An antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton

Abstract

The present invention discloses an antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton, which includes two dorsolumbar connection plates arranged symmetrically left and right. The dorsolumbar connection plates are successively provided with a hip joint assembly, a knee joint assembly and a sole assembly; providing necessary auxiliary torque for the hip joint to reduce the burden on human muscles; providing necessary auxiliary torque for the knee joint to reduce the burden on human muscles; providing necessary auxiliary torque for the ankle joint to reduce the burden on human muscles; the air pressure of the artificial muscles and the rotation angle required for each joint to generate torque are realized through the kinematics and dynamics control algorithms inside the controller.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of assistive robots, and in particular to an antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb power exoskeleton. Background Art

[0002] A muscle exoskeleton is a wearable robot that adopts a human bionic structure, can assist the human body to bear heavier loads, and can provide functions of protection, support and enhancement for the human body.

[0003] The exoskeleton can work by being worn on the body by a person through corresponding human joints. According to the way of joint driving force, there are mainly electric servo-driven exoskeletons, hydraulic servo exoskeletons, pneumatic servo exoskeletons and hybrid power servo exoskeletons. Among the above driving methods, the advantage of electric servo is easy installation and control, but its power / mass ratio is low, so the performance index of the motor for driving the joint is high and the price is more expensive; the hydraulic servo drive has a large power / mass ratio, but due to easy leakage and more auxiliary components in the system, the cost is also high. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb power exoskeleton that increases practicability, simplifies the structure, reduces the cost, and is suitable for large-scale application in industrial and agricultural production, medical and other environments.

[0005] To solve the above technical problem, the present invention includes an antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb power exoskeleton, which includes two dorsolumbar connection plates arranged symmetrically left and right. Hip joint assemblies, knee joint assemblies and sole assemblies are sequentially provided on the dorsolumbar connection plates; the hip joint assembly includes a hip dorsal movable connection plate, and a hip joint artificial muscle assembly for driving the hip joint to move is installed on the hip dorsal movable connection plate; the knee joint assembly is installed on the hip dorsal movable connection plate through a leg rod hinge plate. The knee joint assembly includes a vertically arranged thigh rod, and a thigh artificial muscle assembly for driving the knee joint to move is installed on the thigh rod; the sole assembly is installed on the thigh rod through a calf connection plate. The sole assembly includes a vertically arranged calf rod, and a sole artificial muscle assembly for driving the ankle joint to move is installed on the calf rod; the two dorsolumbar connection plates are connected by a back plate assembly.

[0006] The hip joint artificial muscle assembly includes a first hip joint muscle hinge and a second hip joint muscle hinge hinged to the hip back movable connecting plate; a first hip joint pneumatic muscle and a second hip joint pneumatic muscle are respectively hinged to the first hip joint muscle hinge and the second hip joint muscle hinge; a hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley is provided at a position corresponding to the leg rod hinge plate on the hip back movable connecting plate, the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley is rotatably connected to the hip back movable connecting plate, and a hip joint antagonistic synchronous belt matching with it is installed on the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley, and the two ends of the hip joint antagonistic synchronous belt are respectively fixedly connected to the lower ends of the first hip joint pneumatic muscle and the second hip joint pneumatic muscle.

[0007] Further: The leg rod hinge plate includes a first hip joint leg rod hinge plate and a second hip joint leg rod hinge plate symmetrically arranged on both sides of the hip back movable connecting plate. The two ends of the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley are respectively fixedly connected to the first hip joint leg rod hinge plate and the second hip joint leg rod hinge plate. A hip joint encoder fixing bracket is fixedly connected to the first hip joint leg rod hinge plate, and the hip joint encoder is fixedly connected to the hip joint encoder fixing bracket and rotates synchronously with the first hip joint leg rod hinge plate.

[0008] Further: The thigh artificial muscle assembly includes a first thigh muscle hinge and a second thigh muscle hinge hinged to the front and back sides of the thigh rod. A first thigh pneumatic artificial muscle and a second thigh pneumatic artificial muscle are respectively hinged to the first thigh muscle hinge and the second thigh muscle hinge. On the left and right sides of the lower end of the thigh rod, a first knee joint connecting plate and a second knee joint connecting plate for supporting the rotation of the knee joint are symmetrically and fixedly connected respectively. A knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley is rotatably installed between the first knee joint connecting plate and the second knee joint connecting plate. A knee joint antagonistic synchronous belt matching with it is provided on the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley, and the two ends of the knee joint antagonistic synchronous belt are respectively fixedly connected to the first thigh pneumatic artificial muscle and the second thigh pneumatic artificial muscle. A thigh fixing strap is installed on the inner side of the thigh rod and can be adjusted up and down according to the specific body shape of the user.

[0009] Further: The calf connecting plate includes a first calf connecting plate and a second calf connecting plate respectively fixedly installed at both ends of the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley, and neither the first calf connecting plate nor the second calf connecting plate interferes with the first knee joint connecting plate and the second knee joint connecting plate.

[0010] Further: A knee joint encoder bracket is fixedly connected to the second knee joint connecting plate, and a knee joint encoder is fixedly connected to the knee joint encoder bracket.

[0011] Furthermore, the plantar artificial muscle assembly includes a plantar first muscle hinge member and a plantar second muscle hinge member respectively hinged to the front and rear sides of the calf rod. A first pneumatic artificial muscle and a plantar second pneumatic artificial muscle are respectively hinged to the plantar first muscle hinge member and the plantar second muscle hinge member. The lower end of the calf rod is hinged to a foot hinge block through a foot-leg connecting plate. The other ends of the first pneumatic artificial muscle and the plantar second pneumatic artificial muscle are respectively hinged to the foot hinge block for torque transmission. The foot-leg connecting plate includes a foot-leg first connecting plate and a foot-leg second connecting plate fixedly installed on the left and right sides of the calf rod. The foot-leg first connecting plate and the foot-leg second connecting plate are respectively hinged to both sides of the foot hinge block to achieve a limited rotation of one degree of freedom. A bottom plate is welded to the foot hinge block.

[0012] Furthermore, a calf fixing strap is installed on the inner side of the calf rod and can be freely adjusted according to the user's body shape. A foot sole first strap and a foot sole second strap are provided on the foot sole plate.

[0013] In summary, the antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton of the present invention is interactively connected to the wearer through the straps shown in the figure, and can adapt to the wearer's waist by adjusting the installation dimensions of the dorsal hip connecting plate and the back plate assembly according to the wearer's body shape and limb size. By adjusting the installation positions of the fixing straps on each leg rod, it can adapt to the wearer's lower limbs. By adjusting the foot sole first strap and the foot sole second strap, it can adapt to the wearer's feet. Through the above pre-operations, the adaptation of the wearer to the exoskeleton can be achieved.

[0014] When the wearer starts walking, the controller judges the movement intention of the human body, and accordingly inflates and deflates the hip joint first pneumatic muscle and the hip joint second pneumatic muscle in the hip joint assembly through the control components in the control box. When the pneumatic muscle contracts, it generates torque, driving the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley to rotate, thereby providing the necessary auxiliary torque for the hip joint and reducing the burden on the human muscles. Inflate and deflate the thigh first pneumatic artificial muscle and the thigh second pneumatic artificial muscle in the knee joint assembly according to the control instructions. When the pneumatic muscle contracts, it generates torque, driving the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley to rotate, thereby providing the necessary auxiliary torque for the knee joint and reducing the burden on the human muscles. Inflate and deflate the plantar first pneumatic artificial muscle and the plantar second pneumatic artificial muscle in the plantar assembly according to the control instructions. When the pneumatic muscle contracts, it generates torque, driving the foot hinge block to rotate, thereby providing the necessary auxiliary torque for the ankle joint and reducing the burden on the human muscles. The air pressure and rotation angle of the artificial muscle required for each joint to generate torque are realized through the kinematics and dynamics control algorithms inside the controller. Description of the Drawings

[0015] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments:

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton;

[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the hip joint assembly structure;

[0018] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the knee joint assembly structure;

[0019] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the partial structure of the knee joint assembly;

[0020] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the sole assembly structure;

[0021] Figure 6 It is an isometric schematic diagram of the sole assembly;

[0022] In the figure: 1. Dorsal hip connecting plate; 2. Hip joint assembly; 21. Hip dorsal movable connecting plate; 22. Hip joint first muscle hinge; 23. Hip joint second muscle hinge; 24. Hip joint first pneumatic muscle; 25. Hip joint second pneumatic muscle; 26. Hip joint antagonistic synchronous belt; 27. Hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley; 28. Hip joint encoder; 29. Hip joint encoder fixing bracket; 210. Hip joint first leg rod hinge plate; 211. Hip joint second leg rod hinge plate; 3. Knee joint assembly; 31. Thigh rod; 32. Thigh first muscle hinge; 33. Thigh second muscle hinge; 34. Thigh first pneumatic artificial muscle; 35. Thigh second pneumatic artificial muscle; 36. Thigh fixing strap; 37. Knee joint first connecting plate; 38. Knee joint second connecting plate; 39. Calf first connecting plate; 310. Calf second connecting plate; 311. Knee joint encoder; 312. Knee joint first bearing assembly; 313. Knee joint second bearing assembly; 314. First pulley backing plate; 315. Second pulley backing plate; 316. Knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley; 317. Knee joint antagonistic synchronous belt; 318. Knee joint encoder bracket; 4. Sole assembly; 41. Calf rod; 42. Sole first muscle hinge plate; 43. Sole second muscle hinge; 44. Sole first pneumatic artificial muscle; 45. Sole second pneumatic artificial muscle; 46. Foot hinge block; 47. Foot-leg first connecting plate; 48. Foot-leg second connecting plate; 49. Calf fixing strap; 410. Foot plate; 411. Foot plate first strap; 412. Foot plate second strap; 5. Back plate assembly; 51. Control box. Specific Embodiments

[0023] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0024] As shown Figure 1 in the figure is an antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton, including a back plate assembly 5, a left part and a right part connected in sequence. The left part and the right part have exactly the same structure and both include a dorsal hip connecting plate 1, a hip joint assembly 2, a knee joint assembly 3, and a sole assembly 4.

[0025] As shown Figure 2 in the figure, the hip joint assembly 2 includes a hip dorsal movable connecting plate 21 that cooperates with the dorsal hip connecting plate 1, a hip joint first muscle hinge 22, a hip joint second muscle hinge 23, a hip joint first pneumatic muscle 24, a hip joint second pneumatic muscle 25, a hip joint antagonistic synchronous belt 26, a hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 27, a hip joint encoder 28, a hip joint encoder fixing bracket 29, a hip joint first leg rod hinge plate 210, and a hip joint second leg rod hinge plate 211.

[0026] The hip dorsal movable connecting plate 21 cooperates with the straight slot holes on the dorsal hip connecting plate 1 through straight slot holes, and telescopic adjustable fixation can be achieved through bolts, so as to realize the front-back distance of the entire hip joint assembly 2.

[0027] The hip joint first muscle hinge 22 and the hip joint second muscle hinge 23 are respectively hinged on the hip dorsal movable connecting plate 21, and there is one degree of freedom in the circumferential direction; one ends of the hip joint first pneumatic muscle 24 and the hip joint second pneumatic muscle 25 are respectively hinged on the hip joint first muscle hinge 22 and the hip joint second muscle hinge 23, and there is one degree of freedom in the circumferential direction. The circumferential rotation directions of the above hip joint muscle hinges and the hip joint pneumatic muscles are orthogonal.

[0028] The other ends of the hip joint first pneumatic muscle 24 and the hip joint second pneumatic muscle 25 are respectively fixedly connected to both ends of the hip joint antagonistic synchronous belt 26; the hip joint antagonistic synchronous belt 26 is circumferentially matched with the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 27 to achieve transmission; the hip joint first leg rod hinge plate 210 and the hip joint second leg rod hinge plate 211 are respectively fixedly connected to two end faces of the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 27 to achieve synchronous rotation; the hip joint encoder fixing bracket 29 is fixedly connected to the hip joint first leg rod hinge plate 210, and the housing of the hip joint encoder 28 is fixedly installed on the hip joint encoder fixing bracket 29 and can rotate synchronously with the hip joint first leg rod hinge plate 210; the inner ring of the hip joint encoder 28 is connected to the fixed shaft of the hip dorsal movable connecting plate 21 to fix the two.

[0029] As shown Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown in the figure, the knee joint assembly 3 includes a thigh rod 31 and a knee joint assembly 3 mounted on the thigh rod 31. In the knee joint assembly 3, a first thigh muscle hinge 32 and a second thigh muscle hinge 33 are hinged on both sides of the thigh rod 31 for hinging one end of a first thigh pneumatic artificial muscle 34 and a second thigh pneumatic artificial muscle 35. A first knee joint connecting plate 37 and a second knee joint connecting plate 38 are symmetrically mounted at the lower end of the thigh rod 31 to form a pair of support members for supporting the rotating assembly of the knee joint. A knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 316 is coaxially mounted between the first knee joint connecting plate 37 and the second knee joint connecting plate 38 through a shaft. A first pulley backing plate 314 and a second pulley backing plate 315 are respectively mounted at both ends of the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 316 for adjusting the mounting clearance of the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 316. A knee joint antagonistic synchronous belt 317 is mounted in tooth-shaped cooperation with the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 316 for transmitting torque. At the same time, both ends of the knee joint antagonistic synchronous belt 317 are respectively fixedly connected to the other ends of the first thigh pneumatic artificial muscle 34 and the second thigh pneumatic artificial muscle 35. A first calf connecting plate 39 and a second calf connecting plate 310 are symmetrically mounted on two end faces of the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 316. A knee joint encoder bracket 318 is fixedly mounted on the second knee joint connecting plate 38. A knee joint encoder 311 is fixedly mounted on the knee joint encoder bracket 318 through its housing. A first knee joint bearing assembly 312 and a second knee joint bearing assembly 313 are respectively fixedly mounted on the first knee joint connecting plate 37 and the second knee joint connecting plate 38 for supporting and mounting the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 316. A thigh fixing strap 36 is fixedly mounted on the inner side of the thigh rod 31 through bolts and can be adjusted up and down according to the specific body type of the user.

[0030] As Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown in the figure, the sole assembly 4 includes a calf rod 41 and a sole assembly 4 mounted on the calf rod 41. A first sole muscle hinge 42 and a second sole muscle hinge 43 are respectively fixedly mounted on the front and back sides of the calf rod 41 for hinging and mounting a first sole pneumatic artificial muscle 44 and a second sole pneumatic artificial muscle 45. Both ends of a foot hinge block 46 are respectively hinged and mounted to the other ends of the first sole pneumatic artificial muscle 44 and the second sole pneumatic artificial muscle 45 for torque transmission. A first calf-leg connecting plate 47 and a second calf-leg connecting plate 48 are respectively fixed to both sides of the calf rod 41 and are hinged to the middle position of the foot hinge block 46 to achieve a limited rotation with one degree of freedom. A calf fixing strap 49 is fixedly mounted on the inner side of the calf rod 41 through bolts and can be freely adjusted according to the body type of the user. A sole plate 410 is welded to the inner side of the foot hinge block 46, and a first sole plate strap 411 and a second sole plate strap 412 are fixedly mounted on the sole plate 410.

[0031] A control box 51 is installed on the backplane assembly.

[0032] The antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton interacts and connects with the wearer through the straps shown in the figure. According to the body shape and limb size of the wearer, by adjusting the installation size of the back hip connecting plate 1 and the backplane assembly 5, the waist of the wearer can be adapted. By adjusting the installation positions of the fixed straps on each leg rod, the lower limbs of the wearer can be adapted. By adjusting the sole plate first strap 411 and the sole plate second strap 412, the feet of the wearer can be adapted. Through the above pre-operations, the adaptation between the wearer and the exoskeleton can be achieved.

[0033] When the wearer starts walking, the controller judges the movement intention of the human body. The control components in the control box 51 perform corresponding inflation and deflation on the hip joint first pneumatic muscle 24 and the hip joint second pneumatic muscle 25 in the hip joint assembly 2 according to the control instructions. When the pneumatic muscle contracts, it generates a torque, driving the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 27 to rotate, thereby providing the necessary auxiliary torque for the hip joint and reducing the burden on the human muscles. The thigh first pneumatic artificial muscle 34 and the thigh second pneumatic artificial muscle 35 in the knee joint assembly 3 are inflated and deflated according to the control instructions. When the pneumatic muscle contracts, it generates a torque, driving the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley 316 to rotate, thereby providing the necessary auxiliary torque for the knee joint and reducing the burden on the human muscles. The sole first pneumatic artificial muscle 44 and the sole second pneumatic artificial muscle 45 in the sole assembly 4 are inflated and deflated according to the control instructions. When the pneumatic muscle contracts, it generates a torque, driving the foot hinge block 46 to rotate, thereby providing the necessary auxiliary torque for the ankle joint and reducing the burden on the human muscles. The air pressure and rotation angle of the artificial muscles required for each joint to generate torque are all realized through the kinematics and dynamics control algorithms inside the controller.

[0034] In the description of the present invention, the terms indicating the direction or positional relationship such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the direction or positional relationship shown in the drawings. This is only for the convenience of description and does not indicate or imply that the device or component must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0035] In summary, the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make several changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. All these changes should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb power exoskeleton, comprising two dorsolumbar connecting plates arranged symmetrically left and right, characterized in that: The hip and back connecting plates are successively provided with a hip joint assembly, a knee joint assembly, and a sole assembly; The hip joint assembly includes a hip and back movable connecting plate, and a hip joint artificial muscle assembly for driving the movement of the hip joint is installed on the hip and back movable connecting plate; the hip joint artificial muscle assembly includes a first hip joint muscle hinge member and a second hip joint muscle hinge member hinged on the hip and back movable connecting plate; a first hip joint pneumatic muscle and a second hip joint pneumatic muscle are respectively hinged on the first hip joint muscle hinge member and the second hip joint muscle hinge member; the circumferential rotation directions of the first hip joint muscle hinge member and the first hip joint pneumatic muscle, and the second hip joint muscle hinge member and the second hip joint pneumatic muscle are orthogonal; a hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley is provided at a position corresponding to the leg rod hinge plate on the hip and back movable connecting plate, the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley is rotatably connected to the hip and back movable connecting plate, and a hip joint antagonistic synchronous belt matching with it is installed on the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley, and the two ends of the hip joint antagonistic synchronous belt are respectively fixedly connected to the lower ends of the first hip joint pneumatic muscle and the second hip joint pneumatic muscle; The knee joint assembly is installed on the hip and back movable connecting plate through a leg rod hinge plate, and the knee joint assembly includes a vertically arranged thigh rod, and a thigh artificial muscle assembly for driving the movement of the knee joint is installed on the thigh rod; The sole assembly is installed on the thigh rod through a calf connecting plate, and the sole assembly includes a vertically arranged calf rod, and a sole artificial muscle assembly for driving the movement of the ankle joint is installed on the calf rod; the sole artificial muscle assembly includes a first sole muscle hinge member and a second sole muscle hinge member respectively hinged on the front and back sides of the calf rod, a first pneumatic artificial muscle and a second sole pneumatic muscle are respectively hinged on the first sole muscle hinge member and the second sole muscle hinge member, the lower end of the calf rod is hinged with a foot hinge block through a foot and leg connecting plate, and the other ends of the first pneumatic artificial muscle and the second sole pneumatic muscle are respectively hinged with the foot hinge block for torque transmission; the foot and leg connecting plate includes a first foot and leg connecting plate and a second foot and leg connecting plate fixedly installed on the left and right sides of the calf rod, the first foot and leg connecting plate and the second foot and leg connecting plate are respectively hinged with both sides of the foot hinge block to realize a limited rotation of one degree of freedom, and a bottom plate is welded on the foot hinge block; The two hip and back connecting plates are connected by a back plate assembly.

2. The antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that The leg rod hinge plate includes a first hip joint leg rod hinge plate and a second hip joint leg rod hinge plate symmetrically arranged on both sides of the hip and back movable connecting plate, the two ends of the hip joint antagonistic synchronous pulley are respectively fixedly connected to the first hip joint leg rod hinge plate and the second hip joint leg rod hinge plate, a hip joint encoder fixing bracket is fixedly connected to the first hip joint leg rod hinge plate, and the hip joint encoder is fixedly connected to the hip joint encoder fixing bracket and rotates synchronously with the first hip joint leg rod hinge plate.

3. The antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that : The thigh artificial muscle assembly includes a thigh first muscle hinge member and a thigh second muscle hinge member hinged on the front and back sides of the thigh rod. A thigh first pneumatic artificial muscle and a thigh second pneumatic artificial muscle are respectively hinged on the thigh first muscle hinge member and the thigh second muscle hinge member. On the left and right sides of the lower end of the thigh rod, a knee joint first connecting plate and a knee joint second connecting plate for supporting the rotation of the knee joint are symmetrically and fixedly connected respectively. A knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley is rotatably installed between the knee joint first connecting plate and the knee joint second connecting plate. A knee joint antagonistic synchronous belt matching with the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley is provided on the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley. The two ends of the knee joint antagonistic synchronous belt are respectively fixedly connected to the thigh first pneumatic artificial muscle and the thigh second pneumatic artificial muscle. A thigh fixing strap is installed on the inner side of the thigh rod and can be adjusted up and down according to the specific body shape of the user.

4. The antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton according to claim 3, characterized in that : The calf connecting plate includes a calf first connecting plate and a calf second connecting plate respectively fixedly installed at both ends of the knee joint antagonistic synchronous pulley. The calf first connecting plate and the calf second connecting plate do not interfere with the knee joint first connecting plate and the knee joint second connecting plate.

5. The antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton according to claim 3, characterized in that : A knee joint encoder bracket is fixedly connected to the knee joint second connecting plate, and a knee joint encoder is fixedly connected to the knee joint encoder bracket.

6. The antagonistic pneumatic muscle lower limb powered exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that : A calf fixing strap is installed on the inner side of the calf rod and can be freely adjusted according to the body shape of the user; a soleplate first strap and a soleplate second strap are provided on the soleplate.

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