CN113453650A

CN113453650A - Auxiliary device

Info

Publication number: CN113453650A
Application number: CN201980092395.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 清水聪志; 中根伸幸
Original assignee: Fuji Corp
Current assignee: Fuji Corp
Priority date: 2019-04-11
Filing date: 2019-04-11
Publication date: 2021-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 2039-04-11
Also published as: KR20210041083A; CN113453650B; JPWO2020208771A1; WO2020208771A1; JP7157874B2; KR102520828B1

Abstract

The assist device assists an upright movement of an assisted person from a sitting posture to an upright posture, and includes: a base station; an operating member that is movable at least in a vertical direction with respect to the base; a support member which is attached to the operating member at a predetermined attachment angle and which is in contact with a front surface of an upper body of the person to be assisted to support the person to be assisted; and an angle adjusting part for adjusting the mounting angle in an initial state before the assisted person contacts with the supporting member.

Description

Auxiliary device

Technical Field

The present specification relates to an assisting apparatus for assisting a standing-up action of a person to be assisted.

Background

With the development of an aging society, the demand for auxiliary devices is increasing. The assisting device generally assists by operating a support member that supports a part of the body of the person to be assisted. The introduction of the assisting device reduces the physical burden on the assisting person and the person to be assisted, and also alleviates the shortage of the person who assists. As an example of the assisting device, there is a device that assists the standing up movement of the person to be assisted from the sitting posture. Technical examples related to such an assist device are disclosed in patent documents 1 and 2.

Patent document 1 discloses an assist device including a base, an operating member that is at least vertically movable with respect to the base, and a support member that is provided on the operating member and supports the upper body of an assisted person, wherein the support member is provided on the operating member so as to be capable of tilting between a lower use position and an upper retracted position. Thus, since the support member is provided so as to be capable of tilting and rotating, the impact of the support member when colliding with an object below can be alleviated. The object includes the leg of the person to be assisted, and the leg of the person to be assisted is not sandwiched between the support member and the base.

Further, patent document 2 discloses an assist device including: a holder for holding the person to be assisted; an extension unit which maintains the vertical position of the lower end part of the holder and shifts to stretch the dorsal muscle of the assisted person; and a lifting unit for lifting the person to be assisted with the back muscle straightened. Thus, the contact position of the lower end portion of the holder with the person to be assisted is not displaced, and discomfort is not given to the person to be assisted.

Prior art documents

Patent document 1: international publication No. 2017/134815

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-90842

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, the present invention is not limited to the configurations of patent documents 1 and 2, and in general, the assisting apparatus is often shared by a plurality of persons to be assisted. Further, the structure of a support member (holder) for supporting a plurality of persons to be assisted is devised so as to be suitable for various body types of the persons to be assisted. For example, the support member is formed of an elastically deformable material, and avoids concentration of the physical pressure of the person to be assisted on one portion. However, the structure of the support member may not be able to cope with the variation in the body size of the person to be assisted, and the comfort of the person to be assisted in use may be reduced. In particular, in an obese body type subject having a relatively large abdominal circumference compared to the chest circumference, the subject often complains of a feeling of pressure on the abdomen. Therefore, further improvements in the structure associated with the support member are desired.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an assisting apparatus that can ensure good use comfort according to various body shapes of a plurality of persons to be assisted.

The present specification discloses an assisting device for assisting a standing motion of a person to be assisted from a sitting posture to a standing posture, the assisting device including: a base station; an operating member that is movable at least in a vertical direction with respect to the base; a support member which is attached at a predetermined attachment angle with respect to the operation member and which is in contact with a front surface of an upper body of the person to be assisted to support the person to be assisted; and an angle adjusting part for adjusting the mounting angle in an initial state before the assisted person contacts with the supporting member.

Effects of the invention

In the auxiliary device disclosed in the present specification, the angle of attachment of the support member to the operation member can be adjusted by the angle adjustment unit. Therefore, the attachment angle of the support member can be adjusted so as to be suitable for the state of the upper body front surface of each of the plurality of persons to be assisted, and the positional relationship between each person to be assisted and the support member can be made favorable. This makes each person to be assisted feel comfortable in use. Therefore, the assisting apparatus can ensure good use comfort according to various body shapes of a plurality of persons to be assisted.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side view showing an initial state of the assisting apparatus according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the angle adjusting unit in a case where the mounting angle of the support member is adjusted to a standard body-type angle.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the angle adjusting unit adjusting the attachment angle of the support member to the angle for the obese body.

Fig. 4 is a side partial sectional view schematically showing the structure of the angle adjuster.

Fig. 5 is a side view schematically showing a positional relationship between a support member and a standard-size person to be assisted who prepares for assistance.

Fig. 6 is a side view schematically showing a positional relationship between an assisted person of an obese body type who is prepared to receive assistance and a support member for which adjustment of the attachment angle is not performed.

Fig. 7 is a side view showing a state in which the obese body-type assisted person performs a standing up operation, following fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the obese person is assisted to perform a sitting operation after the standing operation of fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a side view schematically showing a positional relationship between an assisted person of an obese body type who is prepared to receive assistance and a support member whose attachment angle is appropriately adjusted.

Fig. 10 is a side view showing a state in which the obese body-type assisted person performs a standing up operation, following fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the obese person is assisted to perform a sitting operation after the standing operation of fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a side view showing an initial state of the assisting apparatus according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a side view conceptually illustrating an angle adjusting part of the second embodiment.

Detailed Description

1. Structure of the assisting apparatus 1 of the first embodiment

The structure of the assisting apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 4. The support device 1 is used for the transfer of a person to be supported between two different places such as the transfer between a bed and a wheelchair and the transfer between a wheelchair and a toilet seat. The support device 1 supports the upper body of the person to be supported, and supports the standing motion from the sitting posture to the standing posture and the sitting motion from the standing posture to the sitting posture.

Here, the standing posture means a posture in which the buttocks are raised from the seat surface and the legs are straightened, and includes a standing posture and a stooping posture. That is, the standing posture includes a standing posture in which the upper body is substantially upright, a forward stooping posture in which the upper body is tilted forward, and the like. The supporting device 1 can transfer the supported person in the standing posture when the two transfer portions are separated. The assisting apparatus 1 includes a base 2, an operating member 3, a support member 4, an actuator 5, a knee contact member 6, a position adjusting unit 7, an angle adjusting unit 8, a control unit, and the like, which are not shown.

The base 2 is formed of a foot placing table 21, a base rod 25, an attachment plate 26, front wheels 28, and the like. The footrest 21 is disposed approximately horizontally in proximity to the floor surface F. The foot placement table 21 is a portion on which the person to be assisted places his or her feet. The actuator support portion 22 is provided upward on the front side of the upper surface of the foot placement table 21. A pair of left and right rear wheels 23 are provided on the left and right of the rear portion of the lower surface of the footrest 21. A pair of left and right center wheels 24 are provided on the left and right sides of the lower surface of the footrest 21 on the front side.

A pair of right and left base rods 25 are provided on the right and left sides of the front side of the footrest 21, respectively. The base rod 25 extends forward and is bent upward. A pair of left and right mounting plates 26 are vertically provided on the upper portion of the base rod 25 after bending. Swing support bases 27 are provided on the front sides of the upper portions of the pair of left and right mounting plates 26, respectively. A pair of left and right front wheels 28 are provided on the front side of the lower portions of the pair of left and right mounting plates 26. The steering function of the front wheels 28 and the rear wheels 23 allows the assist device 1 to perform not only straight traveling and turning but also lateral traveling and pivot turning. The front wheels 28 have a lock function for restricting movement.

The position adjusting portion 7 is disposed above the pair of left and right mounting plates 26. The position adjusting unit 7 is a manual adjusting mechanism that adjusts the position of the knee contact member 6 in the front-rear direction according to the physique of the person to be assisted. The knee contact member 6 is a member against which the knee of the person to be assisted is brought into contact. The knee position is regulated by the knee contact member 6, and the standing operation and the sitting operation of the assisted person are stabilized. The knee contact member 6 is formed of a base plate 61, a support rod 62, a hard cushion member 63, a soft cushion member 64, and the like.

As shown in fig. 1, the substrate 61 is disposed slightly inclined forward from the vertical direction. The substrate 61 extends in the left-right direction, and both the left and right sides are bent obliquely rearward. A pair of support bars 62 extending obliquely forward and downward are provided on the left and right of the front surface of the base plate 61. The substrate 61 and the support bar 62 are formed using a metal material such as aluminum.

The hard buffer member 63 is disposed in contact with the rear side of the substrate 61. The soft cushioning member 64 is disposed in contact with the rear side of the hard cushioning member 63. The hard cushion member 63 and the soft cushion member 64 are bent obliquely rearward on both left and right sides, similarly to the substrate 61. The hard cushion member 63 and the soft cushion member 64 are formed using an elastically deformable material such as urethane foam. However, the soft cushion member 64 has lower rebound elasticity than the hard cushion member 63, and is easily elastically deformed. The knees of the person to be assisted abut against the rear surface of the soft cushioning member 64. The hard cushion member 63 and the soft cushion member 64 are covered with a protective cover 65 made of cloth or leather.

The position adjusting portion 7 is constituted by a pair of left and right slide supporting portions 71, a slide moving portion 72, and a positioning pin 73. The slide support portion 71 is a cylindrical member made of metal extending in the front-rear direction, and is fixed above the attachment plate 26. A pin hole 74 is bored in the upper surface of the rear portion of the slide support portion 71. The slide moving portion 72 is a metal round bar-shaped member extending in the front-rear direction, and is fixed to the front side of the support rod 62 of the knee contact member 6. The slide moving portion 72 slides in the front-rear direction inside the slide support portion 71. A plurality of positioning holes aligned in the front-rear direction are provided on the upper surface of the slide moving portion 72. The positioning pin 73 is inserted into the pin hole 74 of the slide support portion 71, and is inserted into any one of the positioning holes of the slide moving portion 72. Thereby, the position of the knee contact member 6 in the front-rear direction is adjusted.

The operating member 3 is operable at least in the vertical direction with respect to the base 2. As shown in fig. 1, the operating member 3 is formed in an arm shape bent halfway in a side view. A pair of right and left swing shafts 32 are provided at the lower part of the operating member 3. The swing shaft 32 is swingably supported by the swing support base 27 of the attachment plate 26. A stopper mechanism, not shown, is provided in the vicinity of the swing support base 27 in order to limit the range of the swing angle of the operating member 3. Thereby, the operating member 3 can swing in the front-upper direction and the rear-lower direction with respect to the base 2. The swing of the operating member 3 in the forward and upward direction (swing of clockwise rotation in fig. 1) assists the standing movement of the person being assisted. In addition, the swinging of the operation member 3 in the backward and downward direction assists the sitting movement of the person to be assisted.

A battery and a link mechanism, not shown, are housed in the operating member 3. The battery serves as a power source for the actuator 5 and the control unit. The applicant of the present application discloses a detailed structural example of the link mechanism in international publication No. 2018/167856. A swing support portion, not shown, is provided on the rear side of the upper portion of the operating member 3, and a swing member 45 is provided on the swing support portion. The swing member 45 swings with respect to the operating member 3. However, in the initial state before the person to be assisted comes into contact with the support member 4, the swinging member 45 is restricted by the link mechanism without swinging.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the swinging member 45 has a base plate 42 on the rear side. The substrate 42 is formed substantially in a rectangular shape using a plate material made of metal or resin and having a large rigidity. The substrate 42 corresponds to a mounting seat provided on the operating member 3 and to which the support member 4 is mounted. The base plate 42 has a handle 46 on the front surface. The handle 46 is formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape and extends upward of the operating member 3. The handle 46 is a part to be gripped by the assistant, and is also a part to be gripped by the assistant in order to move the assisting apparatus 1.

The support member 4 is in contact with the front surface of the upper body of the person to be assisted to support the person to be assisted. The support member 4 is formed to include an upper body support member 41 and a pair of left and right underarm support members 47. The upper body support member 41 is attached to the rear surface of the base plate 42 via the angle adjustment portion 8. In fig. 2, a spacer 81 described later that constitutes the angle adjustment unit 8 is not used. The upper body support member 41 is at a forward attachment angle in the initial state. The entire support member 4 is coupled to the swing support portion of the operating member 3 via the base plate 42 and the swing member 45, and swings about the swing support portion. The forward swing of the support member 4 (clockwise swing in fig. 1) assists the standing up motion of the person to be assisted. Further, the rearward swinging of the support member 4 assists the sitting action of the person to be assisted.

As shown in fig. 1 to 4, the upper body support member 41 is formed of a hard cushion member 43, a soft cushion member 44, and the like. The hard buffer member 43 is disposed close to the substrate 42. The soft cushioning material 44 is disposed in contact with the rear side of the hard cushioning material 43. The hard buffer member 43 and the soft buffer member 44 are formed using an elastically deformable material such as urethane foam. However, the soft cushioning material 44 has a lower rebound resilience and is easily elastically deformed than the hard cushioning material 43. The front surface of the upper body of the person to be assisted, in other words, the chest-to-abdomen belt, is in contact with the rear surface of the soft cushioning member 44.

A pair of left and right underarm support members 47 are attached to the base plate 42 and disposed on the left and right sides of the upper body support member 41. The underarm support member 47 is formed in an L-shape bent at an obtuse angle. The underarm support member 47 is formed of a core member, an outer peripheral member, and the like, which are not shown. The core member is formed by bending a round bar or a tube made of metal or hard resin, for example. The outer peripheral member is formed in a cylindrical shape covering the outer periphery of the core member using a cushioning material. The short linear portion of the underarm support member 47 from the proximal end of the attachment side to the bent position is a shoulder receiving portion, and the long linear portion from the bent position to the distal end is an underarm entering portion. The shoulder receiving portion supports a front surface of a shoulder of the person to be assisted. The underarm access portion enters the underarm of the person to be assisted to support the upper body. The upper body support member 41 and the underarm support member 47 may be covered with a protective cover made of cloth or leather.

The actuator 5 is a telescopic actuator and is composed of a main body 51, a movable part 52, a motor 53, and the like. The body portion 51 is a large-diameter cylindrical member that is long in the vertical direction, and has an opening that opens upward. The lower end of the main body 51 is supported by the actuator support 22 of the base 2. The movable portion 52 is a round rod-shaped member having a small diameter and being long in the vertical direction. The upper end of the movable portion 52 is connected to the link mechanism of the operating member 3. The lower portion of the movable portion 52 is fitted into the opening of the main body 51.

The motor 53 is mounted on the front side of the lower portion of the main body 51. The motor 53 controls the direction of the current flowing through a control unit, not shown, and drives the expansion operation and the contraction operation of the movable unit 52. The movable portion 52 is driven by the motor 53 to extend and contract with respect to the main body portion 51. Fig. 1 shows an initial state in which the movable portion 52 is contracted and the actuator 5 is shortened. Instead of the motor 53, the actuator 5 may use another type of drive source such as a pressure drive source using hydraulic pressure or pneumatic pressure.

The actuator 5 performs a first expansion operation of expanding from the shortened length to a predetermined intermediate length, a second expansion operation of expanding from the intermediate length to the extended length, and a contraction operation of contracting from the extended length to the shortened length via the intermediate length. The first expansion operation of the actuator 5 is transmitted to the swinging member 45 via the link mechanism. Thereby, the support member 4 swings forward together with the swing member 45. The second expansion operation of the actuator 5 is transmitted to the operating member 3 via the link mechanism. Thereby, the operating member 3 swings in the front-upper direction. By the contraction operation of the actuator 5, the operating member 3 swings backward and downward, and then the support member 4 swings backward.

The control unit, not shown, is constituted by an operator, a control main body, and the like. The operator has an up button and a down button for operating the actuator 5. The operator is operated by an assistant. The control main body is configured using a computer device having a CPU and operating with software. The control main unit controls the presence or absence of current and the direction of current flowing to the motor 53 of the actuator 5 based on the operation information of the up button and the down button. This controls the switching of the operation and stop of the actuator 5, and the expansion and contraction operations.

2. Structure of angle adjusting part 8

Next, the structure of the angle adjusting unit 8 will be described in detail. The angle adjusting unit 8 adjusts the mounting angle of the support member 4 with respect to the operation member 3 in an initial state between the contact of the assisted person with the support member 4. Therefore, the angle change of the support member 4 accompanying the execution of the assisting operation of the assisting apparatus 1 after the completion of the adjustment and the angle change of the support member 4 due to the action from the person to be assisted are not included in the adjustment of the attachment angle.

The angle adjusting unit 8 includes a spacer 81, and the spacer 81 is wedge-shaped when viewed from the side and is detachably inserted between a mounting seat provided in the operating member 3 and the support member 4. As shown in fig. 4, the spacer 81 is formed in a wedge shape with a tapered lower side and a thickness W at an upper side. The pad 81 extends in the left-right direction and has a width dimension approximately equal to that of the upper body support member 41. In order to stably attach the support member 4 to the base plate 42 regardless of the presence or absence of the spacer 81, surface fasteners 85 are provided on the upper and lower portions of the front side of the upper body support member 41.

The surface fastener 85 is composed of a hook surface 86 having a hook-like fluff and a loop surface 87 having a loop-like fluff. In the upper surface fastener 85, one of the hook surface 86 and the loop surface 87 extends forward from the upper body support member 41 through the upper side of the spacer 81 and the upper side of the base plate 42. The other of the hook surface 86 and the loop surface 87 extends forward from the upper body support member 41 through a through hole provided in the base plate 42 via the upper side of the spacer 81. Further, on the front side of the base plate 42, the hook surface 86 and the ring surface 87 are curved to overlap each other and are closely bonded.

In the lower surface fastener 85, one of the hook surface 86 and the loop surface 87 extends forward from the upper body support member 41 through the lower portion of the spacer 81 and the lower portion of the base plate 42. The other of the hook surface 86 and the loop surface 87 extends forward from the upper body support member 41 through a through hole provided in the base plate 42 via the lower side of the spacer 81. Further, on the front side of the base plate 42, the hook surface 86 and the ring surface 87 are curved to overlap each other and are closely bonded.

Therefore, the spacer 81 is stably held between the upper and lower surface fasteners 85 and prevented from falling off. Further, since the attaching and detaching operation of the spacer 81 is only required to operate the upper surface fastener 85, it is easy to complete the attaching and detaching operation in a short time. In the case where the spacer 81 is not used, the contact position of the upper surface fastener 85 is adjusted to avoid a gap between the support member 4 and the substrate 42. Further, the upper and lower surface fasteners 85 are opened, whereby the entire upper body support member 41 can be removed.

Fig. 2 shows a case where the mounting angle of the support member 4 is adjusted to the standard body-size angle by the angle adjusting unit 8 in accordance with the person to be assisted of the standard body size. As shown in the drawing, the spacer 81 as the angle adjustment unit 8 is not used. In the present specification, the standard body shape refers to a body shape having no large difference between the chest circumference and the abdomen circumference.

On the other hand, fig. 3 shows a case where the angle adjustment unit 8 adjusts the attachment angle of the support member 4 to the angle for the obesity body type in accordance with the person to be assisted with the obesity body type. As shown in the drawing, a spacer 81 is inserted between the base plate 42 and the upper body support member 41. Thereby, the mounting angle of the support member 4 approaches the standing direction due to the reduction in the forward tilt degree. In the present specification, the fat body type refers to a body type having a relatively large abdominal circumference compared to the chest circumference, for example, a visceral fat type fat body type. Therefore, an obese state in which the chest circumference and the abdominal circumference are both large compared to the body height does not belong to the obese body type.

The angle adjusting part 8 selectively adjusts two kinds of installation angles of the supporting member 4 by selecting whether or not the spacer 81 is used. The angle adjusting unit 8 may be adjusted to any one of three or more attachment angles according to the degree of obesity of the person to be assisted. For example, by preparing a plurality of spacers 81 having a small thickness W in advance, the angle adjusting unit 8 can variably adjust the number of inserted spacers 81. Further, for example, by preparing a plurality of spacers 81 having different thicknesses W in advance, the angle adjusting unit 8 can select any one of the spacers 81.

3. Operation of the support device 1 of the first embodiment

Next, the operation of the assisting apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, a case of assisting the standing up movement of the person to be assisted from the sitting posture will be described. The assistant first returns the actuator 5 to the shortened length to the initial state shown in fig. 1. Then, the assistor holds the grip 46 to move the assistor 1, and brings the assistor 1 close to the assisted person in the sitting posture. Next, the assistor operates the angle adjusting unit 8 to adjust the mounting angle of the support member 4 in accordance with the body shape of the person to be assisted. The assistor operates the position adjustment unit 7 to place the knee contact member 6 at an appropriate position according to the physique of the person to be assisted. Thereby, the preparation for using the assisting apparatus 1 is completed.

The person to be assisted inserts the lower body into the region below the support member 4 and places both feet on the foot placement table 21. The person to be assisted obtains a stable posture by bringing the knee into contact with the knee contact member 6. Then, the person to be assisted brings the upper body close to the upper body support member 41 to make surface contact with the upper body, and supports the upper body by leaning both the armpits against the armpit support member 47. At this time, the upper body support member 41 swings in the rising direction (counterclockwise direction in fig. 1), so the forward inclination angle of the upper body can be small. In addition, the underarm support member 47 becomes substantially horizontal or slightly rear-lowered, so that the person to be assisted can easily lean on the underarm support member 47.

Then, the assistant pushes the up button of the operator to advance the assisting operation. When the actuator 5 performs the first expansion operation, the support member 4 swings forward. This operation continues until the actuator 5 extends to a predetermined halfway length. At this time, the underarm support member 47 becomes lower in front, and therefore the person to be assisted is restricted from moving backward and does not fall off the support member 4.

Further, when the actuator 5 performs the second expansion operation, the operating member 3 swings in the front-upper direction. This operation continues until the end state in which the swing of the operating member 3 is restricted by the stopper mechanism. Thereby, the person to be assisted takes a standing posture in which the buttocks are greatly raised from the seat surface and the legs are straightened.

4. Function of the Angle adjusting section 8

Next, the operation of the angle adjusting unit 8 will be described in detail. Fig. 5 shows a state in which the person M1 of the standard body type having no large difference between the bust size K1 and the abdominal size H1 is prepared to receive assistance. The spacer 81 as the angle adjustment unit 8 is not necessary for the person M1 with the standard body size being assisted. As shown in the drawing, when the abdomen of the standard-size person M1 is in contact with the lower portion of the upper body support member 41, the separation distance L1 between the chest of the person M1 and the upper portion of the upper body support member 41 is small. Therefore, the person M1 to be assisted can lean on the support member 4 and support the upper body by moving the upper body a little.

On the other hand, fig. 6 shows a state in which an assisted person M2 of an obese body type having a relatively large abdominal circumference H2 as compared with the chest circumference K1 is prepared to receive assistance. The angle adjustment unit 8 is supposed to adjust the attachment angle of the support member 4 to the obese person M2 by using the pad 81, but here, it is assumed that the attachment angle is not adjusted (the pad 81 is not used). In this case, when the abdomen of the obese person M2 is in contact with the lower portion of the upper body support member 41, the distance L2 between the chest of the person M2 and the upper portion of the upper body support member 41 is large. Therefore, the person M2 to be assisted cannot approach the support member 4 without moving the upper body significantly, and it is difficult to support the upper body. That is, the ease of use during the preparatory operation of the person M2 to be assisted is reduced.

As shown in fig. 7, a relatively large gap remains between the chest of the obese person M2 and the upper portion of the upper body support member 41 during the standing up movement based on the swinging motion (see arrow R1) of the support member 4 and the moving member 3. Therefore, the physical pressure of the person M2 to be assisted tends to be concentrated on the abdomen. Then, the abdomen of the person M2 is pressed by the lower part of the upper body support member 41 (see arrow P1). That is, the user comfort during the standing-up operation of the person M2 to be assisted is reduced.

As shown in fig. 8, a relatively large gap still remains between the chest of the obese person to be assisted M2 and the upper portion of the upper body support member 41 during the sitting movement based on the swinging in the opposite directions (see arrow R2) of the support member 4 and the moving member 3. Therefore, the abdomen of the person M2 to be assisted is pressed so as to be sandwiched by the lower portion of the upper body support member 41. That is, the user comfort during the sitting operation of the person M2 to be assisted is reduced.

The deterioration of the usability is caused by the improper operation of the angle adjustment unit 8. In the conventional assisting apparatus without the angle adjusting unit 8, the attachment angle of the support member 4 is determined assuming that the person M1 to be assisted has a standard size. Therefore, when the person M2 with an obese body type to be assisted uses the assisting apparatus of the conventional structure, the above-described reduction in the use comfort always occurs. The following describes the operation of the angle adjusting unit 8 when it functions properly.

As shown in fig. 3 and 9, when the angle adjustment unit 8 functions appropriately, the pad 81 is used for the obese person M2 to be assisted. In other words, the angle adjustment unit 8 adjusts the support member 4 so as to approach the chest of the person M2 to be assisted. When the abdomen of the obese person M2 is in contact with the lower portion of the support member 4, the separation distance L3 between the chest of the person M2 and the upper portion of the upper body support member 41 is smaller or disappears as compared with fig. 6. In detail, the separation distance L3 is smaller than the separation distance L2 of fig. 6 by approximately the thickness W of the spacer 81. Therefore, the person M2 to be assisted can lean on the support member 4 and support the upper body by moving the upper body a little. That is, the user comfort during the preparatory operation of the person M2 to be assisted is improved.

As shown in fig. 10, in the standing movement based on the swing (see arrow R1) of the support member 4 and the operating member 3, the gap between the chest of the obese person to be assisted M2 and the upper portion of the upper body support member 41 is smaller or disappears as compared with fig. 7. Therefore, the concentration of the physical pressure of the person M2 to be assisted to the abdomen is suppressed. Further, the abdomen of the person M2 to be assisted is suppressed from being pressed from the lower portion of the upper body support member 41. That is, the user comfort during the standing-up operation of the person M2 to be assisted is improved.

As shown in fig. 11, in the sitting operation based on the swinging in the opposite directions (see arrow R2) of the support member 4 and the moving member 3, the gap between the chest of the obese person to be assisted M2 and the upper portion of the upper body support member 41 still becomes smaller or disappears as compared with fig. 8. Therefore, the abdomen of the person M2 to be assisted is suppressed from being pressed by the lower portion of the upper body support member 41 through the gap. That is, the user comfort during the sitting operation of the person M2 to be assisted is improved.

In the assisting apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the angle of attachment of the support member 4 to the operating member 3 can be adjusted by the angle adjusting unit 8. Therefore, the attachment angle of the support member 4 can be adjusted so as to be suitable for the state of the upper body front surface of each of the plurality of persons to be assisted (M1, M2), and the positional relationship between each person to be assisted (M1, M2) and the support member 4 is favorable. Thus, each of the assisted persons (M1, M2) feels good comfort in use. Therefore, the supporting device 1 can ensure good use comfort according to various body shapes of a plurality of persons to be supported (M1, M2).

5. Auxiliary device 1A of the second embodiment

Next, the auxiliary device 1A of the second embodiment will be mainly described with respect to differences from the first embodiment. As shown in fig. 12, the assisting apparatus 1A of the second embodiment includes a base 2A, an elevating member 3A and an arm member 3B corresponding to an operating member, a support member 4A, an angle adjusting unit 8A (see fig. 13), a control unit (not shown), and the like. The base 2A includes a footrest 21 disposed parallel to the floor surface F, a pair of left and right rear wheels 23, and a pair of left and right front wheels 28. A support column 29 is erected between the front wheels 28 on the upper surface of the base 2A. The knee contact member 6A is provided so as to be adjustable in height from the lower portion of the strut 29 toward the rear.

The lifting member 3A is provided on the rear surface of the support 29 and is driven to lift by a linear motion device, not shown. An arm member 3B is provided at an upper portion of the rear side of the elevating member 3A. The arm member 3B is driven by a drive device, not shown, to swing in the front-up direction and the rear-down direction. The arm member 3B has a handle 46A, and the handle 46A is formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape. The mounting position of the handle 46A can be adjusted. A swing support portion 33 is provided at the rear end of the arm member 3B.

A support member 4A having an upper body support member 41 and a pair of left and right underarm support members 47 is swingably attached to the swing support portion 33. As shown in fig. 13, the mounting angle of the support member 4A in the initial state is defined by the lower portion of the handle 46A. That is, the support member 4A swings downward around the swing support portion 33 by its own weight and is stabilized at the mounting position where it abuts against the handle 46A. Therefore, the handle 46A also serves as an angle specifying unit that specifies the attachment angle of the support member 4A. The present invention is not limited to this, and a dedicated angle specifying unit may be provided.

The support member 4A can swing with respect to the arm member 3B within an operation angle range having the attachment angle as one end. Therefore, when the leg of the person to be assisted collides with the support member 4A from below, the support member 4A is freely swung from the position of the illustrated installation angle to the upper retracted position (see arrow R3 in fig. 13). Therefore, the leg of the person to be assisted is not sandwiched between the support member 4A and the base 2A.

The angle adjustment unit 8A adjusts the standard body shape position of the handle 46A shown by the solid line in fig. 13 to the fat body shape position shown by the broken line. Thereby, the mounting angle of the support member 4A approaches the standing direction. That is, the angle adjusting section 8 performs adjustment so that the supporting member 4A is away from the abdomen of the obese body-type assisted person M2. The angle adjusting unit 8A adjusts the attachment angle of the underarm support member 47 in addition to the attachment angle of the upper body support member 41. The operation of the angle adjustment unit 8A according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to fig. 9 to 11.

6. Variants and applications of the embodiments

The structure of the support members (4, 4A) is deformable, and the shape and insertion position of the pad 81 can be changed according to the deformation. The angle adjusting units (8, 8A) are not limited to the embodiments of the first and second embodiments. For example, the angle adjusting unit may be configured by an angle adjusting mechanism using an actuator. The operation of the operating member 3 (including the lifting member 3A and the arm member 3B) and the supporting members (4, 4A) is not limited to the description, and may be, for example, a configuration in which the supporting members are simply moved up and down by the operating member. In addition, the present embodiment can be modified and applied in various ways.

Description of the reference numerals

1. 1A: an auxiliary device; 2. 2A: a base station; 3: an operation member; 3A: a lifting member;

3B: an arm member; 4. 4A: a support member; 41: an upper body support member; 46A: a handle (an angle specifying unit); 5: an actuator; 6. 6A: a knee abutting member; 7: a position adjusting part; 8. 8A: an angle adjusting part; 81: a liner; 85: a face fastener; m1: a standard body type assisted person; m2: an obese physically assisted subject.

Claims

1. An assistance device that assists a standing movement of an assisted person from a sitting posture to a standing posture, the assistance device comprising:

a base station;

an operating member that is movable at least in a vertical direction with respect to the base;

a support member that is attached at a predetermined attachment angle with respect to the operation member, and that contacts a front surface of an upper body of the person to be assisted to support the person to be assisted; and

and an angle adjusting unit that adjusts the attachment angle in an initial state before the person to be assisted comes into contact with the support member.

2. The assistance device according to claim 1,

the angle adjustment unit adjusts the attachment angle so that the support member approaches the chest of the person to be assisted or so that the support member is away from the abdomen of the person to be assisted, in the person of the obese type having a relatively large abdominal circumference compared to the chest circumference.

3. The assistance device according to claim 1 or 2,

the angle adjusting unit includes a spacer that is wedge-shaped when viewed from the side and is detachably inserted between a mounting seat provided on the operating member and the support member.

4. The assistance device according to claim 3,

the number of insertions of the pad can be changed according to the obesity degree of the assisted person.

5. The assistance device according to claim 3,

one of a plurality of kinds of the pads having different wedge-shaped thicknesses is selected and inserted according to the obesity degree of the person to be assisted.

6. The assistance device according to claim 1 or 2,

the support member is capable of swinging with respect to the operation member within an operation angle range having the attachment angle as one end, while defining the attachment angle by an angle defining unit,

the angle adjusting unit adjusts the mounting angle by adjusting the angle specifying unit.