CARE ROBOT

• US 20150359694A1
• Filed: 02/07/2013
• Published: 12/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fuji Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Fuji Machine Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: MORI, Kazuaki, NAKANE, Nobuyuki, NOMURA, Hideaki, SUZUKI, Jun, ISOXUMI, Joji
• Granted Patent: US 10,166,159 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2200/34 sitting
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2200/36 standing
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2200/52 Underarm
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/14 Standing-up or sitting-down aids
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/1019 Vertical extending columns or mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/1046 Mobile bases, e.g. having wheels
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/02 Arm motion controller

Abstract

A care robot that assists a standing-upright motion or a sitting motion of a care receiver without making the care receiver uncomfortable. In the care robot, a standing-upright trajectory, along which a movement control portion of a care receiver moves, is set so a center of gravity of the care receiver is in a range of the soles of both feet between a point in time early after the start of a standing-upright motion and an end time point of the standing-upright motion of the care receiver. A sitting trajectory is set so the center of gravity of the care receiver is out of the range of the soles of both feet from a point in time early after the start of a sitting motion of the care receiver, and moves toward a predetermined sitting position of the care receiver.

Claims

1. A care robot, comprising:

a holding section configured to assist a standing-upright motion and a sitting motion of a care receiver by supporting a part of the body of the care receiver,

wherein when the care receiver stands upright with the support of the holding section, a standing-upright trajectory, along which a movement control portion of the care receiver moves, is set such that a center of gravity of the care receiver is present in a range of soles of both feet of the care receiver between a point in time early after a start of the standing-upright motion and an end time point of the standing-upright motion of the care receiver, and

wherein when the care receiver sits with the support of the holding section, a sitting trajectory, which is different from the standing-upright trajectory and along which the movement control portion of the care receiver moves, is set such that the center of gravity of the care receiver is present out of the range of the soles of both feet from a point in time early after a start of the sitting motion of the care receiver, and moves toward a predetermined sitting position of the care receiver.

2. The care robot according to claim 1,

wherein in the standing-upright trajectory, the point in time early after the start of the standing-upright motion represents a time point when the sitting care receiver leans forward, and lifts his or her waist upward.

3. A care robot that includes a holding section configured to assist a standing-upright motion and a sitting motion of a care receiver by supporting a part of a body of the care receiver, the robot comprising:

a base;

a robot arm section that is provided in the base, and includes multiple arms which are mutually and relatively movable by using a drive section;

the holding section that is provided in a distal end portion of the robot arm section, and supports the care receiver;

a memory section that stores standing-upright trajectory reference data indicative of a standing-upright trajectory along which a movement control portion of the care receiver moves when the care receiver stands upright with the support of the holding section, and sitting trajectory reference data indicative of a sitting trajectory which is different from the standing-upright trajectory, and along which the movement control portion of the care receiver moves when the care receiver sits with the support of the holding section; and

a drive control section configured to drive the drive section such that the robot arm section is driven based on the standing-upright trajectory reference data and the sitting trajectory reference data.

4. The care robot according to claim 3, further comprising:

a correction section that corrects the standing-upright trajectory reference data and the sitting trajectory reference data in correspondence with a body height of the care receiver and a height of a seat portion on which the care receiver sits,

wherein the drive control section drives the drive section such that the robot arm section is driven based on the standing-upright trajectory reference data and the sitting trajectory reference data corrected by the correction section.

5. The care robot according to claim 3,

wherein the standing-upright trajectory reference data and the sitting trajectory reference data are stored while also including an angle of the holding section at each point in the standing-upright trajectory and in the sitting trajectory, and

wherein the drive control section drives the drive section such that the angle of the holding section at each point is controlled to become the angle stored in the standing-upright trajectory reference data and the sitting trajectory reference data.

6. The care robot according to claim 3,

wherein the memory section stores multiple items of standing-upright trajectory data which are indicative of trajectories different from the standing-upright trajectory corresponding to the standing-upright trajectory reference data, and are prepared to train multiple different body parts of the care receiver, and

wherein the care robot further comprises:

an acquisition section that acquires data, corresponding to the body parts that the care receiver wants to train, among the multiple items of standing-upright trajectory data,

wherein when the care receiver stands upright with the support of the holding section, the drive control section drives the robot arm section based on the data acquired by the acquisition section.

7. The care robot according to claim 3,

wherein the drive control section performs control such that a velocity of the holding section when the care receiver stands upright with the support of the holding section becomes different from a velocity of the holding section when the care receiver sits with the support of the holding section.

8. The care robot according to claim 7,

wherein when the care receiver stands upright with the support of the holding section, the drive control section controls the velocity of the drive section such that the velocity of the holding section becomes a velocity corresponding to a burden on the care receiver in a zone, corresponding to a body part that the care receiver wants to train, among multiple zones in the standing-upright trajectory.

9. A care robot that includes a holding section configured to assist a standing-upright motion and a sitting motion of a care receiver by supporting a part of a body of the care receiver, the robot comprising:

a base;

a robot arm section that is provided in the base, and includes multiple arms which are mutually and relatively movable by using a drive section;

the holding section that is provided in a distal end portion of the robot arm section, and supports the care receiver;

a memory section that stores standing-upright trajectory reference data indicative of a standing-upright trajectory along which a movement control portion of the care receiver moves when the care receiver stands upright with the support of the holding section, and sitting trajectory reference data indicative of a sitting trajectory which is different from the standing-upright trajectory, and along which the movement control portion of the care receiver moves when the care receiver sits with the support of the holding section; and

a drive control section configured to drive the drive section such that the robot arm section is driven based on the standing-upright trajectory reference data and the sitting trajectory reference data,

wherein the standing-upright trajectory is set such that a center of gravity of the care receiver is present in the range of soles of both feet of the care receiver between a point in time early after a start of the standing-upright motion and an end time point of the standing-upright motion of the care receiver, and

wherein the sitting trajectory is set such that the center of gravity of the care receiver is present out of the range of the soles of both feet from a point in time early after a start of the sitting motion of the care receiver, and moves toward a predetermined sitting position of the care receiver.