CN112296983B

CN112296983B - Exoskeleton equipment and control method and control device thereof

Info

Publication number: CN112296983B
Application number: CN201910713111.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 不公告发明人
Original assignee: Shenzhen Conchin Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Conchin Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-02
Filing date: 2019-08-02
Publication date: 2022-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 2039-08-02
Also published as: CN112296983A

Abstract

The invention discloses an exoskeleton device and a control method and a control device thereof, wherein the control method comprises the following steps: receiving detection signals sent by an angle sensor, an inertial sensor and/or a pressure sensor in a sensing system in real time; widening detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor to prolong the action time of the detection signals; monitoring whether a pre-touchdown event or a pre-liftoff event occurs in real time according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after broadening processing; if a pre-touchdown event occurs, entering a pre-touchdown state; controlling the power system to output torque to the framework mechanism in the pre-grounding state; if a pre-lift-off event occurs, entering a pre-lift-off state; and controlling the power system to stop outputting torque to the framework mechanism and rotate along with the framework mechanism in the preset ground state. The invention enables the exoskeleton equipment to be stably switched between the supporting state and the swinging state, and improves the stability of the exoskeleton equipment.

Description

Exoskeleton equipment and control method and control device thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of wearable exoskeleton, in particular to exoskeleton equipment and a control method and a control device thereof.

Background

Humans often encounter situations in daily work and life where it is desirable to enhance the strength and endurance of the human legs, and wearable exoskeleton devices are devices that are satisfactory for this type of application. When the exoskeleton equipment is used, the movement intention of a wearer needs to be accurately detected, and the assistance effect of the exoskeleton equipment can be well exerted only by timely providing appropriate assistance. In the prior art, the exoskeleton equipment cannot timely and accurately identify the movement intention of a wearer, so that the exoskeleton equipment is relatively stiff when switching power-assisted operation, repeated switching and even oscillation are easily caused in the switching process, and the stability of the exoskeleton equipment is poor.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides an exoskeleton device, a control method and a control device thereof based on the problems in the prior art.

The invention provides exoskeleton equipment, which comprises a framework mechanism, a main control unit, a power system and a sensing system, wherein the framework mechanism is connected with the main control unit;

the skeleton mechanism comprises a waist-back mechanism, a thigh rod, a shank rod, a hip joint and a knee joint; the waist and back mechanism is used for being fixed with the waist and back of a wearer through a waist bandage; the thigh rod is used for being fixed with the thigh of the wearer through a thigh strap and is rotationally coupled with the waist and back mechanism through the hip joint; the shank rod is used for being fixed with the shank of the wearer through a shank strap and is rotationally connected with the thigh rod through the knee joint;

the main control unit, the power system and the sensing system are installed on the framework mechanism, and the main control unit is respectively electrically connected with the power system and the sensing system, wherein the power system is used for outputting torque to the framework mechanism or rotating along with the framework mechanism, and the main control unit is used for receiving a detection signal of the sensing system and controlling the power system to work;

the sensing system is electrically connected with the main control unit and comprises a plurality of angle sensors, a plurality of inertia sensors and a plurality of pressure sensors, wherein the angle sensors are arranged on the hip joint and/or the knee joint and are used for detecting the relative angle between the thigh rod and the waist-back mechanism and/or the relative angle between the thigh rod and the shank rod; the inertial sensor is arranged on the waist-back mechanism, the thigh rod, the shank rod and/or the foot of the wearer and is used for detecting the acceleration to the ground and/or the angular velocity to the ground of the waist-back mechanism, the thigh rod, the shank rod and/or the foot of the wearer; the pressure sensor is arranged on the sole of the wearer and used for detecting the pressure of the sole of the wearer on the ground.

Further, the pressure sensor comprises an air shoe pad and a barometer chip, the air shoe pad comprises a sheet-shaped cavity structure formed by sealing and enclosing a flexible film, gas is filled in the cavity structure, the barometer chip is arranged in the cavity structure, and a signal of the barometer chip passes through the cavity wall of the cavity structure through a wire and is led out of the air shoe pad; when the air insole is pressed, the air pressure inside the cavity structure changes, and the air pressure changes are sensed by the barometer chip, so that the pressure born by the air insole is measured.

Furthermore, the inertial sensor is arranged in the cavity structure of the air shoe pad, and the signal of the inertial sensor passes through the cavity wall of the cavity structure through the lead and is led out of the air shoe pad, so that the inertial sensor is arranged on the foot of the wearer through the air shoe pad.

Further, when the inertial sensor is mounted on the waist-back mechanism, the thigh rod and the shank rod, the inertial sensor is mounted on a waist strap of the waist-back mechanism, a thigh strap of the thigh rod and a shank strap of the shank rod, so that the inertial sensor is more sensitive and reliable.

The invention also provides an exoskeleton device control method, which runs on any one of the main control units of the exoskeleton device and comprises the following steps:

receiving detection signals sent by the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor in the sensing system in real time;

widening detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor to prolong the acting time of the detection signals;

carrying out operation combination or logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after widening processing, and monitoring whether a pre-touchdown event or a pre-liftoff event occurs in real time by judging whether the operation combination/logic combination reaches a set threshold value;

entering a pre-touchdown state if the pre-touchdown event occurs;

controlling the power system to stop rotating along with the framework mechanism and outputting torque to the framework mechanism in the pre-grounding state;

if the pre-lift-off event occurs, entering a pre-lift-off state;

controlling the power system to stop outputting torque to the framework mechanism and rotate along with the framework mechanism in the pre-lift state; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the pre-ground contact state is a temporary state between a pendulum state and a support state, and the pre-ground contact state is a temporary state between the support state and the pendulum state.

Further, the step of performing operation combination or logic combination according to the detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing, and monitoring whether a pre-touchdown event or a pre-liftoff event occurs in real time by judging whether the operation combination/logic combination reaches a set threshold value includes:

performing first operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after broadening processing;

judging whether the first operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset pre-touchdown starting threshold value or not;

if the first operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the pre-touchdown starting threshold value, confirming that the pre-touchdown event occurs; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

performing second operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after broadening processing;

judging whether the second operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset liftoff starting threshold value or not;

and if the second operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the preset liftoff starting threshold value, confirming that a preset liftoff event occurs.

Further, if the pre-touchdown event occurs, the step of entering the pre-touchdown state further includes:

performing third operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after broadening processing;

judging whether the third operation combination/logic combination result reaches a preset touchdown starting threshold value or not;

and if the third operation combination/logic combination result reaches the touchdown starting threshold value, confirming that the touchdown event occurs.

Entering the support state if the touchdown event occurs;

and in the supporting state, the power system is controlled to stop rotating along with the framework mechanism and output torque to the framework mechanism.

performing fourth operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after broadening processing;

judging whether the fourth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset pre-touchdown exit threshold value or not;

if the fourth operational combination/logical combination result exceeds the pre-touchdown exit threshold value, confirming that the touchless event occurs;

and if the untouched event occurs, exiting the pre-touchdown state and returning to the pendulum dynamic state.

presetting a pre-touchdown timing time limit and starting a pre-processing timer to calculate the duration of the pre-touchdown state;

judging whether the duration time of the pre-touchdown state exceeds the pre-touchdown timing time limit or not;

and if the duration time of the pre-touchdown state exceeds the pre-touchdown timing time limit, exiting the pre-touchdown state and returning to the pendulum dynamics state.

Further, if the pre-launch event occurs, the step of entering the pre-launch state further includes:

performing fifth operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after broadening processing;

judging whether the fifth operation combination/logic combination result reaches a preset liftoff starting threshold value or not;

if the fifth operation combination/logic combination result reaches the liftoff starting threshold value, confirming that the liftoff event occurs;

if the ground lift event occurs, entering the pendulum dynamics;

and dynamically controlling the power system to stop outputting torque to the framework mechanism and rotate along with the framework mechanism on the pendulum.

performing sixth operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after broadening processing;

judging whether the sixth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset liftoff exit threshold value or not;

if the sixth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the pre-liftoff exit threshold value, confirming that the event which is not liftoff occurs;

and if the event of not leaving the ground occurs, exiting the pre-leaving state and returning to the supporting state.

presetting a preset ground clearance timing time limit and starting a preprocessing timer to calculate the duration of the preset ground clearance state;

judging whether the duration time of the pre-ground clearance state exceeds the pre-ground clearance timing time limit or not;

and if the duration time of the pre-lift-off state exceeds the pre-lift-off timing time limit, exiting the pre-lift-off state and returning to the support state.

Further, if the pre-touchdown event occurs, after the pre-touchdown event occurs, the power system is controlled to stop rotating along with the framework mechanism and output torque to the framework mechanism according to a pre-touchdown process percentage, and the pre-touchdown process percentage is calculated by adopting one method or a plurality of methods and then is subjected to operation combination/logic combination so as to realize continuity and stability of assistance when the swing state of the exoskeleton equipment is switched to the support state:

setting a touchdown starting threshold value; performing seventh operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after broadening processing; calculating the percentage of the pre-touchdown process according to the degree that the seventh operational combination/logical combination result approaches the touchdown start threshold value;

setting a pre-touchdown exit threshold value; performing eighth operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; calculating the percentage of the pre-touchdown process according to the degree that the eighth operation combination/logic combination result approaches the pre-touchdown exit threshold value;

setting a pre-touchdown timing time limit, and calculating the percentage of the pre-touchdown process according to the ratio of the duration of the pre-touchdown state to the pre-touchdown timing time limit.

Further, if the pre-lift-off event occurs, after entering the pre-lift-off state step, controlling the power system to stop outputting the torque to the skeleton mechanism and to rotate along with the skeleton mechanism according to a pre-lift-off process percentage, where the pre-lift-off process percentage is calculated by one of the following methods or by a plurality of methods and then is subjected to operation combination/logic combination, so as to realize continuity and stability of assistance when the support state of the exoskeleton equipment is switched to the swing state:

setting a ground lift starting threshold value; performing ninth operational combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; calculating the pre-liftoff process percentage according to the degree that the ninth operation combination/logic combination result is close to the liftoff starting threshold value;

setting a pre-liftoff exit threshold value; performing tenth operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; calculating the pre-liftoff process percentage according to the degree that the tenth operation combination/logic combination result approaches the pre-liftoff exit threshold value;

and setting a pre-lift timing time limit, and calculating the percentage of the pre-lift process according to the ratio of the duration of the pre-lift state to the pre-lift timing time limit.

Further, the pre-touchdown timing period is adjusted according to the currently detected pace frequency/pace, wherein the shorter the pre-touchdown timing period the higher the pace frequency/pace, the faster the response time of the exoskeleton device.

Further, the pre-lift timing time period is adjusted according to a currently detected pace frequency/pace, wherein the shorter the pre-lift timing time period the higher the pace frequency/pace, the faster the response time of the exoskeleton device.

Further, the pre-touchdown start threshold or the pre-liftoff start threshold is adjusted according to the movement speed or the step frequency of the wearer, and the faster the movement speed or the higher the step frequency is, the lower the pre-touchdown start threshold or the pre-liftoff start threshold is.

Further, before the step of receiving in real time detection signals sent by the angle sensor, the inertial sensor and/or the pressure sensor in the sensing system, the method further includes:

continuously detecting the maximum value and the minimum value of the plantar pressure, and recording the minimum average value as 0, namely no external pressure; the maximum average is recorded as the body weight to calibrate the pressure sensors mounted on the soles of the feet.

Further, the stretching process includes, but is not limited to, timing maintenance, low-pass filtering, normal distribution processing, attenuation processing, or any combination thereof.

The present invention also provides an exoskeleton device control apparatus, configured to a main control unit of any one of the exoskeleton devices, comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving detection signals sent by the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor in the sensing system in real time;

the stretching module is used for stretching detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor so as to prolong the acting time of the detection signals;

the monitoring module is used for carrying out operation combination or logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after widening processing, and monitoring whether a pre-touchdown event or a pre-liftoff event occurs in real time by judging whether the operation combination/logic combination reaches a set threshold value;

the first switching module is used for entering a pre-touchdown state if the pre-touchdown event occurs;

the first output module is used for controlling the power system to output torque to the skeleton mechanism in the pre-grounding state;

the second switching module is used for entering a pre-ground clearance state if the pre-ground clearance event occurs;

the second output module is used for controlling the power system to stop outputting torque to the framework mechanism and rotate along with the framework mechanism in the pre-lift state; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

The invention has the beneficial effects that: after a wearer wears the exoskeleton equipment, the movement intention of the wearer can be monitored by arranging the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and the pressure sensor on the exoskeleton equipment, so that the wearer can be better assisted to move. In the exoskeleton equipment control method, the pre-ground contact state is set before the exoskeleton equipment enters the support state, so that the wearer can provide assistance for the wearer when the wearer generates the intention of entering the support state, the pre-ground contact state is set before the exoskeleton equipment enters the pendulum state, the wearer can withdraw the assistance for providing the assistance for the wearer when the intention of entering the pendulum state is generated, the phenomenon that the exoskeleton equipment cannot timely and accurately identify the movement intention of the wearer due to slow reaction of the main control unit is effectively avoided, the exoskeleton equipment is relatively stiff when the assistance operation is switched, repeated switching and even oscillation are easily caused in the switching process, the stability of the exoskeleton equipment is better, and the experience effect of the wearer is better.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of an exoskeleton device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the powertrain of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the pressure sensor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a method for exoskeleton device control according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a logic block diagram for state transition between pre-touchdown, support, pre-touchdown, and swing states provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a detection signal stretching process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an exoskeleton device control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that all directional indicators (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, horizontal, vertical, etc.) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative position relationship between the components, the motion situation, etc. in a certain posture (as shown in the drawings), and if the certain posture is changed, the directional indicators are changed accordingly, the "connection" may be a direct connection or an indirect connection, and the "setting", and "setting" may be directly or indirectly set.

In addition, the descriptions related to "first", "second", etc. in the present invention are only for descriptive purposes and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, technical solutions between various embodiments may be combined with each other, but must be realized by a person skilled in the art, and when the technical solutions are contradictory or cannot be realized, such a combination should not be considered to exist, and is not within the protection scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, fig. 1 is a partial schematic structural view of an exoskeleton device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the powertrain of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the pressure sensor 25 of FIG. 1; in this embodiment, the exoskeleton device comprises a skeleton mechanism 1, a master control unit 3, a power system and a sensing system; the framework mechanism 1 comprises a waist and back mechanism 11, a thigh rod 13, a shank rod 15, a hip joint 12 and a knee joint 14; the waist and back mechanism 11 is used for being fixed with the waist and back of a wearer through a waist belt 111; the thigh rod 13 is used for being fixed with the thigh of the wearer through a thigh strap 131, and is rotationally coupled with the waist-back mechanism 11 through a hip joint 12; the shank rod 15 is used for being fixed with the shank of the wearer through shank straps (151, 152), and is rotatably connected with the shank rod 13 through a knee joint 14; the main control unit 3, the power system and the sensing system are arranged on the framework mechanism 1, and the main control unit 3 is respectively and electrically connected with the power system and the sensing system, wherein the power system is used for outputting torque to the framework mechanism 1 or moving along with the framework mechanism 1, and the main control unit 3 is used for receiving a detection signal of the sensing system and controlling the power system to work; the sensing system is electrically connected with the main control unit 3 and comprises a plurality of angle sensors (22, 23), a plurality of inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) and a plurality of pressure sensors 25, wherein the angle sensors (22, 23) are arranged on the hip joint 12 and/or the knee joint 14 and are used for detecting the relative angle between the thigh rod 13 and the waist-back mechanism 11 and/or the relative angle between the thigh rod 13 and the shank rod 15; inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) are arranged on the waist-back mechanism 11, the thigh bar 13, the shank bar 15 and/or the foot of the wearer for detecting the ground acceleration and/or the ground angular velocity of the waist-back mechanism 11, the thigh bar 13, the shank bar 15 and/or the foot of the wearer; the pressure sensor 25 is arranged on the sole of the wearer and used for detecting the pressure of the sole of the wearer on the ground.

In the embodiment, after the wearer wears the exoskeleton device, the wearer's movement intention can be monitored by arranging angle sensors (22, 23), inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) and a pressure sensor 25 on the exoskeleton device, so as to better assist the wearer in moving, wherein the relative angle between the thigh rod 13 and the waist-back mechanism 11 is the relative angle between the torso and the thigh of the wearer; the relative angle of the thigh bar 13 and the shank bar 15 is the relative angle of the wearer's thigh and lower leg.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, the pressure sensor 25 includes an air shoe pad 251 and a barometer chip 252, the air shoe pad 251 includes a sheet-shaped cavity structure formed by sealing and enclosing a flexible film, the cavity structure is filled with air, the barometer chip 252 is disposed in the cavity structure, and a signal thereof passes through a wire 253 and out of a cavity wall of the cavity structure to be led out of the air shoe pad 251 so as to be connected with the main control unit 3; when the air insole 251 is pressed, the air pressure inside the cavity structure changes, and the air pressure changes are sensed by the barometer chip 252, so that the pressure born by the air insole 251 is measured. In this embodiment, the pressure sensor 25 is soft and comfortable, and has high reliability.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) are disposed in the cavity structure of the air insole 251, and signals of the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) are led out of the air insole 251 through the cavity wall of the cavity structure by the wires 253, so that the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) are mounted on the foot of the wearer through the air insole 251.

In an alternative embodiment, such as this embodiment, a sealant is disposed between the wires 253 and the walls of the cavity to prevent air leakage.

In an alternative embodiment, such as the present embodiment, when the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) are mounted on the lumbar-back mechanism 11, the thigh bar 13 and the shank bar 15, they are mounted on the waist strap 111 of the lumbar-back mechanism 11, the thigh strap 131 of the thigh bar 13 and the shank strap (151, 152) of the shank bar 15, so that the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) are more sensitive and reliable because the waist strap 111, the thigh bar 13 and the shank bar 15 are in close contact with the body of the wearer.

In an alternative embodiment, such as the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the power system includes a power module 41 and a transmission cable 42; the power module 41 is arranged on the lumbar-back mechanism 11 and comprises a power base 411 and a power output end 412, the power base 411 is fixedly connected with the lumbar-back mechanism 11, one end of a transmission cable 42 is connected with the power output end 412 and is fixed on a fixed end 421 of the power output end 412, and the other end of the transmission cable passes through a sleeve 422 and bypasses the hip joint 12 to be connected with the knee joint 14; under the control of the main control unit 3, the power output end 412 of the power module 41 can rotate relative to the power base 411, so that the transmission cable 42 can be tensioned or loosened, and when the transmission cable 42 is tensioned, the knee joint 14 connected with the power module drives the knee joint 14 of the wearer to extend; when the transmission cable 42 is released, the hip joint 12 and the knee joint 14 are in free rotation, and the lower limb of the wearer can freely extend or bend. The power module 41 is provided with a torque sensor and an encoder, which can measure the power output torque and the rotation speed respectively, so as to tighten or loosen the transmission cable 42 according to the set output torque or the set speed under the control of the main control unit 3.

In this embodiment, when the exoskeleton device works, the sensing system transmits the detection signal to the main control unit 3, and the main control unit 3 can identify the movement intention of the wearer by performing calculation and analysis on the detection signal, and determine whether the current foot of the wearer is in the ground contacting support state ST or the ground separated swing state SW: if in the support state ST, the power module 41 is controlled to tighten the transmission cables 42, thereby causing the thigh bars 13 and the calf bars 15 of the exoskeleton device to extend, transmitting an extension moment to the wearer, assisting the wearer's lower limbs in supporting the weight of their torso; if in the swing state SW, the power module 41 is controlled to release the transmission cables 42 so that the hip joints 12 and knee joints 14 of the exoskeleton device can both rotate freely and the wearer's lower extremity swing is not constrained by the exoskeleton device.

In this embodiment, when the exoskeleton device is used, the main control unit 3 needs to timely, accurately and reliably determine the continuous switching process of the support state ST and the swing state SW of the foot of the wearer, i.e. the continuous switching process of the ground contact and the ground lift, so as to timely control the power system to give assistance, withdraw assistance, and the like, but in the prior art, the continuous switching process of the support state ST and the swing state SW can not be continuously sensed by any sensor, and the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) can firstly sense the change of the instantaneous acceleration or angular velocity of the ground contact or the ground contact and then basically fail; the angle sensors (22, 23) can sense the angle change of the knee joint 14 or the hip joint 12 of the wearer in the switching process of touching and leaving the ground, but are closely related to the walking posture and the terrain environment of the wearer, and the reliability is not high; the pressure sensor 25 can sense the pressure change of the wearer when the sole presses the ground in the switching process of grounding and leaving the ground, but the change speed is slow, the characteristic limit of the pressure sensor is influenced by the wearing matching factors, the pressure sensing data is not accurate enough, and the fluctuation is large; therefore, the main control unit 3 in the prior art is slow in response and cannot timely and accurately identify the movement intention of the wearer.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a control method for an exoskeleton device based on any one of the embodiments of the exoskeleton device, so as to solve the problems that the exoskeleton device is relatively stiff when switching the assist operation and is easily switched repeatedly or even oscillated during the switching process due to the fact that the main control unit 3 is slow in response and cannot accurately identify the movement intention of the wearer in time.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a control method for an exoskeleton device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a logic block diagram of the state transition between pre-touchdown PreCtk, support state ST, pre-touchdown PreLift, and swing state SW, according to an embodiment of the present invention; in this embodiment, the control method, which is executed on the main control unit 3 of the exoskeleton device in any one of the above embodiments, includes the following steps:

and S10, receiving detection signals sent by the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 in the sensing system in real time.

In the present embodiment, the detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23) carry information including the relative angle of the thigh bar 13 and the lumbar mechanism 11 and/or the relative angle of the thigh bar 13 and the shank bar 15, the angular velocity of the hip joint 12 and/or the knee joint 14, and the like. The detection signals of the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) carry information including the acceleration and/or angular velocity of the waist-back mechanism 11, the thigh bar 13, the shank bar 15 and/or the foot of the wearer with respect to the ground. The detection signal of the pressure sensor 25 carries information including the pressure of the sole of the wearer against the ground.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, before receiving the detection signal of the pressure sensor 25, a calibration process is further included for the pressure sensor 25, and the method of the calibration process includes: the maximum and minimum values of the pressure sensor 25 are continuously recorded, with the average value of the minimum values being 0, i.e. the no-pressure state, and the average value of the maximum values being the human body weight PMAX. The threshold value of the pressure sensor 25 may be set as a percentage of PMAX and the maximum average value may be modified by the gravitational acceleration sensed by inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) mounted on the sole, e.g. PMAX ═ PMAX/mean sole gravitational acceleration at maximum sole pressure, to reduce the effect of wearer's locomotor acceleration on sole pressure measurements.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, the step of receiving in real time the detection signals sent by the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and the pressure sensor 25 in the sensing system in step S10 includes:

and S101, calculating the inclination angle of the waist and back mechanism 11, the thigh rod 13, the shank rod 15 and/or the foot of the wearer to the ground according to the detection signals of the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) to obtain the posture of the wearer.

In the embodiment, the inclination angles of the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) to the ground can be calculated according to the components of the gravity acceleration sensed by the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) in three axes, and the inclination angles of the waist-back mechanism 11, the thigh rod 13, the shank rod 15 and/or the feet of the wearer to the ground can be obtained according to the inclination angles of the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26), namely the inclination angles of the trunk, the thighs, the shanks and/or the feet of the wearer to the ground can be obtained.

In this embodiment, in order to improve the calculation accuracy, the inclination angle may be corrected by combining the three-axis ground angular velocity sensed by the inertial sensors (21, 24, and 26), and currently, correction algorithms commonly used in the industry include kalman filtering or complementary filtering, which is not described herein again.

And S102, estimating the weight and the mass center of the trunk, the thighs, the lower legs and/or the feet of the wearer according to the weight distribution characteristics of the wearer.

S103, calculating the projection of the centroid on the ground according to the posture of the wearer, and calculating the distance between the centroid and the left foot and the distance between the centroid and the right foot.

In this embodiment, the weight and the center of mass of the torso, thigh, calf and/or foot of the wearer, and the projection of the center of mass on the ground are estimated by using a calculation method commonly used in the art, which is not described herein again.

And S104, calculating the ground movement speed of the inertial sensor (21, 24, 26) according to the detection signal.

In this embodiment, the earth motion velocity of the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) can be obtained by subtracting the gravity component from the earth acceleration sensed by the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) and integrating the subtracted component, which is a common calculation method in the industry and will not be described herein again. In the present embodiment, the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) move with respect to the ground at a speed equivalent to the speed at which the torso, thigh, calf and/or foot fixedly coupled thereto move with respect to the ground.

And S20, widening the detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 to prolong the action time of the detection signals.

In this embodiment, the method of stretching the detection signal includes, but is not limited to, timing hold, low-pass filtering, normal distribution processing, attenuation processing, or any combination thereof, for example, the logic method holding processing is adopted, and the determination logic is:

acc _ foot _ boul ═ Acc _ foot > THACC; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

acc _ foot _ BOOL is a detection signal after stretching processing, before the Acc _ foot stretching processing, THACC is a detection signal threshold value before stretching processing, and if the Acc _ foot _ BOOL is equal to 1, namely Acc _ foot > THACC is established, the detection signal is prolonged for a period of time.

For another example, a mathematical method is adopted for processing, and the calculation formula is as follows:

acc _ foot _ HOLD is Acc _ foot + Acc _ foot _ HOLD 0.99, i.e., low-pass filter superimposition processing;

acc _ foot _ HOLD ═ limit (Acc _ foot _ HOLD, ACCLIMIT), i.e., signal clipping; here, Acc _ foot _ HOLD is a detection signal after performing the stretching processing, Acc _ foot is a detection signal before performing the stretching processing, and acclaimit is a maximum amplitude of Acc _ foot _ HOLD, and its implementation effect is as shown in fig. 6, where the Acc _ foot of the original detection signal is stretched in time into Acc _ foot _ HOLD detection signals.

In this embodiment, the action time of each sensor is short, and the time of sending the detection signals to the main control unit 3 is not completely consistent, but the detection signals can reflect the motion state of the wearer to a certain extent, and after the detection signals are extended for a certain time by adopting widening processing, the detection signals of each sensor can be superposed to better extract the motion state characteristics of the wearer.

And S30, performing operation combination or logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the broadening processing, and monitoring whether a pre-touchdown event CtkPreEve or a pre-liftoff event LiftPreEve occurs in real time by judging whether the operation combination/logic combination reaches a set threshold value.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, step S30 includes the following steps:

s301, a first arithmetic combination/logic combination is performed according to the detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the widening processing.

S302, whether the first operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset pre-touchdown starting threshold value is judged.

S303, if the first operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the pre-touchdown start threshold, determining that a pre-touchdown event CtkPreEve occurs.

And S304, performing second operation combination/logic combination according to the detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the widening processing.

S305, judging whether the second operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset liftoff starting threshold value.

And S306, if the second operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the liftoff starting threshold value, confirming that the liftoff event LiftPreEve occurs.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, the first combination of operations is calculated by a linear weighting method, and the calculation formula is:

ctkpispartsensor ═ Ka1 Acc _ foot _ y _ HOLD + Kw 1W _ knee _ HOLD + Kw 2W _ hip _ HOLD + Kd 1D _ torso _ x; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

CtkPreStartSensor is the combined result of the first operation, and Ka1, Kw1, Kw2 and Kd1 are constant coefficients; acc _ foot _ y _ HOLD is the acceleration of the foot of the side to the ground in the vertical direction, and can be measured by an inertial sensor (21, 24, 26) installed on the foot of the side; w _ knee _ HOLD is the angular velocity of the lateral knee joint 14, which can be measured by the angular sensors (22, 23) mounted on the lateral knee joint 14; w _ hip _ HOLD is the angular velocity of the hip joint 12, which can be measured by the angular sensors (22, 23) mounted on the hip joint 12; d _ torso _ x is the displacement of the torso to the ground in the horizontal direction, which can be calculated from the displacement of the center of mass of the torso.

In this embodiment, when ctkpispartransensor is greater than the touchdown activation threshold, any one or a combination of the following will occur: the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) arranged on the feet of the wearer sense the impact of the feet on the ground, and the angle sensors (22, 23) arranged on the knee joint 14 or the hip joint 12 of the wearer sense the sudden change of the angular speed or the forward displacement of the trunk, so that the touchdown event CtkCfmEve of the feet of the wearer is predicted to be started, namely the feet of the wearer start to have the movement intention of touchdown, and enter the pre-touchdown state PreCtk.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, the second operation combination is calculated by a linear weighting method, and the calculation formula is:

LiftPreStartSensor ═ Kw 3W _ foot _ HOLD + Kw 4W _ knee _ HOLD + Kp1 (PMAX-P _ foot) + Ka2 Acc _ foot _ y _ HOLD; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

LiftPreStartSensor is a second operation combination result; kw3, Kw4, Kp1 and Ka2 are constant coefficients, and W _ foot _ HOLD is the angular velocity of the foot on the ground, which can be measured by an inertial sensor (21, 24, 26) installed on the foot on the side; w _ knee _ HOLD is the angular velocity of the lateral knee joint 14, which can be measured by means of the angular sensors (22, 23) mounted on the lateral knee joint 14; PMAX is the maximum pressure value of the plantar region of the lateral, which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 mounted on the foot of the lateral; p _ foot is the actual pressure value of the plantar of the lateral foot, which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 installed on the foot of the lateral foot; acc _ foot _ y _ HOLD is the acceleration of the foot of the same side to the ground in the vertical direction, which can be measured by inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) mounted on the foot of the same side.

In this embodiment, when the LiftPreStartSensor is greater than the pre-lift off start threshold, any one or a combination of the following will occur: the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) arranged on the foot at the side sense that the foot rotates away from the ground at a certain speed, the angle sensors (22, 23) arranged on the knee joint 14 or the hip joint 12 at the side sense the sudden change of the angular speed, the pressure sensor 25 arranged on the foot sole at the side detects that the actual pressure value of the foot sole is reduced to a certain degree, and the like, which indicates that the lift-off event liftcfmEve of the foot at the side starts to occur, namely the foot at the side of a wearer starts to have the intention of moving away from the ground, and enters the pre-lift-off state PreLift.

In some embodiments, the first operation combination result and the second operation combination result may also be obtained by multiplication, division, subtraction or any combination thereof. The first logical combination result and the second logical combination result can be obtained by a conventional logical calculation method.

S40, when a pre-touchdown event CtkPreEve occurs, the system enters a pre-touchdown state PreCtk.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, step S40 is followed by:

s401, monitoring whether a touchdown event CtkCfmEve occurs in real time according to detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the broadening processing.

S402, when a touchdown event CtkCfmEve occurs, the system enters the support state ST.

And S403, controlling the power system to stop following the framework mechanism to rotate in the support state ST and outputting torque to the framework mechanism 1.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, step S401 includes the following steps:

s4011, a third arithmetic combination/logic combination is performed based on the detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26), and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the stretching process.

And S4012, judging whether the third operation combination/logic combination result reaches a preset touchdown starting threshold value.

And S4013, if the third operation combination/logic combination result reaches the touchdown starting threshold value, confirming that the touchdown event CtkCfmEve occurs.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, the third combination of operations is calculated by a linear weighting method, and the calculation formula is:

CtkCfmSensor Kp 2P _ foot + Kp3 (PMAX-P _ foot _ o) + Ka3 Acc _ foot _ var _ HOLD; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

CtkCfmSensor is the third operation combination result, Kp2, Kp3 and Ka3 are constant coefficients, and P _ foot is the actual pressure value of the sole of the foot on the same side, which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 installed on the foot on the same side; PMAX is the maximum pressure value of the plantar region of the foot on the same side, which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 mounted on the plantar region of the same side, and P _ foot _ o is the actual pressure value of the plantar region of the opposite side, which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 mounted on the foot of the opposite side; acc _ foot _ var _ HOLD is a fluctuation mean square deviation value of the local foot-to-ground acceleration, which can be measured by inertial sensors (21, 24 and 26) installed on the local foot, and can be obtained by a conventional calculation method in the prior art.

In this embodiment, when CtkCfmSensor reaches the touchdown start threshold, any one or a combination of the following will occur: the actual pressure value of the sole of the opposite side reaches a high degree (such as 80% of the maximum value PMAX), the actual pressure value of the sole of the opposite side is small, or an inertial sensor (21, 24, 26) arranged on the foot senses that the acceleration fluctuation level of the foot is low, so that the situation that the foot of the wearer steps on the sole stably is indicated, and a touchdown event CtkCfmEve is confirmed to occur.

In some embodiments, the third operation combination result may be obtained by multiplication, division, subtraction or any combination thereof. The third logical combination result may be calculated in a conventional manner.

and S411, detecting whether the untouched event UnCtkEve occurs in real time according to detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the broadening processing.

S412, when the untouched event UnCtkEve occurs, the contactless event exits the pre-touchdown state PreCtk, and returns to the swing state SW.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, step S411 includes the following steps:

s4111, performing a fourth arithmetic combination/logic combination based on the detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26), and/or the pressure sensor 25.

S4112, judging whether the fourth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset pre-touchdown exit threshold value.

S4113, if the fourth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the pre-touchdown exit threshold, determining that an untouched event UnCtkEve occurs.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, the fourth logical combination calculation formula is:

ctkpprequitsensor ═ (P _ foot < CTKPQUIT) | (W _ foot _ HOLD > WCTKQUI); wherein the content of the first and second substances,

ctkplqinitsensor is the fourth logical combination result, and P _ foot is the actual pressure value of the plantar of the foot on the same side, which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 mounted on the foot on the same side of the wearer; CTKPQUIT is the sole pressure threshold value of the local side; w _ foot _ HOLD is the angular velocity of the foot of the home side to the ground, which can be measured by inertial sensors (21, 24, 26) mounted on the foot of the home side; WCTKQUI is the local foot-to-ground angular velocity threshold.

In this embodiment, when ctkpprequitsensor is greater than the touchdown exit threshold, e.g., the touchdown exit threshold is 1, and when P _ foot < CTKPQUIT and W _ foot _ HOLD > wctktkqi are simultaneously true, ctkpprequitsensor is equal to 2 and greater than 1, any one or combination of the following will occur: the actual pressure value of the sole of the foot is reduced to a certain degree, the foot has angular velocity away from the ground, and the like, which indicates that the wearer does not touch the ground, the pre-touch state PreCtk needs to be exited, and the swing state SW is returned.

In some embodiments, the fourth operation combination result may be obtained by weighting, multiplying, dividing, subtracting, or any combination thereof.

and S421, presetting a preset touchdown timing time limit and starting a preprocessing timer to calculate the duration of the preset touchdown PreCtk.

S422, determine whether the duration of the pre-touchdown PreCtk exceeds the pre-touchdown timing limit.

S423, if the duration of the pre-touchdown state PreCtk exceeds the pre-touchdown timing time limit, exiting the pre-touchdown state PreCtk, and returning to the swing state SW.

And S50, controlling the power system to stop following the rotation of the framework mechanism and outputting torque to the framework mechanism 1 in the pre-grounding state PreCtk.

In the present embodiment, the power system applies the assisting force to the framework mechanism 1 in the pre-touchdown state PreCtk before the support state ST, so as to prevent the unstable problem caused by the too slow response of the main control unit 3, and to smoothly switch the continuous operation from the pendulum state SW to the support state ST.

And S60, if a pre-lift event LiftPreEve occurs, entering a pre-lift state PreLift.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, step S60 is followed by:

and S601, monitoring whether a ground lift event LiftCfmEve occurs in real time according to detection signals of the angle sensors (22 and 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24 and 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the broadening processing.

And S602, entering a pendulum dynamic state SW if a lift-off event LiftCfmEve occurs.

And S603, controlling the power system to stop outputting the torque to the framework mechanism 1 and rotate along with the framework mechanism 1 in the swing state SW.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, step S601 includes the following steps:

s6011, a fifth arithmetic combination/logic combination is performed based on the detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26), and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the stretching process.

S6012, determining whether the fifth operation combination/logic combination result reaches a preset liftoff start threshold.

S6013, if the fifth operation combination/logic combination result reaches the lift-off starting threshold value, confirming that a lift-off event LiftCfmEve occurs.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in the present embodiment, the fifth combination of operations is calculated by a linear weighting method, and the formula is:

LiftCfmSensor ═ Kp4 (PMAX-P _ foot) + Kd2 ═ D _ foot; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

LiftCfmSensor is a combined result of the fifth operation; kp4 and Kd2 are constant coefficients, and P _ foot is the actual pressure value of the sole of the foot on the same side; which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 mounted on the foot of the present side; PMAX is the maximum pressure value of the sole of the foot on the same side; which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 mounted on the foot of the present side; d _ foot is the space displacement of the foot part on the side; which can be calculated from the displacement of the centroid of the foot on the side.

In this embodiment, when the value of LiftCfmSensor reaches the lift-off start threshold, any one or a combination of the following occurs: the actual pressure value of the foot on the home side is reduced to be close to 0, the spatial displacement of the foot on the home side has changed greatly, and the like, and the LiftCfmEve is predicted to be confirmed to occur.

In some embodiments, the fifth logical combination may be obtained by conventional computational means.

and S611, detecting whether an unlifted event occurs in real time according to detection signals of the angle sensors (22 and 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24 and 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the broadening processing.

And S612, if an unseasoned event UnLiftEve occurs, exiting the pre-liftoff state PreLift, and returning to the support state ST.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, step S611 includes the following steps:

s6111, a sixth arithmetic combination/logic combination is performed based on the detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26), and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the stretching process.

S6112, determine whether the sixth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset threshold value for exiting from the ground.

S6113, if the sixth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the preset liftoff exit threshold, it is determined that the UnLiftEve event occurs.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, the sixth logical combination calculation formula is:

LiftPreQuitSensor ═ (P _ foot > pliftqit 1) | (Acc _ foot _ var _ HOLD < ACTKQUIT) | (P _ foot _ o < pliftqit 2); wherein the content of the first and second substances,

LiftPreQuitSensor is the sixth logical combination result, and P _ foot is the actual pressure value of the plantar of the lateral foot, which can be measured by the pressure sensor 25 installed on the foot of the lateral foot; PLIFTUIT 1 is sole pressure threshold value of the sole of the foot; acc _ foot _ var _ HOLD is a fluctuation mean square deviation value of the foot-to-ground acceleration of the side, wherein the foot-to-ground acceleration of the side can be measured by inertial sensors (21, 24 and 26) installed on the foot of the side, and the fluctuation mean square deviation value of the foot-to-ground acceleration of the side can be obtained by a conventional calculation method in the prior art; ACTKQUIT is the threshold value of the fluctuation mean square difference value of the acceleration of the foot on the ground at the side; p _ foot _ o is the actual pressure value on the contralateral plantar region, which can be measured by pressure sensor 25 mounted on the contralateral foot of the wearer; PLIFTUIT 2 is the threshold value for the actual pressure value on the contralateral sole.

In this embodiment, when the LiftPreQuitSensor is greater than the liftoff exit threshold, for example, the liftoff exit threshold is set to 2, and when P _ foot > pliftqiit 1, Acc _ foot _ var _ HOLD < ACTKQUIT, and P _ foot _ o < pliftqit 2 are simultaneously established, the LiftPreQuitSensor is equal to 3 and greater than 2, any one or a combination of the following will occur: the actual pressure value of the sole of the opposite side is increased to a certain degree, the actual pressure value of the sole of the opposite side is reduced, or the fluctuation of the inertial sensors (21, 24 and 26) arranged on the foot of the opposite side is small (meaning that the foot is stably stepped on), which indicates that the foot of the wearer does not lift off the ground, the pre-lift-off state PreLift needs to be exited, and the support state ST is returned.

In some embodiments, the sixth operational combination may be obtained by weighting, multiplying, dividing, subtracting, or any combination thereof.

and S621, presetting a preset lift-off timing time limit and starting a preprocessing timer to calculate the duration of the preset lift-off state PreLift.

S622, judging whether the duration of the pre-lift state PreLift exceeds a pre-lift timing time limit or not.

S623, if the duration of the pre-lift state PreLift exceeds the pre-lift timing time limit, exiting the pre-lift state PreLift, and returning to the support state ST.

In this embodiment, the pre-touchdown timing period and the pre-lift off timing period are adjustable according to a current step frequency/pace, the higher the step frequency/pace, the shorter the pre-touchdown timing period and the pre-lift off timing period, the faster the response time of the exoskeleton device, wherein the calculation of the step frequency comprises: and recording the time interval between the switching action of the pendulum dynamic state SW and the support state ST and the switching action of the last pendulum dynamic state SW and the support state ST, and taking the reciprocal of the time interval as the step frequency.

And S70, controlling the power system to stop outputting the torque to the framework mechanism 1 and move along with the framework mechanism 1 in the preset lift state PreLift.

In the embodiment, the power system withdraws from the pre-lift state PreLift before the swing state SW to apply the assisting force to the framework mechanism 1, so as to prevent the unstable problem caused by too slow response of the main control unit 3, and enable the continuous operation from the support state ST to the swing state SW to be smoothly switched.

In this embodiment, the pre-touchdown state PreCtk is a temporary state between the swing state SW and the support state ST, and the pre-touchdown state prechift is a temporary state between the support state ST and the swing state SW, and the main control unit 3 can identify the movement intention of the wearer in the pre-touchdown state precctk before the support state ST and the pre-detachment state before the swing state SW, so as to avoid that the main control unit 3 reacts slowly and cannot identify the movement intention of the wearer timely and accurately, thereby causing the problems that the exoskeleton device is relatively rigid when switching the power-assisted operation, and the switching process is easy to cause repeated switching and even oscillation. In some embodiments, the swing state SW and the support state ST can be further subdivided according to the posture of the human body, for example, the swing state SW can be divided into a swing initial stage, a swing later stage and the like, the support state ST can be divided into a foot-stepping flat state, a heel-lifting state and the like, and the state subdivision is favorable for refining the boosting effect and improving the comfort.

In an alternative embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, after entering the pre-touchdown event, after entering the pre-touchdown step, the power system is controlled to stop rotating along with the skeleton mechanism and output torque to the skeleton mechanism according to the pre-touchdown progress percentage, and the pre-touchdown progress percentage is calculated by using one of the following methods or by using multiple methods and then is subjected to operation combination/logic combination, so as to realize continuity and smoothness of the assistance when the swing state of the exoskeleton apparatus is switched to the support state:

performing seventh operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; and calculating the percentage of the pre-touchdown process according to the proximity of the seventh operational combination/logical combination result to the touchdown start threshold value.

Performing eighth operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; and calculating the percentage of the pre-touchdown procedure according to the degree that the combined/logically combined result of the eighth operation approaches the pre-touchdown exit threshold value.

The percentage of pre-touchdown procedures is calculated based on the ratio of the duration of the pre-touchdown state to the pre-touchdown timing interval.

In an optional embodiment, for example, in this embodiment, if a pre-ground-off event occurs, after entering the step of pre-ground-off state, the power system is controlled to stop outputting torque to the skeleton mechanism and to rotate along with the skeleton mechanism according to a pre-ground-off process percentage, and the pre-ground-off process percentage is calculated by using one of the following methods or by using multiple methods and then is subjected to operation combination/logic combination, so as to achieve continuity and stability of assistance when the support state of the exoskeleton apparatus is switched to the pendulum state:

performing ninth operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; and calculating the pre-lift-off process percentage according to the degree that the ninth operation combination/logic combination result is close to the lift-off starting threshold value.

Performing tenth operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; and calculating the percentage of the pre-lift process according to the degree that the tenth operation combination/logic combination result is close to the pre-lift exit threshold value.

And calculating the percentage of the pre-launch process according to the ratio of the duration of the pre-launch state to the pre-launch timing time limit.

In this embodiment, the pre-touchdown start threshold or the pre-liftoff start threshold is adjusted according to the movement speed or the step frequency of the wearer, and the faster the movement speed or the higher the step frequency, the lower the pre-touchdown start threshold or the pre-liftoff start threshold.

In this embodiment, the pre-touchdown exit threshold is adjusted according to the speed or frequency of movement of the wearer, and the faster the speed or frequency of movement, the higher the pre-touchdown activation threshold.

In this embodiment, the pre-lift exit threshold is adjusted according to the movement speed or the step frequency of the wearer, and the faster the movement speed or the higher the step frequency, the higher the pre-lift exit threshold is.

In this embodiment, the touchdown activation threshold is adjusted based on the speed or frequency of movement of the wearer, with the faster the speed or frequency of movement, the lower the touchdown activation threshold.

In this embodiment, the lift-off start threshold is adjusted according to the movement speed or the step frequency of the wearer, and the higher the movement speed or the step frequency, the lower the lift-off start threshold.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an exoskeleton device control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; the control device is configured on the main control unit 3 of the exoskeleton device in any one of the above embodiments, and comprises:

the receiving module 10 is used for receiving detection signals sent by the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24, 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 in the sensing system in real time.

A broadening module 20, configured to broaden detection signals of the angle sensors (22, 23), the inertial sensors (21, 24, 26), and/or the pressure sensor 25 to prolong an action time of the detection signals.

And the monitoring module 30 is used for performing operation combination or logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensors (22 and 23), the inertia sensors (21, 24 and 26) and/or the pressure sensor 25 after the broadening processing, and monitoring whether a pre-touchdown event CtkPreEve or a pre-liftPreEve occurs in real time by judging whether the operation combination/logic combination reaches a set threshold value.

A first switching module 40, configured to enter a pre-touchdown state PreCtk if the pre-touchdown event CtkPreEve occurs.

And the first output module 50 is used for controlling the power system to stop rotating along with the framework mechanism 1 and outputting torque to the framework mechanism 1 in the pre-grounding state PreCtk.

And a second switching module 60, configured to enter a pre-lift state PreLift if the pre-lift event liftpreevev occurs.

And a second output module 70, configured to control the power system to stop outputting torque to the framework mechanism 1 and rotate along with the framework mechanism 1 in the pre-lift state PreLift.

Optionally, the step of performing an operation combination or a logic combination according to the detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing, and monitoring whether a pre-ground contact event or a pre-ground contact event occurs in real time by judging whether the operation combination/logic combination reaches a set threshold value includes:

Optionally, if the pre-touchdown event occurs, the step of entering the pre-touchdown state further includes:

Entering the support state if the touchdown event occurs;

Optionally, if the pre-launch event occurs, the step of entering the pre-launch state further includes:

if the ground lift event occurs, entering the pendulum dynamics;

Optionally, if the pre-touchdown event occurs, after entering the pre-touchdown state step, controlling the power system to stop rotating along with the framework mechanism and outputting torque to the framework mechanism according to a pre-touchdown progress percentage, wherein the pre-touchdown progress percentage is calculated by adopting one method or a plurality of methods and then is subjected to operation combination/logic combination so as to realize continuity and smoothness of the assistance when the swing state of the exoskeleton device is switched to the support state:

Optionally, if the pre-lift-off event occurs, after entering the pre-lift-off state step, controlling the power system to stop outputting the torque to the skeleton mechanism and to rotate along with the skeleton mechanism according to a pre-lift-off process percentage, where the pre-lift-off process percentage is calculated by one of the following methods or calculated by multiple methods and then subjected to operation combination/logic combination, so as to achieve continuity and stability of the assistance force when the support state of the exoskeleton apparatus is switched to the pendulum state:

Optionally, the pre-touchdown timing period is adjusted according to a currently detected pace frequency/pace, wherein the shorter the pre-touchdown timing period the higher the pace frequency/pace, the faster the response time of the exoskeleton device.

Optionally, the pre-lift timing time period is adjusted according to a currently detected pace frequency/pace, wherein the shorter the pre-lift timing time period the higher the pace frequency/pace, the faster the response time of the exoskeleton device.

Optionally, the pre-touchdown start threshold or the pre-liftoff start threshold is adjusted according to a movement speed or a step frequency of the wearer, and the faster the movement speed or the higher the step frequency is, the lower the pre-touchdown start threshold or the pre-liftoff start threshold is.

Optionally, before the step of receiving in real time detection signals sent by the angle sensor, the inertial sensor, and/or the pressure sensor in the sensing system, the method further includes:

Optionally, the stretching process includes, but is not limited to, timing maintenance, low-pass filtering, normal distribution processing, attenuation processing, or any combination thereof.

The implementation process of the functions and actions of each module/unit in the control device is specifically described in the implementation process of the corresponding step in the exoskeleton device control method, and is not described herein again.

It should be noted that although in the above detailed description several modules or units of the device for action execution are mentioned, such a division is not mandatory. Indeed, the features and functionality of two or more modules or units described above may be embodied in one module or unit, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above may be further divided into embodiments by a plurality of modules or units.

Moreover, although the steps of the methods of the present disclosure are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in this particular order, or that all of the depicted steps must be performed, to achieve desirable results. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps combined into one step execution, and/or one step broken down into multiple step executions, etc.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and all modifications of equivalent structures and equivalent processes, which are made by using the contents of the present specification and the accompanying drawings, or directly or indirectly applied to other related technical fields, are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an exoskeleton device, the exoskeleton device comprising an exoskeleton mechanism, a master control unit, a power system, and a sensing system;

the main control unit, the power system and the sensing system are installed on the framework mechanism, and the main control unit is respectively electrically connected with the power system and the sensing system, wherein the power system is used for outputting torque to the framework mechanism or rotating along with the framework mechanism, and the main control unit is used for receiving a detection signal of the sensing system and controlling the power system to work; it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the sensing system is electrically connected with the main control unit and comprises a plurality of angle sensors, a plurality of inertia sensors and a plurality of pressure sensors, wherein the angle sensors are arranged on the hip joint and/or the knee joint and are used for detecting the relative angle between the thigh rod and the waist-back mechanism and/or the relative angle between the thigh rod and the shank rod; the inertial sensor is arranged on the waist-back mechanism, the thigh rod, the shank rod and/or the foot of the wearer and is used for detecting the acceleration to the ground and/or the angular velocity to the ground of the waist-back mechanism, the thigh rod, the shank rod and/or the foot of the wearer; the pressure sensor is arranged on the sole of the wearer and used for detecting the pressure of the sole of the wearer on the ground;

the exoskeleton device control method, running on a master control unit of the exoskeleton device, comprises the following steps:

entering a pre-touchdown state if the pre-touchdown event occurs;

if the pre-lift-off event occurs, entering a pre-lift-off state;

the pre-ground contact state is a temporary state from a pendulum dynamic state to a support state, and the pre-ground contact state is a temporary state from the support state to the pendulum dynamic state;

the step of performing operation combination or logic combination according to the detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing, and monitoring whether a pre-touchdown event or a pre-liftoff event occurs in real time by judging whether the operation combination/logic combination reaches a set threshold value comprises the following steps:

if the second operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the preset liftoff starting threshold value, confirming that a preset liftoff event occurs;

the pre-touchdown start threshold value or the pre-liftoff start threshold value is adjusted according to the movement speed or the step frequency of the wearer, and the faster the movement speed or the higher the step frequency is, the lower the pre-touchdown start threshold value or the pre-liftoff start threshold value is.

2. The exoskeleton device control method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor comprises an air shoe pad and a barometer chip, the air shoe pad comprises a sheet-shaped cavity structure formed by sealing and enclosing a flexible film, the cavity structure is filled with gas, the barometer chip is arranged in the cavity structure, and a signal of the barometer chip is led out of the air shoe pad through a wall of the cavity structure by a lead; when the air insole is pressed, the air pressure inside the cavity structure changes, and the air pressure changes are sensed by the barometer chip, so that the pressure born by the air insole is measured.

3. The exoskeleton device control method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the inertial sensor is disposed in a cavity structure of the air insole, and a signal of the inertial sensor is led out of the air insole through the lead wire through a cavity wall of the cavity structure, so that the inertial sensor is mounted on the foot of the wearer through the air insole.

4. The exoskeleton device control method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inertial sensors are mounted on the waist strap of the waist back mechanism, the thigh strap of the thigh bar and the shank strap of the shank bar when mounted on the waist back mechanism, the thigh bar and the shank bar to make said inertial sensors more sensitive and reliable.

5. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 1 wherein said step of entering a pre-ground state if said pre-ground event occurs is further followed by:

if the third operation combination/logic combination result reaches the touchdown starting threshold value, confirming that the touchdown event occurs;

entering the support state if the touchdown event occurs;

6. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 1 wherein said step of entering a pre-ground state if said pre-ground event occurs is further followed by:

if the fourth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the pre-touchdown exit threshold value, confirming that an untouched event occurs;

7. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 1 wherein said step of entering a pre-ground state if said pre-ground event occurs is further followed by:

8. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 1 wherein the step of entering a pre-lift off state if the pre-lift off event occurs is further followed by:

if the ground lift event occurs, entering the pendulum dynamics;

9. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 1 wherein the step of entering a pre-lift off state if the pre-lift off event occurs is further followed by:

if the sixth operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the pre-liftoff exit threshold value, confirming that a non-liftoff event occurs;

10. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 1 wherein the step of entering a pre-lift off state if the pre-lift off event occurs is further followed by:

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of entering a pre-ground-engaging state is followed by controlling the powertrain to stop following the rotation of the frame structure and output torque to the frame structure in a pre-ground-engaging progression percentage if the pre-ground-engaging event occurs, the pre-ground-engaging progression percentage being calculated by one or more of the following methods and then being combined/logically combined to achieve continuity and smoothness of assistance when switching the swing state of the exoskeleton device to the support state:

12. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein if the pre-lift event occurs, the step of entering the pre-lift state is followed by controlling the power system to stop outputting torque to the frame structure and to follow the frame structure to rotate according to a pre-lift percentage, and the pre-lift percentage is calculated by one of the following methods or by a plurality of methods and then is combined/logically combined to achieve continuity and smoothness of the assistance force when the support state of the exoskeleton device is switched to the swing state:

13. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 7 wherein the pre-touchdown timing period is adjusted based on a currently detected step frequency/pace, wherein the higher the step frequency/pace, the shorter the pre-touchdown timing period, the faster the response time of the exoskeleton device.

14. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 10 wherein the pre-ground timing period is adjusted based on a currently detected pace frequency/pace, wherein the shorter the pre-ground timing period the higher the pace frequency/pace, the faster the response time of the exoskeleton device.

15. The exoskeleton device control method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said step of receiving in real time detection signals from said angular sensor, said inertial sensor and/or said pressure sensor in said sensing system further comprises:

16. The exoskeleton device control method of claim 1 wherein the stretching process includes but is not limited to timing hold, low pass filtering, normal distribution processing, attenuation processing or any combination thereof.

17. An exoskeleton device control apparatus configured to the master control unit of the exoskeleton device control method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising:

the monitoring module is specifically configured to perform a first operation combination/logic combination according to detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertia sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; judging whether the first operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset pre-touchdown starting threshold value or not; if the first operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the pre-touchdown starting threshold value, confirming that the pre-touchdown event occurs; or, performing a second operation combination/logic combination according to the detection signals of the angle sensor, the inertial sensor and/or the pressure sensor after the broadening processing; judging whether the second operation combination/logic combination result exceeds a preset liftoff starting threshold value or not; if the second operation combination/logic combination result exceeds the preset liftoff starting threshold value, confirming that a preset liftoff event occurs;

wherein the pre-touchdown start threshold or the pre-liftoff start threshold is adjusted according to the movement speed or the step frequency of the wearer, and the faster the movement speed or the higher the step frequency is, the lower the pre-touchdown start threshold or the pre-liftoff start threshold is;