JP2002345908A - Walking assistance vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a walking assist vehicle suitable for walking assistance of a person having a walking disorder indoors, for walking function recovery training, and also for elderly people. SOLUTION: A main body 4 on which a front caster 2 and a rear caster 3 are mounted, and a support 5 are provided. The caster lock release mechanism 6 and the traveling distance measuring means are disposed inside the outer cover 4c of the main body 4, and the distance display means 7 is disposed on the surface. The support portion 5 has a handle support 5a and an auxiliary support 5b connected to the middle of the handle support 5a. This auxiliary support 5b
Has a configuration in which the upper end side is engaged with a horizontal shaft 5c in the middle of the handle post 5a via a hook means 8, while a shaft portion 12 is inserted through an outer pipe 9, and the caster lock release mechanism 6 To be able to be coupled / cut off dynamically.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a walking assist vehicle which is particularly suitable for assisting a person with a walking disorder indoors, for rehabilitating walking functions, and for the elderly.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in hospitals, when a person with a walking disorder or an elderly person walks without the assistance of a caregiver, a walking assist vehicle is often used. This walking assist vehicle includes a walking table type and a rotor type that walks while supporting the upper body with the wrist.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned walking assist vehicle has many steps and is too large and unsuitable for use in a narrow Japanese house. Therefore, there is a demand for a suitable dedicated small-sized walking assist vehicle that is easy to use in a Japanese house. The present invention has been proposed in view of such a background, and particularly for a walking assist vehicle for a person with a walking disorder indoors, for walking function recovery training, and further suitable for elderly people, a walking assist vehicle. The purpose is to provide.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, in claim 1, a front caster is disposed on a front side of the main body, and a rear caster is disposed on a rear side of the main body. Disclosed is a walking assist vehicle in which a main body is provided with a pillar portion for supporting the body, and an inclined portion for climbing over a step is provided in front of the front caster of the main body. According to the present invention, there is disclosed in claim 2 a walking assist vehicle provided with a slidable sheet from the stepped climbing slope portion to the main body bottom portion behind the front caster. Further, in the present invention, in claim 3, the support portion has a handle support that is tilted in a direction opposite to the front caster side and is rotatably attached to the main body, and an auxiliary support having one end connected to the middle of the handle support. The auxiliary column is pushed in at the distal end thereof through the rear caster and the load sensing type caster unlocking mechanism, and is disposed so as to be detachable. The load sensing type caster unlocking mechanism swings in the middle immediately near the rear caster. A brake member movably attached to the main body, a pressure contact portion which is constantly pressed against the rear caster by a biasing means at a tip end side of the brake member, and the auxiliary post is provided at a position near the end of the brake member. Disclosed is a walking assist vehicle in which the terminal side of the walking assist vehicle is brought close.
Further, in the present invention, in claim 4, the auxiliary column is
On the distal end side, there is a hook member that can be disengaged from the handle post, and a shaft portion that is close to a location near the end of the brake member from the hook member. Disclosed is a walking assist vehicle that is inserted through an urging means into an outer pipe supported so as to be able to stand upright. Further, in the present invention, in claim 5, a walking assist vehicle in which a distance display means is provided on the main body is disclosed.

According to the first aspect, when the main body is pushed toward the step, the inclined portion for climbing over the step on the front side of the front caster of the main body can be guided to the front caster while contacting the step. The body can easily get over the step.

According to the second aspect, when the main body is pushed toward the step, it is possible to get over the step while sliding the step climbing slope on the step by the sliding sheet. The body can be pushed forward.

According to the third aspect, when the user grips the grip portion of the tilted handle post, a load is applied to the auxiliary post, whereby the position near the end of the brake member of the load-sensing caster lock release mechanism. Is pushed in against the urging force of the urging means, the pressure contact portion of the brake member is released from the rear caster, the rear caster is unlocked, and the main body can be pushed in and moved.

According to the fourth aspect, the hook member at the tip of the auxiliary column is detached from the handle column, the auxiliary column is laid down on the main body side, and the main body can be lifted with the handle column.

According to the fifth aspect, the walking distance can be grasped by the user himself, which helps the walking function recovery training.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a walking assist vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a walking assist vehicle 1.
The walking assist vehicle 1 is specifically designed for use in a Japanese house, and includes a main body 4 on which a front caster 2 and a rear caster 3 are mounted, and a standing and standing operation of the main body 4 for gripping and pushing operation. And a support portion 5 as described above.

The main body 4 has the front casters 2,
An outer cover 4 on which a rear caster 3 is mounted on a rear side, and an outer cover 4 for rotatably mounting the column 5 on a side surface;
c. In addition, inside the outer cover 4c,
A caster lock release mechanism 6 and a travel distance measuring means (not shown) are provided, and a distance display means 7 is provided on the surface. Further, the portion of the outer cover 4c near the front casters 2 is formed to have a higher height dimension than the portion near the rear casters 3.

The support portion 5 has a handle support 5a inclined in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the main body 4, and an auxiliary support 5b connected to the middle of the handle support 5a. The handle support 5a is rotatably mounted on the base end side to the side surface of the outer cover 4c by a suitable mounting means. The auxiliary support 5b is engaged with a horizontal shaft 5c in the middle of the handle support 5a at an upper end side via a hook means 8, while a shaft (described later) is inserted through an outer pipe 9 disposed inside the main body. Thus, this shaft portion is brought into contact with the caster lock release mechanism 6 so as to be able to be dynamically coupled / cut off.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the outer cover 4c of the main body 4, a position in front of the front caster 2, from a position close to the caster 2 toward a tip of the main body 4 and over a step (sill P) in the house. Stepping over slope 1 that reaches
0 is formed, and a slidable sheet 11 rich in slidability is attached to the outer surface of the step climbing slope 10. Further, a similar slidable sheet 11 is attached also to the rear outer surface of the front caster 2 and the outer surface of the bottom of the main body 4 in the immediate vicinity. As the slidable sheet 11, for example, polyester can be used.

The auxiliary column 5b connected to the middle of the handle column 5a in the column section 5 has a shaft section 12 integrated with the hook means 8 engaged with the horizontal shaft 5c intermediate the handle column 5a. The part 12 is inserted through the outer pipe 9 via a spring member 13. The outer pipe 9 is
The vicinity of the lower end side is supported so as to be able to stand up and down via a mounting member 14 protruding from the outer cover 4c of the main body 4.

The caster lock release mechanism 6 includes:
A brake member 15 having an intermediate portion swingably attached to an outer cover 4c above the rear caster 3;
The end of the shaft portion 12 in the above is brought close to a position closer to one end. The distal end side of the brake member 15 has a press contact portion 16 bent at a right angle, and the press contact portion 16 is pressed against the rear caster 3 by a spring member 17 interposed between the brake member 15 and the outer cover 4c. It is in a state of having done.

In the walking assist vehicle 1 configured as described above, the user grasps the top of the handle post 5a and pushes in so as to apply the weight of the upper body, and moves the walking assist vehicle 1 to support the walking assist vehicle 1. (See FIG. 2). When the user grips the top of the tilted handle post 5a, a load is applied to the auxiliary post 5b, and the shaft portion 12 inserted into the outer pipe 9 of the auxiliary post 5b causes the brake member 15 above the rear caster 3 to spring. The rear caster 3 is displaced against the urging force of the member 17,
The rear caster 3 is unlocked by releasing the pressure contact portion 16 of the brake member 15 from the main body 4 (see FIG. 4).
Can be pushed to move it.

Then, when it hits the threshold P or the frame, the main body 4
Of the front cover 2c in front of the outer cover 4c, the step climbing slope 10 first hits the threshold P, and the slope P along the sliding sheet 11 on the outer surface of the step climbing slope 10.
By moving the tip of the main body and moving forward, the threshold P
The caster 2 can be guided to the position of the upper edge, and the main body 4 can easily get over the threshold P.

Further, when the walking assist vehicle 1 is not used,
As shown in FIG. 3, the user removes the hook means 8 of the auxiliary support 5b from the horizontal shaft 5c in the middle of the handle support 5a.
The body is turned down to the main body 4 side, and the handle support 5a is lifted in the vertical direction. Then, the main body 4 is displaced about the handle post 5a mounting portion (see FIG. 5), and the front surface of the front cover 2 of the outer cover 4c faces the floor side, and the front surface is grounded to the floor surface. The main body 4 can be stored in an upright state (see FIG. 6). Reference numeral 18 denotes a connecting pipe.

Further, since the outer cover 4c of the main body 4 is provided with the distance display means 7, the user can set a target of the walking distance and can walk, and the user can grasp the walking distance by himself. Can help with walking function recovery training.

As described above, the walking assist vehicle according to the present invention has been described with reference to a configuration used in a house.
Of course, it can be used not only for indoors but also for walking outdoors.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the present invention is suitable, for example, for assisting walking of a person with a walking disorder in a Japanese house with many steps, for training for restoring walking function, and for elderly people. A walking assistance vehicle can be provided.

[0022]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a walking assist vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a use state of the walking assist vehicle shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view of the walking assist vehicle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a caster lock release mechanism during use.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the walking assist vehicle when not in use.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the walking assist vehicle in a storage state.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Walking assistance vehicle 2 Front caster 3 Rear caster 4 Main body 4c Outer cover 5 Support part 5a Handle support 5b Auxiliary support 5c Horizontal axis 6 Castor lock release mechanism 7 Distance display means 8 Hook member 9 Outer pipe 10 Slope for stepping over step 11 Sliding Seat 12 Shaft part 13, 17 Spring member 14 Mounting member 15 Brake member 16 Press-contact part 18 Connecting pipe

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A front caster is disposed on a front side of a main body, a rear caster is disposed on a rear side of the main body, and a column for supporting a body is provided on the main body. A walking assist vehicle characterized by having a slope for climbing over a step. 2. The walking assist vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a slidable sheet is provided from the step-inclined slope to the bottom of the main body behind the front caster. 3. The support post has a handle post tilted in the direction opposite to the front caster and rotatably attached to the main body, and an auxiliary post connected at one end to the middle of the handle post. The rear end is pushed in through the rear caster and the load-sensing type caster unlocking mechanism, and is disposed so as to be detachable. A pressure contact portion is provided at the distal end side of the brake member, which is always in pressure contact with the rear caster by a biasing means, and the distal end side of the auxiliary strut is located near the distal end of the brake member. 2. The walking assist vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is driven. 4. The auxiliary support column has a hook member on the distal end side that can be engaged with and disengaged from a handle support column, and has a shaft portion that is close to a position near the distal end of the brake member from the hook member. 4. The walking assist vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the shaft portion is inserted through an outer pipe supported on the main body side so as to be able to stand upright and down via a biasing means. 5. A walking assist vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a distance display means is provided on said main body.