WO2019017343A1 - Motion assisting device - Google Patents

Abstract

It is difficult to develop a program which enables bipedal walking in a conventional motion assisting device which is capable of bipedal walking. The present invention is provided with: an object holding part 2 that holds an object 91; an upper body part 1 that supports the weight from the object holding part 2; a waist part 3 that is connected to the upper body part 1 so as to be rotatable around an upper body rotation axis which is parallel to a waist part reference surface and that bears the weight from the upper body part 1; a wearer motion transmission part 17 that moves the waist part 3 according to the movement of the torso of a wearer 90; a thigh opening/closing leg part 22 that is connected to each of the left and right of the waist part 3 so as to be rotatable around an opening/closing leg shaft J5 which crosses the waist part reference surface; a thigh bone part 25 having one end connected to the thigh opening/closing leg shaft 22; a lower leg part 5 having one end connected to the other end of the thigh bone part 25; and a foot part 6 that is connected to the other end of the lower leg part 5 and moves together with a wearer's foot, wherein the wearer 90 moves the waist part 3 by means of the wearer's motion transmission part 17 and it is thus possible to control the position of the load center of gravity, which is center of gravity of the load weight, namely the sum of the weight applied to the left and right ankle joints J9 that make contact with the ground.

Description

Motion auxiliary device

The present invention relates to a motion assisting device worn by a person who performs heavy work to reduce the burden on the person.

A powered assist suit has been developed which is worn by a person and generates a force which increases the force exerted by the person in accordance with the movement of the person. Powered Assist Suits are used to reduce the load on people who work heavily, such as handling heavy loads and taking the same posture for a long time. Also, mobile suits have been developed that handle heavy objects with only the power of the suit at the direction of a person.

A powered assist suit that can walk while holding a heavy object has been developed (e.g., Patent Document 1, Non-patent Document 1). There has been developed a mobile suit in which an arm for holding a heavy load is supported from the back and the back (Patent Document 2).

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2016-78179 Patent No. 6008836

Murata Naofumi et al., "Development of Power Assist Suit for Heavy Work-Balancing Robot Power and Human Dexterity", Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 53 No. 4 (2016)

In a conventional powered assist suit that can walk on two legs, a sensor detects human movement, performs complicated calculations to calculate the torque generated by each actuator, and generates the calculated torque at each actuator. By doing so, bipedal walking is possible. Therefore, in the conventional powered assist suit, it was difficult to develop a program for walking on two legs.

In the structure where the arm is supported from the back and back, the device becomes large and the weight of the mobile suit becomes heavy.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a motion assisting device which is easier to develop a program for walking on two legs than in the prior art.

The motion assistance device according to the present invention includes an object holding unit that holds an object, an upper body unit that supports a load from the object holding unit, and a waist reference surface, and around an upper body rotation axis parallel to the waist reference surface. A waist portion rotatably connected to the upper body portion and supporting a load from the upper body portion, and a wearer operation transmission portion moving the waist portion according to the movement of the trunk of the wearer. Furthermore, a thigh opening and closing leg connected rotatably to the left and right of the waist around the opening and closing leg axis intersecting the waist reference surface, a thigh connected to one end to the thigh opening and closing leg, a thigh and a thigh opening and closing One end is rotatably connected to the thigh opening and closing leg at a position different from the hip joint, and the hip joint connecting one end of the thigh to the thigh opening and closing leg so that the angle between the leg and the leg can be changed Change the angle formed by the thigh drive link whose length can be changed rotatably connected to the femur part, the lower leg connected to the other end of the femoral part, and the lower leg and the femoral part A knee joint that allows one end of the lower leg to be connected to the femur at one end, and a length that is rotatably connected at one end to the femoral or the thigh opening / closing leg and the other end to be connected rotatably to the lower leg Knee joint drive link that can be changed, and the other leg connected to the other end of the lower leg, moving with the wearer's foot When, and a ankle joint for connecting rotatably the other end of the lower leg 3 rotational degrees of freedom to the foot. The movement assistance device can control the position of the load center of gravity, which is the gravity center of the applied load, which is the sum of the loads applied to the left and right ankle joints by the wearer moving the waist by the wearer movement transmitting unit. It is a thing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a motion assisting device which is easier to develop a program for walking on two legs than in the prior art.

It is the perspective view seen from the front of the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment as viewed from the rear. It is the perspective view seen from the front in the state where a person wore the mobile suit concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the back in the state where a person wore the mobile suit concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 1 is a front view of a mobile suit according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a right side view of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mobile suit according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a right side view from above the waist of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment, viewed from the rear and above from the waist. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment as viewed from the front on the waist. FIG. 2 is a front view below the waist of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a right side view from below the waist of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment as viewed from the lower front of the waist. FIG. 5 is an enlarged right side view showing an arm portion of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of a variable-length link that the actuator used in the mobile suit according to the first embodiment has. FIG. 7 is a schematic view for explaining a link arrangement for moving the femur and the knee joint at the left leg of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. It is a figure explaining the effect of comprising the lower thigh part of the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1 by two gas springs. FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a link arrangement for changing the position and the direction of the arm of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. 5 is a front view of the left hand portion of the mobile suit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 5 is a back view of the left hand portion of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment. It is the side view which looked at the left hand part which the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1 has, and the side which can not have an opposite possible finger part. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure which wears the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1, and conveys a heavy load. It is the perspective view seen from the front in the state which a person wears the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1, and is carrying a load. It is a front view in the state where a person wears the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1, and is carrying a load. It is the perspective view seen from the front in the state which a person wore the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1, and raised the left leg. It is a front view in the state where a person wore the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1, and raised the left leg. FIG. 6 is a left side view of a state in which a person wears the mobile suit according to the first embodiment and the left foot is raised. FIG. 5 is a front view of the mobile suit in a state where a person wears the mobile suit according to the first embodiment and the left foot is raised. FIG. 7 is a left side view of the mobile suit in a state where a person wears the mobile suit according to the first embodiment and the left foot is raised. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the mobile suit in a state where a person wears the mobile suit according to the first embodiment and the left foot is raised. FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the mobile suit in a state where a person wears the mobile suit according to the first embodiment and the left foot is raised. It is a figure which compares the front view of the mobile suit in the state which people wore the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 1, and which landed both feet, and the state which raised the left leg. It is a figure which compares the bottom view of a mobile suit in the state where a person wears the mobile suit concerning Embodiment 1, and lands both feet, and the state which raised the left foot. It is the perspective view seen from the front of the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the perspective view seen from the front in the state where a person wore the mobile suit concerning Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 7 is a front view of a mobile suit according to a second embodiment. 10 is a right side view of the mobile suit according to Embodiment 2. FIG. It is the right view which expanded the waist part vicinity in the state where a person wore the mobile suit concerning Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is the rear view which expanded the waist part vicinity in the state where the person wore the mobile suit concerning Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a front view in the state where a person wore the mobile suit concerning Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a right view in the state where a person wore the mobile suit concerning Embodiment 4. FIG. FIG. 21 is a plan view of a mobile suit according to a fourth embodiment in a state where a person wears it. It is a right view explaining the structure of the thigh drive mechanism using the compressed gas which the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention uses. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement in case the thigh drive mechanism using the compressed gas which the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 5 utilizes raises a thigh. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement in case the thigh drive mechanism using the compressed gas which the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 5 utilizes lowers a thigh. It is sectional drawing explaining the structure of the variable-length link which the actuator used with the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention has. It is the perspective view seen from the front of the mobile suit which concerns on Embodiment 7 of this invention. FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a mobile suit according to a seventh embodiment as viewed from the rear. FIG. 21 is a front view of a mobile suit according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 21 is a right side view of the mobile suit according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 21 is a plan view of a mobile suit according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the mobile suit according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 21 is a right side view from below the waist of the mobile suit according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 21 is a schematic view for explaining a link arrangement for moving the femur in the left leg of the mobile suit according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 21 is a schematic view for explaining a link arrangement for moving a knee joint in the left leg of the mobile suit according to the seventh embodiment.

Embodiment 1
The structure of the mobile suit according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, the figure shows the wearer 90 wearing the mobile suit 100 in an upright posture. A state in which the wearer 90 takes an upright posture is referred to as a reference state. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the mobile suit 100 as viewed from the front or the rear. FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the mobile suit 100 as seen from the front or the rear when worn by a person. A front view, a right side view, a top view and a bottom view of the mobile suit 100 are shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, respectively. 9, 10 and 11 are a right side view from above the waist of the mobile suit, a perspective view from the rear and a perspective view from the front. 12, 13 and 14 are a front view, a right side view and a perspective view seen from the front of the lower part of the mobile suit, respectively. FIG. 15 is an enlarged right side view showing the arm portion of the mobile suit.

The axis in the lateral direction of the mobile suit 100 is taken as an X axis, the longitudinal direction as a Y axis, and the height direction as a Z axis. The direction from right to left is the positive direction of the X axis, the direction from front to back is the positive direction of the Y axis, and the direction from the bottom to the top is the positive direction of the Z axis.

The mobile suit 100 includes an upper body 1, a luggage loading unit 2, a waist 3, three legs 7, two arms 8 and an electronic control unit 9. The upper body 1 surrounds the upper body of a wearer 90 who is a person wearing the mobile suit 100. A luggage loading unit 2 for loading luggage is provided on the back side of the upper body 1. The waist 3 is below the upper body 1 and rotatably supports the upper body 1. Each of the two legs 7 is connected downward to the left and right of the waist 3. Each of the two legs 7 has a thigh 4, a lower leg 5 and a foot 6. The thighs 4, the lower legs 5 and the feet 6 are connected in series from the waist 3. The arm 8 is attached to the front of the upper body 2. The electronic control unit 9 is disposed on the back side of the upper body 9. In this specification, the foot is the part below the ankle. The mobile suit 100 is an operation assisting device that assists the wearer when the wearer performs an operation such as standing up or walking.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper body of the wearer 90 is located inside the upper body 1. The arms of the wearer 90 come out from both sides of the upper body part 1 and the head comes out from the upper side. The waist 3 is connected to the waist of the wearer 90. The thighs 4 and the lower legs 5 are located outside the wearer 90. The foot of the wearer 90 is fixed on the upper side of the foot 6. The wearer 90 is connected to the mobile suit 100 only at the waist and feet.

The upper body portion 1 has two upper body frames 10, a back connection frame 11, a chest band 12, and two loading portion connection frames 13. The outer shape of the body frame 10 is a shape of a figure in which a semicircle is added to the upper part of a rectangle and a triangle is added to the lower part when viewed from the side. When viewed from the front-rear direction, the distance between the two upper body frames 10 is such that the rectangular and semicircular portions are narrower than the triangular portions as viewed from the side. The two upper body frames 10 are parallel to each other in the upper part with a narrow space and the lower part with a wide space. In the upper body frame 10, a frame having a cylindrical cross section is bent so as to be an outer shape of such a shape. Other frames are also cylindrical in cross section. The back connection frame 11 connects the two upper body frames 10 on the back side. The chest band 12 connects the two upper body frames 10 on the chest side. Each of the two loading unit connecting frames 13 exits from each of the two upper body frames 10 to the rear side. The back connection frame 11 connects the two upper body frames 10 at the same height. The back connection frame 11 is bent in such a way that its central portion is lowered. The loading unit connecting frame 13 is a short rod-like frame that protrudes rearward and obliquely downward in the vicinity of the connection portion between the back connecting frame 11 and the upper body frame 10. The upper body frame 10 opens to the outside in the left-right direction slightly below the position where it is connected to the loading unit connecting frame 13. The chest band 12 can be separated and joined at its central portion. Along the upper front curve portion of the upper body frame 10, a shoulder strap 14 is provided for loading luggage or the like. The shoulder strap 14 is shaped such that its cross section has a recess.

The luggage loading unit 2 is a substantially U-shaped frame when viewed from the rear. The luggage loading unit 2 is connected to the loading unit connecting frame 13 on the open side of the U-shape. A loading portion connection portion J1 to which the end of the load loading portion 2 is rotatably connected is provided at the tip of the loading portion connection frame 13. The two loading unit connections J1 are provided on the same straight line at the same height. Therefore, the luggage loading unit 2 can rotate with respect to the loading unit connection frame 13 around the virtual rotation axis (parallel to the X axis) passing through the two loading unit connections J1. There is an upper limit to the angle at which the luggage loading unit 2 can rotate with respect to the loading unit connection frame 13. The loading portion connection portion J1 has a stopper that limits the rotation angle range. The stopper limits the rotation angle of the loading portion connection portion J1 so that the load loading portion 2 does not rotate more than the angle at which the load loading portion 2 is perpendicular to the upper body frame 10. Note that instead of loading an object, the object may be held in a suspended manner. The luggage loading unit 2 is an object holding unit that holds an object. The load from the luggage loading unit 2 is supported by the upper body 1.

The loading portion connection portion J1 has a structure in which a shaft member passing through a hole provided in the loading portion connection frame 13 and the load loading portion 2 is sandwiched by plate-like members from both sides. Opposing members provided with holes or protrusions for rotatably holding the shaft members are called yokes. The loading portion connection portion J1 has a bearing that reduces the resistance when the shaft member rotates. As long as the loading portion connecting frame 13 and the load loading portion 2 are rotatably connected, the loading portion connection portion J1 may be any type. The same is true for the other connections that rotatably connect the two members.

The waist 3 has a plate-like waist back frame 15, a plate-like waist front frame 16, and two waist connection belts 17. The waist back frame 15 exists on the back side of the wearer 90. The waist front frame 16 is present on the side and the front of the wearer 90. The waist front frame 16 is connected to the waist back frame 15 at two points in the center of the waist back frame 15. Each of the two waist connection belts 17 is connected to the trunk of the wearer 90. The trunk is the part of the human body excluding the arms, legs, neck and head. When the waist back frame 15 and the waist front frame 16 are viewed from above, a central portion of the waist back frame 15 and the waist front frame 16 form a substantially oval. The shape of the waist 3 is an ellipse and a shape in which the waist back frame 15 protrudes left and right on the back side of the ellipse.

The upper ends of the waist back frame 15 and the waist front frame 16 are coplanar. This plane is called the waist reference plane. The waist reference surface is a surface that serves as a reference in expressing the shape of the waist 3. The waist reference surface is used as a reference surface also in defining the relationship between the waist 3 and the upper body 1 and the thigh 4. The waist reference plane is parallel to a straight line connecting lower ends of the two upper body frames 10, that is, the lower end of the upper body 1. Since there is a difference in height at the upper ends of the waist back frame 15 and the waist front frame 16, if there is no plane where all the upper ends exist, the waist reference plane is set at an appropriate position of the waist 3.

The two waist connecting belts 17 sandwich the wearer 90 from the left and right, and connect with the clothes worn by the wearer 90. The waist connecting belt 17 is a wearer operation transmission unit that moves the waist 3 in accordance with the movement of the trunk of the wearer 90. Further, a waist stress sensor 17S (not shown) is provided on the waist connection belt 17 to detect a stress generated at a connection portion of the waist connection belt 17 with the waist back frame 15 and the waist front frame 16.

Two plate-like upper body connection projections 18 connected to the upper body frame 10 are provided upward at a slightly back position of the widest position in the left-right direction of the waist front frame 16 as viewed from above. It is done. The upper body connection protrusions 18 are parallel and face each other across the wearer 90. The upper body connection projection 18 is provided with an upper body waist connection portion J2. The lower end triangular portion of the upper body frame 10 is rotatably connected to the upper body waist connection portion J2. The two upper body waist connections J2 are provided on the same straight line at the same height. Therefore, the upper body portion 1 including the upper body frame 10 rotates relative to the waist front frame 16 or the waist portion 3 around the virtual rotation axis (parallel to the X axis) passing through the two upper body waist connections J2. it can. A virtual rotation axis constituted by the two upper body waist connection portions J2 is referred to as a body rotation axis. The rotation axis shown by a dotted line in FIG. 10 is the upper body rotation axis. The upper body rotation axis is parallel to the lumbar reference plane.

A back central projection 19 is provided rearward from the center in the left-right direction of the waist back frame 15. An upper body actuator 20 is provided between the back central projection 19 and the back connection frame 11. The upper body actuator 20 controls the upper body center of gravity line to pass within a predetermined range from the upper body rotation axis. The upper body center of gravity line is a vertical straight line passing through the upper body center of gravity which is the center of gravity of the load which the waist 3 receives from the upper body portion 2.

The back connection frame 11 is provided with an upper body side link attachment portion J3. One end of an upper-body drive link 20L whose length can be changed by the upper-body actuator 20 is rotatably connected to the upper-body-side link attachment portion J3, that is, the upper-body portion 1 with one rotational freedom. The upper body side link attachment portion J3 is provided at the center of the back connection frame 11.

A waist side link attachment portion J4 is provided on the back central projection 19. The other end of the body drive link 20L is rotatably connected to the lumbar-side link attachment portion J4, that is, the lumbar portion 3 with one rotational freedom. The rotation axes of the upper body side link attachment portion J3 and the waist side link attachment portion J4 are parallel to the X axis. The upper body drive link 20L exists on the YZ plane.

The upper body actuator 20 has an upper body drive link 20L and a motor 20M. One end of the upper body drive link 20L is rotatably connected to the upper body side link attachment portion J3, and the other end is rotatably connected to the waist side link attachment portion J4. The motor 20M is a power source that generates a force that changes the length of the upper body drive link 20L. The upper body drive link 20L is a variable-length link whose length can be changed. In the drawing, reference numerals of the upper body drive link 20L and the electric motor 20M are illustrated, and reference numerals of the upper body actuator 20 are not illustrated. The same applies to the other actuators.

The upper body drive link 20L is provided with a load sensor 21 (not shown). The load sensor 21 measures the compressive force or tensile force acting on the upper body drive link 20L. The upper body actuator 20 changes the length of the upper body drive link 20L so that the absolute value of the force measured by the load sensor 21 is less than the determined threshold value. The length of the upper body drive link 20L may be changed so that the compression force is less than the threshold. By doing so, the body center of gravity line can be made to pass through the determined range from the body rotation axis. The reason is that, when the upper body center of gravity line passes through the upper body rotation axis, all the load applied to the upper body portion 2 is applied to the upper body waist connection J2 and the force acting on the upper body drive link 20L becomes zero. It is. When the absolute value of the force acting on upper body drive link 20L is less than the determined threshold value, the upper body gravity center line passes a position away from the upper body rotation axis by a distance less than the determined upper limit distance corresponding to the threshold value. It will be. It may be detected by means other than the load sensor 21 whether or not the body center of gravity line passes a range closer to the upper limit distance determined from the body rotation axis.

Whether the actuator of the mobile suit 100 is to be operated or not is determined by the wearer 90 as to the operation mode in which it is to be operated. However, it is assumed that the upper body actuator 20 can not perform an operation of locking the operation (stopping the operation) when the object is placed on the loading unit 2.
There are a full support mode and a walk mode as an operation mode. In the full support mode, each actuator of the mobile suit 100 operates to assist the movement of the wearer 90. In the walking mode, each actuator operates so that the wearer 90 of the mobile suit 100 can walk on two legs.

The structure of the upper body drive link 20L will be described with reference to FIG. Variable-length links that other actuators have have the same structure. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of a variable-length link that the actuator has. FIG. 16 also shows a motor 20M which is not displayed in cross section. The positional relationship between the motor 20M and the cylinder 20C is fixed to each other. The upper body actuator 20 includes a threaded rod 20A, a nut 20B, a cylinder 20C, a nut position fixing portion 20D, a nut rotation holding portion 20E, and a nut gear 20F. The threaded rod 20A is a rod with a circular cross section, provided with an external thread on the side. The nut 20B is a member having a through hole provided on its inner surface with an internal thread that engages with the screw rod 20A. The screw between the screw rod 20A and the nut 20B uses a ball screw, a base screw or the like having a small friction during rotation. The cylinder 20C accommodates a portion of the threaded rod 20A and the nut 20B therein. The nut position fixing portion 20D fixes the position of the nut 20B with respect to the cylinder 20C in the axial direction of the screw rod 20A. The nut rotation holding portion 20E rotatably holds the nut 20B relative to the cylinder 20C. The nut gear 20F is a gear that rotates with the nut 20B.

The nut position fixing portion 20D is three protrusions provided on the inner side in the circumferential direction of the cylinder 20C. Also on the side of the nut 20B, a circumferential protrusion whose position is fixed in the axial direction with respect to the nut 20B is provided. The protrusions provided on the side of the nut 20B are a nut rotation holding portion 20E, and a protrusion provided between the nut rotation holding portion 20E and the nut gear 20F. The nut position fixing portion 20D is provided so as to sandwich the protrusion on the side of the nut 20B. The nut position fixing portion 20D is provided as a protrusion in the circumferential direction of the cylinder 20C on both sides of the nut rotation holding portion 20E and at a position adjacent to the nut gear 20F. The nut position fixing portion 20D may be anything as long as it fixes the relative position of the nut 20B to the cylinder 20C in the axial direction of the screw rod 20A. The axial direction of the threaded rod 20A is also the longitudinal direction of the cylinder 20C.

The nut gear 20F is disposed outside the cylinder 20C. The nut gear 20F meshes with a drive gear 20G provided on the rotation shaft of the motor 20M. When the drive gear 20G rotates, the nut gear 20F and the nut 20B rotate. When the nut 20B rotates, the nut 20B moves relative to the threaded rod 20A. The position of the nut 20B is fixed with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cylinder 20C. Therefore, when the nut 20B rotates, the screw rod 20A moves relative to the nut 20B and the cylinder 20C. Instead of gears, a timing belt or the like may be used to transmit the rotation of the motor 20M to the nut 20B.

One end of the screw rod 20A is rotatably attached to the back central projection 19 or the waist 3 by the waist link attachment J4. One end of the cylinder 20C is attached to the back connection frame 11 or the upper body 1 by the upper link attachment J3. When the screw rod 20A moves in the direction of coming out of the cylinder 20C, the distance between the upper body side link attachment portion J3 and the waist side link attachment portion J4 becomes longer. When the screw rod 20A moves in the direction to enter the cylinder 20C, the distance between the upper body side link attachment portion J3 and the waist side link attachment portion J4 becomes short. Thus, the length of the upper body drive link 20L can be changed, and the distance between the two points to which both ends are attached can be changed.

The end by the side of screw rod 20A which upper part drive link 20L has may be attached not to waist part 3 but to upper part 1. In that case, the cylinder 20 </ b> C is attached to the waist 3. The threaded rod 20A provided with an external thread is attached to one of two link attachment portions for attaching the both ends of the upper body drive link 20L at one end thereof. One end of the cylinder 20C is attached to the link attachment portion to which the screw rod 20A is not attached among the two link attachment portions.

The nut 20B has a through hole provided on its inner surface with an internal thread that engages with an external thread provided on the threaded rod 20A. The nut 20B is a rotating member that is rotated by the transmission of the force from the motor 20M. The cylinder 20C is a cylinder that accommodates the threaded rod 20A and the nut 20B. The nut position fixing portion 20D is a rotating member position fixing portion that fixes the relative position of the nut 20B to the cylinder 20C in the axial direction of the screw rod 20A. The nut rotation holding portion 20E is a rotating member holding portion provided between the nut 20B and the cylinder 20C and rotatably holding the nut 20B with respect to the cylinder 20C. Since the rotary member holding portion is provided, the upper drive link 20L, which is a variable-length link, has one rotation degree of freedom that allows rotation around the axial direction. In addition, since the upper body drive link 20L is connected at its both ends with one rotational degree of freedom, no force is applied to twist the upper body drive link 20L. Thus, the upper body drive link 20L may not have the nut rotation holding portion 20E.

The cylinder for accommodating the threaded rod and the nut may be a square cylinder, or may have a cross-section with a combination of flat and curved surfaces. The diameter of the tube may change in the longitudinal direction. Both ends of the variable-length link may be of any structure as long as one end of the threaded rod is rotatably mounted and the end of the cylinder or motor is rotatably mounted. The end on the cylinder or motor side may be attached via the attachment. The non-end portion of the tube may be attached to the link attachment. In that case, the portion of the cylinder attached to the link attachment portion is the variable length link, and one end of the variable length link is attached to the link attachment portion.

The description returns to the structure of the lumbar 3 of the mobile suit 100. As shown in FIG. 8, at the left and right ends of the lower back surface frame 15, an opening and closing leg axis J5 is provided. The open / close leg axis J5 is a rotation axis that rotates the leg 7 to open or close in the left-right direction. The opening and closing leg shaft J5 has a configuration in which the rod-like thigh opening and closing leg frame 22 passes through a bearing, with the axis provided at the left and right ends of the waist back frame 15 perpendicular to the waist reference surface. The opening / closing leg axis J5 may not be perpendicular to the waist reference surface, and may intersect at a predetermined angle substantially perpendicular to the waist reference surface at a position where the left and right are symmetrical. The opening and closing leg shaft J5 rotatably connects the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22 to the waist 3. The thigh opening and closing leg frame 22 is a thigh opening and closing leg portion connected to each of the opening and closing leg shafts J5 provided on the left and right of the waist.

As shown in FIG. 13, the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22 is bent at the upper and lower portions of a portion passing through the opening and closing leg axis J5. The thigh opening and closing leg frame 22 bends 90 degrees at the lower side of the opening and closing leg axis J5, extends forward, and bends obliquely upward near the lower side of the body waist connection J2. The thigh open / close leg frame 22 bent obliquely upward extends forward and obliquely upward to a position slightly behind in the front-rear direction of the waist front frame 16. The thigh opening and closing leg frame 22 bends 90 degrees on the upper side of the opening and closing leg axis J5, and extends short and backward. As shown in FIG. 7, the thigh opening / closing leg frame 22 extends so as to be substantially in a straight line when viewed from above.

By rotating the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22 around the opening and closing leg axis J5, the leg portion 7 moves in the left and right direction. That is, the legs 7 open and close. Since the direction in which the entire leg portion 7 is directed can be changed around the opening / closing leg axis J5, the walking direction can be easily changed. In addition, it becomes easy to move the center of gravity position between the left and right legs by bipedal walking.

An open / close leg spring 23 is provided between the rear end of the thigh open / close leg frame 22 and the lumbar back frame 15. The open / close leg spring 23 generates a force to return to the original state after the thigh open / close leg frame 22 rotates around the open / close leg axis J5. At the rear end of the thigh opening / closing leg frame 22, a leg spring attachment portion J7 is provided. One end of an open / close leg spring 23 is rotatably attached to the leg side spring attachment portion J7. Spring attachment protrusions 24 are provided on both the left and right sides of the back central projection 19 of the waist back frame 15. A waist side spring attachment portion J8 is provided at the tip of the spring attachment projection 24. The other end of the open / close leg spring 23 is rotatably attached to the lumbar spring attachment portion J8. The strength of the open / close leg spring 23 is appropriately adjusted so as to be able to expand and contract by the force of the wearer 90 and to return to the original length when the external force disappears.

The opening and closing leg spring 23 is a lumbar link whose length can be changed. The leg side spring attachment portion J7 is a leg side lumbar link attachment portion provided on the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22. The waist side spring attachment portion J <b> 8 is a waist side waist portion link attachment portion provided on the waist portion 3.

A hip joint portion J6 is provided at a portion which is bent near the lower side of the upper body waist connection portion J2 of the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22. The hip joint J6 rotatably connects one end of the femoral frame 25 to the thigh open / close leg frame 22. In the hip joint J6, the femoral frame 25 or the thigh 4 rotates around a rotation axis parallel to the waist reference plane. In the connection portion connected rotatably in one rotation degree of freedom in the leg portion 7, all the rotation axes are parallel to the rotation axis of the hip joint portion J6.

The femoral frame 25 is an elongated plate-like member. In the reference state, the femoral frame 25 extends diagonally forward and downward, and is connected to one end of the lower leg 5 just below the front end of the thigh open / close leg frame 22. The knee joint J9 connects the other end of the femoral frame 25 and one end of the lower leg 5. The other end of the plate-like femoral frame 25 is connected to a rectangular parallelepiped knee joint connection block 26. The knee joint connection block 26 is sandwiched by two knee thigh plates 27. The femoral frame 25, the knee joint connecting block 26, and the knee thigh plate 27 are aligned when viewed in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the hip joint J6. The femoral frame 25, the knee joint connection block 26 and the knee-side thigh plate 27 constitute a femoral portion having one end connected to the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22 and the other end connected to the lower leg 5. The hip joint J6 connects one end of the thigh to the thigh opening / closing frame 22 so that the angle formed by the thigh and the thigh opening / closing leg frame 22 can be changed.

A waist-side thigh drive link attachment portion J10 is provided at the front end of the thigh opening / closing leg frame 22. The mounting position of the lumbar thigh drive link mounting portion J10 is a position away from the hip joint. One end of a thigh drive link 28L for rotating the femoral frame 25 about the hip joint portion J6 is rotatably attached to the lumbar thigh drive link attachment portion J10. The thigh drive link 28L, which is a variable length link whose length can be changed, constitutes the thigh drive actuator 28 together with the motor generator 28M. Electric power is supplied to the motor generator 28M to rotate the threaded rod 28A (reference numeral is not shown) of the thigh drive link 28L. When the screw rod 28A rotates, the motor generator 28M is rotated by the screw rod 28A to generate electric power. The same applies to other motor generators. The thigh drive actuator 28 has a length lock mechanism 28S (not shown) that prevents the length of the thigh drive link 28L from changing. The length lock mechanism 28S is a knee joint lock portion for preventing the length of the thigh drive link 28L from changing.

The other end of the femoral drive link 28L is rotatably attached to the femoral frame 25 by the femoral side drive link attachment portion J11. The thigh femoral drive link attachment portion J11 is provided slightly above the position at which the knee joint connection block 26 is connected to the femoral frame 25. At the other end of the femoral drive link 28L, a femoral knee side yoke 29 is provided which sandwiches the femoral frame 25. The thigh knee side yoke 29 has a substantially U-shaped cross section. The thigh femoral drive link attachment portion J11 has a structure in which a shaft member passes through holes provided in the femoral frame 25 and the thigh knee side yoke 29. The thigh knee side yoke 29 is provided at the other end of the thigh drive link 28L so that the angle with respect to the thigh drive link 28L is approximately 120 degrees.

The link arrangement for changing the direction in which the femoral frame 25 extends will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a schematic view for explaining the link arrangement for moving the femoral and knee joints in the left leg of the mobile suit. FIG. 17A is a plan view schematically showing the link arrangement. FIG. 17B is a right side view schematically showing the link arrangement. The thigh open / close leg frame 22 and the femoral frame 25 can be rotated in the horizontal plane by the open / close leg axes J5 provided on the left and right of the back surface of the waist 3. In FIG. 17A, the opening and closing leg axis J5 is represented by an ellipse. The thigh open / close leg frame 22 and the femoral frame 25 rotated in the horizontal plane return to the original position by the open / close leg spring 23 when the external force disappears. The femoral frame 25 can rotate about the hip joint J6. If the thigh drive link 28L is shortened, the hip joint J6 rotates forward and the femoral frame 25 is raised. When the femoral drive link 28L is lengthened, the hip joint J6 rotates later and the femur frame 25 which has been raised rotates downward and returns to the original position. Note that the angle of the knee joint J9 does not change due to the expansion and contraction of the thigh drive link 28L.

In the knee joint portion J9, a yoke formed by the two knee side thigh plates 27 sandwiches the plate-like lower leg knee side block 30. The two knee side thigh plates 27 and the lower knee knee block 30 are provided with through holes, and a shaft member passing through the through holes allows the lower thigh knee side to be attached to the knee side thigh plate 27 or the other end of the femoral portion. One end of the block 30, that is, the lower leg 5 is rotatably connected.

One end of two lower leg links 31 is connected to the lower leg knee side block 30. The other ends of the two lower leg links 31 are connected to the lower leg ankle block 32. The lower end of the lower leg ankle block 32 is provided with an ankle joint J16 for rotatably connecting the foot 6 to the lower leg ankle block 32, ie, the lower leg 5 in three rotational degrees of freedom.

The lower leg link 31 is a gas spring in which a compressed (preloaded) gas is sealed. The length of the lower leg link 31 does not change at a compression force lower than the preload. When a compression force greater than the pre-load is applied to the lower leg link 31, the lower leg link 31 contracts in accordance with the magnitude of the compression force. That is, the lower leg link 31 is a gas spring which can not stretch and contracts when a pressure greater than the pressure for compressing the gas is applied. Therefore, when a large force is generated when the foot 6 lands, the lower leg link 31 absorbs the large force. Since a large force is absorbed by the lower leg link 31, the mobile suit 100 is not broken. FIG. 18 is a view for explaining the effect of configuring the lower leg portion with two gas springs. FIG. 18 shows that the front lower leg link 31 can be greatly contracted to absorb the external force when a large external force is applied to move the knee forward.

The ankle joint J16 is rotatable in three rotational degrees of freedom. In the ankle joint J16, there is an allowance for rotation in the longitudinal direction or in the lateral direction and rotation around the lower leg. The ankle joint J16 is provided with a stopper to prevent rotation beyond the allowable limit. Particularly in the front and back direction where the large leg is easily bent, the lower leg link 31, which is two gas springs arranged in the front and rear direction, causes the gas spring to bear an external force even if a large external force is applied. The ankle side of the lower leg link 31 is pin-joined to the lower leg ankle block 32. An external force to bend at an angle larger than that allowed by the stopper is applied to the lower leg link 31 as a bending load. The lower leg link 31 subjected to the bending load has a shorter lower leg link 31 on the side to which it is bent. By shortening, the reaction force of the lower leg link 31 becomes large. The lower leg link 31 causes an elastic torque to act around the ankle joint J16. The elastic torque by the lower leg link 31 acts as a damper for the rotational load of the ankle, and protects the lower leg 5 and the ankle joint J16 from impact or the like.

A knee joint drive actuator 33 is provided at the knee joint J9. The knee joint drive actuator 33 is for changing an angle formed by the knee side thigh plate 27, that is, the thigh and the lower leg knee side block 30, that is, the lower leg 5. The knee joint drive actuator 33 includes a knee joint drive link 33L which is a variable-length link whose length can be changed, a motor generator 33M, and a length lock mechanism 33S (not shown). The motor generator 33M operates in the same manner as the motor generator 28M. The length lock mechanism 33S is a hip joint lock portion for preventing a change in the length of the knee joint drive link 33L.

The motor generators 28 M and 33 M are disposed on the side closer to the waist 3. By doing so, the space near the knee joint J9 can be enlarged.

The thigh 4 is configured to have a thigh arm including a thigh opening and closing leg frame 22, a thigh frame 25, a thigh driving actuator 28, and a knee joint driving actuator 33.

A plate-like protrusion 25T is provided on the rear side of the femoral frame 25 on the waist 3 side. A femoral knee joint drive link attachment portion J12 is provided on the protrusion 25T. The femoral knee joint drive link attachment portion J12 rotatably mounts one end of the knee joint drive link 33L to the projection 25T, that is, the femur. In the femoral knee joint drive link attachment portion J12, a yoke provided at one end of the knee joint drive link 33L sandwiches the protrusion 25T. The femoral knee joint drive link attachment portion J12 rotatably attaches one end of the knee joint drive link 33L to the projection 25T by passing the shaft member through a through hole provided in the yoke and the projection 25T.

The other end of the knee joint drive link 33L is connected to both the knee joint connection block 26 and the lower knee block 30 using two aids on the side of the knee joint J10. The two aids are the thigh aid 34 and the lower thigh aid 35. The thigh side assisting tool 34 is rotatably attached at one end to the other end of the knee joint drive link 33L. A portion to which one end of the thigh side assisting tool 34 and the other end of the knee joint driving link 33L are attached is referred to as a knee joint driving link assisting joint portion J13. The other end of the thigh support 34 is rotatably attached to the thigh support J14. The thigh assistance tool attachment portion J14 is provided on the knee joint connection block 26. One end of the lower leg auxiliary 35 is also rotatably attached to the knee joint drive link auxiliary joint J13, that is, the other end of the knee joint drive link 33L. The other end of the lower leg auxiliary 35 is rotatably attached to the lower auxiliary attachment portion J15. The lower leg side auxiliary implement attachment portion J15 is provided on the lower leg knee side block 30 which the lower leg portion 5 has.

The thigh side assisting tool 34 has a shape in which the side surfaces of two plate-like frames are connected. The knee joint connecting block 26 is provided with a through hole. Further, a through hole is also provided at the other end of the thigh side assisting tool 34. The thigh aids 34 sandwich the knee joint connection block 26 so that the positions of the respective through holes coincide. The thigh assistance implement mounting portion J14 has a structure in which the rotation axis passes through holes of the thigh assistance 34 and the knee joint connection block 26. The thigh assistance implement mounting portion J14 is provided on the femur so that the other end of the thigh assistance implement can be rotatably attached.

The other end of the thigh support 34 is connected to the lower leg support 35 and the knee drive link 33L with one rotational freedom at the knee joint drive link support J13. The lower leg support 35 has a shape in which the side surfaces of two frames are connected. In the knee joint drive link auxiliary tool connecting portion J13, the thigh side auxiliary tool 34 sandwiches the knee joint drive link 33L. Furthermore, the lower leg assistance tool 35 sandwiches the thigh assistance tool 34 and the knee joint drive link 33L. A through hole is provided in each of the pinched places in the lower leg assistance tool 35, the thigh assistance tool 34 and the knee joint drive link 33L. The femoral aid 34, the lower thigh aid 35, and the knee joint drive link 33L can rotate in one rotational degree of freedom from each other by the rotation axis passing through the through holes.

The lower leg knee side block 30 is provided with a lower leg auxiliary implement mounting portion J15. One end of the lower leg auxiliary tool 35 is rotatably mounted to the lower leg auxiliary tool attachment portion J15 with one rotational degree of freedom. The lower leg side auxiliary tool attachment portion J15 has a structure in which the rotation axis passes through a through hole provided in the lower leg knee block 30 and a through hole provided in the lower leg side auxiliary tool 35. The lower leg support 35 is mounted on the lower leg knee block 30 with one rotational freedom by the lower leg support J15.

The knee joint portion J10, the thigh knee joint drive link attachment portion J12, and the thigh assistance tool attachment portion J14 are fixed to the knee joint connection block 26, and their relative positional relationship is fixed. The lower leg auxiliary implement mounting portion J15 is fixed to the lower knee block 30. The distance from the knee joint J10 is determined for the lower leg auxiliary implement mounting portion J15. The knee joint drive link auxiliary tool connection portion J13 has a predetermined distance from the thigh auxiliary tool attachment portion J14 and the lower leg auxiliary tool attachment portion J15. Therefore, when the rotation angle of the knee joint J10 is determined, the thigh aid 34 and the lower thigh aid 35 move like a pantograph, and the position of the knee joint drive link aid J13 is determined. Conversely, when the position of the knee joint drive link auxiliary tool joint J13 is determined, the rotation angle of the knee joint J10 is determined.

The length of the knee joint drive link 33L is the distance between the femoral knee joint drive link attachment J12 and the knee joint drive link joint J13. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 17B, the rotation angle of the knee joint J10 can be changed by changing the length of the knee joint drive link 33L. As the knee joint drive link 33L becomes longer, the angle formed by the femur and the lower leg 5 at the knee joint J9 increases. When the knee joint drive link 33L is shortened, the angle formed by the thigh and the lower leg 5 at the knee joint J9 is reduced. The angle of the hip joint J6 does not change due to the expansion and contraction of the knee joint drive link 33L.

Since the thigh side aid 34 and the lower leg side aid 35 are provided, it is possible to transmit the force due to the expansion and contraction of the knee joint drive link 33L to the thigh side aid attachment portion J14 and the lower leg side aid attachment portion J15 like a pantograph. . Therefore, when the knee joint J9 is largely bent so that the thigh 25 and the lower thigh 7 become close to parallel, it is easy to transmit the force for rotating the knee J9. As a result, even if the force generated by the knee joint drive actuator 33 is small, bending and extension movements of the knee joint J9 can be made smoother. The knee joint drive link 33L may be connected only to the lower leg 5.

The lower leg (other end) of the lower leg knee side block 30, that is, the lower leg 5 is connected to the foot 6 rotatably in three rotational degrees of freedom by the ankle joint J16. The ankle joint J16 is located rearward of the knee joint J9 and forward of the hip J6 in the reference state.

The foot 6 has a foot main body 6A and a lower leg connection projection 6B. The foot main body 6A has a rectangular flat plate shape with rounded corners when viewed from above. The lower leg connection projection 6B is connected to the outside in the left-right direction on the rear side of the foot main portion 6A. The ankle joint J16 has a structure in which two spherical bearings sandwich the spherical surface from both sides. The spherical bearings are provided on the inner surfaces of the two plates at the lower end of the lower knee block 30. The spherical surface is provided on the lower leg connection projection 6B. The foot 6 has a foot holding portion 6C. The foot holding portion 6C holds the foot of the wearer 90 such that the foot 6 moves with the foot of the wearer 90. In order to simplify the figure, the foot holding portion 6C is illustrated as a strap of a sandal. The foot holding portion 6C may be, for example, a mechanism for fixing a ski boot to a ski. The foot holding portion 6C may be anything as long as the foot portion 6 moves with the foot of the wearer 90. The foot 6 has a reaction force sensor 6D (not shown) that detects a reaction force received from the ground when the bottom surface is in contact with the ground.

The structure of the arm 8 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. The arm 8 is configured to have an arm rotation bar 36, an upper arm frame 37, a forearm frame 38 and a hand 39. The arm rotation rod 36 rotates the arm 8 in a horizontal plane. One upper end of the upper arm frame 37 is rotatably connected to the upper end of the arm rotation bar 36. The shoulder joint J 18 rotatably connects the upper arm frame 37 to the arm rotation rod 36. The upper end of the forearm frame 38 is rotatably connected to the lower end of the upper arm frame 37. The elbow joint J 19 rotatably connects the forearm frame 38 to the upper arm frame 37. A hand 39 is rotatably connected to the other lower end of the forearm frame 38. The wrist joint J20 connects the hand 39 to the forearm frame 38 rotatably in one rotational degree of freedom. The wrist joint J20 allows the hand 39 to rotate around a rotation axis parallel to the forearm frame 38. In the reference state, the upper arm frame 37, the forearm frame 38 and the hand 39 are disposed from top to bottom. By changing the rotation angles of the shoulder joint J18, the elbow joint J19, and the wrist joint J20, the hand 39 can be disposed at an easy position to hold the object. The rotation axes of the shoulder joint J18 and the elbow joint J19 are parallel.

The arm rotation rod 36 is a rod whose cross section is a cylinder. The arm rotation rod 36 is a generally straight rod, but is shaped so that a portion passing through the arm rotation connection portion J17 is slightly translated. The arm rotation connection portion J17 is a cylinder provided on the outside of the arm rotation rod 36. A bearing is disposed between the arm rotation rod 36 and the arm rotation connection portion J17. The arm rotation connection portion J17 is detachably attached to the upper body frame 10. The arm rotation connection portion J17 allows the arm rotation rod 36 to rotate around a rotation axis (Z axis in the reference state) parallel to the body frame 10. It has arm rotation lock part 36S (not shown) which switches the state which arm rotation connection part J17 can rotate freely, and the state which can not rotate. The arm rotation rod 36 and the body frame 10 may not be parallel, and may be at a determined angle.

The upper arm frame 37 is in the form of a bent prism. The shoulder joint J 18 has a structure in which a yoke provided at the upper end of the upper arm frame 37 sandwiches the plate-like upper arm connecting projection 40 provided at the upper end of the arm rotary rod 36. The upper arm frame 37 is rotatably attached to the upper arm connection projection 40, that is, the arm rotation rod 36, by passing a through-hole provided in the upper arm connection projection 40 with a shaft member held by the yoke on the upper arm frame 37 side.

The forearm frame 38 is plate-shaped. The elbow joint J 19 has a structure in which a yoke provided at the lower end of the upper arm frame 37 sandwiches the forearm frame 38. The forearm frame 38 is rotatably attached to the upper arm frame 37 as a shaft member held by the yoke on the upper arm frame 37 side passes through a through hole provided in the forearm frame 38.

The arm rotation connection portion J17 is an arm portion holding portion provided on the upper body portion 1. The arm rotation connection portion J17 holds the arm portion 8 rotatably around the arm rotation axis. The arm rotation axis is provided to have a predetermined angle with respect to the upper body 1. The arm rotation rod 36 is an arm base having a rod-like portion held by the arm rotation connection portion J17. The upper arm frame 37 is an upper arm connected at one end to the upper portion of the arm rotation rod 36. The shoulder joint J 18 connects one end of the upper arm frame 37 to the arm rotation rod 36 so that the angle between the upper arm frame 37 and the arm rotation rod 36 can be changed. The forearm frame 38 is a forearm connected to the other end of the upper arm frame 37. The elbow joint J 19 connects one end of the forearm frame 38 to the other end of the upper arm frame 37 so that the angle formed by the forearm frame 38 and the upper arm frame 37 can be changed. The hand 39 is connected to the other end of the forearm frame 38. The wrist joint J 20 connects the hand 39 to the other end of the forearm frame 38. The wrist joint J20 allows the hand 39 to rotate about a rotational axis having a fixed angle with respect to the forearm frame 38. The wrist joint J20 may have two rotational degrees of freedom or three rotational degrees of freedom so that the angle between the hand 39 and the forearm frame 38 can be changed.

An upper arm drive actuator 41 is provided to rotate the upper arm frame 37 about the shoulder joint J18. The upper arm drive actuator 41 is provided on the rear side of the upper arm frame 37. The upper arm drive actuator 41 has an upper arm drive link 41L, a motor 41M, and a length lock mechanism 41S (not shown). The upper arm drive link 41L is a variable-length link whose length can be changed. One upper end of the upper arm drive link 41 L is rotatably attached to the upper arm frame 37. The other lower end of the upper arm drive link 41L is rotatably attached to the lower end of the arm rotary bar 36. The motor 41M is an upper arm power source that generates a force that changes the length of the upper arm drive link 41L. The electric motor 41M is provided on the outer side in the left-right direction of the upper arm drive link 41L.

The upper arm side upper arm drive link attachment portion J 21 rotatably mounts the upper end of the upper arm drive link 41 L to the upper arm frame 37. The upper arm drive link attachment portion J21 has a structure in which a yoke provided on the upper arm frame 37 sandwiches a rectangular block. The rectangular block is provided at the tip of the upper rod drive link 41L on the screw rod side. The block is provided with a through hole. The shaft member held by the yoke on the upper arm drive link 41L side passes through the through hole of the block, so that the upper arm drive link attachment portion J21 can rotate the upper end of the upper arm drive link 41L to the upper arm frame 37 Install.

The upper-body-side upper-arm drive link attachment portion J22 rotatably mounts the lower end of the upper-arm drive link 41L to the lower end of the arm rotary rod 36. The upper body upper arm drive link attachment portion J22 is provided at a position lower than the shoulder joint portion J18. A plate-like upper arm drive link connecting projection 42 (not shown) is provided at the lower end of the arm rotary rod 36 with a yoke provided at the end of the upper arm drive link 41L on the cylinder side of the upper body drive link attachment portion J22. Is a structure sandwiching The upper arm drive link connection projection 42 is provided with a through hole. The shaft member held by the yoke on the upper arm drive link 41L side passes through the through hole. By doing so, the upper-body-side upper-arm drive link attachment portion J22 rotatably attaches the lower end of the upper-arm drive link 41L to the upper-arm drive link 41L.

The length lock mechanism 41S has a ratchet mechanism, and switches between a state in which the length of the forearm drive link 43L can be changed in both directions, a state in which it can be changed only in the long direction, and a state in which the length can not be changed. When the arm 8 is not used, the length of the upper arm drive link 41L is the shortest. The length lock mechanism 41S is made changeable only in the long direction, and the upper arm frame 37 is held by hand and moved to a position where the shoulder joint J18 has an appropriate angle. If the angle is appropriate, the upper arm frame 37 can maintain its position even if the hand is released. If the angle of the shoulder joint J18 becomes appropriate so that an unexpected force is applied and the angle of the shoulder joint J18 does not change, the length lock mechanism 41S can not change the length. The electric motor 41 M may be controlled by a remote controller or the like to set the angle of the shoulder joint J 18 to an appropriate value. The length lock mechanism 41S is an upper arm lock portion that prevents the length of the upper arm drive link 41L from changing.

A forearm drive actuator 43 is provided to rotate the forearm frame 38 about the elbow joint J19. The forearm drive actuator 43 is provided on the front side of the upper arm frame 37. The forearm drive actuator 43 has a forearm drive link 43L, an electric motor 43M, and a length lock mechanism 43S (not shown). The forearm drive link 43L is a variable-length link whose length can be changed. One upper end of the forearm drive link 43L is rotatably attached to the upper arm frame 37. The other lower end of the forearm drive link 43L is rotatably attached to the forearm frame 38. The electric motor 43M is a forearm power source that generates a force that changes the length of the forearm drive link 43L. The electric motor 43M is provided on the inner side in the left-right direction of the forearm drive link 43L. The distance from the wearer 90 to the electric motor 43M or the electric motor 41M can be increased by arranging the electric motor 43M present in the front side of the wearer 90 on the side farther from the wearer 90 than the electric motor 41M. Therefore, the space in which the wearer 90 can move can be enlarged in front of the upper body 1.

The upper arm side forearm drive link attachment portion J23 rotatably mounts the upper end of the forearm drive link 43L to the upper arm frame 37. The upper arm side forearm drive link attachment portion J23 has a structure in which a yoke provided on the upper arm frame 37 sandwiches a rectangular block provided on the end of the forearm drive link 43L on the cylinder side. A through hole is provided in a block at the tip of the forearm drive link 43L. The shaft member held by the yoke on the upper arm drive link 41L side rotatably mounts the upper end of the forearm drive link 43L to the upper arm drive link 41L by passing through the through hole of the block. .

The forearm side forearm drive link attachment portion J24 rotatably mounts the lower end of the forearm drive link 43L to a portion of the forearm frame 38 close to the wrist joint portion J20. The forearm side forearm drive link attachment portion J24 has a structure in which a yoke provided at the end on the threaded rod side of the forearm drive link 43L sandwiches the plate-like forearm frame 38. The forearm frame 38 is provided with a through hole. The shaft member held by the yoke on the forearm drive link side passes through the through hole of the forearm frame 38. By doing so, the forearm side forearm drive link attachment portion J24 rotatably mounts the lower end of the forearm drive link 43L to the forearm frame 38.

The length lock mechanism 43S has the same structure and function as the length lock mechanism 41S. The angle of the elbow joint J19 is also set to an appropriate value in the same manner as the shoulder joint J18. The angles of the shoulder joint J18 and the elbow joint J19 may be set simultaneously. The length lock mechanism 43S is a forearm lock portion that prevents the length of the forearm drive link 43L from changing.

The link arrangement for changing the position and the direction of the arm 8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 19A shows the link arrangement viewed from the upper side. FIG. 19B shows the link arrangement as viewed from the direction perpendicular to the arm 8. As shown in FIG. 19A, when the arm rotation rod 36 rotates around the arm rotation connection portion J17, the upper arm frame 37, the forearm frame, and the hand portion 39 rotate together with the arm rotation rod 36. When the upper body 1 is upright, the arm 8 rotates about the Z axis. As shown in FIG. 19B, when the upper arm drive link 41L is elongated, the upper arm frame 37 is raised, and when it is shortened, the upper arm frame 37 is lowered. When the forearm drive link 43L is elongated, the angle between the forearm frame 38 and the upper arm frame 37 is reduced, and when it is shortened, the angle between the forearm frame 38 and the upper arm frame 37 is decreased.

In the wrist joint portion J20, a rotating member that rotates around a rotation axis parallel to the forearm frame 38 is provided at the other end of the forearm frame. Connected to the rotating member is a wrist plate portion 44 (reference numeral is shown in FIG. 15) to which the hand portion 39 is attached. The wrist plate portion 44 has a rectangular plate shape. The rotating member allows the hand 39 to rotate about the forearm frame 38. The wrist joint unit J20 has a wrist rotation lock unit 44S (not shown). The wrist rotation lock unit 44S switches between a state in which the hand 39 can rotate and a state in which the hand 39 can not rotate around a rotation axis parallel to the forearm frame 38.

The structure of the hand 39 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 20, FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 are a front view and a back view of the left hand portion 39, and a side view seen from the side where the counterable finger portion 51 is not present.

The hand portion 39 includes a wrist plate portion 44, a plate-like palm plate portion 46, a hand portion attaching portion 45, a first finger portion 47 which is four ordinary finger portions, a second finger portion 48, and a third finger portion 49, It has a fourth finger 50 and an opposing finger 51. The hand attachment portion 45 vertically connects the palm plate 46 to the wrist plate 44. The four ordinary fingers are connected to the side opposite to the hand attachment portion 45 of the palm plate 46. The first finger portion 47, the second finger portion 48, the third finger portion 49, and the fourth finger portion 50 face in substantially the same direction. The facing possible finger portion 51 is connected to the palm plate portion 46 in a direction different from that of the four ordinary finger portions, and can be moved to a position facing the ordinary finger portion. The wrist plate portion 44 is connected to the forearm frame 38 via the wrist joint portion 36.

The hand 39 is similar to a human hand. The opposite possible finger portion 51 corresponds to a thumb. The first finger portion 47, the second finger portion 48, the third finger portion 49, and the fourth finger portion 50 correspond to the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger, respectively. The side on which the finger portion of the palm plate 46 is bent is referred to as the palm side, and the opposite side is referred to as the back side of the hand. In the plane parallel to the palm plate 46, the direction in which the finger normally extends is referred to as the fingertip direction. The fingertip direction is the direction from the wrist to the fingertip. The direction orthogonal to the fingertip direction is called the hand width direction. In the reference state of the hand portion 39, the wrist plate portion 44 is perpendicular to the forearm frame 38, and when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the palm plate portion 46, the counterable finger portion 51 extends in parallel with the palm plate portion 46.

In the hand attachment portion 45 for attaching the palm plate portion 46 to the wrist plate portion 44, as seen from FIG. 22, the attachment plate portion 45A and the palm plate portion connection plate portion 45B are connected in an L shape when viewed from the side Member. The mounting plate 45 </ b> A is connected to the wrist plate 44. A palm plate portion 46 is connected to the palm plate portion connection plate portion 45B. The first finger 47, the second finger 48, the third finger 49, and the fourth finger 50 are connected to the side of the palm plate 46 facing the mounting plate 45 </ b> A. The second finger 48 is located approximately at the center of the wrist plate 44. The first finger portion 47, the second finger portion 48, the third finger portion 49, and the fourth finger portion 50 are provided such that the distance on the tip side is wider than that on the root side. As can be seen from FIG. 21, the second finger 48 is perpendicular to the mounting plate 45A, and the center of the second finger 48 coincides with the center of the mounting plate 45A.

The confrontable finger portion 51 is provided on the side closer to the attachment plate portion 45A than the first finger portion 47 or the like in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first finger portion 47 or the like. The palm plate 46 is a base to which the finger is connected.

The first finger portion 47, the second finger portion 48, the third finger portion 49, and the fourth finger portion 50 have the same structure. The first finger portion 47, the second finger portion 48, the third finger portion 49, and the fourth finger portion 50 are generally referred to as finger portions. The structure of the normal finger unit will be described with the fourth finger unit 50 which is easily attached in the figure.

In the fourth finger unit 50, the first finger unit 50A, the second finger unit 50B, and the third finger unit 50C are connected in series from the side close to the palm plate unit 46. A first finger joint 50D is present between the palm plate 46 and the first phalanx 50A. The first finger joint unit 50D rotatably connects the first phalanx unit 50A to the palm plate unit 46. A second finger joint unit 50E is present between the first finger unit 50A and the second finger unit 50B. The second finger joint unit 50E rotatably connects the second finger unit 50B to the first finger unit 50A. A third finger joint unit 50F exists between the second finger unit 50B and the third finger unit 50C. The third finger joint unit 50F rotatably connects the third finger unit 50C to the second finger unit 50B. The rotation axes of the first finger joint 50D, the second finger joint 50E, and the third finger joint 50F are parallel to one another.

With respect to adjacent two of the palm plate 46, the first finger segment 50A, the second finger segment 50B, and the third finger segment 50C, the side closer to the palm plate 46 is not a base member or a base member The side is called a tip side member. The first finger joint unit 50D, the second finger joint unit 50E, and the third finger joint unit 50F may be any of the first finger joint unit 50A, the second finger unit 50B, and the third finger unit 50C. Are three finger joints that rotatably connect to the base member.

In the reference state, the first finger joint unit 50D is provided on the back surface side of the palm plate unit 46. When the hand 39 is viewed from the side, the rotation axes of the first finger joint 50D, the second finger joint 50E, and the third finger joint 50F are on a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting plate 45A. As can be seen from FIG. 15, on or near this plane, a line extending the forearm frame 38 to the side of the hand 39 passes in the reference state. In the reference state, the forearm frame 38 is perpendicular to the mounting plate 45A.

The rotation axis of the first finger joint unit 50D is held by a finger base yoke 50G provided on the back surface side of the palm plate unit 46. The rotation axis of the first finger joint 50D is disposed at a predetermined position slightly outside the palm plate 46. The first finger motor 50H is disposed between the finger yokes 50G. The first worm 50J (screw gear) directly connected to the rotation shaft of the first finger motor 50H meshes with the first worm wheel 50K (diagonal gear) rotating around the rotation shaft of the first finger joint 50D. The finger first electric motor 50H and the first worm 50J are provided to be inclined with respect to the palm plate 46. The first worm wheel 50K is attached to the second finger portion 50B. When the first finger motor 50H rotates, the first worm 50J rotates, and the first worm wheel 50K rotates with the first finger segment 50A.

The first finger joint unit 50D rotates the first finger segment unit 50A with respect to the palm plate unit 46 by the worm gear mechanism having the finger unit first electric motor 50H, the first worm 50J and the first worm wheel 50K. The finger first electric motor 50 H is disposed on the palm plate 46. The first worm 50J is rotated by the finger first electric motor 50H. The first worm wheel 50K meshes with the first worm 50J and rotates around the rotation axis of the first finger joint unit 50D together with the first finger unit 50A.

The first finger segment portion 50A has a structure in which a member that rotates with the first worm wheel 50K and a yoke member that holds the rotation axis of the second finger joint portion 50E are coupled in the same direction. The finger second electric motor 50L is attached to the first finger segment 50A. The second worm 50M directly coupled to the rotation shaft of the finger second electric motor 50L meshes with the second worm wheel 50N. The second worm wheel 50N rotates around the rotation axis of the second finger joint unit 50E. The finger second electric motor 50L and the second worm 50M are provided to be inclined with respect to the first finger segment 50A. The second worm wheel 50N is attached to the second finger portion 50B. When the finger second electric motor 50L rotates, the second worm 50M rotates and the second worm wheel 50N rotates with the second finger segment 50B.

The second finger joint unit 50E has the same structure as the first finger joint unit 50D. The second finger joint unit 50E rotates the second finger joint unit 50E with respect to the first finger unit 50A by a worm gear mechanism having a finger second electric motor 50L, a second worm 50M and a second worm wheel 50N. The finger second electric motor 50L is disposed in the first finger segment 50A. The second worm 50M is rotated by the finger second electric motor 50L. The second worm wheel 50N meshes with the second worm 50M and rotates around the rotation axis of the second finger joint unit 50E together with the second finger unit 50B.

Since the first finger joint unit 50D and the second finger joint unit 50E are respectively driven by different motors, the rotation angle of the first finger joint unit 50D and the rotation angle of the second finger joint unit 50E can be determined independently. it can.

The direction in which the first finger joint 50D rotates the first finger segment 50A, the direction in which the second finger joint 50E rotates the second finger segment 50B, and the third finger joint 50F a third finger segment 50C The directions of rotation are all the same.

The palm plate portion 46 can be made smaller by inclining the finger first electric motor 50 H and the first worm 50 J with respect to the palm plate portion 46. By providing the second finger motor 50L and the second worm 50M at an angle with respect to the first finger portion 50A, the first finger portion 50A can be shortened. As a result, the hand 39 can be made as large as a human hand.

The first phalanx portion 50A is rotated relative to the palm plate portion 46 by the first finger joint portion 50D having a worm gear mechanism, and can be rotated with the second phalanx portion 50B by the second finger joint portion 50E having the worm gear mechanism. Connect to In the four ordinary fingers of the hand 39, a worm gear mechanism is applied to a first finger joint and a second finger joint which are two finger joints from the palm side.

A mechanism for rotating the third finger joint unit 50F will be described. The third finger joint driving gear 50P is provided in the third finger joint unit 50F. The third finger drive gear 50P rotates with the third finger portion 50C. Three idler gears are provided in the second finger portion 50B. The three idler gears transmit the rotation of the second worm wheel 50N to the third finger drive gear 50P. Since the number of idler gears is an odd number such as three, when the second worm wheel 50N rotates, the third finger drive gear 50P rotates in the same direction.

The gear ratios of the second worm wheel 48N, the three idler gears, and the third finger drive gear 48P are such that the rotation angle φ2 of the second worm wheel 48N and the rotation angle φ3 of the third finger drive gear 48P are the same. I have decided. That is, the value of the ratio of φ3 to φ2 f = φ3 / φ2 is f = 1. The ratio f = φ3 / φ2 of the ratio of the rotation angle φ3 of the third finger segment drive gear 48P, ie, the third finger segment 48C, to the rotation angle φ2 of the second worm wheel 48N, ie, the second finger segment 48B, is appropriately close to 1 The value should be

By rotating the third finger joint in conjunction with the second finger joint, the three finger joints can be rotated by two electric motors per finger. Joint rotation of the second finger joint and the third finger joint is not a problem in using the hand 39. This is because there is almost no case where it is necessary to bend only the third finger joint without bending the second finger joint. The third finger joint may be rotated by the worm gear mechanism as well as the first finger joint and the second finger joint.

The structure of the facing possible finger portion 51 will be described. As shown in FIG. 21, the finger base yoke 51 </ b> G for holding the rotation axis of the first finger joint portion 51 </ b> D of the facing possible finger portion 51 is provided at a position near the mounting plate portion 45 </ b> A on the back surface side of the palm plate portion 46. The finger base yoke 51 </ b> G is provided in a direction substantially orthogonal to the second finger portion 48. The first finger motor 51H is disposed between the finger yokes 51G. The first worm 51J directly connected to the rotation shaft of the first finger electric motor 51H meshes with the first worm wheel 51K that rotates around the rotation shaft of the first finger joint 51D. The first worm wheel 51K is attached to the second finger portion 51B. When the first finger motor 51H rotates, the first worm wheel 51K rotates with the first finger portion 51A. When the first finger segment 51A rotates, the second finger segment 51B and the third finger segment 51C move to a position facing the first finger 47 or the like.

The first phalanx portion 51A of the opposing finger portion 51 has a first phalanx root portion 51T and a first phalanx tip portion 51U. The first finger segment root 51T rotates with the first finger segment 51A as the first worm wheel 51K rotates. The first finger segment tip 51U faces in a direction having an angle of about 70 degrees with the rotation direction of the first finger segment root 51T. Note that the direction in which the first finger segment tip portion 51U faces is parallel to the direction in which the first finger segment portion 47A or the like faces. The end on the opposite side to the side connected to the 1st finger joint part 51D of the 1st phalanx base part 51T is flat form. The first finger segment tip portion 51U is coupled to the flat portion of the first finger segment root portion 51T. In the first finger tip unit 51U, a finger second electric motor 51H is disposed, and a yoke member for holding a rotation shaft of the second finger joint 47E is provided.

In the confrontable finger unit 51, the direction in which the first finger joint unit 51D rotates the first finger joint unit 51A is different from the direction in which the second finger joint unit 51E rotates the second finger unit 51B. The structure on the fingertip side of the second finger joint unit 51E of the opposite possible finger unit 51 is the same as that of the first finger unit 47 or the like.

In the hand 39, all mechanisms for driving the finger joints are provided inside the hand 39. Therefore, only the hand portion 39 can be removed to perform maintenance or repair of a failure.

The mobile suit 100 has a hand 39 having a structure similar to that of a human hand. Therefore, any object that can be grasped by a person can be grasped by the hand 39. The arm 8 is moved to move the hand 39 holding the object to an appropriate position. An object can be transported by moving the two legs 7 and walking while holding the hand 39 in that position. In addition, since the mobile suit 100 grips with the hand 39, it is possible to grip dangerous objects that can not be touched directly by human hands. The hand portion 39 is a motor with ten motors per one hand, and the bending degree of five fingers can be matched to an object having one.

In the hand portion 39, when the motor rotates, the finger joint portion is rotated by the worm gear mechanism. When power is not supplied to the motor and the motor does not rotate, the worm gear mechanism holds the angle of the finger joint as it is. In the worm gear mechanism, even if a force to rotate the finger joint acts, the worm does not rotate due to the resistance of the screw, and the finger joint does not rotate. If a very large force is applied to the finger joint, the mechanism for driving the finger joint may have a ratchet mechanism or a lock mechanism.

The finger joint of the hand may have a ratchet mechanism instead of the motor. The ratcheting mechanism may allow a small amount of force to be bent but not extended. The curvature of the finger may be changed in accordance with the shape of the object to hold to hold the object. It is also possible to fix the angle of the finger joint in a certain degree of bending. Once the angle is determined, it can be changed freely by pressing a button or the like. The number of fingers does not have to be five, but at least three. There may not be any other possible finger that can face the other finger. One or two finger joints may be provided per finger. Any hand may be used as long as it has the first finger joint and the first finger joint lock. The first finger joint portion is connected to the palm plate portion so as to be changeable at an angle formed by the first phalanx portion and the palm plate portion. The first finger joint lock prevents changes in the angle of the first finger joint.

The electronic control unit 9 has a storage battery, a motor drive circuit, a control circuit, and the like. The storage battery is a power supply of the mobile suit 100. The storage battery stores electric power supplied to the motor and motor generator of the mobile suit 100. The motor drive circuit generates a current for driving each motor. The control circuit receives detection values of various sensors and controls the motor and the lock unit of the mobile suit 100. The electronic control unit 9 may be divided and disposed, or may be disposed at a place other than the back. By arranging the electronic control unit 9 on the back side, even when the electronic control unit 9 is large, the movement of the limbs of the wearer 90 is less likely to be impeded. In addition, when the electronic control unit 9 is on the back side, it becomes easy for the wearer 90 wearing the mobile suit 100 to balance the center of gravity in front and back.

The operation will be described. FIG. 23 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure for carrying heavy items by wearing the mobile suit 100. Here, as shown in FIG. 24 and FIG. 25, the case of carrying the object 91 and the object 92 will be described. The object 91 places the luggage loading unit 2 on it. The object 92 is raised on the front and placed on the hand 39 directed upward. FIG. 24 and FIG. 25 are a front perspective view and a front view of a mobile suit in which a person wears a package and carries a load.

The object 91 is a heavy object to be transported. The object 91 is fixed to the luggage loading unit 2 by a rope or the like (not shown). The object 92 placed on the hand 39 also has a role of a counterweight for balancing with the object 91. By placing the object 92 on the hand portion 39, the upper body center of gravity can be positioned on the upper body rotation axis even in a posture in which the forward inclination of the upper body of the wearer 90 is small. The object 92 is not fixed to the hand 39, and the wearer 90 holds the side of the object 92 by hand.

In step S01, the wearer 90 wears the mobile suit 100. A wearer 90 enters the upper body 1 and the lower back 3 from above. The waist connecting belt 17 is passed through a belt provided in the clothes of the wearer 90 to connect the trunk of the wearer 90 and the waist 3. The right foot of the wearer 90 is placed on the right foot main portion 6A and fixed by the foot holding portion 6C. Likewise, the left foot is fixed to the left foot main body 6A. After wearing the mobile suit 100, the wearer 90 is assumed to be sitting in a chair. Each actuator of the mobile suit 100 can be operated in a full support mode.

At step S02, the left and right arms 8 are brought forward and the hand 39 is turned upward. The lengths of the upper arm drive link 41L and the forearm drive link 43L can be changed in the length lock mechanisms 41S and 43S. The electric motor of the arm 8 is rotated by a remote control or the like, and the wearer 90 moves the upper arm frame 37 and the upper arm frame 38. With the hand 39 present at an appropriate position, the length lock mechanisms 41S, 43S can not be changed in length. In the actuator of the screw drive system, the length lock mechanisms 41S and 43S may not be provided because the length of the actuator can be maintained even if power is not supplied to the motor.

With the wrist rotation lock portion 44S in a rotatable state, the wearer 90 rotates the hand 39 so that the palm of the hand 39 faces in an appropriate direction. Furthermore, if necessary, each motor of the hand 39 is operated by remote control, and the first finger joint and the second finger of the first finger 47, the second finger 48, the third finger 49, and the fourth finger 50 are operated. Make the angle of the finger joint an appropriate angle. A program may be created in advance to make the position and orientation of the arm 8 suitable for carrying an object, and the motors of the motors 41M and 43M and the hand 39 may be controlled by the program.

In step S03, the object 91 is placed on the load carrying unit 2 and fixed. The person who is not the wearer 90 carries out S03. In step S04, the object 92 is placed on the left and right hand portions 39. The object 92 may be placed by a person other than the wearer 90 or may be a wearer 90 handed over the object 92. The order of S03 and S04 may be reversed.

At step S05, the wearer 90 stands up. The waist stress sensor 17S detects that the waist of the wearer 90 generates a force to move the waist 3 upward. In response to the detected upward force, the thigh drive actuator 28 and the knee joint drive actuator 33 of both legs operate to lengthen the thigh drive link 28L and the knee joint drive link 33L so that the wearer 90 can stand up. When the waist of the wearer 90 does not detect a force to move the waist 3 upward, the lengths of the thigh drive link 28L and the knee joint drive link 33L do not change.

In step S06, the wearer 90 places the thigh drive actuator 28 and the knee joint drive actuator 33 of both legs in the walking mode. The mode change can be operated by other than the hand of the wearer 90.

In step S07, the wearer 90 walks and carries the objects 91 and 92. The details of the walking motion will be described later.

In step S08, the wearer 90 who has arrived at the destination places the thigh drive actuators 28 and the knee joint drive actuators 33 of both legs in the full support mode.

In step S09, the wearer 90 sits down. The waist stress sensor 17S detects that the waist of the wearer 90 generates a force to move the waist 3 downward. In response to the detected downward force, the thigh drive actuator 28 and the knee joint drive actuator 33 of both legs operate. The thigh drive link 28L and the knee joint drive link 33L are shortened so as to move the center of gravity downward slowly. Thus, the wearer 90 can sit. When the wearer 90 sits down, the waist stress sensor 17S does not detect the force of the waist of the wearer 90 to move the waist 3 downward. At that time, the lengths of the thigh drive link 28L and the knee joint drive link 33L do not change.

In step S10, the object 91 is lowered from the luggage loading unit 2. A person who is not the wearer 90 carries out S10. In step S11, the object 92 is lowered from above the left and right hand portions 39. The person who is not the wearer 90 carries out S11. The order of S10 and S11 may be reversed.

At step S12, the left and right arms 8 are returned to the reference state.

At step S13, the wearer 90 takes off the mobile suit 100. After carrying multiple objects, the wearer 90 may take off the mobile suit 100.

The operation when the wearer 90 wearing the mobile suit 100 walks will be described. When the mobile suit 100 is worn, the load (load load) of the objects 91 and 92 and the mobile suit 100 is supported by the upper body 1 of the mobile suit 100, the waist 3 and the two legs 7. No load is applied to the wearer 90. The applied load is the sum of the loads applied to the left and right ankle joints J16 that are landed. Therefore, the load does not include the weight of the foot 6 on which the mobile suit 100 is landed. The wearer 90 moves the waist 3 via the waist connecting belt 17 by moving the trunk, and controls the center of gravity of the load to be present at an appropriate position where the mobile suit 100 does not fall down.

In order to prevent the mobile suit 100 from falling down when walking on two legs, when the two feet 6 of the mobile suit 100 are both landing, the load on the line connecting the two ankle joints J16 It is sufficient if the center of gravity exists. When only one foot 6 is landed, the center of gravity of the applied load may be present on the ankle joint J16 of the foot 6 that is landed. Here, a vertical straight line passing through the load center of gravity which is the center of gravity of the load is called a load center of gravity line. Strictly speaking, the load barycentric line is determined from the line connecting the ankle joint J16 of the two landings 6 or the ankle joint J16 of the foot 6 on which only one is landing. You just have to go through the range. As a matter of course, it is necessary for the wearer 90 wearing the mobile suit 100 to be able to take a posture in which only one of the left and right feet 6 has landed. Whether or not the foot 6 has landed is determined by the magnitude of the reaction force detected by the reaction force sensor 6D. If the reaction force is less than the determined threshold value, it is determined that the landing has not occurred, and if the reaction force is equal to or more than the threshold, it is determined that the landing has occurred.

Here, that the foot 6 lands means that the bottom surface of the foot main body 6A is in contact with the ground or the like. The ground, etc. shall include asphalt roads, concrete quays, outdoor structures such as bridges and towers, floor surfaces of buildings, stairs, roofs and so forth, as well as furniture placed on the floor. The ground etc. include all places where load is transmitted to the surface of the earth. When the mobile suit 100 is used on or inside a vehicle, a ship, an aircraft, etc., when the bottom of the foot main body 6A is in contact with the vehicle, ship, aircraft, etc. Assume that it includes.

With reference to FIGS. 26 to 34, the case where the wearer 90 wearing the mobile suit 100 stands with one foot will be described. FIGS. 26 to 32 show the case where the object is not held, but the same applies to the case where the object is held. 26, 27 and 28 are a perspective view, a front view and a left side view as seen from the front in a state where the mobile suit 100 is worn by a person and the left foot is raised. 29, 30, 31, and 32 are a front view, a left side view, a plan view and a bottom view of the mobile suit 100 in a state where the mobile suit 100 is worn by a person and the left foot is raised. FIG. 33 is a view comparing front views of the mobile suit 100 in a state in which a person wears the mobile suit 100 and lands both feet and a state in which the left foot is raised. FIG. 34 is a diagram comparing the bottom views of the mobile suit 100 in a state in which a person wears the mobile suit 100 and lands both feet and a state in which the left foot is raised. In FIGS. 33 and 34, the case of standing with both feet is (A), and the case of standing with one foot is (B).

The wearer 90 wearing the mobile suit 100 can stand on one foot. In FIG. 33, a straight line connecting the hip portion J6 and the ankle joint J16 (referred to as a leg straight line) is indicated by a dotted line. A vertical straight line is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line. In the case of standing with one leg, the leg straight line has a greater inclination in the left-right direction, and the ankle joint J16 is inclined so as to be on the center side in the left-right direction with respect to the hip joint J6. In FIG. 34, a straight line (referred to as an opening and closing leg) connecting the opening and closing leg shaft J5 and the lower thigh drive link attachment portion J10 is indicated by a dotted line. A straight line parallel to the Y axis is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line. In the case of standing on both feet (A), the front side of the opening and closing leg line opens slightly outward with respect to a straight line parallel to the Y axis. In the case of standing on one foot (B), the front side of the opening and closing leg line exists inside. Thus, when standing with one foot, the ankle joint J16 comes to the center in the left-right direction. Since the opening and closing leg axis J5 is disposed rearward of the hip joint J6, when standing with one foot, the front side of the opening and closing leg line exists inside in the left-right direction. Both straightening of the leg straightness and the fact that the front side of the open and close leg line is on the inner side in the left and right direction has the effect of bringing the load barycentric line closer to the ankle joint J16 of the foot 6 landing when standing with one foot. .

In order to change from the state in which both feet are landed to the state in which the foot is landed with only one foot (one foot) on either side, the wearer 90 moves the trunk to one foot side. When the trunk moves, the waist 3 moves by the waist connecting belt 17. In the mobile suit 100, the thigh open / close leg frame 22, the femur and the lower thigh rotate so that the ankle joint J16 on the side (destination side) to which the trunk moves moves closer to the load barycentric line. Therefore, in the mobile suit 100, it is possible to smoothly and easily change from the state of standing on both feet to the state of standing on only one foot. It is the same whether one leg is right or left.

By expanding and contracting the thigh drive link 28 during bipedal walking, a rotational moment about the X axis is generated. The rotational moment about the X axis is transmitted to the leg 7 on the opposite side via the waist 3. Since the opposite leg 7 lands, it receives a reaction force and a reverse rotation moment from the ground. As a result, the mobile suit 100 as a whole can walk on two legs without rotating around the X axis.

The wearer 90 moves the trunk to one foot side in a state where both feet are landed, and applies a load only to the leg 7 on the side to which the trunk moves. With a load applied to only one leg, the leg 7 with no load applied is lifted and moved forward. Even in the state where only one foot is landing, the wearer 90 can balance by moving the trunk so that the center of gravity of the applied load is on the ankle joint J16 of the foot 6 on which the landing is located. . The wearer 90 lands the ungrounded leg 7 forward. After landing, the trunk is moved so that a load is applied only to the front leg 7. When only the front leg 7 bears the load, the rear leg 7 is raised and moved forward. By repeating such an operation, the wearer 90 wearing the mobile suit 100 walks.

The thigh drive actuator 28 and the knee joint drive actuator 33 may use little power to move the position of the load center of gravity. The knee joint drive actuator 33 operates so that the angle of the knee joint J9 becomes appropriate so that the landing leg 7 can support the load. The angle of the hip portion J6 of the landing leg 7 may be changed in accordance with the movement of the load center of gravity. Therefore, the thigh drive actuator 28 may not consume power. Since the motor generators 28M and 33M rotate in accordance with the movement of the wearer 90, the legs 7 on the non-landing side can generate electric power. The electric power generated by the motor generators 28M and 33M is stored in a storage battery in the electronic control unit 9 or in another place. The field of the motor generators 28M and 33M is set to an appropriate strength so that the burden on the generation of electricity for the wearer 90 is not heavy and the amount of generated electricity is large.

A condition in which the thigh drive link 28L and the knee joint drive link 33L expand and contract in accordance with the walking motion of the wearer 90 will be described. First, the thigh drive link 28L will be described. When the length lock mechanism 28S is not operating (locking), when a torque (crotch rotational torque) for rotating the femoral frame 25 relative to the thigh open-close leg frame around the hip joint J6 is applied, the thigh drive link The 28L has the power to change its length. The magnitude of the force for changing the length of the thigh drive link 28L depends on the distance between the hip joint J6 and the thigh drive link 28L. If the frictional force at the screw portion of the femoral drive link 28L is smaller than the force for changing the length of the femoral drive link 28L, the force for changing the length of the femoral drive link 28L causes the screw rod to rotate and the femoral drive link 28L stretches. When a crotch rotational torque equal to or greater than a crotch rotational torque threshold determined from the frictional force at the screw portion is applied, the length of the thigh drive link 28L can be changed. When generating electric power according to the movement of the wearer 90, if the crotch rotation torque threshold is set smaller than the torque that the wearer 90 can exert, the thigh drive link 28L expands and contracts in accordance with the movement of the wearer 90.

Similarly, with regard to the knee joint drive link 33L, when the length lock mechanism 33S is not operating, the length of the knee joint drive link 33L can be changed when knee rotation torque equal to or greater than the knee rotation torque threshold is applied. The knee rotation torque threshold is determined from the frictional force at the screw portion of the knee joint drive link 33L. The knee rotation torque is a torque for rotating the lower leg 5 with respect to the femoral frame 25 around the knee joint J9. When generating power according to the movement of the wearer 90, if the knee rotation torque threshold is set smaller than the torque that the wearer 90 can exert, the knee joint drive link 33L expands and contracts in accordance with the movement of the wearer 90.

When landing with only one foot, power consumption can be further reduced if the length lock mechanism 33S is locked so that the length of the knee joint drive link 33L of the landing leg 7 does not change. . A control circuit inside the electronic control unit 9 locks the length lock mechanism 33S. In the case of landing with only one foot, the reaction force detected by the reaction force sensor 6D of either the left or right foot portion 6 is less than the threshold. When the reaction force detected by the reaction force sensor 6D of either the left or right foot 6 is less than the threshold value, the control circuit controls the length lock mechanism 33S on the side of the foot 6 on which the other reaction force sensor is provided. Lock control unit to operate the

Even in the walking mode, if a rapid acceleration occurs so that the wearer 90 does not fall, the mobile suit 100 generates a force in each joint in the direction opposite to the direction in which the acceleration occurs.

In the mobile suit 100, the wearer 90 can walk on two legs. Even when the wearer 90 holds a heavy item on his / her back or chest side or both, he / she can similarly walk on two legs. When walking wearing the mobile suit 100, the mobile suit 100 supports a load. The wearer 90 can walk on two legs by balancing with the motion of the hips and moving the legs so that one foot moves away from the ground alternately. In the mobile suit 100, the power consumption when walking on two legs can be reduced compared to the prior art. When a large force is required, such as standing up or lifting a load, the mobile suit 100 exerts a force and the wearer 90 is not loaded.

In the mobile suit 100, the function of balancing the center of gravity is left to the wearer 90. Therefore, a program for controlling each part of the mobile suit 100 can be created more easily than in the past so that the wearer 90 can walk on two legs.

The arm 8 drives the vertical movement only by the actuator, so the structure is simplified. The left-right rotation and holding of the object so as not to fall are left to the wearer 90. In this case, the load on the wearer 90 is light because gravity does not apply in the left-right direction. The rotation of the arm in the left-right direction may be driven by an actuator. In the case of holding a very delicate object, the human hand can be placed on the palm side of the hand 39 and the hand 39 can support the human hand. Things can be moved or gripped with the sense of a human hand via the hand 39 which is a robot hand. Only the arm 8 can be used as a robot arm. In addition, the arm has an upper body, a waist supporting the load from the upper body, and a pair of left and right legs each having a thigh, a lower leg and a foot connected in series to the left and right of the waist Applicable to mobile suits.

Since the arms 8 are provided on the front of the upper body 1, the structure is simpler and lighter than when the arms are taken out from the back. The arm 8 has a compact construction with minimal space and weight on the front. Therefore, it is possible to move with the arm 8 with a thing. Providing an arm on the front makes it easy to balance in the front-rear direction by changing the position of the arm even when carrying a heavy load on the back.

On the other hand, in the case of the conventional configuration in which the arm hand extends from behind behind the shoulder, the required space is increased, the weight is increased, and a large amount of driving energy is also required. In practical applications, the conventional configuration is very difficult to use from the point of view of space. In the conventional configuration, since the devices are concentrated on the back side, it is a structure in which it is difficult to balance the front and back.

In the conventional mobile suit, since the gear box and the motor are arranged at the joint, the joint becomes large. The mobile suit according to the present invention is a method of driving a joint portion to which a skeleton is connected by an actuator having a variable length link. Therefore, the joint becomes compact.

Instead of detecting the power of human muscles and providing support power according to human power, the mobile suit handles the weight of its own weight and luggage in the mobile suit. The load acting on a person is only the reaction force when moving back and forth. The frame above the waist (upper body) is not in close contact with people. The upper body is automatically controlled such that the center of gravity of the upper body lies on the upper body rotation axis. The upper body rotation axis is a rotation axis on which the upper body portion rotates in the front-rear direction. The operation of this function facilitates the movement of the wearer to balance the center of gravity when carrying heavy goods.

The mobile suit according to the present invention can be effectively used in a situation where a heavy load is moved manually at the time of disaster relief, construction or civil engineering work, and the like. Mobile suits can also be used for a long time, such as escorting injured people, unloading equipment, setting work, etc., for more than usual human power. It is also possible for mobile suits to work with heavy protective equipment, such as nuclear power plants, to protect the wearer.

By putting the mobile suit into practical use, it is possible to reduce the human load when carrying out work that places heavy load on the human body, such as handling heavy objects and taking the same posture for a long time. For example, it can be used for the assembly work of a large structure, the care work of a care support person whose necessity is increasing due to the aging society, the work of an elderly person with insufficient strength, and the like.
The above applies to the other embodiments.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment is a case where the first embodiment is modified such that a mechanism for detecting the motion of the wearer is also provided to the knee. FIG. 35 is a front perspective view of a mobile suit 100A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 36 is a front perspective view of the mobile suit 100A worn by a person. 37 and 38 are a front view and a right side view of the mobile suit 100A.

The leg 7A of the mobile suit 100A has the upper knee pad 52 and the lower knee pad 53. The upper knee pad 52 is provided to be present at a predetermined position in the front of the femoral frame 25 near the knee. The below-knee pad 53 is provided to be present at a predetermined position near the knee of the lower leg 5. The upper knee pad 52 and the lower knee pad 53 detect whether the leg of the wearer 90 is in contact.

The upper knee pad 52 is provided on the knee joint connection block 28 so as to be located in front of the knee joint connection block 28. The knee pad 52 may be secured to the femoral frame 32. It is a thigh movement detection sensor which is provided at a predetermined position in front of each of the pair of left and right thighs and detects that the legs of the wearer are in contact.

The below knee pads 53 are provided on the lower knee block 30 so as to be located in front of the lower knee knee block 30. The below knee pad 53 may be fixed to the lower leg link 31. The lower leg motion detection sensor is provided at a predetermined position in front of each of the left and right lower leg portions and detects that the legs of the wearer are in contact with each other.

The operation will be described. The operation of moving the waist 3 according to the movement of the trunk of the wearer 90 by the waist connecting belt 17 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Further, the operation of detecting the vertical stress by the waist stress sensor 17S is also the same. Furthermore, when the knee pad 52 detects that the legs of the wearer 90 are in contact, the control circuit inside the electronic control unit 9 is a motor generator so that the thigh drive link 28L becomes short. Drives 28M. The control circuit is a thigh drive link control unit that drives the motor generator 28M that generates a force that changes the length of the thigh drive link 28L.

When the below-knee pad 53 detects that the legs of the wearer 90 are in contact, the control circuit inside the electronic control unit 9 drives the motor generator 33M so that the lower leg drive link 33L becomes short. Do. The control circuit is a knee joint drive link control unit that drives a motor generator 33M that generates a force that changes the length of the lower leg drive link 33L.

By detecting the movement or posture of the wearer's body in addition to the legs and hips, the movement of the wearer can be detected more accurately. Therefore, the mobile suit 100A can take a posture more consistent with the posture of the lower body of the wearer 90. As a result, it is possible to reduce the discomfort that the wearer 90 feels to the posture or movement of the mobile suit 100A.
Only the upper knee pad 52 or the lower knee pad 53 may be provided.

Third Embodiment
The third embodiment is a case where the first embodiment is modified to further include a seat portion on which the buttocks of the wearer can be placed. The seat is used in a posture in which the waist of the wearer is lower than in the upright state. FIG. 39 is a right side view in which the vicinity of the waist is enlarged with a person wearing the mobile suit 100B according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 40 is an enlarged rear view of the vicinity of the waist with a person wearing the mobile suit 100B.

A cloth seat portion 54 is provided on the waist front frame 16B of the mobile suit 100B. Both ends of the seat portion 54 are connected to the widest portions on the left and right of the waist front frame 16B. The seat 54 is always present on the inner side of the waist front frame 16A and the waist rear frame 15A. When necessary, the wearer 90 pulls out the seat 54 for use. At this time, the length of the variable length link of the actuator of the leg 7 is locked so as not to change. When the length of the variable length link of the leg 7 is fixed, the postures of the waist 3 and the leg 7 are also fixed. The wearer 90 can be seated on the seat portion 54 by having the seat portion 54 suspended from the fixed waist portion 3B.

The mobile suit 100 does not bear the load on the wearer 90. Conversely, the mobile suit 100 does not have the function of assisting the wearer 90 to hold its posture. The seat 54 of the mobile suit 100B supports the buttocks of the wearer 90 from below. That is, the wearer 90 can sit on the seat portion 54 when it is necessary to take a posture in which the position of the waist is lower than the posture in which the position of the waist is upright (a so-called mid-latitude posture) for a long time. The mobile suit 100B can reduce the load on the wearer 90 when taking a mid-latitude posture.

The seat 54 may be suspended from the waist 3B at at least two locations. Also, the seat may be made of resin or metal, and both ends may be rotatably connected to the waist. When the seat portion 54 is not used, it is stored on the back side of the waist. Therefore, the seat does not get in the way when standing or walking. In conjunction with the angle of the knee joint, the angle of the knee joint of the two legs may be detected to have a mechanism for automatically storing the seat.

Fourth Embodiment
In the fourth embodiment, a projector for projecting an image on a transparent screen and a transparent screen in front of a mobile suit in order to transmit various information such as an instruction to a worker, judgment information, and a procedure instruction to a wearer This is the case where the second embodiment is modified to include. FIGS. 41, 42 and 43 are a front view, a right side view and a plan view of a mobile suit 100C according to the fourth embodiment in a state of being worn by a person.

The mobile suit 100C has a transparent screen 55 attached to the upper front of the upper body frame 10C of the upper body 1C. In addition, a projector 56 for projecting an image on the transparent screen 55 is provided near the top of the upper body frame 10C. Two projectors 56 allow three-dimensional video to be projected. One projector 56 may be provided. The projected image may be determined by the wearer 90, or the communication function may display the information received by the mobile suit 100C.

The transparent screen 55 is fixed to the upper body frame 10C so as to be present in a wide range in front of the wearer 90. Therefore, the wearer 90 can view necessary information with both hands free. Since the transparent screen 55 has a wide field of view, it can display a lot of information. Instructions to the worker, judgment information, procedure instructions, etc. can be transmitted to the wearer 90. Since the transparent screen 55 is transparent, the wearer 90 can also see the surrounding conditions and the like. The transparent screen 55 may be made of tempered glass or the like to protect the wearer from flying objects from the front.

Embodiment 5
In the fifth embodiment, in place of the thigh drive actuator, the second embodiment is configured such that the femoral portion can be rotated around the hip using two gas springs in which the compressed gas is sealed. It is a case of changing. FIG. 44 is a right side view explaining a structure of a thigh driving mechanism using compressed gas possessed by mobile suit 100D according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 44 shows the case where the gas spring does not generate a force to rotate the femoral frame. FIG. 45 is a view for explaining an operation when the thigh driving mechanism using the compressed gas included in the mobile suit 100D raises the thigh. FIG. 46 is a view for explaining the operation in the case where the thigh driving mechanism using the compressed gas of the mobile suit 100D lowers the thigh.

The thigh 4D of the mobile suit 100D has two thigh drive gas springs 57, 58 instead of the thigh drive actuator 28. The other knee-side end of the front thigh drive gas spring 57 is rotatably attached to the thigh femoral drive link attachment portion J25. The other knee-side end of the rear thigh driving gas spring 58 is rotatably attached to the thigh driving link attachment portion J26. The thigh side thigh drive link attachment parts J25, J26 are provided on the femoral frame 25D. One end on the lumbar side of the thigh drive gas spring 57, 58 is connected by the thigh drive link connection part 59. The thigh drive gas springs 57 and 58 and the thigh drive link connection part 59 exist outside the femoral frame 25D in the left-right direction. At both ends of the thigh drive link connection portion 59, one guide projection 59A, 59B (shown by a dotted line) is provided on the inner side in the left-right direction. The guide projections 59A, 59B enter the grooves of the grooved link end guide rails 60 and can move along the link end guide rails 60. The link end guide rail 60 is provided on the outer side in the left-right direction of the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22D. The link end guide rail 60 is represented by an arc of a two-dot chain line in order to express the figure briefly. Further, in the drawing, the moving angle of the thigh drive link connecting portion 59 on the link end guide rail 60 is drawn larger than the actual angle.

The thigh drive gas spring 57, 58 is a thigh drive link that generates a force to compress and seal the gas and increase its length. The guide projections 59A, 59B are waist-side thigh drive link attachment portions to which one end of each of the thigh drive gas springs 57, 58 is rotatably attached. The thigh driving gas springs 57, 58 rotate the femoral frame 25D about the hip joint J6. The link end guide rail 60 is a thigh drive link end guide rail provided on the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22D and on which the guide protrusions 59A and 59B move. The thigh drive link connection portion 59 fixes the guide protrusions 59A, 59B at a predetermined interval.

As shown in FIG. 45, when the femoral drive link connection portion 59 and the guide protrusions 59A, 59B are on the rear side of the femoral frame 25D, the femoral drive gas springs 57, 58 are extended to thereby form the femoral frame 25D and The hip joint J6 can be moved upward. By moving the thigh drive link connecting portion 59 downward, the direction of the reaction force acting on the thigh drive gas springs 57, 58 and the femoral frame 25D extending from the hip portion J6 in the radial direction of the link end guide rail 60. The direction deviates. The occurrence of this deviation in direction causes a tangential force to act on the femoral frame 25D.

As shown in FIG. 46, when the femoral drive link connection portion 59 and the guide projections 59A, 59B are on the front side of the femoral frame 25D, the femoral drive gas springs 57, 58 extend to thereby generate the femoral frame 25D and the hip joint. Part J6 can be moved down. In this manner, by moving the waist side link ends of the thigh driving gas springs 57, 58 along the rails, the hip joint portion J6 can be rotated in both directions using the extending gas spring.

Thus, by using the gas spring, it is possible to drive the hip of the mobile suit using the energy of the gas enclosed in advance. Gas springs can also be used in other joints, such as shoulder joints. A driving method that does not use power during operation is called a passive driving method. The driving method using a gas spring is a passive driving method.

The thigh drive link connection 59 may be moved manually, or the mobile suit may be provided with a moving mechanism. The thigh drive gas spring may be one. By using two, the movement distance on the link end guide rail 60 for generating the same force can be made shorter than in the case of one.

In the case of using two gas springs, an imbalance in extension force is generated by making the directions of the two gas springs different from the direction of the femoral frame by human power or weight transfer. Unbalance in extension force is converted to leg shaft torque. It is possible to control the direction of rotational force of the leg shaft of the gas spring by consciously controlling the direction of occurrence of this unbalance or naturally controlling it by movement during walking. That is, the generation timing of the assist force can be controlled as needed. Thereby, the motion assistance of the lower body of the wearer 90 is possible by the passive drive method which does not use a power supply.

The link end guide rail 60 defines a trajectory when the thigh drive link connection portion 59 moves. The link end guide rail 60 is arranged so that the guide projection 59 moves with the same curvature as the radius of gyration of the gas spring. By doing so, it is possible to keep the reaction force at the time of the movement of the guide projection 59 constant as a sliding reaction force or a rolling reaction force. It is possible for the wearer 90 to be able to easily change the position of the gas spring by conscious human power (moving back and forth of the hand). By changing the position of the gas spring, it is possible to intentionally reverse the assist force in the vertical rotation direction of the leg.

The operation when it is desired to weaken or strengthen the force generated by the gas spring can be consciously changed by the wearer 90. Being able to change the force generated by the gas spring by the wearer 90 is one way to eliminate the difficulty of using the mobile suit under no-load condition generally known.

Sixth Embodiment
The sixth embodiment is the case where the first embodiment is modified to use an actuator utilizing a hydraulic mechanism. The mobile suit 100Z has an actuator using a hydraulic mechanism. FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of a variable-length link provided in an actuator used in the mobile suit according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

The structure of an actuator using a hydraulic mechanism will be described by taking the upper body drive link 20LZ as an example. The actuator 20Z has a variable-length link 20LZ and a motor 20M. The variable-length link 20LZ includes a cylinder 20H, a piston 20J, a pipe 20K, and a pump 20N. The cylinder 20H is filled with a liquid such as mineral oil. The piston 20J divides the inside of the cylinder 20H into a first chamber 20P and a second chamber 20Q. As the piston 20J moves, the volumes of the first chamber 20P and the second chamber 20Q change. The sum of the volume of the first chamber 20P and the volume of the second chamber 20Q is constant. The pipe 20K connects the first chamber 20P and the second chamber 20Q. The pipe 20K is filled with a liquid. The pump 20N is provided in the middle of the pipe 20K. The pump 20N is driven by the motor 20M. The pump 20N can move the liquid from the first room 20P to the second room 20Q, and can move the liquid from the second room 20Q to the first room 20P.

One end of the piston 20J can be attached to the chest central link attachment portion J5. One end of the cylinder 20H is attached to the waist center link attachment portion J10.

When the pump 20N moves the liquid from the first chamber 20P to the second chamber 20Q, the piston 20J moves in a direction approaching the chest central link attachment portion J5. When the pump 20N moves the liquid from the second chamber 20Q to the first chamber 20P, the piston 20J moves away from the chest central link attachment portion J5. If the liquid does not move between the first chamber 20P and the second chamber 20Q, the position of the piston 20J does not change. Thus, the length of the variable-length link 20LZ can be changed, and an arbitrary length within the movable range can be maintained.

When the motor 20M drives the pump 20N, an actuator using a hydraulic mechanism can be used instead of a screw-based actuator using a screw rod 20A or the like. The control of each drive shaft can also control each linear actuator in the same manner as the control of each shaft rotation of an electric drive motor, and can be replaced as it is.

In the hydraulic mechanism, the rotational connection parts that were necessary in the case of a screw-type actuator are not required, and the reliability is improved. As an effect when driven by an actuator of a hydraulic mechanism, it is possible to generate a larger thrust than an actuator that drives a screw system by an electric motor. The ability to deliver greater thrust makes it easier to use mobile suits for disaster relief.

Embodiment 7
The seventh embodiment is the case where the upper connection destination of the knee joint drive link is changed to the thigh opening-closing leg frame instead of the femoral frame. Seventh Embodiment A structure of a mobile suit according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 48 and 49 are perspective views of the mobile suit 100E as viewed from the front or the rear. A front view, a right side view, a plan view and a bottom view of the mobile suit 100E are shown in FIGS. 50, 51, 52 and 53, respectively. FIG. 54 is a right side view below the waist of the mobile suit. The differences between the mobile suit 100E and the mobile suit 100 according to the first embodiment will be described.

The femoral frame 25E which the thigh 4E has does not have the protrusion 25T. One end of a knee joint drive link 33LE of the knee joint drive actuator 33E is rotatably attached to the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22E. In the thigh knee joint drive link attachment portion J27, a yoke provided at one end of the knee joint drive link 33LE sandwiches the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22E. By passing the shaft member through a through hole provided in the yoke and the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22E, the thigh knee joint drive link attachment portion J27 rotatably attaches one end of the knee joint driving link 33LE to the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22E .

The thigh drive actuator 28 and the knee joint drive actuator 33E are both connected to the thigh opening and closing leg frame 22E on the side of the waist 3. The thigh drive actuator 28 and the knee joint drive actuator 33E are connected to the femur so as to sandwich from the front and back. The knee joint drive actuator 33 E is also connected to the lower leg 5. By such a link arrangement, it is possible to generate a force for driving the joint of the leg 7E in a form closer to a person. The link arrangement of the mobile suit 100E is a link arrangement capable of driving the legs 7E with a motion close to that of a high-level person.

The arrangement of links for changing the direction of the femoral frame 25E will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 55 is a schematic diagram for explaining the link arrangement for moving the femur in the left leg of the mobile suit. FIG. 55 (A) is a right side view schematically showing the link arrangement in the reference state. FIG. 55 (B) is a right side view schematically showing a link arrangement in a state in which the thigh drive link 28L is shortened from the reference state. FIG. 55 (C) is a right side view schematically showing link arrangement in a state in which the thigh drive link 28L is elongated from the reference state. It is assumed that the length of the knee joint drive link 33LE is not changed. As shown in FIG. 55 (A), the angle that the femoral frame 25E makes with the vertical direction is represented by a variable θ. The angle between the thigh and lower leg 5 at the knee joint J9 is represented by a variable φ. The angle which the lower leg 5 makes with the vertical direction is represented by a variable ξ. The relationship of θ + φ + ξ = 180 ° always holds.

In the reference state shown in FIG. 55 (A), θ = 13 °, φ = 155 °, and ξ = 12 °. In FIG. 55 (B), the thigh drive link 28L is shortened to increase the angle θ of θ = 21 ° and the hip portion J6 by 8 °. The angle φ of the knee joint J9 decreases by 10 ° with φ = 145 °. As a result, the angle ξ of the lower leg 5 is 14 °. In FIG. 55 (C), the thigh drive link 28L is elongated to reduce the angle θ of θ = 5 ° and the hip joint J6 by 8 °. The angle φ of the knee joint J9 increases by 5 ° with φ = 160 °. As a result, the angle ξ of the lower leg 5 is 15 °. By expanding and contracting only the thigh drive link 28L, the angles of both the hip joint J6 and the knee joint J9 change. If only the thigh drive link 28L is lengthened, the angle θ of the hip joint J6 decreases and the angle φ of the knee joint J9 increases. When only the thigh drive link 28L is shortened, the angle θ of the hip joint J6 increases and the angle φ of the knee joint J9 decreases. The coefficient (sensitivity) between the change in the length of the thigh drive link 28L and the change in the angle θ of the hip joint J6 and the angle φ of the knee joint J9 changes according to the length of the thigh drive link 28L. The sensitivity of the angle φ of the knee joint J9 to changes in the length of the thigh drive link 28L also depends on the length of the knee drive link 33LE.

The arrangement of the link for changing the angle of the knee joint J9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 56 is a schematic diagram for explaining the link arrangement for moving the knee joint in the left leg of the mobile suit. FIG. 56 (A) is a right side view schematically showing the link arrangement in the reference state. In FIG. 56 (A) and FIG. 55 (A), the angle of each joint is the same. FIG. 56 (B) is a right side view schematically showing link arrangement in a state in which the knee joint drive link 33LE is shortened from the reference state. FIG. 56 (C) is a right side view schematically showing link arrangement in a state in which the knee joint drive link 33LE is elongated from the reference state. It is assumed that the length of the thigh drive link 28L is not changed.

In FIG. 56 (B), the knee joint drive link 33LE is shortened to decrease φ = 147 ° and the angle φ of the knee joint J9 by 8 °. It does not change at the angle θ = 13 ° of the hip joint J6. As a result, the angle ξ of the lower leg 5 is 20 °. In FIG. 56 (C), the knee joint drive link 33LE is elongated to increase φ = 163 ° and the angle φ of the knee joint J9 by 8 °. It does not change at the angle θ = 13 ° of the hip joint J6. As a result, the angle ξ = 4 ° of the lower leg 5 is obtained. When only the knee joint drive link 33LE is lengthened, the angle φ of the knee joint J9 increases. When only the knee joint drive link 33LE is shortened, the angle φ of the knee joint J9 decreases. Even if the length of the knee joint drive link 33LE changes, the angle θ of the hip joint J6 does not change. The sensitivity of the angle φ of the knee joint J9 to the change in the length of the knee joint drive link 33LE changes with the length of the knee joint drive link 33LE.

In the mobile suit 100, the force to increase the angle of the knee joint J6 is generated only when the knee joint drive link 33L is long. In the mobile suit 100E, the force to increase the angle of the knee joint J6 works also in the case where the thigh drive link 28L becomes long in addition to the case where the knee joint drive link 33L becomes long. That is, the angle of the knee joint J6 is determined by the lengths of the knee joint drive link 33L and the thigh drive link 28L. Therefore, it is easier for the mobile suit 100E to maintain the angle of the knee joint J9 during bipedal walking.

The present invention allows free combinations of the respective embodiments, or modifications or omissions of the respective embodiments within the scope of the spirit of the invention.

100, 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D, 100E, 100Z mobile suit (motion assistance device),
90 Wearers,
91, 92 objects,
1, 1 C upper body,
2 Baggage loading section (object holding section),
3, 3B waist 4, 4A, 4D, 4E thigh,
5, 5A lower thigh,
6 feet,
6A foot body,
6B lower thigh connection projection,
6C foot holding part,
6D reaction force sensor 7, 7A, 7E legs,
8 arms,
9 Electronic control unit,
10 upper body frame,
11 back connection frame,
12 chest bands,
13 Stacking unit connecting frame,
14 shoulder bracket,
15 waist back frame,
16, 16B waist front frame,
17 waist connection belt (wearer's movement transmission part),
17S waist stress sensor,
18 upper body connection projection,
19 back central projection,
20 upper body actuators,
20L, 20LZ upper body drive link,
20M motor (power source),
20A screw rod 20B nut 20C cylinder 20D nut position fixing portion 20E nut rotation holding portion 20F nut gear 20G drive gear 20H cylinder 20J piston 20K piping 20N pump 20P first chamber 20Q second chamber 21 load sensor,
22, 22D thigh opening and closing leg frame (thigh opening and closing leg),
23 Opening and closing leg spring (lumbar link),
24 spring mounting lugs,
25, 25D, 25E femoral frame (femoral part),
25T protrusion,
26 knee joint block (femoral),
27 Knee thigh plate (femoral),
28 thigh drive actuators,
28L thigh drive link,
28M motor generator (power source),
28S Length Locking Mechanism (Hip Lock)
29 thigh knee side yoke,
30 lower leg knee block,
31 lower leg link,
32 lower leg ankle block,
33, 33E Knee joint drive actuator,
33L, 33LE knee joint drive link,
33M motor generator (power source),
33S Length Locking Mechanism (Knee Joint Locking Part)
34 Thigh side auxiliary tool 35 Lower leg side auxiliary tool 36 Arm rotating rod 36S Arm rotation lock portion 37 Upper arm frame 38 Forearm frame 39 Hand portion 40 Upper arm connection projection 41 Upper arm drive actuator 41 L Upper arm drive link 41 M Electric motor (power source)
41S length lock mechanism (upper arm lock)
42 upper arm drive link connection projection 43 forearm drive actuator 43L forearm drive link 43M motor (power source)
43S length lock mechanism (forearm lock)
44 wrist plate 44S wrist rotation lock,
45 hand attachment portion 45A attachment plate portion 45B palm plate portion connection plate portion 46 palm plate portion 47 first finger portion (finger portion)
48 Second finger (finger)
49 3rd finger part (finger part)
50 fourth finger (finger)
51 Facable fingers (fingers)
47A, 48A, 49A, 50A, 51A first finger segment 47B, 48B, 49B, 50B, 51B second finger segment 47C, 48C, 49C, 50C, 51C third finger segment 47D, 48D, 49D, 50D, 51D first finger joint 47E, 48E, 49E, 50E, 51E second finger joint 47F, 48F, 49F, 50F, 51F third finger joint 47G, 48G, 49G, 50G, 51G finger base yoke portion 47H, 48H , 49H, 50H, 51H finger first electric motors 47J, 48J, 49J, 50J, 51J first worms 47K, 48K, 49K, 50K, 51K first worm wheels 47L, 48L, 49L, 50L, 51L finger second electric motors 47M, 48M, 49M, 50M, 51M second worm 47N, 48N, 49N, 50N, 51N second worm wheel Eale 47P, 48P, 49P, 50P, 51P Third finger segment drive gear 51T First finger segment base 51U First finger segment 52 Upper knee pad (femoral motion detection sensor)
53 below knee pad (lower leg motion detection sensor)
54 seat 55 transparent screen 56 projector 57, 58 thigh drive gas spring (thigh drive link),
59 Thigh drive link joint 59A, 59B Guide projection 60 Link end guide rail

J1 loading unit connection,
J2 upper body waist connection,
J3 Upper link attachment,
J4 waist link attachment,
J5 opening and closing leg shaft,
J6 hip,
J7 leg side spring mounting part,
J8 Lumbar spring attachment J9 Knee joint,
J10 Lumbar Thigh Drive Link Attachment,
J11 Femoral thigh drive link attachment,
J12 Femoral knee joint drive link attachment part J13 Knee joint drive link auxiliary tool connection part J14 Femoral auxiliary tool attachment part J15 Lower thigh side auxiliary tool attachment part
J16 ankle joint,
J17 Arm rotational connection J18 Shoulder joint J19 Elbow joint J20 Wrist joint J21 Upper arm side upper arm drive link attachment portion J22 Upper body side upper arm drive link attachment portion J23 Upper arm side forearm drive link attachment portion J24 Forearm side forearm drive link attachment portion J25 , J26 Thigh side thigh drive link attachment portion J27 Thigh side knee joint drive link attachment portion

Claims (22)

An object holding unit that holds an object;
An upper body portion for supporting a load from the object holding portion;
A waist portion having a waist reference surface, rotatably connected to the upper body portion around an upper body rotation axis parallel to the waist reference surface, and supporting a load from the upper body portion;
A wearer operation transmission unit that moves the lumbar region according to the movement of the wearer's trunk;
Thigh opening and closing legs connected to the left and right of the waist so as to be rotatable around the opening and closing leg axes intersecting the waist reference plane;
A femur which has one end connected to the thigh opening / closing leg;
A hip joint connecting one end of the thigh to the thigh opening and closing leg so as to change the angle between the thigh and the thigh opening and closing leg;
A femoral drive link whose length is changeable, one end of which is rotatably connected to the thigh opening / closing leg at a position different from the hip joint and whose other end is rotatably connected to the thigh.
A lower leg connected at one end to the other end of the femur;
A knee joint that connects one end of the lower leg to the thigh so as to change the angle between the lower leg and the thigh;
A knee joint drive link having a variable length, one end of which is rotatably connected to the femur or the thigh opening / closing leg and the other end of which is rotatably connected to the lower thigh.
A foot connected to the other end of the lower leg and moving with the foot of the wearer;
An ankle joint rotatably connecting the other end of the lower leg to the foot in three rotational degrees of freedom;
The position of the load center of gravity, which is the center of gravity of the applied load, which is the sum of the loads applied to the left and right ankle joints which are landed, can be controlled by moving the waist by the wearer movement transmitting unit.
Motion aid device. A length changeable upper body drive link, one end of which is rotatably connected to the upper body portion and the other end of which is rotatably connected to the waist portion, and a force for changing the length of the upper body drive link An upper body center of gravity, which is a vertical straight line passing through the upper body center of gravity where the waist is the center of gravity of the load received from the upper body portion, within a determined distance from the upper body rotation axis; The motion assist device according to claim 1, further comprising a body actuator that changes the length of the body drive link so as to pass through the range. The opening and closing leg shaft is disposed rearward of the hip joint,
When the wearer moves the waist portion to the destination side which is either the left side or the right side by the wearer motion transmitting unit, the ankle joint on the destination side is perpendicular to the load center of gravity. The motion assisting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thigh opening / closing leg, the thigh, and the lower thigh rotate so as to approach a load gravity center line which is a straight line. The operation according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a knee joint lock portion provided on the knee joint drive link to prevent the knee joint drive link from changing in length. Auxiliary equipment. A reaction force sensor provided on the foot for detecting a reaction force received by the foot;
A lock for operating the knee joint lock on the side of the foot on which the other reaction force sensor is provided when the reaction force detected by either the left or right reaction force sensor is less than the determined threshold value And a control unit,
The length of the femoral drive link can be changed if the torque to rotate the femoral portion relative to the femoral access leg about the hip is greater than or equal to a determined crotch rotational torque threshold.
The knee joint drive link in the case where the knee joint locking portion is not operating and the torque for rotating the lower leg relative to the thigh around the knee joint is equal to or greater than a knee rotation torque threshold. The motion assist device according to claim 4, wherein the length can be changed. Each of the thigh drive link and the knee joint drive link
A threaded rod provided with an external thread on the outer periphery,
A rotating member having a through hole provided on its inner surface with an internal thread that engages with the external thread provided on the threaded rod;
And a cylinder accommodating the rotating member and the screw rod,
When the screw rod rotates, the distance between the end of the screw rod not accommodated in the cylinder and the end of the cylinder not inserted with the screw rod changes.
A motor generator that is supplied with electric power to rotate the screw rod and generates electric power when the screw rod rotates;
The operation assisting device according to claim 5, further comprising: a storage battery that stores electric power supplied to the motor generator and stores electric power generated by the motor generator. Each of the thigh drive link and the knee joint drive link
A threaded rod provided with an external thread on the outer periphery,
A rotating member having a through hole provided on its inner surface with an internal thread that engages with the external thread provided on the threaded rod;
And a cylinder accommodating the rotating member and the screw rod,
When the screw rod rotates, the distance between the end of the screw rod not accommodated in the cylinder and the end of the cylinder not inserted with the screw rod changes.
The motion auxiliary device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: a power source for rotating the screw rod. Each of the thigh drive link and the knee joint drive link
A cylinder filled with liquid,
A movable piston that divides the interior of the cylinder into a first chamber and a second chamber;
Piping filled with the liquid that connects the first chamber and the second chamber;
Provided in the middle of the piping, the liquid can be moved from the first chamber to the second chamber, and the liquid can be moved from the second chamber to the first chamber Have a pump that can
The operation auxiliary device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a power source for driving the pump. A thigh movement detecting sensor provided at a predetermined position in front of the femur and detecting that the wearer's legs are in contact with each other;
And a thigh drive link control unit for driving the power source such that the thigh drive link is shortened when the thigh movement detection sensor detects that the wearer's leg is in contact. The movement assistance apparatus of Claim 7 or Claim 8. A lower leg motion detection sensor provided at a predetermined position in front of the lower leg and detecting that the wearer's leg is in contact with the lower leg;
The lower leg link control unit for driving the power source so as to lengthen the lower leg drive link when the lower leg motion detection sensor detects that the wearer's leg is in contact. The operation assisting device according to any one of claims 7 to 9. The thigh drive link end guide rail provided on the thigh opening / closing leg and on which the waist side thigh drive link attachment portion moves,
The motion assist device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein gas is compressed and enclosed in the thigh drive link to generate a force that causes the thigh drive link to lengthen. Two of the femoral drive links are attached to the femoral portion,
The motion assisting device according to claim 11, wherein the thigh drive link end guide rail provided on the thigh opening / closing leg is moved at a predetermined interval between the two hip side thigh drive link attachment portions. A femoral side aid rotatably attached at one end to the other end of the knee joint drive link;
A femoral aid attachment portion provided on the femoral portion to which the other end of the femoral aid is rotatably attached;
A lower leg auxiliary member rotatably attached at one end to the other end of the knee joint drive link;
The operation according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: a lower leg side auxiliary tool attachment portion provided on the lower leg portion to which the other end of the lower leg side auxiliary tool is rotatably attached. Auxiliary equipment. One end is rotatably connected to the leg-side waist link attachment portion provided on the thigh opening and closing leg portion, and the other end is rotatably connected to the waist-side waist link attachment portion provided on the waist portion, and the length is changed 14. A motion assistance device according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a possible waist link. 15. The motion assist device of claim 14, wherein the waist link is a spring. It further comprises a pair of left and right arms connected to the front of the upper body,
Each said arm is
An arm holding portion provided on the upper body for holding the arm rotatably around an arm rotation axis having an angle determined with respect to the upper body;
An arm base having a rod-like portion held by the arm holding portion;
An upper arm connected at one end to an upper portion of the arm base;
A shoulder joint that connects one end of the upper arm to the arm base such that the angle between the upper arm and the arm base can be changed;
An upper arm drive link whose one end is rotatably connected at a position lower than the shoulder joint portion of the arm base and whose other end is connected to the upper arm portion;
An upper arm lock portion that prevents the length of the upper arm drive link from changing;
A forearm connected to the other end of the upper arm;
An elbow joint connecting one end of the forearm to the other end of the upper arm so as to change the angle formed by the forearm and the upper arm;
A variable length forearm drive link, one end rotatably connected to the upper arm and the other end connected to the forearm;
A forearm lock that prevents the length of the forearm drive link from changing;
A hand connected to the other end of the forearm;
A wrist joint that rotatably connects the hand to the other end of the forearm in a rotatable manner about a rotation axis having a fixed angle with respect to the forearm;
The movement assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising: a wrist lock portion that prevents the wrist joint portion from rotating. Upper body,
A pair of left and right arms connected to the front of the upper body;
A waist supporting the load from the upper body;
A pair of left and right legs each having a thigh, a lower leg and a foot connected in series to the left and right of the waist,
Each said arm is
An arm holding portion provided on the upper body for holding the arm rotatably around an arm rotation axis having an angle determined with respect to the upper body;
An arm base having a rod-like portion held by the arm holding portion;
An upper arm connected at one end to an upper portion of the arm base;
A shoulder joint that connects one end of the upper arm to the arm base such that the angle between the upper arm and the arm base can be changed;
An upper arm drive link whose one end is rotatably connected at a position lower than the shoulder joint portion of the arm base and whose other end is connected to the upper arm portion;
An upper arm lock portion that prevents the length of the upper arm drive link from changing;
A forearm connected to the other end of the upper arm;
An elbow joint connecting one end of the forearm to the other end of the upper arm so as to change the angle formed by the forearm and the upper arm;
A variable length forearm drive link, one end rotatably connected to the upper arm and the other end connected to the forearm;
A forearm lock that prevents the length of the forearm drive link from changing;
A hand connected to the other end of the forearm;
A wrist joint that rotatably connects the hand to the other end of the forearm in a rotatable manner about a rotation axis having a fixed angle with respect to the forearm;
And a wrist lock unit configured to prevent the wrist joint unit from rotating. The hand includes a palm plate connected to the wrist joint and at least three fingers connected to the palm plate.
The first finger joint unit connects the first finger joint unit to the palm plate unit such that the finger unit can change an angle formed by the first finger unit, the palm plate unit and the first finger unit. The movement assisting device according to claim 16 or 17, further comprising: a first finger joint lock portion that prevents the first finger joint portion from changing an angle. Each of the arms further includes an upper arm power source that generates a force that changes the length of the upper arm drive link, and a forearm power source that generates a force that changes the length of the forearm drive link. The movement assistance device according to any one of claims 16 to 18. The lower thigh portion is configured to have two gas springs which are sealed with compressed gas, can not extend, and contract when a pressure larger than the pressure for compressing the gas is applied. The motion assist device according to any one of claims 1 to 19. The movement assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 20, further comprising a seat that is suspended at at least two places on the waist and can support the buttocks of the wearer from below. A transparent screen provided in front of the upper body;
The motion assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 21, further comprising: a projector provided on an upper portion of the upper body portion that projects an image on the transparent screen.

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