Knee joint energy management system for hip-knee coupling movement of artificial limb

Abstract

The invention provides a knee joint energy management system for hip-knee coupling movement of an artificial limb, which comprises a unilateral rod-out type knee joint hydraulic cylinder and an integrated energy management module, and realizes cooperative control of dynamic energy recovery, active driving and damping adjustment by rotating a valve body to switch oil way modes. According to the specific scheme, an energy storage cavity, a hydraulic gear pump and a hydraulic active driving motor are arranged in an energy management module, and hydraulic oil compresses an energy storage cavity spring to store mechanical energy in the knee joint buckling stage; energy is released in the stretching stage to drive the gear pump to generate electricity or reversely output hydraulic power. The communication state of the energy storage cavity and the gear pump is switched by rotating a two-position notch of the valve body, and the passive damping adjustment mode, the active power assisting mode and the locking mode are supported. Dynamic damping adjustment, active driving control and energy recovery and storage of knee joint movement are achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of prosthetic joints, and in particular to a knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of lower-limb prosthetic technology, the knee joint, as the core joint supporting human gait, faces increasing challenges. Its kinematic performance and energy management capabilities directly impact the naturalness, stability, and endurance of prosthetic users' gait. Traditional prosthetic knee joints often use mechanical dampers or passive energy storage elements (such as springs) to achieve gait control, but these have limited adjustability and are difficult to adapt to the hip-knee coordinated motion required for navigating complex terrain, such as ascending and descending stairs and slopes.

[0003] In addition, although existing hydraulic prosthetic knee joints can adjust gait through hydraulic damping, they have the following technical bottlenecks:

[0004] (1) Low efficiency: The volume of the hydraulic oil in the traditional single-rod hydraulic cylinder will be unbalanced due to the change in the volume of the piston rod during flexion / extension movement, and an additional oil replenishment circuit or pressure relief valve must be set up, resulting in energy waste. At the same time, the pressure energy generated by the hydraulic system during the downhill or negative work stage cannot be effectively recovered, resulting in the prosthesis relying on frequent charging from an external power source.

[0005] (2) Insufficient active driving capability: Most hydraulic prostheses rely on passive damping adjustment and lack active driving function, making it difficult to achieve active assistance of the knee joint in specific scenarios (such as climbing stairs), which limits the user's freedom of movement.

[0006] (3) Hip-knee motion decoupling problem: Existing designs often treat the hip and knee joints as independent systems, without fully considering their coupling characteristics during the gait cycle. For example, the energy from hip joint swing cannot be transferred to the knee joint through the hydraulic system, resulting in low energy recycling efficiency.

[0007] (4) The contradiction between structural complexity and reliability: To achieve multi-mode switching, the traditional solution requires the configuration of multiple independent valve bodies and oil circuits, which results in a large system volume, increased leakage risk, and complex control logic.

[0008] In recent years, researchers have attempted to improve prosthetic performance through integrated motor drives and variable damping valves, but they still face problems such as fragmented energy management and response delays. For example, application number 200980122636.0 proposed a semi-driven prosthetic knee joint device that uses a hydraulic pump and a damping adjustment valve to achieve driven and non-driven modes. However, the hydraulic valve circuit is particularly complex, and the hydraulic pump and electric motor make the structure complex and bulky. Application number 201610222938.7 proposed an electronically controlled hydraulic damping cylinder structure. When the hydraulic oil in the cavity is compressed during the operation of the knee joint, the motor will be subjected to a large axial load. It is easy to lose step and fail to reach the specified position during the adjustment process, seriously affecting the performance of the knee joint damping adjustment. In addition, when the piston is made into two parts, the processing and assembly accuracy is difficult to guarantee.

[0009] In this context, there is an urgent need for a knee joint energy management mechanism for hip-knee coupled motion. Through the high integration of hydraulic systems and intelligent control, dynamic energy recovery, active drive and multi-mode adaptive adjustment can be achieved, thereby breaking through the limitations of existing prostheses in energy efficiency, motion performance and structural compactness. Summary of the Invention

[0010] In response to the above problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion, which realizes dynamic damping adjustment, active drive control and energy recovery and storage of knee joint motion through the collaborative design of hydraulic system and energy management.

[0011] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a knee joint energy management system for hip-knee coupled motion, comprising:

[0012] A knee joint hydraulic cylinder, the output end of which is connected to the prosthetic knee joint motion component, and includes an upper knee cavity oil hole and a lower knee cavity oil hole;

[0013] and an energy management module, wherein a plurality of hydraulic oil circuits are provided therein, and a knee joint flow regulating valve body is rotatably provided, wherein the knee joint flow regulating valve body includes a plurality of independent notches;

[0014] The knee joint flow regulating valve body is rotated to connect different hydraulic oil circuits with the upper and lower oil holes of the knee through the slots, and each connection state forms a working mode.

[0015] Furthermore, the knee joint hydraulic cylinder includes a knee piston rod, a knee hydraulic cylinder cover, a knee hydraulic piston and a knee hydraulic cylinder body; the lower end of the knee piston rod can be connected to the prosthetic knee joint motion structure; the upper end of the knee piston rod is threadedly connected to the knee hydraulic piston, so that the knee joint hydraulic cylinder forms a single-side rod-out hydraulic cylinder; the knee hydraulic cylinder body is divided into a knee hydraulic cylinder upper chamber and a knee hydraulic cylinder lower chamber with the knee hydraulic piston as the boundary, and the upper chamber part of the knee hydraulic cylinder body is provided with a knee upper chamber oil hole, and the lower chamber part is provided with a knee lower chamber oil hole; the energy management module includes an energy management base, a knee joint flow regulating valve body, a knee joint flow regulating motor module, a hydraulic active drive motor, a hydraulic gear pump, an energy storage chamber cover, an energy storage chamber spring and an energy storage chamber piston.

[0016] Furthermore, the energy management base is provided with a hip joint valve body cavity, a knee joint valve body cavity, an energy storage cavity, a hydraulic gear pump cavity, a knee upper cavity hydraulic oil circuit, a knee lower cavity hydraulic oil circuit, a front section of an active drive oil circuit, an energy transmission path, and a rear section of an active drive oil circuit;

[0017] One end of the knee upper cavity hydraulic oil circuit is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity, and one end is in communication with the knee upper cavity oil hole; one end of the knee lower cavity hydraulic oil circuit is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity, one end is in communication with the knee lower cavity oil hole, and one end is in communication with the rear section of the active drive oil circuit; one end of the front section of the active drive oil circuit is in communication with the hip joint valve body cavity, one end is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity, and one end is in communication with the inner side of the hydraulic gear pump cavity; one end of the energy transmission pathway is in communication with the hip joint valve body cavity, one end is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity, and one end is in communication with the energy storage cavity; one end of the rear section of the active drive oil circuit is in communication with the outer side of the hydraulic gear pump cavity, one end is in communication with the hip lower cavity hydraulic oil circuit, and one end is in communication with the knee lower cavity hydraulic oil circuit;

[0018] The hydraulic gear pump is rotatably arranged in the hydraulic gear pump chamber. When the hydraulic active drive motor rotates, it can drive the hydraulic gear pump to work, convert the mechanical energy of the motor into hydraulic energy, and promote the hydraulic oil to flow from the front section of the active drive oil circuit to the rear section of the active drive oil circuit, or from the rear section of the active drive oil circuit to the front section of the active drive oil circuit through the forward and reverse rotation of the motor.

[0019] Furthermore, the knee joint flow regulating valve body is a cylindrical structure, and a knee valve body first-position slot and a knee valve body second-position slot are provided on the cylindrical surface; the knee joint flow regulating valve body is arranged in the knee joint valve body cavity, and a motor shaft is provided at the lower end of the knee joint flow regulating valve body, which is connected to the knee joint flow regulating motor module through the motor shaft, and the rotation angle of the knee joint flow regulating valve body can be controlled by the knee joint flow regulating motor module to adjust the connection relationship and fitting clearance between different slots on the valve body and different hydraulic oil circuits in the energy management base; the knee valve body first-position slot and the knee valve body second-position slot do not interfere with each other, and the center lines of the two and the plane formed by the center axis of the knee joint flow regulating valve body are 90 degrees to each other.

[0020] Furthermore, the first slot of the knee valve body is a short "1"-shaped structure. When the center line of the first slot of the knee valve body coincides with the center line of the energy management base, the knee joint flow regulating valve body is in the initial state, and the energy transmission path, the upper knee chamber hydraulic oil circuit and the lower knee chamber hydraulic oil circuit can be connected; the excess hydraulic oil in its single-rod hydraulic cylinder can flow into the energy storage chamber through the energy transmission path for energy storage.

[0021] Furthermore, the second-position notch in the knee valve body is shaped like an elongated "I." When the knee joint flow control valve body is rotated clockwise to 90 degrees from its initial position, the centerline of the second-position notch in the knee valve body coincides with the centerline of the energy management base, connecting the energy transmission pathway, the front section of the active drive oil circuit, and the hydraulic oil circuit in the upper knee chamber. In this state, the hydraulic active drive motor rotates, driving the hydraulic gear pump, which in turn promotes the flow of hydraulic oil to drive active knee joint movement.

[0022] Furthermore, when the knee joint flow control valve body is rotated clockwise to 180 degrees from its initial position, the notches on the knee joint flow control valve body no longer overlap with the hydraulic oil circuits in the energy management base, and the hydraulic oil circuits are no longer connected. In this state, the knee joint is in locked mode.

[0023] Furthermore, since the knee joint hydraulic cylinder is a single-rod hydraulic cylinder, the allowable volume of the hydraulic oil in the cylinder changes when the knee piston rod moves up and down. By adjusting the knee joint flow regulating valve body, the excess hydraulic oil in the knee joint hydraulic cylinder can flow to the energy storage chamber through the energy transmission path, and energy is stored and released based on the energy storage chamber spring and the energy storage chamber piston.

[0024] Furthermore, when the energy storage chamber is filled with oil (such as when going down a long slope or stairs), the pressure generated by the knee joint hydraulic cylinder can drive the hydraulic gear pump to drive the hydraulic active drive motor to generate electricity. The energy is stored in the battery in the form of electrical energy, thereby minimizing the energy consumption of the prosthesis.

[0025] Furthermore, by controlling the rotation of the knee joint flow regulating valve body to adjust the degree of deviation between the center line of the first slot of the knee valve body and the center line of the energy management base, the overlapping area of the first slot of the knee valve body and the hydraulic oil circuit of the upper chamber of the knee and the hydraulic oil circuit of the lower chamber of the knee can be changed, thereby changing the flow area of the hydraulic oil, so that the damping force exerted on the knee joint during flexion or extension movement can be changed and adjusted.

[0026] The present invention proposes a hip-knee hydraulic energy coupling architecture, which utilizes the coaxial linkage design of the energy storage chamber and the gear pump to achieve cross-joint energy recycling, improve energy recovery efficiency, reduce system volume, and solve the technical problems of traditional prosthetic hydraulic oil volume imbalance, insufficient active drive and structural redundancy.

[0027] The core of this invention is to achieve multifunctional dynamic energy management of the prosthetic knee joint through the integrated design of the hydraulic system and the energy management module. It specifically includes the following technical features:

[0028] (1) Hip-knee coupling hydraulic system architecture

[0029] The single-rod knee joint hydraulic cylinder is connected to the energy management module through a hydraulic pipeline. The energy management module includes a knee joint flow regulating valve body, an energy storage chamber, a hydraulic gear pump and a hydraulic active drive motor; the knee joint flow regulating valve body is provided with a first-position slot and a second-position slot of the knee valve body. By rotating the valve body angle, the oil circuit connection state is switched, the knee joint flexion / extension damping is dynamically adjusted, and the energy transfer direction between the energy storage chamber and the hydraulic gear pump is controlled.

[0030] (2) Dynamic energy recovery and storage mechanism

[0031] During the knee flexion stage, the excess hydraulic oil discharged from the lower chamber of the hydraulic cylinder enters the energy storage chamber through the energy transmission path, compressing the energy storage chamber spring to store mechanical energy; during the energy release stage, the energy storage chamber spring pushes the energy storage chamber piston, driving the hydraulic oil to be converted into electrical energy storage through the hydraulic gear pump, or directly reverse-drive the gear pump through the hydraulic active drive motor to provide power for active movement of the knee joint.

[0032] (3) Multi-mode adaptive switching

[0033] Damping adjustment mode: A notch on the valve body connects the upper and lower chambers of the knee joint hydraulic cylinder, and dynamic damping control is achieved by adjusting the oil circuit resistance;

[0034] Active drive / energy recovery mode: The valve body rotates to the second-position notch to connect the energy storage chamber and the gear pump chamber. The hydraulic gear pump switches to energy recovery (power generation) or active drive (hydraulic power assist) state according to the control signal;

[0035] Locking mode: The valve body completely blocks the oil circuit to achieve rigid locking of the knee joint.

[0036] (4) Integrated energy management module design

[0037] The energy management base integrates the valve body cavity, energy storage cavity and gear pump cavity, and realizes pipeline-free connection through the internal oil circuit; the hydraulic gear pump and the energy storage cavity are coaxially arranged, and the one-way flow of energy is controlled by a one-way valve group, simplifying the system structure.

[0038] The present invention adopts the above technical solution, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0039] (1) Improved energy recycling efficiency: Through the linkage design of the energy storage chamber and the hydraulic gear pump, dynamic storage and on-demand release of knee joint movement energy are achieved, and the energy recovery efficiency is improved by more than 30%.

[0040] (2) Active drive and passive damping coordination: supports seamless switching between passive damping adjustment and active drive to meet the movement needs of complex terrains such as going up and down stairs and slopes.

[0041] (3) Compact structure and reliability: A multi-mode hydraulic control mechanism based on a rotary valve body is proposed, which realizes integrated control of damping adjustment, energy recovery and active drive through a single actuator; the integrated module design reduces the number of external pipes and valves, reduces the risk of leakage, and reduces the system volume by 40% compared with traditional solutions.

[0042] (4) Hip-knee motion energy coupling: The hip joint swing energy is transferred to the knee joint energy storage cavity through the hydraulic system to achieve cross-joint energy coordinated management, breaking through the technical bottleneck of traditional prosthetic joint energy isolated management. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Figure 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 2 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a knee joint hydraulic cylinder according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an energy management module in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an energy management base in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 5 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a knee joint flow regulating valve body according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of different adjustment states of the knee joint flow control valve body in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 7This is the internal hydraulic circuit diagram of the energy management module;

[0050] Figure 8 Installation diagram of hydraulic gear pump

[0051] Figure 9 Structural diagram of the hydraulic gear pump

[0052] Figure 10 This is the structural diagram of the one-way valve.

[0053] Among them, 1-knee joint hydraulic cylinder,

[0054] 11-knee piston rod, 12-knee hydraulic cylinder head, 13-knee hydraulic piston,

[0055] 14-knee hydraulic cylinder body, 141-knee hydraulic cylinder upper chamber, 142-knee hydraulic cylinder lower chamber, 143-knee upper chamber oil hole, 144-knee lower chamber oil hole,

[0056] Energy management module 2,

[0057] 21 - Energy management base, 211 - Hip joint valve body cavity, 212 - Knee joint valve body cavity, 213 - Energy storage cavity, 214 - Hydraulic gear pump cavity, 215 - Hip upper cavity hydraulic oil circuit, 216 - Hip lower cavity hydraulic oil circuit, 217 - Knee upper cavity hydraulic oil circuit, 218 - Knee lower cavity hydraulic oil circuit, 219 - Active drive oil circuit front section, 2110 - Energy transmission path, 2111 - Active drive oil circuit rear section;

[0058] 22-hip joint flow regulating valve body;

[0059] 23- knee joint flow regulating valve body, 231- knee valve body first position notch, 232- knee valve body second position notch;

[0060] 25- knee joint flow regulation motor module, 26- hydraulic active drive motor, 27- hydraulic gear pump, 28- energy storage chamber cover, 29- energy storage chamber spring, 210- energy storage chamber piston. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] In order to make the technical means, creative features, objectives and effects achieved by the present invention easy to understand, the knee joint energy management mechanism for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion of the present invention is specifically explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0062] Figure 1 It is an overall schematic diagram of the knee joint energy management mechanism for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion of the present invention.

[0063] like Figure 1As shown, the knee joint energy management mechanism for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion includes a knee joint hydraulic cylinder 1 and an energy management module 2.

[0064] Figure 2 It is a structural diagram of the knee joint hydraulic cylinder.

[0065] like Figure 2 As shown, the knee joint hydraulic cylinder 1 includes a knee piston rod 11, a knee hydraulic cylinder cover 12, a knee hydraulic piston 13 and a knee hydraulic cylinder body 14; the lower end of the knee piston rod 11 can be slidably connected to the prosthetic knee joint motion component; the upper end of the knee piston rod 11 is threadedly connected to the knee hydraulic piston 13, so that the knee joint hydraulic cylinder 1 forms a single-side rod-out hydraulic cylinder; the knee hydraulic cylinder body 14 is divided into a knee hydraulic cylinder upper chamber 141 and a knee hydraulic cylinder lower chamber 142 with the knee hydraulic piston 13 as the boundary, and the upper chamber part of the knee hydraulic cylinder body 14 is provided with a knee upper chamber oil hole 143 and the lower chamber part is provided with a knee lower chamber oil hole 144.

[0066] Figure 3 It is a structural diagram of the energy management module;

[0067] Figure 4 It is a structural diagram of the energy management base.

[0068] like Figure 3 、 Figure 4 As shown, the energy management module 2 includes an energy management base 21, a hip joint flow regulating valve body 22, a knee joint flow regulating valve body 23, a knee joint flow regulating motor module 25, a hydraulic active drive motor 26, a hydraulic gear pump 27, an energy storage chamber cover 28, an energy storage chamber spring 29, and an energy storage chamber piston 210;

[0069] The energy management base 21 is provided with a hip joint valve body cavity 211, a knee joint valve body cavity 212, an energy storage cavity 213, a hydraulic gear pump cavity 214, an upper hip cavity hydraulic oil circuit 215, a lower hip cavity hydraulic oil circuit 216, an upper knee cavity hydraulic oil circuit 217, a lower knee cavity hydraulic oil circuit 218, an active drive oil circuit front section 219, an energy transmission path 2110, and an active drive oil circuit rear section 2111;

[0070] like Figure 4 、 Figure 7 As shown, one end of the knee upper chamber hydraulic oil circuit 217 is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity 212, and the other end is in communication with the knee upper chamber oil hole 143;

[0071] One end of the knee lower chamber hydraulic oil circuit 218 is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity 212 , one end is in communication with the knee lower chamber oil hole 144 , and one end is in communication with the active drive oil circuit rear section 2111 ;

[0072] One end of the active drive oil circuit front section 219 is in communication with the hip joint valve body cavity 211 , one end is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity 212 , and one end is in communication with the inside of the hydraulic gear pump cavity 214 ;

[0073] One end of the energy transmission path 2110 is connected to the hip joint valve body cavity 211, one end is connected to the knee joint valve body cavity 212, and one end is connected to the energy storage cavity 213; since the knee joint hydraulic cylinder 1 is a single-rod hydraulic cylinder, when the knee piston rod 11 moves up and down, the allowable volume of the hydraulic oil in the cylinder changes. By adjusting the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23, the excess hydraulic oil in the knee joint hydraulic cylinder 1 can flow to the energy storage cavity 213 through the energy transmission path 2110, and energy storage and release are performed based on the energy storage cavity spring 29 and the energy storage cavity piston 210.

[0074] One end of the rear section 2111 of the active drive oil circuit is in communication with the outside of the hydraulic gear pump chamber 214 and the other end is in communication with the lower knee chamber hydraulic oil circuit 218;

[0075] The hydraulic gear pump 27 is arranged in the hydraulic gear pump chamber 214. When the hydraulic active drive motor 26 rotates, it can drive the hydraulic gear pump 27 to work, convert the mechanical energy of the motor into hydraulic energy, and promote the hydraulic oil from the front section 219 of the active drive oil circuit to the rear section 2111 of the active drive oil circuit, or from the rear section 2111 of the active drive oil circuit to the front section 219 of the active drive oil circuit through the forward and reverse rotation of the motor.

[0076] The cylinder of the hydraulic active drive motor 26 is fixed to the base on the energy management base 21 , and the driving shaft and the driven shaft of the hydraulic gear pump 27 are both rotatably arranged on the base.

[0077] like Figures 8-9 : The area where the driving gear and the driven gear of the hydraulic gear pump 27 are meshed, one side of which forms an oil inlet, and the other side forms an oil outlet.

[0078] The driving gear and the driving shaft are connected by a key or are integrally formed; the driven gear and the driven shaft are connected by a key or are integrally formed.

[0079] Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of the knee joint flow regulating valve body;

[0080] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of different adjustment states of the knee joint flow control valve body. Figure 6 In, with Figure 4 The cross-section position of the AA figure is different.

[0081] like Figure 5 、 Figure 6As shown, the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23 is a cylindrical structure, and a knee valve body first position notch 231 and a knee valve body second position notch 232 are provided on the cylindrical surface; the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23 is arranged in the knee joint valve body cavity 212, and a motor shaft is provided at the lower end of the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23, which is connected to the knee joint flow regulating motor module 25 through the motor shaft. The rotation angle of the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23 can be controlled by the knee joint flow regulating motor module 25 to adjust the connection relationship and fitting clearance between different notches on the valve body and different hydraulic oil circuits in the energy management base 21; the knee valve body first position notch 231 and the knee valve body second position notch 232 do not interfere with each other, and the plane formed by the center line of the two and the center axis of the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23 is 90 degrees to each other;

[0082] Figure 6 A is the damping adjustment mode, which is suitable for the natural swing when walking on flat ground. Figure 6 A refers to Figure 6 See Figure A in , and the context is similar.

[0083] like Figure 5 、 Figure 6 As shown in Figure A, the first-position notch 231 of the knee valve body is a short "1"-shaped structure. When the centerline of the first-position notch 231 of the knee valve body coincides with the centerline of the energy management base 21, the knee joint flow control valve body is in its initial state, connecting the energy transmission path 2110, the upper knee chamber hydraulic oil circuit 217, and the lower knee chamber hydraulic oil circuit 218. By controlling the rotation of the knee joint flow control valve body 23 to adjust the deviation between the centerline of the first-position notch 231 of the knee valve body and the centerline of the energy management base 21, the overlapping area of the first-position notch 231 of the knee valve body and the upper knee chamber hydraulic oil circuit 217 and the lower knee chamber hydraulic oil circuit 218 can be changed, thereby changing the flow area of the hydraulic oil, thereby adjusting the damping force applied to the knee joint during flexion or extension. In addition, excess hydraulic oil in the single-rod hydraulic cylinder can flow through the energy transmission path 2110 into the energy storage chamber 213 for energy storage.

[0084] The center line of the energy management base 21 refers to the center line of the joint valve body cavity thereon.

[0085] Figure 6 In A, during the stretching movement, the hydraulic oil flows through: the lower chamber 142 of the knee hydraulic cylinder, the hydraulic oil circuit 218 of the lower chamber of the knee, the first slot 231 of the knee valve body, the hydraulic oil circuit 217 of the upper chamber of the knee, and the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder; in addition, the hydraulic oil in the energy storage chamber 213 flows to the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder via the energy transmission passage 2110, the first slot 231 of the knee valve body, and the hydraulic oil circuit 217 of the upper chamber of the knee.

[0086] Figure 6In A, during flexion movement, the hydraulic oil flows through: the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder, the upper chamber hydraulic oil circuit 217 of the knee, a part of it flows to the second slot 223 of the hip valve body through the energy transmission path 2110, and the other part flows to the first slot 231 of the knee valve body, the lower chamber hydraulic oil circuit 218 of the knee, and the lower chamber 142 of the knee hydraulic cylinder.

[0087] Figure 6 B is active driving / energy recovery mode.

[0088] like Figure 5 、 Figure 6 As shown in Figure B, the second-position slot 232 of the knee valve body is a long "1"-shaped structure. When the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23 is rotated clockwise from the initial position to 90 degrees, the center line of the second-position slot 232 of the knee valve body coincides with the center line of the energy management base 21, connecting the energy transmission path 2110, the front section 219 of the active drive oil circuit, and the knee upper cavity hydraulic oil circuit 217. In this state, the hydraulic active drive motor 26 rotates to drive the hydraulic gear pump 27 to work, which can promote the flow of hydraulic oil to drive the active movement of the knee joint; or when the energy storage chamber 213 is filled with oil (such as when going down a long slope or stairs), the pressure generated by the knee joint hydraulic cylinder 1 can drive the hydraulic gear pump 27 to drive the hydraulic active drive motor 26 to generate electricity, and the energy is stored in the battery in the form of electrical energy, thereby minimizing the energy consumption of the prosthesis;

[0089] Figure 6 In B, when the hydraulic gear pump reverses, the hydraulic oil flows through the following path: the rear section of the active drive oil circuit 2111, the knee lower chamber hydraulic oil circuit 218, and the knee hydraulic cylinder lower chamber 142. At this time, the volume of the hydraulic oil in the knee hydraulic cylinder lower chamber 142 increases, driving the knee hydraulic piston 13 to move upward;

[0090] The volume of the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder is reduced, so that the hydraulic oil in the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder flows to the front section 219 of the active drive oil circuit through the upper chamber hydraulic oil circuit 217 of the knee valve body and the second-position notch 232, completing the closed loop of the hydraulic oil flow.

[0091] Thus, when the hydraulic gear pump is reversed, active flexion movement of the knee joint is achieved.

[0092] When the hydraulic gear pump rotates forward, the hydraulic oil flows through the following path: the front section of the active drive oil circuit 219, the second-position notch 232 of the knee valve body, the hydraulic oil circuit 217 of the upper chamber of the knee, and the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder. At this time, the volume of the hydraulic oil in the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder increases, driving the knee hydraulic piston 13 to move downward;

[0093] The volume of the lower chamber 142 of the knee hydraulic cylinder is reduced, so that the hydraulic oil in the lower chamber 142 of the knee hydraulic cylinder flows to the rear section 2111 of the active drive oil circuit through the lower chamber hydraulic oil circuit 218 of the knee, completing the closed loop of the hydraulic oil flow.

[0094] Thus, when the hydraulic gear pump rotates forward, active extension movement of the knee joint is achieved.

[0095] In summary, Figure 6 B Complete active movements of the knee joint, including flexion and extension.

[0096] The flow path of the hydraulic oil during stretching exercise is: the rear section 2111 of the active drive oil circuit, the hydraulic oil circuit 218 of the lower chamber of the knee, and the lower chamber 142 of the knee hydraulic cylinder; the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder, the hydraulic oil circuit 217 of the upper chamber of the knee, the second-position slot 232 of the knee valve body, and the front section 219 of the active drive oil circuit.

[0097] The flow path of the hydraulic oil during flexion movement is: the front section 219 of the active drive oil circuit, the second-position notch 232 of the knee valve body, the upper chamber hydraulic oil circuit 217 of the knee, the upper chamber 141 of the knee hydraulic cylinder; the lower chamber 142 of the knee hydraulic cylinder, the lower chamber hydraulic oil circuit 218 of the knee, and the rear section 2111 of the active drive oil circuit.

[0098] Figure 6 C is the lock mode.

[0099] like Figure 5 、 Figure 6 As shown in C, when the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23 is Figure 6 When the valve body 23 is rotated clockwise to 90 degrees in state B, the notches on the knee joint flow regulating valve body 23 do not overlap with the hydraulic oil circuit in the energy management base 21, and the hydraulic oil circuits are not connected to each other. In this state, the knee joint is in locked mode.

[0100] In summary, Figure 6 A is passive damping motion, both flexion and extension can be achieved;

[0101] Figure 6 B is active movement, both flexion and extension can be achieved;

[0102] Figure 6 C is the locked state.

[0103] The present invention's knee joint energy management mechanism for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion, through innovative hydraulic system and energy management module design, achieves core functions such as dynamic damping adjustment, active drive control, energy recovery and storage, and locking mode switching for prosthetic knee joint motion. Its specific functions and effects are as follows:

[0104] (1) Hip-knee coupling dynamic energy management: Through the synergistic effect of the single-side rod-type knee joint hydraulic cylinder and the energy management module, the energy imbalance problem caused by the change in the volume of the hydraulic cylinder during the movement of the prosthetic knee joint is solved. The knee joint flow control valve body adjusts the flow area of the hydraulic oil circuit by rotating the angle, dynamically controlling the damping force of the knee joint flexion / extension. At the same time, the excess hydraulic oil is transported to the energy storage chamber through the energy transmission path for compression energy storage (the energy storage chamber spring and the energy storage chamber piston cooperate), or the mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy storage through the hydraulic gear pump, significantly improving the energy utilization efficiency of the prosthetic movement.

[0105] (2) Multi-mode intelligent switching: Through the rotation control of the knee joint flow regulating valve body, the system can achieve seamless switching of three functional modes: 1) Damping adjustment mode ( Figure 6 A) In the initial state, a slot in the knee valve body connects the upper and lower oil paths of the knee hydraulic cylinder, supporting dynamic damping adjustment, suitable for natural swinging when walking on flat ground, improving movement smoothness and gait adaptability; 2) Active drive / energy recovery mode ( Figure 6 B): When the valve body rotates 90 degrees, the two-position notch of the knee valve body connects the active drive oil circuit and the energy storage chamber. The hydraulic gear pump can push the oil to drive the active movement of the knee joint (such as climbing stairs) under the control of the hydraulic active drive motor, or generate reverse power under the oil pressure of the energy storage chamber, converting energy into electrical energy storage, which is suitable for energy recycling in complex terrain; 3) Locking mode ( Figure 6 C): The valve body completely blocks the oil circuit, achieving rigid locking of the knee joint and ensuring the user's stability when standing or in a static posture.

[0106] (3) Efficient energy recovery and active drive: Through the linkage design of the hydraulic gear pump and the energy storage chamber, the system can convert the pressure energy generated by the knee joint hydraulic cylinder into electrical energy storage in scenarios such as going downhill and down stairs, thereby minimizing the external energy supply demand of the prosthesis; at the same time, the hydraulic active drive motor can reversely drive the hydraulic gear pump based on the user's movement intention, realize active power assistance of the knee joint, and enhance the movement response capability of the prosthesis and the user's control experience.

[0107] (4) Compact structure and functional integration: The energy management base integrates the hydraulic oil circuit, valve body cavity, energy storage cavity and gear pump cavity through an integrated design, which significantly reduces the complexity of pipeline connection and reduces the risk of leakage; the knee joint flow control valve body adopts a double-slot structure, which realizes multi-oil circuit control through a single rotating valve body, simplifies the actuator and improves system reliability.

[0108] This mechanism achieves energy self-consistency, multi-mode adaptation and efficient energy circulation of prosthetic knee joint movement through deep coupling of the hydraulic system and energy management, effectively improving the naturalness of prosthetic movement, endurance and adaptability to complex environments, and providing an innovative solution for the intelligent and energy-saving lower limb prosthesis.

Claims

1. A knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion, characterized in that: include: A knee joint hydraulic cylinder (1), the output end of which is connected to a prosthetic knee joint motion component, comprising an upper knee cavity oil hole (143) and a lower knee cavity oil hole (144); and an energy management module (2), wherein a plurality of hydraulic oil circuits are provided therein, and a knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) is rotatably provided, wherein the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) includes a plurality of independent notches; The knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) is rotated to connect different hydraulic oil circuits with the knee upper chamber oil hole (143) and the knee lower chamber oil hole (144) through the notches, and each connection state forms a working mode.

2. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The knee joint hydraulic cylinder (1) comprises a knee piston rod (11), a knee hydraulic cylinder cover (12), a knee hydraulic piston (13) and a knee hydraulic cylinder body (14); the lower end of the knee piston rod (11) can be connected to a prosthetic knee joint motion component; the upper end of the knee piston rod (11) is connected to the knee hydraulic piston (13) via a thread, so that the knee joint hydraulic cylinder (1) forms a single-side rod-out hydraulic cylinder; the knee hydraulic cylinder body (14) is divided into a knee hydraulic cylinder upper chamber (141) and a knee hydraulic cylinder lower chamber (142) with the knee hydraulic piston (13) as the boundary; the knee hydraulic cylinder upper chamber (141) is provided with a knee upper chamber oil hole (143), and the knee hydraulic cylinder lower chamber (142) is provided with a knee lower chamber oil hole (144).

3. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 2, characterized in that: The energy management module (2) comprises an energy management base (21), a knee joint flow regulating valve body (23), a knee joint flow regulating motor module (25), a hydraulic active drive motor (26), a hydraulic gear pump (27), an energy storage chamber cover (28), an energy storage chamber spring (29), and an energy storage chamber piston (210); The energy management base (21) is provided with a hip joint valve body cavity (211), a knee joint valve body cavity (212), an energy storage cavity (213), a hydraulic gear pump cavity (214), a knee upper cavity hydraulic oil circuit (217), a knee lower cavity hydraulic oil circuit (218), an active drive oil circuit front section (219), an energy transmission path (2110), and an active drive oil circuit rear section (2111); One end of the knee upper cavity hydraulic oil circuit (217) is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity (212), and the other end is in communication with the knee upper cavity oil hole (143); One end of the knee lower cavity hydraulic oil circuit 218 is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity (212), one end is in communication with the knee lower cavity oil hole (144), and one end is in communication with the active drive oil circuit rear section (2111); One end of the active drive oil circuit front section (219) is in communication with the hip joint valve body cavity (211), one end is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity (212), and one end is in communication with the inner side of the hydraulic gear pump cavity (214); One end of the energy transmission path (2110) is in communication with the hip joint valve body cavity (211), one end is in communication with the knee joint valve body cavity (212), and one end is in communication with the energy storage cavity (213); One end of the rear section (2111) of the active drive oil circuit is in communication with the outside of the hydraulic gear pump chamber (214), and the other end is in communication with the lower knee chamber hydraulic oil circuit (218); A knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) is arranged in the knee joint valve body cavity (212); a motor shaft is provided at the lower end of the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23), and is connected to a knee joint flow regulating motor module (25) via the motor shaft; the knee joint flow regulating motor module (25) can be used to control the rotation angle of the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) to adjust the connection relationship and fitting clearance between different notches on the valve body and different hydraulic oil circuits in the energy management base (21); The hydraulic gear pump (27) is arranged in the hydraulic gear pump chamber (214), which is connected to the hydraulic active drive motor (27), and includes two oil ports, both of which are located between the active drive oil circuit rear section (2111) and the active drive oil circuit front section (219); when the hydraulic active drive motor (26) rotates, it can drive the hydraulic gear pump (27) to work, convert the motor mechanical energy into hydraulic energy, and promote the hydraulic oil from the active drive oil circuit front section (219) to the active drive oil circuit rear section (2111), or from the active drive oil circuit rear section (2111) to the active drive oil circuit front section (219) through the forward and reverse rotation of the motor; An energy storage chamber cover (28) is installed in the energy storage chamber (213), and the energy storage chamber cover (28) is sequentially connected to the energy storage chamber spring (29) and the energy storage chamber piston (210).

4. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 3, characterized in that: The knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) is a cylindrical structure, and a first-position notch 231 for the knee valve body and a second-position notch (232) for the knee valve body are provided on the cylindrical surface; The first notch (231) of the knee valve body and the second notch (232) of the knee valve body do not interfere with each other, and the plane formed by the center lines of the two and the center axis of the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) is 90 degrees to each other.

5. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first slot (231) of the knee valve body extends axially. When the center line of the first slot (231) of the knee valve body coincides with the center line of the energy management base (21), the knee joint flow regulating valve body is in the initial state, and the energy transmission path (2110), the upper knee chamber hydraulic oil path (217) and the lower knee chamber hydraulic oil path (218) can be connected; the excess hydraulic oil in the single-rod hydraulic cylinder can flow into the energy storage chamber 213 through the energy transmission path (2110) for energy storage.

6. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 4, characterized in that: The second slot (232) of the knee valve body extends axially. When the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) rotates clockwise from the initial position to 90 degrees, the center line of the second slot 232 of the knee valve body coincides with the center line of the energy management base (21), and the energy transmission path (2110), the front section of the active drive oil circuit (219) and the knee upper cavity hydraulic oil circuit (217) can be connected; in this state, the hydraulic active drive motor (26) rotates to drive the hydraulic gear pump (27) to work, thereby promoting the flow of hydraulic oil to drive the active movement of the knee joint.

7. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) is rotated clockwise to 180 degrees from the initial state, the notches on the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) do not overlap with the hydraulic oil circuit in the energy management base (21), and the hydraulic oil circuits are not connected to each other; in this state, the knee joint is in a locking mode.

8. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 4, characterized in that: Since the knee joint hydraulic cylinder (1) is a single-side rod hydraulic cylinder, the allowable volume of the hydraulic oil in the cylinder changes when the knee piston rod (11) moves up and down. By adjusting the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23), the excess hydraulic oil in the knee joint hydraulic cylinder (1) can flow to the energy storage chamber (213) through the energy transmission path (2110), and energy storage and release are performed based on the energy storage chamber spring (29) and the energy storage chamber piston (210).

9. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the energy storage chamber (213) is filled with oil, the pressure generated by the knee joint hydraulic cylinder (1) can drive the hydraulic gear pump (27) to drive the hydraulic active drive motor (26) to generate electricity, and the energy is stored in the battery in the form of electrical energy, thereby maximizing the reduction of prosthetic limb energy consumption.

10. The knee joint energy management system for prosthetic hip-knee coupled motion according to claim 4, characterized in that: By controlling the rotation of the knee joint flow regulating valve body (23) to adjust the deviation between the center line of the first slot (231) of the knee valve body and the center line of the energy management base (21), the overlapping area of the first slot (231) of the knee valve body and the upper knee cavity hydraulic oil circuit (217) and the lower knee cavity hydraulic oil circuit (218) can be changed, thereby changing the flow area of the hydraulic oil, so that the damping force applied to the knee joint during flexion or extension movement is changed and adjusted.

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