A new type of knee exoskeleton

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of environment-friendly dust falling equipment, and particularly relates to a novel knee joint exoskeleton, which comprises a thigh plate, a shank plate movably connected with the thigh plate, and a guide mechanism arranged between the thigh plate and the shank plate, wherein the guide mechanism comprises a movable slot and a guide assembly, and the guide assembly is used for rotating the shank plate around the movable connection between the shank plate and the thigh plate in the trajectory direction of the movable slot. The novel knee joint exoskeleton of the present application rotates the guide assembly around the movable connection between the shank plate and the thigh plate in the trajectory direction of the movable slot, and the radius of the movable slot is gradually reduced, so that the rotation center of the knee joint exoskeleton is always aligned with the rotation center of the human knee joint, and the damage to the human body is reduced.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The original application has the application number 2022110768110, the application date is September 5, 2022, and the invention title is "A Novel Knee Joint Exoskeleton". [Technical Field]

[0002] This invention belongs to the field of rehabilitation exoskeleton product technology, and specifically relates to a novel knee joint exoskeleton. [Background Technology]

[0003] Currently, most knee exoskeletons in the medical device industry consist of a simple rotational power joint. However, the human knee joint is not a simple rotational range. During exercise, its instantaneous rotation center changes. If the rotation center of the exoskeleton and the rotation center of the human knee joint are not aligned during exercise, additional tangential forces will be generated on the human body, reducing the user experience. Long-term use may even cause damage to the human body and produce irreversible effects. [Summary of the Invention]

[0004] To address the problem in existing technologies where the rotation center of the exoskeleton is not aligned with the rotation center of the human knee joint, leading to a decreased user experience and potential damage with prolonged use, this invention provides a novel knee exoskeleton.

[0005] This invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0006] A novel knee exoskeleton, characterized in that: it includes a thigh plate, a lower leg plate movably hinged to the thigh plate, and a guide mechanism disposed between the thigh plate and the lower leg plate, the guide mechanism including a movable groove and a guide assembly, the guide assembly being used to cause the lower leg plate to rotate around the movable hinge joint between the lower leg plate and the thigh plate along the trajectory direction of the movable groove;

[0007] A drive mechanism for driving the lower leg plate to rotate relative to the thigh plate is provided between the thigh plate and the lower leg plate;

[0008] The guide assembly includes a lower leg plate rear attachment disposed on the lower leg plate and movably hinged to the upper leg plate, and an inner roller hinged between the lower leg plate rear attachment and the lower leg plate and located within the movable groove and moving along the movable groove.

[0009] The guide assembly includes a guide rail and an external guide assembly, wherein the external guide assembly and the inner roller are respectively located on both sides of the guide rail to restrict the rotation of the lower leg plate rear attachment along the guide rail;

[0010] The external guide assembly includes a fitting member disposed on the back of the lower leg plate and pressing against the guide rail. The movable groove is located on the inner side of the guide rail, and the inner roller and the fitting member are respectively located on the inner and outer sides of the guide rail.

[0011] The fitting component is provided with a guide surface and a limiting surface. The outer side of the guide rail is provided with a guide section and a limiting section that fit with the guide surface and the limiting surface, respectively. When the guide section cooperates with the guide surface, the lower leg plate can rotate relative to the thigh plate along the movable groove. When the limiting section cooperates with the limiting surface, the lower leg plate is restricted from continuing to rotate relative to the thigh plate.

[0012] The novel knee exoskeleton described above is characterized in that: the driving mechanism includes a drive motor mounted on the thigh plate, and connecting rods respectively hinged to the calf plate and the output end of the drive motor.

[0013] The novel knee exoskeleton described above is characterized in that: the external guide assembly further includes an outer roller disposed between the back attachment of the calf plate and the calf plate and in contact with the outer side of the guide rail, a displacement groove for the outer roller to move up and down, and a first tension spring connected at both ends to the inner roller and the outer roller respectively, wherein the outer roller moves along the displacement groove under the action of the first tension spring and always remains in contact with the guide rail.

[0014] A novel knee exoskeleton as described above is characterized by further comprising a connecting mechanism for keeping the thigh plate and the calf plate in a bent state. The connecting mechanism includes a first hinge on the thigh plate, a second hinge on the calf plate, a second tension spring hinged to the first hinge and the second hinge, and a limiting groove at the end of the movable groove. When the calf plate rotates relative to the thigh plate to its limit position, the guiding mechanism slides into the limiting groove, and under the action of the second tension spring, the calf plate is kept at its limit position relative to the thigh plate.

[0015] The novel knee exoskeleton described above is characterized by further including a thigh height adjustment mechanism for adjusting the height, the thigh height adjustment mechanism including a thigh telescopic link connected to the thigh plate, a positioning hole provided on the thigh telescopic link, and a positioning pin provided on the thigh plate and inserted into the positioning hole.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0017] The present invention discloses a novel knee exoskeleton in which the guide component rotates around the movable hinge of the lower leg plate and the thigh plate along the trajectory of the movable groove. The trajectory of the movable groove is designed with reference to the trajectory of the instantaneous rotation center of the knee joint during human movement, so that the rotation center of the knee exoskeleton is always aligned with the rotation center of the human knee joint, thereby reducing the damage to the human body.

[0018] The present invention discloses a novel knee joint exoskeleton, which uses a drive mechanism to simulate the movement of the human knee joint.

[0019] The present invention discloses a novel knee exoskeleton, wherein the thigh plate and the calf plate are respectively provided with hinges, so that the thigh plate and the calf plate can rotate laterally to better fit the human body.

[0020] The present invention discloses a novel knee joint exoskeleton that can better adapt to the user's height by adjusting the extension height of the thigh extension link in the thigh height adjustment mechanism. [Attached Image Description]

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1 This is the right-side view of this application;

[0023] Figure 2 This is the left-side view of this application;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a partial disassembled view of this application;

[0025] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A magnified view of a portion of region A;

[0026] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the mid-thigh plate;

[0027] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 A structural diagram of the attachments on the back of the lower leg plate.

Detailed Implementation Methods

[0028] To make the technical problems solved by the present invention, the technical solutions, and the beneficial effects clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

[0029] Please see Figures 1 to 6 A novel knee exoskeleton includes a thigh plate 1, a lower leg plate 2 movably hinged to the thigh plate 1, and a guide mechanism 5 disposed between the thigh plate 1 and the lower leg plate 2. The guide mechanism 5 includes a movable groove 3 and a guide component 51, which is used to rotate the lower leg plate 2 around the movable hinge point between the lower leg plate 2 and the thigh plate 1 along the trajectory direction of the movable groove 3.

[0030] The present invention discloses a novel knee exoskeleton in which the guide component rotates around the movable hinge of the lower leg plate and the thigh plate along the trajectory of the movable groove. The trajectory of the movable groove is designed with reference to the trajectory of the instantaneous rotation center of the knee joint during human movement, so that the rotation center of the knee exoskeleton is always aligned with the rotation center of the human knee joint, thereby reducing the damage to the human body.

[0031] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation thereof, a drive mechanism 52 for driving the lower leg plate 2 to rotate relative to the thigh plate 1 is provided between the thigh plate 1 and the lower leg plate 2.

[0032] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation thereof, the drive mechanism 52 includes a drive motor 521 mounted on the thigh plate 1, and a connecting rod 522 hinged to the lower leg plate 2 and the output end of the drive motor 521 respectively, thereby driving the lower leg plate to move relative to the thigh plate to simulate the movement of the human knee joint.

[0033] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation thereof, the guide assembly 51 includes a lower leg plate back attachment 511 disposed on the lower leg plate 2 and movably hinged to the thigh plate 1, and an inner roller 513 hinged between the lower leg plate back attachment 511 and the lower leg plate 2 and located within the movable groove 3 and moving along the movable groove 3.

[0034] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation thereof, the guide assembly 51 includes a guide rail 512 and an external guide assembly 515, wherein the external guide assembly 515 and the inner roller 513 are respectively located on both sides of the guide rail 512 to restrict the rotation of the lower leg plate back attachment 511 along the guide rail 512.

[0035] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation thereof, the external guide assembly 515 includes a fitting member 5151 disposed on the back attachment 511 of the lower leg plate and pressing against the guide rail 512. The movable groove 3 is located on the inner side of the guide rail 512, and the inner roller 513 and the fitting member 5151 are respectively located on the inner and outer sides of the guide rail 512, so that the exoskeleton plays a supporting role when in the extended state, reducing the force on the human knee joint.

[0036] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation thereof, the external guide assembly 515 further includes an outer roller 5152 disposed between the lower leg plate back attachment 511 and the lower leg plate 2 and in contact with the outer side of the guide rail 512, a displacement groove 5153 for the outer roller 5152 to move up and down, and a first tension spring 5154 connected at both ends to the inner roller 513 and the outer roller 5152 respectively. Under the action of the first tension spring 5154, the outer roller 5152 moves along the displacement groove 5153 and always remains in contact with the guide rail 512.

[0037] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation, the fitting member 5151 is provided with a guide surface 51511 and a limiting surface 51512. The outer side of the guide rail 512 is provided with a guide section 5121 and a limiting section 5122 that fit with the guide surface 51511 and the limiting surface 51512, respectively. When the guide section 5121 cooperates with the guide surface 51511, the lower leg plate 2 can rotate relative to the thigh plate 1 along the movable groove 3. When the limiting section 5122 cooperates with the limiting surface 51512, it restricts the lower leg plate 2 from continuing to rotate relative to the thigh plate 1.

[0038] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation, it also includes a connecting mechanism 6 for keeping the thigh plate 1 and the calf plate 2 in a bent state. The connecting mechanism 6 includes a first hinge 61 disposed on the thigh plate 1, a second hinge 62 disposed on the calf plate 2, a second tension spring 63 hinged to the first hinge 61 and the second hinge 62, and a limiting groove 31 disposed at the end of the movable groove 3. When the calf plate 2 rotates relative to the thigh plate to its limit position, the guide mechanism 5 slides into the limiting groove 31, and under the action of the second tension spring 63, the calf plate 2 is kept at its limit position relative to the thigh plate.

[0039] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation, it also includes a thigh height adjustment mechanism 7 for adjusting the height. The thigh height adjustment mechanism 7 includes a thigh telescopic link 71 connected to the thigh plate 1, a positioning hole 711 provided on the thigh telescopic link 71, and a positioning pin 712 provided on the thigh plate 1 and inserted into the positioning hole 711. The telescopic height of the thigh telescopic link is fixed by inserting the positioning pin into the positioning hole.

[0040] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation, it also includes a calf height adjustment mechanism 8 for adjusting the height. The calf height adjustment mechanism 8 includes a calf telescopic link 81 connected to the calf plate 2, a positioning hole 811 provided on the calf telescopic link 81, and a positioning pin 812 provided on the calf plate 2 and inserted into the positioning hole 811. The telescopic height of the calf telescopic link is fixed by inserting the positioning pin into the positioning hole.

[0041] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation, it also includes a foot height adjustment mechanism 9 for adjusting the height. The foot height adjustment mechanism 9 includes a foot telescopic link 91 hinged to the lower leg telescopic link 81, a positioning hole 911 provided on the foot telescopic link 91, a foot pad 92 connected to the foot telescopic link through the positioning hole, and a positioning pin 912 provided on the foot pad 92 and inserted into the positioning hole 911. The positioning pin is inserted into the positioning hole to fix the telescopic height of the foot telescopic link.

[0042] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation thereof, the thigh telescopic link 71 is provided with a hinge 72, which allows the thigh plate to rotate laterally, further conforming to the human body and improving the comfort of use.

[0043] Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment of this solution and not a limitation thereof, the lower leg telescopic link 81 is provided with a hinge 82, which allows the lower leg plate to rotate laterally, further conforming to the human body and improving the comfort of use.

[0044] The working principle of this embodiment is as follows:

[0045] The present invention discloses a novel knee exoskeleton in which the guide component rotates around the movable hinge of the lower leg plate and the thigh plate along the trajectory of the movable groove. The trajectory of the movable groove is designed with reference to the trajectory of the instantaneous rotation center of the knee joint during human movement, so that the rotation center of the knee exoskeleton is always aligned with the rotation center of the human knee joint, thereby reducing the damage to the human body.

[0046] The above are implementation methods provided in conjunction with specific content, and it is not intended that the specific implementation of this application is limited to these descriptions. Any methods or structures that are similar to those of this application, or any technical deductions or substitutions made based on the concept of this application, should be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A novel knee joint exoskeleton, characterized in that: The device includes a thigh plate (1), a calf plate (2) that is movably hinged to the thigh plate (1), and a guide mechanism (5) disposed between the thigh plate (1) and the calf plate (2). The guide mechanism (5) includes a movable groove (3) and a guide assembly (51). The guide assembly (51) is used to make the calf plate (2) rotate around the movable hinge of the calf plate (2) and the thigh plate (1) along the trajectory direction of the movable groove (3). A drive mechanism (52) for driving the lower leg plate (2) to rotate relative to the thigh plate (1) is provided between the thigh plate (1) and the lower leg plate (2). The guide assembly (51) includes a lower leg plate back attachment (511) disposed on the lower leg plate (2) and movably hinged to the thigh plate (1), and an inner roller (513) hinged between the lower leg plate back attachment (511) and the lower leg plate (2) and located in the movable groove (3) and moving along the movable groove (3). The guide assembly (51) includes a guide rail (512) and an outer guide assembly (515), wherein the outer guide assembly (515) and the inner roller (513) are located on both sides of the guide rail (512) to restrict the rotation of the lower leg plate back attachment (511) along the guide rail (512). The external guide assembly (515) includes a fitting (5151) disposed on the back attachment (511) of the lower leg plate and pressing against the guide rail (512). The movable groove (3) is located inside the guide rail (512). The inner roller (513) and the fitting (5151) are respectively located on the inner and outer sides of the guide rail (512). The external guide assembly (515) further includes an outer roller (5152) disposed between the lower leg plate back accessory (511) and the lower leg plate (2) and in contact with the outer side of the guide rail (512), a displacement groove (5153) for the outer roller (5152) to move up and down, and a first tension spring (5154) connected at both ends to the inner roller (513) and the outer roller (5152) respectively. Under the action of the first tension spring (5154), the outer roller (5152) moves along the displacement groove (5153) and always remains in contact with the guide rail (512); The fitting component (5151) is provided with a guide surface (51511) and a limiting surface (51512). The outer side of the guide rail (512) is provided with a guide section (5121) and a limiting section (5122) that fit with the guide surface (51511) and the limiting surface (51512), respectively. When the guide section (5121) cooperates with the guide surface (51511), the lower leg plate (2) can rotate relative to the thigh plate (1) along the movable groove (3). When the limiting section (5122) cooperates with the limiting surface (51512), it restricts the lower leg plate (2) from continuing to rotate relative to the thigh plate (1). It also includes a connecting mechanism (6) for keeping the thigh plate (1) and the calf plate (2) in a bent state. The connecting mechanism (6) includes a first hinge (61) on the thigh plate (1), a second hinge (62) on the calf plate (2), a second tension spring (63) hinged to the first hinge (61) and the second hinge (62), and a limiting groove (31) at the end of the movable groove (3). When the calf plate (2) rotates to the limit position relative to the thigh plate (1), the guide mechanism (5) slides into the limiting groove (31) and, under the action of the second tension spring (63), keeps the calf plate (2) at the limit position relative to the thigh plate.

2. The novel knee exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drive mechanism (52) includes a drive motor (521) mounted on the thigh plate (1) and a connecting rod (522) hinged to the calf plate (2) and the output end of the drive motor (521) respectively.

3. The novel knee exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a thigh height adjustment mechanism (7) for adjusting the height, the thigh height adjustment mechanism (7) includes a thigh telescopic link (71) connected to the thigh plate (1), a positioning hole (711) provided on the thigh telescopic link (71), and a positioning pin (712) provided on the thigh plate (1) and inserted into the positioning hole (711).

Images