線形な荷物の昇降動作と非線形な膝の固定・解放動作を両立するパワーアシストスーツ用ワイヤ駆動機構の開発

抄録

In this paper, we present a mechanical design of a wire drive mechanism for power assist suits that realizes linear luggage lifting movement and nonlinear knee fixation-and-release movement using a motor. The nonlinear fixation-and-release movement is realized by a mechanism using a piston and a crankshaft. We developed an algorithm to find the design parameters that minimize the error from the optimal wire movement. We developed a prototype wire drive mechanism and verified that it works as designed. In addition, we carried out lifting experiments and confirmed that luggage up to 20 kg can be lifted. We measured the surface electromyogram (EMG) and confirmed that the burden of the wearer’s arms was reduced during luggage lifting.