KR-102961372-B1 - Lower Body Assist System

KR102961372B1KR 102961372 B1KR102961372 B1KR 102961372B1KR-102961372-B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a lower body assistive device in which the size of the main body unit accommodating the wearer's torso is adjustable, and the controller and battery are not mounted at the rear of the wearer but are positioned at the front of the main body unit that wraps around the user's waist and pelvis, thereby improving usability in daily life, and the wiring exposed to the outside is minimized to enhance the aesthetics of the product and reduce the possibility of product failure, and the auxiliary torque of the joint actuator can be efficiently transmitted to the wearer's thigh.

Inventors

김진범

Assignees

주식회사 엔젤로보틱스

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20240814
Priority Date: 20231101

Claims (16)

A main body unit having an open front, a rear portion covering the rear waist area of the wearer, a pair of side portions extended to cover the hip joint area of the wearer respectively, and a folded portion connecting the rear portion and the pair of side portions diagonally at an angle, and having a plate-shaped metal frame inside and a housing covering the metal frame; A thigh frame rotatably connected to both sides of the main body unit and positioned along the wearer's thigh; A thigh wearing unit mounted on the above-mentioned thigh frame and configured to wrap around the wearer's thigh; and, It includes a joint actuator mounted on the side of the main body unit to rotate the thigh frame and assist the wearer's hip joint movement; The metal frame of the main body unit comprises a rear frame that is positioned on the inner side of the rear portion of the main body unit and is bent at the bend portion, and a side frame that overlaps with the rear frame at least in a portion at the bend portion and is bent in the direction of the hip joint to mount the joint actuator. A bracket member is mounted on the bent portion of the rear frame to restrain the bent portion of the side frame while allowing it to slide relative to the bent portion of the rear frame, and the bracket member is provided with at least one guide projection and at least one guide roller to guide the sliding process of the bent portion of the side frame relative to the bent portion of the rear frame and to prevent friction or twisting. A lower body assist device characterized in that the housing of the main body unit comprises a rear housing mounted to surround a rear frame and a side housing mounted on the side frame to surround a side frame, wherein when a pair of the side portions of the main body unit are slid out or inserted relative to the rear portion and the internal width and depth of the main body unit are simultaneously adjusted, the side frame and the side housing are slid out or inserted together.
In paragraph 1, It includes at least one mount plate rotatably mounted on the front of the main body unit, and A lower body auxiliary device characterized by having an extension portion provided at the front end of the housing of the main body unit for hinge-connecting the mount plate.
In paragraph 2, The above-mentioned mount plate is characterized by having an elongated hole formed therein for mounting a belt.
In paragraph 2, It further includes a controller mounted on the mount plate and for controlling the joint actuator; and a battery detachably mounted on the controller and for supplying power to the joint actuator. A lower body assist device characterized in that the above controller is configured in an 'L' shape with a cross-section in which a vertical part and a horizontal part are connected, and the battery is detachably mounted on the horizontal part.
In paragraph 4, The above controller is a lower body assist device characterized by having an input section for inputting control signals on the front of the horizontal section.
In paragraph 4, A lower body assist device characterized by having a remaining battery level index mounted on the horizontal portion provided on the upper surface of the vertical portion of the above controller.
In paragraph 1, A lower body assist device characterized in that the above-determined thigh wearing unit is mounted to slide vertically within a predetermined range with respect to the above-determined thigh frame.
In paragraph 1, A lower body assist device characterized in that the above-mentioned thigh frame is configured in a shape that connects the side portion of the wearer's main body unit with the front or side portion of the wearer's thigh.
In paragraph 1, The upper end of the above-mentioned femoral frame is connected to and driven by an output member that is connected to and rotated by the above-mentioned joint actuator, and The lower end of the above-mentioned thigh frame is connected to the above-mentioned thigh wearing unit to transmit the driving force of the above-mentioned joint actuator to the thigh wearing unit, A lower body assist device characterized by the upper end of the above-mentioned thigh frame being hinge-connected to the above-mentioned output member to allow for adduction and abduction.
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In paragraph 1, A lower body assist device characterized by an elastic member connected to the side frame of the side portion to provide elastic force in a direction that restores the withdrawal state of the side portion.
In Paragraph 13, A lower body assist device characterized in that the above elastic member is a coil spring connecting the side frames of the two side parts.
In paragraph 1, A lower body assist device characterized by comprising a joint actuator comprising a driving unit including a driving motor, a reduction unit connected to the output shaft of the driving motor of the driving unit and to which an output member connected to a thigh frame is connected, and a plurality of stacked PCB boards including a motor driver for controlling the driving motor and at least one sensor.
In paragraph 15, A lower body auxiliary device characterized by having the circuit unit provided on one side of the driving unit, and the reduction unit configured such that a plurality of gears are connected in a single layer and is provided at the bottom of the driving unit.

Description

Lower Body Assist System The present invention relates to a lower body assist device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a lower body assist device in which the size of the main body unit accommodating the wearer's torso is adjustable, and the controller and battery are not mounted at the rear of the wearer but are positioned at the front of the main body unit that wraps around the user's waist and pelvis, thereby improving usability in daily life, and the wiring exposed to the outside is minimized to enhance the aesthetics of the product and reduce the possibility of product failure, and the auxiliary torque of the joint actuator can be efficiently transmitted to the wearer's thigh. Recently, there has been an increasing trend of patients with congenital or acquired disabilities, as well as those with sequelae from brain diseases such as stroke and Parkinson's disease; disabled individuals or patients who have difficulty walking independently are at risk of muscle weakness or weakened cardiopulmonary function. Therefore, in the case of such disabled persons or patients, a rehabilitation treatment system can be established by introducing a wearable assistive device in the form of an exoskeleton robot at training, medical, or rehabilitation institutions to perform gait or rehabilitation training. Here, the wearable assistive device is mounted on both lower limbs of the user and may be provided with various driving modes for walking functions such as standing mode, standing mode, and sitting mode, and the wearable assistive device may be configured to adjust walking time or walking speed during training. Meanwhile, the above-mentioned wearable assistive device must be configured with settings such as size, assistive force, or gait cycle according to the user's body size, walking ability, or diagnosis. Since lower body assist devices are powered by rechargeable batteries, lightweighting and miniaturization are prerequisites for extending operating time. Conventionally, the battery and controller were housed in a backpack-type main body, making it impossible for the wearer to directly operate or replace the battery, and the bulky main body resulted in poor usability in daily life. In addition, in the case of conventional exoskeleton robot-type assistive devices, products are often subdivided by size according to the user's body size, which causes an increase in costs and reduces the usability of a single assistive device. To address this issue, some conventional products provide a size adjustment function that controls the width and depth of the exoskeleton according to the width or thickness of the user's torso; however, this presents a problem in that the configuration for adjusting the width and depth of the exoskeleton separately is complex and significantly increases weight. In addition, in the case of exoskeleton-type robots, since they need to detect the user's movements in real time, various sensors are mounted at various locations on the exoskeleton and attached to body parts where movement occurs to detect movement information. However, the wiring becomes complex, which detracts from the aesthetic appearance and increases the likelihood of failures such as disconnection. FIG. 1 shows a front view of a lower body assist device according to the present invention for hip joint assistance being worn, and FIG. 2 shows a rear view of a lower body assist device shown in FIG. 1 being worn. FIG. 3 shows a partially exploded perspective view of the lower body assist device illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 4 shows an external perspective view and an exploded perspective view of a joint actuator constituting a lower body assist device according to the present invention. FIG. 5 shows an inner perspective view of a driving motor constituting a lower body auxiliary device according to the present invention and a perspective view of a housing of a reduction unit separated. FIG. 6 shows an exploded perspective view of the main body unit of the lower body auxiliary device according to the present invention. FIG. 7 illustrates the operating state of a metal frame for adjusting the size of the main body unit of a lower body assist device according to the present invention. FIG. 8 illustrates the state before size adjustment and the rear view after size adjustment of the main body unit of the lower body assist device according to the present invention. FIG. 9 illustrates the state before size adjustment and the rear view after size adjustment of the main body unit of the lower body assist device according to the present invention. FIG. 10 illustrates a front perspective view of a wearer of a lower body assist device according to the present invention according to another embodiment. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may b