JP5370098B2 - Walking aids - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a walking assistance device that assists walking of a person.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a walking assistance device that assists walking of a person. This type of walking assistance device has a structure in which a plurality of mounting parts fixed to each part of a person are connected via a joint mechanism.

JP 2000-320350 A

In the walking assistance equipment, it is necessary to securely fix each mounting portion to each part of the user who needs walking assistance. That is, if the position of the mounting portion is moved, the user's walking cannot be assisted correctly. On the other hand, if each mounting part is structured to be fixed to each part of the user without any degree of freedom, there arises a problem that the user feels pain when walking.
In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides a walking assistance device with excellent wearing feeling while reliably assisting a user's walking.

The walking assistance device according to the present invention includes a thigh attachment part attached to a person's thigh, a lower leg attachment part attached to the person's lower leg, and a foot attachment part attached to the person's foot. A thigh attachment part is connected to a thigh attachment part so as to be able to swing, and a leg attachment part is connected to the thigh attachment part so as to be able to swing. Here, the thigh attachment part restrains the attached thigh from the front-rear direction and allows relative movement of the thigh in the left-right direction and the up-down direction. In addition, the rear leg and the vertical direction are allowed to move relative to each other, and the foot mounting portion restrains the mounted foot from the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the vertical direction.
Here, the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction refer to the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction of the person wearing the walking aid.

  According to the above-described walking assistance device, in the direction in which an assisting force is to be applied to the user, each mounting portion firmly restrains each part of the user and can correctly support the user's walking. On the other hand, with respect to the other directions, the degree of freedom is given to each part of the user with respect to each mounting portion, so that the sense of discomfort and pain experienced by the user during walking can be significantly reduced.

  The thigh attachment part preferably has a thigh frame disposed in front of the thigh and a thigh belt disposed in the rear of the thigh, and has a structure in which the thigh is sandwiched in the front-rear direction by the thigh frame and the thigh belt. Moreover, it is preferable that a lower leg mounting part has a lower leg frame arrange | positioned ahead of a lower leg, and the lower leg frame is provided with the pad which contact | abuts to a lower leg from the front and the left-right direction. And it is preferable that a foot | wear mounting part has a shoe put on a leg | foot.

  First, the above-described structure increases the versatility of the walking assistance device, and can be used by users of various body shapes. That is, in the thigh attachment part, the length of the thigh belt can be adjusted according to the size of the user's thigh. Moreover, in a lower leg mounting part, a pad deform | transforms according to a user's thigh size. Alternatively, the pad can be replaced according to the size of the user's thigh. And in a foot mounting part, what is necessary is just to replace shoes according to the size of a user's foot.

  Further, in the above-described structure, each frame is arranged in front of the user, and there is no stationary member such as a frame behind the user. For example, even when the user is sitting on a bed or a wheelchair, the user wears walking aids. Easy to attach and detach.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the walk assistance device excellent in the feeling of mounting | wearing is realizable, assisting a user's walk reliably.

The external view which shows the whole walking assistance orthosis. The figure which looked at the thigh attachment part and the crus attachment part from the front. The figure which looked at the thigh attachment part and the crus attachment part from back. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 2. The VV sectional view taken on the line in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a walking assistance device 10 of the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the walking assistance device 10 is a device that assists the user 100 in walking, and is a device that can be worn by the user 100. The walking assistance device 10 is used, for example, for rehabilitation of the user 100 who has difficulty in walking on its own. By using the walking assistance device 10, the function recovery of the user 100 can be promoted, and the labor of an assistant who assists the user 100 can be reduced.

  Here, in this embodiment, the X axis is defined in the front-rear direction of the user 100 wearing the walking assistance device 10, the Y axis is defined in the left-right direction of the user 100, and the Z axis is defined in the vertical direction of the user 100. The positive direction of the X axis is the front of the user 100, the positive direction of the Y axis is the left side of the user 100, and the positive direction of the Z axis is the upper side of the user 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the walking assistance device 10 includes a control unit 12, a thigh attachment part 20, a crus attachment part 50, and a foot attachment part 90.
The control unit 12 incorporates a small computer device and a battery, supplies power to each part of the walking assistance device 10, and controls the operation of each part of the walking assistance device 10. The control unit 12 is an example, but is attached to the trunk (waist) of the user 100. The control unit 12 is provided with a mounting belt 14 for fixing to the trunk of the user 100. Note that the position where the control unit 12 is mounted is not particularly limited, and may be a structure that is mounted on the back of the user 100, for example.

  The thigh mounting unit 20, the crus mounting unit 50, and the foot mounting unit 90 are mounted on the affected leg 110 (here, the left leg) of the user 100 that needs assistance. Specifically, the thigh attachment unit 20 is attached to the thigh 112, the crus attachment unit 50 is attached to the crus 116, and the foot attachment unit 90 is attached to the foot 118. Note that in this specification, when simply expressed as the affected leg 110, it includes not only the thigh 112, the knee 114, and the lower leg 116 but also the foot 118 (portion beyond the ankle).

  The thigh mounting part 20 and the crus mounting part 50 are connected via a pair of knee joint mechanisms 40. Each knee joint mechanism 40 is a joint mechanism around one axis, and connects the thigh link 30 to which the thigh mounting part 20 is fixed and the crus link 60 to which the thigh mounting part 50 is fixed so as to be swingable. The fixing position of the thigh mounting part 20 with respect to the thigh link 30 and the fixing position of the thigh mounting part 50 with respect to the thigh link 60 can be adjusted according to the body shape of the user 100.

  The knee joint mechanism 40 located outside the affected leg 110 incorporates an actuator (for example, a motor), a speed reducer, and an angle sensor, and is also a drive unit that relatively swings the thigh link 30 and the crus link 60. The knee joint mechanism 40 is connected to the control unit 12 via the electric cord 16 and is operated by electric power from the control unit 12, and the operation is controlled by the control unit 12. As an example, the control unit 12 stores target data describing the target angle of the knee joint mechanism 40 over time, and the knee joint mechanism 40 is set so that the actual angle of the knee joint mechanism 40 matches the target angle. 40 actuators are controlled.

  The lower leg mounting part 50 and the foot mounting part 90 are connected via a pair of ankle joint mechanisms 70. Each ankle joint mechanism 70 is a joint mechanism around one axis, and a crus link 60 to which the crus mounting part 50 is fixed and a foot link 80 to which the foot mounting part 90 is fixed are connected so as to be swingable. The fixing position of the foot mounting portion 90 with respect to the foot link 80 can be adjusted according to the body shape of the user 100.

  With the above configuration, the walking assistance device 10 is mainly attached to the affected leg 110 of the user 100 (excluding the control unit 12), and can assist the user 100 in walking by adjusting the movement of the affected leg 110. it can. Note that the operation mode of the walking assisting device 10 is not particularly limited, and the movement of the affected leg 110 may be controlled almost completely, or an assist force is applied following the movement of the affected leg 110. It may be.

The overall structure of the walking assistance device 10 has been described above. Next, detailed description is added about each mounting part 20, 50, 90 of the walking assistance device 10.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the thigh attachment unit 20 includes a thigh frame 22, a thigh pad 24, and a thigh belt 26. The thigh frame 22 is fixed to a pair of thigh links 30. The thigh frame 22 is disposed in front of the thigh 112 of the user 100. Although the thigh frame 22 is an example, it is made of fiber reinforced resin and has relatively high rigidity. The thigh frame 22 can be formed of, for example, a metal material, and the material is not particularly limited as long as the strength as the frame is satisfied.

The thigh pad 24 is provided on the inner surface of the thigh frame 22 (the surface facing the thigh 112). The thigh pad 24 is formed using a flexible material, and can be deformed according to the size and shape of the thigh 112 in contact.
The thigh belt 26 is fixed to the thigh frame 22 and is disposed behind the thigh 112 of the user 100. The length of the thigh belt 26 can be adjusted so as to contact the rear surface of the thigh 112. Further, the thigh belt 26 can be firmly tightened by the ratchet type coupler 23 fixed to the thigh frame 22. Further, when the thigh mounting part 20 is attached to and detached from the thigh 112, the coupling at the coupling tool 23 can be released and moved from the back of the thigh 112.

  With the above configuration, the thigh 112 of the user 100 is clamped from the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) by the thigh frame 22 and the thigh belt 26 in the thigh mounting unit 20. Thereby, the thigh mounting part 20 restrains the thigh 112 with which it was mounted | worn from the front-back direction, and prohibits the relative movement of the thigh 112 to the front-back direction substantially. On the other hand, the thigh mounting portion 20 does not contact the thigh 112 from the left-right direction (Y-axis direction) and the up-down direction (Z-axis direction), and the thigh 112 moves relatively in the left-right direction and the up-down direction. Allow. That is, the thigh mounting portion 20 has a structure that gives the mounted thigh 112 substantially significant freedom in the front-rear direction, but gives significant freedom in the left-right direction and the vertical direction. .

  Next, the lower leg mounting part 50 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the lower leg mounting portion 50 includes a lower leg frame 52 and a lower leg pad 54. The lower leg frame 52 is fixed to a pair of lower leg links 60. The lower leg frame 52 is disposed in front of the lower leg 116 of the user 100. Although the crus frame 52 is an example, it is made of fiber reinforced resin and has a relatively high rigidity. Note that the lower leg frame 52 may be formed of other materials having the necessary rigidity, like the thigh frame 22.

  The crus pad 54 is provided on the inner surface of the crus frame 52 (the surface facing the crus 116). The crus pad 54 is formed using a flexible material and contacts the crus 116 from the front while being deformed. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, a substantially V-shaped groove 54 a is formed in the crus pad 54 in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the crus 116. Thereby, the lower leg pad 54 can contact the lower leg 116 not only from the front (positive direction of the X axis) but also from the left and right direction (Y axis direction). Here, the lower leg pad 54 is not limited to an integral pad, and is a combination of a pad that comes into contact with the lower leg 116 from the front, a pad that comes into contact with the lower leg 116 from the left, and a pad that comes into contact with the lower leg 116 from the right. Also good.

  With the above configuration, in the crus mounting portion 50, the crus 116 of the user 100 is supported from the front (X-axis positive direction) and the left-right direction (Y-axis direction) by the crus pad 54 provided on the crus frame 52. . That is, the crus mounting part 50 restrains the crus 116 attached from the front and left and right directions, and substantially prohibits relative movement of the crus 116 in those directions. On the other hand, the crus mounting part 50 does not contact the crus 116 from the back (negative direction of the X axis) and the vertical direction (Z axis direction), and the thigh 112 moves relative to the back and the vertical direction. Allow. That is, the crus mounting part 50 has a structure that gives substantially no degree of freedom to the attached crus 116 in the front and left and right directions, but gives a significant degree of freedom in the back and up and down directions. Yes.

Next, the foot mounting part 90 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the foot mounting portion 90 has a foot plate 92 and shoes 94. The foot plate 92 is fixed to the pair of foot links 80. The foot plate 92 is disposed below the foot 118 of the user 100 (on the foot side). Although the foot plate 92 is an example, it is made of fiber reinforced resin and has a relatively high rigidity. The foot plate 92 may be formed of other materials having the necessary rigidity, like the thigh frame 22 and the lower leg frame 52.
The shoe 94 is provided on the upper surface of the foot plate 92 (the surface facing the foot 118). The shoe 94 has the same form as a general shoe. The shoe 94 is detachably fixed to the foot plate 92 so that it can be changed according to the size and shape of the foot 118 of the user 100.

  With the above-described configuration, the foot mounting unit 90 surrounds the foot 118 of the user 100 from the front-rear direction (X-axis direction), the left-right direction (Y-axis direction), and the up-down direction (Z-axis direction). Accordingly, the foot mounting unit 90 restrains the mounted foot 118 from the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction, and substantially prohibits relative movement of the foot 118.

  As described above, in the walking assistance device 10 of the present embodiment, not all the mounting portions 20, 50, 90 are completely fixed to the corresponding portions 112, 116, 118. Specifically, the thigh attachment portion 20 is allowed to move the thigh 112 in the left-right direction and the up-down direction, and the crus attachment portion 50 is allowed to move the lower leg 116 in the rear and up-down directions. On the other hand, in the foot mounting portion 90, relative movement of the foot 118 is prohibited in any of the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction. According to such a combination of restraining directions (in other words, a combination of directions that give a degree of freedom), in the direction in which the assisting force is to be applied to the walking user 100, each of the mounting portions 20, 50, 90 is Each part 112, 116, 118 can be firmly restrained and can correctly support the walking of the user 100. On the other hand, with respect to the other directions, since the degrees of freedom are given between the respective mounting portions 20, 50, 90 and the portions 112, 116, 118 of the user 100, the user 100 feels uncomfortable or painful during walking. Can be significantly reduced.

  Here, a supplementary explanation will be given regarding the relationship between the restraining direction of each of the mounting portions 20, 50, 90 and walking assistance. First, the thigh mounting portion 20 that restrains the thigh 112 from the front-rear direction and the foot mounting portion 90 that restrains the foot 118 from the front-rear direction ensure the auxiliary torque to the knee 114 of the user 100 whose rotation axis extends in the left-right direction. Added. In addition, since the foot mounting portion 90 restrains the foot 118 from the vertical direction, the foot 118 can be reliably guided in the vertical direction so as to repeat grounding and floating correctly. Furthermore, since the foot mounting portion 90 restrains the foot portion 118 from the left and right directions, the ankle of the user 100 having a relatively high degree of freedom is prevented from being unintentionally bent. The crus mounting part 50 restrains the crus 114 from the front direction and the left and right direction, thereby preventing the knee 114 of the affected leg 110 that has become the ground leg from bending suddenly (so-called knee collapse state).

  In addition to the above-described effects, in the walking assistance device 10 of the present embodiment, the thigh mounting portion 20 and the lower thigh mounting portion 50 restrain the portions 112 and 116 of the affected leg 110 from only a specific direction, so that the same mounting portion 20 , 50 can be used in common for users 100 having different body shapes. In addition, about the foot | wear mounting part 90, it is necessary to restrain the leg | foot 118 from all directions, and it is necessary to prepare the shoes 94 separately according to the user 100, However, What is generally distribute | circulating can be employ | adopted. So it is not a problem. Furthermore, if the shoes already owned by the user 100 are used, the discomfort and pain that the user 100 receives during walking training can be greatly relieved.

  In addition, in the walking assistance device 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 for example, the frames 22 and 52 of the thigh mounting part 20 and the crus mounting part 50 are arranged only in front of the affected leg 110, The rear part of the mounting part 20 and the lower leg mounting part 50 is open. A thigh belt 26 exists behind the affected leg 110, and the thigh belt 26 is also easily movable. Therefore, for example, even when the user 100 is sitting on a bed or a wheelchair, the walking assistance device 10 can be easily attached to the affected leg 110 of the user 100 from the front. Thereby, even the user 100 who cannot stand by himself / herself can wear the walking assistive device 10 by himself / herself. Alternatively, even when an assistant is required for wearing, the assistant does not need to stand the user 100, so the burden on the assistant is generally reduced.

Specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above.
For example, although the walking assistance device 10 of this embodiment assists walking with an actuator, the technique according to each of the mounting portions 20, 50, 90 of this embodiment is a type of walking that assists walking with a spring or a damper. The same can be applied to the auxiliary equipment.

  The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology illustrated in the present specification or the drawings achieves a plurality of objects at the same time, and has technical utility by achieving one of the objects.

10: Walking assistive device 20: Thigh mounting part 22: Thigh frame 24: Thigh pad 26: Thigh belt 40: Knee joint mechanism 50: Lower leg mounting part 52: Lower leg frame 54: Lower leg pad 54a: Lower leg pad groove 70: Ankle joint Mechanism 90: Foot mounting part 92: Foot plate 94: Shoes 100: User 112: Thigh 114: Knee 116: Lower leg 118: Foot

Claims (4)

A walking assistance device for assisting human walking,
A thigh attachment portion attached to a human thigh;
A lower leg attachment part that is attached to the lower leg of the person and is swingably connected to the upper leg attachment part;
A foot mounting part that is attached to a person's foot and is swingably connected to the lower leg mounting part,
The thigh attachment part restrains the attached thigh from the front-rear direction and allows relative movement of the thigh in the left-right direction and the up-down direction.
The lower leg attachment part restrains the attached lower leg from the front direction and the left-right direction, and allows relative movement of the lower leg in the rear direction and the vertical direction,
The foot mounting part restrains the mounted foot from each direction of the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction.
A walking assistance device characterized by that.   The thigh mounting portion includes a thigh frame disposed in front of the thigh and a thigh belt disposed in the rear of the thigh, and the thigh is sandwiched from the front and rear direction by the thigh frame and the thigh belt. The walking assistance device according to 1.   The lower leg mounting portion has a lower leg frame disposed in front of the lower leg, and the lower leg frame is provided with a lower leg pad that comes into contact with the front surface and both side surfaces of the lower leg. The walking assistive device according to 1.   The walking assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the foot mounting portion includes a shoe to be put on the foot.