WO2019198270A1

WO2019198270A1 - Walking assist device

Info

Publication number: WO2019198270A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/042949
Authority: WO
Inventors: 豊日木
Original assignee: 本田技研工業株式会社
Priority date: 2018-04-13
Filing date: 2018-11-21
Publication date: 2019-10-17
Also published as: JPWO2019198270A1; JP6970816B2

Abstract

This walking assist device A has a body brace 2 having: a corset part 20 which is made of a flexible material and covers at least side parts of the body of a wearer P; and a rigid part 21 which is made of a material having higher rigidity than the flexible material and is attached to a side part of the corset part 20. The rigid part 21 has an arm 31 attached thereto. The arm 31 pivots with a leg brace 1 in the front-rear direction and transmits assistive force to the wearer P.

Description

Walking assist device

The present invention relates to a walking assist device that assists walking by transmitting an assist force to a wearer's leg.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a walking assistance device is known that is attached to a person who has difficulty walking due to a decrease in muscle strength (hereinafter referred to as “wearer”) and assists the wearer in walking.

This type of walking assistance device includes a waist brace that is worn on the wearer's waist, a leg brace that is worn on the wearer's leg, and a leg brace that is moved relative to the waist brace. There are those provided with an operation assisting mechanism for applying an assisting force to assist the wearer's walking to the leg portion (for example, see Patent Document 1).

By the way, in general, the assist force applied to the wearer's leg through the leg brace by the motion assist mechanism rotates the leg brace in the front-rear direction with respect to the waist brace around the axis extending in the left-right direction. It is the force of direction. Therefore, in the state where the assist force is applied, a reaction force in the torsional direction centering on the axis extending in the left-right direction is applied to the waist orthosis.

In the walking assist device of Patent Document 1, the reaction force of such assist force is received by the waist orthosis itself by forming a part of the constituent members of the waist orthosis using a material having high rigidity. In addition, in the walking assist device as in Patent Document 1, when the assist force is applied to the left and right legs, the input direction of the left and right assist force, the input timing, and the like are symmetric to some extent. By doing so, the control of canceling the reaction force of those assist forces may be performed.

JP 2012-165821 A

However, in the case where the assist force is received by the lower back orthosis as in the conventional walking assist device described in Patent Document 1, the assist force is sufficiently increased unless the rigidity of the constituent members of the lower back orthosis is sufficiently high. There was a risk that it could not be received. On the other hand, if the rigidity of the constituent members of the waist orthosis is increased too much, the weight of the waist orthosis increases, which may increase the burden on the wearer.

Also, in the conventional walking assist device, when the input direction of the left and right assist force, the input timing, etc. are limited to those having symmetry, the degree of freedom in setting the assist force is reduced, and the wearer's walk is reduced. There was a risk of not being able to assist enough.

Further, in the conventional walking assist device, when an assist force is applied to the wearer, an input as a reaction force of the assist force is generated in the waist orthosis, and the waist orthosis rotates, and the wearer's waist is rotated. On the other hand, a part of the low-flexibility waist orthosis abuts strongly, stress concentration occurs in the abutting portion, and there is a concern that the comfort of using the walking assist device may be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a walking assist device that is lightweight, has a high degree of freedom in setting an assist force, and is less likely to cause stress concentration on a wearer.

The walking assist device of the present invention comprises:
A leg brace attached to the leg of the wearer, a torso brace attached to the torso of the wearer, and a leg of the wearer via the leg brace by moving the leg brace; An operation assisting mechanism for generating an assist force that assists the wearer in walking in the front-rear direction,
The movement assist mechanism includes an arm that connects the trunk orthosis and the leg orthosis, and a longitudinal direction with respect to the trunk orthosis about the axis that extends in the left-right direction through the arm via the arm. A drive source for rotating the
The torso orthosis is formed of a flexible material, and is formed of a corset portion configured to cover at least a side surface portion of the wearer's torso, and a material having higher rigidity than the flexible material, and the corset portion A rigid body portion provided on the side surface portion of
The arm is attached to the rigid part.

Thus, in the walking assistance device of the present invention, the arm for transmitting the assist force to the leg orthosis is attached to the rigid body portion of the torso orthosis, and the rigid body portion is attached to the corset portion of the torso orthosis. It is attached. The corset part is formed of a flexible material (for example, cloth, chemical fiber, etc.), and the rigid body part is formed of a material (for example, metal, synthetic resin, etc.) having higher rigidity than the flexible material. ing.

Thus, when the reaction force of the assist force is transmitted from the arm, the rigid body portion is rotated by the reaction force while maintaining its shape. At the same time, the corset portion to which the rigid body portion is attached is pulled by the rigid body portion and is slid on the wearer's torso while being twisted and bent to some extent by the rigid body portion. As a result, a frictional force is generated between the corset part and the wearer's torso, and the reaction force transmitted from the arm is canceled by the frictional force.

Therefore, according to the walking assist device of the present invention, even if it does not include a frame formed of a material having high rigidity like the conventional walking assist device, it is possible to obtain a sufficient assist force only by including a lightweight trunk device. Since it can catch, weight can be reduced rather than the conventional walking assistance apparatus.

Further, in the walking assistance device of the present invention, the waist of the wearer (specifically, at least a part of the chest, abdomen, and waist) is not a waist brace that covers the waist of the wearer as in the conventional walking assistance device. An arm is connected to the body orthosis that covers the body.

Therefore, the reaction force applied to the wearer's body can be received in a wide range of the trunk orthosis (that is, the wearer's trunk). As a result, in this walking assist device, an allowable reaction force is larger than that of the conventional walking assist device. For example, even if the walking assist device is configured to apply assist force to the left and right legs, it is not necessary to cancel the reaction forces of these assist forces.

Therefore, according to the walking assist device of the present invention, the reaction force of the assist force can be received by the wearer's trunk without limiting the input direction and input timing of the assist force. As a result, the degree of freedom in setting the assist force can be improved.

Furthermore, in the walking assistance device of the present invention, the corset part in a form covering the side part of the wearer's torso among the torso orthosis that is a member in contact with the wearer's torso is a flexible material having high flexibility. It is formed with.

Therefore, even when an assist force is applied to the wearer, only a part of the torso brace is hard to come into strong contact with the wearer's body. As a result, in this walking assist device, stress concentration is less likely to occur in the portion where the torso brace is in contact with the wearer's body.

Therefore, according to the walking assist device of the present invention, it is possible to suppress a reduction in comfort during use due to stress concentration.

In the walking assist device of the present invention,
The rigid body portion has a plurality of long portions arranged in the vertical direction and arranged in the front-rear direction, and a connecting portion that extends in the front-rear direction and connects the long portions,
The arm is preferably attached to the connecting portion of the rigid body portion.

The shape of the arm connected to the leg brace varies depending on the contact position of the leg brace with the leg of the wearer. For example, in the case of a structure in which an assist force is generated by pressing the front surface of the wearer's thigh, the arm may be curved along the circumferential surface of the wearer's thigh. The reaction force of the assist force transmitted from such an arm includes not only the front-rear direction component but also the left-right direction component.

Thus, if the rigid body portion is configured such that a plurality of long portions arranged so as to be arranged in the front-rear direction are coupled by the coupling portion, the increase in the weight of the rigid body portion is suppressed, and the assist force is increased over a wide range. A frictional force for receiving the reaction force can be generated. Thereby, even when the reaction force of the assist force includes a component in the left-right direction, the reaction force of the assist force can be sufficiently received. As a result, the degree of freedom in arm design can be improved.

In the walking assist device of the present invention,
The rigid part is preferably a metal flat plate.

The rigid body part is formed of a material having higher rigidity than the flexible material forming the corset part, and is capable of sliding the corset part to such an extent that a frictional force for receiving the reaction force is generated. If it is. For example, the shape of the rigid body portion may be a rod shape or a block shape. However, when a metal flat plate is used as the rigid body portion in this way, sufficient rigidity can be easily obtained while suppressing an increase in size and weight.

In the walking assist device of the present invention,
The corset portion is formed of the flexible material, and connects the pair of covering portions in a form covering the left and right side portions of the wearer and the pair of covering portions, and determines the distance between the pair of covering portions. It is preferable to have an adjustable belt portion.

With this configuration, the covering portion of the torso brace can be sufficiently fixed to the wearer's torso by tightening the belt portion. As a result, the frictional force generated between the torso brace and the wearer's torso can be further increased. As a result, even a lighter material can efficiently receive the reaction force of the assist force.

In the walking assist device of the present invention,
A shoulder brace mounted on the shoulder of the wearer;
It is preferable that the shoulder brace is connected to an upper end portion of the trunk brace.

When such a shoulder brace is provided, the position of the torso brace can be held by the shoulder brace, so that when the reaction force of the assist force is applied to the torso brace, It is possible to prevent a downward shift with respect to the wearer's body. In addition, since the torso brace is first hung by the shoulder brace during mounting, the torso brace can be easily fixed.

Further, in the walking assist device as in the present invention, it is desirable that the actuator be disposed at a position corresponding to the center of the hip joint of the wearer, for example, but it is complicated to adjust the positional relationship for each wearing. is there. Therefore, when such a shoulder brace is provided, the distance from the shoulder brace to the actuator can be determined in advance, so that the positional relationship can be easily adjusted and the usability can be further improved.

In the walking assist device of the present invention,
It is preferable that the driving source is a rotary actuator that generates a driving force in a direction of rotating about the axis.

Various mechanisms such as springs, cylinders and pistons, and actuators can be adopted as the driving source, but the driving force (and thus the reaction force) generated by the mechanism varies depending on the driving source. . Among these, the driving force generated by the rotary actuator rotates about a predetermined axis. Therefore, the reaction force also turns around a predetermined axis.

Therefore, when such a rotary actuator is employed as a driving source of the walking assistance device, the region slid by the rigid body portion of the corset portion also rotates around a predetermined axis. As a result, compared with the case where other driving sources are employed, the sliding area can be suppressed, so that it is difficult to give the wearer a sense of discomfort when receiving a reaction force.

The front view which shows the state which mounted | wore with the walking assistance apparatus which concerns on embodiment. The left view which shows the state which mounted | wore with the walking assistance apparatus which concerns on embodiment. The rear view which shows the state which mounted | wore with the walking assistance apparatus which concerns on embodiment. The perspective view from the right front which shows the state which mounted | wore with the walking assistance apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the corset part when the reaction force of assist force is added to the walking assistance apparatus which concerns on a comparative example, and is a figure which shows the state where reaction force is not added. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the corset part when the reaction force of assist force is added to the walking assistance apparatus which concerns on a comparative example, and is a figure which shows the state in which reaction force was added. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the corset part and rigid body part when the reaction force of assist force is added to the walking assistance apparatus of FIG. 1, and is a figure which shows the state where reaction force is not applied. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the corset part when the reaction force of assist force is added to the walking assistance apparatus of FIG. 1, and the state which added the reaction force.

Hereinafter, the walking assistance device A according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, the “front-rear direction” refers to the front-rear direction of the wearer P in the state where the wearer P wearing the walking assist device A stands upright (the walking direction assisted by the walking assist device A). The “left-right direction” refers to the left-right direction of the wearer P. In addition, the “axis extending in the front-rear direction” and the “axis extending in the left-right direction” are axes extending in the front-rear direction and inclined in the left-right or up-down direction in addition to the axis extending along the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. In addition, an axis extending in the left-right direction and tilting back and forth or up and down is also included.

First, the configuration of the walking assist device A will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the walking assist device A includes, when worn, a leg brace 1 to be worn on the leg of the wearer P, a torso brace 2 to be worn on the wearer's torso, and a leg brace. 1 to generate an assist force to assist the wearer in walking in the front-rear direction on the legs of the wearer P, and to provide the wearer P with an assisting mechanism 3, and a shoulder worn on the shoulder of the wearer A device 4 is provided.

Here, the “torso” in the present invention refers to a portion including at least one of the chest, abdomen, and waist.

In the walking assist device A, the left and right leg braces 1 are pivoted relative to the trunk brace 2 around the rotation axis a extending in the left-right direction by the motion assist mechanism 3, so that the legs of the wearer P Assist force is applied to the part. That is, the assist force in the walking assist device A is a force in a direction in which the leg orthosis 1 is rotated with respect to the trunk orthosis 2 around the rotation axis a.

When the assist force is applied, a reaction force that twists the trunk device 2 around the rotation axis a with respect to the trunk device 2 (hereinafter, this reaction force is simply referred to as “assist force”). Reaction force ”) (see the directions of a pair of left and right arrows centering on the rotation axis a in FIG. 2).

In addition, the walking assistance apparatus of this invention provides assistance force from the leg brace 1 with respect to each of the thighs of the left and right leg parts of the wearer P like the walking assistance apparatus A of the present embodiment. By this, it is not limited to what assists the wearer P's walk.

For example, an operation assisting mechanism may be provided only on one side and an assist force may be applied only to one of the left and right leg portions. Further, the portion to which the assist force is applied may be a portion other than the thigh of the wearer's leg, such as the lower leg or the foot.

The leg orthosis 1 is composed of a pad-like member and a belt-like member, and the front surface of the thigh of the leg of the wearer P is pressed with a pad-like member, or a belt-like member. It is a member that transmits the assist force to the legs by pulling up.

Note that the leg brace of the walking assist device of the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and can be moved with respect to the abdominal brace and can apply assist force to the wearer's leg. That's fine. For example, when the assist force includes a force in the direction of pulling the leg, a member that is fixed to the leg may be used instead of the pad-shaped member.

Also, the position of contact with the leg may be changed as appropriate according to the site to which the assist force is applied. For example, when the assist force is applied to the crus, the leg orthosis may be configured to contact the front or back of the crus.

The torso orthosis 2 is attached on the outer peripheral surface of the corset part 20 in a form that covers the side part of the torso of the wearer P and the side part of the corset part 20 (specifically, a covering part 20a described later). And a rigid body portion 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, the corset part 20 connects a pair of coating | coated part 20a of the form which covers the wearer's P left and right side part at the time of mounting | wearing, and a pair of coating | coated part 20a, and distance between a pair of coating | coated part 20a The fastening belt 20b (belt portion) can be adjusted.

The covering portion 20a is formed of a flexible material such as cloth or chemical fiber. The length of the covering portion 20a in the vertical direction is a length that covers from the rib of the wearer P to the iliac bone. This is because the reaction force of the assist force can be efficiently received by the trunk of the wearer P, as will be described later.

In addition, the coating | coated part of this invention is not limited to such a structure, What is necessary is just to be able to cover at least the side part of a wearer's trunk | drum at the time of mounting | wearing. For example, what is necessary is just to cover at least a part of a wearer's chest, abdomen and waist.

The fastening belt 20b is provided so that three each may be arranged in the up-down direction at the front side and the back side (refer FIG. 1A and FIG. 1C). In the walking assist device A, the covering portion 20a can be brought into close contact with the body portion of the wearer P by adjusting the tightening degree of the fastening belts 20b.

As shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 2, the rigid body portion 21 extends in the vertical direction and connects the three long portions 21a arranged in the front-rear direction and the lower end portion of the long portion 21a. And a connecting portion 21b extending in the front-rear direction. The long portion 21a and the connecting portion 21b are integrally formed by cutting out a single metal flat plate.

The rigidity of the rigid part 21 is higher than that of the corset part 20 formed of a flexible material, and the rigidity is such that the corset part 20 can be deformed when the corset part 20 is fastened to the body part of the wearer P by the fastening belt 20b. It has become.

Each of the three long portions 21a is slightly curved inward so as to be in close contact with the torso of the wearer P.

The connecting portion 21b has a lower end portion protruding in the left-right direction, and an actuator 30 described later is attached to the protruding portion.

The upper end portion of the long portion 21a is positioned so as to cover a part of the ribs of the wearer P when worn. On the other hand, the connecting portion 21b is located at a position that covers the upper end of the iliac bone of the wearer P when worn. Specifically, the rigid body portion 21 has a shape that extends from the upper end portion to the lower end portion of the side surface portion of the covering portion 20a (the portion that is positioned under the wearer P when worn).

The motion assisting mechanism 3 includes an actuator 30 (drive source) fixed so as to be suspended from the connecting portion 21 b of the rigid body portion 21 of the trunk device 2, and the trunk device 2 and the leg device 1 via the actuator 30. And an arm 31 for connecting the two.

Actuator 30 is a rotary actuator. The actuator 30 transmits the generated driving force to the arm 31 so that the arm 31 and the leg device 1 connected to the arm 31 are moved to the trunk device 2 around the rotation axis a extending in the left-right direction. Rotate in the front-rear direction.

The arm 31 extends downward so as to curve from the side to the front along the circumferential surface of the thigh of the wearer P. The upper end portion of the arm 31 is connected to the output portion of the actuator 30, and the lower end portion is connected to the leg device 1.

The shoulder brace 4 includes a pad 40 that covers the shoulder of the wearer P, and a positioning belt 41 that connects the lower end of the pad 40 and the upper end of the covering portion 20a of the corset 20 of the trunk brace 2. Have.

In the walking assist device A, the shoulder brace 2 is suspended by the shoulder brace 4 to hold the position of the trunk brace 2. Thereby, when the reaction force of the assist force is applied to the trunk device 2, the assist device prevents the trunk device 2 from being displaced downward with respect to the body of the wearer P. Moreover, since the torso brace 2 is hung by the shoulder brace 4 at the time of mounting, the torso brace 2 can be easily fixed.

In general, it is desirable that the actuator 30 be arranged at a position corresponding to the center of the hip joint of the wearer P, for example, but it is complicated to adjust the positional relationship for each wearing. Therefore, in the walking assist device A, by providing the shoulder brace 4, the distance from the shoulder brace 4 to the actuator 30 is determined in advance, the positional relationship is easily adjusted, and the usability is further improved. .

Next, the reaction force generated when the assist force is transmitted to the wearer P by the walking assist device A will be described.

In the walking assist device A, a rotary actuator 30 is attached to the lower end portion of the rigid body portion 21 of the trunk device 2. Then, the driving force from the actuator 30 causes the arm 31 and the leg equipment 1 connected to the arm 31 to rotate in the front-rear direction around the rotation axis a.

Thereby, an assisting force is applied to the thigh of the wearer P through the leg brace 1 so as to press or lift. On the other hand, a reaction force in a direction opposite to the assist force is applied from the arm 31 to the trunk device 2 via the actuator 30.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, unlike the present embodiment, when the rigid body portion 21 is not attached to the covering portion 20 a of the trunk device 2, when the reaction force of the assist force is applied (FIG. 3A). When the state is changed to the state shown in FIG. 3B), a large twist and deflection (specifically, wrinkles) occur in the portion to which the assist force is applied.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when the rigid body portion 21 is attached to the covering portion 20a of the trunk device 2 as in this embodiment, when the reaction force of the assist force is applied (in FIG. 4A). When the state changes to the state shown in FIG. 4B), the torsion and deflection generated in the portion to which the assist force is applied are suppressed to some extent by the rigid portion 21.

As a result, a sufficient frictional force is generated between the corset part 20 and the torso of the wearer P, and the reaction force transmitted from the arm 31 is offset by the frictional force and the rigidity of the rigid body part 21 itself. Become. That is, when the reaction force transmitted from the arm 31 is input to the corset unit 20, the reaction force can be suitably received by the wearer's P torso.

Here, the arm 31 connected to the leg orthosis 1 is curved toward the front surface along the circumferential surface of the thigh of the wearer P. Therefore, the reaction force of the assist force transmitted from the arm 31 includes not only a component that rotates in the front-rear direction but also components in a plurality of rotation directions. For example, in addition to a component that rotates in the front-rear direction, a component that rotates in the left-right direction is also included.

In order to cope with this, in the walking assist device A, the rigid body portion 21 connects the three long portions 21a arranged in the vertical direction and arranged in the front-back direction and the lower end portion of the long portion 21a. Thus, it is comprised by the connection part 21b extended in the front-back direction.

Since the rigid body portion 21 has such a shape, the walking assist device A can generate a friction force for receiving a reaction force of the assist force in a wide range while suppressing an increase in the weight of the rigid body portion 21. It can be done. Thereby, the walking assistance apparatus A can sufficiently receive the reaction force of the assist force even when the reaction force of the assist force includes a plurality of components in the rotation direction.

Therefore, according to the walking assist device A, even if it does not include a frame formed of a highly rigid material as in the conventional walking assist device, the assist force is sufficiently received only by including the lightweight trunk device 2. Therefore, the weight can be reduced as compared with the conventional walking assist device.

Further, in the walking assist device A, the trunk device 2 to which the arm 31 is connected is configured to cover from the ribs of the wearer P to the iliac when worn.

Thereby, the reaction force applied to the wearer P is also received in a wide range of the trunk orthosis 2 (that is, the trunk of the wearer P). As a result, the walking assist device A has a larger allowable reaction force than the conventional walking assist device. Specifically, in the walking assistance device A, the reaction force of the assist force applied to the left and right legs of the wearer P can be sufficiently received by the trunk device 2 without canceling each other. It is like that.

Therefore, according to the walking assist device A, the reaction force of the assist force can be received by the trunk of the wearer P without restricting the input direction and input timing of the assist force. The assist power setting has a high degree of freedom.

Furthermore, in the walking assist device A, the corset part 20 in a form covering the side part of the wearer's torso out of the torso orthosis 2 which is a member in contact with the wearer's torso is a flexible material having high flexibility. It is formed with.

Thereby, even when an assisting force is applied to the wearer P, only a part of the torso orthosis 2 is hard to come into strong contact with the body of the wearer P. As a result, in this walking assist device A, stress concentration is less likely to occur in the portion where the torso brace 2 is in contact with the body of the wearer P.

Therefore, according to the walking assist device A, it is possible to suppress a reduction in comfort during use due to stress concentration.

Although the illustrated embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a form.

For example, in the above embodiment, the rigid body portion 21 is attached on the outer peripheral surface of the covering portion 20a of the corset portion 20. This is to make the frictional force efficiently generated by widening the sliding range of the covering portion 20a and the torso of the wearer P as much as possible.

However, the rigid body portion of the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and any method can be used as long as sufficient frictional force can be generated between the torso brace and the wearer's torso. It may be provided in the body orthosis.

For example, in the case where the rigid body portion has a plurality of long portions as in the above embodiment, the rigid body portion is not provided on the covering portion, but a flexible material is placed between the long portions. It may be configured such that the rigid body portion directly touches the wearer's torso portion (ie, a flexible material is connected to the edge portion of the long portion).

Moreover, in the said embodiment, it is comprised so that the coating | coated part 20a can be closely_contact | adhered to the wearer's P trunk | body by comprising the corset part 20 with the coating | coated part 20a and the fastening belt 20b. This is because the reaction force of the assist force can be efficiently received by increasing the frictional force generated between the corset 20 and the torso of the wearer P.

However, the corset portion of the torso orthosis of the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and may be anything that can cover at least the side surface portion of the wearer's torso when worn. For example, an abdomen-shaped member formed of a flexible material having elasticity as a whole may be used. Moreover, you may use the waist orthosis employ | adopted as the conventional walk assistance apparatus together.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the rigid body part 21 of the trunk | drum apparatus 2 cuts out the metal flat plate, and has three long parts 21a extended in an up-down direction, and the connection part 21b which connects those lower end parts. Have. By adopting a metal flat plate, it is possible to obtain sufficient rigidity while suppressing weight and to prevent local torsion of the rigid body when the reaction force of the assist force is transmitted. It is to do.

Further, the rigid body portion 21 is configured to be located on the side surface portion of the wearer P when worn. This is because when the rigid body portion is provided on the side surface portion, the twist and movement of the rigid body portion with respect to the wearer's body are small compared to the case where the rigid body portions are provided on the front side and the rear side. This is because it becomes difficult to give.

However, the rigid body portion of the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and is formed of a material having higher rigidity than the flexible material forming the corset portion, and for receiving the reaction force. Any shape may be used as long as the corset portion can be slid to such an extent that a frictional force is generated, and it may be provided at any position.

For example, a synthetic resin may be adopted as the material of the rigid part. Further, the shape of the rigid portion may be designed in consideration of the frictional force generated by the flexible material, and may be, for example, a rod shape or a block shape. Moreover, when it is set as a fork shape like the said implementation type | system | group etc., a long part may be made into two pieces and may be made into four or more pieces.

In the above embodiment, a rotary actuator is employed as the drive source. This is because the region of the covering portion 20a of the corset portion 20 that is slid by the rigid body portion 21 when the reaction force of the assist force is transmitted is kept within the range centering on the rotation axis a. This is to make it difficult for P to feel uncomfortable when receiving the reaction force.

However, the drive source of the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and various mechanisms such as a drive source configured by a cylinder and a piston in addition to a spring may be employed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Leg part orthosis, 2 ... Body part orthosis, 3 ... Operation assistance mechanism, 4 ... Shoulder part orthosis, 20 ... Corset part, 20a ... Cover part, 20b ... Fastening belt (belt part), 21 ... Rigid body part, 21a ... Long part, 21b ... connecting part, 30 ... actuator (drive source), 31 ... arm, 40 ... pad part, 41 ... positioning belt, A ... walking assist device, P ... wearer, a ... rotation axis.

Claims

A leg brace attached to the leg of the wearer, a torso brace attached to the torso of the wearer, and a leg of the wearer via the leg brace by moving the leg brace; An operation assisting mechanism for generating an assist force that assists the wearer in walking in the front-rear direction,
The movement assist mechanism includes an arm that connects the trunk orthosis and the leg orthosis, and a longitudinal direction with respect to the trunk orthosis about the axis that extends in the left-right direction through the arm via the arm. A drive source for rotating the
The torso orthosis is formed of a flexible material, and is formed of a corset portion configured to cover at least a side surface portion of the wearer's torso, and a material having higher rigidity than the flexible material, and the corset portion A rigid body portion provided on the side surface portion of
The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein the arm is attached to the rigid body portion.
The walking assist device according to claim 1,
The rigid body portion includes a plurality of long portions arranged in the vertical direction and arranged in the front-rear direction, and a connecting portion that extends in the front-rear direction and connects the long portions,
The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein the arm is attached to the connecting portion of the rigid body portion.
In the walking auxiliary device according to claim 1 or 2,
The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein the rigid portion is a metal flat plate.
The walking assist device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The corset portion is formed of the flexible material, and connects the pair of covering portions in a form covering the left and right side portions of the wearer and the pair of covering portions, and determines the distance between the pair of covering portions. A walking assist device having an adjustable belt portion.
The walking assist device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A shoulder brace mounted on the shoulder of the wearer;
The shoulder assist device is connected to an upper end portion of the torso orthosis.
The walking assist device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein the driving source is a rotary actuator that generates a driving force in a direction of rotation about the axis.