CN1764786A - Fluid pressure actuation device and continuous passive motion device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A fluid pressure type actuator device having an inner tube and a mesh sleeve covering the outer periphery of the inner tube, capable of contracting in length by supplying a pressure fluid into the inner tube; in the improved fluid pressure type actuator according to the present invention, a low friction member, which is a tubular body having elastic force and is formed by weaving fine fibers, is arranged between the inner tube and the mesh sleeve. The low friction body can prolong the service life of the repeated telescopic action of the fluid pressure type actuating device. The improved fluid pressure type actuator is used as an actuator for driving a CPM device, and the CPM device supports the four limbs of the human body by at least 1 of a plurality of combined members and activates the members to restore the joints of the disabled person.

Description

Fluid pressure actuation device and continuous passive motion device using the same

technical field

The present invention relates to a fluid pressure actuator driven by the supply and discharge of fluid such as air, and a continuous passive motion (Continuous Passive Motion: hereinafter referred to as CPM) device using the same.

Background technique

As a fluid pressure type actuator, there is known a fluid pressure type actuator in which the outer circumference of a rubber tube (inner tube) is covered with a net-like covering body (mesh sleeve) made of a non-stretchable resin. device. If the inner tube of the fluid pressure actuator is inflated by supplying air into the inner tube, the diameter of the mesh sleeve increases. The increase of the diameter of the mesh sleeve is due to the fact that the material of the mesh sleeve is not stretchable, so the length of the actuator is reduced. A contraction force (driving force) is obtained accompanying the reduction in length of the actuator.

The above-mentioned fluid pressure actuator, which has a resin mesh sleeve and a rubber inner tube as its main components, is remarkably lightweight compared to an air cylinder having a metal cylinder or cylinder rod. Therefore, the above-mentioned fluid pressure actuator is expected to be applied in a wide technical range in which the above-mentioned characteristics are required.

Examples of applications of the above-mentioned fluid pressure actuator include human muscles and rehabilitation equipment for disabled people. Among them, rehabilitation machines for joints of upper or lower limbs that have atrophied due to long-term treatment can be considered as rehabilitation machines for disabled people.

However, in conventional rehabilitation machines for joints, for example, an actuator such as a motor is used in the rehabilitation machine disclosed in JP-A-2000-051297, but since the motor is incorporated in the machine as a drive source, therefore, Restoration machines become large and heavy. Therefore, there is a problem in terms of moving and operating the restoration machine by the handicapped person himself. Therefore, it is expected to apply pneumatic actuators to rehabilitation machines for disabled persons.

However, the results of experiments by the inventors of the present invention have shown that if the above-mentioned conventional fluid pressure type actuator is repeatedly expanded and contracted, for example, hundreds of times, the part of the inner tube expanded by supplying fluid (air) will change from The mesh of the mesh sleeve is exposed, causing damage to the inner tube. In addition, if the above-mentioned fluid-type actuator is repeatedly used, cracks may occur on the inner tube, or the mesh-like fibers of the mesh sleeve may be broken.

The technical idea of preventing the damage of the above-mentioned fluid-type actuator or realizing a longer life is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,733,603 (hereinafter referred to as prior art document 1), or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-236905 (hereinafter, It is referred to as prior art document 2). Prior Art Document 1 discloses a technique in which an expandable soft material layer is filled with a mesh-like covering in order to reduce friction between the inner tube of the fluid-type actuator and the mesh sleeve. At the same time, a perforated friction-reducing layer is arranged between the inner tube and the layered mesh sleeve. It is described in this prior document that the friction reducing layer reduces the resistance to expansion caused by the friction between the tube and the layered mesh sleeve.

However, in the fluid actuator described in the above-mentioned prior documents, there is a problem as follows, that is, it is necessary to fill the mesh body into the soft material layer to manufacture the mesh sleeve. Since the lowering layer covers the inner tube, the structure becomes complicated and expensive.

In addition, Prior Art Document 2 discloses a technique in which a mesh sleeve is covered with a rubber elastic material, that is, a covering member, and at the same time, the covering member is inserted into the slits of the meshes of the mesh sleeve.

However, the technique described in the above-mentioned prior art document 2 has the following problem, that is, since the mold release agent is applied only between the mesh sleeve and the inner tube constituted as described above, there is a possibility that internal Friction between the tube and the mesh sleeve causes damage to the inner tube in a short period of time, and it is necessary to solve the problem of prolonging the life of the fluid-type actuator.

Contents of the invention

A first object of the present invention is to provide a fluid-type actuator with a simple structure and a long operating life.

Furthermore, a second object of the present invention is to provide a CPM device using the above-mentioned fluid actuator device of the present invention, that is, a CPM device for a rehabilitation device for a disabled person who has acquired disabilities in limbs or a part thereof.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the fluid pressure type actuator of the present invention is characterized by comprising: an inner tube that expands and contracts by supplying and discharging fluid, a mesh sleeve that covers the outer periphery of the inner tube, and a low The friction body, the low-friction body is a stretchable low-friction body woven with thin fibers between the inner tube and the mesh sleeve, and the low-friction body covers the inner tube.

Also, it is characterized in that the low friction body has a smaller friction coefficient with respect to the mesh sleeve than a friction coefficient with respect to the inner tube.

As the friction body, it is preferable to use a stretchable member in which synthetic fibers made of a combination of polyurethane core fibers and nylon fibers are woven into a cylindrical shape without connection points.

In addition, the synthetic fiber preferably has a thickness of approximately 40 denier.

In order to achieve the second object, the CPM device of the present invention is characterized in that it has: a base member; rotation, articulation of the mounted or supported human body; and a first articulation mechanism disposed on said base member and including an actuating means for powering said rotating member, said actuating means having: An inner tube that expands and contracts by supplying a discharge fluid, a mesh sleeve that covers the outer periphery of the inner tube, and a low friction body that is used between the inner tube and the mesh sleeve The thin fibers are woven into a stretchable low-friction body covering the inner tube.

A plurality of actuators are provided to reciprocate the rotating member relative to the base member within a predetermined angular range, and air is supplied to and exhausted from these actuators according to the rotating direction of the rotating member.

The CPM device of the present invention may be provided with an additional articulation mechanism on the rotating member, and the additional articulating mechanism performs independent or compound articulation of the part moved by the rotating part and the front end of the part.

In addition, the additional joint movement mechanism includes two or more joint movement mechanisms among the second joint movement mechanism, the third joint movement mechanism and the fourth joint movement mechanism; the second joint movement mechanism and the rotating member Co-arranged to perform joint movement between the part moved by the rotating part and the front end thereof; the third joint movement mechanism makes the part moved by the rotating part and the front end thereof perform internal and external movement at the same time Rotational movement; the 4th joint movement mechanism is arranged between the base part and the rotation part, and performs joint movement from the supported position to the original position through the rotation part; these joint movement mechanisms can be Optionally or compositely assembled on the CPM device for use.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of a fluid-type actuator according to the present invention, and is a diagram showing an air supply state.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an exhaust state of the fluid-type actuator shown in Fig. 1 .

Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the mesh sleeve.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the fluid-type actuator of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a state of air supply.

Fig. 5 is an external view of an inner tube of the fluid actuator shown in Fig. 4 .

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the inner pipe shown in Fig. 5 in an exhaust state.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the inner tube shown in Fig. 5 in a deflated state.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view in an exhausted state of another embodiment of the inner tube.

Fig. 9 is an external view showing the overall configuration of the CPM device of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the first embodiment of the CPM device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the lower side of FIG. 10 .

FIG. 12 is a side view of the upper side of FIG. 10 .

Fig. 13 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the CPM device of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing a rotational state of a support member of the CPM apparatus shown in Fig. 13 .

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing the structure of the rocking mechanism of the supporting member.

Fig. 16 is a diagram showing the rocking operation of the supporting member.

Fig. 17 is a front view of a third embodiment of the CPM device of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a diagram showing the operation of the air actuator in Fig. 17 .

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing the configuration of main parts of a fourth embodiment of the CPM apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a top view of FIG. 19 .

Fig. 21 is a left side view of Fig. 20 .

Fig. 22 is a right side view of Fig. 20 .

specific embodiment

Next, an embodiment of a fluid-type actuator that is a specific invention of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a side view showing an expanded state of Embodiment 1 of a fluid-type actuator using air as a fluid according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing a contracted state of the fluid-type actuator of FIG. 1 . In addition, in FIG. 1 , in order to show the internal structure of the pneumatic actuator, parts of the mesh sleeve and the low-friction body are shown by dotted lines.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 , an air supply and exhaust pipe 2 for supplying and discharging air as a fluid into and out of the inner tube 1 is connected to one end in the longitudinal direction of the inner tube 1 that is an expandable and contractible body. The other end of the inner tube 1 is airtightly sealed by inserting a bush (not shown). An air supply and exhaust device (not shown) composed of a small air compressor, a solenoid valve, and the like is connected to the supply and exhaust pipe 2 .

The outer periphery of the inner tube 1 is covered with a mesh-like coating, that is, a mesh sleeve 3 . The mesh sleeve 3 is a resin product that is woven with minimal load extension. The length direction of the fabric is kept at a predetermined angle, and is woven crosswise from two directions. The above-mentioned mesh sleeve has the characteristic that, when pressure is applied from the inner periphery, it expands radially and contracts in length, and when the pressure is released, the diameter and length return to the original state. Compared with the point that the fibers of the mesh sleeve disclosed in the prior art document 1 are bonded at the intersection points, the fibers of the mesh sleeve in this embodiment are not bonded at the intersection points. The difference is that the mesh sleeves disclosed in the reference technical literature risk damage due to stresses at the crossing points of the fibers at each run, but the mesh sleeves in this embodiment are at the crossing points, There is no bonding between the fibers, and there is no problem of breaking the mesh sleeve from the crossing points between the fibers due to the above-mentioned stress. However, the present invention does not exclude the mesh sleeve in which the cross points between fibers described in the prior art document 1 are bonded.

Both ends of the mesh sleeve 3 in the longitudinal direction are fastened by fasteners 4a and 4b, whereby both ends of the inner tube 1 are fixed.

Between the inner tube 1 and the mesh sleeve 3, a low-friction body 5 with a smaller friction coefficient to the mesh sleeve than to the inner tube 1 is arranged. The low-friction body 5 is configured to cover the entire inner tube 1, and is fixed on both ends of the inner tube 1 together with the mesh sleeve 3 by fasteners 4a, 4b. The low-friction body 5 is a cylindrical body having approximately the same outer diameter as the inner tube sleeve 1 when shrinking. Stretchy fabric. Such a cloth is formed into a stretchable structure by weaving synthetic fibers such as polyurethane core fibers mixed with nylon fibers. The inner tube made of silicone has a low coefficient of friction. Furthermore, if fibers having the above characteristics are used for the low-friction body 5, it is desirable to use a tubular body without a connection point produced by a known knitting technique for stockings.

In such a pneumatic actuator, although the inner tube 1 is expanded by supplying air to the inner tube, the raw material of the mesh sleeve 3 is not stretched (because it has almost no stretchability), and the inner tube 1 An increase in diameter translates to a decrease in overall length. In addition, the diameter of the inner tube 1 is reduced by exhausting the supplied air from the inner tube 1, and the entire length of the actuator returns to its original state.

When expanding and contracting in this way, since the low-friction body 5 is provided between the inner tube 1 and the mesh sleeve 3, the inner tube 1 and the mesh sleeve 3 do not directly rub against each other, and it is possible to prevent friction due to a small amount of repeated operations. This results in cracks on the inner tube 1 or fiber breakage of the mesh sleeve 3 . Therefore, the durability against repeated operations of the pneumatic actuator, in other words, a longer life can be achieved.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of a part of the mesh sleeve 3 . The mesh sleeve 3 is formed by weaving a bundle of polyethylene fibers 6 into a mesh shape. In addition, the mesh sleeve 3 has a sufficiently large number of polyethylene fibers 6 , that is, has a mesh structure with small openings by sufficiently increasing the arrangement density. This prevents parts of the inner tube 1 that have expanded due to the supply of air from protruding from the meshes of the mesh sleeve 3, thereby improving the durability of the inner tube 1 .

In order to confirm the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the inventors of the present invention conducted a durability test for a case where a mesh sleeve is configured with a large mesh structure and a case with a small mesh structure. In this durability test, a mesh sleeve with 144 polyethylene fibers was used as the first test body with a large mesh, and a mesh sleeve with 288 polyethylene fibers was used as the second test body with a small mesh. . In addition, the weaving method of both was set to be the same, and both were formed with an initial diameter of about 15 mm without supplying air to the inner tube, and after supplying air, the diameter was expanded to 30 mm by internal pressure. Furthermore, as the mesh sleeve for the test, a variable-diameter mesh sleeve for protecting or bundling electric wires was used. Furthermore, in this test, no low-friction body was used.

As a result, the pressure resistance of the first test body was 0.3Mpa, the shrinkage rate of the length was 25%, and the allowable expansion and contraction times were 200 to 300 times under repeated load application, while the pressure resistance of the second test body was 0.7Mpa. , The shrinkage rate of the length is 30%, and the allowable number of expansion and contraction is 7,000 to 20,000 times under the condition of repeated load. When the test results are described in more detail, in the first test body, the size of the mesh near both ends of the inner tube increases with the increase in the number of stretches, and the inner tube protrudes from the mesh during expansion. On the other hand, in the second test body, even if it was used repeatedly, the size of the mesh did not change over the entire longitudinal direction of the mesh sleeve, and uniform expansion and contraction were repeatedly performed.

From this test, it is known that if the mesh of the mesh sleeve is set coarsely, even if the pressure of the air supplied to the inner tube is small, the contraction rate of the actuator can be kept large, but since the inner tube shrinks from the mesh sleeve The mesh is exposed or the mesh sleeve is broken, therefore, the life of the actuator is short.

Next, in order to confirm the effects of the present invention, a durability comparison test was performed using the same second test as the above-mentioned test and a third test body in which the low-friction body 5 was assembled to the second test body. A part of a commercially available sock (fiber thickness: 40 denier) was used as a low-friction body for the test.

As a result, the second test body had a pressure resistance of 0.7 MPa and a length shrinkage rate of 30%, and the allowable number of expansion and contraction times was 7,000 to 20,000 times under repeated load application, while the third test body had a pressure resistance of 0.7 MPa. , The shrinkage rate of the length is 30%, and the allowable expansion and contraction times are 80,000 to 400,000 times under repeated loads. It is also clear from such comparative experiments that the durability of the actuator can be improved by assembling the low-friction body.

In the above embodiments, when air is supplied to the actuator, the inner tube is expanded in the radial direction, and tensile stress is generated in the circumferential direction of the inner tube. Thus, the inner tube emerges from between the meshes of the mesh sleeve. The pneumatic actuator of the next second embodiment does not generate tensile stress in the circumferential direction of the inner tube when the actuator is operated.

Fig. 4 is a side view showing the pneumatic actuator in the second embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the inner tube of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the inner tube of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the inner tube in an expanded state. In addition, in FIG. 4, a part of the mesh sleeve is partially cut away to show the internal structure of the actuator.

In the figure, the inner tube 11, which is an expansion-contraction body, is structured such that the same surface area is maintained while the cross-sectional area of the area surrounded by the tube increases during the transition from the contracted state to the expanded state. That is, the inner tube 11 is provided with a plurality of pleated portions 11 a protruding inward during contraction at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the tube. When the inner tube 11 expands, the cross-sectional area of the region surrounded by the tube 11 is increased by expanding the pleated portion 11 a as shown in FIG. 7 .

The inner tube 11 is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , and is made of a stretchable elastic body such as butyl rubber or silicone rubber. The outer periphery of the inner tube 11 is covered with a mesh sleeve 3 as a mesh-like covering. The structure of the mesh sleeve 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Also, in this example, the cross-sectional circumference (the circumference in FIG. 7 ) of the inner tube 11 when expanded is 2.2 times the cross-sectional circumference of the inner tube 11 (the circumference of the circumscribed circle circumscribed in the cross-section in FIG. 6 ). within.

Next, the operation in the second embodiment will be described. By supplying air into the inner tube 11, the surface area of the inner tube 11 does not change, but the cross-sectional area of the region surrounded by the inner tube 11 increases. That is, in the inner tube 11 of the second embodiment, when expanding, the cross-sectional shape of the inner tube is changed so that the cross-sectional area surrounded by the inner tube 11 increases while keeping the outer peripheral length of the cross-section constant. Also, the overall length of the actuator is reduced by such expansion of the inner tube 11, thereby generating a driving force between both ends of the actuator. In order to implement this embodiment, as long as the relationship between the mesh sleeve 3 and the inner tube 11 is set such that the inner tube 11 stretches all the pleats as shown in FIG. 7 so that the cross section of the inner tube 11 is circular It is only necessary to reduce the actuator by the desired length.

Since the actuator for reducing the overall length returns the inner tube 11 to the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 6 by exhausting the air from the inner tube 11, it returns to the original length.

The pneumatic actuator in Embodiment 2 can expand the tube without utilizing the elasticity of the inner tube 11 , in other words, without generating tensile stress in the circumferential direction of the tube. Thus, there is no inner tube 11 protruding from the mesh of the mesh sleeve 3 . Therefore, the occurrence of damage on the inner tube 11 and the expansion of the damage during expansion are reduced. In addition, since no tensile stress acts on the inner tube 11 during expansion, plastic deformation of the inner tube can be prevented even if tensile stress is repeatedly applied to the inner tube, and the characteristics of the inner tube 11 can be stably maintained. Therefore, the durability of the inner tube 11 is improved, thereby achieving a longer life of the actuator.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment 2, since the inner tube expands only a portion of the supplied air, the characteristic of the force generated by the actuator is close to a linear shape, and since no plastic deformation occurs on the inner tube as described above, Therefore, hysteresis loss is also reduced, so that the precision of expansion and contraction control of the actuator can be improved.

In addition, in the above-mentioned second embodiment, although the supply of air is controlled so as to keep the surface area of the inner tube 11 constant, as long as the material of the inner tube 11 is within the range of elastic deformation, the inner tube 11 can also be made Air is supplied to the pipe 11 until the surface area of the tube 11 increases to some extent from the state in FIG. 7 . Also in this case, since no tensile stress is generated on the inner tube 11 during most of the expansion process of the inner tube 11, the durability of the inner tube 11 can be improved.

In addition, the structure of the inner tube 11 may be such that the surface area of the inner tube 11 is increased from the initial stage of expansion, and at the same time, the pleats are enlarged. Even in this case, the amount of elastic deformation of the inner tube 11 is smaller than that in a case where no pleats are provided at all, and the durability of the inner tube 11 can be improved.

Furthermore, in Embodiment 2, although the mesh sleeve 3 is disposed on the outer periphery of the inner tube 11 , the same low-friction body 5 as in Embodiment 1 may be provided between the inner tube 11 and the mesh sleeve 3 .

Next, the pneumatic actuator in the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the inner tube of Example 3 of the present invention when contracted. As shown in FIG. 8, the inner tube 12 has a folded cross-sectional shape when contracted. Even when such an inner tube 12 is used, the cross-sectional area of the region surrounded by the inner tube can be increased without changing the surface area of the inner tube during expansion. Therefore, also in the third embodiment, the durability of the inner tube 12 can be improved, the life of the actuator can be increased, and the precision of the expansion and contraction control can be improved.

In the above, as the fluid pressure type actuator of the present invention, the actuator using air pressure has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the fluid supplied to the expansion-contraction body is not limited to air, and various gases or liquids can be used depending on the application.

In addition, in Embodiments 1 to 3, only the elongated tubular actuators are shown, but the present invention can also be applied to various fluid pressure actuators that change the shape of the expansion-contraction body.

Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the inner tube in Examples 2 and 3 when it shrinks is not limited to the cross-sectional shape shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 , and the pleats may be formed, for example, in a star-shaped cross-sectional shape.

Furthermore, the fluid pressure type actuator device of the present invention can be used as an actuator device for driving a belt-shaped robotic hand for humans, that is, as an artificial muscle. Furthermore, it can be used as an actuator for driving industrial robots, construction machinery, and the like. Furthermore, it can also be used as an actuator for driving rehabilitation machines for disabled persons with disabilities. That is, the fluid pressure type actuator device of the present invention can be used on machines in a wide range of fields.

As described above, according to the present invention, a low-friction body having a friction coefficient smaller than that of the expansion-contraction body is provided between the expansion-contraction body and the covering body. Therefore, the durability of the actuator during repeated use is improved, That is, a longer life is achieved.

In addition, according to the present invention, in at least a part of the process of transitioning from the contracted state to the expanded state, the expansion-contraction body that expands to increase the area of the enclosed region while maintaining the same surface area is used, Therefore, the durability of the actuator after repeated use is improved, that is, the lifetime is increased.

Next, a CPM device as a related invention of the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a CPM device provided as a constituent element of the above-mentioned fluid pressure type actuator. In Fig. 9, 20 is a CPM device main body, 80 is a box-type control device, and 90 is an air hose connecting between the CPM device main body 20 and the control device 80. In the figure, there is one, but there are also slave control devices. The solenoid valve within the unit is connected to multiple bundled air hoses from various types of air actuated units. Although the control device 80 is omitted in the figure, an air compressor, a solenoid valve, and a central control unit (CPU) and a circuit for electrically connecting these devices are accommodated inside the box, and at the same time, there is a circuit for connecting these devices to the outside. Power connector for power supply. The compressor is used to generate compressed air, the solenoid valve is used to supply and discharge air to the actuator, and the CPU is used to control the operation of the CPM device, and the ROM of the CPU stores various operating procedures of the CPM device. In addition, an operation panel 81 is provided on the control box-type control device 80 . Solenoid valves can also be located adjacent to each actuator. By disposing the solenoid valve near the actuator, the efficiency of supplying air to the actuator and the efficiency of discharging air from the actuator are improved.

If the CPM device is constituted as shown in Fig. 9, since the above-mentioned fluid pressure actuator is assembled in the CPM device main body as the driving actuator, a heavy object such as an air compressor can be combined with the CPM device main body. Separately provided, therefore, the moving operation of the main body of the CPM device is facilitated.

Next, a first embodiment of the CPM device 20 will be described using FIGS. 10 to 12 .

Fig. 10 is a top view of the CPM device used to make the arm bend and extend, and Fig. 11 is a bottom view of the CPM device shown in Fig. The top view of the CPM device in , is a diagram showing the state of the arm extension operation.

In FIG. 10 , 21 is a base plate as a base of the CPM apparatus, and a rotation support portion 22 is provided on the upper surface of the base plate 21 . This rotation support part 22 is comprised by the rotation support member 22a arrange|positioned on the upper surface of the base plate 21, and a pair of upper and lower rotation support parts 22b and 22c provided in the right end of this rotation support member 22a in drawing. In addition, rotation shafts 23a, 23b parallel to the Y-axis in FIG. It is connected to the rotation support parts 22b, 23c in a manner. The arm of the human body is placed in the middle of a set of rotating support parts 22b, 22c, and the forearm is supported by the forearm support plate 24 . The rotation supporting member 22a has substantially the same width as the base plate 21, is formed to be thick at both ends in the width direction, and thin at the central portion, and is formed hollow inside to cover the base plate 21. effect. The arm support plate 24 is configured to be rotatable between a horizontal state shown in FIG. 12 and an upright state shown in FIG. 11 by about 120°.

The small arm support plate 24 is a substantially plate-shaped member whose upper surface is approximately flat and whose back surface is along the shape of the upper surface of the rotational support member 22a. The connecting parts 24a, 24b on the rotating shafts 23a, 23b on the upper. On the forearm support plate 24, a support member 25 that loosely supports (clamps) the palm portion is provided. Part of the plate 24 is formed with a concave portion 24c. The supporting part 25 is disposed at a position described below, that is, when using the CPM device, if the user places the arm near the rotating supporting part and stretches the forearm on the forearm supporting plate 24, the palm A position where the support member 25 is loosely supported.

The arm support plate 24 is connected to the respective rotation shafts 23a, 23b of the rotation support parts 22b, 22c via connection members 24a, 24b. The rotation shafts 23a, 23b are rotatably supported by the rotation support portions 22b, 22c via both end support structures. Pulleys 26a, 26b are fixed to the rotating shafts 23a, 23b, respectively, and steel wires 27a, 27b are wound around the pulleys 26a, 26b. One end of these steel wires 27a, 27b wound around is fixed to the pulleys 26a, 26b. Also, the diameter of the grooves of the pulleys 26a, 26b that wind the steel wire can be considered to be used to rotate the moment of the arm support plate 23 (the product of the weight of the arm support plate and the distance from the center of rotation to the center of gravity<actuating device The product of the shrinkage force and the diameter of the groove) is determined. In addition, the winding amounts of the wires 27a, 27b wound around the pulleys 26a, 26b can be determined in consideration of the rotation angle of the arm support plate 24 .

In addition, between the end of one steel wire 27a of the two steel wires, and between the base plate 21 or between the rotation support member 22a (preferably, between the support member 22a), there is a device for generating The tube-shaped air actuator 28a of the fluid type actuator (pneumatic actuator) of the driving force that the small arm support plate 24 rotates approximately 120° from the horizontal state. In addition, between the end of the other steel wire 27b of the steel wires 27, and the base plate 21 or between the rotation supporting member 22a (preferably, between the supporting member 22a), there is provided as a mechanism for generating a small The tube-shaped air actuator 28b of the fluid type actuator (pneumatic actuator) of the driving force for the arm support plate 24 to return to the horizontal state from the state rotated by 120°.

Specifically, one end of the tubular air actuator 28a is connected to one end of the steel wire 27a, and the other end of the steel wire 27a is guided into the pulley 26a and fixed on the pulley 26a as shown in FIG. 10 . In addition, one end of the tubular air actuator 28a is also connected to one end of the steel wire 27b, and the other end of the steel wire 27b is guided into the pulley 26b as shown in FIG. 11 and fixed on the pulley 26b.

However, the tubular air actuator 28a is a device used to restore the forearm support plate 24 from the state shown in Figure 11. Therefore, when the tubular air actuator 28a operates, it is necessary to support the forearm. A mechanism that rotates the plate 24 in a direction opposite to the rotation of the pulley 26b. This reversing mechanism 29 is shown in simplified form in FIG. 12 , but specifically, for example, it is configured as follows. That is, the pulley 26b is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft 23b, and the bevel gear A is coaxially fixed to this pulley 26b. Furthermore, two small bevel gears B are disposed between the rotating shaft 23b, and the bevel gears B can be meshed with the bevel gear A. Furthermore, a bevel gear C is arranged to mesh with the two bevel gears B, and the bevel gear C is fixed to the rotation shaft 23b. If the reversing mechanism 29 is configured in this way, the force transmitted from the wire 27b to the pulley 26b is transmitted from the bevel gear A to the bevel gear C via the bevel gear B, but the rotation directions of the bevel gear A and bevel gear C are opposite. Thus, if the tubular air actuator 28b operates, the arm support plate 24 will rotate from the state in FIG. 11 to the horizontal direction. Also, the direction in which the above-mentioned reversing mechanism 29 is used to guide the steel wire 27b into the pulley 26b is the same as the direction in which the steel wire 27a is introduced into the pulley 26a. The pulley 26b can also simplify the reverse action mechanism.

In addition, the above tubular air actuators 28a, 28b use pneumatic actuators of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 described in the specific invention of the present invention. Also, the tubular air actuators 28a, 28b are of the same size or may have different sizes. In the case of being a different specification, the tube-shaped air actuator 28a for raising the arm support plate 24 from a horizontal position uses a device with a strong contraction force for returning the arm support plate 24 to a horizontal state. The tubular air actuator 28b uses a device with weak contraction force.

Thus, through the air hose connected to one end of the tubular air actuator 28a, the air supply and exhaust device (not shown) composed of, for example, an air compressor or a solenoid valve is supplied to the inner pipe of the actuator. Air is supplied, thereby shortening the length of the tubular air actuator 28a. When the contraction force generated on the tubular air actuator 28a is transmitted to the steel wire 27a, the pulley 26a rotates, and the forearm support plate 24 rotates from the horizontal state in FIG. 9 to the vertical direction shown in FIG. 10 . Also, while the air is discharged from the tubular air actuator 28a, an air hose (not shown) connected to one end of the tubular air actuator 28a is fed from, for example, an air compressor or a solenoid valve. The formed air supply and exhaust device (not shown) supplies air to the inner tube of the actuator, thereby shortening the length of the tubular air actuator 28b. When the contraction force generated on the tubular air actuator 28b is transmitted to the steel wire 27b, the pulley 26b rotates, and at the same time, the reverse action mechanism 29 acts, and the forearm support plate 24 rotates horizontally. The arm support plate 24 reciprocates by alternately contracting in the longitudinal direction of the tubular air actuators 28a and 28b. Thereby, bending and extending|stretching of an arm can be performed. Also, the rotation speed of the forearm support plate 24 is adjusted to supply or discharge air to the tubular air actuators 28a, 28b in units of hours by controlling the opening of the solenoid valve according to the degree of disability of the disabled person or the degree of recovery of the disability. The air volume can be adjusted arbitrarily.

Next, a second embodiment of the CPM device of the present invention will be described. Fig. 13 is the top view of the CPM device of the second embodiment of the bending and extension mechanism of the wrist assembled to the first embodiment of the CPM device of the present invention shown in Fig. 10, and Fig. 14 shows the CPM device of the second embodiment A top view of the device when the wrist is flexed. A disc-shaped turntable 31 is provided on the arm support plate 24 . The rotating table 31 is rotatably mounted on the forearm support plate 24 around an axis parallel to the X-axis in FIG. 13 , that is, an axis perpendicular to the upper surface of the forearm support plate 24 . The supporting member 25 is mounted on the turntable 31 . Thus, the supporting member 25 can rotate together with the rotating table 31 .

On the back side of the arm support plate 24, a first air cylinder 32 for turning the turntable 31 is arranged. The front end of the cylinder rod (plunger) 32a of the first air cylinder 32 is connected to the front end of an arm (not shown) connected to the rotation shaft of the turntable 31 at a position at a predetermined distance from the rotation center of the turntable 31. , the end of the cylinder main body of the first air cylinder 32 is connected to the arm support plate 24 . The connection point between the tip of the cylinder rod of the first air cylinder 32 and the turntable 31 can be determined by the angle at which the turntable 31 is turned (reciprocating) and the stroke of the cylinder rod. In addition, the member for connecting the turn table 31 and the first air cylinder 32 may be a disk-shaped member instead of the arm which is not shown in the above illustration.

In the action mechanism of the supporting member 25 constituted above, the supply and exhaust of air are carried out through the hose connected to the first air cylinder 32 and the air supply source composed of an air compressor and a solenoid valve, so that the supporting member 25 is rotated as shown in FIG. 14 by the rotation of the rotary table 31. Thereby, flexion and extension movements of the wrist held by the support member 25 can be performed.

Next, a third embodiment of the CPM device of the present invention will be described. This embodiment is an embodiment in which an arm twisting mechanism is added to the CPM apparatus in the first and second embodiments. FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an arm twisting motion mechanism assembled to the CPM device in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 or FIG. 13 , and is a left side view of FIG. 10 or FIG. 13 . In FIG. 15 , the inside of the support member 25 is formed hollow, the second air cylinder 33 and the third air cylinder 34 are arranged in the hollow portion, and the main bodies of these air cylinders are fixed. To the cylinder rods (plungers) 33a and 34a of these air cylinders 33 and 34, a first link 35 and a second link 36 are respectively connected in a rotatable manner, and these first link 35 and second link 36 The other end of the arm is rotatably connected to a connection member 37 provided on the forearm support plate 24 or the turntable 31 . Also, although the connections to the second air cylinder 33 and the third air cylinder 34 are not shown in the drawing, hoses for supplying air are connected, and these air hoses climb along the hollow portion of the support member 25, The part penetrates to the back side of the forearm support plate 24, and is bundled with other air hoses.

In the arm twisting motion mechanism constituted above, air is supplied mutually exclusive to the second air cylinder 33 and the third air cylinder 34 through the air supply source constituted by the air compressor and the electromagnetic valve, so that the supporting member 25 is connected as a connecting member. 37 for the center to shake. For example, as shown in FIG. 15 , when air is supplied to the first air cylinder 33 , the cylinder rod 33 a of the second air cylinder 33 protrudes. Even if the cylinder rod 33a of the second air cylinder 33 protrudes, since no air is supplied to the third air cylinder 34, the connection state between the third air cylinder 33 and the second connecting rod 36 does not change, and the supporting member 25 is only extended by the second air cylinder. The main body of 33 pushes the part of the cylinder rod 33a of the second air cylinder 33. That is, the support member 25 tilts while rocking as shown in FIG. 16 . As shown in FIG. 16 , when the support member 25 swings and supplies air to the third air cylinder 34 , the support member 25 swings in the direction opposite to the above-mentioned operation (the direction of the position indicated by the dashed-two dotted line in the figure). Thereby, rotational force is transmitted in the reciprocating direction to the palm held by the support member 25 . Thus, the forearm will perform a twisting motion that rotates outwards and rotates inwards. Also, the rocking speed and rocking angle of the supporting member 25 can be adjusted by controlling the opening of the electromagnetic valve. That is, in order to accelerate the rocking speed of the supporting member 25, the opening amount of the electromagnetic valve can be set large, and in order to reduce the rocking speed, the opening amount of the electromagnetic valve can be set small. The air volume of the air supplied to the cylinder or the opening time of the solenoid valve is used to respond.

Next, a CPM device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 17 . Because the CPM device of this 3rd embodiment is suitable for the flexion and extension of the shoulders and scapulas of the human body, the CPM devices shown in FIGS. Fig. 17 corresponds to the right side view of Fig. 10 and Fig. 13 . As shown in FIG. 17, between the base plate 21 and the rotation support member 22a, there are a first gasket-shaped air actuator 41 and a second gasket-shaped air actuator 42 arranged in a row on the Y axis in the figure. direction. These arrangement positions are preferably as close as possible to the positions where the arms are placed. Accordingly, these spacer-shaped air actuators are arranged at positions close to the rotation portions 22b, 22c of the rotation support member 22a. Therefore, at the portion corresponding to the disposition position of the spacer-shaped air actuator of the rotation support member 22a, a flat surface is formed by covering the hollow portion.

These spacer-shaped air actuators 41, 42 are connected to an air supply source including a compressor and a solenoid valve through hoses. Also, these spacer-shaped air actuators 41 , 42 are inflated by supplying air inside to raise the rotation support member 22 a and create a gap between the rotation support member 22 a and the base plate 21 . The supply method of supplying air to the spacer-shaped air actuators 41 and 42 may be a control method of alternately supplying and discharging air and a control method of simultaneously supplying and discharging air, and these control methods may be selected according to the control device.

In these control methods, when air is alternately supplied and exhausted to the spacer-shaped air actuators 41 and 42, the rotation support member 22a is shaken (see FIG. 18). Thus, the human body shoulder and scapula that place the forearm in the CPM device perform bending and stretching exercises. In addition, by simultaneously supplying and exhausting air to the spacer-shaped air actuators 41 and 42, the shoulder of the human body with the forearm placed in the CPM device can be moved up and down. In addition, the amount of rocking, the amount of up and down, and these moving speeds of the rotating support member 22a are controlled by the opening degree of the solenoid valve to the amount of air supplied to the spacer-shaped air actuators 41, 42 and the amount of air supplied to the air per hour. , and thus can be set arbitrarily.

Next, a CPM device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 19 is a side view thereof, FIG. 20 is a top view of FIG. 19 , FIG. 21 is a left side view of FIG. 19 , and FIG. 22 is a right side view of FIG. 19 . In the drawing, at one end portion of the base plate 51, a rotation support portion 52 is provided. An arm support plate 53 , which is a rotating member that supports the arm, is connected to the rotation support portion 52 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal rotation shaft 54 . The arm support plate 53 is rotatable between a horizontal state (see FIG. 19 ) and a state (not shown) rotated from horizontal to 120°.

Between the rotation support portion 52 and the small arm support plate 53, a tubular air actuator 55 for bending and a tubular air actuator 56 for stretching are provided. These tube-shaped air actuators 55, 56 are simplified and shown as straight lines in the figure, but have the same structure as in the described embodiment. In addition, one end of the tubular air actuator 55, 56 is rotatably connected to the shaft 57, 58 mounted on the forearm support plate 53, and the other end is rotatably connected to the shaft mounted on the rotation support. On the shafts 59, 60 of the part 52.

Here, the attachment of the tubular air actuators 55 and 56 and the positional relationship of the rotation shaft 54 of the arm support plate 53 will be described. The straight line connecting the central axes of the shaft 57 and the shaft 59 on which the tubular air actuator 55 is installed and the straight line connecting the central axes of the shaft 54 and the shaft 59 form an angle of approximately 60°. On the other hand, the straight line connecting the central axes of the shaft 58 and the shaft 60 on which the tubular air actuator 56 is installed and the straight line connecting the central axes of the shaft 54 and the shaft 60 form an obtuse angle of less than 180°. In other words, the shaft 60 is attached to the left side of the drawing from the straight line connecting the central axes of the shaft 54 and the shaft 59 , and is attached to the base plate 51 side relative to the central axis of the shaft 54 .

By arranging the tubular air actuators 55, 56 in this way, it is possible to reciprocate the arm support plate 53 without converting the shortening of the length of the tubular air actuators into the rotation of the pulley. Its operation principle is as follows. When air is supplied to the tubular air actuator 55, the contraction force generated when the length of the tubular air actuator 55 shrinks acts as a rotational force (torque) to rotate the small arm support plate 53 clockwise around the shaft 54. ). Also, the torque is generated until the shafts 54, 59, 57 are aligned, that is, the forearm support plate 53 is rotated approximately 120° from the horizontal state. If the axes 54, 59, 57 are aligned, the torque disappears and, therefore, the rotation of the arm support plate 53 stops. When the rotation of the arm support plate 53 is stopped, the air of the tubular air actuator 55 is exhausted, and the air is supplied to the tubular air actuator 56 . In this way, the length of the tubular air actuator 56 contracts, and the contraction force generated at this time acts as a torque to rotate the small arm support plate 53 around the shaft 54 in the half-clockwise direction. Thereby, the arm support plate 53 returns to the horizontal direction.

By such a reciprocating movement of the arm support plate 53, flexion and extension of the arm can be performed.

The arm support plate 53 is provided with an inner-rotation outer-rotation plate 61 that rotates around an axis parallel to the Z-axis in FIG. 20 . The inner rotating outer rotating plate 61 rotates integrally with the rolling mechanism portion 62 provided at the front end portion of the arm support plate 58 . On the forearm support plate 53, there is a pair of tubular air actuators 63, 64 with steel wires that rotate the inner rotating outer rotating plate 61.

The tubular air actuators with steel wires 63, 64 are the same tubular air actuators as explained as the specific invention of the present invention, and the steel wires 63a, 64a for transmitting driving force are connected to these ends. The rolling mechanism part 62 is rotated by the expansion and contraction of the air actuator parts of the tubular air actuators 63 and 64 with steel wires, and the inner rotation outer rotation plate 61 rotates (shakes) relative to the forearm support plate 53 . Thereby, the inward rotation and outward rotation movements of the arm can be performed.

A wrist supporter 65 for loosely restraining the user's wrist and a mounting belt 66 for attaching to the user's hand are provided on the inner-rotating outer-rotating plate 61 . The attachment belt 66 is connected to a wrist drive mechanism 68 rotatable about an axis 67 parallel to the Y-axis in the figure. Between the wrist driving mechanism 68 and the inner rotating outer rotating plate 61, a pair of tubular air actuators 69, 70 for rotating the wrist driving mechanism 68 are provided. The wrist driving mechanism 68 rotates (oscillates) by alternately supplying and discharging air to the tubular air actuators 69 and 70 . Thereby, the wrist can be flexed and extended.

Between the base plate 51 and the forearm support plate 53, there are first and second spacer-shaped air actuators 71, 72 arranged along the Y-axis direction in the figure as shown in FIG. 22 . The actions of these spacer-shaped air actuators 71, 72 are the same as those of the CPM device in the third embodiment, and are selectively applied to any one of the first and second spacer-shaped air actuators 71, 72. Air is supplied to one side, and the flexion and extension of the shoulder and scapula can be performed. In addition, by simultaneously supplying and discharging air to both spacer-shaped air actuators 71 and 72, the shoulder can move up and down.

In the CPM device of the present embodiment, the tube-shaped air actuators 55, 56, 63, 64, 69, 70 and spacer-shaped air actuators 71, 72, etc. can also be used as driving sources. Therefore, it is possible to realize The overall small shape and light weight. In addition, complex movements of multiple joints can be easily combined.

In addition, the above-mentioned first to fourth embodiments show a CPM device that performs recovery actions of the upper limbs including the shoulders, but the present invention can also be applied to a CPM device that performs recovery actions of the lower limbs including the waist, for example.

In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, air is used as the fluid, but other fluids such as gas, oil, or water may also be used.

As described above, the CPM device of the present invention has an expansion-contraction body that expands and contracts by supplying and discharging fluid, a mesh-shaped covering body that covers the periphery of the expansion-contraction body, and a mesh-like covering body that is inserted between the expansion-contraction body and the mesh-like body. The low-friction body between the covered bodies, and the use of a fluid pressure actuator that generates a driving force by expanding and shrinking the length of the expansion-contracting body, rotates the rotating parts, so the overall size and weight can be realized. In addition, the fluid pressure actuator has a low-friction body disposed between the expansion-contraction body and the mesh covering body and has a long life, so that the user can safely use the CPM device for a long period of time.

In addition, as the actuator device that rotates the rotary member relative to the base, and as a plurality of actuator devices that rotate the movable member relative to the rotary member, a pneumatic actuator device is used, so that the overall Small and lightweight, and easy to combine multiple joint movements.

Claims (17)

1. fluid-pressure actuator is characterized in that having:

By supply with to discharge fluid expand the interior pipe that shrinks,

Netted sleeve, cover described in the periphery of pipe, in its diameter expansion of expansion of pipe described in the length contraction and

Low friction piece is to be woven to the low friction piece with stretchability with fibril between pipe and the described netted sleeve described in, and this low friction piece covers manages in described.

2. fluid-pressure actuator according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described low friction piece, and the friction factor of the friction factor of described netted sleeve being compared described interior pipe is little.

3. fluid-pressure actuator according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described friction piece is that the synthetic fiber with the combination of polyurethane core fiber and nylon fiber are woven to the parts with stretchability.

4. fluid-pressure actuator according to claim 3 is characterized in that, described synthetic fiber, and its rugosity is 40 DENIER.

5. according to any described fluid-pressure actuator in the claim 1 to 4, it is characterized in that described low friction piece is the cylinder that the mode with connectionless point on Zhou Fangxiang weaves.

6. fluid-pressure actuator according to claim 5 is characterized in that, with the low friction piece that the mode that does not have tie point on described Zhou Fangxiang weaves, is to have when shrinking and the cylinder of the diameter that interior pipe is roughly the same.

7. fluid-pressure actuator according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described interior pipe, has noncircular cross section, make be transformed into from contraction state the process of swelling state, at least a portion keeps surface area identical, and increases the sectional area that surrounds thus.

8. fluid-pressure actuator according to claim 7 is characterized in that, has on the interior pipe of described noncircular cross section, be formed with when shrinking interior side-prominent a plurality of pleat portion to the cross section, these pleat portions expand when inwardly pipe is supplied with fluid, the diameter expansion of pipe in making.

9. CPM device is characterized in that having:

Base component,

Rotatable parts are attached on this base component in the mode that can rotate, by rotating relative to described base component, be mounted or the joint motions of supported human body,

Comprise the 1st articulation mechanism from the actuator of power to described rotatable parts that supply with;

Described actuator has:

By supply with to discharge fluid expand the interior pipe that shrinks,

Netted sleeve, cover described in the periphery of pipe, in its diameter expansion of expansion of pipe described in the length contraction and

Low friction piece is to be woven to the low friction piece with stretchability with fibril between pipe and the described netted sleeve described in, and this low friction piece covers manages in described.

10. CPM device according to claim 9 is characterized in that, described friction piece is that the synthetic fiber with the combination of polyurethane core fiber and nylon fiber are woven to the parts with stretchability.

11. CPM device according to claim 9 is characterized in that, described low friction piece is the cylinder that weaves in the mode that does not have tie point on Zhou Fangxiang.

12. CPM device according to claim 9, it is characterized in that, described fluid-pressure actuator, for the relative base component of described rotatable parts being moved back and forth in the predetermined angular scope and being provided with a plurality of, according to the sense of rotation of described rotatable parts, supply with exhausting air to fluid-pressure actuator respectively.

13. CPM device according to claim 9, it is characterized in that, described rotatable parts are provided with the supplementary articulation motion, and described supplementary articulation motion carries out independent or compound joint motions for the position of the front end at the position by the motion of this rotatable parts and this position.

14. CPM device according to claim 9, it is characterized in that, described supplementary articulation motion is the 2nd articulation mechanism, the 2nd articulation mechanism, be provided with jointly with described rotatable parts, carry out the joint motions between the position of the position of moving and its front end by these rotatable parts.

15. CPM device according to claim 9, it is characterized in that, described supplementary articulation motion is the 3rd articulation mechanism, and the 3rd articulation mechanism rotatablely moves the position of the position of moving by these rotatable parts and its front end inside and outside carrying out simultaneously.

16. CPM device according to claim 9, it is characterized in that, described supplementary articulation motion is the 4th articulation mechanism, the 4th articulation mechanism, be arranged between described base component and the described rotatable parts, go forward side by side worked described rotatable parts from the position supported to the joint motions at original position.

17. CPM device according to claim 9 is characterized in that, described supplementary articulation motion comprises the articulation mechanism more than 2 in the 2nd articulation mechanism, the 3rd articulation mechanism and the 4th articulation mechanism,

Described the 2nd articulation mechanism is provided with jointly with described rotatable parts, carries out the motion in the joint between the position of the position of moving by these rotatable parts and its front end,

Described the 3rd articulation mechanism rotatablely moves the position of the position of moving by these rotatable parts and its front end inside and outside carrying out simultaneously,

Described the 4th articulation mechanism is arranged between described base component and the described rotatable parts, go forward side by side worked described rotatable parts from the position supported to the joint motions at original position.

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