Nursing wheelchair robot and nursing method

Abstract

The invention provides a nursing wheelchair robot and a nursing method.The wheelchair robot comprises an AGV chassis and a seat body installed on the AGV chassis, the seat body comprises a seat frame and a seat body capable of ascending and descending relative to the seat frame, and two mechanical arms arranged front and back are further installed on the AGV chassis; when the chair seat is lifted to a second position, the chair seat is upwards far away from the chair frame, and the two mechanical arms can respectively support the back and the leg nest of the person to hold up the person. The front mechanical arm and the rear mechanical arm are arranged outside the seat body in the front-back mode, the two mechanical arms are arranged in the direction of a person so as to support the back and the leg nest of the person respectively and hold up the cared person in a transverse holding mode, other people do not need to help the person to get on and off a wheelchair, and the labor intensity of the person is reduced; the seat is movably installed in the seat frame and connected with the seat frame in a lifting mode, when a person gets on and gets off the wheelchair, the seat is lifted firstly, an operation space is reserved for the two mechanical arms, and the two mechanical arms can conveniently hold up and put down a nursed person.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of robots, and in particular relates to a wheelchair care robot and a care method. Background Art

[0002] At present, the aging population in my country is increasing, and the demand for medical care and care for the disabled is increasing. In order to serve the elderly and the disabled and reduce the burden on the family, service wheelchair robots that assist the elderly and the disabled have come into being.

[0003] Elderly people and disabled people can use wheelchair robots to solve their daily transportation problems, but for people who cannot walk due to inconvenience in their legs and feet, caregivers are needed to help them get on or off wheelchairs, which requires high labor intensity. For example, CN201910448717.5 discloses a fully automatic active patient-changing wheelchair robot, CN202410774971.5 discloses a smart living safety wheelchair, CN202120638776.1 discloses a health care integrated deformable wheelchair robot, or CN202010645384.8 discloses a smart wheelchair robot. Based on the aforementioned technical problems existing in existing wheelchair robots, it is necessary to provide a care wheelchair robot that can help people with inconvenience in their legs and feet or disabilities get on and off wheelchairs. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention aims to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art. The first object of the present invention is to provide a care wheelchair robot. The second object of the present invention is to provide a care method based on the aforementioned care wheelchair robot.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned first purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical scheme: a care wheelchair robot, comprising an AGV chassis capable of moving on the ground and a seat body installed on the AGV chassis, the seat body comprising a chair frame fixed to the AGV chassis, and a seat movably installed in the chair frame, the seat being connected to the AGV chassis by a first lifting mechanism, and the AGV chassis is also equipped with two multi-degree-of-freedom mechanical arms arranged in a pair one after the other, and the two mechanical arms are located on the outside of the same side of the seat body; the enabling ends of the first lifting mechanism and the two mechanical arms are respectively connected to the control system; the control system controls the movement of the first lifting mechanism to lower the seat to a first position or raise it to a second position; when the seat is lowered to the first position, the seat and the chair frame form a seat; when the seat is raised to the second position, the seat moves upward away from the chair frame, and the control system controls the movement of the two mechanical arms, the two mechanical arms can respectively support the back and leg pits of a person, pick up a person who is elsewhere and place him on the seat, or pick up a person who is sitting on the seat and place him elsewhere.

[0006] In the above technical solution, two mechanical arms are arranged outside the seat body, one in front and one behind. The two mechanical arms are arranged along the direction of the person to respectively support the person's back and leg pits and pick up the cared person in a horizontal holding manner. The care wheelchair robot helps the cared person to get on and off the wheelchair, and no other person's help is needed to get on and off the wheelchair, thereby reducing the labor intensity of the person. The present invention movably installs the seat in the chair frame and is connected to the chair frame for lifting. When getting on and off the wheelchair, the seat is lifted first, and there is no interference from the chair frame in the spatial position, leaving sufficient working space for the two mechanical arms, which is conducive to the two mechanical arms using a horizontal holding manner to stably pick up and put down the cared person.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a retractable front guardrail is also installed on the chair frame at the front side.

[0008] The above technical solution protects the cared person on the seat body by providing a front guardrail, thereby preventing the cared person from accidentally sliding out from the front side of the seat body, thereby improving safety.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the front guardrail includes a group of laterally arranged telescopic rods located on the front left or right side of the chair frame. By laterally extending the telescopic rods, the ends of the telescopic rods can extend to the opposite side to surround the front side of the chair frame.

[0010] The above technical solution adopts the telescopic rod method, which has a simple structure and is easy to obtain.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a limiting portion is provided on the chair frame at the opposite side of the telescopic rod, and by extending the telescopic rod laterally, the end of the telescopic rod can be connected to the limiting portion for fixation.

[0012] The above technical solution limits the end of the telescopic rod by setting a limiting portion, thereby providing stability.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a footrest for resting feet is also installed on the chair frame or the AGV chassis.

[0014] The above technical solution provides a foot pedal to facilitate the care recipient to rest his feet, thereby improving comfort.

[0015] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mechanical arm is connected to the AGV chassis by a second lifting mechanism located outside the seat body, and the two mechanical arms can be lifted and lowered independently to raise or lower their positions.

[0016] In the above technical solution, the two robotic arms can be raised and lowered to increase the operating range of the two robotic arms. In the process of descending from the second position to the first position and in the process of rising from the first position to the second position, the two robotic arms can be raised and lowered to better support the person being cared for, thereby improving safety.

[0017] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the care wheelchair robot further has a plurality of visual sensors, which detect images of the wheelchair robot in four directions and transmit them to the control system.

[0018] The above technical solution, by setting up multiple visual sensors to detect images in four directions of the wheelchair robot, serves as the eyes of the wheelchair robot, enables the cared person to automatically get on and off the wheelchair, and provides automation for the wheelchair robot.

[0019] To achieve the above-mentioned second purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: a care method for a wheelchair robot, comprising a step of getting on a wheelchair and a step of getting off a wheelchair, wherein the step of getting on a wheelchair is as follows: S11, using a visual sensor to detect the body position of a cared person elsewhere, the control system controls the AGV chassis to operate, and makes the mechanical arm perpendicular to the cared person; S12, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism to move the seat to the second position; S13, based on the image detected by the visual sensor, the control system controls the two mechanical arms to move, the two mechanical arms cross the seat body in the width direction to hold the back and leg pits of the cared person, and pick up the cared person elsewhere and place him on the seat; S14, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism to move the seat to the first position;

[0020] The steps for getting off the wheelchair are: S21, the control system controls the AGV chassis to move to another place; S22, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism to raise the seat to the second position; S23, the visual sensor is used to detect the body position of the cared person on the seat, and based on the image detected by the visual sensor, the control system controls the movement of two robotic arms, the two robotic arms respectively support the back and leg hollows of the cared person, the two robotic arms pick up the cared person on the seat, and the two robotic arms cross the seat body in the width direction to place the cared person elsewhere; S24, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism to lower the seat to the first position.

[0021] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, during the process of descending from the second position to the first position, the control system controls the robotic arm to maintain support for the cared person, and when the lower edge of the back robotic arm reaches the upper edge of the chair back, the back robotic arm releases force and moves laterally backward or is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the cared person, and the leg robotic arm continues to move downward until the seat descends to the first position, and the leg robotic arm releases force and moves laterally forward or is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the cared person; during the process of rising from the first position to the second position, the control system controls the back robotic arm to move to the upper edge of the chair back to support the back of the cared person and rise together, the leg robotic arm is inserted into the leg socket in a direction perpendicular to the cared person and rises together, and when the seat rises to the second position, the back robotic arm adjusts its position to support the middle of the back of the cared person, and the leg robotic arm supports the leg socket of the cared person.

[0022] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wheelchair care robot in an embodiment. Figure 1 , the seat is in the first position.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wheelchair care robot in an embodiment. Figure 2 , the seat is in the second position.

[0026] The figure marks in the drawings of the specification include: AGV chassis 10, seat body 20, chair frame 21, seat 22, chair back 23, armrest 24, front guardrail 25, telescopic rod 251, support rod 252, foot pedal 26, robotic arm 30, first lifting mechanism 40, and second lifting mechanism 50. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0028] In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “vertical”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside” and “outside” etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0029] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified and limited, it should be noted that the terms "installed", "connected" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, or it can be the internal connection between two components. It can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0030] The present invention provides a wheelchair care robot, such as Figure 1and Figure 2 As shown, in a preferred embodiment, it includes an AGV chassis 10 capable of traveling on the ground and a seat body 20 installed on the AGV chassis 10. The AGV chassis 10 can adopt the existing technology, which is not the innovation of the present invention and will not be described in detail. The seat body 20 includes a chair frame 21 fixed to the AGV chassis 10, and a seat 22 movably installed in the chair frame 21. The chair frame 21 is also provided with a backrest 23 located at the rear side, and two armrests 24 located on the left and right sides. A footrest 26 for resting feet is also installed on the chair frame 21 or the AGV chassis 10, for example, the footrest 26 is fixed to the chair frame 21 through a support rod 252. The seat 22 is connected to the AGV chassis 10 by a first lifting mechanism 40. The first lifting mechanism 40 can adopt a multi-stage electric cylinder in the existing technology. The cylinder body of the multi-stage electric cylinder is fixed to the top of the AGV chassis 10, and the end of the telescopic shaft of the multi-stage electric cylinder is fixed to the lower end of the seat 22. The AGV chassis 10 is also equipped with two multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arms 30 arranged in a pair, one behind the other. The two robotic arms 30 are located on the outside of the same side of the seat body 20 , for example, on the outside of the left side of the seat body 20 .

[0031] The first lifting mechanism 40 and the enabling ends of the two mechanical arms 30 are respectively connected to the control system, and the control system controls the first lifting mechanism 40 to lower the seat 22 to the first position or raise it to the second position. Figure 1 As shown, when the seat 22 is lowered to the first position, the seat 22 and the chair frame 21 form a seat; Figure 2 As shown, when the seat 22 rises to the second position, the seat 22 moves upward away from the backrest 23 of the chair frame 21, and the control system controls the movement of the two robotic arms 30. The two robotic arms 30 can respectively support the back and leg pits of the person (for example, the rear robotic arm 30 supports the back, and the front robotic arm 30 supports the leg pits), so as to pick up a person who is elsewhere (such as on a bed, a sofa, a toilet, etc.) and place him on the seat 22, or pick up a person who is sitting on the seat 22 and place him elsewhere.

[0032] In the present invention, the mechanical arm 30 has multiple sections and is long enough to ensure that the mechanical arm 30 can cross the seat body 20 from the left side to the right side of the seat body 20 to pick up the care recipient elsewhere or place the care recipient on the seat 22 elsewhere. Preferably, the mechanical arm 30 is a foldable multi-section mechanical arm, such as the mechanical arms disclosed in CN201911390262.2, CN201410076030.0, CN201410334171.8, CN202110143580.X, and CN202210317324.2. The multi-section mechanical arm 30 has a large operating space and a folding function. When not in use, it can be folded and stored in the chair frame 21 under the seat 22, which reduces the occupied space and does not affect the daily life of the care recipient on the seat body 10.

[0033] In another preferred embodiment, a retractable front guardrail 25 is also installed on the chair frame 21. When no one is on the chair body 20, the front guardrail 25 is retracted to the side of the chair frame 21, so as not to affect the person being cared for sitting on the chair body 20; when the person being cared for sits on the chair body 20, the front guardrail 25 extends out to surround the front side of the chair frame 21, so as to prevent the person being cared for from accidentally sliding out of the front side of the chair body 20. It should be noted that the front guardrail 25 needs to be retracted before the person being cared for gets on or off the wheelchair.

[0034] Specifically, the front guardrail 25 includes a group of telescopic rods 251 disposed transversely and located on the front left side of the chair frame 21 (of course, it can also be disposed on the front right side of the chair frame 21). For example, a support rod 252 fixedly connected to the top of the armrest 24 is disposed on the left side of the chair frame 21, and the telescopic rod 251 is installed on the support rod 252 on the left side. By extending the telescopic rod 251 transversely to the right, the end of the telescopic rod 251 can be extended to the right side of the chair frame 21 to surround the front side of the chair frame 21; wherein the telescopic rod 251 can be automatically extended or manually extended by using a multi-section telescopic electric cylinder. Preferably, a support rod 252 fixedly connected to the top of the armrest 24 is also disposed on the right side of the chair frame 21, and a limiting portion corresponding to the support rod 252 is disposed on the support rod 252 on the right side. By extending the telescopic rod 251 transversely to the right, the end of the telescopic rod 251 can be connected (e.g., clamped) to the limiting portion to be fixed.

[0035] In another preferred embodiment, the robotic arm 30 is connected to the AGV chassis 10 by a second lifting mechanism 50 located on the outside of the seat body 20. The two robotic arms 30 can be lifted and lowered independently to raise or lower their positions. The second lifting mechanism 50 can adopt a multi-stage electric cylinder in the prior art. Two multi-stage electric cylinders are arranged on the top of the AGV chassis 10. The ends of the telescopic shafts of the two multi-stage electric cylinders are respectively connected to the two robotic arms 30, so as to drive the two robotic arms 30 to lift and lower respectively, so as to increase the operating range of the two robotic arms 30.

[0036] In another preferred embodiment, the wheelchair care robot also has multiple visual sensors (not shown in the figure), which can be installed at multiple positions of the chair frame 21. The visual sensors detect images in four directions of the wheelchair robot and transmit them to the control system to facilitate the robotic arm 30 to pick up or put down the person being cared for.

[0037] Embodiment 2

[0038] This embodiment provides a care method for a wheelchair robot based on the first embodiment, and the care method includes a step of getting on the wheelchair and a step of getting off the wheelchair.

[0039] The steps to get on a wheelchair are:

[0040] S11, using a visual sensor to detect the body position of the cared person elsewhere, the control system controls the AGV chassis 10 to operate, and makes the robot arm 30 perpendicular to the cared person, that is, the seat body 20 is arranged side by side on the outside of the cared person elsewhere, the front side of the seat body 20 faces the foot end of the cared person, and the rear side of the seat body 20 faces the head end of the cared person;

[0041] S12, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism 40 to move the seat 22 to a second position, preferably the second position is slightly higher than the upper end of the seat back 23;

[0042] S13, based on the image detected by the visual sensor, the control system controls the two mechanical arms 30 to move, and the two mechanical arms 30 cross the chair body 20 in the width direction to hold the back and leg pits of the care recipient respectively, and pick up the care recipient at other places and place them on the chair seat 22;

[0043] S14, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism 40 to move the seat 22 down to the first position, the seat 22 and the chair frame 21 form a chair, and the person being cared for sits on the chair body 20.

[0044] Steps to get out of the wheelchair:

[0045] S21, the control system controls the AGV chassis 10 to move to another place, and the front-to-back direction of the seat body 20 is consistent with the length direction of the cared person when the person is located at another place;

[0046] S22, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism 40 to move the seat 22 to the second position, so as to lift the person being cared for on the seat 22;

[0047] S23, using the visual sensor to detect the body position of the care recipient on the seat 22, based on the image detected by the visual sensor, the control system controls the two robotic arms 30 to move, the two robotic arms 30 respectively hold the back and leg pits of the care recipient, the two robotic arms 30 pick up the care recipient on the seat 22, and the two robotic arms 30 cross the seat body 20 in the width direction to place the care recipient elsewhere;

[0048] S24, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism 40 to move the seat 22 down to the first position for resetting.

[0049] Preferably, during the process of descending from the second position to the first position and ascending from the first position to the second position, the two mechanical arms 30 can be raised and lowered to better support the person being cared for.

[0050] Specifically, in the process of descending from the second position to the first position, the control system controls the robotic arm 30 to maintain the support for the cared person, and the robotic arm 30 descends together with the seat 22. When the lower edge of the back robotic arm 30 reaches the upper edge of the chair back 23, the back robotic arm 30 releases the force and moves laterally backward or is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the cared person. The leg robotic arm 30 continues to move downward until the seat 22 descends to the first position, and the leg robotic arm 30 releases the force and moves laterally forward or is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the cared person.

[0051] During the process of rising from the first position to the second position, the control system controls the back robotic arm 30 to move up to the upper edge of the chair back 23 to support the back of the cared person and rise together, and the leg robotic arm 30 is inserted into the leg socket in a direction perpendicular to the cared person and rises together. During the continued upward process, the two robotic arms 30 adjust their own height and posture. When the chair seat 22 rises to the second position, the back robotic arm 30 supports the middle of the back of the cared person, and the leg robotic arm 30 supports the leg socket of the cared person to pick up the cared person.

[0052] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "preferred embodiment", "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example" or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0053] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A wheelchair care robot, characterized in that: The AGV chassis comprises an AGV chassis capable of traveling on the ground and a seat body mounted on the AGV chassis, wherein the seat body comprises a chair frame fixedly connected to the AGV chassis and a seat movably mounted in the chair frame, wherein the seat is connected to the AGV chassis by a first lifting mechanism, and wherein two multi-degree-of-freedom mechanical arms arranged in pairs one behind the other are also mounted on the AGV chassis, and the two mechanical arms are located on the outer side of the same side of the seat body; The first lifting mechanism and the enabling ends of the two mechanical arms are respectively connected to the control system; The control system controls the first lifting mechanism to lower the seat to the first position or raise it to the second position; When the seat is lowered to the first position, the seat and the chair frame form a seat; When the seat rises to the second position, the seat moves upward away from the chair frame, and the control system controls the movement of the two robotic arms. The two robotic arms can respectively support the back and leg pits of the person, pick up the person somewhere else and place him on the seat, or pick up the person sitting on the seat and place him somewhere else.

2. The wheelchair care robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The chair frame is also provided with a retractable front guardrail located at the front side.

3. The wheelchair care robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The front guardrail includes a group of transversely arranged telescopic rods located on the front left side or front right side of the chair frame. By laterally extending the telescopic rods, the ends of the telescopic rods can extend to the opposite sides to surround the front side of the chair frame.

4. The wheelchair care robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: A limiting portion is provided on the chair frame at the opposite side of the telescopic rod, and the end of the telescopic rod can be connected to the limiting portion to be fixed by extending the telescopic rod laterally.

5. The wheelchair care robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: A foot pedal for resting feet is also installed on the chair frame or the AGV chassis.

6. A care wheelchair robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The mechanical arms are connected to the AGV chassis by a second lifting mechanism located outside the seat body, and the two mechanical arms can be lifted and lowered independently to raise or lower their positions.

7. The wheelchair care robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The robot is also provided with a plurality of visual sensors, which detect images of the wheelchair robot in four directions and transmit the images to the control system.

8. A method for caring for a wheelchair robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: Including steps for getting on and off the wheelchair. The steps for getting on a wheelchair are: S11, using the visual sensor to detect the body position of the person being cared for elsewhere, and the control system controls the AGV chassis to operate and make the robotic arm perpendicular to the person being cared for; S12, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism to lift the seat to a second position; S13, based on the image detected by the visual sensor, the control system controls the two robotic arms to move, and the two robotic arms cross the chair body in the width direction to hold the back and leg pits of the person being cared for, and pick up the person and place him on the chair seat; S14, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism to move the seat down to the first position; The steps for getting out of the wheelchair are: S21, the control system controls the AGV chassis to move to another place; S22, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism to move the seat up to the second position; S23, using the visual sensor to detect the body position of the care recipient on the seat, and based on the image detected by the visual sensor, the control system controls the two robotic arms to move, the two robotic arms respectively hold the back and leg pits of the care recipient, the two robotic arms pick up the care recipient on the seat, and the two robotic arms cross the seat body in the width direction to place the care recipient elsewhere; S24, the control system controls the first lifting mechanism to move the seat down to the first position.

9. The care method according to claim 8, characterized in that: In the process of descending from the second position to the first position, the control system controls the mechanical arm to maintain the support of the person being cared for, and when the lower edge of the back mechanical arm reaches the upper edge of the chair back, the back mechanical arm releases the force to move laterally backward or is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the person being cared for, and the leg mechanical arm continues to move downward until the chair seat descends to the first position, and then the leg mechanical arm releases the force to move laterally forward or is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the person being cared for; During the process of rising from the first position to the second position, the control system controls the back robotic arm to move to the upper edge of the chair back to support the back of the person being cared for and rise together, and the leg robotic arm is inserted into the leg socket in a direction perpendicular to the person being cared for and rises together; when the chair seat rises to the second position, the back robotic arm supports the middle of the back of the person being cared for, and the leg robotic arm supports the leg socket of the person being cared for.

Images