KR20220003370A - Wearable assisting device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wearable assisting device. The size of the upper structure of the wearable assisting device can be adjusted in response to the upper body width, upper body height and upper body thickness of a person wearing the wearable assisting device, thereby significantly reducing the burden and cost for manufacturing, maintaining, and repairing an auxiliary device according to the body size of the person.

Description

WEARABLE ASSISTING DEVICE

The present invention relates to a wearable assistive device. More specifically, the present invention makes it possible to adjust the size of the upper structure of the wearable auxiliary device according to the width, upper body height, and upper body thickness of the wearable auxiliary device wearer, so that the auxiliary device is manufactured according to the wearer's body size, It relates to a wearable assistive device that can significantly reduce the burden and cost of maintenance and repair.

Recently, the development of wearable assistive devices for the disabled, patients, or the elderly with physical abilities that are impossible for daily living, or industrial or military wearable assistive devices to enhance physical strength or physical ability is in progress.

In the case of wearable assistive devices for the disabled, patients, or the elderly, they are classified into wearable assistive devices for the paralyzed disabled and wearable assistive devices for the elderly or partially paralyzed or disabled depending on their physical ability and the size or role of assistive force required. can be

In the case of such a wearable auxiliary device, a main body equipped with a battery and a controller and mounted on the wearer's back, a joint actuator mounted on the hip and knee joints for driving each joint, and connected to each joint actuator, the wearer's thigh or lower leg It mainly consists of a form including a support unit for supporting the.

The wearer's height, pelvic width, or body thickness vary, and in general, in the case of a wearable assistive device for the disabled or recycled, a structure that acts as a skeleton of the robot is often separately manufactured in response to the wearer's body size, so the cost is high. In terms of maintenance of robot manufacturers, the burden of separately managing parts of various sizes is high.

The present invention makes it possible to adjust the size of the upper structure of the wearable assistive device in response to the wearer's upper body width, upper body height, and upper body thickness to manufacture, maintain and repair the assistive device for each wearer's body size. It is a task to be solved to provide a wearable assistive device that can significantly lower the burden and cost.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a controller for providing a control signal and a main body including a battery for providing power; a body unit mounted on the rear side of the body part, mounted to surround the wearer's waist region, and extending to the wearer's waist side region; a pair of hip joint actuators mounted on both ends of the body unit extending to the side area of the wearer's hip joint; and a femoral support unit that is driven by the hip actuator and provides rotational assisting force to the wearer's thigh, wherein the body unit includes a back plate extending to the wearer's back plate area with the body part mounted at the rear. , a pair of extension parts that surround the wearer's waist region and extend to the hip joint region and to which the hip joint actuator is mounted, and the distance between the extension parts and the height of the body part with respect to the extension parts are interlocked to adjust together in response to the size of the wearer's torso It is possible to provide a wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that it includes a driving unit.

In addition, the driving unit of the body unit includes a screw for connecting a pair of the extension parts in a horizontal direction, a screw nut provided in a first extension part of the pair of extension parts and through which the screw is fastened, a pair of extension parts and A plurality of rotating arms connected to each of the backing parts and mounted rotatably are provided, and when the screw is rotated in the second extension, the rotating arms are rotated so that the distance between the pair of extensions and the height of the backing part with respect to the connecting parts is provided. can be adjusted.

In addition, the plurality of rotary arms connect the back plate part and the pair of extension parts symmetrically to each other, and when the plurality of rotary arms rotate in a horizontal direction or rotate to become a straight line centering on the back plate part, the distance between the extension parts is increased, and , the height of the body part with respect to the extension part may be increased.

Here, the plurality of rotary arms connect the back plate portion and the pair of extension portions symmetrically to each other, and when the rotary arm rotates in a V-shape, the distance between the extension portions and the height of the body portion with respect to the extension portion may be reduced. can

In this case, a plurality of rotating arms connecting the first and second extensions and the back plate may be provided in parallel, respectively.

In addition, one end of the screw constituting the driving part of the body unit is fastened to the screw nut of the first extension part, and the other end of the screw has a rotary knob and a bevel gear having a rotation shaft for rotating the screw in the second extension part It can be concluded through

In addition, the rotary knob may be mounted to be exposed to the rear of the back plate.

Here, the pair of extension parts are a fixing member to which the rotary arm and the screw nut are mounted, an extension frame fastened to the fixing member and extending to the hip joint region, and an actuator fastened to an end of the extension frame and mounted with a hip joint actuator. Further comprising a mounting member, the actuator mounting member may be mounted so as to move forward and backward.

In this case, the actuator mounting member mounted on the extension frame may be capable of adjusting the position of the actuator mounting member mounted on the extension frame forward and backward in response to the thickness of the upper body of the wearer.

In addition, each of the actuator mounting members constituting the extension includes a screw nut, and a screw fastened to the screw nut to the extension frame and a rotary knob having a rotating shaft fastened to the screw via a bevel gear as a medium, , When the rotation knob is rotated, the actuator mounting member may be displaced forward and backward with respect to the extension frame.

According to the wearable auxiliary device according to the present invention, the size of the upper structure of the wearable auxiliary device can be adjusted according to the width of the upper body of the wearer of the wearable auxiliary device, the upper body height and the upper body thickness.

In addition, according to the wearable auxiliary device according to the present invention, since the size of the upper structure of the wearable auxiliary device can be adjusted, the burden and cost of manufacturing, maintaining and repairing the wearable auxiliary device for each body size of the wearer can be greatly reduced. In addition, since the size of the wearable auxiliary device can be finely adjusted while the wearer's auxiliary device is in use, it is possible to provide an optimal fitting for each wearer.

1 shows a front perspective view of a wearable auxiliary device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a rear perspective view of the wearable auxiliary device shown in FIG. 1 .
3 shows a rear view of the body unit constituting the wearable auxiliary device according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a bidirectional perspective view of the body unit shown in FIG. 3 .
5 shows a change in the operating state of the wearable auxiliary device according to the present invention from the front, and FIG. 6 shows a change in the operating state of the wearable auxiliary device shown in FIG. 5 from the rear.
7 illustrates a change in the operating state of the wearable auxiliary device according to the present invention from the side of the wearable auxiliary device.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments introduced herein are provided so that the disclosed subject matter may be thorough and complete, and the spirit of the invention may be sufficiently conveyed to those skilled in the art. Like reference numbers refer to like elements throughout.

1 is a front perspective view of a wearable auxiliary device 1000 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 shown in FIG. 1 .

1 and 2 , in the present specification, the wearable assistive device 1000 may be a robot that assists gait motion by being worn on the lower body of a disabled person, the elderly, or a patient (hereinafter referred to as a 'wearer'). . Here, assisting the gait motion means providing a driving force for preserving muscle strength that is lacking in the hip and knee joints to enable independent walking of the wearer who has some movement function of the lower body.

The wearable auxiliary device includes: a main body 500 including a controller for providing a control signal and a battery for providing power; a body unit 400 that is mounted on the rear of the main body, wraps around the waist area of the wearer, and extends to the hip joint side area of the wearer; a pair of hip joint actuators (100a, 100b) mounted on both ends of the body unit (400) extending to the side area of the wearer's hip joint; a femoral support unit (200a, 200b) which is driven by the hip actuator and provides rotational assistance to the wearer's thighs; A pair of knee joint actuators (100c, 100d) mounted on the end of the femoral support unit; Lower leg support units (200c, 200d) that are driven by the knee joint actuator and provide rotational assistance to the wearer's thighs; And, it is mounted on the end of the lower leg support unit, a pair of foot units (300a, 300b) for supporting the wearer's feet; may be configured to include.

The wearable auxiliary device 1000 may include a body part 500 disposed behind the wearer's back plate, and a pair of leg units extending downward from the body part 500 to support each leg of the wearer. can

The body part 500 is mounted on the body unit 400 , and a pair of leg units may also be mounted on both ends of the body unit 400 .

Here, the leg unit may be provided at the hip joint and the knee joint, respectively, and provide auxiliary torque to the thigh and lower leg to assist the wearer's independent walking.

Accordingly, a driving device for providing a driving torque may be provided in a region corresponding to the hip joint and the knee joint of each leg unit. Each driving device may be composed of a joint actuator 100 having a driving motor, respectively.

Each leg unit is connected to a pair of hip joint actuators (100a, 100b), respectively, a pair of hip joint actuators (100a, 100b) to support or assist the wearer's thigh (200a, 200b), A pair of knee joint actuators (100c, 100d) connected to the bottom of a pair of femoral support units (200a, 200b), a pair of knee joint actuators (100c, 100d) connected to a pair of supporting or assisting the lower leg of the wearer The lower leg support unit (200c, 200d) and each lower leg support unit (200c, 200d) is connected to the lower end and may be configured to include a pair of foot units (300a, 300b) for supporting the wearer's feet.

The joint actuators 100a, 100b, 100c, and 100d may be installed in the hip and knee joint regions of the wearer, respectively, and the hip joint actuators 100a and 100b are installed in the area where the pelvis and the thigh meet, and the knee of the thigh and lower thigh boundary The knee joint actuators (100c, 100d) may be installed in the region. Although the wearable auxiliary device 1000 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an example in which the joint actuator 100 is provided only in the hip and knee joints of the wearer, a separate driving device may also be provided in the ankle joint if necessary.

And, each of the femoral support units (200a, 200b) and the lower leg support units (200c, 200d) has the wearer's thighs and lower thighs at least for fixing to the femoral support units (200a, 200b) and the lower leg support units (200c, 200d). One wearing unit 600 may be provided, and the driving force provided from each joint actuator 100 is eventually transmitted to the wearer's thigh or lower leg through the wearing unit 600 to assist independent walking.

Such a pair of leg units is arranged along the side of the wearer, and since the above-mentioned main body part 500 is arranged behind the wearer's upper body back plate, the main body part is mounted to the rear through the body unit 400, The body unit 400 may be mounted to surround the wearer's waist region, and both ends of the body unit 400 may be configured to extend to the wearer's waist side region.

Such a wearable robot may be manufactured to the size of the wearer's body, but the burden on the user or the manufacturer may be increased.

In particular, since the positions of the hip joint and the back plate are changed in proportion to the height or weight of the wearer, the size of the body unit 400 and the position of the main body must be adjusted accordingly.

Accordingly, the present invention proposes a wearable auxiliary device 1000 capable of easily adjusting the positions of the main body and the hip joint according to the size of the upper body of the robot wearer, and will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3 or less.

3 shows a rear view of the body unit 400 constituting the wearable auxiliary device 1000 according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a bidirectional perspective view of the body unit 400 shown in FIG. 3 .

The body unit 400 includes a back plate 410 extending to the wearer's back plate area with the body part mounted on the rear side, a pair of extension parts extending to surround the wearer's waist area, and to which a hip joint actuator is mounted ( 450a, 450b) and the width of the extension parts 450a and 450b corresponding to the size of the body of the wearer and the height of the body part with respect to the extension parts 450a and 450b are interlocked and a driving part 430 that is adjusted together. can be configured.

The back plate part 410 is a region where the body part is mounted, and may be configured to extend from the waist part of the wearer to the back plate part, and the extension parts 450a and 450b are provided from the rear of the wearer so that a pair of hip joint actuators are mounted. It may be configured to extend to the hip joint region.

And, the back plate part 410 and the extension parts 450a and 450b are connected through a driving part 430, and the driving part 430 corresponds to the body size of the wearer. The width and height of the body part with respect to the extension parts 450a and 450b may be interlocked to provide a function of adjusting together.

Specifically, the driving part 430 of the body unit 400 includes a screw 431 connecting a pair of the extension parts 450a and 450b in the horizontal direction, and the first of the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b. A screw nut 432 provided in one extension portion 450a and through which the screw 431 is fastened, a pair of extension portions 450a and 450b and the back plate portion 410 are connected and each rotatably mounted A plurality of rotary arms 433 are provided, and the rotary arm 433 rotates according to the rotation of the screw 431 in the second extension part 450b to determine the distance between the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b and the The height of the back plate 410 with respect to the extension parts 450a and 450b is adjusted.

A detailed description of a method for adjusting the distance between the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b and the height of the back plate 410 with respect to the extension parts 450a and 450b will be postponed.

The screw 431 constituting the driving part 430 is fastened to the screw nut 432 in a ball screw method, and has a structure for changing the distance between the first extension part 450a and the second extension part 450b during rotation. .

In addition, the plurality of rotary arms 433 connect the first extension part 450a and the back plate part 410 and the back plate part 410 and the second extension part 450b, respectively, so that a pair of extension parts 450a , 450b), the height of the back plate 410 with respect to the extension parts 450a and 450b may be adjusted in response to a change in the spacing between them. Here, a plurality of rotation arms 433 connecting the first extension part 450a and the second extension part 450b to the back plate part 410 may be provided in parallel, respectively. A plurality of rotating arms mounted in parallel may be provided in a vertical direction and/or a front/rear direction to enable stable size adjustment.

The plurality of rotary arms 433 connect the back plate part 410 and the pair of extension parts symmetrically, respectively, so that the plurality of rotary arms rotate in a horizontal direction or form a straight line around the back board parts 450a and 450b. When rotated, the distance of the extension is increased, the height of the main body with respect to the extension is increased, and the rotary arm 433 connects the back plate 410 and the pair of extensions 450a and 450b, respectively. When the rotary arm 433 is rotated in a V-shape, the distance between the extension parts 450a and 450b and the height of the body part with respect to the extension parts 450a and 450b may be reduced.

A plurality of rotary arms 433 connecting the back plate part 410 and each of the extension parts 450a and 450b may be provided.

3 and 4 , the first extension part 450a and the second extension part 450b are respectively connected to the back plate part 410 and a plurality of rotation arms 433 vertically to each other. It is possible to perform a function of preventing unintentional adduction or abduction of the extension parts 450a and 450b and torsion during rotation of the screw 431 .

And, one end of the screw 431 constituting the driving part 430 of the body unit 400 is fastened to the screw nut 432 of the first extension part 450a, and the other end of the screw 431 is the second The extension part 450b may be fastened through a rotation knob 434 for rotating the screw 431 and a bevel gear 433 .

In addition, the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b are fastened to a fixing member 431 to which the rotary arm 433 and the screw nut 432 are mounted, the fixing member 431 and extending to the hip joint area. The extension frame 452, which is fastened to the end of the extension frame 452, may include a actuator mounting member 456 on which a joint actuator is mounted.

In addition, the extension parts 450a and 450b may further include a cover member 458 for covering the wearer's waist or hip joint in front of the fixing member 451 so as to gently wrap the part in contact with the wearer's body.

Here, the actuator mounting member 456 constituting the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b is configured to move forward or backward so that the position of the hip joint actuator is variable according to the thickness of the upper body of the wearer. ) can be installed.

Specifically, each of the actuator mounting members 456 includes a screw nut 457 , and a screw 455 fastened to the screw nut 457 to the extension frame 452 and a bevel gear to the screw 455 . A rotary knob 453 having a rotary shaft fastened via the 454 may be provided.

Through the structure of the body unit as described above, the wearable auxiliary device 1000 according to the present invention includes the back plate 410 and the extension part according to the spacing between the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b constituting the body unit 400 . The height difference of (450a, 450b) can be adjusted by interlocking with each other, and the position of the hip joint actuator can be changed forward or backward according to the thickness of the wearer's body.

5 shows a change in the operating state of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 according to the present invention from the front, and FIG. 6 shows a change in the operating state of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 shown in FIG. 5 from the rear.

5 (a) and 6 (a) by rotating the screw 431 constituting the driving unit 430 through the rotating knob 434 (refer to FIGS. 2 to 4) installed at the rear of the body unit When the distance between the pair of connecting parts is reduced, the plurality of rotary arms 433 constituting the driving part 430 connect the back plate part 410 and the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b, respectively, and the The rotary arm 433 is rotated to form a V-shape, and a difference h1 between the distance w1 between the extension parts 450a and 450b and the height of the back plate 410 with respect to the extension parts 450a and 450b ( h1 ). ) is reduced, so that the size of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 can be adjusted in response to the pelvic width and upper body height of the wearer having a relatively small physique.

Conversely, in the state shown in FIGS. 5(b) and 6(b), the screw 431 constituting the driving unit 430 is rotated through the rotary knob 434 (refer to FIGS. 2 to 4) to form a pair of When the distance between the extension parts 450a and 450b is increased, the plurality of rotary arms 433 constituting the driving part 430 connect the back plate part 410 and the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b, respectively. and the plurality of rotary arms 433 are rotated to be horizontal, and the distance w2 between the extension parts 450a and 450b and the height difference between the back plate part 410 with respect to the extension parts 450a and 450b ( h2) is increased, so that the size of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 may be adjusted in response to the pelvic width and upper body height of the wearer having a relatively large physique.

In this case, when the screw 431 is rotated through the rotation knob 434 (refer to FIGS. 2 to 4), the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b are shown in FIGS. 5(b) and 6(b), respectively. It is displaced in the direction of the arrow, and the size of the wearable robot is adjusted according to the width of the hip joint and the height of the upper body of the wearer.

In addition, with respect to the wearer's body size, in addition to the width of the hip joint and the height of the upper body, there is a difference in the thickness of the upper body for each wearer. Since the thickness of the upper body is a variable that determines the position of the hip joint actuator, a structure capable of adjusting the size of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 according to the thickness of the upper body of the wearer in addition to the width of the wearer's hip joint and upper body elongation is required.

7 illustrates a change in the operating state of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 according to the present invention from the side of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 .

The pair of extension parts 450a and 450b constituting the body unit 400 of the wearable auxiliary device 1000 are fastened to the fixing member 451 (refer to FIGS. 3 and 4) and extend to the hip joint area. It further includes an extension frame 452, a actuator mounting member 456 fastened to an end of the extension frame 452 and mounted with a hip joint actuator, and the actuator mounting member 456 may have a structure capable of moving forward and backward. .

The structure in which the actuator mounting member 456 can move forward and backward is similar to the method of adjusting the distance between the pair of extension parts 450a and 450b, as shown in FIG. 4, a screw 431 and a screw nut 432. , may be implemented by a rotation knob having a bevel gear and a rotation shaft. However, it may be configured in other ways.

Accordingly, when the rotating knob 453 on which the rotating shaft is mounted on the extension frame 452 is rotated, the screw 431 is provided on the actuator mounting member 456 through the bevel gear 454, see FIG. 4 . ) may be driven to move the actuator mounting member 456 forward or backward.

Therefore, in the case of a wearer with a small upper body thickness, the actuator mounting member 456 is retracted as shown in FIG. In the case of a wearer with a large body thickness, the actuator mounting member 456 is advanced as shown in FIG. The position of the hip joint actuator may be changed by adjusting the position of the mounting member 456 .

Although the present specification has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art can variously modify and change the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims described below. will be able to carry out Therefore, if the modified implementation basically includes the elements of the claims of the present invention, it should be considered that all of them are included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1000: wearable auxiliary device
100: joint actuator
200: thigh support unit lower leg support unit
300: foot unit
400: body unit
500: body part

Claims (10)

a main body including a controller for providing a control signal and a battery for providing power;
a body unit mounted on the rear side of the main body, wrapped around the wearer's waist region, and extending to the wearer's hip joint side region;
a pair of hip joint actuators mounted on both ends of the body unit extending to the side area of the wearer's hip joint; and,
It is driven by the hip joint actuator, and includes a femoral support unit that provides rotational assistance to the wearer's thigh.
The body unit includes a back plate extending to the wearer's back region with the main body mounted at the rear, a pair of extension parts extending to the hip joint region surrounding the wearer's waist region and mounting a hip joint actuator, and the size of the wearer's torso. Correspondingly, the wearable auxiliary device comprising a driving unit that is adjusted together with the interval of the extension and the height of the main body with respect to the extension. According to claim 1,
The driving unit of the body unit includes a screw for connecting a pair of the extension parts in a horizontal direction, a screw nut provided in a first extension part of the pair of extension parts and through which the screw is fastened, a pair of extension parts and the back plate and a plurality of rotating arms connected to each other and rotatably mounted, and when the screw is rotated in the second extension, the rotating arm rotates to adjust the distance between the pair of extensions and the height of the back plate with respect to the connecting portion A wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that it becomes. 3. The method of claim 2,
The plurality of rotary arms connect the back plate part and the pair of extension parts symmetrically to each other, and when the plurality of rotary arms rotate in a horizontal direction or rotate to become a straight line centering on the back plate part, the distance between the extension parts increases, and the A wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that the height of the body portion with respect to the extension portion increases. 3. The method of claim 2,
A plurality of the rotary arms connect the back plate portion and the pair of extension portions symmetrically, respectively, and when the rotary arm rotates in a V-shape, an interval between the extension portions and a height of the body portion with respect to the extension portion are reduced. wearable assistive devices. 3. The method of claim 2,
A wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that a plurality of rotation arms connecting the first extension part and the second extension part and the back plate part, respectively, are provided in parallel. 3. The method of claim 2,
One end of the screw constituting the driving part of the body unit is fastened to the screw nut of the first extension part, and the other end of the screw is interposed between a rotation knob having a rotation shaft for rotating the screw in the second extension part and a bevel gear Wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that fastened with. 7. The method of claim 6,
The rotation knob is a wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that it is mounted to be exposed to the rear of the back plate. 3. The method of claim 2,
A pair of the extension parts includes a fixing member to which the rotary arm and the screw nut are mounted, an extension frame fastened to the fixing member and extending to the hip joint region, and an actuator mounting member fastened to an end of the extension frame and mounted with a hip joint actuator. Further comprising, the actuator mounting member is a wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that it is mounted so as to move forward and backward. 9. The method of claim 8,
The driver mounting member mounted on the extension frame is a wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that the position of the actuator mounting member mounted on the extension frame can be adjusted forward and backward according to the thickness of the upper body of the wearer. 10. The method of claim 9,
Each of the actuator mounting members constituting the extension includes a screw nut, and a screw fastened to the screw nut to the extension frame and a rotary knob having a rotating shaft fastened to the screw via a bevel gear as a medium, and A wearable auxiliary device, characterized in that when the rotation knob is rotated, the actuator mounting member is displaced forward and backward with respect to the extension frame.

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