JP4685983B2 - Mobility support device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a movement support apparatus, and more particularly to a movement support apparatus that automatically travels based on a user's walking motion.

  Maintaining health is a major issue for the elderly to live independently. However, the decline in physical function with aging leads to a narrowing of the range of action, and the accompanying decrease in exercise frequency creates a vicious circle that causes further decline in physical ability. Here, it may be possible to solve the narrowing of the range of action by using a mobile device such as a wheelchair, but for the elderly with some walking ability, the mobile device is rarely used. Therefore, even if the mobile device is used, it is not expected that the body function is improved because the walking movement is not performed.

By the way, conventionally, a treadmill type traveling vehicle that can travel with a user's walking motion is known (see Patent Document 1). This treadmill type traveling vehicle includes rolls on both the front and rear sides, a wide belt that is wound around these rolls, and drive wheels that are rotated by the rotation of the belt. With such a configuration, when the user performs a walking motion on the belt, the belt is kicked backward by the walking motion and rotated, and the driving wheel mechanically connected to the belt is rotated and the traveling vehicle travels. become.
Utility Model Registration No. 3100834

  However, the treadmill type traveling vehicle travels with the rotational force of a belt powered by its own walking motion, and is similar to a bicycle in that it travels by its own motion. Since the traveling vehicle does not have power assist in this way, there is a limit to the amount of momentum for providing sufficient power to the traveling vehicle when used by elderly people with reduced walking function, especially on uphills, Independent walking with one's own foot still results in easier movement, so it is less useful for the elderly. Here, suppose that the treadmill type traveling vehicle is provided with a power assist such as a motor for driving the driving wheel, and the driving wheel is automatically driven by a switch operation at hand, etc. For the elderly, not only is the operation complicated, but this driving can be performed independently of the user's walking motion, so the traveling vehicle can be run without performing the walking motion. It does not contribute to walking movement.

  The present invention has been devised by paying attention to such a problem, and the purpose of the present invention is to move the user in conjunction with the walking movement while the user such as the elderly is walking. The object is to provide a mobility support device that can assist.

(1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a movement support device including a vehicle body that can travel by rotation of a drive wheel and a drive device that drives the drive wheel.
The vehicle body includes a walking surface that is operable toward the rear,
The driving device controls the driving of the second driving means in accordance with a first driving means for operating the walking surface, a second driving means for rotating the driving wheel, and a load applied to the first driving means. Control means for
The control means determines a state of a user's walking motion from a load current detection unit that detects a load current value of a motor that constitutes the first drive means, and a load current value detected by the load current detection unit. And a forward direction drive determination unit that determines the rotational speed of the drive wheel in correspondence with each of these states, and when the user performs a walking motion on the walking surface, it is determined according to the walking motion. The vehicle is traveling at a speed.

( 2 ) Further, the forward drive determination unit determines each state of the user's walking motion using a predetermined threshold with respect to a value obtained by integrating the predetermined range of the load current value with time in a predetermined time unit. The configuration of that is adopted.

  According to the present invention, when the user performs a walking motion, the vehicle body travels at a speed determined according to the walking motion, so that the walking motion becomes an operation command for the driving wheel, and no special switch operation is required. The vehicle body can be automatically driven in a state where the speed is higher than the walking speed. Therefore, the user can move easily without performing a special operation, and the vehicle body moves according to the walking motion, so that the vehicle body can be run with a sense of walking with improved ability, and an erroneous operation, etc. In addition to greatly reducing the risk of such a problem, it is possible to allow the user to perform a walking exercise while providing movement support. Therefore, when used by elderly people, etc., it has a movement support function that compensates for the reduced walking function, but can allow the user to voluntarily walk and contribute greatly to maintaining the health of the user. be able to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a movement support device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. In these drawings, the movement support device 10 includes a vehicle body 11 and a drive device 12 for causing the vehicle body 11 to travel.

  The vehicle body 11 includes a pair of left and right frames 13, 13 extending in the front-rear direction, round bar-shaped shafts 14, 14 that are rotatably supported on both front and rear sides of the frames 13, 13, and the shafts 14, 14. In addition, a flat belt 15 that is the walking surface F on which the user H rides on the upper side, and a plate 16 (see FIG. 2) that is disposed inside the flat belt 15 that is hung around and supports the flat belt 15; The front wheels 17 and 17 as driving wheels that are rotatably supported on the front side of the frames 13 and 13 and are driven to rotate by the driving device 12, and the rear wheels of the frames 13 and 13 are rotatable and laterally movable. And rear wheels 19 supported so as to be swingable.

  Although the said flat belt 15 is not specifically limited, it is set to the length wider than the general step length of an elderly person, and is set to the width | variety wider than the said elderly person's lateral width. A tape (not shown) is attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the plate 16 to reduce the frictional force with the flat belt 15 that contacts the plate 16.

  The driving device 12 includes a first driving means 21 for rotating the flat belt 15, a second driving means 22 for applying a driving force to the front wheels 17 and 17, an operating means 27 for steering the vehicle body 11 in the left-right direction, The control unit 30 is configured to control the driving of the second driving unit 22 according to the state of the first driving unit 21 and the operating unit 27.

  Although not shown in the figure, the first driving means 21 is constituted by a motor, a pulley, a belt, and the like. When a power supply (not shown) is turned on, the flat belt 15 is moved in a direction to slightly move the walking surface F backward. It is configured to rotate.

  The second drive means 22 includes a left drive motor 22L that drives the left front wheel and a right drive motor 22R that drives the right front wheel.

  The operating means 27 includes a round bar-like handle 35 that the user H holds with both hands, a potentiometer 37 that detects the rotation angle of the handle 35, supports the handle 35 rotatably in the left-right direction, The rotary damper 38 is configured to provide a predetermined resistance to the rotational motion, and the rod 39 supports the members 35 to 38.

  The control unit 30 is configured by software and / or hardware, and includes a plurality of program modules and / or processing circuits such as a processor. The control unit 30 performs the second driving according to the load applied to the motor of the first driving unit 21. When the driving of the means 22 is controlled and the user H performs a walking motion on the walking surface F, the vehicle body 11 is set to travel in a state of being accelerated according to the walking motion.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 30 detects a load current detection unit 40 that detects a load current value of the motor of the first drive unit 21 and a detection result from the load current detection unit 40. Rotation of the left and right drive motors 22L, 22R based on the detection results from the forward direction drive determination unit 41 and the potentiometer 37 for determining the rotational speeds of the left and right front wheels 17, 17 so that the vehicle body 11 travels at a speed of A left-right direction drive determination unit 42 that determines the ratio, and a driver 43 that drives the drive motors 22L and 22R so that the front wheels 17 and 17 rotate at the rotational speed determined by the drive determination units 41 and 42 are provided. Configured.

  In the movement support device 10 configured as described above, when the user H performs a walking motion on the rotating flat belt 15, the left and right drive motors 22L and 22R are controlled by the control unit 30 as follows. Will do.

  When a power supply (not shown) is turned on, the first driving means 21 is activated to rotate the flat belt 15 and the walking surface F moves backward at a minute speed. When the user H gets on the flat belt 15 from this state, the flat belt 15 on which the user H is placed is considered in consideration of loads such as the weight and frictional force of the user H applied to the first driving means 21. However, the motor of the first driving means 21 is driven with a driving force that does not move backward. Accordingly, the user H standing on the walking surface F is almost stationary, but at this time, the motor is driven with a slight driving force in the direction of moving the flat belt 15 backward. Then, when the user H performs a walking motion at a fixed position on the flat belt 15 and kicks and rotates the flat belt 15 backward, the vehicle body 11 moves according to the walking motion as described in detail below. I will run. During the walking operation, when the heel of the user H contacts the walking surface F, a braking force against the rotation of the flat belt 15 works, and a load on the motor of the first driving means 21 (hereinafter referred to as “motor load”). Will increase). On the other hand, when the toe of the user H moves away from the walking surface F, the user H kicks the flat belt 15 backward, and the driving force for the rotation of the flat belt 15 works, and the motor of the first drive means 21 The load will be reduced. Therefore, in the graph showing the relationship between the load current value serving as an index of the motor load and time, the peak portion when the braking force is applied and the valley portion when the propulsive force is applied are the walking cycle units. Appears repeatedly. Here, when the pedestrian H accelerates, the propulsive force increases, so the motor load decreases. On the other hand, when the pedestrian H decelerates, the braking force increases, so the motor load increases.

  Therefore, in the control means 30, the rotational speed of the front wheel 17 is obtained based on the load current value of the motor of the first drive means 21, and the vehicle body 11 travels at a speed according to the walking motion of the pedestrian H. The driving of the second driving means 22 is controlled. At this time, the second drive means is configured so that the vehicle body 11 bends according to the rotation direction and the angle of the handle 35 by making a difference in the drive speed of the left and right front wheels 17 and 17 according to the rotation angle of the handle 35. The drive of 22 is controlled.

  That is, first, the load current detection unit 40 detects the load current value at a predetermined timing. Then, the forward drive determination unit 41 determines whether the walking state of the user H is the acceleration state, the deceleration state, or the constant speed state from the load current value of the predetermined time unit detected by the load current detection unit 40. When the acceleration state is determined, the driving speed of the front wheels 17, 17 is determined to be a value accelerated with respect to the current speed, and when the deceleration state is determined, the driving speed of the front wheels 17, 17 is determined with respect to the current speed. When the value is determined to be a reduced speed and it is determined that the speed is constant, the driving speed of the front wheels 17 and 17 is determined to be the same value as the current speed.

  That is, in the forward drive determination unit 41, the following processing is performed in predetermined time units based on the load current value detected by the load current detection unit 40.

First, an acceleration load current value function a (t) and a deceleration load current value function b (t) expressed by the following equations are obtained from the load current value I (t) detected by the load current detection unit 40.
a (t) = max (Center (v) -I (t) -A) (1)
b (t) = max (I (t) −Center (v) −B) (2)
here,
It is defined as max (x) = x (x> 0), 0 (x ≦ 0), and A and B are predetermined threshold values.
Center (v) is the load current value when the user H is neither accelerating nor decelerating,
Center (v) = f + Cv (3)
It is represented by Here, f is a correction coefficient based on the load due to mechanical friction, C is a correction coefficient based on the weight of the user, and v is the speed of the running surface F.

Next, values obtained by integrating the acceleration load current value function a (t) and the deceleration load current value function b (t) over time are respectively obtained, and threshold values Ta (v) and Tb (v) that change according to the speed v. It is determined whether or not the value is greater than.
Here, Ta (v), which is a threshold for acceleration, is
Ta (v) = Dv + E (4)
It is represented by Here, D and E are correction coefficients.
On the other hand, Tb (v), which is a threshold for deceleration, is
Tb (v) = Fv + G (5)
It is represented by Here, F and G are correction coefficients.
That is, when the integrated value of the acceleration load current value function a (t) exceeds the threshold value Ta (v), the walking state of the user H is determined as the acceleration state. And when it is judged that it is not an acceleration state and the integral value of deceleration load current value function b (t) exceeds threshold value Tb (v), it is judged that user H's walking state is a deceleration state. If it is determined that the vehicle is neither in the accelerated state nor in the decelerated state, the walking state of the user H is determined as the constant speed state.

When the acceleration state is determined, the speed Va of the vehicle body 11 is
Va = Ka · n (v) (6)
The rotational speeds of the wheels 17 and 17 are determined geometrically so that the vehicle body 11 travels at this speed.
Here, Ka is an acceleration gain, and n (v) indicates a discrete function of the speed v that increases as the speed increases.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle is decelerating, the speed Vb of the vehicle body 11 is
Vb = Kb · m (v) (7)
The rotational speeds of the wheels 17 and 17 are determined geometrically so that the vehicle body 11 travels at this speed.
Here, Kb is a deceleration gain, and m (v) represents a discrete function of the speed v that increases as the speed increases.

  Next, the left and right direction driving determination unit 42 sets a predetermined gain so that the vehicle body 11 bends in the rotational direction of the handle 35 according to the angle of the handle 35 detected by the potentiometer 37, and the left and right front wheels A difference is provided between the rotational speeds of 17 and 17. At this time, the rotational speeds of the front wheels 17 and 17 are determined so as to have a rotational speed ratio corresponding to the angle of the handle 35 in consideration of the rotational speed of the front wheels 17 determined by the forward drive determination unit 41. The

  Then, the driver 43 gives a drive command to the left drive motor 22L and the right drive motor 22R so that the left and right front wheels 17, 17 are respectively driven at the rotational speed determined as described above.

  Therefore, according to such an embodiment, when the user H performs a walking motion on the walking surface F, the rotational speed of the front wheels 17 and 17 is controlled in accordance with the walking motion. For elderly people with reduced walking, the vehicle body 11 will travel with a sense of walking so as to compensate for the reduced walking function while performing walking motion, which is useful as a device for maintaining the health of the elderly and supporting movement It is.

  The configuration of each part of the apparatus in the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration example, and various modifications are possible as long as substantially the same operation is achieved.

The schematic perspective view of the movement assistance apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. Sectional drawing in alignment with the AA of FIG. The schematic block diagram of a control means.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Movement assistance apparatus 11 Car body 12 Drive apparatus 17 Front wheel (drive wheel)
21 First drive means 22 Second drive means 30 Control means 40 Load current detection part 41 Forward direction drive determination part F Walking surface H User

Claims (2)

In a movement support device comprising a vehicle body that can travel by rotation of a drive wheel and a drive device that drives the drive wheel,
The vehicle body includes a walking surface that is operable toward the rear,
The driving device controls the driving of the second driving means in accordance with a first driving means for operating the walking surface, a second driving means for rotating the driving wheel, and a load applied to the first driving means. Control means for
The control means determines a state of a user's walking motion from a load current detection unit that detects a load current value of a motor that constitutes the first drive means, and a load current value detected by the load current detection unit. And a forward direction drive determination unit that determines the rotational speed of the drive wheel in correspondence with each of these states, and when the user performs a walking motion on the walking surface, it is determined according to the walking motion. A movement support device characterized in that the vehicle body travels at a speed. The forward drive determination unit determines each state of the user's walking motion using a predetermined threshold with respect to a value obtained by integrating a predetermined range of the load current value with time in a predetermined time unit. The movement support apparatus according to claim 1 .

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