JPH10155849A - Artificial arm for attending device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To hold the body of person to be attended with an artificial arm without partially pressing it by filling the movable part of artificial arm, which is formed so as to be freely bent, with an electric viscous fluid while utilizing the characteristics of electric viscous fluid, tightly adhering the artificial arm onto the body of person to be attended, and then, fixing the artificial arm by impressing a voltage. SOLUTION: Inside an arm part 2 entirely covered with a tube 3 formed from a liquid-tight and flexible insulating film, plural cylinders 4 and shafts 5 are linked and housed. The tube 3 is internally filled with an electric viscous fluid 6 by sealing both its ends and the electric viscous fluid 6 is infiltrated into a gap between the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5. The cylinder 4 and shaft 5 are formed from conductive materials and the shaft 5 is freely turnably inserted into the cylinder 4. A (-) and a (+) terminals P1 and P2 are respectively attached to the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 and respectively connected to the (-) and (+) poles of external power source. In the arm part 2, plural cylinders 4 and shafts 5 are arranged and, when there is only one shaft 5, the shaft 5 is integrally linked to the adjacent cylinder 4 on one side. When there are two shafts 5, one shaft 5 is linked to the shaft 5 of an adjacent cylinder 4 on one side and the other shaft 5 is integrally linked to the shaft 5 of another adjacent cylinder 4 on the other side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a care device for performing walking training while holding the body of a care receiver, and more particularly to an artificial arm thereof.

[0002]

In a conventional nursing care device used for walking training or the like, since the arm portion does not closely adhere to the body of the care receiver, a part of the body is strongly pressed to cause pain to the care receiver. Was giving.

When a voltage is applied to an electrorheological fluid, its viscosity increases over a wide range depending on the magnitude of the applied voltage, and solidifies at a certain voltage value or more. The present invention utilizes the characteristics of the electrorheological fluid, fills the movable portion of the bendable artificial arm with the electrorheological fluid, and brings the artificial arm into close contact with the care-receiver's body. Apply to fix the artificial arm. Thus, the purpose is to enable the artificial arm to support a part of the body of the care-receiver without strongly pressing it.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a conductive shaft is rotatably inserted through a conductive cylinder with an insulating spacer interposed therebetween, and a gap between the cylinder and the shaft is filled with an electrorheological fluid. And
A power supply means for applying voltages having different polarities to the cylinder and the shaft is provided, and a plurality of the cylinders are arranged and the shaft of each cylinder is integrally connected to one of the adjacent cylinders. Arm. The invention according to claim 2 is that two shafts of the cylindrical body are provided, and one shaft of each cylindrical body is connected to the shaft of one adjacent cylindrical body,
2. The artificial arm of the nursing care device according to claim 1, wherein the other shaft is integrally connected to a shaft of another adjacent cylinder. In the invention of claim 3, a plurality of enlarged portions are provided on the shaft of the cylindrical body, the bearing portion of the cylindrical body facing the enlarged portion has a large diameter, and the cylindrical body and the shaft are integrally fitted with a slight gap. The artificial arm of the nursing care device according to claim 1, wherein the artificial arm is combined with the artificial arm.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a care device embodying the present invention. The nursing care device includes a body 1 that supports and lifts the body of the care receiver and an arm 2 that holds the body of the care receiver between the left and right arms. The arm 2 is
The tip may be tapered to be more easily bent.

FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view of the arm 2.
The arm 2 is entirely covered with a tube 3 formed of a liquid-tight and flexible insulating film, and a plurality of cylinders 4 and shafts 5 are connected and accommodated in the arm 2.

The cylinders 4 are connected to the shaft 5 at intervals so that adjacent cylinders 4 do not come into contact with each other and do not conduct.

The tube 3 is sealed at both ends and filled with an electrorheological fluid 6 so as to prevent the electrorheological fluid 6 from leaking outside. The tube 3 is made of a material such as rubber, vinyl chloride, or polyethylene in order to provide the liquid tightness and the flexibility and the flexibility to withstand the bending.

FIG. 3 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5. The cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 are formed of a conductive material, and the shaft 5 is rotatably inserted through the cylinder 4. In the openings at both ends of the cylinder 4,
An insulating spacer 7 for maintaining a constant gap between the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 is attached. The spacer 7 is provided with a through hole 8 through which the electrorheological fluid 6 enters the gap between the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5.
This through-hole 8 may penetrate from the outer periphery of the cylinder 4 to the gap between the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5.

The cylindrical body 4 and the shaft 5 have-and + terminals P1 and P, respectively.
2, and connected to the negative and positive poles of the external power supply 9 as shown in FIG. The voltage applied at this time may be either AC or DC.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic plan views of the arm 2. The arm portion 2 includes a plurality of cylinders 4 and a plurality of shafts 5 arranged side by side.
Is a single shaft, the shaft 5 is integrally connected to one of the adjacent cylinders 4 as shown in FIG. In the case where the shaft 5 has two shafts, as shown in FIG. 6, one shaft 5 is integrated with the shaft 5 of one adjacent cylinder 4 and the other shaft 5 is integrated with the shaft 5 of the other cylinder 4 adjacent. Connect to

FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic side views of the arm portion 2 in which the shaft 5 is formed of a single-shaft cylinder 4 and the arm portion 2 in which the shaft 5 is formed of a two-shaft cylinder 4. The figure is shown.
When pressure is applied from a plane direction, the arm portion 2
The shaft 5 rotates and the angle between the adjacent cylinders 4 changes, and the portion to which pressure is applied curves in a side view.

When a DC or AC voltage having a different polarity is applied to the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 in this state, the electrorheological fluid 6 filling the gap between the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 solidifies, and the shaft 5 stops rotating. . As a result, the arm 2 is fixed while maintaining its shape.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 in which the shape retaining force of the arm 2 is enhanced. This cylindrical body 4 has a shaft 5
Are provided with a plurality of enlarged portions a, and the cylindrical portion 4 and the shaft 5 are integrally fitted with a small gap by making the bearing portion of the cylindrical body 4 facing the enlarged portion a large in diameter. By providing both end surfaces of the enlarged portion a perpendicular to the cylinder and increasing the area where the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 are in contact with each other, the cylinder 4
The friction between them is increased, and the holding power is strengthened.

The care device of the present invention is configured as described above.
When the body of the cared person is held during walking training or the like, the arm section 2 is bent in accordance with the body shape of the cared person, and the arm section 2 is brought into close contact with the body of the cared person. Then, when the arm portion 2 comes into close contact with the body of the care receiver and has a desired shape, a DC or AC voltage having a different polarity is applied to each of the cylinders 4 and the shaft 5. As a result, the electrorheological fluid 6 in the gap between each cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 solidifies and loses flexibility, and the arm 2
The overall flexibility is lost and the shape is fixed. Next, in this state, the body part 1 is lifted to raise the body of the care receiver.

When the arm portion 2 is applied to an arm of a medical device, an industrial robot, or the like, the movement of the arm can be delicate and smooth, and the operation target can be handled without damage.

Further, by applying the arm portion 2 to a cast, a voltage is applied in a state of being in close contact with a part of the body to fix the cast, and when the cast is released, the voltage is released and the cast is easily removed. be able to.

Further, by applying the arm portion 2 to a bed, it is possible to prevent bedsores of a sleeping person. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the bed 10 is divided into a plurality of blocks, and the arm 2
A built-in cylindrical body 4 and shaft 5 having the same configuration as described above. Then, the viscosity of each block is changed with the passage of time, and the pressure distribution applied to the back of the sleeping person is changed to prevent blood stagnation.

The curved shape of the arm 2 is determined by the rotation angles θ 1 and θ 2 of the shaft 5 of the cylinder 4 as shown in FIG. Therefore, by attaching a sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the shaft 5 to the cylinder 4, the curved shape of the arm 2 can be grasped numerically.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the arm 2 having the sensor attached to the cylinder 4 and the shaft 5 is brought into close contact with the care-receiver's leg and the leg is bent, the degree of bending of the care-receiver's leg is improved. Can be grasped numerically. By plotting this numerical data and displaying it on a computer screen, or accumulating time-series data in a computer, the rehabilitation effect of the cared person can be visually grasped or quantitatively tracked.

The arm 2 can be applied to a finger or an arm of a medical device, an industrial robot or the like when a drive mechanism for rotating the shaft 5 of the cylinder 4 is attached. The arm portion 2 can give each cylinder body 4 an appropriate sense of resistance, so that a finger or arm of a robot or the like can perform exactly the same movement as the operator in a state close to the actual sense. it can.

[0024]

The care device of the present invention utilizes the characteristics of the electrorheological fluid, fills the bendable artificial arm with the electrorheological fluid, and makes the artificial arm adhere to the body of the care-receiver. Thereafter, a voltage is applied to fix the artificial arm. Therefore, according to the present invention, the caregiver or the care receiver can operate the switch or the like to adjust the shape of the artificial arm to the body shape of each individual having individual differences. For this reason, since the cared person can be pinched without strongly pressing a part of the cared person's body, training such as walking can be performed smoothly without causing any pain to the cared person, and more effective. Results are obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a care device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view of an artificial arm embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of a cylinder and a shaft of the artificial arm.

FIG. 4 is a power supply connection diagram of a cylinder and a shaft of the artificial arm.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of an artificial arm in which a cylinder having a single axis is connected.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of an artificial arm in which a cylinder having two axes is connected.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view in which an artificial arm in which a cylinder having a single axis is connected is curved.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a curved artificial arm in which a cylinder having two axes is connected.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of a cylinder and a shaft having an enhanced shape retention force.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a bed to which an artificial arm is applied.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a relationship between a rotation angle of a shaft of a cylindrical body and a curved shape of an artificial arm.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an artificial arm closely attached to a leg of a care receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body part 2 Arm part 3 Tube 4 Cylindrical body 5 Shaft 6 Electro-rheological fluid 7 Spacer 8 Through hole 9 External power supply 10 Bed

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A conductive shaft is rotatably inserted into a conductive cylinder with an insulating spacer interposed therebetween, and a gap between the cylinder and the shaft is filled with an electrorheological fluid. An artificial arm of a nursing care device comprising a plurality of cylinders arranged side by side, and a shaft of each cylinder being integrally connected to one adjacent cylinder. 2. A cylinder having two shafts, wherein one shaft of each cylinder is integrally connected to the shaft of one adjacent cylinder, and the other shaft is integrally connected to the shaft of the other adjacent cylinder. The artificial arm of the nursing care device according to claim 1, comprising: 3. A plurality of enlarged portions are provided on a shaft of the cylindrical body, and a bearing portion of the cylindrical body facing the enlarged portion is made large in diameter to provide a slight gap between the cylindrical body and the shaft so as to be integrally fitted. The artificial arm of the nursing care device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: