JP2010000205A - Waist harness for walking supporter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waist harness for an walking supporter which sufficiently receives a reaction force and then well fits to a user's body, and prevents the user from feeling incongruity. <P>SOLUTION: The waist harness for an walking supporter has a rigid back frame 21 formed into a shape surrounding the waist of the user and attached to power generation means (50L and 50R), a loin pad 22 attached to the inside of the back frame 21, right and left abdominal straps 24L and 24R connecting their ends to both right and left ends of the loin pad 22, respectively, and openably joining together the other ends and length-adjustable right and left auxiliary straps 26L and 26R connecting their ends to the intermediate portions between the right and left ends of the loin pad 22, respectively, and the other ends to intermediate portions of the right and left abdomen straps 24L and 24R. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lumbar orthosis for walking assist devices, and more particularly to a lumbar orthosis for walking assist devices for mounting power generation means, which is a source of walking assist force, on a user's lumbar region.

Lumbar orthosis worn on the user's lumbar region as a walking assist device for assisting thigh movements for people whose muscle strength has decreased due to disability or aging, or to reduce the work load on the operator And a power generation means by an electric motor or the like attached to the waist orthosis and disposed at positions corresponding to the left and right hip joints of the user, and a power transmission arm having an upper end coupled to an output member of the power generation means There is known a thigh orthosis that is attached to the lower end of the power transmission arm and is attached to a user's thigh (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3955304

  The waist orthosis is for attaching the power generation means, which is the source of walking assistance force, to the user's waist, and appropriately receiving the reaction force of walking assistance force (torque) generated by the power generation means, It is required to fit the user's body well and not give the user a sense of incongruity.

  The conventional one is not sufficient for this. In particular, since the conventional one has a low ability to prevent the rotation of the back frame around the forehead axis, the back frame rotates around the forehead axis by the reaction force of the walking assist force generated by the power generation means, The problem remains that the reaction force cannot be received sufficiently.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that it can sufficiently receive the reaction force as a lumbar orthosis for walking assistance devices, and it fits well to the user's body and does not give the user a sense of incongruity. is there.

  A lumbar orthosis for walking assist device according to the present invention is a lumbar orthosis for walking assist device for mounting power generation means, which is a source of walking assist force, on a user's lumbar region, and surrounds the user's lower back portion. A rigid back frame to which the power generation means can be attached, a waist back pad attached to the inside of the back frame, one end connected to each of the left and right ends of the waist back pad, and the other end opened Left and right abdominal belts that can be fastened to each other, one end connected to the left and right middle part of the waist back pad, and the other end connected to the middle part of the left and right abdominal belts Belt.

  According to the lumbar orthosis for walking assist device according to the present invention, the left and right abdominal belts pass through the outside of the upper anterior iliac spine to reach Tanda and hold the back frame on the user's body, and then the left and right assists The belt passes through the upper side of the iliac crest and reaches Tanda, and the back frame is held on the user's body through the lumbar back pad. The frame will be securely attached to the pelvis. This improves the ability of the back frame to prevent rotation around the forehead axis and makes it difficult for the back frame to rotate around the forehead axis due to the reaction force of the walking assist force generated by the power generation means. Sufficient acceptance can be achieved. Since this two-way hold is performed without difficulty along the skeleton, it fits well to the user's body and does not give the user a sense of incongruity.

  The waist orthosis for walking assist device according to the present invention preferably further includes left and right side belts that are adjustable in belt length and connect intermediate portions of the left and right abdominal belts and the back frame.

  According to the lumbar orthosis for walking assist device according to the present invention, the abdomen tightening degree by the left and right abdomen belts can be adjusted by adjusting the belt length of the left and right side belts. This further improves the fitting of the back frame and lower back pad to the body.

  In the lumbar orthosis for walking assist device according to the present invention, preferably, the lumbar back pad is fixedly connected to the back frame at the center in the left-right direction, and both left and right side portions of the lumbar back pad and both left and right sides of the back frame An elastic member for urging the waist back pad forward with respect to the back frame is provided between each portion.

  According to the waist orthosis for walking assist device of the present invention, the waist back pad is elastically supported by the elastic member with respect to the back frame, and the fitting of the waist back pad to the body is further improved.

  According to the lumbar orthosis for walking assist device according to the present invention, the back frame is held on the body two-way up and down, and the back frame is securely attached to the pelvis. This improves the ability of the back frame to prevent rotation around the forehead axis and makes it difficult for the back frame to rotate around the forehead axis due to the reaction force of the walking assist force generated by the power generation means. The reception can be sufficiently performed, and the two-way hold is performed comfortably along the skeleton, so that the user does not feel uncomfortable.

  Hereinafter, one embodiment of a waist orthosis according to the present invention and a walking assistance device to which the waist orthosis is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The walking assist device of the present embodiment is indicated by the reference numeral 10 as a whole. The walking assist device 10 includes a lumbar brace 20 that is attached to the user's lumbar region, and an electric motor 50L that is a power generation unit that is attached to the lumbar brace unit 20 and disposed at positions corresponding to the left and right hip joints of the user. 50R, power transmission arms 60L, 60R connected to the output members (output rotation shafts) 51L, 51R of the electric motors 50L, 50R, respectively, and the thighs of the user attached to the lower ends of the power transmission arms 60L, 60R Thigh orthosis 70L and 70R to be attached to the body.

  The waist orthosis 20 is roughly composed of a back frame 21, a waist back pad 22, left and right abdominal belts 24L and 24R, left and right auxiliary belts 26L and 26R, and left and right side belts 27L and 27R. .

  The back frame 21 is made of a rigid body, for example, metal, and has a shape that surrounds the user's waist and back with a margin.

  The lower back pad 22 is made of soft plastic and attached to the inner side of the back frame 21. Specifically, the waist / back pad 22 is fixedly connected at the center in the left-right direction to the center in the left-right direction of the back frame 21 by a fixing pin 28, and the left and right ends are free ends separated forward from the back frame 21.

  Elastic plates 19L and 19R made of an elastic material such as a leaf spring and a resin plate are fixed to the left and right side portions of the back frame 21, respectively. The elastic plates 19L and 19R are disposed in the gap between the left and right side portions of the waist back pad 22 and the left and right side portions of the back frame 21, and the free end side of the waist back pad 22 is elastically forward with respect to the back frame 21. Is energized.

  The left and right abdominal belts 24L and 24R are made of a flexible material such as woven fabric, leather, vinyl, and the like, and one end is fixedly connected to the left and right ends of the waist back pad 22, and the other end is a one-touch type belt. It is a belt structure that is fastened to each other by a buckle 23 so as to be openable.

  The left and right auxiliary belts 26L and 26R are made of a flexible material such as woven fabric, leather, vinyl, and the like, and one end is fixedly connected to the left and right intermediate portion on the back side of the waist back pad 22 and the other end is left and right. The abdomen belts 24L and 24R are connected to a middle part of the abdomen belts 24L and 24R by a pin 25 so as to be pivotable. The auxiliary belts 26L and 26R are provided with a length adjustment buckle 29A so that the belt length can be adjusted.

  The left and right side belts 27L, 27R are also made of a flexible material such as woven fabric, leather, vinyl, etc., and one end is an intermediate portion of the left and right abdominal belts 24L, 24R (from the pin 25 to the waist back pad 22). The other end is fixedly connected to the left and right ends of the back frame 21. The side belts 27L and 27R are fixed to the back frame 21 by passing the side belts 27L and 27R through slits 21A formed at the left and right ends of the back frame 21, respectively, and the folded portion 27B is hooked by a hook-and-loop fastener 27A. It is performed by sticking to one end side in a peelable manner. The left and right side belts 27L and 27R can be adjusted in belt length by adjusting the attaching position of the folded portion 27B by the hook-and-loop fastener 27A.

  The power transmission arms 60L and 60R transmit the output of the electric motors 50L and 50R to the thigh orthoses 70L and 70R, and the lower ends of the power transmission arms 60L and 60R have a bifurcated Y-shaped bifurcated shape. The thigh orthosis 70L, 70R is attached to each of the bifurcated tips by pads that sandwich the user's thigh from the front and rear.

  The thigh orthoses 70L and 70R are attached to the lower ends of the power transmission arms 60L and 60R in a detachable screw type so that the attachment position can be adjusted vertically and horizontally.

  Hinge shaft support members 30L and 30R are fixed to the left and right ends of the back frame 21. The hinge shaft support members 30L and 30R have a U-shaped roll shape and support the hinge shafts 35L and 35R spanned between the two front and rear leg pieces. The hinge shafts 35L, 35R have a central axis extending in the horizontal direction of the user, that is, in the sagittal axis direction.

  Hinge coupling members 36L and 36R are attached to the hinge shafts 35L and 35R so as to be rotatable around the central axes of the hinge shafts 35L and 35R. The hinge connecting members 36L, 36R are fixedly connected to mounting tongues 52L, 52R integrally formed on the upper side of the electric motors 50L, 50R.

  Next, a procedure for mounting the lower back orthosis 20 for walking assist device according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the lower back pad 22 is applied to the lower back and the left and right abdominal belts 24L and 24R are fastened to each other by the belt buckle 23 at the center of the lower abdomen (Tanda). Next, the belt lengths of the left and right side belts 27L and 27R are adjusted by adjusting the attaching position of the folded portion 27B with the hook-and-loop fastener 27A, and the abdomen tightening degree (adhesion) of the left and right abdominal belts 24L and 24R is Adjust moderately.

  Since this adjustment is performed by pulling the folded portions 27B of the side belts 27L and 27R passed through the slit 21A, it can be performed with a small force according to the principle of the pulley.

  As the abdomen belts 24L and 24R are tightened, the elastic plates 19L and 19R bend, and due to the bends, the back frame 21 and the waist back pad 22 are in close contact with the back of the back and the abdomen belts 24L and 24R. That is, the fitting of the back frame 21 and the waist / back pad 22 to the body is improved.

  Next, the belt lengths of the auxiliary belts 26L and 26R are adjusted by the length adjustment buckle 29A so that the auxiliary belts 26L and 26R fit the body. Thereby, mounting | wearing with respect to the body of the waist orthosis 20 is completed. Thereafter, the left and right thigh orthoses 70L and 70R may be attached to the left and right thighs.

  In the lumbar orthosis 20 mounted as described above, the left and right abdominal belts 24L and 24R pass the outside of the superior anterior iliac spine indicated by the symbol A in FIG. Then, the left and right auxiliary belts 26L and 26R pass through the upper side of the iliac crest indicated by B in FIG. 3 to reach Tanda C, and the back frame 21 is inserted into the user's back via the lumbar back pad 22. Since the body is held by the body, the back frame 21 is held two-way up and down, so that the back frame 21 is firmly attached to the pelvis.

  As a result, the ability of the back frame 21 to prevent rotation about the forehead axis is improved, and the back frame 21 is moved forward by the reaction force of the walking assist force generated by the electric motors 50L and 50R attached to the back frame 21. It becomes difficult to rotate around the axis, and the reaction force can be sufficiently received. Since this two-way hold is performed without difficulty along the skeleton, it fits well to the user's body and does not give the user a sense of incongruity.

  In the present embodiment, the electric motors 50L and 50R are arranged around the hinge axis in the sagittal axis direction (the user's front-rear direction) with respect to the waist orthosis 20 by the hinge shafts 35L and 35R and the hinge connecting members 36L and 36R. By being able to rotate about the sagittal axis), the user's degree of freedom of hip joint inward and outward rotation can be secured, and the hip joint does not feel uncomfortable at the time of inner and outer rotation.

It is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a walk auxiliary device to which a waist orthosis according to the present invention is applied. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the waist orthosis for walk assistance apparatuses by this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the skeletal structure of a human pelvis part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Walking assistance apparatus 19L, 19R Elastic board 20 Lumbar orthosis 21 Back frame 22 Lumbar back pad 24L, 24R Abdominal belt 26L, 26R Auxiliary belt 27L, 27R Side belt 35L, 35R Hinge shaft 36L, 36R Hinge connection member 50L, 50R Electric motor 60L, 60R power transmission arm 70L, 70R thigh orthosis

Claims (3)

A waist brace for a walking assistance device for mounting a power generation means that is a source of walking assistance force on a user's waist,
A rigid back frame which is formed in a shape surrounding the user's lower back and to which the power generating means is attached;
A waist back pad attached to the inside of the back frame;
Left and right abdominal belts, one end of which is connected to the left and right ends of the lower back pad and the other end is releasably fastened to each other;
Left and right auxiliary belts with one end connected to the left and right middle part of the lumbar back pad and the other end connected to the middle part of the left and right abdominal belts and adjustable belt length;
A lumbar orthosis for walking assist devices.   The waist orthosis for a walking assistance device according to claim 1, comprising left and right side belts capable of adjusting a belt length connecting an intermediate portion of the left and right abdominal belts and the back frame.   The waist back pad is fixedly connected to the back frame at the center in the left-right direction, and the waist back pad is placed between the left and right side portions of the waist back pad and the left and right side portions of the back frame, respectively. The lumbar orthosis for walking assist device according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member that urges the front toward the front.

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