Clutch device suitable for hip joint exoskeleton
By using a clutch device with a cam chute structure and an end face ratchet in the hip exoskeleton, the problem of mutual interference between the rope and disk is solved, and efficient assistance and freedom of movement of the hip exoskeleton are achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510241018.9
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-03-03
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-03
AI Technical Summary
When the existing hip exoskeleton drives the load path, the large number of motors leads to an increase in weight, and the mutual interference between the ropes and disks limits the wearer's freedom of movement.
The coordination between the cam chute structure and the end face ratchet is adopted to achieve the decoupling of the two rope disks, so that the motor drive of one rope disk does not affect the rotation of the other rope disk.
It achieves efficient assistance of hip exoskeletons, reduces the weight of the exoskeleton, improves the wearer's freedom of movement, and reduces the complexity of motor control.
Smart Images
Figure CN120083767A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of robots, and particularly to a clutch device suitable for a hip exoskeleton. Background Art
[0002] An exoskeleton refers to an auxiliary device that is worn on the human body and uses mechanical devices to assist biological joints, thereby achieving the effects of enhancing endurance and reducing muscle burden. In the field of exoskeletons, the active flexible assist exoskeleton has good wearability and high human-machine coordination. However, since the active exoskeleton has multiple components such as motors, batteries, and controllers, its own weight is still very large, which instead increases the human load and hinders the goal of reducing walking metabolic consumption.
[0003] Common lower limb active flexible assist exoskeletons generally use a motor-Bowden cable drive. For the hip or ankle joints of the left and right lower limbs, one motor is used on each load path. In this case, each motor rotates the cable reel to contract the Bowden cable to generate an auxiliary joint torque, and the cable is released by reverse rotation of the cable reel to achieve relaxation of the path. As the number of load paths increases, the number of motors also increases continuously. In order to reduce the weight carried by the wearer, it is necessary to minimize the number of motors used to drive the load paths. The under-actuated principle can effectively reduce the number of motors. By rotating a single motor forward and backward to drive two directly connected cable reels, time-sharing assistance for hip flexion and extension is achieved. Although this greatly reduces the weight of the exoskeleton, when one cable reel winds up the cable, the other cable reel will release the cable, which limits the wearer's movements other than walking.
[0004] Therefore, in view of the above technical problems, it is necessary to design a clutch device suitable for a hip exoskeleton. When the motor drives one of the cable reels, the other cable reel is not affected by the rotation of the motor and can rotate freely, that is, the left and right cable reels are decoupled, which enables the wearer of the exoskeleton to perform any movement on the non-assisted side without being interfered by the assisted side. Summary of the Invention
[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages and deficiencies of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a clutch device suitable for a hip exoskeleton.
[0006] The present invention can achieve the decoupling of the two cable reels through the cooperation between the cam chute structure and the end face ratchet wheel, and solves the problem of mutual interference between the two cable reels of the traditional under-actuated exoskeleton.
[0007] The purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:
[0008] A clutch device suitable for a hip exoskeleton, comprising: a motor, a rotating shaft, a left driven ratchet and pawl assembly, a driving rocker, a right driven ratchet and pawl assembly, and an end cover assembly;
[0009] The left driven ratchet pawl assembly, the active rocker, the right driven ratchet pawl assembly and the end cover assembly are connected through a rotating shaft transmission, the motor is connected to the rotating shaft, and the left driven ratchet pawl assembly and the right driven ratchet pawl assembly are installed on the rotating shaft in a mirror-symmetrical manner relative to the active rocker.
[0010] Furthermore, the left driven ratchet pawl assembly and the right driven ratchet pawl assembly have the same structure, including a retaining ring, a bearing, a driven ratchet sleeve, a driven ratchet, a shaft retaining ring, a bearing, a slide plate and a driven pawl.
[0011] Furthermore, the slide plate is cylindrical, and a linear slide groove is provided on one side surface. Four rotating shafts are provided on both sides of the active rocker to rotate with the driven pawl, so that the driven pawl slides along the slide groove of the slide plate and separates or engages with the ratchet structure of the driven ratchet wheel.
[0012] Furthermore, the driven ratchet is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft via a bearing, and the rotating shaft is provided with a groove for limiting the axial displacement of the driven ratchet by a connecting shaft retaining ring.
[0013] Furthermore, the active rocker and the end cover assembly are both fixedly connected to the rotating shaft via a key and cannot rotate relative to each other.
[0014] Furthermore, the end cover assembly comprises an end cover sleeve and an end cover flange, and the end cover flange is connected to the end cover sleeve via a hexagonal flange; the end cover flange is axially provided with a keyway and radially provided with a threaded hole.
[0015] Furthermore, a groove is provided at one end of the driven ratchet wheel opposite to the ratchet teeth, and the groove is used for the Bowden rope to be coiled; a protruding rope hole is opened on the outer side of the driven ratchet wheel sleeve, and the rope hole is used for the Bowden rope to pass through.
[0016] Furthermore, a rectangular convex edge with holes is provided below the driven ratchet sleeve, and the convex edge cooperates with the rectangular convex edge with holes of the exoskeleton frame to limit the rotation of the driven ratchet sleeve, so that when the clutch is working, the driven ratchet sleeve is fixedly connected to the frame.
[0017] Furthermore, the rotating shaft of the active rocker is provided with a groove, and a retaining spring is arranged in the groove.
[0018] Furthermore, the motor rotates, driving the active rocker to rotate relative to the slide plate, so that the pawl on one side engages with the ratchet of the wire drum, and the wire drum on the other side is in a free rotation state, thereby tightening only the Bowden rope on one side and loosening the Bowden rope on the other side.
[0019] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects:
[0020] (1) The clutch applicable to the hip exoskeleton provided by the present invention can make two driven ratchets with ratchet teeth engage with the driven pawls respectively through the forward and reverse rotation of a single motor, realizing the time-sharing assistance for hip flexion and extension, and improving the assistance efficiency of the exoskeleton.
[0021] (2) The present invention realizes the decoupling of two rope reels based on the cooperation between the rocker-slider structure and the end-face ratchet, solves the problem that when one rope reel of the hip exoskeleton that simultaneously assists hip flexion and extension takes in the rope, the other rope reel will pay out the rope, making the exoskeleton wearer more free.
[0022] (3) The input of the clutch applicable to the hip exoskeleton of the present invention is only the rotation angle of the motor, without other external inputs. When the motor rotates forward or reverses by a certain angle, the driven ratchet on one side engages with the driven pawl, and when the motor continues to rotate, it can drive the Bowden cable on the driven ratchet through the driving ratchet to provide assistance for the joint, without complex circuit control, which greatly reduces the difficulty of motor control.
[0023] (4) The clutch applicable to the hip exoskeleton of the present invention adopts a pure mechanical structure modular design except for the external motor, with a compact structure, small volume, and without using any electronic components, having the advantages of light weight, high reliability, and low manufacturing cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] Figure 1 is the overall structural schematic diagram of the present invention;
[0025] Figure 2 is the exploded schematic diagram of the ratchet assembly of the present invention;
[0026] Figure 3 is the exploded schematic diagram of the rotating shaft, parts on the shaft, and end cover assembly of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b) are the schematic diagrams of the engagement (left) and separation (right) of the driven pawl and the driven ratchet of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] The following will further describe the present invention in detail in conjunction with embodiments, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.
[0029] Embodiment
[0030] This embodiment provides a clutch device applicable to the hip exoskeleton, as Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, it includes a motor 1, a rotating shaft 2, a left driven ratchet pawl assembly 3, an active rocker 4, a right driven ratchet pawl assembly 5 and an end cover assembly 6; the left driven ratchet pawl assembly 4, the right driven ratchet pawl assembly 5, the end cover assembly 6 and the active rocker 4 are connected through the rotating shaft 2, and the rotating shaft 2 is connected to the motor 1; the left driven ratchet pawl assembly 3 and the right driven ratchet pawl assembly 4 are installed on the rotating shaft 2 in a mirror-symmetrical manner relative to the active rocker 4; the pawls of the left driven ratchet pawl assembly 3 and the right driven ratchet pawl assembly 5 are rotationally connected to the rotating shaft of the active rocker 4 respectively.
[0031] like Figure 2 As shown, the left driven ratchet pawl assembly and the right driven ratchet pawl assembly have the same structure. The left driven ratchet pawl assembly 3 includes a retaining ring 31, a bearing 32, a driven ratchet sleeve 33, a driven ratchet 34, a shaft retaining ring 35, a bearing 36, a slide plate 37 and a pawl 38; the right driven ratchet pawl assembly 5 includes a retaining ring 51, a bearing 52, a driven ratchet sleeve 53, a driven ratchet 54, a shaft retaining ring 55, a bearing 56, a slide plate 57 and a pawl 58. The end opposite to the ratchet teeth of the driven ratchet 34 and the driven ratchet 54 is provided with a groove similar to a pulley, and the groove can be used for winding a Bowden rope, and the Bowden rope is a polyethylene rope; the driven ratchet sleeve 33 and the driven ratchet sleeve 53 are provided with a protruding rope hole on the outside, and a rectangular convex edge with a hole is provided below, and the rope hole is used for the Bowden rope to pass through, and the rectangular convex edge with a hole cooperates with the rectangular convex edge with a hole of the exoskeleton frame to limit the rotation of the driven ratchet sleeve 33 and the driven ratchet sleeve 53, so that when the clutch is working, the driven ratchet sleeve 33 and the driven ratchet 53 are fixedly connected to the frame.
[0032] In the left driven ratchet pawl assembly 3, the driven ratchet 33 is mounted on the rotating shaft 2 via a bearing 32, and the shaft retaining ring 35 is fixedly connected to the groove of the rotating shaft 2 to limit the axial displacement of the driven ratchet 33. In the left driven ratchet assembly 5, the driven ratchet 53 is mounted on the rotating shaft 2 via a bearing 52, and the shaft retaining ring 55 is fixedly connected to the groove of the rotating shaft 2 to limit the axial displacement of the driven ratchet 33. The chute plate 37 is mounted on the rotating shaft 2 via a bearing 36; the chute plate 56 is mounted on the rotating shaft 2 via a bearing 57. The driven ratchet 38 is rotationally connected to the rotating shaft on the active rocker 4, and the retaining spring 41 is fixedly connected to the groove of the rotating shaft on the active rocker 4, so as to limit the axial displacement of the driven ratchet 58; the driven ratchet 38 is rotationally connected to the rotating shaft on the active rocker 4, and the retaining spring 41 is fixedly connected to the groove of the rotating shaft on the active rocker 4, so as to limit the axial displacement of the driven ratchet 58.
[0033] like Figure 2As shown, the active rocker 4 is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 2 through a key 21 for torque transmission. The end cover assembly 6 includes an end cover flange 61 and an end cover sleeve 62, and the end cover flange 61 and the end cover sleeve 62 are connected by a hexagonal flange; a keyway is axially provided on the end cover flange 61 and is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 2 through a key 22 to facilitate observing the operation of the motor; threaded holes are radially provided on the end cover flange 61 to facilitate installing set screws to fasten the end cover assembly to the rotating shaft 2.
[0034] In this embodiment, the motor 1 is the active component. When the hip exoskeleton is not working, the driven pawl 38 does not engage with the driven ratchet 34, and the driven pawl 58 does not engage with the driven ratchet 54. At this time, the position of the clutch is called the intermediate position. At this time, the driven pawls 38 and 58 respectively stop at the chute surfaces of the chute disks 37 and 57 that do not pass through the centers of the chute disks. When the hip exoskeleton starts to work, the positive rotation of the motor 1 drives the positive rotation of the rotating shaft 2. At this time, the driven pawl 38 slides in the chute disk 37, and the driven pawl 38 extends and approaches the teeth of the driven ratchet 34; at this time, the driven pawl 58 slides in the chute disk 57, and the driven pawl 58 contracts and moves away from the teeth of the driven ratchet 54. After rotating a certain angle, the driven pawl 38 fully extends and engages with the driven ratchet 34, and the driven pawl 58 separates from the driven ratchet 54, as shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b). When the motor continues to rotate forward, the driven pawls 38 and 58 will respectively drive the chute disks 37 and 57 to rotate forward, so that the current driven pawl 38 remains engaged with the driven ratchet 34, and the driven pawl 58 remains separated from the driven ratchet 54; the active rocker 4 drives the driven ratchet 34 to rotate through the driven pawl 38, and the Bowden cable wound around the driven ratchet 34 is tightened to provide assistance for one of the flexion or extension actions of the hip joint. At this time, the driven ratchet 54 can rotate freely without being affected by the rotation of the motor 1. When the motor 1 drives the rotating shaft 2 to rotate reversely, at this time, the driven pawl 38 slides in the chute disk 37, and the driven pawl 38 contracts and moves away from the teeth of the driven ratchet 34; at this time, the driven pawl 58 slides in the chute disk 57, and the driven pawl 58 extends and approaches the teeth of the driven ratchet 54. After rotating a certain angle, the driven pawl 38 fully contracts and separates from the driven ratchet 34, and the driven pawl 58 fully extends and engages with the driven ratchet 54. At this time, the Bowden cable wound around the driven ratchet 54 is tightened to provide assistance for the other flexion or extension action of the hip joint. At this time, the driven ratchet 34 can rotate freely without being affected by the rotation of the motor 1, realizing the decoupling of the two cable drums and solving the problem of mutual interference between the two cable drums.
[0035] The active rocker and the pawls of the left and right driven components of the present invention form a rocker-slider mechanism. A rotating shaft is provided on the active rocker. The rotation of the active rocker can cause the pawl to rotate around the rotating shaft and slide along the chute disk, so that the left and right driven pawls are separated from and engaged with the left and right driven ratchets respectively, realizing the function of clutch.
[0036] The above embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited by the said embodiments. Any other changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, simplifications made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be equivalent replacement methods and are all included in the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A clutch device suitable for a hip joint exoskeleton, characterized in that: include: A motor, a rotating shaft, a left driven ratchet pawl assembly, an active rocker, a right driven ratchet pawl assembly and an end cover assembly; The left driven ratchet pawl assembly, the active rocker, the right driven ratchet pawl assembly and the end cover assembly are connected through a rotating shaft transmission, the motor is connected to the rotating shaft, and the left driven ratchet pawl assembly and the right driven ratchet pawl assembly are installed on the rotating shaft in a mirror-symmetrical manner relative to the active rocker.
2. The clutch device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left driven ratchet pawl assembly and the right driven ratchet pawl assembly have the same structure, including a retaining ring, a bearing, a driven ratchet sleeve, a driven ratchet, a shaft retaining ring, a bearing, a slide plate and a driven pawl.
3. The clutch device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The slide plate is cylindrical, and a linear slide groove is provided on one side of the surface. Four rotating shafts are provided on both sides of the active rocker to rotate with the driven pawl, so that the driven pawl slides along the slide groove of the slide plate and separates or engages with the ratchet structure of the driven ratchet wheel.
4. The clutch device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The driven ratchet is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft via a bearing, and the rotating shaft is provided with a groove for limiting the axial displacement of the driven ratchet with a connecting shaft retaining ring.
5. The clutch device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The active rocker and the end cover assembly are both fixedly connected to the rotating shaft by keys and cannot rotate relative to each other.
6. The clutch device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end cover assembly comprises an end cover sleeve and an end cover flange, wherein the end cover flange is connected to the end cover sleeve via a hexagonal flange; the end cover flange is provided with a keyway in the axial direction and a threaded hole in the radial direction.
7. The clutch device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A groove is provided at one end of the driven ratchet wheel opposite to the ratchet teeth, and the groove can be used for winding the Bowden rope; a protruding rope hole is opened on the outer side of the driven ratchet wheel sleeve, and the rope hole is used for the Bowden rope to pass through.
8. The clutch device according to claim 7, characterized in that: A rectangular convex edge with holes is provided below the driven ratchet sleeve, and the convex edge cooperates with the rectangular convex edge with holes of the exoskeleton frame to limit the rotation of the driven ratchet sleeve, so that the driven ratchet sleeve is fixedly connected to the frame when the clutch is working.
9. The clutch device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating shaft of the active rocker is provided with a groove, and a retaining spring is arranged in the groove.
10. The clutch device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The motor rotates, driving the active rocker to rotate relative to the slide plate, so that the pawl on one side is engaged with the ratchet teeth of the wire drum, and the wire drum on the other side is in a free rotation state, thereby tightening only the Bowden rope on one side and loosening the Bowden rope on the other side.