A wheelchair-type walking aid

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wheelchair-type walking aid, which belongs to the field of rehabilitation medical equipment. The wheelchair-type walking aid comprises a wheelchair, an exoskeleton structure, a lower limb walking mechanism and a standing and sitting mechanism. A single driving source and a coupling transmission mechanism are used to control the movement of the exoskeleton's upper and lower legs, which can fit the walking gait of the human body. Compared with the existing walking aids, the power source has greatly reduced requirements in terms of volume, weight, medical care dependence, and autonomous control difficulty. Therefore, the structural design will also greatly reduce the development cost of the walking aid. The walking aid can be easily switched between wheelchair, standing and walking by controlling the controller. The controller, driving source and battery are arranged on the chassis, which reduces the weight that should be loaded on the exoskeleton worn by the user and improves the wearing comfort.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of rehabilitation medical equipment, and in particular relates to a wheelchair-type walking aid. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the problem of global population aging has become increasingly serious. When the elderly reach a certain age, their physiological functions will decline. Most of the elderly have decreased flexibility in their limbs, especially their ability to walk in the lower limbs. At the same time, some elderly people suffer from lower limb functional disorders due to cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, and lose their healthy and normal lower limb walking ability. Their daily lives are greatly affected and they need to be cared for by others. In addition, in recent years, the number of patients with lower limb motor dysfunction caused by central nervous system diseases such as stroke and spinal injury has increased sharply. Patients with lower limb motor dysfunction have difficulty in moving and living independently. They are prone to negative emotions and bring heavy burdens to their families. They yearn for a normal life.

[0003] Most of the lower limb assisted motion aids currently available on the market use multiple independent micro-drive sources to drive lower limb movements. Complex control algorithms are required to achieve lower limb movements. The selection of power source size and weight are restricted, so the cost of assisted motion aids is relatively high. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, an object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a wheelchair-type walking aid that uses a single driving source to achieve simultaneous movement of the upper and lower legs.

[0005] The embodiment of the present invention is achieved as follows:

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention provides a wheelchair-type walking aid, the wheelchair-type walking aid having a standing state and a sitting state, and the wheelchair-type walking aid comprises a wheelchair, an exoskeleton structure and a lower limb walking mechanism;

[0007] The exoskeleton structure is arranged on the wheelchair, and the exoskeleton structure comprises two lower limb exoskeleton components, and the lower limb exoskeleton components comprise a thigh rod, a shank rod and a foot plate, the thigh rod and the shank rod are hinged via a knee joint structure, and the shank rod and the foot plate are hinged via an ankle joint structure;

[0008] The lower limb walking mechanism includes two drive assemblies for driving the lower limb exoskeleton components, the drive assemblies are respectively hinged to the knee joint structure and the ankle joint structure, and the drive assemblies use a single power source to simultaneously drive the thigh rod to swing and the calf rod to swing relative to the thigh rod.

[0009] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the wheelchair includes a base frame, a back frame, armrests, electric driving wheels and universal wheels. The back frame can be movably arranged on the base frame and can be raised and lowered and moved laterally relative to the base frame. One armrest is arranged on each side of the wheelchair, two electric driving wheels are arranged on the rear side of the bottom of the base frame, and two universal wheels are arranged on the front side of the bottom of the base frame.

[0010] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the drive assembly includes a drive source and a coupling transmission mechanism, the drive source is arranged on the base frame, the coupling transmission mechanism includes a crank, a thigh connecting rod and a calf connecting rod, the crank includes a first rod portion and a second rod portion that are fixedly connected to each other and are not colinear, the first end of the first rod portion is transmission-connected to the drive source and the second end is connected to the first end of the second rod portion, the second end of the second rod portion is hinged to one end of the calf connecting rod, the first end of the thigh connecting rod is hinged to the connection between the first rod portion and the second rod portion and the second end is hinged to the knee joint structure, and the second end of the calf connecting rod is hinged to the ankle joint structure.

[0011] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the wheelchair-type walking aid also includes a stand-sit mechanism, which includes a telescopic power source and a plurality of connecting rods, wherein both ends of the telescopic power source are respectively hinged to the base frame and the back frame, and both ends of the connecting rods are respectively hinged to the base frame and the back frame, and the telescopic power source and the connecting rods are cross-arranged.

[0012] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the wheelchair-type walking aid further includes a control system, and the control system includes a battery and a controller, and the battery and the controller are installed on the base frame.

[0013] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the exoskeleton structure also includes two binding assemblies for lower limb exoskeleton components, the two binding assemblies correspond one-to-one to the two lower limb exoskeleton components, and the binding assemblies include a thigh binding arranged on the thigh rod and a calf binding arranged on the calf rod.

[0014] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the standing and sitting mechanism includes the telescopic power source and four connecting rods, the four connecting rods are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the telescopic power source and constitute two connecting components, and the two connecting rods on the connecting components, the back frame and the base frame together constitute a parallelogram mechanism.

[0015] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the exoskeleton structure also includes a waist structure and two hip joint structures, the waist structure is arranged on the back frame, and the two lower limb exoskeleton components are respectively connected to the waist structure through the two hip joint structures.

[0016] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the telescopic power source is an electric push rod.

[0017] As an optional technical solution of the above embodiment, the driving source is a DC servo motor.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0019] The wheelchair-type walking aid provided by the present invention can fit the human gait pattern by adopting a single driving source and a coupling transmission mechanism, and can control the simultaneous movement of the upper and lower legs. Compared with the existing walking aids, the requirements of the power source in terms of volume, weight and control difficulty are greatly reduced. Therefore, the structural design will also greatly reduce the development cost of the walking aid.

[0020] The standing and sitting mechanism of the wheelchair-type walking aid provided by the present invention can keep the wheelchair and the user in a follow-up state by cross-arranging the electric push rod and the connecting rod on the back frame and the bottom frame, so as to achieve easy switching between standing and sitting postures.

[0021] The wheelchair-type walking aid provided by the present invention reduces the weight that should be loaded on the user and improves wearing comfort by arranging the controller, driving source and battery on the base frame (the battery, controller and driving source of existing equipment are all arranged on the exoskeleton structure). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work. As shown in the accompanying drawings, the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention will be clearer. The same reference numerals in all the drawings indicate the same parts. The drawings are not deliberately scaled to the actual size, and the focus is on illustrating the main purpose of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a wheelchair-type walking aid in a standing state provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 A structural schematic diagram of a wheelchair-type walking aid in a sitting state provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 A structural schematic diagram of a coupling transmission structure provided for a wheelchair-type walking aid provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4A schematic structural diagram of a standing and sitting mechanism provided by a wheelchair-type walking aid provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Icons: 101-universal wheel; 102-base; 103-drive wheel; 104-housing assembly; 105-left armrest; 106-back frame; 107-back cushion; 108-right armrest; 109-seat cushion; 201-waist structure; 202-waist cushion; 203-right hip joint structure; 204-right thigh rod; 205-right thigh binding; 206-right knee joint structure; 207-right calf binding; 208-right calf rod; 209-right ankle joint structure; 210-right foot structure; 211-left foot structure; 212- Left ankle joint structure; 213-left calf rod; 214-left calf binding; 215-left knee joint structure; 216-left thigh rod; 217-left thigh binding; 218-left hip joint structure; 301-left drive motor; 302-left coupling transmission mechanism; 303-right drive motor; 304-right coupling transmission mechanism; 401-electric push rod; 402-connecting rod; 501-manipulator; 502-controller; 503-battery; 5-crank; 51-first rod; 52-second rod; 6-thigh connecting rod; 7-calf connecting rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Generally, the components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0029] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the invention claimed for protection, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters denote similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, further definition and explanation thereof is not required in subsequent drawings.

[0031] Furthermore, the terms “first”, “second”, etc. are merely used for distinguishing descriptions and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0032] Example

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1-Figure 2As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a wheelchair-type walking aid, which is mainly used for rehabilitation treatment of patients with lower limb motor dysfunction.

[0034] The wheelchair-type walking aid mainly includes a wheelchair, an exoskeleton structure, a lower limb walking mechanism, a standing and sitting mechanism, and a control system.

[0035] The wheelchair includes a base frame 102 , a back frame 106 , a shell assembly 104 , a driving wheel 103 , a universal wheel 101 , a backrest cushion 107 , a seat cushion 109 , a left armrest 105 and a right armrest 108 .

[0036] The backrest cushion 107 and the seat cushion 109 support the back and buttocks of the human body respectively, thereby improving the comfort of the user.

[0037] The base frame 102 serves as the base of the wheelchair-type walking aid. The base frame 102 is located at the bottom of the wheelchair. The base frame 102 is welded from profiles and has high strength and good stability.

[0038] The left armrest 105 and the right armrest 108 are respectively arranged on both sides of the wheelchair.

[0039] A universal wheel 101 is respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the front part of the chassis 102, and a driving wheel 103 is respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the rear part of the chassis 102. The universal wheels 101 symmetrically installed on the left and right sides of the front part of the chassis 102 cooperate with the driving wheels 103 symmetrically installed on the left and right sides of the rear part of the chassis 102 to realize the wheelchair-type walking aid functions such as wheeled forward movement, backward movement and turning.

[0040] The exoskeleton structure comprises two lower limb exoskeleton components, and the two lower limb exoskeleton components are respectively a left lower limb exoskeleton component and a right lower limb exoskeleton component.

[0041] The left lower limb exoskeleton assembly includes a left thigh bar 216, a left shank bar 213 and a left foot plate structure 211. The left thigh bar 216 and the left shank bar 213 are hinged via a left knee joint structure 215. The left foot plate structure 211 is hinged to the left shank bar 213 via a left ankle joint structure 212.

[0042] The right lower limb exoskeleton assembly includes a right thigh bar 204, a right shank bar 208 and a right foot plate structure 210. The right thigh bar 204 and the right shank bar 208 are hinged via a right knee joint structure 206. The right foot plate structure 210 is hinged to the right shank bar 208 via a right ankle joint structure 209.

[0043] In addition, the exoskeleton structure also includes two binding assemblies for the lower limb exoskeleton assembly, and the two binding assemblies include a right binding assembly and a left binding assembly.

[0044] The right binding assembly includes a right thigh binding 205 and a right calf binding 207 respectively arranged on the right thigh rod 204 and the right calf rod 208. The left binding assembly includes a left thigh binding 217 and a left calf binding 214 respectively arranged on the left thigh rod 216 and the left calf rod 213. The binding assembly can adopt buckles, Velcro and other structures to facilitate users to wear.

[0045] The exoskeleton structure further includes a waist structure 201, a waist cushion 202, a left hip joint structure 218 and a right hip joint structure 203. The rear of the waist structure 201 is fixedly connected to the back frame 106, and the waist cushion 202 is arranged on the top of the waist structure 201 to support the waist of the human body.

[0046] In addition, the right thigh bar 204 and the left thigh bar 216 are connected to the waist structure 201 through the right hip joint structure 203 and the left hip joint structure 218 respectively.

[0047] The control system includes a manipulator 501, a battery 503, a controller 502 and sensors distributed on various mechanisms of the auxiliary device. The manipulator 501, the battery 503, the controller 502 and the sensors are electrically connected to each other.

[0048] Sensors are installed on the exoskeleton structure, lower limb walking mechanism, wheelchair and standing and sitting mechanism. There are posture sensors on the back frame and base, which can detect the state of the wheelchair, the tilt angle in the standing state, etc., which can effectively prevent the user from using the walking function in a large slope environment. The center of gravity exceeds the safety zone and causes the risk of overturning. The hip joint and knee joint of each leg are equipped with an absolute angle encoder, which can provide real-time feedback on the thigh and calf angles to achieve gait recognition and leg posture detection. Pressure sensors are installed in the thigh and calf straps to detect spasms during the patient's walking process and improve the human-machine control effect.

[0049] The controller 501 is installed on the left armrest 105 or the right armrest 108 to facilitate the user to operate with both hands. The controller 501 is used by the user to control the assistive device to perform standing, sitting and walking movements.

[0050] The controller 502 performs calculations on the signals from the sensors and the commands from the manipulator 501 .

[0051] In addition, the battery 503 and the controller 502 are installed on the base frame 102 to reduce the weight of the assistive device user (the traditional assistive device installs the battery 503 and the controller 502 on the exoskeleton structure).

[0052] The lower limb walking mechanism includes two drive assemblies, wherein the drive assembly includes a drive source and a coupling transmission mechanism, and the drive source is installed on the base frame 102 to reduce the weight of the user (the traditional assistive device installs the drive source on the exoskeleton structure).

[0053] The driving source may be a motor that can rotate forward and reverse, or a structure that can achieve a swinging motion, such as a swinging guide rod mechanism. In this embodiment, the driving source is a DC servo motor.

[0054] Please refer to Figure 3 As shown, the coupling transmission mechanism includes a crank 5, a thigh connecting rod 6 and a shank connecting rod 7. The crank 5 includes a first rod portion 51 and a second rod portion 52 which are fixedly connected to each other and are not colinear.

[0055] Among them, one end of the first rod portion 51 is transmission connected to the output end of the driving source at point A, the other end of the first rod portion 51 is fixedly connected to one end of the second rod portion 52, the other end of the second rod portion 52 is hinged to one end of the calf connecting rod 7, the other end of the calf connecting rod 7 is hinged to the left ankle joint structure 212 at point C, one end of the thigh connecting rod 6 is hinged to the connection between the first rod portion 51 and the second rod portion 52, and the other end of the thigh connecting rod 6 is hinged to the left knee joint structure 215 at point B.

[0056] Please refer to Figure 3 As shown, when the driving source drives the crank 5 to rotate clockwise, the lower limbs of the human body perform an upward leg-lifting action under the action of the thigh connecting rod 6 and the calf connecting rod 7, and when the driving source drives the crank 5 to rotate counterclockwise, the lower limbs of the human body perform a downward leg-retracting action. When the driving source continuously performs forward and reverse rotation actions, the user of the assistive device can complete the walking action.

[0057] Please refer to Figure 4 The back frame 106 can be movably arranged on the base frame 102 and can be raised and lowered and moved laterally relative to the base frame 102. For example, the back frame 106 and the base frame 102 are connected by plates and rods. In this embodiment, a connecting rod 402 is used to connect the back frame 106 and the base frame 102.

[0058] Please refer to Figure 4 As shown, the standing and sitting mechanism includes a telescopic power source and a plurality of connecting rods 402. One end of the connecting rod 402 is hinged to the base frame 102 and the other end is hinged to the back frame 106, one end of the telescopic power source is hinged to the base frame 102 and the other end is hinged to the back frame 106, and the telescopic power source and the connecting rod 402 are cross-arranged, and the cross-arrangement here means that the telescopic power source and the connecting rod 402 are respectively regarded as a straight line, and the two straight lines are mutually non-planar straight lines.

[0059] The telescopic power source may be an electric push rod 401 , a hydraulic push rod or the like. In the present embodiment, the telescopic power source is an electric push rod 401 , the lower end of the electric push rod 401 is hinged to the base frame 102 and the upper end is hinged to the back frame 106 .

[0060] The main function of the connecting rod 402 is to connect and limit. In the present embodiment, four connecting rods 402 are used. The four connecting rods 402 are two connecting assemblies. The two connecting assemblies are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the telescopic power source. One connecting assembly includes two connecting rods 402. The two connecting rods 402 on each group of connecting assemblies together with the back frame 106 and the base frame 102 form a parallelogram mechanism, so that each connecting rod 402 can be subjected to the same force, thereby effectively improving the stability of the connecting rod 402.

[0061] It should be noted that when the telescopic power source is in a fully retracted state, the connecting rod 402 is in a horizontal state, and the user of the corresponding assistive device is in a sitting state. When the telescopic power source is in a fully extended state, the connecting rod 402 is in a vertical state, and the user of the corresponding assistive device is in a standing state.

[0062] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wheelchair-type walking aid, characterized in that: The wheelchair-type walking aid has a standing state and a sitting state, and the wheelchair-type walking aid comprises a wheelchair, an exoskeleton structure and a lower limb walking mechanism; The exoskeleton structure is arranged on the wheelchair, and the exoskeleton structure comprises two lower limb exoskeleton components, and the lower limb exoskeleton components comprise a thigh rod, a shank rod and a foot plate, the thigh rod and the shank rod are hinged via a knee joint structure, and the shank rod and the foot plate are hinged via an ankle joint structure; The lower limb walking mechanism includes two drive assemblies for driving the lower limb exoskeleton assembly, the drive assemblies are respectively hinged to the knee joint structure and the ankle joint structure, and the drive assemblies use a single power source to simultaneously drive the thigh rod to swing and the shank rod to swing relative to the thigh rod; The wheelchair comprises a base frame, a back frame, armrests, electric driving wheels and universal wheels, the back frame is movably arranged on the base frame and can be lifted and lowered and moved laterally relative to the base frame, one armrest is arranged on each side of the wheelchair, two electric driving wheels are arranged on the rear side of the bottom of the base frame, and two universal wheels are arranged on the front side of the bottom of the base frame; The driving assembly includes a driving source and a coupling transmission mechanism, wherein the driving source is a DC servo motor, and the driving source is arranged on the base frame. The coupling transmission mechanism includes a crank, a thigh connecting rod and a calf connecting rod. The crank includes a first rod portion and a second rod portion that are fixedly connected to each other and are not colinear, the first end of the first rod portion is drivingly connected to the driving source and the second end is connected to the first end of the second rod portion, the second end of the second rod portion is hinged to one end of the calf connecting rod, the first end of the thigh connecting rod is hinged to the connection between the first rod portion and the second rod portion and the second end is hinged to the knee joint structure, and the second end of the calf connecting rod is hinged to the ankle joint structure.

2. The wheelchair-type walking aid according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wheelchair-type walking aid also includes a stand-sit mechanism, which includes a telescopic power source and a plurality of connecting rods, wherein the two ends of the telescopic power source are respectively hinged to the base frame and the back frame, and the two ends of the connecting rods are respectively hinged to the base frame and the back frame, and the telescopic power source and the connecting rods are cross-arranged.

3. The wheelchair-type walking aid according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wheelchair-type walking aid further includes a control system, which includes a battery and a controller. The battery and the controller are installed on the base frame.

4. The wheelchair-type walking aid according to claim 1, characterized in that: The exoskeleton structure also includes two binding assemblies for lower limb exoskeleton components, the two binding assemblies correspond one-to-one to the two lower limb exoskeleton components, and the binding assemblies include a thigh binding arranged on the thigh rod and a calf binding arranged on the calf rod.

5. The wheelchair-type walking aid according to claim 2, characterized in that: The standing and sitting mechanism includes the telescopic power source and four connecting rods. The four connecting rods are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the telescopic power source and constitute two connecting components. The two connecting rods on the connecting components, the back frame and the base frame together constitute a parallelogram mechanism.

6. The wheelchair-type walking aid according to claim 1, characterized in that: The exoskeleton structure also includes a waist structure and two hip joint structures. The waist structure is arranged on the back frame, and the two lower limb exoskeleton components are respectively connected to the waist structure through the two hip joint structures.

7. The wheelchair-type walking aid according to claim 2, characterized in that: The telescopic power source is an electric push rod.

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