Surgery: kinesitherapy – Kinesitherapy – Means for passive movement of disabled extremity to return...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-21
2004-02-10
DeMille, Danton D. (Department: 3764)
Surgery: kinesitherapy
Kinesitherapy
Means for passive movement of disabled extremity to return...
C601S033000, C623S024000, C623S026000, C901S046000, C901S048000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06689074
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a wearable muscular-force supplementing device to be worn at joints of the wrist, arm, knee, and the like of a user so as to generate supplementary muscular force.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional wearable muscular-force supplementing devices are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-163607 (hereinafter referred to as a “first conventional art”) and Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-39518 (hereinafter referred to as a “second conventional art”).
The first conventional art includes a thigh-worn portion to be worn on the thigh of a user, a shank-worn portion to be worn on the shank, power transmission arms fixed to the thigh-worn portion and the shank-worn portion at one end and connected to each other at the other end at a knee joint so as to bend and straighten the joint, a driving section using an electromotor for applying power for bending and straightening to the power transmission arms, and a power-source and control section for the electromotor and driving section. The power-source and control section is worn on the body of the user. In the driving section, a joint shaft connected to the power transmission arms rotates together with one of the power transmission arms. A gear mounted on an output shaft of the electromotor is meshed with a gear mounted on the joint shaft, and power transmission is enabled and disenabled between the gear of the joint shaft and the joint shaft via a clutch.
The first conventional art makes it possible to assist persons having low muscular strength in the legs, persons of advanced age, and the like in the climbing of stairs.
The second conventional art includes a shoulder-fixed member to be supported on the front side of the shoulder of a disabled arm, and an upper-arm-fixed member and a forearm-fixed member, respectively supported on the upper arm and the forearm. The upper-arm-fixed member and the forearm-fixed member are connected at the elbow, and an artificial rubber muscle is extended between the shoulder-fixed member and the forearm-fixed member so as to be expanded an contracted in response to changes in the internal air pressure thereof.
According to the second conventional art, a special electronic circuit (controller) and the like are unnecessary, and the range of movement can be easily set by utilizing the spring characteristics of the artificial rubber muscle in accordance with air pressure and contraction efficiency corresponding thereto.
However, the first conventional art has the following problems:
(1) While power transmission is enabled and disabled by the clutch, for example, when a user climbing the stairs, and the user is going to fall down while power is being transmitted, the clutch cannot be quickly disengaged. In this case, even if the user, who is going to fall down, desires to quickly assume a recovery attitude, the user cannot freely move the legs and may be placed into a dangerous situation because the clutch is engaged.
(2) Since supplementary muscular force is automatically generated in response to a specific attitude of the user, the user cannot do anything else except remove the device when supplementary muscular force is unnecessary.
(3) In order to change the power of the supplementary muscular force as the user desires, it is necessary to change the output of the electromotor in the driving section. For this reason, a high-output electromotor must be used to respond to increases and decreases in the power of supplementary muscular force. This increases the size of the device.
(4) A heavy power source must be worn on the body of the user, and this may limit the motion of the user. While a myoelectric sensor is used to check the muscular force of the user, mounting of the myoelectric sensor is troublesome, and inflammation of the skin is sometimes caused due to adhesive tape or the like used to hold the sensor on the skin.
(5) For example, when the device is worn on the body in winter, cold instruments are in contact with the skin, and the user feels cold and uncomfortable.
In contrast, the second conventional art also has the following problems:
(6) Even when the user, who is going to fall down, desires to quickly assume a recovery attitude, he or she cannot support the entirety of the body because the arm is restrained. This may lead to a dangerous situation.
(7) Since the artificial rubber muscle has only a single pressure chamber, when the pressure chamber is ruptured, supplementary muscular force is suddenly lost. In a case in which supplementary muscular force is suddenly lost while the user is carrying something heavy, the body of the user may be injured.
(8) Artificial rubber muscles may be arranged in parallel in order to increase the power of supplementary muscular force. When a plurality of artificial rubber muscles are thus arranged, the number of external tubes to be connected thereto is increased, and therefore, it is troublesome to handle the external tubes so that they do not become entangled.
(9) The artificial rubber muscle is stiffened and contracted by pressure, thereby bending the arm of the user. Since the contracted artificial rubber muscle lies in the bending direction of the arm of the user, however, it reduces the range of movement of the arm of the user.
(10) Since the artificial rubber muscle serving as an actuator is not in close contact with the body, problems occur; for example, a portion of clothing (a shirt or a coat) becomes entangled therein. Furthermore, when the user wears the device over a shirt, he or she cannot wear a jacket thereover.
(11) In a manner similar to that in the first conventional art, when the device is worn on the body in winter, the user feels cold and uncomfortable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a wearable muscular-force supplementing device which is easily handled with a fail-safe mechanism for the body of a user, for example, which immediately stops generation of supplementary muscular force in the case of an emergency and prevents generated force from being suddenly reduced even when an actuator breaks, which is easily wearable with the actuator not protruding from a joint of the user, which is so compact as not to reduce the range of movement of the joint of the user, which is so light in weight that it does not restrain the movement of the user, and which does not cause the user to feel uncomfortable, such as feel cold, when wearing the device.
A wearable muscular-force supplementing device according to an aspect of the present invention includes an artificial muscular-force generator that applies supplementary muscular force for bending to a joint of a user, and a controller that controls the driving of the artificial muscular-force generator, wherein the controller has an artificial muscular-force releasing device that releases the joint from restraint by stopping generation of supplementary muscular force by the artificial muscular-force generator.
According to this invention, when the user assumes a dangerous attitude, for example, when the user is going to fall down, generation of supplementary muscular force in the artificial muscular-force generator is stopped, and therefore, the user can freely move the body without any restraint from the artificial muscular-force generator.
Preferably, the artificial muscular-force releasing device has a sensor that detects the attitude of the user, and a release controller that stops generation of supplementary muscular force by the artificial muscular-force generator when determining, based on information detected by the sensor, that the user is in a dangerous attitude, for example, indicating that the user is going to fall down.
In this case, the sensor detects a dangerous position, for example, a state in which the user is going to fall down. The release controller can stop generation of supplementary muscular force by the artificial muscular-force generator based on information detected by th
Seto Takeshi
Takagi Kunihiko
DeMille Danton D.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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