JPH0487845A - Auxiliary truck for wheelchiar - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve safety by disposing a distance sensor to detect an obstacle to a truck body in a manner to point in an outer direction and operating an alarm device when a detecting output therefrom is outside a given range, an auxiliary truck for a wheelchair used in stairs and an escalator. CONSTITUTION:An auxiliary truck for a wheelchair comprises a truck body 1 formed such that a pair of crawler devices 8 on both sides are mounted on a truck bed frame, two-in-a-set front and rear wheels 9 and 10 mounted on the front and the rear and the right and the left of the truck body l through respective rocking arms, a handle 13 additionally used for fixing a wheelchair having a fixing tool to fix a wheelchair A, an operation control part 22, and an auxiliary handle 23. In which case, a pair of distance sensors 25A and 25B on both sides are located to the plate parts on both side of a rear frame 17 of the truck body 1. The distance sensors 25A and 25B form, for example, an ultrasonic sensor, and output a detecting output signal responding to a distance to an obstacle. Each detecting output signal is inputted to a comparing circuit 29 through A/D converters 28A and 28B. When measurement of an output difference therebetween is outside a given range, an alarm apparatus 31 and an alarm lamp 32 are operated through operation of a safety control circuit 30.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is designed to support a wheelchair carrying a disabled person, and transport the wheelchair up and down stairs or on a passenger conveyor such as an escalator. This article relates to an auxiliary cart for wheelchairs that is used for

(Prior Art) Generally, in order for a wheelchair user such as a disabled person to use stairs or a passenger conveyor such as an escalator, an attendant is essential to help, and it is difficult for the attendant to do so alone.

For this reason, in recent years, auxiliary wheelchair trolleys have been developed in which a wheelchair carrying a disabled person is loaded and carried by a full-time attendant to carry the person up and down stairs or on a conveyor such as an escalator. something is being developed.

This wheelchair auxiliary trolley is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-7756.
This is the configuration shown in Publication No. 3, etc.

This will be briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8.

First, in FIGS. 5 and 6, numeral 1 indicates the truck body. This truck body 1 includes a truck frame 2, a motor 3,
A battery 4 serving as a power source, a drive wheel 5 driven by the motor 3, a guide wheel 6, and an endless body 7, such as a belt, which is hung between the drive wheel 5 and the guide wheel 6 and rotates in forward and reverse directions. A pair of left and right crawler devices 8 are provided.

Front and rear swinging wheels 9 and 10, each set on two sides, are arranged on the left and right outer sides of the front and rear ends of the left and right crawler devices 8 of the truck body 1, respectively. These two side assembled left and right swinging wheels 9.1
0 are respectively attached to the front and rear ends of a swinging arm 12 which is pivotally connected to a central shaft 11 protruding from both sides of the frame 2 of the bogie frame 2, so that the swing arm 12 can comfortably run on flat ground, run on stairs, and get on the steps of an escalator. It has become.

Further, a pair of left and right wheelchair fixing handles 13 are attached to the upper frame portion of the bogie frame 2 of the bogie body 1 in such a manner that their base ends are supported by the bogie frame 2 and rise diagonally backward. The left and right handles 13 are integrally connected to each other, and a fixture 14.1 for fixing the wheelchair A (see FIGS. 7 and 8) mounted on the trolley body 1
5 is provided.

In addition, an automatic posture control device 16 is provided to stably maintain the wheelchair A in a constant correct posture so that the wheelchair user can ride with peace of mind whether traveling on level ground or climbing up and down stairs or escalators. ing. This automatic attitude control device 16 has an attitude control hydraulic valve 18 attached to the rear frame 17 of the bogie frame 2 of the bogie main body 1, and expands and contracts by switching the hydraulic valve 18 to move the handle 13 to the bogie frame. a hydraulic cylinder 19 that adjusts the rising angle by rotating back and forth with respect to the hydraulic cylinder 1;
The hydraulic power unit 20 is comprised of 9 hydraulic power units 20 and a battery 21 serving as its power source.

Further, the handle 13 is provided with a driving operation section 22, and an auxiliary handle 23 is provided at the front end of the truck body 1.
is provided.

Then, this wheelchair auxiliary trolley has wheelchair A mounted and fixed thereon, and in this state, under the driving operation of an attendant, the wheelchair auxiliary trolley can move down or up the stairs by itself, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, it can be transported on an escalator.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In recent years, a wide variety of wheelchairs have been manufactured to suit wheelchair users. The width of this wheelchair is also partially specified in the JIS standard, but currently wheelchairs used for going out are made with various width dimensions depending on the physique of the user.

For this reason, even if the operator is a full-time operator, the wide wheelchair A
When loading a wheelchair onto an auxiliary trolley and transporting it onto a passenger conveyor such as an escalator, if the wheelchair is not placed in the center of the steps of the passenger conveyor, the wheelchair may come into contact with the railing of the passenger conveyor on the way, which is extremely dangerous, and the wheelchair It may also have an adverse effect on other equipment.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a wheelchair for a physically disabled person when the wheelchair is loaded and supported and an attendant operates the wheelchair to get the person onto a passenger conveyor such as an escalator. If a person leans too far to one side at the conveyor entrance, a safe wheelchair auxiliary trolley will issue a warning and prompt the person accompanying the person to get on the center of the steps to correct the position, allowing the user to avoid a dangerous situation. The purpose is to provide.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, a wheelchair aid is provided that is used to carry a wheelchair up and down stairs or on a passenger conveyor such as an escalator. In the trolley, a distance sensor is provided on the main body of the trolley to face outward and detect obstacles on at least one of the left and right sides, and a safety control circuit is provided to activate an alarm device when the detection output of this distance sensor is outside a predetermined range. It's what I did.

(Function) According to the wheelchair auxiliary trolley having the above-mentioned configuration, when an attendant drives and rides a passenger conveyor such as an escalator with a wheelchair loaded and supported carrying a person with a physical disability, etc., the wheelchair auxiliary trolley can be used at the entrance of the passenger conveyor such as an escalator. The distance sensor operates, detects the railing of the passenger conveyor that is an obstacle on at least one of the left and right sides, and outputs a detection output signal corresponding to the distance to the railing. The safety control circuit receives the detection output signal from this distance sensor, and if the detection output is outside the predetermined range, it activates the alarm device and issues a warning to the attendant through an alarm broadcast, buzzer, flashing lamp, etc. , the boarding position on the passenger conveyor is too far to one side, so caution is advised to approach the center.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Components in the figure that overlap with those shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 are given the same reference numerals to simplify the explanation.

Figure 1 is a side view of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley, Figure 2 is a rear view of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley, Figure 3 is a block circuit diagram, and Figure 4 is a schematic configuration showing how the wheelchair auxiliary trolley is mounted on an escalator. It is a diagram.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a truck main body 1 which is provided with a pair of right and left crawler devices 8 on a truck underframe 2, as in the conventional case, and swing arms 12 on the front, rear, left and right sides of the truck main body 1.
9.10 Front and rear wheels on two sides attached via
, a wheelchair fixing handle 13 provided with fixtures 14 and 15 for fixing the wheelchair A, an automatic posture control device 16 for rotating the handle 13 back and forth, a driving operation unit 22 attached to the handle 13, and a trolley. It has an auxiliary handle 23 attached to the front and rear ends of the main body 1.

In the wheelchair auxiliary trolley having such a configuration, a pair of left and right distance sensors 25A are provided on both side plate portions of the rear frame 17 of the trolley body 1 (the frame to which the hydraulic valve 18 of the automatic posture control device 16 is attached).

25B is provided. This left and right distance sensor 25A
, 25B are ultrasonic sensors, for example, which are arranged symmetrically outwardly from the center of the truck body 1. This left and right distance sensor 25A.

25B are each equipped with a transmitting element 26 and a receiving element 27, and as shown in FIG. 3, ultrasonic waves are transmitted outward from each transmitting element 26, and when the ultrasonic waves hit an obstacle, When reflected, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the receiving element 2.
7 receives the signal and outputs a detection output signal corresponding to the elapsed time, that is, the distance to the obstacle.

Further, the left and right distance sensors 25A, 25B are each equipped with an A/D converter 28A, as shown in FIG.

28B to two comparison circuits, and this comparison circuit 2
9 is connected to a safety control circuit 30.

Further, this safety control circuit 30 is connected to an alarm device 31 such as a speaker or a buzzer, and a warning light 32 as an alarm device provided in the operation section 22.

Next, the operation of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley having the above-mentioned configuration will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 4, when an attendant drives a wheelchair A carrying a disabled person or the like to board a passenger conveyor such as an escalator, a distance sensor 25A is detected at the entrance of the passenger conveyor.

25B operates, and the ultrasonic waves emitted from their respective receiving elements 26 are reflected by hitting the left and right handrails 33 of the entrance of the passenger conveyor, and are received by their respective receiving elements 27. Detection output signals corresponding to the distances to the left and right handrails 33 are output from the left and right distance sensors 25A, 25B. Each of these detection output signals is converted into a digital value by A/D converters 28A and 28B and sent to two comparison circuits. This comparison circuit 29 measures the difference between the two detection outputs and outputs a signal to the safety control circuit 30. If the measured value of the output difference between the two is outside a predetermined range, that is, above a certain predetermined value, the safety control circuit 30 is activated to operate the alarm device 31 and warning light 32 as the alarm device, The warning device 31 verbally broadcasts a warning, sounds a buzzer, or flashes a warning light 32 to alert the attendant that the passenger conveyor boarding position is too far to one side. I urge you to be careful. This allows the attendant to correct his position and get onto the center of the steps of the passenger conveyor.

Further, if the value of the difference between the detection outputs from the left and right distance sensors 25A and 25B is within the set range, that is, below a certain predetermined value, the distances to the railings 33 on both the left and right sides are approximately equal and are not very biased. , the alarm 31 and the warning light 32 are not activated, and the attendant can simply get on the center of the steps.

In addition, in the embodiment, a pair of left and right distance sensors 25A, 2
The detection output signal from 5B is received by the comparison circuit 29, and the difference between the two detection outputs is determined to operate the alarm device by the safety control circuit 30. However, the left and right detection outputs are sent to the safety control device 30 respectively. If any of the output values is outside the predetermined range, that is, if it is smaller than the lower limit value or larger than the upper limit value of a certain range, the safety control circuit 30 is activated in the same way as described above to activate the alarm device. A circuit may also be configured.

With this circuit configuration, it is sufficient to provide only one of the left and right distance sensors 25A and 25B, and the same effects as described above can be obtained.

In addition, in the said Example, distance sensor 25A is used.

Although an ultrasonic sensor is used for 25B, similar effects can be obtained by using a distance sensor that uses electromagnetic waves such as visible light and infrared rays.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the wheelchair auxiliary trolley of the present invention is configured as described above, when an attendant drives a wheelchair carrying a person with a physical disability, etc. to ride on a passenger conveyor such as an escalator, it is possible to get on and off the passenger conveyor such as an escalator. If the attendant leans too far to one side with his/her mouth, a warning can be issued to tell the attendant to get on the center of the steps, allowing the attendant to correct his/her position and get on the center of the steps, thereby preventing collisions while being transported by the person conveyor. It is possible to avoid such dangers.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a side view of a wheelchair auxiliary trolley, FIG. 2 is a partially sectional rear view of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley, and FIG. 3 is a partially cross-sectional rear view of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley. is a block circuit diagram, FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing how the wheelchair auxiliary trolley is mounted on the escalator, FIGS. 5 to 8 show conventional examples, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley. 6 is a rear view of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley in a stair climbing state, and FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley in an escalator climbing state. 1... Cart body, 25A, 25B... Distance sensor,
30...Safety control circuit, 31.32...Alarm device (
31...Alarm, 32...Warning light), A...Wheelchair. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] In wheelchair auxiliary trolleys that are used to carry a wheelchair up and down stairs or on a passenger conveyor such as an escalator, there are obstacles on at least one of the left and right sides of the trolley body facing outward. 1. A wheelchair auxiliary trolley, comprising a distance sensor for detecting an object, and a safety control circuit for operating an alarm device when the detection output of the distance sensor is outside a predetermined range.