A Hybrid Human Support Bionic Devices Consisted of Rigid Body Mechanics and Elastic Body Kinematics Analyzed by Multibody Dynamics

摘要

Flexible and adaptive movements generated from biological systems are of interest not only to biomechanics researchers but also medical and assistive device industries and its engineers for developments of devices fit for real human motions. A closed loop linkage to reproduce stably a specific motion trajectory is a model of biomechanics consisted of movable components connecting together in various ways. In the field of welfare engineering, assistive devices were designed practically and its validation sometimes requires a time-consuming and costly process accompanied with the try-and-error manufacturing and real environment tests. In this study, we introduced multibody dynamics into the developmental process in the preliminary stage to determine the fundamental structure before the full-scale mockup, by solving the problem of how the dynamic simulations is possible in the case of combinations of rigid body mechanics and elastic body kinematics. As known in the prosthetic leg of the Paralympics Games, the carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is a prominent material to embed human support devices in the aim of less reliance on high power electric actuators and the supply of electricity such as battery. Dynamic properties of positions, velocities and forces of individual components in the coupling system of human body and assistive devices contribute to improvements of the fitness of the devices helping for the natural behavior in daily life.