Artificial limb

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11007071-B2
Application number	US-201916400184-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 1, 2019
Priority date	Aug 30, 2018
Publication date	May 18, 2021
Grant date	May 18, 2021

Abstract

An artificial limb. The artificial includes a finger part and a drive unit for the finger part. The drive unit includes: a drive output part, a movable part and a drive rope. The movable part is configured to be connected with the drive output part and is capable of moving under a drive of the drive output part. The drive rope is configured to be disposed in the finger part and connected with the movable part and is capable of converting a movement of the movable part into a motion of the finger part.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An artificial limb, comprising a finger part and a drive unit for the finger part, wherein
the drive unit comprises:
a drive output part;
a movable part, wherein the movable part is configured to be connected with the drive output part and is capable of moving under a drive of the drive output part;
a drive rope, wherein the drive rope is configured to be disposed in the finger part and connected with the movable part and is capable of converting a movement of the movable part into a motion of the finger part;

wherein the drive unit further comprises a reset element, and the reset element is elastic and is configured to allow the finger part to be restored to an initial state under an action of elasticity;
the reset element comprises an elastic rope, and the elastic rope is configured to be disposed in the finger part and arranged in parallel to the drive rope; and
the finger part comprises at least two finger sections and at least one pivot part, wherein adjacent finger sections in the at least two finger sections are pivotally connected with each other through the pivot part, the drive rope bypasses the pivot part from below, and the elastic rope extends on the pivot part.

2. The artificial limb according to claim 1 , further comprising a body part, wherein
the finger part comprises a rotary joint,
the rotary joint is configured to be pivotally connected with the body part, and
the drive rope of the drive unit is configured to be connected with the rotary joint so as to convert the movement of the movable part of the drive unit into a rotary motion of the finger part relative to the body part.

3. The artificial limb according to claim 1 , wherein the finger part comprises at least two pivotally connected finger sections, and
an end of the drive rope is configured to be connected with a far finger section of the at least two finger sections, the far finger section is far away from the movable part, and a remaining end of the drive rope is configured to be connected with the movable part, so that the drive rope converts the movement of the movable part into a bending motion between the at least two finger sections of the finger part.

4. The artificial limb according to claim 3 , wherein the finger part further comprises a guide element, and
the drive rope is configured to be arranged around the guide element.

5. The artificial limb according to claim 1 , wherein the drive output part comprises a rotary motor or a linear motor.

6. The artificial limb according to claim 5 , wherein the drive output part is a rotary motor; the drive unit further comprises a lead screw, the movable part is configured to be disposed on the lead screw, and
the lead screw is configured to rotate under a drive of the rotary motor, so that the movable part moves along the lead screw.

7. The artificial limb according to claim 6 , wherein the movable part comprises a nut slider.

8. The artificial limb according to claim 6 , wherein the drive unit further comprises a guide element, the guide element is configured to be arranged in parallel to the lead screw, and the movable part is configured to move on the lead screw along the guide element.

9. The artificial limb according to claim 8 , wherein the movable part comprises a rolling bearing, and
the rolling bearing is configured to make a rolling contact with a guide surface of the guide element.

10. The artificial limb according to claim 6 , wherein the drive unit further comprises position switches disposed at two ends of the lead screw, and
the rotary motor is configured to stop rotating in a case where the movable part contacts the position switch.

11. The artificial limb according to claim 1 , wherein the artificial limb comprises: a plurality of finger parts and a plurality of drive units respectively used for the plurality of finger parts, and
the plurality of drive units are configured to be arranged in at least two layers.

12. The artificial limb according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of finger parts comprise a thumb part and at least one selected from a group consisting of a forefinger part, a middle finger part, a ring finger part or a little finger part,
the drive unit for the thumb part and the drive unit for the at least one selected from the group consisting of the forefinger part, the middle finger part, the ring finger part or the little finger part are configured to be arranged in different layers.

13. The artificial limb according to claim 1 , further comprising a processor and a myoelectric sensor, wherein
the myoelectric sensor is configured to acquire a myoelectric signal on a remaining limb of a user and transmit the acquired myoelectric signal to the processor, and
the processor is configured to drive the drive output part based on the received myoelectric signals.

14. The artificial limb according to claim 1 , further comprising a sleeve part, wherein the sleeve part comprises a heat setting layer,
the heat setting layer comprises an elastic material, and a low-temperature wax with a melting point of 40° C.-75° C. is disposed in the elastic material.

15. The artificial limb according to claim 14 , wherein the elastic material comprises thermoplastic elastomer, rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or silica gel.

16. The artificial limb according to claim 14 , wherein the sleeve part further comprises a heater; and
the heater is configured to be disposed in the heat setting layer and configured to heat the low-temperature wax.

17. The artificial limb according to claim 14 , wherein the heat setting layer comprises a ventilation hole.

18. The artificial limb according to claim 14 , wherein the sleeve part further comprises a housing layer and a flexible lining layer, and the heat setting layer is disposed between the housing layer and the flexible lining layer.

Assignees

• Beijing Boe Optoelectronics Tech Co Ltd
• Boe Technology Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Guo Shaofei
• Li Zhonghua
• Sang Jian
• Wang Shipeng

Classifications

• A61F2002/5079

  Leaf springs (A61F2002/6657 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61F2002/5038

  Hinged joint, e.g. with transverse axle restricting the movement · CPC title

• A61F2002/7837

  Sleeves for attaching or protecting, i.e. open ended hoses · CPC title

• A61F2002/7862

  Harnesses or straps · CPC title

• A61F2/72

  Bioelectric control, e.g. myoelectric · CPC title