CN116570438A - Wheelchair Mobility Aids - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a wheelchair movement auxiliary device, comprising: a rear unit having an axle in a direction orthogonal to an axle direction of the main wheel and having a rear auxiliary wheel supporting the main wheel; a front unit having the axle and a front auxiliary wheel for supporting the front wheel; a switching lever that switches between a first state in which a wheel set formed by combining a main wheel and a front wheel is grounded and a second state in which a wheel set formed by combining a rear auxiliary wheel and a front auxiliary wheel is grounded; and a connecting rod for transmitting the force applied to the switching lever between the rear unit and the front unit, wherein the rear unit has a driving force transmission mechanism that contacts the main wheel in the second state and transmits the driving force applied to the main wheel to the rear auxiliary wheel.

Description

Wheelchair Mobility Aids

technical field

The present invention relates to a wheelchair movement assisting device, for example, relates to a wheelchair movement assisting device which improves the degree of freedom in a moving direction of a wheelchair.

Background technique

Wheelchairs have the property that it is difficult to move laterally in a short distance or in a narrow place. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-275528 discloses a technique for moving a wheelchair in an arbitrary direction.

The wheelchair auxiliary tool disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-275528 is a wheelchair auxiliary tool that is assembled on a wheelchair having a large wheel and an auxiliary wheel that can turn in all directions, and is configured to include an auxiliary wheel that supports a second auxiliary wheel at its lower end. A support member, a guide member that is fixed to the frame of the wheelchair and supports the auxiliary wheel support member so as to be movable in the vertical direction, a rod that engages with the auxiliary wheel support member at a middle portion, and one end of the rod is connected to the wheelchair The linkage mechanism connected by the frame.

However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-275528, the main wheels cannot be moved laterally, and the passenger must move in accordance with, for example, transmission travel. That is, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-275528, there is a problem that the passenger must move in a posture different from the normal movement by the main wheels for lateral movement.

Contents of the invention

The present invention was made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wheelchair in which a rider can move laterally by the same operation as the movement by the main wheels.

One aspect of the wheelchair mobility assisting device of the present invention is a wheelchair mobility assisting device assembled on a wheelchair having a pair of main wheels and a pair of front wheels. Wheels are provided on the underfoot side of the frame, wherein the wheelchair movement assisting device has: a rear unit provided on the side of the pair of main wheels, having an axle in a direction perpendicular to the axle direction of the main wheels, having a rear auxiliary wheel supporting the main wheel; a front unit provided on the side of the pair of front wheels, having an axle in a direction perpendicular to the axle direction of the main wheel, and having an axle supporting the front wheel. Front auxiliary wheel; switch lever, switch between the first state and the second state, the first state is the state where the normal wheel group formed by combining the main wheel and the front wheel is on the ground, and the second state a state in which an auxiliary wheel set composed of the rear auxiliary wheel and the front auxiliary wheel is on the ground; and a connecting rod that transmits the force applied to the switching lever between the rear unit and the front unit, The rear unit includes a driving force transmission mechanism that contacts the main wheels in the second state and transmits the driving force applied to the main wheels to the rear auxiliary wheels.

In the wheelchair movement assisting device of the present invention, the rear auxiliary wheel and the front auxiliary wheel have a rolling direction in the lateral direction of the wheelchair, and the driving force is applied to the rear auxiliary wheel by the main wheel while the main wheel and the front wheel are floating.

According to the present invention, in the wheelchair movement assisting device of the present invention, it is possible to provide a wheelchair in which the occupant can move laterally by the same operation as the movement by the main wheels.

Description of drawings

Features, advantages, technical and industrial significance of embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals denote like elements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wheelchair equipped with a wheelchair movement assisting device according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the wheelchair movement assistance device according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a front unit of the wheelchair mobility assistance device according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a rear unit of the wheelchair movement assisting device according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a driving force transmission mechanism of the rear unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a first state of the wheelchair movement assisting device according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

7 is a diagram illustrating a state in the middle of transition from the first state to the second state of the wheelchair movement assisting device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second state of the wheelchair movement assisting device according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

Detailed ways

Embodiment 1

First, FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a wheelchair 1 equipped with a wheelchair movement assisting device according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. In the following description, the direction of the chest side of the body of the occupant seated in the wheelchair 1 is defined as the front direction, the direction of the back side of the occupant is defined as the rear direction, and the direction perpendicular to the direction from the rear to the front is defined as The direction of is defined as horizontal.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the wheelchair 1 according to Embodiment 1 has a structure in which a wheelchair movement assisting device 20 is attached to a push type wheelchair. The wheelchair is equipped with a footstand 11 at the end of the underfoot side of the frame 10, and a handle 12 for assisting the operator to operate the wheelchair 1 is installed at the end of the frame 10 opposite to the installation position of the footstand 11. Furthermore, the frame 10 is provided with armrests 13 on which the occupant rests, a seat surface 14 and a backrest 15 that the occupant contacts when sitting on the seat.

Furthermore, in the wheelchair 1 , a pair of main wheels 16 are provided at a position on the side of the backrest 15 of the frame, and a pair of front wheels 17 are provided at a position of the frame 10 on the side of the stand 11 . The main wheel 16 is provided with a push member capable of rotating the main wheel by the force of the rider. Further, the main wheels 16 rotate in one direction around an axis extending in a direction in which the pair of main wheels 16 face each other. The front wheel 17 is attached to the frame 10 so that the rotation axis can rotate in all directions.

Furthermore, in the wheelchair 1 , a wheelchair movement assisting device 20 is attached to the frame 10 below the main wheels 16 . The wheelchair movement assisting device 20 moves the wheelchair 1 from the first state in which the main wheels 16 and the front wheels 17 are in contact with the floor surface to the main wheels 16 and the main wheels by performing the operation of bringing down the switching lever 31 toward the front side (for example, the foot side). 16 A second state change of leaving from the floor. And, in the second state, the front auxiliary wheel and the rear auxiliary wheel provided in the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 are in a grounded state, and the force generated by rotating the main wheel 16 is transmitted to the rear auxiliary wheel, thereby moving the wheelchair. 1 traverse. Therefore, the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 will be described in detail below.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a wheelchair mobility assisting device 20 according to Embodiment 1, FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram illustrating a front unit 30 of the wheelchair mobility assisting device according to Embodiment 1, and FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the wheelchair mobility assisting device. 1 Diagram of the rear unit of the wheelchair mobility aid.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 has a front unit 30 , a rear unit 40 , and a connecting rod 50 . The connecting rod 50 is used to transmit the force applied to the switching lever 31 between the front unit 30 and the rear unit 40 .

The switching lever 31 is an operating lever for switching between a first state, which is a state in which a normal wheel set formed by combining the main wheels 16 and front wheels 17 is on the ground, and a second state, in which the main wheels 16 and the front wheels 17 are combined. This is the state in which the auxiliary wheel set composed of the rear auxiliary wheel 43c and the front auxiliary wheel 37 is on the ground.

The front unit 30 is provided on a pair of front wheel sides, has an axle in a direction perpendicular to the axle direction of the main wheels 16 , and has front auxiliary wheels 37 that support the front wheels 17 . Furthermore, in the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 according to Embodiment 1, the switching lever 31 is configured to be connected to the front unit 30 , but the switching lever 31 can also be provided on the rear side of the front wheels 17 . However, by providing the switching lever 31 near the front wheel 17, the operation becomes easier when the driving mode of the wheelchair 1 is switched from the first state to the second state, so it is preferable that the switching lever 31 is provided on the front wheel 17. nearby.

Further, the rear unit 40 is provided on a pair of main wheels, has an axle in a direction perpendicular to the axle direction of the main wheels 16 , and has rear auxiliary wheels 43 c that support the main wheels 16 . Further, the rear unit 40 has a driving force transmission mechanism 43 that contacts the main wheels 16 in the second state and transmits the driving force applied to the main wheels 16 to the rear auxiliary wheels 43c.

Next, the structure of the front unit 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 . The front unit 30 is assembled with a switching lever 31 , a frame mounting portion 32 , a mode switching shaft 33 , a cam plate 34 , a cam follower 35 , a link plate 36 , and front auxiliary wheels 37 on a chassis 39 . The switching lever 31 attaches a rotation axis to the mode switching shaft 33 of the front unit 30 . The frame attachment portion 32 is a structure for attaching the front unit 30 to the frame 10 .

Switching levers 31 are respectively attached to both ends of the mode switching shaft 33 , which serve as rotation axes of the switching levers 31 , and are rotated by operation of the switching levers 31 . In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , two link plates 36 are attached to the portion of the mode switching shaft 33 sandwiched by the switching lever 31 . It should be noted that the link plate 36 may also be one piece, but in this case, it is necessary to work hard on the subsequent structure of the link plate 36 . One end of the link plate 36 is connected to the mode switching shaft, and the other end is connected to the connecting rod 50 . The link plate 36 rotates in response to the movement of the switching lever 31 to move the connecting rod back and forth in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the main wheel 16 .

In addition, in the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the cam plate 34 is provided near the center of the mode switching shaft 33 in the extending direction and at a position sandwiched by the link plates 36 . Also, the cam follower 35 is provided so as to be in contact with the cam plate 34 . The cam follower 35 is attached to the cam follower base 35a. The cam follower base 35 a is connected to the front auxiliary wheel 37 via a shaft penetrating through the chassis 39 . Furthermore, a shaft connecting the cam follower base 35 a and the front auxiliary wheel 37 is provided so as to pass through the spring 38 . The spring 38 is a contraction spring, and lifts the front auxiliary wheel 37 toward the chassis 39 side when the cam follower 35 rises in response to the movement of the cam plate 34 . That is, the spring 38 is a front elastic member that maintains the front auxiliary wheel 37 in a non-grounded state in the first state.

The structure of the rear unit 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4 . The rear unit 40 includes a frame mounting portion 41 , a link mechanism 42 , a driving force transmission mechanism 43 , a chassis 44 , and a spring 45 assembled on a chassis 44 . The frame attachment portion 41 is a structure for attaching the rear unit 40 to the frame 10 . The link mechanism 42 presses the rear auxiliary wheels connected to the driving force transmission mechanism 43 toward the floor in response to the movement of the connecting rod 50 . The link mechanism 42 has an upper link arm and a lower link arm, and a connecting rod 50 is connected to a portion connecting the upper link arm and the lower link arm. Furthermore, the end of the upper link arm is connected to the upper link arm mounting part 46 of the chassis 44 , and the end of the lower link arm is connected to the lower link arm mounting part 47 of the driving force transmission mechanism 43 . The upper link arm mounting part 46 and the lower link arm mounting part 47 rotate in a direction along the paper surface of FIG. Assembled in each mounting part. Further, the link mechanism 42 presses the driving force transmission mechanism 43 against the floor surface by increasing the opening angles of the upper link arm and the lower link arm according to the pressing force from the connecting rod 50 .

The driving force transmission mechanism 43 is rotatably attached to the chassis 44 of the rear unit 40 with respect to the chassis 44 . Further, the driving force transmission mechanism 43 is connected to the chassis 44 via a spring 45 . The spring 45 is a contraction spring, and provides an auxiliary force for pulling the driving force transmission mechanism 43 toward the chassis 44 to the driving force transmission mechanism 43 , and maintains the driving force transmission mechanism 43 raised toward the chassis 44 side. That is, the spring 45 is a rear elastic member that maintains the rear auxiliary wheel 43c attached to the driving force transmission mechanism 43 in the non-grounded state in the first state.

The driving force transmission mechanism 43 is in contact with the main wheels in the second state, and transmits the driving force applied to the main wheels to the rear auxiliary wheels. In the driving force transmission mechanism 43, a drive shaft 43a and a rear auxiliary wheel 43c are assembled to a gear case 43b. Here, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the driving force transmission mechanism of the rear unit according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the rotation axis AXa of the drive shaft 43a and the rotation axis AXb of the rear auxiliary wheel 43c are arranged to be orthogonal to each other. Furthermore, the gear case 43b is provided with the helical gear 48 which has the same rotation axis as the drive shaft 43a, and the helical gear 49 which has the same rotation axis as the rear auxiliary wheel 43c. In addition, the gear box 43b transmits the driving force transmitted in the state where the drive shaft 43a is in contact with the main wheel 16 via the helical gear 48 and the helical gear 49 to the rear auxiliary wheel 43c as a lateral driving force.

Next, the operation of the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 will be described. The wheelchair movement assisting device 20 switches between the first state and the second state by operating the switch lever 31 by the occupant, etc. , the second state is a state in which the auxiliary wheel set formed by combining the rear auxiliary wheels 43c and the front auxiliary wheels 37 is on the ground. It should be noted that, in the first state and the second state, the wheel that is not on the ground is in a state of floating from the floor. Hereinafter, what state the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 is in will be described for each state with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 . In FIGS. 6 to 8 , the upper section shows a diagram illustrating the state of the front unit 30, the middle section shows a state of the rear unit 40 viewed from the side (for example, a state viewed from a lateral direction), and the lower section shows a view from the rear of the wheelchair 1. Observe the state of the rear unit 40.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a first state of the wheelchair movement assisting device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 6 , in the first state, the switching lever 31 is in the most upright state. Then, when the switching lever 31 is in an upright state, the side of the cam plate 34 whose distance from the center of the mode switching shaft 33 to the side is short is in contact with the cam follower 35 . And, when the cam follower 35 is at a position close to the mode switching shaft 33 , the cam follower base 35 a is maintained at the highest position by the spring 38 . Accordingly, the front auxiliary wheels 37 are maintained at a position at a distance G1 from the floor surface.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6 , in the first state, the rear auxiliary wheels 43c of the rear unit 40 are also maintained at a position where the distance from the floor surface is the distance G1. In this first state, the connecting rod 50 is at the most forward position, and the angle formed by the upper link arm 42 a and the lower link arm 42 b of the link mechanism 42 is the narrowest. And, in the state of the link mechanism 42 , the link mechanism 42 raises the driving force transmission mechanism 43 upward. In addition, the driving force transmission mechanism 43 is also raised by the spring 45, and the spring 45 maintains a state of pulling the driving force transmission mechanism 43 upward. Furthermore, in the first state, the drive shaft 43a is maintained at a position where it does not come into contact with the main wheels 16 .

7 is a diagram illustrating a state in the middle of transition from the first state to the second state of the wheelchair movement assisting device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7 , in the midway state of switching, the switching lever 31 is in a state of falling down toward the foot side compared with the first state. In this state, the cam plate 34 inclines according to the rotation of the mode switching shaft 33 , and the distance between the mode switching shaft 33 and the cam follower 35 increases. As a result, the cam follower base 35a is lowered toward the floor, and the front auxiliary wheels 37 land on the ground. At this time, in the halfway state of switching, the front wheels 17 and the front auxiliary wheels 37 are both in a state of being on the ground.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7 , in the middle of switching, the rear auxiliary wheels 43 c of the rear unit 40 also approach the floor surface side, and the rear auxiliary wheels 43 c come into contact with the floor surface. In this midway state of switching, the connecting rod 50 is located on the rear side of the first state, and the angle formed by the upper link arm 42a and the lower link arm 42b of the link mechanism 42 is wider than that in the first state. . And, in the state of the link mechanism 42 , the link mechanism 42 presses the driving force transmission mechanism 43 toward the floor side lower than the first state. Then, the driving force transmission mechanism 43 performs transition so as to open toward the outside of the vehicle body with the part rotatably attached to the chassis as the center. Then, the rear auxiliary wheels 43c move toward the outer side of the vehicle body while rotating after landing on the ground.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second state of the wheelchair movement assisting device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 8 , in the second state, the switching lever 31 is brought down further to the foot side than in the midway state of switching. In this state, the cam plate 34 tilts in response to the rotation of the mode switching shaft 33 and maintains a position where the distance between the mode switching shaft 33 and the cam follower 35 becomes larger than that in the first state. As a result, the state in which the cam follower base 35 a is lowered toward the floor is maintained, and the front auxiliary wheels 37 touch the ground. At this time, in the second state, the front wheels 17 are in the non-grounded state by maintaining the distance G2 with respect to the floor surface.

And, as shown in FIG. 8 , in the second state, the rear auxiliary wheels 43c in the rear unit 40 are also in contact with the floor surface, and the main wheels 16 are not in contact with the floor surface at a distance G2 from the floor surface. status. In this second state, the connecting rod 50 is at the rearmost position, and the angle formed by the upper link arm 42 a and the lower link arm 42 b of the link mechanism 42 becomes the largest. In the example shown in FIG. 8 , in the second state, the angle formed by the upper link arm 42 a and the lower link arm 42 b is approximately 180 degrees. And, in the state of the link mechanism 42 , the link mechanism 42 pushes down the driving force transmission mechanism 43 to the floormost side. Further, the driving force transmission mechanism 43 is maintained in a transitioned state that is opened toward the outside of the vehicle body with the portion rotatably attached to the chassis as the center. And, in this second state, the drive shaft 43 a is in a state of being in contact with the main wheels 16 , and can receive the driving force applied to the main wheels 16 .

According to the above description, the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 according to Embodiment 1 can operate the wheelchair 1 in the same manner as when the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 is not present by floating the front auxiliary wheels 37 and the drive shaft 43 a from the floor surface in the first state. . On the other hand, the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 according to Embodiment 1 floats the main wheels 16 and the front wheels 17 from the floor surface in the second state, and brings the front auxiliary wheels 37 and the rear auxiliary wheels 43c into contact with the floor surface. Furthermore, the rotation axes of the front auxiliary wheels 37 and the drive shaft 43 a are configured to be perpendicular to the rotation axes of the main wheels 16 . In addition, the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 transmits the driving force applied by the occupant to the main wheels 16 to the rear auxiliary wheels 43c via the drive shaft 43a in the second state. Accordingly, the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 having the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 according to the first embodiment can easily move the wheelchair 1 laterally without changing the posture of the rider.

Furthermore, in the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 according to the first embodiment, the switch lever 31 is switched from the first state to the second state by tilting the switching lever 31 forward about the position on the front wheel 17 side of the wheelchair 1 . As a result, the occupant assumes a posture in which the buttocks are lifted from the seat surface 14 when the switch lever 31 is laid down to the front side, and the occupant's center of gravity is biased toward the platform 11, so that the load applied to the main wheels 16 side can be reduced. The load reduces the force applied by the occupant to the switching lever 31 in order to raise the wheelchair 1 . That is, the switching lever 31 is disposed on the underfoot side, and the switching from the first state to the second state is performed by an action of tilting the switching lever 31 forward, so that an easy state switching operation can be realized.

Furthermore, in the wheelchair movement assisting device 20 according to Embodiment 1, the switching operation is performed only by the force applied to the switching lever 31 , and lateral movement is possible by the rotational force applied to the main wheels 16 in the second state. That is, by using the wheelchair movement assisting device 20, it is possible to move laterally without using motor components such as a motor. Also, since motor parts are not required, the risk of failure is reduced, and maintenance such as parts replacement becomes easy.

As mentioned above, the invention made by this inventor was concretely demonstrated based on embodiment, However, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, Various changes are possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary, and this does not mean that Self-explanatory.

Claims (6)

1. A wheelchair movement assisting device assembled on a wheelchair having a pair of main wheels provided on the backrest side of a frame and a pair of front wheels provided under the feet of the frame side, where The wheelchair mobility aid has: The rear unit is provided on the side of the pair of main wheels, has an axle in a direction perpendicular to the axle direction of the main wheels, and has rear auxiliary wheels supporting the main wheels; The front unit is provided on the side of the pair of front wheels, has an axle in a direction perpendicular to the axle direction of the main wheels, and has front auxiliary wheels supporting the front wheels; The switching lever is used to switch between the first state and the second state, the first state is the state where the normal wheel set formed by combining the main wheels and the front wheels is on the ground, and the second state is the state where the The state in which the auxiliary wheel set formed by the combination of the rear auxiliary wheel and the front auxiliary wheel is on the ground; and a connecting rod that transmits the force applied to the switching lever between the rear unit and the front unit, The rear unit has a driving force transmission mechanism that contacts the main wheels in the second state and transmits the driving force applied to the main wheels to the rear auxiliary wheels. 2. The wheelchair mobility assist device according to claim 1, wherein: the rear unit has a rear elastic member that maintains the rear auxiliary wheels in a non-grounded state in the first state, The front unit has a front elastic member that maintains the front auxiliary wheels in a non-grounded state in the first state. 3. The wheelchair mobility assist device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The switching lever has a central axis of rotation on a side of the frame close to the front wheel, and is operated to switch the rear unit and the front unit from the first state by receiving an operation of falling down to the side of the feet. to the second state. 4. The wheelchair movement assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The front unit has: a mode switch shaft, connected to the switch lever, rotates corresponding to the action of the switch lever; a cam plate coupled to the mode switching shaft; and The link plate is connected at one end to the mode switching shaft and at the other end to the connecting rod, and moves the connecting rod in a direction perpendicular to the axle direction of the main wheel in response to the movement of the switching lever. move back and forth, The front unit is configured to press the front auxiliary wheels toward the floor in response to the movement of the cam plate. 5. The wheelchair movement assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The rear unit has a link mechanism that presses the rear auxiliary wheels connected to the driving force transmission mechanism toward the floor in response to the movement of the connecting rod. 6. The wheelchair movement assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The driving force transmission mechanism has: a drive shaft in contact with the main wheels in the second state; and The helical gear converts the driving force transmitted to the drive shaft into the rotational force of the rear auxiliary wheel.