JP2015054222A - Motion assisting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable easy adjustment of attachment corresponding to individual differences without a need for replacing a part such as a transfer mechanism and a brace.SOLUTION: A motion assisting device 1 assists a rotary motion in one of joints of limbs of a wearer M and includes: a drive motor 8; a drive mechanism 10 installed coaxially to a joint in a rotatably movable manner by a rotary driving force of the drive motor 8; a brace 2 for trunk attached to a trunk of the wearer M; a fixed side bracket 6 fixed to the brace 2 for trunk; a moving side bracket 7 connected in a relatively movable manner in a vertical direction, which is a substantially extending direction of a flexible shaft 9 to the fixed side bracket 6, while holding the drive motor 8; and a pressing projection part 32 for fixing a relative position of the moving side bracket 7 to the fixed side bracket 6.

Description

  The disclosed embodiment relates to a motion assisting device.

  In Patent Document 1, hydraulic actuators provided as knee and ankle joints are connected by length-adjustable rods, and each hydraulic actuator is connected to an external hydraulic source via a hydraulic oil passage provided inside the rod. A power appliance that introduces and drives hydraulic pressure is described.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-228854

  As described above, in the device for assisting the rotation operation with respect to any joint of the wearer's limbs, for example, two different body parts are attached to the body parts via the joints, and A drive mechanism is provided that performs a relative rotational movement centered on the joint position. In the above-mentioned conventional power equipment, the drive mechanism is a hydraulic actuator, and it is operated by hydraulic pressure introduced from an external hydraulic source. However, in recent years, an electric type using a motor to achieve unitization and weight reduction of the apparatus. Is the mainstream. In general, since the drive motor is heavy, it is often fixed to the torso of the wearer without being directly fixed near the joints of the limbs. Then, the rotational driving force output from the drive motor is transmitted to the drive mechanism via a predetermined transmission mechanism to drive.

  In addition, such motion assist devices are often shared by unspecified number of users in public medical institutions such as hospitals. In this case, there are large individual differences in the dimensions of the wearer on the body, especially the length of the extremities from the torso to the wrist joint and ankle joint. It is necessary to adjust the distance from the drive mechanism. In the above-described conventional power equipment, the hydraulic oil passage corresponds to the transmission mechanism. Therefore, the length of the power equipment can be similarly adjusted in the length adjustable rod. However, in the case of the electric type, the transmission mechanism that connects the drive motor and the drive mechanism has a fixed length because the length of the transmission mechanism itself cannot be expanded and contracted. A plurality of transmission mechanisms having different lengths must be prepared and replaced as appropriate, which is a very complicated operation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and does not require replacement of parts such as a transmission mechanism and a brace, and can easily perform adjustment of mounting corresponding to individual differences. An object is to provide an apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation assisting device for assisting a rotation operation in any joint of a wearer's limb, including a drive motor and a rotational drive of the drive motor. A drive mechanism installed coaxially with respect to the joint by force, a torso brace that can be worn on the wearer's torso, and a fixed side fixed to the torso brace A relative position for fixing the relative position of the moving side bracket to the fixed side bracket, the moving side bracket connected to the fixed side bracket so as to be relatively movable in a predetermined direction while holding the drive motor A motion assisting device having a fixing portion is applied.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily perform mounting adjustment corresponding to individual differences without requiring replacement of parts such as a transmission mechanism and a brace.

It is the side view which looked at the waist and lower limbs of the wearer wearing the motion assist device of the embodiment from the left. FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of a fixed side bracket, a moving side bracket, and a drive motor as viewed from an arrow A in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the state which canceled the connection of a fixed side bracket and a movement side bracket, and was disassembled. FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the slider as viewed in the direction of arrows IV-IV in FIG. 1. It is a whole perspective view of a fixed side bracket, a moving side bracket, and a drive motor when only one pressing protrusion is provided. FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the periphery of the pressing protrusion when viewed in the direction of arrows VI-VI in FIG. FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of a fixed side bracket, a moving side bracket, and a drive motor when a protrusion is provided by an independent member. It is a perspective view in the state where the connection of the fixed side bracket and the moving side bracket is released and disassembled when the protrusion is provided by an independent member. It is the perspective view which looked at the holding member from the arrow B in FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the front, rear, upper, lower, left, and right refer to the directions noted in “front”, “rear”, “upper”, and “lower” shown in FIG. “Left side” corresponding to the front side and “right side” corresponding to the back side. These directions are only used in a unified manner corresponding to the direction seen from the wearer wearing the motion assisting device of the present embodiment in a normal standing posture. For example, when the posture is changed such as when the wearer lies down May be appropriately changed according to the posture.

<Outline of configuration of this embodiment>
As an example, the motion assisting device of the present embodiment is configured to assist the rotation operation of the ankle joint of the wearer M. FIG. 1 illustrates the waist and lower limbs of the wearer M wearing the motion assisting device of the present embodiment. Is shown on the side as seen from the left. In FIG. 1, the motion assisting device 1 includes a trunk device 2, a shin device 3, a shoe 4, a shin arm 5, a fixed bracket 6, a moving bracket 7, and a drive. The motor 8, the flexible shaft 9, and the drive mechanism 10 are included.

  The torso equipment 2 is an equipment to be worn around the torso of the wearer M so as to be wound around the torso, and the torso of the wearer M is stably attached at the position of the thinnest waist. That is, the torso equipment 2 is always mounted at the same vertical position with respect to the torso of the wearer M.

  The shin part brace 3 is a brace that is worn around the shin part of the wearer M so as to be wound around the shin part. In the illustrated example, the shin part brace 3 is stably worn at a position immediately below the knee.

  The shin arm 5 is a beam-like structure, the upper end of which is fixed to the shin device 3 and the lower end thereof is fixed to a drive mechanism 10 described later.

  The shoe part 4 is a shoe-like brace that is worn so as to insert the foot of the wearer M therein, and is stably worn so as to restrain the posture of the foot. Further, the vicinity of the ankle of the shoe portion 4 is also fixed to a drive mechanism 10 described later.

  The fixed-side bracket 6 is a structure extending in the vertical direction, and the upper end thereof is fixed to the back side of the trunk device 2.

  The moving bracket 7 is a structure that extends in the vertical direction. The lower end of the moving bracket 7 holds a drive motor 8 that will be described later, and the upper end of the moving side bracket 7 can move relative to the fixed bracket 6 only in the vertical direction. (This connection configuration will be described in detail later).

  The drive motor 8 is a rotary electric motor that rotationally drives the output shaft. The output side of the drive motor 8 is in a posture toward the ankle joint of the wearer M, that is, in a posture toward the lower side in the normal standing state shown in the drawing. It is held by the bracket 7.

  The flexible shaft 9 is a long wire-like object that can freely bend its axis and transmit a rotational driving force around the axis. In this example, although the detailed illustration is omitted, the flexible shaft 9 is inserted into the pipe of the same length and the outer periphery is covered. The upper end of the flexible shaft 9 is directly and coaxially connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 8, and the lower end is extended toward the ankle joint of the wearer M (a drive mechanism 10 described later). For this reason, when the wearer M bends the hip joint or knee joint, the entire flexible shaft 9 bends, but the direction in which the flexible shaft 9 is directly connected to the drive motor 8 is always the wearer. It is maintained in the downward direction seen from M. Hereinafter, the direction in which the flexible shaft 9 is connected in the vicinity of the drive motor 8 in this manner (the downward direction in the illustrated example) is referred to as a substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft 9.

  Although not particularly shown, the drive mechanism 10 has a speed reducer using a worm gear and a drive shaft. In this example, the speed reducer is fixed to the shin part arm 5, and the drive shaft is connected to the shoe part 4. It is fixed. The lower end of the flexible shaft 9 is connected to the input shaft of the speed reducer, and the rotational driving force transmitted from the drive motor 8 through the flexible shaft 9 is decelerated by the speed reducer to increase the torque and output to the drive shaft. Is done. Thereby, the shoe part 4 performs relative rotation operation | movement centering on a drive shaft with respect to the shin part arm 5 and the shin part apparatus 3. Since the position of the drive shaft is arranged so as to substantially coincide with the ankle joint (ankle) of the wearer M, the drive mechanism 10 can assist the rotation operation coaxially with the ankle joint of the wearer M. The speed reducer may be fixed to the shoe portion 4 and the drive shaft may be fixed to the shin arm 5. In this case, the direction of the relative rotation operation is reversed, but switching between forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive motor 8 may be controlled in reverse.

<Features of this embodiment>
In the motion assisting device 1 configured as described above, the drive motor 8 that is a drive source is a heavy object, and thus is mounted without being directly fixed near the joints of the limbs so as to avoid an increase in the moment of inertia in the movement of the limbs. It is fixed to the trunk of the person M. Then, the rotational driving force output from the drive motor 8 is transmitted to the drive mechanism 10 via the flexible shaft 9 which is a transmission mechanism to drive.

  Such an operation assisting device 1 is often shared by an unspecified number of users in public medical institutions such as hospitals. In this case, since there are large individual differences in the size of the wearer M on the body, particularly the length of the limbs from the torso to the wrist joint or ankle joint, the drive motor 8 fixed to the torso and the vicinity of the joint It is necessary to adjust the separation distance from the drive mechanism 10 installed in the vehicle. However, the flexible shaft 9 that couples the drive motor 8 and the drive mechanism 10 is of a fixed length that cannot expand and contract itself. For this reason, it is very complicated to prepare a plurality of flexible shafts 9 having different lengths and replace them appropriately in order to make adjustments corresponding to the individual differences.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, the stationary bracket 6 is fixed to the trunk device 2 to be mounted on the trunk of the wearer M, and can be relatively moved in the substantially extending direction (predetermined direction) of the flexible shaft 9. The drive motor 8 is held by the connected moving side bracket 7. Thereby, the installation position of the drive motor 8 with respect to the wearer's M body can be adjusted, and the separation distance between the drive motor 8 and the drive mechanism 10 can also be adjusted. A pressing projection or the like, which will be described later, fixes the relative position of the moving bracket 7 with respect to the fixed bracket 6 to appropriately maintain the installation position of the driving motor 8, that is, the separation distance between the driving motor 8 and the driving mechanism 10. it can. The configuration around the drive motor 8 will be described in detail below.

<Configuration around the drive motor in this embodiment>
2 is a perspective view of the fixed side bracket 6, the moving side bracket 7, and the drive motor 8 as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 shows the connection between the fixed side bracket 6 and the moving side bracket 7. The state which canceled and decomposed | disassembled is represented by the perspective view.

  2 and 3, the fixed side bracket 6 has a fixed side connection portion 11, a swing connection portion 18, a swing shaft portion 19, a top plate portion 12, and a fixed side connection portion 13. ing. The fixed side connecting portion 11 is a substantially rectangular flat plate member extending in the vertical direction, and is fixed in a posture orthogonal to the back surface of the trunk device 2 (not shown). The swing connection portion 18 is a member that is pivotally provided so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction through a swing shaft portion 19 that is pivoted in the left-right direction at the lower end portion of the fixed-side connection portion 11. . The top plate portion 12 is a substantially rectangular flat plate member arranged in a substantially horizontal manner, and the lower end of the swing connection portion 18 is fixed to the upper surface thereof. The fixed-side connecting portion 13 is a member that extends in the up-down direction as a whole, and two side wall portions 14 that are arranged in parallel and in the left-right direction along the substantially extending direction (downward in the drawing) of the flexible shaft 9. And one back wall part 15 is provided between the rear edges of the side wall parts 14. The horizontal cross section of the fixed side connecting portion 13 is substantially U-shaped, and its upper end is fixed to the rear edge of the top plate portion 12 with its open side facing forward. Each side wall portion 14 is provided with through holes 16 at the same plurality of positions along the extending direction (vertical direction). The back wall portion 15 is provided with a slide hole 17 that is long in the vertical direction at the center position in the left-right direction.

  The moving bracket 7 has a motor fixing part 21, a shaft fixing part 22, a moving side connection part 23, a slider 24, and two moving side connection parts 25. The motor fixing portion 21 is a substantially square flat plate member arranged in a substantially horizontal manner, and fixes the main body of the drive motor 8 with the output shaft facing downward to the upper surface of the motor fixing portion 21 and the output shaft downward. To penetrate. The shaft fixing portion 22 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped block, and fixes the upper end portion of the pipe of the flexible shaft 9 extending substantially in the vertical direction. The moving-side connecting portion 23 has a substantially rectangular shape that is substantially the same width in the left-right direction as the back wall portion 15 of the fixed-side connecting portion 13 and extends in the up-down direction in a posture facing the back wall portion 15 in the front-rear direction. It is a flat plate member, and the shaft fixing portion 22 is fixed to the lower end portion on the front side, and the motor fixing portion 21 is fixed to the center portion in the vertical direction. The output shaft of the drive motor 8 and the flexible shaft 9 are connected at a position between the motor fixing portion 21 and the shaft fixing portion 22.

  The slider 24 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped block body having the same width as the separation distance in the left-right direction of the two side wall portions 14 of the fixed side connecting portion 13, and is fixed to the upper end of the back surface of the moving side connecting portion 23. . The two moving-side connecting portions 25 are members that extend in the left-right direction with the same length as the width in the left-right direction of the slider 24, and are lined up and down on the rear side of the back wall portion 15 of the fixed-side connecting portion 13. And is fixed to the slider 24 via a bolt that penetrates the slide hole 17.

  The slider 24 has a pressing spring 31 and two pressing protrusions 32 inside, and a lid 33 on the front surface. FIG. 4 shows a horizontal section around the slider 24 as viewed in the direction of arrows IV-IV in FIG. In FIG. 4, the slider 24 has a hollow hole 24a having a diameter substantially the same as that of the pressing spring 31 formed in the left-right direction. Both ends of the slider 24 are smaller in diameter than the hollow hole 24a. A protruding hole 24b having the same diameter is formed.

  A pressing spring 31 is inserted inside the hollow hole 24a, and pressing protrusions 32 are inserted at both ends in the left-right direction. Each pressing protrusion 32 is formed integrally with a cylindrical portion 32a having a substantially cylindrical body having the same diameter as the protruding hole 24b and a locking plate 32b larger than the protruding hole 24b. The locking plate 32b is a pressing spring 31. Only the cylindrical portion 32a is disposed so as to protrude from both side surfaces of the slider 24 through the protruding hole 24b while being pressed by the end portion of the slider 24. For this reason, for example, the wearer M can be elastically moved to the inside of the slider 24 by simultaneously pressing the cylindrical portions 32a of the pressing protrusions 32 so as to be sandwiched between fingers (see the arrows in the figure). . Further, by releasing the external pressure with the finger, the cylindrical portion 32 a of each pressing protrusion 32 can be protruded greatly from both side surfaces of the slider 24 by the elastic force of the pressing spring 31. The lid portion 33 is fixed to the front surface of the slider 24 so that the pressing spring 31 and the two pressing protrusions 32 are maintained in the slider 24.

  The slider 24 is installed so as to be movable in the vertical direction while being sandwiched between the two side wall portions 14 of the fixed side connecting portion 13 in the left-right direction. Further, the slider 24 and the two moving side connecting portions 25 are fixed in such a manner that the width in the left-right direction is wider than the slide hole 17 and the back wall portion 15 is sandwiched in the front-rear direction. For this reason, the slider 24 and the moving side connecting portion 25 are integrally installed so as to be movable over the vertical range of the slide hole 17 while maintaining the connection to the back wall portion 15. That is, the entire moving side bracket 7 and the drive motor 8 fixed to the slider 24 are substantially extended in the extending direction of the flexible shaft 9 with respect to the fixed side bracket 6 within the same distance range as the vertical length of the slide hole 17 (this example). In the up and down direction).

  As shown in FIG. 4, in a state where the two pressing protrusions 32 of the slider 24 respectively penetrate the through holes 16 at the same position of the two side wall portions 14, the fixed side bracket 6 and the moving side bracket 7 are engaged with each other. In combination, the relative position between them can be fixed, and the installation position of the drive motor 8 with respect to the body of the wearer M can be fixed. Further, when the two pressing protrusions 32 are simultaneously pushed into the slider 24, the engagement of the fixed bracket 6 and the moving bracket 7 is released, and the installation position of the drive motor 8 (drive motor 8 and drive mechanism 10). Can be adjusted. This adjustment determines the relative position of the moving bracket 7 with respect to the fixed bracket 6 depending on which of the plurality of through holes 16 provided in each of the two side wall portions 14 is inserted and locked. To do. For this reason, the direction which provides many through-holes 16 in each side wall part 14 can set an adjustment space | interval narrowly.

  In the above, the two side wall portions 14 of the fixed side connecting portion 13 correspond to the two first wall portions described in each claim, the slider 24 corresponds to the first slider described in each claim, and the slider 24 includes 2. The two pressing protrusions 32 correspond to a relative position fixing part, two first protrusions, and a means for fixing the relative position of the moving bracket 7 with respect to the fixed bracket 6.

<Effect of this embodiment>
As described above, the motion assisting device 1 according to the present embodiment fixes the fixed bracket 6 to the torso equipment 2 that can be mounted on the torso of the wearer M, and is connected to the trunk bracket 2 so as to be relatively movable in a predetermined direction. The drive motor 8 is held by the moved side bracket 7. Thereby, the installation position of the drive motor 8 with respect to the wearer's M body can be adjusted, and the separation distance between the drive motor 8 and the drive mechanism 10 can also be adjusted. The two pressing protrusions 32 provided on the slider 24 fix the relative position of the moving bracket 7 with respect to the fixed bracket 6, so that the installation position of the driving motor 8, that is, the separation between the driving motor 8 and the driving mechanism 10 is performed. The distance can be maintained appropriately. Thereby, this embodiment can perform the adjustment of mounting | wearing corresponding to an individual difference easily, without replacing | exchanging components, such as a transmission mechanism and an orthosis.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the drive mechanism 10 is transmitted with a rotational driving force via the flexible shaft 9 connected to the drive motor 8, so that the movable bracket 7 can move relative to the fixed bracket 6 (predetermined). Direction) is a substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft 9, that is, a direction substantially toward the joint to be rotated.

  The flexible shaft 9 can transmit a rotational driving force around the axis while being able to freely bend the axis. The drive mechanism 10 installed in the vicinity of the joints of the limbs is connected to the drive motor 8 fixed to the trunk via the flexible shaft 9, so that the limbs of the wearer M can be freely bent and extended to drive. The rotational driving force can be reliably transmitted from the motor 8 to the driving mechanism 10.

  Further, in order to arrange the flexible shaft 9 as straight and as short as possible while the wearer M is standing upright, the drive motor 8 should be supported in a posture in which its output shaft is approximately directed to the joint to be rotated. Good. For this reason, the relative movement direction (predetermined direction) of the fixed side bracket 6 and the moving side bracket 7 is substantially coaxially connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 8 in a substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft 9, that is, the flexible shaft 9. By adjusting to the direction, the distance between the drive motor 8 and the drive mechanism 10 can be functionally adjusted.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the driving mechanism 10 is installed on the ankle joint of the wearer M. The greatest individual difference appears in the separation distance between the drive motor 8 fixed to the torso and the drive mechanism 10 installed near the ankle joint. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, the function can be most effectively exhibited when the drive mechanism 10 is installed on the joint of the ankle of the wearer M.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the fixed bracket 6 supports the entire configuration below the swing connecting portion 18 via the swing shaft portion 19 so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction. That is, the fixed side bracket 6 supports the movable side bracket 7 so as to be swingable with respect to the trunk device 2. As a result, even when the wearer M moves the lower limb during walking, for example, the orientation of the output shaft of the drive motor 8 can be directed to the ankle joint along the movement of the lower limb, and the flexible shaft 9 can bend. Can be reduced. That is, the reaction force received by the lower limbs can be reduced by the rigidity of the flexible shaft 9, and natural walking is possible.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, in a state where the two pressing protrusions 32 penetrate the through holes 16 of the two side wall portions 14 respectively, the fixed side bracket 6 and the moving side bracket 7 are engaged with each other and It is possible to fix the position of the drive motor 8 relative to the body of the wearer M.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the two pressing protrusions 32 are provided so that they can be elastically pushed into the slider 24 by external pressure. Thus, for example, when the wearer M is sandwiched between fingers, the two pressing projections 32 are simultaneously pressed, so that the engagement of the fixed bracket 6 and the moving bracket 7 is released, and the installation position of the drive motor 8 (drive motor 8 And the separation distance of the drive mechanism 10).

  In this way, in the present embodiment, the motor position adjustment state and the fixed state can be easily switched by only one hand operation of the wearer M. In the present embodiment, the two pressing protrusions 32 are provided on the opposite side surfaces of the slider 24, so that the motor position fixing performance is high. This is because, for example, even when the vicinity of the fixed side / moving side bracket 7 is brought into contact with another object during the movement of the wearer M or the like, at least one of the pressing protrusions 32 is simply removed from the through hole 16. This is because the other pressing projection 32 on the opposite side can maintain the engaged state of the fixed side bracket 6 and the moving side bracket 7 while passing through the through hole 16.

  In the above-described embodiment, the side wall portion 14 in which the through-hole 16 is formed is provided in the stationary bracket 6 and the slider 24 having the pressing protrusion portion 32 is provided in the moving side bracket 7. Alternatively, the slider 24 may be provided on the fixed bracket 6 and the side wall 14 may be provided on the moving bracket 7. Even in this case, the relative movement in the substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft 9 may be performed between the brackets. And the engagement can be switched.

  The motion assisting device 1 is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and technical idea thereof. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described in order.

(1) When only one pressing projection is provided In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the two pressing projections 32 are provided on both the left and right side surfaces of the slider 24 is shown. Only one configuration may be provided.

  5A corresponding to FIG. 2 and FIG. 6 corresponding to FIG. 4 (horizontal cross section around the pressing protrusion 32 as seen in the direction of arrows VI-VI in FIG. 5). ), The moving side connecting portion 23A itself is connected to the fixed side connecting portion 13A in place of the slider 24 so as to be relatively movable. Specifically, the side wall portions 14A on both sides in the left-right direction of the fixed-side connecting portion 13A are set to have the same width as the thickness dimension in the front-rear direction of the moving-side connection portion 23A. Locking claws 14a bent in directions facing each other are provided at the edge. The moving side connecting portion 23A, which is a flat plate member, is connected so as to be surrounded by the back wall portion 15A behind the fixed side connecting portion 13A, the left and right side wall portions 14A, and the left and right engaging claws 14a. The connecting portion 23A is connected to the fixed side connecting portion 13A so as to be relatively movable in the substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft 9 (vertical direction in this example) while maintaining a state where the connecting portion 23A overlaps with the fixed side connecting portion 13A.

  The fixed-side connecting portion 13A is provided with through holes 16A at a plurality of positions along the extending direction in the back wall portion 15A, not the side wall portion 14A. On the other hand, a hollow spring accommodating portion 41 is fixed to the front surface of the upper end of the moving side connecting portion 23A, and a protruding hole 23a having the same diameter as the through hole 16A is formed at the same position of the moving side connecting portion 23A. A pressure spring 31A whose axial direction is directed in the front-rear direction is accommodated in the spring accommodating portion 41, and the cylindrical portion 32a protrudes from the protruding hole 23a while the pressing protrusion 32A is pressed by the rear end of the pressing spring 31A. It is stored in a state.

  In the above, the back wall portion 15A of the fixed side connecting portion 13A corresponds to the second wall portion described in each claim, the moving side connection portion 23A corresponds to the second slider described in each claim, and the pressing projection portion 32A. This corresponds to the relative position fixing portion and the second protrusion described in each claim.

  As described above, in the motion assisting device 1A of the present modified example, the fixed bracket 6A and the movable bracket 7A are mutually connected in a state where one pressing protrusion 32A penetrates the through hole 16A of the back wall 15A. By engaging, the relative position between them can be fixed, and the installation position of the drive motor 8 relative to the body of the wearer M can be fixed.

  In the present modification, in particular, one pressing protrusion 32A is provided so that it can be elastically pressed into the moving-side connecting part 23A by external pressure. For example, the wearer M can press the pressing protrusion 32A with a finger or the like. , The engagement of the fixed bracket 6A and the movable bracket 7A is released, and the installation position of the drive motor 8 (the separation distance between the drive motor 8 and the drive mechanism 10) can be adjusted. Thus, in this modification, the motor position adjustment state and the fixed state can be easily switched by a simple operation with one finger of the wearer M.

  Also in this modified example, the pressing bracket 32A may be provided on the fixed bracket 6A, and the back wall portion 15A having the through hole 16A may be provided on the moving bracket 7A. In this case as well, the brackets 6A and 7A may be provided. Between the relative movement in the substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft 9 and the engagement fixing can be switched.

(2) In the case where the protrusion is provided by an independent member In the embodiment and the first modification, the pressing protrusions 32 and 32A that penetrate the through holes 16 and 16A are provided with the fixed side brackets 6 and 6A and the movement side brackets 7 and 7A. Although the structure provided in any of these was shown, it is not restricted to this, It is good also as a structure which provided the protrusion part which can penetrate to a through-hole with an independent member.

  In the motion assisting device 1B of the present modification, as shown in FIG. 7 corresponding to FIG. 2 and FIG. 8 (exploded perspective view) corresponding to FIG. 3, the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B. Are configured to be movable relative to each other in the vertical direction. A plurality of through holes 16B having the same diameter are provided at the same intervals along the extending direction at positions where the back wall portion 15B of the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B overlap each other.

  Furthermore, in this modification, it has the independent holding member 42 which can be mounted | worn with respect to both the fixed side connection part 13B and the movement side connection part 23B of the connected state. FIG. 9 shows the holding member 42 in a perspective view seen from the arrow B in FIG. The holding member 42 is a flat plate member having substantially the same width in the left-right direction as the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B, and the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B are overlapped on the edges on both sides in the left and right direction. Side wall portions 42a having the same width as the overall thickness in the front-rear direction are provided. Further, a locking claw 42b bent in a direction facing each other is provided at the front edge of each side wall 42a. By attaching the holding member 42 to the state where the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B are overlapped in the front-rear direction, the overlapped state in the front-rear direction can be maintained. Further, an insertion projection 42c having the same diameter as the through hole 16B is provided on the front side of the holding member 42. When the holding member 42 is mounted, it is mounted so that the insertion protrusion 42c penetrates both the through-hole 16B at the overlapping position on the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B.

  In the above, one of the back wall portion 15B and the moving side connection portion 23B of the fixed side connecting portion 13B corresponds to the third wall portion described in each claim, and the other corresponds to the fourth wall portion described in each claim. The holding member 42 corresponds to the relative position fixing portion and the mounting member described in each claim, and the insertion protrusion 42c corresponds to the third protrusion described in each claim.

  As described above, in the motion assisting device 1B according to this modification, the holding member 42 is mounted on both the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B, and the insertion protrusion 42c is connected to the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side. It penetrates both through-holes 16B that overlap at the connecting portion 23B. In this state, the fixed bracket 6B and the movable bracket 7B are engaged with each other to fix the relative position therebetween, and the installation position of the drive motor 8 with respect to the body of the wearer M can be fixed. Further, when the holding member 42 is detached from the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B, the insertion protrusion 42c is fixed by being detached from the through holes 16B of the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B. The engagement of the side bracket 6B and the moving side bracket 7B is released, and the installation position of the drive motor 8 (the separation distance between the drive motor 8 and the drive mechanism 10) can be adjusted.

  In this way, in this modification, the motor position adjustment state and the fixed state can be easily switched only by the operation of attaching and detaching the holding member 42. Further, according to the present invention, the fixed side bracket 6B and the moving side bracket 7B are both configured with simple wall portions, and other than that, it is only necessary to provide a mounting member with a simple configuration, so that the overall weight can be reduced.

  In the modified example, the holding member 42 is mounted on both the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B. However, the holding member 42 is not limited to this, and other than that, the fixed side connecting portion 13B and the moving side connecting portion 23B If there is a configuration capable of maintaining the superposition, the holding member 42 may be attached to either one. Even in this case, the fixed bracket 6B and the movable bracket 7B can be engaged and fixed as long as the insertion protrusion 42c can penetrate both the through holes 16B at the time of mounting.

  The case where the drive mechanism 10 is positioned at the ankle joint of the wearer M and assists the rotation operation has been described above as an example. However, the drive mechanism 10 is positioned at another joint in any of the four limbs and the rotation is performed. The present invention can also be applied when assisting dynamic motion.

  In addition to those already described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the above-mentioned embodiment and each modification are implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A, 1B Operation | movement assistance apparatus 2 Body equipment 6, 6A, 6B Fixed side bracket 7, 7A, 7B Moving side bracket 8 Drive motor 9 Flexible shaft 10 Drive mechanism 11 Fixed side connection part 12 Top plate part 13, 13A , 13B Fixed side connection part 14 Side wall part (equivalent to 1st wall part)
14A Side wall part 15 Back wall part 15A Back wall part (equivalent to 2nd wall part)
15B Back wall part (equivalent to the 3rd wall part and the 4th wall part)
16, 16A, 16B Through-hole 18 Oscillating connection portion 19 Oscillating shaft portion 23 Moving side connecting portion 23A Moving side connecting portion (corresponding to the second slider)
23B Movement side connection part (equivalent to the 3rd wall part and the 4th wall part)
24 Slider (equivalent to the first slider)
31, 31A Pressing spring 32 Pressing protrusion (relative position fixing part, corresponding to the first protrusion)
32A pressing protrusion (relative position fixing part, equivalent to the second protrusion)
41 Spring storage portion 42 Holding member (corresponding to a relative position fixing portion and a mounting member)
42c Insertion protrusion (corresponding to the third protrusion)
M Wearer

Claims (10)

A motion assisting device that assists in the rotational motion of any joint of the wearer's limbs,
A drive motor;
A drive mechanism installed coaxially with respect to the joint by a rotational driving force of the drive motor;
A torso brace that can be worn on the wearer's torso;
A fixed-side bracket fixed to the trunk orthosis,
A moving side bracket connected to the fixed side bracket so as to be relatively movable in a predetermined direction while holding the drive motor;
A relative position fixing part that fixes the relative position of the moving bracket with respect to the fixed bracket;
A motion assisting device comprising: The drive mechanism receives a rotational drive force via a flexible shaft connected to the drive motor,
The motion assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined direction is a substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft.   The motion assisting device according to claim 2, wherein the driving mechanism is installed with respect to a joint of an ankle of the wearer.   The motion assisting device according to claim 3, wherein the fixed bracket supports the movable bracket so as to be swingable with respect to the trunk device. Either one of the fixed side bracket and the moving side bracket is arranged in parallel and facing along the substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft, and through holes are provided at the same plurality of positions along the extending direction. Two first walls,
The other has a first slider that is relatively movable while being sandwiched between the two first wall portions,
5. The operation according to claim 4, wherein the relative position fixing portion includes two first protrusions that protrude from both side surfaces of the first slider and can pass through the through holes at the same position. 6. Auxiliary device.   6. The motion assisting device according to claim 5, wherein the two first protrusions can be elastically pushed into the first slider by external pressure. Either one of the fixed side bracket and the movable side bracket has a second wall portion that is arranged along the substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft and has through holes at a plurality of positions along the extending direction. ,
The other has a second slider that can move relatively while overlapping the second wall,
5. The motion assisting device according to claim 4, wherein the relative position fixing portion has a second protrusion protruding from the second slider and penetrating into the through hole.   8. The motion assisting device according to claim 7, wherein the second projecting portion can be elastically pushed into the second slider by an external pressure. Either one of the fixed side bracket and the moving side bracket has a third wall portion that is arranged along the substantially extending direction of the flexible shaft and has through holes at a plurality of positions along the extending direction. ,
The other has a fourth wall portion that is movable relative to the third wall portion, and has a through hole at a position overlapping the third wall portion,
The relative position fixing portion is a single mounting member that can be mounted on at least one of the third wall portion and the fourth wall portion, and the position of the relative position fixing portion overlapped between the third wall portion and the fourth wall portion. The motion assisting device according to claim 4, further comprising a third protrusion that can penetrate both of the through holes. A motion assisting device that assists in the rotational motion of any joint of the wearer's limbs,
A drive motor;
A drive mechanism installed coaxially with respect to the joint by a rotational driving force of the drive motor;
A torso brace that can be worn on the wearer's torso;
A fixed-side bracket fixed to the trunk orthosis,
A moving side bracket connected to the fixed side bracket so as to be relatively movable in a predetermined direction while holding the drive motor;
Means for fixing the relative position of the moving bracket with respect to the fixed bracket.

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