Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Yoshiaki Ueda

Yukihiro Tsuda

Kazuhiro Fujita

Kazuya Takahashi

Toshihiko Yoshida

Akinobu Kanza

Kazunori Mano

Toshiaki Tsuruha

Tsugio Akita

Hiroshi Toyoda

Hiromichi Fujimoto

Seiichi Sakakibara

Makoto Konishi

Isao Sekita

Go Shirogauchi

Motoi Furuta

Toshiki Kubo

Junko Konrai

Shoichi Sugibayashi

Masakazu Tatsumi

A support device includes: a force measurement sensor structure which includes a shaft having first and second end sections, an intermediate element movably provided between the first and second end sections, first and second elastic members respectively provided between the first end section and the intermediate element and between the second end section and the intermediate element, a linear potentiometer detecting the one dimensional direction position of the intermediate element, and a gripping unit transmitting a force to the intermediate element in an interlocking manner with movement of upper or lower limb; a drive unit changing a load applied to the intermediate element; a control unit controlling the drive unit; and a wearable unit including a front frame provided on a front side of a user, a rear frame connected to the front frame, provided on a rear side of the user, and supporting the drive unit, and an arm suspending a wire which connects the force measurement sensor structure and the drive unit, wherein the first and second elastic members can apply a load to the intermediate element in one dimensional direction, and linear potentiometer detects a force applied to the intermediate element, and the control unit controls the drive unit depending on the force applied to the intermediate element.

Support device, operation support device, and muscle strength training support device

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Yoshiaki Ueda