JP2016042938A - Liftable parallel bar - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems in conventional liftable parallel bars in which wire is used in a mechanism part where safety has to be considered, therefore the assembly work has to be performed while fully paying attention to a quality of the wire and a state of the wire in the equipment assembly, and it is troublesome and is not economical at all, and also a balance may collapse due to an initial stretch of the wire to thereby have a risk to generate a labor of a caregiver, accordingly it is hard to decide a situation until the wire is disconnected to thereby leave the risk to patient's safety.SOLUTION: Liftable parallel bars are provided with: a structure in which an inner cylinder mounted in a lower part of a horizontal rod vertically moves up and down with respect to an outer cylinder; a structure in which the inner cylinder and outer cylinder of one strut of a pair of struts are connected by using a gas spring with a lock; and a lifting mechanism in which one end of a roller chain is fixed to the outer cylinder of one strut, a roller chain is inserted in the inside of the horizontal rod and is hung to a sprocket provided in the lower part of the inner cylinder of the other strut, and the other end of the roller chain in fixed in the upper part of the outer cylinder of the other strut.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

   The present invention relates to an elevating parallel bar used by those who practice walking in rehabilitation, and more particularly, to an elevating parallel bar that can be safely adjusted in height for patients and caregivers.

   Rehabilitation by exercise therapy (motor rehabilitation) is generally used to improve and restore walking function for patients with reduced walking function, and often involves walking practice.

The method of walking exercise performs rehabilitation using a parallel bar for practicing walking in a well-equipped rehabilitation room depending on the degree of improvement and recovery of the patient.
Here, a parallel bar is a set of two long bars that are placed horizontally in parallel so that a standing patient can support his / her body with the left and right hands of the patient so that the patient does not fall during walking exercise. It is a rehabilitation device that is very common in a typical rehabilitation room.

The patient moves to the rehabilitation room using a wheelchair and arrives near the parallel bar, and then the patient gets out of the wheelchair with a qualified person or other caregiver. Support the body and practice walking while being assisted by a caregiver.
In walking exercises using such parallel bars, it is desirable that the height of the parallel bars be adjusted in advance by an assistant so that the patient can easily support his / her body without hindering walking exercises. Since the height that does not change varies depending on the patient's body shape, the height of the parallel bars is frequently adjusted.

The conventional parallel bar with height adjustment function is equipped with two horizontal bars with two support columns that can be extended and contracted in the vertical direction at both ends. Is provided with a function of fixing to a predetermined height.
However, in such a parallel bar, when adjusting the height, a total of four pillars must be individually attached and detached, and the horizontal bar has a length of several meters. The work of moving up and down the two struts is very laborious, and many voices from the market demand a function that can be easily moved up and down considering the frequency of height adjustment described above.
In view of this, several elevating parallel bars having a function of easily moving up and down by interlocking struts at both ends have been disclosed.

Patent Document 1 discloses an elevating parallel bar that extends and contracts up and down by interlocking the separated struts by suspending a pair of wires over both of the pair of struts.
Since the load applied to the horizontal bar is a load that supports a patient who is practicing walking so as not to fall down, the design must be designed with sufficient safety and attention, such as a design with a high safety factor.
However, in the disclosed mechanism, a gas spring is inserted into one column to support the horizontal bar, and the other column supports the horizontal bar with a wire. Since the portion that supports the horizontal bar with the wire is a mechanism using a so-called constant pulley, the load applied to the horizontal bar is directly applied as the tensile load of the wire as it is.

Therefore, when trying to design a high safety factor, the wire must be made very thick, which is not economical.
In addition, if the wire is twisted or kinked, the tensile strength of the wire will be greatly degraded, so pay attention to whether the wire is properly stretched during the wire installation work when initially assembling the equipment. Assembly work must be done, which is very laborious and inefficient.

In patent document 2, it is disclosed as an improved patent of patent document 1, and the structure is shown in FIG. In Patent Document 2, although a wire is used to support the horizontal bar as in Patent Document 1, a mechanism using a so-called moving pulley is adopted, so that a load that is 1/2 of the load applied to the horizontal bar is a wire. This is the calculation for the tensile load of the wire, which is an advantage when designing the wire with a high safety factor.
However, since the disclosed mechanism has a structure in which the wire is inserted into a horizontal bar and is hung on a pair of support poles, if the wire is twisted in the middle and a kink or the like occurs, confirm later There is no way to do it.

   Therefore, in wire installation work at the time of initial equipment assembly, assembly work must be performed while paying considerable attention to the wire in the horizontal bar, which is very troublesome for assembly as in Patent Document 1. ineffective. In addition, when checking the state of the wire in the horizontal bar after assembly, only a limited check can be made.

Moreover, as a point common to patent document 1 and patent document 2, while adopting the wire to the important component which supports a horizontal bar, the structure which spans a wire to the support | pillar which raises / lowers as a pair is employ | adopted.
Since the initial elongation of the wire easily occurs due to the patient's weight, etc., as long as the structure is used, if no countermeasures are taken, the initial adjustment to the initial elongation must be made, otherwise the interlocking elevation There is a possibility that the balance of each supporting column will be lost and the interlocking lifting will not function well.
Further, even if wire rust or the like occurs due to the influence of the installation environment condition, it is difficult to determine from the lifting operation or appearance, and thus it is difficult to determine the state until the wire breakage actually occurs.
Therefore, since it becomes difficult to move up and down, the risk of the caregiver's trouble and the risk to patient safety remain.

JP 09-047478 A JP 2009-225982 A

   In the elevating parallel bar that has the function of easily moving the horizontal bar up and down by interlocking the pillars at both ends, the wire is used for the mechanism that must be considered for safety. Assembling work must be done while paying careful attention to the situation, which is very laborious and economical, and if the initial adjustment for the initial elongation of the wire is not made, there is a possibility that the balance during interlocking may be lost. In addition, there is a risk of generating trouble for the caregiver, and it is difficult to determine the situation from the lifting operation and appearance until the wire breakage actually occurs, and there is also a risk for patient safety.

The invention of claim 1
A horizontal bar that is provided on the left and right sides of the patient so that a standing patient can support his / her body with left and right hands, and has a length that allows the patient to practice walking;
A pair of struts having an elevating mechanism for elevating the horizontal bar up and down independently on the left and right sides, and standing near both ends of the left and right horizontal bars;
In the elevating parallel bar provided with
The strut has a structure consisting of an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder,
The inner cylinder attached to the lower part of the horizontal bar has a structure that moves up and down with respect to the outer cylinder,
Having a structure for connecting the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder of one of the pair of columns using a gas spring with a lock;
Having a structure for releasing the lock of the gas spring on the support;
Furthermore, one end of a roller chain is fixed to the outer cylinder of the support column,
The roller chain is inserted into the horizontal bar and hung on a sprocket provided at the lower part of the inner cylinder of the other column, and the other end of the roller chain is fixed to the upper part of the outer cylinder of the other column.
Provided a lifting mechanism,
It is characterized by that.

The invention of claim 2 is an elevating parallel bar according to claim 1,
Fix one end of the roller chain or wire to the outer cylinder of the other column,
The roller chain or the wire is inserted into the horizontal bar and hung on a sprocket or pulley provided at the lower part of the inner cylinder of one column having the gas spring, and the other end of the roller chain or the wire is connected to the column. Fixed to the top of the outer cylinder,
Provided a lifting mechanism,
It is characterized by that.

The invention of claim 3 is the elevating parallel bar according to claim 1 or 2,
A handrail cover is provided on the entire horizontal bar,
It is characterized by that.

The invention of claim 4 is the elevating parallel bar according to claims 1 to 3,
Provide a C-ring that can be fitted into any part of the horizontal bar,
It is characterized by that.

The invention of claim 5 is the elevating parallel bar according to claims 1 to 4,
In place of the horizontal bar, a loop bar having the same length is provided,
Provide a plate to block the open part inside the loop bar,
It is characterized by that.

By providing the elevating parallel bar of the present invention,
It is possible to provide an elevating parallel bar that can be used safely and safely by the patient and that allows the caregiver to easily move the horizontal bar up and down.

It is sectional drawing and the external view of one Example of the raising / lowering parallel bar which concerns on Claim 1. It is explanatory drawing of one Example of the raising / lowering type parallel bar which concerns on Claim 1. It is sectional drawing of one Example of the raising / lowering parallel bar which concerns on Claim 2. It is an external view of one Example of the raising / lowering parallel bar which concerns on Claims 3 and 4. FIG. It is an external view of one Example of the raising / lowering parallel bar which concerns on Claim 5. It is an Example of the conventional raising / lowering parallel bar described in patent document 2. FIG.

   The lifting / lowering parallel bar according to claim 1 of the present invention is a column that supports a horizontal bar arranged side by side and can move up and down. The column has a double structure of an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder, and the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder are mutually connected. An elevating function that allows the horizontal bar to be raised and lowered by sliding up and down is provided, and an unlocking mechanism that can lock and unlock the horizontal bar at a position desired by an assistant is provided in one or a plurality of support columns. When the lock is released, an elevating assist mechanism is provided to support the supporter so that the elevating operation of the horizontal bar can be smoothly performed. Note that the lock release mechanism and the lift assist mechanism need not be limited to one support column, and when the lift assist mechanism and the lock release mechanism are provided on a plurality or all of the support columns, all of the support columns operated by the assistant on the one hand support column What is necessary is just to provide the lock release mechanism which has the interlocking mechanism which can cancel | release a lock | rock.

   All the struts are provided with a sleeve between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, and mechanical static friction and dynamic friction generated between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are adjusted in advance when designing the clearance between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. Reduce enough so as not to affect the lifting function. Due to recent developments in manufacturing and processing technology, smooth sliding between the inner and outer cylinders of the column is achieved by adjusting the design clearance without any special mechanism to the extent that there is no hindrance to the lifting and lowering operation of the horizontal bar. It is possible.

For a support column (hereinafter referred to as an isolation column) that is not provided with a lift assist mechanism, the gas spring unlocking of a column (hereinafter referred to as a hand column) at a position where an assistant moves up and down is performed. If the horizontal rod is lifted upward and the inner cylinder or the outer cylinder of the isolation column is slid upward, the details will be described later as a specific example, but extra force is required when lifting. For this reason, a roller chain or a rope-like part having the same performance (hereinafter referred to as a roller chain) is inserted into the horizontal bar, and an inner cylinder elevating mechanism using a moving pulley structure constituted by a sprocket is used as an isolation post. The roller chain is fixed at one end to the outer cylinder of the isolation column, the middle is hung on the moving pulley structure, and the other end is fixed to the outer column of the hand column that the assistant pulls up. An elevating mechanism is provided that lifts the isolation column by the same amount that the horizontal bar is pulled up on the hand column.
In the above example, the inner cylinder is the elevating part and the outer cylinder is the fixing part, but the outer cylinder may be the elevating part and the inner cylinder may be the fixing part. In this case, it is sufficient to replace the words of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder in the above description.
The mechanism is not limited to a roller chain, and may be a rope-like part having equivalent performance and a sprocket, sheave, or pulley according to the rope-like part.

   Therefore, after the assistant operates the unlocking mechanism, the level of the horizontal bar can be raised and lowered smoothly and easily, and the mechanism that reduces the force required when the assistant investigates the level of the horizontal bar. Thus, it is possible to easily raise and lower the horizontal bar.

In addition, one of the performances that patients should pay careful attention to when practicing walking is the support force of the horizontal bar. A support mechanism using a gas spring is provided at the supporter's hand column, and a gas spring is selected according to the required support force. In the isolation column, a support mechanism having a moving pulley structure using the roller chain and sprocket described above is provided, and a mechanism for reducing the tensile load applied to the roller chain is provided.
Since the roller chain has a low initial elongation, a high tensile breaking load, and functions as an elastic body as a whole, it is resistant to sudden impacts and the like. Furthermore, the roller chain does not need to pay attention to deterioration that is likely to occur at the time of manufacture, such as twisting or kinking in the wire, especially scratches when inserted into a long horizontal bar, and it is easy to handle during assembly. Later, it is easy to visually confirm the state and it is easy to maintain performance uniformity during assembly, so there is little variation in the life of the horizontal bar with respect to the supporting force and subsequent load resistance.
In addition, the interlocking of the lifting and lowering operations of the hand column 4 and the isolation column 5 can be performed by a single roller chain or an equivalent rope-shaped component without passing any rope-shaped component. It can be planned and is economical.
In addition, when rust or the like is generated on the roller chain or sprocket, it appears directly in the movement of the roller chain and sprocket, and it appears in the phenomenon that it becomes difficult to move the horizontal bar up and down smoothly. It is possible to easily determine the replacement time, and it is also possible to determine an appropriate maintenance time for the important horizontal bar support force.

   Therefore, it is possible to economically provide an elevating parallel bar that has little variation in the supporting force of the horizontal bar and has high safety.

The liftable parallel bar according to claim 2 of the present invention is the case where the machine is moved at the time of unloading or loading in the above-described claim 1, and the sliding function of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder of the hand column is When the two bars work together to hold and lift both ends of the horizontal bar while the hangs on, the horizontal bar is distorted or bent, causing the isolation column to rise up and installed inside the isolation column There is a possibility that the roller chain may come off from the sprocket in the moving pulley structure and the horizontal bar may be distorted unexpectedly.
This is because the load applied to the bottom of the horizontal bar in the isolation column is handled by the lifting mechanism, but the upward load that does not occur during normal use is the clearance between the inner and outer cylinders and the horizontal bar. This is because it is made to correspond only by the distortion.
Since this phenomenon has a correlation with the length of the horizontal bar, there is no particular problem when the length of the horizontal bar is short.

To cope with this, even if the isolation column is lifted with the hand column locked, even if the inner cylinder of the isolation column does not slide upward, or the roller chain slides upward, the roller chain will remain in the sprocket. It is necessary to provide a mechanism that does not disengage.
As an example of the mechanism, a mechanism similar to the mechanism having the moving pulley structure provided in the isolation column is inserted into the horizontal bar separately from the roller chain described above from the economical viewpoint due to the common use of the members, and the same structure as the hand column. Also provided.
If the said mechanism is provided, when the isolation | separation support | pillar is lifted, the tension | tensile_strength which raises similarly will also be applied to a hand support | pillar. Then, since the lock function is applied to the hand column, the inner cylinder of the isolation column does not slide upward. In addition, when the load is applied to the part, it is at the time of carrying out the machine or carrying in the machine, and therefore, the target of the load resistance is not the patient but the weight of the part of the isolation column.
For this reason, not only the roller chain and sprocket described above, but also a wire according to the required load or other rope-like parts and sheaves and pulleys according to them can be selected from an economical viewpoint. It is.

   Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage at the time of carry-out or carry-in by providing a support mechanism having a moving pulley structure on the hand column, and by using economical and inexpensive parts, an inexpensive elevating parallel bar can be installed. Can be provided.

The elevating parallel bars according to the third to fourth aspects of the present invention are provided in consideration of the convenience of the patient when practicing walking in the first and second aspects described above.
The patient is provided with an insulating handrail cover between the patient's hand and the horizontal bar, rather than the cold bare metal bar of the horizontal bar, so that the patient can objectively understand the distance traveled during walking exercise, and the patient can walk A marker is provided so that the desired position of the horizontal bar can be freely marked so that it can be used as a guide during the practice. The handrail cover of claim 3 is more effective when mounted on the loop bar described in claim 5 described later.

   According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the elevating parallel bar according to any one of the first to fourth aspects described above is intended to expand walking practice, and is provided with a mechanism that allows the loop bar to be replaced on one side of the horizontal bar. Furthermore, by closing the loop bar with a plate, not only the parallel bar function but also an expansion function as a support base for walking practice is included.

   DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a liftable parallel bar according to claim 1. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment, and FIG. 1B is an external view of the embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of the elevating parallel bar according to claim 1. FIG. 2A is an external view for explaining a state in which the horizontal bar is raised, and FIGS. 2B and 2C are explanatory views of mechanical action effects.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the elevating parallel bar according to claim 2.
FIG. 4 is an external view of an embodiment of an elevating parallel bar according to claims 3 and 4.
FIG. 5 is an external view of an embodiment of the elevating parallel bar according to the fifth aspect.
FIG. 6 is an example of a conventional elevating parallel bar described in Patent Document 2.

One example of the elevating parallel bar according to claim 1 of the present invention is shown in FIG.
In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 (a), the elevating parallel bars are the horizontal bar 1, roller chain 3, sprockets 14, 24, 28, chain fasteners 19, 23, inner cylinders 15, 25, outer cylinders 17, 27, sleeves. 16, 26, a gas spring 33, an unlock mechanism 32, and an unlock pedal 31. Further, in the external view of FIG. 1B, it is composed of horizontal bars 1a and 1b, end caps 2a and 2b, hand columns 4a and 4b, and isolation columns 5a and 5b.
Here, in FIG. 1 (b), it is assumed that the patient intrudes between the parallel bars from the back of the external view and starts walking practice, and the right hand side of the patient is the horizontal bar (right) 1a and the hand. The left column of the patient is set to the horizontal rod (left) 1b, the proximal column (left) 4a, and the separation column (left) 5a. In the case where there is no particular relationship, the symbols “a” and “b” will not be given, and the explanation will be given as symbols 1, 4, and 5.

An embodiment of the lifting mechanism structure will be described.
The hand column 4 is composed of two cylinders, an inner cylinder 15 and an outer cylinder 17, and an outer cover whose final appearance is designed is attached for decoration.
The shapes of the inner cylinder 15 and the outer cylinder 17 are determined by a desired design such as a cylinder or a square cylinder, and a size of a built-in component or the like.
The external appearance with the outer cover attached to the hand column 4 is the hand columns 4a and 4b in FIG.
A gas spring 33 with a lock is attached to the inside of the hand column 4 so that the lock release switch faces downward, and one end of the gas spring 33 is fixed to the inner cylinder 15 of the column and the other end is fixed to the outer cylinder 17 of the column. The sleeve 16 is provided in the gap between the outer cylinder 17 and the structure is adjusted in advance so that it can be moved up and down smoothly only with this structure, and adjusted to a dimension that does not hinder the lifting operation in consideration of variation. In addition, since the lock release switch of the gas spring 33 protrudes downward, the lock release mechanism 31 is designed so that the lock release switch 31 is depressed to release the lock when the lock release pedal 31 is depressed. The unlocking pedal 32 is a position where an assistant can easily step on the leg, and is provided at a position where the horizontal bar can be easily raised and lowered while pressing the pedal.

The roller chain 3 is fixed by a chain retainer 19 at the bottom of the hand column 4, bent by a sprocket 14 provided at a connection portion between the hand column 4 and the horizontal bar 1, and inserted into the horizontal bar 1. Thereafter, the inserted roller chain 3 is bent by a sprocket 24 provided at a connection portion between the isolation column 5 and the horizontal bar 1 and guided into the isolation column 5.
The isolation column 5 is composed of two cylinders, an inner cylinder 25 and an outer cylinder 27. Here, the isolation column 5 has basically the same structure as the hand column 4 from an economical viewpoint. The sleeve 26 is provided in the gap between the inner cylinder 25 and the outer cylinder 27 in the same manner as the hand column 4, and the dimensions are adjusted in the same manner as the hand column 4 so that the structure can be lifted and lowered smoothly only by this structure.
The roller chain 3 guided to the inside of the isolation column 5 is hung on a sprocket 28 serving as a moving pulley and fixed by a chain clip 23.
When the horizontal bar 1 is raised, the length of the roller chain 3 corresponding to the raising distance of the hand column 4 is wound inside the hand column 4, and the same amount as the length of the rolled roller chain 3 is isolated by the sprocket 28. The same distance as the length sent out from the support 5 and sprocket 28 is the ascending distance of the isolation support 5, and the ascending distance of the hand support 4 and the isolation support 5 is automatically the same distance.
When the patient leans on the position of the isolation column 5, the patient's load is directly applied to the sprocket 28 and is supported by the roller chain 3. The roller chain 3 is supported by the sprockets 28, 24, and 14 and the fasteners 19 and 23. Since the sprocket 28 has a moving pulley structure, the load applied as the tension of the roller chain 3 is 1 /. 2 However, since the sprocket 28 is directly subjected to the patient's load, a sufficiently durable material and structure should be selected for the sprocket selection and mounting structure.

For the horizontal bar 1, it is preferable to select a metal hollow round bar or an equivalent or higher one in consideration of durability and load resistance. Several lengths of the horizontal bar 1 are provided according to the required situation. Some of the long ones are over 5m and some of them are about 1m. In the case of a short one, it is mainly used for home use. Therefore, the weight is reduced by using a resin material or the like as a material such as a horizontal bar. The long ones are mainly used for business purposes, so the design should fully consider the load resistance of all parts.
When selecting the gas spring 33 with a lock, select the gas spring 33 with a performance that satisfies the load resistance required when supporting the horizontal bar 1 by selecting the gas reaction force, stroke, maximum length, and the like. In addition, when it is desired to provide the horizontal bar with an assist function during raising and lowering, it is preferable that the gas reaction force is slightly stronger than the load of the horizontal bar itself.
The roller chain 3 has a relatively low initial elongation than the wire 21 and a relatively high tensile breaking load.
As a feature, the structure of the roller chain 3 is an aggregate of structures having a small configuration, and thus has a function as an elastic body as a whole, and also has an ability to absorb external impacts and the like. A size corresponding to the tensile breaking load required for supporting the horizontal bar 1 from the roller chain 3 and a size that can be inserted into the horizontal bar 1 are selected. The sprocket 14 is also selected according to the roller chain 3. Here, as described in claim 2, if a size is selected in consideration of the possibility of inserting the two roller chains 3 into the horizontal bar 1, it is possible to cope with the case where two are required later. It is easy. Note that it is not always necessary to select two roller chains 3. If a set of the roller chain 3 and the wire 21 is selected, the size of the roller chain 3 can be increased. It is also possible to select a strong roller chain 3.

Based on the above-described embodiment, the state when the assistant actually uses the lifting function will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 2 (a), when the assistant actually raises the horizontal bar 1a, the assistant determines the height while raising the horizontal bar 1a upward at the position of the hand column 4a while releasing the lock release pedal 31 with his / her leg. Then, the leg of the unlocking pedal 31 is released to fix the height of the horizontal bar 1a.
If measures such as a gas spring and a lifting mechanism are not taken at all so as to be easily understood, useless force is required when pulling up as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2B, all the masses including a set of parts and other frictions for lifting the horizontal bar 1a are defined as mass M. Therefore, when the helper lifts the horizontal bar 1a at the center of gravity (c.g.) with another person helping to unlock the hand column 4a, the mass M of the horizontal bar 1a and the puller's pulling force F are: It will be the same. However, when the assistant alone pulls up, the horizontal bar 1a has to be lifted together with the unlocking, so that it has to be lifted at the position of the hand column 4a.

When the assistant is close to the end of the horizontal bar 1a by a distance Lm from the center of gravity (c.g.) point of the horizontal bar 1a, the lever principle works to lift the object of mass M at the center of gravity. Here, the length of the horizontal bar 1a is (Lm + Ln) × 2.
Further, since the assistant lifts the horizontal bar 1a with the right hand hb and the left hand ha, the fulcrum is the right hand hb (fp), and the left hand ha is the action point.
Therefore, if the distance from the center of gravity to the right hand is La and the width of the assistant's handle is W, a force of M × (La / W) is required to lift an object of mass M at the center of gravity.
On the other hand, when calculating based on the generated torque, the assistant's right hand hb (fp) is the power point, and the distance from the power point to the center of gravity is La, so a torque of (La × M) / 2 is required. . Here, La is obtained by Lm + W × 1/2.
As a specific example, the length of the horizontal bar 1a (Lm + Ln) × 2 = 4 m, the position Lm of the hand column 4a Lm = 1.5 m, the distance W between the left and right hands holding the horizontal bar 1a of the assistant when lifting up W = 50 cm The required force F0 is about 3.3 times the mass M according to the principle of leverage, but if the clearance of the sliding portions of the inner cylinder 15 and the outer cylinder 17 is appropriate, the sliding direction is vertical. The force that lifts the horizontal bar 1a acts very close to the center of gravity, so it is considered that a strong force so far is not necessary.
On the other hand, in the torque calculation, about 0.75 times the mass M is an extra force required, and considering the definition of the torque, it is considered that the force calculated by the torque calculation is equivalent to the extra force required for the assistant.
Therefore, if the assistant tries to pull up the horizontal bar 1a with the force F0 at the position of the hand column 4a, a force of F0 = M + M × 0.75 = 1.75 × M is required.

Here, when a gas reaction force using the gas spring according to claim 1 and an elevating mechanism using a moving pulley structure are provided, it is as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2C, since the hand column 4a and the isolation column 5a are interlocked by an elevating mechanism, the force F1 that the assistant lifts the horizontal bar 1a by the hand column 4a is divided into the isolation column 5a and divided into f4 and f5. The force of the center of gravity of the horizontal bar 1a (c.g.) is considered to be the point of action, and a lifting force of F1 = f4 + f5 is applied to this point.
Further, for the sake of easy understanding, it is assumed that a product having a gas reaction force of the gas spring equal to a half force when the horizontal bar 1a is lifted, that is, a force equivalent to f4 is selected. In this case, the gas spring bears the force f4 = 1.75 × M × 1/2 for lifting the hand column 4a, and the assistant only has to give the force f5 for lifting the isolation column 5a. And in the isolation | separation support | pillar 5a, since the moving pulley structure is used, the force of 1/2 of f5 turns into force required for F1, and a helper is F1 = 1.75 * M * 1/2 * 1. Only a force of / 2 = 7/4 * 1/2 * 1/2 * M = M * 7/16 is required.

   Further, the support post 4a is supported by the gas spring 33, so that it is possible to maintain a uniform support force with little variation, and the isolation support 5a is a moving pulley using the roller chain 33 and the sprocket 28. A mechanism for reducing the tensile load applied to the roller chain 33 is provided by supporting the column by the support mechanism having a structure. If the initial characteristic and long-term characteristic of the roller chain 33 are present, rust and the like are provided. Even if this occurs, the smooth movement of the mechanism appears clearly in the movement of the sprockets 14, 24, and 28, and the situation can be grasped by moving up and down the horizontal bar 1a. It is possible to easily determine the replacement timing without confirmation.

   In addition, when rust or the like is generated on the roller chain or sprocket, it appears directly in the movement of the roller chain and sprocket, and it appears in the phenomenon that it becomes difficult to move the horizontal bar up and down smoothly. It is possible to easily determine the replacement time, and it is also possible to determine an appropriate maintenance time for the important horizontal bar support force.

   Therefore, by providing the mechanism according to claim 1, the assistant can raise and lower the entire horizontal bar 1a smoothly and easily by the operation of raising and lowering the horizontal bar 1a at the position of the hand column 4a. It is possible to economically provide an elevating parallel bar having high safety with little variation in the support force of the horizontal bar 1a.

One example of the elevating parallel bar according to claim 2 of the present invention is shown in FIG.
In the sectional view of FIG. 3, the elevating parallel bar having the mechanism includes a horizontal bar 1, a wire 21, pulleys 18, 41 and 51, and wire fasteners 13 and 29.
In FIG. 3, the elevating parallel bar also includes the elevating mechanism according to claim 1, but the mechanism portion according to claim 1 is omitted for the description of the mechanism, and the gas spring 33 and the lock release pedal are omitted. 31 and the lock release mechanism part 32 are described.
In the mechanism shown in FIG. 1 (a) with the gas spring 33 locked, whether the horizontal bar 1 is lifted at the position of the hand column 4 or pressed from above, it should be within the load resistance of the gas spring. In this case, the hand column 4 does not move up and down. However, even if the horizontal bar 1 is pressed from above at the position of the isolation column 5, the isolation column 5 will not be lowered as long as it is within the load resistance of the sprocket 28 and the roller chain 33. Due to warping or bending, the isolation column can be lifted up, and the roller chain provided inside the isolation column can be disengaged from the sprocket in the moving pulley structure, or the horizontal bar can be unexpectedly distorted. There is.
For this reason, when the lock of the gas spring 33 is not released, a support mechanism is provided to lift the outer cylinder 27 of the isolation column 5 at the same time when the horizontal bar 1 is lifted at the position of the isolation column 5.
The mechanism is basically the same as the support mechanism having the moving pulley structure according to claim 1, and the end portion of the wire 21 is fixed to the wire fastener 29 at the lower part of the isolation column 5, and the horizontal direction is obtained through the pulley 51. The gas spring 33 is fixed to the inner cylinder 15 of the hand column 4 by inserting the wire 21 into the rod 1, introducing the wire 21 into the hand column 4 by the pulley 41, and hanging the wire on the movable pulley by the pulley 18. The tension was applied to.
However, the difference from the moving pulley structure in claim 1 is that the load applied to the supporting portion is only the mass of the lower portion of the isolation column 5, and therefore can be considered completely independent of the load on the patient. A high safety factor is also unnecessary.
Therefore, it is possible to provide a lifting / lowering parallel bar that gives priority to economy by adopting a mechanism using economical and inexpensive parts for the portion.

One embodiment of the elevating parallel bar according to claims 3 and 4 of the present invention is shown in FIG.
The elevating parallel bar having the mechanism includes a handrail cover 22 and a C ring 6 in the external view of FIG.
Since the horizontal bar 1 has a load resistance and durability, the material of the horizontal bar 1 is often a metal rather than a resin. Therefore, one part of the horizontal bar of the elevating parallel bar is a very cold metal bar, and the patient will be forced to practice walking with a cold metal bar, especially during cold weather such as in winter. In addition, it will be more severe.
Here, a heat-insulating resin handrail cover 22 is provided on the horizontal bar 1, and the handrail cover 22 is attached to a metal bar so as to moderate the severe walking practice for the patient.
Although not shown in FIG. 4, the handrail cover 22 is provided with a slit on the lower side of the horizontal bar 1 so that it can be detached even afterward.
This is because the handrail cover 22 is a part held by the patient, so that the deterioration is drastically replaceable, and when attached to a curved bar such as a loop bar according to claim 5 described later, By shifting between the slits of the handrail cover 22 with respect to the outside, there is an effect of preventing wrinkles of the handrail cover 22.
The material of the handrail cover 22 is not particularly limited, but a material made of resin or rubber and resistant to oils and fats such as hands is preferable. As for the flexibility and hardness of the material, the material properties are selected to such an extent that wrinkles do not occur according to the curvature of the curved bar.

   Further, when the handrail cover 22 is attached to the horizontal bar 1, it may be necessary to separate the handrail cover 22 at a connection portion between the columns 4 and 5 and the horizontal bar 1. By fitting the dedicated C-ring 6 shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 4 into the seam, the joint of the handrail cover 22 can be made to look good, and the C-ring 6 can be fitted in the middle of the handrail cover 22. By making this possible, it is possible to objectively understand the distance traveled when the patient proceeds during walking practice. Further, since it can be used as a marker that can be freely marked at a desired place on the horizontal bar 1, convenience for the patient can be improved.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the elevating parallel bar according to claim 5 of the present invention.
The elevating parallel bar having the mechanism includes a loop bar slide support bar 8, a loop bar slide mechanism 9, a loop bar 10, and a plate 7 in the external view of FIG.
The loop bar 10 allows the patient to practice walking by going around the outer periphery of the bar, and by attaching this, the patient can perform both walking exercises supported by left and right hands and walking exercise supported by one hand. It becomes possible with a stand, and it saves the trouble of installing a loop bar device separately from the parallel bar, and it is an economical device because it can provide a single loop bar device having the same lifting function as the lifting parallel bar.
Further, since the slide mechanism portion 9 is provided in the loop bar 10, when the inside of the loop bar 10 is used as the horizontal bar 1b, the interval between the horizontal bars 1a and 1b can be adjusted.
In addition, by closing the opening portion of the loop bar 10 with the plate 7, it is possible to include a support base having the same lifting function as the lifting parallel bar.

The loop bar 10 is made of a metal pipe in order to withstand the load from the patient. However, due to the recent improvement in manufacturing technology, the looping curvature can be suppressed to within R150. This makes it possible to provide a compact loop bar 10 instead of an extra wide loop bar 10.
Actually, the width of the loop bar 10 is preferably about 200 mm to 600 mm, depending on the application. This is because the distance between the horizontal bars 1 of the elevating parallel bars is approximately 400 to 600 mm.
The loop bar 10 is connected to and supported by an elevating parallel bar at a central position by a loop bar support bar 8, and loop bar slide mechanism portions 9 are provided at both ends of the loop bar support bar 8.
The loop bar slide mechanism 9 has a simple structure, and is fixed by sandwiching square bars provided on both inner sides of the loop bar 10 between upper and lower plates of the loop bar slide mechanism 9. The fixing mechanism is provided with a fixing bar that penetrates the tip of the upper and lower plates of the loop bar slide mechanism unit 9 and a lock lever that locks the upper plate by fixing one of the fixing rods to the lower plate and tilting the upper plate. The material of the lock lever may be either resin or metal.

   The plate 7 has a shape shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 5 so as to be fitted inside the loop bar 10, and a burr is provided at the end so that the plate 7 does not easily come off after being fitted into the loop bar. The material of the plate 7 may be either resin or metal, but it is preferable to use resin if the risk of dropping and dropping is taken into consideration. Moreover, even if it is wooden, there is no particular problem.

1, 1a, 1b Horizontal bar 2, 2a, 2b End cap 3 Roller chain 4, 4a, 4b Hand column 5, 5a, 5b Isolation column 6 C ring 7 Plate 8 Loop bar support rod 9 Loop bar slide mechanism 10 Loop bar 13, 29 Wire retainer 14, 24, 28 Sprocket 15, 25 Inner tube 16, 26 Sleeve 17, 27 Outer tube 18, 41, 51 Pulley 19, 23 Chain retainer 21 Wire 22 Handrail cover 31 Unlocking pedal 32 Unlocking mechanism 33 Gas Spring

Claims (5)

A horizontal bar that is provided on the left and right sides of the patient so that a standing patient can support his / her body with left and right hands, and has a length that allows the patient to practice walking;
A pair of struts having an elevating mechanism for elevating the horizontal bar up and down independently on the left and right sides, and standing near both ends of the left and right horizontal bars;
In the elevating parallel bar provided with
The strut has a structure consisting of an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder,
The inner cylinder attached to the lower part of the horizontal bar has a structure that moves up and down with respect to the outer cylinder,
Having a structure for connecting the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder of one of the pair of columns using a gas spring with a lock;
Having a structure for releasing the lock of the gas spring on the support;
Furthermore, one end of a roller chain is fixed to the outer cylinder of the support column,
The roller chain is inserted into the horizontal bar and hung on a sprocket provided at the lower part of the inner cylinder of the other column, and the other end of the roller chain is fixed to the upper part of the outer cylinder of the other column.
Provided a lifting mechanism,
An elevating parallel bar characterized by that. Fix one end of the roller chain or wire to the outer cylinder of the other column,
The roller chain or the wire is inserted into the horizontal bar and hung on a sprocket or pulley provided at the lower part of the inner cylinder of one column having the gas spring, and the other end of the roller chain or the wire is connected to the column. Fixed to the top of the outer cylinder,
Provided a lifting mechanism,
The elevating parallel bar according to claim 1. A handrail cover is provided on the entire horizontal bar,
The elevating parallel bar according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the elevating parallel bar is provided. Provide a C-ring that can be fitted into any part of the horizontal bar,
The elevating parallel bar according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elevating parallel bar is provided. In place of the horizontal bar, a loop bar having the same length is provided,
Provide a plate to block the open part inside the loop bar,
The elevating parallel bar according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the elevating parallel bar is provided.

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