JPH0857006A - Walk assisting unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a walk assisting unit preventing the occurrence of a wobble. CONSTITUTION: This walk assisting unit 1 is provided with a pair of the right and left front leg frames 2 each having a caster 14 at the lower end and a pair of the right and left rear leg frames each connected to the front leg frame 2 and having a rear wheel at the lower end. The caster 14 is provided with a forked caster yoke 10 rotatably supporting the front wheel 5, a caster bracket 11 supporting the caster yoke 10 rotatably around the vertical axis, and a nearly cylindrical insertion section 103 on the caster yoke 10. A hole to be inserted with the insertion section 103 is formed on the caster bracket 11, a taper face 104 shrunk in diameter toward the upper section is formed on the insertion section 103, and a nearly spherical tip section 107 is formed on the taper face 104. A nearly spherical tip section to be brought into contact with at least part of the taper face 104 and the tip section 107 is formed on the hole.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a walking aid used for assisting walking of an elderly person or a physically handicapped person who has lower limbs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Walking aids have been conventionally used mainly to assist the walking of elderly people and the like. This type of walking assist device has, for example, a pair of left and right front leg frames having a handrail portion formed at the upper end and casters at the lower end, and a pair of left and right rear leg frames arranged at the rear of the pair of left and right rear leg frames, It is mainly composed of a seat section attached to a horizontal frame arranged between the front and rear leg frames. At the time of use, the user walks while pushing a walking assist device while supporting a part of the body by the handrail part.

In the conventional walking assist device, the caster is fixed to a bifurcated caster yoke that rotatably supports the front wheels and the lower end of the front leg frame, and rotatably supports the caster yoke around a vertical axis. A caster bracket is provided, and the flat surface of the upper end of the caster yoke is brought into contact with the flat surface of the lower end of the caster bracket so that the flat surface of the upper end of the caster yoke receives the load.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above conventional configuration,
If any of the flat surfaces of the caster yoke and the caster bracket is not formed perpendicular to the vertical axis due to processing error, assembly error, etc., the flat surfaces will contact each other and the caster yoke Unbalanced load acts on the flat surface at the upper end. As a result, there arises a problem that uneven wear is likely to occur on each flat surface, and lateral wobble of the vehicle body is likely to occur during walking. Such wobbles are transmitted to the user from the casters via the front leg frame and the handrail portion, and give the user discomfort.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a walking assist device capable of preventing the occurrence of wobble.

[0006]

A walking aid according to the present invention is a pair of left and right front leg frames having casters at the lower ends, and a pair of left and right rear leg frames connected to the front leg frames and having rear wheels at the lower ends. And a caster yoke that rotatably supports a front wheel, and a caster yoke that is provided at a lower end of the front leg frame and rotatably supports the caster yoke around a vertical axis. A caster bracket is provided, and either one of the caster yoke and the caster bracket has a substantially cylindrical insertion portion that is inserted into a hole formed in the other, and the insertion portion is compressed toward the tip. A tapered portion having a diameter is formed, and a substantially spherical convex tip portion is formed in the tapered portion, and at least a part of the tapered portion is formed in the hole portion. Fine said convex tip is characterized in that the concave front end of the substantially spherical abutting is formed.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the insert portion is provided in either one of the caster yoke and the caster bracket, the insert portion is inserted into the hole formed in the other, and at least one of the taper portions formed in the insert portion. And the convex tip is in contact with the concave tip of the hole.

Therefore, most of the load upward from the caster yoke is received by the tapered tip portion which is the tapered portion and the substantially central portion of the insertion portion, or the concave tip portion which is the substantially central portion of the hole portion. . Therefore, even if the precision of each end face of the caster yoke or caster bracket is not high due to processing error, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unbalanced load and uneven wear on each end face, resulting in wobble. Can be prevented.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 12 are views for explaining a walking aid according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the walking aid, FIG. 2 is a left side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a front view thereof.
4 is a rear view, FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of casters, FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line VII of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is VI of FIG.
II-VIII sectional view, FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the caster bracket, and FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are usage state diagrams of the walking aid.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the walking assist device 1 includes a pair of left and right front leg frames 2 extending substantially vertically.
And a pair of left and right rear leg frames 3 extending substantially vertically and arranged at the rear of the front leg frame 2 (right side in FIG. 2), and arranged at each connecting portion of the front leg frame 2 and the rear leg frame 3 for walking It is mainly composed of left and right opening / closing devices 4 for opening and closing the auxiliary device.

A caster 14 is provided below the front leg frame 2.
However, a substantially inverted L-shaped handle 6 is provided on the upper portion. The lower portion 6a of the handle 6 is formed in a tubular shape, and the lower portion 6a
The upper part of the front leg frame 2 is inserted in a. A plurality of screw holes (not shown) are formed in the upper portion of the front leg frame 2 in the longitudinal direction so that the screw portions of the knob 7 attached to the handle lower portion 6a can be screwed into these screw holes. Has become. Thereby, the height position of the handle 6 can be adjusted. A grip (handrail) 8 made of, for example, a cushion material is attached to the upper portion of the handle 6.

The rear leg frame 3 has rotatable rear wheels 15 at its lower end. The upper end of the rear leg frame 3 is the opening / closing device 4
It is supported rotatably in the front-rear direction, whereby the rear leg frame 3 is in a deployed state (solid line position in FIG. 2) separated from the front leg frame 2 and in a folded state in which the rear leg frame 3 is close to the front leg frame 2 (dashed line in the same figure). Position). Further, the rear leg frame 3 is provided with a slide member 16 which is slidable on the rear leg frame.
6 are connected to each other by a rear bar 17. On the other hand, a fixing member 18 is fixed on the front leg frame 2. A side bar 19 is arranged between the slide member 16 and the fixing member 18, and both ends of the side bar 19 are pin-connected to the slide member 16 and the fixing member 18,
The side bar 19 is rotatable around the pins.

As shown in FIG. 5, the opening / closing device 4 includes a case 2
Has 0. A bracket portion 21 is formed on the case 20, and the case 20 is fixed by screws 22 on the front leg frame 2 through which the bracket portion 21 is inserted. An upper portion of the rear leg frame 3 is inserted into the case 20 from below, and the rear leg frame 3 is rotatably connected to the case 20 via a pin 23.

A guide hole 36 extending substantially vertically is formed in the case 20. A screw portion 38 of a knob 37 for opening / closing operation is inserted into the guide hole 36. On the other hand, in the case 20, a lock member 30 for locking the rear leg frame 3 in a deployed state in which the rear leg frame 3 is separated from the front leg frame 2 is provided. One end of the lock member 30 is rotatably supported by the pin 24, and the screw portion 38 of the knob 37 is screwed into the other end.

With this structure, the knob 37 is attached to the guide hole 3
When moved to the lower open side along 6, the lock member 30
Rotates downward around the pin 24, the tip of the pin contacts the rear leg frame 3, and the lock member 30 is locked between the rear leg frame 3 and the pin 24. As a result, the rear leg frame 3 is locked in the deployed state (see solid line and broken line positions in FIG. 5).

On the other hand, when the knob 37 is moved to the upper closed side along the guide hole 36, the lock member 30 is moved to the pin 24.
The upper end of the rear leg frame 3 is pivoted upward, and its tip is separated from the rear leg frame 3, and the locked state of the rear leg frame 3 is released. Then, when the knob 37 moves to the upper end of the guide hole 36, the rear leg frame 3 can be brought close to the front leg frame 2 to put the rear leg frame 3 in the folded state (FIG. 5).
See the position of the one-dot chain line).

The walking aid 1 is also provided with a seat 9 having a waist receiving portion 9a. Frame 3 in seat 9
9 are provided. On the other hand, a horizontal frame 40 is arranged inside the case 20 of the opening / closing device 4 (on the back side of the drawing in FIG. 5). The horizontal frame 40 is attached to the case 20 via the pin 24.
It is rotatably connected to the frame 39 and its tip is connected to the frame 39. As a result, the seat 9 can have a use position (solid line position in FIG. 2) that projects in the front-rear direction and a storage position (dotted line position in FIG. 2) that is stored on the front leg frame 2 side.

A notch 40a is formed at the bottom of the horizontal frame 40. A locking pin 41 fixed to the rear leg frame 3 is locked in the notch 40a when the horizontal frame 40 is in a substantially horizontal position, that is, when the seat 9 is in a use position. The weight of the user acting on the seat 9 is supported.

A brake lever 45 is provided on each handle 6. At each brake lever 45, the upper ends of the wires 46 (FIGS. 2 and 5) arranged in the rear leg frame 3 and the opening / closing device 4 are provided with the simultaneous braking device 70.
(FIG. 4), and the lower end of the wire 46 is connected to the brake device 50 attached to the rear wheel 15. The simultaneous braking device 70 allows the left and right brake devices 5 to operate when the one brake lever 45 is used.
0 is operated, and is fixed on a center bar 47 arranged between the front leg frames 2. An outer tube 48 is attached to the outer periphery of the wire 46 above the switchgear 4.

A side brake lever 49 is provided at the bottom of each handle 6. Although not clearly shown in the drawing, the end portion of the outer tube 48 is in contact with the lower end of the side brake lever 49. Then, when the side brake lever 49 is rotated downward, the end portion of the outer tube 48 is pushed downward, and as a result, the outer tube 48 flexes in the lateral direction, whereby the inner wire 46 is pulled upward and the brake is applied. The device 50 is adapted to operate.

Further, a bag 90 is detachably engaged with the center bar 47, and the bag 90 is opened at its upper portion as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG.

The caster 14 is a bifurcated caster yoke 10 that rotatably supports the front wheel 5 around the axle 100.
And a caster bracket 11 fixed to the lower end of the front leg frame 2 to support the caster yoke 10 rotatably around the vertical axis. The left and right caster brackets 11 are connected to each other by a front bar 12. Further, the caster bracket 11 is provided with a caster lock member 13 for fixing the caster 14 in the straight-ahead position.

Next, details of the caster 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. On the rear side (left side in FIG. 6) of the caster yoke 10, an engaging recess 101 extending in the vertical direction is formed.
Are formed. Further, a flat surface 102 is formed on the upper portion of the caster yoke 10, and a substantially columnar shape that is inserted into a hole 110 (FIG. 9) formed in the lower portion of the caster bracket 11 is formed at the center of the flat surface 102. Insert part 103
Is provided.

A tapered surface 104 is formed on the upper portion of the insertion portion 103, the diameter of which decreases as it goes upward. The tip of the tapered surface 104 has a substantially spherical tip (convex tip) 10.
7 are formed. A part of the tapered surface 104 and the tip portion 107 are in contact with a substantially spherical top wall portion (concave tip portion) 111 (FIG. 9) formed in the hole 110 of the caster bracket 11.

With such a structure, the caster yoke 1
Most of the load from 0 above is received by the tapered surface 104 of the insertion portion 103 and the tip portion 107 which is the central portion. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unbalanced load and uneven wear on the respective end surfaces of the caster yoke 10 and the caster bracket 11, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of wobble.

Below the tapered surface 104 of the insertion portion 103,
Grooves 105 are formed on the entire circumference. A caster lock member 13 having a thin U-shaped cross section is provided below the caster bracket 11. Inside the lower portion of the caster lock member 13, there is formed a protrusion 13 a that can be engaged with the engagement recess 101 of the caster yoke 10.
Further, the caster lock member 13 has a pin hole 112 (FIG. 9) of the caster lock member and the caster bracket 11.
It is attached to the caster bracket 11 by a pin 106 that is inserted therethrough, and is vertically rotatable around the pin 106.

As a result, the caster lock member 13 is
The projection 13a engages with the engagement recess 101, and the caster 14
The caster lock position may be a lower caster lock position (the position indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 6) that locks the gear in the forward movement position, and the upper caster lock release position (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6) in which the protrusion 13a is disengaged from the engagement recess 101.

The pin 106 is the caster bracket 1
1 is engaged with the groove 105 of the insertion portion 103 in the hole 110, and therefore, when the insertion portion 103 rotates together with the caster yoke 10 when the caster 14 rotates, the pin 106 slides in the groove 105 of the insertion portion 103. Will move. As described above, by connecting the caster yoke 10, the caster bracket 11, and the caster lock member 13 with the single pin 106, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified.

Next, a method of using the walking aid 1 will be described. At the time of use, as shown in FIG. 11, while the walking aid 1 is unfolded and the seat 9 is stored on the front leg frame 2 side, the user P grips the grip 8 or attaches it to the grip 8. By placing the arm, a part of the weight is supported by the handle 6. Then, the user walks while pushing the walking aid 1 forward.

When the user P takes a break during walking, the left and right side brakes 49 are first lowered and the rear wheel 1
Brake 5 Next, the caster lock member 13
Is placed at the caster lock position by rotating the tip end thereof with a foot or the like to lock the left and right casters 14 at the straight advance position. From this state, as shown in FIG. 12, by lowering the seat 9 to the use position, it is possible to take a break using the seat 9 during walking.

While the walking aid 1 is in use, wobbling is prevented by the structure described above, so that the user will not feel uncomfortable due to vibration during walking.

In the above embodiment, the caster yoke 1 is used.
An example is shown in which the insertion portion is formed on the 0 side and the hole into which the insertion portion is inserted is formed on the caster bracket 11 side, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this, and conversely, on the caster bracket side. Alternatively, the insertion portion may be formed on the caster yoke 10 side.

FIG. 10 shows such a modification.
Note that, in FIG. 10, the same reference numerals as those in the above-mentioned embodiment indicate the same or corresponding portions. In the figure, an insert portion 123 extending downward is provided at a lower portion of the caster bracket 11. The insertion portion 123 is the insertion portion 1 of the above embodiment.
Similar to No. 03, it has a tapered surface 122, a substantially spherical tip portion 124 at its tip, and a groove formed over the entire circumference above the tapered surface 122. The insert portion 123 is inserted into the caster yoke 10, and the tapered surfaces 122 are
Also, a hole having a tip end portion that abuts the tip end portion 124 is formed.

Further, the caster lock member 1 is provided on the caster yoke 10 with the projection 13a 'which can be engaged with the engaging recess 120 formed on the rear side of the caster bracket 11.
3'is provided. Also, the caster lock member 13 '
Is attached to the caster yoke 10 through the caster lock member and the caster yoke 10 and through a pin 121 that engages with the groove of the insertion portion 123 so as to be vertically rotatable.

In this case, most of the load above the caster yoke 10 is received by the tip of the hole on the caster yoke 10 side, and the caster yoke 10 and the caster bracket 11 have the same load as in the previous embodiment. Occurrence of uneven load or uneven wear on each end face can be suppressed, and as a result, wobble can be prevented.

[0036]

As described above, according to the walking aid according to the present invention, the insertion portion provided on one of the caster yoke and the caster bracket is inserted into the other hole portion and formed on the insertion portion. Since at least a part of the tapered portion and the convex tip portion are brought into contact with the concave tip portion of the hole portion, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unbalanced load and uneven wear on each end surface of the caster yoke and the caster bracket. As a result, there is an effect that the occurrence of wobble can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a walking assist device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the walking assist device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the walking assist device (a view on arrow III in FIG. 2).

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the walking assist device (a view taken along an arrow IV in FIG. 2).

5 is a front view of the opening / closing device for the walking assist device (partially enlarged view of FIG. 2). FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of casters of the walking aid.

FIG. 7 is a view on arrow VII of FIG.

8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a caster bracket forming the caster.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a modified example of the caster.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a usage state of the walking assist device.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a usage state of the walking assist device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Walking Assist Device 2 Front Leg Frame 3 Rear Leg Frame 5 Front Wheel 10 Castor Yoke 11 Castor Bracket 14 Castor 15 Rear Wheel 103 Insertion Part 104 Tapered Surface (Tapered Part) 107 Tip Part (Convex Tip Part) 110 Hole Part 111 Tip Part (Concave tip)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A walking assist device comprising a pair of left and right front leg frames having casters at lower ends, and a pair of left and right rear leg frames connected to the front leg frames and having rear wheels at lower ends, wherein the casters are: The caster yoke and the caster bracket are provided with a bifurcated caster yoke that rotatably supports the front wheels, and a caster bracket that is provided at the lower end of the front leg frame and rotatably supports the caster yoke around a vertical axis. One of the two has a substantially cylindrical insertion portion that is inserted into the hole formed in the other, and a tapered portion that reduces in diameter toward the tip is formed in the insertion portion. A substantially spherical convex tip portion is formed, and at the same time, at least a part of the taper portion and the substantially spherical concave portion with which the convex tip portion abuts are formed in the hole portion. Tip is formed, walker, characterized in that.