WO2021104091A1

WO2021104091A1 - Electric walking stick, posture detection device and robot

Info

Publication number: WO2021104091A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/129199
Authority: WO
Inventors: 尚鹏; 侯增涛
Original assignee: 中国科学院深圳先进技术研究院
Priority date: 2019-11-30
Filing date: 2020-11-16
Publication date: 2021-06-03
Also published as: CN110840717A

Abstract

Disclosed are an electric walking stick, a posture detection device and a robot. The posture detection device comprises a follower connection member connected to a member to be balanced and configured maintain a coordinated movement with the member to be balanced; an elastic support member connected between the follower connection member and a motion mechanism and configured to support the follower connection member and provide the follower connection member with a maneuvering space; and a posture sensor (51), which is mounted on the follower connection member or the member to be balanced and configured to sense a change in the posture of the member to be balanced and provide feedback to a main control panel (4). During moving in multiple usage scenarios, such as moving forward, backward, leftward or rightward, the member to be balanced can, by means of support from the follower connection member, tilt and synchronously cause the follower connection member to tilt in any direction. The posture sensor (51) in turn can detect a forward, backward, leftward or rightward tilting component, thereby accurately detecting a change in the tilting posture of the member to be balanced. Accordingly, the motion mechanism can more favorably be controlled to compensate for a change in the posture of the member to be balanced, thereby improving balance in multiple usage scenarios.

Description

Electric crutches, posture detection device and robot

Technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of detection and control, in particular to an electric crutches, a posture detection device and a robot.

Background technique

Crutches, also known as crutches, is a simple device to assist walking, usually a stick made of wood or metal materials. For the elderly or patients with inconvenient legs and feet, crutches are used to move out and maintain body balance. Play an important auxiliary role.

Generally, crutches need to rely on manpower for their activities, that is, the user needs to constantly raise and lower the crutches to allow the crutches to follow the user and support his body, which consumes extra physical strength of the user. In order to solve the above technical problems, improved electric crutches have appeared in the prior art. For example, the Chinese patent with publication number CN109276001A discloses a balance walking stick with automatic following and safety assistance, which includes a grip, a stick body and a balancing device , A battery pack is set on the rod body to provide power. The balance device includes a control component, a motor, a reducer, a differential, and casters. The control component can sense the tilt of the rod body and control it through speed control and motor drive The casters rotate to compensate for the posture change of the stick body, so that the stick can restore and dynamically maintain a balanced state, so as to realize the function of following and assisting the user.

However, even if the above-mentioned existing technical solutions are adopted, there will still be difficulties in practical applications. For example, when the user needs to turn on the electric crutches, the electric crutches cannot follow and assist the user well, and may turn. The angle is too large or too small, which will affect the user's walking condition. The reason for this is that, as shown in Figures 3 to 5 of the above-mentioned patent, although this kind of electric crutches can accurately detect the inclination of the stick body in the forward or backward direction, it can be used when turning. , The stick body not only tilts forward or backward, but also tilts to the left or right (depending on the direction of the turn). Due to the structural limitations of this electric crutches, this tilt to the turning direction cannot be Accurate detection is obtained, so the casters cannot be controlled to compensate for the posture change of the rod body, and the balance is not good.

technical problem

In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the first purpose of the present invention is to provide an electric crutches, which has the advantage of being able to accurately detect the inclination posture of the stick body and thus improve the balance in various usage scenarios.

Technical solutions

The first objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

An electric crutches includes a grip, a rod body and a balance device, the balance device includes a motion mechanism and a main control board that controls the motion of the motion mechanism, a posture detection device is connected between the rod body and the motion mechanism, and The attitude detection device includes: a follower connecting piece connected to the rod body and maintaining linkage with the rod body; an elastic support piece, connected between the following connecting piece and the motion mechanism, for carrying the following connecting piece and serving as a follower The movable connector provides an activity space; the posture sensor is installed on the follower connector or the rod body to sense the posture change of the rod body and feed it back to the main control board.

By adopting the above technical solution, when the user of the electric crutches travels in a variety of usage scenarios, such as forward, backward, left turn, right turn, the operator applies the tilt tendency of the stick body in the corresponding direction, because the stick body is connected in the follow-up connection The follower connector can be tilted in any direction in the activity space under the support of the elastic support, which is different from the electric crutches of the prior art, and the rod body can be supported by the follower connector, itself and synchronously. Drive the follower connector to tilt in any direction, so that the posture sensor can detect the forward, backward, left, and right tilt change components of the stick body, so as to more accurately detect the tilt posture change of the stick body. The user's travel intention is thus more conducive to controlling the motion mechanism to compensate for the posture change of the rod body, so that the balance of the electric crutches in a variety of use scenarios is improved.

In a preferred example, the present invention can be further configured as follows: the attitude sensor is one or a combination of a nine-axis inertial sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, a three-axis gyroscope, and a three-axis electronic compass.

By adopting the above technical solutions, nine-axis inertial sensors can be directly selected, or three-axis acceleration sensors, three-axis gyroscopes, three-axis electronic compasses or a combination thereof can be selected according to application needs, which has good selectivity and expandability.

In a preferred example of the present invention, it can be further configured that: the rod body and the follower connector are fixedly connected by a fixed structure.

By adopting the above technical solution, the rod body and the follower connector are fixedly connected to realize the linkage between the two, and the posture change of the staff body is directly converted into the posture change of the follower connector, which is more synchronized and timely.

In a preferred example, the present invention can be further configured as follows: the follower connector is a plate body, and the rod body is connected at the geometric center of the plate body.

By adopting the above technical solution, the plate body provides a relatively flat and abundant connection space for the fixed structure and the rod body, and the rod body is connected to the geometric center of the plate body, which is more conducive to the balance and stability of the electric crutches.

In a preferred example, the present invention can be further configured as: the board body includes a mounting part for horizontally mounting the attitude sensor, and the attitude sensor is mounted on the mounting part.

By adopting the above technical solution, the installation part provides a horizontal installation plane, which facilitates the installation and debugging of the attitude sensor.

In a preferred example, the present invention can be further configured as: the elastic support is a spring.

By adopting the above technical solution, the spring has good bearing capacity and elastic deformation and restoring force, can well support the follower connector, and enable it to change its posture in the active space.

In a preferred example, the present invention can be further configured as: the springs are arranged in a plurality and are distributedly connected to the outer periphery of the follower connector.

By adopting the above technical solution, the spring is a component that produces elastic deformation along its axial direction. The spring is arranged on the outer periphery of the plate-shaped follower connector, which is equivalent to keeping the spring away from the geometric center of the follower connector. When the connector is tilted, it can increase the torque along the spring axis and reduce the horizontal torque. While providing space for the follower connector, the service life of the spring itself can be prolonged. At the same time, there are multiple distributions along the outer periphery. The common support of the spring makes the force transmission ability of the follower connection more reliable when the posture changes or when the natural equilibrium state is maintained.

The second object of the present invention is to provide a posture detection device, which has the advantage of being able to accurately detect the tilt posture of the to-be-balanced part to improve the balance in a variety of usage scenarios.

The second objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

A posture detection device includes: a follower connecting piece for connecting with the part to be balanced and maintaining linkage with the part to be balanced; an elastic support piece, connected between the following connecting piece and the motion mechanism, for carrying the follower connection It also provides an activity space for the follow-up connecting piece; the attitude sensor is installed on the follow-up connecting piece or the part to be balanced, and is used to sense the posture change of the part to be balanced and feed it back to the main control board.

By adopting the above technical solution, the posture detection device can be applied to a variety of machines that include the part to be balanced and the balancing device, in the travel of a variety of usage scenarios, such as forward, back, turn left, turn right, and part to be balanced. Under the support of the follower connector, the to-be-balanced part itself and the follower connector can be synchronously driven to tilt in any direction, so that the attitude sensor can detect the forward, backward, left, and right tilt components to It can more accurately detect the change of its tilting posture, which is more conducive to controlling the motion mechanism to compensate for the posture change of the part to be balanced, and improving the balance in various usage scenarios.

In a preferred example of the present invention, it can be further configured that: the follower connector is provided with a fixing structure for fixedly connecting the part to be balanced.

In a preferred example, the present invention can be further configured as follows: the follower connecting member is a plate body, and the geometric center of the plate body is used to connect the part to be balanced.

The third object of the present invention is to provide a robot with the advantage of being able to accurately detect the tilt posture of the balance part to improve the balance in a variety of usage scenarios.

The third objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

A robot includes a part to be balanced and a balance device. The balance device includes a motion mechanism and a main control board that controls the motion of the motion mechanism. The robot further includes the above-mentioned posture detection device.

Beneficial effect

In summary, the present invention includes at least one of the following beneficial technical effects:

1. With the posture detection device, the part to be balanced, such as the rod body, can be tilted to any angle in an active space under the combined action of the follower connector and the elastic support, so that the posture sensor can accurately detect When the posture of the part to be balanced changes, the motion mechanism is better controlled to compensate, which is more conducive to maintaining balance;

2. Reasonably configure the structure of the follower connection and the elastic support, as well as the connection and positional relationship between the two and the part to be balanced and the movement mechanism. The overall structure is simple and easy to implement, but at the same time, it takes into account the service life and the reliability of power assist transmission. Sex.

Description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a first embodiment of an electric crutch of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the system structure of the first embodiment of the electric crutches of the present invention.

In the figure, 1. Grip; 2. Rod body; 31, chassis; 32, connecting rod; 33, casters; 34, drive motor; 4. main control board; 41, lithium battery; 42, single-chip computer; 43, driver; 51. Attitude sensor; 52. Plate; 521. Mounting part; 53, Spring; 6. Fixing structure; 61. Connecting plate; 62. Fixing sleeve.

Embodiments of the present invention

Hereinafter, the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example one

1, it is an electric crutches disclosed in the present invention, including a C-shaped grip 1, a rod body fixedly connected under the grip 1, a posture detection device connected to the bottom end of the rod body 2, and a posture detection device connected to the posture detection device Below the device, according to the posture detection data fed back by the posture detection device, it performs calculation and judgment, sends out control instructions, and converts it into a traveling balance device.

The balance device includes a motion mechanism and a main control board 4 that controls the motion of the motion mechanism.

The movement mechanism includes a chassis 31, a connecting rod 32, and casters 33 mounted on the connecting rod 32. In this embodiment, the chassis 31 is rectangular, and the connecting rods 32 and the casters 33 are arranged in four groups and are respectively arranged on two long sides of the chassis 31. At the end of the side, each caster 33 is connected to a drive motor 34 to individually control its rotation. The two connecting rods 32 on the same long side are combined in a figure eight shape. This arrangement can reduce the center of gravity of the entire motion mechanism. , The chassis 31 is more stable, increasing the stability of the motion mechanism. In other embodiments, the shape of the chassis 31 can also be a triangle, a frame, or other shapes. Optionally, the number of groups of the connecting rod 32 and the casters 33 can also be set to two, three, or more than four groups. number. The movement mechanism set in this way can drive the rotation of the casters 33 through the drive motors 34. According to the change of the rotation speed, it can stop, forward and retreat. When the rotation speeds of the casters 33 on both sides of the forward direction are different, it can move to the left or to the left. Turn right.

Referring to Figure 2, the main control board 4 includes a battery, a single-chip microcomputer 42 and a driver 43. The battery is a lithium battery 41, which is used to supply power to the electrical components of the electric crutches. The single-chip 42 is used to receive the attitude detection data fed back by the attitude sensor 51. The detected data contains the angle value of the stick body 2 in the three directions of X, Y, Z, and then the microcontroller 42 calculates and judges, and compares it with the threshold value of the corresponding direction. If the angle value of the tilt in a certain direction exceeds the threshold value, then A control command is sent to the driver 43, which is converted into a PWM signal for individual control of each driving motor 34, thereby controlling the rotation of each caster 33, realizing motion control and posture compensation, and balancing the electric crutches.

It can be seen that more accurate balance control first comes from the accurate and high-frequency detection of the angle value of the stick body 2 in the three directions of X, Y, and Z. In order to be able to solve the problem in the prior art, it is restricted by Due to the structural design of the electric crutches, the inclination to the turning direction cannot be accurately detected. Therefore, the casters 33 cannot be controlled to compensate for the posture changes of the rod body 2 and the balance is not good. Referring to Figure 1, as the posture detection device of the intermediate connection structure, it includes a follower connector, an elastic support, and the aforementioned posture sensor 51. The follower connector is connected to the rod body 2 and maintains linkage with the rod body 2. , The elastic support is connected between the follower connector and the chassis 31, while carrying the follower connector, it provides a movable space for the follower connector, so the follower connector can tilt in any direction in the movable space , The attitude sensor 51 is installed on the follower connector.

In this embodiment, the follower connector is set as a rectangular plate 52 with the same shape and size as the chassis 31. The plate 52 includes a mounting portion 521 for horizontally mounting the attitude sensor 51, and the attitude sensor 51 is mounted on the mounting portion 521. Above, the rod body 2 is fixedly connected to the geometric center position of the plate body 52 by the fixing structure 6, that is, the position where the two diagonal lines of the rectangle intersect. The fixing structure 6 is a connecting seat. The connecting seat includes a connecting plate 61 and a fixing sleeve 62 located in the center of the connecting plate 61. The lower end of the rod body 2 is inserted and fixed in the fixed sleeve 62. The connecting plate 61 is screwed or welded. In this way, the rod body 2 can also be tilted in any direction under the fixing and support of the plate body 52, and the posture change of the rod body 2 can be synchronized with the posture change of the plate body 52. Let the attitude sensor 51 detect the angle value of the attitude tilt in the three directions of X, Y, and Z, and feed it back to the single chip microcomputer 42, so as to help control the motion mechanism to compensate for the attitude change of the rod body 2, so that the electric crutches can be used in a variety of scenarios Improved balance.

In this embodiment, the elastic support is a spring 53, the upper end of the spring 53 is fixedly connected to the plate 52, and the lower end of the spring 53 is fixedly connected to the chassis 31. The spring 53 has good bearing capacity and elastic deformation and restoring force. It can support the follower connector well and make it change its posture in the activity space. The springs 53 are arranged in multiple and distributedly connected to the outer periphery of the plate body 52. The springs 53 shown in Fig. 1 are arranged on the two long sides of the rectangle each with four, a total of eight, so that when the follower connector is tilted , It can increase the torque along the axial direction of the spring 53 and reduce the torque in the horizontal direction. While providing moving space for the follower connection, the service life of the spring 53 itself can be prolonged. At the same time, the multiple springs 53 distributed along the outer periphery The common support makes the force transmission ability of the follower connector more reliable when the posture changes or when the natural balance is maintained.

The attitude sensor 51 can be one or a combination of a nine-axis inertial sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, a three-axis gyroscope, and a three-axis electronic compass, which has good selectivity and expandability, and is selected in this embodiment A nine-axis inertial sensor is used as the attitude sensor 51. In other embodiments, the attitude sensor 51 may be installed on the rod body 2.

Example two

A posture detection device includes: a follower connecting piece for connecting with the part to be balanced and maintaining linkage with the part to be balanced; an elastic support piece, connected between the following connecting piece and the motion mechanism, for carrying the follower connection The posture sensor 51 is installed on the follower connector or the part to be balanced, and is used to sense the posture change of the part to be balanced and feed it back to the main control board 4.

The posture detection device can be applied to a variety of machines that include the part to be balanced and the balancing device. In the travel of a variety of usage scenarios, such as forward, backward, left turn, and right turn, the part to be balanced can be in the follow-up connecting piece. Under the support of, itself and the synchronous drive follower connector tilt in any direction, so that the attitude sensor 51 can detect the forward, backward, left, and right tilt components, so as to more accurately detect the tilt posture change Therefore, it is more beneficial to control the motion mechanism to compensate for the posture change of the part to be balanced, and to improve the balance in a variety of usage scenarios.

Further, the attitude sensor 51 is one or a combination of a nine-axis inertial sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, a three-axis gyroscope, and a three-axis electronic compass. A fixing structure 6 for fixedly connecting the part to be balanced is provided on the follower connecting piece. The follower connecting piece is a plate body 52, and the geometric center of the plate body 52 is used to connect the part to be balanced. The board 52 includes a mounting part 521 for horizontally mounting the attitude sensor 51, and the attitude sensor 51 is mounted on the mounting part 521. The elastic support is a spring 53. The springs 53 are provided in multiple and distributedly connected to the outer periphery of the follower connecting piece.

Example three

A robot includes a part to be balanced and a balance device. The balance device includes a motion mechanism and a main control board 4 that controls the motion of the motion mechanism. The robot further includes the attitude detection device described in the second embodiment.

The portion to be balanced in the second and third embodiments described above may be brackets, trays, clamps, etc. for carrying objects, which are used to fix other objects that actually need to be balanced.

The part to be balanced can also be directly objects that actually need to be balanced, such as support rods, cameras, balance car pedals, etc.

The examples of this specific implementation manner are all preferred examples of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of protection of the present invention accordingly. Therefore: all equivalent changes made in accordance with the structure, shape, and principle of the present invention should be covered in Within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

An electric crutches, comprising a grip (1), a rod body (2) and a balancing device, the balancing device comprising a movement mechanism and a main control board (4) that controls the movement of the movement mechanism, and is characterized in that:

A posture detection device is connected between the rod body (2) and the movement mechanism, and the posture detection device includes:

The follower connecting piece is connected with the rod body (2) and keeps linkage with the rod body (2);

The elastic support member is connected between the follower connector and the movement mechanism, and is used to carry the follower connector and provide a movable space for the follower connector;

The posture sensor (51) is installed on the follower connector or the rod body (2), and is used to sense the posture change of the rod body (2) and feed it back to the main control board (4).
The electric walking stick according to claim 1, characterized in that: the attitude sensor (51) is one or a combination of a nine-axis inertial sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, a three-axis gyroscope, and a three-axis electronic compass .
The electric crutches according to claim 1, characterized in that: the rod body (2) and the follower connecting member are fixedly connected by a fixed structure (6).
The electric crutches according to claim 1 or 2 or 3, characterized in that: the follower connecting piece is a plate body (52), and the rod body (2) is connected to the geometric center of the plate body (52) Place.
The electric crutches according to claim 4, characterized in that: the board (52) includes a mounting portion (521) for horizontally mounting an attitude sensor (51), and the attitude sensor (51) is installed on the mounting part (521). Department (521).
The electric crutches according to claim 4, characterized in that the elastic support is a spring (53).
The electric crutches according to claim 6, characterized in that: the springs (53) are arranged in multiples and are distributedly connected to the outer periphery of the follower connecting piece.
A posture detection device, characterized in that it comprises:

Follow-up connector for connecting with the part to be balanced and maintaining linkage with the part to be balanced;

The elastic support member is connected between the follower connector and the movement mechanism, and is used to carry the follower connector and provide a movable space for the follower connector;

The posture sensor (51) is installed on the follower connector or the part to be balanced, and is used to sense the posture change of the part to be balanced and feed it back to the main control board (4).
The attitude detection device according to claim 8, wherein the attitude sensor (51) is one or more of a nine-axis inertial sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, a three-axis gyroscope, and a three-axis electronic compass. combination.
The posture detection device according to claim 8, characterized in that: a fixing structure (6) for fixedly connecting the part to be balanced is provided on the follower connecting piece.
The posture detection device according to claim 8 or 9 or 10, characterized in that: the follower connector is a plate (52), and the geometric center of the plate (52) is used to connect the part to be balanced.
The attitude detection device according to claim 11, characterized in that: the board (52) comprises a mounting portion (521) for horizontally mounting the attitude sensor (51), and the attitude sensor (51) is installed on the On the mounting part (521).
The posture detection device according to claim 11, wherein the elastic support is a spring (53).
The posture detection device according to claim 13, characterized in that: the springs (53) are arranged in multiples and are distributedly connected to the outer periphery of the follower connecting piece.
A robot comprising a part to be balanced and a balancing device, the balancing device comprising a movement mechanism and a main control board (4) that controls the movement of the movement mechanism, characterized in that the robot further comprises any one of claims 8 to 14 The posture detection device described in the item.