KR20210059377A - Wearable suit control method - Google Patents

Abstract

A wearable suit control method according to the present invention relates to a method of controlling the driving of a wearable suit, and comprises: a walking assistance step of controlling the wearable suit to assist a user in walking in response to movement in which the joints are flexed and extended while the user is walking; and a fall prevention step of performing a control to support a joint by measuring and determining that the center of gravity moves in a situation in which the user stumbles or slips and falls during walking. The wearable suit can detect a signal generated during the movement of a user to determine whether the user is walking or falling, can assist walking when the user is walking, and can control the driving of the wearable suit to make the user's center of gravity move to a first position when the user is falling.

Description

Wearable suit control method {WEARABLE SUIT CONTROL METHOD}

The present invention relates to a wearable suit for assisting walking and responding to a fall, and more particularly, to a wearable suit control method capable of determining a user's state through measured data.

In general, it is a common situation that the elderly and the weak are not easy to cope with various accident environments because their muscle strength is insufficient at the normal adult male and female level.

The elderly are given a lot of leisure time, and through this, they enjoy the vitality of life by interacting with their acquaintances through nature. These elderly people usually go for a walk or mountain climbing in many situations.

However, in the case of such a walk or mountain climbing, there is a problem that the surrounding environment can come as a risk factor for the elderly.

Elderly people are standing on one side in the gait cycle (near 10% of the gait cycle), that is, if they do not support sufficient force in the section where the upper body load is concentrated on one foot, slipping and slipping occur, leading to a fall accident. . Fractures caused by such fall accidents cause secondary accidents such as nerve damage and concussion in the elderly and are very fatal.

Wearable robots are literally collectively referred to as wearable robots, and research and development on the materials, shapes and driving methods of systems are being conducted in the fields of industrial and military rehabilitation with the aim of enhancing muscle strength. The system is divided into rigid exoskeleton and soft exosuit, depending on the material, structure and movement method.

In particular, since the material constituting the chute-type system is composed of fabric and wire, it has the advantage of being light and excellent in wearability. Therefore, it is common to develop a suit-type muscle strengthening system for the disabled or the elderly with weak muscle strength who need rehabilitation.

Recently developed suit-type muscle support systems include Robo-Glove, an armored suit developed in the United States, softexosuit for lower extremity strength support, and Exo-Glove-Poly, developed in Korea. Most of these muscle assist systems are being studied for the purpose of rehabilitation treatment in industrial sites and the disabled, and for the elderly to use them in general life, the size of the assisted muscle strength or the location of the required muscle strength do not match. Accordingly, Superflex's Aura power clothing, which is the most recent issue as a system that can help the elderly, is developing a suit-type system that enhances muscle strength by applying electro-active polymer technology.

However, even in this system, a device capable of preventing a fracture due to a fall was not considered.

Therefore, there is a need for a muscle-assisting device that can assist the elderly's muscle strength, prevent falls and protect them from fall accidents.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and it is a task to develop an auxiliary suit for oriented to the daily life of the elderly and further to the leisure life.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is an object of a method of controlling a wearable suit capable of preventing a fall accident and alleviating an impact in the event of an accident.

In addition, it is to control various devices for muscle strength assistance so that a user wearing them can walk safely and prevent falls.

Therefore, its purpose is to provide a control method of software wearable suits for fall protection and gait support that controls the suits worn to judge the movements of the elderly and respond to sudden dangers.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to solve the above problems, according to one embodiment of the present invention, as a method of controlling the drive of a wearable suit,

The gait assist step of controlling the wearable suit to assist the user's walking in response to the movement of the user's joint flexion and extension while walking, and the movement of the center of gravity in the situation where the user stumbles or slips while walking It includes a fall prevention step of determining and controlling to support the joint, and the wearable suit detects a signal generated while the user moves to determine whether the user is walking or falling, and assists walking when the user is walking. And, when the user is in the middle of a fall, the drive of the wearable suit may be controlled so that the center of gravity of the user is moved to the initial position.

In addition, the movement of the user falling or sliding may be sensed, and driving of the wearable suit may be controlled so that an impact applied to the user is reduced when the user comes into contact with an impact target.

In addition, the wearable suit may include pre-learned behavior data, indexing the user's movement in the behavior data, and selecting any one of a walking assistance step, a fall prevention step, or a fall shock reduction step.

And it may include the step of generating data in real time by detecting a posture in which the user wears the wearable suit and moves, and storing the data in the behavior data.

In addition, the gait assist step includes the steps of generating and storing gait pattern data by detecting signals in which the user's knee flexion and extension are constantly repeated, and indexing signals of a category similar to the gait pattern data in the behavior data. It may include the step of determining as a walking assistance step.

In addition, the gait assist step may include providing a force for extending both knees in response to a cycle in which both knees are flexed and extended in the user gait pattern.

In addition, the fall prevention step includes generating and storing fall prevention data by detecting a signal in which the center of gravity of the user is out of a preset range, and when the fall prevention data is generated consecutively to the walking pattern data through the behavior data. It may include the step of determining the fall prevention step.

In addition, the fall prevention step may include controlling the wearable suit so that the knee is extended by providing force to the knee in the direction in which the user falls.

In addition, the fall shock reduction step includes generating and storing fall data by detecting a signal in which the joints including the user's waist are bent, and the fall data successively to the walking pattern data or fall prevention data through the behavior data. If it occurs, it may include the step of determining the fall shock reduction step.

In addition, the step of reducing the fall shock may include controlling the wearable suit to be deformed so that it can be buffered between the user and the impact target.

In addition, it may include a wearing step of controlling the user to wear the wearable suit and in close contact with the user's body.

And it may include a personalization step of collecting data on the movement of the user wearing the wearable suit, the wearable suit is operated based on the collected data.

According to the wearable suit control method of the present invention, there is an effect of determining the steps of walking, prevention of falls, and falls so as to assist the movement of the user.

In addition, it is possible to assist walking by measuring the gait cycle, it is possible to prevent a fall by judging that a fall occurs, it is determined that a fall occurs, and there is an effect of protecting the user from an impact.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

The summary described above, as well as the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present application described below, may be better understood when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. However, it should be understood that this application is not limited to the precise arrangements and means shown.
1 is a view showing an overall operation process in a wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a view showing a state in which a user's movement matches behavior data in a method for controlling a wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a view showing a first sensor attached to a thigh in the wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a view showing a state in which a second sensor is attached in a method for controlling a wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a view showing a state in which walking and a fall are divided according to a center of gravity in a method for controlling a wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which a user's gait period is measured and assisted through a sensor in a wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a view showing a state in which the wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention protects against direct contact with an impact target when a user falls.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention in which the object of the present invention can be realized in detail will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the present embodiment, the same names and the same reference numerals are used for the same components, and additional descriptions thereof will be omitted.

First, the present invention relates to a method of controlling a wearable suit that is provided with configurations to be described later and can be worn by the user (H), and an object of the present invention is to control the suit to assist the user (H) to walk or prevent a fall. .

Accordingly, according to the object of the present invention, the user H may be a wearable suit controlled for the elderly.

And the wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with sensors (S1, S2) capable of detecting the movement of the user (H) walking or falling, assists walking, prevents falls, and reduces the impact of falls. It is equipped with various modules that can be used.

The algorithm for controlling this is as shown in FIG. 1.

It will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Fig. 1, in the wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, a diagram showing an overall operation process, and Fig. 2 is a user ( H) It is a diagram showing a state in which movement is matched with the behavior data 100, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which walking and falls are divided according to the center of gravity in the wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing a state in which the gait period of the user H is measured and assisted through the sensors S1 and S2 in the wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is the present invention. A diagram showing a sensor attached to the thigh in the wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows a sensor measuring the center of gravity of the user H in the wearable suit control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling a wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention to protect a user H from being in direct contact with an impact target when a user H falls.

[Wearable suit control method]

The wearable suit control method will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The present invention relates to a control method for controlling a wearable suit worn by the user H, and largely includes a walking assistance step and a fall prevention step.

The gait assist step is a step of controlling the wearable suit to assist the user H walking in response to a movement in which the joint flexes and extends while the user H is walking.

In addition, the fall prevention step may be designed to control the wearable suit by determining that the center of gravity is moved in a state in which the user H stumbles or falls while walking.

The wearable suit detects signals generated while the user (H) is moving to determine whether the user (H) is walking or falling, assists in walking when the user (H) is walking, and when the user (H) is falling In the case, the drive of the wearable suit can be controlled so that the center of gravity of the user H is moved to the initial position.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the fall may further include a fall shock reduction step.

The fall shock reduction step may be to control the drive of the wearable suit so that the user H detects a falling or slipping motion, and the impact applied to the user H as the user H contacts the impact target is reduced. .

Here, the initial position of the center of gravity of the user H may be a position of the center of gravity while walking.

First, it is possible to determine a walking or a fall by detecting the movement of the user H (S01).

When the user H falls over while walking, the center of gravity changes rapidly, which can determine the speed at which the center of gravity changes or the position at which the center of gravity is moved.

The wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes pre-learned behavior data 100. The behavior data 100 referred to herein refers to data in which the user H wears a wearable suit and stores movements in various environments, and may include data on walking and falls.

Therefore, in order to grasp the current state of the user H, the data on which the movement of the user H is measured may be indexed in the learning data (S02).

In addition, when the current movement is indexed in the behavior data 100, it may be determined whether the user H is walking or falling (S03).

Through this, when the user H is walking, the suit is controlled to assist walking, and in the case of a fall, the suit is controlled to prevent a fall (S04).

The user H's recognition of the walking assistance stage, the fall prevention stage, and the fall shock reduction stage may be determined through pre-learned behavior data 100 embedded in the wearable suit.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the behavior data 100 may include walking pattern data 120, fall prevention data 140, and fall data 160.

And data about walking through the movement of the user H is stored in the walking pattern data 120 in real time, the data on the fall prevention is in the fall prevention data 140, and the data on the fall is the fall data 160 ) Can be saved.

Through this, the user (H) can accurately grasp the state of walking, fall prevention, or fall.

In other words, the behavior data 100 is a criterion for determining what state the user (H) in the suit is in, since parameter values for walking and falls are stored while moving while wearing the suit. Since it is set as a default value, data about walking, fall prevention, and falls can be added to the behavior data 100 in real time while the user H wears a wearable suit and performs various activities.

In conclusion, the more time the user H wears the suit and moves, the more accurately the user H can react to the action.

Based on the above, the step of generating and storing the walking pattern data 120 by detecting a signal in which the flexion and extension of the knee of the user H is constantly repeated, and similar to the walking pattern data 120 are detected. It may include the step of indexing the signal of the category in the behavioral data 100 to determine as a walking assistance step.

In addition, the gait assist step may further include providing a force to be extended to both knees in response to a cycle of flexion and extension of both knees in the gait pattern of the user (H).

On the other hand, in the fall prevention step, the step of generating and storing the fall prevention data 140 by detecting a signal in which the center of gravity of the user H is out of a preset range, and the walking pattern data 120 through the behavior data 100 If the fall prevention data 140 is continuously generated, it may include determining the fall prevention step.

And it may further include the step of controlling the wearable suit so that the knee is extended by providing force to the knee in the direction in which the user H falls.

Specifically, when the user H is caught on a stone root while walking or falls while sliding, force is forcibly provided to the knee joint so that the joint is extended.

At this time, it is possible to determine the direction of the fall, so that the knee joint in the direction of the fall can be extended to prevent a fall.

On the other hand, in the fall shock reduction step, the step of generating and storing the fall data 160 by detecting a signal that the joint including the waist of the user H is bent, and the walking pattern data 120 or the fall prevention through the behavior data 100 If the fall data 160 is continuously generated from the data 140, it may be determined as a fall shock reduction step.

In the fall shock reduction step, it is possible to prevent an accident from occurring due to contact with an object such as the ground or a structure while the user H falls.

That is, it may be provided in a shape such as an airbag so as to be buffered between the user H and the impact target.

Details will be described later while explaining the structure of the wearable suit.

Subsequently, in FIGS. 3 and 4, the division of the center of gravity of the user H and the walking period will be described.

Through the sensors (S1, S2) mounted on the wearable suit, the center of gravity of the user (H) can be measured, and the flexion and extension of the joint can be measured.

As shown in FIG. 3, the IMU sensor S2 provided in the wearable suit may measure the center of gravity. And walking, fall prevention and falls can be judged according to the center of gravity.

An example will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

If the center of gravity of the virtual center of gravity 50 is '0' and the outermost circumference is '100', it is determined as a walking state in the radius of the center of gravity from 0 to 20, and walking pattern data ( 120), and at the center of gravity of the radius from 21 to 60, it is determined that it is possible to prevent falls, and it is stored in the fall prevention data (140), and is irreversible at the center of gravity of the radius from 61 to 100. It is determined as a fall and the fall data 160 may be stored.

In this case, the gait cycle of the user H may be stored in the gait pattern data 120 in the gait state.

As shown in FIG. 4, data on the gait cycle is generated through the sensor S1 and the gait cycle is reflected in the wearable suit to assist flexion and extension of the knee.

Each person's walking cycle, that is, the walking cycle varies according to the gait or living environment. And the walking cycle is bound to be different depending on whether you are climbing a mountain or walking downhill.

Therefore, the wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention may assist walking by predicting a walking period.

For example, let's say you walk 10 steps.

Steps 1 to 3 have the same gait cycle, but in 4 to 5 steps, when the right leg is slowed down a little, the module 220 recognizes that the right leg advances slowly from 6 steps, and the wearable suit assists the step in response. You can inject fluid into it.

[Wearable suit structure and operation]

Next, a structure of a wearable suit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

The wearable suit according to the present invention may be formed like clothing and may have a plurality of modules formed along the circumference of the lower extremities for assisting walking, preventing falls, and reducing impact.

This may be a form 220 in which fluid is injected.

In another embodiment, joints may be used using pressure cylinders.

In the present invention, it may include a sensor (S1) for measuring walking and a sensor (S2) for measuring a fall.

The wearable suit of the present invention is provided with a sensor (S1) capable of measuring the walking cycle in the thigh portion.

Through this, when the user H is walking, it may be a method of injecting fluid into the back of the knee by determining the speed at which both legs cross each other and advance.

In this embodiment, the sensor S1 for measuring gait is a soft sensor, which can measure the extent to which muscle or skin is stretched.

Although it was said that the sensor S1 for measuring gait in the present embodiment measures the height of a muscle or skin, it may be provided as a sensor that measures a current according to the movement of the muscle.

Continuous fall prevention or fall situation can be responded by measuring the movement of the center of gravity.

In a fall, the speed at which the center of gravity moves and the direction in which it moves can be determined.

As shown, the center of gravity sensor S2 may be provided on the waist, thigh, and calves.

This not only can each measure the center of gravity, but a plurality of them can be interlocked to determine the movement of the center of gravity of the user H.

And when the fall prevention data 140 is collected according to the movement of the center of gravity, the speed, direction and position at which the center of gravity moves to prevent a fall can be measured. It is possible to prevent falls by driving the module 220 of.

In addition, a fall cannot be prevented by determining the current moving speed and position of the user H's center of gravity through the behavior data 100, and if it is determined that a fall is caused, the module 260 is driven in the corresponding direction to contact the target of impact. Can be prevented.

As described above, preferred embodiments according to the present invention have been examined, and the fact that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or scope in addition to the above-described embodiments is known to those skilled in the art. It is self-evident to them. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the above description and may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

100: behavioral data
120: walking pattern data
140: Fall prevention data
160: Fall data
220: walking assistance module
260: shock reduction module
S1: Soft sensor
S2: IMU sensor

Claims (13)

As a method of controlling the operation of the wearable suit,
A walking assistance step of controlling the wearable suit to assist the user in walking in response to a movement in which the joint is flexed and extended while the user is walking; And
A fall prevention step of measuring and determining that the center of gravity is moved in a situation in which the user stumbles or slips while walking, and controls the joint to be supported;
Including,
The wearable suit detects a signal generated by the user's movement to determine whether the user is walking or falling, assists walking when the user is walking, and when the user is falling, the center of gravity of the user is initially Characterized in that to control the drive of the wearable suit to be moved to the position
Wearable suit control method.
The method of claim 1,
A fall shock reduction step of sensing the movement of the user falling or sliding, and controlling the drive of the wearable suit to reduce the impact applied to the user while the user contacts the impact target;
Wearable suit control method further comprising a.
The method of claim 2,
The wearable suit includes previously learned behavioral data,
Indexing the user's movement in the behavioral data to select one of a walking assistance step, a fall prevention step, or a fall shock reduction step;
Wearable suit control method comprising a.
The method of claim 3,
Generating data in real time by detecting a moving posture of the user wearing the wearable suit and storing it in the behavioral data;
Wearable suit control method comprising a.
The method of claim 4,
The walking assistance step,
Generating and storing gait pattern data by detecting a signal in which the user's knee flexion and extension are constantly repeated; And
Indexing a signal of a similar category to the gait pattern data in the behavior data to determine as the gait assistance step;
Wearable suit control method comprising a.
The method of claim 5,
The walking assistance step,
Providing a force for extending both knees in response to a cycle in which both knees are flexed and extended in the user's gait pattern;
Wearable suit control method further comprising a.
The method of claim 4,
The fall prevention step,
Generating and storing fall prevention data by detecting a signal in which the center of gravity of the user is out of a preset range; And
Determining a fall prevention step when the fall prevention data is continuously generated from the walking pattern data through the behavior data;
Wearable suit control method further comprising a.
The method of claim 7,
The fall prevention step,
Controlling the wearable suit so that the knee is extended by providing force to the knee in the direction in which the user falls;
Wearable suit control method further comprising a.
The method of claim 4,
The fall shock reduction step,
Generating and storing fall data by detecting a signal in which a joint including the user's waist is bent; And
Determining a fall shock reduction step when the fall data is generated consecutively to the walking pattern data or fall prevention data through the behavior data;
Wearable suit control method further comprising a.
The method of claim 9,
The fall shock reduction step,
Controlling the wearable suit to be deformed so that it can be buffered between the user and the impact target;
Wearable suit control method further comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
A wearing step of controlling the user to wear the wearable suit and to be in close contact with the user's body;
Wearable suit control method comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
A personalization step of collecting data on movement of a user wearing the wearable suit, and operating the wearable suit based on the collected data;
Wearable suit control method further comprising a. As a method of controlling the operation of the wearable suit,
A wearing step of controlling the user to wear the wearable suit and to be in close contact with the user's body;
A personalization step in which the wearable suit is operated based on the collected data by collecting data on the movement of the user wearing the wearable suit;
Generates and stores gait pattern data by detecting signals in which the user's knee flexes and extends regularly so that the wearable suit controls the wearable suit to assist the user's walking in response to a movement in which the user walks while the joint flexes and extends. Step, indexing the behavior data to determine the same signal as the gait pattern data as the gait assistance step, and controlling to provide a force to support the extension of both knees according to the gait pattern of the user Secondary stage;
Fall prevention by detecting a signal in which the user's knee is bent at a preset angle so that the user's knee is bent at a preset angle to control the wearable suit to support the bending of the joint by judging that the center of gravity is moved during the user's walking. Generating and storing data, including determining as a fall prevention step when the fall prevention data is continuously generated from the walking pattern data through the behavior data, and quickly to a knee that is bent at a predetermined angle or more. Fall prevention step comprising the step of controlling to provide force;
Detects a motion of the user falling in contact with an impact target, and detects a signal in which a joint including the user's waist is bent to control the drive of the wearable suit to reduce the impact applied to the user in response to the motion. And the step of generating and storing fall data, and determining as a fall shock reduction step when the fall data is continuously generated through the walking pattern data or fall prevention data through the behavior data, and the wearable suit with the user Falling impact reduction step comprising the step of controlling to be deformed so as to be buffered between the impact targets; And
The user's movement is indexed in the behavior data to select either a walking assistance step, a fall prevention step, or a fall shock reduction step, and the user wears the wearable suit and detects a moving posture to generate data in real time and the behavior Selecting including storing in data;
Including,
The wearable suit detects a signal generated while the user moves to determine whether the user is walking or falls, and controls the drive of the wearable suit so that the center of gravity of the user is moved to the initial position by driving the wearable suit. doing,
Wearable suit control method.

Images