Ankle-knee linkage walking assist device

Abstract

An ankle-knee linkage walking assist device belongs to the field of medical devices. The present invention aims to solve the problem that the existing walking training assist methods have poor therapeutic effects or the equipment is expensive and cannot be widely used. It includes a knee joint wearable body, an ankle wearable body and a plurality of pull wires. The tensioning angle and tensioning force of each pull wire are dynamically adjusted by adjusting the length of the plurality of pull wires and the position of the sliding screws. The posture of the ankle is limited by the tension of the pull wire, the knee is controlled to be slightly flexed within 10 degrees, and the ankle dorsiflexion is greater than 0 degrees, thereby ensuring the consistency of each exercise training. Through repeated practice, the dynamic shaping of the movement is rebuilt, and the action reflex is formed to fix the gait. By using the open-chain and closed-chain movement principles, the distal movement freedom is limited by the ankle-knee joint, the proximal control is strengthened, and the distal abnormal mode is reduced, so as to achieve the purpose of energy saving and auxiliary treatment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of medical devices, and in particular relates to an ankle-knee linkage walking assist device. Background Art

[0002] Improving walking ability is crucial for the ADL ability of stroke patients. Affected by abnormal movement patterns and muscle spasms in the lower limbs, stroke patients often show circular gait, accompanied by two pathological characteristics: knee reflexes and foot drop and varus.

[0003] There are many existing walking training assistance methods: such as the strapping method and the training method with the help of ankle-foot orthosis or lower limb rehabilitation robot. Among them, the strapping method and the walking training assistance method with the help of ankle-foot orthosis are relatively simple, but the comfort and effect are poor, ignoring the coordination of the lower limb joints in walking and the correlation of various motor reflexes, and cannot be adjusted dynamically; while the lower limb rehabilitation robot is expensive, has not yet been popularized in hospitals, and is cumbersome to put on and take off. The overall efficacy judgment is not yet clear, and it is not suitable for use in non-hospital environments. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an ankle-knee linkage walking assistance device to solve the problem that the existing walking training assistance methods have poor therapeutic effects or the equipment is expensive and cannot be widely used. The technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0005] An ankle-knee linkage walking assist device comprises a knee joint wearable body, an ankle wearable body and a plurality of pull wires; the knee joint wearable body is provided with a plurality of universal rings, the left and right sides of the forefoot of the ankle wearable body are respectively provided with slide grooves arranged along the length direction of the foot, one end of the plurality of pull wires are respectively connected to a plurality of sliding screws slidably arranged in the slide grooves, the other ends of the plurality of pull wires are respectively connected to a plurality of universal rings, the lengths of the plurality of pull wires are all adjusted by means of lock wire buckles, the plurality of sliding screws are respectively provided with locking nuts, and the positions of the sliding screws are fixed by means of the locking nuts.

[0006] Furthermore, the knee joint wearable body includes a knee wrap and a strap, the knee wrap is tied to the knee by the strap, the strap includes two horizontal adjustment straps and two oblique adjustment straps; an oblique adjustment strap is provided at the lower end of either side of the knee wrap, the two oblique adjustment straps extend obliquely upward on the left and right sides respectively, a hanging loop is provided on the left and right sides of the upper end of the knee wrap, and the two horizontal adjustment straps are horizontally arranged at the upper and lower ends of the knee wrap respectively.

[0007] Furthermore, a plurality of ventilation holes are provided in the middle of the knee wrap or a hole is provided in the middle of the knee wrap.

[0008] Furthermore, the ankle wearable body includes a foot support and a strap, the foot support is provided with a strap for fixing the forefoot and ankle, the bottom of the foot support is provided with a notch matching the forefoot part of the sole, and the left and right sides of the notch are respectively provided with slide grooves.

[0009] Furthermore, an anti-skid pad is provided on the lower end surface of the foot rest, and the anti-skid pad is one of a rubber anti-skid pad with anti-skid patterns, a PVC anti-skid pad, a PU anti-skid pad, an AB glue anti-skid pad, a silicone anti-skid pad or a magic glue anti-skid pad.

[0010] Furthermore, the pull wire is a metal wire.

[0011] Furthermore, it also includes a tension measurement module, a main control and data storage module, a power management module, a wireless transmission module and a status display and USB module; the tension measurement module includes a tension sensor and an AD conversion circuit, each tension wire is provided with a tension sensor, the tension sensor is electrically connected to the AD conversion circuit, the AD conversion circuit, the power management module, the wireless transmission module and the status display and USB module are respectively electrically connected to the main control and data storage module.

[0012] Furthermore, the tension transmission parts at both ends of the tension sensor are connected to the tension wire through joint bearings respectively.

[0013] Furthermore, the measurement range of the tension sensor is 50g to 50kg, the resolution is 50g, and the sampling period is 100ms.

[0014] Furthermore, the main control chip used by the main control and data storage module is the MSP430F5438 chip.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0016] 1. The knee joint wearable body is provided with a plurality of universal rings, and the left and right sides of the forefoot of the ankle wearable body are respectively provided with a slide groove arranged along the length direction of the foot, one end of a plurality of pull wires is respectively connected to a plurality of sliding screws slidingly arranged in the slide groove, and the other end of a plurality of pull wires is respectively connected to a plurality of universal rings, and the length of a plurality of pull wires is adjusted by a lock wire buckle, and a plurality of sliding screws are provided with a locking nut, and the position of the sliding screw is fixed by the locking nut, and the tension angle and tension force of each pull wire are dynamically adjusted by adjusting the length of a plurality of pull wires and the position of the sliding screw, and the tension force of the pull wire is used to limit the posture of the ankle, control the knee micro-flexion within 10 degrees, and the ankle dorsiflexion greater than 0 degrees, so as to ensure the consistency of each exercise training, and through repeated practice, rebuild the dynamic stereotype of the movement, form a movement reflex and fix the gait. By using the principle of open chain and closed chain movement, the distal movement freedom is limited by the ankle-knee joint, the proximal control is strengthened, and the distal abnormal mode is reduced, so as to achieve the purpose of saving force and auxiliary treatment. Through practical application, it was found that the tension on the pull wire was large in the initial stage, and then gradually decreased, indicating that the force required to control knee micro-flexion within 10 degrees and ankle dorsiflexion greater than 0 degrees is getting smaller and smaller. The enhanced control of walking initiation by ankle-knee joint control plays a key role in inhibiting abnormal patterns and extensor tension.

[0017] 2. The muscles controlling the ankle and knee joints are mostly biarticular muscles, which usually show that one end contracts while the other end stretches in coordination; the decline in the coordination of biarticular muscles is an important cause of foot drop, inversion and knee reflexion. The ankle-knee joint inhibits plantar flexion and promotes knee flexion through the wearing of devices in each part, reduces the induction of extensor spasm, and uses the principle of reciprocal inhibition reflex to strengthen the flexion movement, reflexively inhibit the tension of the extensor muscles, effectively relieve the extensor spasm, and strengthen reciprocal inhibition.

[0018] 3. Each pull line is equipped with a data acquisition device, which can directly measure and display the relevant muscle tension, draw the correlation curve between angle, tension and functional changes, provide a scientific basis for neuromotor feedback control, and guide treatment and scientific research.

[0019] 4. An oblique adjustment webbing is provided at the lower end of either side of the knee wrap, and the two oblique adjustment webbings extend to the left and right sides and obliquely upward, respectively. A hanging loop is provided on the left and right sides of the upper end of the knee wrap, and two horizontal adjustment webbings are horizontally arranged at the upper and lower ends of the knee wrap. When worn, the knee wrap wraps the knee joint from the front side, the oblique adjustment webbing at the lower left side goes up from the popliteal fossa to surround the knee joint and connect to the hanging loop at the upper right side, and the oblique adjustment webbing at the lower right side goes up from the popliteal fossa to surround the knee joint and connect to the hanging loop at the upper left side. The knee joint wearing body adopts the wearing method of the reverse "8", which has a good effect on the correction of knee hyperextension.

[0020] 5. It is simple to make, easy to wear, dynamically adjustable, and has no discomfort. It is not restricted by time, place, or environment, and can be used for a long time and in multiple occasions.

[0021] 6. The data acquisition device is connected to the pull wire through a joint bearing, and can measure the tension in any direction. The measurement range of tension is: 50g~50kg, and the resolution is 50g, which meets the needs of patients.

[0022] 7. The main control chip used in the main control and data storage module is the MSP430F5438 chip. The MSP430F5438 chip has 256K flash memory, 16KRAM, 255MH MCU, and RTC clock module, which can meet the fast data processing and storage requirements of this device, and can continuously record tension data in real time. When the sampling period of the tension sensor is 100ms, it can record tension measurement data for up to 10 days.

[0023] 8. The display, processing and parameter setting of the measurement data of this device can be operated by wirelessly connecting to mobile phones, tablet computers and other devices, which is convenient for users.

[0024] 9. This device adopts ultra-low power consumption design and can support long-term operation of the system. All devices are low-power devices, and the power management module, wireless transmission module, tension measurement module, etc. can all control their working status through the main control module. By monitoring the working status of the tension sensor, the device can automatically switch between the lowest power consumption-working state, thereby achieving low power consumption control. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of wearing of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a knee joint wearable body;

[0027] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an ankle wearable body;

[0028] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the sliding screw and the slide groove;

[0029] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a data acquisition device;

[0030] Figure 6 This is the circuit diagram of the tension measurement module;

[0031] Figure 7 It is the circuit diagram of the main control and data storage module;

[0032] Figure 8 It is the circuit diagram of the power management module;

[0033] Fig. 9 It is the circuit diagram of wireless transmission module;

[0034] Fig.10 It is the circuit diagram of the status display and USB module;

[0035] In the figure: 1-knee joint wearable body, 11-horizontal adjustment strap, 12-oblique adjustment strap, 13-knee wrap, 14-hanging strap, 15-ventilation hole, 16-universal ring, 2-pull wire, 3-tension sensor, 4-ankle wearable body, 41-foot support, 42-sole anti-skid pad, 43-sliding screw, 44-slide groove, 45-locking nut, U1-data acquisition device including tension measurement module, U2-main control and data storage module, U3-power management module, U4-wireless transmission module, U5-status display and USB module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention is described below by the specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are only exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In addition, in the following description, the description of well-known structures and technologies is omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concept of the present invention.

[0037] The connection mentioned in the present invention is divided into fixed connection and detachable connection. The fixed connection is a non-detachable connection including but not limited to conventional fixed connection methods such as folding connection, rivet connection, bonding connection and welding connection. The detachable connection includes but not limited to conventional detachable methods such as bolt connection, snap connection, pin connection and hinge connection. When the specific connection method is not clearly defined, it is assumed that at least one connection method can be found in the existing connection methods to achieve the function, and those skilled in the art can choose according to their needs. For example: welding connection is selected for fixed connection, and bolt connection is selected for detachable connection.

[0038] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are provided to explain the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0039] As shown in the figure, an ankle-knee linkage walking assist device includes a knee joint wearable body 1, an ankle wearable body 4 and a plurality of pull wires 2; a plurality of universal rings 16 are provided on the knee joint wearable body 1, and a slide groove 44 arranged along the length direction of the foot is respectively provided on the left and right sides of the forefoot of the ankle wearable body 4, one end of the plurality of pull wires 2 is respectively connected to a plurality of sliding screws 43 slidably arranged in the slide groove 44, and the other ends of the plurality of pull wires 2 are respectively connected to a plurality of universal rings 16, and the length of the plurality of pull wires 2 can be adjusted by a locking wire buckle, and a locking nut 47 is provided on the plurality of sliding screws 43, and the position of the sliding screw 43 can be fixed by the locking nut 47. By adjusting the length of several pull wires 2 and the position of the sliding screw 43, the tension angle and tension force of each pull wire 2 are dynamically adjusted, and the tension of the pull wire 2 is used to limit the posture of the foot and ankle, control the knee micro-flexion within 10 degrees, and the ankle dorsiflexion greater than 0 degrees, so as to ensure the consistency of each exercise training. Through repeated practice, the dynamic stereotype of movement is rebuilt, and the action reflex is formed to fix the gait. By using the open chain and closed chain movement principles, the ankle and knee are combined to limit the distal movement freedom, strengthen the proximal control, reduce the distal abnormal mode, and achieve the purpose of energy saving and auxiliary treatment. Through practical application, it is found that the tension on the pull wire is large in the initial stage, and then gradually decreases, indicating that the force required to control the knee micro-flexion within 10 degrees and the ankle dorsiflexion greater than 0 degrees is getting smaller and smaller. The joint control of the ankle and knee plays a key role in the control of abnormal modes and extensor tension in the start of walking.

[0040] The knee joint wearable body 1 comprises a knee wrap 13 and a strap. The knee wrap 13 is tied to the knee joint by the strap. The strap comprises two horizontal adjustment straps 11 and two oblique adjustment straps 12. An oblique adjustment strap 12 is provided at the lower end of either side of the knee wrap 13. The two oblique adjustment straps 12 extend obliquely upward to the left and right sides respectively. A hanging loop 14 is provided at the left and right sides of the upper end of the knee wrap 13 respectively. The two horizontal adjustment straps 11 are horizontally arranged at the upper and lower ends of the knee wrap 13 respectively. When worn, the knee wrap 13 wraps the knee joint from the front side. The oblique adjustment strap 12 at the lower left side goes up around the knee joint from the popliteal fossa and is connected to the hanging loop 14 at the upper right side. The oblique adjustment strap 12 at the lower right side goes up around the knee joint from the popliteal fossa and is connected to the hanging loop 14 at the upper left side. The knee joint wearable body 1 adopts a reverse "8" wearing method, which has a good effect on the correction of knee hyperextension.

[0041] A plurality of ventilation holes 15 or a hole is provided in the middle of the knee wrap 13 to further enhance the comfort of the knee joint wearable body 1 when in use.

[0042] The ankle wearable body 4 includes a foot support 41 and a strap 46. The bottom of the foot support 41 is provided with a notch 45 that matches the forefoot of the shoe sole, and the left and right sides of the notch 45 are respectively provided with a slide groove 44. The foot support 41 is provided with a strap 46 for fixing the forefoot and ankle. The setting of the notch 45 allows the forefoot of the patient to touch the ground when wearing the shoe and the ankle wearable body, which is convenient for bending the sole of the foot during walking.

[0043] An anti-skid pad 42 is provided on the lower end surface of the foot support 41. The anti-skid pad 42 is one of a rubber anti-skid pad with anti-skid patterns, a PVC anti-skid pad, a PU anti-skid pad, an AB glue anti-skid pad, a silicone anti-skid pad or a magic glue anti-skid pad, which increases friction for the wearer to walk and improves the anti-skid property of the ankle wear body 4.

[0044] The pull wire 2 is a metal wire, which can be flexibly bent without too much elasticity, so that the data collected by the tension sensor 3 can be more accurate.

[0045] It also includes a tension measurement module U1, a main control and data storage module U2, a power management module U3, a wireless transmission module U4 and a status display and USB module U5; the tension measurement module U1 includes a tension sensor 3 and an AD conversion circuit, each tension wire 2 is provided with a tension sensor 3, the tension sensor 3 is electrically connected to the AD conversion circuit, the AD conversion circuit, the power management module U3, the wireless transmission module U4 and the status display and USB module U5 are electrically connected to the main control and data storage module U2 respectively, and the wireless transmission module U4 can be connected to a smart phone or tablet computer via Bluetooth. The tension data collected by the tension sensor 3 is processed by the filter circuit and the amplifier circuit, and then converted by the AD conversion circuit into an electrical signal and transmitted to the main control and data storage module U2. The main control and data storage module U2 is the core unit of the device, which is mainly used for the processing and storage of tension data, as well as the control of tension collection, wireless transmission and power management. The present invention adopts the ultra-low power consumption microprocessor chip MSP430F5438 as the main control chip. The MSP430F5438 has 256K flash memory, 16KRAM, 255MH MCU, and RTC clock module inside, which can meet the fast data processing and storage requirements of the device. The MSP430F5438 has a flexible clock source, which can enable the device to achieve the lowest power consumption and can enable the device to be quickly awakened from the low power consumption mode within 6μs.

[0046] MSP430F5438 enables the main control module to realize data processing unit, storage unit and clock unit at the same time, without the need to design data storage and clock modules separately, which can reduce the complexity of circuit design and the volume of control circuit. The power management module U3 can work at a lower voltage. As long as the power supply voltage is greater than 0.9V, the power management module U3 can stably output 3.3V voltage through DC / DC conversion. When the voltage provided by the external power supply is not less than 2.0V, or when the system is in a low power state, the power module can be put into shutdown mode, even if it works in a low power state. In shutdown mode, the external power supply does not pass through the DC / DC conversion of U3 and directly supplies power to the system. The operating current of the power management module U3 is 37μA, and in shutdown mode, there is only 2μA control current. The wireless transmission module U4 is a single-chip RF transceiver with an operating voltage of 1.9~3.6V and works in the 2.4GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) channel. The conversion time between channels is less than 650μs. The wireless transmission module U4 is composed of a frequency synthesizer, a receiving demodulator, a power amplifier, a crystal oscillator and a modulator. It does not require an external SAW filter, automatically processes the header and CRC (cyclic redundancy check), and uses the SPI interface to communicate with the microprocessor. The wireless transmission module U4 can be connected to a smartphone or tablet computer via Bluetooth for data transmission. The status display and USB interface module U5 provides the device with a working status display, USB data communication and charging interface. The working status display includes battery working status, charging status, low power, data transmission status, error status and other status displays.

[0047] The tension transmission parts at both ends of the tension sensor 3 are connected to the pull wire 2 through joint bearings, so that the tension sensor 3 can be connected to the pull wire 2 from any angle. The tension sensor 3 is connected to the pull wire through joint bearings, and can measure the tension in any direction. The measurement range of tension is: 50g~50kg, which meets the use needs of patients, the resolution is 50g, and the sampling period is 100ms, which meets the data collection needs.

[0048] The main control chip used in the main control and data storage module U2 is the MSP430F5438 chip. The MSP430F5438 chip has 256K flash memory, 16KRAM, 255MH MCU, and RTC clock module, which can meet the fast data processing and storage requirements of the device, and can continuously record tension data in real time. When the sampling period of the tension sensor is 100ms, it can record tension measurement data for up to 10 days.

[0049] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention and do not limit its protection scope. Those skilled in the art may also make partial changes thereto, and as long as they do not exceed the spirit of the present invention, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ankle-knee linkage walking assist device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a knee joint wearable body (1), an ankle wearable body (4) and a plurality of pull wires (2); the knee joint wearable body (1) is provided with a plurality of universal rings (16); the left and right sides of the forefoot of the ankle wearable body (4) are respectively provided with slide grooves (44) arranged along the length direction of the foot; one end of the plurality of pull wires (2) is respectively connected to a plurality of sliding screws (43) slidably arranged in the slide grooves (44) in a one-to-one correspondence; the other ends of the plurality of pull wires (2) are respectively connected to a plurality of universal rings (16) in a one-to-one correspondence; the length of the plurality of pull wires (2) is adjusted by means of a wire lock buckle; the plurality of sliding screws (43) are respectively provided with a locking nut (47); and the position of the sliding screw (43) is fixed by means of the locking nut (47); the pull wire (2) is a metal wire; It also includes a tension measurement module (U1), a main control and data storage module (U2), a power management module (U3), a wireless transmission module (U4) and a status display and USB module (U5); the tension measurement module (U1) includes a tension sensor (3) and an AD conversion circuit, each tension wire (2) is provided with a tension sensor (3), the tension sensor (3) is electrically connected to the AD conversion circuit, and the AD conversion circuit, the power management module (U3), the wireless transmission module (U4) and the status display and USB module (U5) are respectively electrically connected to the main control and data storage module (U2).

2. The ankle-knee linkage walking assist device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The knee joint wearable body (1) comprises a knee wrap (13) and a strap, wherein the knee wrap (13) is tied to the knee joint by the strap, and the strap comprises two transverse adjustment straps (11) and two oblique adjustment straps (12); an oblique adjustment strap (12) is provided at the lower end of either the left or right side of the knee wrap (13), and the two oblique adjustment straps (12) extend obliquely upward to the left and right sides respectively; a hanging loop (14) is provided at the left and right sides of the upper end of the knee wrap (13), and the two transverse adjustment straps (11) are horizontally arranged at the upper and lower ends of the knee wrap (13), respectively.

3. The ankle-knee linkage walking assist device according to claim 2, characterized in that: A plurality of ventilation holes (15) are arranged in the middle of the knee wrap (13), or a hole is arranged in the middle of the knee wrap (13).

4. The ankle-knee linkage walking assist device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The ankle wearable body (4) comprises a foot support (41) and a strap (46), wherein the foot support (41) is provided with a strap (46) for fixing the forefoot and ankle, and the bottom of the foot support (41) is provided with a notch (45) matching the forefoot of the sole, and the left and right sides of the notch (45) are respectively provided with a slide groove (44).

5. The ankle-knee linkage walking assist device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The lower end surface of the foot rest (41) is provided with an anti-skid pad (42), and the anti-skid pad (42) is one of a rubber anti-skid pad with anti-skid patterns, a PVC anti-skid pad, a PU anti-skid pad, an AB glue anti-skid pad, a silicone anti-skid pad or a magic glue anti-skid pad.

6. The ankle-knee linkage walking assist device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tension transmission parts at both ends of the tension sensor (3) are respectively connected to the tension wire (2) through joint bearings.

7. The ankle-knee linkage walking assist device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The measurement range of the tension sensor (3) is 50g to 50kg, the resolution is 50g, and the sampling period is 100ms.

8. The ankle-knee linkage walking assist device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control chip used by the main control and data storage module (U2) is the MSP430F5438 chip.

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