JP2000355290A - Robot for assisting advance and going-over of step by extension/contraction degree of these respective legs and positional change in respective legs to apparatus by using wheeled extensible/contractible longitudinally slidable moving legs - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a walking difficult person to safely and easily overcome a level difference by providing a plurality of jack type wheeled extensible/contractible longitudinally slidable moving legs on an apparatus. SOLUTION: When walking on flatland, a height of two wheeled extensible/ contractible longitudinally slidable moving legs (JTER) is adjusted to realize a state close to a foot posture and a height at walking time of a healthy person to enable safe walking by reducing a burden to feet. When going up the wide stairs, a JTER-A is advanced, and when a sensor detects an obstacle at a prescribed distance, after raising the whole apparatus by extending a foot of the JTER up to becoming higher than a step, the JTER-A is contracted, and the contraction is stopped at time slightly higher than a height of the step. Wheels are rotated and advanced, the wheels are rested when approaching by a prescribed distance to the obstacle, the JTER-A is extended to be landed on an upper step, a JTER-B is contracted, and after the wheels approach by a prescribed distance to the obstacle, the JTER-B is landed, and a JTER-C is contracted to thereby enable going-over of the step being a defect of the wheels.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for assisting a person who has difficulty moving. Therefore, this device is a handicapped person mobility assist device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A typical example of a conventional mobility assist device is a wheelchair, a small electric vehicle, a crutch or the like. Wheelchairs and electric vehicles are convenient for moving on flat ground without steps, but it is inconvenient to move on steps. Crutches are useful when a broken person moves, but it is difficult to move when a weak person moves or climb steep stairs. Another auxiliary device is a prosthesis, which is for a person who has lost his or her foot. So far, there has been no suitable way to assist people who have legs but have difficulty walking due to disability or old age. In the field of robot research, there is a bipedal walking robot announced by Honda. However, people with disabilities cannot be transported.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention enables a person who has difficulty walking to safely and easily overcome a step.

[0004]

The method used to solve the problem is to equip the equipment with a plurality of jack-type JTERs used when lifting a car, and to determine the difference in the degree of expansion and contraction of each JTER. This is a method of performing a steep slope movement, climbing a step, etc., using a difference in distance before and after each leg.
In the present invention, one foot is equipped with a plurality of JTERs. By lifting some of the plurality of JTERs on one foot and keeping the rest on the ground, it is possible to climb over obstacles and steps while keeping both feet on the ground. By changing the degree of expansion and contraction of a plurality of extendable front-rear sliding legs and the distance between the legs, various patterns of movement can be achieved.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Here, JTER is J
Sensors, wheels, and the like attached to each JTER, other than TER-A, B, and C, will be referred to with the same alphabet as that assigned to the JTER. The invention has various modes of operation. The first is an operation mode when walking on flat ground. In this mode, two JTEs
Use R. By adjusting the height of the two JTERs, a state close to the posture and height of the foot when a normal healthy person walks is realized.
This allows safe walking with less burden on the feet. The second is an operation mode when climbing a wide staircase. In this mode you climb up the stairs using three JTERs. First, when the JTER-A moves forward and the sensor detects an obstacle at a certain distance x, the JTER extends the JTER until the entire device is considerably higher than the step and rises. Thereafter, JTER-A begins to contract. The contraction is stopped when the height becomes slightly higher than the step height. And wheel B,
When C rotates and moves forward, and wheel B approaches the obstacle to distance x, it stops and JTER-A extends and lands on the upper level. Then, JTER-B contracts. Then wheel A,
When C rotates and the wheel C approaches the obstacle to the distance x, J
TER-B expands and lands, and JTER-C contracts. Wheels A and B when climbing beyond the height of the step
Rotates and moves forward. Then, JTER-C lands.
The third mode is when climbing a narrow staircase. This mode is divided into three patterns. First,
The first mode when climbing a narrow staircase will be described. In this mode, the front and rear widths of the lower part of the device are adjusted with each JTER positioned at the center. Then, the upper end of the JTER is made to reach a position higher than the height of the step which is one step higher than the step to be raised from now. Otherwise it is the same as climbing a wide staircase. Another mode is to tilt the device and JTER to adjust the foot angle and JTE.
The angle and the distance of R are appropriately maintained so that the device can be accommodated in a narrow space. Others are the same as when climbing the wide stairs. As the narrow stair climbing mode other than these two modes, the following can be considered. That is, up to the last time, the number of steps straddled by the device was two, but the number of steps straddled is to be three. In other words, the difference from the wide stair climbing mode is that JTER-C is 1
This is a method in which JTER-A climbs to the second step before climbing to the second step. Others are the same as the wide stair climbing mode. In addition, various terrain can be moved in various patterns by adjusting the distance and length of the JTER attached to the device. Then, as a safety system at the time of this movement, the values of the pressure sensors are compared, and the degree of expansion and contraction of each JTER is adjusted so that the values of the sensors become as equal as possible.

[0006]

A feature of the present invention resides in that a device for one foot is provided with a plurality of extendable front-rear slidable moving legs. There are two types of conventional moving equipment. First, one moves by wheels. The other is a device that mimics the walking style of animals. The moving method using the extendable front and rear sliding moving legs is different from the conventional method, and proposes a new form of moving means by equipment. By adopting a form of movement that uses telescopic front and rear sliding moving legs, it is possible to go over steps, which is a drawback of wheels. This form of movement is an unprecedented form of walking, and none of the creatures on the earth has taken such a form. Therefore, a moving device having a plurality of extensible front and rear sliding movable legs with wheels on the sole of one foot in this way has unknown possibilities. The jack is used for the extendable front and rear slide moving legs, so that even heavy people can be put on. Therefore, it is possible to provide a transportation means to all persons who have difficulty moving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a right foot device as viewed from the inside. The left side of the figure is the front and the right side is the back. This figure shows a case where there are three JTERs and two jack portions in each JTER.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the right foot device. 1 to 7
Is equivalent to that of FIG. This figure shows three JTERs and each J
This is the case with two jack portions in the TER.

[Explanation of symbols]

Numeral 1 is for extending when the slide portion runs short. 2 is a part for sliding the JTER. Reference numeral 3 denotes a portion that rotates to change the inclination of JTER. Reference numeral 4 denotes a jack-shaped portion which expands and contracts. 5 is a distance sensor. The inclination of the distance sensor can be changed. Reference numeral 6 denotes a pressure sensor, which compares the values of the sensors and balances them. 7 is a wheel. JTER is a name obtained by summing up the parts from 2 to 7. 8 is an auxiliary wheel. This is for reducing the load on the wheel No. 7. a is a motor and a drive circuit for rotating the second gear. b denotes a motor and a drive circuit for rotating the third gear. c and d are a motor and a drive circuit for extending and retracting the jack.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A device for assisting the movement and holding of posture by each JTER sliding and moving with respect to the device to change the distance between the JTERs, or for each JTER to stretch and squeeze (the telescopic device with wheels). (The slide moving leg is a portion from 2 to 7 in Fig. 1. JTER is another name of a telescopic front and rear sliding moving leg with wheels.) 2. A method of performing a walking-type motion such as a walking type when walking normally using the expansion and contraction of JTER. 3. A method of performing walking-type movement on a wide stair as in [0005] using JTER. 4. A method of climbing a stair as in [0005] while maintaining a horizontal posture on a narrow stair using JTER. 5. A method for controlling posture by adjusting the degree of expansion and contraction of each JTER so that the value of an attached pressure sensor of each JTER becomes equal.