod (2-1) and the middle connecting rod (2-2), the middle connecting rod (2-2) and the rear connecting rod (2-3) and the rear connecting rod The rods (2-3) are parallel to the axis of rotation of the back carrying device (3), arranged vertically when worn. 3. A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the back carrying device (3) includes a front backboard (3-1), a rear backboard (3 -2) and the crotch fixing part (3-3); The front backboard (3-1) is connected to the backboard (3-2), and is used to be worn on the back of a human body; The crotch fixing part (3-3) is fixed on the back panel (3-2), and is used to be worn on the lower back of the human body; The rear connecting rod (2-3) is connected with the rear backboard (3-2). 4. A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton according to claim 3, characterized in that: it also includes two sets of connecting devices, and each set of connecting devices includes a front clip (4-1), a rear clip piece (4-2), shaft (4-3) and back connecting plate (4-4); the front clip (4-1) is fixed on the back connecting plate (4-4), and the back connecting plate ( 4-4) fixed on the rear backboard (3-2), the axle (4-3) is fixed by the front clip (4-1) and the rear clip (4-2) connected together, and the rear link ( 2-3) be installed on the upper end of the shaft (4-3) by bearings. 5. A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton according to claim 4, characterized in that: the material of the back carrying device (3) is carbon fiber. 6. A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton according to claim 5, characterized in that: the front back plate (3-1) is a hollow plate. 7. A gas spring energy storage passive upper limb power-assisted exoskeleton according to claim 6, characterized in that: the crotch fixing part (3-3) is a U-shaped groove plate with mesh holes, and the groove plate Top with straps.

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