JP2017029335A - Elbow clutch - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To greatly reduce the burden placed on the user's hand during walking, greatly reduce the burden on the affected foot, easy to operate during walking, and when abnormal external force is applied It is an object of the present invention to provide an elbow clutch that prevents injury from occurring.
An elbow clutch used as a cane, comprising a leg portion formed in a rod shape, a handgrip disposed above the leg portion and projecting forward, and extending above the handgrip. And a cuff part attached to the arm part. The cuff part is substantially U-shaped with an opening provided rearward, and the substantially U-shaped part is a user's upper side in a side view. The problem could be solved by an elbow clutch provided with an upper cuff having a form located in the range of the diaphysis region of the humerus.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an elbow clutch which is a cane used for assistance by a person who has difficulty in placing a burden on a leg with a disability during walking.

  As an auxiliary cane at the time of walking, there is a Lofstrand clutch as a conventional product. The Lofstrand clutch mainly consists of a rod-shaped leg, a handgrip projecting forward from the upper end of the leg, and a front (walking direction in the direction of walking) that extends upward from the leg. In the case, the rib side) is an arm portion having an open cuff. The cuff is configured to be along the ulna side of the forearm with respect to the forearm from the elbow to the wrist, that is, in contact with the back side (ulna side) of the forearm and the forearm side. When used, the elbow is extended and the weight is mainly supported by the hand grip, so the load on the wrist is large.

  Another conventional product is the Canadian clutch. The Canadian clutch mainly consists of a rod-shaped leg, a handgrip projecting forward from the upper end of the leg, and a front (in this case, the direction of walking), extending upward from the leg. Is an arm portion having a cuff having an open biceps muscle side). The cuff is in contact with the elbow and / or the upper arm on the back side of the upper arm (the triceps side) and the side surface. That is, the Canadian clutch is mainly different from the Lofstrand clutch in that the cuff is in a position where it abuts on the upper arm. However, both are common in that the cuff is opened in the forward direction. When using a Canadian clutch, the elbow is extended, but the triceps side of the upper arm is supported by a cuff, so it can be used even if the triceps are weaker than the Lofstrand clutch, but it mainly supports the weight with a hand grip Therefore, the load on the wrist is large.

  Another conventional product is a smart clutch. Mainly a rod-shaped leg, a cuff that contacts the ulna side of the forearm, a handgrip projecting obliquely from the cuff, and the cuff is rotatable to the leg and at a desired angle of the user It consists of a rotating connector part that can be fixedly connected. However, the cuff has an opening in front of the forearm (in the walking direction, in this case, the rib side). The leg is attached at an appropriate angle with respect to the axial direction of the ulna. The body weight is supported by the action of swinging the forearm down, but the load on the wrist is relatively small because the handgrip and cuff distribute the force over a wide area on the ulna side of the forearm. However, in order to swing the forearm, the shoulder and triceps are burdened, so use is limited to those who have sufficient muscle strength. Furthermore, as will be described later, when taking the next step during walking, there is a problem that it is extremely difficult to perform an operation when the cane is brought into contact with the ground in front.

  Patent Document 1 includes a gripping hand, a column connected substantially perpendicular to the gripping hand below a connecting part provided at an end of the gripping hand, and a bearing mechanism provided in the connecting part. A forearm support portion having one end pivotably attached to the hand grip and a forearm support member provided at the other end. The bearing mechanism is inclined with respect to the hand grip. A forearm support cane is disclosed in which a locking mechanism for locking a corner at a plurality of predetermined angles is provided, and a locking release means for releasing the locking mechanism is provided on the grip. The attachment of the forearm support member is similar to the structure of the Lofstrand clutch.

  In Patent Document 2, an auxiliary cane for a handicapped person who has a lower limb handicap and a finger wrist joint is flexed and contracted, is extended and retracted from the horizontal support at the upper end of the cane rod toward the front a. The two or more joints that are provided with movable support rods and are connected continuously between the support rods and the handle have a pair of Kiza seats that are formed by engraving radial locking teeth on both inner end faces. The other joint that is screwed with a screw that can be relaxed in the direction of the central axis, and that is provided with one joint of the joint at the tip of the support rod so that the axis and the axis are perpendicular to each other and screwed into the one joint Is an auxiliary cane that is arranged so that one of the next joints that are integrally connected thereto is an axis in the direction orthogonal to each other. The mounting of the pedestal is similar to the structure of a smart clutch.

  In Patent Document 3, an elastic cylinder fitted to the outer circumference of the shaft, a slit formed in a part of the cylinder wall of the cylinder in the cylinder axis direction, and the cylinder outer circumference close to the slit There is disclosed a walking assist pole strap provided with a hanging strap attachment portion formed integrally with the suspension strap and a loop-like suspension strap fixed to the suspension strap attachment portion.

  In Patent Document 4, a cane pillar formed by extending in an upright bar shape, a grip handle provided above the cane pillar, and a pipe or opening 10 disposed above the handle handle in a forward direction, that is, progressing. A forearm holder that is formed in a half-pipe shape extending in the upright direction, and when the forearm holder is pressed backward, it moves backward in the advancing direction plane including the axis of the cane column. There is disclosed a cane having connecting means for enabling connection and biasing means for biasing to return to the original position when the pressure is released. The attachment of the forearm holder is similar to the structure of the Lofstrand clutch.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-190962 JP-A-53-073894 Utility Model Registration No. 3076344 JP 2005-152592 A

  The walking aid is used for the purpose of bearing a part of the load applied to the affected foot so that the weight is not applied to the affected foot. For those who do not have a gripping force that cannot support the load with only the handgrip, and those who cannot apply a load to the joint itself, such as patients with rheumatism, a function to receive a load other than the handgrip is required. In the case of the above-mentioned patient who cannot obtain stability with the T-shaped cane, the loft strand clutch, the Canadian clutch, and the walking aids described in Patent Documents 1 and 4 are used. A cuff or the like for controlling the swinging of the upper limb when it is loaded is installed to suppress the rotational force (torque) generated in the wrist when the cane is used, thereby reducing the load on the wrist. However, since this method cannot sufficiently reduce the load on the wrist, the user must always receive a heavy burden on the wrist. For this reason, there has been a problem in that stable walking for a long time cannot be realized comfortably.

  In addition, when an abnormal external force is applied to the hand holding the hand grip and the forearm or upper arm inserted into a cuff, such as a forearm support member or forearm holder, or a strap due to a sudden fall while walking. In addition, it is sufficient if the arm can be smoothly removed from the opening of the cuff, but if the angle of the opening and the direction of extraction do not match, the forearm or upper arm may not be able to be instantaneously detached from the arm, and the wrist, forearm or upper arm fracture There was a problem that it was easy to cause obstacles such as bruises. The front of the cuff is open in the Lofstrand clutch, Canadian clutch, and smart clutch, but this is provided to allow the clutch (cane) to be easily attached to the arm. It may not always be enough.

  The smart clutch or the invention described in Patent Document 2 can move the load from the affected foot with a disorder to the hand or wrist placed on a substantially horizontal plate, but as described above, the muscle strength of the shoulder, the triceps, etc. Although it is difficult to handle unless it is a strong person, it will be described in detail below, but when taking the next step during walking, the operation when pushing the smart clutch or the cane of the invention described in Patent Document 2 against the ground in front is extremely There was a problem that it was difficult to do.

  It is a problem with the operability of the walking stick, but when walking, if the hand naturally stretches straight and the tip of the leg is on the same direction line as the hand, a load is applied next. Moving the tip of the cane to the position of the target ground that is thought to be an easy movement that can be naturally unconscious, the smart clutch or the invention described in Patent Document 2 is such that the upper end of the leg is an abbreviation of the forearm. Because it is located in the center, the hand naturally stretches straight and the tip of the leg is not positioned on the same direction as the direction of the hand. Athletes who have good motor skills because they have to walk while looking at the tip of the cane while moving the tip of the cane to the position. If you can overcome , Difficult to operate the cane for normal people with disabilities that do not physically disadvantaged not particularly even motor nerves so much.

  In addition, when an abnormal external force is applied to a leg or a member into which the forearm is inserted during walking, the inserted forearm cannot be detached from the member instantly. There was a problem that it was easy to cause trouble.

  The present invention was devised in view of these problems, and is used by ordinary disabled persons, temporarily disabled persons or semi-permanently disabled persons who are not excellent in muscular strength and exercise ability, and are burdened on the wrist for normal daily activities. It is an object to provide an elbow clutch that is small and capable of stable walking for a long time and is easy to operate during walking, and to provide an elbow clutch that is less likely to cause injury even when abnormal external force is applied. To do.

  In the present invention, “front” and “rear” mean front or rear in the front-rear direction (traveling direction) viewed from the user when using the elbow clutch.

  The elbow clutch 1 according to claim 1 is an elbow clutch 1 used as a cane, and is a leg portion 4 formed in a rod shape, and a hand disposed above the leg portion 4 and protruding forward. A grip 6, an arm portion 5 extending above the hand grip 6, and a cuff portion 2 attached to the arm portion 5, the cuff portion 2 having an opening 10 at the rear side. The upper cuff part 11 which is U-shaped and has a form in which the substantially U-shaped part is located in the range of the diaphyseal region of the user's humerus in a side view is provided.

  The elbow clutch 1 according to claim 2 is substantially the same as the elbow clutch 1 according to claim 1, wherein the cuff portion 2 is provided below the upper cuff 11, the ulna side of the forearm is in contact, and the opening 10 is provided on the anterior side on the rib side. It has the lower cuff part 13 which has a character-shaped form, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The elbow clutch 1 according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the upper cuff portion 11 and the lower cuff portion 13 constituting the cuff portion 2 are arranged on both left and right sides of the user's elbow 23. Or it is connected with the upper and lower cuff connection part 12 which touches one side, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The elbow clutch 1 according to claim 4 is the elbow clutch 1 according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cuff part 2 and the arm part 5 include a main body and a detachable part that can be detached from the main body. It can be temporarily fixed with respect to the body, and when a force of a predetermined value or more is applied between the main body and the detachment portion, the detachment portion is connected by the detachment mechanism 7 configured to detach from the body. Features.

  The elbow clutch 1 according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the elbow clutch 1 according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the cuff part 2 is connected to the arm part 5 when the cuff part 2 is inclined and inclined with respect to the arm part 5. It is characterized by including a cuff portion posture adjusting mechanism 8 that can adjust the angle.

  Since the elbow clutch 1 according to the first aspect has the upper cuff portion 11 in contact with the upper biceps muscle side of the upper arm 22, the load applied to the arm is dispersed and transmitted to the elbow clutch 1 in addition to the wrist grip. . In particular, when the upper body is tilted forward during walking and the arm holding the elbow clutch 1 is in the posture where the elbow is behind the shoulder, the load is greatly dispersed in the upper cuff portion 11. Therefore, the load on the hand gripping the handgrip 6 can be reduced, and even a person with a weak gripping force can easily walk, and the load on the wrist can be reduced, so that even a long time use can easily walk. There is an effect that can be done.

  For this reason, unlike the conventional idea, in the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention, the cuff part 2 also has a part of the role of the hand grip 6. That is, the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention does not have a conventional handgrip 6 that is mainly intended to receive a load, and the handgrip 6 of the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention has a portion to which a hand is attached. However, receiving the load is no longer the main purpose. The direction and operation of the elbow clutch 1 are the main functions. Since the upper arm 22 can receive a load by the upper cuff portion 11, the load load from the wrist joint is hardly applied to the hand grip 6 during use. Thus, receiving the load at the upper arm 22 part has an effect that it can be said that it is a universal design not only for patients whose muscular strength is reduced but also for all persons who require walking aids.

  When the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention is used, the hand is naturally stretched straight and the tip of the leg 4 is in the same direction line as the direction of the hand. Even for a normal handicapped person who is not particularly superior, the elbow clutch 1 is easily operated during walking.

  This will be explained based on the degree of freedom of joint of the upper limb with respect to the operability of the cane. By the way, in order to represent the positional relationship during body movements regarding the position and movement of the body, the surface divided into right and left for the three-dimensional solid in the state of 0 ° limb position of each joint is divided into the sagittal plane and the front and back planes Is called the frontal plane, and the plane divided into the top and bottom is called the horizontal plane, and the position and designation of the joints are defined by the axes and planes arising from this state. Movement on the sagittal plane is flexion and extension, and movement on the frontal plane is adduction and abduction. In wrist joints, the radial direction is referred to as crouching, the ulna direction is referred to as ulnar flexion, and palm movement and dorsiflexion are used in other directions of movement.

  The human shoulder joint can move three-dimensionally with three degrees of freedom, the elbow joint with one degree of freedom, and the wrist joint with three degrees of freedom. In the smart clutch in which the leg portion for operating the tip of the cane is located at the substantially central portion of the forearm or the invention described in Patent Document 2, it is not possible to influence the three degrees of freedom of the wrist joint. It is. On the other hand, the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention can use the upper limbs, elbow joints, and wrist joints close to the shoulder joints, and the upper limbs have redundant degrees of freedom, so that various movements can be realized. Therefore, when manipulating the tip of the cane with a hand grip during walking, the degree of freedom can be 7 degrees of freedom. If there are many degrees of freedom, each joint has sufficient margin and can be fine-tuned, making it stable. Walking is performed, and there is an effect that high operability can be maintained. This difference in the degree of freedom is the difference in the operability of the cane, and a large degree of freedom is one of the features of the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention.

  According to the elbow clutch 1 of the second aspect, the cuff portion 2 has the upper cuff portion 11 in contact with the biceps muscle side of the upper arm 22 and the lower cuff portion 13 in contact with the ulna side of the forearm 24. Since the lower cuff portion 13 applied to the forearm 24 is fixed or integrally formed below the elbow of the upper cuff portion 11 applied to the upper arm 22, the load applied to the arm is not limited to the wrist grip, and the upper cuff portion 11 and It is distributed to the elbow clutch 1 through the lower cuff 13. Further, there is an effect that the upper cuff portion 11 can be maintained at a constant height position of the upper arm 22 without the vertical position of the upper cuff portion 11 being shifted from the upper arm. In particular, when the load is distributed from the upper arm 22 to the upper cuff portion 11 when taking a forward leaning posture, the upper cuff portion 11 receives a reaction force having a rear component, but the lower cuff portion 13 is located on the rear side of the forearm 24. Since it is applied to the ulna side, the forearm 24 receives the front direction and stabilizes it in the front-rear direction. Further, the lower cuff portion 13 has a load distribution effect similar to that of the conventional lofstrand clutch. Furthermore, since the operation of the cane can handle the upper arm 22 and the forearm 24 as one body, the operability can be further enhanced.

  Since the upper cuff part 11 and the lower cuff part 13 are connected by the up-and-down cuff connection part 12 which contact | connects the both sides of the user's elbow 23, or one side, the elbow clutch 1 of Claim 3 is side view. Since both the front and rear of the user's elbow 23 are open, the elbow 23 can be bent freely. For example, the hand is removed from the handgrip 6 and bent at the elbow 23, so that the ticket machine There is an effect that it is easy to do something such as purchasing a ticket from.

  The invention according to claim 4 is intended for risk management for a fall or the like, and has a detaching mechanism 7 that detaches the cuff part 2 and the arm part 5 from each other when a load of a certain level or more is received. Since it is provided, for example, when the user falls, the cuff part 2 can be instantaneously detached from the arm part 5. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the user from hurting the arm due to an abnormal force applied to the joint without leaving the cane attached to the arm.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cuff portion posture adjustment mechanism 8 that enables adjustment of an inclination direction and an inclination angle of the cuff portion 2 with respect to the arm portion 5 when the cuff portion 2 is connected to the arm portion 5. Since it is provided, the shape of the elbow clutch 1 can be easily matched to the physique such as the elbow angle of the user, so that the tip of the cane can be set at a desired position at the angle of the user's natural upper limb. . Furthermore, the elbow clutch 1 can be placed along the upper limb, and can be used conveniently.

It is a left view which shows embodiment of the elbow clutch which concerns on this invention. It is an upper part enlarged view of the elbow clutch shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a cuff portion of the elbow clutch shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a left side view, and (b) is a right side view. The cuff part of the elbow clutch shown in FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a rear view. In the cuff portion shown in FIG. 3, (a) is an AA cross section of the upper cuff portion, (b) is a BB cross sectional view of the upper and lower cuff connection portions, and (c) is a CC cross sectional view of the lower cuff portion. is there. It is a figure which shows one of the examples of the separation | elimination mechanism of an elbow clutch, (a) is sectional drawing of the horizontal direction which shows the state with which the 2nd detachment member and the 2nd detachment member are engaging, (b) was detach | leave. It is a top view of the 1st detachment member, and (c) is a top view of the detached 2nd detachment member. FIG. 7 is a front view of the release mechanism shown in FIG. 6. It is sectional drawing of the horizontal direction which attached the cuff part to the detachment | desorption mechanism shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the connection state of the detachment | leave mechanism and a cuff part attitude | position adjustment mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the form which fixed the to-be-tilted member to the detachment mechanism. It is a vertical direction sectional view of a cuff part posture adjustment mechanism in the state connected with a detachment mechanism. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is explanatory drawing seen from the protrusion part of the cuff part attitude | position adjustment mechanism shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which inclined the detachment mechanism with the cuff part attitude | position adjustment mechanism. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the walk posture a which is a state which uses the elbow clutch of this invention and moves an elbow clutch and an affected leg ahead. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the walking posture b which is the state which moves a healthy leg forward using the elbow clutch of this invention. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the walk posture c which is a state which uses the elbow clutch of this invention and moves a healthy leg ahead and passes a diseased leg. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the walk posture d which is the state which moved the healthy leg ahead from the affected leg using the elbow clutch of this invention. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the walk posture e which is a state when using the elbow clutch of this invention and landing a healthy leg ahead. It is explanatory drawing which shows the inclination condition of the elbow clutch during walking one step. It is explanatory drawing which shows the load dispersion | distribution in progress of the walk shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the total load change concerning a cane in the walk elapsed time which compares the effect of a conventional product and this invention product. The figure which shows the distribution situation of the compression place and the non-compression place by the number of steps and the load applied to the handgrip, comparing the effect of the conventional product and the present invention product, (a) is the case of using the conventional product, (b) is the book This is the case of using the elbow clutch of the invention. 23A and 23B are graphs of the number of compression location pixels and the number of non-compression location pixels due to the load in FIG. 23, where FIG. 23A shows the case of using the conventional product and FIG. 23B shows the case of using the elbow clutch of the product of the present invention. . It is a figure which shows the conventional Lofstrand clutch. It is explanatory drawing explaining the layer of a pressure measurement film. It is the 6th page figure which shows the form of Example 2 which is not adding the release mechanism and the cuff part posture adjustment mechanism with the elbow clutch of the present invention, (a) is a front view, (b) is a back view, (c) Is a right side view, (d) is a left side view, (e) is a plan view, and (f) is a bottom view. For reference, the elbow clutch according to the present invention is a six-sided view showing the configuration of the second embodiment in which the release mechanism and the cuff portion posture adjusting mechanism are not added. It is a drawing substitute photograph, Comprising: It is a photograph of the upper part of the elbow clutch which added the separation mechanism and the cuff part attitude | position adjustment mechanism of Example 1, (a) is a front view, (b) is a back view, (c) is a back view. A right side view, (d) is a left side view photograph. It is the enlarged photograph which looked at the cuff part of the elbow clutch of Example 1 from the upper surface (shoulder direction). It is an enlarged photograph of the part by which the arm part is connected to the side surface of the lower cuff part of the elbow clutch of Example 1 via the detachment mechanism and the cuff part attitude | position adjustment mechanism. In the elbow clutch, it is an explanatory view of the physiological valgus of the elbow with respect to the three-dimensional relative positional relationship of the cuff, hand grip, and cane, (a) is an explanatory view of the elbow angle, and (b) is gripped It is explanatory drawing of a front view, and is an explanatory view of a side view when (c) grips. In an elbow clutch, it is explanatory drawing of the three-dimensional relative positional relationship of a cuff part, a hand grip, and a cane tip, (a) is explanatory drawing of front view, (b) is explanatory drawing of right side view. In an elbow clutch, it is explanatory drawing of the three-dimensional relative positional relationship of a cuff part, a hand grip, and a cane, (a) is explanatory drawing of an upper cuff part, (b) is explanatory drawing of a lower cuff part, (c ) Is an explanatory diagram of the cuff part. It is explanatory drawing of the fine adjustment of the relative positional relationship of the cuff part and leg part of an elbow clutch, (a) is explanatory drawing of internal rotation and external rotation, (b) is explanatory drawing of bending and extension.

  An embodiment of an elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the elbow clutch 1 includes a leg portion 4, an arm portion 5, a hand grip 6, and a cuff portion 2 as basic components. A portion where the leg portion 4 and the arm portion 5 are combined is hereinafter referred to as a shaft 3 for convenience. Although the leg part 4 is usually linear, it does not necessarily need to be linear, and may be appropriately bent within a range suitable for walking assistance.

  The shaft 3 is in the form of a bar made of a material having high rigidity such as metal, and the cylinder is preferably a cylinder in order to reduce the weight. The hand grip 6 is divided into a lower leg portion 4 and the hand grip 6 is divided into an upper arm portion 5. The leg portion 4 is preferably provided with a length adjusting portion 14 as shown in FIG. The length adjusting unit 14 is, for example, an inner cylinder placed in a cylinder of the leg part 4 to form a double cylinder, and the inner cylinder is taken in and out to adjust the entire length of the leg part 4 and adjusted to a desired length with a screw or a pin. It means something to fix. Moreover, it is preferable that the tip part under the leg part 4 has the stone bump 9. The length of the leg portion 5 of the shaft 3 is set to the length when the elbow joint is bent by 30 degrees when the tip of the leg portion 5 is placed 15 cm outside the front when used by an adult. Is preferred. This 30 degrees is generally said to be the angle at which power is most easily exerted. As a result, when the elbow clutch 1 is used, the elbow joint is almost bent, but the elbow joint is bent when the elbow clutch 1 is reduced in impact or when the elbow clutch 1 is loaded. There are effects such as easy effort.

  Further, the arm portion 5 of the shaft 3 is inclined rearwardly with respect to the leg portion 4. Normally, the arm portion 5 is formed by the leg portion 4 and the arm portion 5 in the shape of “<” from the leg portion 4. The angle is bent from 0 to several tens of degrees, and the axis of the leg 4 and the axis of the arm 5 are on one plane, but in this embodiment, the support is an inclination angle of the arm 5 with respect to the leg 4 The angle is about 10 degrees. By tilting the arm portion 5, the user's forearm 24 can easily follow the arm portion 5, and the user can easily operate the elbow clutch 1.

  The hand grip 6 is fixed in a state of projecting to the front side of the upper end of the leg portion 4 of the shaft 3 and at the boundary with the arm portion 5. The handgrip 6 is preferably configured to have a comfortable grip by covering the surface of a hard material such as metal with a soft material such as resin.

Next, the cuff portion 2 is attached to the front side B above the hand grip 6 and above the arm portion 5 of the shaft 3.

  The inventor pays attention to the fact that the elbow 23 is bent and the upper arm 22 is tilted forward when the cane is used, and in the case of the conventional cane, the load applied to the affected leg 20 is moved to the cane side. However, the present invention has reached the present invention from the idea of distributing the load applied to the hand to the upper arm 22.

The cuff portion 2 is provided with an opening 10 at the rear side (the upper triceps side of the upper arm 22 is opened) and has a substantially U-shaped substantially horizontal cross section. The inner wall is the biceps side of the humeral bone of the user's humerus, the biceps are the parts called the bicep that often emerges when the arm is bent, but it has a part that touches the muscle abdomen An upper cuff part 11 is provided.

  Here, the substantially U-shaped cross section is a substantially U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the axial direction, and has an opening width that allows the upper arm 22 or the forearm 24 to be easily removed from the opening side corresponding to the upper side of the U shape. The bottom corresponding to the bottom of the U-shape wraps around the outer periphery of the upper arm 22 or the forearm 24 opposite to the opening side with as little gap as possible, and the side corresponding to the left and right of the U-shape supports the upper arm 22 or the forearm 24. It is a shape along the outer periphery of the cross section of the upper arm 22 or the forearm 24 that has been made as small as possible so that it can be firmly held, and has a length in the direction of the bone axis. Therefore, the inner surface of both sides of the opening side of the U-shape is literally not limited to being parallel, and includes those having a slightly narrower slope toward the opening 10 and those having a slightly wider slope. In other words, the U-shape is a shape obtained by removing the opening 10 provided in one direction for inserting and removing the upper arm 22 or the forearm 24 from the shape along the outer periphery of the cross section surrounding the upper arm 22 or the forearm 24. The upper edge of the upper cuff part 11 needs to reach the diaphysis of the humerus above the elbow and is preferably between the upper side (shoulder side) above the so-called bicep and to the side.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 to 19, the upper cuff portion 11 is brought into contact with the front side of the upper arm 22 above the elbow 23, and is called a force hump that often floats when the arm is bent as described above. The abdominal side of the biceps is contacted. As shown in FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b), and 5 (a), the upper cuff portion 11 has a substantially U-shaped substantially horizontal cross section with the opening 10 provided at the rear side. The lateral side surface of the portion 11 can firmly contact the front side of the upper cuff portion 11 with the biceps brachii side. Thus, when walking, especially when the upper body is tilted forward and the elbow 23 is behind the shoulder, the biceps muscle side pushes the inner surface (bottom of the U-shaped cross section) of the upper cuff part 11, thereby causing an effect described later. The load on the wrist is reduced. Since the upper cuff portion 11 has a rear opening, the arm can be easily inserted into the cuff portion 2, and the upper arm 22 can be easily removed from the upper cuff portion 11 even when an abnormal external force is applied.

  Moreover, since the position of the cuff part 2 is in the upper arm 22 part which is higher than the position of the cuff part of the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60, the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention more effectively suppresses the shaking of the body center of gravity. I can do it. In other words, it contributes to a sense of stability against shaking. Therefore, it is possible to suppress fluctuations in the inner and outer directions for the user. As a result, the body center of gravity can acquire a more stable walk without going up and down in the inner and outer directions.

  2 to 4 and 15 to 19, the ulna side of the forearm 24 is in contact with the cuff part 2 below the upper cuff part 11, and the opening part 10 is forwardly directed to the rib side. The lower cuff part 13 which has the substantially U-shaped form provided is provided. As shown in FIG. 5C, the lower cuff portion 13 has a substantially U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the axial direction in which the opening 10 is provided in the front side.

  Since the lower cuff portion 13 is configured to support the rear b of the forearm 24 and covers both the inner and outer sides of the forearm 24, the lower cuff portion 13 can efficiently receive torque with respect to the rotational motion of the forearm 24 in the direction perpendicular to the frontal plane. I can do it. As a result, the force can be efficiently transmitted to the separation mechanism 7. The lower cuff part 13 has a substantially U-shaped body with an opening 10 provided in the front side, so that the arm can be easily removed from the arm part 5 of the shaft 3 so that the user does not suffer damage such as a fracture when the user falls. Can be withdrawn. The position of the lower edge of the lower cuff portion 13 is not limited, but is preferably between the elbow 23 and the wrist and about one-half to one-third of the distance between the elbow 23 and the elbow 23 and the wrist. If it is short, the effect of preventing the displacement of the upper cuff portion 11 is not sufficient, and the effect of distributing the load to the forearm 24 is difficult to be exhibited. If it is too long, it will be difficult to operate the elbow clutch 1.

  Further, the lower cuff part 13 acts as a load counter for the upper cuff part 11. That is, since the load applied to the upper cuff part 11 is transmitted to the arm part 5 by the lower cuff part 13 via the upper and lower cuff connection parts 12, the lower cuff part 13 transmits force to the arm part 5. It contributes to.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 and 15 to 19, the cuff portion 2 is connected to the upper cuff portion 11 and the lower cuff portion 13 on both sides of the left and right sides of the user's elbow 23 or one side. The upper and lower cuff connecting portions 12 are provided in contact with each other. The upper and lower cuff connecting portions 12 are arranged below the upper cuff portion 11 and above the lower cuff portion 13, in the periphery of the user's elbow 23 in a side view, and as shown in FIG. It is provided in a, b, and has a shape in which the substantially side shape of the upper cuff part 11 is extended downward from the lower end of the upper cuff part 11 on both sides or one side of the user's elbow 23.

  The upper and lower cuff connecting portions 12 firmly support the upper cuff portion 11 by connecting the upper cuff portion 12 opened in the rear row and the lower cuff portion 13 opened in the front row. Since the upper and lower cuff connecting portions 12 have at least the front and rear directions A and B opened, it is easy to insert the arm from the upper cuff portion 11 to the lower cuff portion 13, and when the abnormal external force is applied, the upper arm 22 and the forearm 24 are connected. Easy to remove from the cuff part 2. When the upper cuff portion 11 and the lower cuff portion 13 are connected by the upper and lower cuff connecting portions 12 that contact both the left and right sides or one side of the user's elbow 23, The elbow 23 can be freely bent because both the rear and rear openings are open. For example, when the hand is removed from the handgrip 6 and bent at the elbow 23, purchase of goods from a vending machine or ticket vending machine is possible. It is easy to work such as purchasing tickets from.

  It is preferable that the cuff part 2 has a configuration including an upper cuff part 11, an upper and lower cuff connection part 12, and a lower cuff part 13 from the upper side to the lower side. Although they may be connected and fixed to each other, it is more preferable that they are manufactured integrally because of strength and smoothness without a connection surface. It is preferable that the cuff part 2 is formed in a shape corresponding to the arm of the user with as little gap as possible not only in the upper arm 22 but also in a portion contacting the elbow 23 and the forearm 24. For this purpose, a cast is cast from the upper arm 22 to the forearm 24 of the user to take a mold, a gypsum model is created from the mold, and an acrylic resin, epoxy resin, or the like is prepared on a mold produced based on the gypsum model. It can be formed by pouring a polymer material, or can be formed by laminating and curing a composite material such as FRP or c-FRP. Also, since the dimensions differ depending on the individual, it is preferable that the cuff portion 2 is measured and matched to the shape of the arm as much as possible. However, off-the-shelf cuffs of sizes such as L, M, and S are used, and the cuff portion 2 and upper arm 22 are used. Further, a cushioning material having an appropriate thickness may be used between the forearm 24 and the forearm 24. This is useful when, for example, when using the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention immediately after injury, a cuff fitted to the arm cannot be obtained quickly.

  The length of the leg portion 4 of the shaft 3 is adjusted to the forward direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the arm portion 5 of the shaft 3 because the forearm 24 and the upper arm 22 are adjusted in the limb position where the elbow joint is bent at 30 degrees. It is inclined 30 degrees. This makes it possible to maintain a natural posture at the elbow joint. Further, the arm portion 5 of the shaft 3 is inclined about 10 degrees backward with respect to the longitudinal direction of the leg portion 4.

  Next, a mechanism for connecting the arm portion 5 and the cuff portion 2 of the shaft 3 will be described. In connection, it is preferable to use a detachment mechanism 7 for detaching safely and a cuff part posture adjusting mechanism 8 for adjusting an angle for improving usability.

  The detachment mechanism 7 will be described. The detachment mechanism 7 connects the cuff part 2 and the arm part 5, but when the load in the torsional direction between the cuff part 2 and the arm part 5 exceeds a predetermined value, the cuff part 2 This is a mechanism for urgently separating the part 2 and the arm part 5. The separation mechanism 7 is used to join one object to another object, and has a joining structure that can separate one object from another object without being instantaneously damaged when an abnormal force is applied. The detachment mechanism 7 includes a main body and a detachable portion that can be detached from the main body, and the detachable portion is temporarily fixed by, for example, temporarily fitting to the main body, and is greater than a predetermined value between the main body and the detachable portion. When the force is applied, it means that the detached part is detached from the main body. Forces exceeding a predetermined value can be limited to only forces from a specific direction.

  As an example of the detachment mechanism 7, Shimano Co., Ltd. product: SPD-SL pedal, model number: PD-5800, which is a bicycle pedal binding, combined with Shimano Co., Ltd. product: SPD-SL Cleat Model number: SM-SH10 The thing was diverted and used. When using, cleats attached to the back of the user's shoes are fitted into the recesses in the pedals attached to the bicycle, and the cleats' protrusions are fitted together by stepping on the shoes, and the shoes and the pedals are integrated and fixed to efficiently pedal. In an emergency situation, the ankle can be rotated to remove the cleat from the pedal so that the foot can be released from the pedal.

  Connection between the upper part of the arm part 5 which is a part where the leg part 4 is extended and bent above the handgrip 6 and obliquely rearwardly and the rear side of the substantially U-shaped body of the lower cuff part 13. A separation mechanism 7 is installed in the part. The detachment mechanism 7 has a predetermined torsional load applied between the arm portion 5 and the lower cuff portion 13, that is, a load applied in the direction in which the fastening surfaces of the arm portion 5 and the lower cuff portion 13 rotate relative to each other. A mechanism for detaching the lower cuff 13 from the arm 5 when the value is exceeded is mentioned. The other load applied to the fastening surface between the arm part 5 and the lower cuff part 13 by the load applied in the front-rear direction of the arm is usually the load direction applied to the fastening surface. It is preferable to be detached when a load is applied.

  The disengagement mechanism 7 disengages the cuff part 2 from the arm part 5 when the elbow clutch 1 is in use, for example, when the torsional load applied between the arm part 5 and the lower cuff part 13 exceeds a predetermined value. Two members are connected by a locking means having an urging force by an elastic body such as a spring, and the urging force of the locking means is overcome when a load exceeding a predetermined value is applied. It is preferable that the structure is a structure in which the two members are loosened or released and the two members are separated.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 9 and drawing substitute photograph FIG. 31, a first release member 41 provided immediately above the cuff portion attitude adjustment mechanism 8 and a second release member 42 provided on the rear surface of the cuff portion 2 The first detachable member 41 and the second detachable member 42 are fitted and used. In this example, the first detachment member 41 corresponds to the main body, and the second detachment member 42 corresponds to the detachment portion. Incidentally, the above-mentioned pedal was used for the first release member 41 and the above-mentioned cleat was used for the second release member 42. The cleat has a flat fixed surface, and the cleat is attached to the body side of the rear wall surface of the lower cuff using screws. Therefore, a load is applied from the position on the body side to the arm portion 5 from the cuff portion 2 through the separation mechanism 7.

  The first detachment member 41 has a hole 41a at one end thereof, and a first protrusion 41b having a jaw shape and an elastic body such as a spring and having a biasing force in the pressing direction on the other end. The second detaching member 42 has a hole locking portion 42a that fits and locks into the hole 41a of the first detaching member 41, and a second protruding portion 42b that engages and is pressed into the first protruding portion 41b.

  And as shown in FIG. 9, with respect to the longitudinal direction of the arm part 5 and the longitudinal direction of the cuff part 2 which are directions of the user's arm, the hole part 41a and the first projecting part 41b of the first release member 41 are provided. And the direction connecting the hole locking portion 42a and the second protrusion 42b of the second detaching member 42 are attached in the vertical direction. And when the load of the twist direction applied between the arm part 5 and the lower cuff part 13 exceeds the urging | biasing force which suppresses the 2nd projection part 42b of the 1st projection part 41b, the 1st detachment member 41 and the 2nd The separation member 42 is separated. In addition, the attachment direction of the detachment mechanism 7 with respect to the arm portion 5 or the like may be any direction.

  Further, in the case where the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention is provided so that the cuff portion 2 is detachable by the detachment mechanism 7, if the main body of the detachment mechanism 7 and the detachable detachable portion are made compatible, Since it is possible to replace the main body connected to the cuff part 2 of the L, M, S size cuff as an off-the-shelf product, or the cuff part 2 of the cuff made according to the individual, or the separation part, it is necessary for the user. Accordingly, the cuff part 2 can be easily replaced.

  If the disengagement mechanism 7 is disposed on the body side of the rear wall surface of the lower cuff part 13 for joining to the arm part 5, the disengagement mechanism 7 is not bulky during walking and prevents the elbow clutch 1 from contacting the surroundings. There is an effect, and it is difficult for the separation mechanism 7 to come into contact with the body during walking, and it is difficult to get in the way. Further, if the balance during walking using the cane is lost, a twisting torque is generated in the detachment mechanism 7. Since the direction in which the balance is easily lost for the user is the left-right direction and the front-rear direction, it is necessary to arrange the separation mechanism 7 in a position that reacts in both the left-right direction and the front-rear direction in order to accurately operate the torsion torque. There is. The side wall surface accurately responds to the torque in the front-rear direction, and the rear wall surface accurately reacts to the torque in the left-right direction. Therefore, the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention is easy to react to torsional torque in both directions if it is arranged at the transition position between the side wall surface and the rear wall surface on the horizontal plane, and is detached for joining to the arm portion 5 on the body side. If the mechanism 7 is provided, the detachment mechanism 7 is less likely to come into contact with the body during walking, so that the mechanism 7 is preferably located closer to the side wall surface direction of the body direction C as shown in FIG. In FIG. 8B, the angle φ, which is the mounting angle with respect to the front-rear direction of the separation mechanism 7 in a plan view, is 0 degree to 45 degrees. Preferably, the angle is 10 degrees to 45 degrees, and more preferably 20 degrees to 45 degrees for easy reaction to the torsional torque and space saving.

  Next, before entering the description of the cuff part posture adjusting mechanism 8, the three-dimensional arrangement of each part of the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention will be described.

  In the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60, the cuff portion 61, the hand grip 61, and the cane tip 15 are in a straight line with the user holding the hand grip 61. However, the human elbow joint has a physiological valgus, and the wrist joint portion and the upper arm portion are not in a straight line. For this reason, unless the positional relationship between the hand grip portion and the cuff portion is adjusted due to the dorsiflexion of the wrist joint, the cuff portion is in a one-sided state, and a firm sense of stability cannot be obtained. For this reason, the cane tip 15 cannot be placed at the position intended by the user without dorsiflexion of the wrist joint.

  On the other hand, it is preferable that the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention has an angle for the user to poke to the position where the user wants to poke the cane 15 without bending the wrist at the natural angle of the elbow 23. Furthermore, the entire structure should be such that the load can be distributed from the wrist, can be used comfortably on the body, the cane 15 can be specified easily, and is safe even in the event of an imbalance. is there. For this purpose, it is a necessary and sufficient condition that the three-dimensional arrangement of each part of the elbow clutch 1 is appropriate. The cuff portion posture adjusting mechanism 8 is not necessarily required as long as it has such an ideally arranged shape. A clutch in which the three-dimensional arrangement of each component is appropriate without requiring adjustment by the cuff portion attitude adjustment mechanism 8 will be described below as a second embodiment.

  That the three-dimensional arrangement of each part of the elbow clutch 1 is appropriate is that the three-dimensional relative positional relationship of the cuff part 2, the handgrip 6, and the cane tip 15 is arranged as follows, By adjusting the angle setting to the physique such as the user's elbow angle, even if the joint of the user's upper limb is in a natural limb position, the cane tip can be placed at the place intended by the user without causing dorsiflexion of the wrist joint, It has the shape of the cuff part 2 matched with the shape of the user's arm.

  As shown in FIG. 32 (a), the human elbow has a physiological valgus that causes the tip of the elbow to move away from the body when the arm is lowered and the palm is directed to the front. (A straight line in FIG. 32A) and a long axis of the forearm bone (indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 32A) are not in a linear relationship. The angle formed by the long axis of the humerus and the long axis of the forearm is called the elbow angle, which is about 10 degrees for an adult male. The elbow angle α is about 15 degrees for children and women.

  Therefore, when the hand grip 61 such as the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60 is gripped, the forearm portion takes an intermediate position by the pronation of the forearm portion as shown in FIG. Also in this case, a similar angle β is generated between the long axis of the humerus (indicated by a straight line in FIG. 32B) and the long axis of the forearm (indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 32B).

  Further, when the hand grip 61 such as the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60 is gripped, the sagittal plane is similarly indicated by the humerus long axis (shown by a straight line in FIG. 32C) and the forearm long axis (FIG. 32C). The angle γ is generated in FIG.

  If these angles α, β, and γ are not taken into account, the load applied from the upper arm portion causes a moment to be generated in the handgrip 6 portion, thereby causing instability. This is considered to lead to a burden on the wrist joint holding the handgrip 6.

  Therefore, in consideration of the angles α, β, γ, the leg 4, the hand grip 6, the arm 5, the upper cuff 11 and the lower part are not included, that is, do not include the detachment mechanism 7 and the cuff posture adjustment mechanism 8. FIGS. 27A to 27F and FIG. 28 show an overall image of the elbow clutch 1 including the cuff portion 2 in which the cuff portion 13 is integrated. 27 (a) is a front view, (b) is a rear view, (c) is a right side view, (d) is a left side view, (e) is a plan view, and (f) is a bottom view. FIG. 28 shows the overall configuration of the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention in a six-sided view.

  In the second embodiment, the leg portion 4 is provided with a length adjusting portion 14. If the elbow clutch 1 is custom-made for the user according to its physique, etc., the length adjustment unit 14 is not necessary, but if the elbow clutch 1 is ready-made, it can be adjusted to the physique etc. with an extremely simple operation. For convenience of adjustment, a length adjusting unit 14 is provided. In this example, the length adjusting unit 14 puts the inner cylinder in the cylinder of the leg part 4 to make a double cylinder, adjusts the length of the entire leg part 4 by taking in and out the inner cylinder, and adjusts the length of the leg part 4 to a desired length with a ring-shaped screw. It is to be fixed. There is also a stone bump 9 at the tip under the leg 4

  As shown in FIG. 33A showing a front view of the elbow clutch 1, an angle formed by the upper cuff portion 11 with respect to the leg portion 4 in a plane parallel to the frontal plane is defined as an angle θ1. The angle θ1 and the angle θ2 indicate angles in the projected plane. The angle θ1 is for making the humeral long axis and the cane tip have an appropriate relationship in the frontal plane, and the angle range is 0 degree to 10 degrees, and more preferably 3 degrees to 7 degrees.

  Next, an angle formed by the lower cuff portion 13 with respect to the leg portion 4 on the front face is defined as θ2. This angle θ2 is for directing the long axis of the forearm bone toward the handgrip 6, and the angle range is 0 degrees to 10 degrees, more preferably 3 degrees to 5 degrees.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 33 (b) showing the right side view of the elbow clutch 1, an angle formed by the upper cuff portion 11 with respect to the leg portion 4 in a plane parallel to the sagittal plane is defined as an angle θ3. Angles θ3 to θ5 indicate angles on the projected plane. This angle θ3 is for improving the load responsiveness to the cuff portion 2 in use, and is in an angle range of 25 to 35 degrees, more preferably 28 to 32 degrees.

  Next, an angle formed by the lower cuff portion 13 with respect to the leg portion 4 in a plane parallel to the sagittal plane is defined as an angle θ4. This angle θ4 serves as a counter for the load applied to the upper cuff part 11 so as to receive the load efficiently. The angle range is 20 to 30 degrees, and more preferably 23 to 28. Degree.

  Next, an angle formed by the arm portion 5 with respect to the leg portion 4 in a plane parallel to the sagittal plane is defined as θ5. This angle θ5 is for aligning the direction of the long axis of the humerus with the direction of the cane 15 in the sagittal plane, and the angle θ5 is preferably around 10 degrees.

  As described above, the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention has a cuff shape having the above-described angular characteristics in order to maintain an intermediate position so that no load is applied to the wrist joint. In order to obtain a more stable walking, the ideal arrangement is realized by adjusting the three-dimensional relative positional relationship of the cuff part 2, the hand grip 6 and the cane tip 15 by angle and rotation.

  Next, the angle between the cuff part 2 and the hand grip 6 will be described. As shown in FIG. 34A of the plan view of the elbow clutch 1, a straight line along the upper arm direction of the upper cuff portion 11 at the center of the bottom surface (biceps) side of the upper cuff portion 11 and the axis of the leg portion 4 The angle θ6 is an angle projected on the horizontal plane perpendicular to the axis from the leg 4 axis center of the angle formed by the center and the plane formed by the axis of the handgrip 6. This angle θ6 indicates a pronation angle in which the handgrip 6 is inclined in the pronation direction with respect to the upper cuff portion 11 in order to match the ease of grasping of the handgrip 6 and the resting limb position of the wrist joint. The range of the pronation angle at this time is preferably an angle of 0 to 10 degrees, and is 5 degrees in this embodiment.

Next, as shown in FIG. 34 (b), the straight line along the forearm 24 direction of the lower cuff portion 13 at the center of the bottom surface (ulna side) of the lower cuff portion 13, the axis of the leg portion 4, and the handgrip 6 An angle θ7 is an angle projected from a leg 4 axis center of an angle formed by a plane formed by the axis to a horizontal plane perpendicular to the axis. This angle θ7 indicates a pronation angle in which the handgrip 6 is inclined in the pronation direction with respect to the lower cuff portion 13 in order to match the ease of grasping of the handgrip 6 and the resting limb position of the wrist joint. The range of the pronation angle at this time is preferably an angle of 0 to 10 degrees, and is 5 degrees in this embodiment.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 34 (c), a distance between the center of the inner diameter of the cuff portion 2 and the center of the handgrip 6 axis is defined as a distance L1. This distance L1 is necessary for gripping the handgrip 6 with the wrist joint in an intermediate position, and a range up to about 30 mm is preferable.

  More preferably, the three-dimensional arrangement of the cuff part 2 of the elbow clutch 1 with respect to the leg part 4, the handgrip 6 and the like can be finely adjusted according to the user's physique, walking posture, muscular strength, and other exercise ability during use.

  Therefore, with respect to the straight leg 4 as in the first embodiment, the axis of the leg 4 and the axis of the arm 5 are in one plane, and the handgrip 6 is also formed slightly upward in the same plane. In a simple configuration in which the lower cuff portion 13 is connected to the upper portion of the arm portion 5 via the detachment mechanism 7, at least the cuff portion posture adjustment mechanism 8 is used in order to perform the above three-dimensional arrangement. Is located on the upper part of the arm part 5 and connected to the detaching mechanism 7, and the cuff part posture adjusting mechanism 8 is inclined with respect to the lower cuff part 13 connected via the detaching mechanism 7. And it is preferable that the angle of the rotation direction with respect to the axial direction of the arm part 5 can be adjusted and fixed.

  Next, the cuff part posture adjusting mechanism 8 will be described in detail below. The cuff part posture adjusting mechanism 8 is configured to fix the cuff part 2 so that the angle and the inclination angle of the cuff part 2 with respect to the arm part 5 can be adjusted when the cuff part 2 is connected to the arm part 5.

  As the cuff part posture adjusting mechanism 8, a product “Tube Clamp Adapter Model No .: 4R69” manufactured by Otto Bock Japan Co., Ltd., which is a component part of an artificial leg, was used. The components of the artificial leg are composed of a “socket” for storing the cut leg, a “joint” that plays the role of a joint, and a “foot” that plays the role of the foot. In order to connect these parts to an appropriate positional relationship, a length adjusting tube and a clamp for adjusting the angle and direction are used. The inclination angle of the tube can be performed on the frontal plane and the sagittal plane by the clamp adjusting mechanism, and the joint with the tube can be rotated. As a result, the inclination angle of the foot part in the front-rear and left-right directions and the opening angle of the toe, that is, the angle with respect to the sagittal plane can be adjusted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cuff portion 2 is connected to a cuff portion posture adjustment mechanism 8 attached to the tip of the arm portion 5 by a detachment mechanism 7. As described below, the inclination direction and the inclination angle of the cuff part 2 with respect to the arm part 5 can be adjusted by inclining the separation mechanism 7 on the arm part 5 side with respect to the arm part 5 by the cuff part attitude adjustment mechanism 8. And Further, in the cuff portion posture adjusting mechanism 8 of the first embodiment, the detachment mechanism 7 on the arm portion 5 side is changed in the horizontal direction and the vertical position with respect to the arm portion 5 so that the horizontal direction of the cuff portion 2 is changed. The orientation and the vertical position can also be adjusted.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the cuff portion posture adjusting mechanism 8 can be fitted from above the arm portion 5 of the cylindrical shaft 3 so that the inner wall can be slid onto the cylindrical outer peripheral wall of the arm portion 5. A first adjusting member 51 that is detachably fitted, and a tilted member 48 that is suspended from the lower surface of the first detaching member 41 of the detaching mechanism 7 are provided. The first adjustment member 51 has a substantially lower half portion as an expansion / contraction rotation area 52, and a vertical slit 52b is formed on a side surface thereof, and a bolt 52a is inserted into a protrusion portion 52c projecting on the side surface. A tilt adjustment area 55 of the tilted member 48 is used.

  By loosening the bolt 52a, the slit 52b is opened, and the first adjustment member 51 is made rotatable with respect to the cylindrical arm portion 5, whereby the direction of the cuff portion 2 relative to the direction of the handgrip 6 is used. Can be adjusted according to the physique and symptoms of the person. Further, when the slit 52b is opened, the first adjustment member 51 can be slid with respect to the cylindrical arm portion 5, and thereby the height of the cuff portion 2 with respect to the height of the handgrip 6. Can be adjusted according to the physique and symptoms of the user. After sliding and rotating the first adjustment member 51 with respect to the arm portion 5 of the shaft 3, the slit 52b is narrowed by tightening the bolt 52a, and the first adjustment member 51 is fixed to the arm portion 5, thereby The height and direction of the cuff part 2 are fixed with respect to the height and direction of the handgrip 6 according to the user.

  Next, a mechanism that makes it possible to adjust the inclination direction and the inclination angle of the cuff part 2 by inclining the separation mechanism 7 on the arm part 5 side with respect to the arm part 5 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the upper portion of the first adjustment member 51 is a receiving portion 53, an arc concave surface 53a is formed on the upper surface, and four screws 53b are screwed into the lower side surface at equal intervals.

  The tilted member 48 suspended from the lower surface of the first detachment member 41 of the detachment mechanism 7 has an upper half as an arc portion 48b having an arc convex surface. The outer peripheral surface of the arc part 48b is in sliding contact with the arc concave surface 53a. The lower half portion of the tilted member 48 has four vertical surfaces having the same form, and each vertical surface has a trapezoidal shape and forms a rectangular column portion 48a inclined in the same divergent shape downward. The prismatic part 48a is inserted from the upper part of the first adjusting member 51 to the receiving part 53 side, and each of the four surfaces of the prismatic part 48a is pressed and pushed into the tip of the corresponding screw 53b, respectively. The inclination direction and the inclination angle of the tilted member 48 with respect to the first adjustment member 51 can be changed depending on the amount of pushing, and thereby the inclination direction of the cuff part 2 with respect to the longitudinal direction of the arm part 5 of the shaft 3 can be changed. It is possible to adjust and set not only in the front-rear direction but also in all directions, and the inclination angle can be adjusted and set to an arbitrary angle.

  For this reason, since the inclination direction and the inclination angle of the cuff part 2 can be changed, the three-dimensional relative positional relationship between the leg part 4 tip and the cuff part 2 is accurately matched, and the force from the cuff part 2 is efficiently applied. It is transmitted to the floor and walking is stabilized. Even if the inclination angle of the adjustment is several degrees, a sufficient amount of change can be obtained at a distance of about 1 m from the adjustment portion to the tip of the leg portion, and the adjustment component can be easily downsized. Furthermore, since the height and direction of the cuff part 2 can be adjusted according to the user by the first adjustment member 51, it is possible to match the physique and usability.

  Although the example of the cuff part posture adjustment mechanism 8 has been described, any mechanism may be used as long as the cuff part can be tilted and the cuff part can be rotated and / or slid. Further, in this embodiment, the connection order from the arm part 5 to the cuff part 2 is the arm part 5-the cuff part posture adjustment mechanism 8-the detachment mechanism 7-the cuff part 2, but the detachment and the angle adjustment function are not impaired. As long as the attachment is possible, the order of the arm part 5-the detachment mechanism 7-the cuff part posture adjustment mechanism 8-the cuff part 2 may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the arm portion 5 -the cuff portion posture adjustment mechanism 8 -the separation mechanism 7 -the cuff portion 2 are connected in this order. In order to show the positional relationship between the three-dimensional parts in the first embodiment for reference, FIGS. 29A to 29D and FIG. In this case, the angle θ1 to θ7 has an angle θ1 of 7 degrees, an angle θ2 of 5 degrees, an angle θ3 of 30 degrees, an angle θ4 of 25 degrees, and an angle θ5 of The angle θ6 was 5 degrees, and the angle θ7 was 5 degrees. The distance L1 is 25 mm. As described above, the elbow clutch 1 according to the first embodiment has a cuff shape having the above-described angular characteristics in order to maintain an intermediate position so that no load is applied to the wrist joint.

  Next, there is a fine adjustment method for improving usability when an adjustment mechanism is provided at the tip of the arm portion 5. As shown in FIG. 35A showing the elbow clutch 1 in a front view, the inner and outer rotations of the hand grip 6 and the cuff portion 2 on the front face can be adjusted. Assuming that the position of the dotted line T is the center position, the diagram on the right side of FIG. 35 (a) shows the fine adjustment of the inversion, and the diagram on the left side of FIG. 35 (a) shows the fine adjustment of the abduction. Is shown.

  Further, the bending and extension of the hand grip 6 and the cuff portion 2 on the sagittal plane can be adjusted. Assuming that the position of the dotted line U is the center position, the diagram on the right side of FIG. 35 (b) shows a diagram with fine adjustment of extension, and the diagram on the left side of FIG. 35 (b) shows a diagram with fine adjustment of bending. ing. As described above, the inner arm and the outer cuff can be adjusted on the forehead surface and the flexion and extension can be adjusted on the sagittal surface, so that the upper arm and the cuff can be appropriately matched.

  Next, the usage method of the elbow clutch 1 of Example 1 is demonstrated. The elbow clutch 1 according to the present embodiment can be used as follows. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 9 to 11. First, by operating the cuff portion posture adjusting mechanism 8, the height of the cuff portion 2 is adjusted with respect to the height of the handgrip 6, the orientation of the cuff portion 2 is adjusted with respect to the orientation of the handgrip 6, and the arm of the shaft 3. Adjustment of the inclination angle and inclination direction of the cuff part 2 with respect to the longitudinal direction is performed on the part 5 according to the physique of the user. Further, as necessary, it is confirmed whether the first release member 41 and the second release member 42 of the release mechanism 7 are correctly engaged. The height adjustment may be performed by a length adjustment mechanism provided in the leg portion 4 or the arm portion 5. The leg part 4 and the arm part 5 are made into a double cylinder, a hole is provided at intervals, and the inner and outer cylinders are shifted from each other and pinned to the hole.

  Next, an example of biped walking will be described as a method of using the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention. The user inserts the arm on the side of the healthy foot 21 into the cuff part 2 and grasps the hand grip 6 with his hand to start walking. First, as shown in FIG. 15, the tip part of the leg part 4 of the shaft 3 is brought to the ground of the user's front side, and the tip part of the elbow clutch 1 in the inclined state with the cuff part 2 set to the rear side is used. It hits the ground of the front a. At this time, if the tip portion is located far from the user, the user moves the load toward the elbow clutch 1 side, so that the tip of the leg portion 4 slides on the ground and may fall over. The tip of the leg 4 is brought into contact with a close point. In order to abut the tip of the leg 4 at a point close to the user, the inclination angle of the leg 4 of the elbow clutch 1 is about 20 degrees or less with respect to the vertical line at the ground contact point at the tip of the leg 4. Is good.

  Next, one step of walking will be described according to changes in walking posture shown in FIGS. The user begins to move the affected leg 20 and the tip of the leg 4 of the elbow clutch 1 forward a while leaving the load on the healthy leg 21, and after the tip of the leg 4 hits the ground, the elbow clutch 1 The patient's foot 20 is stepped forward a while applying a load to reach the walking posture a in FIG. At this time, the posture 30 of the cuff portion is perpendicular to the ground surface or the floor surface.

  Next, as shown in the walking posture b in FIG. 16, the healthy leg 21 is moved forward B while reducing the load on the affected leg 20 and further applying a load to the elbow clutch 1. The posture 30 of the foot shown in the walking posture b in FIG. 16 is a state in which it is tilted 10 degrees forward a with respect to the ground or floor surface.

  Next, as shown in the walking posture c of FIG. 17, while further applying a load to the elbow clutch 1, the healthy foot 21 is moved to the front a while crossing or even passing the affected foot 20. The posture 30 of the foot portion shown in the walking posture c in FIG. The load applied to the elbow clutch 1 in the vicinity of this posture reaches the maximum value.

  Next, as shown in the walking posture d of FIG. 18, while further applying a load to the elbow clutch 1, the healthy foot 21 is moved forward and is about to land on the ground or floor surface. The posture 30 of the foot shown in the walking posture d of FIG. 18 is a state inclined 30 degrees forward a with respect to the ground or floor surface.

  Next, as shown in the walking posture e of FIG. 19, while applying a load to the elbow clutch 1, the healthy leg 21 is moved forward a and landed on the ground or floor. The posture 30 of the foot shown in the walking posture e in FIG. 19 is a state in which it is inclined forward 40 degrees with respect to the ground or floor surface. One step is completed with this walking posture e.

  Since the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention uses the upper limb, elbow joint and wrist joint close to the shoulder joint, it can be used in the same way as a crutch, and is not limited to the biped walking example, but also about the three leg walking. Can also be used effectively. Further, since the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention uses the upper limbs, elbow joints and wrist joints close to the shoulder joints, the elbow clutch 1 can be used in the same manner as a crutch, and the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60 and the like. Compared to the use with one arm, the wrist can be used effectively even in a situation where both arms are used, since the burden on the wrist is reduced and the weight can be applied to the elbow clutch 1.

  A mechanism related to the load in the above walking will be described. First, the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60 as shown in FIG. 25 only includes a cuff portion 62 that is in contact with the ulna side of the forearm 24 and has an opening 10 at the front side. Although it has a function of unloading, the load F2 from the shoulder joint is mostly applied to the handgrip 61 because it remains slightly.

  The elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention covers the front part of the upper arm 22 such that the cuff part 2 extends along the biceps muscle side, so that the load during the forward leaning posture during walking is the biceps It acts as a force for pressing the inner surface of the cuff part 2 from the side, and the force applied to the cuff part 2 is finally connected to the arm part 5 because the cuff part 2 is connected directly or indirectly to the leg part 4. Communicated. Accordingly, the force applied to the wrist is reduced or reduced by the amount applied to the cuff portion 2 from the upper arm 22.

  This is schematically shown in FIG. The upper cuff portion 11 forms a wall surface in the forward direction A, the upper and lower cuff connection portions 12 form the opening portion 10 in the front-rear direction B, and the lower cuff portion 13 forms the opening portion 10 in the front, The cuff portion 13 is connected to the arm portion 5 via the detachment mechanism 7 and the cuff portion posture adjustment mechanism 8. Therefore, of the force F2 applied to the upper arm 22, the force F1 that presses the inner surface of the cuff portion 2 is transmitted to the arm portion via the detachment mechanism 7 and the cuff portion posture adjustment mechanism 8 because the cuff portion 2 is close to a rigid body. Therefore, F1 equivalent of the load F2 from the shoulder joint is reduced, and the rest is applied to the handgrip 6. Assuming that the angle formed by the axis of the cuff part 2 and the vertical direction is θ, the angle θ varies according to a change in posture during walking.

  For example, the angle between the leg portion 4 and the arm portion 5 of the elbow clutch 1 is 10 degrees, and the angle between the arm portion 5 and the cuff portion posture 30 is 30 degrees, both of which are constant. Next, an example of biped walking on the healthy foot 21 and the affected foot 20 using the elbow clutch 1 is shown.

  Looking at the inclination of the elbow clutch 1 when walking one step, for example, as shown in the walking posture a of FIG. 15, the angle when the elbow clutch 1 touches the floor is inclined 20 degrees backward, As shown in 19 walking postures e, the angle at the time of getting out of the floor surface when one step of walking is completed and the next step is continuously entered is inclined 20 degrees forward a. Table 1 shows the inclination of each part of the elbow clutch 1 between the walking posture a in FIG. 15 and the walking posture e in FIG. FIG. 20 shows a change in the inclination of the elbow clutch 1 between the walking postures a to e.

  From Table 1 and FIG. 20, the angle θ during walking in the elbow clutch 1 is 0 to 40 degrees, and a rotational motion of 40 degrees centering on the tip of the cane that is the tip of the leg 5 is formed. And it is shown that the cuff part 2 is often used in a forward tilted posture during walking. At this time, the load on the elbow clutch 1 is significantly applied between the walking postures b to d when the walking motion passes the diseased foot 20 in the walking motion. In the walking posture e, the load applied to the elbow clutch 1 is small because the healthy foot 21 supports the weight.

  One of the features of the cuff portion 2 of the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention is that the substantially U-shaped portion is located in the range of the diaphysis region of the user's humerus in a side view, so that at least the humerus The upper cuff part 11 having a function of receiving a load in the diaphysis region and a function of placing the upper arm 22 on the cuff part 2 is provided. The load on the upper body is applied in the direction of pressing the upper cuff in contact with the biceps on the upper arm, reducing the burden on the wrist gripping the handgrip 6 and supporting the user at a high position near the shoulder joint. Therefore, the handling operation of the elbow clutch 1 can be facilitated, and the sense of stability during walking is increased.

  Next, when the present inventors use the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention, the load can be distributed to the handgrip 6 and the cuff part 2, so that the comparison of the load applied to the elbow clutch 1 is compared with the present invention. And the conventional product. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 25, the cuff portion supports the forearm, and compared with a conventional Lofstrand clutch 60 having an opening in front of the cuff portion, it is applied from the tip of the shaft 3 to the ground. The load was measured.

  For measurement of the load, a Wii Balance Board (registered trademark) RVL-021 manufactured by Nintendo was used as a measuring instrument. Sampling frequency is 50Hz. The load value and the floor reaction force action point locus were evaluated from the load data obtained from the measuring instrument. The user was the same test subject, and the test was carried out within the range where the test subject could maintain the usage state without placing a burden on the wrist. The form of the shaft 3 and the hand grip 6 is the same, only the form of the cuff part is different. The results are shown in Table 2 and the graph of FIG. The subject's weight was 73 kg.

  Further, FIG. 22 shows that the walking elapsed time of FIG. 15 is defined as the walking elapsed time of 0% when the elbow clutch 1 or the Lofstrand clutch 60 starts moving the forward foot A almost simultaneously and the load is applied to the cane. As shown in a, the cane and the affected leg 20 are landed, and then, as shown in the walking posture b of FIG. 16, the healthy foot 21 starts to move forward while further applying a load to the cane, and the walking posture of FIG. As shown in e, the change in the load applied to the tip of the cane with the passage of time is shown with the walking elapsed time being 100% when the healthy foot 21 is landed on the ground and one step of walking is completed. The maximum load is applied to the cane when the healthy foot 21 crosses or passes the affected foot 20 as shown in the walking posture c of FIG.

  From Table 2 and FIG. 22, the average load value of the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60 was 152N. On the other hand, the average load value of the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention is 187 N, which is 35 N larger than the conventional product and about 1.23 times larger than the conventional product. This indicates that the load from the shoulder joint can be carried by the upper cuff part 11, so that a larger load than the conventional product can be applied to the cane and the burden on the affected foot 20 can be reduced.

  Further, when comparing the total trajectory length of the floor reaction force acting point at the tip of the cane, the total trajectory length of the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60 was 5.77 cm. The total trajectory length of the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention was 5.32 cm, 0.45 cm shorter than the conventional product, and had a significant value (P value: significance level 5%). Since the total trajectory length is shorter than when the conventional product is used, it indicates that there is little movement of the cane and the weight can be moved smoothly.

  In addition, the inventors conducted a comparative experiment of the load on the wrist of the user between the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention and the conventional Lofstrand clutch 60. This experiment uses the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention similar to the above-described experiment and the Lofstrand clutch 60 in which the cuff portion 2 supports the forearm 24 as a conventional product, and the same subject walks 800 steps. Was done by.

Further, in this experiment, as shown in FIG. 26, the pressure measurement film 35 (colored by Fuji Film pre-sheet (for ultra-low pressure), which can be measured red) when pressed by a load F4 applied to the handgrip 6 has a pressure range of 0.5. ˜2.5 MPa) was wound around the hand grip 6. The pressure measuring film is composed of a film 35a on the surface side from the load side, a color developer layer 35b, a color developer layer 35c, and a film 35d on the back surface, and the microcapsules of the color developer layer 35b are destroyed by pressure. The color former in the inside is adsorbed by the developer and develops a red color by a chemical reaction. That is, it seems that the microcapsule part which received the pressure of about 5.1 kg / cm < ² > or more develops red color.

  FIG. 23 shows the discolored state, and Table 3 shows the result of counting the number of pixels in the compressed portion 36 that is a discolored portion and the non-compressed portion 37 that is a portion that is not discolored. The ratio of the number of pixels of the compressed part 36 and the non-compressed part 37 is shown in a pie chart.

  From Table 3, FIG. 23, and FIG. 24, the ratio of the number of pixels at the compression point to the number of pixels in the whole area is 32.8% for the conventional product, and 4.1% for the product of the present invention, which is about 1/8. It was shown that it was drastically decreasing. It is clearly shown that the elbow clutch 1 according to the present invention has fewer compression points and more non-compression points than the conventional product. That is, although a large load is applied to the conventional hand grip, it is clearly shown that the load is reduced on the hand grip 6 of the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention, and the burden on the wrist of the user is reduced. It has been greatly reduced.

  As described above, the elbow clutch 1 of the present invention has no difficulty in operation such as setting of the tip of the cane, which is difficult to handle unless it has excellent exercise ability and muscle strength like the smart clutch, and has normal exercise ability and muscle strength. It is easy to handle for those who have it, and the burden on the wrist can be reduced more than the Lofstrand clutch.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Elbow clutch 2 Cuff part 3 Shaft 4 Leg part 5 Arm part 6 Hand grip 7 Separation mechanism 8 Cuff part attitude | position adjustment mechanism 9 Stone thrust 10 Opening part 11 Upper cuff part 12 Upper and lower cuff connection part 13 Lower cuff part 14 Length adjustment part 15 cane tip 20 affected leg 21 healthy leg 22 upper arm 23 elbow 24 forearm 30 posture of cuff part 35 pressure measurement film 36 compression part 37 non-compression part 41 first release member 41a hole part 41b first protrusion part 42 second release member 42a Hole locking part 42b Second protrusion 48 Inclined member 48a Square column part 48b Arc part 51 First adjustment member 52 Telescopic rotation part area 52a Bolt 52b Slit 52c Projection part 53 Receiving part 53a Arc concave surface 53b Screw 55 Tilt adjustment area 60 Conventional Lof Strand Clutch 61 Hand grip 62 Cuff F1 Vertical load F The first component force F3 second component force b front b rear

Claims (5)

  An elbow clutch used as a cane, comprising a leg portion formed in a rod shape, a hand grip disposed above the leg portion and projecting forward, and an arm portion extending above the hand grip And a cuff part attached to the arm part, wherein the cuff part is substantially U-shaped with an opening provided rearward, and the substantially U-shaped part in side view is the diaphysis of the user's humerus An elbow clutch comprising an upper cuff portion having a form located in a range.   2. The lower cuff portion having a substantially U-shaped configuration in which the ulna side of the forearm is in contact with the lower cuff portion below the upper cuff portion and an opening is provided forward on the rib side. Elbow clutch as described in.   The upper cuff part and the lower cuff part which comprise the said cuff part are connected by the up-and-down cuff connection part which touches the both sides of the left and right sides of a user's elbow, or one side. Elbow clutch.   The cuff part and the arm part have a main body and a detachable part that can be detached from the main body, and the detachable part can be temporarily fixed to the main body, and a force of a predetermined value or more is applied between the main body and the detachable part. The elbow clutch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elbow clutch is connected by a disengagement mechanism (7) in which the disengagement part is disengaged from the main body.   5. The cuff portion posture adjustment mechanism is provided to allow adjustment of an inclination direction and an inclination angle of the cuff portion with respect to the arm portion when the cuff portion is connected to the arm portion. Elbow clutch as described in.