JP2010110564A - Walking assisting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to turn on/off an apparatus (a power source) clearly voluntarily, and easily adjust the amount of assisting walking to be given to the user in response to his/her wish, etc., in an apparatus mounting state. <P>SOLUTION: A power source circuit 110 is turned on/off alternately by both the operations of a left push button switch 120L and a right push button switch 120R. The amount of assisting walking is increased/decreased by the one-side operation of the left push button switch 120L and the right push button switch 120R. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a walking assistance device, and more particularly, to a walking assistance device that applies a walking assistance force to a lower limb of a user.

  A walking assist device that applies walking assist force to the lower limbs of the user, particularly the thighs, has been proposed for walking assistance and walking rehabilitation for those with weak muscles in the lower limbs (for example, Patent Document 1, 2, 3, 4). This type of walking assist device includes a substantially C-shaped waist frame that is attached to the user's waist and extends from the back of the user's waist to the left and right waist sides of the user, and the waist frame includes the left and right waist frames. A left and right power generation device attached to a portion corresponding to the waist side, and a thigh orthosis that transmits to the thigh an auxiliary force (walking auxiliary force) of the thigh movement generated by the power generation device; Including.

As a control device for this type of walking assist device, first and second walking vibrations that are parameters that change with time according to the walking motion of a pedestrian who is walking supported by a walking assist oscillator provided from the walking assist device. A walking oscillator measuring means for measuring a child, and a first model for generating an output oscillator that changes with time according to an angular velocity determined based on an intrinsic angular velocity by pulling each other with an input transducer. By inputting the measured first walking oscillator as the input oscillator, a first oscillator that changes time with a first phase difference with respect to the first walking oscillator is generated as the output oscillator. A single vibrator generating means; a determining means for determining a new natural angular velocity so as to bring the first phase difference closer to the optimum phase difference; and the natural angular speed in the first model when the first vibrator is generated. By inputting the first walking oscillator measured by the walking oscillator measuring means to the first model replaced with the new natural angular velocity determined by the determining means as the input oscillator, Second oscillator generating means for generating a second oscillator that changes with time with a phase difference closer to the optimal phase difference than the first phase difference with respect to the first walking oscillator as the output oscillator; A walking assist oscillator that newly generates the walking assist oscillator based on the second oscillator generated by the two oscillator generating means and the second walking oscillator measured by the walking oscillator measuring means There exists a thing which is equipped with a production | generation means and can control the walk assistance rhythm with autonomy (for example, patent document 5).
JP 2000-166997 A JP 2006-320349 A JP 2006-320350 A JP 2007-152035 A Japanese Patent No. 3930399

  In the above-described walking assist device, the device (power supply) can be turned on / off accurately under the clear will of the user, and the amount of walking assist given to the user can be determined by the user when the device is attached. It is required that it can be easily adjusted according to preferences and the like.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that, in the walking assist device, the device (power supply) can be turned on and off with the clear intention of the user based on the clear intention of the user. This is to allow the user to easily adjust the walking assist amount given to the person according to his / her preference and the like in the state of wearing the apparatus.

  The walking assist device according to the present invention has left and right power unit cases arranged at portions corresponding to the left and right waist sides of the user, and uses the power generated by the power generation device built in the left and right power unit cases. A walking assist device that provides a walking assist force to a lower limb of a person, the right switch provided in the right power unit case of the left and right power unit cases, and the left power unit case of the left and right power unit cases. A left switch, a power switch means for alternately turning on and off the power circuit of the power generation device by operating both the right switch and the left switch, and When only one of the switch and the left switch is operated, the operation time Or, the output of the power generator is increased according to the number of operations, and if only the other is operated, the walking is performed to reduce the output of the power generator according to the operation time or the number of operations and adjust the walking assist amount. Assist amount control means.

  The walking assist device according to the present invention preferably has a mode changeover switch for selecting one of output increase / decrease according to operation time and output increase / decrease according to the number of operations.

  In the walking assist device according to the present invention, preferably, the walking assist amount control means has a preset output default value, and sets the output of the power generation device to the output default value each time the power supply circuit is turned on. Alternatively, the output value of the power generation device when the power supply circuit is turned off is stored, and the output of the power generation device is set to the output value when the power supply circuit was turned off each time the power supply circuit is turned on.

  In the walking assist device according to the present invention, preferably, the walking assist amount control means stores a preset output default value and an output value of the power generation device when the power supply circuit is turned off, Each time the power supply circuit is turned on, it has start mode setting means for selecting and setting by the user operation whether the output of the power generator is set to the output default value or to the output value at the time of previous turn-off.

  According to the walking assist device of the present invention, the power supply circuit is alternately turned on / off by operating both the left switch and the right switch, and the walking assist amount is increased / decreased by one side operation of the left switch and the right switch. As a result, without increasing the number of switches, the power supply circuit can be turned on and off easily and accurately in the state of wearing the device with the clear will of the user. It can be carried out easily and accurately in the mounted state.

  Hereinafter, one embodiment of a walking assist device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The walking assist device of the present embodiment includes a waist frame 10 that is detachably attached to a user (human) waist by an abdominal belt 20, left and right power unit cases 14L and 14R, and left and right thigh frames 30L and 30R. And left and right soft belts 50L and 50R, and a control device 150.

  The waist frame 10 is a molded product made of a hard resin such as carbon fiber reinforced resin, and extends from the central portion 11 located at the back of the user's waist to the left and right waist sides (outside the hip joint) of the user. The extended portion 12 is substantially C-shaped in plan view.

  Left and right power unit cases 14 </ b> L and 14 </ b> R are attached to the distal ends of the left and right extensions 12 of the waist frame 10 by hinges 13 in a suspended manner. An electrical device storage 60 is provided on the central back 11 of the waist frame 10. In the electric equipment storage section 60, a power supply unit 70 and a control device 150 containing a power supply circuit 110 (see FIG. 3) including a secondary battery are stored. The electric device storage 60 is covered with a removable cover 15.

  The hinge portion 13 is substantially horizontal and has a hinge axis extending in the front-rear horizontal direction of the user's body, that is, in the sagittal axis direction. As a result, the left and right power unit cases 14L and 14R are each mounted in a suspended manner on the waist side (outside the hip joint) and can swing about the hinge axis.

  The power unit cases 14L and 14R have a short-axis cylindrical shape and incorporate thin left and right electric motors 100L and 100R. The left and right electric motors 100L and 100R are supplied with electric power from the power supply unit 70, and are output-controlled individually by the control device 150 to generate an assist force for thigh movement, in other words, a walking assist force.

  The abdomen belt 20 includes a left belt member 20L and a right belt member 20R individually. Each of the left belt member 20L and the right belt member 20R is passed through a belt fastener 21 that is pinned to the left and right sides of the central portion 11 of the frame 13 and can be adjusted in length by a length adjustment belt buckle 22. It is locked. The other end of each of the left belt member 20L and the right belt member 20R is passed through a fastened and separable buckle 23 located at the center of the abdomen, and is then pinned to the left and right extensions 12 of the frame body 13. It is passed through the belt fastener 24 and locked by a length adjustment belt buckle 25 so that the length can be adjusted. As a result, the abdominal belt 20 supports the waist frame 10 at four points of X-hanging.

  The left and right thigh frames 30L and 30R are molded products of high-rigidity strips made of hard resin such as carbon fiber reinforced resin, and the base ends thereof are respectively connected to the electric motors 100L and 100 of the left and right power unit cases 14L and 14R. It is connected in a torque transmission relationship, and has a free end portion 32 that extends from the proximal end to the user's thigh, in this embodiment, the front portion of the lower thigh. The left and right thigh frames 30L and 30R are twisted so as to extend along the thigh outer side on the base end side and to extend along the thigh front side on the free end 32 side. Have In the present embodiment, the thigh frames 30L and 30R are twisted with a twist angle close to 90 degrees or 90 degrees when viewed on the horizontal projection plane.

  A front pad member 34 is attached to the free ends 32 of the left and right thigh frames 30L, 30R by a pivot 33 so as to be rotatable around the sagittal axis of the user. The pivot 33 is at a position approximately half the width in the forehead axial direction in the horizontal section of the lower part of the user's thigh at the height position corresponding to the free ends 32 of the left and right thigh frames 30L and 30R. It is a shaft having a central axis and extending in the sagittal axis direction, and supports the front pad member 34 so as to be rotatable around its own central axis.

  Left and right soft belts 50L and 50R are attached to the free ends 32 of the left and right thigh frames 30L and 30R by a pivot 33 so as to be rotatable around the sagittal axis of the user. The soft belts 50L and 50R are mostly made of a flexible material such as woven fabric, synthetic leather, and leather, and partly made of an elastic body 52 such as a rubber belt. A buckle that is detachably wound around the lower thigh of the user so as to go around the lower thigh of the user at the height position of the free end portion 32 of 30L and 30R. 51 is releasably fastened to form a closed loop. A rear pad member 53 is attached to a portion where the soft belts 50L and 50R correspond to the rear side of the user's lower thigh.

  The free end portions 32 of the left and right thigh frames 30L and 30R are in front of the user's lower thigh, and the free end portions 32 of the thigh frames 30L and 30R are the height of the free end portions. The left and right electric motors 100L are fixed to the lower thigh with the front pad member 34 sandwiched by the soft belts 50L and 50R wound around the thigh so as to go around the lower thigh of the user at the position. The walking assist force generated by 100R is applied to the lower part of the thigh in the direction of the sagittal axis, which is the front-rear direction of the body.

  Next, the electrical system of the walking assist device will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 150 includes a microcomputer and has a motor control unit 151. The motor control unit 151 inputs a signal indicating a motor angle from the rotary encoders 101L and 101R connected to the left and right electric motors 100L and 100R, and calculates an angular velocity and a hip joint angle around the hip joint of the apparatus user from the signal. The outputs of the left and right electric motors 100L and 100R are set according to the walking rhythm obtained from these calculation results.

  As a result, the left and right electric motors 100L and 100R are output-controlled under the supply of power from the power supply circuit 110, and the left and right thigh frames 30L and 30R are alternately swung according to the walking rhythm. Gives the thigh a walking assist force.

  The left and right power unit cases 14L, 14R are provided with a left push button switch 120L and a right push button switch 120R. The left push button switch 120L and the right push button switch 120R have a left operation button 121L and a right operation button 121R, respectively, and are normally opened to be turned on (closed) when the left operation button 121L and the right operation button 121R are pressed. A type of electrical switch.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the left operation button 121L is on the left outer surface of the left power unit case 14L, and the right operation button 121R is on the right outer surface of the right power unit case 14R.

  The ON / OFF signals of the left push button switch 120L and the right push button switch 120R are input to a logical product circuit (AND circuit) 153. The output of the AND circuit 153 is input to the power switch unit 154. The power supply switch unit 154 alternately turns on and off the power supply circuit 110 every time the output of the AND circuit 153 changes from the low level (off) to the high level (on).

  Thus, both the left operation button 121L and the right operation button 121R are pressed, and the power supply circuit 110 alternately starts and stops every time both the left push button switch 120L and the right push button switch 120R are turned on. Will repeat.

  The ON / OFF signal of the left pushbutton switch 120L is input to another AND circuit (AND circuit) 159 and the inverting input terminal 161 of another AND circuit (AND circuit) 160, and is pressed to the right. The on / off signal of the button switch 120 </ b> R is input to the inverting input terminal 162 of the AND circuit 159 and the AND circuit 160. The output of the AND circuit 159 is input to the counter 155L for the left side and the integrator 156L. The output of the AND circuit 160 is input to the right counter 155R and the integrator 156R.

  Thus, only when the left operation button 121L is pressed and only the left push button switch 120L is turned on, the number of times of pressing is counted by the counter 155L, and the pressing time is measured by the integrator 156L. On the other hand, only when the right operation button 121R is pressed and only the right push button switch 120R is turned on, the number of times of pressing is counted by the counter 155R, and the pressing time is measured by the integrator 156R.

  One of the outputs of the counter 155L and the integrator 156L is selected by the selector 157L, and one of the outputs of the counter 155R and the integrator 156R is selected by the selector 157R, and the selected output is the gain setting of the motor controller 150. Input to the unit 152. The selectors 157L and 157R are synchronously switched simultaneously by the operation mode switch 158. The operation mode changeover switch 158 is installed in the electric device storage unit 60 (see FIG. 2) and is operated by the user.

  The gain setting unit 152 is a walking assist amount control unit that increases the drive gains of the left and right electric motors 100L and 100R in accordance with an increase in the count value of the counter 155R or the integral value (time value) of the integrator 156R. The drive gains of the left and right electric motors 100L and 100R are reduced in accordance with an increase in the count value of 155L or the integral value (time value) of the integrator 156L.

  For example, each time the count value of the counter 155R is up-counted or the integral value of the integrator 156R increases by a value corresponding to 1 second, the drive gain is increased by 2% of the current value or the initial value, and the count value of the counter 155L Is increased or the integral value of the integrator 156L increases by a value corresponding to 1 second, the drive gain is decreased by 2% of the current value or the initial value.

  With the above configuration, when it is desired to turn on / off the power of the walking assist device, be sure to press both the left operation button 121L and the right operation button 121R to turn on both the left push button switch 120L and the right push button switch 120R. Therefore, on and off of the power supply circuit 110 can be easily and accurately performed in the state of wearing the device with the clear intention of the user. That is, activation and stop of the walking assist device can be avoided.

  When it is desired to increase the walking assist amount of the walking assist device, when only the right operation button 121R is pressed and only the right push button switch 120R is turned on, the walking assist amount of the walking assist device is decreased. Only the left operation button 121L needs to be pressed to turn on only the left push button switch 120L.

  As a result, it is possible to adjust the walking assist amount accurately with ease of use and with the device attached without increasing the number of switches, and the user can set the walking assist amount to the optimum value according to his / her own sense. Can be set.

  The gain setting unit 152 has a preset default value (initial value), and sets the drive gains of the left and right electric motors 100L and 100R to the default value each time the power supply circuit 110 is turned on, or the power supply circuit. The drive gain when 110 is turned off (including immediately before it is turned off) is stored, and each time the power supply circuit 110 is turned on, the drive gains of the left and right electric motors 100L and 100R are changed to the drive gains when the power was turned off last time. Set. The gain setting at the time of starting can be switched and set by the user freely by a starting mode change switch (starting mode setting means) 159 provided in the electric device storage section 60.

  As a result, the drive gains of the electric motors 100L and 100R at the time of restarting do not become unknown and uncertain, and the default value setting or the previous off value setting depends on user preference, ease of use, etc. The user can arbitrarily select.

The front perspective view which shows the use condition of one Embodiment of the walk assistance apparatus by this invention. The rear side perspective view which shows the use condition of one embodiment of the walk assistance apparatus by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the electric system of the walking assistance apparatus by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Waist frame 14L, 14R Power unit case 20 Abdominal belt 30L, 30R Thigh frame 34 Front pad member 50L, 50R Soft belt 60 Electrical equipment storage part 70 Power supply unit 100L, 100R Electric motor 101R, 101L Rotary encoder 110 Power supply circuit 120L Left-side push button switch 120R Right-side push button switch 121L Left-side operation button 121R Right-side operation button 150 Control device 151 Motor control unit 152 Gain setting unit 153 AND circuit 154 Power switch unit 155R, 155L Counter 156R, 156L Integrator 157R, 157L Selector 158 Operation mode selector switch 159 Mode selector switch at start

Claims (5)

It has left and right power unit cases arranged at the portions corresponding to the left and right waist sides of the user, and the power generated by the power generator built in the left and right power unit cases is used to assist the user's lower limbs with walking assist force. As a walking aid device,
A right switch provided in a right power unit case among the left and right power unit cases;
A left switch provided in a left power unit case among the left and right power unit cases;
Power switch means for alternately turning on and off the power circuit of the power generation device by operating both the right switch and the left switch,
When only one of the right switch and the left switch is operated while the power supply circuit is on, the output of the power generator is increased depending on the operation time or the number of operations, and only the other is operated. If so, walking assist amount control means for adjusting the walking assist amount by reducing the output of the power generation device according to the operation time or the number of operations,
A walking assistance device.   The walking assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising a mode changeover switch that selects one of output increase / decrease according to operation time and output increase / decrease according to the number of operations.   The walking assist amount control means has a preset output default value, and sets the output of the power generator to the output default value each time the power supply circuit is turned on. apparatus.   The walking assist amount control means stores an output value of the power generator when the power circuit is turned off, and outputs the power generator when the power circuit is turned on. The walking assist device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the walking assist device is set to a value.   The walking assist amount control means stores a preset output default value and an output value of the power generation device when the power supply circuit is turned off, and generates the power every time the power supply circuit is turned on. The walking assist device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising start mode setting means for selecting and setting by user operation whether the output of the device is set to the output default value or the previous output value.

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