JP3424016B2 - Manual electric wheelchair - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention detects the human power applied to one wheel or the rotation of the wheel to which this human power is applied, and provides at least the other wheel with auxiliary power according to the magnitude of the human power or the rotation of the wheel. The present invention relates to a manual electric wheelchair equipped with an auxiliary power unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are two types of wheelchairs used by persons with disabilities as means of transportation, namely, manual wheelchairs and electric wheelchairs, and persons with disabilities currently use one of them depending on the degree of the obstacle. .

[0003] By the way, for a physically handicapped person suffering from a disease in which the muscular strength is gradually reduced, switching from a manual wheelchair to an electric wheelchair is accompanied by great mental distress.

Therefore, a manual electric wheelchair is proposed as an intermediate existence between the manual wheelchair and the electric wheelchair.
This manual electric wheelchair is to reduce the burden on a disabled person by detecting the human power (operation force) applied to the wheel and applying a driving force of a magnitude corresponding to the human power to the wheel as auxiliary power. According to this, the physically handicapped person can operate as if he / she were in a wheelchair, and the mental distress was alleviated.

[0005]

However, in such a manual electric wheelchair, it is premised that the handicapped person turns the left and right wheels with the same force, so that, for example, one arm is paralyzed, which is completely ineffective. There is a problem that disabled persons cannot use the wheelchair.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated electric wheelchair that can be used by persons with physical disabilities who cannot use one arm at all.

[0007]

A first aspect of the present invention is a manual electric wheelchair provided with an auxiliary power device that detects human power applied to a wheel and applies auxiliary power to the wheel according to the magnitude of the human power. The human power applied to the wheels of the vehicle is detected, and auxiliary power corresponding to the magnitude of the human power is applied to at least the other wheel.

A second aspect of the present invention is a manual electric wheelchair equipped with an auxiliary power device that applies auxiliary power to at least one wheel, detects rotation of one wheel to which human power is applied, and assists in response to this rotation. It is characterized by giving power to the other wheel.

[0009]

According to the present invention, even a physically handicapped person who cannot use one arm at all, if one wheel is turned by the other arm and hand, the human power (driving force) applied to the one wheel or the wheel is turned. Auxiliary power (driving force) of a magnitude commensurate with the rotation (rotation speed or displacement) of the wheel is applied to the other wheel to drive the other wheel, so that the wheelchair is as if a person with a disability rotates the wheel with both hands and both arms. It travels as if it were done.

Further, when a handicapped person who has one arm completely ineffective and the muscle strength of the other arm is weakened, when using the manual electric wheelchair, one arm and hand with weak muscles are applied to one wheel. Auxiliary power according to the applied human power is applied to the one wheel, and an auxiliary power (driving force) is applied to the other wheel, for example, by summing the human power and the auxiliary power applied to the one wheel, or If an auxiliary power (driving force) is applied to the other wheel so that the rotation of the other wheel follows the rotation of the other wheel, the left and right wheels can be supplemented by the auxiliary power for the decrease in the muscle strength of one arm of the handicapped person. Can be rotationally driven at the same number of rotations, and in this case, the wheelchair travels as if the handicapped person turned the wheel with both hands and both arms.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even a physically handicapped person who cannot use one hand at all, or a physically handicapped person who has a weakened muscle strength of the other arm, can use the manual electric wheelchair. You can

[0012]

【Example】

[First Invention] An embodiment of the first invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a side view of a manual electric wheelchair according to a first embodiment of the first invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.
3 is a rear view of the same, FIG. 4 is a broken sectional view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 showing a connecting structure of a hand rim and a wheel, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the configuration of the auxiliary power unit (electric motor and power transmission mechanism), FIG. 7 is a plan view of the same, and FIG.
1 is a side view of the brake device portion, FIG. 9 is a front view of the same, and FIG.
0 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the battery installation structure.

The manual electric wheelchair 1 according to this embodiment is an auxiliary power unit (Power Assi
st System), which is for people with disabilities who cannot use their left arm at all.

As shown in FIG. 1, the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to this embodiment has a pipe frame-shaped frame 2, and the front and rear parts of the frame 2 are a pair of left and right casters 3L. , 3R and wheels 4L, 4R are movably supported.

Further, a cloth seat 5 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) on which a person with a physical disability should sit is stretched at the center of the frame 2, and the same lower surface of the seat 5 is also made of cloth. A bag-shaped box 6 is provided, and a battery 7 is stored in the box 6. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the thin battery 7 ′ may be detachably attached to the pair of front and rear cross members 2a of the frame 2 via the hooks 7a ′.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper ends of a pair of left and right handle arms 2b which are erected upward from the rear part of the frame 2 are bent rearward, and the bent part is an assistant. A grip 8 is attached. A pair of left and right armrests 9 for the physically handicapped are attached to the upper center of the frame 2, and a step 10 is attached to the lower front end of the frame 2.
Is attached. Then, at the rear end of the pair of left and right arms 2c extending in the front-rear direction at the lower part of the frame 2,
Another arm 2d is movably fitted in the front-rear direction, and a roller 11 is rotatably supported by the rear end of each arm 2d. The arm 2d is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction by engaging a pin 12 projecting from the arm 2c with a long hole, and this is always operated by a spring (not shown) that is compressed between the arm 2d and the arm 2d. It is biased backwards.

As shown in FIG. 5, the right wheel 4R is rotatably supported by an axle 14 supported by a bracket 13 attached to the frame 2 via a ball bearing 15. On the outside of 4R, a ring-shaped hand rim 16 that the handicapped person should turn by hand is provided. The hand rim 16 is supported on the axle 14 via four spokes 17 and bearings 18 and 15 so as to be rotatable independently of the wheels 4.

The hand rim 16 is elastically connected to the wheel 4 at four points on the entire circumference by the structure shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the hand rim 16
A slider 19 is slidably fitted in a circumferential direction in a space S defined by a part of the slider, and when the force is not applied to the hand rim 16, the slider 19 contracts to the left and right thereof. The mounted springs 20 and 21 are stationary in the neutral position as shown.

On the other hand, a rod 22 is attached to the rim 4a of the wheel 4R.
The rod 22 extends toward the hand rim 16 side (outer side), and the tip of the rod 22 penetrates a long hole 23a formed in a cover 23 attached to the hand rim 16 and the slider 19 is attached. It is inserted and fitted in the center of the.

If the handicapped person holds the hand rim 16 by hand and turns it in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4, the slider 1
Since 9 slides in the opposite direction to the hand rim 16, one spring 21 contracts, the other spring 20 extends, and the reaction force of the spring 21 causes the slider 19 and the rod 2 to move.
2 is transmitted to the wheel 4 and the wheel 4R is rotationally driven in the arrow direction. At this time, relative rotation corresponding to the amount of expansion and contraction of the springs 20 and 21 occurs between the hand rim 16 and the wheel 4R.

By the way, since the amount of expansion and contraction of the springs 20 and 21 is proportional to the amount of force applied to the hand rim 16 by the handicapped person, the amount of relative rotation between the hand rim 16 and the wheel 4R is the amount of force applied to the hand rim 16. Therefore, by measuring the relative rotation amount between the two, it is possible to detect the magnitude of the human power applied to the hand rim 16. The maximum value of expansion and contraction of the springs 20 and 21 is
The maximum movement amount L of the slider 19 when the rod 22 is engaged with the elongated hole 23a of the cover 23, and when the rod 22 is engaged with the elongated hole 23a of the cover 23, the force applied to the hand rim 16 is It is directly transmitted from 16 to the wheel 4R via the rod 22.

Thus, in this embodiment, as the input detecting means for detecting the human power applied to the hand rim 16, a pair of encoders 24A and 24B for detecting the rotation angle of the wheel 4R and the hand rim as shown in FIG. A pair of encoders 25A and 25B for detecting the rotation angle of 16 are used, and the difference between the rotation angles of the wheel 4R and the hand rim 16 is used as the relative rotation amount between the two to determine the magnitude of the human power applied to the hand rim 16. I'm trying to ask. Here, the encoders 24A and 25A are fixed to the axle 14 side, the encoder 24B is fixed to the wheel 4R side, and the encoder 25
B is fixed to the hand rim 16 side.

As the means for detecting the rotation angle between the wheel 4R and the hand rim 16, any phase detecting means other than the encoder can be used.

By the way, in this embodiment, the left wheel 4L is rotatably supported by the frame 2 by a normal bearing structure, and is not provided with a rotation angle detecting means such as a hand rim and an encoder.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, at the upper position of the wheel 4L on the left side of the frame 2, the electric motor 26 constituting the power generation source of the auxiliary power unit and the driving force of the electric motor 26 are provided. The power transmission mechanism 27 for transmitting the power to the wheels 4L is attached, and details of these configurations are shown in FIG.
And shown in FIG. The electric motor 26 is rotationally driven by being supplied with electric power from the battery 7.

That is, in FIGS. 6 and 7, 28 is a bracket fixed to the frame 2, and another bracket 29 is bonded to the bracket 28, and the operation lever 30 is attached to the bracket 29. The shaft 31 is rotatably pivoted, and one end of the transmission case 32 is pivotally pivoted on a shaft 33.

As shown in FIG. 6, an arc-shaped engaging groove 32a is formed at one end of the transmission case 32, and a guide pin 34 protruding from the bracket 29 is formed in the engaging groove 32a. It is slidably engaged.

By the way, the electric motor 26 is attached to the transmission case 32, and the output shaft 26a of the electric motor 26 faces the inside of the transmission case 32, and a gear 35 is attached to the end thereof.

Further, in the transmission case 32, the worm 36
A worm shaft 37 formed integrally with is rotatably housed, and a gear 38 meshing with the gear 35 is connected to the worm shaft 37. Furthermore, the transmission case 32
A drive shaft 39 is housed therein at a right angle to the worm shaft 37 and rotatably accommodated therein. A worm wheel 40 meshing with the worm 36 is attached to one end of the drive shaft 39. Then, the transmission case 32 of the drive shaft 39
A roller 41 that is brought into contact with and separated from the tire 4b of the wheel 4L is attached to the other end extending outward. The worm gear mechanism composed of the worm 36 and the worm wheel 40 constitutes a reverse drive prevention mechanism that blocks the transmission of power from the wheel 4L toward the electric motor 26.

Further, one end of a link 42 is pivotally attached to the transmission case 32 by a pin 43, and the other end of the link 42 is attached to an arm 44 integrally connected to the tip of the operating lever 30 by a pin 45. Are linked by. A spring 46 is stretched between the pin 43 and the vicinity of the shaft 31 of the operation lever 30.

When the operating lever 30 is pushed up as shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, the operating lever 30 is urged clockwise by the urging force of the spring 46 to move upward. The roller 41 held in contact with the stopper 48 is stationary, and at this time, the roller 41 held by the transmission case 32 is pressed by the tire 4b of the wheel 4L with a predetermined force as illustrated.

When the operating lever 30 is pushed downward from the solid line position in FIG. 6, as shown by the chain line in FIG.
The bending direction of the link 42 and the arm 44 is reversed, and the operation lever 30 receives a counterclockwise urging force from the spring 46 and abuts against the lower stopper 48 to stand still, and the transmission case 32 is rotated about the shaft 33. It rotates in the clockwise direction, whereby the roller 41 separates from the tire 4b of the wheel 4L. The counterclockwise rotation of the transmission case 32 is restricted by the engagement of the guide pin 34 with the engagement groove 32a.

By the way, when the operation lever 30 is operated to disengage the roller 41 from the tire 4b of the wheel 4L as described above, the application of the auxiliary power from the electric motor 26 to the wheel 4L is cut off. The disengagement of 41 is necessary when the caregiver pushes the wheelchair 1, when the wheelchair 1 is run manually, when the battery 7 is exhausted, and the like.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a brake device 50 is provided in front of the left and right wheels 4L and 4R of the frame 2.

Here, details of the configuration of each of the brake devices 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

In the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a case fixed to the frame 2, and an electric motor 52 is provided in the case 51.
Is stored, and a gear 53 is attached to an end portion of the output shaft 52a of the electric motor 52.

Rotating shafts 54 and 55 are housed in the case 51 so as to be parallel to each other and rotatable, and gears 56 and 57 of different sizes are connected to the rotating shaft 54.
The gear 56 meshes with the gear 53, and the gear 57 meshes with a gear 58 connected to one end of the rotary shaft 55.

By the way, a brake lever 59 is attached to the other end of the rotary shaft 55 extending outside the case 51.

On the other hand, one end of an arm 60 is rotatably attached to the case 51 by a shaft 61, and the other end of the arm 60 comes in contact with and separates from a tire 4b of a wheel 4L (4R). The brake shoes 62 are mounted at a right angle. The middle portion of the arm 60 is connected to one end of the brake lever 59 by a link 63. The pin 64 protruding from the brake lever 59 and the link 6
A spring 66 is stretched between a shaft 65 that connects the arm 3 to the arm 60.

When the brake lever 59 is pulled forward (to the left in FIG. 8) as shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, the brake lever 59 is moved counterclockwise by the urging force of the spring 66. It is urged and the front stopper 68 is pushed.
The brake shoe 62 attached to the tip of the arm 60 is pressed against the tire 4b of the wheel 4L (4R) by a predetermined force as shown in the figure.

When the brake lever 59 is pulled back manually or electrically from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, the bending directions of the brake lever 59 and the link 63 are reversed as shown by the chain line in FIG. The lever 59 receives a urging force in the clockwise direction from the spring 66 and abuts against the stopper 67 at the rear to stand still, and the arm 60 rotates in the clockwise direction around the shaft 61, so that the brake shoe 62 is wheel 4L (4R). The tire 4b.

The electric operation of the brake lever 59 will now be described with reference to FIG.
When the electric motor 52 is rotationally driven by receiving electric power from the electric motor 52, the rotation of the electric motor 52 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 55 through the gears 53, 56, 57 and 58, and the rotary shaft 55 and the brake attached thereto. The lever 59 is rotated by a predetermined angle.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the electric motor 2 is provided below the one brake device 50 of the frame 2.
A control device 70 for controlling the driving of 6, 48 is attached. The control device 70 is also driven by the supply of electric power from the battery 7.

Here, the configuration of the control device 70 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 70, which controls the encoders 24A, 24B for detecting the rotation angle of the right wheel 4R.
Phase discriminating means 7 for discriminating the rotation directions of the wheel 4R and the hand rim 16 in response to signals from the encoders 25A and 25B for detecting the rotation angle of the hand rim 16.
1, 72 and the encoder 2 for the discriminated rotation direction
The relative rotation amount of the wheel 4 and the hand rim 16 is calculated by the counting means 73, 74 that up or down the pulses from 4A, 24B, 25A, 25B and the deviation of the number of pulses counted by the pulse counting means 73, 74 The calculation means 75 for obtaining the magnitude of the human power (driving force) applied to the hand rim 16 based on this result.
And a motor control means 76 for driving and controlling the electric motor 26 so as to generate an auxiliary power (driving force) equal to the magnitude of the human power obtained by the computing means 75.

Thus, the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the present invention
In the above, the encoders 24A and 24B, which are human power detection means for detecting the human power applied to the hand rim 16,
25A, 25B, the electric motor 26, the power transmission mechanism 27, and the controller 70 constitute an auxiliary power unit.

Next, the operation of the manual electric wheelchair 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described below with reference to 2. Note that FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing temporal changes in speed and driving force of the wheelchair 1.

The operation lever 30 is operated to press the roller 41 against the tire 4b of the wheel 4L as shown in FIG. 6, and the respective brake levers 59 of both brake devices 50 are operated to operate the respective brake shoes 62. When the left and right wheels 4L and 4R are detached from the tires 4b, the manually operated electric wheelchair 1 is ready to run.

In the above-mentioned state, when a handicapped person who does not use his left arm rotates the hand rim 16 provided on the right wheel 4R side with the other healthy right arm and right hand by hand, the human power (driving force) applied to the hand rim 16 is increased. ) F _M is detected by the encoders 24A, 24B, 25A, 25B as a rotation angle difference between the hand rim 16 and the wheel 4R as described above, and this detection signal is sent to the control device 70.

By the way, the human power F _M applied to the hand rim 16 changes in a sine curve shape as shown in FIG. 12, and the human power F is intermittently applied to the hand rim 16.

When the control device 70 receives the detection signal of the human power F _M as described above, the control device 70 obtains the magnitude of the human power F _M applied to the hand rim 16 as described above, and the electric power is calculated. The electric motor 2 is controlled by controlling the drive of the motor 26.
6 equal auxiliary power to manpower F _M (driving force) F _A (= F
_M ) is generated. The auxiliary power F _A generated by the electric motor 26 is transmitted to the left wheel 4L, and the wheel 4L is rotationally driven by the driving force F _A equivalent to the human power F _M applied to the right wheel 4R.

The transmission path of the auxiliary power F _A will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The rotational power of the electric motor 26 is transmitted to the roller 41 via the gears 35, 38, the worm 36, the worm wheel 40 and the drive shaft 39. The roller 41
Is rotationally driven, and the left wheel 4L is rotationally driven by the rotation of the roller 41.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the auxiliary power (driving force) F _{A of a} magnitude commensurate with the human power (driving force) F _M applied to the hand rim 16 (right wheel 4R) is left wheel 4L. Is given to the right wheel 4R.
Since it is driven to rotate in the same manner as, the manual electric wheelchair 1
It runs as if the handicapped person turned the left and right wheels 4L and 4R with both hands and both arms.

Therefore, even a handicapped person who cannot use his left arm can use the manual electric wheelchair 1.

The hand-operated electric wheelchair 1 according to this embodiment is for a disabled person who cannot use his left arm, but conversely, for a disabled person who cannot use his right arm, a hand rim 16 and an encoder 2 are provided.
4A, 24B, 25A, 25B is provided on the left wheel 4L, and the electric motor 26 and the power transmission mechanism 27 are arranged on the right wheel 4R side.
It suffices to detect the human power F _M applied to L and drive the right wheel 4R with the auxiliary power F _A equivalent thereto.

Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the wheels 4L,
4R is driven intermittently at appropriate time intervals,
The manual electric wheelchair 1 coasts from one drive to the next.

Therefore, when the manual electric wheelchair 1 travels, its speed V changes as shown in FIG. 12, and the speed is reached when the driving force F (= F _M = F _A ) shows the maximum value F _max. V
_{Reaches the} maximum value V _max , and then the speed V including coasting
Gradually falls.

By the way, since the manual drive wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with the reverse drive preventing mechanism as described above, the handicapped person, for example, the hand rim 16 when traveling uphill.
When the operation of turning is stopped, the speed V of the wheelchair 1 gradually decreases during coasting, and the speed eventually becomes 0, but the reverse rotation of the wheel 4L thereafter is prevented by the reverse drive prevention mechanism and the wheelchair 1 moves backward. It is prevented.

Further, during coasting on a downhill road, the wheels 4L rotate only at a predetermined number of rotations due to the reverse drive prevention mechanism, and a braking force similar to engine braking acts on the wheelchair 1. It prevents excessive speed. And
If the handicapped person does not newly rotate the hand rim 16, the wheelchair 1 will eventually stop.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the wheelchair 1 starts coasting, control is performed so that the rotation speed of the electric motor 26 is gradually decreased. Therefore, according to the manual electric wheelchair 1, the feeling of coasting obtained with the existing manual wheelchair can be directly obtained.

In the above embodiment, the reverse drive prevention mechanism is composed of the war gear mechanism including the worm 36 and the worm wheel 40. However, as described above, the control device 70 is activated when the speed V of the wheelchair 1 becomes zero. Control the electric motor 52 of the brake device 50 to drive the brake lever 5
9 is rotated to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, and the brake shoe 62 is pressed against the tires 4b of the wheels 4L and 4R to make the wheels 4L.
If the rotation of L and 4R is blocked, the brake device 50 constitutes a reverse drive prevention mechanism. Alternatively,
If the electric motor 26 is also used as a generator driven by the wheels 4L, the rotation of the wheels 4L is limited by regenerative braking when the electric motor 26 functions as a generator, so that the electric motor 26 is reversely driven. It can be used as a prevention mechanism.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the first invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. Incidentally, FIG.
15 is a plan view of a manual electric wheelchair according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device, FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a temporal change in driving force applied to the left and right wheels.

The manual electric wheelchair 1'according to this embodiment is
As shown in FIG. 13, in the first embodiment, the electric motor 26 and the power transmission mechanism 27 are provided also on the right wheel 4R side, and the control device 70 shown in FIG. 14 includes an electric motor 26 and a motor control means. 76 is the left and right wheels 4L,
It is provided for each of the 4Rs. Since the other construction is the same as that of the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the first embodiment, in the description of the present embodiment, the same elements as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals as they are.

Thus, the manual electric wheelchair 1'according to this embodiment is for a physically handicapped person whose left arm is completely ineffective and the muscle strength of the right arm is weakened. Auxiliary power F _AR corresponding to the human power F _MR applied to one wheel 4R by the right arm and hand of the disabled wheel 4R on the right wheel 4R
In addition to the above, the control system that applies the auxiliary power (driving force) F _AL having a magnitude equal to the sum (F _MR + F _AR ) of the human power F _MR applied to the wheel 4R and the auxiliary power F _AR to the left wheel 4L. adopt.

That is, when a handicapped person who does not use his left arm rotates the hand rim 16 provided on the right wheel 4R side with the other right arm and right hand, the human power (driving force) F _MR applied to the hand rim 16 is calculated by the encoder. 24A, 24B, 25
A and 25B (see FIG. 5) detect the rotation angle difference between the hand rim 16 and the wheel 4R, and the detection signal is sent to the control device 70.

By the way, although the human power F _MR applied to the hand rim 16 changes in a sine curve shape as shown in FIG. 15, the magnitude of the human power F _MR is reduced because the muscle strength of the left arm of the physically handicapped person is reduced. Smaller than the driving force F required to rotate the wheels 4R (F _MR <F), this small human force F _MR
Are intermittently added to the hand rim 16.

Thus, the computing means 75 of the control device 70 outputs the command value F _AR to the motor control means 76 on the right side and the motor control means 76 on the left side.
Command value F _ML (= F _MR + F _AR ) is output to (Fig. 1
4 and FIG. 15).

As described above, in this embodiment, the decrease in the muscle strength of the right arm of the physically handicapped person is compensated by the auxiliary power F _AR applied to the right wheel 4R.

Further, the left wheel 4L has auxiliary power (driving force).
For being rotated by F _AL, as shown in FIG. 15, the driving force of the right wheels 4R F _R drive force (= F _MR + F _AR) and the left wheel _{4L F L (= F AL =} F MR + F _AR ) is equal (F _R = F _L ), and in this case as well, the wheelchair 1 ′ travels as if the handicapped person turned the left and right wheels 4L and 4R with both hands and arms.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the hand-operated electric wheelchair 1'can be used even by a physically handicapped person who has a weak left arm and a weakened right arm.

On the contrary, when the disabled person whose right arm does not work at all and the muscle strength of the left arm is weakened when using the wheelchair 1 ', auxiliary power corresponding to the human power F _ML applied to the left wheel 4L is used. F _AL is applied to the wheel 4L, and the sum of the human power F _ML applied to the left wheel 4L and the auxiliary power F _AL (F
The auxiliary power (driving force) F _AR having a magnitude equal to ( _ML + F _AL ) may be applied to the right wheel 4R. [Second Invention] An embodiment of the second invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> In this embodiment, as schematically shown in FIG. 16, an auxiliary power unit M is provided on the left wheel 4L side, and the left and right wheels 4L and 4R are rotated at their rotational speeds ( Rotation detecting means 77L and 77R for detecting the rotational speed of the right wheel 4R are provided, and the rotation speed of the right wheel 4R to which human power is applied is detected by the rotation detecting means 77R.
The auxiliary power unit M supplies auxiliary power to the left wheel 4L so that the rotational speed of the left wheel 4L follows the rotational speed of R.

That is, when a handicapped person who does not use his left arm turns the hand rim 16 provided on the right wheel 4R side with the other right arm and right hand, the right wheel 4R is rotated by the human power _MR applied to the hand rim 16. But this wheel 4
The rotation speed of R is detected by the rotation detecting means 77R, and this detection signal is sent to the control device 70.

When the control device 70 receives the detection signal of the rotational speed of the right wheel 4R as described above, the control device 70 causes the left wheel 4L to follow the right wheel 4R. Driving force F required for 4L and 4R to rotate at the same speed
_{The AL} is used as an auxiliary power to generate the electric motor 26 on the left side.

Here, the speed control of the left wheel 4L is shown in FIG.
It will be described based on 7.

The drive of the left electric motor 26 is controlled by the motor control means 76 to control the electric motor 26.
When the auxiliary power (driving force) F _AL is generated in the vehicle, the left wheel 4L is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed N _L (angular speed ω _L ) and the angular speed ω _L of the wheel 4L is provided on the wheel 4L. The value is detected and fed back by the rotation detecting means 77L, and the value ω _L is compared with the angular velocity ω _R of the right wheel 4R so that the deviation Δω = | ω _L −ω _R | = 0 between them, that is, the left side rotational speed N _L of the wheel rotation speed N _L of 4L is equal to the rotational speed N _R of the right wheel 4R (N _L = N _R) so as auxiliary power generation device M of the electric motor 26 is controlled by a motor control unit 76 It

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the left wheel 4L is driven to rotate following the rotation of the right wheel 4R, even if the handicapped person cannot use his left arm at all, Electric wheelchairs can be used.

On the contrary, when a disabled person who has no right arm at all uses the wheelchair, the right wheel 4R is arranged so that the rotation of the right wheel 4R follows the rotation of the left wheel 4L.
You can add auxiliary power to.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the second invention will be described.

In the manual electric wheelchair according to the present embodiment, as schematically shown in FIG. 18, the auxiliary power unit M is provided on the left and right wheels 4L and 4R, and the right wheel 4 is provided.
An encoder (not shown) for detecting the magnitude of human power applied to R is provided on the right wheel 4R, and further the left and right wheels 4R are provided.
The L and 4R are provided with rotation detecting means 77L and 77R for detecting their rotational speeds (or displacements), respectively.

Thus, in this embodiment, the magnitude of the human power F _MR applied to the right wheel 4R is detected by the encoder, and the auxiliary power F _AR according to the magnitude of the human power is applied to the right wheel 4R. The auxiliary power F _{AL is applied} to the left wheel 4L so that the rotation of the left wheel 4L follows the rotation of the right wheel 4R.

Here, a case where a physically handicapped person who has a weak left arm and weak muscles of the right arm uses the wheelchair will be described below as an example.

A handicapped person 16 who has a handicap who cannot use his left arm at all is provided on the left wheel 4R side with the other right arm and right hand.
When the hand rim 1 is rotated by hand, the human power (driving force) F _MR applied to the hand rim 16 is adjusted by the encoder (not shown).
6 and the rotation angle difference between the wheel 4R and this, and this detection signal is sent to the control device 70.

By the way, the human power F _MR applied to the hand rim 16 changes in a sine curve shape, but since the muscle strength of the right arm of the physically handicapped person is reduced, the magnitude of the human power F _MR is necessary to rotate the wheel 4R. Smaller than driving force F (F
_MR <F), this small force F _MR is intermittently applied to the hand rim 16.

When the control device 70 receives the human power F _MR detection signal as described above, the control device 70 obtains the magnitude of the human power F _MR applied to the right hand rim 16,
A driving force F _AR having a magnitude proportional to the human power F _MR is generated as auxiliary power in the right auxiliary power generator M, and at the same time, the left wheel 4L follows the right wheel 4R so that both wheels 4L, 4R The driving force F _AL required to rotate at the same speed is generated as auxiliary power in the left auxiliary power generator M.

Since the speed control of the left wheel 4L in this case is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, in this embodiment, the decrease in the muscle strength of the right arm of the physically handicapped person is compensated by the auxiliary power F _AR applied to the right wheel 4R.

The left wheel 4L has auxiliary power (driving force).
It is driven to rotate by F _AL , and its rotation speed N _L is set equal to the rotation speed N _R of the right wheel 4R (N _L = N _R ), so that the left and right wheels 4L and 4R rotate at the same speed. Also in this case, the wheelchair travels as if the handicapped person turns the left and right wheels 4L and 4R with both hands and arms.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the hand-operated electric wheelchair can be used even by a physically handicapped person whose left arm is completely ineffective and the muscle strength of the right arm is weakened.

On the contrary, when a person with a physical disability who has a weak right arm and weak left arm muscles uses the wheelchair, the auxiliary power F _AL corresponding to the human power F _ML applied to the left wheel 4L is used. together give to the wheel 4L and auxiliary power to the wheels 4R of the right side as the rotation speed N _L of the wheels 4L of the left side rotation N _R of the right wheel 4R follows (driving force) FF
_AR should be given.

[0093]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the human power applied to one wheel is detected, or the rotation of the wheel to which the human power is applied is detected, and the magnitude of the human power or the wheel force is detected. Since the auxiliary power corresponding to the rotation is applied to at least the other wheel, the hand-operated electric wheelchair can be used even by a physically handicapped person who cannot use one arm at all.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a manual electric wheelchair according to a first embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the manual electric wheelchair according to the first embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the manual electric wheelchair according to the first embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 4 is a broken sectional view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, showing a connection structure between a hand rim and a wheel.

FIG. 5 is a semi-cut sectional view of an axle portion showing a mounting structure of an encoder which is an input detecting means.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a configuration of an auxiliary power unit (electric motor and power transmission mechanism).

FIG. 7 is a cutaway plan view showing a configuration of an auxiliary power unit (electric motor and power transmission mechanism).

FIG. 8 is a side view of a brake device section.

FIG. 9 is a cutaway front view of a brake device section.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the battery installation structure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing temporal changes in wheelchair speed and driving force.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a manual electric wheelchair according to a second embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device according to a second embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a temporal change of the driving force applied to the left and right wheels in the second embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a manual electric wheelchair according to the first embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a wheel speed control flow in the first embodiment of the second invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of a manual electric wheelchair according to a second embodiment of the second invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,1 'Manual electric wheelchair 24A, 24B encoder (input detection means) 25A, 25B encoder (input detection means) 26 Electric motor 70 Control device (control means) 75 Calculation means 76 Motor control means 77L, 77R rotation detection means

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. In a manual electric wheelchair equipped with an auxiliary power unit that detects human power applied to a wheel and applies auxiliary power corresponding to the magnitude of the human power to the wheel, the human power applied to one wheel is detected. , A manual electric wheelchair characterized by giving auxiliary power to at least the other wheel according to the magnitude of the human power. 2. Auxiliary power according to the magnitude of human power applied to the one wheel is applied to the one wheel,
2. The hand-operated electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein auxiliary power equal to the sum of human power and auxiliary power applied to the one wheel is applied to the other wheel. 3. A manual electric wheelchair equipped with an auxiliary power device for applying auxiliary power to at least one wheel, detects rotation of one wheel to which human power is applied, and outputs auxiliary power corresponding to this rotation to the other wheel. A manual electric wheelchair characterized by being provided to the user. 4. The amount of human power applied to the one wheel is detected, auxiliary power corresponding to the amount of human power is applied to the one wheel, and auxiliary power corresponding to rotation of the one wheel is detected. The manual electric wheelchair according to claim 3, wherein the wheel is provided to the other wheel.