RU202205U1 - Exoskeleton to facilitate human movement of cargo - Google Patents

Abstract

Utility Model Exoskeleton for facilitating the movement of a person's load, designed to increase the physical capabilities of a person when carrying it by redirecting a significant part of the efforts from the weight of the load through the frame and articulations of the device to the supporting surface, bypassing the human musculoskeletal system. The device operates on the basis of human muscle energy without the use of any additional power sources and active drives. The claimed design allows for a long time to transfer weights over long distances with the application of a minimum of effort and without harm to health. At the same time, the design assumes the possibility of installing additional equipment, such as a hydrostop, protective shields, mechanisms of a payload frontal load (third arm). The proposed exoskeleton can be used in military activities, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, construction, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, medicine, logistics and other industries where work with the transfer of goods or static work in a standing position while sitting is required.

Description

The utility model relates to vehicles and devices that facilitate the movement of goods and are designed to increase the physical capabilities of a person and reduce fatigue when performing various types of work, in particular for transporting heavy loads.

An exoskeleton is a technical device worn on a person and designed to increase a person's physical strength. Currently, there are two groups of exoskeletons: active and passive.

Active exoskeletons are characterized by the presence of a power drive system (pneumatic, hydro, electric drives), an electronic control system, and a power supply system. The main disadvantage of such exoskeletons is the complexity and high cost of production, as well as the design features of the drives, the power supply systems of which significantly limit the degree of human mobility in such an exoskeleton.

Passive exoskeletons are represented by frame structures and use human muscular strength to carry out useful work, evenly distributing the load along the exoskeleton frame and the entire human body, thereby reducing overall fatigue during work and, as a result, increasing labor productivity. At the same time, they are simpler and cheaper both in production and in maintenance.

Known cargo exoskeleton with adjustment to the anthropometric parameters of the user under the patent for invention of the Russian Federation No. 2665116 (publ. 28.08.2018 bull. No. 25), containing one pair of leg supports with attachments to the human legs, one pair of feet supports, a pelvic assembly with mounted on with lateral and posterior pelvic hinges, one pair of connectors and one pair of femoral and shin links.

The disadvantages of this technical solution are:

- the complexity of the design with hinges, bearings, levers and movable sliders, which, in turn, reduce the reliability of the exoskeleton;

- the design of parts, assemblies and adjustment mechanisms has significant geometric dimensions, which affects the overall dimensions and weight of the entire exoskeleton;

- stepwise adjustment for human anthropometric parameters;

- limited functionality, because the exoskeleton is capable of performing only static work (standing, sitting), there is no possibility of installing additional equipment;

- limited natural body movements due to the use of massive parts for adjustment and fixing on the human body.

Also known is a cargo exoskeleton under the patent for invention of the Russian Federation No. 2563209 (publ. 09/20/2015 Bull. No. 26), containing a frame with attachment elements to the body, two pairs of hip and ankle levers. The frame consists of a shoulder block in the form of a combination of X-shaped connected plates, L-shaped bent at the ends, and a dorsal gimbal connected to it through two support pads of the lumbar block, consisting of a rocker belt bent in the shape of the lumbar region of the human body, where at the upper center point of the rocker arm, the support platform of the dorsal cardan is attached, and the ends of the rocker arm with the fastening elements of the cardan rings are lowered and are at the level of the hip joints. The connection of the spatial shells of the hip levers with the frame is carried out by means of circular cardan joints with two degrees of freedom of rotation of the hip levers, the bases of which are connected through the angular consoles to the sliding pads installed on the spatial shells of the hip levers, with the possibility of moving the console along the arc guides of the platforms when the angle between the frame and spatial shells of the hip levers, while the connection of the support pads with the ankle fork is detachable. The disadvantages of this technical solution are:

- a small number of degrees of freedom of units and the body leads to limited movement and a decrease in the convenience and mobility of a person during operation;

- the hinge of the ankle fork, located on the front side of the lower leg under the action of an alternating shock load that occurs when walking and running, will lead to rapid destruction of the hinge, after which the entire structure and weight of the carried load will fall on the person's foot and cause severe injuries, which will lead to high health risks during operation;

- there is no possibility of installing additional equipment;

- the complexity of the assemblies associated with the mutual movement of parts relative to each other, leads to a decrease in reliability and an increase in the complexity of manufacturing.

The closest to the claimed technical solution is a passive exoskeleton under the patent for a useful model of the Russian Federation No. 189468 (publ. 23.05.2019 bull. No. 15), taken as a prototype. The passive exoskeleton consists of: feet, made in the form of stirrup-like nodes with the possibility of transferring the load from the load of the supporting surface, legs, made in the form of levers adjustable along the length, connecting the nodes of the feet and knees, while the knees are made in the form of brackets with horizontal, transverse the axis of rotation, the connection of the knots of the shins and thighs and contain adjustment for the X-shape of the legs, ties on the shins, covering the shins of a person, while the thighs are made in the form of length-adjustable levers connecting the knots of the knees and the belt, while the belt is made in the form of a rocker - a shaped part, similar to the human pelvic bones, on both sides of which the femoral levers are attached, and in the middle there is a back spring in the form of a flat rectangular beam that transfers the load from the shoulders and load hook to the belt, while the shoulders are made in the form of spatial parts resembling deferred fur coat collar and taking the load from the load placed on the shoulders and transmitting the load to the back spring y, while the cargo hook is made with the function of dumping the load and the possibility of securing loads using a suspension from the belt system and transferring the load from the weight of the load to the back spring.

The disadvantages of this technical solution are:

- a foot with a stirrup-like knot, located on the front side of the lower leg, has a location that is dangerous to human health. So, with an alternating shock load that occurs when walking, running, the hinge of this node can be destroyed and the entire frame of the exoskeleton with the transferred mass will rush down and cause severe damage to the human foot;

- the frontal arrangement of the foot with a stirrup-like knot limits the natural movement of the lower leg relative to the foot, for this, the stirrup-like knot is brought out closer to the knee joint, due to which the axes of rotation of the exoskeleton unit relative to the natural axes of rotation of a person are displaced, which, in turn, reduces ease of use;

- the attachment of the foot to the shoe is carried out by means of belts, which does not make it possible to rigidly pair the exoskeleton and the boot, which is why, when walking and running, the boots move along the foot of the exoskeleton and thereby reduce the ease of use;

- the lack of the possibility of breeding and convergence of the feet, which reduces the convenience during operation;

- the back is made in the form of a rigid rectangular beam, limiting the natural movements of a person when bending and twisting the torso, which reduces convenience during operation;

- adjustment of the back, hips and lower leg, made in the form of a series of holes, limits the accuracy of adjustment and adjustment of the exoskeleton to the user's anthropometric parameters;

- there is no possibility to install additional equipment.

The technical results to be achieved by the stated solution are:

- improvement of ergonomic characteristics;

- expansion of functionality;

- increasing the operational reliability of the exoskeleton;

- increased user safety.

The technical results are achieved by the fact that the exoskeleton to facilitate the movement of a person's load, consisting of feet with the ability to transfer the load from the load of the supporting surface, shins connecting the nodes of the feet and knees, thighs, while the connections of the nodes of the shins and thighs contain an adjustment for the X-shape of the legs, belts, lumbar knot plates, shoulders. In this case, the feet are made in the form of a "U" -shaped with a horizontal transverse axis of rotation, with the possibility of rigid attachment to the shoes and have rounded toes with elastic elements connected to the ankle nodes located on the back of the legs. The ankle assemblies are made in the form of a “screw-nut” pair and adjust the height of the lower leg frame, while ensuring the flattening and expansion of the foot. The shin and thigh frameworks are made in the form of spirals flowing around the human legs, while on each pair of thigh-shin frameworks there are two fastening plates, one of which is rotatably connected to the exoskeleton framework through a ball support. In this case, the flaps are made in the form of spatial rectangular shells with rounded edges that fit the leg and have slots for pulling belts made of inelastic material in the form of an "accordion" with the possibility of linear lengthening and having shock-absorbing pads. The knee joints are made up of springs, knee restraints and protective hemispheres, which are an integral part of the hip frame. The pelvic nodes are made with the possibility of adjusting the height of the thigh frame and are made in the form of screw-nut pairs. The belt consists of two arches and a tailbone in the middle and is made in the form of the letter "C", along the contour of which a belt is passed from the inside to fix it on the human body, while the arcs of the belt have flanges for installing additional equipment. A lumbar node is installed on the tailbone, which has a hinge that provides tilts of the body "left-right" and rotation along the axis of the spine, as well as a plate of the lumbar assembly with a Velcro cloth attached to it for attaching and adjusting the back frame, which is made in the form of a "T" shaped frame, at the ends of which shoulder arches are fixed, which can be rotated, and shoulder arches limiters to prevent them from folding under the influence of an external load, as well as straps for attaching to a person's shoulders.

In this case, the additional equipment is made in the form of a hydraulic stopper consisting of a hydraulic cylinder with a tap and an expansion tank filled with hydraulic fluid, the function of which is to block the movement of the thigh and lower leg.

The features and essence of the claimed utility model are illustrated by drawings, where Fig. 1 is a general view of an exoskeleton for human movement of a load; FIG. 2 is a general view of the foot, FIG. 3 - General view of the lower leg, Fig. 4 is a general view of the thigh, FIG. 5 - General view of the belt, Fig. 6 is a general view of the back, FIG. 7 is a general view of an exoskeleton with additional equipment installed; FIG. 8 is a front and side view of the exoskeleton; FIG. 9 shows options for connecting the mounting plates to each other, FIG. 10 - shows the structure of the hydraulic support.

The exoskeleton to facilitate the movement of a person's load contains a foot with a rounded toe 1, connected to the ankle unit 2 and an elastic element 3. The ankle unit 2 is connected to the lower leg frame 4, which, in turn, is connected to the thigh frame 5 through the knee joint 6, on which there is a knee stop 7, a spring 8 and a protective hemisphere 9. On the thigh frame and the lower leg frame there are fasteners made in the form of a ball joint 10 for fixing the fastening shields 11, which are connected to each other by a belt 12. There are fastenings 13 on the thigh and lower leg frame. for installing a hydraulic stop. The fastening of the thigh frame 5 to the belt 14 is carried out through the pelvic assembly 15. The belt, consisting of three parts (two arches of the belt 16 and the tailbone 17), contains flanges 18 for installing additional equipment. A lumbar assembly is installed on the tailbone 17 through a flange 19, containing a hinge 20 and a plate of a lumbar assembly with a velcro fabric 21, to which a back frame 22 is attached, containing shoulder arches 23, the movement of which is limited by a limiter of shoulder arches 24, while straps 25 are placed on the shoulder arches for fastening on the shoulders of a person.

The exoskeleton to facilitate the movement of a person's load works as follows. First, a person puts on a belt 14 with a fixed lumbar knot and a back frame 22 with tightening of the straps 25, then boots are put on, rigidly fastened to the foot 1, the lower leg frame 4 and the thigh frame 5. Further, fastening to the body is carried out by placing the fastening shields 11 on the body and tightening them with a belt 12, followed by fixing the frame of the thighs 5 with a belt 14.

The weight of the carried load is placed on the shoulder arches 23 and is redistributed throughout the entire structure of the exoskeleton, bypassing the human musculoskeletal system. The presence of a rounded toe on the foot 1 and an elastic element 3 ensures the accumulation of potential energy during the transfer of the center of body mass, and with the subsequent separation of the heel of the foot from the ground, which is carried out by rolling the foot through the rounded toe, releases the accumulated energy in the form of an impulse into the heel of the foot, thus the most reducing the load on the calf muscles when walking and running.

The design of joints and assemblies provides maximum mobility and the possibility of fine adjustment to the anthropometric parameters of each person. The joints and assemblies are made in such a way that their axes of rotation coincide with the natural axes of rotation of the human joints, which, in turn, significantly increases the ease of use.

The spring 8 performs useful work when bending the lower leg relative to the thigh, refines the frame of the thigh 5 and lower leg 4 and closes them in a vertical position, further movement is limited by the knee restraint 7, while the weight of the carried load is completely distributed over the frame of the exoskeleton and does not affect the person.

The shoulder arches 23 are rotatable to improve ease of use, so that when raising the arms up, the structure does not interfere with the natural movement of the human shoulders. To prevent the mechanism from folding under the action of an external load, the movement of the arches is limited by the limiter of the shoulder arches 24.

The belt 12, made of an inelastic material in the form of an "accordion", is necessary to compensate for the change in muscle volume arising from walking, running, and also to compensate for the displacement of the exoskeleton frame relative to the human body. Variants of pulling the belt 12 through the fastening flaps 11 are shown in Fig. 9: A - "parallel" broach, B - "criss-cross" broach.

Adjustment for the X-shape of the legs is provided by rotating the mounting plates relative to the exoskeleton structure, through ball bearings.

If necessary, additional equipment can be installed on the exoskeleton, for example: a hydrostop 26 to reduce the load on a person's legs in a static position, a third arm to transfer the frontal payload, or protective shields to increase the protection of a person from mechanical damage.

Hydrostop 26 (Fig. 10) consists of a hydraulic cylinder 27 with a valve 28 and an expansion tank 29 filled with hydraulic fluid, and operates as follows. The person opens the tap and, after the hydraulic fluid flows from the expansion tank into the piston cavity of the hydraulic cylinder, closes the tap, thus blocking the movement of the thigh and lower leg. At the same time, the weight of the person is perceived by the mounting plates 11, thus, the person "sits" on the mounting plates, reducing the load on the leg muscles. This is necessary to perform such work, where a person is forced to stand for a long time, sitting. For example: working at the machine. To secure the hydrostatic support to the exoskeleton, 30 fastening rings are used.

The proposed exoskeleton can be used in military activities, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, construction, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, medicine, logistics and other industries where work with the transfer of goods or static work in a standing and sitting position is required.

Claims (2)

1. An exoskeleton to facilitate the movement of a person's load, consisting of feet with the ability to transfer the load from the load to the supporting surface, shins connecting the nodes of the feet and knees, thighs, while the connections of the nodes of the shins and thighs contain a setting for the X-shape of the legs, belt, lumbar plate node, shoulders, characterized in that the feet are made in the form of a U-shape with a horizontal transverse axis of rotation, are made with the possibility of rigid attachment to shoes and have rounded toes with elastic elements connected to the ankle nodes located on the back of the legs, made in in the form of a pair of "screw-nut" and adjusting the height of the lower leg frame, while ensuring the flattening and spreading of the foot; the frames of the legs and thighs are made in the form of spirals flowing around the legs of a person, while on each pair of frames of the thigh-lower leg there are two fastening plates, one of which is connected to the frame of the exoskeleton with the possibility of rotation through a ball support; the flaps are made in the form of spatial shells of rectangular shape with rounded, leg-fitting edges and have slots for pulling belts made of inelastic material in the form of an "accordion" with the possibility of linear lengthening and having shock-absorbing pads; knee joints consist of springs, knee restraints and protective hemispheres, which are an integral part of the hip frame; the pelvic nodes are made with the possibility of adjusting the height of the thigh frame and are made in the form of pairs "screw-nut"; the belt consists of two arcs and a tailbone in the middle and is made in the form of the letter "C", along the contour of which a belt is passed from the inside to fix it on the human body, while the arcs of the belt have flanges for installing additional equipment, and a lumbar node is installed on the tailbone having a hinge that provides tilts of the body "left-to-right" and rotation along the axis of the spine, as well as a plate of the lumbar assembly with Velcro fastened to it for attaching and adjusting the back frame, which is made in the form of a T-shaped frame, at the ends of which shoulder arches are fixed , having the ability to rotate, and limiters of the shoulder arches to prevent them from folding under the action of an external load, as well as straps for attaching to the shoulders of a person. 2. The exoskeleton according to claim 1, characterized in that the additional equipment is made in the form of a hydraulic stopper, consisting of a hydraulic cylinder with a tap and an expansion tank filled with hydraulic fluid, the function of which is to block the movement of the thigh and lower leg.

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