Soft rehabilitation glove

Abstract

The soft rehabilitation glove comprises a corrugated pipe driver, a glove body, a tendon line, a control box, a control system and a driving device, the control system and the driving device are located in the control box, one end of the tendon line is connected with the driving device, and the other end of the tendon line is connected with the corrugated pipe driver; the wall thickness of each joint section of the corrugated pipe driver is sequentially reduced from the finger root to the fingertip, the corrugated pipe driver is fixedly connected above the finger part of the glove, and the corrugated pipe driver is longer than the finger part of the glove; the control system is used for receiving an instruction of a user and controlling the driving device, and when the tendon line shrinks, the corrugated pipe driver shrinks and stores elastic potential energy, and meanwhile, the fingers are driven to stretch; when the tendon lines are loosened, the corrugated pipe drivers can extend, the elastic energy stored in the corrugated pipe drivers is released, and the fingers are driven to be passively bent. The device can avoid secondary damage and discomfort caused by overlarge force generated by active driving, has internal compliance and natural adaptability, and further has the advantages of being light in weight, easy to control, portable and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of rehabilitation equipment, and in particular to a wearable soft rehabilitation glove driven by a 3D printed passive bellows. Background Art

[0002] Humans use their hands to sense and move, which is extremely important for people's daily lives. However, finger injuries, cerebral infarction, or aging, accidents, strokes or other reasons can lead to hand weakness and reduced flexibility, affecting the quality of life. Clinically proven, during the early rehabilitation period after limb injury, continuous passive movement can compensate for the lack of active movement of patients, increase their limb mobility, and reduce corresponding complications. Therefore, a safe and reliable rehabilitation glove is very necessary to help patients restore hand movement.

[0003] Compared with traditional rigid rehabilitation robotic devices, soft wearable robots are compliant and safe due to their inherent softness, and have greater flexibility and versatility in aspects such as motor assistance, robot-assisted therapy, and enhanced mobility.

[0004] Existing soft rehabilitation gloves are mainly pneumatically driven. Gas-driven soft wearable robots have the advantages of natural softness and strong compliance. However, gas-driven robots are easy to puncture, the fluid system is complex and bulky, and the active drive that causes the fingers to bend to grasp objects can easily cause discomfort or accidental injury due to excessive driving force. At the same time, the pneumatic soft rehabilitation glove actuator cannot be customized according to the different finger lengths of each patient, resulting in the gloves being unable to adapt to the patient's hand size to the greatest extent. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a soft rehabilitation glove with a 3D printed passive bellows.

[0006] The present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] A soft rehabilitation glove, characterized in that it comprises a bellows driver, a glove, a tendon line, a control box, and a control system and a driving device located in the control box, wherein one end of the tendon line is connected to the driving device, and the other end is connected to the bellows driver; the bellows driver comprises more than two joint segments, the wall thickness of each joint segment decreases from the base of the finger to the tip of the finger, the bellows driver is fixedly connected to the upper part of the finger portion of the glove, and the length of the bellows driver is longer than the length of the finger portion of the glove;

[0008] The control system is used to receive user instructions and control the driving device. When the tendon line contracts, the bellows driver contracts and stores elastic potential energy, while driving the fingers to open; when the tendon line relaxes, the bellows driver will stretch, the elastic energy stored in the bellows driver will be released, and drive the fingers to passively bend.

[0009] Preferably, the bellows wall thickness of the same joint section of the bellows driver is also different, and the wall thickness gradually decreases from the base to the fingertip, so as to achieve sequential extension and bending movements when the tendon line is released.

[0010] The bellows structure can adjust parameters such as wall thickness and cross-sectional area to achieve different telescopic performance and driving force, and can effectively control the hardness characteristics of each joint, thereby achieving a larger grasping range and stronger grasping ability. The length of the bellows driver is designed according to the actual length of human fingers, so as to better adapt to different users.

[0011] Preferably, the soft rehabilitation glove further comprises a back-of-hand fixing seat, which is provided with five partitions corresponding to the finger parts of the glove, each partition is fixedly connected to a bellows driver, and each bellows driver is connected to a tendon line.

[0012] Preferably, each joint segment of the bellows driver is a bellows, and a first fixed pipe segment is provided at the end of the bellows driver near the fingertips and between each joint segment, and is fixedly connected to the corresponding part of the glove through the first fixed pipe segment; a second fixed pipe segment is provided at the end of the bellows driver near the finger root, and the second fixed pipe segment is fixed in the partition corresponding to the back of the hand fixing seat.

[0013] Preferably, four partitions of the back of the hand fixing seat are provided with a first bellows driver, and one partition is provided with a second bellows driver, wherein the first bellows driver includes three joint segments, namely, a metacarpophalangeal joint segment (MCP segment), a proximal interphalangeal joint segment (PIP segment) and a distal interphalangeal joint segment (DIP segment), wherein the wall thicknesses of the MCP segment, the PIP segment and the DIP segment decrease successively.

[0014] The second bellows driver comprises two joint sections, and the second bellows driver is arranged in a partition of the back of hand fixing seat corresponding to the thumb.

[0015] Preferably, the tendon wire passes through the first and second fixed pipe sections of the bellows driver, and the symmetrical holes in the middle of each joint section, and passes through both ends of the bellows driver. The tendon wire can be made of thin iron wire or Kevlar wire.

[0016] Preferably, the tendon line outside the back-of-hand fixing seat is wrapped with a hose, and both ends of the hose are respectively fixed to the back-of-hand fixing seat and the control box through connectors.

[0017] Preferably, a limiting member for separating the five tendon lines is provided above the five partitions of the back of hand fixing seat.

[0018] Preferably, the bottom of the limiting member is provided with five grooves for the tendon lines to pass through.

[0019] Preferably, the control system comprises a control panel and a circuit control board, the control panel is arranged on the upper cover of the control box, and the circuit control board is fixed in the control box; the control box is also provided with a binding strap.

[0020] Preferably, the driving device comprises a steering gear and a steering wheel, the steering gear is clamped in a card slot of the control box, and the steering wheel is inserted into a spline of the steering gear.

[0021] The five fingers of the soft rehabilitation glove of the present invention are provided with a bellows driver, the tendon line runs through both ends of the bellows driver, and the end of the tendon line is controlled by a motor to contract and extend the bellows driver. When the bellows driver and the glove body are assembled, the length of the bellows driver (natural length) is longer than the length of the glove body. Since the elastic modulus of the glove body is smaller than the elastic modulus of the bellows driver, the glove body will be passively bent due to the elasticity of the bellows driver. In this case, the hand can remain in a bent state without power supply, and can naturally adapt to the grasped object even without sensory feedback from the inner side of the finger. When the motor drives the tendon line to contract, the bellows driver contracts and stores elastic potential energy, while driving the fingers to open. When the motor drives the tendon to loosen, the bellows structure will extend. Since the bellows structure is worn on the finger through the glove body, the finger and the glove body can be regarded as a strain limiting layer, which prevents the bellows driver from stretching in a straight line. Therefore, the elastic energy stored in the PBA is released, and the bellows structure and the finger are driven to be passively bent. The bending speed and bending angle of the finger can be controlled by controlling the motor angle. The bellows drive is a grasping mode driven by the elastic potential energy stored inside. It has a passive grasping ability like a spring, which enables the wearer to have good adaptability when grasping different objects, rather than actively pulling the tendon line to grasp the object, effectively avoiding discomfort or accidental injury caused by excessive driving force. The bellows drive adopts a gradient wall thickness design, and the wall thickness of the MCP, PIP and DIP joint segments tends to gradually decrease. This design can effectively adjust the hardness characteristics of each joint, so that during the release of the tendon line, the MCP joint first starts the extension and bending action, followed by the PIP joint, and finally the DIP joint, forming an orderly bending motion pattern to optimize the grasping effect of larger diameter objects.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are:

[0023] (1) The telescopic performance of the passive bellows driver is utilized to assist the flexion and extension of the joints, avoiding excessive force generated by active driving and causing secondary damage and discomfort. It has inherent compliance and natural adaptability, and can maintain good compliance when interacting with irregular objects. Compared with pneumatically driven rehabilitation gloves, the present invention uses a motor-driven tendon line to improve the controllability of the actuator and reduce the overall weight to improve portability. The wearable design of the gloves can meet the needs of patients for daily wear in addition to rehabilitation training.

[0024] (2) The bellows driver can be manufactured by 3D printing using highly elastic materials such as TPU, which has the advantages of low cost and easy customization. The entire invention is wearable and weighs less than 1KG. In addition to meeting the needs of rehabilitation grip training, it may also meet the needs of patients' actual daily life in terms of auxiliary grip. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the bending of fingers of the soft rehabilitation gloves;

[0026] Figure 2 The bellows driver of the soft rehabilitation glove and the initial state diagram of the glove;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the soft rehabilitation gloves;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the fingers of the soft rehabilitation glove being stretched out;

[0029] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the bellows driver of the soft rehabilitation glove;

[0030] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A cross-sectional view of

[0031] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the bending shape of the bellows actuator of the soft rehabilitation glove;

[0032] Figure 8 Schematic diagram comparing synchronous bending (a) and sequential bending (b) of the soft rehabilitation glove during grasping an object;

[0033] In the figure: bellows driver 1, gloves 2, control box 3, circuit control board 3-1, servo 3-2, control box cover 3-3, control box base 3-4, steering wheel 3-5, control box buckle 3-6, back of hand fixing seat 4, back of hand fixing seat cover 4-1, back of hand fixing seat base 4-2, limiter 4-3, thumb cover 4-4, thumb shell fixing member 4-5, adapter 5, tendon line 6, Teflon tube 7, arm strap 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. For process parameters not particularly noted, conventional techniques may be used.

[0035] A soft rehabilitation glove comprises a bellows driver 1, a glove 2, a control box 3, a hand back fixing seat 4, and a control system and a driving device located in the control box 3.

[0036] The bellows driver 1 is provided with a second fixed pipe section 1-3 and a first fixed pipe section 1-2 at both ends, and includes a metacarpophalangeal joint section 1-1, a proximal interphalangeal joint section 1-4 and a distal interphalangeal joint section 1-5 in the middle, each of which is a bellows, and the wall thickness of which decreases in sequence; a first fixed pipe section 1-2 is also provided between each joint section, and the first fixed pipe section 1-2 is bonded to the corresponding part of the glove 2, and the second fixed pipe section 1-3 is fixed to the five partitions corresponding to the back of the hand fixing seat 4 by screws, so as to limit the relative position of the bellows driver and the back of the hand.

[0037] The five partitions of the back of hand fixing seat 4 are provided with a stopper 4-3 for separating the five tendon lines, and the bottom of the stopper 4-3 is provided with five grooves for the five tendon lines 6 to pass through, so as to prevent the tendon lines from being entangled with each other. The tendon lines 6 pass through the first and second fixed pipe sections of the bellows driver 1, and the symmetrical holes in the middle of each joint section, and penetrate through both ends of the bellows driver; at the same time, the tendon lines 6 pass through the hole at the end of the back of hand fixing seat 4, through the Teflon tube 7 and the hole in the front of the control box 3 to connect with the steering wheel 3-5, so as to transfer the torsion on the steering gear to the bellows driver. After the steering gear is driven and released, the bellows driver can be extended or contracted, thereby realizing a directional bending.

[0038] according to Figure 1 As shown, when the bellows driver 1 and the glove 2 are assembled, the length of the bellows driver is longer than the length of the glove. Since the elastic modulus of the glove is smaller than the elastic modulus of the bellows driver, the glove will bend passively due to the elasticity of the bellows driver.

[0039] according to Figure 2As shown, the bellows driver 1 and the glove 2 are glued together to ensure that the fixed end of the bellows driver is firmly connected to the glove body. At the corresponding hole position of the back of hand fixing seat 4, the end of the bellows driver is fixed to the back of hand fixing seat 4 with a screw to ensure the stability of the bellows driver. The tendon line passes through the symmetrical holes in the middle of the bellows driver, passes through the hole at the end of the back of hand fixing seat 4, and finally passes through the Teflon tube 7 to connect with the hole in the front of the control box 3. The other end of the tendon line passes through the center hole of the steering wheel, and the end of the tendon line is limited in the steering wheel to prevent the transmission of the influence of the tendon line relaxation. The limiter 4-3 is fixed in the back of hand fixing seat 4 by screws to prevent the tendon lines from being entangled with each other. The adapter fixing is directly inserted into the end of the back of hand fixing seat 4, and the back of hand fixing seat cover 4-1 is connected to the back of hand fixing seat base 4-2 by screws. The front end of the adapter 5 is screwed into the corresponding hole of the adapter fixing, and the other adapter is screwed into the corresponding hole of the control box 3. The two adapters 5 are connected by a Teflon tube 7 to prevent the transmission of the influence of the tendon line relaxation. The servo 3-2 is stuck in the card slot of the control box 3, and the steering wheel 3-5 is inserted into the spline of the servo to transfer the torque of the servo. The circuit control board 3-1 is fixed to the control box cover 3-3 by screws. The control box cover 3-3 is inserted into the control box 3 and fixed with screws, and then horizontally inserted into the control box buckle 3-6 to fix the circuit control board 3-1. After the thumb cover 4-4 is closed with the back of the hand fixing seat 4, it is horizontally inserted into the thumb shell fixing piece 4-5 to fix the bellows driver at the thumb. The arm strap 8 passes through the gap at the bottom of the control box 3, which is convenient for the user to fix the gloves on the arm.

[0040] according to Figure 4 As shown, when the motor drives the tendon to contract, the bellows actuator contracts and stores elastic potential energy, while driving the fingers to open.

[0041] according to Figure 1 As shown in the figure, when the motor-driven tendon is relaxed, the bellows structure will stretch. Since the bellows structure is worn on the finger through the glove, the finger and the glove can be regarded as strain limiting layers, preventing the bellows actuator from stretching in a straight line. Therefore, the elastic energy stored in the bellows structure is released and drives the bellows structure and the finger to passively bend.

[0042] according to Figure 5 As shown, the length of the bellows driver is designed according to the actual length of human fingers so as to better fit different users.

[0043] according to Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8As shown, the wall thickness of the same bellows in the bellows driver is also different. From the base to the fingertip, the wall thickness gradually decreases. When grasping objects with larger diameters, the bending order and wrapping efficiency of the fingers can be significantly optimized. When the wall thickness design is consistent, each joint shows similar hardness and synchronous extension and bending behavior when the tendon line is released, and the bending degree is similar. In particular, the DIP joint may form a hook shape due to excessive bending, which is not conducive to stable grasping and may even push the object out of the hand. The variable wall thickness bellows driver in the present invention can gradually bend each joint in sequence, so as to adapt to and wrap the object more effectively, avoiding the hook effect caused by excessive bending of the DIP joint, and significantly improving the grasping stability and success rate. In addition, the design also enhances the adaptability of the fingers to objects of different sizes and broadens the scope of application.

[0044] It should be noted that, in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0045] The above embodiments are preferred implementation modes of the present invention, but the implementation modes of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments. Any other changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, and simplifications that do not deviate from the spirit and principles of the present invention should be equivalent replacement methods and are included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A soft rehabilitation glove, characterized in that: The invention comprises a bellows driver, a glove, a tendon line, a control box, and a control system and a driving device located in the control box, wherein one end of the tendon line is connected to the driving device, and the other end is connected to the bellows driver; the bellows driver comprises more than two joint segments, and the wall thickness of each joint segment decreases from the base of the finger to the tip of the finger, the bellows driver is fixedly connected to the upper part of the finger of the glove, and the length of the bellows driver is longer than the length of the finger of the glove; The control system is used to receive user instructions and control the driving device. When the tendon line contracts, the bellows driver contracts and stores elastic potential energy, while driving the fingers to open; when the tendon line relaxes, the bellows driver will stretch, the elastic energy stored in the bellows driver will be released, and drive the fingers to passively bend.

2. The soft rehabilitation glove according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a back-of-hand fixing seat, which is provided with five partitions corresponding to the finger parts of the glove, each partition is fixedly connected to a bellows driver, and each bellows driver is connected to a tendon line.

3. The soft rehabilitation glove according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each joint section of the bellows driver is a bellows, and a first fixed pipe section is provided at the end of the bellows driver near the fingertip and between each joint section, and is fixedly connected to the corresponding part of the glove through the first fixed pipe section; a second fixed pipe section is provided at the end of the bellows driver near the finger root, and the second fixed pipe section is fixed in the partition corresponding to the back of the hand fixing seat.

4. The soft rehabilitation glove according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first bellows driver is set in four partitions of the back of hand fixing seat, and the second bellows driver is set in one partition. The first bellows driver includes three joint segments, and the second bellows driver includes two joint segments. The second bellows driver is set in the back of hand fixing seat partition corresponding to the thumb.

5. The soft rehabilitation glove according to claim 4, characterized in that: The tendon line passes through the first and second fixed pipe sections of the bellows driver and the symmetrical holes in the middle of each joint section, and penetrates through both ends of the bellows driver.

6. The soft rehabilitation glove according to claim 5, characterized in that: The tendon line outside the back of the hand fixing seat is wrapped with a hose, and two ends of the hose are respectively fixed to the back of the hand fixing seat and the control box through connectors.

7. The soft rehabilitation glove according to claim 6, characterized in that: A limiting piece for separating the five tendon lines is arranged above the five partitions of the back of hand fixing seat.

8. The soft rehabilitation glove according to claim 7, characterized in that: The bottom of the limiting member is provided with five grooves for the tendon lines to pass through.

9. The soft rehabilitation glove according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The bellows wall thickness of the same joint section of the bellows driver is also different, and the wall thickness gradually decreases from the base of the finger to the tip of the finger.

10. The soft rehabilitation glove according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The control system includes a control panel and a circuit control panel, the control panel is arranged on the upper cover of the control box, and the circuit control panel is fixed in the control box; a binding strap is also arranged on the control box; The driving device comprises a steering gear and a steering wheel. The steering gear is clamped in a clamping slot of a control box, and the steering wheel is inserted into a spline of the steering gear.

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