Hip joint walking aid system with air bag anti-falling function and working method of hip joint walking aid system

Abstract

The invention discloses a hip joint walking aid system with an air bag anti-falling function and a working method of the hip joint walking aid system. The system comprises a walking aid exoskeleton module, a waistband module, an air bag module and a main control module. The walking aid exoskeleton provides assistance for flexion and extension of hip joints through a driving motor and a leg rod, and the waistband module integrates an air bag and a main control unit. The airbag module can be quickly inflated to form a U-shaped structure to buffer impact during falling through the design of a gas generator, an electromagnetic valve and a folding protective cover; the main control module monitors the posture of a user in real time based on the inertial measurement unit, comprehensively judges the tumble state through an acceleration threshold value, posture angle changes and a weightlessness timer, triggers the air bag to inflate and synchronously starts the sound-light alarm and Bluetooth remote alarm functions. The walking aid solves the problem that a traditional walking aid lacks active anti-falling protection, is particularly suitable for old people and hip joint postoperative rehabilitation people, and has the dual functions of exercise assistance and falling injury prevention.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of rehabilitation medicine and intelligent walking aid equipment, and in particular relates to a hip joint walker system with an airbag anti-fall function and a working method thereof. Background Art

[0002] While common hip-assisted exoskeletons can provide walking assistance, they lack proactive protection against falls. This makes it difficult to effectively mitigate the impact of falls, especially for the elderly, causing significant damage to the hips and other areas of the body.

[0003] Currently, there are no mature products that integrate fall protection airbag systems into exoskeleton devices. Traditional wearable airbags are mostly standalone devices and bulky. If the fall protection airbag system can be organically integrated with a hip-assisted exoskeleton, and combined with an intelligent main control unit for real-time human posture recognition, it will significantly improve the active protection and ease of use of users, especially the elderly, in the event of a fall. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function and its working method, which solves the problem that traditional walkers lack active anti-fall protection.

[0005] To achieve the purpose of the present invention, the present invention provides a hip joint walker system with an airbag anti-fall function, comprising the following modules:

[0006] A walking-assist exoskeleton module is used to assist the flexion and extension of the human hip joint, helping the human body to walk;

[0007] A waist belt module, used for wearing the walking-assist exoskeleton module, the airbag module, and the main control module around the waist;

[0008] An airbag module is fixedly installed below the waist belt module to cushion the impact of side and rear falls and protect the user's left and right hips and buttocks;

[0009] The main control module is used to detect human posture information, determine whether the human body falls according to the posture information, control the expansion of the airbag module when it is determined that the human body has fallen, and maintain the original state when it is determined that the human body has not fallen.

[0010] According to the above system, the present invention also provides a method for operating a hip joint walker system with an airbag anti-fall function, comprising the following steps:

[0011] Step 1: The main controller collects user motion information data captured by the inertial measurement unit in real time;

[0012] Step 2: The main controller runs the fall monitoring system provided thereon and sends the user motion information data to the fall monitoring system. The fall monitoring system determines whether the user is in a weightless state based on the received information data and outputs the state information.

[0013] Step 3: When the main controller obtains the status information that the person is falling due to weightlessness, the airbag inflation solenoid valve is immediately triggered to operate; when the status information is not falling due to weightlessness, the process returns to step 1;

[0014] Step 4: Upon receiving the fall status information, the airbag inflation solenoid valve immediately generates high-pressure gas, which is then injected into the airbag through the catheter. The airbag rapidly expands to form a U-shaped structure that wraps around the user's hip joint and key parts.

[0015] Step 5: The main controller records complete data of the event, including the weightlessness trigger timestamp, the historical information data of the inertial measurement unit before and after the event is triggered, and the historical output status of the fall monitoring system;

[0016] Step 6: After a fall event occurs, the main controller controls the sound and light alarm device to emit a sound and light alarm signal to alert the user and surrounding people, and at the same time uses the Bluetooth communication module to send the fall event as an alarm message to the paired monitoring device or remote platform;

[0017] Step 7: After completing the above steps, the fall monitoring system is reset.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the significant progress of the present invention is as follows: (1) The present invention combines a controller module for automatically detecting falls with a hip joint walker, thereby reducing the possibility of accidental falls due to loss of balance and the risk of hip joint impact when using the walker, and improving the function of protecting the hip joint; (2) The present invention provides a multi-level judgment method for fall information, which reduces the possibility of daily human movements being misjudged as falls and improves the reliability of identifying the human body's fall status; (3) The combination of the waist belt and the airbag component of the present invention improves the comfort of wearing the hip joint walker and increases the protection area and range of the hip joint.

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the functional characteristics and structural parameters of the present invention, further description is given below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of this application. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1is a schematic diagram of the walker of the present invention when the airbag is not triggered to expand;

[0022] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the walker when the airbag is triggered to expand and deploy;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a flow chart of the steps of the method of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a workflow diagram of the fall monitoring system of the present invention.

[0025] The reference numerals in the figure are: walking-assist exoskeleton module 1, waist belt module 2, airbag module 3, and main control module 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments; based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] The present invention is a hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function, combined with Figure 1 and Figure 2 , including the following modules:

[0028] The walking-assist exoskeleton module 1 is used to assist the flexion and extension of the human hip joint to help the human body walk;

[0029] A waist belt module 2, used to wear the walking-assist exoskeleton module 1, the airbag module 3, and the main control module 4 around the waist;

[0030] The airbag module 3 is fixedly installed below the waist belt module 2 to cushion the impact of side and rear falls and protect the user's left and right hips and buttocks;

[0031] The main control module 4 is used to detect human posture information and determine whether the human body falls based on the posture information. When it is determined that the human body falls, the airbag module 3 is controlled to expand, and when it is determined that the human body does not fall, the airbag module 3 is kept in its original state.

[0032] The walking-assist exoskeleton module 1 includes a power supply unit, a waist chain mechanism, a drive motor, and a leg rod; at least one waist chain mechanism is provided at each end of the power supply unit, the other end of the waist chain mechanism is connected to the drive motor, and the leg rod is provided under the drive motor, and the leg rod is used to drive the flexion and extension movement of the human thigh.

[0033] The airbag module 3 includes an inflation device, a conduit, an airbag inflation solenoid valve, an airbag, and a protective cover; the inflation device is fixedly arranged on the airbag module 3, and includes a gas generator and an air outlet. The gas generator is connected to the air outlet via a connector, and an igniter is installed inside the gas generator for triggering and detonating an ignition agent, generating heat to decompose the inflation agent and produce a large amount of expansion gas; the airbag inflation solenoid valve is connected to the air outlet, and the airbag is installed in the middle and lower part of the airbag module 3; the inflation device and the airbag inflation solenoid valve, and the airbag inflation solenoid valve and the airbag are flexibly connected by the conduit; the protective cover covers the outside of the airbag;

[0034] The protective cover adopts an open structure (similar to a sandwich structure) to wrap the airbag therein. When the airbag is not inflated, the airbag is folded and fixed in the protective cover using spaced snaps. When the airbag is inflated, the snaps burst open, the airbag squeezes out of the protective cover, and wraps around the human hip joint.

[0035] The air path realizes the inflation of the airbag by connecting the inflation device, the catheter, the airbag inflation solenoid valve, the catheter and the airbag in sequence.

[0036] The airbag is a multi-cavity U-shaped folding airbag, which is fixed at multiple points (or connected in the form of zippers, snaps, etc.) below the belt module 2. The multi-point fixation is achieved by using a webbing or several Velcro veneers or buckles.

[0037] The airbag inflation solenoid valve is used to control whether the inflation device is inflated or not. When it is turned on, the air path is opened, and the gas can move from the inflation device to the airbag.

[0038] When the airbag is inflated: after the inflation device receives a fall signal, the igniter is triggered to generate a large amount of inflation gas. At this time, the airbag inflation solenoid valve opens, and the inflation gas quickly enters the airbag through the conduit, the airbag inflation solenoid valve, and the conduit in this order, thereby inflating the airbag;

[0039] When the airbag is deflated, the catheter connected to the air outlet is pulled out to complete the deflation.

[0040] After deflation is completed, the gas generator needs to be replaced, connected to the gas outlet, the gas outlet conduit is reconnected, the airbag is folded, placed in the protective cover, and the entire device is restored.

[0041] The main control module 4 includes a main controller, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a fall monitoring system, an audio and visual alarm module, and a Bluetooth communication module;

[0042] The main controller is located in the middle of the walking-assist exoskeleton module 1 and is used to collect information data from the inertial measurement unit, operate the fall monitoring system, and control the on / off of the airbag inflation solenoid valve. The main controller is also used to record the weightlessness trigger timestamp during a fall event, the historical information data of the inertial measurement unit before and after the event is triggered, and the historical output status of the fall monitoring system.

[0043] The inertial measurement unit is installed in the middle of the main control module 4, and is used to capture user motion information and communicate with the main controller through a 4-pin communication line;

[0044] The fall monitoring system runs on the main controller and is used to monitor in real time whether the user falls;

[0045] The sound and light alarm module is connected to the main controller via a 4-pin power supply line for sending sound and light alarm signals;

[0046] The Bluetooth communication module is connected to the main controller via a 4-pin power supply line and is used for wireless communication with Bluetooth-enabled devices.

[0047] According to the above system, the working method of the hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function of the present invention is combined with Figure 3 , including the following steps:

[0048] Step 1: The main controller collects user motion information data captured by the inertial measurement unit in real time;

[0049] Step 2: The main controller runs the fall monitoring system provided thereon and sends the user motion information data to the fall monitoring system. The fall monitoring system determines whether the user is in a weightless state based on the received information data and outputs the state information.

[0050] Step 3: When the main controller obtains the status information that the person is falling due to weightlessness, the airbag inflation solenoid valve is immediately triggered to operate; when the status information is not falling due to weightlessness, the process returns to step 1;

[0051] Step 4: Upon receiving the fall status information, the airbag inflation solenoid valve immediately generates high-pressure gas, which is then injected into the airbag through the conduit. The airbag rapidly expands to form a U-shaped structure that wraps around the user's hip joint and key parts, thereby cushioning the impact of the fall and preventing injury.

[0052] Step 5: The main controller records complete data of the event, including the weightlessness trigger timestamp, the historical information data of the inertial measurement unit before and after the event trigger, and the historical output status of the fall monitoring system, to facilitate engineers' post-analysis or remote monitoring calls;

[0053] Step 6: After a fall event occurs, the main controller controls the sound and light alarm device to emit a sound and light alarm signal to alert the user and surrounding people, and at the same time uses the Bluetooth communication module to send the fall event as alarm information (including time, status, device number, etc.) to the paired monitoring device or remote platform;

[0054] Step 7: After completing the above steps, the fall monitoring system is reset.

[0055] Combine Figure 4 , the step 2 specifically includes the following steps:

[0056] S21, when the main controller collects information data of the inertial measurement unit in real time, the fall monitoring system automatically runs;

[0057] S22, initializing the fall monitoring system, reading the information data, and performing attitude angle calculation initialization and parameter calibration of the inertial measurement unit on the information data to ensure accuracy and stability of data acquisition;

[0058] S23, after the fall monitoring system is initialized, it enters a monitoring standby state and begins to continuously read the information data, and calculates the user's motion data, including acceleration, angular velocity, and posture angle information, based on the read information data;

[0059] S24, the fall monitoring system reads multiple frames of acceleration data, calculates the total acceleration of each frame, and determines whether the total acceleration values ​​of multiple frames are all less than the acceleration threshold; if so, it is preliminarily determined that the user is in a weightless state; otherwise, it returns to the monitoring standby state of S23;

[0060] S25. When it is determined that the user is in a weightless state, the fall monitoring system performs a combined posture angle detection and starts a weightlessness timer. If the weightlessness time reaches a time threshold and the posture angle changes abnormally, it is determined that the user is in a fall state, and the fall monitoring system sends a fall state signal to the main controller in real time. Otherwise, the system returns to the monitoring standby state of S23.

[0061] S26. After the fall monitoring system determines that the user is in a fall state, it waits for the main controller to issue a reset command. After receiving the reset command, it returns to the monitoring standby state of S23, otherwise it continues to wait.

[0062] Furthermore, the frequency calculated in S23 is 100 Hz, ensuring that the system can track the user's movement changes in real time.

[0063] Furthermore, the acceleration threshold in S24 is 0.7g.

[0064] Furthermore, the time threshold in S25 is 0.05 seconds.

[0065] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0066] While 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 these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, and that the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function, characterized in that: Includes the following modules: A walking-assisting exoskeleton module (1) is used to assist the flexion and extension of the human hip joint, thereby helping the human body to walk; A waist belt module (2) is used for wearing the walking-assistance exoskeleton module (1), the airbag module (3), and the main control module (4) around the waist; An airbag module (3) is fixedly mounted below the waist belt module (2) and is used to cushion the impact of side and rear falls, protecting the user's left and right hips and buttocks; The main control module (4) is used to detect human body posture information, determine whether the human body has fallen based on the posture information, control the airbag module (3) to expand when it is determined that the human body has fallen, and maintain the original state when it is determined that the human body has not fallen.

2. A hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The walking-assist exoskeleton module (1) comprises a power supply unit, a waist chain mechanism, a drive motor, and a leg rod; at least one waist chain mechanism is provided at each end of the power supply unit, the other end of the waist chain mechanism is connected to the drive motor, and the leg rod is provided under the drive motor, and the leg rod is used to drive the flexion and extension movement of the human thigh.

3. The hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The airbag module (3) comprises an inflation device, a conduit, an airbag inflation solenoid valve, an airbag, and a protective cover; the inflation device is fixedly arranged on the airbag module (3), the inflation device comprises a gas generator and an air outlet, the gas generator is connected to the air outlet via a connector, an igniter is installed inside the gas generator, and is used to trigger and detonate an ignition agent, generate heat to decompose the inflation agent, and generate a large amount of expansion gas; the airbag inflation solenoid valve is connected to the air outlet, and the airbag is installed in the middle and lower part of the airbag module (3); the inflation device and the airbag inflation solenoid valve, and the airbag inflation solenoid valve and the airbag are flexibly connected via the conduit; the protective cover covers the outside of the airbag; The protective cover adopts an open structure to wrap the airbag therein. When the airbag is not inflated, the airbag is folded and fixed in the protective cover by means of spaced snaps. When the airbag is inflated, the snaps are broken open, the airbag is squeezed out of the protective cover, and wrapped around the human hip joint. The air path realizes the inflation of the air bag by connecting the inflation device, the catheter, the air bag inflation solenoid valve, the catheter and the air bag in sequence.

4. The hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the airbag is inflated: after the inflation device receives a fall signal, the igniter is triggered to generate a large amount of inflation gas. At this time, the airbag inflation solenoid valve opens, and the inflation gas enters the airbag through the conduit, the airbag inflation solenoid valve, and the conduit in this order, thereby inflating the airbag; When the airbag is deflated, the catheter connected to the air outlet is pulled out to complete the deflation.

5. The hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 4, characterized in that: The main control module (4) includes a main controller, an inertial measurement unit, a fall monitoring system, an audio and visual alarm module, and a Bluetooth communication module; The main controller is arranged in the middle of the walking-assisting exoskeleton module (1), and is used to collect information data of the inertial measurement unit, operate the fall monitoring system, and control the on-off of the airbag inflation solenoid valve; at the same time, the main controller is also used to record the weightlessness triggering timestamp in the fall event, the historical information data of the inertial measurement unit before and after the event is triggered, and the historical output status of the fall monitoring system; The inertial measurement unit is installed in the middle of the main control module (4) and is used to capture user movement information and communicate with the main controller through a communication line; The fall monitoring system runs on the main controller and is used to monitor in real time whether the user falls; The sound and light alarm module is connected to the main controller via a power supply line and is used to send out sound and light alarm signals; The Bluetooth communication module is connected to the main controller via a power supply line and is used for wireless communication with devices supporting Bluetooth.

6. The operating method of the hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 5, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1: The main controller collects user motion information data captured by the inertial measurement unit in real time; Step 2: The main controller runs the fall monitoring system provided thereon and sends the user motion information data to the fall monitoring system. The fall monitoring system determines whether the user is in a weightless state based on the received information data and outputs the state information. Step 3: When the main controller obtains the status information that the person is falling due to weightlessness, the airbag inflation solenoid valve is immediately triggered to operate; when the status information is not falling due to weightlessness, the process returns to step 1; Step 4: Upon receiving the fall status information, the airbag inflation solenoid valve immediately generates high-pressure gas, which is then injected into the airbag through the catheter. The airbag rapidly expands to form a U-shaped structure that wraps around the user's hip joint and key parts. Step 5: The main controller records complete data of the event, including the weightlessness trigger timestamp, the historical information data of the inertial measurement unit before and after the event is triggered, and the historical output status of the fall monitoring system; Step 6: After a fall event occurs, the main controller controls the sound and light alarm device to emit a sound and light alarm signal to alert the user and surrounding people, and at the same time uses the Bluetooth communication module to send the fall event as an alarm message to the paired monitoring device or remote platform; Step 7: After completing the above steps, the fall monitoring system is reset.

7. The operating method of the main control module of the hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 6, characterized in that: The step 2 specifically includes the following steps: S21, when the main controller collects information data of the inertial measurement unit in real time, the fall monitoring system automatically runs; S22, initializing the fall monitoring system, reading the information data, and performing attitude angle calculation initialization and parameter calibration of the inertial measurement unit on the information data; S23, after the fall monitoring system is initialized, it enters a monitoring standby state and begins to continuously read the information data, and calculates the user's motion data, including acceleration, angular velocity, and posture angle information, based on the read information data; S24, the fall monitoring system reads multiple frames of acceleration data, calculates the total acceleration of each frame, and determines whether the total acceleration values ​​of multiple frames are all less than the acceleration threshold; if so, it is preliminarily determined that the user is in a weightless state; otherwise, it returns to the monitoring standby state of S23; S25. When it is determined that the user is in a weightless state, the fall monitoring system performs a combined posture angle detection and starts a weightlessness timer. If the weightlessness time reaches a time threshold and the posture angle changes abnormally, it is determined that the user is in a fall state, and the fall monitoring system sends a fall state signal to the main controller in real time. Otherwise, the system returns to the monitoring standby state of S23. S26. After the fall monitoring system determines that the user is in a fall state, it waits for the main controller to issue a reset command. After receiving the reset command, it returns to the monitoring standby state of S23, otherwise it continues to wait.

8. The operating method of the main control module of the hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 7, characterized in that: The frequency calculated in S23 is 100 Hz, which ensures that the system can track the user's movement changes in real time.

9. The operating method of the main control module of the hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 7, characterized in that: The acceleration threshold in S24 is 0.7 g.

10. The operating method of the main control module of the hip joint walker system with airbag anti-fall function according to claim 7, characterized in that: The time threshold in S25 is 0.05 seconds.

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