JPH08322885A - Motor-driven wheelchair serving also as helping type - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a motor-driven wheelchair serving also as a helping type capable of sufficiently demonstrating performance and functions. CONSTITUTION: This wheelchair is dividedly constituted of a front part car body 5a provided with a steering wheel 7 for maneuvering for which front wheels 1 are hung and a rear part car body 5b for which rear wheels 2 are hung and a driving member such as a battery and a motor, etc., for driving them and a chair 6 freely invertible back and forth are mounted. Then, the front part car body 5a and the rear part car body 5b are connected by an extendable and contractable connection device 11 capable of adjusting an interval.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to both an electric wheelchair in which an elderly person or the like having weakened legs or the like boards and operates by himself, and an assisting type electric wheelchair in which an attendant operates by carrying an elderly person or a sick person. The present invention relates to an assisted electric wheelchair that also has a function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an electric wheelchair for both this type and an assisting type, there is one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-141332, but in these conventional techniques, a general electric wheelchair is simply used. It was used as an assisted wheelchair by reversing the chair and steering wheel and reversing the traveling direction,
Its function and operability are extremely insufficient.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and provides the turning performance and operability required for an assisted wheelchair while sufficiently ensuring the function and operability as an electric wheelchair. Another object of the present invention is to provide an assisting type / electric wheelchair that provides a sense of unity between the helper and the passenger.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A front body 5a having front wheels 1, 1 suspended and a steering handle 7 and a driving member such as a battery 3 and a motor 4 for suspending rear wheels 2, 2 to drive them. And a rear vehicle body 5b on which a chair 6 which can be turned upside down is mounted, and the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b are divided.
The electric wheelchair also serves as an assisting type wheelchair, in which the space is adjustable by an expansion and contraction connecting device 11 whose distance can be adjusted.

[0005]

When used as an electric wheelchair, when the telescopic connecting device 11 connecting the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b is extended, the wheel base between the front wheels 1 and 1 and the rear wheels 2 and 2 is extended. The length of the wheelchair is long, and sufficient running stability can be ensured even when the vehicle is driven at a maximum speed of 6 km / H.
The space between the steering wheel 7 and the handle 7 is widened, and a wide space can be secured at the feet, so that the performance, function and operability can be ensured which are substantially the same as those of a general electric wheelchair dedicated machine.

In the case of use as an assisted electric wheelchair, the telescopic connecting device 11 for connecting the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b is shortened and the chair 6 is turned upside down. By this operation, the wheel base between the front wheels 1 and 1 and the rear wheels 2 and 2 is shortened, a compact vehicle body is provided, and the small turning performance is improved, and the assisting operation of the caregiver while walking is facilitated. In addition, when it is used as a wheelchair for assistance, the maximum speed is about 4 km / H because the caregiver operates while walking, and this compact body can ensure sufficient running stability. Further, by shortening the distance between the two vehicle bodies 5a, 5b, the distance between the handle 7 and the chair 6 whose front-back direction is reversed is shortened, and the handle 7 is located immediately after the passenger on the chair 6, so that the assistance It is possible for the person to operate while observing and observing the passengers very close to each other and observing the passengers, thereby sufficiently exhibiting the function as an assisted wheelchair.

[0007]

1 shows a four-wheel type electric wheelchair in which a pair of left and right steering front wheels 1 and 1 and driving rear wheels 2 and 2 are suspended on a traveling vehicle body 5. The traveling vehicle body 5 is a front vehicle body 5a.
And a rear vehicle body 5b, and the space between them is connected by an expansion and contraction connecting device 11, which will be described later. The rear vehicle body 5b is equipped with a battery 3 for power supply, a motor 4, and a control box 12 for controlling a current supplied to the motor 4. Further, the rotational power of the motor 4 is provided by a gear box 13
It is transmitted to the left and right rear wheels 2 and 2 via and is driven and rotated.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a resin cover which is constructed by covering the left and right rear wheels 2 and 2 and the mounted objects such as the battery 3 and the like, and an opening 15 is opened at the center of the upper surface of the rear vehicle body 5b. A support 16 for attaching the chair 6 is attached which is attached to the center and extends upward. The chair 6 is composed of a seat plate 17, a backrest 18, and jumping left and right armrests 19, 19 and the like, and a mounting member 20 is attached to the bottom surface. The mounting member 20 is provided between a U-shaped frame body 21 whose upper end is welded to the bottom surface of the chair 6, a fulcrum shaft 22 which is hung down by welding to the lower surface of the frame body 21, and a wall which is compatible with the frame body 21. A rotary shaft 23 that is movably mounted horizontally, and an operation lever 24 attached to the end of the rotary shaft 23.
A support plate 26 is provided which extends rearward from the center of the rotary shaft 23 and forms an engaging projection 25 on the lower surface of the tip.

In order to attach the chair 6 to the support 16 which is erected from the rear vehicle body 5b, the fulcrum shaft 22 of the mounting member 20 is fitted and held in the support hole 27 at the center of the support member 16 and the operation lever 24 is attached. The rotation shaft 23 is rotated by operation to selectively engage the engagement projections 25 on the lower surface of the support plate 26 with the engagement holes 28, 28 provided in the front and rear of the support body 16. Therefore, chair 6
After the attachment, the chair 6 can be turned upside down by rotating the chair 6 around the fulcrum shaft 22. The front vehicle body 5a is connected to the rear vehicle body 5b by the above-mentioned expansion and contraction connecting device 11, and a short shaft pin 29 is welded to the upper surface of the expansion and contraction connecting device 11 so that the left and right standing walls 30, 30 are attached to both ends of the pin 29. Mounting frame 31 with a partial upper edge connected
Is rotatably attached.

In front of and behind the central portion of the mounting frame 31, the compatibility wall 3 is provided.
Vertical connecting plates 32, 32 for connecting 0 and 30 are provided and a pivot 33 in the front-rear direction is provided between the connecting plates 32, 32.
A pipe 34 is rotatably fitted on the pivot 33. A front wheel pipe 35 extending in the left-right direction is welded to the upper surface of the pipe 34, and the front wheel pipe 35 is fitted into the recesses 36 of the compatible walls 30, 30 of the mounting frame 31 to move in the front-rear direction. Are regulated. Front wheel pipe 3
Weld the vertical bosses 37, 37 to the left and right ends of 5,
A rotating shaft 38 hanging downward by the boss 37 is rotatably held. Further, a front wheel shaft 39 extending outward is welded to the lower end of the rotating shaft 38, and the front wheel 1 is rotatably held around the front wheel shaft 39.

A boss 40 is welded to the front portion of the mounting frame 31, and a handle shaft 41 is rotatably held by the boss 40. In addition, the handle shaft 4 extending below the boss 40
An operating plate 42 is connected to the lower part of the first portion, and connecting rods 44, 43 are connected to the left and right engaging holes 43, 43 provided in the front part of the operating plate 42.
One end of 44 is fitted and connected, and the connecting rods 44, 4
The other end of 4 is fitted and connected to engaging holes 46, 46 provided at the ends of arms 45, 45 fixed to the left and right rotating shafts 38, 38 and extending outwardly toward the front. Therefore, when the handle shaft 41 is rotated by operating the handle 7, the front wheel shafts 39, 39 attached to the rotation shafts 38, 38 rotate via the operating plate 42, the connecting rods 44, 44, and the arms 45, 45. The moving direction of the front wheels 1, 1 is changed.

The left and right standing walls 30, 30 of the mounting frame 31 are integrally connected to each other by an arcuate connecting plate 47 having a pin 29 as a center, and the connecting plate 47 has a plurality of vertical insertion holes. 48 is formed. In addition, on the upper surface of the expansion and contraction connecting device 11, the locking plate 4 extending along the inner surface of the connecting plate 47 is provided.
9 is fixed, and the locking plate 49 is provided with a screw hole 50. Therefore, by rotating the mounting frame 31 around the pin 29, the angle of the handle shaft 41 held by the mounting frame 31 can be changed, and further, at this changed position, from the insertion hole 48 of the connecting plate 47. It can be fixed by screwing a fixing bolt 51 into the threaded hole 50 of the locking plate 49.

Next, the expansion / contraction connecting device 11 for connecting the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b will be described. A rectangular tube 52 having an open front surface is fixed to the front and rear direction of the central lower surface of the rear vehicle body 5b. From the opening, a sliding cylinder 53, which is also a rectangular cylinder,
Has been inserted. Further, the above-mentioned pin 29 is welded to the upper surface of the front portion of the sliding cylinder 53, and the handle shaft 41 and the like are attached via the mounting frame 31 held by the pin 29 to the front vehicle body 5.
a is configured. A rotating shaft 54 is inserted through the entire length of the sliding cylinder 53 and the rectangular cylinder 52, and the front end thereof is the sliding cylinder 53.
The knob 67 is attached to the rear end of the rectangular tube 52,
A retaining nut 55 is attached while protruding backward from the. Reference numeral 56 denotes a fixed body, which is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a screw hole 57 formed at a position slightly eccentric from the center of the fixed body 56, and the screw hole 58 of the rotary shaft 54 is formed in the screw hole 57. Is screwed through. Further, the rear end surface of the sliding cylinder 53 and the front surface of the fixed body 56 are formed on an inclined cam surface 59 and are in contact with each other. Therefore, when the distance between the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b is adjusted, when the knob 67 is operated to rotate the rotary shaft 54, the fixed body 56 is separated from the cam surface 59 by the screwing portion and the cam surface 59 is formed. The rotational state is released, and the pressure contact of the fixed body 56 to the inner peripheral surface of the rectangular tube 52 is released, and the fixed state between the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b is released. In this state, the sliding cylinder 53 is moved back and forth with respect to the rectangular cylinder 52 to adjust the distance between the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b.

Next, when fixing both, the knob 67
When the rotary shaft 54 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned operation, the fixed body 56 is moved forward by the screwing portion, and is rotated by the contact of the cam surface 59 with the sliding cylinder 53 to fix the fixed body 56. The eccentric portion of the body 56 can be pressure-bonded to the inner peripheral surface of the rectangular tube 52 to fix them. Further, the wide step 60 attached to the lower surface of the sliding cylinder 53 at the time of this front-back adjustment can be stored under the rectangular cylinder 52 and the rear vehicle body 5b. 8 shows another embodiment of the expansion / contraction fixing device 11, in which a bracket 63 having a screwing hole 62 in the center is fixed in a cylindrical body 61 fixed to the lower surface of the rear vehicle body 5b, and a moving cylinder 64 is further fixed. A screw 66 is formed on the rear extension of the rotary shaft 65 that is rotatably held and is screwed into the screw hole 62. Therefore, by operating the knob 67, the rotary shaft 65 is rotated to move the movable cylinder 53 back and forth, and the distance between the front and rear vehicle bodies 5a and 5b is adjusted.

A mounting portion 68 is attached to the front wheel pipe 35 of the front vehicle body 5a, and the front cover is composed of left and right front wheel covers 69, a central handle post 70, and a horizontal footrest portion 71 therebetween. 72 is provided. Further, mounting pipes 73 are fixed to the left and right sides of the chair 6, and the mounting rods of the footrests 74 can be fixed in the pipes 73 by inserting bolts. A loop-shaped handle 7 and an operation box 8 are provided at the upper end of the handle shaft 41, and the operation box 8 has a power switch 75, a speed change switch 76, a forward / backward changeover switch 77, and a battery meter 7.
8 etc. are provided.

The passenger accelerator lever 9 is provided in the operation box 8
Bend the shaft 79 protruding to the outer right side of the
It is bent outward to the right and extends parallel to the grip 80 of the handle 7 so that a passenger sitting on the chair 6 can operate the riding accelerator lever 9 in the pushing direction while holding the grip 80. is there. Reference numeral 81 denotes a potentiometer, which is provided at the end of the shaft 79 and outputs a traveling speed command signal according to the operation amount of the passenger accelerator lever 9.

The walking accelerator lever 10 has a shaft 82 projecting leftward and outward of the operation box 8 bent downward, and further extends parallel to a front grip 83 of the loop-shaped handle 7, 7. The walking accelerator lever 10 can be operated in the pull-up direction in a state where an assistant standing in the front position grips the grip 83 in a walking posture. 84
Is a potentiometer, which outputs a traveling speed command signal according to the operation amount of the walking accelerator lever 10 provided at the end of the shaft 82. The output with respect to the operation amount of the potentiometer 84 is set lower than that of the potentiometer 81 and is made to correspond to the walking speed.

When used as a normal electric wheelchair, an occupant sitting on the chair 6 operates the passenger accelerator lever 9 in the pushing direction while holding the grips 80 of the handles 7 and 7 in the direction of arrow (a). ) Run towards. When using this electric wheelchair, the front and rear vehicle bodies 5a,
The wide spacing of 5b ensures stable running and foot space, so that the same functions and performance as conventional electric wheelchairs can be achieved.

Next, when the wheelchair is used as an assistance type wheelchair, first, the operating lever 24 is operated to rotate the rotating shaft 23, and the engaging projection 25 on the lower surface of the supporting plate 26 is engaged with the supporting body 16. The chair 6 is pulled out from the hole 28, and in this state, the chair 6 is turned back and forth about the fulcrum shaft 22.
The engaging projection 25 is fitted and locked on the above to be fixed. Also, chair 6
Insert the mounting rods of the footrests 74 into the mounting pipes 73 provided on both sides of and fix them with bolts. Further, when adjusting the handlebar angle for easy walking operation, the fixing bolt 51 is removed and the mounting frame 31 is held on the mounting frame 31 by rotating the mounting frame 31 away from the chair 6 around the pin 29. The handle shaft 41 can be tilted backward with respect to the traveling direction (b). In addition, the insertion hole 48 and the screw hole 5 that are aligned at this position
The fixing bolt 51 is fitted to 0 and fixed.

Further, in this state, when the distance between the chair 6 and the handle 7 is wide, the telescopic fixing device 11 between the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b is adjusted to narrow the distance. That is, when the knob 67 is operated to rotate the rotary shaft 54, the fixed body 5
6 is separated from the cam surface 59 by the threaded portion and the cam surface 5
The square tube 52 of the fixed body 56 is assisted by the rotation state of the fixed body 56.
Crimping to the inner peripheral surface is released. By pushing the sliding cylinder 53 into the square cylinder 52 in this state, the distance between the front vehicle body 5a and the rear vehicle body 5b can be narrowed.

Next, when the knob 67 is operated in the opposite direction to the reverse direction of the rotary shaft 54, the fixed body 56 is moved in the sliding cylinder 53 direction by the screwing portion and the cam surface of the sliding cylinder 53 is moved. The eccentric part of the fixed body 56 is pressed by the contact guide action with 59 and pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the square tube 52 to fix them. In this state, a person to be assisted is placed on the chair 6, the caregiver stands on the handle 7 side, holds the grip 83 to steer the wheels 1 and 1 on the rear side in the traveling direction (b), and also in the walking posture. Easy-to-operate walking accelerator lever 1 that can be operated in the pulling direction
Operate 0 to run.

In this maneuvering operation, the wheel base between the front wheels 1, 1 and the rear wheels 2, 2 is shortened, resulting in a compact vehicle body with improved small turning performance, and the maneuvering operation while the caregiver is walking is improved. It will be easy. Also, at the time of assistance, the maximum speed is about 4 Km / H because the driver operates while walking.
This compact body can ensure sufficient running stability. Further, by shortening the distance between the two vehicle bodies 5a and 5b, the distance between the handle 7 and the chair 6 whose front-back direction is reversed is shortened, and the handle 7 is located immediately after the passenger on the chair 6, so that the assistance It is possible for the person to operate while observing and observing the passengers very close to each other and observing the passengers, thereby sufficiently exhibiting the function as an assisted wheelchair.

In the above embodiment, the riding and walking accelerator levers 9 and 10 are specially provided on the left and right sides of the operation box 8. However, as shown in FIG. The U-shaped arm has a handle 7 on the front side.
The rear side may be provided below and above the handle 7, and the front side may be a walking accelerator lever 10 capable of pulling up, and the rear side may be a riding accelerator lever 9 capable of being pushed down. In this case, in order to switch the traveling direction between the riding operation and the walking operation, the changeover switch 86 is provided, or the limit switch 87 may detect the reversal of the chair 6 and switch it.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a bar-shaped handle 7 is provided on the handle shaft 41 so as to be rotatable back and forth.
Further, the potentiometer shaft 8 protruding from one side of the operation box 8
A U-shaped arm similar to the above is provided at the 5th end in the front downward direction, and when the handle 7 is rotated forward, that is, when the walking operation is performed, the walking accelerator lever 10 on the front side is positioned below the handle 7 so that it can be pulled up. Also, it may be provided so that the rear-side riding accelerator lever 9 can be pushed above the handle 7 when the steering wheel 7 is rotated rearward, that is, during the riding operation. The forward / backward rotation of the handle 7 may be detected by the limit switch 88 to switch the traveling direction in the same manner as above. Further, 89 is a chrysanthemum nut for fixing the handle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view.

FIG. 2 is a plan view partially omitted.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an operating state.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a holding mechanism of a chair 6.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a main part of a front vehicle body 5a.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a main part of a front vehicle body 5a.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of the expansion / contraction coupling device 11.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of a telescopic coupling device 11 showing another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an operation unit.

FIG. 10 is a side view of an operation unit showing another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an operation unit showing still another embodiment.

12 is an operation diagram of FIG. 11. FIG.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 front wheel 2 rear wheel 3 battery 4 motor 5a front vehicle body 5b rear vehicle body 6 chair 7 handle 11 telescopic connecting device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A battery for suspending and driving front wheels (1), (1) and a front body (5a) having a steering handle (7) and rear wheels (2), (2). (3) and a drive member such as a motor (4) and a rear body (5b) on which a chair (6) which can be reversed in the front and rear direction is mounted, and the front body (5a) and the rear body (5b) are separated from each other. An assisted electric wheelchair for combined use, which is constructed by connecting and contracting a space between the spaces by an expansion and contraction connecting device (11).