Walking assistance device
First Claim
1. A walking assistance device comprising:
- a body-mounted assembly adapted to be attached to a waist or torso or a thigh of a user;
a pair of foot-mounted assemblies which are to be respectively attached to the feet of legs of the user;
a pair of leg links which connects the foot-mounted assemblies and the body-mounted assembly, respectively;
a first joint constituting a portion that connects each leg link and the body-mounted assembly;
a second joint provided at a middle of each leg link, a third joint constituting a portion that connects each leg link and each foot-mounted assembly, and a pair of actuators that drives the second joints of the leg links,each of the foot-mounted assemblies including a ground contact portion adapted to come in contact with the ground such that a floor reaction force for supporting the user and the walking assistance device on a floor surface acts in a state wherein a leg of the user becomes a standing leg,the walking assistance device further comprising;
a floor reaction force detecting element configured to detect a floor reaction force acting on the ground contact portion of each foot-mounted assembly, the floor reaction force being detected as a three-dimensional floor reaction force vector; and
an actuator control element configured to calculate a target value for a magnitude of a supporting force to be transmitted to each leg link in the floor reaction force vector and to control each of the actuators such that a supporting force having the magnitude of the target value is transmitted to the leg link from the foot-mounted assembly, wherein the actuator control element calculates the target value by an operation consisting of multiplying an absolute value of the detected floor reaction force vector of each foot-mounted assembly by a preset ratio,wherein the actuator control element is configured to set the target value for the magnitude of the supporting force to be transmitted to the leg link of a free leg of the user to zero.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A walking assistance device (1) has a body-mounted assembly (2) installed on the waist of a user (A), foot-mounted assemblies (3L, 3R) installed on feet, and leg links (4L, 4R) which connect the foot-mounted assemblies (3L, 3R) to the body-mounted assembly (2). The foot-mounted assemblies (3L, 3R) are provided with floor reaction force sensors (13L, 13R). Results obtained by multiplying the absolute values of floor reaction force vectors (three-dimensional vectors) detected by the floor reaction force sensors (13L, 13R) by a predetermined ratio are defined as target values of the magnitudes of the supporting forces transmitted to the leg links (4L, 4R) from the foot-mounted assemblies (3L, 3R). Actuators (20L, 20R) of the leg links (4L, 4R) are controlled such that the supporting forces having the magnitudes of the target values act on the leg links (4L, 4R) from the foot-mounted assemblies (3L, 3R) through the intermediary of joints (19L, 19R).
76 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A walking assistance device comprising:
- a body-mounted assembly adapted to be attached to a waist or torso or a thigh of a user;
a pair of foot-mounted assemblies which are to be respectively attached to the feet of legs of the user;
a pair of leg links which connects the foot-mounted assemblies and the body-mounted assembly, respectively;
a first joint constituting a portion that connects each leg link and the body-mounted assembly;
a second joint provided at a middle of each leg link, a third joint constituting a portion that connects each leg link and each foot-mounted assembly, and a pair of actuators that drives the second joints of the leg links,each of the foot-mounted assemblies including a ground contact portion adapted to come in contact with the ground such that a floor reaction force for supporting the user and the walking assistance device on a floor surface acts in a state wherein a leg of the user becomes a standing leg, the walking assistance device further comprising; a floor reaction force detecting element configured to detect a floor reaction force acting on the ground contact portion of each foot-mounted assembly, the floor reaction force being detected as a three-dimensional floor reaction force vector; and an actuator control element configured to calculate a target value for a magnitude of a supporting force to be transmitted to each leg link in the floor reaction force vector and to control each of the actuators such that a supporting force having the magnitude of the target value is transmitted to the leg link from the foot-mounted assembly, wherein the actuator control element calculates the target value by an operation consisting of multiplying an absolute value of the detected floor reaction force vector of each foot-mounted assembly by a preset ratio, wherein the actuator control element is configured to set the target value for the magnitude of the supporting force to be transmitted to the leg link of a free leg of the user to zero. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- a body-mounted assembly adapted to be attached to a waist or torso or a thigh of a user;
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12. A walking assistance device comprising:
- a body-mounted assembly adapted to be attached to a waist or torso or a thigh of a user;
a pair of foot-mounted assemblies which are to be respectively attached to the feet of legs of the user;
a pair of leg links which connects the foot-mounted assemblies and the body-mounted assembly, respectively;
a first joint constituting a portion that connects each leg link and the body-mounted assembly;
a second joint provided at a middle of each leg link, a third joint constituting a portion that connects each leg link and each foot-mounted assembly, and a pair of actuators that drives the second joints of the leg links,each of the foot-mounted assemblies including a ground contact portion adapted to come in contact with the ground such that a floor reaction force for supporting the user and the walking assistance device on a floor surface acts in a state wherein a leg of the user becomes a standing leg, the walking assistance device further comprising; a floor reaction force detecting element configured to detect a floor reaction force acting on the ground contact portion of each foot-mounted assembly, the floor reaction force being detected as a three-dimensional floor reaction force vector; and an actuator control element configured to calculate a target value for a magnitude of a supporting force to be transmitted to each leg link in the floor reaction force vector and to control each of the actuators such that a supporting force having the magnitude of the target value is transmitted to the leg link from the foot-mounted assembly, wherein the actuator control element calculates the target value by an operation consisting of multiplying an absolute value of the detected floor reaction force vector of each foot-mounted assembly by a preset ratio, wherein the preset ratio is a target proportion of the supporting force to be transmitted to each leg link relative to the floor reaction force. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
- a body-mounted assembly adapted to be attached to a waist or torso or a thigh of a user;
Specification