CN113001526A

CN113001526A - Framework for wearable exoskeleton and transmission structure thereof

Info

Publication number: CN113001526A
Application number: CN202110455427.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 倪诚
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-04-26
Filing date: 2021-04-26
Publication date: 2021-06-22

Abstract

The invention discloses a skeleton for a wearable exoskeleton and a transmission structure thereof, which comprise a plurality of hollow rings surrounding a body part, wherein each hollow ring is provided with a rigid connecting piece, and the hollow rings are connected through the rigid connecting pieces; each joint is controlled by at least one set of rope, the hollow ring at the top is connected to the hollow ring of the joint to be controlled, and the hollow ring at the joint is controlled to move; the elastic piece arranged between the adjacent hollow rings can reset the moving hollow rings. When the hollow rings at different positions are controlled by the plurality of sets of ropes, a user can apply force to all the parts (waist, legs, knees and ankles) of the limbs in the same mode, the parts can be driven and controlled in a uniform mode, the limbs are wrapped by the framework transmission structure, the force application is uniform and easy to control, meanwhile, the power driving part can be concentrated at one end of the waist of the rope and is close to the gravity center of a human body, the body feeling weight of the exoskeleton is smaller, and the elastic part in front of the adjacent hollow rings is beneficial to resetting of the rotated hollow rings and is easier and safer to use.

Description

Framework for wearable exoskeleton and transmission structure thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to a framework for a wearable exoskeleton and a transmission structure thereof, and belongs to the technical field of auxiliary walking devices.

Background

Most of the existing human exoskeletons adopt rigid structures, support is provided outside the limbs of the human body, and the limbs and trunk of the human body are connected and fixed by the rigid structures, so that support and torque are provided for the limbs, and additional strength or force output is realized. Such exoskeletons are inevitably heavy and odd-looking, and are difficult to provide assistance to people in daily life.

While research on flexible exoskeletons may result in a solution that is light in weight, its assistance is limited to the direction in which the rope can be pulled, and if forces at multiple locations are required, multiple solutions are required to position the rope exactly in the direction of the rope tension. But also provides less force and the entire weight needs to be borne by the user. Therefore, the method is limited to the medical rehabilitation field and is suitable for patients with strong muscle strength but losing balance or normal mobility of various patients.

Therefore, there is a great need for improvements in existing exoskeletons that address the current problems of heaviness and complexity of rigid and flexible structures.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to overcome the defects of the existing rigid exoskeleton and flexible exoskeleton and provides a skeleton for a wearable exoskeleton and a transmission structure thereof, wherein the skeleton has small body-sensing weight and is easy to apply force and control the flexibility of activities.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

a skeleton and transmission structure for wearable ectoskeleton, its characterized in that: comprises a plurality of hollow rings surrounding a body part;

each hollow ring is provided with a rigid connecting piece, and the hollow rings are connected through the rigid connecting pieces;

each joint is controlled by at least one set of rope, the hollow ring at the top is connected to the hollow ring of the joint to be controlled, and the hollow ring at the joint is controlled to move;

and the elastic piece is arranged between the adjacent hollow rings and can reset the moving hollow rings.

The skeleton for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that each hollow ring is provided with two opposite rigid connecting pieces, and the rigid connecting pieces on the same side are connected in series to form a chain.

The skeleton for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that the hollow ring is formed by detachably connecting at least two ring segments, wherein at least one ring segment is a rigid or semi-rigid ring segment.

The framework for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that the rigid connecting piece is provided with a slotted hole connected with the hollow ring.

The framework for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that one end of each rigid connecting piece is provided with a connecting male end, the other end of each rigid connecting piece is provided with a connecting female end, and two adjacent rigid connecting pieces are in pin joint connection.

The framework for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that the female connecting end of the rigid connecting piece is provided with a rotary limiting groove, and the male connecting end of the rigid connecting piece is provided with a convex rib which can slide in the rotary limiting groove after being assembled.

The skeleton for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that the elastic piece is symmetrically arranged by taking a connecting line of central points of rigid connecting pieces at two sides of the hollow ring as an axis, and front and rear moments are equal.

The framework for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that each set of ropes is in front and back symmetry, and each set of ropes is at least one.

The framework for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that the hollow ring is formed by detachably connecting two semicircular ring segments, and each semicircular ring segment is provided with at least one group of elastic part connecting rings along an arc line.

The framework for the wearable exoskeleton and the transmission structure thereof are characterized in that the hollow ring is circumferentially provided with a rope threading hole.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following advantages:

according to the invention, each joint is at least provided with one set of rope to control the corresponding hollow ring to move, when a plurality of sets of ropes are needed to control the hollow rings at different parts, a user can apply force to all parts (waist, leg, knee and ankle) of the limb in the same mode, the parts can be driven and controlled in a uniform mode, the limb is wrapped by the framework transmission structure, the force application is uniform and easy to control, and meanwhile, the power driving part can be concentrated at one end of the waist of the rope, so that the gravity of the exoskeleton is close to the gravity center of a human body, and the somatosens. The elastic piece in front of the adjacent hollow ring is beneficial to the restoration of the hollow ring after rotation, and the use is easier and safer.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the structure of the present invention in an upright state;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a portion of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a link according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a structural view illustrating a bent state of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a curved assembled spring of the present invention;

the structure of all the ropes and elastic parts for force application and transmission is not shown in the drawing, so that the phenomenon that the sight is blocked by too much complication is avoided.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described in further detail with reference to specific examples below:

as shown in fig. 1-5, a skeleton for a wearable exoskeleton and a transmission structure thereof comprises: the device comprises a plurality of hollow rings 1 surrounding a body part, each hollow ring 1 is provided with a rigid connecting piece 2, the hollow rings 1 are connected through the rigid connecting pieces 2, the hollow rings 1 are connected in series along the axial direction, and the rigid connecting pieces 2 connected in series are connected into a chain; at least one set of rope control is arranged among the hollow rings 1 and each joint, the hollow rings at the top are connected to the hollow rings of the joints to be controlled, and the hollow rings at the joints are controlled to move; for a plurality of joints, an elastic piece 4 capable of restoring the moving hollow ring 1 is arranged between the adjacent hollow rings 1. After the hollow rings 1 are connected in series through the rigid connecting pieces 2, a rigid framework structure is formed, the main body structure is supported with enough strength, and meanwhile, the corresponding hollow rings 1 are controlled to rotate by the aid of transmission tension of the sets of flexible ropes 3 by taking the rigid connecting pieces 2 as centers, so that bending of limbs is achieved. For the activities of a plurality of joints, a plurality of sets of ropes 3 are needed, the hollow rings 1 with different numbers are respectively connected, the activities of the hollow rings 1 are controlled, the driving of the sets of ropes 3 can be integrated, the torques with different sizes can be applied in the same mode, the use and the control of the activities of the hollow rings 1 are more facilitated, and the elastic piece 4 enables the rotating hollow rings 1 to automatically reset to the balance position under the condition of no rope force application or other external forces.

Preferably, each hollow ring 1 is provided with two opposite rigid connecting pieces 2, so that the rotation symmetry of the hollow ring 1 is ensured while the strength of the framework is further improved, the hollow ring 1 can rotate more flexibly, and the controllability is better. More preferably, the elastic member 4 is symmetrically arranged with a line connecting the centers of the rigid connecting members at both sides of the hollow ring as an axis, and the front and rear moments are symmetrical. Namely: the hollow ring takes the rotation central shaft as a symmetrical shaft, and the elastic pieces are arranged in an axisymmetric manner, so that the moment of the front elastic piece and the moment of the rear elastic piece are symmetrical, and the hollow ring 1 can be reset automatically.

Preferably, the hollow ring 1 is formed by detachably connecting at least two ring segments 11, wherein at least one ring segment is a rigid ring segment or a semi-rigid ring segment. The hollow ring 1 is detachably connected by the ring segments 11, so that a user can conveniently put on and take off the exoskeleton, and part of the ring segments 11 can be rigid ring segments or semi-rigid ring segments, and part of the ring segments can be flexible ring segments, so that the weight of the exoskeleton is further reduced. The plurality of ring segments 11 may be snap fit, threaded or otherwise attached to facilitate disassembly and assembly.

Preferably, the rigid connecting piece 2 is provided with a slotted hole 21 for connecting the hollow ring 1, the hollow ring 1 can be fixed after being assembled with the slotted hole 21, the stability of the framework is kept, and the fixing mode can be interference sleeving or other clamping, screwing, embedding and pressing and the like to lock the circumferential movement of the hollow ring 1 relative to the rigid connecting piece 2. One end of the rigid connecting piece 2 is provided with a connecting male end 22, and the other end is provided with a connecting female end 23. The rigid connecting pieces 2 between the adjacent hollow rings 1 are hinged, and the rigid connecting pieces 2 can be fixedly connected between the adjacent hollow rings 1 which do not need to move flexibly. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the space between adjacent hollow rings 1 can be increased in the lower leg part without joints and with low application requirements, and a single rigid connecting piece 2 is added to connect the adjacent hollow rings 1.

Preferably, the female connection end 23 of the rigid connection member 2 is provided with a rotation limiting groove 231, and the male connection end 22 of the rigid connection member 2 is provided with a rib 221 which can slide in the rotation limiting groove 231 after assembly. More preferably, the rotation-restricting groove 231 is arc-shaped, and the rib 221 may be arc-shaped or shorter straight. When two adjacent rigid connecting pieces 2 rotate relatively, the rotation is limited in the angle limited by the rotation limiting groove 231. The limiting groove 231 and the convex rib 221 are customized according to the rotating angle and the direction required by the position of each rigid connecting piece 2, so that the upper chain and the lower chain which are overlapped together due to excessive rotation are prevented, and the hollow rings 1 are prevented from rotating excessively, and the user is prevented from being injured. Preferably, the rotation-restricting slot 231 is recessed slightly more than two sides at the vertical center position, so that the entire chain is in a more stable state when it is vertically erected.

Preferably, when only one joint needs to be controlled, the rope can be a set to control the movement of the hollow ring of a certain joint, when a plurality of joints need to be controlled, the rope is at least one set for each joint, so that the movement of different joints can be independently controlled at the same time, and the force application torque of the upper rope needs to be larger than that of the lower rope.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cables 3 are three sets, a first set of cables is connected from the upper waist hollow ring 1A down to the upper knee hollow ring 1B, a second set of cables is connected from the upper waist hollow ring 1A down to the lower knee upper hollow ring 1D, and a third set of cables is connected to all the hollow rings, and from the hollow ring 1A in turn to the hollow ring 1E. Each set of rope 3 is preceding back symmetry at least two sets ofly, and cavity ring 1 that every group rope series connection controlled, every group rope is a rope line at least, preferably one to four, and more preferred, the more great every group rope line that needs the application of force is more a little, and the less every group rope line that needs the application of force is less a little, for example is different from the rope line quantity in fig. 1: first and second sets of four ropes and a third set of two ropes connected to hollow ring 1B and hollow ring 1D. In the embodiment, the plurality of sets of ropes 3 drive the upper link, the middle link and the lower link respectively, so that the framework is more flexibly and quickly controlled.

Preferably, when the hollow ring 1 is composed of two semicircular ring segments 11, as shown in fig. 3, each semicircular segment 11 is provided with at least one set of elastic member connection rings 12, preferably 3-5, along an arc, one elastic member connection ring 12 is connected with one elastic member 4, one set of elastic member connection rings 12 is connected with the upper and lower two elastic members 4, the elastic member connection rings 12 are respectively arranged near the rope 3, and a plurality of symmetrical elastic members 4 are arranged between adjacent hollow rings 1, so that the distance between the adjacent hollow rings 1 can be returned to the equilibrium position regardless of the direction in which the distance changes. More preferably, the moment of the elastic elements 4 axially symmetrical between the adjacent hollow rings 1 is also symmetrical, which is more beneficial to restoring the framework in the absence of external force.

Furthermore, the hollow ring 1 is provided with a rope through hole 13 in the circumferential direction for connecting a rope. Each ring segment 11 is provided with a plurality of rope penetrating holes 13 along the circumferential direction, one ring segment 11 is connected with one group of ropes, preferably, each ring segment 11 is provided with five rope penetrating holes 13 along the circumferential direction, and each ring segment 11 is provided with five groups of ropes along the arc direction. A group of elastic element connecting rings 12 are arranged on the upper ring surface and the lower ring surface of a rope threading hole 13, and have the maximum moment under the same elastic coefficient.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the ropes 3 are five sets, wherein two sets of the ropes are close to the rigid connecting pieces 2 at two sides of the hollow ring 1 and are connected with the hollow ring 1D above the lower leg below the knee through the rope through holes 13A, one set of the ropes is connected with all the hollow rings 1A-1E from top to bottom through the rope through holes 13B in the middle of the rigid connecting pieces 2 at two sides, and the other two sets of the ropes are connected with the hollow ring 1A to the hollow ring 1B above the knee through the rope through holes 13C. Each set of ropes 3 has at least one rope, preferably two to four ropes, to ensure the strength of each set of ropes. Specifically, the thickness of the rope and the force application can be adjusted according to the distance to be transmitted.

Preferably, several hollow rings 1 in series have different circumferential lengths. As shown in fig. 1, 2 or 4-5, the circumference of the hollow ring at the thigh position is larger, and from top to bottom, the circumference of the hollow ring 1 is gradually reduced according to the change of the leg diameter of the limb, so that the exoskeleton can be lightened by a wearing fit body. Of course, the rigid connecting members 2 can also be changed correspondingly according to the change of the diameter and the circumference of the adjacent hollow ring 1, for example, the rigid connecting members 2 with different shapes have inclination angles or bends as shown in fig. 2, and the strength of the rigid connecting members 2 is ensured, and meanwhile, the connection of the adjacent rigid connecting members 2 is smoother.

When the invention is used, the hollow ring 1 of the framework is opened to be arranged around the limbs, the rope is connected with the waist drive, and the bottom can be connected with the foot framework or not. When the auxiliary upright is used, as shown in fig. 1, a plurality of hollow rings 1 connected in series keep a straight line, of course, the elastic member and the rope in fig. 1 are respectively one embodiment, and all of the elastic member 4 and the rope 3 are not shown in fig. 1, and only part of the elastic member 4 and the rope 3 are shown. When bending is required, as shown in fig. 5 (the ropes are not shown in fig. 5), one or two sets of ropes 3 are forced to pull the hollow rings 1A to the hollow rings of the hollow ring 1B, one or two sets of ropes 3 are forced to pull the hollow rings 1A to the hollow rings of the hollow ring 1D, and another set of ropes are forced to pull the hollow ring 1E connected from the hollow ring 1A at the beginning to the bottom. Fig. 5 also shows a variant of the embodiment of the elastic element 4, in which the elastic element 4 is elongated in the section where the distance between adjacent hollow rings is larger, as shown in fig. 5 at 4A, and in which the elastic element 4 is compressed in the section where the distance between adjacent hollow rings is smaller, as shown in fig. 5 at 4B, and when the leg is erected again, the hollow rings are quickly restored by the elastic force of the elastic element 4.

The use mode is only the use mode of one embodiment of the invention, and more different control points can be set according to the needs, so that the movement of the whole framework can be controlled more flexibly.

The rigid chain nodes are distributed on two sides of the hollow ring, the freedom degree in one direction is abandoned to be replaced by a hollow structure of the whole skeleton transmission, and the hollow ring, the chain and the rope of the skeleton are combined rigidly and flexibly, so that the weight of the exoskeleton is reduced, and the activity flexibility and the easiness in control of the exoskeleton are improved.

Claims

1. A skeleton and transmission structure for wearable ectoskeleton, its characterized in that: comprises that

A plurality of hollow rings surrounding the body part;

2. The frame and its transmission structure for wearable exoskeleton of claim 1, wherein each hollow ring has two opposing rigid links, the rigid links on the same side are connected in series to form a chain.

3. The frame and its transmission structure for wearable exoskeleton of claim 1, wherein said hollow ring is formed by at least two ring segments detachably connected, wherein at least one of the ring segments is a rigid or semi-rigid ring segment.

4. The frame and its transmission structure for wearable exoskeleton of claim 1, wherein said rigid link is provided with a slot for connecting said hollow ring.

5. The wearable exoskeleton of claim 1 wherein each of the rigid links has a male end and a female end, and each of the rigid links is pivotally connected to the other rigid link.

6. The frame and the transmission structure for the wearable exoskeleton of claim 5, wherein the female connection end of the rigid connection member is provided with a rotation limiting groove, and the male connection end of the rigid connection member is provided with a convex rib which can slide in the rotation limiting groove after being assembled.

7. The wearable exoskeleton of claim 2 wherein the elastic member is symmetrically disposed about a line connecting the centers of the rigid links at the two sides of the hollow ring, and the front and rear moments are equal.

8. The frame and transmission structure for wearable exoskeleton of claim 1 wherein each set of cables is two symmetric sets, one cable for each set.

9. The frame and its transmission structure for wearable exoskeleton of claim 1, wherein said hollow ring is formed by two semi-circular ring segments detachably connected, each semi-circular ring segment having at least one set of elastic coupling rings along an arc.

10. The frame and the transmission structure for a wearable exoskeleton of claim 1, wherein the hollow ring is circumferentially provided with a threading hole.