Walking Assistance Hip Joint Offset Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing walking assistance apparatuses often fail to effectively mitigate the offset between the rotating axis of a hip joint and the rotating shaft, leading to discomfort and inefficiency in user movement, particularly during pitch, roll, and yaw movements.
Innovation Solution
The walking assistance apparatus includes a waist fixing apparatus with a connecting guide that slides and rotates, a rail unit, and a hip joint that slides along the rail unit, allowing for adjustable length and pivot connections to compensate for the offset, ensuring natural movement and comfortable use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a fixed rigid structure is used to connect the waist fixing apparatus to the hip joint, then structural stability is improved, but the offset between the rotating axis of the hip joint and the rotating shaft cannot be compensated, leading to discomfort and inefficiency in user movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transforming the fixed rigid structure into a dynamic system with multiple degrees of freedom. The connecting guide is configured to slide along the rail unit while simultaneously rotating around the rotating shaft, allowing the structure to adapt dynamically to the offset between the hip joint's rotating axis and the apparatus's rotating shaft during pitch, roll, and yaw movements, thereby maintaining both stability and movement comfort
Solution Approach 2:
The connection structure is segmented into multiple independent components: the rail unit providing linear guidance, the connecting guide providing rotational capability, and the hip joint assembly. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, with the connecting guide sliding along the rail unit and rotating to compensate for the offset, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and movement ease
2Ease of manufacture
If the connecting guide is rigidly fixed to the waist fixing apparatus, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but the ability to compensate for offset during user movement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The rail unit serves as an intermediary element between the waist fixing apparatus and the connecting guide. It provides a guided path that allows the connecting guide to slide and rotate while maintaining a controlled relationship with the waist fixing apparatus. This intermediary structure enables offset compensation without requiring complex direct coupling, balancing manufacturing simplicity with adaptability
3Ease of operation
If multiple moving components (sliding and rotating mechanisms) are introduced to compensate for offset, then movement comfort and adaptability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sliding function and rotating function into a single integrated connecting guide component. The connecting guide simultaneously performs both sliding along the rail unit and rotating around the rotating shaft, eliminating the need for separate mechanisms for each degree of freedom. This merging reduces overall structural complexity while maintaining the ability to compensate for offset during pitch, roll, and yaw movements
Data Source
AI summary
A walking assistance apparatus for preventing offset occurring in between a rotating axis of a hip joint of a user and a rotating shaft of the walking assistance apparatus may be provided. The walking assistance apparatus includes a waist fixing apparatus configured to be fixed to a waist of a user, a connecting guide mounted at the waist fixing apparatus and configured to slide in an extension direction of the waist fixing apparatus and rotate on a rotating shaft extending in a vertical direction perpendicular to the extension direction, a rail unit mounted at one side of the connecting guide, the rail unit extending in a vertical direction, and a hip joint configured to slide along the rail unit.