EP1402868A1

EP1402868A1 - System with motorized driving wheel for cycles, particularly for wheelchairs for handicapped people

Info

Publication number: EP1402868A1
Application number: EP20030001106
Authority: EP
Inventors: Silvio Bergamelli
Original assignee: Tecmeca SNC Di Bergamelli Silvio & C
Current assignee: Tecmeca SNC Di Bergamelli Silvio & C
Priority date: 2002-09-30
Filing date: 2003-01-20
Publication date: 2004-03-31
Also published as: ITTO20020175U1

Abstract

A system with motored thrusting wheel for cycles, particularly for wheelchairs (14) for handicapped people, is described comprising: at least one motored wheel (6); ratio-motor means (4); at least one container (6) for batteries and electronics for operating the system; at least one switch (11) for enabling and disabling system operation; and actuating means (1) for actuating the system once it has been enabled.

Description

The present invention refers in general to the field of thrusting devices for cycles, and in particular to a motored wheel supplied by batteries that can be applied to cycles used as help when moving.
The system is applied preferably, but not exclusively, for aiding drivers of wheelchairs for handicapped people, field in which there are no currently known systems of this type adapted to alleviate the driver's efforts in moving the wheelchair.
Object of the present invention is solving the above prior art problems, providing a system with motored wheel that can be applied to cycles, particularly to wheelchairs, that decreases or zeroes the driver's fatigue, exerting a thrusting torque at least equal to about 10 Nm at a speed of about 3.5 km/h.
A further object of the present invention is providing a system of the above-described type that can be applied on folding wheelchairs, leaving their practical use unaltered: the motored wheel is autonomous in its operation and does not impair the wheelchair manoeuvrability.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained by a system with motored wheel as claimed in Claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are claimed in the dependent Claims.
The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, given as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of the system according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a partial rear view of the system in Fig. 1;
Figure 3 is a front view of the system in Fig. 1;
Figure 4 is a sectional view performed along line A-A in Fig. 2;
Figure 5 is a sectional view performed along line B-B in Fig. 2;
Figure 6 is a top view of the position of the system wheel in Fig. 1;
Figure 7 is a side view of a second embodiment of the system according to the present invention;
Figure 8 is a partial rear view of the system in Fig. 7;
Figure 9 is a front view of the system in Fig. 7;
Figure 10 is a sectional view performed along line A-A in Fig. 8;
Figure 11 is a sectional view performed along line B-B in Fig. 8; and
Figure 12 is a top view of the position of the system wheel in Fig. 7.

With reference to the Figures, a preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention is disclosed, applied to the field of wheelchairs for handicapped people. It will be readily obvious to the skilled people in the art that numerous variations and modifications, that all fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the enclosed Claims, can be made to the disclosed embodiment. For example, the invention can be applied to all other cycles for which it is desirable to obtain an aid for pushing the cycle itself.
In the Figures, similar or identical parts are designated by the same reference numbers.
With reference first of all to Fig. 1 to 6, a first preferred embodiment of the system of the invention is shown. In detail, reference 1 is a push-button, 2 is a container for batteries and electronics for system operation, 3 is a series of fixed supports for the system, 4 is a ratio-motor, 5 is a device for disconnecting the ratio- motor 4, 6 is the motored wheel, 7 are securing brackets, 8 is a shaft for supporting the ratio- motor 4, 9 is a thrust regulator of the motored wheel 6 downwards, 10 is a descent regulator of the motored wheel 6 and 11 is a key switch for actuating the system.
The system of the invention operates depending on the principle of clutch gearing. After having inserted the key into the turning-on switch 1 and after having pressed the push-button 1 placed on the handle 21 of the wheelchair 14 (not described in detail since it is of known configuration and operation), the wheelchair 14 itself must be pushed by the driver up to a basic speed (about 1.5 km/h) in order to be able to actuate the motor 4.
Object of such features is performing a startup that is adjusted by the driver, in addition to avoiding that the push-button 1 is unintentionally pressed, generating thereby a dangerous and undesired movement of the wheelchair 14.
In order to turn the motor 4 off, it is enough to remove the finger kept pressed on the push-button 1 or remove the key from the switch 11.
Moreover, in order to decrease the batteries consumption, a torque limiter of the motor 4 has been devised: when the foreseen limit is exceeded, the motor 4 is turned off to be turned on again after a greater thrust is applied by the driver.
The support 3 of the motored wheel 6 is fixed to the chassis 16 of the wheelchair 14 with specific connections 7, and has a hook-shaped system 5 in order to keep fixed the system parts that are able to be disassembled and to exclude the motored wheel 6 when it is assembled and is not used. The wheels 6, in this case, are inserted in the fixed part with a simple lateral thrust, and are composed of several parts: the axial ratio-motor 4, the level regulator 10, the pressure regulator 9 towards the ground, a shock absorber and a gripping handle (not shown in this first embodiment).
The motored wheel is placed on the center of the rear wheels 18 of the wheelchair 14.
The system contains batteries (not shown) and on its external side it has connectors 20 for supplying the motor 4, the battery-charger and the push-button 1. There are further provided (not shown) a fuse, two signalling warning lights, quick connections to the support for removal and a gripping handle. Finally, the support of the battery 2 is secured to the chassis 16 of the wheelchair 14 through specific connections 3.
The above-described system is thereby composed of five main parts: two fixed parts and three mobile parts. The two fixed parts, the motor support and the battery support, remain assembled onto the wheelchair and do not limit its flexibility; the three mobile parts, motor and battery, can be easily disassembled, thereby realising the objects that the system had been designed to obtain. Moreover, there is a battery-charger, with which it is possible to recharge the battery itself at home.
As can be well seen in Fig. 6, the thrust point 30 is herein pointed out, that shows the main feature for which the manoeuvrability of the wheelchair 14 is not impaired by the presence of the motored wheel 6, though being the wheel 6 fixed along the running direction (arrow A) of the wheelchair 14 itself.
With reference now to Fig. 7 to 12, a second preferred embodiment of the system of the invention is shown. In detail, reference 1 is a push-button, 2 is a container for batteries and electronics for system operation, 3 is a series of fixed supports for the system, 4 is a ratio-motor, 5 is a device for disconnecting the ratio- motor 4, 6 is the motored wheel, 7 are securing brackets, 8 is a shaft for supporting the ratio- motor 4, 9 is a thrust self-adjusting spring that also adjusts the descent of the motored wheel 6 downwards, and 11 is a key switch for actuating the system.
The major parts and the operation of the two embodiments are the same, and therefore they will not be described again.
The main differences between the first and the second embodiments is that the second embodiment contains a self-adjusting spring 9 that performs the same functions as of the regulator 9 and the regulator 10 of the first embodiment; moreover, the second embodiments provides for the use of a gripping handle 10' and a pedal 12 for inserting the ratio-motor 4: these parts help the driver to connect the ratio-motor 4 and operate the system of the invention without having to bend himself downwards in order to reach the system controls, as in the first embodiment. The simple pressure of the pedal 12 enabled by the gripping handle 10' allows the ratio-motor 4 to be easily and immediately actuated, thereby allowing the driver to remain erect.

Claims

System with motored thrusting wheel for cycles, particularly for wheelchairs (14) for handicapped people, characterised in that it comprises:
- at least one motored wheel (6);

- ratio-motor means (4) adapted to control said motored wheel (6);

- at least one container (6) for batteries and electronics for operating the system;

- at least one switch (11) for enabling and disabling system operation; and

- actuating means (1) for actuating the system once it has been enabled.
System according to Claim 1, characterised in that it is adapted to be enabled only when the speed of the wheelchair (14) when it is manually pushed by its driver exceeds a predetermined threshold.
System according to Claim 2, characterised in that said predetermined threshold corresponds to about 1.5 km/h.
System according to Claim 1, characterised in that it exerts a thrusting torque on the wheelchair (14) of about 10 Nm taking the wheelchair (14) to a speed of about 3.5 km/h.
System according to Claim 1, characterised in that it is disabled when said actuating means (1) are not kept pressed, of when said switch (11) is turned off.
System according to Claim 1, characterised in that it is further equipped with a motor torque limiter, said limiter turning the motor off when a limit torque is exceeded and turning the motor on again after a higher thrust by the driver.
System according to Claim 1, characterised in that it is further equipped with means (9) for adjusting the thrust of said motored wheel (6) downwards.
System according to Claim 7, characterised in that said means (9) are composed of a self-adjusting spring (9) adapted both to thrust and to lower the motored wheel (6) towards the ground.
System according to Claim 1, characterised in that it is further equipped with means (10) for adjusting the descent of said motored wheel (6).
System according to Claim 1, characterised in that it is further equipped with means (5) for disconnecting said ratio-motor (4), said means (5) being adapted to keep fixed those system parts that are able to be disassembled and being adapted to exclude said motored wheel (6) when it is assembled and it is not used.
System according to Claim 1, characterised in that it is further equipped with a gripping handle (10') operatively connected to a pedal (12) for connecting said ratio-motor means (4), said handle (10') and said pedal (12) enabling the driver to remain erect for actuating the ratio-motor (4).