JP2000350749A - Electromotive chair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the performance of a chair from being decreased owing to stuck dust. SOLUTION: This electromotive chair is provided with a driving means which transfers the rotation of a ring 30 to a ball wheel 11 through rollers 31, by comprising the ball wheel 11 supported so as to roll freely, the ring 30 placed on the circumference of the ball wheel 11 and rotated around the axis thereof by a driving source, and the several rollers 31 supported by the ring and touched to the large circle of the ball wheel 11. In this case, the ball wheel is provided with a cleaning means touching thereto or touching to the floor surface in the neighborhood of the point at which the ball wheel gets contact with.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric swivel chair capable of moving in all directions using a ball wheel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an electric universal chair capable of moving in all directions, a chair using a driving means 3 shown in FIG. 9 has been proposed. The driving means 3 includes a ball wheel 11, a ring 30 disposed around the ball wheel 11, and a ring 30.
A plurality of rollers 31 attached to the inner periphery of the ball wheel, a support roller 32 that contacts the upper surface of the ball wheel 11, and a motor 33 that rotates the ring 30 around its axis. A plurality of rollers 31 orthogonal to the axial direction of the ring 30 are in contact with the great circle on the surface of the ball wheel 11. In the figure, reference numeral 34 denotes a gear for transmitting rotation from the motor 33 to the ring 30.

[0003] The rotation (rolling) of the ring 30 around an axis parallel to the rotation plane of the ring 30 by the support roller 32 and the roller 31.
The ball wheel 11, which is freely movable, has a ring 30.
Of the ring 30 is transmitted by a frictional force via the roller 31 to perform rotation about the axis of the ring 30. Here, since the ring 30 is slightly inclined from the horizontal plane,
Propulsion is generated by the rotation of the ball wheel 11.

In a device having at least three such driving means 3, the driving force of each driving means 3 is advanced in the direction in which the vector of the driving force is synthesized. 3 for controlling the driving direction of the ball wheel 11 by controlling the rotating direction and the rotating speed of the ball wheel 11 by controlling the driving force of the ball wheel 11 individually. Becomes free.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show an electric swivel chair provided with a seat 2 and an armrest 4 on which a seat 20 and a backrest 21 are integrally formed on a trolley 1 provided with four drive means 3 described above. The carriage 1 includes the driving means 3 at the four corners of the base 10, and stores a storage battery, a control circuit, and the like in a housing 12 arranged on the base 10, and a footrest 6 on the front side. The left and right armrests 4, 4 are arranged at the upper ends of the struts 15, 15 arranged on both sides of the cart 1, and the struts 15 are slidable up and down by guide bodies 17 arranged on the left and right sides of the cart 1. It is held and can be fixed at an arbitrary position, so that the height of the armrest 4 can be adjusted. A joystick-type operation unit 5 for traveling control is provided at the front end of the armrest 4 on one side.

In this electric wheelchair, the control circuit controls the rotation of the ball wheel 11 of each driving means 3 in accordance with the operation direction instruction and the rotation direction instruction by the operation section 5, so that the wheelchair can move in any direction. It can run and rotate.

[0007]

The performance of the driving means 3 depends on the smooth free rotation of the ring 30 provided with the rollers 31 and the ball wheel 11 and the restraint of the rotation in the driving rotation direction. If dirt, dust, hair or the like adheres to the surface of the ball wheel 11 during traveling, the performance is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric swivel chair in which the performance is not deteriorated by the adhesion of dust and the like.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a ball wheel rotatably supported, a ring disposed on the outer periphery of the ball wheel and rotated around an axis by a drive source, and a ring supported by the ring. A driving means for transmitting the rotation of the ring to the ball wheel via the rollers, and a control means for individually controlling and driving at least three driving means. And in the electric swivel chair provided in the chair,
The first feature of the present invention is that the cleaning means is provided for sliding contact with the ball wheel, and the electric universal chair is provided with cleaning means for slidingly contacting the floor near the ground point of the ball wheel. It has a second feature.

[0010] The cleaning means is for preventing dust and the like from adhering to the ball wheel.

A brush can be suitably used for the cleaning means, but is not limited to this.

Further, in the apparatus provided with a cleaning means which is in sliding contact with the floor near the grounding point of the ball wheel, the cleaning means is a ring-shaped cleaning means which is driven to rotate around the axis by a rotation driving source of the ball wheel. It can be suitably used.

According to the present invention, there is provided a ball wheel rotatably supported, a ring arranged on the outer periphery of the ball wheel and driven to rotate around an axis by a driving source, and a great circle of the ball wheel supported by the ring. A chair provided with a driving means having a plurality of rollers in contact with the shaft, and a driving means for transmitting the rotation of the ring to the ball wheel via the rollers, and a control means for individually controlling and driving at least three driving means. The swivel chair has a third feature in that cleaning means for blowing air to the floor near the ground point of the ball wheel is provided, and in the electric swivel chair, the air near the ground point of the ball wheel is provided. A fourth feature is that cleaning means for sucking air is provided. By blowing or sucking air, dirt and dust that may adhere to the ball wheel are removed from near the contact point of the ball wheel.

In this case, a cleaning means using a motor for driving a ball wheel as a power source can be suitably used.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an example of an embodiment. The driving means 3 shown in FIG. 1 has the same basic structure as that of the above-mentioned conventional example, and has a rubber ball lined metal ball. Ring 3 on the outer periphery of the ball wheel 11
0 and a plurality of rollers 31 provided on the ring 30
Is in contact with the great circle of the ball wheel 11. A support roller 32 that contacts the upper surface of the ball wheel 11 is attached to a frame 35 that supports the ring 30, and a drive motor 33 is fixed to the frame 35. The motor 33 drives the rotation of the ring 30 by an endless belt 37 that extends between a pulley 34 (see FIG. 3) attached to the output shaft and the ring 30. The ring 30 is provided at an angle from the horizontal so that the propulsive force is generated by the rotation of the ball wheel 11, but this is achieved by providing the frame 35 at an angle from the horizontal.

The rotation of the motor 33 is transmitted to the ring 30 by a belt 37, and the rotation of the ring 30 is transferred from the roller 31, which is in contact with the great circle of the ball wheel 11 and whose axial direction is orthogonal to the axial direction of the ring 30.
Is transmitted to the support roller 3 by frictional force.
The ball wheel 11, which has two degrees of freedom and is freely supported by the roller 2 and the roller 31, exerts a propulsive force on the ground contact surface by rotation about the axis of the ring 30 inclined with respect to the vertical axis. appear.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to prevent dust, dirt, hair, and the like from adhering to the surface of the ball wheel 11 and prevent the operation between the ball wheel 11 and the rollers 31, 32 and the ball wheel 11 from being hindered. As the cleaning means 7, a brush 70 that slides on the lower surface of the ball wheel 11 is provided. Roller 3 of ball wheel 11 which is annular
The brush 70 that contacts a small circle located below the great circle with which the ball 1 contacts the ball wheel 11 and the roller 31 even if dust, hair or hair on the floor adheres to the ball wheel 11.
It is swept down before it reaches the contact portion with the contact. In the drawing, reference numeral 71 denotes an attachment frame for attaching the annular brush 70 to the frame 35.

As the cleaning means 7, an annular scraper 72 in contact with a small circle of the ball wheel 11 may be provided instead of the brush 70 as shown in FIG. The scraper 72 may be made of rubber, resin, or metal. However, when the small scrapers 72 are arranged in a ring as shown in the illustrated example, a plurality of rows of the scrapers 72 are shifted in pitch. By arranging, it is possible to obtain one that can be brought into sliding contact with the entire surface of the ball wheel 11.

The cleaning means 7 may eliminate the chance that dust, hair, etc. come into contact with the ball wheel 11. FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example of this case. A brush 70 is provided on the lower edge of the cover 39 covering the driving means 3 so as to be in sliding contact with the floor surface. Dust and dust are eliminated by the brush 70.

As shown in FIG. 5, a brush 70 is provided on an annular rotating plate 75 disposed on the outer periphery of the lower portion of the ball wheel 11 so as to be in sliding contact with the floor, and the rotating plate 75 is driven by the motor 33 via a bevel gear 76. If rotated, the ball wheel 11
, Dust and the like can be more reliably removed from the floor near the ground contact point. In the figure, reference numeral 77 denotes a rotation support guide portion of the rotating plate 75 in the cover 39.

As the cleaning means 7, as shown in FIG. 6, an annular rubber or resin air skirt 80 is arranged on the outer periphery of the lower part of the ball wheel 11, so that the air skirt 80 and the ball wheel 11 A device that blows air from a blower into the space can be used. The air flows out from between the air skirt 80 and the floor surface to blow out dust, dirt, and the like on the floor surface near the contact point of the ball wheel 11.

Instead of ejecting air, dust or the like on the floor near the contact point of the ball wheel 11 may be removed by suction. FIG. 7 shows an example of this case. A suction port member 83 having an annular shape and an opening on the lower surface side is disposed on the outer periphery of the lower portion of the ball wheel 11, and the suction port member 83 is connected to a suction machine.

A pneumatic machine 84 such as the blower or the suction machine described above.
As shown in FIG. 8, assuming that the motor 33 as a driving source in the driving means 3 is powered,
Since a dedicated power source for power consumption is not required, downsizing can be achieved.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ball wheel is provided with driving means for driving the ball wheel by rotating a ring having a plurality of rollers in contact with the great circle of the ball wheel. Cleaning means that slides on the ball wheel or cleaning means that slides on the floor near the grounding point of the ball wheel, removes dust and dirt from the ball wheel or removes dust and dirt from the ball wheel. Dirt and dust can be prevented from entering the contact portion between the wheel and the roller, so that the performance of the driving means does not deteriorate due to the dirt and dust.

It is cost effective to use a brush for the cleaning means.

In the apparatus having a cleaning means which is in sliding contact with the floor near the ground point of the ball wheel, the cleaning means may be a ring-shaped cleaning means which is driven to rotate around an axis by a rotation driving source of the ball wheel. When used, dust and dust can be more reliably prevented from adhering.

Further, in the apparatus provided with cleaning means for blowing air to the floor near the ground point of the ball wheel or with cleaning means for sucking air near the ground point of the ball wheel, the air is blown or sucked.
Because dirt and dust that may adhere to the ball wheel can be removed from near the ground point of the ball wheel,
It is possible to prevent the performance of the driving means from being deteriorated by dust or dust.

In this case, the cleaning means can be downsized by using a ball wheel driving motor as a power source.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cutaway side view of an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of another example.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway side view of still another example.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cover.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of another example.

6A and 6B show another example, in which FIG. 6A is a schematic sectional view, and FIG. 6B is a cutaway perspective view of an air skirt.

FIG. 7 shows still another example, in which (a) is a schematic sectional view,
(b) is a cutaway perspective view of the suction port member.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the same.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the electric swivel chair using the above driving means.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of an electric swivel chair using the above driving means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Cleaning means 11 Ball wheel 30 Ring 31 Roller 33 Motor 37 Belt 70 Brush

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Minoru Yamada 1048 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. 72) Inventor Tomohiko Watanabe 1048 Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A ball wheel rotatably supported, a ring disposed on the outer periphery of the ball wheel and driven to rotate around an axis by a driving source, and a plurality of rings supported by the ring and in contact with a great circle of the ball wheel. An electric swivel chair provided with a driving means for providing rotation of the ring to the ball wheel via the rollers and a control means for individually controlling and driving at least three driving means. And a cleaning means for slidingly contacting the ball wheel. 2. A ball wheel rotatably supported, a ring disposed on the outer periphery of the ball wheel and driven to rotate around an axis by a drive source, and a plurality of rings supported by the ring and in contact with a great circle of the ball wheel. An electric swivel chair provided with a driving means for providing rotation of the ring to the ball wheel via the rollers and a control means for individually controlling and driving at least three driving means. And a cleaning means for slidingly contacting the floor near the contact point of the ball wheel. 3. The electric swivel chair according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning means is a brush. 4. The electric swivel chair according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning means is ring-shaped and is driven to rotate about an axis by a rotation drive source of a ball wheel. 5. A ball wheel rotatably supported, a ring disposed on the outer periphery of the ball wheel and driven to rotate around an axis by a driving source, and a plurality of rings supported by the ring and in contact with a great circle of the ball wheel. An electric swivel chair provided with a driving means for providing rotation of the ring to the ball wheel via the rollers and a control means for individually controlling and driving at least three driving means. And a cleaning means for blowing air to a floor near a ground contact point of the ball wheel. 6. A ball wheel rotatably supported, a ring disposed on the outer periphery of the ball wheel and driven to rotate around an axis by a drive source, and a plurality of rings supported by the ring and in contact with a great circle of the ball wheel. An electric swivel chair provided with a driving means for providing rotation of the ring to the ball wheel via the rollers and a control means for individually controlling and driving at least three driving means. And a cleaning means for sucking air near the ground point of the ball wheel. 7. The electric swivel chair according to claim 5, wherein the cleaning means uses a motor for driving a ball wheel as a power source.