RU228258U1 - Autonomous console with electric drive - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to removable devices with an electric drive, providing movement of non-self-propelled wheeled vehicles - baby carriages and wheelchairs, small cargo carts and other known non-self-propelled wheeled vehicles. The technical result of the claimed utility model is obtaining an autonomous device with an electric drive, which can be easily attached and detached to non-self-propelled wheeled vehicles of different widths without their additional alterations, by means of a universal adjustable rotary clamp included in the device, and also use the electric drive with the said vehicle attached to it as an independently controlled said vehicle, or as a pusher to help the accompanying person, and, thereby, switch (or facilitate) from muscular efforts to electric traction. An autonomous attachment with an electric drive, made in the form of a four-wheeled vehicle, contains a frame consisting of right and left parts symmetrical to each other, each of which is made in the form of two longitudinal tubes connected at the front by lower and upper support elements, on the latter of which a fork of a passively rotating wheel is fixed, and at the rear - by an axle of a motor-wheel, clamped between them. At the same time, said parts of the frame are connected to each other by a telescopic tube made with the possibility of changing the distance between said symmetrical parts of the frame, wherein a movable platform is fixed on each part of the frame, the front end of which rests on the lower connecting support element through an elastic element, the upper end of which can tilt in any direction by 360°, and the rear end of the movable platform is connected to the frame through pendulum rods and is made with the possibility of longitudinal-rotational movement relative to the longitudinal axis of the frame. At the same time, a clamping device is fixed on each movable platform, located between the longitudinal tubes of the frame.

Description

AREA OF TECHNOLOGY

The utility model relates to removable devices with an electric drive that ensure the movement of non-self-propelled wheeled vehicles - baby carriages and wheelchairs, small-sized cargo carts and other known non-self-propelled wheeled vehicles.

LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY

The prior art discloses an electric attachment to a wheelchair, disclosed in RU 193912 U1, published on 21.11.2019. The electric attachment to a wheelchair comprises an autonomous power source, a motor-wheel with a fork and a steering wheel, and a docking unit with clamps and a sleeve on the fork of the motor-wheel, connected by means of an electric circuit to the autonomous power source. In this case, the docking unit is made in the form of a right and left multi-link frame structure installed between the sleeve and the clamps, and representing lower non-separable links-levers mounted on hinges and upper composite links-levers with an automatic position lock, creating a rigid structure when fixing the upper links-levers, while the sleeve is made composite.

The disadvantage of the above mentioned electrical attachment is:

- an increase in the total dimensions of the crew (seat + attachment), which will complicate the use of non-freight elevators and maneuvers inside the premises;

- the use of this attachment is possible only if the user has both hands functioning;

- it is impossible to use this attachment as a pushing drive, easing the accompanying person’s muscular efforts, since the controls are out of reach of the accompanying person’s hands;

- the user must be seated in the chair immediately before the installation of the attachment, while in the declared attachment the user can be seated at any time: both in connection with the chair and before connection; both with an empty chair and with the user sitting in it.

In addition, a removable electric drive (electric attachment) for a wheelchair is known from the prior art, disclosed in US 9358163 B1, 07.06.2016. The electric attachment for a wheelchair comprises: a housing having an internal volume and two guides located on opposite sides of the housing and providing a rigid attachment of the rear wheels of the wheelchair, wherein each guide includes a channel for receiving a wheel of the wheelchair, wherein the housing has a plurality of removable compartments allowing the width between the guides to be changed; a roller unit located inside the channel of each guide; at least two wheels attached to opposite ends of each guide; a motor connected to the roller unit in each guide, wherein the motor is located in the internal volume of the housing. The disadvantage of the above-mentioned electric attachment is:

- the need to remove the user from the wheelchair when pairing with the attachment, since there are no guides for rolling the chair;

- the need to raise the rear axle of the chair, which bears the main weight of the rider, to a height (about 10 cm) in order to place the chair in the attachment;

- the design of the attachment interferes with the legs of the accompanying person, as it is located directly in their movement zone

- the clearance of the rear axle of the seat increases, as a result of which the rider's position changes, which leads to the need to readjust the seat to return the rider's body to its previous position by lowering the front passive wheels;

- a significant deterioration in the chair's cross-country ability due to the "replacement" of the two large rear wheels of the chair with 4 wheels of a diameter tens of times smaller, therefore, the part of the large wheels that hangs as low as possible (in order to change the rider's position less) will touch the obstacles being overcome;

- the drive does not have clamping devices for rigidly fixing the wheels of the chair with the drive, the limiters at the back and front of the channels are not enough to tightly fix the chair on the attachment, which is necessary to maintain any controllability in the event of emergency situations, when the drive, which is not properly disconnected from the chair, can cause the chair to overturn.

DISCLOSURE OF UTILITY MODEL

The objective of the claimed utility model is to increase the comfort of using a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle both by the disabled person (in the case of a wheelchair) and by the accompanying person by attaching an attachment with an electric drive to the said vehicle to transform the auxiliary device with a manual drive into an autonomous self-propelled vehicle with an electric drive and vice versa.

The technical result of the claimed utility model is obtaining an autonomous device with an electric drive, which can be easily attached and detached to non-self-propelled wheeled vehicles of different widths without additional modifications, by means of a universal adjustable rotary clamp included in the device, and also use an attachment with an electric drive with the said vehicle attached to it as an independently controlled said vehicle, or as a pusher to help the accompanying person, and, thereby, switch (or facilitate) from muscular effort to electric traction.

The said technical result is also achieved due to the fact that the autonomous attachment with an electric drive, made in the form of a four-wheeled vehicle, contains a frame consisting of right and left parts symmetrical to each other, each of which is made in the form of two longitudinal tubes connected at the front by lower and upper support elements, on the latter of which a fork of a passively rotating wheel is fixed, and at the back - by an axle of a motor-wheel, clamped between them. At the same time, the said parts of the frame are connected to each other by a telescopic tube made with the possibility of changing the distance between the said symmetrical parts of the frame, and on each part of the frame a movable platform is fixed, the front end of which rests on the lower support element through an elastic element, the upper end of which can tilt in any direction by 360°, and the rear end of the movable platform is connected to the frame through pendulum rods and is made with the possibility of longitudinal-rotational movement relative to the longitudinal axis of the frame. In this case, a clamping device is fixed on each movable platform, located between the longitudinal tubes of the frame.

Each of the motor wheels has its own rotation center in the vertical axis, with the ability to electronically control the angle of its rotation from an individual electric drive built into its axis, thus changing the direction of movement of the attachment with a chair or stroller or rotating it in place is carried out by turning the motor wheels around their vertical axis at the same or different angles required by the user, depending on the movement mode.

The clamping jaws of the clamping device of the passive wheel of a baby carriage or wheelchair are made in the form of "scissors", with the ability to squeeze/release the wheel, deviating to the sides with rotation around the longitudinal axis passing through their lower ends.

The telescopic rod contains a hinge element that allows the attachment to be folded in half and reduced in size for storage or transportation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The utility model will be more understandable from a description that is not limiting in nature and is provided with references to the attached images of the models, which show:

Fig. 1 - frame (ground) part of the declared autonomous attachment (general view).

Fig. 2 - left half of the frame in section of the declared autonomous attachment.

Fig. 3 - directions of free movement of the movable platform (subframe) and an enlarged view of the elastic element.

In Fig. 1-3 the following is designated: 1 - telescopic rod (tube); 2 - clamping collars; 3 - rod; 4 - passive wheel of the attachment; 5 - left motor-wheel of the attachment; 6 - right motor-wheel of the attachment; 7 - supporting longitudinal tube of the frame; 8 - movable platform of the frame (floating subframe); 9 - pendulum (swinging) rod with support hemispheres; 10 - inner movable clamping jaw; 11 - outer fixed clamping jaw; 12 - adjusting nut of the eccentric clamp; 13 - eccentric clamp lever; 14 - elastic element (rubber-metal vibration isolator) of the movable platform; 15 - clamped passive wheel of a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle; 16 - fork of the passive wheel of the attachment; 17 - upper support element of the frame; 18 - support hemispheres of the pendulum rod; 19 - lower support element of the frame.

IMPLEMENTATION OF A UTILITY MODEL

An autonomous attachment with an electric drive, made in the form of a four-wheeled vehicle, contains a frame consisting of right and left parts symmetrical to each other, each of which is made in the form of two longitudinal tubes (7), connected (clamped) at the front by a lower (19) and upper (17) support elements, on the latter of which a fork (16) of a passively rotating wheel is fixed, and at the rear - an axle of a motor-wheel (5, 6), clamped between the longitudinal tubes (7), each on two fork brackets. In this case, the said parts of the frame are connected to each other by a telescopic tube (1), made with the possibility of changing the distance between the said symmetrical parts of the frame. The connection of the said parts symmetrical to each other by the telescopic tube is carried out by means of the free ends of the rods (3) of the telescopic tube (1), which are fixed between the lower (19) and upper (17) brackets, and are fixed by clamps (2) rigidly welded to the telescopic tube 1 at the required distance, which is specified by the track of the attached non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle. A movable platform (7) is fixed on each part of the frame, the front end of which rests on the lower support element (19) through an elastic element (14), the upper end of which can tilt in any direction by 360° (deviate from the vertical axis along a circle or perform a pendulum swing relative to the vertical axis by 360°), and the rear end of the movable platform (7) is connected to the frame through pendulum rods (9) and is designed with the possibility of longitudinal-rotational movement relative to the longitudinal axis of the frame. In this case, a clamping device is fixed on each movable platform, located between the longitudinal tubes (7) of the frame.

Each of the motor wheels (5, 6) has its own rotation center in the vertical axis, with the ability to electronically control the angle of its rotation from an individual electric drive built into its axis. Thus, changing the direction of movement of the attachment with a chair or stroller or rotating it on the spot is carried out by turning the motor wheels around their vertical axis at the same or different angles required by the user, depending on the movement mode.

The direction of the attachment's movement is changed by disabling one of the motor wheels (5, 6), whereby the disabling motor wheel rotates around its vertical axis, and the other motor wheel rotates forward, thereby, together with the passive wheel (4) of the attachment, they move forward in a circle in the direction of the turn. If one of the motor wheels rotates backward, then this motor wheel together with the passive wheel (4) of the attachment moves backward in a circle.

The clamping device of the passive wheel of a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle is made in the form of clamping jaws of the "scissor" type and consists of an internal movable clamping jaw (10) and an external fixed clamping jaw (11). The said clamping jaws allow the wheel to be compressed/released by deflecting to the sides with rotation around the longitudinal axis passing through their lower ends.

The telescopic tube (1) contains a hinge element that allows the attachment to be folded in half and reduced in size for storage or transportation.

The declared attachment operates as follows (using a wheelchair as an example). The wheelchair user or a healthy person unfolds the attachment from the folded state. If necessary, to adjust the distance between the symmetrical parts of the frame, to install the passive wheels (15) of the wheelchair on the movable platforms (8), the wheelchair user loosens the clamps (2) and adjusts the specified distance to the required track width of the passive wheels (15) of the wheelchair, after which the clamps (2) are tightened. The free travel of the rods (3) on each side of the telescopic tube (1) is approximately 60-90 mm (indicated by arrows), thus allowing the width of the attachment frame to be adjusted within a total of 120-180 mm. If it is necessary to cover other width ranges, the attachment frame is equipped with a telescopic tube (1) ±50 mm long from the base. Thus, almost all track widths of currently existing strollers and chairs are covered.

Then the user installs the passive wheels (15) of the wheelchair on the movable platforms (8) of the frame between the clamping jaws (10, 11) of the clamping device, after which the passive wheels (15) of the wheelchair are clamped on the frame between the said jaws (10, 11) by moving the levers (13) of the eccentric clamp into a position parallel to the clamp. The adjustment of each lever (13) of the eccentric clamp is performed by a nut (12). Each of the fixed clamping jaws (11) is fixed with a bolt connection to the corresponding movable platform (8). The inner movable clamping jaws (10) are also screwed to the movable platform (8) by bolts with a gap (not shown) according to the tenon-groove principle, which allow them to move transversely to the axis of the movable platform for adjustment to the thickness of the passive wheel (15) being clamped, and hold the jaws (10) from longitudinal and vertical movements.

The device of the movable platform (8) is shown in Fig. 2. The front part of the movable platform (8) rests on the lower support element (19) via an elastic element (14), for example, a rubber-metal support, and the rear part hangs on two pendulum rods (9), which pass through the longitudinal tubes (7) of the frame and have upper and lower support hemispheres (18). The upper support hemisphere (18) rests on a spherical sample on the longitudinal tube (7) of the frame, and the movable platform (8) rests on the lower support hemisphere (18). The pendulum rods (9) can be replaced in the future with rubber-metal vibration mounts similar to the one installed in front, but installed so as to work in compression and not in tension, like the pendulum rods (9).

Thus, the movable platform (8) can freely swing like a pendulum with its rear part on the pendulum rods (9) parallel to the frame. To limit the lateral displacement during pendulum movement, a longitudinal groove is made at the bottom of the longitudinal tubes (7) of the frame, where the pendulum rod (9) comes out. An additional limitation of the movement of the movable platform (8) at the front is set by an elastic element (14), which allows it to perform longitudinal-rotary movements within the limits of its elastic deformation (see Fig. 3). This device of the movable platform (8) with a clamp of passive wheels (15) installed on it increases the maneuverability of the wheelchair with an electric drive attached to it. Both movable platforms (8), having combined connections with the frame, allow the attachment to deviate from the rectilinear position during movement, to perform maneuvers under the action of traction or braking forces from each of the drive motor wheels, and also to independently return to the rectilinear position in a state of rest, corresponding to uniform rectilinear movement, coasting movement. The elastic element of the vibration support thus forms the function of self-centering and self-return of the subframe to the average equilibrium position, corresponding to the movement of the attachment with the wheelchair in a straight line, and eliminates lateral impacts of the movable platform (8) and the clamping device on the longitudinal tubes (7) of the frame during turns.

The attachment is equipped with an autonomous power source (battery) of a fire-safe version with the ability to recharge from a 220 V network. The battery and control unit of the attachment can be located either inside the frame housing, in a separate housing on the frame, or in a housing on the frames of chairs or baby carriages.

The choice of movement modes is carried out by controlling a manual electronic manipulator (joystick), connected by wire to the control unit of the console. A wireless connection can also be used via any convenient, economical and noise-protected protocol, such as Bluetooth.

Once the wheelchair is installed, the user uses the joystick to move forward, backward, and turn in the required direction.

The use of a universal clamping device as part of the electric drive, which allows a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle to be attached to the electric drive without additional assistance or tools, by driving the front wheels of the chair onto the electric drive pre-set to the width of their track (for a wheelchair, provided that, in the case of independent use by the disabled person, both hands are functional), as well as due to the following features:

1. the design position of the attachment when connected to a chair (for wheelchairs) in the area of the user’s feet, i.e. in the area accessible to the user’s hands when bending the body forward;

2. stepless adjustment of the frame width using clamping clamps with a telescopic design;

3. stepless change of the width of the clamping jaws clamping the passive wheels of a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle;

4. eccentric clamping levers with quick locking for clamping jaws;

5. manufacturing clamping jaws with inclined guides that create a self-centering effect when installing passive wheels of a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle;

6. making a large number of holes on the clamping jaws to lighten the structure, as well as to securely fix the passive wheel of a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle by micro-pressing the rubber of the wheels into these holes;

7. equipping the eccentric clamp levers with a telescopic (extended nut), thanks to which a large coverage of the widths of the clamped passive wheels of a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle is achieved;

8. stepwise change of the position of the axes of the eccentric clamp levers to adjust their position to the diameter of the clamped passive wheels of the non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle. This feature also allows for the adjustment of the optimal longitudinal position of the attachment relative to the non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle.

9. the ability to rotate the frame of the attachment relative to a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle in the absence of a physical center of rotation of the attachment, which simplifies the design.

The utility model has been disclosed above with reference to a specific embodiment of its implementation. Other embodiments of the utility model may be obvious to specialists, which do not change its essence as disclosed in the present description. Accordingly, the utility model should be considered limited in scope only by the following formula of the utility model.

Claims (4)

1. An autonomous attachment with an electric drive, made in the form of a four-wheeled vehicle, containing a frame consisting of right and left parts symmetrical to each other, each of which is made in the form of two longitudinal tubes connected at the front by lower and upper support elements, on the latter of which a fork of a passively rotating wheel is fixed, and at the rear - by an axle of a motor-wheel, clamped between them, wherein said parts of the frame are connected to each other by a telescopic tube made with the possibility of changing the distance between said symmetrical parts of the frame, wherein a movable platform is fixed to each part of the frame, the front end of which rests on the lower connecting support element through an elastic element, the upper end of which can tilt in any direction by 360°, and the rear end of the movable platform is connected to the frame through pendulum rods and is made with the possibility of longitudinal-rotational movement relative to the longitudinal axis of the frame, wherein a clamping device in the form of clamping jaws is fixed to each movable platform, located between the longitudinal tubes of the frame. 2. The attachment according to item 1, characterized in that each of the motor wheels has its own center of rotation in the vertical axis, with the possibility of electronic control of the angle of its rotation from an individual electric drive built into its axis, thus changing the direction of movement of the attachment with a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle or rotating it on the spot is carried out by turning the motor wheels around their vertical axis at the same or different angles required by the user, depending on the movement mode. 3. The attachment according to item 1, characterized in that the clamping jaws of the clamping device of the passive wheel of a non-self-propelled wheeled vehicle are made in the form of “scissors”, with the ability to compress/release the passive wheel, deviating to the sides with rotation around the longitudinal axis passing through their lower ends. 4. The attachment according to item 1, characterized in that a hinge element is made in the telescopic rod, allowing the attachment to be folded in half and reduce its dimensions for storage or transportation.