JPH0160257B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention was made with the hope that people with spinal cord injuries, especially those with severe spinal cord injuries, would be able to use their remaining functions to freely drive a wheelchair. The crank attached to the front of the wheelchair and the chain wheel of the large wheel are connected by a chain, and the reciprocating motion of the crank is converted into the rotational motion of the large wheel to move the wheelchair forward. By having a backstop function that prevents reverse rotation, it makes it easier to climb uphill slopes and slopes that limit the expansion of the movement radius.The crank is equipped with a transmission mechanism, and between the wheel hub and hub axle there is a forward movement mechanism. - This relates to a wheelchair with a built-in neutral back change mechanism.

To explain a little more about people with severe spinal cord injuries, the spinal cord becomes damaged due to a fracture or dislodgement of the pelvic bone and loses its function. As a result, paralysis occurs below the level of the damaged spinal cord, and all autonomic nervous functions, including movement, sensation, urination and defecation, sweating, are impaired. As for residual function, only insufficient movement of the shoulder joint, elbow joint, and wrist joint is observed in cases of large and low cases.
In other words, the upper arm and forearm move, albeit insufficiently, but the five fingers do not move, so the grip strength is not weak. This residual function is extremely important, and through training, small improvements in the tools used, and various innovations, the range of daily life that a person can perform independently can be expanded. This wheelchair is one of them.

When a person with severe spinal cord injury rolls a wheelchair, they do not have the grip strength, so they attach materials with a high coefficient of friction to the hand rims, create unevenness, or attach protrusions so that they can press down on the hand rims with the palms of their hands. If so, I can somehow move my wheelchair freely indoors. However, it is no exaggeration to say that there was no definitive method because the force was dispersed in many directions and the propulsion force was small. Outdoors, it is impossible to climb even the slightest incline at the entrance or between buildings. Even if you get halfway up, you don't have the strength to climb all the way up, and the arm holding down the hand rim gets tired and eventually gives out. If the caster turns in the opposite direction to the direction the wheelchair is traveling while going uphill, the physical strength needed to return it to its original position and climb back up becomes fatigued and there is no longer any strength left. You might think that it would be a good idea to apply the brakes and take a break halfway up the slope, but this method is difficult and dangerous because the moment the brakes are released, the wheelchair will start to roll back. Currently, their radius of movement is small and they live within a very limited and narrow area. Additionally, electric wheelchairs are heavy because they use batteries, and require constant maintenance and charging. Above all, because the remaining functions are not used, there is a risk of the remaining functions becoming stiff and degenerate, and it is not good for the body because it does not provide exercise. Therefore, the use of electric wheelchairs is not recommended for orthopedics or physical therapy.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the drawings are examples.
The configuration of the present invention will be explained according to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of the invention. Compared to regular wheelchairs, the wheels are smaller and there are no hand rims. Instead, a crank 2 with a pedal 3 at the end is attached near the caster to drive the wheelchair. A chain 11 connected to a slider 7 that slides in a hole cut into the crank 2 goes half around a chain wheel 17 for rotating a large wheel hub 12 and is connected to a tension coil spring 19. The reciprocating motion of crank 2 is controlled by wheel hub 1.
The wheelchair moves forward by converting it into the rotational motion of step 2. The change lever 41 is used to change the rotation of the wheel hub 12 between forward, neutral, and reverse.

FIG. 2 is a front view and a left side view of the crank section. A bracket incorporating a bearing box is fixed at the intersection of the vertical axis of the caster and the frame to receive the crankshaft 1. A crank 2 is fastened to the crankshaft 1 with a screw, and a pedal 3 incorporating a bearing is provided at the tip of the crank 2. An E-shaped long hole is cut in the upper part of the crank 2, and a circular slider 4, which is slightly thicker than the crank 2, is inserted into the long hole. conclude. On the other hand, a long hole is cut in the lower part of the crank 2, and an elongated slider 7, which is slightly thicker than the crank 2, is fitted therein, and is sandwiched between the guide plates 8 and fastened with screws. A pin is provided at the tip of the slider 7, which is sandwiched between the extended connecting plate 5 and fixed with a retaining ring to connect the slider 4 and the slider 7. A chain connecting shaft 9 is attached to the center of the slider 7 so as to come out inside the wheelchair, and a chain holder 10 incorporating a bearing at the tip is fixed with a retaining ring. A chain 11 is connected to a chain holder 10, and moving to FIG. 3, the chain 11 is a hub shaft 1 that rotates a wheel hub 12 of a large wheel.
Bearing 14 with axis 3, one-way clutch 1
5, go halfway around the chain wheel 17 fixed to the housing 16 incorporating the spring holder 1, and return to FIG.
It is connected to a tension coil spring 19 whose tip is connected to 8. One method for this connection is to connect two tension coil springs 19 in parallel. A crank stopper 20, which serves as the starting point or ending point of the reciprocating motion of the crank 2, is fixed to the frame, and the position of the pedal 3 can be changed depending on where the crank stopper 20 is fixed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the left wheel hub section taken along line A--A in FIG. 1. The hub shaft 13 is supported and fixed by a hub bearing 21 and a hub bearing 22 incorporating bearings, and is screwed to a bracket fixed to the frame. A flange with spoke holes formed in a wheel hub 12 is driven and fixed with a parallel pin, and the wheel hub 12 incorporating a bearing 23 is fitted into a hub axle 13 and fixed with a retaining ring. Insert the spoke bolt 25 into the sliding wheel 24 that slides inside the wheel hub 12, pass it through the hole cut into the hub axle 13, and insert it into the sliding bush 26 that slides inside the hub axle 13, which has been bored out. Screw it.
A pin 27 is attached to the side of the sliding wheel 24.
The pin 28 is inserted into the hole drilled on the side of the wheel hub 12 so that it fits easily into the hole, and the pin 28 is inserted into the other side. A spur gear 30 incorporating a bearing 29 is fitted into the hub shaft 13 and fixed with a retaining ring. A pinhole plate 31 having a hole into which the pin 28 is fitted is driven into the spur gear 30 with a parallel pin and fixed to the spur gear 30 to make it integral. Spur gear 30
A pinion 32 is meshed between the wheel hub 12 and the wheel hub 12, and the gear side 33 of the pinion 32 is connected to the ring plate 3.
4, and attach the ring plate 3 to the hub bearing 21.
4 is fixed with a parallel pin to make it one piece. In the end, the wheel hub 12 is supported by the bearing 23 and the small gear 32 and rotates. A compression coil spring 3 is installed between the sliding bush 26 and a spring seat 35 fixed to the hub axle 13 with a retaining ring.
Compress 6 a little and put it in. Thrust needle bearing 3 is attached to the head of sliding bush 26.
7. Insert the wire cap 38 in this order, pass the cable wire 39 through the wire cap 38, and take it out to the wire holder 40 provided on the frame. Sliding wheel 24 sliding by cable wire 39, spoke bottle 25, sliding bush 26, pin 27, pin 28,
The seven points, the thrust needle bearing 37 and the wire cap 38, are hereinafter referred to as a changer.

FIG. 4 is a front view and a left partial side view of the change lever section. The change lever 41 has a lever shaft 42 screwed to a bracket provided at the lower part of the frame as a fulcrum, and is supported by a change plate 43 provided in the middle of the frame. Wire holder 44 provided in the frame
The cable wire 39 is passed through the joint plate 45, and the joint plate 45 is taken out and fastened with screws. The joint plate 45 and the change lever 41 are connected by a tension coil spring 46 having enough force to compress the compression coil spring 36. The cable wire 39 is pulled by sequentially fitting the change lever 41 into the projections provided on the change plate 43. At the end of the configuration description, the drive on the right must be made symmetrically to the left. The brakes are applied by pressing the brake lever with the palm of your hand.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the transmission mechanism and a front view of the driving operation. The positions of the chain connecting shaft 9 when the slig 4 is fitted into the tip of the E-shaped long hole cut in the crank 2 in Fig. 2 are A, C, and E.
shall be. The length of the arc drawn by the chain connecting shaft 9 when the crank 2 is reciprocated once is AB, CD, respectively.
EF, and the chain wheel 17 rotates by a length equal to AB, CD, and EF with respect to the circumference of the pitch diameter of the chain wheel 17. Therefore, AB with the longest arc length is high speed, CD is medium speed, and EF
becomes low speed, and speed and thrusting force are inversely proportional.

This wheelchair is designed so that it can be driven and operated by levers using the muscular strength of the upper arm.
It has the functions of forward overrunning, neutral, reverse 3-speed drive, reverse backstop, and reverse overrunning. I will explain them one by one.

In FIG. 5, the pedal 3 is placed in the palm of the hand and the crank 2 is extended using the muscle strength of the upper arm. In FIG. 4, when the change lever 41 is in position D, the crank 2 rotates counterclockwise to pull the chain 11, and rotates the chain wheel 17 counterclockwise to pull the tension coil spring 19. Stretch.
In FIG. 3, the one-way clutch 15 is locked by counterclockwise rotation of the chain wheel 17, and the hub axle 13 is also rotated counterclockwise. The rotation of the hub shaft 13 is transmitted to the wheel hub 12 by the changer, and the wheelchair moves forward. At this time, the counterclockwise rotation transmitted from the wheel hub 12 changes to the clockwise rotation of the spur gear 30 via the small gear 32, which is idle relative to the counterclockwise rotation of the hub shaft 13. Next, when the muscle force applied to the pedal 3 is relaxed, the one-way clutch 15 is unlocked by the elasticity of the tension coil spring 19, the chain wheel 17 rotates clockwise, and the crank 2 is moved to the crank stopper 20. limited and stopped. This instant,
The wheel hub 12 and hub shaft 13 are rotating counterclockwise, and the wheelchair is moving. If you repeat this action, the wheelchair will run, and if you make the action faster, it will become faster.

Backstop means that the large wheels no longer rotate in the opposite direction with respect to the direction in which the wheelchair is moving, and if even a slight force is applied to the wheelchair to cause it to back up, the wheelchair will stop exactly in that position. When you release your hand from the pedal 3 on an uphill slope, the clockwise rotation will move from the wheel hub 12 through the changer to the hub axle 13.
transmitted to. At that moment, one-way clutch 15
attempts to rotate the locking crank 2 clockwise, but the crank 2 is restricted by the crank stopper 20 and cannot rotate. This transmission occurs instantaneously, so the casters stop exactly in place, facing the direction the wheelchair is traveling.

Overrunning occurs when you are running downhill or accelerating. The steering of this wheelchair is such that when you want to make a big turn, you drive on one side opposite to the direction you want to turn, and when you want to make a small turn, you apply the brakes on the side you want to turn and drive the other side, so you can turn at right angles, and you can also make U-turns. do. Back drive on one side,
If the opposite side is driven forward, the wheelchair will spin around like a top. When going downhill, you can steer the vehicle by intentionally adjusting the force applied to the left and right brakes. In contrast to the forward drive, counterclockwise rotation is transmitted from the wheel hub 12 through the changer to the hub axle 13, so the one-way clutch 15 is unlocked, and the crank 2 remains stationary, causing the wheelchair to move. running

Next, let's talk about neutrals. In FIG. 4, when the change lever 41 is fitted into the N position, the tension coil spring 46 is inserted into the cable wire 39.
pull. In FIG. 3, the changer slides while compressing the compression coil spring 36, the pin 27 comes out of the wheel hub 12, and the pin 28 is still attached to the pinhole plate 31.
Since it does not fit into the wheel hub 12
is free to rotate with respect to the hub shaft 13. Even when crank 2 is activated, the wheelchair spins freely, and when someone else pushes the wheelchair, it moves freely back and forth.

In FIG. 4, when the change lever 41 is inserted into position B, it becomes a back drive. In FIG. 3, the changer slides and the pin 28 fits into the pinhole plate 31. Then,
The counterclockwise rotation of the hub shaft 13 changes from the spur gear 30 to the pinion gear 32 to the clockwise rotation of the wheel hub 12, and the wheelchair backs up.

The backstop of a back drive means that when the wheelchair is backing up, if even the slightest force is applied to the wheelchair to move it forward, it will stop exactly at that position. The counterclockwise rotation of the wheel hub 12 is caused by the hub shaft 13 via the changer.
When the rotation is transmitted to , the rotation changes to a clockwise direction, and although the one-way clutch 15 attempts to rotate the locking crank 2 clockwise, it is restricted by the crank stopper 20 and cannot rotate.

Back overrunning means that when the wheelchair is backing up due to acceleration, crank 2 remains stationary. When the clockwise rotation of the wheel hub 12 is transmitted to the hub axle 13 via the changer, it changes to counterclockwise rotation, and the one-way clutch 15 is unlocked.

The features of this invention are to make good use of the remaining functions of a person with spinal cord injury to freely drive the wheelchair, to physically increase the muscle strength of the upper arms, to have large wheels, and to have a backstop mechanism to expand the radius of movement. It's there to do. The effects will be explained below.

The remaining functions of physically disabled people will deteriorate if they are not constantly used and trained under the guidance of a physical therapist. In this respect, unlike electric wheelchairs, this wheelchair is driven using residual functions, so the residual functions are constantly being trained and strengthened, and there is no risk of the remaining functions becoming stiff or deteriorating. Also, using your remaining functions means exercising, which improves the functions of your digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems, which is good for your body.

Reduction of transmission force due to friction and tension coil spring 19
Without considering the elasticity of the upper arm, this driving method can convert all of the muscle strength of the upper arm into rotational force. This is not possible with the conventional way of rolling a wheelchair, and by making the large wheels smaller and crank 2 longer, it is possible to physically increase the muscle strength of the upper arms and apply it to the large wheels. It becomes a wheelchair that provides propulsion.

If the uphill slope is long or the slope is too large to climb all at once, the backstop mechanism will work instantly even if you release the pedals 3, so the casters will stop exactly at that position while facing the direction in which the wheelchair is traveling. , the wheelchair does not move backwards. This is safe because it does not require instantaneous braking during the uphill climb, and it is very easy to start, and even if you get tired of driving, you can continue climbing with several breaks along the way. Your climbing ability will increase dramatically.

Being able to drive backwards means being able to turn in a tighter radius. By applying the brakes on the side you want to turn and driving the other side, you can turn at right angles or make U-turns. If you are in a narrow space where you cannot turn using the above method, you can set the side you want to turn in backward drive and the opposite side in forward drive, and the wheelchair will spin like a top. With this method, it is possible to change direction as long as the width is the entire length of the wheelchair, which is a typical example of ``quick turning.'' In narrow spaces where you cannot do the above, or where the width is almost the same as the wheelchair, you can use the back drive. An unusual way to use the back drive is to overcome small steps because the diameter of the large wheels is larger than the diameter of the caster.

In addition to living indoors in a wheelchair, I seek out my range of activities outdoors, and if the road is flat, I drive at high speeds.
You can slow down when going uphill. In addition, even on ordinary roads with a ridged cross section, the left and right drive devices are independent, so there is no need to intentionally adjust the muscle force applied to the left and right pedals 3 or make the left and right gear ratios the same.
If you change it, you can run it even on the edge of the road. Since you can select the gear shift according to the road surface you are driving on, the radius of action becomes larger.

Of course, it can be folded, and when you have someone else push this wheelchair, you can use the neutral mode, and the large wheels can rotate freely back and forth. This wheelchair drives the pedals 3 and does not require hand rims. Therefore, an effective method is to make the large wheels smaller, and by arranging the center of the hub axle 13 to be on the extension line of the backrest pipe, the length of the wheelchair can be reduced. Also, the width of the wheelchair does not change because the hand rims become the frame, and this frame protects the drive unit. Overall, the wheelchair is more compact than conventional wheelchairs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall view of the invention, Fig. 2 is a front view and left side view of the crank section, and Fig. 3 is A-A in Fig. 1.
Sectional view of the left wheel hub section along the line, No. 4
The figures are a front view, a left side view, and a plan view of the change lever part, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the transmission mechanism and a front view of the drive operation. 1: crankshaft, 2: crank, 3: pedal,
4: Slider, 5: Connection plate, 6: Gear shift lever, 7: Slider, 8: Guide plate, 9: Chain connection shaft, 10: Chain holder, 11:
Chain, 12: Wheel hub, 13: Hub axle,
14: Bearing, 15: One-way clutch, 1
6: Housing, 17: Chain wheel, 1
8: Spring holder, 19: Tension coil spring, 2
0: Crank stopper, 21: Hub bearing, 2
2: Hub bearing, 23: Bearing, 24: Sliding wheel, 25: Spoke bolt, 2
6: Sliding button, 27: Pin, 2
8: Pin, 29: Bearing, 30: Spur gear, 3
1: Pinhole plate, 32: Small gear, 33:
Gear shaft, 34: Ring plate, 35: Spring seat,
36: Compression coil spring, 37: Thrust needle bearing, 38: Wire cap, 39: Cable wire, 40: Wire holder, 41: Change lever, 42: Lever shaft, 43: Change plate, 44: Wire holder, 45: Joy Into plate, 46: tension coil spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The crankshaft 1 provided on the frame near the caster is the axis, and the slider 7 is fitted into the slotted hole at the bottom of the crank 2, which has a pedal 3 at its tip, and the slider 4 is fitted into the slotted hole at the top with a protrusion. The chain 11 is connected to the slider 7, and the chain wheel 17, which is fixed to a housing 16 that incorporates a bearing 14 and a one-way clutch 15 centered on the hub axle 13, is rotated halfway around and attached to a spring holder 18 provided on the frame. A spur gear is connected to a tension coil spring 19 whose tip is connected, a crank stopper 20 is provided on the frame, a small gear 32 is internally meshed with the wheel hub 12, and a spur gear is integrated with a pinhole plate 31 whose axis is the hub axle 13. 30, the gear shaft 33 of the small gear 32 is inserted into the ring plate 34, and the sliding wheel 24
Pins 27 and 28 are implanted on both sides of the wheel hub 12, and even if the pin 27 comes out of the hole on the side of the wheel hub 12, there is enough space for the pin 28 to still not fit into the pinhole plate 31. Insert the spoke bolt 25 into the hub axle 13 through a chiseled hole, screw it into the bored sliding button 26 in the hub axle 13, and connect the spring seat 35 and sliding button fixed to the hub axle 13. A cable wire 39 passed through a compression coil spring 36 inserted between 26 and a tension coil spring 46 whose tip is connected to a change lever 41 is connected to the change plate 43.
This wheelchair is configured such that a change lever 41 is stopped by a protrusion provided on the side, and the left and right drive devices are independent and can be driven without grip strength.