JP2018094635A - Motion assisting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a motion assisting device capable of suppressing a positional deviation of a thigh-mounted part while a thigh arm member arranged along a thigh and a mounted part to be mounted on the thigh are being slidable along the longitudinal direction of the thigh.SOLUTION: A motion assisting device comprises a waist joint part that is located on a lateral side of a human body's waist joint and couples a waist arm member with a thigh arm member to be capable of relatively rotating, a first mounting part coupled with the waist arm member to be mounted on a human body's wasit part, a second mounting part mounted on a human body's thigh part, a slide mechanism that couples the thigh arm member with the second mounting part to be relatively slidable in a longitudinal direction of a thigh member, a support member coupled with the second mounting part to extend downward along the thigh part, a knee joint part that couples the thigh arm member located on a lateral side of a human body's knee joint to extend along a human body's leg part with the support member to be capable of relatively rotatable, and a leg mounting part coupled with the leg arm member to be mounted on a part of the leg part which keeps the thickness enlarged downward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation assisting device used by being worn on a human body.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, movement assist devices that assist human movements such as walking movements and bending and stretching movements of limbs are known. The motion assisting device is also called a human body-mounted robot, is used by being worn on the human body, and assists the user's motion by operating in accordance with the movement of the user's limbs. For example, the motion assisting device includes an arm member that can rotate around a joint portion (active joint) arranged corresponding to a joint of the body, and the arm member is fixed by rotating the arm member by an actuator. Assist the movement of the body part. Such a motion assisting device can be used in various situations, for example, as a device that assists not only a disabled person or an elderly person but also a healthy person.

  Here, the rotating arm member is fixed to the body using an attachment having a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the body part to be fixed. The main purpose of such an attachment is to efficiently transmit the rotational torque applied to the joint by the actuator to the body and to support the weight of the motion assisting device. For this reason, the attachment needs to be designed so as not to deviate from the body. However, since the distance between the joints of the human body changes with the user's motion, it is difficult to always match the position of the joint of the human body and the position of the indirect portion of the motion assisting device.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a walking assist device that can be firmly attached to a user's body and can ensure a certain degree of freedom. In the walking assist device described in Patent Document 1, a dimension between two actuators can be expanded and contracted by a connecting bar composed of an outer tube and an inner rod coupled in a telescopic manner so as to be relatively slidable. Further, in such a walking assistance device, a tension coil spring connected to the inner rod is incorporated in the outer tube, for example, and the tension in a direction to support the weight of the inner rod to which the weight of the knee joint actuator is applied. Is always working.

JP 2004-344306 A

  However, since the walking assist device described in Patent Document 1 is configured to support the inner rod to which the weight of the knee joint actuator is added by the tension of the tension coil spring, the tension of the tension coil spring needs to be relatively large. Therefore, the degree of freedom of relative sliding between the outer tube and the inner rod tends to be small. On the other hand, when the tension of the tension coil spring is reduced, the inner rod and the knee joint actuator are likely to slide downward. In particular, the thigh of the human body has a substantially conical shape that is thicker toward the top, and the attachment attached to the thigh tends to shift downward.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thigh arm member disposed along the thigh and a mounting portion mounted on the thigh. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved motion assisting device that is capable of sliding along the length direction of the thigh while suppressing the displacement of the thigh mounting portion.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, a lumbar joint part that is located on a side of a lumbar joint of a human body and connects a lumbar arm member and a thigh arm member so as to be relatively rotatable, and a lumbar part The first mounting portion connected to the arm member and mounted on the waist of the human body, the second mounting portion mounted on the thigh of the human body, the thigh arm member and the second mounting portion are large. A slide mechanism that is slidably connected in the length direction of the thigh, a support member that is connected to the second mounting portion and extends downward along the thigh, and is located to the side of the knee joint of the human body The lower leg arm member that extends along the lower leg part of the human body and the support member are connected to the knee joint part and the lower leg arm member so as to be relatively rotatable. A movement assist device provided with a lower leg attachment portion that is attached to a region where the thickness increases. It is.

  The crus attachment part may be attached to at least one of the upper part of the lower leg part and the upper part of the ankle joint.

  The motion assisting device includes a footrest portion on which the plantar portion of the human body is placed, an ankle joint portion that is positioned on the side of the ankle joint of the human body, and connects the footrest portion and the lower leg arm member so as to be relatively rotatable. , May be further provided.

  The lumbar joint part is a first lumbar joint part that relatively rotates the lumbar arm member and the thigh arm member in response to the bending and stretching operation of the lumbar joint. In addition, a second hip joint part that couples the waist arm member and the thigh arm member so as to be rotatable relative to each other may be provided.

  You may further provide the ball joint which connects a thigh arm member and a 2nd mounting part.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the thigh arm member arranged along the thigh and the mounting portion attached to the thigh can be slid along the length of the thigh. Meanwhile, it is possible to suppress the displacement of the thigh mounting portion.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the operation | movement assistance apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the 1st waist joint part of the movement assistance apparatus which concerns on the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the 2nd waist joint part of the movement assistance apparatus which concerns on the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of a slide mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of a thigh part mounting part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the slide operation | movement and rotation operation | movement of a slide mechanism. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect | action of the operation assistance apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the operation | movement assistance apparatus which concerns on a modification.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

(Configuration example of motion assist device)
With reference to FIG. 1, the structural example of the operation assistance apparatus 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of the motion assisting device 1. The motion assisting device 1 according to the present embodiment is a device for assisting the movement of the left and right legs such as walking motion or stair climbing motion by assisting the movement of the lower body of the user, and is also called a so-called exoskeleton robot. . The motion assisting device 1 includes a wearing tool 10 to be worn on a user's human body, and an actuator 20 that rotationally drives an active joint.

  The outline of the motion assisting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. The wearing device 10 corresponds to each of the left and right legs, a lumbar arm member 31, a thigh arm member 33, and a crus arm member 35. With. The lower end of the lumbar arm member 31 and the upper end of the thigh arm member 33 are connected via a first lumbar joint 30 and a second lumbar joint 90. The first lumbar joint 30 connects the lumbar arm member 31 and the thigh arm member 33 so as to be capable of relative rotation in response to the bending and stretching operation of the lumbar joint of the human body. That is, the 1st waist part joint part 30 enables the waist part arm member 31 and the thigh part arm member 33 to rotate relatively along the front-back direction of a human body. In addition, the second lumbar joint portion 90 connects the lumbar arm member 31 and the thigh arm member 33 so as to be relatively rotatable in response to the inward and outward rotation operations of the lumbar joint of the human body. That is, the second lumbar joint 90 allows the lumbar arm member 31 and the thigh arm member 33 to rotate relatively to the side of the human body.

  A thigh attachment part 37 is connected to the lower end of the thigh arm member 33 via a slide mechanism 150. The slide mechanism 150 connects the thigh arm member 33 and the thigh mounting portion 37 so as to be relatively slidable in the length direction of the thigh of the human body. A support member 44 that extends downward along the thigh of the human body is connected to the thigh mounting portion 37. A crus arm member 35 is connected to the support member 44 via a knee joint 40 so as to be relatively rotatable. The crus arm member 35 is fixed to the crus of the human body by the upper crus mounting part 41 and the lower crus mounting part 42.

  The operation assisting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail. Among the wearing devices 10, the waist arm member 31, the thigh arm member 33, the support member 44, and the crus arm member 35 are, for example, resin. It is a molded body formed of a material, has a predetermined degree of rigidity, and is lighter. Therefore, the waist arm member 31, the thigh arm member 33, the support member 44, and the crus arm member 35 have resistance to bending and cracking.

  The lumbar arm member 31 is connected to the lumbar attachment portion 15 attached to the lumbar portion of the human body. The waist arm member 31 and the waist mounting portion 15 may be integrally formed or may be connected using a connecting jig or the like. The waist mounting portion 15 corresponds to the first mounting portion in the present invention. For example, the waist mounting portion 15 is disposed on the back side of the human body and is fixed to the waist using the lower waist fixing belt 13 and the upper waist fixing belt 14. For example, the lower waist fixing belt 13 is wound around the lower side of the human waist and is fixed to the waist using a fixing tool (not shown) such as a buckle or a hook-and-loop fastener. The upper waist fixing belt 14 is wound, for example, on the upper side of the waist of the human body, and is fixed to the waist using a fixing tool (not shown). In addition, the structure of the waist | hip | lumbar part mounting | wearing part 15 and a waist | hip | lumbar part fixing belt is not restricted to said example. The waist mounting portion 15 may be fixed by a shoulder belt or the like.

  The waist mounting portion 15 is connected to a case 5 in which an actuator 20, a battery unit (not shown), a control device including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the like are accommodated. The controller 20 drives the actuator 20 by controlling the supply current from the battery unit. The actuator 20 may be, for example, a rotary rotary motor, or may be a combination of a gear mechanism that converts linear motion into rotational motion and a linear motor. Further, the actuator 20 may include a reduction gear.

  A flexible power transmission member such as a wire (not shown) is connected to the actuator 20, and when the actuator 20 is driven, the first lumbar joint portion 30 and the knee joint portion 40 which are located apart from each other are rotationally driven. Is done. The second lumbar joint portion 90 may also be an active joint driven by the actuator 20. Although one actuator 20 is illustrated in FIG. 2, the same number of actuators 20 as the number of joints (active joints) to be driven are provided. The actuator 20 winds or sends a wire or the like (not shown) as a flexible power transmission member, so that the waist arm member 31 and the thigh arm member 33 or the thigh arm member 33 The thigh arm member 35 is relatively rotated.

  For example, a Bowden cable is used as the wire. When the Bowden cable is used, the internal wire can be advanced and retracted while fixing the Bowden cable to the waist arm member 31, the thigh arm member 33, the support member 44, or the like. When a Bowden cable is used, the safety of the user or the like can be ensured even when the Bowden cable is exposed to the outside. The flexible power transmission member may be another flexible member exemplified by a belt or a chain.

  Moreover, the movement assistance apparatus 1 may have a myoelectric potential sensor (not shown) for detecting a myoelectric potential signal of the user. The myoelectric potential sensor may include, for example, a surface myoelectric potential detection electrode (surface electrode) disposed on the surface of the human thigh. The myoelectric potential sensor is arranged with its position determined in advance according to the exercise unit (muscle) corresponding to the muscle force for performing the operation assisted by the operation assisting device 1. In addition, the number of surface electrodes may be one or plural.

  For example, since the motion assisting device 1 according to the present embodiment is a device that mainly assists the user's leg movement (walking motion), the surface electrodes of these myoelectric potential sensors are, for example, the quadriceps muscles of the human body. It may be arranged at a position where the myoelectric potential can be detected. At this time, the electrode of the myoelectric potential sensor may include two electrodes arranged close to each other. Furthermore, the electrodes of the myoelectric potential sensor may be arranged along the direction of the muscle fibers of the motor unit. Thereby, the myoelectric potential of the same muscle fiber is easily detected, and the difference between the two detection values can be obtained to reduce noise.

  As the myoelectric potential sensor, for example, a capacitance type sensor is used. In the electrostatic capacitance type myoelectric potential sensor, the electrostatic capacitance changes in accordance with the detected myoelectric potential, and the change in the electrostatic capacitance is converted into an electrical signal and output. If it is a capacitance type myoelectric potential sensor, the myoelectric potential of a desired muscle can be detected without directly contacting the surface of the skin. When an electrostatic capacitance type myoelectric potential sensor is used, the myoelectric potential sensor includes, for example, an electrode unit, an oscillation circuit, and an output circuit. The myoelectric potential sensor may include an AD converter and an amplifier. The myoelectric potential sensor may include an AD converter and an amplifier. The electrode portion of the myoelectric potential sensor may be, for example, a monopolar, bipolar, or tripolar electrode, and may be an array type or matrix type electrode.

  Here, the waist mounting portion 15 is disposed on the back side of the human body so that the weight of the case 5 accommodating the actuator 20 and the like can be supported at a position close to the center of gravity of the body, and the case 5 is disposed on the back side portion. Is preferably arranged. Further, it is preferable that the waist mounting portion 15 is a rigid, hard component so that the position of the case 5 does not become unstable when mounted. For example, the waist mounting portion 15 may be a hard resin molded product. Further, the case 5 in which the actuator 20 and the like are accommodated and the waist mounting portion 15 may be formed integrally.

  The lower side of the waist arm member 31 connected to the waist mounting portion 15 extends to a portion located on the side of the waist. A thigh arm member 33 is connected to the lumbar arm member 31 via a first lumbar joint portion 30 and a second lumbar joint portion 90. The first lumbar joint portion 30 is provided so as to be located on the side of the lumbar joint of the human body. The second lumbar joint 90 is connected to an intermediate member 32 that extends downward from the first lumbar joint 30, for example.

  In the 1st waist joint part 30, the lower end of the waist arm member 31 and the upper end of the intermediate member 32 are connected so that relative rotation is possible. For example, the intermediate member 32 may be rotatably supported with respect to a rotating shaft member (not shown) provided in the first waist joint portion 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation direction of the first waist joint portion 30 is the direction of relative rotation between the waist arm member 31 and the thigh arm member 33 corresponding to the bending and stretching operation of the waist of the human body, The thigh arm member 33 rotates along the front-rear direction of the human body.

  In the second lumbar joint portion 90, the lower portion of the intermediate member 32 and the upper end of the thigh arm member 33 are coupled so as to be relatively rotatable. For example, the thigh arm member 35 may be rotatably supported with respect to a rotation shaft member (not shown) provided in the intermediate member 32. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation direction of the second lumbar joint 90 is the direction of relative rotation between the lumbar arm member 31 and the thigh arm member 33 corresponding to the adduction or abduction operation of the lumbar joint. The thigh arm member 33 rotates to the side of the human body. The second lumbar joint 90 may be omitted, but the movement assist device 1 includes the second lumbar joint 90 together with the first lumbar joint 30, so that the lumbar joint of the human body can be omitted. The degree of freedom of the motion assisting device 1 that operates in response to movement is increased.

  The thigh arm member 33 extends downward from the first waist joint portion 30 and the second waist joint portion 90 and is provided along the thigh. A thigh mounting portion 37 is connected to the center of the thigh arm member 33 in the length direction. The thigh mounting portion 37 corresponds to the second mounting portion in the present invention. The thigh mounting portion 37 is wound around the thigh of the legs of the human body and is fixed to the thigh using, for example, a thigh fixing belt (not shown). The thigh mounting portion 37 has a predetermined degree of rigidity to such an extent that a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the thigh of the human body is held, for example. When the shape of the thigh mounting part 37 is made to correspond to the outer shape of the thigh of the human body, the shape of at least the part of the thigh mounting part 37 facing the thigh of the human body has a lower diameter ( The imaginary diameter is configured in a substantially conical shape smaller than the upper diameter (imaginary diameter).

  The thigh fixing belt has a connecting tool (not shown) such as a buckle or a hook-and-loop fastener, and the thigh mounting portion 37 is fixed to the thigh by connecting the connecting tool. In the motion assisting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the thigh mounting portion 37 is connected to the thigh arm member 33 via the slide mechanism 150. For this reason, even when the distance between the hip joint and the knee joint of the human body changes with the user's movement, the first thigh mounting portion 37 slides with respect to the thigh arm member 33, so that the first Displacement of the lumbar joint part 30, the second lumbar joint part 90, and the knee joint part 40 can be suppressed. Thereby, the position of the 1st waist part joint part 30, the 2nd waist part joint part 90, and the knee part joint part 40 becomes easy to be hold | maintained in an appropriate position.

  Here, an example of the configuration of the slide mechanism 150 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the back side (side facing the thigh) of the thigh arm member 33, a cross-sectional view taken along the line II and a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II. FIG. 5 shows a plan view, an III-III cross-sectional arrow view, and an IV-IV cross-sectional arrow view on the front side (opposite side facing the thigh) of the thigh mounting portion 37. FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the state in which the thigh mounting portion 37 is connected to the thigh arm member 33 as viewed from the front side, and a side view as viewed from the side.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the thigh arm member 33 includes a guide rail 141, a movable portion 143, first biasing members 151a and 151b, and second biasing members 153a and 153b. The guide rail 141 has rail grooves 142 on both side surfaces, and is fixed to the thigh arm member 33 by, for example, a fixing screw. The guide rail 141 is disposed along the length direction of the thigh in a state where the user wears the motion assisting device 1. The movable portion 143 has a fixed shaft portion 154 that protrudes toward the thigh. A connecting member 161 provided on the thigh mounting portion 37 is attached to the fixed shaft portion 154.

  The movable portion 143 has a locking projection 144 that engages with the rail groove 142 of the guide rail 141, and is movable on the guide rail 141 so as not to be detached from the guide rail 141. Therefore, the movable part 143 is slidable along the length direction of the thigh. The guide rail 141 and the movable part 143 constitute the slide mechanism 150. The guide rail 141 and the movable part 143 may be made of a metal material such as aluminum, for example.

  The thigh arm member 33 has ribs 147 and 149 at positions corresponding to both ends of the guide rail 141. The ribs 147 and 149 restrict the sliding range of the movable portion 143 that moves on the guide rail 141. The end portions of the first urging members 151a and 151b are fixed to one rib 147, and the end portions of the second urging members 153a and 153b are fixed to the other rib 149. The other ends of the first urging members 151 a and 151 b and the second urging members 153 a and 153 b are fixed to a connection member 161 provided on the thigh mounting portion 37. That is, the first urging members 151a and 151b and the second urging members 153a and 153b are fixed to the thigh arm member 33 side where the guide rail 141 is provided, and the other portions are It is fixed to the thigh mounting part 37 side that slides together with the movable part 143. The thigh arm member 33 and the thigh mounting portion 37 are members that rotate relative to each other. For example, tension coil springs can be used as the first biasing members 151a and 151b and the second biasing members 153a and 153b.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the connection member 161 is fixed to the surface of the thigh mounting portion 37 opposite to the thigh side by, for example, fixing screws 165 a and 165 b. The connection member 161 has a hole 163 that receives the fixed shaft portion 154 of the movable portion 143, and when the fixed shaft portion 154 is fitted into the hole 163, the thigh mounting portion 37 and the thigh arm member are arranged. 33 is connected. An annular portion 155 made of an elastic material such as elastic rubber is provided at the distal end portion of the fixed shaft portion 154, and the fixed shaft portion 154 is fitted into the hole portion 163 while the annular portion 155 is elastically deformed and contracted. be able to. Further, after the fixed shaft portion 154 is fitted, the annular portion 155 is locked in the hole portion 163, and the fixed shaft portion 154 is difficult to come off from the connection member 161.

  In a state where the fixed shaft portion 154 is fitted in the hole portion 163, the thigh mounting portion 37 can rotate about the fixed shaft portion 154. That is, the thigh mounting portion 37 can rotate around the axis of the fixed shaft portion 154 that extends in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction by the slide mechanism 150. The fixed shaft portion 154 and the connection member 161 constitute a rotation mechanism. As another form, the rotation mechanism may be configured using a ball joint.

  The ends of the first urging members 151a and 151b and the second urging members 153a and 153b are fixed to both ends of the connecting member 161 in the longitudinal direction of the thigh mounting portion 37. The end portions of the first urging member 151a and the second urging member 153a are fixed to one end side in the longitudinal direction of the thigh mounting portion 37, and the first urging member 151b and the second urging member 151a are fixed to the other end side. The end of the second urging member 153b is fixed. In the illustrated example, the end portions of the first urging members 151a and 151b and the second urging members 153a and 153b are fixed to the connection member 161 by fixing screws 165a and 165b. The longitudinal direction of the thigh mounting portion 37 substantially coincides with the circumferential direction of the thigh and intersects with the arrangement direction of the guide rail 141.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the thigh mounting portion 37 is capable of rotating around the fixed shaft portion 154 as a result of being connected to the thigh arm member 33 via the slide mechanism 150 and the rotation mechanism. It can slide along the guide rail 141. At this time, the first urging members 151a and 151b whose both ends are fixed to the connection member 161 provided on the thigh mounting portion 37 and the rib 147 provided on the thigh arm member 33 are the guides. A tension that pulls the thigh attachment portion 37 toward the rib 147 along the rail 141 may be generated. Further, the second urging members 153a and 153b whose both ends are fixed to the connecting member 161 provided on the thigh mounting portion 37 and the rib 149 provided on the thigh arm member 33 are guide rails. The tension | tensile_strength which pulls the thigh mounting part 37 to the rib 149 side along 141 may be generate | occur | produced.

  For this reason, in the state where the load which slides the thigh mounting part 37 such as the user's muscle strength and the weight of the thigh mounting part 37 is not generated, the four first biasing members 151a, 151b and the second The thigh mounting portion 37 is held at a position where the tensions of the urging members 153a and 153b are balanced. That is, the thigh mounting portion 37 is held at an intermediate position in the slide range by the slide mechanism 150. At this time, the thigh mounting portion 37 is held in a posture in which the tensions of the four first urging members 151a and 151b and the second urging members 153a and 153b are balanced.

  For this reason, in a state where the movable portion 143 is slid along the guide rail 141 toward the rib 147 side, tension is generated to return the movable portion 143 to the intermediate position by the extending second biasing members 153a and 153b. Further, in a state where the movable portion 143 is slid along the guide rail 141 toward the rib 149, tension that causes the movable portion 143 to return to the intermediate position is generated by the extending first biasing members 151a and 151b.

  Further, in a state where the thigh mounting portion 37 rotates clockwise about the fixed shaft portion 154, the first and second urging members 151a and 153b arranged diagonally extend the thigh. A tension is generated to return the part mounting part 37 to the initial posture. In the state where the thigh mounting portion 37 rotates counterclockwise around the fixed shaft portion 154, the first biasing member 151b and the second biasing member 153a which are arranged diagonally extend greatly. A tension is generated that returns the thigh mounting portion 37 to the initial posture.

  The tension that can be generated by the first urging members 151a and 151b and the second urging members 153a and 153b is sufficient if it can return the thigh mounting portion 37 to the intermediate position or the initial posture. A large load is not applied to the user in order to slide the mounting portion 37.

  The slide mechanism 150 is an example, and the configuration of the slide mechanism is not limited to such an example. The slide mechanism has other configurations as long as the distance between the first lumbar joint part 30 or the second lumbar joint part 90 and the thigh attachment part 37 and thus the knee joint part 40 can be made variable. It may be. For example, the slide mechanism 150 has the guide rail 141 on the thigh arm member 33 side, but may have a configuration having a guide rail on the thigh mounting portion 37 side.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the thigh mounting portion 37 is connected to a support member 44 that extends downward along the length direction of the thigh of the human body. The upper end side of the support member 44 is fixed to the thigh attachment portion 37, and the lower end side is connected to the crus arm member 35 via the knee joint portion 40. The knee joint part 40 is provided so as to be located on the side of the knee joint of the human body. In the knee joint 40, the lower end of the support member 44 and the upper end of the crus arm member 35 are coupled so as to be relatively rotatable. For example, the crus arm member 35 may be rotatably supported with respect to a rotation shaft member (not shown) provided in the knee joint 40.

  The crus arm member 35 extends downward from the knee joint 40 and is provided along the crus. An upper crus mounting part 41 is connected to the upper part of the crus arm member 35, and a lower crus mounting part 42 is connected to the lower part of the crus arm member 35. The upper crus mounting part 41 is mounted at least above the thickest part of the calf (calf) of the human body. At the mounting position of the upper crus mounting part 41, the thickness of the crus expands downward. On the other hand, the lower side crus attachment part 42 is attached below at least the thickest part of the calf part of the human body. The upper crus mounting part 41 and the lower crus mounting part 42 are wound around the lower leg of the human body and are fixed to the lower leg using a crus fixing belt (not shown). For example, the lower leg fixing belt has a connecting tool (not shown) such as a buckle or a hook-and-loop fastener, and the lower arm arm member 35 is fixed to the lower leg by connecting the connecting tool. The upper crus mounting part 41 and the lower crus mounting part 42 may be fixed belts.

  In the state where the upper crus mounting part 41 and the lower crus mounting part 42 are respectively mounted on the lower leg of the human body, at least the shape of the part facing the lower leg of the human body is lower in the mounting position. The shape corresponds to the outer shape of the thigh. For example, an upper crus mounting part 41 and a lower crus mounting part 42 made of a member having a predetermined rigidity maintained in the shape are fixed to the crus using a fixing belt or the like. Also good. Or you may comprise the shape corresponding to the external shape of a leg part by winding the belt-like upper side leg part mounting part 41 and the lower side leg part mounting part 42 around a leg part. That is, in a state where the upper crus mounting part 41 is mounted on the lower leg of the human body, the upper crus mounting part 41 is configured in a substantially conical shape in which the upper diameter (virtual diameter) is smaller than the lower diameter (virtual diameter). Therefore, it is difficult to cause a downward displacement. In addition, the lower crus mounting part 42 is configured in a substantially conical shape in which the lower diameter (virtual diameter) is smaller than the upper diameter (virtual diameter), and thus it is difficult for positional displacement to occur upward. Yes.

  As described above, the crus arm member 35 and the support member 44 connected to each other by the knee joint part 40 are formed of a resin molded product having a predetermined rigidity, and the crus arm member 35 and the support member. The thigh attachment part 37 can be supported by 44. For this reason, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 7, by suppressing the vertical displacement of the crus arm member 35 by the upper crus mounting part 41 and the lower crus mounting part 42, The positional deviation of the knee joint part 40 and the thigh attachment part 37 in the vertical direction is suppressed. That is, the support member 44 and the crus arm member 35 connected by the knee joint part 40 are restrained from being displaced downward by the upper crus mounting part 41, and the thigh mounting part 37. And the position shift to the upper side is suppressed by the lower side lower leg part mounting part 42. Therefore, even if the thigh mounting part 37 is connected to the thigh arm member 33 via the slide mechanism 150 and the thigh mounting part 37 can slide with respect to the thigh arm member 33, The displacement of the mounting portion 37 is suppressed. Thereby, it is suppressed that the position of the knee joint part 40 largely deviates from the side of the human knee joint.

  Further, since the thigh arm member 33 and the thigh mounting part 37 are connected via the slide mechanism 150, the knee joint part 40 and the crus arm below the thigh mounting part 37 are connected. Of the weight of the components such as the member 35, the weight supported by the upper waist fixing belt 14 and the lower waist fixing belt 13 is reduced. That is, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 7, the upper waist fixing belt 14 and the lower waist fixing belt 13 mainly bear the weight of the upper component part than the slide mechanism 150, and the upper waist fixing The weight of the belt 14 and the lower waist fixing belt 13 is reduced. Accordingly, the lumbar arm member 31, the first lumbar joint portion 30, the second lumbar joint portion 90, and the thigh arm member 33 are stably supported. Thereby, it is suppressed that the position of the 1st waist joint part 30 and the 2nd waist joint part 90 shift | deviates greatly from the side of the hip joint of a human body.

  As described above, in the motion assisting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the thigh arm member 33 and the thigh mounting part 37 are connected via the slide mechanism 150. The thigh attachment part 37 includes a crus arm member 35, a knee joint part 40, and an upper crus attachment part 41 and a lower crus attachment part 42, in which the positional deviation in the vertical direction is suppressed. The support member 44 suppresses the positional deviation in the vertical direction. In particular, the upper crus mounting part 41 that fixes the crus arm member 35 to the crus is a component that is unlikely to be displaced downward, so the thigh mounting part 37 is positioned downward. Despite having a shape that easily shifts, the downward displacement of the thigh mounting portion 37 is suppressed.

(Modification)
So far, the configuration example of the motion assisting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has been described, but the motion assisting apparatus 1 can be variously modified. Hereinafter, a modification of the motion assisting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of the motion assisting device 2 according to the modification. In the motion assisting device 2 according to the modified example, a footrest portion 60 that is placed on the sole of the human body and on which the foot sole portion is placed is connected to the lower end of the crus arm member 35 via the ankle joint portion 50. Has been. The footrest part 60 has an upper presser part 63 into which a toe of a human body is inserted. The foot joint part 50 is provided so as to be positioned on the side of the human foot joint (heel), and connects the lower end of the crus arm member 35 and the footrest part 60 so as to be relatively rotatable. The footrest portion 60 is configured to be rotatable around the ankle joint portion 50 in response to the bending and stretching operation of the ankle joint of the human body. The footrest portion 60 has a function of supporting the weight of the motion assisting device 1 in a state of being grounded directly or via a shoe sole. Moreover, when the foot joint part 50 is comprised as an active joint, the footrest part 60 also has a function as a movable part at the time of assisting the bending extension operation | movement of an ankle joint. The footrest part 60 is configured by a hard resin molded product or a metal plate. Other components can be configured in the same manner as the motion assisting device 1 according to the above embodiment.

  Therefore, in the motion assisting device 2 according to the modified example, at least a part of the weight of the support member 44, the knee joint portion 40, and the crus arm member 35 below the thigh mounting portion 37 is used as a footrest. It can be transmitted to the ground via the part 60. That is, the footrest 60 can support the weight transmitted from the lower leg arm member 35 from below. Therefore, the motion assisting device 2 according to the modified example can suppress the vertical displacement of the crus arm member 35 by the footrest 60 together with the upper crus attachment part 41. Thereby, the position shift of the up-down direction of the thigh mounting part 37 and the knee joint part 40 is suppressed. Accordingly, the weight of the motion assisting device 2 carried by the lower waist fixing belt 13 and the upper waist fixing belt 14 is reduced, and the positions of the first waist joint 30 and the second waist joint 90 are reduced. Is prevented from greatly deviating.

  In particular, since the footrest portion 60 is a portion that can be grounded to the ground, according to the motion assisting device 2, the knee joint portion 40 and the support member are interposed via the foot joint portion 50 and the crus arm member 35. The certainty bearing the weight of 44 is increased. Therefore, the motion assisting device 2 can also increase the reliability of suppressing the displacement of the first lumbar joint portion 30, the second lumbar joint portion 90, and the knee joint portion 40.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the motion assist device is configured as a device that assists the user's back and forth motion of both legs, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the motion assisting device may be a device that assists the user's one leg back and forth movement. In this case, the first lumbar joint, the second lumbar joint, the knee joint, the ankle joint, the lumbar arm member, the thigh arm member, the crus arm member, the thigh attachment part, the crus The part mounting part and the footrest part are provided only on either the left or right side.

  In the above embodiment, the crus attachment part (upper crus attachment part) 41 that is attached to a part of the human lower leg that increases in thickness downward is the most in the calf part. Although it was mounted above the thick portion, the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the crus attachment part connected to the crus arm part 35 may be attached above the ankle joint of the human body. Since the upper part of the ankle joint also increases in thickness downward, even in such a crus wearing part, the downward displacement of the crus arm part 35 is suppressed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Movement assistance apparatus 13 Lower side waist fixing belt 14 Upper side waist fixing belt 15 Lumbar attachment part 30 1st waist joint part 31 Lumbar arm member 32 Intermediate member 33 Thigh arm member 35 Lower leg arm member 37 Thigh Mounting part 40 Knee joint part 41 Upper crus mounting part 42 Lower crus mounting part 44 Support member

Claims (5)

A lumbar joint that is located to the side of the hip joint of the human body and connects the lumbar arm member and the thigh arm member in a relatively rotatable manner;
A first attachment portion connected to the waist arm member and attached to the waist of a human body;
A second attachment portion attached to the thigh of the human body;
A slide mechanism that connects the thigh arm member and the second mounting portion so as to be relatively slidable in the length direction of the thigh;
A support member connected to the second mounting portion and extending downward along the thigh;
A knee joint part that is located on the side of the knee joint of the human body and that extends along the lower leg part of the human body and that connects the support member in a relatively rotatable manner;
A crus attachment part that is connected to the crus arm member and is attached to a portion of the crus that increases in thickness downward.
A motion assisting device.   The movement assist device according to claim 1, wherein the lower leg part mounting part is attached to at least one of the upper part of the lower leg part and the upper part of the ankle joint than the thickest part of the calf part. A footrest on which the sole of the human body is placed;
An ankle joint located on the side of the ankle joint of the human body and connecting the footrest and the crus arm member in a relatively rotatable manner;
The operation assisting device according to claim 1, further comprising: The lumbar joint part is a first lumbar joint part that couples the lumbar arm member and the thigh arm member so as to be capable of relative rotation in response to a bending and stretching operation of the lumbar joint,
Furthermore, the 2nd waist joint part which connects the said waist arm member and the said thigh arm member so that relative rotation is possible corresponding to the inversion and the abduction of the said waist joint, It is any one of Claims 1-3. The motion auxiliary device according to Item 1. The motion auxiliary device according to claim 1, further comprising a ball joint that connects the thigh arm member and the second mounting portion.

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