Walking Training System Inversion for Leg State Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing walking training systems fail to accurately detect the transition from a standing to a swinging state of a user's leg due to low response performance of pressure sensors when unloaded, leading to ineffective training.

Innovation Solution

A walking training system equipped with a load distribution sensor on a treadmill and a robot leg that uses load detection from one leg to determine when the other leg has switched to a swinging state, enabling precise timing for bending control.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a pressure sensor is used to detect the user's leg state on the treadmill, then the system can detect load from the user's leg, but the response performance is low when the sensor is unloaded, leading to inaccurate detection of leg state transitions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetection accuracy of leg state transitionVSAvoidresponse speed of pressure sensor

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of directly detecting the load state of the leg being monitored, the system inverts the approach by detecting the load state of the opposite leg. When one leg transitions from standing to swinging state, the load on the other leg changes in a detectable pattern, allowing indirect but accurate detection of the state transition without suffering from the unloaded sensor response problem

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses the other leg as an intermediary to detect the state of the monitored leg. The load distribution between both legs serves as a mediator that provides accurate detection information even when the primary sensor is in an unloaded state, resolving the response performance issue

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If the pressure sensor detects load continuously, then the system can monitor the user's walking state, but the low response performance when unloaded causes unintentional detection of load, leading to inaccurate walking state determination

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of walking state determinationVSAvoiddetection precision of load removal

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system inverts the detection target from the monitored leg to the opposite leg, allowing reliable detection of walking state transitions through the load changes on the non-monitored leg, thereby achieving accurate state determination without the detection errors caused by unloaded sensor response

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This approach allows for accurate detection of the leg's state transition, enabling the robot leg to bend and extend at appropriate times, thus providing effective walking training to the user.

Implementation Method 1

a load distribution sensor that is attached to the treadmill and detects a distribution of a load received from a sole of the trainee riding on a belt of the treadmill

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectLoad detection:

Data Source

PatentUS20220387244A1Walking training system, control method thereof, and control program

Publication Date: 2022.12.08 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

A walking training device according to the present embodiment includes: a robot leg attached to one leg of a trainee; a treadmill; a load distribution sensor that detects a distribution of a load received from a sole of the trainee riding on the belt of the treadmill; and a walking state determination unit that determines whether the one leg has switched from a standing state to a swinging state based on a state of increase in a load detected by the load distribution sensor and received from another leg of the trainee performing walking training; and a control unit that starts bending control for the swinging state of the robot leg when the walking state determination unit determines that the one leg has switched from the standing state to the swinging state.