Rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking aid exoskeleton

Abstract

The invention discloses a rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking aid exoskeleton, and relates to the technical field of robots. Rigid hip joint assistance and flexible knee joint assistance are combined, reliable auxiliary support is provided, the wearing comfort and adaptability are improved, the overall mass of the device is reduced, and the device is more suitable for long-term wearing and training use of children. The exoskeleton comprises a waist binding piece, two power assemblies, two hip joint assemblies and two knee joint assemblies. The waist binding piece is bound on the waist of the convalescent patient; hip joint assemblies are connected to the left and right sides of the lower end of the waist binding piece respectively; the lower ends of the hip joint assemblies are connected with knee joint assemblies; the knee joint assembly is bound to the leg through the leg binding assembly; the power assembly comprises a joint motor and a pull rope motor; the joint motor is arranged on the hip joint assembly, and the lower end of the joint motor is connected with the knee joint assembly through a curved connecting rod; the pull rope motor is arranged on the waist binding piece and connected with the knee joint assembly through a pull rope.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of robots, in particular to a rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking aid exoskeleton. BACKGROUND

[0002] Lower extremity dysfunction is the most common sequel of hemiplegic patients. At present, the longitudinal walking type exoskeleton device is widely used in rehabilitation training and auxiliary walking. Although certain progress has been made in enhancing the support ability of lower extremities, there are still many deficiencies. First, the existing exoskeleton structure is mainly rigid connection, ignoring the flexibility coordination of human body in the movement process, resulting in obvious discomfort during wearing and difficult to use for a long time. Second, due to the use of a large amount of metal materials or complex transmission structure, the weight of the whole machine is generally high, which not only increases the burden of the wearer, but also limits its popularization and application in children and other small-sized and weak-muscle people. SUMMARY

[0003] The embodiment of the present application provides a rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking aid exoskeleton, which combines rigid hip joint assistance and flexible knee joint assistance, not only provides reliable auxiliary support, but also improves the comfort of wearing and reduces the weight, and is more suitable for long-term wearing and training use of children.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application provides a rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking aid exoskeleton, which comprises a waist binding member, two power assemblies, two hip joint assemblies and two knee joint assemblies; the waist binding member is bound on the waist of a rehabilitation person; the left and right sides of the lower end of the waist binding member are respectively connected with one hip joint assembly; the lower end of the hip joint assembly is connected with the knee joint assembly; the knee joint assembly is bound on the leg through a leg binding assembly; the power assembly comprises a joint motor and a pull rope motor; the joint motor is arranged on the hip joint assembly, and the lower end of the joint motor is connected with the knee joint assembly through a curved link; the pull rope motor is arranged on the waist binding member and connected with the knee joint assembly through a pull rope.

[0005] Further, the hip joint assembly comprises a binding side plate, a connecting piece, an adjusting plate, an upper guide rail and a motor side plate; the binding side plate is connected on the outside of the waist binding member, the two ends of the connecting piece are respectively hinged with the binding side plate and the adjusting plate; the upper guide rail is connected on the inside of the motor side plate, the adjusting plate is slidingly connected with the upper guide rail; the pull rope motor is connected on the outside of the binding side plate, and the joint motor is connected on the outside of the motor side plate.

[0006] Further, the upper end of the curved link is hinged with the joint motor, and the lower end is connected with the knee joint assembly after being around the side of the leg of the rehabilitation person to the front.

[0007] Further, the leg binding assembly comprises a first leg binding piece, a second leg binding piece assembly and a third leg binding piece arranged in sequence from top to bottom; the second leg binding assembly comprises two second leg binding pieces and a knee joint shield connected between the two second leg binding pieces.

[0008] Further, the knee joint assembly comprises a thigh curved surface support and a calf curved surface support; the thigh curved surface support comprises a vertical connecting plate and two lateral connecting plates; the calf curved surface support is identical in structure to the thigh curved surface support and is arranged symmetrically above and below the thigh curved surface support; the middle part of the thigh curved surface support is connected with the second leg binding piece above, the vertical connecting plate of the thigh curved surface support is connected with the first leg binding piece, and the lateral connecting plate of the thigh curved surface support is connected with the lateral connecting plate of the calf curved surface support through a hinge assembly; the middle part of the calf curved surface support is connected with the second leg binding piece below, and the vertical connecting plate of the calf curved surface support is connected with the third leg binding piece.

[0009] Further, the hinge assembly comprises a straight connecting rod and a curved connecting rod arranged in cross; the lateral connecting plate of the thigh curved surface support, the lateral connecting plate of the calf curved surface support, the straight connecting rod and the curved connecting rod jointly form a cross four connecting rod structure.

[0010] Further, the front side of the vertical connecting plate of the thigh curved surface support is provided with a lower guide rail, and the lower end of the curved connecting rod is slidably connected with the lower guide rail.

[0011] Further, the front side of the thigh curved surface support is provided with an upper rope end fixing piece, the front side of the knee joint shield is provided with a pulley fixer, and the pulley fixer is provided with a pulley; the front side of the calf curved surface support is provided with a lower rope end fixing piece; the upper end of the pull rope is connected with the lower end of a pull rope motor, and the lower end passes through the upper rope end fixing piece, then passes through the pulley and is connected with the lower rope end fixing piece.

[0012] Further, the lower end of the pull rope is connected with the lower rope end fixing piece after being wound from the side of the leg of the rehabilitant to the front.

[0013] Further, the first leg binding piece comprises an elastic binding belt and buckles arranged at both ends of the elastic binding belt; the second leg binding piece and the third leg binding piece are identical in structure to the first leg binding piece.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the application has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] 1. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking aid exoskeleton of the embodiment of the application combines the hip joint assistance and the knee joint assistance through rigid-flexible coupling, and through lightweight design and ergonomic optimization, not only realizes longitudinal walking assistance, but also significantly improves the comfort and adaptability of wearing, reduces the overall weight of the equipment, and is more suitable for long-term wearing and training use by children.

[0016] 2. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking assisting exoskeleton of the embodiment of the present application improves the transmission efficiency of knee joint assisting force by placing the pull rope in front.

[0017] 3. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking assisting exoskeleton of the embodiment of the present application can better adapt to body movement by setting the adjusting plate and the upper slide rail in sliding connection between the motor side and the connecting plate, and setting the lower slide rail in sliding connection with the curved link on the thigh curved surface support.

[0018] 4. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking assisting exoskeleton of the embodiment of the present application has better wearing comfort by setting the curved link, the thigh curved surface support, the calf curved surface support and other components matching the leg shape of the rehabilitant, and the adjusting plate, the upper slide rail, the lower slide rail and other components capable of adjusting the installation size. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0020] Figure 1 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking assisting exoskeleton of the embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 2 Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the hip joint assembly in the rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking assisting exoskeleton of the embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 3 Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the knee joint assembly in the rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking assisting exoskeleton of the embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 4 Fig. 4 is a wearing state diagram of the rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking assisting exoskeleton of the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely in combination with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0025] In the description of the present application, it needs to be understood that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0026] In the description of the present application, it needs to be explained that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connecting", "connecting" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integrally connected; for those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0027] The terms "first", "second" are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise stated, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more.

[0028] Referring to Figures 1 to 4 , the embodiment of the present application provides a rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking aid exoskeleton suitable for lower limb dysfunction patients, which provides forward and backward walking assistance or rehabilitation training for lower limb dysfunction patients. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation walking aid exoskeleton is a left-right symmetrical structure, which comprises a waist binding member 1, two power assemblies 2, two hip joint assemblies 3, two knee joint assemblies 4 and two leg binding assemblies 5.

[0029] The waist binding member 1 is bound to the waist of the rehabilitation person. The waist binding member 1 comprises a binding belt and a magic tape connected at both ends of the binding belt. The waist binding member 1 is prior art, which will not be described in detail here.

[0030] Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the left and right sides of the lower end of the waist binding member 1 are respectively connected with one hip joint assembly 3. The hip joint assembly 3 comprises a binding side plate 31, a connecting piece 32, an adjusting plate 33, an upper guide rail 34 and a motor side plate 35. The binding side plate 31 is connected to the outer side of the waist binding member 1, the upper end of the connecting piece 32 is hinged to the binding side plate 31, and the lower end is hinged to the adjusting plate 33. The upper guide rail 34 is connected to the inner side of the motor side plate 35, and the adjusting plate 33 is in sliding connection with the upper guide rail 34. By providing the slidingly connected adjusting plate 33 and the upper guide rail 34, the exoskeleton can better adapt to body movement and be more comfortable to wear.

[0031] The power assembly 2 comprises a joint motor 21 and a pull rope motor 22. The pull rope motor 22 is connected to the outside of the binding side plate 31, and the joint motor 21 is connected to the outside of the motor side plate 35.

[0032] The lower end of the joint motor 21 is connected to the knee joint assembly 4 through the curved link 6. Specifically, the upper end of the curved link 6 is hinged to the joint motor 21, and the lower end is wound around the side of the leg of the rehabilitant to the front and then connected to the knee joint assembly 4.

[0033] The pull rope motor 22 is connected to the knee joint assembly 4 through the pull rope 10. Specifically, the upper end of the pull rope 10 is connected to the pull rope motor 22, and the lower end is wound around the side of the leg of the rehabilitant to the front and then connected to the knee joint assembly 4.

[0034] Referring to Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the knee joint assembly 4 is bound to the leg through the leg binding assembly 5. The leg binding assembly 5 comprises a first leg binding member 51, a second leg binding member assembly 52 and a third leg binding member 53 arranged in sequence from top to bottom. The second leg binding assembly 52 comprises two second leg binding members 521 and a knee joint shield 522 connected between the two second leg binding members 521.

[0035] The two second leg binding members 521 are respectively located on the upper and lower sides of the knee. The first leg binding member 51 comprises an elastic binding belt 511 and buckles or magic tapes 512 arranged at both ends of the elastic binding belt 511, so that by adjusting the tightness of the first leg binding member 51, it can be applied to rehabilitants with different leg thicknesses, and the application range is wider. The structures of the second leg binding member 521 and the third leg binding member 53 are the same as those of the first leg binding member 51, and will not be described in detail here.

[0036] The knee joint assembly 4 comprises a thigh curved support 41 and a calf curved support 42. The thigh curved support 41 is a concave inverted "Y" shaped member, comprising a vertical connecting plate and two lateral connecting plates. The calf curved support 42 has the same structure as the thigh curved support 41 and is arranged symmetrically above and below.

[0037] The middle part of the thigh curved support 41 is connected to the upper second leg binding member 521, the upper end of the vertical connecting plate of the thigh curved support 41 is connected to the first leg binding member 51, and the end of the lateral connecting plate of the thigh curved support 41 is provided with two first mounting holes 411.

[0038] The middle part of the calf curved support 42 is connected to the lower second leg binding member 521, the lower end of the vertical connecting plate of the calf curved support 42 is connected to the third leg binding member 53, and the end of the lateral connecting plate of the calf curved support 42 is provided with two second mounting holes 421.

[0039] The thigh curved surface support 41 and the calf curved surface support 42 are hinged by the hinge assembly 8. The hinge assembly comprises a straight connecting rod 81 and a curved connecting rod 82 arranged in cross, and the straight connecting rod 81 is located at the inner side of the thigh curved surface support 41 and the calf curved surface support 42, and the curved connecting rod 82 is located at the outer side of the thigh curved surface support 41 and the calf curved surface support 42.

[0040] Specifically, the upper end of the straight connecting rod 81 is connected with the first mounting hole 411 on the rear side, and the lower end is connected with the second mounting hole 421 on the front side, and the upper end of the curved connecting rod 82 is connected with the first mounting hole 411 on the front side, and the lower end is connected with the second mounting hole 421 on the rear side. Thus, the lateral connecting plate of the thigh curved surface support 41, the lateral connecting plate of the calf curved surface support 42, the straight connecting rod and the curved connecting rod together form a cross four-bar linkage structure, which can adapt to the change of the instantaneous center of rotation of the knee joint.

[0041] The front side of the vertical connecting plate of the thigh curved surface support 41 is provided with a lower guide rail 9, and the lower end of the curved surface connecting rod 6 is slidably connected with the lower guide rail 9. Thus, the exoskeleton can better adapt to the body movement, and the wearing is more comfortable.

[0042] In order to provide guidance for the pull rope 10 and improve the smoothness of the pull rope 10, the front side of the thigh curved surface support 41 is provided with a rope upper end fixing member 11, the front side of the knee joint cover 522 is provided with a pulley fixing device 12, the pulley fixing device 12 is provided with a pulley 13, and the front side of the calf curved surface support 12 is provided with a rope lower end fixing member 14. The upper end of the pull rope 10 is connected with the lower end of the pull rope motor 22, and the lower end passes through the rope upper end fixing member 11 and then winds around the pulley 13 and is connected with the rope lower end fixing member 14. The rope upper end fixing member 11 only limits the radial movement of the pull rope 10, and does not affect the up-down movement. In addition, by arranging the pull rope 10 in front, the transmission efficiency of the knee joint assistance can be improved.

[0043] In order to protect the pull rope 10 and prevent it from being worn, a lasso 7 is further sleeved on the pull rope 10. The upper end of the lasso 7 is connected with the pull rope motor 22, and the lower end is connected with the rope upper end fixing member 11.

[0044] In actual use, when the lower limb dysfunction patient uses the exoskeleton to assist walking, the wearing positions of the pull rope motor 22 and the joint motor 21 are first adjusted through the connecting members 32 on both sides of the hip joint, the adjusting plates 33, the upper guide rails 34 and the like, to ensure the wearing comfort of the hip joint.

[0045] Then, the knee joint part assembly is worn through the first leg binding member 51, the second leg binding member assembly 52 and the third leg binding member 53, and the lower guide rail 9 is adjusted to ensure the wearing comfort of the knee joint.

[0046] The curved link 6 is connected with the thigh curved support 41, the lateral connecting plate of the thigh curved support 41, the lateral connecting plate of the calf curved support 42, the straight connecting rod 81 and the curved connecting rod 82 jointly form a cross four-bar linkage structure, and the curved supports on the thighs are connected with the human body through binding. The joint motor 21 transmits torque through the curved link 2 on the left and right sides of the thigh, and the pull rope motor 22 transmits torque through the pull rope 10, so that the curved link 2 and the cross four-bar linkage swing relative to the waist binding 1 in the front and back directions, thereby realizing the front and back walking assistance of the hip joint and the knee joint.

[0047] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, any change or replacement within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be covered in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A rigid-flexible coupled rehabilitation and walking exoskeleton, characterized in that, The device includes a lumbar binding, two power units, two hip joint components, and two knee joint components. The lumbar binding is worn around the waist of the patient. A hip joint component is connected to each of the left and right sides of the lower end of the lumbar binding. The lower ends of the hip joint components are connected to the knee joint components. The knee joint components are bound to the legs via leg binding components. The power units include joint motors and cable motors. The joint motors are mounted on the hip joint components, and their lower ends are connected to the knee joint components via curved connecting rods. The cable motors are mounted on the lumbar binding and connected to the knee joint components via cable.

2. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation and walking aid exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hip joint assembly includes a binding side plate, a connector, an adjustment plate, an upper guide rail, and a motor side plate; the binding side plate is connected to the outside of the waist binding piece, and the two ends of the connector are respectively hinged to the binding side plate and the adjustment plate; the upper guide rail is connected to the inside of the motor side plate, and the adjustment plate is slidably connected to the upper guide rail; the pull rope motor is connected to the outside of the binding side plate, and the joint motor is connected to the outside of the motor side plate.

3. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation and walking aid exoskeleton according to claim 2, characterized in that, The upper end of the curved connecting rod is hinged to a joint motor, and the lower end passes around the side of the patient's leg to the front and connects to the knee joint assembly.

4. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation and walking exoskeleton according to claim 3, characterized in that, The leg binding assembly includes a first leg binding member, a second leg binding member assembly, and a third leg binding member arranged sequentially from top to bottom; the second leg binding assembly includes two second leg binding members and a knee shield connected between the two second leg binding members.

5. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation and walking exoskeleton according to claim 4, characterized in that, The knee joint assembly includes a thigh curved surface support and a calf curved surface support; the thigh curved surface support includes a vertical connecting plate and two lateral connecting plates; the calf curved surface support has the same structure as the thigh curved surface support and the two are arranged symmetrically from top to bottom; the middle part of the thigh curved surface support is connected to the upper second leg binding member, the vertical connecting plate of the thigh curved surface support is connected to the first leg binding member, and the lateral connecting plates of the thigh curved surface support and the lateral connecting plates of the calf curved surface support are connected by a hinge assembly; the middle part of the calf curved surface support is connected to the lower second leg binding member, and the vertical connecting plate of the calf curved surface support is connected to the third leg binding member.

6. The rigid-flexible coupled rehabilitation and walking exoskeleton according to claim 5, characterized in that, The hinge assembly includes straight and curved links arranged in a cross configuration; the lateral connecting plate of the thigh curved support, the lateral connecting plate of the calf curved support, the straight links, and the curved links together form a cross four-bar structure.

7. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation and walking exoskeleton according to claim 5, characterized in that, The front side of the vertical connecting plate of the thigh curved support is provided with a lower guide rail, and the lower end of the curved connecting rod is slidably connected to the lower guide rail.

8. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation and walking exoskeleton according to claim 5, characterized in that, The front side of the thigh curved surface support is provided with a rope end fixing member, and the front side of the knee joint guard is provided with a pulley fixing device with a pulley on the pulley fixing device; the front side of the calf curved surface support is provided with a rope end fixing member; the upper end of the pull rope is connected to the lower end of the pull rope motor, and the lower end passes through the rope end fixing member, then goes around the pulley and is connected to the rope end fixing member.

9. The rigid-flexible coupling rehabilitation and walking aid exoskeleton according to claim 8, characterized in that, The lower end of the pull rope goes around the side of the patient's leg to the front and is then connected to the lower fixing piece of the rope end.

10. The rigid-flexible coupled rehabilitation and walking exoskeleton according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first leg binding includes an elastic binding band and buckles at both ends of the elastic binding band; the second and third leg bindings have the same structure as the first leg binding.

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