Research And Mechanism Design Of Lower Limb Power Exoskeletons

Research on exoskeleton has become hotspot of robotic technology at homeand abroad. Exoskeleton robot can combine with the wisdom of human being andthe strength of robot effectively, solving the problem on weight-bearing in thecomplex environments. With the weight improvement of individual combatequipment, Exoskeleton Robot that suits for the soldiers, has great potentialapplications, which is designed to improve the Weight capacity of soldiers in thevarious complex environment. The paper has a further study on t he design ofmechanical drive system, analysis of kinematics and dynamics, design of sensingsystem, and the simulation and experiment of Lower Limb Power Exoskeleton.Based on the analysis of Human lower limb movement mechanism, themechanical driving system of Lower Limb Power Exoskeleton is designed.According to the method of bionics design, we design the structure of mechanism,including the hip joint, knee and ankle and so on, and conduct the finite-elementanalysis for the key parts. Finally combining the mechanism of joint musclemotion, we design the exoskeleton hydraulic driving system.Aiming at the mechanical design of exoskeleton, the kinematics anddynamics of exoskeleton is analyzed. The paper models the Exoskeleton by usingthe D-H method, and solves the forward kinematics, and gots the Jacobian matrixby method of differential transformation; then solves the dynamics by Lagrangemethod.By research on the whole structure of exoskeleton and control strategies, thepaper also designs its sensing system. By analyzing the information of theplantar pressure distribution, we select and distribute the pressure sensor, designthe sensing shoes and insure the reliability of collecting pressure and the safetyof the sensors. Then we choose the proper joint rotation sensor, realize thecontrol of exoskeleton accurately.Finally, some simulations and experiments is done. Simulation analysisincludes joint simulation and walk simulation; while experiments include wearcomfortable test, Joint follow-up experiment, gait information collectingexperiment, and Exoskeletons drive experiment. The results demonstrate that lower limb power exoskeleton is well designed and suitable for wear, and cansatisfy the requirement of loading and flexibility.