JP2021178118A - Wearable operation assist device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a wearable operation assist device having convenience upon wearing, capable of improving amenity when sitting.SOLUTION: In the worn state on a lumbar part of a wearer from the front side, when the wearer stands up from a bent state (half-sitting posture), an auxiliary force (assist force) is generated so as to assist a thigh movement to the lumbar part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention relates to a wearable motion assist device, which is suitable for being applied to a wearable motion assist device that is mounted on the waist of a wearer to assist the operation of heavy muscle work.

In recent years, it assists or substitutes for the movements of physically handicapped people who have lost muscle strength and elderly people who have weakened muscle strength, and even if they are not physically handicapped or elderly people, it works in daily life or work during work. Various power assist devices for assisting the elderly are widely used.

As these power assist devices, for example, a wearable motion assist device capable of controlling and assisting exercise based on the bioelectric potential associated with voluntary muscle activity according to the wearer's intention has been proposed ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-1731190 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-198655

By the way, the wearable motion assisting device in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above is mounted on the waist of the wearer from the back side, and when the wearer stands up from a bent state (mid-lumbar posture), the movement of the thigh with respect to the waist. It is to assist.

In such a wearable motion assist device that is mounted on the waist from the back side of the wearer, when the wearer sits on a chair or gets in a car, the wearable motion assist device itself becomes an obstacle. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to lean on the backrest.

Further, such a wearable motion assist device is generally a type in which a trunk belt is wound around the waist, and there is also a type in which a shoulder belt such as a backpack is hung. Therefore, there is a problem that it is troublesome for the wearer to wind the belt around the waist while holding the wearable operation assist device having a weight of about several kilograms.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose a wearable motion assisting device capable of improving the convenience at the time of wearing and the comfort at the time of sitting.

In order to solve this problem, in the present invention, in the wearable motion assist device that assists the motion of the waist of the wearer, the first and first devices are arranged on the sides of the left and right hip joints of the wearer and accommodate the actuators. A drive unit that generates a drive torque so that the housing portion of 2 is relatively rotationally driven in response to the drive of the actuator, and a first drive unit mounted on the front of the wearer's waist and on both the left and right sides, respectively. A waist frame that is connected to the housing and a thigh frame that is connected to the second housing of the left and right drive units and has a thigh cuff for contacting the front side of the left and right thighs of the wearer. And a wrapping fastener around the wearer's waist, which is fixed to the left and right first housings of the waist frame, or a fixed holder that is detachably fixed and held to the garment itself. , A hip joint angle measuring unit provided on each of the left and right drive units to detect the rotation angle between the first and second housing portions as the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer, and the wearer's left and right hips. A biosignal detection unit that detects the biometric signals of the straight thigh muscle and the gluteal muscle associated with the movement of the hip joint, and the biometric signal of the wide back muscle of the wearer, and the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer by the hip joint angle measurement unit. It is provided with a control unit that determines the movement and posture of the wearer based on the biometric signal output from the biometric signal detection unit and generates a drive torque according to the result of the determination in the actuator of the drive unit. bottom.

As a result, in the wearable motion assist device, the wearer simply holds the fixed holder on the wearer's own winding fastener or the garment itself from the front side of the waist while holding the entire device to complete the wearing. be able to. For this reason, it is possible to avoid the trouble of winding the trunk belt around the waist as in the past, which makes it more convenient to wear and the waist frame is placed in front of the wearer's waist when sitting. It is possible to improve comfort.

Further, in the present invention, the binding site between the second housing portion of the drive unit and the thigh frame has a rotation axis along the direction perpendicular to the output axis of the actuator, and the second housing portion and the thigh. The frames are rotatably connected around a rotation axis. As a result, in the wearable motion assist device, the angle of the thigh cuff changes when the wearer's thigh is operated, so that the local load on the thigh by the thigh cuff can be reduced.

Further, in the present invention, a power supply unit including a battery which is coupled to a first housing portion in one or both of the left and right drive units and which can be detachably stored is further provided, and the power supply unit is of the wearer. It is coupled to the binding site of the first housing so as to project toward the rear side, and when the battery is stored in the power supply unit, the battery and the drive unit are connected to each other through the internal space of the first housing. I made it electrically connected.

As a result, in the wearable motion assist device, when a relatively large battery is attached to one or both of the drive units, the arm touches the battery during the wearer's operation, or the chair backrest when the wearer sits down. It is possible to avoid complications such as the battery being pinched.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a wearable operation assisting device capable of improving convenience at the time of wearing and improving comfort at the time of sitting.

It is a perspective view which shows the appearance structure (front perspective view and the rear perspective view) of the wearable operation assist device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an exploded view which shows the structure of the drive unit of the wearable operation assist device shown in FIG. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the internal structure of a drive unit. It is a perspective view, the side view and the front view which show the standing state of the wearer who wears a wearable operation assist device. It is a side view which shows the joint movable range of a wearable motion assist device. It is a side view which shows the open leg movable range of a wearable motion assist device. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the internal system of a drive unit. It is a perspective view which provides the explanation of the operation of the wearer who wears the wearable movement assist device.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Configuration of Wearable Operation Assisting Device According to the Present Embodiment FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (B) show the wearable operation assisting device 1 according to the present embodiment. The wearable motion assist device 1 is a device that supports (assists) the work and movement of the wearer, and is a biological signal (surface myoelectric potential) generated when muscle force is generated by a signal from the brain and the hip joint of the wearer. It operates to detect the operating angle and apply the driving force from the driving mechanism (actuator) based on this detection signal.

In the wearable motion assist device 1, drive units 2 and 3 are arranged on the sides of the left and right hip joints of the wearer, respectively. The drive units 2 and 3 have the same internal structure except that the housing structure is partially different as described later.

The drive unit 2 on the left side generates a drive torque so that the first and second housing portions 2A and 2B accommodating the actuator 10 (FIG. 3) are driven to rotate relatively in response to the drive of the actuator 10. .. Similarly, the drive unit 3 on the right side generates a drive torque so that the first and second housing portions 3A and 3B accommodating the actuator 10 are relatively rotationally driven in response to the drive of the actuator 10.

Further, the wearable operation assist device 1 is coupled to the first housing portions 2A and 3A of the drive units 2 and 3 on both the left and right sides, respectively, and the waist frame 4 is mounted on the front side of the wearer's waist over the left and right sides. It is done like this. The waist frame 4 is, for example, a hollow member made of CFRP (carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic) and has a rounded shape that matches the shape of the back surface and both side surfaces of the waist portion of the human body.

The left and right drive units 2 and 3 have thigh frames 5 and 6 rotatably coupled to the second housing portions 2B and 3B, respectively, and the thigh frames 5 and 6 are left and right of the wearer. It has thigh cuffs 5C and 6C for contacting the front side of the thigh.

Further, in the drive unit 3 on the right side, a power supply unit 8 including a battery 7 that can be detachably stored is coupled to the first housing portion 3A, and when the battery 7 is stored in the power supply unit 8, the first housing is used. The battery 7 and the drive unit 3 are electrically connected to each other through the internal space of the body portion 3A.

The power supply unit 8 is coupled to the binding site of the first housing portion 3A so as to project toward the back side of the wearer, and the arm touches the power supply unit 8 during the wearer's operation, or the wearer It is designed to avoid complications such as the power supply unit 8 being pinched by the backrest of the chair when the chair is seated.

Further, in the wearable motion assist device 1, the fixing holders 9 are fixed to the left and right first housing portions 2A and 3A of the waist frame 4, respectively, and the trunk belt (winding) around the wearer's waist portion is attached to the clothes. Fastener) It is designed to be detachably fixed and held against the BT. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, a trunk belt TB that is separate from the wearable operation assisting device 1 is shown, and a state in which the trunk belt TB is engaged with the fixed holder 9 is shown. The trunk belt TB may be a belt for a clothing band torso that the wearer generally wears.

As a result, in the wearable motion assist device 1, the wearer simply holds the fixed holder 9 on the trunk belt TB to be worn by the wearer from the front side of the waist while holding the entire device, and the mounting is completed. be able to.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the wiring of the biological signal detection sensor (biological signal detection unit) 15 (FIG. 7) is drawn out from the left and right drive units 2 and 3, respectively. The biological signal detection sensor 15 is a detection unit that detects the biological signals of the rectus femoris and gluteus maximus muscles accompanying the movement of the left and right thighs of the wearer and the biological signals of the latissimus dorsi muscle of the wearer's back.

Specifically, the biological signal detection sensor 15 is configured by connecting three electrodes to the tip of the wiring extending from the drive units 2 and 3, and is attached to the back of the wearer's waist so that the wearer can perform the trunk. Detects biological signals generated when moving the muscles of the body.

The biological signal detected by the biological signal detection sensor 15 is input to the control device 20 (FIG. 3 described later) of the drive units 2 and 3. The biological signal detection sensor 15 may be attached to the back of the wearer using tape or the like, or may be attached using gel or the like. One of the three electrodes is used to measure the reference signal and the other two electrodes are used to measure the biopotential signal.

Further, the left and right drive units 2 and 3 have an operation / posture for detecting the rotation angle between the first housing portions 2A and 3A and the second housing portions 2B and 3B as the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer. Sensors (hip joint angle measuring unit) 25 (FIG. 7 described later) are provided respectively.

In addition, in FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (D) in which the corresponding part corresponding to FIGS. show. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, wireless network communication (wireless LAN, short-range wireless communication, etc.) with an external communication terminal, a server device, or the like is possible in the central portion of the waist frame 4. Communication device 30 is built-in. In the communication device 30, the positional relationship of the built-in antennas is set to a predetermined arrangement so that a practically sufficient radio wave strength can be secured.

Here, FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the drive units 2 and 3. The drive units 2 and 3 are housed in the stator side and the rotor side of the actuator 10, respectively, and are engaged with the first housing portions 2A and 3A so as to rotate separately according to the drive of the actuator 10. It has a second housing portion 2B and 3B.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B described above, the waist frame 4 is coupled to the first housing portions 2A and 3A of the drive units 2 and 3. Further, not only the waist frame 4 but also the power supply unit 8 is coupled to the first housing portion 3A of the drive unit 3 on the right side. Further, the thigh frames 5 and 6 are rotatably coupled to the second housing portions 2B and 3B of the drive units 2 and 3 in a specific direction.

The drive units 2 and 3 convert the rotation speeds of the flat actuator 10 including, for example, a brushless DC motor, the control device 20 for driving and controlling the actuator 10, and the rotor of the actuator 10 into a predetermined reduction ratio. It has a speed reducer 35 for output, and a flat operation unit 36 including a touch sensor 36A.

In the drive units 2 and 3, the main body of the speed reducer 35 and the control device 20 are housed in one of the first housing portions 2A and 3A or the second housing portions 2B and 3B in substantially the same plane. The operation unit 36 is fixed to the main body of the speed reducer 35 with the actuator 10 interposed therebetween, and the speed reducer 35 is attached to either the first housing portion 2A or 3A or the second housing portions 2B or 3B. The output shaft is fixed.

The control device 20 determines the motion and posture of the wearer based on the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer by the motion / posture sensor 25 and the biological signal output from the biological signal detection sensor 15, and determines the motion and posture of the wearer. A drive torque according to the result is generated in the actuators 10 of the drive units 2 and 3.

FIGS. 4A to 4C show a state in which the wearer actually wears the wearable motion assist device 1 from the front side of the waist. When a wearer wearing this wearable motion assist device 1 voluntarily lifts a relatively heavy object to carry out a transport motion, a biological signal of the latissimus dorsi muscle or the gluteus maximus muscle (gluteus maximus muscle) generated at that time. And the drive torque according to the operation angle of the hip joint of the wearer is applied from the wearable operation assist device 1 as an assist force. Therefore, the wearer can lift and carry the object by the resultant force of his / her own muscle force and the drive torque from the drive mechanism (actuator 10).

Further, the wearable operation assist device 1 can assist not only the transport work of lifting an object and walking, but also the ascending / descending work of, for example, the wearer going up and down the stairs with his / her luggage.

In the wearable operation assisting device 1 according to the present embodiment, the coupling portion between the second housing portions 2B and 3B of the left and right drive units 2 and 3 and the corresponding thigh frames 5 and 6 is the output shaft of the actuator 10. It has a rotation axis along a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, and the second housing portions 2B and 3B and the thigh frames 5 and 6 are rotatably connected around the rotation axis.

As shown in FIG. 5 (B) with reference to the state of FIG. 5 (A), in the wearable motion assist device 1, the thigh frames 5 and 6 have a maximum rotation angle of 120 degrees with the output shaft of the actuator 10 as the center of rotation. It is configured to be able to rotate to a certain extent (at the time of maximum bending). This is because the range of motion of the human thigh joint is required to be 0 to 120 degrees. 6 (A) and 6 (B) show front views of the wearable operation assist device 1 in the same state as opposed to FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B) which are side views of the wearable operation assist device 1. ..

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the range in which the wearer's thigh can be opened (change in the open leg state due to bending) is the second housing portion 2B of the drive units 2 and 3. 3B and the thigh frames 5 and 6 are connected to each other by the axial direction of the rotation shaft, and the degree of leg opening increases with the degree of bending of the wearer's thigh.

Therefore, in the wearable motion assist device 1, the angle of the thigh cuffs 5C and 6C changes when the wearer's thigh is operated, so that the local load on the thigh by the thigh cuffs 5C and 6C is reduced. Can be done. In particular, when the flexion angle of the thigh of the wearer is maximum, the local load on the thigh by the thigh cuffs 5C and 6C is minimized.

As described above, the wearable motion assist device 1 assists the movement of the thigh with respect to the waist when the wearer stands up from the bent state (mid-lumbar posture) in the state of being mounted on the waist of the wearer from the front side. It is a device that generates an auxiliary force (assist force). Such movements of the wearer include, for example, an operation of standing up from the mid-waist posture, an operation of lifting an object from the mid-waist posture, an operation of assisting transfer, and the like.

(2) Configuration of Internal System in Drive Unit FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an internal system configuration of drive units 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 7, the control device 20 of the drive units 2 and 3 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) chip having a memory, and has an optional control unit 40, an autonomous control unit 41, and a phase specifying unit. When composed of 42 and a gain control unit 43, a general control unit 50, a power amplification unit 51 for power control for the power supply unit 8, an actuator driver 52 for drive control for the actuator 10, a reference parameter database 53, and a command signal. It has a data storage unit 55 composed of a database 54.

In the drive units 2 and 3 for applying the assist force to the wearer, the actuator driver 52 has the first housing portions 2A and 3A and the second housing portion 2B due to the rotation of the wearer's joints. An operation / attitude sensor 25 (not shown in FIG. 1) including an angle sensor for detecting the rotation angle of 3B is provided. Further, a biological signal detection sensor 15 (not shown in FIG. 1) for detecting a signal (biological signal) including the bioelectric potential of the wearer is also provided.

In the integrated control unit 50, the voluntary control unit 40 supplies a command signal (voluntary control control signal) corresponding to the detection signal (biological signal) detected by the biological signal detection sensor 15 to the power amplification unit 51. The voluntary control unit 40 applies a predetermined command function f (t) or gain P to the biological signal detection sensor 15 to generate a command signal. The gain P may be a preset value or a function, and can be adjusted via the gain control unit 43 according to the operation content of the operation unit 36.

Further, the drive units 2 and 3 control the drive torque (torque magnitude and rotation angle) of the actuator 10 based on the angle data detected by the operation / attitude sensor 25 provided in the control device 20. It is also possible to select. This is effective when the input of the biological signal from the biological signal detection sensor 15 cannot be obtained, such as when the wearer's skin is expected to get wet with sweat.

The data storage unit 55 has a memory for storing each data, and has a database storage area in which control data for each phase set for each operation pattern (task) such as standing motion, walking motion, and sitting motion is stored in advance. , A control program storage area for storing a control program for controlling each actuator 10 is provided. The reference parameter database 53 and the command signal database 54 are stored in the database storage area.

The angle data detected by the joint angle (θ) detected by the motion / posture sensor 25 is input to the reference parameter database 53. The phase specifying unit 42 identifies the wearer's motion phase by comparing the joint rotation angle detected by the motion / posture sensor 25 with the joint angle and load of the reference parameter stored in the reference parameter database 53. do.

Then, when the autonomous control unit 41 obtains the control data of the phase specified by the phase specifying unit 42, the autonomous control unit 41 generates a command signal (autonomous control control signal) corresponding to the control data of this phase and drives this power. A command signal to be generated in the actuators 10 of the units 2 and 3 is supplied to the power amplification unit 51.

Further, the autonomous control unit 41 is input with a gain adjusted by the gain control unit 43 described above, generates a command signal corresponding to this gain, and outputs the command signal to the power control unit 51. The power control unit 51 controls the current for driving the actuators 10 of the drive units 2 and 3 to control the magnitude and rotation angle of the drive torque, and the actuators 10 of the drive units 2 and 3 are applied to the joints of the wearer. The driving force is given as an assist force.

In this way, in the drive units 2 and 3, the control signal for controlling the drive units 2 and 3 is power controlled based on the detection signal detected by the biological signal detection sensor 15 attached with reference to the wearer's joint. It is amplified by the unit 51 and supplied to the actuator 10, and the driving force of the actuator 10 is transmitted to the wearer's joint as an assist force.

Further, the control device 20 of the drive units 2 and 3 estimates the task and phase of the wearer based on the reference parameters stored in the data storage unit 55, and the actuator 10 so as to generate power according to the phase. Control of the entire device and the entire system consisting of the wearer based on the absolute angle, rotation angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration of the motion / attitude sensor 25 and the drive torque obtained from the actuator driver 52. The mechanical impedance (inertia, viscosity, rigidity) of the object may be compensated according to the viscoelastic property of the wearer and the gravity of the controlled object of the entire system.

The compensation method for the mechanical impedance of the controlled object of the entire system described above according to the viscoelastic property of the wearer is described in detail in the published patent (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-92325) by the inventor of the present application. The compensation method according to the gravity of the controlled object of the entire system is described in detail in the registered patent (Patent No. 4178187) by the inventor of the present application.

Further, although not shown in FIG. 7, in the control devices 20 of the drive units 2 and 3, various data stored in the data storage unit 55 are collected in FIGS. 2A and 2A described above under the control of the integrated control unit 50. Wireless network communication is possible from the communication device 30 shown in (B) to an external communication terminal or server device. The received communication terminal or server device stores and manages various data obtained from the wearable operation assist device 1.

(3) Configuration of Control System in Mountable Operation Assistance Device In the mountable motion assist device 1 according to the present embodiment, the drive units 2 and 3 described above are the first housing portions 2A on the left and right sides of the waist frame 4, respectively. It is connected via 3A and is connected to the left and right thigh frames 4 via the second housing portions 2B and 3B, respectively, so that the first housing portions 2A and 3A and the second housing portions 2B and 3B are connected to each other. The waist frame 4 and the thigh frames 5 and 6 are driven by generating a drive torque so as to drive them in relative rotation.

The motion / posture sensor 25 described above detects the rotation angle between the left and right sides of the waist frame 4 and the thigh frames 5 and 6 as the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer, respectively, as the hip joint angle measuring unit. That is, the motion / posture sensor 25 continuously measures the motion angles of the wearer's left and right hip joints during flexion and extension as the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer, respectively.

The control device 20 determines the motion and posture of the wearer based on the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer by the motion / posture sensor 25, and generates a drive torque according to the result of the determination in the actuator 10.

Here, the left and right drive units 2 and 3 each have a built-in control device 20, but one of the drive units 2 and 3 is used to synchronize the movements of both thighs with respect to the wearer's waist. The control device 20 of the above is set to play a master role as a main control unit.

When the wearer lifts the object, the left and right drive units 2 and 3 simultaneously transmit drive torque to the waist frame 4 to drive the waist frame 4 to the back side of the wearer, while walking and walking of the wearer. When going up and down the stairs, the drive torque is transmitted to the thigh frames 5 and 6 to alternately drive the left and right thigh frames 5 and 6 in the front-rear direction.

Further, an operation unit 36 that serves as a touch sensor for a group of buttons such as a minus button, a plus button, and a power button is connected to one or both of the left and right drive units 2 and 3. Further, a brake mechanism (not shown) that generates a braking force with respect to the rotational operation of the corresponding actuator 10 is connected to the left and right drive units 2 and 3, respectively.

In the drive units 2 and 3, the control device 20 turns on the power when the power button of the operation unit 36 is pressed, turns on the minus button, the plus button and the power button, and turns on the brake mechanism to turn on the thigh. When the frames 5 and 6 are moved, resistance is generated.

Then, when the biological signal detected by the biological signal detection sensor 15 is input, the control device 20 applies a driving force according to the drive level of the actuator 10 input by the minus button or the plus button of the operation unit 36. Generate in. The minus button or the plus button is a button for controlling the torque tuner of the control device 20, and the torque tuner can set the assist force in a plurality of stages.

For example, when the assist force is set to 5 levels and the torque tuner is set to "1", the maximum assist torque is 20%, the maximum assist is 3 Nm, and the torque tuner is set to "5". When set to "", the maximum assist torque of 100% is set as the upper limit, and a maximum of 15 Nm of assist can be received. Further, a torque limiter for setting the upper limit of the torque may be provided.

At this time, the control device 20 controls the driving force according to the signal level of the biological signal input from the biological signal detection sensor 15. This device is equipped with a Cybernic Voluntary Control (CVC) mode for assisting.

In the CVC mode, the control devices 20 of the drive units 2 and 3 determine the assist torque in the following order (1) to (3). (1) Calculate the reference assist torque from the biopotential signal of the waist. (2) Amplify the reference assist torque based on the value of the torque tuner. (3) Adjust the assist torque according to the posture and movement content.

Further, the control device 20 detects the reaction force of the wearer input from the waist frame 4 and the thigh frames 5 and 6 during the rotational operation of the actuator 10, and when the reaction force becomes equal to or less than a predetermined level, the resistance of the brake mechanism. The force is increased to stop the operation of the actuator 10. The state where the reaction force becomes equal to or less than a predetermined level is because, for example, it is necessary to stop the operation in order to ensure safety when the thigh cuffs 5C and 6C of the thigh frames 5 and 6 are detached.

According to the wearable motion assisting device 1 of the embodiment, when the wearer stands up from the bent state, an assisting force can be generated to assist the movement of the thigh with respect to the waist.

Such an auxiliary force is applied to the biological signal detected by the biological signal detection sensor 15 that accompanies the muscle activity when the wearer tries to raise the trunk or the muscle activity when trying to maintain the angle of the trunk. It is generated by driving the actuator 10 based on the above.

Therefore, it is possible to provide a highly convenient wearable operation assist device 1 that can provide a necessary assistive force in a necessary direction according to the wearer's will. Further, it is possible to provide a wearable operation assisting device 1 capable of suppressing the power (muscle strength) that the wearer should generate by himself / herself as much as possible and suppressing the situation that impairs the convenience of the wearer. ..

If at least one of the left and right drive units 2 and 3 determines that the signal levels of the biological signals of the wearer's left and right thighs are not equal to the left and right, it is determined that the wearer is walking. When it is determined that the signal levels are equal on the left and right, it is determined that the wearer is in the stopped state.

Further, when the control device 20 determines that the left and right hip joint angles are both larger than a predetermined predetermined angle in the state where the wearer is determined to be in the stopped state, the control device 20 determines that the wearer is walking. When it is determined that the angle is equal to or less than the specified angle, it is determined that the wearer is in a posture in which the upper body is lowered forward.

(4) Operation and Effect of Wearable Motion Assistance Device According to the Present Embodiment In the above configuration, in the mountable motion assist device 1, the wearer holds the entire device and holds the fixed holder 9 from the front side of the waist. The attachment can be completed simply by fixing and holding it to the wearer's own winding fastener or the garment itself.

For this reason, it is possible to avoid the trouble of winding the trunk belt around the waist as in the conventional case, and it is possible to improve the convenience at the time of wearing.

Further, in the wearable motion assist device 1, the waist frame 4 is mounted on the front side of the wearer so that nothing is mounted on the back side except both sides of the wearer. By arranging the waist frame 4 in front of the body, it is possible to improve the comfort when sitting.

(5) Other Embodiments In the present embodiment, as the wearable motion assisting device 1, the fixed holder 9 fixed to the waist frame 4 is attached to the waist frame 4 by the wearer using the trunk belt. The case where the device is attached to the front of the waist and assists the movement of the wearer's waist has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the fixed holder 9 is a trunk belt worn by the wearer. In addition, it may be detachably fixed and held to the wrapping fastener (trunk belt, girdle, waistband, etc.) around the wearer's waist or the garment itself. In short, if the waist frame 4 can be held in front of the wearer's waist, the portion where the fixed holder 9 is fixedly held may be freely set.

Further, in the present embodiment, the power supply unit 8 fixedly held by the drive unit 3 on the right side of the wearable operation assist device 1 is of the first housing portion 3A so as to project toward the back side of the wearer. The case where the device is connected to the binding site has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the point is that the arm touches the power supply unit 8 when the wearer operates, or the power supply unit is attached to the backrest of the chair when the wearer sits down. If it is possible to avoid complications such as the 8 being pinched, the power supply unit 8 may be coupled to a desired portion of the wearable operation assisting device 1.

1 ... Mountable operation assist device, 2, 3 ... Drive unit, 2A, 3A ... First housing, 2B, 3B ... Second housing, 4 ... Waist frame, 5, 6 ... Thigh frame, 5C , 6C ... thigh cuff, 7 ... battery, 8 ... power supply unit, 9 ... fixed holder, 10 ... actuator, 15 ... biometric signal detection sensor, 20 ... control device, 25 ... motion / attitude sensor, 30 ... communication device, 35 ... Reducer, 36 ... Operation unit, 40 ... Voluntary control unit, 41 ... Autonomous control unit, 42 ... Phase identification unit, 43 ... Gain change unit, 50 ... Integrated control unit, 51 ... Power amplification unit, 52 ... Actuator Driver, 53 ... reference parameter database, 54 ... command signal database, 55 ... data storage unit.

Claims (3)

In a wearable motion assist device that assists the wearer's waist motion,
A drive that generates drive torque so that the first and second housing portions, which are arranged on the left and right hip joint sides of the wearer and house the actuator, are relatively rotationally driven in response to the drive of the actuator. With the unit,
A waist frame mounted on the front of the wearer's waist and coupled to the first housing of the drive unit on both the left and right sides, respectively.
A thigh frame, each of which is coupled to the second housing portion of the left and right drive units and has a thigh cuff for contacting the front side of the left and right thigh portions of the wearer.
A winding fastener around the waist of the wearer, which is fixed to each of the left and right first housing portions of the waist frame, or a fixing holder that is detachably fixed and held to the garment itself. When,
A hip joint angle measuring unit provided on each of the left and right drive units and detecting the rotation angle between the first and second housing portions as the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer.
A biological signal detection unit that detects the biological signals of the rectus femoris and gluteus maximus muscles accompanying the movement of the left and right thighs of the wearer and the latissimus dorsi muscles of the back of the wearer.
Based on the left and right hip joint angles of the wearer by the hip joint angle measuring unit and the biological signal output from the biological signal detection unit, the movement and posture of the wearer are determined, and the result of the determination is determined. A wearable operation assisting device including a control unit that generates a driving torque in the actuator of the driving unit. The binding site between the second housing portion of the drive unit and the thigh frame has a rotation axis along a direction perpendicular to the output axis of the actuator.
The wearable operation assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the second housing portion and the thigh frame are rotatably coupled around the rotation axis. Further comprising a power supply unit including a battery coupled to the first housing in either or both of the left and right drive units and detachably retractable.
The power supply unit is coupled to the binding site of the first housing portion so as to project toward the back side of the wearer, and the power supply unit is coupled to the binding site.
The mounting according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the battery is housed in the power supply unit, the battery and the drive unit are electrically connected to each other through the internal space of the first housing portion. Ceremony operation assist device.

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