JP6540489B2 - Walking support device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a walking support device, for example, a walking support device that is attached to a leg of a user and supports bending and stretching operations of a knee joint of the leg.

  In recent years, a walking support device for supporting a user's walking at a rehabilitation site or the like has been developed for practical use. Such a walking support device is connected to an upper thigh link and an upper thigh link fixed to the upper thigh of the leg in the user and fixed to the lower thigh of the leg in the user as disclosed in Patent Document 1 Lower leg link, a drive unit for rotationally driving the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link, and a control unit for controlling the drive unit.

JP, 2012-213554, A

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the walking assistance device 100 is configured such that the rotation angle of the lower leg link 102 is 0 ° with respect to the upper leg link 101 when the leg of the user is in the extended state, and It is desirable that the user's leg be worn with the knee axis and the rotational axes of the upper leg link 101 and the lower leg link 102 substantially at the same position.

  Here, the walking support device 100 is attached to the leg of the user by a hand such as a caregiver. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the walking support device 100 is attached to the leg in the extended state of the user, the lower leg link 102 is rotated with respect to the upper leg link 101, or the user In some cases, the knee axes of the legs and the rotation axes of the upper thigh link 101 and the lower thigh link 102 may not be arranged at substantially the same position.

  However, the walking support device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not configured to be able to determine whether or not the user's leg is correctly attached.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and realizes a walking support device capable of determining whether or not the user's leg is properly attached.

A walk supporting device according to an aspect of the present invention is a walking support device that is attached to a leg of a user and supports bending and stretching operations of a knee joint of the leg,
An upper thigh link fixed to the upper thigh of the leg;
A lower leg link connected to the upper leg link and fixed to the lower leg of the leg;
A driving unit that rotationally drives the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link;
A first detection unit that detects a rotation angle of the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link;
A second detection unit that detects that the leg is in a standing state;
A control unit that controls the drive unit based on detection signals of the first detection unit and the second detection unit;
The control unit determines whether or not the leg is in the free leg state based on the detection signal of the second detection unit, and the leg is in the free leg state, and the command signal output to the drive unit is A threshold value in which an absolute value of a deviation between a target rotation angle of the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link and a rotational angle of the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link indicated by the detection signal of the first detection unit is preset. When the above period is equal to or more than a predetermined period, it is determined that the walking support device is not properly attached to the leg.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a walking support device capable of determining whether or not the user's leg is properly worn.

It is a figure which shows typically the state which mounted | worn the walk assistance apparatus of Embodiment 1 with a user's leg. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the walking assistance device of the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a view showing the arrangement of load sensors of a second detection unit in the walking assistance device of the first embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow which determines whether the walk assistance apparatus of Embodiment 1 is correctly mounted | worn with a user's leg. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow which determines whether the walk assistance apparatus of Embodiment 2 is correctly mounted | worn with a user's leg. (A) is a figure which shows the state in which the walk assistance apparatus was correctly mounted | worn with a user's leg. (B) is a figure which shows the state which is not correctly mounted | worn with a walk assistance apparatus on a user's leg.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Further, in order to clarify the explanation, the following description and the drawings are simplified as appropriate.

Embodiment 1
The walk supporting device of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a state in which the walking support device of the present embodiment is attached to a leg of a user. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the walking support device of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the arrangement of load sensors of the second detection unit in the walking assistance device of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the walking support device 1 according to the present embodiment includes the upper thigh link 2, the lower thigh link 3, the foot 4, the driving unit 5, the first detecting unit 6, and the second detecting unit 7 and the control unit 8 are mounted on the leg of the user to support the flexion-extension operation of the knee joint of the leg.

  The upper thigh link 2 is fixed to the upper thigh of the user via the fixing band 2a. The lower leg link 3 is fixed to the lower leg of the user via the fixing band 3a. The lower end portion of the upper leg link 2 and the upper end portion of the lower leg link 3 are connected via a rotation shaft 9 extending in the left-right direction of the walking support device 1, and the upper leg link 2 and the lower leg link 3 are It is relatively rotatable around the rotation axis 9.

  The foot portion 4 includes a sole mounting portion 4 a on which the sole of the user's foot is placed. The protruding portion 4b protruding from the sole mounting portion 4a and the lower end of the lower leg link 3 are connected via the rotation shaft 10 extending in the left-right direction of the walking support device 1, and the foot 4 and the lower leg link 3 can be relatively rotated via the rotation shaft 10.

  The driving unit 5 includes, for example, a motor 5a and a reduction gear (not shown), and the driving force of the motor 5a is transmitted to the rotation shaft 9 via the reduction gear, and the upper thigh link 2 and the lower thigh link 3 Relatively driven to rotate.

  The first detection unit 6 is provided, for example, in the drive unit 5, detects a rotation angle of the lower leg link 3 with respect to the upper thigh link 2, and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 8. As the first detection unit 6, a general angle detection device can be used, and for example, an encoder can be used.

  The second detection unit 7 includes a plurality of load sensors 7a provided on the upper surface of the footrest mounting portion 4a of the foot portion 4. The second detection unit 7 detects and detects the total load acting on the soles of the user. The signal is output to the control unit 8.

  For example, a single-axis load sensor is used as the load sensor 7a, and as shown in FIG. Further, in the area where the heel portion of the sole of the user's sole in the sole placement portion 4a comes in contact with, a space is provided on the left and right.

  The control unit 8 controls the motor 5a of the drive unit 5 based on detection signals input from the first detection unit 6 and the second detection unit 7 in order to cause the walking support device 1 to perform a so-called assist operation. Do.

  Specifically, the control unit 8 controls the leg on the side on which the walking support device 1 is attached based on the total load acting on the sole of the user indicated by the detection signal input from the second detection unit 7. One of the leg condition and the support leg condition is determined. For example, when the total load is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold, the control unit 8 determines that the support leg is in the support leg state, and when the total load is less than the first threshold, the control leg 8 is in the free leg state. judge.

  Then, when the leg on the side on which the walking assistance device 1 is mounted is in the support leg state, the control unit 8 controls the drive unit 5 to perform normal assist control (that is, standing leg holding control) in the support leg state. The command signal is output to the motor 5a.

  On the other hand, when the leg on the side on which the walking support device 1 is mounted is in the free leg state, the control unit 8 drives to perform normal assist control (that is, free leg motion auxiliary control) in the free leg state. The command signal is output to the motor 5a of the unit 5.

  At this time, the control unit 8 sets the target rotation angle indicated by the command signal output to the motor 5a of the drive unit 5 regardless of whether the leg on the side to which the walking support device 1 is attached is in the support leg state or the free leg state. The angle follow-up control is performed such that the deviation between the first rotation unit 6 and the actual rotation angle indicated by the detection signal input from the first detection unit 6 converges.

  Here, as described below, the control unit 8 is configured to be able to determine whether or not the walking support device 1 is correctly attached to the leg of the user.

  Next, a method of determining whether or not the walking support device 1 of the present embodiment is correctly attached to the leg of the user will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of determining whether the walking support device of the present embodiment is correctly attached to the leg of the user. As shown in FIG. 4, first, the control unit 8 determines whether or not angle follow-up control is being performed (S1). Control part 8 returns to the process of S1, when angle following control is not carried out (NO of S1).

  On the other hand, when the angle follow-up control is performed (YES in S1), the control unit 8 determines whether the leg on which the walking support device 1 is attached is in the free leg state (S2). When the leg on the side on which the walking support device 1 is mounted is in the supporting leg state, the control unit 8 returns to the process of S1 (NO in S2).

  On the other hand, when the leg on the side on which the walking support device 1 is attached is in the free leg state, the control unit 8 outputs the target rotation angle indicated by the command signal output to the motor 5a of the drive unit 5 and the first detection unit 6 It is determined whether or not a period in which the absolute value of the deviation between the actual rotation angle indicated by the input detection signal is equal to or greater than a preset second threshold is equal to or greater than a preset first period. (S3).

  At this time, since the leg on the side on which the walking support device 1 is attached is in the free leg state, it is easier to follow the assist operation of the walking support device 1 compared to the case where the leg is in the support leg state, and the deviation is It should transition to converge.

  Therefore, when the deviation is less than the second threshold, or when the deviation is less than the first period when the deviation is less than the second threshold (NO in S3), the walking assistance device 1 is a user It is determined that the user's leg is correctly attached (S4), and the process returns to S1.

  On the other hand, when the period when the deviation is equal to or more than the second threshold is equal to or more than the first period (YES in S3), the control unit 8 determines that the walking support device 1 is not properly attached to the user's leg (S5), return to the process of S1.

  As described above, the walking support device 1 according to the present embodiment can determine whether the walking support device 1 is correctly attached to the leg of the user. In particular, the walking support device 1 of the present embodiment does not prepare a new detection unit or the like, and based on the detection signals of the first detection unit 6 and the second detection unit 7 provided in advance, the walking support It can be determined whether the device 1 is correctly worn on the user's leg.

  Here, when the walking support device 1 is not properly attached to the user's leg, for example, the bending angle or extension angle of the user's leg before reaching the target rotation angle of the lower leg link 3 with respect to the upper leg link 2 May reach the limit. However, the motor 5 a of the drive unit 5 is a deviation between the target rotation angle of the lower leg link 3 with respect to the upper leg link 2 indicated by the command signal from the control unit 8 and the actual rotation angle of the lower leg link 3 with respect to the upper leg link 2 It keeps being controlled so that it disappears. As a result, the user may feel uncomfortable.

  Therefore, the control unit 8 does not return to the process of S 1, and, for example, stops the control of the motor 5 a of the drive unit 5 or weakens the control torque of the motor 5 a of the drive unit 5. It is preferable to control the motor 5a. This makes it possible to reduce the discomfort of the user.

  Alternatively, the control unit 8 may control the speaker so as to warn that the walking support device 1 is not properly attached to the user's leg by outputting a sound or the like from the speaker (not shown). . Thus, for example, it is possible to notify a caregiver who wears the walking support device 1 on the leg of the user that the walking support device 1 is not properly mounted on the leg of the user.

  Furthermore, when an operation panel (not shown) for operating the walking support device 1 is provided, a warning that the walking support device 1 is not properly attached to the user's leg is displayed on the display unit of the operation panel (for example, Operation has been performed to display an error in the knee joint movement, "May not be installed correctly.", "Please stop the operation of the walking support device", etc. You may control the panel.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, walking is directly performed using the deviation between the target rotation angle indicated by the command signal output to the drive unit 5 and the actual rotation angle indicated by the detection signal input from the first detection unit 6. Although it is determined whether or not the support device 1 is correctly attached to the user's leg, the deviation may be used indirectly.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of determining whether the walking support device of the present embodiment is correctly attached to the leg of the user. If the leg on which the walking support device is mounted is in the free leg state and the knee axis of the leg and the rotation axis 9 of the walking support device are arranged at substantially the same position, the movement of the leg should be In order to easily follow the assist operation of the walking support device, angle follow-up control is possible with a limited control torque.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the step of S11 is equal to the step of S1 of the first embodiment, and the step of S12 is equal to the step of S2 of the first embodiment, but in the step of S13. It is determined whether or not the period in which the absolute value of the control torque is equal to or greater than the preset third threshold is equal to or greater than the preset second period.

  Here, the control torque is, for example, a deviation between the target rotation angle indicated by the command signal output to the motor 5 a of the drive unit 5 and the actual rotation angle indicated by the detection signal input from the first detection unit 6. It can be derived by integrating the proportionality factor. Therefore, determining whether or not the walking support device is correctly mounted on the user's leg based on the control torque means whether or not the walking support device is correctly mounted on the user's leg based on the deviation. Is substantially equivalent to determining

  Then, when the absolute value of the control torque is less than the third threshold, or when the period in which the absolute value of the control torque is equal to or larger than the third threshold is less than the second period (NO in S13), the control unit 8 walks. It determines with the support apparatus 1 being correctly mounted | worn with a user's leg (S14), and returns to the process of S11.

  On the other hand, when the period in which the absolute value of the control torque is equal to or more than the third threshold is equal to or more than the second period (YES in S13), the control unit 8 correctly mounts the walking assistance device 1 on the leg of the user It determines with not being (S15) and returns to the process of S11.

  As described above, the walking assistance device of the present embodiment can also determine whether the walking assistance device is correctly attached to the user's leg.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the case of having an operation panel for operating the walking support device, the operation panel is operated to set (change or the like) a second threshold (third threshold) or a first period (second period). It should be possible).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 walk supporting device 2 upper leg link, 2a fixed band 3 lower leg link, 3a fixed band 4 foot part, 4a foot sole mounting part, 4b protrusion part 5 drive part, 5a motor 6 first detection part 7 second detection 7a Load sensor 8 Control unit 9 10 rotation axis

Claims (1)

A walking support device attached to a user's leg and supporting bending and stretching movement of a knee joint of the leg,
An upper thigh link fixed to the upper thigh of the leg;
A lower leg link connected to the upper leg link and fixed to the lower leg of the leg;
A driving unit that rotationally drives the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link;
A first detection unit, which is an encoder provided in the drive unit to detect a rotation angle of the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link;
A second detection unit that detects that the leg is in a standing state;
A control unit that controls the drive unit based on detection signals of the first detection unit and the second detection unit;
The control unit determines whether or not the leg is in the free leg state based on a detection signal of the second detection unit, and in the period from the start of the free leg when the leg is in the free leg , The absolute value of the deviation between the target rotation angle of the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link indicated by the output command signal and the rotation angle of the lower leg link with respect to the upper leg link indicated by the detection signal of the first detection unit It is determined that the walking support device is not properly attached to the leg when the period which is equal to or greater than the preset threshold is equal to or longer than the period in which the deviation is assumed to converge in advance. Support device.

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