An exoskeleton device with a return drive part

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of exoskeleton devices, and provides an exoskeleton device with a return driving part, including a main body fixed to the human back when worn and a left and right rotating body. The main body includes a main battery and a controller. The left and right rotating body includes an intermediate support member, an upper support member rotating on the upper side of the intermediate support member, and a lower support member rotating on the lower side of the intermediate support member. An upper driving part, a lower driving part and a return driving part are arranged on the intermediate support member. The upper driving part rotates the upper support member, and the lower driving part rotates the lower support member. The main body and the left and right rotating body are respectively connected through left and right connecting parts. According to the present invention, in the case of not providing a main power source, an auxiliary power source is used to limit the rotation of the rotating shaft, and then the driving motor is driven from a walking state to an upright state at a low speed. Therefore, the wearer wearing the exoskeleton device can safely return to an upright posture without losing the center of gravity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of exoskeleton devices, and specifically, relates to an exoskeleton device with a return drive unit. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the development of robot technology, exoskeleton devices for assisting human movement are being developed. Most exoskeleton devices generate motive power by the rotation of motors.

[0003] For example, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0004854 discloses a wearable exoskeleton device and its control method. The above prior art document includes a main body for supporting the upper body of the wearer, a plurality of leg pulleys respectively provided on both sides of the main body, and a plurality of wire parts respectively connected to the leg pulleys. The plurality of wire parts have a driving force, and the driving force provides a pulling force to the plurality of wire parts to rotate each of the plurality of leg pulleys.

[0004] Most exoskeleton devices are equipped with batteries, reducers, pulleys, etc. to replace human joints and drive them. The driving force is generated according to pre-stored drive control.

[0005] The battery installed in the exoskeleton device provides the required power for the drive motor and the circuit, but depending on the usage, the charge amount may decrease more quickly. The exoskeleton device outputs a warning signal when the charging amount is lower than the specified charging amount, but the wearer may not notice this and ignore the warning signal, and continue to use the exoskeleton device. If the battery is completely discharged, the power supplied to the drive motor is cut off, and the rotating shaft of the drive motor rotates freely, resulting in the leg support members rotated by the drive motor being unable to support, and the wearer may lose balance and fall. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an exoskeleton device with a return drive unit to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0008] An exoskeleton device with a return drive unit includes a main body fixed to the human back when worn and left and right rotating bodies. The main body includes a main battery and a controller. The left and right rotating bodies include an intermediate support member, an upper support member rotating on the upper side of the intermediate support member, and a lower support member rotating on the lower side of the intermediate support member. An upper drive unit, a lower drive unit, and a return drive unit are provided on the intermediate support member. The upper drive unit rotates the upper support member, and the lower drive unit rotates the lower support member; the main body and the left and right rotating bodies are respectively connected through left and right connection parts;

[0009] The return drive unit includes:

[0010] An auxiliary drive data acquisition module for obtaining the muscle force drive angle of the wearer and the difference angle between the muscle force drive angle and the walking angle of the mechanical walking drive;

[0011] A main power supply detection module for detecting the main power supply to the drive motor and outputting an event signal when the drive motor is not powered by the main power supply;

[0012] An angle detection module for detecting the upper bending angle formed by the upper support member and the middle support member and the lower bending angle formed by the middle support member and the lower support member;

[0013] A drive control module, based on the event signal, calculates the difference angle between the stored upper and lower upright angles and the upper and lower bending angles, and converts the auxiliary drive data into upper and lower return drive signals for the drive motor according to the difference angle;

[0014] The upper and lower return drive signals are output to the upper drive unit and the lower drive unit;

[0015] It further includes an auxiliary battery, and the drive power of the drive control module is provided by the auxiliary battery.

[0016] Furthermore, the auxiliary drive data is the difference angle between the rotation angle driven in the mechanical drive state and the rotation angle using the wearer's muscle strength in the free drive state, and the torque value of the drive motor corresponding to the difference angle. The difference angle can be assigned a negative value or be assigned 0.

[0017] Furthermore, the return drive unit drives the upper drive unit and the lower drive unit to change the arrangement of the upper, middle, and lower support members from the walking state to the upright state.

[0018] Furthermore, in the walking state, the angle between the middle support member and the upper support member is less than 180 degrees, and the angle between the middle support member and the lower support member is less than 180 degrees; in the upright state, the angle between the middle support member and the upper support member is 180 degrees, and the angle between the middle support member and the lower support member is 180 degrees.

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

[0020] When the drive motor cannot be powered on due to various reasons such as control device failure and battery consumption, the rotating shaft of the drive motor rotates freely, and the exoskeleton device loses its center of gravity due to its own weight. According to the present invention, without providing the main power supply, the rotation of the rotating shaft is restricted using the auxiliary power supply, and then the drive motor is driven from the walking state to the upright state at a low speed. Therefore, the wearer wearing the exoskeleton device can safely return to the upright posture without losing the center of gravity. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the wearing state of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of the left and right connecting bodies in the present invention.

[0024] Figure 4 This is the mechanical walking performed by the present invention in the walking mode.

[0025] Figure 5 This is the rotation angle of the bracket measured under mechanical drive and free drive.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of the controller in the present invention.

[0027] Figure 7 This is a schematic flowchart of the implementation method of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0028] Among them, the names corresponding to the reference numerals are as follows: 100 - main body; 200 - left and right rotating bodies;

[0029] 110 - main battery, 120 - controller;

[0030] 210 - intermediate support, 220 - upper support, 230 - lower support, 240 - foot support;

[0031] 210U - upper drive part, 210B - return drive part, 210D - lower drive part, 210C - lid;

[0032] 210B0 - auxiliary drive data acquisition module, 210B1 - main power detection module, 210B2 - angle detection module, 210B3 - drive control module, 210B4 - auxiliary battery;

[0033] 211 - drive motor, 212 - reducer;

[0034] 241 - positioning ring, 242 - bending strip;

[0035] 241c - fixed semi - ring, 241r - rotating semi - ring;

[0036] CC - connecting part;

[0037] Rd - differential angle, Rp - rotation angle. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

[0038] To enable those skilled in the art to have a clearer understanding and knowledge of the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described below are only used to explain the present invention for easy understanding, and the technical solutions provided by the present invention are not limited to the technical solutions provided by the following embodiments, and the technical solutions provided by the embodiments should not limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0039] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in this application disclosure should have the ordinary meaning understood by those of ordinary skill in the art in the field to which this disclosure belongs. The words such as "including" or "comprising" used in this application mean that the elements or objects appearing before this word cover the elements or objects listed after this word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. The positional relationship words "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", etc. are determined according to the layout direction of the specification drawings, and they are only used to represent the relative positional relationship. When the absolute position of the object being described changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0040] Embodiment 1

[0041] As Figures 1 to 6 shown, this embodiment provides an exoskeleton device with a return drive unit. When the driving motor cannot use the main power supply due to various reasons such as discharge, power failure, and failure of the charging power supply, the auxiliary power supply can be used to change its state from the walking state to the upright state.

[0042] In this embodiment, the exoskeleton device with a return drive unit includes a main body fixed to the human back when worn and left and right rotating bodies; among them, the main body is composed of a main battery and a controller. The main battery provides driving energy for the controller and the driving motors installed on the body, and the main battery can be charged by charging; the controller controls the rotation of the driving motors installed on the left and right rotating bodies, and the controller can use existing mature products. For example: the controller includes a CPU, and the CPU model is Samsung artik-710; the controller usually has walking modes, such as: normal speed mode, fast mode, up stair mode, down stair mode, left turn mode and right turn mode, and drives the corresponding selected mode according to the wearer's selection.

[0043] The left and right rotating bodies are the left rotating body and the right rotating body, and their structures are the same. Here, the left and right rotating bodies are used as the description reference to describe their structures. The left and right rotating bodies include an intermediate support member, an upper support member rotating on the upper side of the intermediate support member, a lower support member rotating on the lower side of the intermediate support member, and a foot support member connected to the bottom of the lower support member, that is, there are two upper support members, intermediate support members, lower support members and foot support members.

[0044] The main body of the exoskeleton device and the left and right side shells are respectively connected through the main body and the left and right rotating bodies through the left and right connecting parts, that is, the connecting part on the left side and the connecting part on the right side. After the connecting parts extend from the bottom of the main body from the left and right sides and then bend forward, they are respectively connected to the left and right rotating bodies.

[0045] The foot support is connected to the lower part of the lower support. The foot support is composed of a positioning ring surrounding the wearer's ankle and a bending belt fixed on both sides of the pad ring and supporting the wearer's sole. The positioning ring can be composed of a fixed semi-circular ring fixed on the lower support and a rotating semi-circular ring matching the fixed semi-circular ring. As an embodiment, the rotating semi-circular ring can be closed with the fixed semi-circular ring, and the wearer's ankle can be placed inside the fixed semi-circular ring, and then the rotating semi-circular ring can be closed and fastened on the fixed semi-circular ring.

[0046] In this embodiment, an upper driving part, a lower driving part and a return driving part are arranged on the middle support. Among them, the upper driving part rotates the upper support, and the lower driving part rotates the lower support. The upper driving part and the lower driving part have the same structure and can include a driving motor and a reducer. The driving motor generates torque, and the reducer reduces the rotation speed of the driving motor; the driving part and the lower driving part are located on the same side, and the two can be covered by a lid, and the return driving part is located on the opposite side.

[0047] The return driving part is connected to the upper driving part and the lower driving part, and the return driving part drives the upper and lower driving parts to change the upper, middle and lower supports from the walking state to the upright state.

[0048] In this embodiment, the return driving part includes an auxiliary driving data acquisition module, a main power supply detection module, an angle detection module, a driving control module and an auxiliary battery; among them, the auxiliary driving data acquisition module acquires auxiliary driving data for return driving, acquires the muscle force driving angle of the wearer, and calculates the difference angle between the muscle force driving angle and the walking angle of the mechanical walking driving. Mechanical walking driving refers to the walking driving of the exoskeleton device realized under normal power supply, and muscle force driving means that the exoskeleton device uses the wearer's muscle strength to drive in the free driving state. In this embodiment, the auxiliary driving data is the difference angle between the rotation angle driven in the mechanical driving state and the rotation angle using the wearer's muscle strength in the free driving state, and the torque value of the driving motor corresponding to the difference angle. The difference angle can be assigned a negative value or assigned a value of 0. The obtained difference angle and the driving torque value corresponding to the difference angle can be stored in the memory of the driving control module.

[0049] As Figure 5As shown, the reference symbol MP represents the rotation angle of the bracket during mechanical drive, and the reference symbol PP represents the rotation angle of the bracket measured in the free drive state. In the range of 0 to 75, the difference angle (Rd) represents a positive (+) value, and in the range of 75 to 1, it represents a negative (-) difference angle (Rd). A section with a positive difference angle shows a state of lack of muscle strength, while a section with a negative difference angle shows a state of muscle strength sufficient for walking.

[0050] The walking mode of the exoskeleton device can have an upright state and a mechanical walking state. Figure 6 The angle formed by the upper body and legs of the human body in the upright state and the walking state is shown. In the accompanying drawings, the upper support member can be worn on the upper part of the human body, the middle support member can be worn on the femoral part of the human body, and the lower support member can be worn on the lower part of the human body. Figure 6 (a) represents the bracket in an upright state, Figure 6 (b) represents the support in the mechanical walking state, that is, the walking state. In the above-mentioned upright state, the upper body, femur and lower body of the human body are all perpendicular to the ground, while in the walking state, the upper body, femur and lower body of the human body form a certain angle. Here, in the upright state, the angle between the middle support and the upper support, that is, the upper upright angle is 180 degrees, and the angle between the middle support and the lower support, that is, the lower upright angle, is 180 degrees; in the walking state, the angle between the middle support and the upper support is less than 180 degrees, and the angle between the middle support and the lower support is less than 180 degrees.

[0051] The function of the return drive unit is to detect the angles formed by the upper, middle and lower supports in the mechanical walking state, and to drive the upper, middle and lower supports of the exoskeleton device from the walking state to the upright state.

[0052] The main power detection module detects the main power applied to the drive motor. When the detection result is that the drive motor is not powered, an event signal is generated, and the event signal is output to the angle detection module and the drive control module.

[0053] The angle detection module detects the upper and lower bending angles of the upper support member and the lower support member relative to the middle support member. Specifically, the angle detection module detects the upper bending angle formed by the middle support member and the upper support member, and detects the lower bending angle formed by the middle support member and the lower support member. The detected upper bending angle and lower bending angle are output to the drive control module.

[0054] Based on the above-mentioned event signal, the drive control module outputs a return drive signal to the upper drive unit and the lower drive unit based on the detected upper bending angle and lower bending angle. Specifically, when sending the event signal, the drive control module reads the auxiliary drive data stored in the memory based on the detected angle, and converts the read auxiliary drive data into a return drive signal. The upper and lower return drive signals are output to the upper drive part and the lower drive part.

[0055] In Figure 6 , θ1 and θ2 respectively represent the differential angles of the upper side and the lower side, and the reference symbols L and R respectively represent left and right. Referring to the attached Figure 6 , the upper support member has a differential angle of θ1 relative to the middle support member, and the lower support member has a differential angle of θ2 relative to the middle support member. When the differential angle is the rotation angle of the upper side and the lower side, the rotation angles of the upper side and the lower side refer to the angles required to rotate from the walking state to the upright state. Then, the drive motor can rotate according to the upper and lower return drive signals, so that the upper and lower bending angles become the upper and lower upright angles in the upright state.

[0056] The auxiliary battery provides the required power for the main power supply detection module, the angle detection module and the drive control module. Preferably, the auxiliary battery can be charged from the main battery.

[0057] Embodiment 2

[0058] As Figure 7 shown, this embodiment also provides a return drive method implemented based on the exoskeleton device with a return drive part provided in Embodiment 1. The method includes:

[0059] Step S100 of obtaining auxiliary drive data;

[0060] Step S200 of detecting the main power supply applied to the drive motor;

[0061] Step S300 of calculating the differential angles of the upper bending angle and the lower bending angle relative to the stored upper upright angle and lower upright angle when the main power supply is not detected;

[0062] Step S400 of rotating the drive motor based on the obtained differential angles to change the upper support member, the middle support member and the lower support member to the upright state.

[0063] 1. Obtaining auxiliary drive data

[0064] This step is executed in the auxiliary drive data acquisition module. First, the auxiliary drive data acquires the muscle force drive angle of the wearer and calculates the difference angle (Rd) between the muscle force drive angle and the walking angle of the mechanical walking drive; then, it calculates the drive torque value of the drive motor corresponding to the difference angle. The obtained auxiliary drive data, namely the difference angle and the drive motor torque value, are transmitted to the memory of the drive control module.

[0065] II. Detect the main power supply applied to the drive motor

[0066] This step is executed in the main power supply detection module. The main power supply detection module detects the main power supply output to the drive motor. The controller of the exoskeleton device drives the drive motor according to the selected walking mode. The walking mode can generally be a speed mode, a fast mode, a stair climbing mode, a stair descending mode, a left turn mode, a right turn mode, etc. Each mode can have an upright state and a walking state. In the upright state, the upper support member and the middle support member, as well as the middle support member and the lower support member, are both at a 180-degree angle. In the walking state, the upper support member and the middle support member, as well as the middle support member and the lower support member, can all have an angle less than 180 degrees.

[0067] The main power supply is designated to provide the drive energy required to operate the walking mode for the drive motor. The main power supply detection module detects the on state or off state of the power supply to the drive motor. If it is in the on state, the main battery can be in a normal driving state. If it is in the off state, the main battery can be in a fully discharged state. In addition, this also occurs when the wearer of the exoskeleton device presses the emergency stop button.

[0068] III. Calculate the difference angles of the upper side bending angle and the lower side bending angle relative to the stored upper side upright angle and lower side upright angle when the main power supply is not detected

[0069] This step is executed in the angle detection module and the drive control module. When the main power supply is not output to the drive motor, the drive control module receives the upper side bending angle and the lower side bending angle from the angle detection module and calculates the difference angles between the stored upper side upright angle and lower side upright angle and the upper side bending angle and the lower side bending angle, that is, the upper side difference angle and the lower side difference angle. The drive control module converts the auxiliary drive data into upper side and lower side regression drive signals for the drive motor according to the upper side difference angle and the lower side difference angle. The upper side regression drive signal and the lower side regression drive signal correspond to the upper side difference angle and the lower side difference angle and are output to the controller to control the drive motor.

[0070] IV. Based on the obtained difference angles, rotate the drive motor to change the upper support member, the middle support member, and the lower support member to the upright state

[0071] This step is performed at the upper drive part and the lower drive part of the exoskeleton device. The upper side differential angle is sent to the upper drive part, and the lower side differential angle is sent to the lower drive part. The controller controls the drive motor according to the upper side differential angle and the lower side differential angle. Therefore, the upper drive part and the lower drive part drive the drive motor to make the angle between the upper side, middle side, and lower side support members 180 degrees, that is, upright.

[0072] When the drive motor cannot be powered on due to various reasons such as device failure and battery consumption, the rotating shaft of the drive motor rotates freely, and the exoskeleton device loses its center of gravity due to its own weight. According to the device and method provided in the above embodiment, without providing a main power supply, an auxiliary power supply is used to limit the rotation of the rotating shaft, and then the drive motor is driven from the walking state to the upright state at a low speed. Therefore, the wearer wearing the exoskeleton device can safely return to the upright posture without losing the center of gravity due to this.

[0073] The above is the preferred implementation of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make several improvements without departing from the design principle and technical solution of the present invention, and these improvements should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An exoskeleton device with a return drive unit, characterized in that: The invention comprises a main body (100) fixed on the back of a human body when worn and a left-right rotating body (200), wherein the main body (100) comprises a main battery and a controller, and the left-right rotating body (200) comprises an intermediate support member (210) and an upper support member (220) rotating on the upper side of the intermediate support member, and a lower support member (230) rotating on the lower side of the intermediate support member, and an upper driving part (210U), a lower driving part (210D) and a return driving part (210B) are arranged on the intermediate support member (210), the upper driving part (210U) rotates the upper support member (220), and the lower driving part (210D) rotates the lower support member (230); the main body and the left-right rotating body are connected by left and right connecting parts (CC) respectively; The return drive unit (210B) comprises: An auxiliary driving data acquisition module (210B0) for acquiring the wearer's muscle force driving angle and the difference angle (Rd) between the muscle force driving angle and the walking angle of the mechanical walking drive; A main power supply detection module (210B1) for detecting the main power supply to the drive motor and outputting an event signal when the drive motor is not supplied with the main power supply; An angle detection module (210B2), used to detect an upper bending angle formed by the upper support member and the middle support member, and a lower bending angle formed by the middle support member and the lower support member; A drive control module (21083) calculates the difference between the stored upper and lower upright angles and the upper and lower bending angles based on the event signal, and converts the auxiliary drive data into upper and lower regression drive signals for driving the motor according to the difference; The upper and lower return drive signals are output to the upper drive unit (210U) and the lower drive unit (210D); It also includes an auxiliary battery, and the driving power of the driving control module is provided by the auxiliary battery; The auxiliary driving data is the difference angle (Rd) between the rotation angle (Rp) driven in the mechanical driving state and the rotation angle (Rp) driven using the wearer's muscle power in the free driving state, as well as the torque value of the driving motor corresponding to the difference angle (Rd). The difference angle (Rd) can be assigned a negative (-) value or a value of 0.

2. The exoskeleton device with a return drive unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The return drive unit (210B) drives the upper drive unit (210U) and the lower drive unit (210D) to change the arrangement of the upper, middle and lower support members from a walking state to an upright state.

3. The exoskeleton device with a return drive unit according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the walking state, the angle between the middle support and the upper support is less than 180 degrees, and the angle between the middle support and the lower support is less than 180 degrees; in the upright state, the angle between the middle support and the upper support is 180 degrees, and the angle between the middle support and the lower support is 180 degrees.

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