IP Library Granted Patent US 12,090,653
Granted Patent B2
US 12,090,653 · App. 17/015,260 · Granted Sep 17, 2024

Assist device

Inventors: Yoshitaka Yoshimi (Kashiba, JP); Kazuyoshi Ohtsubo (Chiryu, JP); Tomoki Arai (Kitakatsuragi-gun, JP); Hiromichi Ohta (Kariya, JP)
Assignee: JTEKT CORPORATION
B25J9/0006A61H1/0262A61H3/00B25J9/102B25J9/104B25J9/12A61H2003/007A61H2201/1215A61H2201/149A61H2201/1652
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,090,653
App. No.
17/015,260
Granted
Sep 17, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

An assist device includes a first harness, a second harness, a belt body, an actuator and a controller. The controller is configured to perform operation control of the actuator. The controller is configured to, upon operation of the actuator being started in a state in which the first harness and the second harness is fitted to the user, perform winding of the belt body with a first winding force, and is configured to, upon the winding of the belt body being completed, change the winding force of the actuator to a second winding force that is smaller than the first winding force.

Claims (23)

1. An assist device comprising:

a first harness configured to be fitted to at least one of a shoulder region and a breast region of a user;

a second harness configured to be fitted to a leg region or a waist region of the user;

a belt body provided so as to extend to the first harness and to the second harness along a back side of the user;

an actuator provided in a control box on a back side of the first harness and configured to wind and unwind a part of the belt body; and

a controller configured to

when the first harness and the second harness are fitted to the user in a state where the belt body is drawn out, control the actuator to wind the belt body with a first winding force to draw the second harness towards the first harness, and

control the actuator to wind the belt body with a second winding force that is smaller than the first winding force when the winding of the belt body is complete.

2. The assist device according to claim 1 , wherein the second winding force is larger than zero.

3. The assist device according to claim 1 , wherein:

the actuator includes a pulley configured to wind the belt body, and a motor for making the pulley perform an operation of winding the belt body; and

the controller is configured to, based on a parameter relating to rotation of the pulley or the motor, detect completion of the winding of the belt body.

4. The assist device according to claim 1 , wherein:

the actuator includes a pulley configured to wind the belt body, and a motor for making the pulley perform an operation of winding the belt body; and

the controller is configured to change the winding force of the actuator by decreasing a current supplied to the motor.

5. The assist device according to claim 1 , wherein:

the actuator includes a pulley configured to wind the belt body, and a motor for making the pulley perform an operation of winding the belt body; and

the controller is configured to, upon the winding force of the actuator being changed to the second winding force, set a phase of the motor at a time of the change, as an initial value of the phase of the motor.

6. The assist device according to claim 1 , wherein:

the actuator includes a motor, a reducer section including a plurality of gears, the reducer section being configured to reduce rotation of the motor and output the rotation, and a pulley configured to wind the belt body by rotating via the output of the reducer section; and

the actuator is configured in such a manner that, when the belt body is unwound from the pulley, while the motor provides torque in a direction in which the belt body is wound, to the pulley through the reducer section, the pulley rotates in a direction in which the belt body is unwound.

7. The assist device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, upon operation of the actuator being started, perform control to change the first winding force to be smaller than that at a start of the winding, in a time period that is later than the start of the winding.

8. The assist device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, upon operation of the actuator being started, perform control to change a speed of winding of the belt body to be lower than that at a start of the winding, in a time period that is later than the start of the winding.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF ADDRESS Recorded Feb 18, 2022
From: JTEKT CORPORATION
To: JTEKT CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 060263/0275 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 23, 2020
From: YOSHIMI, YOSHITAKA; OHTSUBO, KAZUYOSHI; ARAI, TOMOKI; OHTA, HIROMICHI
To: JTEKT CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 054444/0495 →