Force-releasing module for load-bearing exoskeleton

Abstract

The present invention discloses a force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton, comprising a back base, a force unloading adjustment mechanism disposed on the back base, the force unloading adjustment mechanism being able to slide along the height direction of the back base, and comprising at least a pressure plate shaft for bearing a load, a force unloading elastic member for supporting the pressure plate shaft, and an adjustment component for limiting the lifting stroke of the pressure plate shaft. The force unloading adjustment mechanism is used to adjust the load compression amount of the pressure unloading elastic member, that is, to adjust the partial load transmitted to the back base, and the wearer can adjust it according to his own situation to ensure that the load can be maximally loaded without affecting normal walking.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of exoskeletons, and in particular relates to a force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton. Background Art

[0002] Load-bearing exoskeletons are also called wearable robots that normal people can walk with loads on. In the increasingly developing and expanding logistics industry, there are also characteristics such as repeated lifting, unloading, and carrying of heavy objects between multiple points. These jobs also require workers to constantly use arm strength and waist strength to complete the work, which is not only easy to fatigue, but also causes complications such as periarthritis of the shoulder and lumbar disc herniation in the long run, which brings many health risks to workers and affects their future family life. Power-assisted exoskeletons can effectively help the wearer maintain a posture for a long time or assist in repeated alternating operations of several postures. It not only greatly reduces the physical burden of the operator, but also assists the operator to complete the task efficiently and accurately. Therefore, it is gradually being vigorously promoted in both military and civilian fields.

[0003] Among the existing load-bearing exoskeletons, one type adopts a split structure for all parts, which has good freedom of movement in the structure, mainly to ensure wearing comfort and walking convenience. However, this also leads to poor force conduction performance, and the weight is still mainly borne by the human body, that is, the power assistance effect is poor. Another type adopts an integral structure. This type of exoskeleton has a good force unloading effect, but it will cause inconvenience in walking, especially the resistance in the joints is large. Therefore, how to balance the force unloading effect and wearing and walking performance of the exoskeleton, and realize personalized adjustment for different audiences, has become one of the important issues restricting the development of exoskeleton technology. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton to solve the problem in the prior art that there is a contradiction between the power-assisting effect and the freedom of movement of the exoskeleton structure.

[0005] The technical solution is as follows:

[0006] A force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton includes a back base, the key of which is that a force unloading adjustment mechanism is provided on the back base, the force unloading adjustment mechanism can slide along the height direction of the back base, and at least includes a pressure plate shaft for bearing a load, a force unloading elastic member for supporting the pressure plate shaft, and an adjustment component for limiting the lifting and lowering stroke of the pressure plate shaft.

[0007] By adopting the above scheme, when in use, the load is transmitted to the pressure plate shaft through the load-bearing component, and the downward gravity exerted on the pressure plate shaft is transmitted to the back base through the force unloading adjustment mechanism. In this process, the load force can be distributed and adjusted through the force unloading adjustment mechanism, mainly by adjusting the lifting stroke of the pressure plate shaft through the adjustment component, that is, changing the compression amount of the force unloading elastic part, and synchronously changing the force acting on the back base, that is, adjusting the respective load-bearing sizes of the exoskeleton and the human body, so that they can adapt to more users and avoid the situation where the exoskeleton is too loaded and causes inflexible movements, so that the exoskeleton has good assist adaptability and good freedom of movement.

[0008] Preferably, the unloading adjustment mechanism further comprises an adjustment seat, wherein the adjustment seat has a mounting cavity arranged along the height direction of the back base, and the adjustment assembly comprises a threaded bushing and an adjustment knob which are coaxially arranged and have matched internal and external threads, the threaded bushing is slidably arranged in the mounting cavity, and the adjustment knob is rotatably arranged in the mounting cavity, and its axial position is fixed relative to the adjustment seat;

[0009] The unloading elastic member is coaxially arranged in the threaded bushing, and the pressure plate shaft includes a relatively fixed plate portion and a shaft portion, and the shaft portion passes through the unloading elastic member downward, and the shaft portion is arranged along the height direction of the back base, and has an axial displacement guide structure that cooperates with the back base;

[0010] The load-bearing point at the lower end of the unloading elastic member is relatively fixed with the adjustment seat, and the upper end is against the disk, and the diameter of the disk is larger than the inner diameter of the threaded bushing. When the above scheme is adopted, the threaded bushing is driven up and down by turning the adjustment knob, that is, the actual downward distance of the pressure plate shaft is changed, so that the pressure on the unloading elastic member is changed accordingly, and the separation transmitted to the back base is also changed, thereby achieving the purpose of unloading adjustment. Generally speaking, when the threaded bushing moves upward, the distance between it and the disk is shortened, and the compression amount of the unloading elastic member is reduced, so the unloading force of the back base is small. When the threaded bushing is at the lowest position, the unloading force of the back base is the largest, and the use of the adjustment seat is more convenient for the integrated installation of the unloading adjustment mechanism.

[0011] Preferably, a knob base is fixedly arranged in the installation cavity, the knob base has a central hole opened along its axial direction, the force-relieving elastic member is located in the central hole, the lower end of the adjusting knob is rotatably connected to the knob base, and the threaded bushing is located between the adjusting knob and the knob base. The above scheme is adopted to facilitate the modular production and assembly of the force-relieving adjustment mechanism, improve the assembly efficiency, and the knob base is matched with the knob to better ensure the smoothness of the knob rotation.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment: the back base is a hollow structure, and a guide shaft is arranged vertically in the back base and slidably cooperates with the adjustment seat. A reset elastic member is arranged between the bottom of the adjustment seat and the back base, and the reset elastic member applies a thrust to the top of the back base on the adjustment seat, and the top of the adjustment knob protrudes above the back base. With the above solution, further unloading can be achieved by lifting and lowering the adjustment seat in coordination with the reset elastic member, and when the load is unloaded, the reset elastic member and the auxiliary adjustment seat are quickly reset.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment, the left and right sides of the top of the back base are provided with shoulder strap holes symmetrically arranged. The above solution makes it easy for the exoskeleton shoulder strap to extend into and be fixedly connected with the unloading adjustment mechanism.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment, the back base is provided with a side window for the load-bearing component to extend into and connect with the pressure plate shaft, and the side window is arranged along the height direction of the back base. The above scheme facilitates the load-bearing component to extend into and connect with the pressure plate shaft, and provides a floating space in the height direction for it.

[0015] As a preferred embodiment: the adjusting seat has a flanged bushing coaxially arranged with the pressure plate shaft, the flanged bushing at least partially extends into the center hole and abuts against the lower end of the force-releasing elastic member, and the flanged bushing is fixed relative to the back base. The above scheme can further guide the lifting and lowering of the adjusting seat to ensure the sliding stability, and on the other hand, it can also meet the requirements of supporting the force-releasing elastic member and better transfer the distributed load to the back base.

[0016] As a preferred embodiment, a graphite copper sleeve is sleeved between the flanged bushing and the shaft portion. With the above solution, the graphite copper sleeve can alleviate friction resistance and extend the service life of the pressure plate shaft.

[0017] Preferably, the knob base has an integrally formed rotating ring groove on the outer side of the knob base, the rotating ring groove has convex teeth on the side wall, the lower end of the adjusting knob is embedded in the rotating ring groove, and the lower end of the adjusting knob has a hand-feeling buckle that cooperates with the convex teeth on the outer side of the knob. The above solution can prevent the position of the threaded bushing from changing due to misoperation.

[0018] Preferably, the adjusting knob and the knob base have a mutually coordinated rotation travel limiting structure, and an indicator mark is provided on the top or side of the adjusting knob. The above solution is convenient for the wearer to select a suitable unloading value according to his / her own situation and quickly adjust the adjusting knob to the correct position.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0020] By using the force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton provided by the present invention, a force unloading adjustment mechanism is used to adjust the load compression amount of the pressure-unloading elastic member, that is, to adjust the partial load transmitted to the back base. The wearer can make adjustments according to his own situation to ensure that he can bear the maximum weight without affecting normal walking. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the internal structure;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Sectional view;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the back base structure (without the force unloading adjustment mechanism);

[0025] Figure 5 4 explosion diagrams;

[0026] Figure 6 for Figure 1 Side view;

[0027] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the unloading force adjustment mechanism (minimum unloading force state);

[0028] Figure 8 for Figure 7 Sectional view;

[0029] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the coordination between the adjustment knob and the knob base;

[0030] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of the knob base structure;

[0031] Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the threaded bushing structure;

[0032] Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the load-bearing component;

[0033] Fig.13 It is a schematic diagram of the use state of the present invention;

[0034] Fig.14 Schematic diagram of the unloading force adjustment mechanism (maximum unloading force state). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0036] refer to Figures 1 to 14The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton shown mainly includes a back base 200 and a force unloading adjustment mechanism 300 arranged on the back base 200, wherein the force unloading adjustment mechanism 300 can slide along the height direction of the back base 200, and the force unloading adjustment mechanism 300 at least includes a pressure plate shaft 310 for bearing the load, a force unloading elastic member 390 for supporting the pressure plate shaft 310, and an adjustment component for limiting the lifting and lowering stroke of the pressure plate shaft 310.

[0037] Key References Figures 1 to 11 In the present application, the unloading adjustment mechanism 300 also includes an adjustment seat 320. The back base 200 is a hollow structure. The adjustment seat 320 has an installation cavity 321 arranged along the height direction of the back base 200. The adjustment component mainly includes a threaded bushing 340 and an adjustment knob 330 that are coaxially arranged and have internal and external threads matched. The threaded bushing 340 is slidably arranged in the installation cavity 321, and the adjustment knob 330 is rotatably arranged in the installation cavity 321, and its axial position is fixed relative to the adjustment seat 320. The height position of the threaded bushing 340 can be adjusted by rotating the adjustment knob 330, that is, the vertical distance between the disk portion 311 and the threaded bushing 340 can be adjusted.

[0038] In this embodiment, the force-relieving elastic member 390 is preferably a spring and is coaxially arranged in the threaded bushing 340. The pressure plate shaft 310 includes a relatively fixed disk portion 311 and a shaft portion 312. During implementation, the two can be integrally formed. The shaft portion 312 passes downward through the force-relieving elastic member 390. The shaft portion 312 is arranged along the height direction of the back base 200 and has an axial displacement guide structure that cooperates with the back base 200.

[0039] The load-bearing point at the lower end of the load-releasing elastic member 390 is relatively fixed to the adjustment seat 320, and the upper end is against the disk 311, and the diameter of the disk 311 is larger than the inner diameter of the threaded bushing 340, to ensure that when the load-releasing elastic member 390 is under pressure, the reaction force can be transmitted to the back base 200 through the adjustment seat 320, and finally bear the force through the lower limb bones 500.

[0040] A knob base 350 is fixedly provided in the mounting cavity 321 , and the knob base 350 has a center hole 351 opened along its axial direction. The force-releasing elastic member 390 is located in the center hole 351 . The lower end of the adjusting knob 330 is rotatably connected to the knob base 350 , and the threaded bushing 340 is located between the adjusting knob 330 and the knob base 350 .

[0041] In the present application, the back base 200 is a hollow structure. As shown in the figure, the back base 200 is mainly formed by a base body 20a and a base back cover 20b, and constitutes an active cavity 230 for installing the adjustment seat 320. The adjustment seat 320 is located in the active cavity 230 and can move up and down along the active cavity 230. A guide structure is provided between the adjustment seat 320 and the active cavity 230. Specifically, guide shafts 231 are provided at positions corresponding to the left and right ends of the adjustment seat 320 in the active cavity 230 (the up, down, left and right positions in the present application are all based on the absolute positions during normal wear) , and the two ends of the adjustment seat 320 are slidably matched with the guide shafts 231. At the same time, a reset elastic member 322 is provided between the back base 200. The reset elastic member 322 is preferably a spring, which is sleeved on the guide shaft 231, and its upper and lower ends are respectively against the bottom walls of the adjustment seat 320 and the active cavity 230. In the initial state, the adjustment seat 320 is against the top of the active cavity 230 under the action of the reset elastic member 322.

[0042] During specific implementation, a knob base 350 is fixedly provided in the mounting cavity 321, and the knob base 350 has a center hole 351 opened along its axial direction. The force-releasing elastic member 390 is located in the center hole 351. The lower end of the adjusting knob 330 is rotatably connected to the knob base 350. The threaded bushing 340 is located between the adjusting knob 330 and the knob base 350, and the top of the adjusting knob 330 protrudes above the back base 200.

[0043] As shown in the figure, the knob base 350 has an integrally formed rotating ring groove 352, and a convex tooth 353 is provided on the side wall of the rotating ring groove 352. The lower end of the adjusting knob 330 is embedded in the rotating ring groove 352, and a thin-walled bearing 360 is provided on the upper side to limit its axial position without increasing the rotation resistance of the adjusting knob 330. The circumferential outer side of the lower end of the adjusting knob 330 has a tactile buckle 331 that cooperates with the convex tooth 353. In this way, there is an obvious tactile feel during the rotation of the adjusting knob 330, and the position of the threaded bushing 340 may be relatively avoided from being changed due to misoperation.

[0044] In addition, there are mutually coordinated rotation stroke limiting structures between the adjustment knob 330 and the knob base 350, and an indication mark 332 is provided on the top or side of the adjustment knob 330. Specifically, a stroke limit groove is provided on the bottom wall of the rotation ring groove 352 of the knob base 350, and the stroke limit groove is arc-shaped. The lower end of the adjustment knob 330 is at least partially embedded in the stroke limit groove 355, so that the arc range of the stroke limit groove 355 is the rotation stroke of the adjustment knob 330. During assembly, a force unloading value mark can be set at the top of the back base 200 corresponding to the circumference of the adjustment knob 330 according to the elastic performance of the force unloading elastic member 390. In this way, when the indication mark 332 of the adjustment knob 330 indicates a certain force unloading value, the magnitude of the force unloading at this time can be intuitively known.

[0045] On the other hand, in order to ensure the linear movement of the threaded bushing 340, a guide rib 354 is arranged along the axial direction on the outer wall of the knob base 350, and a guide groove 341 is arranged on the inner wall of the threaded bushing 340 to cooperate with the guide rib 354. In this way, when the adjustment knob 330 is rotated, the threaded bushing 340 can only slide axially and will not rotate accordingly. Of course, the guide rib 354 and the guide groove 341 can also be arranged interchangeably, which are all within the protection scope of the present application.

[0046] A flanged bushing 370 is provided at a position opposite to the lower end of the center hole 351 in the movable cavity 230. The flanged bushing 370 is fixed relative to the back base 200. As shown in the figure, the flanged bushing 370 includes a sleeve portion 371 and a flange 372 integrally formed at the lower end of the sleeve portion 371. The back base 200 has an embedding groove 240 adapted to the flange 372. The sleeve portion 371 is vertically upward and extends into the center hole 351. When the adjustment seat 320 is raised or lowered, the lower end of the force-relieving elastic member 390 is directly abutted against the upper end surface of the sleeve portion 371 under the guidance of the sleeve portion 371.

[0047] On the other hand, in order to further ensure the lifting and lowering stability of the pressure plate shaft 310, a graphite copper sleeve 380 is embedded in the sleeve portion 371. The shaft portion 312 of the pressure plate shaft 310 passes through the graphite copper sleeve 380. The shaft portion 312 contacts the graphite copper sleeve 380, which can also reduce friction damage and help extend the service life.

[0048] In the above embodiment, when there is no knob base 350 , the rotational installation of the adjustment knob 330 and the linear limiting structure of the threaded bushing 340 can be directly achieved by providing corresponding structures on the adjustment seat 320 .

[0049] Combination Fig.12 and Fig.13 The force unloading module for the load-bearing exoskeleton of the present application is usually used in conjunction with a waist base 100, a weight-bearing component 400 and a lower limb skeleton 500. The waist base 100 is connected to the lower limb skeleton 500 through a hip joint component 600, and the weight-bearing component 400 is movably arranged on the back base 200. As shown in the figure, the waist base 100 is usually provided with a waist belt, and a shoulder strap 210 is arranged between the waist base 100 and the back base 200. Therefore, there are symmetrically arranged shoulder strap through holes 232 on the left and right sides of the top of the back base 200. The upper ends of the shoulder straps 210 extend into the active cavity 230 through the shoulder strap through holes 232 and are fixedly connected to the adjustment seat 320. In order to facilitate connection and fixation as well as processing of parts, a shoulder strap fixing frame 250 is arranged on the adjustment seat 320, and the shoulder straps 210 are directly fixed to the shoulder strap fixing frame 250.

[0050] The back base 200 is provided with a side window 270 connected to the pressure plate shaft 310 for the weight-bearing component 400 to extend into, and the side window 270 is arranged along the height direction of the back base 200. As shown in the figure, the weight-bearing component 400 mainly includes two upper limb assisting compartments 410 symmetrically arranged on both sides of the back base 200, and the upper limb assisting compartments 410 on the left and right sides are connected into one by a weight-bearing adapter bracket 420. As shown in the figure, the weight-bearing adapter bracket 420 is arranged along the width direction of the back base 200, crosses the back base 200 and is fixedly connected to the shaft portion 312 of the pressure plate shaft 310, and the side window 270 is just for the weight-bearing adapter bracket 420 to pass through and provides up and down sliding space and front and rear limit. The weight-bearing component 400 also includes a backpack frame 430 detachably connected to the upper limb assisting compartment 410.

[0051] refer to Figures 1 to 14 The force unloading module for the load-bearing exoskeleton shown can be assembled by fixing the force unloading adjustment mechanism 300 on the base body 20a, and fixing the assembled upper limb assist cabin 410 to the shaft 312 through the load-bearing adapter bracket 420, and fixing the shoulder strap 210 to the shoulder strap fixing frame 250, and finally closing the base rear cover 20b, fixing the assembled back base 200 to the waist base 100 through the back support rod 220, and the waist base 100 is connected to the assembled lower limb skeleton 500 through the hip joint assembly 600.

[0052] The initial state of the unloading adjustment mechanism 300 is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the pressure plate shaft 310 is in the highest position under the support of the unloading elastic member 390. When the load-bearing assembly 400 is loaded, the plate portion 311 compresses the unloading elastic member 390. When the adjusting knob 330 is rotated to make the threaded bushing 340 in the highest position, the vertical distance between the plate portion 311 and the threaded bushing 340 is the shortest, and the unloading elastic member 390 can be compressed to the minimum. At this time, the unloading adjustment mechanism 300 is as shown in FIG. Figure 7 As shown in the minimum unloading state, when the adjusting knob 330 is rotated to make the threaded bushing 340 at the lowest position, the vertical distance between the disk 311 and the threaded bushing 340 is the longest, and the unloading elastic member 390 can be compressed to the maximum. At this time, the unloading adjustment mechanism 300 is as shown in FIG. Fig.14 Shown is the maximum unloading state.

[0053] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Under the guidance of the present invention, ordinary technicians in this field can make various similar expressions without violating the purpose and claims of the present invention, and such changes all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton, comprising a back base (200), characterized in that: The back base (200) is provided with a force unloading adjustment mechanism (300), the force unloading adjustment mechanism (300) being able to slide along the height direction of the back base (200) and comprising at least a pressure plate shaft (310) for bearing a load, a force unloading elastic member (390) for supporting the pressure plate shaft (310), and an adjustment component for limiting the lifting stroke of the pressure plate shaft (310); A weight-bearing assembly (400) is provided on the back base (200), and the weight-bearing assembly (400) comprises two upper limb assisting chambers (410) symmetrically arranged on both sides of the back base (200), and the upper limb assisting chambers (410) on the left and right sides are connected into one body via a weight-bearing transfer bracket (420); The pressure plate shaft (310) comprises a relatively fixed plate portion (311) and a shaft portion (312); the load-bearing adapter bracket (420) is arranged along the width direction of the back base (200), crosses the back base (200) and is fixedly connected to the shaft portion (312) of the pressure plate shaft (310); The unloading adjustment mechanism (300) further comprises an adjustment seat (320), wherein the adjustment seat (320) has a mounting cavity (321) arranged along the height direction of the back base (200), and the adjustment component comprises a threaded bushing (340) and an adjustment knob (330) which are coaxially arranged and have matched internal and external threads, wherein the threaded bushing (340) is slidably arranged in the mounting cavity (321), and the adjustment knob (330) is rotatably arranged in the mounting cavity (321), and its axial position is fixed relative to the adjustment seat (320); The back base (200) has a guide shaft (231) arranged vertically therein and slidably matched with the adjustment seat (320), and a reset elastic member (322) is provided between the bottom of the adjustment seat (320) and the back base (200), and the reset elastic member (322) applies a thrust to the adjustment seat (320) towards the top of the back base (200).

2. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that: The force-releasing elastic member (390) is coaxially arranged in the threaded bushing (340), the shaft portion (312) passes through the force-releasing elastic member (390) downward, the shaft portion (312) is arranged along the height direction of the back base (200), and has an axial displacement guide structure that cooperates with the back base (200); The load-bearing point at the lower end of the force-relieving elastic member (390) is relatively fixed to the adjustment seat (320), and the upper end abuts against the disk portion (311), and the diameter of the disk portion (311) is greater than the inner diameter of the threaded bushing (340).

3. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 2, characterized in that: A knob base (350) is fixedly disposed in the mounting cavity (321), the knob base (350) having a center hole (351) opened along its axial direction, the force-relieving elastic member (390) being located in the center hole (351), the lower end of the adjusting knob (330) being rotatably connected to the knob base (350), and the threaded bushing (340) being located between the adjusting knob (330) and the knob base (350).

4. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 2, characterized in that: The back base (200) is a hollow structure, and the top of the adjustment knob (330) protrudes above the back base (200).

5. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 4, characterized in that: The left and right sides of the top of the back base (200) are provided with shoulder strap outlet holes (232) which are symmetrically arranged.

6. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The back base (200) is provided with a side window (270) for the load-bearing component to extend into and connected to the pressure plate shaft (310), and the side window (270) is arranged along the height direction of the back base (200).

7. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 3, characterized in that: A flanged bushing (370) is provided below the adjustment seat (320) and is coaxially arranged with the pressure plate shaft (310). The flanged bushing (370) at least partially extends into the center hole (351) to abut against the lower end of the force-relieving elastic member (390). The flanged bushing (370) is fixedly arranged relative to the back base (200).

8. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 7, characterized in that: A graphite copper sleeve (380) is sleeved between the flanged bushing (370) and the shaft portion (312).

9. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 3, 7 or 8, characterized in that: The knob base (350) has an integrally formed rotating ring groove (352) on the circumferential outer side, and a convex tooth (353) is provided on the side wall of the rotating ring groove. The lower end of the adjusting knob (330) is embedded in the rotating ring groove (352), and the lower end of the adjusting knob (330) has a hand-feel buckle (331) that cooperates with the convex tooth (353) on the circumferential outer side.

10. The force unloading module for a load-bearing exoskeleton according to claim 9, characterized in that: A mutually matching rotation stroke limiting structure is provided between the adjusting knob (330) and the knob base (350), and an indication mark (332) is provided on the top or side of the adjusting knob (330).

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