CN106309083A - EMG controlled air-operated soft body rehabilitative mechanical hand - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an EMG-controlled pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator, which can help stroke patients or patients with hand disabilities to perform hand rehabilitation activities. This kind of rehabilitation manipulator is different from the traditional rigid manipulator. Each of its fingers is mainly a hollow cavity structure composed of soft materials (superelastic materials such as silicon rubber), and fibers and strain-limiting layers are arranged on the periphery to reduce bending deformation, The structural combination of elongation deformation, torsion deformation and torsional elongation deformation is designed as a soft finger, which is driven by pneumatics to realize motion deformation. It can achieve multi-stage joint bending similar to human fingers, drive the bending and stretching of stroke fingers, and restore the patient's mobility. This pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator has the advantages of low rigidity, high safety, high comfort, light weight, and low noise. Application prospects.

Description

A Pneumatic Software Rehabilitation Manipulator Controlled by EMG

【Technical field】

The invention belongs to the technical field of medical and health care equipment rehabilitation robots and industrial grippers, and especially designs an EMG-controlled pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator, which is suitable for rehabilitation training and assisting grasping for elderly people with symptoms such as hand dysfunction caused by stroke patients.

【Background technique】

According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, 1 out of every 6 people in the world may suffer from a stroke; every 6 seconds, 1 person dies from a stroke; every 6 seconds, 1 person is permanently disabled due to a stroke... …Among the 30 million cerebral apoplexy patients in the world, China accounts for about 1/3, and cerebral apoplexy has become the number one cause of death and disability in my country. 70% of stroke patients suffer from physical disabilities of varying degrees. Patients with upper limb disabilities, especially those with hand disabilities, can affect their normal life more, because daily activities, including dressing, eating, drinking, etc., must be completed by hands, so hand rehabilitation is also particularly important. Since the 1960s , developed a series of mechanical rehabilitation hands that can be worn on the patient's hand, including motor-driven, cable-driven, etc., but they are all rigid bodies, and the stiffness is greater than that of finger joints. When the mechanical bending angle exceeds When the bending angle of the finger joints can bear, this mechanical rehabilitation hand will oppress and restrain the fingers, causing pain to the patient. Therefore, this mechanical rehabilitation hand is very dangerous; and for different patients , the bending angles that the fingers can bear vary greatly, so this kind of manipulator cannot be widely popularized, and the adjustment is also very inconvenient; its cost and price are too high, and ordinary consumers cannot afford it at all; mechanical Generally, the weight is relatively heavy, so it is inconvenient to carry and limits the patient's range of motion.

【Content of invention】

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned shortcoming of prior art, provide a kind of pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator controlled by EMG.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions to achieve:

An EMG-controlled pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator, including a glove with upper and lower layers and five hollow soft fingers installed on the upper layer of the soft glove; the lower layer of the glove is worn on the user's hand, and each soft finger is connected through a trachea Portable driving device, the portable driving device can collect and decode the muscle electrical signal on the user's forearm, and use the obtained identification signal as the starting signal to control the solenoid valve and proportional valve to realize the adjustment of the air pressure inflation and deflation speed. Realize the active control of soft fingers.

The further improvement of the present invention is:

The index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger of the soft finger have a curved and elongated structure; the thumb of the soft rehabilitation finger has a soft thumb structure;

The soft finger with bending and elongation structure includes 5 stages of deformation, including 3 stages of bending deformation and 2 stages of elongation deformation. Equal, after a soft finger is inflated, it changes from a straight state to a curved state, which can produce multi-segment joint deformation of human fingers;

The soft thumb structure includes 5 stages of deformation, including 1 stage of twisting deformation, 1 stage of torsional elongation deformation, 2 stages of bending deformation and 1 stage of elongation deformation; The deformation and distortion are equal to the elongation of the thumb skin surface, and the two bending deformations are equal to the bending deformation produced by the second and third joints of the thumb; after inflating the soft thumb, the deformation of the thumb can be produced.

The soft finger includes a body and left-helical fibers and helical fibers wound on the surface of the body. The body is made of elastic material; the body is also bonded with a strain-limiting layer for preventing the body from expanding and deforming after inflation.

The cross-sectional structure of the soft finger is rectangular, trapezoidal, semicircular or variable cross-section, and the air pressure and driving force required for deformation of the soft finger are related to the cross-sectional shape of the soft finger.

The soft fingers can be realized through a pure bending structure, and each soft finger is bent and deformed. The muscle spasm force of the stroke finger and the tightness of the glove are used as external forces to change the motion deformation of the soft finger, so that it can drive the finger to perform rehabilitation exercises and Assisted grabbing.

The glove features a soft cloth suitable for donning and rehabilitation.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

The pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator introduced in the present invention adopts soft materials, and its stiffness is smaller than that of fingers, so the fingers can overcome the generated compressive force, and the safety has been greatly improved. Moreover, it can realize attitude feedback through a large deformation flexible sensor, monitor the deformation of the soft finger and hand at all times, and improve the safety of the pneumatic soft rehabilitation manipulator. Pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulators use relatively cheap materials, are light in weight, easy to carry, soft and comfortable, and can interact well with patients. Such advantages as above make up for the shortcomings of mechanical rigid rehabilitation hands, and bring new hope to patients who need rehabilitation. If they can be promoted, they will improve the quality of life of patients and reduce the burden on families and social medical staff.

【Description of drawings】

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the realization principle of the elongation and deformation of the software driver;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the realization principle of bending deformation of the software driver;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional shape structure diagram of a soft finger;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure and composition of a curved and elongated soft finger;

Fig. 5 is a deformation result diagram of a bent and elongated soft finger;

Fig. 6 is the structural composition of software thumb;

Fig. 7 is the deformation result figure of soft body thumb;

Fig. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of the pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator;

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the fit between the soft finger and the finger.

Among them: 1-soft fingers; 2-trachea.

【detailed description】

The present invention is described in further detail below in conjunction with accompanying drawing:

Referring to Fig. 8, the pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator controlled by EMG of the present invention is characterized in that it includes gloves with upper and lower layers of structure, and five hollow soft fingers installed on the upper layer of the soft glove; the lower layer of the glove is worn on the user's hand, Each soft finger is connected to a portable driving device through a trachea. The portable driving device can collect and decode the muscle electrical signal on the user's forearm, and use the obtained identification signal as a starting signal to control the solenoid valve and proportional valve to realize air pressure. The inflation and deflation speed can be adjusted to achieve active control of the soft finger. The index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger of the software rehabilitation finger have a curved and elongated structure; the thumb of the soft finger has a soft thumb structure;

The soft finger with bending and elongation structure includes 5 stages of deformation, including 3 stages of bending deformation and 2 stages of elongation deformation. Equal, after a soft finger is inflated, it changes from a straight state to a curved state, which can produce multi-segment joint deformation of human fingers;

The soft thumb structure includes 5 stages of deformation, including 1 stage of twisting deformation, 1 stage of torsional elongation deformation, 2 stages of bending deformation and 1 stage of elongation deformation; The deformation and distortion are equal to the elongation of the thumb skin surface, and the two bending deformations are equal to the bending deformation produced by the second and third joints of the thumb; after inflating the soft thumb, the deformation of the thumb can be produced.

The soft finger includes a main body and left-helical fibers and helical fibers wound on the surface of the main body. The main body is made of elastic material; the main body is also bonded with a strain-limiting layer for preventing the main body from expanding and deforming after being inflated. The cross-sectional structure of the soft finger is rectangular, trapezoidal, semicircular or variable cross-section, and the air pressure and driving force required for the deformation of the soft finger are related to the cross-sectional shape of the soft finger. The soft finger can be realized through a pure bending structure, and each soft finger is bent and deformed. The muscle spasm force of the stroke finger and the tightness of the soft glove are used as external forces to change the motion deformation of the soft finger, so that it can drive the finger to perform rehabilitation exercises and assist crawl. Gloves are made of soft cloth suitable for donning and rehabilitation exercises.

Principle of the present invention:

The present invention provides a device that can help patients with hand weakness, muscle degeneration, or inflexible hand movement to restore the normal movement ability of the hand. The pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator can be worn on the back of the hand like a glove, so that the hand passively follows the bending of the software rehabilitation hand to make the hand bend. For some patients, continuous passive exercise can be used to relax the nerves of the hand, and Reshape the hand neural control network in the brain, allowing patients to restore normal hand movement.

The present invention can also be used as an end effector of a robot. Because it can produce multi-stage deformation similar to fingers, it can grasp objects like a hand. Because of its small rigidity, when grasping general objects, It will not cause damage to objects. It is mainly used for tasks such as sorting and transferring objects in industrial applications, such as picking and sorting fruits, without causing damage to the surface of fruits; it can be used for household chores (washing vegetables, Massage), etc.; in the civilian field, it can be used as a pneumatic toy, giving people a vivid and lifelike feeling.

The present invention includes two parts of recovery gloves and soft fingers. When changing from a stretched state to a bent state, the pneumatic software rehabilitation manipulator can achieve unidirectional bending deformation to drive the rehabilitation movement of stroke fingers; Stroke fingers back to stretch.

Divide soft fingers into two categories: flexion and extension and soft thumbs.

The bending and elongation category includes 5 sections: 3 sections of bending deformation and 2 sections of elongation deformation. The length of each section can be designed and calculated according to the principle of the soft phone, and the final soft finger can realize finger-like multi-segment joint deformation.

The soft thumb consists of 5 sections: 1 section of twisting deformation, 1 section of twisting and elongation deformation, 2 sections of bending deformation and 1 section of elongation deformation. The length of each section can be designed and calculated according to the principle of the software mobile phone. The multi-segment articulation deformation of the flexed thumb is similar.

Each soft finger consists of three parts: a body, a fiber, and a strain-limiting layer. The body is a hollow cavity, and the fibers include left-helical fibers and right-helical fibers. The fibers are used to limit the expansion and deformation in the radial direction, so that the soft finger can withstand higher air pressure. Achieve bending and twisting deformations.

The cross-section structure of the soft finger includes rectangle, trapezoid, semicircle and variable cross section, etc. Among them, the rectangle, trapezoid and semicircle can all realize constant curvature bending, while the variable cross section realizes variable curvature bending, which is required for soft finger deformation. The air pressure and resulting driving force are related to the cross-sectional shape.

The soft finger can also be designed as a pure bending structure. The muscle spasm force of the stroke finger and the tightness of the soft glove are used as external forces to change the motion deformation of the soft finger, so that it can drive the finger to perform rehabilitation exercises and assist physical grasping. Although the soft finger with this structure cannot fit the finger completely, the fit between the soft finger and the stroke finger can be improved by rationally designing the tightness of the glove. This structure is easy to manufacture and has a large output force, which is convenient for patients use.

Design the upper and lower layers of the soft glove so that it can wrap the soft finger and drive the movement of the stroke finger, and choose the appropriate material so that it will not cause discomfort to the patient during rehabilitation.

The structure of the pneumatic software rehabilitation hand mainly includes three materials:

Body: Made of superelastic material, such as silicone rubber material, which will not harm the human body, is non-toxic, tasteless, and has no side effects. The elastic modulus of the material is about 0.1-1Mpa, which is equivalent to that of biological materials such as skin and muscle. In addition, the fluidity and castability of the material should be good, the material should not be sticky after curing, and the surface after curing should be smooth and soft.

As shown in Figure 3, the cross-section shape of the soft finger has various shapes: such as rectangle, trapezoid, semi-circle, variable cross-section, etc. The deformation effects of different cross-sections are different. For example, rectangle and semi-circle can produce constant curvature bending deformation. However, the variable cross-section type produces variable curvature bending deformation. Therefore, different cross-sectional shapes can be designed according to functional requirements when designing fingers.

Fiber: The fiber should have high strength, small diameter, and low flexibility, which is stronger than the thread used in ordinary sewing. It is easy to be bonded with the body material, and can be divided into left-helical fibers and right-helical fibers when in use.

Strain-limiting layer: The thin-layer mesh fiber cloth is not stretchable, and requires high strength and flexibility, such as glass fiber layer. It is generally a grid structure, and the small hole in the middle is convenient for liquid pouring during manufacture, and it is bonded with the body material as a whole.

As shown in Figure 1, the principle of elongation deformation: the elongation driver contains a hollow cavity, and the surface of the body is wound with left-helical fibers and right-helical fibers. After inflating it, it will produce axial elongation deformation. Restriction will not produce expansion deformation; where, a is the cavity made of soft material, b is the fiber wound clockwise, that is, the left-helical fiber, c is the fiber that is wound counterclockwise, that is, the right-helical fiber, and d is the cavity where the fiber is wound Schematic diagram of the elongation deformation of a body after inflation.

As shown in Figure 2, the principle of bending deformation: the bending driver consists of a hollow cavity and a layer of strain-limiting layer. The surface of the body is wound with left-helical fibers and right-helical fibers. Bending deformation occurs, and expansion deformation does not occur in the radial direction due to the limitation of fibers; where, e is the strain-limiting layer, and f is a schematic diagram of bending deformation after inflating the cavity wrapped with fibers and adding the strain-limiting layer.

Since the human finger produces multi-segment joint bending, the software rehabilitation finger should also be designed as a multi-segment structure. The soft rehabilitation hand consists of five soft fingers. Each finger has a different length and is similar to the length of each finger. They are all hollow structures. The difference is that the deformation of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger is similar, which belongs to bending and elongation. Similar structures, but the width and length of each finger are different; the thumb is special, the first joint of the thumb is a twisted structure, which needs to be designed separately.

As shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5, the soft finger with bending and elongation structure consists of 5 segments, where a ₁ , a ₂ , and a ₃ in Figure 4 are the lengths of bending deformation, b ₁ , b ₂ are the lengths of elongation deformation, The length of each part can be designed and calculated according to the principle of soft body deformation. Its deformation results are shown in Figure 5, which can produce three sections of bending and two sections of elongation, which are similar to finger bending deformation and will not produce hindrance.

As shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7, the soft thumb finger consists of 5 sections, where a ₁ in Figure 6 is the length of twisting deformation, b ₁ is the length of torsional elongation deformation, a ₂ and a ₃ are the length of bending deformation, and b ₂ is The length of elongation deformation and the length of each part can also be designed and calculated according to the principle of soft body deformation. Its deformation result is shown in Figure 7, which can produce multi-segment joint deformation similar to the thumb.

Working process of the present invention:

Five soft fingers were designed and manufactured according to the size of the patient's fingers to ensure that the actually manufactured soft fingers are similar to the deformation results of the simulation analysis. Each finger can produce multi-segment joint kinematic deformation and sufficient force to drive the finger movement. Put the soft fingers into the glove, and adjust the position and tightness of the soft fingers according to the actual condition of the patient's hand. The air tubes of each soft finger are connected to a portable drive unit to inflate and deflate them. In order to realize the autonomous control of the movement of the software rehabilitation hand, the muscle electrical signal on the forearm can be collected and decoded, and the obtained identification signal can be used as a trigger signal to control the solenoid valve and proportional valve to adjust the air pressure and inflation and deflation speed. Realize the active control of the soft rehabilitation finger.

The above content is only to illustrate the technical ideas of the present invention, and cannot limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any changes made on the basis of the technical solutions according to the technical ideas proposed in the present invention shall fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention. within the scope of protection.

Claims (6)

1. the pneumatic software manipulators in rehabilitation that an EMG controls, it is characterised in that include upper and lower double-layer structure glove and It is installed on the software finger (1) of five hollows on software glove upper strata；The lower floor of glove is worn on user on hand, every software Finger all connects portable driving means by trachea (2), and portable driving means can be by gathering on user forearm The muscle signal of telecommunication, and decode it, the identification signal obtained is realized air pressure as starting signal, control electromagnetic valve and proportioning valve The regulation of inflation/deflation speed, to realize the active of software finger is controlled.

The pneumatic software manipulators in rehabilitation that EMG the most according to claim 1 controls, it is characterised in that described software finger (1) forefinger, middle finger, the third finger and little finger of toe is bending elongation class formation；The thumb of software remedy finger (1) is software thumb Class formation；

The software finger (1) of bending elongation class formation includes 5 sections of deformation, wherein 3 sections of flexural deformations and the deformation of 2 segment elongations, and 3 sections curved Bent angle is identical with the angle of bend of finger-joint, and 2 segment elongation deformation are equal with the elongation of finger surface skin, a software Finger after inflation, becomes case of bending from straight configuration, it is possible to produce the multistage articulated type deformation of finger；

Software thumb structure includes 5 sections of deformation, wherein 1 section of torsional deformation, 1 section of torsion elongation strain, 2 sections of flexural deformations and 1 section Elongation strain；The torsional deformation that torsional deformation produces with the first paragraph joint of thumb is identical, reverses elongation strain and torsional deformation Equal with the elongation on skin of thumb surface, that second, three joints of 2 flexural deformation and thumb produce flexural deformation phase Deng；After software thumb is inflated, it is possible to produce the deformation of thumb.

The pneumatic software manipulators in rehabilitation that EMG the most according to claim 1 and 2 controls, it is characterised in that described software hands Referring to that (1) includes body and the left-hand screw fiber being wound on body surface and has spiral fiber, body uses elastomeric material to make；Body On be also bonded with the restriction strained layer the most not producing dilatancy for limiting body.

The pneumatic software manipulators in rehabilitation that EMG the most according to claim 1 and 2 controls, it is characterised in that described software hands The cross section structure of finger (1) is rectangle, trapezoidal, semicircle or variable cross-section type, the air pressure needed for software finger (1) deformation and generation Driving force relevant to the cross sectional shape of software finger (1).

The pneumatic software manipulators in rehabilitation that EMG the most according to claim 1 and 2 controls, it is characterised in that described software hands Referring to that (1) can be realized by pure bending structure, every software finger (1) all produces flexural deformation, by the muscle of apoplexy finger The elasticity of spasm power and glove changes the motion deformation of software finger as external force so that it is finger can be driven to carry out rehabilitation forging Refining and power-assisted capture.

The pneumatic software manipulators in rehabilitation that EMG the most according to claim 1 and 2 controls, it is characterised in that described glove are adopted With applicable wearing and the soft cloth of reconditioning.