Background
A body-assisted machine is generally a device that provides additional mechanical power to the human body for assistance or reinforcement purposes to assist the human body in accomplishing its normal, difficult-to-accomplish movements, and typically is attached to the relevant parts of the human body in the form of an exoskeleton. As equipment used close to a human body, the final aim of the equipment is to improve the operation efficiency and the comfort of the user as much as possible on the premise of meeting the safety and the practicability no matter the equipment is a civil or military human body power-assisted machine.
The early human body booster machinery is composed of rigid parts, the design mode is easy to realize, linear force transmission is easy to control, powerful body support is provided, users feel uncomfortable easily due to the fact that the rigid parts are heavy and cool, and meanwhile, when the rigid parts complete soft and skillful actions, such as joint actions, the rigid parts are difficult to perfectly match human body requirements. For this purpose, the prior art further shows pneumatically driven flexible components which are mainly used to assist the joint motion.
Further, the prior art provides a soft robotic glove as shown in fig. 1, which assists in the bending and stretching of the fingers by providing a series of air bags (pneumatic network) at the finger site. As shown in fig. 2, when the air bag of the pneumatic network is inflated, the air bag is expanded in volume on the unrestricted side, and the expansion on one side causes the whole bending deformation, so that the assisting force is provided for the bending of the finger.
However, in carrying out the present invention, the inventors have found that the multiple bladders of the prior art pneumatic network are indiscriminately disposed about the entire limb (finger), and that the inflation and deflation of each bladder is indiscriminate, with the ultimate effect of its actual inflation and deflation as shown in fig. 2. As can be seen from fig. 2, the actual force transmission and deformation of the pneumatically driven flexible member of the prior art still differs significantly from the configuration of the limbs of the human body. The power assisting device which is uniformly bent into a semicircle in the design mode of fig. 1 and 2 can drive fingers to generate certain bending, but has larger difference between the bending condition of limbs of a person (the limbs of the person are more similar to a connecting rod structure connected in series, bending is generated at joints only, and the joints are still straight outside), so that the device can arch at the joints to prevent the limbs from being attached in actual use, and if the arch is limited to be separated from the limbs through tighter constraint, excessive constraint force (tensile force or friction force and the like) can be locally applied to the limbs to cause discomfort of the user, and even the limbs of the user can be damaged.
In addition, the design mode of fig. 1 and 2 can provide assistance for joint bending, but when the joint is stretched, if the joint is reversely deformed by only pumping the air bag (the air bag can be pumped into a negative pressure state), so that limbs are driven to be stretched, the reverse deformation of the air bag caused by pumping is smaller, enough assistance is difficult to provide, and the effect of assisting the stretching of the limbs is not ideal in terms of the current materials and the technology level.
Disclosure of Invention
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a soft pneumatic joint power assisting apparatus that is better matched with the movement of the joint, and is more comfortable for the user to wear, so as to improve the efficiency, effect and comfort of the joint power assisting apparatus.
In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a soft pneumatic joint assistance device, including a limb attachment and at least one set of air bags disposed on a surface of the limb attachment, wherein the limb attachment is used for fixing the joint assistance device on the surface of the limb, each set of air bags is disposed corresponding to one joint of the limb, each set of air bags includes at least one air bag, and a cross-sectional area and/or a volume of the at least one air bag decreases from the joint to two sides.
Optionally, in each set of balloons, the at least one balloon is disposed corresponding to at least one surface of the joint.
Optionally, a plurality of air bags disposed on the same surface are communicated through at least one air passage.
Optionally, at least one rotating shaft is arranged on the side surface of the joint, and bottoms of the plurality of air bags arranged on the same surface are connected with the rotating shaft.
Optionally, a rigid and/or flexible bracket is provided on the outside of the balloon, through which the balloon is connected to the spindle.
Optionally, the base of the bladder extends along the side of the joint towards the opposite surface, encircling the limb and wrapping the joint.
Optionally, each set of air bags comprises one air bag arranged on the inner surface of the joint and/or a plurality of air bags arranged on the outer surface of the joint.
Optionally, the one balloon disposed on the inner surface of the joint remains flexible in a non-inflated state and hardens to a specific shape after inflation.
Optionally, the one balloon disposed on the inner surface of the joint is made of a high-toughness plastic film, a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber or a high-strength composite cloth.
Optionally, the section of the air bag is in an arc shape, an arch shape, a drop shape or a crescent shape.
Optionally, the at least one air path channel communicates with at least one set of air bags.
Optionally, the at least one air passage is provided at the bottom and/or side of the air bag.
Optionally, the limb attachment is a cloth-like and/or band-like material secured to the limb surface in a wrapped and/or tethered manner.
Optionally, the at least one air passage communicating with the same air bag is parallel to each other.
Optionally, the at least one gas path channel isolates each balloon into a plurality of regions.
Optionally, each gas path channel is respectively connected with one gas charging pipe.
Optionally, each set of balloons is symmetrically arranged with respect to the centre of the joint.
Optionally, in each set of balloons, the balloon at the first end of the joint has a slightly larger cross-sectional area and/or volume overall than at the other end.
Optionally, the length of the one balloon disposed on the joint inner surface is greater than the length of each balloon of the plurality of balloons disposed on the joint outer surface, and at the same time, the length of the one balloon disposed on the joint inner surface is similar to the total length of the plurality of balloons disposed on the joint outer surface.
Optionally, the total length of each set of balloons does not exceed twice the total length of the articulation region.
According to the technical scheme, the air bags which are reduced towards the two sides of the joint are arranged, so that the deformation generated by the air bags is reduced from the center of the joint to the two sides, the assistance provided by the equipment and the integral deformation are more consistent with the action form of the joint, the assistance required by the action of the joint is provided, the whole equipment is attached to the limb in any state, and the requirements of the user on the performance, the comfort and the like of the equipment are comprehensively met.
Detailed Description
The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings and detailed description for the purpose of better understanding of the technical solution of the present invention to those skilled in the art. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
The essence of human body power-assisted machinery is to provide auxiliary power for human body activities, so that the use experience of human body is a performance index which is important to power-assisted equipment, and in the prior art, pneumatically driven flexible parts are used for improving the user experience, but the conventional flexible parts still have certain defects when dealing with bending and stretching of joints. In order to further improve the performance of the power assisting device, the embodiment of the application provides soft pneumatic joint power assisting device, which comprises limb attachments and at least one group of air bags arranged on the surface of the limb attachments, wherein the limb attachments are used for fixing the joint power assisting device on the surface of the limb, each group of air bags are arranged corresponding to one joint of the limb, each group of air bags comprises at least one air bag, and the cross section area and/or the volume of the at least one air bag are reduced from the joint to two sides.
Wherein, both sides refer to the direction of taking the joint as the center and being far away from the joint. By the arrangement mode of the air bags which are reduced towards the two sides, in the technical scheme of the embodiment of the application, the deformation generated by the air bags is reduced from the center of the joint to the two sides, so that the power assistance and the integral deformation provided by the equipment are more consistent with the action form of the joint. Therefore, the power assisting equipment provided by the application can make the power assisting equipment more meet the requirements of joint actions on one hand, and make the whole equipment more fit with limbs in any state on the other hand, so that the efficiency and effect of auxiliary actions are improved, the comfort level of a user in use is improved, and the requirements of various aspects of the user are comprehensively met.
Optionally, the air bag is made of flexible materials such as silica gel, and the limb attachments are cloth-shaped and/or strip-shaped materials which are fixed on the surface of the limb in a wrapping and/or binding mode, such as elastic fabrics which can be sleeved on the limb, or component groups which are connected in a snap-fit/bonding mode and then encircle the limb, and the like. The body attachment is similar to a tool worn on a joint or a limb, such as a knee pad, an elbow pad, a wrist pad, an ankle pad, a sphygmomanometer, a waistband, a waist bag, a backpack, an arm bag, a wrist watch, a bracelet, or a glove as shown in fig. 1, etc., and various body attachment means existing in the prior art can be used in the technical scheme of the present application, and the specific form of the body attachment should not be considered as a limitation of the specific embodiment of the present application.
Example 1
Furthermore, the at least one air bag is arranged corresponding to at least one surface of the joint, a plurality of air bags on the same surface are communicated through an air passage, and the air passage can be communicated with only a plurality of air bags of the group or a plurality of groups of air bags at the same time.
The surfaces of the joint generally include an inner surface, which refers to the surface corresponding to the fold when the joint is flexed, an outer surface, which refers to the surface corresponding to the protrusion when the joint is flexed, and sides, which refer to surfaces other than the inner and outer surfaces. The balloon is preferably arranged at the outer and/or inner surface of the joint.
In a preferred embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 3, the soft pneumatic type joint assistance apparatus preferably provides a plurality of air bags at the outer surface of the joint, the plurality of air bags are in a plurality of continuous arches, the cross-sectional area/volume of the plurality of air bags is reduced from the joint to both sides (i.e., the air bags at the center of the joint are maximum, and the air bags at both sides are gradually reduced), and the plurality of air bags are communicated through at least one air passage.
The air passage is preferably arranged at the center of the bottom of the air bag, but the position and/or the number of the air passage can be adjusted according to the use condition of the equipment. For example, the air passage is arranged on one or two sides of the air bag according to the shape of the limb so as to conveniently arrange the inflation tube along the side edge of the limb, and a plurality of air passage channels can be arranged at the bottom of the air bag in parallel so as to enhance the inflation and deflation efficiency and effect. Each air bag can be further separated into a plurality of areas through a plurality of air passage channels, and even each air passage channel can be respectively connected with an inflation tube and the like. The above preferred arrangements may improve the effect of balloon inflation and/or deflation to some extent, and the number and/or arrangement of the air passages should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of the application.
Example two
In another preferred embodiment of the present application, the bottoms of the plurality of air bags disposed on the outer surface of the joint further extend to the side of the joint, the side of the joint is provided with a rotating shaft corresponding thereto, and the bottoms of the plurality of air bags are connected with the rotating shaft. The deformation form and the force direction of the air bag can be further limited through the limiting and fixing of the rotating shaft, so that the expansion force generated by the expansion of the air bag can be better converted into the bending force of the joint.
Still further, a rigid and/or flexible bracket may be added to the outside of the balloon, through which the balloon is connected to the shaft. Compared with a flexible air bag, the limiting and fixing functions of the support are more obvious, so that deformation and force transmission can be better controlled, and the working efficiency and effect of the device are further improved.
Example III
In another preferred embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the shape and arrangement of the air bag are further modified. Specifically, in fig. 4, the bottom of the bladder further extends along the side of the joint toward the opposite other surface (an example of which extends from the outer surface of the joint toward the inner surface is shown in fig. 4), ultimately forming a form of wrapping the limb and joint. In the preferred embodiment of figures 4 and 5 the cross section of the bladder parallel to the limb direction is drop-shaped and the cross section perpendicular to the limb direction is crescent-shaped. In the preferred embodiment, the air bag wraps the limb, so that the size of the air bag can be increased, the output power during inflation is improved, and the wearing comfort can be improved.
Example IV
In yet another preferred embodiment of the present application, the number of balloons is not limited to the form of a plurality of balloons as shown in FIGS. 3-5, nor is the location limited to be provided on the exterior surface of the joint as shown in FIGS. 3-5. Specifically, in the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, each group of air bags includes at least one air bag, and each group of air bags may be disposed at an outer surface and/or an inner surface of the joint. That is, alternatively, a plurality of air cells may be provided on the inner or outer surface of the joint as shown in fig. 3 to 5, wherein the sectional area of each air cell gradually and smoothly decreases from the center to both sides, and the maximum sectional area of the plurality of air cells (i.e., the sectional area at the center of each air cell) decreases from the joint to both sides. Of course, only one balloon may be provided on the inner or outer surface of the joint, and the cross-sectional area of the balloon may be gradually and smoothly reduced from the joint to both sides. The plurality of air bags are preferably arranged as shown in fig. 3, more preferably, the plurality of air bags are mainly arranged at the outer surface of the joint, and the single air bag is preferably arranged as shown in fig. 6, more preferably, the single air bag is mainly arranged at the inner surface of the joint, and the section of the single air bag in fig. 6 is arc-shaped, wherein the highest point of the arc corresponds to the center of the joint, and then gradually decreases to two sides.
In addition, in the embodiment shown in fig. 3-5, the embodiments of the plurality of air bags are all shown in the form of singular air bags, when the air bags are singular, the area and/or volume of the air bag at the center of the joint is the largest, and the area and/or volume of the air bags at the two sides of the center are sequentially decreased, while of course, in the embodiment of the application, the embodiments of the application can also be adopted with the embodiment of even number of air bags, when the air bags are even number, the area and/or volume of the air bag at the center of the joint is the largest, and then the area and/or volume of the air bag at the position closest to the center of the joint are sequentially decreased to the two sides. Of course, an asymmetric balloon arrangement is also an alternative embodiment, e.g. the balloon at the first end of the joint may have a slightly larger cross-sectional area and/or volume overall than the other end, depending on the shape of the limb or the particular forces required for joint movement, while maintaining a decreasing trend to both sides. Typically, the volume of the front end balloon is set to be larger due to the larger range of motion of the front end of the joint, or the area of the bottom of the rear end balloon is set to be larger due to the need to provide sufficient support force for the rear end of the joint. In this case, the technical solution according to the embodiment of the present application only requires that the cross-sectional area and/or volume of the air bag as a whole be reduced from the joint to both sides, and the number and arrangement of the air bags should not be construed as limiting the specific embodiments of the present application.
The comparison of the cross-sectional area and/or volume of the balloon is preferably referred to as the cross-sectional area and/or volume of the balloon in the inflated state, since the balloon has a smaller volume after deflation and the difference in cross-sectional area and/or volume is not significant.
In other preferred embodiments of the present application, the size, number and overall length of the balloons are dependent on the size of the joint, but typically each set of balloons is only positioned near the joint and does not extend too much to the sides. The total length of each group of air bags is not more than twice of the total length of the joint movement area, namely the main limb area which deforms when the joint moves, and the skin of the skeleton, the muscle and the body surface deform when the joint moves generally, but in view of the deformation of the main skin which can be directly observed, the deformation of the limb skin is preferable. In addition, the length of the single airbag is greater than the length of each of the plurality of airbags in the single airbag arrangement, or in other words, the length of the single airbag is similar to the total length of the plurality of airbags in the single airbag arrangement. More preferably, in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the individual balloons provided on the inner surface of the joint are not always flexible, and may be made of, for example, high-tenacity plastic film, TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethanes, thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer), or high-strength composite cloth, etc., and remain flexible in the non-inflated state and harden to a specific shape once inflated to provide additional support for the joint to expand after inflation.
The embodiment of the application provides soft pneumatic joint power assisting equipment, and the deformation generated by an air bag is reduced from the center of the joint to two sides by adopting an air bag arrangement mode of reducing the two sides of the joint, so that the power assisting and integral deformation provided by the equipment are more consistent with the action form of the joint. Therefore, the technical scheme of the application can make the power assistance provided by the equipment meet the requirements of joint action more, and make the whole equipment fit the limbs more in any state, thereby improving the efficiency and effect of auxiliary action, improving the comfort level of the user during use and fully meeting the requirements of the user in all aspects.
The above description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, but is intended to cover any modifications, equivalents, and improvements within the spirit and principles of the invention.