Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Hiroshi Kudoh

Jun Ashihara

Yasushi Ikeuchi

Hiroshi Uematsu

Masanobu Urabe

Yutaka Hiki

Tatsuya Noda

Takeshi Koshiishi

Hiroshi Matsuda

Yoichi Nishimura

Hisashi Katoh

Yoshihisa Matsuoka

Yosuke Endo

Takashi Sugawara

Makoto Shishido

Eiji Ninomiya

Toru Fujihira

Kenichi Tohya

Ryuzo Yokoyama

A walking assistance device includes a seating member configured to provide seating for a user; and leg links connected to the seating member. The seating member includes: a seating frame having at least two frames movably connected to each other; a bag member secured to the seating frame; filler contained in the bag member and freely movable in the bag member; and a valve provided on the bag member and capable of switching between a first state in which an inside of the bag member is in communication with an outside of the bag member and a second state in which the communication between the inside and the outside of the bag member is interrupted.

Walking assistance device

A walking assistance device has a load transmitting assembly, a foot-worn assembly, and a leg link provided between the load transmitting assembly and the foot-worn assembly. The foot-worn assembly has a ground contact member, on which a user's foot rests, and a connecting member which connects the ground contact member to a joint at a lower end of the leg link. The ground contact member is provided with tread force sensors and the foot-worn assembly permits detection of a tread force. The connecting member is formed so as to rise in a cantilever manner from one lateral side of the ground contact member. The tread force sensors are installed in at least one location adjacent to the heel of the user's foot and in at least two locations adjacent to toes of the user's foot, with the latter two locations being laterally spaced apart.

The present invention provides a walking assist device including a seat member () where a user (P) sits astride; and a support member (L,R) which is provided at a bottom side of the seat member (); wherein the walking assist device includes a connection portion () which connects the seat member () to the support member (L,R) in such a way that the seat member () is able to swing laterally around a spindle () located at a middle portion of the anteroposterior width of the seat member () which the user (P) contacts. Therefore, the resistance force from the seat portion that the user (P) is subject to when the user (P) swings the hip to walk is reduced, thereby improving the usability of the walking assist device.

Walking assist device

A walking assistance device having an ankle joint limited in a swingable range in a rolling direction, enabling a user to open his/her legs apart more easily. The walking assistance device includes a seating member, a pair of leg linksandwhich support the seating memberfrom below, and a ground contact memberconnected to each leg linkthrough an ankle joint. The ankle jointhas a coupling mechanismwhich includes a joint shaft memberand a retaining portion which swingably retains the joint shaft memberin the rolling direction in a predetermined range &#x3c6;. The joint shaft memberis inclined to an abduction side in the rolling direction from the middle position of the predetermined range &#x3c6; in which the joint shaft member is swingable in the rolling direction when the walking assistance device is in an upright state.

A walking assist device is equipped with a load transmit portion, a foot attachment portion fitted to a foot of a user, and a leg link provided between the load transmit portion and the foot attachment portion. The foot attachment portion is equipped with a connecting member connected to the lower end of the leg link at a position forward of an ankle of the user while having at least a degree of rotational freedom around an axis line in a horizontal direction seen from front, and the connecting member is prevented from wobbling back and forth from the change in the direction of the load transmitted from the leg link. The foot attachment portion is equipped with the footplate member having a rigid plate capable of being stepped on by the foot of the user at outside an acting range in a sagittal plane of the load transmitted from the leg link to the connecting member. The connecting member is coupled to the footplate member so as to limit the rotation with respect to the footplate member round the axis line in the horizontal direction as seen from front.

Provided is a walking assist device including a load transmit portion, a ground contacting portion capable of using a commercially available shoe, and a leg link disposed therebetween. The ground contacting portion is composed of a footboard for supporting the shoe thereon. The footboard is provided with a connection member connected to the leg link and a front holding member and a rear holding member for stably holding a front vamp portion and a rear vamp portion, respectively, of the shoe in an anteroposterior direction. When a pressure sensor for detecting a stepping force from a user is provided in the footboard, the front holding member is located ahead of the pressure sensor.

A walking assist device having a load transmit portion, a leg link connected to the load transmit portion, and a driving source capable of driving the leg link in a direction to raise a seat member, so that at least a partial weight of a user may be supported by the leg link through the load transmit portion. An electric component to be used for controlling the driving source can be mounted on the walking assist device without degrading the compactness of the walking assist device. At least a part of the leg link is constituted of a cylindrical link member in which at least the electric component, such as a motor driver to be used for the control of the driving source, is partially housed. The walking assist device also includes a heat transfer member for absorbing the heat of the electric component by the cylindrical link member. The heat transfer member is thermally connected to a side plate of the cylindrical link member directed toward the side opposite to the leg of the user.

A walking assistance device having a seating member () on which a user (P) can sit astride, and support members (L,R) which support the seating member (). The seating member () has a backward movement prevention section () for preventing the seating member () from being displaced backward relative to the user (P) sitting on the seating member (). The backward movement prevention section () is constructed so as to be in contact with an inguinal part (Q) of the user (P). The arrangement restrains backward dislocation of the seating member () relative to the user (P), thus permitting improved stability when the user is seated.

Provided is a walking assist device including a seat member, a leg link having a joint portion, and a driving source for the joint portion. The walking assist device allows a user to rest by sitting on the seat member. Accordingly, the walking assist device further includes a lock mechanism disposed in the joint portion and an operation unit for the lock mechanism. When the operation unit is switched on, the driving source is controlled to increase an up-pushing force on the seat member. A variation rate on the up-pushing force is increased with time to a given value where the lock mechanism is initiated.

A walk assistance device capable of transmitting a force generated by a leg link to a user's trunk via a load transmit portion, wherein the leg link includes an upper first link portion connected to the load transmit portion via a first joint portion, a lower second link portion connected to a foot attachment portion via a second joint portion, a middle third joint portion connecting the first link portion to the second link portion such that a distance between the first joint portion and the second joint portion is variable, and a driving source that drives the third joint portion. The moment of inertia around the first joint portion of the leg link is reduced to decrease a load on the user's leg in walking. The driving source is disposed above the third joint portion of the first link portion so that the center-of-gravity of the entire leg link is located above the third joint portion. In the case where the driving source includes an electric motor and a reduction gear, the electric motor is disposed above the reduction gear.

Walk assistance device

A walking assistance device having a leg link connected to a load transmit portion via a first joint and to a foot attachment portion via a second joint, and having an intermediate third joint moving such that a distance between the first joint and the second joint is variable; a drive source for the third joint; and a battery for the drive source. When in an upstanding position, force in the forward-backward direction is prevented from acting on the load transmit portion to enhance stability. Also, a moment of inertia of the leg link is decreased to curtail a load applied to the leg of the user. The drive source and the battery are located at positions higher than the third joint, and when the user is in an upstanding position, a plane passing through the second joint lies between the drive source and the battery.

A reduction gear () for a walking assistance system is provided that includes first to third planetary gear mechanisms (Pto P) between an input shaft (Si) connected to a motor () and an output shaft (So), the second planetary gear mechanism (P) being disposed radially outside the first planetary gear mechanism (P) connected to the input shaft (Si), and the third planetary gear mechanism (P) being disposed outside, in the direction of an axis L, the first planetary gear mechanism (P). It is therefore possible, while reducing the speed of rotation of the input shaft (Si) in three stages by the first to the third planetary gear mechanisms (Pto P) and transmitting the rotation to the output shaft (So), to reduce the thickness of the reduction gear () compared with a case in which the first to the third planetary gear mechanisms (Pto P) are disposed so as to be stacked in the direction of the axis (L), thereby improving the appearance when a user is fitted with the walking assistance system.

Speed reducer for walk assist apparatus

This invention relates to an object recognition apparatus. This apparatus comprises an antenna which emits transmission beams toward a plurality of directions; a receiving circuit which receives reflected signals of the transmission beams from predetermined directions; a distance and direction calculation circuit which calculates distance and direction to objects reflecting the transmission beams based on the transmission beams and the reflected signals; an object pattern storage unit which stores range direction patterns of reflected signals obtained in advance with respect to predetermined objects; an object recognition circuit which compares range direction patterns of the reflected signals received by the receiving circuit with respect to the predetermined directions, with the range direction patterns stored in the object pattern storage unit, and which recognize that a pair of reflected signals from two neighboring directions are signals reflected by the same object.

Object recognition apparatus

A radar module includes an antenna assembly, a plurality of transmitting and receiving assemblies, a plurality of circulators, a common signal generator circuit, and a signal distributor all mounted on a dielectric substrate. The transmitting and receiving assemblies may be housed in respective monolithic microwave integrated circuit packages each comprising a metal substrate, a high-frequency integrated circuit mounted on one surface of the metal substrate, and a low-frequency integrated circuit mounted on an opposite surface of the metal substrate and electrically connected to the high-frequency integrated circuit.

Radar module and MMIC package for use in such radar module

A single dielectric substrate having formed thereon a plurality of planar antenna elements, and a ferrite substrate provided with a circulator are joined together to form a planar antenna module of an integral construction. The planar antenna elements are each composed of a patch formed by a thick or a thin film deposition technique. In one preferred form of joining, the dielectric substrate and the ferrite substrate are joined together at one side. In another preferred form of the joining, the ferrite substrate is fitted or assembled in an opening or window formed in the dielectric substrate.

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Wako, Japan

Hiroshi Kudoh