DE202012001457U1 - Walker as walker with adaptively controlled electric motor driven wheels - Google Patents

Abstract

Handheld walker as walking aid with a guide bracket or with guide handles and 3 or 4 wheels, characterized in that 2 wheels or at least 1 centrally located wheel are driven by an electric motor due to a by hand pressure (9) to the support handles (8) or the support bracket triggered electrical signal , wherein the hand pressure controls the torque of the respective electric motor.

Description

Summary

The 3 or 4-wheeled walker is an electromotive assisted walker in which one or two wheels are driven adaptively to the applied contact pressure generated by the user on a support bracket or on two separate support handles.

description

Rollators are walkers for older and / or disabled people, who are used in the apartment or outdoors. In general, it is a metal linkage, are attached to the 3 or preferably 4 wheels, with mostly 2 wheels are rigidly arranged and the others serve as steering wheels. At the upper end of the metal frame are a support bracket or 2 separate support handles and clamping lever for operating parking brakes on the rigid wheels. Support brackets and support handles serve as a body support and at the same time as steering elements.

The major application and functional deficiency of these Rollatoren is that in the case of underground resistors such. B. cobblestones or steep uphill movements, the pushing force for the already disabled person is very high or the possibility of movement is completely prevented.

This problem is inventively solved in that at least one, but usually 2 wheels are driven by an electric motor, wherein the motor support is adaptively controlled by the contact pressure of the hands on the support bracket or the two support handles. The higher the contact pressure, the higher the torque of the drive motors.

The following describes the structure and elements of the adaptively controlled, electric motor driven rollator.

1 schematically shows in side view the rollator, consisting of a metal rod ( 1 ), to which support tubes ( 2 . 3 ), which are for receiving the wheels ( 4 . 5 ) serve. The support tubes are arranged in relation to the metal frame and the horizontal position of the support bracket or the two support handles that during the feed movement ( 6 ) virtually exert a dragging motion and therefore do not generate compression forces against the ground.

It does not matter if the wheels ( 4 ) or wheels ( 5 ) are driven. The respective non-driven wheels serve as hand-operated castors. Preferably, the wheels ( 4 ) used as front wheels for electric motor drive and the wheels ( 5 ) as rear wheels for steering.

At the upper end of the metal frame is a support bracket or pipes ( 7 ) with support handles ( 8th ). In the support bracket or the handles are pressure sensors ( 9 ), usually piezo elements, housed. In a suitable place is a lever ( 10 ) for the parking brake. The height of the support bracket or the handles can be adjusted with the help of tubes and clamping levers ( 11 ) lock.

In an ergonomically suitable height is a folding seat ( 12 ), which is replaced by a replaceable shopping basket ( 13 ) can be added.

The battery ( 14 ) for the electric motor drive is located deep in a shell between the rack supports. Here is also the control box ( 15 ), which contains all electrical elements and especially the programmable microprocessor.

2 schematically shows the rollator from the user side. The drive wheels are with so-called hub motors or with disc rotor motors ( 16 . 17 ) fitted. In the area of the support handles are the left and right main switches ( 18 . 19 ) to activate the drive motors, wherein the activation takes place only when both switches are turned on. If the drive motors are not activated, these serve at the same time as a parking brake if the purely mechanical brake ( 10 ) is not actuated, that is, as a safety measure here is principle redundancy.

In general, 2 separate motors are used for the drive, which are synchronized control technology. But you can also use a rigid axis ( 20 ) between the two drive wheels and by means of a common motor ( 21 ) drive like in 3 is shown schematically.

For a safe use of the rollator, it is important that the adaptively controlled electromotive drive automatically on the mountain ( 21 ) or downhill ( 22 ) adapts. According to schematic representation in 4 this object is achieved in that the support handles in a guide element ( 23 ) are mounted rotatably perpendicular to the feed direction and the low angular movement ( 24 ) triggers the control program for uphill or downhill travel via corresponding limit switches, so that the drive motors drive uphill and brake downhill.

Claims (4)

Handheld walker as walker with a guide bracket or with guide handles and 3 or 4 wheels, characterized in that 2 wheels or at least 1 centrally arranged wheel are driven by an electric motor due to a hand pressure ( 9 ) on the support handles ( 8th ) or the support bracket triggered electrical signal, wherein the hand pressure controls the torque of the respective electric motor. Rollator according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive motors ( 16 . 17 ) are designed as hub motors or disc rotor motors. Rollator according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive wheels are rigidly connected to each other and driven by means of an electric motor. Rollator according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the support handles ( 8th ) rotatable in a housing perpendicular to the direction of travel ( 23 ) are mounted and so via an angular movement ( 24 ) in conjunction with limit switches for mountain or obstacle driving ( 21 ) or on a descent ( 22 ) the corresponding function program is automatically activated.

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