JP7015930B2 - Walking assistance system - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a walking assist system that applies the power of a power generator to the lower limbs of a user as a walking assist force.

The power of the power generator is applied to the lower limbs of the user (wearer), especially the thighs, as walking assist power (walking assist power) for walking assistance and walking rehabilitation for persons with weakened lower limbs. A walking assist device is known (for example, Patent Document 1). This type of walking assist device is attached to the waist of the user and extends from the back of the user's waist to the left and right waist sides, a substantially C-shaped waist frame, a battery, and the left and right waist sides of the waist frame. Includes left and right power generators attached to the portion corresponding to the above, and a thigh supporter that transmits the power generated by the power generator to the thigh as an assisting force for thigh movement (walking assisting force).

As the control of such a walking assist device, a control method called synchronized control that realizes coordinated movement between a human and the device is used. In this method, the left and right sides of the wearer are based on the output of the joint angle sensor that detects the movement of the wearer's hip joint (hereinafter simply referred to as the joint) based on the joint angle of the joint of the walking assist device mounted on the joint. A phase estimation unit that estimates the phase of leg movement is configured, and the joints of the walking assist device are tuned and controlled based on a phase oscillator model that uses the phase of the wearer's leg flexion / extension movement as input vibration. (For example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-156344 Japanese Patent No. 5938124

However, the larger the mass, friction, and moment of inertia of the walking assist device are relative to those of the user, the smaller the walking force of the user is relative to the walking assist force, and the walking motion of the user. Has less effect on the interaction. In this way, when the interaction force is controlled to change according to the movement of the joint portion, the wearer feels as if he / she is forced to walk by the walking assist device, and feels uncomfortable. In addition, since the power generator occupies most of the weight of the walking assist device, when it is built in the lumbar frame, especially for a small adult user or a child user, the weight of the walking assist device relative to the body weight. The ratio increases. The walking assist device described in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a battery is built in a waist frame, and the weight of the battery is heavy, so that the burden on the user is heavy. This will change the user's original gait movement characteristics. Therefore, the power generator should be as light as possible. Here, by reducing the weight of the waist frame, it is possible to correct the original walking posture including the upper body of the user more naturally. On the other hand, the conventional walking assist device does not provide sufficient treatment for monitoring the walking posture of the upper body, which moves differently from the walking posture of the lower body to be monitored, and cannot always assist the exercise appropriately.

In view of such a background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a walking assist system capable of appropriately assisting exercise without excessively changing the exercise characteristics of the user while using the walking assist device. ..

In order to solve such a problem, an embodiment of the present invention is a walking assist system (1), which includes a motor (2) for imparting a walking assist force to the lower limbs of the user. The device (3), a sensor (4) for detecting the operating state of the walking assist device, and a separate unit (5) for controlling the walking assist device are provided, and the separate unit is a battery (7). ) And the sensor via the signal cable (6) and the motor via the power cable (8), respectively, and based on the output of the sensor, the drive current to be supplied to the motor is transferred to the battery. It is characterized by having a drive control device (9) for supplying the motor to the motor and an operation panel (10) for operating the drive control device.

According to this configuration, since the battery does not need to be held by the user by being held by the separate unit, the weight of the walking assist device to be held by the user is reduced by that amount. Therefore, the kinetic characteristics of the user do not change excessively before and after the walking assist device is attached, and walking assist can be performed according to the original kinetic characteristics of the user.

Further, in the above configuration, the walking assist device is attached to the waist of the user, extends from the back of the user's waist to the left and right waist sides, and the motor is attached to the left and right waist frames (11). ), And left and right swing arms (14) having a base end (12) supported by the output end of the corresponding motor and a free end (13) attached to the corresponding lower limb.

According to this configuration, the walking assist force is transmitted from the left and right swing arms driven by the motor to the lower limbs of the user, so that the walking assist can be surely performed.

Further, in the above configuration, the separate unit may further have a display unit (19) for displaying the operating state of the walking assist device.

According to this configuration, the operator can visually recognize the operating state of the walking assist device on the display unit of the separate unit even if he / she is away from the user, and can more reliably and appropriately assist the exercise.

Further, in the above configuration, the separate unit may further have a mounting member (20) for being held by the operator at a position suitable for the operator to operate the operation panel and visually recognize the display unit. ..

According to this configuration, the operator can easily operate the operation panel by mounting the separate unit using the mounting member, or can easily see the display unit, and can add by freeing his / her hand. The movement is also possible, and the movement can be more reliably and suitably assisted.

Further, in the above configuration, the separate unit controls the operation of the photographing device (22) that captures the image of the user and the photographing device, and displays the image captured by the photographing device on the display unit. It is preferable to further have an image processing device (21) to be used.

According to this configuration, the operator can operate the operation panel while looking at the image of the user displayed on the display unit on the same separate unit, and more reliably and appropriately assists the exercise. Can be done.

Further, in the above configuration, it is preferable that the image processing device is configured to store the image.

According to this configuration, the image can be displayed and observed after a lapse of time from the time of shooting. Alternatively, the saved image can be observed more accurately by image processing such as slow motion processing. Alternatively, the image can be subjected to spatial filtering or time filtering to extract characteristic points of the walking posture of the user.

Further, in the above configuration, the image processing device may be configured to store the image in association with the operating state of the drive control device and / or the output and / or time of the sensor.

According to this configuration, the image is associated with the operating state of the drive control device, and for example, the posture of the user can be observed at the same time as the drive current of the motor. Alternatively, the image is associated with the output of the sensor, for example, the joint angle of the hip joint and the posture of the user's upper body can be observed at the same time. Alternatively, the image is associated with the time, for example, from the time-related motor drive current and the time-related hip joint angle, with the time-mediated motor drive current and hip joint. It is possible to more reliably and suitably assist the exercise, such as being able to observe the correlation with the joint angle of the electric current.

Further, in the above configuration, the image processing device may start taking the image at the same time as the operation of the walking assist device starts, and may end taking an image at the same time as the operation of the walking assist device ends.

According to this configuration, the walking posture of the user can be displayed on the display unit from the start of the operation of the walking assist device to the end of the operation of the walking assist device, that is, from the beginning to the end of the walking assist without requiring an additional operation of the operator. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably and suitably assist the exercise.

Further, in the above configuration, the walking assist system may further include a cable winding member (24) that makes the cable lengths of the signal cable and the power cable variable.

According to this configuration, it is possible to change the cable length according to the distance between the user and the separate unit, eliminating the need for the user to drag an unnecessarily long cable, and more preferably assisting exercise. Can be done.

Further, in the above configuration, the image processing device captures an assumed image of the operating state of the walking assist device assumed by the supply of the drive current and an image of the user at a time corresponding to the supply of the drive current. It is preferable to superimpose the display on the display unit.

According to this configuration, it is possible to verify whether the parameters used as factors in determining the drive current have realized the expected walking motion in cooperation with the swing arm. This provides an opportunity to improve the operating parameters that are factors in determining the drive current, and can more reliably assist in suitable exercise.

Further, in the above configuration, the storage destination of the image is a server (27) provided by the cloud service and accumulating data via the network, and the image stored in the server provided by the cloud service. It may be further provided with an additional separate unit (25) having a display device (26) for displaying.

According to this configuration, it is possible to provide an image of the walking posture of the user to an observer who is remote to the site. For example, it is possible to make it possible for other physical therapists in the same facility to observe the state of the walking posture correction of the user. Alternatively, it is possible for doctors in other facilities to observe the state of the user's walking posture correction. Alternatively, it is possible to observe the state of the user's walking posture correction even for the family at the user's home, and it is possible to observe from various viewpoints such as observing the difference from the walking posture at home, which is more suitable. Can assist in exercise.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a walking assist system capable of assisting exercise without excessively changing the exercise characteristics of the user while using the walking assist device.

Schematic diagram showing the whole image of the walking assist system according to the embodiment Schematic diagram showing the usage state when the walking assist system shown in FIG. 1 is attached. Perspective view of the walking assist device shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing a comparison between the assumed operation and the actual operation of the walking assist device shown in FIG.

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

First, the walking assist system 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In the following description, the direction of the walking assist device 3 will be described based on the direction shown in FIG. The walking assist device 3 has a substantially symmetrical structure, and when the walking assist device 3 is attached to the user U, the front-back and left-right directions thereof coincide with each other in the front-back and left-right directions as seen from the user U.

As shown in FIG. 1, the walking assist system 1 detects the operating state of the walking assist device 3 provided with two motors 2 for applying the walking assist force to the lower limbs of the user U and the walking assist device 3. It includes two sensors 4 and a separate unit 5 to be held by the operator OP in order to control the walking assist device 3. The separate unit 5 is connected to the sensor 4 via the battery 7 and the signal cable 6, and based on the output of the sensor 4, the drive current to be supplied to the motor 2 is transmitted from the battery 7 to the motor 2 via the power cable 8. It has a drive control device 9 to be supplied and an operation panel 10 for operating the drive control device 9. The separate unit 5 is not limited to the operator OP, and may be a moving body such as a movement assisting device such as an autonomous mobile robot or a walker. The moving body may hold the separate unit 5 by placing the separate unit 5 on the moving body, or may hold the separate unit 5 by the holding portion provided in the moving body itself. ..

According to this configuration, the battery 7 is built in a separate unit 5 which is separate from the walking assist device 3 mounted on the user U. Since the battery 7 is heavy, the weight of the walking assist device 3 is greatly reduced as compared with the case where the battery 7 is integrally provided with the walking assist device 3. Therefore, even if the walking assist device 3 is worn by the user U, the kinetic characteristics of the user U during use do not change excessively, and walking assist can be performed according to the original kinetic characteristics of the user U.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the walking assist device 3 is attached to the waist of the user U, extends from the back of the waist of the user U to the left and right waist sides, and the motors 2 are attached to the left and right. It has a waist frame 11 and left and right swing arms 14 having a base end 12 supported by the output end of each motor 2 and a free end 13 attached to the corresponding lower limb of the user U. A signal cable 6 and a power cable 8 branching in the middle extend from the output terminal of the separate unit 5. The power cable 8 is connected to the motor 2. The signal cable 6 extending into the casing of the motor 2 is connected to the sensor 4 and the control circuit unit of the motor 2 for monitoring the state of the walking assist device 3. The electric power of the battery 7 of the separate unit 5 is voltage-adjusted via the inverter in the power supply control unit, and then supplied to the motor 2 via the power cable 8.

The waist frame 11 is configured by combining a rigid material such as hard resin or metal and a flexible material such as fiber, and is attached to the waist of the user U by a belt 15 connected to the waist frame 11. A lumbar supporter 16 formed of a flexible material is attached to the front surface of the lumbar frame 11 (position facing the back surface of the lumbar region).

The swing arm 14 includes a leg supporter 17 and an arm portion 18 connected to the free end 13. The leg supporter 17 is configured by combining a rigid material and a flexible material, and is attached to the left and right thighs. The arm portion 18 is made of hard resin or metal and extends downward along the thigh portion to connect the output shaft of the motor 2 and the leg supporter 17. That is, the swing arm 14 is connected to the waist frame 11 via the motor 2.

The motor 2 has one or both of a reduction mechanism and a compliance mechanism built-in. The motor 2 supplies a drive current controlled by the drive control device 9 shown in FIG. 1 so as to exert a predetermined auxiliary force τ (assist torque) from the battery 7 via the power cable 8. Power is applied to the arm portion 18. The power applied to the arm portion 18 is transmitted to the leg body of the user U via the leg supporter 17 connected to the free end 13.

According to this embodiment, the walking assist force is transmitted from the swing arm 14 driven by the motor 2 to the lower limbs of the user U, so that the walking assist can be reliably performed.

The sensor 4 is composed of an absolute type angle sensor arranged next to the waist of the user U, and detects the angle (absolute angle) of the left and right swing arms 14 with respect to the waist frame 11 to detect the hip joint of the corresponding leg. A signal corresponding to the angles θL and θR is output. The signals representing the hip joint angles θL and θR output from the sensor 4 are input to the drive control device 9. As shown in FIG. 2, the hip joint angles θL and θR are a straight line segment representing the basic front face value and a straight line representing the thigh when the user U is viewed from the normal direction of the sagittal plane. It is defined as the angle formed by a line segment. The hip joint angles θL and θR are positive (+) when the thigh is on the flexion side (anterior) of the basic coronal plane, while they are negative when the thigh is on the extension side (posterior) of the basic frontal plane. It is defined as (-).

Here, as described later, the difference between the left and right hip joint angles θL and θR is used as the driving force calculated by the drive control device 9. Therefore, since it is sufficient to obtain this difference angle θ, instead of providing the left and right sensors 4 in the walking assist device 3, a relative angle sensor for detecting the relative angle of the left and right swing arms 14 is provided in the lumbar frame 11 and the like. You may. In this case, the drive control device 9 treats the output of the relative angle sensor (the difference angle θ of the hip joint between the left and right legs) as the input for calculating the drive force. Further, an IMU equipped with an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor is used for posture measurement of the left and right legs, and the drive control device 9 calculates the sum of the differences in angles with respect to the vertical line in the sagittal plane of the left and right legs. It may be treated as θ.

The drive control device 9 is composed of an electronic circuit unit (ECU) including a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. housed in the separate unit 5, and operates the motor 2 and eventually calculates an auxiliary force τ that acts on the user U. Is configured to run. The drive control device 9 is configured to execute a predetermined arithmetic process, that is, the arithmetic processing unit (CPU) constituting the drive control device 9 reads necessary data and application software from the storage device (memory). , Means that it is programmed to perform the predetermined arithmetic processing according to the software.

FIG. 1 also shows a functional module showing the ECU of the drive control device 9 in the separate unit 5. The synchronous control module of the ECU receives the hip joint angles θL and θR from the left and right sensors 4, and the difference angles θ between the left and right hip joint angles θL and θR from the left and right hip joint angles θL and θR (the difference angle θ of the hip joint portion by the left and right legs). Sandwich angle) is calculated. Alternatively, the synchronization control module may receive the difference angle θ directly from the relative angle sensor. Next, the synchronous control module calculates the difference angle phase Φ and the walking frequency freq based on the calculated difference angle θ. In either case, a well-known arithmetic expression is sufficient. Next, the synchronous control module uses the difference angle phase Φ and the walking frequency freq, and executes arithmetic processing using the phase oscillator to give the auxiliary force τ. The drive control device 9 enables tuning control of the joint portion of the walking assist device 3 based on the phase oscillator model in which the frequency and the phase of the walking motion of the wearer are input in this way.

The walking assist device 3 configured in this way causes the user U to act as a walking assist force by the power of the motor 2 powered by the battery 7 via the lumbar frame 11 and the swing arm 14. Assists U's walking movement. That is, when the power is turned on and energized by the operation panel 10, the drive control device 9 drives the motor 2 so as to exert an auxiliary force τ determined based on the outputs of the left and right sensors 4.

The important observation parameters here are the hip joint angles θL and θR of both legs, the difference angle θ, the walking frequency freq, the oscillator natural angular frequency ω, and the auxiliary force target phase difference β.

The separate unit 5 has a display unit 19 that displays the operating state of the walking assist device 3. Therefore, the operator OP can display the observation parameters in the field by the parameter display module of the ECU, and can preferably assist the walking motion of the user U.

The important operating parameters here are the oscillator natural angular frequency ω, the target walking frequency, the setting of the low-pass filter, the auxiliary force target phase difference β, and / or the gain G for calculating the coefficient for setting the strength of the auxiliary force τ. Is.

Further, the separate unit 5 has an operation panel 10 operated by the operator OP as described above. Therefore, the parameter operation module of the ECU allows the operator OP to operate the operation parameters in the field, and can suitably assist the walking motion of the user U.

The oscillator natural angular frequency ω may be held by the parameter setting management / data management module of the ECU as a constant preset as the target walking frequency. Alternatively, the oscillator natural angular frequency ω is a value that is variably set by applying a low-pass filter to the walking frequency freq, which is an observed value, and using what is proposed as a proposed parameter on the display unit 19 as a setting parameter. You may. Further, the gain G for calculating the coefficient for setting the auxiliary force target phase difference β and the strength of the auxiliary force τ are important control parameters.

The operating parameters may be the target natural frequency and the target phase of the vibrator. In this way, the operator OP can input a parameter for determining the auxiliary force τ for the left and right legs from the operation panel 10. Here, the display unit 19 may be composed of a touch panel, and the operation panel 10 may be this touch panel. If the separate unit 5 is mounted on the operator OP by the mounting member 20 to be held by the operator OP, the operator OP inputs the above-mentioned operation parameters by the operation of the operation panel 10 and changes the state of the drive control device 9. The display unit 19 to be displayed can be visually recognized. This contributes to the speed and accuracy of the operation.

When the power is turned on on the operation panel 10 and the operation is started, the ECU in the drive control device 9 operates the tuning control function, and the phase oscillator that oscillates synchronously to the difference angle phase Φ based on the above parameters. By obtaining the oscillator phase Φc and executing a predetermined arithmetic process, the auxiliary force τ for the left and right legs is determined.

The separate unit 5 controls the operation of the camera 22 as a shooting device for shooting the user U and the operation of the camera 22, and also displays images (including moving images) shot by the camera 22 side by side on the operation panel 10. An image processing device 21 for displaying on 19 is further provided. A lens 22a of the camera 22 is provided on the front surface of the separate unit 5, and the image processing device 21 can take a picture of the user U by using the camera 22. Therefore, when executing the operation of the operation panel 10, the operator OP can execute the operation while visually recognizing the image of the user U displayed on the display unit 19 along with the operation panel 10, and avoids the movement of the line of sight. be able to. This speeds up operations and increases accuracy.

The image processing device 21 starts shooting based on the instruction from the operation panel 10 or at the same time as the synchronization control operation starts, and shoots based on the instruction from the operation panel 10 or at the same time as the synchronization control operation ends. To finish. The image processing device 21 can display an image taken by the camera 22 on at least one of the display unit 19 and the operation panel 10 in real time during the synchronization control operation. As a result, the operator OP can operate while viewing the image of the user U displayed on the display unit 19 on the same separate unit 5 when operating the operation panel 10, and more reliably and appropriately assists the exercise. can do.

Further, the image processing device 21 is configured to store an image. As a result, it is possible to display and observe the image after a lapse of time from the time of shooting, and to observe the saved image more accurately by image processing such as slow motion processing. Alternatively, it is possible to analyze the image taken by the camera 22, perform time-consuming processing such as spatial filter processing and time filter processing, which cannot be processed by real-time display, and is a characteristic point of the walking posture of the user U. Can be extracted and post-judgment can be made.

The image taken by the separate unit 5 is associated with the operating state of the drive control device 9 and / or the output and / or time of the sensor 4, and the image can be organically reused. The association is used to confirm the movement change of the user U while changing the operation parameter, and conversely, to confirm the sensor 4 output when the movement abnormality of the user U is observed. .. If it is directly associated with the image, it is possible to directly check the current value of the motor 2, for example. Further, if the current value of the motor 2 is stored in the log data stored in the storage 23 in association with the time, the image at the time of the related abnormal movement and the current of the motor 2 are simultaneously displayed on the display unit via the time. It can be displayed in 19, and the causal relationship can be investigated after a while. In this way, the walking assist system 1 of the present embodiment contributes to suitably assisting exercise.

In the present embodiment, the image processing device 21 starts taking an image at the same time as the operation of the walking assist device 3 starts, and finishes taking an image at the same time as the operation of the walking assist device 3 ends. Therefore, from the beginning to the end of the walking assist, the walking posture of the user U can be displayed on the display unit 19 without requiring an additional operation of the operator OP, and the exercise can be more reliably and suitably assisted.

The separate unit 5 has a built-in cable winding member 24 for winding the cable. As a result, it is possible to change the length of the cable being pulled out according to the distance between the user U and the OP operator, and it is not necessary for the user U to drag an unnecessarily long cable. Therefore, it is possible to more preferably assist the exercise.

As shown in FIG. 4, the image processing device 21 has an assumed image (a) of the operating state of the walking assist device 3 assumed by the supply of the drive current during the tuning control operation of the drive control device 9, and the drive current. The actual image (b) of the user U during exercise at the time corresponding to the supply is associated with the time, and as shown in (c), one screen frame is superimposed and displayed on the display unit 19. In order to superimpose and display two images on one screen frame, for example, the base end 12 of the swing arm 14 may be associated as the same spatial location.

The ECU tuning control module uses the oscillator natural angular frequency ω, the target walking frequency, the low-pass filter setting, the auxiliary force target phase difference β, and the gain G for calculating the coefficient for setting the strength of the auxiliary force τ. Determine the motor current and control the power output value. In this case, an image simulating the movement change of both legs assumed from the target walking frequency, phase and amplitude (gain) of both legs targeted by the ECU tuning control module, and at least one of this and the time and the motor current change. The actual image of the user U during exercise, which is associated with the above, is superimposed and displayed.

The image during the actual walking exercise, which is drawn by a solid line in FIG. 4B and is shown as a real image, is obtained from the image taken by the camera 22. Ideally, this image and the assumed image of the operating state of the walking assist device 3 assumed by the supply of the driving current, which is drawn by the imaginary line in FIG. 4A, overlap with each other, but in reality, Differences are observed. As shown in FIG. 4C, which is superimposed and displayed, the image processing device 21 superimposes both images on the observation target of the deviation between the solid line walking assist device 3 and the imaginary line walking assist device 3. The display makes it possible to recognize the difference between the two images by visual comparison. Alternatively, the image processing device 21 automatically calculates the difference amount by image processing of both images. In this way, since the image processing device 21 enables the comparison between the assumed motion and the actual motion, the oscillator natural angular frequency ω, the target walking frequency, the setting of the low-pass filter, the auxiliary force target phase difference β, and / or the auxiliary force. It is possible to verify the gain G and the like for calculating the coefficient for setting the strength of the force τ. In this way, by providing an opportunity for the image processing device 21 to improve the operating parameters that are factors in determining the drive current, it is possible to more reliably assist the suitable movement.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the image storage destination is a server 27 provided by a cloud service and accumulating data via a network. Further, the walking assist system 1 further includes an additional separate unit 25 having a display device 26 for displaying the image stored in the server 27 provided by the cloud service. The separate unit 5 is provided with a network interface, and stores images in the storage of the server 27 provided by the private cloud service in the facility or the cloud service outside the facility via the LAN. Therefore, it is possible to provide a walking posture image of the user U to a remote observer.

The walking assist system 1 can, for example, allow a physiotherapist in another building in the same facility to observe the state of the walking posture correction of the user U. Alternatively, the walking assist system 1 can allow doctors in other areas to observe the state of the walking posture correction of the user U. Alternatively, the walking assist system 1 makes it possible for the family at the home of the user U to observe the state of the walking posture correction of the user U, and to observe the difference from the walking posture at home. Those who are not in the field, such as these persons, may observe by an additional separate unit 25 different from the separate unit 5, have a display unit 19, and have a configuration and function degenerated from the separate unit 5. It may be observed by an additional separate unit 25 comprising. The walking assist system 1 enables observation from various viewpoints by such diverse human resources, and can increase opportunities for more preferably assisting exercise.

Further, if the technical support team observes the image superimposed and displayed on the display unit 19 by the image processing device 21 via the cloud service, an opportunity to improve the appropriate tuning control parameter setting can be easily obtained, which is more preferable. It becomes possible to assist walking exercise.

Although the description of the specific embodiment is completed above, the present invention can be widely modified without being limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the description for rehabilitation has been given as an example, but it can be widely applied to others. In addition, the specific configuration and arrangement of each member and portion, quantity, control method, and the like can be appropriately changed as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the present invention. On the other hand, not all of the components shown in the above embodiments are indispensable, and they can be appropriately selected.

1: Walking assistance system 2: Motor 3: Walking assistance device 4: Sensor 5: Separate unit 6: Signal cable 7: Battery 8: Power cable 9: Drive control device 10: Operation panel 11: Waist frame 12: Base end 13 : Free end 14: Swing arm 18: Arm part 19: Display part 20: Mounting member 21: Image processing device 22: Camera (photographing device)
24: Cable take-up member 25 Additional separate unit 26 Display device 27 Server

Claims (11)

It is a walking assistance system
A walking assist device equipped with a motor for imparting walking assist force to the user's lower limbs,
A sensor that detects the operating state of the walking assist device and
A separate unit for controlling the walking assist device is provided.
The separate unit
With the battery
A drive control device that is connected to the sensor via a signal cable and to the motor via a power cable, and supplies a drive current to be supplied to the motor from the battery to the motor based on the output of the sensor. When,
A walking assist system characterized in that it is configured as a single unit having an operation panel for operating the drive control device integrally . The walking assist device
A waist frame that is attached to the waist of the user, extends from the back of the user's waist to the left and right waist sides, and has the motors mounted on the left and right.
The walking assist system according to claim 1, wherein the walking assist system has a base end supported by the output end of the corresponding motor and left and right swing arms having a free end attached to the corresponding lower limb. The walking assist system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the separate unit further includes a display unit for displaying the operating state of the walking assist device. 3. The third aspect of the present invention, wherein the separate unit further includes a mounting member for being held by the operator at a position suitable for the operator to operate the operation panel and visually recognize the display unit. Walking assistance system. The separate unit further includes a photographing device for photographing the user, and an image processing device for controlling the operation of the photographing device and displaying the image of the user photographed by the photographing device on the display unit. The walking assist system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that. The walking assist system according to claim 5, wherein the image processing device is configured to store the image. 5. The aspect of claim 5 or 6, wherein the image processing device is configured to store the image in association with the operating state of the drive control device and / or the output and / or time of the sensor. Walking assistance system. 5. The image processing device is characterized in that it starts taking a picture of the photographing apparatus at the same time as the operation of the walking assist device starts, and also ends the taking image of the taking image device at the same time as the operation of the walking assist device ends. The walking assist system according to any one of claims 7. The walking assist system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a cable winding member for varying the cable length of the signal cable and the power cable. The image processing device superimposes the assumed image of the operating state of the walking assist device assumed by the supply of the drive current and the image of the user at the time corresponding to the supply of the drive current on the display unit. The walking assist system according to claim 7, wherein the image is displayed. The storage destination of the image is a server provided by a cloud service and accumulating data via a network.
The walking assist system according to claim 6 or 10, further comprising an additional separate unit having a display device for displaying the image stored on the server provided by the cloud service.

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