KR20140003248A - Apparatus for protecting joint - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a joint protection device. The joint protection device by the present invention comprises: a base link; a first link which is capable of combining with the femoral region of a pedestrian and linked to the base link to be rotatable; a second link which is capable of combining with the tibial region of a pedestrian and linked to the base link to be rotatable; a first pinion gear which is combined with the first link and rotated with the first link into one unit by sharing a rotation axis; a second pinion gear which is combined with the second link and rotated with the second link into one unit by sharing a rotation axis; a fixing gear can be selectively engaged with the first and second pinion gears; a driving unit offering driving power to move the fixing gear; a pressure sensor measuring the pressure on s sole; and a controlling unit calculating the time the maximum load is applied to a knee using a pressure value measured by the pressure sensor and transmitting the order to the driving unit at the time to engage the fixing gear with the first and second pinion gears.

Description

{APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING JOINT}

The present invention relates to a joint protection device, and more particularly to a knee protection device.

Recently, as the aging society becomes more worsened, the number of people complaining of pain and discomfort due to problems in the knee joints is increasing, and the elderly or patients with knee inconvenience are increasingly interested in a walking aid device .

A conventional knee protector using a locking device determines the locking time by simply changing the pressure applied to the foot without considering the exact time at which the maximum load is applied to the knee.

That is, a conventional knee protection device includes gears fixed to two links and engaged with each other, and a wedge is inserted in a portion corresponding to the maximum rotation angle of the joint so that the joint does not exceed a predetermined maximum rotation angle. This method is a structure in which only the rotation angle is manually limited and the impact amount or overload applied to the actual joint is not taken into consideration at all.

Such a conventional knee protection apparatus can not accurately determine the time of maximum load at the knees or the time at which the lock is to be maintained, which is different from person to person, and can not effectively cope with an emergency situation such as a moment of footing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a joint protecting apparatus which protects a knee joint so that a knee is not overloaded even when a great impact is applied to the knee by estimating a knee load applied to the knee at the time of walking.

A joint protection device according to the present invention comprises: a base link; A first link that can be coupled to the thigh of the pedestrian and is rotatably coupled to the base link; A first link coupled to the tibia of the pedestrian and rotatably coupled to the base link, the first link being coupled to the first link, the first link sharing a rotation axis with the first link, A second pinion gear coupled to the second link and rotated integrally with the second link by sharing a rotation axis with the second link, the pinion gear being engaged with the first pinion gear; A stationary gear capable of selectively engaging the two pinion gear; A driving unit for providing driving force for moving the fixed gear; A pressure sensor for measuring a pressure applied to the sole; Calculating a time point at which a maximum load is applied to the knee using at least the pressure value measured by the pressure sensor and transmitting an instruction to the driving unit at the time point to engage the fixed gear with the first and second pinion gears, And a control unit.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load applied to the knee of the wearer by grasping the maximum load time point applied to the knee in different walking for each person and providing the best locking time for each wearer.

Further, according to the present invention, as the magnitude and direction of the actual load are processed in real time, it is possible to effectively cope with the change of the emergency situation and the environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a view showing a joint protecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention worn on a pedestrian; Fig.
2 is a perspective view of a joint protection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a view showing a main part of a joint protection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a view showing a foot low pressure sensor of a joint protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention attached to a foot;
5 is a schematic view of a joint protection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a block diagram of a joint protection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a graph showing a maximum load applied to a knee in a joint protecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a view showing a driving unit of a joint protection apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the spirit of the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and that the spirit of the present invention may be proposed differently from addition, modification and deletion of elements constituting the embodiments, .

2 is a perspective view of a joint protection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a joint protection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a view showing a main part of a joint protection apparatus according to the present invention.

1 to 3, a joint protection apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first link 10 that can be coupled to a femur T (top), a tibia S And a base link 30 on which the first link 10 and the second link 20 are rotatably installed.

The base link 30 may be formed in a plate shape having a predetermined width. The first link 10 is rotatably coupled to the base link 30 about a first rotational axis 111 and the second link 20 is rotatably coupled to the second rotational axis 111 with respect to the base link 30, (Not shown).

A first pinion gear 11 is coupled to an end of the first link 10 and a second pinion gear 21 is coupled to an end of the second link 20. The first pinion gear 11 is integrally rotatable with the first link 10 and the second pinion gear 21 is coupled with the second link 20 do.

The first pinion gear 11 is fixed to the first link 11 to rotate at an angle equal to the rotation angle of the first link 11 about the first rotation shaft 111, and the second pinion The gear 12 is fixed to the second link 12 to rotate at the same angle as the rotation angle of the second link 12 about the second rotation shaft 121.

The first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 21 mesh with each other. A connecting link 35 is coupled to one surface of the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 21. The connection link 35 may be formed in a plate shape having a predetermined width and may be formed in a shape of a plate having a predetermined width so that the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 21 can be engaged with each other, And supports one side of the second rotary shaft 121.

The joint protection device 1 further includes a fixed gear 51 selectively engageable with the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 21.

 The linkage 35 is movably coupled to the fixed gear 51 and the fixed gear 51 moves integrally with the fixed gear 51. At this time, the lower shaft of the fixed gear 51 moves along a guide groove (not shown).

The connecting link 35 is formed with guide portions 52 and 53 for guiding the movement of the lever gear 50. In addition, the guide portions 52 and 53 may prevent the lever gear 50 from being detached from the connecting link 35.

The guide portions 52 and 53 are provided with a first guide portion 52 contacting the one side surface of the lever gear 50 and a second guide portion 53 contacting the other side surface of the lever gear 50 .

The first guide part 52 may be provided with an insertion part 52a formed to be inserted into the regear 50. The first guide part 52 may be provided on the regear 50, The guide groove 50a can be formed.

The connection link 35 may be provided with a driving unit 40 for providing a driving force for moving the lever gear 50. The driving unit 40 may be a motor or a solenoid. In the present embodiment, the case where the driving unit 40 is a motor will be described as an example.

The driving unit 40 is provided with a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is coupled with a driving gear 41 engaged with the recking gear 50. The drive gear 41 is generally a pinion gear, and the drive gear 41 is rotated integrally with the rotation shaft.

When the driving unit 40 rotates the rotation shaft and the driving gear 41 in one direction, the regear 50 moves in one direction so that the fixed gear 51 is rotated by the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 11, And is moved away from the second pinion gear (21).

In contrast, when the driving unit 40 rotates the rotation shaft and the driving gear 41 in the other direction, the recking gear 50 moves in the other direction, so that the fixed gear 51 is rotated in the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 21, respectively.

The control unit 100 controls whether the driving unit 40 is driven, the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the rotation shaft, and the like according to the detection result of the pressure sensor 60 or the like to be described later. That is, when it is determined that the maximum load is applied to the knee as a result of the detection of the pressure sensor 60, the controller 100 controls the drive unit 40 so that the fixed gear 51 is rotated by the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 11, The rotation shaft and the driving gear 41 are rotated so as to be engaged with the pinion gear 21. That is, the driving unit 40 rotates the rotating shaft and the driving gear 41 so that the lever gear 50 can be pulled toward the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 21, .

When the fixed gear 51 is moved toward the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 21 and is simultaneously engaged with the first pinion gear 11 and the second pinion gear 21, 1 link 10 and the second link 20 are fixed so as not to be bent any more.

That is, when the fixed gear 51 is not engaged with the first and second pinion gears 11 and 21, the first link 10 and the second link 20 can freely bend and spread And when the fixed gear 51 is engaged with the first and second pinion gears 11 and 21, the first link 10 and the second link 20 are in a locked state .

The first link 10 and the second link 20 are provided with an upper fixing device 15 and a lower fixing device 25, respectively. The upper fixing device 15 is a device for fixing the first link 10 to the thigh T of the pedestrian and the lower fixing device 25 is a device for connecting the second link 20 to the pedestrian's tibia S ).

The upper end fixing device 15 is provided with a thigh support T for supporting the front of the thigh T and a fixing rope and a fixing ring at both ends of the thigh T for supporting the thigh T, When the support rope is supported on the front side of the femoral portion T of the pedestrian, the fixed rope is hooked on the fixing ring while wrapping the back of the femoral portion T so that the first link 10 is firmly fixed to the thigh T do.

The lower fixation device 25 also has a tibial support S for supporting the front side of the tibia portion S of the pedestrian and the second link 20 is fixed to the tibial portion S ).

5 is a schematic view of a joint protecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the joint protecting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram of a joint protection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 to 6, the joint protection device 1 further includes a pressure sensor 60 coupled to the sole of the pedestrian. The pressure sensor 60 is a device for measuring a pressure applied to the sole of a pedestrian, that is, a pedestrian's low pressure, and the pressure sensor 60 can be attached to a sole of a pedestrian or a shoe insole. Preferably, a FSR (Force Sensing Resistor) sensor is used as the pressure sensor 60.

The pressure sensor 60 is coupled to four pressure sensors 60 on one foot. The pressure sensor 60 includes a first pressure sensor 61 coupled to the big toe, a second pressure sensor 62 coupled to the lower toe of the toe (metatarsal) And a fourth pressure sensor 64 coupled to the heel portion. The third pressure sensor 63 is coupled to the lower toe portion (blade portion)

When a force is applied to the sole, the magnitude of the resistance of each pressure sensor 60 is changed, and the change in pressure is measured using the resistance. It is possible to know whether the soles of the feet touch the ground or not, 2) the time when the soles float in the air, and 3) the time when the soles fall from the ground by comparing the magnitudes of the pressures measured by the respective pressure sensors 60.

For example, if the pedestrian's feet are floating in the air if the pressure is not measured on the four pressure sensors 60, and the pressure of each pressure sensor 60 gradually increases from the heel to the big toe When the pedestrian's foot falls from the ground and the pressure of each pressure sensor 60 gradually increases from the heel to the big toe as time elapses, the pedestrian's foot touches the ground.

The joint angle of the knee is measured by installing a potentiometer 80 around the first and second links 10 and 20 connected to the thigh T and the tibia S. The body of the potentiometer 80 is attached to the first link 10 so that the axis of the potentiometer 80 is connected to the second link 20 so that the relative angle between the body and the axis is the angle of the knee. . When the angle of the potentiometer 80 changes, the resistance of the potentiometer 80 changes, and the angle can be measured using the resistance.

The angle of the thigh T can be measured using the MEMS-based inertial sensor module 70. The inclination of the thigh (T) with respect to the ground surface can be measured by fusing the accelerometer and the gyro sensor.

The inclination of the tibia portion S with respect to the ground surface can be measured using the difference between the inclination of the thigh T and the angle of the knee obtained using the potentiometer 80. [ In this way, kinematic motion information of the thigh (T) and tibia (S) can be obtained.

The load (moment) at the knee is calculated by applying the double pendulum equation using the ground reaction force obtained by using the foot pressure measured by the pressure sensor 60 and the motion information of the thigh T and tibia S can do.

Further, the moment at the ankle can be obtained by multiplying the distance from the peach bones as the central axis to the respective pressure sensors 60 by a force applied as a low pressure.

All the signals obtained above are transmitted to the control unit 100 through wired or wireless communication, and the control unit 100 can process the knee in real time by using a microprocessor having a sufficient calculation speed have.

7 is a graph showing a maximum load applied to a knee in a joint protecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the walking habits vary from person to person, and the distribution of the reaction force at the time of maximum moment at the knee and the knee joint angle are all different. Therefore, real-time processing of the walking data of the wearer of the actual joint protection apparatus is required for the operation of the effective joint protection apparatus. A signal of the inertial sensor module 70 based on the MEMS based on the thigh and a signal of the potentiometer 80 of the knee joint and a signal of the pressure sensor 60 of the soles of the knee joint are transmitted in real time And stores it.

Based on these signals, motion information of the legs is obtained using the above-mentioned principle. In this way, based on the obtained information, the point of time when the maximum load occurs on the knee is calculated and the locking time is determined using the calculated time.

The inertial sensor module 70 based on the MEMS acquires motion information of the thigh and accumulates the errors when the MEMS-based inertial sensor module 70 is used for a long time. Therefore, when the pattern is repeated without sudden change of the inertial sensor module 70 signal, that is, when the stable walking is repeated, the stable sensor is automatically set to the stable walking state, and the pressure sensor 60 and the potentiometer 80 as a reference.

The change of the potentiometer 80 and the pressure sensor 60 at the time of knee full load obtained by synthesizing all the signals before setting the stable walking state is stored and when entering the stable walking state, To determine the locking point.

When an abnormal phenomenon such as a sudden change of the signals of the inertial sensor module 70, the potentiometer 80, and the pressure sensor 60 of the femur occurs, the stable walking state is released, and again, Is used as a reference for locking. Analyze the magnitude and direction of the load in real time to determine locking or unlocking of the situation.

As a result of performing the walking test in this embodiment, the difference between the maximum point of the knee load measured by the 3D camera and the maximum point of the knee calculated by the manufacturing module is 0.08 sec. This is a practically applicable error when considering that a normal person's walking cycle is around 2 seconds.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load applied to the knee of the pedestrian by grasping the maximum point of the knee maximum load in different walking for each person and providing the best locking time point for each user. In addition, it is possible to effectively respond to the change of the emergency situation and the environment by processing the magnitude and direction of the actual load, not the simple walking step discrimination, in real time.

8 is a view showing a driving unit of a joint protection apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the joint protecting apparatus according to the present embodiment moves the fixed gear 51 using a stepping motor and a spring, instead of using a lever gear, unlike the above-described embodiment. The rotating shaft of the stepping motor is formed of a spiral lead screw.

 A bearing journal is coupled to the lead screw, and the bearing journal is formed in a spiral shape on an inner circumferential surface thereof, and can be moved back and forth when the lead screw rotates.

The bearing journal is connected to the shaft of the stationary gear 51 through an elastic member such as a spring. The shaft of the fixed gear 51 is guided by the upper guide and the lower guide installed at the upper and lower portions of the fixed gear 51.

1: joint protection device 10: first link
11: first pinion gear 20: second link
21: second pinion gear 30: base link
35: connection link 40:
41: driving gear 50:
51: stationary gear 60: pressure sensor

Claims (7)

Base link;
A first link that can be coupled to the thigh of the pedestrian and is rotatably coupled to the base link;
A second link coupled to the tibia of the pedestrian and rotatably coupled to the base link:
A first pinion gear coupled to the first link and rotating integrally with the first link by sharing an axis of rotation with the first link:
A second pinion gear coupled to the second link and shared with the second link to rotate integrally with the second link and mesh with the first pinion gear:
A fixed gear capable of selectively engaging the first pinion gear and the second pinion gear;
A driving unit for providing driving force for moving the fixed gear;
A pressure sensor measuring pressure applied to the sole of the foot; And
The control unit calculates a point at which the maximum load is applied to the knee using at least the pressure value measured by the pressure sensor, and transmits an instruction to the driving unit at the point in time so that the fixed gear is engaged with the first and second pinion gears. ;
Joint protection device comprising a. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the driving unit includes a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is engaged with a gear engaged with the fixed gear. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the first pinion gear and the second pinion gear are connected to each other via a connecting link, and the driving unit and the lever gear are installed on the connecting link, and the connecting link includes a guide unit for guiding the movement of the lever gear, And a guide groove for guiding a lower portion of the fixed gear. 3. The method of claim 2,
When the maximum load is applied to the knee, the control unit rotates the rotary shaft of the driving unit in one direction so that the ring gear approaches the first pinion gear and the second pinion gear,
Wherein when the maximum load is removed from the knee, the control unit rotates the rotation shaft of the driving unit in the other direction to move the lever gear away from the pinion gear and the second pinion gear. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the driving unit is a stepping motor in which a rotating shaft is formed of a lead screw,
A bearing journal is coupled to the rotating shaft,
And the bearing journal is connected to the fixed gear through an elastic member. The method of claim 1,
The pressure sensor is an FSR (Force Sensing Resistance) sensor,
The pressure sensor includes a first pressure sensor coupled to a big toe of a foot of a pedestrian, a second pressure sensor coupled to a bottom of the big toe (metatarsal), a second toe bottom portion , And a fourth pressure sensor coupled to the heel portion. The method of claim 1,
A potentiometer coupled to the femur and tibia of the pedestrian to measure the joint angle of the knee,
Further comprising an inertial sensor attached to the thigh and measuring an inclination of the thigh with respect to the ground using an accelerometer and a gyro sensor,
The control unit calculates the load on the knee using the joint angle of the knee obtained from the potentiometer, the angle information of the ground of the thigh obtained using the inertial sensor, and the reaction force information of the ground calculated using the pressure sensor. Calculating joint protector.

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