Wearable soft exoskeleton suit

Abstract

A wearable soft exoskeleton suit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a driving portion which is configured to expand and contract in response to supplying and discharging of fluid; and an adjustable stiffness patch which is connected to the driving portion and is configured to undergo a shape change in response to an expansion and a contraction of the driving portion so as to have an adjusted stiffness.

1 . A wearable soft exoskeleton suit comprising:
 a driving portion which is configured to expand and contract in response to supplying and discharging of fluid; and   an adjustable stiffness patch which is connected to the driving portion and is configured to undergo a shape change in response to an expansion and a contraction of the driving portion so as to have an adjusted stiffness.   
     
     
         2 . The wearable soft exoskeleton suit of  claim 1 , wherein the adjustable stiffness patch comprises a plurality of unit auxetic structure cells which are connected to one another and are respectively configured to undergo an expansion and a contraction in a width-direction in response to the expansion and the contraction of the driving portion. 
     
     
         3 . The wearable soft exoskeleton suit of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of the unit auxetic structure cells are connected to one another so as to form a lattice structure. 
     
     
         4 . The wearable soft exoskeleton suit of  claim 2 , wherein the unit auxetic structure cell has a cross chiral honeycomb structure. 
     
     
         5 . The wearable soft exoskeleton suit of  claim 2 , wherein the unit auxetic structure cell comprises a plurality of width-direction elongation stems and a plurality of thickness-direction elongation stems which respectively cross the width-direction elongation stem,
 wherein the width-direction elongation stem comprises a plurality of first and second width-direction inclined portions which are inclined in opposite directions and a plurality of width-direction connecting portions which connect the first and second width-direction inclined portions and are respectively inclined with respect to the first and second width-direction inclined portions to form an angle therebetween, and   wherein the thickness-direction elongation stem comprises a plurality of first and second thickness-direction inclined portions which are inclined in opposite directions and respectively cross the first and the second width-direction inclined portions and a plurality of thickness-direction connecting portions which connect the first and second thickness-direction inclined portions and are respectively inclined with respect to the first and second thickness-direction inclined portions to form an angle therebetween.   
     
     
         6 . The wearable soft exoskeleton suit of  claim 5 , wherein the unit auxetic structure cell further comprises a plurality of inner connecting stems which connect the width-direction elongation stem and the thickness-direction elongation stem together. 
     
     
         7 . The wearable soft exoskeleton suit of  claim 1 , wherein the adjustable stiffness patch comprises a plurality of unit patches, and wherein the driving portion is formed as air tubes which are respectively elongated along both sides and along a center line of the unit patch.