A new structure of end-effector traction upper limb rehabilitation robot

Abstract

Among the rehabilitation therapies for patients with stroke or paralysis, robot-assisted rehabilitation is a research hotspot now. However, there are not many cases of clinical application, mainly because of the complex structure, single function, or high cost. This research proposes a new type of 3-DOF (degrees of freedom) upper limb rehabilitation robot in series structure of with an end-effector, which has 2 degrees of freedom in horizontal rotation and 1 degree of freedom in the vertical movement. It has a compact structure, saves space, is easy to be moved and can realize rehabilitation training in three-dimensional space. It is mainly used for rehabilitation training of the shoulder and elbow joints of the upper limbs. The first two rotary joints are driven by AC servo motors, and the prismatic joint is driven by a single-acting cylinder, which increases the passive compliance of the robot. In addition, a three-dimensional force sensor is added to expand the human-machine interaction channel and increase the active safety of the robot. Through the trajectory tracking and force control test of the robot, it is proved that the device can meet the demand of passive and active upper limb rehabilitation.