Improvement of the Lower Back Support Device with High-Pressure Gas

Abstract

Lower back pain is the most serious problem for workers in various fields and therefore sophisticated and simple solution are required. As one solution, we have been developing Muscle Suit using pneumatic artificial muscle. Also, some elderly people and women want a device that is lighter and smaller than Muscle Suit. However, due to the size of artificial muscle, there is a limit to the miniaturization of Muscle Suit. Therefore, we have developed a new lightweight and compact device using gas springs, and made practical improvements based on the problem of the Muscle Suit. This paper shows the functions and mechanisms of this device and some specific design improvements.