Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wearable arm support system used in repetitive applications in automotive, defense, machinery, logistics, agriculture and similar industries.

In particular, the present invention relates to a wearable arm support system which comprises the following; two mechanism boxes that contains the mechanism that will hold the arm in the air, a waist tie so as to secure the system to the human waist, two arm connections so as to fix the system to the human arm, two ball joints that is the part where the mechanism box is attached to the waist, two waist tie connectors, two sets of shoulder straps, part connecting the mechanism boxes, two arm connectors, a specially shaped rack gear that transfers the angular movement of the arm to the lower part of the mechanism, a pinion gear that transfers the arm movement to the specially shaped rack, a roller that follows the slot in the cam part, a piston, a cylinder in which the piston moves, a spring and a spring stiffness screw.

Present State of the Art

Wearable exoskeletons are designed for medical, commercial and military applications. Medical exoskeletons are usually designed to assist in restoring a patient's mobility. Commercial and military exoskeletons are generally used so as to reduce the loads supported by workers or soldiers during tiresome activities, thus to prevent injuries and increase the endurance and strength of those workers or soldiers.

Fatigue and stress depending on the performance of a work which requires one's arm to reach a static posture and to retain this posture have been reported in occupational medicine. Likewise, overuse of muscles and tendons in the upper body, including but not limited to the hands, arms, shoulders, back, and neck, can lead to fatigue and repetitive strain injuries. For this reason, an exoskeleton that can reduce or prevent the fatigue and stress resulting from such activities, thus increasing the user's performance and preventing injuries is required in the art. In particular, there is a need for an exoskeleton that helps the user by directly supporting the weight of the user's arms and various tools, increasing the user's endurance during the performance of tasks. It is also required to enable a user to use tools in ways and for durations that would not be possible without an exoskeleton.

The following applications are encountered in the literature regarding the subject matter so as to fulfill these requirements:

For example, PCT patent application numbered “WO2018/073629 A1” is based on the principle of trying to compress the part working in the logic of a leaf spring with the movement of the human arm and thus getting a support that helps holding the arm in the air.

On the other hand, there are different types of mechanisms and they are based on the principle that these mechanisms work with arm movement and help to keep the arm in the air in the patent documents numbered "WO2017/201517A1", "US2014/0158839A1", "US2020/0093676A1 ", "US2019/0254910A1 ”.

The inventive system in this application is based on a completely different solution from the patent applications mentioned above.

As a result, due to the abovementioned disadvantages and the insufficiency of the current solutions regarding the subject matter, a development is required to be made in the relevant technical field.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention is related to a wearable arm support system which fulfills the abovementioned requirements, eliminates all disadvantages and brings some additional advantages.

The main aim of the invention is to provide mechanical arm support so as to facilitate the repetitive applications in the industry.

The aim of the invention is to prevent musculoskeletal diseases, to prevent skilled employees from being away from work and thus to prevent reduce efficiency. Another aim of the invention is to indirectly assist in reduce health expenses for countries and organizations independently.

Another aim of the invention is to increase employee motivation by preventing repetitive work performers from being exposed to musculoskeletal diseases, and thus to increase workplace productivity.

In order to fulfill the above-described aims, the present relates to a wearable arm support system which is used in repetitive work applications and comprises the following; two mechanism boxes (1) that contains the mechanism that will hold the arm in the air, a waist tie (2) so as to secure the system to the human waist, two arm connections (3) so as to fix the system to the human arm, two ball joints (4) that is the part where the mechanism box (1) is attached to the waist, two waist tie connectors (5) that provide direct transfer of the movement between the mechanism box (1) and the waist tie (2), two sets of shoulder straps (6) that pass through the shoulder part and wrap the human body from the front and back when the system is worn, part (7) connecting the mechanism boxes, two arm connectors (8) that connect the mechanism box (1) and the arm connection (3), a specially shaped rack gear (9) that transfers the angular movement of the arm to the lower part of the mechanism, a pinion gear (10) that transfers the arm movement to the specially shaped rack gear (9), a roller (11) that follows the slot in the cam part and makes a rotational movement, a piston (12), a cylinder (13) in which the piston (12) moves, a spring (14) that is compressed and expanded by the movement of the piston (12) in the cylinder (13) and a spring stiffness screw (15) which is movable on the thread cut into the cylinder (13) and used so as to adjust the stiffness of the spring (14).

The structural and characteristic features of the present invention will be understood clearly by the following drawings and the detailed description made with reference to these drawings and therefore the evaluation shall be made by taking these figures and the detailed description into consideration.

Figures Clarifying the Invention

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the upper part of the mechanism.

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the upper part of the mechanism from a different angle. Figure 3 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the different positions of the lower part of the mechanism.

Figure 4 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the cylinder section.

Figure 5 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the cylinder and connection parts.

Figure 6 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the spring stiffness screw.

Figure 7 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the piston section.

Figure 8 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the specially shaped gear rack.

Figure 9 is a schematic view of the inventive system showing the lower part of the mechanism from a different view.

Figure 10 is a schematic view of the inventive system on the human body.

The figures are not required to be scaled and the details which are not necessary for understanding the present invention may be neglected. Moreover, the elements that are at least substantially identical or have at least substantially identical functions are shown by the same number.

Description of the References

1- Mechanism box

2- Waist tie

3- Arm connection

4- Ball joint

5- Waist tie connector

6- Shoulder strap set

7- Part connecting the mechanism boxes

8- Arm connector

9- Specially shaped rack gear

10- Pinion gear

11- Roller

12- Piston 13- Cylinder

14- Spring

15- Spring stiffness screw

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the inventive wearable arm support system is described only for clarifying the subject matter in a manner such that no limiting effect is created.

The invention relates to a wearable arm support system used in repetitive applications in automotive, defense, machinery, logistics, agriculture and similar industries.

The inventive wearable arm support system comprises the following; two mechanism boxes (1 ) that contains the mechanism that will hold the arm in the air, a waist tie (2) so as to secure the system to the human waist, two arm connections (3) so as to fix the system to the human arm, two ball joints (4) that is the part where the mechanism box (1) is attached to the waist, two waist tie connectors (5) that provide direct transfer of the movement between the mechanism box (1) and the waist tie (2), two sets of shoulder straps (6) that pass through the shoulder part and wrap the human body from the front and back when the system is worn, part (7) connecting the mechanism boxes, two arm connectors (8) that connect the mechanism box (1) and the arm connection (3), a specially shaped rack gear (9) that transfers the angular movement of the arm to the lower part of the mechanism, a pinion gear (10) that transfers the arm movement to the specially shaped rack gear (9), a roller (11) that follows the slot in the cam part and makes a rotational movement, a piston (12), a cylinder (13) in which the piston (12) moves, a spring (14) that is compressed and expanded by the movement of the piston (12) in the cylinder (13) and a spring stiffness screw (15) which is movable on the thread cut into the cylinder (13) and used so as to adjust the stiffness of the spring (14).

The operating principle of the inventive system is as follows:

The inventive system is connected to the waist of an individual with the waist tie (2) and to the human arm with the arm connection (3). The mechanism box (1) is connected to the arm connection (3) with the arm connector (8). In addition, the mechanism box (1) is connected to the ball joint (4) by the waist tie connector (5). The ball joint (4) is rigidly connected to the waist tie (2). The part (7) connecting the mechanism boxes connects the mechanism boxes on the right and left sides. Shoulder straps (6) are parts that allow the system to stand on people. In the case in Figure 9, when the arm connector (8) is rotated clockwise, it rotates the pinion gear (10), and the pinion gear (10) moves the specially shaped rack gear (9). In state a) in Figure-3, while the specially shaped rack gear (9) moves downwards, it forces the roller (11 ) by contacting the same to compress the spring (14), thus it gives support by forcing the arm to be hold in the air. State b) in Figure-3 is a complete state equilibrium and the spring (14) gets rid of the compression force when the specially shaped rack gear (9) moves a little more downwards after this state. In state c) as in Figure-3, the specially shaped rack gear (9) is idle such that it can move freely. While the specially shaped rack (9) is moved upwards, it comes into contact with the roller (11 ) again, the system returns to a) state as seen in Figure-3 after a certain period of time. While the system is in the state a) in Figure-3, although the specially shaped rack gear (9) can move freely in the upward direction, while the special shaped rack gear (9) continues to move freely in the downward direction until it contacts the bearing (11) part, and after the contact, the function in item A. becomes valid again. The pre-stress amount of the spring (14) part is adjusted by moving the position of the spring stiffness screw (15) in the threaded part inside the cylinder (13), thus the specially shaped rack gear (9) can be adjusted according to different stress levels in its downward movement. When the position of the spring stiffness screw (15) is moved in the threaded part inside the cylinder (13), it does not encounter a coercive force and thus the system is taken into a passive state as soon as the specially shaped rack (9) part comes into contact with the bearing (9) part when it is least tight.

Workers who work in repetitive works will be prevented from being exposed to musculoskeletal diseases. It will reduce health expenses for countries and organizations. It will also help companies to prevent the loss of qualified works and increase workplace productivity.