WO2020246376A1

WO2020246376A1 - Walking aid device

Info

Publication number: WO2020246376A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/021309
Authority: WO
Inventors: 榎本陸朗
Original assignee: 榎本陸朗
Priority date: 2019-06-05
Filing date: 2020-05-29
Publication date: 2020-12-10
Also published as: JP2020195716A; JP6651037B1

Abstract

The invention achieves smaller size through the use of an inverted pendulum structure, facilitates proper transmission of assistive force to a user, and also yields the most natural walking posture possible. The invention is provided with: a mobile object 20 that is positioned between the user's left and right feet when the user is walking and can move forward with a driving force of a drive source 10; a saddle support body 30 that is provided to an upper section of the mobile object 20 and can be tilted forward and backward; a saddle support body forward/backward tilt detecting means 31 for detecting tilting forward and backward of the saddle support body 30; a saddle 40 that is provided to an upper section of the saddle support body 30; a handle 50 that is provided to a front section of the saddle 40 and is grasped by the user; and a control unit 60 for driving the drive source 10 to cause the mobile object 20 to move forward so as to cause the saddle support body 30 to stand upright when forward tilt of the saddle support body 30 has been detected by the saddle support body forward/backward tilt detecting means 31.

Description

Walking aid

The present invention relates to a walking assist device using an inverted pendulum structure.

Conventionally, as a walking assist device using an inverted pendulum structure, for example, as seen in Patent Document 1, an omnidirectional moving vehicle capable of assisting a user's walking, which is connected to a base 9 and a base 9. The user is connected to the moving motion unit 5 and the actuator device 7 that generate driving force in all directions including two directions orthogonal to each other on the floor surface, the linear acting actuator 14 that expands and contracts the base 9, and the base 9. An omnidirectional movement including a seat 3 that receives the load of the above, and a control unit 50 that controls the height of the load receiving portion by controlling the expansion / contraction mechanism and controls the attitude of the base 9 by controlling the drive mechanism. The vehicle is known.

This omnidirectional moving vehicle is described in paragraph 0130 of the same document.
"As shown in FIG. 8 (a), the user can also board and move in the omnidirectional moving vehicle 1, and as shown in FIG. 8 (b), in order to assist the user in walking. Since the omnidirectional moving vehicle 1 can be used, the convenience can be improved. "
Then, when used as a walking assist device, as described in paragraph 0128 of the same, when the user walks,
"As shown in FIG. 8B, since the seat 3 can be moved according to walking while supporting the weight by pressing the seat 3 against a predetermined part such as the buttocks of the user, the walking of the user is assisted. It is a possible omnidirectional moving vehicle.

Since this omnidirectional moving vehicle uses an inverted pendulum structure, it is possible to reduce the size of the vehicle as a whole.

However, when this omnidirectional moving vehicle is used as a walking assist device, as shown in FIG. 8 (b) of the same document, the base 9 and the moving motion unit (wheel body) 5 are left and right of the user. It is not located between the feet, but is behind the left and right feet of the user, and attempts to apply an assisting force to the user from behind the left and right feet via the linear actuator 14 and the seat 3. Therefore, the assisting force may not be appropriately transmitted to the user, and the walking posture of the user tends to be unnatural.

It should be noted that conventionally, as seen in Patent Document 2, for example,
"The user adjusts the seat to a comfortable height and rides across the car body, the car body supports the weight of the human body and greatly reduces the burden on the legs, and the car body is moved by a normal walking method with both feet. A walking aid vehicle that can exercise and can be used for long-distance walking assistance, and at the same time, when resting, the body is supported by the vehicle body when lightly supported with both feet, and a stable balance can be quickly achieved. " Summary column)
It has been known.

However, since this walking assist vehicle does not have a drive source, no assist force can be obtained.
Moreover, since it is not an inverted pendulum structure, it has a drawback that the frame structure for supporting the saddle becomes large as a whole.

Further, conventionally, as seen in, for example, Patent Document 3,
"In a walking assistance vehicle having three or more wheels, a kick kick by the operator of the vehicle is detected by a change in the number of rotations of one of the wheels, and when a kick kick is detected, either one is detected by an electric motor. A walking assistance vehicle characterized by wheel driving "(claim 1 of the same document)
Is also known.

Although the assisting force can be obtained by this walking assistance vehicle, it has a drawback that the frame structure for supporting the saddle becomes large as a whole because it is not an inverted pendulum structure.

Japanese Patent No. 5358371 Utility Model Registration No. 3105110 JP-A-2015-29891

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the size of the device as a whole by using the inverted pendulum structure, to make it easier for the assist force to be appropriately transmitted to the user, and to obtain a walking posture as natural as possible. Is to provide a walking assist device that can be used.

In order to solve the above problems, the walking assist device of the present invention
A moving body (20) that is located between the left and right feet (C1) of the user (U) and can move forward (Fr) by the driving force of the driving source (10) when the user (U) is walking. When,
A saddle support (30) provided on the upper part of the moving body (20) and capable of tilting back and forth,
The saddle support anteroposterior tilt detecting means (31) for detecting the anteroposterior tilt of the saddle support (30), and
A saddle (40) provided on the upper part of the saddle support (30) and
The handle (50) gripped by the user (U) and
When the tilt of the saddle support (30) forward (Fr) is detected by the saddle support anteroposterior tilt detecting means (31), the drive source (10) is used to erect the saddle support (30). The control unit (60) that drives the moving body (20) to move forward (Fr), and
With
The moving body (20) has left and right side plates (21L, 21R) that do not have a footrest portion for mounting the foot of the user (U), and is between the left and right side plates (21L, 21R). A drive wheel (11) for traveling the moving body (20) is arranged on the vehicle.
The handle (50) has a support column (51) extending upward from the center of the front portion of the saddle (40), and a left-right extending portion (52) extending left and right from the upper portion of the support column (51). It is characterized in that it tilts back and forth together with the saddle support (30) and the saddle (40).

This walking assist device is used as follows.
It is used by the user sitting on the saddle so as to straddle the saddle and grasping the steering wheel, and is controlled and operated by the control unit as follows.
When the user takes a forward leaning posture, the saddle support and the saddle tilt forward, and the tilt is detected by the saddle support forward / backward tilt detecting means, the control unit drives the drive source. Then, the moving body is controlled so as to move the moving body forward so as to erect the saddle support.
The forward movement of the moving body that erects the saddle support provides an assisting force to the user through the saddle support and the saddle.
When the user walks while taking a forward leaning posture (stepping on the left and right feet alternately), the saddle support is tilted forward and the tilt is detected by the saddle support anterior-posterior tilt detecting means. , The drive source is driven to keep the moving body moving forward so as to erect the saddle support, and the assist force is continuously applied to the user.
When the assist force is applied in this way, the user walks while straddling the saddle and holding the steering wheel, so that the assist force is easily transmitted to the user. In addition, since the moving body is located between the left and right feet of the user and moves forward, the user can easily walk in a natural walking posture.
Since the moving body, the saddle support, and the saddle have an inverted pendulum structure, it is easy to miniaturize the device as a whole.
As described above, according to the walking assist device of the present invention, the inverted pendulum structure is used to reduce the size of the device as a whole, and the assist force is easily transmitted to the user to walk as naturally as possible. It is possible to obtain a posture.
Moreover, the moving body has left and right side plates that do not have a foot resting portion on which the user's feet are placed, and drive wheels for running the moving body are arranged between the left and right side plates. Since the left and right side plates of the moving body do not have footrests, unlike the one described in Patent Document 1, it becomes easier for the user to step on the left and right feet alternately along the left and right sides of the moving body. As a result, it becomes easier to obtain a more natural walking posture. Since the drive wheels are arranged between the left and right side plates, they are less likely to interfere with the user's feet.
Further, the handle has a support column extending upward from the center of the front portion of the saddle and left and right extending portions extending left and right from the upper part of the support column, and is configured to tilt back and forth together with the saddle support and the saddle. Therefore, it is easy to hold the handle and tilt the saddle support and the saddle forward together with the handle, and the handle can be prevented from interfering with the walking of the user.

In this walking assist device,
The moving body (20) has a single driving wheel (11) for running the moving body (20) between the left and right side plates (21L, 21R), and left and right behind the driving wheel (11). A pair of auxiliary wheels (12) arranged in the above can be arranged.
With this configuration, a pair of left and right auxiliary wheels are arranged behind the drive wheels, so when this device is not in use, the auxiliary wheels can be used to stand upright.
Since the drive wheels and auxiliary wheels are arranged between the left and right side plates, they do not easily interfere with the user's feet.

In this walking assist device,
The moving body (20) includes a pair of left and right driving wheels (11L, 11R) for running the moving body (20) between the left and right side plates (21L, 21R), and a pair of driving wheels. The configuration may include auxiliary wheels (12) arranged rearward between the wheels (11L, 11R).
With this configuration, the drive wheels are composed of a pair of drive wheels side by side, which makes it difficult for the moving body, saddle support, and saddle to tilt in the left-right direction, so that the assist force is applied to the user. It becomes easy to convey well.

In this walking assist device,
The saddle support may be configured to have a gas cylinder.
With this configuration, the height of the saddle can be adjusted by operating the gas cylinder.

In this walking assist device,
The handle may be provided with a brake lever for operating a brake for braking the traveling of the moving body.
With this configuration, the user can adjust the moving speed of the moving body by operating the brake lever.

It is a figure which shows the embodiment of the walking assist device which concerns on this invention, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a left side view (front view of FIG. ) Left side view). (A) is an explanatory view of a usage state, and (b) is a view of the device 1 from the rear. The block diagram of the device 1. A flowchart illustrating the operation. The schematic plan view which shows the deformation example of a drive wheel. It is a figure which shows the modification of the saddle, (a) is a schematic plan view, (b) is a schematic front view.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the walking assist device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the drawings shall be viewed in the direction of the symbols, and in the following description, the front / rear, left / right, and top / bottom shall be in accordance with the direction viewed from the user. , The right side is shown as R, the upper side is shown as U, and the lower side is shown as D. In each figure, the same parts or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the walking assist device 1 of this embodiment is
When the user U walks, the moving body 20 located at C1 between the user's left and right feet UL and UR and can move forward by the driving force of the driving source 10 and
A saddle support 30 provided on the upper part of the moving body 20 and capable of tilting back and forth,
The saddle support anteroposterior tilt detecting means 31 for detecting the anteroposterior tilt of the saddle support 30 and
The saddle 40 provided on the upper part of the saddle support 30 and
The handle 50 that can be grasped by the user,
When the saddle support forward / backward tilt detecting means 31 detects the tilt of the saddle support 30 toward the front Fr, the drive source 10 is driven so as to erect the saddle support 30 to move the moving body 20 to the front Fr. Control unit 60 and
With
The saddle support 30 has a gas cylinder and
The moving body 20 has left and

right side plates

21L and 21R that do not have a foot resting portion for mounting the foot of the user U, and drives the moving body 20 to travel between the left and

right side plates

21L and 21R. The ring 11 is arranged.

In this walking assist device 1, as shown in FIG. 2A, the user U sits on the saddle 40 so as to straddle the saddle 40, operates the gas cylinder 30, and raises the saddle 40. The saddle is adjusted, the handle 50 is grasped, and the handle 50 is used as follows, and is controlled and operated by the control unit 60 as follows.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the user U takes a forward leaning posture, and the saddle support 30 and the saddle 40 are tilted forward Fr accordingly, and the tilting is caused by the saddle support front-rear tilt detecting means 31. When detected, the control unit 60 drives the drive source 10 so as to make the saddle support 30 stand upright (upright), and controls the moving body 20 so as to move the moving body 20 forward Fr.

The movement of the moving body 20 to erect the saddle support 30 to the front Fr gives the user U an assist force F1 via the saddle support 30 and the saddle 40.

When the user U walks while sitting on the saddle 40 while taking a forward leaning posture (stepping on the left and right feet UL and UR alternately), the saddle support 30 is tilted forward Fr and the tilt supports the saddle. Since it is detected by the body anterior-posterior tilt detecting means 31, the control unit 60 drives the drive source 10 so as to erect the saddle support 30 and continues to move the moving body 20 to the front Fr, with respect to the user U. The assist force F1 continues to be applied.

When the assist force F1 is applied in this way, the user U straddles the saddle 40 and walks while holding the handle 50, so that the assist force F1 is easily transmitted to the user U. Further, since the moving body 20 is located at C1 between the left and right feet UL and UR of the user U and moves to the front Fr, the user U can easily walk in a natural (at least close to natural) walking posture.

Since the moving body 20, the saddle support 30, and the saddle 40 have an inverted pendulum structure, the device 1 can be easily miniaturized as a whole.

As described above, according to the walking assist device 1, the inverted pendulum structure is used to reduce the size of the device as a whole, and the assist force F1 is easily transmitted to the user U as naturally as possible. It is possible to obtain a walking posture.

Moreover, the moving body 20 has left and

right side plates

21L and 21R that do not have a foot resting portion for mounting the foot of the user U, and the moving body 20 travels between the left and

right side plates

21L and 21R. Since the drive wheels 11 to be driven are arranged, unlike the one in Patent Document 1 described above, the left and

right side plates

21L and 21R of the moving body 20 do not have footrests, so that the user U can use the moving body 20. It becomes easier to step on the left and right feet UL and UR alternately along the left and right sides of the body, and as a result, it becomes easier to obtain a more natural walking posture. Since the drive wheels 11 are arranged between the left and

right side plates

21L and 21R, they are less likely to interfere with the feet UL and UR of the user U.

The drive wheels 11 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are single drive wheels, and a pair of

auxiliary wheels

12 and 12 are arranged on the left and right behind the drive wheels 11.

With this configuration, when the walking assist device 1 is not in use, it can be stood up using the training wheels 12 as shown in FIG.
Since the drive wheels 11 and the auxiliary wheels 12 are arranged between the left and

right side plates

21L and 21R, they are unlikely to interfere with the feet UL and UR of the user U.

The handle 50 has a support column 51 extending upward from the front center 42 (FIG. 1) of the saddle 40, and left and right extending

portions

52 and 52 extending left and right from the upper part of the support column 51, and includes a saddle support 30 and a saddle. It is configured to tilt back and forth with 40.

With this configuration, the saddle support 30 and the saddle 40 can be easily tilted forward together with the handle 50 by holding the handle 50, and the columns 51 and the left and

right extension portions

52 and 52 do not interfere with the user's feet. It is possible to prevent 50 from interfering with the walking of the user U.

As shown in FIG. 1, the handle 50 may be provided with a brake lever 55. The brake lever 55 can be interlocked with a known disc brake (not shown) suitable for an in-wheel motor to brake the rotation of the drive wheels 11 (that is, the traveling of the moving body 20).
With this configuration, the user U can adjust the moving speed of the moving body 20 by operating the brake lever 55.

In FIG. 1, 1s is a power switch (push button switch) for the entire device, and 1b is a battery.

As the drive source 10 and the drive wheels 11, those having an appropriate known configuration can be adopted. For example, a known in-wheel motor can be adopted. The in-wheel motor is supported between the left and

right side plates

21L and 21R of the moving body 20.

The moving body 20 has a box shape as a whole, and a control unit 60 is arranged inside the moving body 20.
The saddle support 30 of this embodiment is integrally provided on the upper part of the moving body 20. Therefore, when the saddle support 30 tilts forward Fr, the moving body 20 also tilts. The rotation centers of the saddle support 30 and the moving body 20 coincide with the rotation centers of the drive wheels 11. The saddle support 30 can also be rotatably supported on the upper part of the moving body 20 by a support shaft or the like.

Since the saddle support 30 has a gas cylinder, it has a structure that can be expanded and contracted according to the physique (mainly the length of the inseam) of the user U.
In this embodiment, a gas cylinder having a known structure having an outer cylinder 32 fixed to the moving body 20 and an inner cylinder 33 slidably provided on the outer cylinder 32 (which can appear and disappear) is adopted. Reference numeral 34 denotes an operation lever for operating the vertical movement of the inner cylinder 33.

The saddle support anteroposterior tilt detecting means 31 can be composed of a known appropriate sensor (for example, an angle sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a gyro sensor, etc.) capable of detecting the anteroposterior tilt of the saddle support 30. The saddle support anteroposterior tilt detecting means 31 is provided on the saddle support 30 or the moving body 20. The one shown is provided on the saddle support 30.

The saddle 40 has a base portion 43 and a cushioning material 44 that covers the upper portion of the base portion 43, and the base portion 43 is integrally fixed to the upper portion of the saddle support 30.
Therefore, the saddle 40 tilts back and forth and left and right together with the saddle support 30.

When the saddle support forward / backward tilt detecting means 31 detects the tilt of the saddle support 30 toward the front Fr, the control unit 60 drives the drive source 10 so as to erect the saddle support 30 to move the moving body 20. Control to move forward Fr.

That is, the control unit 60 performs an inverted pendulum control so as to erect the saddle support 30 when the saddle support forward / backward tilt detecting means 31 detects the tilt of the saddle support 30 toward the front Fr.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the walking assist device 1, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 22 denotes a speed sensor that detects the speed of the moving body 20, and can be configured by a known appropriate sensor (for example, an encoder included in the in-wheel motor (10)).

When the power switch 1s (FIG. 1) of the device 1 is turned on, the control unit 60 starts control and drives the drive source 10 so as to make the saddle support 30 stand upright (upright), as shown in FIG. Then, the moving body 20 is moved to the front Fr or the rear Rr, that is, the inverted pendulum control is performed.
Therefore, as described above (as shown in FIG. 2A), the user U takes a forward leaning posture, and the saddle support 30 and the saddle 40 are tilted forward Fr accordingly, and the tilting is the saddle. When detected by the support front-rear tilt detecting means 31, the control unit 60 drives the drive source 10 so as to make the saddle support 30 stand (upright), and the moving body 20 is moved to the front Fr. 20 will be controlled.
When the user U stops walking, the movement of the moving body 20 is stopped with the saddle support 30 upright.

As the drive control of the moving body 20, a known inverted pendulum control can be used.
That is, the control unit 60 moves the moving body 20 so as to make the saddle support 30 stand upright based on the inclination angle, the angular velocity, the angular acceleration, the speed and the acceleration of the moving body 20 of the saddle support 30.
The tilt angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration of the saddle support 30 are calculated by the control unit 60 based on the detection results of the saddle support forward / backward tilt detecting means 31. The speed and acceleration of the moving body 20 are calculated by the control unit 60 based on the detection result of the speed sensor 22.

If the inverted pendulum control is performed from the time when the power switch 1s of the device 1 is turned on as in this embodiment, the user straddles the saddle 40 and adjusts the saddle height to the standing / sitting height. In addition, since the moving body 20 is controlled so that the saddle support 30 stands upright, it is possible to support the user's straddling operation on the saddle 40 and saddle height adjusting operation.

Further, as in the walking assist device of this embodiment, when the user walks, the weight of the user is distributed between the saddle 40 and the floor surface by the feet touching the floor, thereby controlling the inverted pendulum. However, as in this embodiment, the handle 50 is attached so that the weight during walking can be applied to the handle 50 to destabilize the inverted pendulum control. Can be reduced. The steering wheel 50 is also effective for balancing the left and right sides.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the drive wheels may be composed of two

wheels

11L and 11R divided into left and right (located side by side).
With this configuration, the drive wheels are composed of a pair of

drive wheels

11L and 11R arranged side by side, so that the moving body 20, the saddle support 30, and the saddle 40 are less likely to tilt in the left-right direction. The force F1 is easily transmitted to the user.
Further, it is sufficient to provide one auxiliary wheel 12 rearward between the pair of

drive wheels

11L and 11R.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the gist of the present invention.
For example

Instead of the power switch 1s of the entire device, a switch (for example, a limit switch) that automatically turns on when the saddle support 30 is tilted forward by a predetermined angle (for example, about 1 to 2 degrees) may be provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, the saddle 40 may be provided with a back portion 46, and a U-shaped handle 50 in a plan view may be provided from the back portion 46 toward the front.
With this configuration, it becomes easier to sit on the saddle 40 from the front of the saddle 40. Further, it is possible to provide a storage case or the like 3 at the rear portion of the back portion 46.

U: User 1: Walking assist device 10: Drive source 20: Mobile body 30: Saddle support 31: Saddle support front-back tilt detection means 40: Saddle 50: Handle 60:

Control unit

21L, 21R: Left and right side plates 11: Drive wheel 12: Auxiliary wheel 51: Strut 52: Left and right extension 55: Brake lever

Claims

With a moving body (20) that is located between the left and right feet (C1) of the user (U) and can move forward (Fr) by the driving force of the driving source (10) when the user (U) is walking. ,
A saddle support (30) provided on the upper part of the moving body (20) and capable of tilting back and forth,
The saddle support anteroposterior tilt detecting means (31) for detecting the anteroposterior tilt of the saddle support (30), and
The saddle (40) provided on the upper part of the saddle support (30) and
The handle (50) grasped by the user (U) and
When the tilt of the saddle support (30) forward (Fr) is detected by the saddle support anteroposterior tilt detecting means (31), the drive source (10) is driven so as to erect the saddle support (30). The control unit (60) that moves the moving body (20) forward (Fr),
With
The moving body (20) has left and right side plates (21L, 21R) that do not have a footrest portion for mounting the foot of the user (U), and between the left and right side plates (21L, 21R). A drive wheel (11) for traveling the moving body (20) is arranged.
The handle (50) has a support column (51) extending upward from the center of the front portion of the saddle (40), and left and right extending portions (52) extending left and right from the upper portion of the support column (51), and is a saddle support. A walking assist device characterized in that it tilts back and forth together with (30) and a saddle (40).
In claim 1,
The moving body (20) is arranged between the left and right side plates (21L, 21R) with a single driving wheel (11) for running the moving body (20) and left and right behind the driving wheel (11). A walking assist device characterized in that a pair of auxiliary wheels (12) are arranged.
In claim 1,
The moving body (20) includes a pair of left and right driving wheels (11L, 11R) and a pair of driving wheels (11L, 11R) for running the moving body (20) between the left and right side plates (21L, 21R). A walking assist device comprising an auxiliary wheel (12) arranged rearward between 11L and 11R).
In any one of claims 1 to 3,
The saddle support (30) is a walking assist device characterized by having a gas cylinder.
In any one of claims 1 to 4,
A walking assist device characterized in that the handle (50) is provided with a brake lever (55) for operating a brake for braking the traveling of the moving body (20).