OPTIMIZATION ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND STABILITY PARAMETERS OF A REHABILITATION ROBOT

In this paper, a lower limb rehabilitation robot, suitable for stroke patients, is designed to meet the needs of the lower limb training in a later stage of rehabilitation. The rehabilitation robot is composed of a gantry structure, a driving system, a weight support system, and a human-computer interaction system. Such a robot can assist the patients to stand and walk on the ground. Because of the weakness of the lower limbs on the affected side, stroke patients find it difficult to maintain their own body balance. The patients may fall due to a change in body posture caused by insufficient body function. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the stability of the rehabilitation robot after being impacted by the patient's fall during use. This paper presents a method for the analysis of robot stability and develops an approximate mathematical model of the rehabilitation robot stability based on the response surface method. Optimal structural design parameters for the rehabilitation robot under impact are determined based on the response surface mathematical model. Finally, a stability experiment of the rehabilitation robot under the optimal structural parameters is performed. The experimental results demonstrate that the universal wheel maintains a close force contact with the ground, which proves the reliable stability of the robot.