Development of Walking Assist Machine Using Linkage Mechanism - Mechanism and its Fundamental Motion -

Hiroyuki Inoue; Toshiro Noritsugu

doi:10.20965/jrm.2010.p0189

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JRM Vol.22 No.2 pp. 189-196

doi: 10.20965/jrm.2010.p0189

(2010)

Paper:

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Development of Walking Assist Machine Using Linkage Mechanism - Mechanism and its Fundamental Motion -

Hiroyuki Inoue^* and Toshiro Noritsugu^**

^*Tsuyama National College of Technology, 624-1 Numa, Tsuyama-shi, Okayama 708-8509, Japan

^**Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushimanaka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan

Received:

September 30, 2009

Accepted:

January 25, 2010

Published:

April 20, 2010

Keywords:

walking assist, mechanism, medical and welfare assistance

Abstract

This paper proposes a walking assist machine, which is driven by a single actuator to reduce weight and cost, and describes its mechanism and fundamental motions. The machine is worn by a user for assistance with the motions of his lower extremities during walking. The machine is composed of a leg, which is responsible for assisting the motions of the lower extremities, and a waist, which contains the actuator. The leg is composed of sections for assisting the thigh, lower thigh, and foot, and the sections for assisting the thigh, lower thigh, which are composed of a fourbar mechanism. As a result, the mechanism provides only a monotonic motion. Therefore, the effects of link lengths on leg motions are clarified and the machine is designed based on this knowledge. The machine can ensure a user’s physical safety by limiting the range of movement of the machine’s joints, keeping the range within the range of movement of the pertinent joint. The effectiveness of the proposed walking assist machine is verified through experiments.

Cite this article as:

H. Inoue and T. Noritsugu, “Development of Walking Assist Machine Using Linkage Mechanism - Mechanism and its Fundamental Motion -,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.22 No.2, pp. 189-196, 2010.

Data files:

References

[1] M. P. Murray, R. C. Kory, and B. H. Clarkson, “Walking patterns in healthy old men,” J. of Gerontology, Vol.24, No.2, pp. 169-178, 1969.
[2] K. L. Riffle, “Falls: Kinds, causes and prevention,” Geriatric Nursing, April/May, pp. 165-169, 1982.
[3] H. Kawamoto and Y. Sankai, “Power assist method based on Phase Sequence and muscle force condition for HAL,” Advanced Robotics, Vol.19, No.7, pp. 717-734, 2005.
[4] E. Tanaka, T. Ikehara, K. Nagamura, K. Ikejo, T. Sakamoto, Y. Inoue, and S. Saegusa, “Study on the Walking Support Machine Indoors by Assisting Whole Legs,” Proc. of the ASME 2007 Int. Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conf., DETC2007-34081, 2007.
[5] M. Takaiwa and T. Noritsugu, “Development of Energy Autonomous Type Pneumatic Walking Support Shoes,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.21, No.3, pp. 353-358, 2009.
[6] M. Ishii, K. Yamamoto, and K. Hyodo, “Stand-Alone Wearable Power Assist Suit – Development and Availability –,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.17, No.5, pp. 575-583, 2005.
[7] J. Perry, “Gait analysis, Normal and pathological function,” Thorofare, NJ, Slack, Inc., 1992.
[8] D. A. Neumann, “Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System,” Ishiyaku Publishers, Inc., pp. 560-564, 2005.
[9] C. O. Bechtol, “Normal human gait,” In J. H. Bowker and C. B. Hall (Eds.), Atlas of Orthopedics: American Academy of Orthopeadic Surgeon, pp. 133-143, 1975.
[10] D. A. Winter, “The Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Gait: Normal,” Elderly and Pathological, 2nd ed. Waterloo, Canada, University of Waterloo Press, 1991.
[11] I. P. Herman, “Physics of the Human Body: Biological and Medical Physics,” Biomedical Engineering, NTS, Inc., pp. 16-20, 2009.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] M. P. Murray, R. C. Kory, and B. H. Clarkson, “Walking patterns in healthy old men,” J. of Gerontology, Vol.24, No.2, pp. 169-178, 1969.

[2] [2] K. L. Riffle, “Falls: Kinds, causes and prevention,” Geriatric Nursing, April/May, pp. 165-169, 1982.

[3] [3] H. Kawamoto and Y. Sankai, “Power assist method based on Phase Sequence and muscle force condition for HAL,” Advanced Robotics, Vol.19, No.7, pp. 717-734, 2005.

[4] [4] E. Tanaka, T. Ikehara, K. Nagamura, K. Ikejo, T. Sakamoto, Y. Inoue, and S. Saegusa, “Study on the Walking Support Machine Indoors by Assisting Whole Legs,” Proc. of the ASME 2007 Int. Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conf., DETC2007-34081, 2007.

[5] [5] M. Takaiwa and T. Noritsugu, “Development of Energy Autonomous Type Pneumatic Walking Support Shoes,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.21, No.3, pp. 353-358, 2009.

[6] [6] M. Ishii, K. Yamamoto, and K. Hyodo, “Stand-Alone Wearable Power Assist Suit – Development and Availability –,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.17, No.5, pp. 575-583, 2005.

[7] [7] J. Perry, “Gait analysis, Normal and pathological function,” Thorofare, NJ, Slack, Inc., 1992.

[8] [8] D. A. Neumann, “Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System,” Ishiyaku Publishers, Inc., pp. 560-564, 2005.

[9] [9] C. O. Bechtol, “Normal human gait,” In J. H. Bowker and C. B. Hall (Eds.), Atlas of Orthopedics: American Academy of Orthopeadic Surgeon, pp. 133-143, 1975.

[10] [10] D. A. Winter, “The Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Gait: Normal,” Elderly and Pathological, 2nd ed. Waterloo, Canada, University of Waterloo Press, 1991.

[11] [11] I. P. Herman, “Physics of the Human Body: Biological and Medical Physics,” Biomedical Engineering, NTS, Inc., pp. 16-20, 2009.

Development of Walking Assist Machine Using Linkage Mechanism - Mechanism and its Fundamental Motion -

Hiroyuki Inoue* and Toshiro Noritsugu**

Hiroyuki Inoue^* and Toshiro Noritsugu^**