JP2016039857A - Walking machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A walker capable of reducing a burden when a user walks with a walker.
A walker 10 that walks in a traveling direction by an operation input from a user, and a pair of leg portions 30 having a landing portion 326 that lands on the ground and a pair of leg portions 30 are swingable. A waist portion 20 that is supported by the waist portion 20, an upper body support portion 50 that is connected to the waist portion 20 and receives an operation input from a user, and an auxiliary leg portion 40 that has a grounding portion 42 that contacts the ground and is connected to the waist portion 20. Is provided. The grounding unit 42 contacts the ground when at least one of the paired leg portions 30 is separated from the ground.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a walker that walks with a user.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a walking machine that passively walks by moving a pair of legs alternately without requiring a driving source such as a motor is known. In recent years, a walker that supports the walking of the user has been developed using the walking principle of the walker.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a walking machine including a pair of legs, a wearing tool worn by a user, and a handle operated by an assistant. And it is made possible for a user to walk with a walker by adding operation input, such as an assistant pushing from behind with respect to the walker with which the user was equipped.

International Publication No. 2012/002078

  By the way, since the walking machine as described above is two legs and the center of gravity of the walking machine is located away from the ground, in order to ensure stability when the user walks with the walking machine, There is a problem that the burden on the assistant is likely to increase.

  These issues are not limited to the case where the assistant walks the walker by adding operation input, but also when the user walks the walker by adding operation input alone without relying on the assistant. Mostly common.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. The purpose is to provide a walker capable of reducing the burden when the user walks with the walker.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the effects thereof will be described.
A walker that solves the above problem is a walker that walks in the direction of travel in response to an operation input from a user, and swings a pair of leg portions having a landing portion that lands on the ground and the pair of leg portions. A lumbar part that is movably supported, an operated part that is coupled to the lumbar part and receives an operation input from a user, and an auxiliary leg part that has a grounding part that contacts the ground and is coupled to the lumbar part. The grounding portion is grounded to the ground when at least one of the paired leg portions is separated from the ground.

  According to the said structure, a user walks in a advancing direction with a walker by moving the leg part which makes a pair of walker alternately by operation input, such as pushing and tilting with respect to a walker. Here, when the user walks with the walker, the grounding portion of the auxiliary leg is grounded to the ground when at least one of the legs that make up the walker is separated from the ground. That is, when the walker walks, at least one of the paired leg portions and the grounding portion of the auxiliary leg portion are in contact with the ground, so that the walker is more stable than when no auxiliary leg portion is provided. Can increase the sex. As a result, the burden when the user walks with the walker can be reduced.

In the walker, it is preferable that the grounding portion is provided in the traveling direction rather than the landing portion.
When a user walks with a walker that does not include an auxiliary leg, the posture of the user or walker tends to tilt in the traveling direction that is the moving direction. In this regard, according to the above configuration, the grounding part of the auxiliary leg is grounded to the ground in the traveling direction rather than the landing part, so that when the user walks with the walker, the posture of the user or the walker Is difficult to tilt in the direction of travel. Therefore, the stability when the user walks in the traveling direction together with the walker can be improved.

  In the walker, the auxiliary leg portion has a rod extending vertically downward as it goes in the traveling direction, and the rod has a proximal end side connected to the waist portion and a distal end side supporting the grounding portion. And it is desirable for the grounding section to have wheels that can roll in the traveling direction.

  According to the above configuration, when the user walks with the walker, the wheel may be in contact with the ground regardless of whether or not the legs of the walker are separated from the ground. it can. For this reason, the stability when a user walks with a walker with a simple configuration compared to the case of adopting a configuration in which the grounding unit is intermittently grounded according to the state of the paired legs Can be increased.

  In the walker, when the rolling axis of the wheel is a first axis, the wheel is a second along the direction intersecting both the axial direction and the vertical direction of the first axis by the rod. It is desirable that the auxiliary leg portion further includes an elastic member that is elastically deformed in accordance with a swing amount of the wheel about the second shaft.

  According to the above configuration, since the wheel is swingably supported around the second axis, even when the walker is tilted in the roll direction when the user walks with the walker, the wheel It is easy to keep the state where the first axis, which is the rolling axis, and the ground are parallel. In addition, after the inclination of the walker in the roll direction is eliminated, the elastic force is applied to the wheel according to the swing amount by the elastic member, so that the wheel is kept swinging around the second axis. Is suppressed. For this reason, even when the user walks with the walker, even if the walker has an inclination in the roll direction, it is easy to maintain the state that the wheels are grounded, and when the user walks with the walker Stability can be increased.

In the walker described above, it is preferable that the ground contact portion is rotatable relative to the waist portion with an axis along the longitudinal direction of the rod as a rotation axis.
When a user walks along a walking path that draws an arc together with a walker, there may be a case where a rotational displacement occurs around the axis along the longitudinal direction of the rod. In that respect, according to the above configuration, since the grounding portion can be rotated relative to the waist with the axis along the longitudinal direction of the rod as a rotation axis, even when the rotational displacement occurs in the walking machine, the grounding portion It is possible to prevent the rotational displacement of the (wheel). For this reason, even when walking along a walking path that draws an arc, it is easy to maintain the state where the wheels are grounded to the ground, and the stability when the user walks with the walker can be improved.

In the walker, it is preferable that the auxiliary leg portion further includes an impact absorber that can absorb an impact acting in a longitudinal direction of the rod.
According to the above configuration, for example, when an impact is applied in the longitudinal direction of the rod, such as when the wheel climbs over a step, the shock absorber absorbs the impact, so that the waist and the operated part of the walker The impact transmitted to the can be reduced. For this reason, the said impact can be made hard to be transmitted to a user via a to-be-operated part.

The perspective view of the walking machine which concerns on one Embodiment. The side view of the 1st connection part which abbreviate | omitted illustration of the one part structure. The side view of the 2nd connection part which abbreviate | omitted illustration of the one part structure. The side view of a knee joint part. It is sectional drawing of a rotation permission part, Comprising: (a) shows the cross section along the axial direction of a rod, (b) shows the cross section orthogonal to the axial direction of a rod. Sectional drawing which follows the axial direction of the rod in the front-end | tip part of an auxiliary leg part. The side view of a supporting member. The side view which shows a mode that a user walks with a walker. Sectional drawing in the front-end | tip part of an auxiliary | assistant leg part at the time of a user walking with a walker. Sectional drawing in the front-end | tip part of an auxiliary | assistant leg part at the time of a user walking with a walker.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a walking machine will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the traveling direction of the walker is also referred to as the front, and the opposite direction is also referred to as the rear. The width direction of the walker that is orthogonal to both the traveling direction and the vertical direction of the walker is also referred to as the left-right direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the walking machine 10 includes a lumbar part 20, two paired leg parts 30, an auxiliary leg part 40, and an upper body support part 50.
As shown in FIG. 1, the waist 20 includes a waist frame 21 having a substantially rod shape with the width direction as a longitudinal direction, a first connection portion 22 that connects the leg portion 30 to the waist frame 21, an auxiliary leg portion 40, and And a second connecting portion 23 for connecting the upper body support portion 50 to the waist frame 21. Here, the 1st connection part 22 is provided in the width direction both sides of the waist frame 21 corresponding to the leg part 30 which makes a pair, and the 2nd connection part 23 is provided between the 1st connection parts 22 which make a pair. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first connecting portion 22 includes a casing 221 having a reverse U-shape when viewed from the front, a plate portion 222 that connects the casing 221 to the waist frame 21, and a waist shaft 223 having a substantially columnar shape. I have. As shown in FIG. 2, an engagement hole 224 is formed through the casing 221 along the width direction. A waist shaft 223 is fitted into the engagement hole 224.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second connecting portion 23 has a plate-like protruding portion 231 that protrudes forward, a plate portion 232 that connects the protruding portion 231 to the waist frame 21, and a substantially cylindrical fixing. And a pin 233. Two protrusions 231 are provided in the width direction (in FIG. 3, the direction orthogonal to the paper surface) with a gap therebetween. Further, a fixing hole 234 is formed through the protrusion 231 along the width direction. A fixing pin 233 is fitted in the fixing hole 234.

Next, the leg part 30 is demonstrated with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.4.
As shown in FIG. 1, the leg 30 includes a thigh 31 that forms a base end portion of the leg 30, a crus 32 that forms a distal end of the leg 30, a thigh 31, and a crus And a knee joint 33 for connecting the portion 32 so as to bend and extend.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of the thigh 31 is provided with an insertion hole 311 penetratingly formed along the width direction. The thigh 31 (the leg 30) is swung around the axis along the axial direction of the waist shaft 223 with respect to the first connecting portion 22 by inserting the waist shaft 223 through the insertion hole 311. It is supported freely. In the following description, the swing of the leg portion 30 about the axis of the waist shaft 223 is also referred to as “swing motion”.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower end portion of the thigh 31 has an insertion hole 312 penetrating in the width direction and a contact surface 313 intersecting the longitudinal direction of the thigh 31. A contact portion 314 having a contact portion 314 and a contact surface 315 is provided. The contact portion 314 is provided so as to protrude forward from the thigh 31 in a state where the contact surface 313 faces the crus 32, and the contact portion 316 has the contact surface 315 disposed on the crus. It is provided so as to protrude rearward from the thigh 31 in a state facing the portion 32.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the upper end portion of the crus portion 32 has an abutting portion having an insertion hole 321 formed through the width direction and an abutting surface 322 that intersects the longitudinal direction of the crus portion 32. 323 and a contact portion 325 having a contact surface 324 are provided. The contact portion 323 is provided so as to protrude forward from the crus 32 in a state where the contact surface 322 faces the thigh 31, and the contact portion 325 It is provided so as to protrude rearward from the crus 32 in a state facing the portion 31.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a landing portion 326 is provided at the lower end portion of the crus 32 so as to land on a floor surface FL (see FIG. 8) as an example of the ground. Here, the floor surface FL is a surface on which the leg 30 that swings and moves when the walker 10 walks (lands). Moreover, the landing part 326 is a part of the leg part 30 that lands on the floor surface FL when the walking machine 10 walks.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the knee joint portion 33 includes an insertion hole 312 in the thigh 31, an insertion hole 321 in the crus 32, and a connecting shaft 331 that is inserted through both the insertion holes 312 and 321. It is configured. That is, the knee joint portion 33 has an upper end portion of the crus 32 having a substantially U shape in front view and a lower end portion of the thigh portion 31 having a substantially I shape in front view on both sides in the axial direction of the connecting shaft 331. In this state, the connecting shaft 331 is inserted through the insertion hole 312 of the thigh 31 and the insertion hole 321 of the crus 32. Thereby, in the knee joint part 33, the thigh 31 and the crus 32 can be relatively rotated around the axis along the axial direction of the connecting shaft 331.

  By the way, in the knee joint part 33, the angle (bending angle) at which the thigh 31 and the crus 32 can be rotated relative to each other is regulated within a certain angle range, similar to the human knee joint. Specifically, the abutment surface 313 of the thigh 31 and the abutment surface 322 of the crus 32 contact each other, so that the crus 32 is moved relative to the thigh 31 from the stretched state of the knee joint 33. It is restricted from rotating forward. Further, the abutment surface 315 of the thigh 31 and the abutment surface 324 of the crus 32 abut, so that the crus 32 is rearward with respect to the thigh 31 from the state where the knee joint portion 33 is extended. The rotation angle is regulated to a certain angle (for example, 30 degrees).

Next, the auxiliary leg portion 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 7.
As shown in FIG. 1, the auxiliary leg portion 40 includes a rod 41 that extends vertically downward toward the traveling direction (forward) of the walking machine 10, and a grounding portion 42 that is supported by the tip of the rod 41. Yes. Here, in the longitudinal direction of the rod 41, the side connected to the waist 20 is also referred to as “base end side”, and the opposite side of the floor surface FL side is also referred to as “tip side”. Further, in the description of each member configuration constituting the rod 41, the axial direction of the rod 41 which is also the longitudinal direction of the rod 41 may be simply referred to as “axial direction”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rod 41 includes a cylindrical first rod 43 and a second rod 44, a connecting body 45 that connects the first rod 43 to the second connecting portion 23, and a first rod 43. A rotation allowing portion 46 that allows the rod 43 and the second rod 44 to rotate in the torsional direction, and a movable portion 47 that expands and contracts the rod 41 and swings the grounding portion 42 are configured.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the connecting body 45 includes a plate-like portion 451 having a substantially plate shape and a rod-like portion 452 having a substantially rod shape. In the connecting body 45, the plate-like portion 451 is provided on the proximal end side, and the rod-like portion 452 is provided on the distal end side. The plate-like portion 451 is formed with a fixing hole 453 extending therethrough along the thickness direction.

  The connecting body 45 is integrated with the first rod 43 by inserting the rod-like portion 452 into the base end portion of the first rod 43. Further, in a state where the plate-like portion 451 of the connecting body 45 is sandwiched by the protruding portion 231 of the second connecting portion 23 from the width direction, the fixing pin 233 is inserted into the fixing hole 453 of the connecting body 45 and the fixing hole 234 of the protruding portion 231. The connecting body 45 is connected to the waist frame 21 so as not to rotate by being inserted. Thus, the base end side of the first rod 43 (rod 41) is connected to the waist frame 21 (waist 20) so as not to rotate.

  Next, the rotation permission portion 46 of the auxiliary leg portion 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 shows a cross section along the axial direction of the rod 41 with respect to the first rod 43, the second rod 44, and the rotation allowing portion 46. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the rotation allowing portion 46 includes a first rotating member 461 and a second rotating member 462 that are substantially cylindrical, and a first rotating member 461 and a second rotating member 462. And a fastening member 463 connected in the axial direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the first rotating member 461 includes a fitting portion 464 having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the first rod 43, and a convex portion 465 protruding in the axial direction. Have. In the first rotating member 461, the fitting portion 464 is provided on the proximal end side, and the convex portion 465 is provided on the distal end. Further, an insertion hole 466 is formed through the first rotating member 461 along the axial direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the outer surface of the convex portion 465 along the axial direction includes a flat surface portion 465a having a planar shape and a peripheral surface portion 465b having a curved surface shape.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the second rotating member 462 is recessed in the axial direction of the fitting portion 467 having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the second rod 44 and the second rotating member 462. And a recessed portion 468 formed. In the second rotating member 462, the fitting portion 467 is provided on the distal end side, and the concave portion 468 is provided on the end surface on the proximal end side. Further, an insertion hole 469 is formed through the second rotating member 462 along the axial direction. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the inner side surface of the recess 468 along the axial direction includes a flat surface portion 468a and a curved peripheral surface portion 468b.

  Then, the fitting portion 464 of the first rotating member 461 is fitted into the distal end portion of the first rod 43, so that the first rotating member 461 is integrated with the first rod 43, and the second rotation. The fitting portion 467 of the member 462 is fitted into the proximal end portion of the second rod 44, so that the second rotating member 462 is integrated with the second rod 44. Further, the first rotating member 461 and the second rotating member 462 are in a state where the convex portion 465 of the first rotating member 461 is inserted into the concave portion 468 of the second rotating member 462. The insertion member 463 is inserted through the insertion hole 466 and the insertion hole 469 of the second rotation member 462.

  Here, the fastening member 463 has the first rotation member 461 and the second rotation member 462 in a state where a slight gap is provided between the first rotation member 461 and the second rotation member 462 in the axial direction. Are connected. For this reason, the first rotating member 461 and the second rotating member 462 are substantially restricted from relative displacement in the axial direction, but are allowed to relatively rotate about the axis along the axial direction as a rotation axis.

  In addition, by connecting the first rotating member 461 and the second rotating member 462 in this way, the first rod 43 and the second rod 44 can be relatively rotated about the axis along the axial direction as the rotation axis. It is said. Therefore, the ground contact portion 42 supported by the second rod 44 can rotate relative to the waist portion 20 to which the first rod 43 is connected, with the axis along the longitudinal direction of the rod 41 as the rotation axis.

  When the first rod 43 and the second rod 44 rotate relative to each other with the axis along the axial direction as a rotation axis, the peripheral surface portions 465b and 468b of the first rotation member 461 and the second rotation member 462 are used. Will be in sliding contact with each other. Here, when the relative rotation angle between the first rod 43 and the second rod 44 is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (for example, 30 degrees), the plane portion 465a of the first rotation member 461 and the plane of the second rotation member 462 are provided. The first rod 43 and the second rod 44 no longer rotate relative to each other due to the contact with the portion 468a. That is, the rotation permission part 46 of the present embodiment has a function of restricting the relative rotation angle when the first rod 43 and the second rod 44 are relatively rotated.

  Next, the movable part 47 is demonstrated with reference to FIG.6 and FIG.7. Here, FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the grounding portion 42, the second rod 44, and the movable portion 47 along the axial direction of the rod 41.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the movable portion 47 includes a support member 48 that supports the grounding portion 42 in a swingable manner, a rubber bush 471 that is elastically deformed in response to the swinging of the grounding portion 42, and a longitudinal direction of the rod 41. An impact absorber 472 that absorbs an acting impact and an accommodating portion 473 that accommodates the impact absorber 472 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a concave portion 481 having a circular cross-sectional view along the axial direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 7) is provided in the base end side (right side in FIG. 7) of the support member 48. ing. In addition, a long hole 482 communicating with the recess 481 is formed through the side surface along the axial direction on the base end side of the support member 48. Here, the long hole 482 has the axial direction of the rod 41 as the longitudinal direction. Further, a projecting piece portion 483 having a plate shape is formed on the distal end side (left side in FIG. 7) of the support member 48 so as to project along the axial direction. Two projecting pieces 483 are provided at intervals in the extending direction of the second axis AX <b> 2 that intersects the axial direction of the rod 41. Further, a support hole 484 is formed through the projecting piece 483 in the thickness direction. Further, the support member 48 is provided with an engagement hole 485 recessed along the axial direction on the proximal end side of the projecting piece 483.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the shock absorber 472 includes a so-called spring and a damper, and the spring and the damper expand and contract (displace) when the piston rod 472a expands and contracts in the axial direction. . That is, for example, when the piston rod 472a contracts, the shock absorber 472 generates a reaction force corresponding to the contraction speed and a reaction force corresponding to the contraction amount.

  The accommodating portion 473 has a cylindrical shape, and is integrated with the second rod 44 by being fitted into the distal end portion of the second rod 44. Further, the second rod 44 and the housing portion 473 are fastened by a fastening pin 474 inserted through the long hole 482 of the support member 48 in a state where the second rod 44 and the housing portion 473 are inserted into the concave portion 481 of the support member 48.

  Thus, the second rod 44 and the support member 48 are connected so as to be relatively displaceable in the axial direction. Here, the relative displacement amount of the second rod 44 and the support member 48 is limited to a certain displacement amount by the fastening pin 474 and the long hole 482 of the support member 48.

  That is, when the second rod 44 and the support member 48 are displaced in a direction approaching each other, that is, when the rod 41 contracts, the fastening pin 474 is provided on one end side (lower side in FIG. 6) in the longitudinal direction of the long hole 482. The displacement is allowed until contact. Further, when the second rod 44 and the support member 48 are displaced in a direction away from each other, that is, when the rod 41 extends, the fastening pin 474 contacts the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the long hole 482 (upper side in FIG. 6). Until then, the displacement is allowed.

  Further, in a state where the second rod 44 and the support member 48 are connected, the piston rod 472 a of the shock absorber 472 housed in the housing portion 473 is in contact with the inner bottom surface of the recess 481 of the support member 48.

  The rubber bush 471 is an elastic member having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has an engagement convex portion 471 a having a shape corresponding to the engagement hole 485 formed in the support member 48. The rubber bush 471 is disposed in a state of being sandwiched between the support member 48 and the grounding portion 42 by engaging the engagement convex portion 471 a with the engagement hole 485 of the support member 48.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the ground contact portion 42 is a wheel 421 that can roll in the traveling direction when the walker 10 walks, an axle 422 that supports the wheel 421, and a connection that connects the axle 422 to the support member 48. And a pin 423. As shown in FIG. 1, the ground contact portion 42 is supported on the distal end side of the rod 41 extending in the traveling direction, and thus is disposed in the traveling direction with respect to the landing portion 326 of the leg portion 30.

  As shown in FIG. 6, two wheels 421 are provided so as to make a pair in the width direction. Further, the axle shaft 422 is formed with bolt holes 424 at both ends in the longitudinal direction. Then, the bolt 425 inserted through the wheel 421 is screwed into the bolt hole 424, so that the wheel 421 is supported so as to roll with respect to the axle 422 with the first axis AX1 as the rolling shaft.

  Further, a support hole 426 is formed through substantially the center in the longitudinal direction of the axle shaft 422 along a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction. Then, the axle 422 is swingably supported with respect to the support member 48 by connecting the support hole 426 of the axle 422 and the support hole 484 of the support member 48 by the connecting pin 423. Here, the second axis AX2 along the axial direction of the connecting pin 423 is an axis along the direction intersecting both the axial direction and the vertical direction of the first axis AX1 that is the rolling axis of the wheel 421.

Next, the upper body support part 50 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the upper body support portion 50 is connected to the waist frame 21 by the second connection portion 23. The upper body support unit 50 includes a body support unit 51 that supports the user's body, a handle 52 that is held by the user, and a mounting unit 53 on which the user's arm unit is mounted. . In addition, the trunk | drum support part 51, the handle | steering-wheel 52, and the mounting part 53 are connected through the some frame member and the joint member.

  The torso support part 51 has a contact surface 54 that comes into contact with the user's torso when the user walks with the walker 10. The contact surface 54 is a curved surface along the user's torso shape. And the trunk | drum support part 51 can support a user's trunk | drum from the side (width direction) and the vertically lower direction by being fixed to the waist | hip | lumbar part 20 in the state which orient | assigned the contact surface 54 back and perpendicularly upward. It has become. Moreover, it is desirable that the body support portion 51 is formed of a material (for example, a cushion material) that can relieve an impact during walking.

  Here, the user's torso includes the user's waist, abdomen, chest, and the like. That is, it is desirable to select which part of the user's torso is supported by the torso support part 51 according to the physique and preference of the user. The same applies to the shape and number of the body support portions 51.

  When the user walks with the walker 10, the handle 52 is gripped by the user himself or by a person other than the user from the front of the walker 10, so that the walking stability of the walker 10 is increased. It is provided to enhance.

  And the upper body support part 50 receives the operation input from a user, and enables it to transmit the operation input to the walking machine 10 main body. For the operation input here, the user pushes the walker 10 forward as the user walks, the user swings the walker 10 in the roll direction, and the user walks. For example, a force that pushes the machine 10 vertically downward is included. Further, the operation input includes a force for the user to tilt the walker 10 in the yaw direction when the user walks along a walking route that draws an arc together with the walker 10. In this respect, in the present embodiment, the upper body support portion 50 corresponds to an example of the “operated portion”. Note that the rocking in the roll direction refers to rocking around an axis along the traveling direction, for example, and the inclination in the yaw direction refers to an inclination around an axis along the vertical direction.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the effect | action of the walking machine 10 of this embodiment is demonstrated.
In the following description, when the user and the walker 10 walk, the leg 30 that has landed on the floor surface FL is also referred to as “support leg”, and the leg that is away from the floor surface FL is referred to as “play”. Also called “leg”.

  In the present embodiment, when the user walks with the walking machine 10, not only the user grips the handle 52 while placing his / her arm on the mounting unit 53, but also his / her body to the body supporting unit 51. Support from below vertically. Thus, the user can deposit his / her weight on the walking machine 10 via the trunk support 51 by leaning against the trunk support 51.

  Subsequently, the user steps on one of his / her legs (for example, the right leg) in a state where his / her body weight is stored in the body support portion 51. That is, the user uses his / her one leg (right leg) as a free leg and the other leg (left leg) as a support leg. Then, the movement (twist) of the user's waist and the movement of the center of gravity to the support leg when one leg (right leg) is separated from the floor surface FL are input to the walking machine 10 via the trunk support 51. Is done.

  Then, in the walker 10, the load on the other leg 30 (left leg) is larger than the load on the one leg 30 (right leg), so that the other leg 30 (left leg) is floored. One leg 30 (right leg) is separated from the floor surface FL while being in contact with the surface FL. That is, the leg 30 of the walking machine 10 corresponding to the user's support leg (left leg) becomes the support leg (left leg), and the leg 30 of the walking machine 10 corresponding to the user's free leg (right leg) ( By making the right leg) a free leg, one leg 30 (right leg) of the walking machine 10 is stepped on. Thus, the corresponding leg (right leg) is swung out at the same timing between the user and the walking machine 10.

  And if one leg part (right leg) of the user who was a free leg lands on the floor surface FL and becomes a support leg, one leg part (right leg) of the user becomes a support leg. The accompanying movement of the user's waist and movement of the center of gravity to the support leg (right leg) are input to the walking machine 10 via the trunk support part 51. Then, in the walker 10, the load on one leg 30 (right leg) gradually increases, so that one leg 30 (right leg) lands on the floor surface FL. Thus, the user and the walking machine 10 land on the floor surface FL at the same timing with the corresponding leg (right leg). And the user walks with the walking machine 10 by moving the leg part 30 alternately while the leg part 30 which makes a pair switches a free leg and a support leg alternately in this way.

  By the way, in this embodiment, when a user walks with the walking machine 10, the wheel 421 of the auxiliary leg part 40 of the walking machine 10 rolls on the floor surface FL in the advancing direction rather than the landing part 326. That is, when one leg 30 of the walking machine 10 is stepped on, the other leg 30 and the auxiliary leg 40 are in contact with the floor surface FL, so that compared with the case where the auxiliary leg 40 is not provided. Thus, the stability of the walking machine 10 is ensured and the burden on the user is reduced.

  Moreover, according to the walking machine 10 of this embodiment, since the axle shaft 422 that supports the wheels 421 is supported so as to be swingable around the connection pin 423, the walking is performed when the user walks with the walking machine 10. Even when the machine 10 swings in the roll direction, the floor surface FL and the rolling shaft of the wheel 421 (first axis AX1) can be easily kept in parallel. That is, even when the rod 41 is tilted in the roll direction together with the walker 10, as shown in FIG. 9, the rod 41 and the ground contact portion 42 are relatively rotated with the connecting pin 423 as the rotation center. The state where the wheel 421 is in contact with the floor surface FL can be maintained.

  Then, when the inclination of the walking machine 10 in the roll direction is eliminated, as shown in FIG. 9, the elastic force of the rubber bush 471 elastically deformed according to the swing amount is applied to the axle 422. For this reason, it is suppressed that the axle shaft 422 is maintained in a state of swinging around the connecting pin 423.

  Further, when the user walks along a walking route that draws an arc together with the walking machine 10, a rotational displacement may occur in the walking machine 10 with the axis along the longitudinal direction of the rod 41 as the rotation axis. In this regard, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the first rod 43 and the second rod 44 are relatively rotatable with the axis along the longitudinal direction of the rod 41 as the rotation axis. Even if the first rod 43 is rotationally displaced along with the rotational displacement of the walker 10, the rotational displacement of the second rod 44 can be suppressed. In other words, even when the rotational displacement occurs in the walking machine 10, the rotational displacement of the ground contact portion 42 (wheel 421) supported by the second rod 44 is suppressed and the wheel 421 is in contact with the floor surface FL. Can be maintained.

  In addition, when the wheel 421 of the walking machine 10 gets over the step formed on the floor surface FL, the reaction force from the floor surface FL acts on the wheel 421, and thus the impact may act on the walking machine 10. . In this regard, as shown in FIG. 10, according to the present embodiment, when the reaction force from the floor surface FL acts on the wheel 421, the grounding portion 42 and the support member 48 are connected to the rod 41 with respect to the second rod 44. Displaces in the direction of contraction. As the support member 48 is displaced with respect to the second rod 44, the piston rod 472a of the shock absorber 472 is displaced, so that the shock is absorbed. For this reason, it is suppressed that the impact which arose by climbing over a level | step difference to the waist | hip | lumbar part 20 and the upper body support part 50 of the walking machine 10 is transmitted.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) According to the above embodiment, when the user walks with the walker 10, at least one of the leg portions 30 forming a pair of the walker 10 is separated from the floor surface FL. The grounding portion 42 is grounded to the floor surface FL. That is, when the walking machine 10 walks, at least one of the paired leg portions 30 and the grounding portion 42 of the auxiliary leg portion 40 are grounded to the floor surface FL, so that compared with the case where the auxiliary leg portion 40 is not provided. Thus, the stability of the walking machine 10 can be increased. As a result, the burden when the user walks with the walking machine 10 can be reduced.

  (2) Since the ground contact portion 42 is provided at the tip of the rod 41 that extends vertically downward in the traveling direction, when the user walks with the walking machine 10, the user or the walking machine 10 moves in the traveling direction. It can be made difficult to tilt. Therefore, the stability (especially the stability of the pitching behavior of the walking machine 10) when the user walks in the traveling direction together with the walking machine 10 can be enhanced.

  (3) Since the wheel 421 that rolls in the traveling direction of the walking machine 10 is provided on the grounding unit 42, when the user walks with the walking machine 10, the legs 30 that make up the pair of the walking machine 10 are placed on the floor. Regardless of whether or not it is away from the surface FL, it is possible to maintain the state where the wheel 421 is in contact with the floor surface FL. For this reason, compared with the case where the structure which grounds the grounding part 42 to the floor surface FL intermittently is employ | adopted, stability at the time of a user walking with the walking machine 10 can be improved with a simple structure.

  (4) By making the axle shaft 422 swingable, even when the walker 10 swings in the roll direction, it is easy to maintain the state where the wheel 421 is grounded to the floor surface FL, and the wheel 421 is placed on the floor surface FL. On the other hand, it can be made difficult to drag. Further, by providing the rubber bushing 471 for applying an elastic force to the axle 422 according to the swinging amount of the axle 422, the state where the axle 422 (wheel 421) is swung around the connecting pin 423 is maintained. Can be suppressed.

  (5) When walking along a walking path in which the walking machine 10 draws an arc by making the first rod 43 and the second rod 44 relatively rotatable with the axis along the axial direction of the rod 41 as the rotation axis. However, the rotational displacement of the ground contact portion 42 (wheel 421) supported by the second rod 44 can be suppressed. For this reason, the state where the wheel 421 is grounded to the floor surface FL is easily maintained, and the stability when the user walks with the walking machine 10 can be enhanced.

  (6) Since the shock absorber 472 is provided inside the rod 41, when an impact is applied in the longitudinal direction of the rod 41 due to the wheel 421 climbing over a step, the shock absorber 472 absorbs the shock. be able to. For this reason, it is possible to make it difficult for the user to feel the impact caused by the wheels 421 getting over the step through the upper body support portion 50 of the walking machine 10.

  In addition, when the shock absorber 472 is not provided, a sudden pushing force from the user to the walker 10 is easily applied to the walker 10, and the user receives an excessive reaction force from the walker 10. Even in such a case, according to the above-described embodiment, the reaction force that the user receives from the walking machine 10 can be reduced by the shock absorber 472.

  (7) The bending angle of the knee joint portion 33 of the paired leg portions 30 is regulated, and the auxiliary leg portion 40 is connected to the lumbar portion 20 so as to extend forward and vertically downward from the lumbar portion 20, so that the user can When the walker 10 is not used, the walker 10 can be made independent (see FIG. 1). For this reason, it is possible to easily give the user an impression that the walker 10 is stable, as compared with a case where the user sees a walker that cannot stand independently, such as a walker that has fallen on the floor.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as shown below.
The angle between the auxiliary leg 40 and the vertical direction may be adjustable. According to this, the said angle can be made into an angle suitable for a user's physique and a walk mode, and the user and the walk of the walking machine 10 can be implement | achieved smoothly.

  The length of the auxiliary leg 40 in the longitudinal direction may be adjustable. According to this, the said length can be made into the length suitable for a user's physique and a walk mode, and the smooth walk of a user and the walker 10 is realizable.

  A braking unit that applies braking force to the wheels 421 may be provided. In this case, a brake lever may be provided on the handle 52, and a braking force corresponding to the amount of operation of the brake lever may be applied to the wheel 421. Further, a configuration in which the brake shoe is pressed against the wheel 421 according to the compressive load on the rod 41 may be employed.

  -It is good also as adjustment of the space | interval of the wheel 421 in the width direction. As an example, a plurality of axles 422 having different lengths in the longitudinal direction may be prepared, and the axles 422 may be replaced to change the distance between the paired wheels 421. According to this, the space | interval of the wheel in the width direction can be made into the length suitable for a user's physique and a walk mode, and the user and the walker 10 can implement | achieve a smooth walk.

  If the wheel 421 (the ground contact portion 42) is in contact with the floor surface FL when one of the paired leg portions 30 is separated from the floor surface FL, both of the paired leg portions 30 are both on the floor surface FL. When landing on the floor, it may not be grounded to the floor surface FL.

The wheel 421 may be one wheel or three or more wheels.
The wheel 421 may be a hard wheel 421 made of resin or the like, or may be an elastic wheel 421 made of rubber or the like. The wheel 421 may be configured with a ball caster or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the auxiliary leg 40 is connected to the waist 20 so as not to rotate, but may be connected so as to be rotatable. In this case, a rotation restricting portion may be provided so that the rotation angle of the auxiliary leg portion 40 with respect to the waist 20 is within a predetermined angle range.

  -The auxiliary leg part 40 does not need to be provided toward the advancing direction of the walking machine 10. For example, you may provide toward the back of the walking machine 10, and you may provide toward the width direction of the walking machine 10. Moreover, you may provide the auxiliary leg part 40 toward several directions from the walker 10. As shown in FIG.

  -The auxiliary leg part 40 may be the leg part 30 in this embodiment. In this case, the auxiliary leg part 40 may be a single leg part 30 or a plurality of leg parts 30. In addition, when the leg portion 30 is adopted as the auxiliary leg portion 40, the auxiliary leg portion may be connected to the waist frame 21 so as to be swingable, or the auxiliary leg portion may be swingable to another frame. While being connected, the other frame may be connected to the front of the waist frame 21 with an interval.

  The rubber bush 471 may be another elastic member such as a torsion spring or a coil spring. In this case, it is desirable that the spring is arranged so as to generate a reaction force according to the amount of swing of the axle shaft 422.

-The rubber bushing 471 may not be provided.
The first rod 43 and the second rod 44 may be non-rotatable about the axis along the longitudinal direction of the rod 41 as a rotation axis. That is, the first rod 43 and the second rod 44 may be configured by a single rod 41.

  -If the grounding part 42 can rotate relative to the waist part 20 about the axis along the longitudinal direction of the rod 41 as a rotation axis, a mechanism that allows the relative rotation is provided at the connection part of the waist part 20 and the rod 41 Alternatively, it may be provided at the connecting portion of the rod 41 and the grounding portion 42.

The shock absorber 472 may include only one of a spring (elastic element) and a damper (viscous element). Further, the shock absorber 472 itself may not be provided.
The rod 41 may not be stretchable in the longitudinal direction of the rod 41.

  In the above embodiment, the forward direction of the walking machine 10 is the traveling direction, but the rear side of the walking machine 10 may be the traveling direction. In this case, the auxiliary leg part 40 may be connected to the waist part 20 so as to extend toward the front of the walking machine 10, or may be connected to the waist part 20 so as to extend toward the rear of the walking machine 10.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Walker, 20 ... Lumbar part, 30 ... Leg part, 326 ... Landing part, 40 ... Auxiliary leg part, 41 ... Rod, 42 ... Grounding part, 421 ... Wheel, 43 ... First rod, 44 ... Second Rod: 46 ... Rotation permitting part, 47 ... Movable part, 471 ... Rubber bush (an example of an elastic member), 472 ... Shock absorber, 50 ... Upper body support part (an example of an operated part), FL ... Floor surface (ground Example).

Claims (6)

A walking machine that walks in the direction of travel by an operation input from a user,
A pair of legs having a landing portion landing on the ground;
A waist portion that swingably supports the paired leg portions;
An operated part that is connected to the waist and receives an operation input from a user;
A grounding part that contacts the ground, and an auxiliary leg part connected to the waist part,
The grounding unit grounds to the ground when at least one of the paired legs is separated from the ground. The walker according to claim 1, wherein the grounding portion is provided in the traveling direction with respect to the landing portion. The auxiliary leg has a rod extending vertically downward as it goes in the traveling direction,
The rod has a proximal end connected to the waist, while a distal end supports the grounding portion,
The walker according to claim 1, wherein the grounding portion has wheels that can roll in the traveling direction. When the rolling axis of the wheel is the first axis,
The wheel is supported by the rod so as to be swingable around a second axis along a direction intersecting both the axial direction of the first axis and the vertical direction,
The walker according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary leg portion further includes an elastic member that is elastically deformed in accordance with a swing amount of the wheel about the second axis. The walker according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the grounding portion is rotatable relative to the waist with an axis along a longitudinal direction of the rod as a rotation axis. The walker according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the auxiliary leg portion further includes an impact absorber capable of absorbing an impact acting in a longitudinal direction of the rod.