Gait assistive device and walking robot having the same

Abstract

A gait assistive device that may be used to improve a gait disability by replacing or compensating movement of joints of an ankle and a foot that occur during a gait or that may be used for a bottom structure of a gait robot is disclosed. The present invention provides a gait assistive device including: a foot supporting part; a rear connecting part coupled to a heel portion of the foot supporting part; and a rearfoot plate coupled to the rear connecting part, wherein the rear connecting part may include a joint, and a shaft of the joint is installed on a line or rear line of a load line at heel strike during a gait cycle based on a direction of a gait.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A gait assistive device comprising:
 a foot supporting part;   a rear connecting part coupled to a heel portion of the foot supporting part; and   a rearfoot plate coupled to the rear connecting part,   wherein the rear connecting part includes a joint, and   the joint allows movement of the rearfoot plate to make plane contact with a ground at a moment of a heel strike during a gait cycle and to move in coronal and sagittal planes,   wherein an angle maintaining part is disposed between the foot supporting part and the rearfoot plate, the angle maintaining part causes the rearfoot plate to tilt to a predetermined angle at a second half of a stance phase or a swing phase, the rearfoot plate makes a plane contact with the ground at a moment of the heel strike.   
     
     
         2 . The gait assistive device of  claim 1 , wherein the foot supporting part is coupled to a front supporting part at a front side of the foot. 
     
     
         3 . The gait assistive device of  claim 1 , wherein the foot supporting part is coupled to a front connecting part at a front side of the foot supporting part, and
 a forefoot plate coupled to the front connecting part.   
     
     
         4 . The gait assistive device of  claim 1 , wherein a coronal adjusting part that transversely adjusts the rearfoot plate is installed between the rearfoot plate and the foot supporting part. 
     
     
         5 . The gait assistive device of  claim 3 , wherein a coronal adjusting part that transversely adjusts the forefoot plate is disposed between the forefoot plate and the foot supporting part. 
     
     
         6 . The gait assistive device of  claim 1 , wherein a load adjusting part that adjusts a load applied at a first half of a stance phase is disposed between the foot supporting part and the rearfoot plate. 
     
     
         7 . The gait assistive device of  claim 4 , wherein the coronal adjusting part is made of at least one of an elastic member, a torsion spring, and a chamber provided with a space accommodating a fluid, and
 the chamber is connected to a flow adjusting valve that adjusts an amount of the fluid of the chamber.   
     
     
         8 . The gait assistive device of  claim 5 , wherein the coronal adjusting part is made of at least one of an elastic member, a torsion spring, or a chamber provided with a space accommodating a fluid, and
 the chamber is connected to a flow adjusting valve that adjusts an amount of the fluid of the chamber.   
     
     
         9 . A walking robot comprising the gait assistive device according to  claim 1 .