Wearing type behavior help device, wearing type behavior help device calibration device, and calibration program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9539162-B2
Application number	US-59230305-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 2, 2005
Priority date	Mar 11, 2004
Publication date	Jan 10, 2017
Grant date	Jan 10, 2017

Abstract

[Problem to be Solved]
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the load applied to the wearer by correcting a parameter in correspondence with detectivity of biosignals.
[Means to Solve Problem]
The calibration controlling part 162 of the movement assisting apparatus 10 enables the power amplifying part 158 to apply a driving force of the driving source 140 as a load (input torque) from the load generating part 164 to the wearer 12 when the wearer 12 wears the movement assisting wearing device. Then, the wearer 12 applied with the driving force of the driving source 140 generates power from the skeletal muscles by performing a predetermined calibration operation. Accordingly, the physical phenomenon detecting part 142 detects joint angle along with the calibration operation, and the biosignal detecting part 144 detects myoelectric signals. In the parameter correction part 156 , a parameter K is corrected based on the difference between the load (input torque) and the driving force (muscular strength) being calculated by the difference deriving part 154 with respect to the phase identified by the phase identifying part 152.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wearable type movement-assisting apparatus comprising:
a detecting part for detecting a biosignal from a wearer, the biosignal being a potential generated by the wearer,
a movement assisting wearing device including a driving source for applying a driving force to the wearer,
a control part for controlling the driving source to generate an assisting force based on a parameter, so that the assisting force is applied to the wearer in correspondence with the biosignal detected by the detecting part,
a parameter correcting part for estimating a virtual torque of the wearer according to the biosignal and correcting the parameter based on a relationship between the biosignal and the virtual torque as a unique parameter of the wearer,
a calibration part for performing a default calibration to initially set the parameter and a reconfiguration calibration to update the parameter corrected by the parameter correcting part according to the biosignal that is generated in response to the driving force applied from the driving source,
wherein the calibration part is configured to perform the default calibration when the wearable type movement assisting apparatus is worn for the first time by the wearer,
wherein the calibration part is configured to perform the reconfiguration calibration each time the wearable type movement assisting apparatus is worn after the default calibration,
wherein the default calibration includes a motionless state calibration in which the wearer generates muscular strength in a motionless state, and
wherein the reconfiguration calibration is executed as a one motion calibration in which the wearer moves a joint from a bent state to an extending state.

2. The wearable type movement-assisting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a load generating part for generating the driving force to be applied by the driving source as an external force when the movement assisting wearing device is worn by the wearer.

3. The wearable type movement-assisting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the calibration part includes a database storing a corresponding relationship between the biosignal detected by the detecting part and a control signal for controlling the driving source,
wherein the control part corrects the control signal stored in the database according to a correction value set by the parameter correcting part.

4. The wearable type movement-assisting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the detecting part is adapted to be adhered on the wearer's skin and detects a myoelectric potential of the wearer as the biosignal.

5. The wearable type movement-assisting apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the movement assisting wearing device includes
a waist belt,
a right leg assisting part provided at a right side below the waist belt, and
a left let assisting part provided at a left side below the waist belt,
wherein the right leg assisting part and the left leg assisting part includes
a first frame extending downward in a manner supporting the waist belt,
a second frame extending downward from the first frame,
a third frame extending downward from the second frame,
a fourth frame on which a bottom side of a foot of the wearer is adapted to be placed and provided at a lower end of the third frame,
a first joint interposed between a lower end of the first frame and an upper end of the second frame, and
a second joint interposed between a lower end of the second frame and an upper end of the third frame.

6. The wearable type movement-assisting apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the first joint is adapted to be provided at a level matching the height of the hip joint of the wearer,
wherein the second joint is adapted to be provided at a level matching the height of the knee joint of the wearer.

7. The wearable type movement-assisting apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein a first driving source is provided in the first joint for transmitting a driving force for rotating the second frame, and
wherein a second driving source is provided in the second joint for transmitting a driving force for rotating the third frame.

8. The wearable type movement-assisting apparatus as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the first and second driving sources include an angle sensor for detecting a joint angle.

9. A calibration apparatus of a wearable type movement-assisting apparatus for performing a calibration whenever a wearer wears a movement-assisting wearing device including a driving source generating an assisting power corresponding to biosignals from the wearer by associating the biosignals and the assisting power to a predetermined relationship, the biosignals being potentials generated by the wearer, the assisting power generated by the driving source being controlled based on a parameter, the calibration apparatus comprising:
a first storage part for storing a first corresponding relationship between a first power generated by the wearer and a first biosignal generated by the wearer in response to a driving force applied by the driving source when the wearer wears the movement-assisting wearing device; and
a second storage part for storing a second corresponding relationship between a second power generated by the wearer and a second biosignal generated by the wearer during a process of performing a predetermined basic movement;
wherein based on the second biosignal generated during the basic movement of the wearer and the second corresponding relationship, a correction of the parameter is performed for satisfying the first corresponding relationship whenever the movement-assisting wearing device is worn by the wearer,
wherein the calibration includes a default calibration to initially set the parameter and a reconfiguration calibration to correct and update the parameter set by the default calibration,
wherein the default calibration is performed when the wearable type movement assisting apparatus is worn for the first time by the wearer,
wherein the reconfiguration calibration is performed each time the wearable type movement assisting apparatus is worn after the default calibration,
wherein the default calibration includes a motionless state calibration in which the wearer generates muscular strength in a motionless state, and
wherein the reconfiguration calibration is executed as a one motion calibration in which the wearer moves a joint from a bent state to an extending state.

10. The calibration apparatus of the wearable type movement-assisting apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the first corresponding relationship includes the first power having a positive correlation with respect to the first biosignal, wherein the second corresponding relationship includes a relationship between changes of the respective first and second biosignals and changes of the first and second power of the basic movement.

11. A nontransitory computer readable storage device that stores a program which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute a calibration method for performing a calibration whenever a wearer wears a movement-assisting wearing device including a driving source generating an assisting power corresponding to biosignals from the wearer by associating the biosignals and the assisting power to a predetermined relationship, the biosignals being potentials generated by the wearer, the assisting power generated by the driving source being controlled based on a parameter, the method comprising:
storing in a first storage part a first corresponding relationship between a first power generated by the wearer and a first biosignal generated by the wearer in response to a driving force applied by th

Assignees

• Sankai Yoshiyuki
• Univ Tsukuba

Inventors

• Sankai Yoshiyuki

Classifications

• A61H1/0262

  Walking movement; Appliances for aiding disabled persons to walk (A61H3/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61H2201/0173

  Means for preventing injuries · CPC title

• A61B5/4528

  Joints (A61B5/4533, A61B5/4538 take precedence) · CPC title

• A61H1/0244

  Hip (A61H1/0255 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61H1/0237

  for the lower limbs · CPC title