Kouji Kinoshita

Study on Transfer Instrument : Theoretical Consideration on Lift Up Motion of Transfer Operation(Mechanical Systems)

We developed an instrument to aid transfer for aged person with leg fault. The instrument has a very simple structure to turn on the single fulcrum circumference and is able to reduce the load to care. For rational design, we analyze loads with a simple analytical model which is composed for rigid body link model for the instrument and human body, and linear spring model for the elasticity of bottom and seat cushion. The results of theoretical analysis explained lift up motion of the transfer. The maximum requirement moment was decreased monotonously with the decrease in an installation angle of a breastplate board. To minimize the maximum requirement moment, we should minimize the angle of tilting forward. It was possible to reduce the requirement force for lift up under 1/3 of the elders weight by the use of the instrument.

Development of Legless Chair with Seat Motion Which Follows Standing Up Action (Mechanism and Its Fundamental Motion)

This paper deals with the legless chair with seat motion which follows standing up action from a floor for an elderly with dysfuctions of lower extremities in their home. The trial model realized its motion with the mechanism, which has been devised and acquired the patent. The chair consists of the paired four-link mechanism linked by both end fixed wire and actuator placed under the elbow rest in order to obtain uplift stroke of the seat. Pseudo two degree of freedom movement pulled ahead with forward tilting of the upper body has been effectively realized by the link mechanism with the only one actuator in principle. The largest advantage of the mechanism has the seat motion which can be easily adapted only by position adjustment of the sliding pulley without difficult adjustment of wire length for individual specificity and secular change of the old people. Characteristics of quasi-static motion and mechanics were analytically clarified with the link model for human and mechanism. Movement of the mechanism and standing up action of the human body was obtained by analysis of image captured with CCD camera. The experimental values agree approximately with the theoretical results.

Cluster Feeder Using Loop Type Elliptic Resonator for Foil Objects

This paper deals with cluster feeding mechanism using loop type resonators train. The resonator consists of loop and leg part, respectively. Each part was actuated by bimorph type piezoelectric members. The deflection of loop part and the bending of leg part generated by piezoelectric bimorphs makes an elliptic motion at the center point of the upper member. If resonators are put in a train and are actuated at the same frequency, it can feed objects on the upper surface of its train. The trial feeder, we developed, consists of 8 resonators (4 resonator pair). It could generate elliptic motion in arbitrary phase and could feed thin or soft objects that could not be fed with usual feeders. The feeding speed, that is obtained by dividing the feeding distance at the feeding time with camera vision, changed by phase shift of the input to leg part (z) with the input to loop part (y). The principle of feeding with the cluster feeder was clarified, and it was shown that the theoretical feeding speed fairly agree with the experimental ones. The cluster feeder can feed a thin or a soft object without damaging.