Energy-saving portable walking aid exoskeleton robot

Abstract

The application discloses an energy-saving portable walking aid exoskeleton robot, adopts an under-actuated walking aid mode to realize single-motor assistance of human body hip joint rotation, and comprises a battery box structure, a hip joint structure, a driving reversing structure and a sensing and control system. The driving structure is composed of a single driving motor and a walking aid reversing structure, the driving motor generates driving force and is used for assisting the rotation of the hip joint in a high-power stage; the walking aid reversing structure is used for realizing assistance switching of the two hip joints and solving the problem of single-motor driving of double joints. The joint structure is matched with an energy storage spring through a ratchet and pawl mechanism, part of energy in a negative work stage in a human gait cycle is converted into potential energy of the spring, and work in a positive work stage of the hip joint in a subsequent gait cycle is reduced. The energy-saving portable walking aid exoskeleton is compact in structure, light in weight, friendly in man-machine interaction, easy to wear and low in cost, and is suitable for walking aid and rehabilitation training of patients with hip joint motor dysfunction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of robotics, and in particular to an energy-saving portable exoskeleton robot designed to enhance the wearer's hip joint mobility, provide hip joint walking assistance, or assist patients with hip joint movement disorders in rehabilitation training and treatment. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of modern society, my country's aging population problem is becoming increasingly serious. Many elderly people experience physical weakness and insufficient walking strength, and some even suffer from long-term physical and psychological pain due to walking dysfunction caused by illness. Therefore, research is needed to develop a wearable, comfortable, and lightweight lower limb exoskeleton robot to provide walking assistance to the elderly and to aid in the rehabilitation of stroke patients, which has enormous value and potential.

[0003] Existing lower limb assistive exoskeletons still have many shortcomings. Most current lower limb assistive exoskeletons are full-limb assistive robots, meaning they have complete lower limb structures including both hip joints, knee joints, and ankle-foot joints. These exoskeletons are suitable for individuals with motor impairments in the entire lower limb due to brain or spinal cord injuries. However, for individuals with only hip joint motor impairments but good knee, ankle-foot, and lower limb neurological function, full-limb exoskeletons present problems such as unnecessary functional waste and excessively high prices. Furthermore, most lower limb exoskeletons on the market are active, fully driven walking robots, which suffer from large size, heavy weight, high energy consumption, short battery life, and poor portability.

[0004] Chinese patent application number 201610511532.0 discloses a lower limb assistive exoskeleton robot, which includes an upper body structure, a leg structure, knee joints, and hip joints. It employs dual motors to directly drive the hip and knee joints. The motors are mounted at the joints, resulting in large joint mass and inertia, poor joint compliance, and poor safety.

[0005] Chinese patent ZL201610060563.9 discloses a lightweight modular walking assistive exoskeleton robot, which includes a back module, two thigh modules, and two lower leg modules (including feet). Two sets of drive units within the thigh modules drive the hip and knee joints. Although the thigh and lower leg modules can be assembled as required, if only hip joint assistance is needed (i.e., the lower leg modules do not need to be assembled), the knee joint drive modules within the thigh modules become unnecessarily burdened, significantly increasing the burden on the patient. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Objective of the Invention: The technical problem to be solved by this invention is to address the deficiencies of the prior art by providing an energy-saving and portable assistive exoskeleton robot. This robot employs an underactuated assistive walking method, where a single drive motor assists both hip joints, reducing the overall weight of the exoskeleton. It can actively assist the flexion and extension movements of the hip joints and incorporates a ratchet and pawl mechanism and an energy storage spring to store some of the negative work done during the human gait cycle, which is then released for passive assistive walking. This improves upon and compensates for the shortcomings of the underactuated assistive walking method, further reducing battery energy consumption.

[0007] Technical solution: To achieve the above objectives, the present invention may adopt the following technical solution:

[0008] An energy-saving and portable walking assistive exoskeleton robot includes a backplate, waist wearables connected to both sides of the backplate, hip joint structures connected to the waist wearables on both sides respectively, and a drive reversing structure installed in the middle of the backplate. The drive reversing structure includes a drive shaft disk, an intermediate drive disk installed on the shaft end of the drive shaft disk, two drive winding wheels cooperating with the intermediate drive disk, a drive motor with its inner edge installed on the disk end of the drive shaft disk, and two small rotating wheels installed below the two drive winding wheels. The drive motor transmits torque to the intermediate drive disk through the drive shaft disk. Each drive winding wheel is divided into two sets of steel wire ropes. One end of one set of steel wire ropes is fixedly connected to a large circular groove on the drive winding wheel, and the other end is fixedly connected to the winding wheel shaft of the hip joint structure on one side. One end of the other set of steel wire ropes is fixedly connected to a small circular groove on the drive winding wheel, and the other end is fixedly connected to the small rotating wheel shaft through a specific winding method.

[0009] The hip joint structure is connected to a waist-wrapping structure. The hip joint structure includes a waist structure connected to the waist-wearing device via a bearing seat and a universal joint, a winding wheel axle, a thigh plate, and a winding wheel. The thigh plate and the winding wheel are mounted on a fixed winding wheel axle. A ratchet is coaxially fixed on the winding wheel, located between the winding wheel and the waist structure. A large torsion spring is also provided on the winding wheel. One end of the ratchet is connected to the large torsion spring, and the other end of the large torsion spring is connected to the waist structure. The large torsion spring is used to tighten the wire rope on the winding wheel. The winding wheel axle passes through the waist structure, causing the winding wheel, ratchet, and thigh plate to rotate relative to the waist structure. The waist structure is provided with a pawl and a small torsion spring for engaging with the ratchet. The winding wheel is also provided with an unlocking pin located between the ratchet and the pawl, and the unlocking pin abuts against the bottom of the pawl. One end of the ratchet is connected to a small torsion spring, and the other end of the small torsion spring is connected to the waist structure, giving the pawl a tendency to engage with the ratchet. The thigh plate is connected to the steel wire rope wound on the winding reel via an energy storage spring. The upper end of the energy storage spring is fixedly connected to the steel wire rope on the winding reel, and the lower end of the energy storage spring is fixedly connected to the lower middle part of the thigh plate. When the human hip joint turns from an upright angle to a backward extension angle, it is in the energy storage stage. In the energy storage stage, the ratchet and pawl engage and lock, thereby locking the winding reel and causing the steel wire rope on the winding reel to stretch, which drives the energy storage spring to stretch and store energy. When the human hip joint extends forward from the position of the energy storage stage, the unlocking pin rotates relative to the pawl and pushes the pawl out of the locked state with the ratchet, thus unlocking the ratchet and pawl. At this time, the energy storage spring releases the stored energy.

[0010] Furthermore, the hip joint structure consists of two symmetrical structures, including a left hip joint structure and a right hip joint structure.

[0011] Furthermore, the drive reversing structure includes a housing A and a housing B that are connected to each other to form a hollow cavity; the tensioning device is one on each of the housing A and the housing B, and is connected to the housing by threads, and the tension of the steel wire rope inside the sleeve is indirectly adjusted by adjusting the tightness of the sleeve connected to it.

[0012] Furthermore, an absolute rotary encoder is provided at the hip joint structure. The absolute rotary encoder consists of a chip and a magnet. The chip is placed outside the hip joint cover, and the magnet is attached to the center of the shaft end of the winding wheel shaft. The center of the chip, the center of the magnet, and the axis of the winding wheel shaft are on the same horizontal straight line. The rotary encoder at the hip joint structure is used to measure the true angle of hip joint flexion and extension. The hip joint angle is defined as 0 degrees when the thigh is upright, with forward flexion as the positive angle and backward extension as the negative angle.

[0013] Furthermore, the drive reversing structure is equipped with an absolute rotary encoder, which consists of a chip and a magnet. The chip is placed outside the housing, and the magnet is attached to the center of the small wheel shaft end. The center of the chip, the center of the magnet, and the axis of the small wheel shaft are on the same horizontal line, and the distance between the magnet and the chip is approximately 0.5 mm. The rotary encoder at the drive reversing structure is used to measure the angle of rotation of the drive winding wheel.

[0014] Furthermore, a tension / compression sensor is provided at the hip joint structure. This sensor, along with a tension / compression sensor plate, securely connects the thigh plate to the thigh wear piece, and is installed on the inner side of the thigh plate. The tension / compression sensor at the hip joint structure, in conjunction with the plantar force sensor, detects the gait stage of the hip joint.

[0015] Furthermore, the exoskeleton is equipped with a plantar force sensor, which can be directly worn in the insole of the tester's shoe and used in conjunction with the tension and compression sensors at the hip joint structure to detect the gait stage of the hip joint.

[0016] Furthermore, the drive winding wheel is designed with two centrally symmetrical long slot structures, while the two sides of the middle drive disk are designed with centrally symmetrical small protrusion structures. The middle drive disk is located between the two drive winding wheels, and the small protrusions extend into the long slots. By designing the length of the long slots and their relative angle on the two drive winding wheels, the small protrusions on the middle drive disk can contact the long slot of one of the drive winding wheels to drive that drive winding wheel to rotate, while not contacting the long slot of the other drive winding wheel, thereby realizing drive reversal.

[0017] Furthermore, the battery box structure is connected to the upper outer side of the carbon fiber back plate. The battery box structure includes a battery box shell and an internal structure, wherein the internal structure contains a sensor inverter, a microcontroller, and a battery.

[0018] Furthermore, small protrusions are designed on the side of the central drive disc, and long slots are drilled on the side of the drive winding wheel to mate with the small protrusions. When the hip joint is not in the drive motor-assisted stage, the small protrusions slide freely in the long slots, that is, the central drive disc is separated from the drive winding wheel, and the hip joint rotation is not interfered with by the drive motor. When the hip joint is in the drive motor-assisted stage, the side of the small protrusions and the side of the long slots are pressed together, thereby transmitting the assisting force of the drive motor to the hip joint through the drive winding wheel and the lasso for assistance.

[0019] Beneficial effects: Compared with existing technologies, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0020] (1) Compared with traditional single-motor driven single-joint exoskeletons, the energy-saving portable exoskeleton of the present invention uses a single motor to achieve coordinated driving of the left and right hip joints, resulting in lower overall weight, lower system cost, lower energy consumption and better wearing comfort.

[0021] (2) Compared with the traditional fully driven assistance method, the exoskeleton robot of the present invention selects an appropriate assistance time period in the human gait cycle to assist the rotation of the hip joints on both sides in an underdriven manner. While ensuring the assistance effect, it reduces the wear and tear of the battery carried by the exoskeleton and extends the battery usage time after a single charge.

[0022] (3) Compared with traditional pure active assist exoskeletons, the exoskeleton of the present invention adds an energy storage spring design, which stores the energy of the negative work process in the human gait and releases it during the positive work process, thereby reducing the metabolic consumption of the human body and improving the energy efficiency, coordination and assist effect of walking assistance. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 It is a gait cycle diagram of the human hip joint.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the drive commutation structure.

[0025] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the working principle of the left hip joint structure.

[0026] Figure 4 This is an isometric view of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 5 This is a front view of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 6 This is a rear view of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 7 This is an exploded isometric view of the battery box structure of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 8 This is an exploded isometric view of the drive commutation structure of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 9 This is an exploded axonometric view of the left hip joint structure of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 10 This is an exploded axonometric view of the right hip joint structure of the present invention.

[0033] The components are named as follows:

[0034] Battery box structure I, drive reversing structure II, left hip joint structure III, right hip joint structure IV, left waist wearable device 1, left thigh wearable device 2, right waist wearable device 3, right thigh wearable device 4, back plate 5, left leg tension / compression sensor switch button 6, STM32F4 microcontroller switch button 7, right leg tension / compression sensor switch button 8, emergency stop switch 9, battery box housing 10, battery 11, right leg tension / compression sensor inverter 12, STM32F4 microcontroller 13, left leg tension / compression sensor inverter 14, crossed roller bearing 15, housing B 16, left leg drive winding wheel 17, intermediate drive disc 18, right leg drive winding wheel 19, housing A 20. Drive shaft disc support bearing housing; 21. Crossed roller bearing; 22. Motor load-bearing beam; 23. Drive motor; 24. Drive shaft disc; 25. Rotary encoder protective cover; 26. Absolute rotary encoder; 27. Tensioning device; 28. Small wheel; 29. ​​Bearing housing; 30. Bearing housing; 31. Small wheel; 32. Absolute rotary encoder; 33. Rotary encoder protective cover; 34. Tensioning device; 35. Rotary encoder protective cover; 36. Absolute rotary encoder; 37. Left hip joint cover; 38. Left winding wheel shaft; 39. Left thigh plate; 40. V-shaped wire guide wheel; 41. Energy storage spring; 42. Tension / compression sensor plate; 43. Tension / compression sensor; 44. Tension / compression sensor plate; 45. Left waist structure; 46. Bearing. 47. Seat 48. Bearing seat 49. Universal joint 50. Bearing seat 51. Left waist surround structure 51. Left ratchet 52. Unlocking pin 53. Left pawl 54. Right waist surround structure 55. Bearing seat 56. Universal joint 57. Bearing seat 58. Right waist structure 59. Winding wheel 60. Right winding wheel shaft 61. Rotary encoder protective cover 62. Absolute rotary encoder 63. Right hip joint cover 64. V-shaped wire guide wheel 65. Right thigh plate 66. Energy storage spring 67. Tension and compression sensor plate 68. Tension and compression sensor 69. Tension and compression sensor plate 70. Right ratchet 71. Unlocking pin 72. Right pawl 73. Small torsion spring 74. Large torsion spring 75. Small protrusion 76. Long slot 77. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] In this invention, "left" and "right" refer to the left and right parts of the structure when worn by the wearer.

[0037] like Figures 4 to 6As shown, this invention is an energy-saving, portable, power-assisted exoskeleton robot, comprising a wearable structure, a battery box structure I, a drive reversing structure II, a left hip joint structure III, a right hip joint structure IV, a left waist wearable component 1, a left thigh wearable component 2, a right waist wearable component 3, and a right thigh wearable component 4. The left waist wearable component 1 and the right waist wearable component 3 are respectively connected to the left waist surrounding structure 51 and the right waist surrounding structure 55 by screws. The left thigh wearable component 2 is connected to the tension / compression sensor plate 45 by screws, and the right thigh wearable component 4 is connected to the tension / compression sensor plate 70 by screws. The positions of both are adjustable to accommodate users with different thigh lengths. Battery box structure I and drive reversing structure II are respectively connected to carbon fiber back plate 5 by screws. Carbon fiber back plate 5 is then fixedly connected to left waist surround structure 51 and right waist surround structure 55 by screws. The relative positions of left waist surround structure 51 and right waist surround structure 55 on carbon fiber back plate 5 are adjustable to accommodate users with different waist widths. Left waist structure 46 of left hip joint structure III and right waist structure 59 of right hip joint structure IV are respectively fixedly connected to left waist surround structure 51 and right waist surround structure 55 by bearing seats and universal joints 49 and 57.

[0038] like Figure 7 The diagram shows the battery box structure of this invention. Battery box structure I connects the battery box outer shell 10 to the carbon fiber back plate 5 using screws to form a receiving space, primarily used to house the control motherboard, battery, and frequency converter containing some sensors. The left leg tension / compression sensor switch button 6, the microcontroller switch button 7, the right leg tension / compression sensor switch button 8, and the emergency stop switch 9 are mounted on the switch holes of the battery box outer shell 10 via interference fit. The control motherboard, battery, and frequency converter containing some sensors are mounted inside the battery box outer shell 10 via screws or interference fit.

[0039] like Figure 8The diagram shows the drive reversing structure of the present invention. The outer casing B16 is connected to the carbon fiber back plate 5 by screws, and the outer casing A 20 is connected to the outer casing B16 by screws. The enclosed space formed by the outer casings A 20 and B16 houses components such as the left leg drive winding wheel 17, the middle drive disc 18, the right leg drive winding wheel 19, the drive shaft disc 25, the small rotating wheel 29, the bearing seat 30, the bearing seat 31, and the small rotating wheel 32. The left leg drive winding wheel 17 is connected to the housing B16 via a cross roller bearing 15. The outer circle of the cross roller bearing 15 is connected to the outside of the housing B16 via screws, and the inner circle of the cross roller bearing 15 is connected to the left leg drive winding wheel 17 via screws. The right leg drive winding wheel 19 is connected to the housing A20 via a cross roller bearing 22. The outer circle of the cross roller bearing 22 is connected to the outside of the housing A20 via screws, and the inner circle of the cross roller bearing 22 is connected to the right leg drive winding wheel 19 via screws. The intermediate drive disc 18 is connected to the shaft end of the drive shaft disc 25 via screws and slots. The shaft end of the drive shaft disc 25 extends into the enclosed space formed by the housing A20 and the housing B16 through the intermediate hole of the right leg drive winding wheel 19 and the cross roller bearing 22. The small rotating wheels 29 and 32 are connected to the housing A20 via bearings, bearing seats 30 and 31, and the housing A20. The bearing holes on A20 and B16 are fixed below the left leg drive winding wheel 17 and the right leg drive winding wheel 19. The bearing seats 30 and 31 are connected to the small platforms inside the outer casing A20 and B16 respectively by screws. Four steel wire ropes are provided on the left (right) leg drive winding wheel 17 (19). Each pair of steel wire ropes works together. Each drive winding wheel can be divided into two groups of steel wire ropes. One end of one group of steel wire ropes is fixedly connected to the large circular outline on the left (right) leg drive winding wheel 17 (19), and the other end is fixedly connected to the winding wheel shaft 39 (61) of the left (right) hip joint structure III (IV). The exposed steel wire rope is wrapped with a sleeve to form a lasso. One end of the other group of steel wire ropes is fixedly connected to the small circular outline on the left (right) leg drive winding wheel 17 (19), and the other end is fixedly connected to the small rotating wheel 32 (29) through a specific winding method. One end of the sleeve of the lasso is interference-fitted with the left (right) hip joint cover 38 (64), and the other end is interference-fitted with the tensioning device 35 (28) on the outer shell A20 (outer shell B16).

[0040] The left leg drive winding wheel 17 and the right leg drive winding wheel 19 are designed with two centrally symmetrical long slots 77, while the two sides of the middle drive disk 18 are designed with centrally symmetrical small protrusions 76. The middle drive disk 18 is located between the left leg drive winding wheel 17 and the right leg drive winding wheel 19. The small protrusions 76 extend into the long slots 77. By designing the length of the long slots 77 and their relative angle on the two drive winding wheels 17 (19), the small protrusions 76 on the middle drive disk can contact the long slot 77 of one of the drive winding wheels to drive the drive winding wheel to rotate, while not contacting the long slot of the other drive winding wheel, thereby realizing the drive reversal.

[0041] Outside the enclosed space formed by housings A20 and B16, on the same axis as the small rotors 29 and 32, absolute rotary encoders 33, 34, 36, and 37 are respectively installed on the outer sides of housings A20 and B16. The absolute rotary encoder is installed inside the rotary encoder protective cover via an interference fit. The rotary encoder protective cover is connected to the housing by screws. The magnet of the rotary encoder is glued to the shaft end of the small rotor. A motor load-bearing beam 23, fixedly connected to housings A20 and B16, has a drive shaft disk support bearing seat 21 fixedly connected to its lower part with screws to support the drive shaft disk 25. The outer circle of the drive motor 24 is connected to the motor load-bearing beam 23 by screws, while the inner circle is fixedly connected to the disk end of the drive shaft disk 25.

[0042] like Figure 9 , Figure 10 The diagram shows the hip joint structure of the present invention. Figure 9 This refers to the structure of the left hip joint. Figure 10The structure is for the right hip joint. The left waist structure 46 is fixedly connected to the left waist surround structure 51 via a bearing seat and a universal joint 49. On the other side of the left waist structure 46, the left hip joint cover 38 is fixedly connected by screws, forming an empty space. In this space, looking from the left hip joint cover towards the left waist structure, the left winding wheel shaft 39, the left thigh plate 40, the winding wheel 60, the left ratchet 52, the unlocking pin 53, and the left pawl 54 are installed in sequence. The left winding wheel shaft 39 is mounted at both ends in the bearing holes of the left hip joint cover 38 and the left waist structure 46 via double bearings; the left thigh plate 40 is connected to the left winding wheel shaft 39 by screws, and a V-shaped thread guide wheel 41 is fixedly connected to the upper middle position of the left thigh plate 40. The lower end of the V-shaped thread guide wheel 41 is fixedly connected to the thigh wear piece 2 via tension and pressure sensors 44 and tension and pressure sensor plates 43 and 45; the winding wheel 60 is mounted on the shaft of the winding wheel shaft 39 via bearings. One end of the winding wheel 60 is limited by the journal of the winding wheel shaft 39, and the other end is limited by the shaft retaining spring. One end of a steel wire rope is fixed to the spool 60. The steel wire rope passes around the V-shaped spool 41 and the other end is fixed to the upper end of the energy storage spring 42. The lower end of the energy storage spring 42 is connected to the lower middle part of the left thigh plate 40 by a screw. The left ratchet 52 is fixedly connected to the winding spool 60 by a screw. The left pawl 54 is connected to the left waist structure 46 by a bushing and a screw. When the left pawl 54 and the left ratchet 52 are engaged, the unlocking pin 53 is installed on the winding spool 60 by a screw, located in the middle of the left pawl 54 and the left ratchet 52 and slightly in contact with the left pawl 54. The ratchet and pawl mechanism also includes a large torsion spring 75 and a small torsion spring 74. The left ratchet 52 is connected to one end of the large torsion spring 75, and the left pawl 54 is connected to one end of the small torsion spring 74. The other ends of both springs are connected to the left waist structure 46. The function of the small torsion spring 74 is to give the left pawl 54 a tendency to engage with the left ratchet 52. The function of the large torsion spring 75 is to tighten the wire rope on the winding reel 60. The assembly relationship of the right hip joint structure is consistent with that of the left hip joint structure, as detailed in [link to documentation]. Figure 10 .

[0043] The working principle of the underactuated walking aid's bilateral hip joints and the energy storage spring, upon which this invention is based, are as follows:

[0044] like Figure 1 As shown, the right hip joint of a person walking is selected as the research object. The figure shows, from top to bottom, the hip joint rotation angle, required torque, and power consumed within one cycle. Figure 1Five time points were selected and named A, B, C, D, and E. Point A represents the moment when the right hip joint is at its maximum forward flexion angle (right heel touches the ground); point B represents the moment when the right hip joint returns from its maximum forward flexion angle to an upright position (right leg is in a supporting position); point C represents the moment when the right hip joint is at its maximum backward extension angle; point D represents the moment when the right hip joint returns from its maximum backward extension angle to an upright position (right leg is in a swinging position); and point E represents the moment when the right hip joint is at its maximum forward flexion angle (right foot not touching the ground). Time period AB represents the time from heel to full foot upright; time period BC represents the time from full foot upright to toe about to leave the ground; time period CD represents the time from toe about to leave the ground to foot in an upright position; time period DE represents the time from foot to foot in an upright position; and time period E represents the time from foot to foot in a maximum flexion angle. The time period after point E represents the time from foot to heel to foot in a maximum flexion state. Based on the above rough division of gait, the motor-assisted phase of the exoskeleton robot of the present invention is time period AB, the energy storage phase of the energy storage spring 42 (67) is time period BC, and the spring energy release phase is time period CD.

[0045] like Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the figure illustrates four states in which the intermediate drive disc and the left (right) drive winding wheel 17 (19) alternately engage in the drive reversing structure. The four figures in the "left" row show the left drive winding wheel 17 and the associated small wheel 32 in the drive reversing structure, which are connected to the left hip joint structure via a lasso. The four figures in the "right" row show the right drive winding wheel 19 and the associated small wheel 29 in the drive reversing structure, which are connected to the right hip joint structure via a lasso. The eight figures in the figure are divided into four columns and named with the letters A, B, C, and E. The arrows on the left (right) drive winding wheel 17 (19) in the figure indicate the direction of rotation. The black arrows indicate the direction of rotation of the left (right) drive winding wheel 17 (19), and the white arrows indicate the direction of rotation of the intermediate drive disc 18. In this context, state A→B represents the right leg hip joint rotating with the assistance of the drive unit, while the left leg hip joint swings freely (assisted by the energy storage spring 42), corresponding to the right leg gait being in the state of... Figure 1 In segment AB, the left leg gait is in Figure 1 The CD segment and part of the DE segment; state B→C indicates that the right leg hip joint ends the drive unit assistance and continues to swing backward, while the left leg hip joint continues to swing forward to reach the assistance stage, corresponding to the right leg gait being in the state of... Figure 1 In segment BC, the left leg gait is in Figure 1The portion of segment DE and the time period after point E; state C→E indicates that the left hip joint is rotated with the assistance of the drive unit, while the right hip joint swings freely (assisted by the energy storage spring 67), corresponding to the left leg gait being in the state of... Figure 1 In segment AB, the right leg gait is in Figure 1 The CD segment and part of the DE segment; state E→A indicates that the left leg hip joint ends the drive unit assistance and continues to swing backward, while the right leg hip joint continues to swing forward to reach the assistance stage, corresponding to the left leg gait being in the state of... Figure 1 In segment BC, the right leg gait is in Figure 1 The DE segment and the time period after point E are included. The four states cycle repeatedly to complete the underactuated assisted walking of the hip exoskeleton in this invention.

[0046] The energy-saving portable exoskeleton robot provided by this invention is worn on the human hip joint. It uses a drive motor 24 at the drive reversing structure as the drive source, which intermittently drives two drive winding wheels 17 (19) via the switching of the intermediate drive disk 18. The driving force is then transmitted to the hip joint structure through a steel wire rope assembly on the drive winding wheels 17 (19) via a lasso, causing the winding wheel shaft at the hip joint structure to rotate at a predetermined angle in one direction. This causes the thigh plate 40 (66), which is fixedly connected to the winding wheel shaft, to rotate the thigh around the human hip joint. To achieve the rotation of both hip joints driven by a single drive motor 24, a reversing drive scheme is designed at the drive reversing structure, where the intermediate drive disk 18 and the two drive winding wheels 17 (19) alternately cooperate. Based on the human gait hip joint angle period diagram, this scheme selects approximately one-quarter of the gait period length from the maximum forward flexion angle (approximately 30°) to the upright angle (approximately 0°) as the assist phase of the exoskeleton drive motor 24. Furthermore, based on the theoretical basis that the rotation of the left and right hip joints differs by half a cycle, it ensures that the single drive motor 24 does not interfere with the hip joints on both sides. A transmission method similar to keyway transmission is adopted, with a small protrusion 76 designed on the side of the intermediate drive disc 18, and a long slot 77 that mates with the small protrusion 76 is drilled on the side of the drive winding wheel 17 (19). When the hip joint is not in the motor-assisted stage, the small protrusion 76 slides freely within the long slot 77, meaning the intermediate drive disc 18 is separated from the drive winding wheel 17 (19), and the hip joint rotation is not interfered with by the motor. When the hip joint is in the motor-assisted stage, the side of the small protrusion 776 presses against the side of the long slot 77, thereby transmitting the motor's assisting force to the hip joint through the drive winding wheel 17 (19) and the lasso. Ultimately, in the stage where the drive motor 24 provides assistance, the maximum designed assist effect is approximately 40% of the hip joint torque of a normal adult.

[0047] like Figure 3As shown in the figure, the ratchet and pawl mechanism and the energy storage spring of the left hip joint structure have four working states, named A, B, C, and D. State A→B represents the process of ratchet 52 and pawl 54 changing from disengagement to engagement and locking. During this process, the energy storage spring 42 balances the torque of the large torsion spring 75 and is not storing energy. Figure 1 The time period AB; state B→C indicates that ratchet 52 and pawl 54 are in a locked state. During this process, the winding wheel 60 is locked while the wire rope on it tends to elongate. Therefore, the energy storage spring 42 stretches to store energy, corresponding to... Figure 1 During the time interval BC, as shown in the third power diagram, the energy storage spring 42 stores the negative work done by the human body. State C→D represents the process of ratchet 52 and pawl 54 moving from engagement and locking to disengagement. During this process, the energy storage spring 42 releases the stored energy. This energy release in this state is the reverse process of the energy storage in state B→C, corresponding to... Figure 1 The time period CD; state D→A indicates that ratchet 52 and pawl 54 are in the separated state. During this process, the energy storage spring 42 balances the torque of the large torsion spring 75 and does not store energy.

[0048] The ratchet 52 and pawl 54 mechanism, together with the energy storage spring 42, constitute the passive walking assistance structure of the exoskeleton of this invention. This structure, based on the division of positive and negative work during human walking, stores a portion of the negative work done during walking through the energy storage spring 42, and then releases it later. The ratchet 52 and pawl 54 mechanism is located between the left lumbar structure 46 and the winding wheel 60 in the hip joint structure. The ratchet 52 and the winding wheel 60 are coaxially fixedly connected, and the pawl 54 is mounted on the left lumbar structure 46. The ratchet 52 is connected to one end of the large torsion spring 75, and the pawl 54 is connected to one end of the small torsion spring 74. The other ends of both the large and small torsion springs 74 and 75 are connected to the left lumbar structure 46. The small torsion spring 74 provides a tendency for the pawl 54 to engage with the ratchet 52, while the large torsion spring tightens the steel wire rope on the winding wheel 60. The unlocking pin 53 is mounted on the lumbar structure 60, located directly below the pawl 54. One end of a steel wire rope is fixed to the winding reel 60. The steel wire rope passes around the V-shaped guide reel 41, and the other end is fixed to the upper end of the energy storage spring 42. The lower end of the energy storage spring 42 is connected to the lower middle part of the thigh plate 40. This exoskeleton uses approximately one-quarter of the gait cycle length from the upright angle (approximately 0°) to the maximum extension angle (approximately 10°) as the energy storage phase of the passive walking assist structure, and the rotation process of this phase as the energy release assist phase. In the energy storage phase, the ratchet 52 and pawl 54 engage and lock, thereby locking the winding reel 60. When the hip joint rotates from the upright angle (approximately 0°) to the maximum extension angle (approximately 10°), the steel wire rope tends to stretch, causing the energy storage spring to stretch and store energy, thus storing the negative work of the human hip joint in this phase. The subsequent energy release phase is the reverse process of the energy storage phase, using the energy collected in the energy storage phase to reduce the output of the positive work of the human hip joint in the energy release phase. Ultimately, the stage where the passive walking aid structure stores energy can store 50% of the work done by the human hip joint during this stage.

[0049] For those skilled in the art, various other corresponding changes and modifications can be made based on the technical solutions and concepts described above, and all such changes and modifications should fall within the protection scope of the claims of this invention.

Claims

1. An energy-saving, portable walking assistive exoskeleton robot, characterized in that: It includes a back plate, waist wearable components connected to both sides of the back plate, hip joint structures connected to the waist wearable components on both sides respectively, and a drive reversing structure installed in the middle of the back plate. The drive reversing structure includes a drive shaft disc, an intermediate drive disc mounted on the shaft end of the drive shaft disc, two drive winding wheels cooperating with the intermediate drive disc, a drive motor with its inner circle mounted on the end of the drive shaft disc, and two small rotating wheels mounted below the two drive winding wheels. The drive motor transmits torque to the intermediate drive disc through the drive shaft disc. Each drive winding wheel has two sets of steel wire ropes. One end of one set of steel wire ropes is fixedly connected to a large circular groove on the drive winding wheel, and the other end is fixedly connected to the winding wheel shaft of the hip joint structure on one side. One end of the other set of steel wire ropes is fixedly connected to a small circular groove on the drive winding wheel, and the other end is fixedly connected to the small rotating wheel shaft through a specific winding method. The hip joint structure is connected to a waist-wrapping structure. The hip joint structure includes a waist structure connected to the waist-wearing device via a bearing seat and a universal joint, a winding wheel axle, a thigh plate, and a winding wheel. The thigh plate and the winding wheel are mounted on a fixed winding wheel axle. A ratchet is coaxially fixed on the winding wheel, located between the winding wheel and the waist structure. A large torsion spring is also provided on the winding wheel. One end of the ratchet is connected to the large torsion spring, and the other end of the large torsion spring is connected to the waist structure. The large torsion spring is used to tighten the steel wire rope on the winding wheel. The winding wheel axle passes through the waist structure, allowing the winding wheel and ratchet to... The wheel and thigh plate rotate relative to the waist structure; the waist structure is provided with a pawl and a small torsion spring for engaging with the ratchet; the winding wheel is also provided with an unlocking pin located between the ratchet and the pawl, and the unlocking pin abuts against the bottom of the pawl; one end of the pawl is connected to one end of the small torsion spring, and the other end of the small torsion spring is connected to the waist structure, so that the pawl has a tendency to engage with the ratchet; the thigh plate is connected to the wire rope wound on the winding wheel through an energy storage spring, the upper end of the energy storage spring is fixedly connected to the wire rope on the winding wheel, and the lower end of the energy storage spring is fixedly connected to the lower middle position of the thigh plate; When the human hip joint moves from an upright position to a backward extension position, it is in the energy storage phase. During the energy storage phase, the ratchet and pawl engage and lock, which in turn locks the winding wheel, causing the steel wire rope on the winding wheel to tend to stretch, driving the energy storage spring to stretch and store energy. When the human hip joint extends forward from the position of the energy storage phase, the unlocking pin rotates relative to the pawl, pushing the pawl out of the locked state with the ratchet and unlocking the ratchet and pawl. At this time, the energy storage spring releases the stored energy. The drive winding wheel is designed with two centrally symmetrical long slot structures, while the middle drive disk has centrally symmetrical small protruding pillar structures on both sides. The middle drive disk is located between the two drive winding wheels, and the small protruding pillars extend into the long slots. By designing the length of the long slots and their relative angle on the two drive winding wheels, the small protruding pillars on the middle drive disk can contact the long slot of one of the drive winding wheels to drive that drive winding wheel to rotate, while not contacting the long slot of the other drive winding wheel, thereby realizing drive reversal.

2. The energy-saving portable walking exoskeleton robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hip joint structures are two symmetrical structures, including a left hip joint structure and a right hip joint structure.

3. The energy-saving portable walking exoskeleton robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The drive reversing structure includes two shells, A and B, which are connected to form a hollow cavity; Tensioning devices are provided, one on each of the outer shell A and the outer shell B, and are connected to the outer shells by threads. The tension of the wire rope inside the sleeve is indirectly adjusted by adjusting the tension of the sleeve connected to it.

4. The energy-saving portable walking exoskeleton robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: An absolute rotary encoder is provided at the hip joint structure. The absolute rotary encoder consists of a chip and a magnet. The chip is placed outside the hip joint cover, and the magnet is attached to the center of the shaft end of the winding wheel shaft. The center of the chip, the center of the magnet and the axis of the winding wheel shaft are on the same horizontal straight line. The rotary encoder at the hip joint structure is used to measure the true angle of hip flexion and extension. The hip joint angle is defined as 0 degrees when the thigh is upright, forward flexion is a positive angle and backward extension is a negative angle.

5. The energy-saving portable walking exoskeleton robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: An absolute rotary encoder is provided at the drive reversing structure. The absolute rotary encoder consists of a chip and a magnet. The chip is placed outside the housing, and the magnet is attached to the center of the shaft end of the small rotary wheel. The center of the chip, the center of the magnet, and the axis of the small rotary wheel are on the same horizontal straight line. The distance between the magnet and the chip is about 0.5 mm. The rotary encoder at the drive reversing structure is used to measure the angle of rotation of the drive winding wheel.

6. The energy-saving portable walking exoskeleton robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: A tension-compression sensor is provided at the hip joint structure. The tension-compression sensor is fixedly connected to the thigh plate and the thigh wearable piece through a tension-compression sensor plate. The tension-compression sensor is installed on the inner side of the thigh plate. The tension-compression sensor at the hip joint structure is used together with the plantar force sensor to detect the gait stage of the hip joint.

7. The energy-saving portable walking exoskeleton robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The exoskeleton is equipped with a plantar force sensor, which can be directly worn in the insole of the tester's shoe and used together with the tension and compression sensor at the hip joint structure to detect the gait stage of the hip joint.

8. The energy-saving portable walking exoskeleton robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also features a battery box structure connected to the upper outer side of a carbon fiber backplate. The battery box structure includes a battery box shell and an internal structure, with the internal structure containing a sensor inverter, a microcontroller, and a battery.

9. The energy-saving portable walking exoskeleton robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Small protrusions are designed on the side of the central drive disc, and long slots are drilled on the side of the drive winding wheel to mate with the small protrusions. When the hip joint is not in the drive motor assisted stage, the small protrusions slide freely in the long slots, that is, the central drive disc is separated from the drive winding wheel, and the hip joint rotation is not interfered with by the drive motor. When the hip joint is in the drive motor assisted stage, the side of the small protrusions and the side of the long slots are pressed together, thereby transmitting the assisting force of the drive motor to the hip joint through the drive winding wheel and the lasso for assistance.

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