JP6004482B2 - Walking support machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a walking assist device.

  Robotic devices that assist walking are actively developed, but most of them are active. In general, it is troublesome to install and expensive, so it cannot be used easily.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a walking support device that can substantially realize movement of knees and ankles during normal walking by assisting muscle strength of hip joints, knee joints, and ankle joints.

  Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a person walks on a flat ground by assisting a walker having no power called a passive walker.

  In addition, the present inventors filed a two-legged passive walker with two legs of the passive walker, and increased the walking movement efficiency in this two-legged passive walker (see Patent Document 2). This is a structure in which the upper body is connected to a waist shaft that rotatably connects two legs, and an elastic member is stretched around the thighs of the upper body and the two legs, It has the upper body effect of increasing the movement efficiency of walking.

JP 2009-240488 A PCT / JP2010 / 72859

Satoshi Tabe, Akito Sano, Yoshito Ikebuchi, Yuji Hayashi, Hideo Fujimoto: "Realization of Assisted Flat Walking with Passive Walkers", Proc. Of Robotics and Mechatronics Lecture '09, 2P1-C14, 2009

  The walking support device described in Patent Document 1 uses a large-scale actuator or control device, so that it is difficult to use easily and the cost is high. In addition, it takes time to install and is inconvenient.

  The walker described in Non-Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2 is walked on a flat ground by assisting a person, and does not support walking of a person.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a walking support device that is attached to a person and supports walking of the person.

In addition, the present invention is a walking support machine that supports the walking of the supportee by accelerating the movement of the other leg by the movement of the one leg of the supportee, and the relative support is provided via the knee joint. A passive leg having a thigh and a lower leg that rotate in the direction of the leg, and further including a passive leg having a waist joint that allows the passive leg to rotate, and the other leg of the person being supported And the one leg of the supportee is connected to the passive leg via the pelvis of the supportee when the walking support device is attached to the supportee. The passive leg moves naturally by the movement of one leg of the supportee, and the movement of the other leg of the supportee wearing the passive leg is promoted .

  According to the walking support machine having the above-described features, the walking support machine can be attached to a person to support walking of the person.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the walk assistance machine which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which looked at the walking assistance machine shown in FIG. 1 from back diagonally, and shows embodiment which provided the mounting tool. It is a figure which shows the structure of the walk assistance machine which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the waist joint position adjustment mechanism in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the adjustment method of the waist joint position adjustment mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the foot mounting tool in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state which attached the leg mounting tool shown in FIG. 6 to each leg | foot of two legs. It is a figure which shows the structure of the walk assistance machine which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

The first and second embodiments to be described later are reference forms that do not satisfy all the features of the present invention described in the column of means for solving the problems.
( First embodiment)
In FIG. 1, the structure of the walk assistance machine which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention is shown. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the supporter 5 pushes the handle 2 of the walking support machine and the walking support machine supports the walking of the supportee 6 while walking. FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the walking assistance machine shown in FIG.

  The walking assistance machine is a passive walking machine type walking assistance machine (passive walking leg type robot) that walks with the assistance of the supporter 5, and the thigh 1 a that rotates relatively via the knee joint 1 d and the lower part. Two legs (passive walking legs) 1 having a thigh 1b, a connecting tool 4 for rotatably connecting the two legs 1, a handle 2 for assisting the walking support device, and the walking support And a mounting tool 3 for mounting the machine on the supported person 6, and the supporter 5 pushes the handle 2 to make the walking support machine walk while supporting the walking of the supported person 6. Yes. The leg 1, the handle 2, and the connecting tool 4 are made of a metal such as aluminum, and the mounting tool 3 is made of a material such as plastic.

  Each of the two legs 1 includes a thigh 1a, a crus 1b, a stopper 1c, a knee joint 1d, a waist joint 1e, and a foot 1f. The thigh 1a and the lower leg 1b rotate relatively via the knee joint 1d. The knee stopper 1c is provided to prevent knee overextension. The hip joint 1e is configured by a portion that connects two legs rotatably at the connecting portion 4. The foot 1f has an arc shape provided at the tip of the leg. The length of the thigh 1a is, for example, 40 cm, and the length of the crus 1b is, for example, 42 cm.

  The handle 2 is provided on the back surface of the connector 4. The handle 2 may not have a shape as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as long as the supporter 5 can grip the handle 2.

  The wearing tool 3 includes a waist wearing tool 3a and a calf wearing tool 3b. The waist attachment 3a is attached to the waist joint 1e, and the calf attachment 3b is attached to the lower leg 1b. The waist attachment 3a is C-shaped, and restrains a person's waist (specifically, the hip bone). The calf wearing tool 3b is also C-shaped and restrains a person's calf. Each mounting tool 3 a, 3 b is attached so that the opened part of the C-shape faces the inside of the leg 1, specifically, so as to be inside the leg 1. In addition, about the waist | hip | lumbar part mounting tool 3a, even if it is not a C-shaped thing, the L-shaped thing which carried out the shape which restrains a waist | hip | lumbar part, for example, the shape which supports a waist | hip | lumbar part from the back side may be sufficient.

  The connection part 4 connects the two legs 1 rotatably. The connecting portion 4 is provided with an appropriate width so that the supported person 6 is sandwiched between the two legs 1 of the walking support machine and the supported person 6 is mounted on the walking support machine.

  The walking support operation of the walking support machine described above will be described below along a series of movements from the start of walking to the stop of walking.

  First, the supporter 5 attaches the walking support machine to the supportee 6 and grips the handle 2. Note that the leg to be stepped on first is determined between the supporter 5 and the supportee 6. By pushing the walking assist machine from behind via the handle 2, the stepped-on passive walking leg 1 floats off the ground, and is swung forward while bending the knee as a free leg period, and walking is started. At this time, the supporter 5 adjusts the pressing force while watching the movement of the leg of the supported person 6 so that the passive walking leg 1 has a slight momentum (speed) than the leg of the supported person. Thereby, the leg of the supported person 6 comes to be naturally guided to the passive walking leg 1, and the supported person 6 can be supported for walking. In the experiment, it was confirmed that the swing motion of the subject's legs was promoted.

  In the support leg period, it is possible to assist the support leg of the person to be supported 6 to fall forward by pushing the handle 2 from the rear similarly.

  Walking support can be continued by repeating the above-described movements during the swing phase and the support leg phase. The walking speed is adjusted with the strength of the assist force (pushing force). When the assist force is increased, the swinging speed of the leg 1 is promoted, and the walking speed and the stride of the supported person 6 are increased. Conversely, if the assist force is weakened, the walking speed and the stride decrease.

  When the supported person 6 tries to stop walking, the movement of the leg of the supported person 6 becomes small, so the supporter 5 gradually decreases the assist force after seeing this state. Walking can be stopped.

  As described above, the walking support device according to the present embodiment is a mechanism that supports the walking of the person with the passive walking device having the two legs 1, and the supporter 5 presses the handle 2 to cause the walking support device to walk. However, it supports the walk of the supportee 6. Unlike conventional walking assist machines, the walking assist machine itself can walk. The walking assistance machine walks and approaches the supported person 6 while being assisted, and then docks (that is, the walking assistance machine is aligned with the supported person 6). The walking support device is set on the person to be supported 6 with the wearing tool 3. In the case of the configuration of the present embodiment, the wearing time is as short as about 10 seconds, and the walking support device can be easily worn.

  In the state where the walking support machine is set on the person 6 to be supported, the arc-shaped feet 1f provided at the tips of the two legs 1 are set to the ground. Thereby, the leg 1 of the walking support machine can support the supported person 6 in a state where the supported person's 6 leg is on the ground.

  When walking support is performed, the supporter 5 adjusts the amount and manner of assistance while watching the walking of the supportee 6. When the walking support machine walks with assistance, it can interact mechanically with the leg movement of the person to be supported 6 to perform walking support. By performing such walking support, the leg 1 of the walking support machine is quickly swung out, so that the leg leg of the supported person 6 is naturally pulled and the swinging motion of the leg is promoted.

In the above-described embodiment, the optimal restraint point is set to the hipbone and the calf by the mounting tool 3. This is based on the experimental result that it is difficult to feel the assist on the lower leg without the restraint on the hips, and the same assist feeling cannot be obtained even when the assist is applied only by the restraining mechanism of the hip bone. However, as long as the assist feeling is obtained, the restraint may be performed at a place other than the hipbone and the calf.
(Second Embodiment)
In FIG. 3, the structure of the walk assistance machine which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention is shown. In this embodiment, various improvements are made to the first embodiment described above.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the walking support machine includes length adjusting mechanisms 7 a and 7 b for adjusting the lengths of the thigh 1 a and the crus 1 b of each of the two legs 1, and a connecting tool. 4 is provided with a length adjusting mechanism 7c for adjusting the horizontal width of 4.

  These length adjusting mechanisms 7a, 7b, 7c are constituted by a slide mechanism that slides and holds the thigh 1a, the lower leg 1b, and the connector 4 in the length direction, or a combination of a screw and a nut. A known structure such as a screw mechanism can be used.

  By using such length adjustment mechanisms 7a, 7b, 7c, the length of the thigh 1a, the lower leg 1b and the lateral width of the connector 4 can be freely adjusted in accordance with the physique of the person to be supported 6. Can do.

  In this embodiment, a handle 2a for the person to be supported 6 is provided. The supported person 6 can walk more easily by holding the handle 2a and using it like a cane.

  Further, in this embodiment, although not shown in FIG. 3, a hip joint position adjusting mechanism 8 for adjusting the positions of the respective hip joints 1e of the two legs 1 is provided (see FIG. 4). . The hip joint position adjusting mechanism 8 is provided between the connector 4 and the hip joint 1e, and is composed of an angle adjusting mechanism 8a and a length direction adjusting mechanism 8b as shown in FIG. The angle adjustment mechanism 8a is configured to rotate and adjust the length direction adjustment mechanism 8b with respect to the connector 4, and maintain the adjusted state. The length direction adjustment mechanism 8b is in the longitudinal direction. The hip joint 1e is moved and adjusted, and the adjusted state is maintained.

  FIG. 5 shows a method for adjusting the hip joint position by the hip joint position adjusting mechanism 8. First, from the state of FIG. 5 (a), the length direction adjustment mechanism 8b is used to slide the waist joint 1e in the longitudinal direction thereof to adjust the length direction to obtain the state of FIG. 5 (b). Then, the length direction adjustment mechanism 8b is rotated using the angle adjustment mechanism 8a, and it is set as the state of FIG.5 (c). As a result, the position of the hip joint 1e can be adjusted.

  By this adjustment, the hip joint 1e can be brought to the position of the greater trochanter of the supported person 6. Since the human leg moves around the greater trochanter, walking support can be efficiently performed by positioning the hip joint 1e near the greater trochanter.

  Further, in this embodiment, although not shown in FIG. 3, a foot wearing device 9 for restraining the foot (a portion below the ankle) of the supportee 6 on each foot 1 f of the two legs 1. (See FIG. 6). FIG. 7 shows a state where the foot attachment 9 is attached to each foot 1 f of the two legs 1.

  The foot attachment 9 includes a slipper holding portion 9a for holding and holding a slipper 10 worn by the supportee 6, a connecting portion 9b for connecting the slipper holding portion 9a to the foot 1f of the leg 1, and a connecting portion 9b. A rotating portion 9c that holds the foot 9f so as to be rotatable with respect to the foot 1f, and a sliding portion 9d that holds the connecting portion 9b so as to be slidable in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 6 (direction oblique to the vertical direction) with respect to the foot 1f. It consists of.

  By providing such a foot wearing device 9, the foot of the person to be supported 6 can be rotated about the axis of the connecting portion 9b and can be slid obliquely in the vertical direction, so that the wearability can be improved. .

Note that when the foot wearer 9 restrains the foot of the supported person 6, the calf wearing tool 3 b for restraining the calf of the supported person 6 may be omitted.
(Modification of the first and second embodiments)
The wearing device 3 is preferably attached to at least two places of the leg 1, and in addition to the waist joint 1e, the lower leg 1b, and the foot 1f shown in the above-described embodiment, the thigh 1a, the knee joint 1d, or the lower It can be considered that the thigh 1b is attached to a place where the ankle is restrained. However, since the hip bone, calf, and foot are preferable as the restraint points as in the above embodiment, the attachment device 3 is attached to at least two places of the leg 1, and one of them is the waist attachment device 3a or the calf attachment device. A combination such as 3b or foot attachment 9 is preferable.

  The wearing tool 3 may be configured by a belt or the like to restrain the supported person. For example, the calf wearing tool 3b may be combined with a C-shaped one shown in FIG. 2 with a belt so that the supporter 6 can restrain the calf more reliably. Moreover, about the calf wearing tool 3b, what has a massage function may be used so that the calf of the supportee 6 can be massaged while supporting walking.

  The handle 2 is preferably attached to the connector 4, but may be attached to other things.

  The connector 4 may be formed of a flexible material with flexibility so that the walking support machine can be easily attached to the supportee 6.

  The thigh 1a and crus 1b constituting the leg 1 may be pipe-shaped instead of prismatic.

The number of legs 1 of the walking support machine is not two but may be more than two, such as four.
(Third embodiment)
In FIG. 8, the structure of the walk assistance machine which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention is shown. In this embodiment, the walking support machine shown in (a) is attached to only one leg of the supportee 6 as shown in (b), and the supportee's own healthy one is supported without the supporter's assistance. The leg (healthy leg) 14 is a walking support machine that supports the other leg (paralyzed leg) 15.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, it is the structure which made the two legs 1 into one, and eliminated the handle 2 with respect to the structure of 1st Embodiment. Specifically, the walking assist device according to this embodiment includes a leg (passive leg) 1 having a thigh 1a, a lower leg 1b, a stopper 1c, a knee joint 1d and a waist joint 1e, a waist attachment 3a, A wearing device 3 provided with a calf wearing device 3b, a shoulder 12 for lowering the walking support device from the shoulder of the person 6 to be supported, and an elastic member (for example, urethane sheet) for connecting the thigh 1a to the shoulder 12 ) 13, and is configured to support the other leg 15 with one healthy leg 14 of the person being supported.

  The shoulder 12 is a belt and is connected to the waist attachment 3a. The urethane sheet 13 includes a front urethane sheet 13a that connects a portion of the shoulder 12 that is positioned on the front side of the upper body of the supported person 6 and the front side of the thigh 1a, and an upper surface of the supported person 6 of the shoulder 12; It consists of the rear urethane sheet 13b which connects the location located on the back side of the body and the rear side of the thigh 1a.

  According to this walking assist device, the passive leg 1 is changed from two legs to one leg, so that it is simple and low cost. The shoulder 12 is attached to the passive leg 1, and by lowering from the shoulder of the person 6 to be supported, the waist can be aligned and a part of the mass of the passive leg 1 can be borne by the shoulder.

  Further, since the urethane sheet 13 is connected to the upper body of the supported person 6 through the shoulder 12, the upper body effect can be brought about on the passive leg 1. This upper body effect is the same as that described in Patent Document 2. Specifically, the urethane sheets 13a and 13b stretched around the shoulder 12 and the thigh 1a of the passive leg 1 The swinging of the passive leg 1 is promoted in the initial stage, the swinging amount of the passive leg 1 is suppressed in the late stage of the swing leg, the forward tilt of the upper body of the supported person 6 is suppressed in the early stage of the supporting leg, and the supported person in the later stage of the supporting leg 6 Upper body tilt is suppressed.

  In addition, since the healthy leg 14 of the supported person 6 and the passive leg 1 can be regarded as being connected via the pelvis of the supported person 6, the passive leg 1 naturally moves due to the movement of the healthy leg 14 of the supported person 6. The movement of the paralyzed leg 15 connected to the passive leg 1 is promoted. Therefore, even if there is no supporter, walking support of the supportee 6 can be performed.

  In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the length adjustment mechanisms 7a and 7b for adjusting the lengths of the thigh 1a and the lower leg 1b and the positions of the waist joint 1e are adjusted. For this purpose, a hip joint position adjusting mechanism 8 and a foot wearing tool 9 for restraining the foot of the person to be supported 6 may be provided.

1 leg 1a thigh 1b lower leg 1c knee stopper 1d knee joint 1e waist joint 1f arc-shaped foot 2 handle 3 wearing tool 3a waist wearing tool 3b calf wearing tool 4 coupling tool
5 supporters
6 supported people
7a, 7b, 7c Length adjustment mechanism 2a Handle for supportee 8 Lumbar joint position adjustment mechanism 8a Angle adjustment mechanism 8b Length direction adjustment mechanism 9 Foot attachment 9a Slipper holding part 9b Connection part 9c Rotation part 9d Slide part 10 Slipper 12 Shoulder 13 Urethane sheet 14 Healthy leg 15 Paralyzed leg

Claims (7)

A walking support machine that supports the walking of the supportee by accelerating the movement of the other leg by the movement of one leg of the supportee,
A passive leg having a thigh and a lower leg rotating relative to each other via a knee joint, and further having a waist joint that allows the passive leg to rotate;
An attachment for attaching the passive leg to the other leg of the person being supported;
A mechanism for promoting swinging of the passive leg at least in the initial stage of the free leg
In a state where the walking support machine is mounted on the supportee, one leg of the supportee and the passive leg are connected via the pelvis of the supportee, and the movement of the one leg of the supportee A walking support machine characterized in that the passive leg moves naturally and the movement of the other leg of the supportee wearing the passive leg is promoted. The mechanism promotes swinging of the passive leg in the early stage of the free leg, suppresses swinging of the passive leg in the late stage of the swing leg, suppresses forward tilt of the upper body of the supportee in the early stage of the support leg, Then, the walking assistance machine according to claim 1 , which suppresses the back tilt of the upper body of the person being supported. The walking support machine according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising a shoulder for lowering the passive leg from the shoulder of the person being supported. The walking support machine according to claim 3 , further comprising: an elastic member that connects between a portion of the shoulder rest of the body to be supported before and after the upper body and the thigh. A walking support machine that supports the walking of the supportee by accelerating the movement of the other leg by the movement of one leg of the supportee,
A passive leg having a thigh and a lower leg rotating relative to each other via a knee joint, and further having a waist joint that allows the passive leg to rotate;
An attachment for attaching the passive leg to the other leg of the person being supported;
A shoulder for lowering the passive leg from the shoulder of the supportee;
An elastic member for connecting between the thighs and the portions of the shoulder rest on the front and back of the upper body of the supported person,
In a state where the walking support machine is mounted on the supportee, one leg of the supportee and the passive leg are connected via the pelvis of the supportee, and the movement of the one leg of the supportee A walking support machine characterized in that the passive leg moves naturally and the movement of the other leg of the supportee wearing the passive leg is promoted. As the wearing device, it has a waist mounting device for mounting the passive leg on the back of the person being supported,
The walking support machine according to claim 3, wherein the shoulder rest is connected to the waist attachment device. The waist attachment device for attaching the passive leg to the back of the person being supported is provided as the attachment device, and the waist attachment device is attached to the waist joint of the passive leg. The walking support machine according to any one of 1 to 5 .

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