KR20180076007A - Wearable glove system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wearable glove system which can be used as a means of rehabilitation training or muscle strengthening by supplementing muscular force of a hand. The system comprises: a main body positioned on the back of a user′s hand; a finger portion connected to the main body by a restoration wire having elasticity and composed of a plurality of fingers in order to provide insertion space for each finger of the user; a driving device connected to each finger by a bending wire at a position facing the connection position of the restoration wire of each finger, and using rotational force of a motor to wind the bending wire up, thereby performing operation of bending the fingers; a driving control unit able to be connected to a controller by using a communication means in order to control the driving device based on a control signal received by the connected controller; and a plurality of variable resistors disposed respectively in each finger of the finger unit to detect bending degrees of the fingers and measure the same through change in resistance values. The driving device provides auxiliary force for bending operation performed by the driving control unit receiving a control signal of the controller when used for the purpose of rehabilitation training by supplementing muscular force; and provides a load of the bending operation performed by the driving control unit receiving the resistance value measured through the variable resistors when used for the purpose of muscular strengthening. According to the present invention, the glove system can be selectively used as a means for rehabilitation training by supplementing muscular force or a means for muscular strengthening according to the purpose of the use.

Description

[0001] Wearable glove system [0002]

The present invention relates to a wearable glove system which can be used as a means for rehabilitation training or muscle strength strengthening by supporting the strength of the hand.

Stroke, a major cause of adulthood, is caused by a decrease in cerebral blood flow, which makes it difficult for the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) to be caused by the dysfunction or paralysis of some parts of the body.

In particular, neurological injuries such as stroke or spinal cord injury cause disability of the hand, leading to a great deal of discomfort in daily life, resulting in a drastic decrease in quality of life.

On the other hand, the function that was paralyzed shortly after stroke was recovered by 90% or more within 3 months due to local edema, hematoma improvement, improvement of blood circulation, normalization of brain pressure and improvement of metabolism. Functional recovery, however, (Neuroplasticity) can be continued until several years after patient's effort and rehabilitation.

In this regard, it is known that motor recovery is similar to the mechanism of motor learning by repetitive practice, and the theory of exercise acquisition is being introduced into the rehabilitation of stroke.

In addition, behavioral therapy (rehabilitation therapy such as exercise therapy and occupational therapy) is accompanied with a tendency to induce recovery of motor function after stroke, and various rehabilitation treatment devices are being researched and developed for this purpose.

For example, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1500483 entitled " Finger rehabilitation system and its rehabilitation method ", comprises a terminal for inputting commands, a robot mechanism for performing a muscle force exercise on a finger of a patient under the direction of the terminal, And a control unit for controlling the operation of the robot mechanism unit.

In addition, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2012-0134076 entitled " Active Assistive Control Method and Apparatus for Finger Rehabilitation Exercise Device " also discloses a control device for active assistance of the finger rehabilitation exercise device, have.

KR 1500483 B1 KR 20120134076 A

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wearable glove system which can be used as a means for rehabilitation training or strengthening of muscular strength through a muscle power assist of the hand.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wearable glove system in which a power transmission structure for supporting muscle strength and a control system therefor are simplified.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wearable glove system that allows different loads to be supplied for each finger when a load for strength is strengthened.

The present invention relates to a finger system comprising a main body positioned on a user's hand, a finger connected to the main body via a resilient wire having elasticity and configured to provide a space for inserting a user's finger, A driving device connected to each finger through a bending wire at a position opposite to a connecting position of the restoring wire of the bending wire and for bending the finger while winding the bending wire by using the rotational force of the motor, A drive control unit for controlling the drive unit on the basis of a control signal received through a connected controller, and a control unit for detecting a degree of bending of the finger and measuring the degree of bending of the finger, And a variable resistor, the drive being used for rehabilitation training through muscle aids A bending operation is performed by a drive control unit that receives a control signal of the controller and provides an assist force for a bending operation when it is used for the purpose of muscle strength enhancement, And provides a feedback load on the operation.

A drive device used for the purpose of rehabilitation training through muscle aiding assistance includes a wearable portion that can be grasped by a user on the wrist, a thumb drive motor provided on one side of the wearable portion to provide an operation force for bending the thumb, And a finger drive motor provided on the other side for providing an operation force for bending operation of detecting and stopping, and a finger and a bezel, wherein the thumb drive motor and each finger drive motor are connected to a corresponding bending wire .

The wearer is characterized by being formed to have a concavo-convex shape by a material having elasticity.

A driving device used for the purpose of strengthening muscle strength includes a muscle strengthening motor corresponding to the number of fingers to be strengthened, a motor driver for controlling the driving of the muscle strengthening motor, A pulley connected to the bending wire, and a switch for controlling power supplied to the muscle-strengthening motor, wherein the pulley is formed as a one-way clutch type, and when the bending wire is wound, And when the finger is unfolded by the user, the force is not transmitted to the motor while idling.

Wherein each of the fingers is formed with at least two fingers, each of the fingers being coupled to the protruding portion and the fastening portion in a forced fit manner so as to be rotatable, thereby forming joints, and at least one of the joints of the fingers A variable resistor is provided and rotated together in a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction in accordance with the bending operation.

The wearable glove system according to the present invention can be used as a means for rehabilitation training or muscle strength enhancement through muscle aids depending on the purpose of use.

Further, the wearable glove system according to the present invention uses a pulley structure of a one-way clutch type so that when the wire is wound on the pulley, the wire is wound by the motor rotation but is released only by the pulling force of the user when the wire is loosened.

Thus, the wire is released only to the position where the user spreads the fingers in the bent state, thereby preventing the excessive wire from being loosened, so that the wire always maintains the tension state. Further, the wire kept in such a tense state can maintain a neatly arranged shape.

In the wearable glove system according to the present invention, when the fingers and the main body are connected to each other by the restoring wire so that the user tries to unfold the finger, elasticity of the restoring wire assists the finger unfolding operation.

In addition, in the wearable glove system according to the present invention, if a finger is flexed by a joystick type controller including a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor when it is used as a rehabilitation training through muscle aids assistant, Can be achieved.

In addition, when the wearable glove system according to the present invention is used as a form for strengthening muscular strength, the folding direction is recognized by a variable resistor located at each joint, The control for strengthening muscular strength can be performed with a simple and inexpensive configuration and a control system accordingly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an embodiment of a glove and a driving device which are essential components of a wearable glove system according to the present invention.
2 and 3 are views showing a detailed structure of a finger portion which is a main constituent of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a bending and spreading operation of a finger part which is a main constituent of the present invention.
5 is a view showing an embodiment of a driving apparatus which is a main constituent of the present invention.
6 is a view showing another embodiment of a driving apparatus which is a main constituent of the present invention.
FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a controller that is a main component of the present invention. FIG.
8 is a view showing a state in which a wearable glove system according to the present invention is applied to rehabilitation training through muscle aids.
9 is a view showing another embodiment in which the wearable glove system according to the present invention is applied to rehabilitation training through muscle aiding assistance.
10 is a view showing a state in which a wearable glove system according to the present invention is applied to strengthening muscles.
11 and 12 are views for explaining the load supply structure of the finger portion in Fig.
13 is a view showing an embodiment of a driving apparatus in Fig.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the spirit of the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and that those skilled in the art, upon reading and understanding the spirit of the invention, may easily suggest other embodiments within the scope of the same concept.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of a glove and a driving device, which are essential parts of a wearable glove system according to the present invention. FIGS. 2 and 3 show a detailed structure of a finger part constituting a main part of the present invention And FIG. 4 is a view showing a bending and spreading operation of a finger part which is a main constituent of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a view showing an embodiment of a driving device constituting a main part of the present invention have.

Referring to these figures, the wearable glove system according to the present invention mainly includes a glove 100 worn by a user and a driving device 400 for bending a user's finger wearing the glove 100, And is configured to receive an assist force for assistance or to be provided with a load for strengthening muscles.

The wearable glove system according to the present invention is connected to the main body 240 positioned on the user's hand and the restoring wire 320 having elasticity with the main body 240, A fingering 200 composed of a plurality of fingers for providing insertion space of each finger of a user and a driving device 400 for bending operation of the fingering 200 are included.

In detail, the main body 240 is configured to be seated in the user's hand, and includes a power supply unit 280 for supplying power, a communication unit 290 for transmitting a control signal, and a communication unit 290 And a drive control unit 260 receiving the transmitted signal and controlling the driving unit 400.

The communication means 290 may be a short-range wireless communication module. In this embodiment, a control signal can be transmitted through the controller 600 (see FIG. 7), which will be described below, by using the NRF 24101 wireless module.

The drive control unit 260 is divided into a main control unit 262 (see FIG. 6) and a motor control unit 264 (see FIG. 6).

6) receives the control signal through the controller 600 (see FIG. 7), and transmits the received control signal to the motor control unit 264 (see FIG. 6).

The motor control unit 264 (see FIG. 6) controls the driving of the motor for the bending operation of the fingering unit 200 according to the control signal received through the main control unit 262 (see FIG. 6).

The fingers constituting the fingering unit 200 are formed by combining at least two or more nodes. That is, the finger to which the thumb is inserted may be formed into a two-bar structure, and in the case of the detection and stop, the finger and the hand, the bar has a three-bar structure and has a bending shape corresponding to the user's finger joint.

Referring to FIG. 2, in the case of the finger to which the stop is inserted, the first, second, and third nodes 210, 230, and 250 are positioned around the first and second joints 211 and 231 So as to be bendable.

The first joint part 211 includes a first protrusion 212 protruding outward from both left and right sides of the first joint 210 and forming a center of rotation, And a first fastening part 232 formed on both sides with a hole having a shape corresponding to the first projecting part 212.

The second joint part 231 includes a second protrusion 234 protruding outward from both left and right sides of the second joint 230 to form a center of rotation and a second protrusion 234 extending from the left and right sides of the third joint 250, And a second fastening part 252 formed with a hole having a shape corresponding to the second projecting part 234.

In addition, a variable resistor 270 is fitted on one side of the second joint 231, and the resistance value according to the degree of rotation is measured while rotating together with the finger.

Wire connection portions 216, 236 and 256 for connecting the bending wire 340 are formed on the lower surfaces of the first, second, and third nodes 210 and 230 and the coupled fingers are bent And can be bent and operated by the wire 340.

The first and second nails 210 and 230, the third nail 250 and the upper side of the main body 240 are formed on the upper side of the finger so that the bent finger can easily return to the unfolded position. And a restoration wire 320 connecting the restoration wire 320 and the restoration wire 320 to each other.

A wire fixing hole 254 for connecting the restoring wire 320 may be further provided in the third bar 250. The wire fixing bar 254 may be further formed in the main body 240 have.

Each of the fingers constituting the fingering unit 200 is made of PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) material, so that harmful substances such as heavy metals are not detected as well as environmental hormones, so that the user can mount the finger more safely.

Further, unnecessary power consumption can be prevented because the unfolding operation of the finger reflex 200 is performed by the elasticity of the restoration wire 320.

The driving device 400 includes a wearer 420 gripped by a user and a plurality of motors provided at one side of the wearer 420 to provide a rotational force for bending the fingers 200 .

In detail, the wearing part 420 is formed of elastic material having a band shape including a concavo-convex shape. Therefore, the elasticity and the shape of the material can be expanded according to the deformation, so that the user can easily wear it. In the present embodiment, the wearer 420 is made of PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) like the above-described fingers 200, so that the wearer can mount the wearer 420 more safely.

Further, the wearer 420 further includes a bracket 410 for mounting a plurality of motors.

The bracket 410 has a one-to-one correspondence with the number of motors to provide a mounting space for the motor.

The plurality of motors includes a thumb driving motor 440 for bending a thumb of a user wearing the glove 100 and four finger driving motors 460 for detecting and stopping, Respectively.

Each of the motors is connected with a bending wire 340 in a one-to-one correspondence with the respective fingers constituting the finger 200.

FIG. 6 is a view showing another embodiment of the driving device constituting the main part of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the bracket 410 formed integrally with the wearing portion 420 constituting the driving device 400 not only provides the installation space for the motor but also provides the installation space for the drive control portion 260 .

The cover 430 is further fastened to the wearer 420 to cover the outer side of the wearer 420 and shield the upper side of the bracket 410 on which the drive controller 260 is installed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a controller which is a main component of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, a controller 600 according to the present invention includes a housing 610 held by a user, a lever 620 provided at an upper side of the housing 610 and capable of operating in up / down / left / A tilt sensing sensor 680 accommodated in the housing 610 for sensing a tilt and a first button 640 and a second button 660 provided at one side of the housing 610 and capable of being pressed by the user .

In detail, the lever 620 is configured to transmit a control command for sensing and stopping, a finger, and a bending operation to the drive controller 260. The lever 620 is driven to rotate the corresponding finger according to the operation direction of the user. .

In the present embodiment, when the user moves the lever 620 upward, it is set to pause, while the lower side is set to be lower, the left side to be weak, and the right side to bend the index finger.

The tilt sensor 680 detects a vertical movement of the controller 600 and generates a control command so as to grasp or unfold the fist. In the present embodiment, When it moves downward, it is set to hold a fist.

The first button 640 is configured to transmit a control command for bending the thumb while the second button 660 is operated by depressing the lever 620 while the second button 660 is depressed by the inverse function button. The control command is transmitted so that the finger set in the corresponding direction is stretched. In the case of the thumb, when the first button 640 is pressed while the second button 660 is depressed, a control command for the thumb operation is transmitted.

The configuration as described above can be applied as shown in FIG. 8 in the form of rehabilitation training for muscle strength assisting as described above.

FIG. 8 is a view for showing a state in which the wearable glove system according to the present invention is applied to rehabilitation training through muscle aiding assistant. When the user controls the controller 600 in a state where the glove 100 and the driving device 400 are mounted And rehabilitation training is performed.

The user moves the lever 620 of the controller 600 to the left direction and transmits a control command to the drive control unit 260. The drive control unit 260 The finger motor 460 connected to the index finger and the bending wire 340 is operated to assist the bending operation of the index finger.

When the bent second index finger 660 of the controller 600 is depressed, the lever 620 is moved in the leftward direction in the same manner as the bending operation of the index finger, An auxiliary force is provided.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating another embodiment in which the wearable glove system according to the present invention is applied to rehabilitation training through muscle aiding assistance. In the figure, in the case of the configuration having the same functions as those of the above-described embodiment, the denotations of the reference numerals are omitted and the same names are used.

Referring to the drawings, in another embodiment of the present invention, a driving device 400 to be worn by the user on the wrist is connected to the main body 240 to be positioned below the palm of the user .

For this purpose, in the present embodiment, the main body 240 and the wearer portion form one circle to surround the user's hand, and a plurality of motors are mounted on the wearer portion formed in this manner, as in the above- , PLA material.

Meanwhile, the wearable glove system according to the present invention can be used for the purpose of strengthening the muscular strength as described above.

10 is a view for showing a state in which the wearable glove system according to the present invention is applied to muscle strength strengthening, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are views for explaining the load supply structure of the finger unit in FIG. Fig. 13 is a view showing an embodiment of the drive system in Fig.

Referring to these figures, in the case of strengthening muscular strength, unlike the embodiment of the driving apparatus 400 described above, a muscle-strengthening driving apparatus 700 for providing a load using a motor is included, and a variable resistor 270).

Specifically, in the case of the muscle strengthening embodiment, the user is configured to directly provide a variable load according to the degree of bending when each of the fingers is bent.

To this end, in the present embodiment, one variable resistor 270 is provided at the joint part of each finger to sense a resistance value according to the degree of rotation of each finger.

As described above, the variable resistor 270 is fitted to the protruding portion of the joint so as to be rotatable together, and exhibits different resistance values depending on the degree of rotation and the direction of rotation.

The resistance value sensed by the above structure is transmitted to the main controller 262. In the main controller 262, the muscle force intensifying and driving device 700 for bending the respective fingers is operated by a resistance value corresponding to the resistance value And transmits a signal to provide a load corresponding to the user's bending operation of the finger.

11, a separate muscle strengthening board 720 may be further provided between the main controller 262 and the variable resistor 270 and the motor, .

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the two muscular strengthening motors 780 and the pulleys connected to the two muscles can be operated by connecting two fingers in the present embodiment. A motor driver 790 for driving the motor 760 and a switch 740 for power control are accommodated and mounted in a single case 720. [

The pulley 760 is connected to the finger through the bending wire 340 to provide the rotational force of the motor as a load during a user bending operation.

Further, the pulley 760 is formed as a one-way clutch type so that the direction of the force is transmitted in only one direction.

Accordingly, when the bending wire 340 is wound, the force of the motor is transmitted to the pulley 760 so that the bending wire 340 is wound. However, when the finger is unfolded by the user, the pulley 760, So that the bending wire 340 is not loosened.

Thus, the sagging of the excessive bending wire 340 is prevented, so that the bending wire 340 can maintain the tension state.

100 ........ Glove 200 ........ Fingering denial
210 ........ First bar 230 ........ Second bar
240 ........ Main body 250 ........ Third word
270 ........ Variable resistance 320 ........ Restore wire
340 bending wire 400 driving device
420 ........ Wear portion 440 ......... thumb drive motor
460 ............ Finger drive motor 600 ........ Controller
700 ........ Muscle strengthening drive

Claims (5)

A main body positioned in the user ' s hand;
A plurality of fingers connected to the main body through resilient restoring wires to provide a space for inserting respective fingers of the user;
A driving device connected to each finger through a bending wire at a position opposite to a restoring wire connecting position of each finger and bending the finger while winding the bending wire by using a rotational force of the motor;
A drive control unit connectable to the controller by using a communication unit and controlling the drive unit based on a control signal received through a connected controller; And
And a plurality of variable resistors provided on each of the fingers of the finger portion to sense a degree of bending of the finger and measure the change in resistance value,
The driving device includes:
And an assist force for a bending operation is provided by a drive control unit that receives a control signal of the controller when used for the purpose of rehabilitation training through muscle aiding assist,
And a feedback control unit for providing a feedback load on the bending operation by the drive control unit, which receives the resistance value measured through the plurality of variable resistors when used for the purpose of strengthening muscular strength.
The driving device according to claim 1, wherein the driving device used for the purpose of rehabilitation training through muscle-
A wearable portion which can be gripped by the user on the wrist,
A thumb drive motor provided at one side of the wearer to provide an operation force for bending the thumb,
And finger drive motors provided on the other side of the wearer to provide an operation force for detecting and stopping,
Wherein the thumb driving motor and each finger driving motor are connected to corresponding bending wires.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the wearer is formed to have a concavo-convex shape with elasticity.
The driving device according to claim 1, wherein the driving device used for the purpose of strengthening muscle strength comprises:
A number of muscle-strength-enhancing motors corresponding to the fingers to be strengthened,
A motor driver for controlling driving of the muscle-strengthening motor,
A pulley rotated by the muscle-strengthening motor and connected to the bending wire; And
And a switch for controlling power supplied to the muscle-strengthening motor,
The pulley is formed as a one-way clutch type so that when the bending wire is wound, the rotation of the motor is synchronously rotated to transmit the rotational force of the motor. When the finger is unfolded by the user, the force is not transmitted to the motor while idling. Wearable glove system.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1,
Wherein one finger is formed of at least two nodes, each of the nodes having a protruding portion and a fastening portion which are fastened together and rotatable to form a joint, and at least one of the joints of each finger has the variable resistor And is rotated in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction according to a bending operation.

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