JP2019146953A - Walking support device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a walking support device capable of supporting high-quality walking of a user in which arms are correctly swung in synchronization with the movement of the user's legs, and achieving an arm swinging state which is natural (comfortable) for the user and an advance speed according to the user's walking speed.SOLUTION: A walking support device 10 having a frame 50, a plurality of wheels, driving means 64R and 64L, a battery B, and driving control means 40 for controlling the driving means includes: a right and left pair of movable handles 20R and 20L gripped by a user that move back and forth with respect to the frame according to the swing of arms accompanying the user's walking; handle guide means (30R and 30L) provided to the frame for guiding the movable handles in a movable range according to the swing of arms accompanying the user's walking; and gripping part state detection means for detecting the state of the movable handles. The driving control means controls the driving means on the basis of the state of the movable handles detected by using the gripping part state detection means, and controls the advance speed of the walking support device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a walking support device.

  It is very important for a user who can walk independently to swing higher-quality walking, without leaning on the walker, with the correct posture with the trunk straightened, and with the arms synchronized with the legs. is there.

  For example, a handcart described in Patent Document 1 (corresponding to a walking support device) has a handle force magnitude and direction in which a user grips a handlebar (corresponding to a fixed handle) and pushes the handcart. In response to this, an assist force for assisting movement in the traveling direction with respect to the handcart is generated. The wheelbarrow has a rotation angle sensor and an inclination angle sensor, and the user stably pushes the wheelbarrow and walks based on information such as the traveling direction and the inclination angle of the vehicle body in various usage situations. Drive the wheels as you can.

  The walking vehicle described in Patent Document 2 (corresponding to a walking support device) includes a pair of left and right front wheels, a rear wheel, a main frame, a side frame, a slider, a handle, and a connecting rod. The slider has a handle fixed thereto and can slide back and forth along the side frame. The slider is connected to the rear wheel via a connecting rod. As a result, when the user grips the left and right handles with the left and right hands, pushes the walking vehicle forward, and advances the vehicle body, the left and right handles are moved back and forth alternately by the rotational movement of the rear wheels. That is, the walking car moves with the user walking with his / her arm, and the power source of the walking car is the force with which the user swings his / her arm back and forth.

JP 2017-12546 A JP 2009-106446 A

  In order to support high-quality walking in which the user correctly swings his / her arm in synchronization with the movement of the user's leg, the walking speed of the user walking at his / her own pace with his / her arm and a walking support device Must be consistent with the speed of progression.

  The handcart described in Patent Literature 1 cannot support high-quality walking in which the user's arm is correctly shaken in synchronization with the movement of the user's leg.

  The walking vehicle described in Patent Document 2 can support the user walking while waving his arm. However, in addition to the fact that the swing width of the arm on which the user swings the arm is fixed, there is no drive source for driving the wheel, and the wheel of the walking vehicle is driven (rotated) by swinging the user's arm. Therefore, the traveling speed of the walking car is determined by the arm swing speed that is the speed at which the user swings the arm. Therefore, in order to adjust the traveling speed of the walking car, the user's arm swing speed must be adjusted. For this reason, the user must forcefully adjust the walking speed and arm swing speed in order to match the user's own walking speed and the traveling speed of the walking car, so the user may not be able to walk properly at his / her own pace. There is.

  The present invention was devised in view of such points, and supports the walking of a high-quality user who correctly swings his / her arm in synchronization with the movement of the user's leg, and is natural for the user ( It is an object of the present invention to provide a walking support device that has a traveling speed according to an easy arm swing state and a walking speed.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a first invention is a frame, a plurality of wheels provided at a lower end of the frame and including at least one drive wheel, and driving the drive wheel to advance or reverse the walking assist device. A walking support device having a driving means for driving, a battery serving as a power source for the driving means, and a driving control means for controlling the driving means, wherein the arm swings as the user walks while being held by the user A pair of left and right movable handles that move back and forth with respect to the frame, and a handle that is provided on the frame and that guides the movable hand to a movable range in accordance with the swing of the arm as the user walks. Hand guide means and gripping part state detection means for detecting the state of the movable handle, and the drive control means is based on the state of the movable hand detected using the gripping part state detection means. There controlling said drive means to control the rate of progression of the walking assistance device, a walking assist device.

  A second aspect of the present invention is the walking support device according to the first aspect, wherein the drive control unit is configured to detect the frame based on the state of the movable handle detected using the gripping unit state detection unit. A frame relative front-rear position, which is a position of the movable handle with respect to the frame in the front-rear direction, which is a front-rear direction, is obtained, and the driving unit is controlled based on the frame relative front-rear position according to the swing of the user's arm. The walking support device.

  A third invention is the walking support device according to the second invention, wherein a virtual front and rear reference position is set to the frame at a predetermined position in the front and rear direction of the frame, and the drive control means Determining the center position in the front-rear direction of the frame between the frame relative front-rear position of the movable handle and the frame relative front-rear position of the left movable handle; Is on the front side of the virtual front-rear reference position, the control amount of the driving means is increased and corrected so as to increase the traveling speed of the walking support device, and the front-rear center position of the handle is the virtual front-rear reference position. In the case of being behind the position, the walking support device corrects the amount of control of the driving means to decrease so as to reduce the traveling speed of the walking support device.

  4th invention is the walking assistance apparatus which concerns on the said 3rd invention, Comprising: The said virtual front-back reference position is set ahead rather than the center position of the said movable range in the said frame front-back direction. It is.

  5th invention is the walk assistance apparatus which concerns on the said 3rd invention or 4th invention, Comprising: The said drive control means is a frame front-back direction of the said handle front-back center position and the said virtual front-back reference position. The walking assist device increases the correction amount for the increase correction and the decrease correction as the difference in the front-rear direction, which is the difference, is larger.

  A sixth invention is the walking support device according to the fifth invention, wherein when the front-rear direction difference is within a predetermined range, the correction amount of the increase correction and the decrease correction is proportional to the front-rear direction difference. This is a walking support device set to a proportional correction amount.

  A seventh invention is the walking support device according to the sixth invention, wherein when the front-rear direction difference is outside the predetermined range, the correction amount of the increase correction and the decrease correction is the proportional correction. This is a walking support device set to a correction amount larger than the amount.

  An eighth invention is the walking assist device according to any one of the second to seventh inventions, wherein the drive control means is a movement width in the frame front-rear direction of the right movable handle. If this is larger than the moving width of the left movable handle in the longitudinal direction of the frame, the drive means is controlled to turn the walking support device to the left, and the left movable handle has the frame A walking support device for controlling the driving means to turn the walking support device to the right when a moving width in the front-rear direction is larger than a movement width in the frame front-rear direction of the right movable handle; is there.

  A ninth invention is the walking support device according to any one of the second to eighth inventions, wherein each of the pair of left and right movable handles is connected to each electric motor. And the drive shaft of each electric motor is rotated in accordance with the movement of the movable handle in the front-rear direction of the frame, and the phase of the drive shaft of the electric motor is included in each electric motor. Each phase detection means that is one of the gripping part state detection means is provided, and the drive control means obtains each based on a detection signal from each phase detection means The walking assist device calculates the relative frame front-rear position based on the phase of the drive shaft of the electric motor.

  A tenth aspect of the invention is the walking support device according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the drive control means is obtained based on the state of the movable handle detected using the gripping part state detection means. The driving means is controlled based on a front evaluation speed that is a forward movement speed of the movable handle relative to a frame and a rear evaluation speed that is a rearward movement speed of the movable handle relative to the frame. It is a walking support device.

  An eleventh aspect of the present invention is the walking support device according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, wherein the drive control means includes the front evaluation speed and the rear evaluation speed when at least one of the movable handles is gripped. This is a walking support device that controls the driving means so as to be equal to each other.

  A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the walking support device according to the tenth aspect of the present invention or the eleventh aspect of the present invention, wherein the drive control means moves in the frame front-rear direction, which is the front-rear direction of the frame in the left movable handle. When the width is larger than the moving width in the frame front-rear direction of the right movable handle, the driving means is controlled to turn the walking support device to the right, and the frame of the right movable handle is When the movement width in the front-rear direction is larger than the movement width in the frame front-rear direction of the left movable handle, the walking support apparatus controls the driving means to turn the walking support apparatus to the left. .

  A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the walking support device according to any one of the tenth aspect of the present invention to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, wherein the drive control means has the rear evaluation speed larger than the front evaluation speed. Controls the driving means so as to decrease the traveling speed of the walking support device, and when the forward evaluation speed is larger than the backward evaluation speed, the traveling speed of the walking support device is increased. This is a walking support device for controlling the driving means.

  A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the walking support device according to any one of the tenth to thirteenth aspects, wherein the drive control means is in the state of the gripping part when swinging an arm accompanying a user's walk. If it is determined that the movable handle has moved in the vicinity of the front end of the movable range of the handle guide unit based on information from the detection unit, the driving is performed so as to increase the traveling speed of the walking support device. Control means, and if it is determined that the movable handle has moved near the rear end of the movable range of the handle guide means, the drive means is controlled so as to decrease the traveling speed of the walking support device It is a walking support device.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, since the driving unit is controlled based on the state of the movable handle detected using the gripping unit state detection unit (for example, the position of the movable handle or the moving speed of the movable handle), The traveling speed of the walking support device is adjusted according to the arm swinging state of the user. Therefore, it is possible to support the walking of a high-quality user who correctly swings his / her arm in synchronization with the movement of the user's leg, and has a natural (easy) arm swinging state and a traveling speed corresponding to the walking speed. be able to.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately control the traveling speed of the walking support device by controlling the driving means based on the position of the movable handle (the frame front-rear position).

  When walking while swinging the left and right arms alternately, it can be considered that the center position of the front and rear of the handle relative to the user's body is almost the same regardless of the position of the left and right arms. According to the third invention, the center position of the front and rear of the handle is regarded as the position of the user's body, and walking in real time and appropriately based on the center position of the front and rear of the handle and the virtual front and rear reference position. The traveling speed of the support device can be controlled, and the walking support device can be advanced so that the position of the walking support device with respect to the user walking is maintained at an appropriate position.

  When walking while alternately swinging left and right arms, the center position of the front and rear of the handle is usually slightly forward of the position of the user's body. According to the fourth aspect, the position of the user's body (the position in the frame front-rear direction) can be maintained substantially at the center of the movable range.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the walking support device is displaced forward or backward with respect to the user's body in the front-rear direction of the frame, the correction speed (correction amount) is increased as the amount of deviation (difference in the front-rear direction) increases. Since it is increased, the deviation can be corrected in a shorter time.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the shift amount (front-rear direction difference) of the walking support device relative to the user's body in the front-rear direction of the frame is not so large, the correction speed (correction amount) is set as the proportional correction amount By doing so, the position of the walking support apparatus with respect to the position of the user who is walking can be stably maintained.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the shift amount (front-rear direction difference) of the walking support device relative to the user's body in the front-rear direction of the frame is very large, the correction speed (correction amount) is set to be greater than the proportional correction amount. By using a larger correction amount, the amount of deviation can be corrected in a shorter time.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when a user who is walking while alternately swinging left and right arms desires to turn the walking support device to the right, the user can appropriately and easily make a right turn. When a left turn of the walking support device is desired, it is possible to appropriately and easily turn left.

  According to the ninth aspect, the position of the movable handle can be detected appropriately and easily by detecting the rotational phase of the drive shaft of the electric motor that rotates with the movement of the movable handle.

  According to the tenth invention, when the user moves the movable handle with respect to the frame, based on the moving speed of the movable handle in the forward direction and the moving speed of the movable handle in the backward direction with respect to the frame. The driving means can be controlled to control the traveling speed of the walking support device. That is, since the speed of the walking support device is controlled in accordance with the user's arm swing speed, the user can support the walking of a high-quality user who correctly swings his / her arm in synchronization with the movement of the user's leg. Therefore, it is possible to provide a walking support device that has a natural (easy) arm swing state and a traveling speed corresponding to the walking speed.

  When walking while alternately swinging arms, the forward evaluation speed corresponding to the forward arm swing speed and the backward evaluation speed corresponding to the backward arm swing speed are usually the same. According to the eleventh invention, by controlling the driving means and controlling the traveling speed of the walking support device so that the front evaluation speed and the rear evaluation speed are equal to each other, it is possible for a user who is walking while swinging his arm. Suppressing the position of the walking assistance device in the front-rear direction is suppressed. Therefore, the position in the front-rear direction of the walking support device with respect to the user can be maintained at an appropriate position.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, when a user who is walking while alternately swinging left and right arms desires a right turn of the walking support device, the right turn can be appropriately and easily performed. When a left turn of the walking support device is desired, it is possible to appropriately and easily turn left.

  According to the thirteenth aspect, when the backward evaluation speed is larger than the forward evaluation speed, the traveling speed of the walking support device is decreased, and when the forward evaluation speed is larger than the backward evaluation speed, the traveling speed of the walking support device. By increasing, the walking speed of the user and the traveling speed of the walking support device can be made equal. That is, the position of the walking support device with respect to the user who is walking while swinging his / her arm can be stably maintained.

  According to the fourteenth aspect, it is possible to prevent the movable handle from coming into contact with the front end portion or the rear end portion of the handle guide means when swinging the arm accompanying the user's walking.

It is a perspective view explaining the whole structure of a walk assistance device. It is a perspective view explaining the structure and function of a movable handle, a fixed handle, and a rail. It is sectional drawing of the movable handle seen from the III-III direction in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the movable handle seen from the IV-IV direction in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a fixed handle in FIG. 2. It is sectional drawing of the fixed handle seen from the VI-VI direction in FIG. It is a block diagram explaining the input / output of the drive control means of a walk assistance device. It is a figure explaining the operation mode of the walk assistance device decided based on the output of each detection means. It is the figure which showed the conditions which transfer to each operation mode from the determination mode in FIG. 8, and the conditions which return to determination mode. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the whole process of 1st Embodiment in the drive control means of a walk assistance apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the process of assist mode 1 and training mode 4 in the drive control means of a walk assistance device. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the process of assist mode 2 and training mode 3 in the drive control means of a walk assistance device. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the process of the training mode 1 in the drive control means of a walk assistance apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the process of the training mode 2 in the drive control means of a walk assistance device. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the determination of the turning in the drive control means of a walking assistance apparatus, and the shift | offset | difference determination process of the advancing speed of a walking assistance apparatus, and a user's walking speed. It is a figure explaining the mode transfer conditions which transfer an operation mode based on a body state, an atmosphere state, and a vehicle body state. It is a figure explaining the conditions which transfer to each operation mode in the case of switching an operation mode automatically. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the whole process of 2nd Embodiment in the drive control means of a walk assistance apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the process [S900] of training modes 1 and 2 in the drive control means of a walking support device. It is a top view of a walk assistance device, and is a figure explaining a frame relative front and back position, a handle front and back center position, a virtual front and rear reference position, etc. It is a figure explaining the example of the front-back direction difference and correction amount characteristic. It is a figure explaining the example of the walk assistance device which changed the movable handle which slides in the front-back direction into the movable handle which rocks in the front-back direction.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing. In addition, when the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis are described in the drawing, the respective axes are orthogonal to each other. In FIG. 1, the Z-axis direction indicates the direction from the front wheel 60FR to the rear wheel 60RR, and the X-axis direction indicates the direction from the left to the right in the frame 50. In the frame 50, the X-axis direction is “right”, the opposite direction to the X-axis direction is “left”, the opposite direction to the Z-axis direction is “front”, and the Z-axis direction is “rear”. The Y-axis direction is “up” and the opposite direction to the Y-axis direction is “down”. The angular velocities around the X, Y, and Z axes are the pitch angular velocity relative to the rotation viewed from the X axis direction, the angular velocity relative to the rotation viewed from the Y axis direction is the yaw angular velocity, and the Z axis direction. The angular velocity with respect to the rotation as viewed from the roll is the roll angular velocity. The magnitudes of the respective angular velocities are “positive” with respect to the clockwise rotation when viewed from the respective directions in the X, Y, and Z axes, and the magnitudes in the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively. The magnitude of the angular velocity with respect to the counterclockwise rotation when viewed from the direction of “” is defined as “negative”.

● [Schematic overall configuration of the first embodiment (FIG. 1)]
A schematic configuration of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a walking support device 10 according to the present embodiment. The walking support device 10 includes rails 30R and 30L (corresponding to arm portions and handle guiding means), drive control means 40, a frame 50, front wheels 60FR and 60FL, rear wheels 60RR and 60RL, and drive means 64R, 64L (for example, an electric motor), a control panel 70, a battery B, and regenerative power recovery means 65 are provided. The front wheels 60FR and 60FL and the rear wheels 60RR and 60RL correspond to a plurality of wheels.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the frame 50 has a symmetrical shape with respect to the left-right direction, and the rail 30 </ b> R is extended on the right side of the frame 50 and the rail 30 </ b> L is extended on the left side along the front-rear direction of the frame 50. Each is provided. The user enters between the rail 30 </ b> R and the rail 30 </ b> L from the open side of the frame 50 and operates the walking support device 10. The front wheels 60FR and 60FL are driven wheels (turnable caster wheels) provided at the lower front end of the frame 50.

  The frame 50 is provided with an outside air temperature sensor 54 that detects outside air temperature, and a three-axis acceleration / angular velocity sensor 52 that detects the inclination of the walking support device 10 in each of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions. Yes. The rear wheels 60RR and 60RL are drive wheels provided at the rear lower end of the frame 50, and are driven by the driving means 64R and 64L via the belt 62, respectively. In the example shown in FIG. 1, there are a pair of left and right rear wheels, which are driving wheels, and each is independently driven by driving means. By using the rear wheels 60RR and 60RL, the walking support device 10 can be moved forward, backward, right turn, and left turn.

  The rail 30R has a movable handle 20R (corresponding to a gripping part) that can be gripped by the user and a fixed handle 20FR (corresponding to a gripping part). The rail 30L has a movable handle 20L (corresponding to a gripping part) that can be gripped by the user and a fixed handle 20FL (corresponding to a gripping part). The movable handle 20R is provided on the rail 30R and is movable in the front-rear direction along the rail 30R in accordance with the swing of the user's walking arm. The movable handle 20L is provided on the rail 30L and is movable in the front-rear direction along the rail 30L according to the swing of the user's walking arm.

  Fixed handles 20FR and 20FL are provided on the rails 30R and 30L of the frame 50, respectively. Note that the rails 30R and 30L are not limited to the shape curved in a concave shape in the upward direction, and may be linear.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control panel 70 is provided, for example, at an upper portion of the frame 50 and is easily operated by the user. The control panel 70 includes a main switch 72, an assist amount adjustment volume 74a, a load amount adjustment volume 74b, a mode manual switching unit 76a, a mode automatic switching unit switch 76b, and a monitor 78 (corresponding to a display unit). Have.

  The walking support device 10 reduces, as an operation mode, a training mode that applies a load to the movement of the user's body that accompanies the user's walking, and a load of the user's body that accompanies the user's walking. And an assist mode. The operation mode switching unit 76 includes a mode manual switching unit 76a, a mode automatic switching unit switch 76b, and a mode automatic switching unit 76AT (see FIG. 7). The mode manual switching means 76a switches the operation mode in the walking assistance apparatus 10 by a user's manual operation. The mode manual switching means 76a can select the state of four operation modes of “assist mode”, “training mode 1”, “training mode 2”, and “training mode 3, 4” (see FIG. 9).

  The mode automatic switching means switch 76b is a switch that permits the drive control means 40 to automatically switch the operation mode. When the mode automatic switching means switch 76b is on, the mode automatic switching means 76AT in the drive control means 40 automatically selects the operation mode based on the information selected by the mode manual switching means 76a and the conditions shown in FIGS. Switch to.

  The assist amount adjustment volume 74a is a volume for adjusting the magnitude of the assist force (assist amount) in the assist mode, and the load amount adjustment volume 74b is a volume for adjusting the magnitude of the load (load amount) in the training mode.

  The monitor 78 displays operation mode information. In addition to displaying the operation mode information, for example, the charge amount of the battery B, walking history, information on the user's physical state, user's physical information history, and ambient atmosphere state The load amount / assist amount, the operation history in the walking support device 10, the state of the vehicle body, and the like are displayed.

● [Detailed structure of walking support device 10 (FIGS. 2 to 6)]
The structure of the walking support device 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The walking support device 10 has a symmetrical structure on the left and right sides of the frame 50 except for the control panel 70, the drive control means 40, the battery B, and the regenerative power recovery means 65. The structure of will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration and functions of the movable handle 20R, the fixed handle 20FR, and the rail 30R. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the movable handle 20R viewed from the III-III direction in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the movable handle 20R viewed from the IV-IV direction in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the fixed handle 20FR in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the fixed handle 20FR viewed from the VI-VI direction in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rail 30 </ b> R has a movable handle 20 </ b> R, pulleys PB and PF, and a wire W. The rail 30R has a shape that is concavely curved upward, and has a rail slit portion 38 that is a movable range of the movable handle 20R that opens upward along the front-rear direction. Further, the rail 30R is provided with pulleys PB and PF at both ends in the front-rear direction. The wire W is hung on the pulley PF arranged at the front and the pulley PB arranged at the rear, and interlocks the respective rotations. Further, the motor 32R, the right hand position detection means 34R (for example, an encoder), and the hand movement restriction means 35R are provided coaxially with the pulley PF. As shown in FIG. 4, a wire is fixed to the wire connecting portion WA of the anchor portion 22B, and the wire is inserted through the wire hole WH without being fixed. A movable handle 20R is connected to the anchor portion 22B. Thus, the motor 32R can assist the movement of the movable handle 20R or apply a load to the movement of the movable handle 20R by rotating the pulley PF and rotating the wire W between the pulleys. The right handle position detection unit 34R outputs the rotation amount of the pulley PF accompanying the movement of the movable handle 20R on the rail 30R to the drive control unit 40.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the movable handle 20R has a handle shaft portion 21a, a shaft portion insertion hole 21b, a slider 22, a grip portion 26a, a switch grip portion 26b, and a brake lever BKL. ing. The slider 22 includes a handle holding portion 22A and an anchor portion 22B.

  As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the urging means 24 is connected to the handle shaft portion 21a, and the other end is connected to the bottom portion of the shaft portion insertion hole 21b. A collar portion 21c is provided in the circumferential direction at the end of the handle shaft portion 21a to which the biasing means 24 is connected. Moreover, the inner collar part 20c is provided in the inner wall surface of the opening in the shaft part insertion hole 21b. Thereby, the grip part 26a can be slid up and down along the longitudinal direction of the handle shaft part 21a without being separated from the handle shaft part 21a. That is, the movable handle 20R has an expansion / contraction mechanism that enables expansion and contraction in the protruding direction.

  A handle support shaft JK is provided on the side of the handle shaft portion 21a to which the urging means 24 is not connected. The handle support shaft JK has a substantially spherical tip at the shaft, and forms a ball joint with a recess provided in the handle holding portion 22A. Accordingly, the movable handle 20R can be tilted back and forth and right and left within a range restricted by the opening with respect to the handle holding portion 22A (see FIGS. 3 and 4). A right hand tilt detecting means 33R for detecting the tilt amount is provided at the opening of the handle holding portion 22A and is disposed with respect to the handle support shaft JK from the front, rear, left and right. The right handle inclination detecting means 33R may be a pressure sensor that provides a spring between the side surface of the handle support shaft JK and the opening of the handle holding portion 22A and detects the pressure due to the expansion and contraction of the spring.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the switch grip portion 26b is provided so as to create a predetermined gap between the grip portion 26a and the switch grip portion 26b by a grip urging means 28 (for example, a spring). The grip detecting means 25R is turned on when the user grips the movable handle 20R and the switch grip portion 26b is moved to the grip portion 26a side and pressure is applied, and is turned off when the pressure is no longer applied. The grip detection means 25R may be a pressure switch or a push switch, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a heart rate temperature sensor 27a is provided in a part of the grip portion 26a. The heart rate body temperature sensor 27a measures the heart rate and body temperature of the user at a predetermined cycle when the user holds the movable handle 20R (20L). The user's heart rate may be measured, for example, by measuring the blood flow of the gripped part of the hand using infrared rays. In addition, the user's body temperature may be measured by measuring, for example, a change in resistance in a thermistor that changes in accordance with a change in temperature, or a change in infrared rays emitted from a portion held by the user.

  One end of the brake lever BKL is connected to the lower front side of the grip portion 26a. When the user holds the brake lever BKL and pulls it toward the grip portion 26a, the rotation of the front wheels 60FR and 60FL and the rear wheels 60RR and 60RL is locked, and the locked state is maintained. (Not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rail 30 </ b> R is provided with handle movement restriction means 35 </ b> R that permits and prohibits movement of the movable handle 20 </ b> R relative to the frame 50. For example, the handle movement restricting means 35R has a lock mechanism that locks the rotation of the motor 32R, and prohibits movement of the handle by locking the rotation of the motor 32R, and releases the lock of the rotation of the motor 32R. Allow movement of the handle relative to the rail (ie relative to the frame).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, one of the wires W is inserted into the wire hole WH provided in the anchor portion 22 </ b> B, and the other end of the wire W is connected to the wire connection portion WA (fixed) ) Further, the movable handle 20R can move on the rail 30R by the constricted portion connecting the handle holding portion 22A and the anchor portion 22B sliding on the rail slit portion 38.

  One end of the signal cable 36 is connected to the anchor portion 22B and the other end is connected to the drive control means 40, and the detection signals from the grip detection means 25R and the right hand tilt detection means 33R are transmitted to the drive control means 40. To do. The signal cable 36 may be a flexible cable such as a flexible cable. The drive control means 40 can detect the position of the movable handle 20R on the rail 30R based on the detection signal from the right hand position detection means 34R. The drive control means 40 can detect how much the movable handle 20R is tilted in which direction, front, back, left and right, based on the detection signal from the right hand tilt detection means 33R. The drive control means 40 can detect whether or not the movable handle 20R is gripped by the user based on the detection signal from the grip detection means 25R.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the fixed handle 20FR (20FL) has a grip portion 26Fa and a switch grip portion 26Fb. The heart rate body temperature sensor 27b measures the user's heart rate and body temperature in a predetermined cycle when the user holds the movable handle 20R. The measurement of the heart rate and body temperature of the user by the heart rate body temperature sensor 27b is the same as that of the heart rate body temperature sensor 27a, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the switch grip portion 26Fb is provided so as to generate a predetermined gap between the grip portion 26Fa and the switch grip portion 26Fb by a grip urging means 28 (for example, a spring). When the user grips the fixed handle 20FR, the grip detection means 25FR is turned on when the switch grip portion 26Fb moves to the grip portion 26Fa and pressure is applied, and outputs a detection signal proportional to the pressure. It turns off when it runs out. The grip detection means 25FR may be any device that outputs a detection signal proportional to the applied pressure, such as a pressure sensor.

● [Function of walking support device 10 and processing in each operation mode (FIGS. 7 to 17)]
The functions of the walking support device 10 and the processing in each operation mode will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[Input / output of drive control means 40 of walking support device 10 (FIG. 7)]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating input / output of drive control means 40 (for example, a control device including a CPU) in the walking support device 10 (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 7, the drive control means 40 has motors 32R and 32L based on the input information from the state detection means 80, the information stored in the storage means 44, and the input information from the control panel 70. The hand movement restricting means 35R, 35L and the driving means 64R, 64L are controlled.

  The drive control means 40 controls the drive means 64R, 64L so as to achieve the target traveling speed (VR, VL) that is the target for causing the walking support device 10 to advance, and drives the rear wheels 60RR, 60RL, which are drive wheels. . The target travel speed VR is a target travel speed for advancing the rear wheel 60RR in the walking support device 10 based on the user's motion, and the target travel speed VL is in the walk support device 10 based on the user's motion. This is the target traveling speed at which the rear wheel 60RL is advanced (see FIG. 1).

● [Configuration and function of state detection means 80]
As shown in FIG. 7, the state detection unit 80 includes a gripping unit state detection unit 81, a body state detection unit 82, a vehicle body state detection unit 83, and an atmosphere state detection unit 84.

  The gripping part state detection means 81 includes a movable handle action force detection means 81a, a movable handle movement amount detection means 81b, and a fixed handle action force detection means 81c.

  The movable handle acting force detection means 81a includes gripping detection means 25R and 25L, a right handle inclination detection means 33R, and a left handle inclination detection means 33L. The movable handle acting force detection means 81a includes the presence / absence of gripping of the user's movable handles 20R and 20L (see FIG. 1), the force pushing the movable handles 20R and 20L held by the user forward, and the rear A movable handle acting force that is a force to be pulled is detected, and a signal corresponding to the detected state is output to the drive control means 40.

  The movable handle movement amount detection means 81b has a right hand position detection means 34R and a left hand position detection means 34L. The movable handle movement amount detection means 81b is a predetermined time of the movable handles 20R, 20L with respect to the rails 30R, 30L (see FIG. 1) when the user walks with the arms gripped by the movable handles 20R, 20L. Is detected, and a signal corresponding to the detected amount is output to the drive control means 40.

  The movable handle movement amount detection means 81b has a width that allows the movable handles 20R and 20L to move in the front-rear direction when the user walks while holding the movable handles 20R and 20L and swinging their arms. A certain movement width DR, DL (corresponding to the arm swing width) is detected, and a signal corresponding to the detected state is output to the drive control means 40.

  The fixed handle acting force detection means 81c has grip detection means 25FR and 25FL. The fixed handle acting force detection means 81c includes whether or not the user has gripped the fixed handles 20FR and 20FL, and the force to push the fixed handle 20FR (20FL) (see FIG. 1) held by the user forward. A fixed handle acting force, which is a force pulled backward, is detected, and a signal corresponding to the detected state is output to the drive control means 40.

  The body condition detection means 82 is a means for detecting the user's body condition, and includes heart rate body temperature sensors 27a and 27b and a body information history 82a. The body state detection unit 82 detects the user's body state, for example, the heart rate and body temperature of the user by the heart rate body temperature sensors 27 a and 27 b, and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected state to the drive control unit 40.

  The body state detection means 82 stores the history of the user's body information (for example, heart rate, body temperature, number of steps) in the body information history 82a. The number of steps is calculated based on information from the movable hand movement amount detecting means 81b, for example, assuming that the number of steps when the user swings his arm back and forth once is two steps.

  The vehicle body state detection unit 83 is a unit that detects the state of the walking support device 10 including the operation history of the walking support device 10, and includes a traveling speed acquisition unit 56 </ b> R, a traveling speed acquisition unit 56 </ b> L, and a triaxial acceleration / angular velocity sensor 52. And operation history information 58.

  The traveling speed acquisition means 56R and the traveling speed acquisition means 56L are connected to the driving means 64R and 64L, respectively, and travel speeds (VdR and VdL) traveling forward or backward in the rear wheels 60RR and 60RL (see FIG. 1), respectively. Is output to the drive control means 40.

  The triaxial acceleration / angular velocity sensor 52 measures the acceleration with respect to each of the three directions of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis, and measures the angular velocity in the rotation about the three directions. For example, when the walking assist device 10 travels on an inclined surface, the triaxial acceleration / angular velocity sensor 52 generates a detection signal corresponding to each inclination of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis of the vehicle with respect to the inclined surface. Output to. The triaxial acceleration / angular velocity sensor 52 also detects a change in acceleration applied to the vehicle body of the walking support device 10 (impact on the vehicle body), and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected change in acceleration to the drive control means 40. To do. The triaxial acceleration / angular velocity sensor 52 also detects the pitch angular velocity, yaw angular velocity, and roll angular velocity of the vehicle body of the walking assistance device 10, and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected angular velocity to the drive control means 40.

  The vehicle body state detection means 83 stores the operation history (for example, walking distance, walking time) of the walking support device 10 in the operation history information 58, and the state of the walking support device 10 (for example, the traveling speed of the walking support device, the body speed). (Tilt, progress speed).

  The atmosphere state detection means 84 is a means for detecting the atmosphere state (for example, outside air temperature) around the user, and has an outside air temperature sensor 54. The atmosphere state detection means 84 detects the outside air temperature with the outside air temperature sensor 54 and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected state to the drive control means 40.

[Calculation of front evaluation speeds VRhf, VLhf and rear evaluation speeds VRhb, VLhb]
The drive control means 40 determines the forward evaluation speed (VRhf), which is the forward movement speed of the movable handles 20R, 20L with respect to the frame 50, based on the amount of movement of the movable handles 20R, 20L (see FIGS. 1 and 2). , VLhf) and a rear evaluation speed (VRhb, VLhb), which is a moving speed of the movable handles 20R, 20L in the backward direction with respect to the frame 50, is calculated. The moving speed of the movable handles 20R and 20L with respect to the frame 50 is “positive” when moving in the forward direction and “negative” when moving backward.

  The front evaluation speed (VRhf, VLhf) or the rear evaluation speed (VRhb, VLhb) is calculated from the moving speed of the movable handle (20R, 20L) when the user swings his / her arm forward or backward, for example. Specifically, it is derived according to the following procedure. Since the processing is the same for the left and right movable handles, only the front evaluation speed (VRhf) and the rear evaluation speed (VRhb) of the right movable handle 20R will be described.

  Derivation of the forward evaluation speed (VRhf) of the right movable handle 20R: The drive control means 40 obtains the movement speed of the movable handle 20R based on the movement amount of the movable handle 20R measured at a predetermined interval. The drive control means 40 integrates (integrates) only the forward movement speed (the magnitude of the movement speed is “positive”) at which the movable handle 20R moves forward among the obtained movement speeds of the movable handle 20R. The drive control means 40 derives the forward evaluation speed (VRhf) by dividing the integrated forward movement speed of the movable handle 20R by a predetermined time (average process).

  Derivation of the rear evaluation speed (VRhb) of the right movable handle 20R: The drive control means 40 obtains the movement speed of the movable handle 20R based on the movement amount of the movable handle 20R measured at a predetermined interval. The drive control means 40 integrates (integrates) only the rearward moving speed (the magnitude of the moving speed is “negative”) at which the movable hand 20R moves rearward among the obtained moving speeds of the movable hand 20R. The drive control means 40 derives the rear evaluation speed (VRhb) by dividing the integrated forward moving speed of the movable handle 20R by a predetermined time (average processing).

[Change of load amount and assist force by load amount / assist amount changing means 74]
The load amount / assist amount changing means 74 has an assist amount adjustment volume 74a and a load amount adjustment volume 74b. The assist amount adjustment volume 74a outputs a detection signal corresponding to the adjustment amount (assist adjustment amount) for adjusting the magnitude of the assist force (assist amount) in the assist mode to the drive control means 40. The load amount adjustment volume 74b outputs a detection signal corresponding to the adjustment amount (load adjustment amount) for adjusting the load size (load amount) in the training mode to the drive control means 40. In the assist mode, the load amount / assist amount changing unit 74 changes the assist amount based on the information from the state detecting unit 80 and the assist adjustment amount. In the training mode, the load amount / assist amount changing unit 74 changes the load amount based on the information from the state detecting unit 80 and the load adjustment amount.

[Function of learning means 74c in load amount / assist amount changing means 74]
The load amount / assist amount changing means 74 includes a learning means 74 c, and the walking assistance device detected using the vehicle body state detecting means 83, the atmosphere state around the user detected using the atmosphere state detecting means 84. The load amount is adjusted in the training mode, and the assist amount is adjusted in the assist mode based on the 10 motion histories and the user's physical state detected using the body state detecting means 82. The learning means in the learning means 74c includes, for example, the user's past use history (walking time, walking distance, load amount, assist amount) stored in the storage means 44 and the user's past physical information history (heart rate). The appropriate load amount and the appropriate assist amount are determined based on the body temperature and the number of steps. Thereby, since a load is not given to a user excessively and a user is not excessively assisted, attenuation of a user's physical strength can be suppressed more appropriately (physical strength maintenance).

● [Function in storage means 44]
The storage means 44 is a means for storing information, and stores and reads information in response to a request from the drive control means 40. The storage unit 44 includes information acquired by the state detection unit 80, calculation results in the drive control unit 40, operation history of the walking support device 10, assist amount in the past assist mode in the user's walking, load amount in the training mode, and the like. The information is memorized.

● [Functions in control panel 70]
The control panel 70 provides switches and a monitor 78 necessary for the user to operate the walking support device 10. The user sets the main switch 72 to the ON state, thereby setting the walking support device 10 in a state where it can proceed. The user can adjust the load amount in the training mode and the assist amount in the assist mode by using the assist amount adjustment volume 74a and the load amount adjustment volume 74b. Further, the user can select a desired operation mode (“Assist Mode”, “Training Mode 1”, “Training Mode 2”, “Training Mode 3, 4”) by switching the mode manual switching means 76a. When the mode automatic switching means switch 76b is turned on, the drive control means 40 automatically switches the operation mode between the operation mode selected by the user and the predetermined operation mode.

[Processing procedure in each operation mode in the drive control means 40 (FIGS. 8 to 17)]
The determination of the operation mode of the walking support device 10 (see FIG. 1) in the drive control means 40 (see FIG. 7) and the processing based on the determined operation mode will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
● [Outline of each operation mode and conditions for shifting to the operation mode (FIGS. 8 to 10)]
FIG. 8 is a state transition diagram for explaining the operation mode of the walking support device 10 determined based on the output of each detection means. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing conditions for shifting from the determination mode JDM to each operation mode in FIG. 8 and conditions for returning to the determination mode JDM. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the overall processing procedure of the drive control means 40 of the walking support device 10.

● [Overview of operation and operation mode judgment when power is turned ON / OFF]
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation mode of the walking support device 10 determined based on the output of each detection means. As shown in FIG. 8, the walking support device 10 includes a determination mode JDM, an assist mode 1 (AM1), an assist mode 2 (AM2), a training mode 1 (TR1), a training mode 2 (TR2), The operation mode includes a training mode 3 (TR3) and a training mode 4 (TR4).

  When the main switch 72 (see FIG. 7) is turned on (power ON), the drive control means 40 reads the operation history stored in the storage means 44 and writes it in the operation history information 58. Then, the drive control means 40 makes the walking assistance apparatus 10 transfer to determination mode JDM. After shifting to the determination mode JDM, the drive control unit 40 acquires each state by the state detection unit 80 and shifts to an operation mode based on each state from which the walking support device 10 is acquired. When the main switch 72 is turned off (power off), the drive control means 40 stores information related to the action history (eg, walking distance, walking time) in the action history information 58 in the storage means 44 and operates. finish.

● [Outline of fixed-hand grip mode and movable-hand grip mode]
As shown in FIG. 8, the operation mode includes a fixed hand grip mode FXHM and a movable hand grip mode FRHM. The fixed-hand gripping mode FXHM is a case where the user grips the fixed grippers 20FR and 20FL (see FIG. 1) and advances the walking support device 10 to walk. The movable handle gripping mode FRHM is a case where the user grips the movable handles 20R and 20L (see FIG. 1) and advances the walking support device 10 to walk.

  The fixed-hand gripping mode FXHM is a walking mode NHM1 without swinging the arm that does not swing the arm because the gripping of the fixed grippers 20FR and 20FL is performed. The movable holding grip mode FRHM includes a walking mode NHM2 that does not swing the arm while gripping the movable holdings 20R and 20L, and a walking mode YHM with swinging arm that swings the arm.

  In the walking mode NHM2 without swinging in the movable handle gripping mode FRHM, the user is gripping the movable handles 20R and 20L, but is fixed at a predetermined position on the rails 30R and 30L (see FIG. 1). This corresponds to the fixed-hand gripping mode FXHM (arm swinging walking mode NHM1). The arm swinging walking mode YHM is a case where the user grasps the movable handles 20R and 20L, moves along the front and rear directions of the rails 30R and 30L, and advances the walking support device 10 to walk.

  The fixed-hand grip mode FXHM includes an assist mode 1 (AM1) and a training mode 4 (TR4). The arm swing-less walking mode NHM2 in the movable handle gripping mode FRHM includes an assist mode 2 (AM2) and a training mode 3 (TR3). The walking mode with arm swing YHM in the movable hand grip mode FRHM includes a training mode 1 (TR1) and a training mode 2 (TR2).

● [Explanation of functions in training mode and assist mode (Fig. 8)]
The assist mode 1 (AM1) and the assist mode 2 (AM2) can reduce the load of the body motion of the user of the walking support device 10. Specifically, the walking support device 10 is advanced with an assist force that is greater by a predetermined amount than the assist force that causes the user's body movement (walking) to be unloaded (walking) as the user walks. Can do. Thereby, the load of the operation | movement (walking) of a user's body accompanying a user's walk can be reduced.

  In training mode 1 (TR1), the walking assistance device 10 is advanced while the regenerative power recovery means 65 is operated. The regenerative power recovery means 65 is connected to the rear wheels 60RR and 60RL (see FIG. 1), and converts rotational energy into electric power for recovery (see FIGS. 1 and 7). Further, in the training mode 1 (TR1), the walking support device 10 can be advanced by applying a load by the motors 32R and 32L to the movement of the movable handles 20R and 20L in the front-rear direction. Thereby, a load can be given to a user's body movement (walking, arm swing) accompanying a user's walk.

  In training mode 2 (TR2), no load is applied to the movable handles 20R and 20L, and walking support is performed with an assist force that allows the user's body movement (walking) to be in an unloaded state as the user walks. The device 10 can be advanced. Thereby, the load of the operation | movement (walking) of a user's body accompanying a user's walk can be reduced.

  In the training mode 3 (TR3), the walking support device 10 is advanced while the regenerative power recovery means 65 is operated. Therefore, the user needs to push or pull the walking support device 10 with a stronger force in order to advance the walking support device 10 as compared with the assist mode 2 (AM2). Thereby, load can be provided with respect to a user's body movement (walking) accompanying a user's walk.

  In the training mode 4 (TR4), the walking support device 10 is advanced while the regenerative power recovery means 65 is operated. Therefore, the user needs to push or pull the walking support device 10 with a stronger force in order to advance the walking support device 10 as compared with the assist mode 1 (AM1). Thereby, load can be provided with respect to a user's body movement (walking) accompanying a user's walk.

● [Judgment for each operation mode and judgment mode transition to JDM (Fig. 9)]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing conditions for shifting from the determination mode JDM to each operation mode in FIG. 8 and conditions for returning to the determination mode JDM. 9, conditions C1 to C6 are conditions for shifting from the determination mode JDM to each operation mode in FIG. 8, and conditions CR1 to CR6 are conditions for returning from each operation mode to the determination mode JDM. In FIG. 9, “-” indicates that the state may be “0” or “1”.

  Transition to each operation mode is made by changing the mode manual switching means 76a (see FIG. 7), the state of the movable handle (20R, 20L) (see FIG. 1), and the state of the fixed handle (20FR, 20FL) (see FIG. 1). ) And. The condition for returning from each operation mode to the determination mode JDM is determined by the current operation mode, the state of the movable handle (20R, 20L), and the state of the fixed handle (20FR, 20FL).

  In FIG. 9, the gripping state of the movable handle is indicated by “1 = grip” when the grip detection means 25R, 25L (see FIG. 3) detects that the user is gripping one of the movable handles 20R, 20L. If it is detected that both are not gripped, “0 = no grip”.

  When the gripping detection means 25FR, 25FL (see FIG. 6) detects that the user is gripping one of the fixed grippers 20FR, 20FL, “1 = with grip” If it is detected that both are not gripped, “0 = no grip” is set.

  As for the swinging state of the movable handles 20R and 20L, a detection signal accompanying the movement of the movable handles 20R and 20L is output from either the right handle position detection unit 34R or the left handle position detection unit 34L. In this case, “1 = present”, otherwise “0 = none”.

  When any one of the conditions C1 to C6 is satisfied, the drive control unit 40 sets the operation mode to an operation mode corresponding to each condition. Hereinafter, determination of transition from the determination mode JDM to each operation mode will be described in detail.

● [Determination of assist mode (AM1, AM2)]
The selection of the mode manual switching means 76a is “assist mode”, the movable hand grip state is “0 = no grip”, the arm swing state is “0 = no”, and the fixed hand grip state is “1 = gripping”. If YES, the condition C1 is established, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the determination mode JDM to the assist mode 1 (AM1).

  The selection of the mode manual switching means 76a is “assist mode”, the movable hand gripping state is “1 = gripping present”, the arm swinging state is “0 = no”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “0 = gripping”. In the case of “No”, the condition C2 is satisfied, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the determination mode JDM to the assist mode 2 (AM2).

● [Judgment of Judgment Mode (TR1-TR4) from JDM]
The selection of the mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 1”, the movable hand gripping state is “1 = with grip”, the arm swinging state is “1 = with”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “0 = In the case of “no gripping”, the condition C3 is satisfied, and the drive control unit 40 changes the operation mode from the determination mode JDM to the training mode 1 (TR1).

  The selection of the mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 2”, the movable hand gripping state is “1 = with grip”, the arm swinging state is “1 = with”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “0 = In the case of “no gripping”, the condition C4 is satisfied, and the drive control unit 40 changes the operation mode from the determination mode JDM to the training mode 2 (TR2).

  The selection of the mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 3”, the movable hand gripping state is “1 = with grip”, the arm swinging state is “0 = no”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “0 = In the case of “no grip”, the condition C5 is satisfied, and the drive control unit 40 changes the operation mode from the determination mode JDM to the training mode 3 (TR3).

  The selection of the mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 3”, the movable hand grip state is “0 = no grip”, the arm swing state is “0 = no”, and the fixed hand grip state is “1 = grip”. In the case of “having possession”, the condition C6 is satisfied, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the determination mode JDM to the training mode 4 (TR4).

● [Judgment of transition to judgment mode (JDM) in each operation mode]
When any one of the conditions CR1 to CR6 is satisfied, the drive control means 40 ends the current operation mode (see FIG. 8) and shifts to the determination mode JDM. Hereinafter, the determination for shifting from each operation mode to the determination mode JDM will be described in detail.

  If the current mode is “assist mode 1 (AM1)” and the gripping state of the fixed hand is “0 = no gripping”, the condition CR1 is satisfied regardless of other states, and the drive control means 40 operates in the operation mode. Is shifted from the assist mode 1 (AM1) to the determination mode JDM.

  When the current mode is “assist mode 2 (AM2)” and the movable hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”, the condition CR2 is satisfied regardless of other states, and the drive control means 40 operates in the operation mode. Is shifted from the assist mode 2 (AM2) to the determination mode JDM.

  When the current mode is “training mode 1 (TR1)” and the movable hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”, the condition CR3 is satisfied regardless of other states, and the drive control means 40 operates in the operation mode. From the training mode 1 (TR1) to the determination mode JDM.

  If the current mode is “training mode 2 (TR2)” and the movable hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”, the condition CR4 is satisfied regardless of the other states, and the drive control means 40 operates in the operation mode. From the training mode 2 (TR2) to the determination mode JDM.

  When the current mode is “training mode 3 (TR3)” and the movable hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”, the condition CR5 is satisfied regardless of the other states, and the drive control means 40 operates in the operation mode. From the training mode 3 (TR3) to the determination mode JDM.

  If the current mode is “training mode 4 (TR4)” and the gripping state of the fixed hand is “0 = no gripping”, the condition CR6 is satisfied regardless of other states, and the drive control means 40 operates in the operation mode. From the training mode 4 (TR4) to the determination mode JDM.

[Flowchart explaining overall processing procedure in the processing procedure of the first embodiment (FIG. 10)]
The processing procedure of the drive control means 40 includes the processing procedure of the first embodiment and the processing procedure of the second embodiment. The processing procedure of the first embodiment is a processing procedure for controlling the driving means 64R and 64L based on the moving speeds of the movable handles 20R and 20L in the training mode 1 and the training mode 2 shown in FIG. The processing procedure of the second embodiment is a processing procedure for controlling the driving means 64R and 64L based on the position of the movable handle in the training mode 1 and the training mode 2 shown in FIG. First, the processing procedure of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the overall processing procedure in the processing procedure of the first embodiment of the drive control means 40 (see FIG. 7) of the walking support device 10 (see FIG. 1). The processing procedure of the drive control means 40 of the walking assistance device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the operation modes in each process are omitted in FIG. 8 unless necessary for the convenience of explanation.

  The overall processing of the drive control unit 40 includes acquisition of each state by the state detection unit 80 (step S100), determination of an operation mode based on each acquired state (step S200), and a target travel speed at which the walking support device 10 is advanced. Calculation (step S170, step S300 to step S800), and a process of driving (step S180) the rear wheels 60RR and 60RL (see FIG. 1) as drive wheels so as to achieve the target traveling speed. . Note that the drive control unit 40, when activated, executes the entire process at a predetermined time interval (for example, every several [ms] intervals).

[Acquisition of each state by the state detection means 80 (step S100)]
Hereinafter, step S100 (acquisition of each state by the state detection means 80) is demonstrated in detail.

  In step S100, the drive control means 40 acquires information (detection signals) from the state detection means 80 (the gripping part state detection means 81, the body state detection means 82, the vehicle body state detection means 83, the atmosphere state detection means 84). The detected various states (input states) are stored in the storage means 44. The drive control unit 40 calculates the front evaluation speeds VRhf and VLhf and the rear evaluation speeds VRhb and VLhb based on the information acquired by the state detection unit 80 and stores them in the storage unit 44. The drive control unit 40 ends the acquisition of each state (step S100) by the state detection unit, and returns to the overall processing.

For example, the drive control means 40 detects the following input states and stores them in the storage means 44 in step S100.
● [Holding part state (state of fixed handle 20FR, 20FL and movable handle 20R, 20L)]
Fixed handle gripping state: Whether the user is gripping one of the fixed handles 20FR, 20FL.
Fixed handle acting force: force that pushes the fixed handle 20FR, 20FL held by the user forward and pulls backward.
Movable handle gripping state: Whether the user is gripping either one of the movable handles 20R, 20L.
Movable handle acting force: A force that pushes the movable handles 20R and 20L held by the user forward and a force that pulls backward.
Arm swing state: Whether the user is holding one of the movable handles 20R and 20L and swinging the arm in the front-rear direction.
Movement widths (DR, DL): widths of the movable handles 20R, 20L with respect to the rails 30R, 30L when the user grips the movable handles 20R, 20L and walks while swinging the arms (the width of the arm) Equivalent to swing width).
Forward evaluation speed (VRhf, VLhf): The moving speed of the movable handles 20R, 20L with respect to the frame 50 in the forward direction.
Backward evaluation speeds (VRhb, VLhb): Movement speeds of the movable handles 20R, 20L in the backward direction with respect to the frame 50.
● [Physical condition of the user]
Heart rate and body temperature: Heart rate and body temperature when the user's walking support device 10 is used.
● [Body status of walking support device 10]
Advancing speed (VdR, VdL): Advancing speed that advances forward or backward in each of the rear wheels 60RR, 60RL.
Acceleration: Acceleration with respect to each of the three directions of the X, Y, and Z axes applied to the walking support device 10.
Angular velocity: Angular velocity in rotation about the three axes of the X, Y, and Z axes.
Accumulated walking time: Accumulated walking time by the user's walking support device 10 stored in the storage means 44.
Cumulative walking distance: Cumulative walking distance by the user's walking support device 10 stored in the storage means 44.
Walking, cumulative walking distance.
● [Ambient condition]
Outside air temperature: The temperature of the outside air around the walking support device 10.
● [Output information from control panel 70]
State of the main switch 72: It is the main switch of the walking support device 10, and is in an ON (operation) or OFF (stop) state.
State of mode manual switching means 76a: The operation mode of the walking support device 10 selected by the user.
State of mode automatic switching means switch 76b: The switch is ON (operation mode automatic switching operation) or OFF (operation mode automatic switching stop).
Assist adjustment amount: An adjustment amount for adjusting the magnitude of the assist force in the assist mode.
Load adjustment amount: An adjustment amount for adjusting the magnitude of the load in the training mode.

[Determination of operation mode based on each acquired state (step S200)]
In step S200 (determination of the operation mode based on each acquired state), the drive control means 40 reads each state acquired by the state detection means stored in the storage means 44, and based on these information, according to FIG. The operation mode (see FIG. 8) that satisfies the condition is determined, and the process proceeds to step S110 (see FIG. 10).

  In step S110, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S300 when the determined operation mode is the assist mode 1 (AM1) (Yes), and proceeds to step S120 when it is not the assist mode 1 (AM1) (No). .

  In step S120, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S400 when the determined operation mode is training mode 4 (TR4) (Yes), and proceeds to step S130 when it is not training mode 4 (TR4) (No). .

  In step S130, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S500 if the determined operation mode is the assist mode 2 (AM2) (Yes), and proceeds to step S140 if it is not the assist mode 2 (AM2) (No). .

  In step S140, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S600 when the determined operation mode is training mode 3 (TR3) (Yes), and proceeds to step S150 when it is not training mode 3 (TR3) (No). .

  In step S150, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S700 when the determined operation mode is training mode 1 (TR1) (Yes), and proceeds to step S160 when it is not training mode 1 (TR1) (No). .

  In step S160, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S800 when the determined operation mode is training mode 2 (TR2) (Yes), and proceeds to step S170 when it is not training mode 2 (TR2) (No). .

  In step S170, the drive control means 40 sets the target traveling speed = 0 of the walking support apparatus 10 (determination mode), and proceeds to step S180.

  In step S180, the drive control means 40 sets the target travel speed (VR, VL) of the walking support device 10 to the target forward speed (VfdR, VfdL) that is the forward target travel speed in the case of forward travel, and in the case of reverse travel. The driving means 64R and 64L are controlled so that the target reverse speed (VbdR, VbdL), which is the reverse target advance speed, and "0" otherwise, respectively, to drive the rear wheel 60RR and the rear wheel 60RL. The process ends.

[Processing in assist mode 1 (step S300) (FIG. 11)]
[S300] shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of assist mode 1 (AM1) processing in the drive control means 40 of the walking assistance device 10 (see FIGS. 1, 7, and 8). Step S300 (processing in assist mode 1) will be described using the flowchart of [S300] shown in FIG.

  In step S310, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S320 when the user's action force on the fixed handles 20FR, 20FL is forward based on the information from the fixed handle action force detection means 81c (Yes). If the acting force of the user on the fixed handles 20FR and 20FL is not forward (No), the process proceeds to step S330.

  In step S320, the drive control means 40 calculates the target forward speed (VfdR, VfdL) according to the acting force on the fixed handles 20FR, 20FL and the assist amount derived by the load amount / assist amount changing means 74. Then, the process in the assist mode 1 (step S300) ends, and the process returns to the entire process.

  In step S330, the drive control means 40 calculates the target reverse speed (VbdR, VbdL) according to the acting force on the fixed handles 20FR, 20FL and the assist amount derived by the load amount / assist amount changing means 74. Then, the process in the assist mode 1 (step S300) ends, and the process returns to the entire process.

  In the assist mode 1 (AM1) (see FIG. 8), the walking support device 10 with an assist force that is greater by a predetermined amount than the assist force in which the user's body movement (walking) accompanying the user's walking becomes an unloaded operation. Can be advanced. Thereby, the load of the operation | movement (walking) of a user's body accompanying a user's walk can be reduced.

[Processing in Training Mode 4 (Step S400) (FIG. 11)]
[S400] shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of processing in training mode 4 (TR4) in the drive control means 40 of the walking support apparatus 10 (see FIGS. 1, 7, and 8). Step S400 (processing in training mode 4) will be described using the flowchart of [S400] shown in FIG. Note that the regenerative power recovery means 65 is operated and does not generate an assist force for the walking assist device 10 in accordance with the user's acting force.

  In step S410, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S420 when the user's action force on the fixed handles 20FR, 20FL is forward based on the information from the fixed handle action force detection means 81c (Yes). If the user's acting force on the fixed handles 20FR and 20FL is not forward (No), the process proceeds to step S430.

  In step S420, the drive control means 40 calculates the target forward speed (VfdR, VfdL) corresponding to the acting force on the fixed handles 20FR, 20FL, and ends the processing in the training mode 4 (step S400). Return to processing.

  In step S430, the drive control means 40 calculates the target reverse speed (VbdR, VbdL) corresponding to the acting force on the fixed handles 20FR, 20FL, and ends the processing in the training mode 4 (step S400). Return to processing.

  In training mode 4 (TR4) (see FIG. 8), since the walking support apparatus 10 is advanced while operating the regenerative power recovery means 65, the user can compare the walking support apparatus 10 with the assist mode 1 (AM1). In order to advance, it is necessary to push or pull the walking support apparatus 10 with a stronger force. Thereby, load can be provided with respect to a user's body movement (walking) accompanying a user's walk.

[Processing in assist mode 2 (step S500) (FIG. 12)]
[S500] shown in FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of assist mode 2 (AM2) processing in the drive control means 40 of the walking assistance device 10 (see FIGS. 1, 7, and 8). Step S500 (processing in assist mode 2) will be described using the flowchart of [S500] shown in FIG.

  In step S510, the drive control means 40 drives the motors 32R, 32L to restrict the movement in the rails 30R, 30L by the holding hand movement restriction means 35R, 35L and fixes it at a predetermined position, and then proceeds to step S520.

  In step S520, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S530 when the user's action force on the movable handles 20R, 20L is forward based on the information from the movable handle action force detection means 81a (Yes). If the user's acting force on the movable handles 20R, 20L is not forward (No), the process proceeds to step S540.

  In step S530, the drive control means 40 calculates the target forward speed (VfdR, VfdL) according to the force applied to the movable handles 20R, 20L and the assist amount derived by the load amount / assist amount changing means 74. Then, the process in the assist mode 2 (step S500) ends, and the process returns to the entire process.

  In step S540, the drive control means 40 calculates the target reverse speed (VbdR, VbdL) according to the force applied to the movable handles 20R, 20L and the assist amount derived by the load amount / assist amount changing means 74. Then, the process in the assist mode 2 (step S500) ends, and the process returns to the entire process.

  In the assist mode 2 (AM2), the walking support device 10 can be advanced with an assist force that is a predetermined amount larger than the assist force in which the user's body movement (walking) accompanying the user's walking becomes an unloaded operation. it can. Thereby, the load of the operation | movement (walking) of a user's body accompanying a user's walk can be reduced.

● [Processing in Training Mode 3 (Step S600) (FIG. 12)]
[S600] shown in FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the training mode 3 (TR3) processing in the drive control means 40 of the walking support apparatus 10 (see FIGS. 1, 7, and 8). Step S600 (processing in training mode 3) will be described using the flowchart of [S600] shown in FIG. Note that the regenerative power recovery means 65 is operated and does not generate an assist force for the walking assist device 10 in accordance with the user's acting force.

  In step S610, the drive control means 40 drives the motors 32R, 32L to restrict the movement in the rails 30R, 30L by the holding hand movement restriction means 35R, 35L, and fixes it to a predetermined position, and proceeds to step S620.

  In step S620, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S630 if the user's action force on the movable handles 20R, 20L is forward based on the information from the movable handle action force detection means 81a (Yes). If the user's acting force on the movable handles 20R, 20L is not forward (No), the process proceeds to step S640.

  In step S630, the drive control means 40 calculates the target forward speed (VfdR, VfdL) corresponding to the acting force on the movable handles 20R, 20L, and ends the processing in the training mode 3 (step S600). Return to processing.

  In step S640, the drive control means 40 calculates the target reverse speed (VbdR, VbdL) according to the acting force on the movable handles 20R, 20L, and ends the processing in the training mode 3 (step S600). Return to processing.

  In training mode 3 (TR3) (see FIG. 8), since the walking support device 10 is advanced while operating the regenerative power recovery means 65, the user can compare the walking support device 10 with the assist mode 2 (AM2). In order to advance, it is necessary to push or pull the walking support apparatus 10 with a stronger force. Thereby, load can be provided with respect to a user's body movement (walking) accompanying a user's walk.

[Processing in Training Mode 1 (Step S700) (FIG. 13)]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the training mode 1 (TR1) process in the drive control means 40 of the walking assistance device 10 (see FIGS. 1, 7, and 8). Step S700 (processing in training mode 1) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The regenerative power recovery means 65 is operated and does not generate an assist force with respect to the user's acting force.

  In step S705, the drive control means 40 acquires the traveling speed (VdR, VdL) of the walking assistance device 10 from the storage means 44, and proceeds to step S710.

  In step S710, the drive control unit 40 controls the motors 32R and 32L so as to apply the load amount derived by the load amount / assist amount changing unit 74 to the movement of the movable handles 20R and 20L. The process proceeds to S715.

  In step S715, the drive control unit 40 moves both the right movable handle 20R and the left movable handle 20L based on the information from the movable handle movement amount detection unit 81b. If there is a swing (Yes), the process proceeds to step S720. If there is no swing of both the left and right arms (No), the process proceeds to step S725.

  In step S720, the drive control means 40 determines the forward evaluation speed Vhfd and the backward evaluation speed Vhbd based on the evaluation speeds (VRhf, VRhb, VLhf, VLhb) of the left and right movable handles 20R, 20L. Then, the process proceeds to step S1200 (turning determination). When the movement amount of the right movable handle 20R is “positive” and the movement amount of the left movable handle 20L is “negative” (the user's right arm is swung forward and the left arm is When the vehicle is swung backward), the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is determined as the forward evaluation speed VRhf, and the backward evaluation speed Vhbd is determined as the backward evaluation speed VLhb. Further, when the movement amount of the right movable handle 20R is “negative” and the movement amount of the left movable handle 20L is “positive” (the left arm of the user is swung forward, the right arm is When the vehicle is swung backward), the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is determined as the front evaluation speed VLhf, and the rearward evaluation speed Vhbd is determined as the rear evaluation speed VRhb.

  In step S725, the drive control unit 40 determines that only the right movable handle 20R is moving based on the information from the movable hand movement amount detection unit 81b, that is, the swing of the right arm (Yes), Proceeding to step S730, if not swinging the right arm (No), proceeding to step S735.

  In step S730, the drive control means 40 determines the forward evaluation speed (Vhfd = VRhf) and the rearward evaluation speed (based on the evaluation speed (front evaluation speed VRhf, rear evaluation speed VRhb) of the right movable handle 20R. Vhbd = VRhb) is determined, and the process proceeds to step S760.

  In step S735, the drive control means 40 determines the forward evaluation speed (Vhfd = VLhf) and the backward evaluation speed (based on the evaluation speed of the left movable handle 20L (front evaluation speed VLhf, rear evaluation speed VLhb)). Vhbd = VLhb) is determined, and the process proceeds to step S760.

  In step S740, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S745 when the direction of travel of the walking support device 10 is right turn (Yes), and proceeds to step S750 when the direction of travel is not right turn (No). move on.

  In step S745, the drive control means 40 sets the target traveling speed VdR ′ = VdR−ΔVr (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RR, which is the right drive wheel of the walking assistance device 10, and is the left drive wheel. The target traveling speed VdL ′ of the wheel 60RL is set to VdL ′ = VdL + ΔVr (predetermined speed), and the process proceeds to step S1300 (determination between the traveling speed of the walking support device and the walking speed of the user). ΔVr is a predetermined speed corresponding to the traveling speed (VdR, VdL), and is stored in the storage unit 44 in advance.

  In step S750, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S755 when the traveling direction of the walking support device 10 is a left turn (Yes), and proceeds to step S760 when the travel direction is not a left turn (No).

  In step S755, the drive control means 40 sets the target traveling speed VdR ′ = VdR + ΔVr (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking support device 10, and the rear wheel 60RL that is the left drive wheel. The target traveling speed VdL ′ = VdL−ΔVr (predetermined speed) is set, and the process proceeds to step S1300 (determination between the traveling speed of the walking support device and the walking speed of the user).

  In step S760, the drive control unit 40 sets the target travel speed VdR ′ = VdR of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking support device 10, and the target travel speed VdL of the rear wheel 60RL that is the left drive wheel. '= VdL is set, and the process proceeds to step S1300 (determination of deviation between the walking speed of the walking support device and the user's walking speed).

  In step S765, when the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is the same as the walking speed of the user (Yes), the drive control unit 40 proceeds to step S770, and the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is the walking speed of the user. If the speed is not the same (No), the process proceeds to step S775.

  In step S770, the drive control means 40 sets the target forward speed VfdR = VdR ′ of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking assist device 10, and the target forward speed VfdL of the rear wheel 60RL that is the left drive wheel. = VdL ′, the process in the training mode 1 (step S700) is terminated, and the process returns to the whole process.

  In step S775, when the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is smaller than the walking speed of the user (Yes), the drive control unit 40 proceeds to step S780, where the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is greater than the walking speed of the user. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S785.

  In step S780, the drive control means 40 sets the target forward speed VfdR = VdR ′ + ΔVd (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking assist device 10, and the rear wheel that is the left drive wheel. 60RL target forward speed VfdL = VdL ′ + ΔVd (predetermined speed) is set, the process in training mode 1 (step S700) is terminated, and the process returns to the overall process. ΔVd is a predetermined speed corresponding to the target traveling speed (VdR ′, VdL ′), and is stored in the storage unit 44 in advance.

  In step S785, the drive control means 40 sets the target forward speed VfdR = VdR′−ΔVd of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking assist device 10, and the target forward speed of the rear wheel 60RL that is the left drive wheel. The speed VfdL = VdL′−ΔVd is set, the process in the training mode 1 (step S700) is terminated, and the process returns to the entire process.

  In the training mode 1 (TR1) (see FIG. 8), the walking support device 10 can be advanced by applying a load by the motors 32R and 32L to the movement of the movable handles 20R and 20L in the front-rear direction. Thereby, a load can be given to a user's body movement (arm swing) accompanying a user's walk.

  The drive control means 40 is not limited to the above even if a malfunction occurs in either the movable handle 20R or the movable handle 20L in the movable handle acting force detection means 81a and the movable handle movement amount detection means 81b. With this control, the walking support device 10 can be advanced by the other movable handle.

  When the user desires to turn the walking assist device 10 to the right, the drive control means 40 determines that the left hand movable handle 20L is swung back and forth more greatly than the right movable handle 20R, and therefore is determined to turn right. Then, the drive means 64L is controlled so that the rear wheel 60RL, which is the left driving wheel, is larger than the target traveling speed by a predetermined speed (ΔVr), and the rear wheel 60RR, which is the right driving wheel, is controlled from the target traveling speed. Also, the driving means 64R is controlled so as to increase the predetermined speed (ΔVr).

  When the user desires to turn the walking support device 10 to the left, the drive control means 40 determines that the right hand movable handle 20R is swung back and forth larger than the left movable handle 20L, so that it is a left turn. The driving means 64R is controlled so that the rear wheel 60RR, which is the right driving wheel, is larger than the target traveling speed by a predetermined speed (ΔVr), and the rear wheel 60RL, which is the left driving wheel, is made to be faster than the target traveling speed. The drive unit 64L is controlled to increase the predetermined speed (ΔVr).

  The drive control means 40 is not limited to the above even if a malfunction occurs in either the movable handle 20R or the movable handle 20L in the movable handle acting force detection means 81a and the movable handle movement amount detection means 81b. With this control, the shift of the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user can be corrected by the other movable handle.

  When the traveling speed (VdR, VdL) of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user are the same, assuming that the swing speed of the arm that the user swings back and forth is the same, the forward evaluation speed Vhfd And the evaluation speed Vhbd in the backward direction are the same. On the other hand, when the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is smaller than the walking speed of the user, the magnitude of the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is backward due to the difference between the walking speed of the user and the traveling speed of the walking support device 10. It becomes larger than the magnitude of the evaluation speed Vhbd. Therefore, since the drive control means 40 corrects the deviation between the traveling speed of the walking assistance device and the walking speed of the user, when the walking speed of the user is larger than the traveling speed of the walking assistance device 10, The target traveling speed VdR ′ = VdR ′ + ΔVd (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right driving wheel is set, and the target traveling speed VdL ′ = VdL ′ + ΔVd (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RL that is the left driving wheel. Speed). Thereby, the shift | offset | difference of the advancing speed of a walking assistance apparatus and a user's walking speed is correctable.

[Processing in Training Mode 2 (Step S800) (FIG. 14)]
FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the training mode 2 (TR2) processing in the drive control means 40 of the walking assistance device 10 (see FIGS. 1, 7, and 8). Step S800 (processing in training mode 2) will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The process in the training mode 2 is the same as the process in step S700 (the process in the training mode 1) except for the control of the motors (32R, 32L) (step S710) so as to apply a load to the movement of the movable hand.

  In step S805, the drive control unit 40 acquires the traveling speed (VdR, VdL) of the walking support device 10 from the storage unit 44, and proceeds to step S815.

  In step S815, the drive control unit 40 moves both the right movable handle 20R and the left movable handle 20L based on the information from the movable handle movement amount detection unit 81b. If there is a swing (Yes), the process proceeds to step S820. If there is no swing of both the left and right arms (No), the process proceeds to step S825.

  In step S820, the drive control means 40 determines the forward evaluation speed Vhfd and the backward evaluation speed Vhbd based on the evaluation speeds (VRhf, VRhb, VLhf, VLhb) of the left and right movable handles 20R, 20L. Then, the process proceeds to step S1200 (turning determination). When the movement amount of the right movable handle 20R is “positive” and the movement amount of the left movable handle 20L is “negative” (the user's right arm is swung forward and the left arm is When the vehicle is swung backward), the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is determined as the forward evaluation speed VRhf, and the backward evaluation speed Vhbd is determined as the backward evaluation speed VLhb. Further, when the movement amount of the right movable handle 20R is “negative” and the movement amount of the left movable handle 20L is “positive” (the left arm of the user is swung forward, the right arm is When the vehicle is swung backward), the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is determined as the front evaluation speed VLhf, and the rearward evaluation speed Vhbd is determined as the rear evaluation speed VRhb.

  In step S825, the drive control means 40 determines that only the right movable handle 20R is moving based on the information from the movable hand movement amount detection means 81b, that is, if it is a swing of the right arm (Yes), Proceeding to step S830, and if not swinging the right arm (No), proceeding to step S835.

  In step S830, the drive control means 40 determines the forward evaluation speed (Vhfd = VRhf) and the rearward evaluation speed (based on the evaluation speed (front evaluation speed VRhf, rear evaluation speed VRhb) of the right movable handle 20R. Vhbd = VRhb) is determined, and the process proceeds to step S860.

  In step S835, the drive control means 40 determines the forward evaluation speed (Vhfd = VLhf) and the rearward evaluation speed (based on the evaluation speed (front evaluation speed VLhf, rear evaluation speed VLhb) of the left movable handle 20L. Vhbd = VLhb) is determined, and the process proceeds to step S860.

  In step S840, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S845 when the traveling direction of the walking support device 10 is right turning (Yes), and proceeds to step S850 when the traveling direction is not right turning (No). move on.

  In step S845, the drive control means 40 sets the target traveling speed VdR ′ = VdR−ΔVr (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RR, which is the right drive wheel of the walking support device 10, and is the left drive wheel. The target traveling speed VdL ′ of the wheel 60RL is set to VdL ′ = VdL + ΔVr (predetermined speed), and the process proceeds to step S1300 (determination between the traveling speed of the walking support device and the walking speed of the user). ΔVr is a predetermined speed corresponding to the traveling speed (VdR, VdL), and is stored in the storage unit 44 in advance.

  In step S850, the drive control unit 40 proceeds to step S855 when the traveling direction of the walking support device 10 is turning left (Yes), and proceeds to step S860 when the traveling direction is not turning left (No).

  In step S855, the drive control means 40 sets the target traveling speed VdR ′ = VdR + ΔVr (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking assistance device 10, and the rear wheel 60RL that is the left drive wheel. The target traveling speed VdL ′ = VdL−ΔVr (predetermined speed) is set, and the process proceeds to step S1300 (determination between the traveling speed of the walking support device and the walking speed of the user).

  In step S860, the drive control unit 40 sets the target travel speed VdR ′ = VdR of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking support apparatus 10, and the target travel speed VdL of the rear wheel 60RL that is the left drive wheel. '= VdL is set, and the process proceeds to step S1300 (determination of deviation between the walking speed of the walking support device and the user's walking speed).

  In step S865, when the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is the same as the walking speed of the user (Yes), the drive control unit 40 proceeds to step S870, and the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is the walking speed of the user. If it is not the same as the speed (No), the process proceeds to step S875.

  In step S870, the drive control means 40 sets the target forward speed VfdR = VdR ′ of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking assistance device 10, and the target forward speed VfdL of the rear wheel 60RL that is the left drive wheel. = VdL ′, the process in the training mode 2 (step S800) is terminated, and the process returns to the entire process.

  In step S875, when the traveling speed of the walking assistance device 10 is smaller than the walking speed of the user (Yes), the drive control unit 40 proceeds to step S880, where the traveling speed of the walking assistance device 10 is greater than the walking speed of the user. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S885.

  In step S880, the drive control means 40 sets the target forward speed VfdR = VdR ′ + ΔVd (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking assist device 10, and the rear wheel that is the left drive wheel. 60RL target forward speed VfdL = VdL ′ + ΔVd (predetermined speed) is set, the process in the training mode 2 (step S800) is terminated, and the process returns to the overall process. ΔVd is a predetermined speed corresponding to the target traveling speed (VdR ′, VdL ′), and is stored in the storage unit 44 in advance.

  In step S885, the drive control means 40 sets the target forward speed VfdR = VdR′−ΔVd of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right drive wheel of the walking assistance device 10, and the target forward speed of the rear wheel 60RL that is the left drive wheel. The speed VfdL = VdL′−ΔVd is set, the process in the training mode 2 (step S800) is terminated, and the process returns to the entire process.

  In the training mode 2 (TR2) (see FIG. 8), there is no load on the movable handles 20R and 20L, and the movement (walking) of the user accompanying the walking of the user is an unloaded movement. The walking support device 10 can be advanced with the assist force.

  The drive control means 40 is not limited to the above even if a malfunction occurs in either the movable handle 20R or the movable handle 20L in the movable handle acting force detection means 81a and the movable handle movement amount detection means 81b. With this control, the walking support device 10 can be advanced by the other movable handle.

  When the user desires to turn the walking assist device 10 to the right, the drive control means 40 determines that the left hand movable handle 20L is swung back and forth more greatly than the right movable handle 20R, and therefore is determined to turn right. Then, the driving means 64L is controlled so that the left rear wheel 60RL is larger than the target traveling speed by a predetermined speed (ΔVr), and the right rear wheel 60RR is larger than the target traveling speed by a predetermined speed (ΔVr). The drive means 64R is controlled so as to be.

  The drive control means 40 may be used even when a malfunction occurs in the information of either the movable handle 20R or the movable handle 20L in the movable handle acting force detection means 81a and the movable handle movement amount detection means 81b. By the above-described control, it is possible to correct the shift of the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user based on the information of the other movable handle.

  When the traveling speed (VdR, VdL) of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user are the same, assuming that the swing speed of the arm that the user swings back and forth is the same, the forward evaluation speed Vhfd And the evaluation speed Vhbd in the backward direction are the same. On the other hand, when the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is smaller than the walking speed of the user, the magnitude of the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is backward due to the difference between the walking speed of the user and the traveling speed of the walking support device 10. It becomes larger than the magnitude of the evaluation speed Vhbd. Therefore, since the drive control means 40 corrects the deviation between the traveling speed of the walking assistance device and the walking speed of the user, when the walking speed of the user is larger than the traveling speed of the walking assistance device 10, The target traveling speed VdR ′ = VdR ′ + ΔVd (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RR that is the right driving wheel is set, and the target traveling speed VdL ′ = VdL ′ + ΔVd (predetermined speed) of the rear wheel 60RL that is the left driving wheel. Speed). Thereby, the shift | offset | difference of the advancing speed of a walking assistance apparatus and a user's walking speed is correctable.

● [Judgment of turning (step S1200) (FIG. 15)]
[S1200] shown in FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the turning determination process in the drive control means 40 of the walking support apparatus 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 7). Step S1200 (determination of turning) will be described using the flowchart of [S1200] shown in FIG.

  In step S1210, the drive control unit 40 acquires the movement width DR of the right movable handle 20R and the movement width DL of the left movable handle 20L from the storage unit 44, and proceeds to step S1220.

  In step S1220, the drive control means 40 determines that the absolute value | DR−DL | of the difference between the movement width DR of the right movable handle 20R and the movement width DL of the left movable handle 20L is smaller than Derr (Yes, go straight). Determination) proceeds to step S1230. If | DR-DL | is not smaller than the preset Derr (No), the process proceeds to step S1240. Derr is a predetermined value determined in advance, and is stored in the storage unit 44.

  In step S1230, the drive control means 40 sets the traveling direction of the walking support device 10 to “straight forward”, ends the turning determination (step S1200), and if called in step S700, proceeds to step S740. If called in step S800, the process proceeds to step S840.

  In step S1240, if the movement width DR is larger than the movement width DL (Yes, it is determined that the vehicle turns left), the drive control unit 40 proceeds to step S1250, and if the movement width DR is not larger than the movement width DL (No, right In the case of turning), the process proceeds to step S1260.

  In step S1250, the drive control means 40 sets the advancing direction of the walking support device 10 to the left turn, ends the turn determination (step S1200), and proceeds to step S740 when called in step S700. When called in step S800, the process proceeds to step S840.

  In step S1260, the drive control means 40 sets the advancing direction of the walking support apparatus 10 to right turn, ends the turning determination (step S1200), and if called in step S700, proceeds to step S740. If called in step S800, the process proceeds to step S840.

  When the user desires to turn the walking assist device 10 to the right, the drive control means 40 determines that the left hand movable handle 20L is swung back and forth more greatly than the right movable handle 20R, and therefore is determined to turn right. To do. Further, when the user desires to turn the walking support device 10 to the left, the drive control means 40 swings the right movable handle 20R back and forth more greatly than the left movable handle 20L. Is determined.

● [Determination of deviation between the walking speed of the walking support device and the walking speed of the user (step S1300) (FIG. 15)]
[S1300] shown in FIG. 15 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure of the process for determining the deviation between the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user in the drive control means 40 of the walking support device 10 (FIG. 1, FIG. 7). Step S1300 (determination of deviation between the walking speed of the walking support device and the user's walking speed) will be described using the flowchart of [S1300] shown in FIG.

  In step S1320, the drive control means 40 determines whether the absolute value | Vhfd + Vhbd | of the difference between the forward evaluation speed Vhfd and the rearward evaluation speed Vhbd, which is the first determination condition, is smaller than a preset ΔVerr. Judge about. When the absolute value | Vhfd + Vhbd | is smaller than ΔVerr, the drive control unit 40 determines the first determination condition as “Yes”, and otherwise determines as “No”. Further, based on the information of the gripping part state detecting means 81, the drive control means 40 is located near the front end of the rail slit part 38 of the rail (30R, 30L) or the movable handles 20R, 20L, which are the second determination conditions. It is determined whether or not it has moved to the vicinity of the rear end. When both the movable handles 20R and 20L have not moved to the vicinity of the front end (near the front end) or the vicinity of the rear end (near the rear end) in each rail slit portion 38, the drive control means 40 The second determination condition is determined as “Yes”, otherwise, it is determined as “No”. If the first determination condition is “Yes” and the second determination condition is “Yes” (Yes), the drive control means 40 proceeds to Step S1330; otherwise (No), the drive control means 40 proceeds to Step S1340. move on. Since the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is “positive” and the backward evaluation speed Vhbd is “negative”, the difference between them is the sum (Vhfd + Vhbd).

  In step S1330, the drive control means 40 sets the traveling speed of the walking assistance device to “same as the walking speed of the user”, and determines the deviation between the traveling speed of the walking assistance device and the walking speed of the user (step S1300). ), The process proceeds to step S765 if it is called in step S700, and to step S865 if it is called in step S800.

  In step S1340, the drive control means 40 determines whether or not the absolute value | Vhfd | of the forward evaluation speed, which is the first determination condition, is larger than the absolute value | Vhbd | of the backward evaluation speed. If it is determined that the absolute value | Vhfd | is larger than the absolute value | Vhbd |, the drive control means 40 determines the first determination condition as “Yes”, and otherwise determines as “No”. Moreover, the drive control means 40 is based on the information of the holding | grip part state detection means 81, and the movable handle 20R or the movable handle 20L which is a 2nd determination condition is the rail of each rail (30R, 30L). It is determined whether or not the slit portion 38 has moved near the front end. When the movable handle 20R or the movable handle 20L has moved to the vicinity of the front end of each rail slit portion 38, the drive control means 40 determines the second determination condition as “Yes”, Otherwise, it is determined as “No”.

  In step S1350, the drive control unit 40 sets the traveling speed of the walking assistance device to “less than the walking speed of the user”, and determines whether the traveling speed of the walking assistance device is different from the walking speed of the user (step S1300). ), The process proceeds to step S765 if it is called in step S700, and to step S865 if it is called in step S800.

  In step S1360, the drive control unit 40 sets the traveling speed of the walking assistance device to “greater than the user's walking speed”, and determines a deviation between the traveling speed of the walking assistance device and the user's walking speed (step S1300). ), The process proceeds to step S765 if it is called in step S700, and to step S865 if it is called in step S800.

  Note that the determinations in step S1320 and step S1340 may be performed based only on the first determination condition or the second determination condition.

  When the traveling speed (VdR, VdL) of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user are the same, assuming that the swing speed of the arm that the user swings back and forth is the same, the forward evaluation speed Vhfd And the evaluation speed Vhbd in the backward direction are the same. On the other hand, when the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is smaller than the walking speed of the user, the magnitude of the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is backward due to the difference between the walking speed of the user and the traveling speed of the walking support device 10. It becomes larger than the magnitude of the evaluation speed Vhbd. When the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is larger than the walking speed of the user, the magnitude of the forward evaluation speed Vhfd is determined based on the difference between the walking speed of the user and the traveling speed of the walking support apparatus 10. It becomes smaller than the magnitude of Vhbd. When the traveling speed (VdR, VdL) of the walking assistance device 10 is smaller than the walking speed of the user, the drive control means 40 increases the traveling speed (VdR, VdL) of the walking assistance device 10 to increase the walking speed of the walking assistance device 10. When the traveling speed is higher than the walking speed of the user, the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is decreased. Thereby, the shift between the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user is corrected, and the progress of the walking support device 10 of the pedestrian is appropriately performed according to the swing speed of the arm that the user swings back and forth. Can be controlled.

● [Processing when the operation mode is automatically switched (FIGS. 16 and 17)]
FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining mode transition conditions for shifting the operation mode based on the body state, the atmosphere state, and the vehicle body state. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating conditions for shifting to each operation mode when the operation mode is automatically switched. When the mode automatic switching means switch 76b is on, the drive control means 40, based on the information selected by the mode manual switching means 76a, in step S200 of FIG. 10 (determination of the operation mode based on each acquired state). The operation mode is determined according to the conditions shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 16, and FIG.

  When any one of the conditions S1 to S6 is satisfied, the drive control unit 40 sets the operation mode to an operation mode corresponding to each condition. In FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, “-” indicates that the state may be “0” or “1”.

  In FIG. 16, the mode transition condition is determined based on the body state, the atmosphere state, and the vehicle body state. The drive control means 40 sets the mode transition condition to “1 = no abnormality” only when all the states are “1”, and sets “0 = abnormal” when any of the conditions is “0”. .

  The physical condition is, for example, a user's heart rate and body temperature. The drive control means 40 compares the heart rate and body temperature acquired by the heart rate body temperature sensors 27a and 27b with a predetermined value stored in advance in the storage means 44, and if the predetermined value is exceeded, “abnormal = 0”. ”And other cases are set to“ normal = 1 ”.

  The atmosphere state is, for example, an outside temperature. The drive control means 40 compares the outside air temperature acquired by the outside air temperature sensor 54 with a predetermined value stored in advance in the storage means 44, and if the predetermined value is exceeded, “uncomfortable = 0”, otherwise In the case of “comfort = 1”.

  The vehicle body state includes, for example, vehicle body inclination, vehicle body impact (change in acceleration applied to the body), walking distance, and walking time. Based on the information acquired by the triaxial acceleration / angular velocity sensor 52, the drive control means 40 compares with a predetermined value stored in advance in the storage means 44 when the vehicle body inclination exceeds a predetermined value. Existence = 0, and other cases are "absence = 1". Based on the information acquired by the triaxial acceleration / angular velocity sensor 52, the drive control means 40 compares with a predetermined condition stored in advance in the storage means 44. “0” and the other cases are “None = 1”.

  Based on the walking distance history stored in the storage unit 44, the drive control unit 40 sets “long = 0” when the walking distance is longer than the predetermined distance, and “short = 1” otherwise. To do. Based on the walking time history stored in the storage unit 44, the drive control unit 40 sets “long = 0” when the walking time is longer than the predetermined time, and “short = 1” otherwise. To do.

  In FIG. 17, the drive control means 40 is based on the conditions S1 to S6, between the assist mode 1 (AM1) and the training mode 4 (TR4) in FIG. 8, and between the assist mode 2 (AM2) and the training mode 3 (TR3). ) Or between training mode 1 (TR1) and training mode 2 (TR2).

  Conditions S1 and S2 are conditions for switching the determination of the operation mode between training mode 1 (TR1) and training mode 2 (TR2). The mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 1”, the movable hand gripping state is “1 = with grip”, the arm swinging state is “1 = with”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”. If the mode transition condition is “1 = no abnormality”, the condition S1 is satisfied, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the training mode 2 (TR2) to the training mode 1 (TR1). The mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 1”, the movable hand gripping state is “1 = with grip”, the arm swinging state is “1 = with”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”. If the mode transition condition is “0 = abnormal”, the condition S2 is satisfied, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the training mode 1 (TR1) to the training mode 2 (TR2).

  Conditions S3 and S4 are conditions for switching operation mode determination between assist mode 2 (AM2) and training mode 3 (TR3). The mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 3”, the movable hand gripping state is “1 = gripping present”, the arm swinging state is “0 = none”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”. When the mode transition condition is “1 = no abnormality”, the condition S3 is established, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the assist mode 2 (AM2) to the training mode 3 (TR3). The mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 3”, the movable hand gripping state is “1 = gripping present”, the arm swinging state is “0 = none”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”. When the mode transition condition is “0 = abnormal”, the condition S4 is satisfied, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the training mode 3 (TR3) to the assist mode 2 (AM2).

Conditions S5 and S6 are conditions for switching the determination of the operation mode between the assist mode 1 (AM1) and the training mode 4 (TR4). The mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 3”, the movable hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”, the arm swinging state is “0 = no”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “1 = holding” If the mode transition condition is “1 = no abnormality”, the condition S5 is satisfied, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the assist mode 1 (AM1) to the training mode 4 (TR4). The mode manual switching means 76a is “training mode 3”, the movable hand gripping state is “0 = no gripping”, the arm swinging state is “0 = no”, and the fixed hand gripping state is “1 = holding” When the mode transition condition is “0 = abnormal”, the condition S6 is satisfied, and the drive control means 40 changes the operation mode from the training mode 4 (TR4) to the assist mode 1 (AM1).
● [Effect of this application]

  As described above, when the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user are the same, assuming that the swing speed of the arm that the user swings back and forth is the same, the forward evaluation is performed. The speed and the evaluation speed in the backward direction are the same. On the other hand, when the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is smaller than the walking speed of the user, the magnitude of the forward evaluation speed is evaluated in the backward direction due to the difference between the walking speed of the user and the traveling speed of the walking support device 10. It becomes larger than the magnitude of the speed. When the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is larger than the walking speed of the user, the magnitude of the forward evaluation speed is the evaluation speed of the backward direction due to the difference between the walking speed of the user and the traveling speed of the walking support device 10. It becomes smaller than the size. When the traveling speed of the walking assistance device 10 is smaller than the walking speed of the user, the drive control unit 40 increases the traveling speed of the walking assistance device 10 so that the traveling speed of the walking assistance device 10 is larger than the walking speed of the user. In this case, the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 is decreased. Thereby, the shift between the traveling speed of the walking support device 10 and the walking speed of the user is corrected, and the progress of the walking support device 10 of the pedestrian is appropriately performed according to the swing speed of the arm that the user swings back and forth. Can be controlled.

  Even if there is a problem with either the movable handle or the movable handle, the target advance speed of the walking support device is set based on the other movable handle, and the progress speed of the walking support device and the user The shift in walking speed can be corrected.

[Processing procedure of the second embodiment (FIGS. 18 to 21)]
Next, the processing procedure of the second embodiment in the processing procedure of the drive control means 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the processing procedure of the first embodiment described above, the driving means 64R and 64L are controlled based on the moving speed of the movable handles 20R and 20L in the training mode 1 and the training mode 2 shown in FIG. In the processing procedure of the second embodiment described below, the driving means 64R and 64L are controlled based on the positions of the movable handles 20R and 20L in the training mode 1 and the training mode 2 shown in FIG. In the following description, differences from the processing procedure of the first embodiment will be mainly described.

● [Processing procedure for the entire process (Fig. 18)]
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating overall processing of the processing procedure according to the second embodiment. The flowchart of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 18 differs from the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 10 in that step S160A and step S900 are different, and the other steps are the same. Note that the processing procedure (FIG. 18) of the second embodiment is executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, intervals of several [ms]), similarly to the processing procedure (FIG. 10) of the first embodiment.

  When the process proceeds to step S150, the drive control unit 40 proceeds to step S900 when the determined operation mode is the training mode 1 (TR1) (Yes), and is not the training mode 1 (TR1) (No ) Advances the process to step S160A.

  When the process proceeds to step S160A, the drive control means 40 proceeds to step S900 if the determined operation mode is training mode 2 (TR2) (Yes), and is not the training mode 2 (TR2) (No ) Advances the process to step S170.

  When the process proceeds to step S900, the drive control unit 40 executes the process of [S900] shown in FIG. 19, then returns to the overall process and proceeds to step S180.

[Processing in training modes 1 and 2 (step S900) (FIG. 19)]
FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure of training mode 1 (TR1) and training mode 2 (TR2) in the drive control means 40 of the walking assistance device 10 (see FIG. 8). In the following description, a procedure for obtaining (left) target forward speed (VfdL) and (right) target forward speed (VfdR) in the case of forward movement of the walking support device 10 will be described.

  In step S905, the drive control means 40 determines the current (left) travel speed (VdL) and (right) travel of the walking support device 10 based on the detection signals from the travel speed acquisition means 56L and 56R (see FIG. 7). The speed (VdR) is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S910. In the case where (left) traveling speed (VdL) and (right) traveling speed (VdR) are acquired in step S100, step S905 may be omitted.

  In step S910, the drive control means 40 is the position of the (right) movable handle 20R with respect to the frame (right) based on the detection signal from the right hand position detection means 34R (see FIG. 2) (right) frame relative front-rear position ( PmR) (see FIG. 20) is acquired. Then, the drive control means 40 is based on the detection signal from the left hand position detection means 34L (see FIG. 2), and is the position of the (left) movable handle 20L with respect to the frame (left). 20) is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S920. As shown in FIG. 20, the (right) frame relative front / rear position (PmR) is a position behind the frame front / rear reference position (Po) by a distance LR, and the (left) frame relative front / rear position (PmL) is the front / rear frame position. Assuming that the position is a position behind the reference position (Po) by the distance LL, the drive control means 40 acquires the (right) frame relative front and rear position (PmR) and the (left) frame relative front and rear position (PmL) as follows. can do. Note that when the (left) frame relative front / rear position (PmL) and the (right) frame relative front / rear position (PmR) are acquired in step S100, step S910 may be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the right hand position detection means 34R is, for example, an encoder provided in a motor 32R (corresponding to an electric motor), and the left hand position detection means 34L is, for example, a motor 32L (corresponding to an electric motor). ). The encoder is phase detection means for detecting the phase (rotation angle) of the drive shaft of the motor. The drive shafts of the motors 32R and 32L are rotated according to the movement of the movable handles 20R and 20L in the front-rear direction of the frame.

  FIG. 20 is a view of the walking assist device 10 as viewed from above. The frame front / rear reference position (Po), (right) the frame relative front / rear position (PmR) of the movable handle 20R, and (left) the movable handle 20L. It is a figure explaining frame relative front-back position (PmL), virtual front-back reference position (Ps), handle front-back center position (Pmc), and center position (Pc) of the movable range (rail slit part 38). For example, the front end position of the movable range (rail slit portion 38) of the movable handles 20R, 20L in the frame front-rear direction, which is the front-rear direction of the frame, is set to the frame front-rear reference position (Po). If the distance from the frame front / rear reference position (Po), which is the front end position of the movable range (rail slit portion 38), to the rear end position (Pr) of the movable range is distance L1, the distance from the frame front / rear reference position (Po) to the rear The position of the distance L1 / 2 is the central position (Pc) of the movable range. A position (corresponding to a predetermined position) that is a predetermined distance La ahead of the center position (Pc) of the movable range is set as a virtual front and rear reference position (Ps).

  The drive control means 40 has a movable range based on the phase (ie, rotation angle) of the drive shaft of the motor 32R (see FIG. 2) obtained based on the detection signal from the right hand position detection means 34R (see FIG. 2). The moving distance of the (right) movable handle 20R can be determined. Similarly, the drive control means 40 is based on the phase (ie, rotation angle) of the drive shaft of the motor 32L (see FIG. 2) obtained based on the detection signal from the left hand position detection means 34L (see FIG. 2). Then, the moving distance of the (left) movable handle 20L within the movable range can be obtained.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 20, the drive control means 40 can detect that the moving distance of the movable handle 20R from the frame front-rear reference position (Po) to the rear (right) is the distance LR. In this case, the drive control means 40 determines that the (right) frame relative front / rear position (PmR), which is the position of the (right) movable handle 20R relative to the frame in the frame front / rear direction, is a distance LR backward from the frame front / rear reference position (Po). Can be recognized. Similarly, in the example of FIG. 20, the drive control means 40 can recognize that the (left) frame relative front-rear position (PmL) is a position at a distance LL rearward from the frame front-rear reference position (Po).

  As shown in FIG. 20, when the distance in the front-rear direction between the (right) frame relative front-rear position (PmR) and the (left) frame relative front-rear position (PmL) is the distance Ld, the (right) frame in the frame front-rear direction The center position between the relative front-rear position (PmR) and the (left) frame relative front-rear position (PmL) is defined as the handle front-rear center position (Pmc). As shown in FIG. 20, the front / rear center position (Pmc) of the handle is a position of distance LR + distance Ld / 2 rearward from the frame front / rear reference position (Po). Since distance Ld = distance LL−distance LR, distance LR + distance Ld / 2 is distance LR + (distance LL−distance LR) / 2 = (distance LR + distance LL) / 2. That is, the front / rear center position (Pmc) of the handle is a position behind the frame front / rear reference position (Po) by (distance LR + distance LL) / 2.

  When the process proceeds to step S920, the drive control unit 40 proceeds to step S925 when the operation mode is training mode 1 (Yes), and proceeds to step S930 when the operation mode is not training mode 1 (No). Proceed with the process.

  When the process proceeds to step S925, the drive control unit 40 applies the load of the load amount derived by the load amount / assist amount changing unit 74 to the movement of the movable handles 20R and 20L, similarly to step S710. As a result, the motors 32R and 32L are controlled, and the process proceeds to step S930.

  When the process proceeds to step S930, the drive control means 40, as described above, determines that the handle front / rear center position is based on the (left) frame relative front / rear position (PmL) and the (right) frame relative front / rear position (PmR). (Pmc) is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S935.

  In step S935, the drive control means 40 calculates a front-rear direction difference (ΔL), which is a difference between the front-rear direction of the frame between the handle front-rear center position (Pmc) and the virtual front-rear reference position (Ps) shown in FIG. The process proceeds to S940. The front-rear direction difference (ΔL) = the virtual front-rear reference position (Ps) (distance L1 / 2−predetermined distance La) −the handle front-rear center position (Pmc) ([distance LR + distance LL] / 2). When the front-rear direction difference (ΔL) is “positive”, the handle front-rear center position (Pmc) is ahead of the virtual front-rear reference position (Ps), and the front-rear direction difference (ΔL) is “negative”. Is the rear center position (Pmc) of the handle behind the virtual front / rear reference position (Ps).

  In step S940, the drive control means 40 calculates the correction amount (ΔVd) based on the front-rear direction difference (ΔL) and the front-rear direction difference / correction amount characteristic shown in FIG. 21, and the process proceeds to step S945. The front-rear direction difference / correction amount characteristic is stored in the storage unit 44.

  As shown in FIG. 21, in the front-rear direction difference / correction amount characteristic, as the “positive” side front-rear direction difference (ΔL) increases, the correction amount of the “positive” correction amount (ΔVd) (increase correction) increases. Is set so that the | correction amount | of the “negative” side correction amount (ΔVd) (decrease correction) becomes larger as the | negative side difference (ΔL) | Yes. In the front-rear direction difference / correction amount characteristics shown in FIG. 21, when the front-rear direction difference (ΔL) is within a predetermined range (in the example of FIG. 21, Lr ≦ ΔL ≦ Lf), the increase correction and the decrease correction are performed. The correction amount (ΔVd) is set to a proportional correction amount (a value along the proportional straight line T1) proportional to the longitudinal difference (ΔL). Further, in the front-rear direction difference / correction amount characteristics shown in FIG. 21, when the front-rear direction difference (ΔL) is out of the predetermined range (in the example of FIG. 21, ΔL <Lr or Lf <ΔL), the increase amount is increased. The correction amount (ΔVd) for the correction and the reduction correction is set to a value larger than the proportional correction amount (a value larger than the value along the proportional straight line T1).

  When the front-rear direction difference / correction amount characteristic is set as described above, when the handle front-rear center position (Pmc) is in the vicinity of the virtual front-rear reference position (Ps), the handle front-rear center position (Pmc) ) Can be finely adjusted so that the walking support apparatus 10 moves relatively slowly toward the virtual front-rear reference position (Ps). Further, when the handle front-rear center position (Pmc) is far away from the virtual front-rear reference position (Ps), the handle front-rear center position (Pmc) approaches the virtual front-rear reference position (Ps) relatively quickly. The traveling speed of the walking support device 10 can be adjusted.

  In step S945, the drive control means 40 calculates and stores (left) target travel speed (VdL1) = (left) travel speed (VdL) + correction amount (ΔVd), and (right) target travel speed (VdR1) = (Right) Advancing speed (VdR) + correction amount (ΔVd) is obtained and stored, and the process proceeds to step S950. Note that (left) traveling speed (VdL) and (right) traveling speed (VdR) correspond to control amounts.

  In step S950, the drive control means 40 acquires (left) the movement width (DL) of the movable handle 20L in the front-rear direction, (right) acquires the movement width (DR) of the movable handle 20R in the front-rear direction, The process proceeds to step S960. Note that when the movement width (DL) of the (left) movable handle 20L and the movement width (DR) of the (right) movable handle 20R are acquired in step S100, step S950 may be omitted. .

  In step S960, the drive control means 40 determines whether (left) the moving width (DL) of the movable handle 20L is larger than [(right) moving width (DR) of the movable handle 20R + dead zone width (Dα)]. If not (Yes), the process proceeds to step S970A. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S965. The dead zone width (Dα) is stored in the storage means 44 with an appropriate value for turning determination.

  When the process proceeds to step S965, the drive control unit 40 determines that (right) the movement width (DR) of the movable handle 20R is [(left) movement width (DL) of the movable handle 20L + dead zone width (Dα). ] If greater than (Yes), the process proceeds to step S970B. If not greater (No), the process proceeds to step S970C.

  When the process proceeds to step S970A, the drive control means 40 calculates (left) target forward speed (VfdL) = (left) target forward speed (VdL1) + turning correction amount (ΔVr) and stores (right) Target advance speed (VfdR) = (right) target advance speed (VdR1) −turn correction amount (ΔVr) is obtained and stored, and the process returns to the overall processing. By the processing in step S970A, the walking assistance device 10 turns to the right. The turning correction amount (ΔVr) is set to an appropriate value and stored in the storage unit 44 for turning operation.

  When the process proceeds to step S970B, the drive control means 40 obtains (left) target forward speed (VfdL) = (left) target forward speed (VdL1) −turning correction amount (ΔVr) and stores it (right). Target advance speed (VfdR) = (right) Target advance speed (VdR1) + turning correction amount (ΔVr) is obtained and stored, and the process returns to the overall processing. By the processing in step S970B, the walking assistance device 10 turns to the left.

  When the process proceeds to step S970C, the drive control means 40 calculates and stores (left) target advance speed (VfdL) = (left) target advance speed (VdL1), and (right) target advance speed (VfdR) = (Right) The target traveling speed (VdR1) is obtained and stored, and the process returns to the overall processing.

  In steps S960, S965, S970A, S970B, and S970C, the drive control means 40 determines that the movement width (DL) of the (left) movable handle 20L is (DR) (+) the movement width (DR) of the movable handle 20R (+). If it is larger than the dead zone width (Dα), the driving means is controlled so as to turn the walking support device 10 to the right. Further, the drive control means 40 is configured so that (right) the moving width (DR) of the movable handle 20R is larger than (left) the moving width (DL) (+ dead band width (Dα)) of the movable handle 20L. Then, the driving means is controlled to turn the walking support device 10 to the left.

● [Example of walking support device 10A in which the movable handle is changed from the slide type to the swing type (FIG. 22)]
In the walking support device 10 described above, as shown in FIG. 1, an example in which the movable handles 20R and 20L slide back and forth along the rails 30R and 30L has been described. On the other hand, FIG. 22 shows an example of the walking support device 10A having a structure in which the movable handles 20R and 20L are swung back and forth by the arms 130R and 130L (corresponding to the handle guide means). Hereinafter, differences from the walking support device 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be mainly described.

  In the walking support device 10A shown in FIG. 22, the movable handle 20R is connected to a motor 132R (corresponding to an electric motor) via an arm 130R, and the movable handle 20L is connected to a motor 132L (electric) via an arm 130L. Connected to the motor). The motors 132R and 132L are fixed to the frame 50. The motor 132R is provided with a right hand position detecting means 134R which is a phase detecting means capable of detecting the phase of the drive shaft, and the motor 132L is a phase detecting means capable of detecting the phase of the drive shaft. Left hand position detection means 134L is provided.

  The drive shafts of the motors 132R and 132L are rotated according to the movement of the movable handles 20R and 20L in the longitudinal direction of the frame. The right hand position detection means 134R is, for example, an encoder, and the drive control means 40 can detect the swing angle of the arm 130R connected to the motor 132R based on a detection signal from the right hand position detection means 134R. It is. Similarly, the left hand position detection means 134L is an encoder, for example, and the drive control means 40 is based on the detection signal from the left hand position detection means 134L, and the swing angle of the arm 130L connected to the motor 132L. Can be detected. The drive control means 40 can determine the frame relative front / rear position, the handle front / rear center position, the front / rear direction difference, the correction amount, and the like based on the swing angles of the arms 130R and 130L. In addition, by setting the movable range of the swing angle of the arms 130R and 130L, the movable range of the movable handles 20R and 20L in the frame front-rear direction can be set. Furthermore, since the frame front / rear reference position, the virtual front / rear reference position, the center position of the movable range, and the like can be set, the processing described in FIG. 19 can be performed. Further, by operating the motors 132R and 132L, an assist mode for assisting the user's arm swing, a training mode for applying a load to the user's arm swing, and the like can be performed.

  In the processing procedure described in the second embodiment, each time the entire process (see FIG. 18) executed at intervals of several [ms] is executed, the front and rear center position of the handle is updated, and based on the front and rear direction difference. Therefore, the traveling speed of the walking support device can be adjusted in real time.

  The walking support device of the present invention is not limited to the configuration, structure, shape, processing procedure, and the like described in the present embodiment, and various changes, additions, and deletions are possible without changing the gist of the present invention. .

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the walking support device is a four-wheeled vehicle and two drive wheels are provided has been described. However, the walking support device is a three-wheeled vehicle, the left and right two wheels are driving wheels, and the remaining one wheel is a caster wheel. It is good. The present invention can also be applied to a walking car that supports self-sustained walking, a silver car that can assist an elderly person's walking, and that can carry luggage, and a handcart.

  In the description of the present embodiment, the evaluation speed is calculated using integration, but may be obtained by other methods.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Walking assistance apparatus 20R, 20L Movable handle 20FR, 20FL Fixed handle 21a Handle shaft part 21b Shaft part insertion hole 22 Slider 22A Handle holding part 22B Anchor part 24 Energizing means 25R, 25L Grip detection means 25FR, 25FL Grip Detection means 26a Grip part 26Fa Grip part 26b Switch grip part 26Fb Switch grip part 27a, 27b Heart rate body temperature sensor 28 Grip urging means 30R, 30L Rail (Hand guide means)
32R, 32L motor (assist means or load means)
33R Right hand tilt detection means 33L Left hand tilt detection means 34R Right handle position detection means 34L Left hand position detection means 35R, 35L Hand movement restriction means 36 Signal cable 38 Rail slit portion 40 Drive control means 44 Storage means 50 frame 52 triaxial acceleration / angular velocity sensor 54 outside air temperature sensor 56R traveling speed acquisition means 56L traveling speed acquisition means 58 operation history information 60FR, 60FL front wheel 60RR, 60RL rear wheel 62 belt 64R, 64L driving means 65 regenerative power recovery means 70 control Panel 72 Main switch 74 Load amount / assist amount changing means 74a Assist amount adjusting volume 74b Load amount adjusting volume 74c Learning means 76 Operating mode switching means 76a Mode manual switching means 76b Mode automatic switching means 76AT automatic mode switching means 78 monitor 80 state detection means 81 gripping part state detection means 81a movable handle action force detection means 81b movable handle movement amount detection means 81c fixed handle action force detection means 82 body state detection means 82a body Information history 83 Car body state detection means 84 Atmosphere state detection means 130L, 130R Arm (hand guide means)
132L, 132R motor (electric motor)
134L Left hand position detection means 134R Right hand position detection means B Battery BKL Brake lever JK Handle support shaft PF, PB Pulley W Wire WA Wire connection WH Wire hole JDM Judgment mode AM1 Assist mode 1
TR4 training mode 4
AM2 Assist mode 2
TR1 Training mode 1
TR2 training mode 2
TR3 Training mode 3
C1 condition C2 condition C3 condition C4 condition C5 condition C6 condition CR1 condition CR2 condition CR3 condition CR4 condition CR5 condition CR6 condition FXHM fixed gripping mode FRHM movable gripping mode NHM1 armless walking mode NHM2 armless walking mode Swing mode with swing Po Frame front / rear reference position Pc Center of movable range Ps Virtual front / rear reference position PmL (Left) Frame relative front / rear position PmR (Right) Frame relative front / rear position Pmc Handle front / rear center position ΔL Front / back direction difference

Claims (14)

Frame,
A plurality of wheels provided at a lower end of the frame and including at least one drive wheel;
Driving means for driving the driving wheel to advance or reverse the walking support device;
A battery serving as a power source for the driving means;
Drive control means for controlling the drive means;
A walking support device comprising:
A pair of left and right movable handles that are gripped by the user and move back and forth with respect to the frame in accordance with the swing of the arm as the user walks;
A handle guiding means provided on the frame for guiding the movable handle to a movable range in accordance with a swing of an arm accompanying a user's walking;
Holding part state detecting means for detecting the state of the movable handle,
The drive control means includes
Controlling the driving speed based on the state of the movable handle detected using the gripping part state detecting means to control the traveling speed of the walking support device;
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 1,
The drive control means includes
Based on the state of the movable handle detected using the grip portion state detection means, a frame relative front-rear position that is the position of the movable handle with respect to the frame in the frame front-rear direction, which is the front-rear direction of the frame, is determined.
Controlling the drive means based on the frame relative front and rear position according to the swing of the user's arm;
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 2,
In the frame, a virtual front and rear reference position is set at a predetermined position in the frame front and rear direction,
The drive control means includes
Find the front and rear center position of the handle in the frame front and rear direction of the frame relative front and rear position of the right movable handle and the frame relative front and rear position of the left movable handle,
In the case where the front-rear center position of the handle is on the front side of the virtual front-rear reference position, the control amount of the driving unit is increased and corrected so as to increase the traveling speed of the walking support device,
In the case where the front-rear center position of the handle is on the rear side of the virtual front-rear reference position, the control amount of the driving unit is reduced and corrected so as to decrease the traveling speed of the walking support device.
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 3,
The virtual front-rear reference position is set in front of a center position of the movable range in the frame front-rear direction.
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 3 or 4,
The drive control means includes
The correction amount of the increase correction and the decrease correction is increased as the front-rear direction difference, which is the difference between the front-rear center position of the handle and the virtual front-rear reference position, is larger.
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 5,
When the front-rear direction difference is within a predetermined range, the correction amount for the increase correction and the decrease correction is set to a proportional correction amount proportional to the front-rear direction difference.
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 6,
When the front-rear direction difference is out of the predetermined range, the correction amount for the increase correction and the decrease correction is set to a correction amount larger than the proportional correction amount.
Walking support device. The walking support device according to any one of claims 2 to 7,
The drive control means includes
When the movement width in the frame front-rear direction of the right movable handle is larger than the movement width in the frame front-rear direction of the left movable handle, the drive is performed so as to turn the walking support device to the left. Control means,
If the movement width in the frame front-rear direction of the left movable handle is larger than the movement width in the frame front-rear direction of the right movable handle, the drive is performed so as to turn the walking support device to the right. Control means,
Walking support device. The walking support device according to any one of claims 2 to 8,
Each electric motor is connected to each of the pair of left and right movable handles,
The drive shaft of each electric motor is rotated in accordance with the movement of the movable handle in the front-rear direction of the frame,
Each of the electric motors is provided with a respective phase detection means that can detect the phase of the drive shaft of each of the electric motors and is one of the gripping part state detection means,
The drive control means includes
Obtaining each frame relative front-rear position based on the phase of the drive shaft of each electric motor obtained based on the detection signal from each phase detection means;
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 1,
The drive control means includes
A forward evaluation speed, which is a moving speed of the movable handle in the forward direction with respect to the frame, obtained based on the state of the movable handle detected using the gripping portion state detection means, and the movable handle with respect to the frame Controlling the driving means based on a backward evaluation speed which is a moving speed of the hand in the backward direction;
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 10,
The drive control means includes
When at least one of the movable handles is gripped,
Controlling the driving means so that the front evaluation speed and the rear evaluation speed are equal;
Walking support device. The walking support device according to claim 10 or 11,
The drive control means includes
When the movement width in the frame front-rear direction, which is the front-rear direction of the frame on the left movable handle, is larger than the movement width in the frame front-rear direction on the right movable handle, the walking assist device is turned to the right Controlling the drive means to
When the moving width in the frame front-rear direction of the right movable handle is larger than the movement width in the frame front-rear direction of the left movable handle, the driving means is configured to turn the walking support device to the left. To control the
Walking support device. The walking support device according to any one of claims 10 to 12,
The drive control means includes
If the rear evaluation speed is greater than the front evaluation speed, the driving means is controlled to reduce the traveling speed of the walking support device,
If the front evaluation speed is greater than the rear evaluation speed, the driving means is controlled to increase the traveling speed of the walking support device.
Walking support device. The walking support device according to any one of claims 10 to 13,
The drive control means includes
When it is determined that the movable handle has moved to the vicinity of the front end of the movable range in the handle guide means based on the information of the grip portion state detection means when swinging the arm accompanying the user's walk, When the driving means is controlled to increase the traveling speed of the walking support device, and it is determined that the movable handle has moved near the rear end of the movable range in the handle guide means, the walking support is Controlling the drive means to reduce the traveling speed of the device;
Walking support device.

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