JP2001340389A - Bath wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact bath wheelchair having a light weight. SOLUTION: This bath wheelchair is provided with a reclining means composed of a scalene quadric link mechanism 18 which is fixed in centroid position relatively to the carbody of the wheelchair and an angle setting mechanism which is constituted to move a fixing pin 32 fixed to the carbody from groove sections 31b, 31c, 31d, and 31e to a notched groove 31a by rotating an angle setting plate 31 having the notched groove 31a and groove sections 31b, 31c, 31d, and 31e, all of which are slid on the fixing pin 32, upward and downward by means of a releasing plate 36 which is attached pivotally to the rear lower surface of a seat frame and rotated in an interlocking way with a lever member 35 installed to the back of the back rest section of the sheet frame. In addition, a pedal 26 is rotatably installed to the rear end section of a first link lever 23 constituting the link mechanism 18 so that the pedal 26 may always be urged in the upward rotating direction by a sping provided in the lever 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheelchair for use in facilities for the elderly and the physically handicapped, and in particular, can be changed between a sitting position and a supine position for moving within the facility or bathing in a general bathtub. This is related to a comfortable bathing wheelchair.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Bathing wheelchairs are wheelchairs that allow a bather to sit in a bath, such as a general bathtub, a wheelchair bathing device, a shower bathing device, and a lift bathing device. Here, the general bathtub is used for a normal large bathtub that can be bathed by a large number of people at the same time, and the water depth of such a bathtub is considered in consideration of the safety of bathers and the reduction of hot water and fatigue of caregivers. It is desirable to be as shallow as possible. For this reason, a bathing wheelchair that can be reclined or whose seat surface can be moved up and down is used for a general bathtub.

[0003] Most of the bathing wheelchairs used in the above-described general bathtubs are capable of reclining by pivotally attaching a chair-shaped seat to a vehicle body provided with casters as shown in FIG. In this case, when the posture is changed from the sitting posture to the supine posture, the center of gravity moves rearward with respect to the vehicle body, so that the axle distance between the front and rear wheels is widened and stabilized. On the other hand, there is a configuration in which the distance between the axles of the front wheels and the rear wheels is adjusted in conjunction with the reclining operation.

[0004] However, in the former case, since the vehicle body becomes large, there is a problem in moving (especially turning directions) in the facility and storing the equipment. In the latter case, there is a problem that the weight is increased due to the necessity of the inter-axle adjustment mechanism, and it becomes difficult to push up a slope provided in a part of the bathtub.

[0005] Further, in the operation of changing the posture from the supine position to the sitting position, it is not preferable to provide power because the device is used for bathing, and at present it depends on the upper limb operating force of the caregiver. .

[0006]

As described above, the conventional bathing wheelchair has a large body to improve stability when the posture is changed from a sitting posture to a supine posture, and there is a problem in handling and storage. There is. In addition, there is a problem that the weight is increased due to the provision of the mechanism for adjusting the distance between the axles, and bathing assistance becomes difficult. In addition, there are various problems such as a heavy burden on the caregiver because the posture change depends on the upper limb operation force of the caregiver.

[0007] Therefore, the bathing wheelchair according to the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight and compact bathing wheelchair by eliminating a change in the center of gravity during reclining. . It is another object of the present invention to easily operate a posture conversion operation from a supine posture to a sitting posture without providing a power mechanism such as a motor.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art.
A vehicle body 4 having front wheels 2, 2 and rear wheels 3, 3 so as to be able to run.
A chair-shaped seat frame 12 and a reclining means 17 provided between the vehicle body 4 and the seat frame 12
In the bathing wheelchair 1 comprising: a first link rod 23 and a second link rod 25 having different lengths, one end of which is pivotally connected to the vehicle body 4 and the other end of which is pivotally connected to the seat frame 12 to thereby provide a bather; A trapezoidal four-node link mechanism 18 which is rotatable rearward as an apparent center of rotation near the knee of M and has a constant center of gravity relative to the vehicle body 4;
An angle setting plate 31 having a notch groove 31a and grooves 31b, 31c, 31d,... To be fitted into a fixing pin 32 fixed to the seat frame 12 is pivotally attached to the rear lower surface of the seat frame 12 so as to be rotatable. By rotating the angle setting plate 31 up and down by a release plate 36 that rotates in conjunction with a lever member 35 disposed on the back surface of the back receiving portion 12a, the fixing pins 32 are turned into the grooves 31b, 31c, and 3.
And a reclining means 17 comprising an angle setting mechanism 19 configured to be movable from 1d to the notch groove 31a.

A petal 26 is rotatably attached to the rear end of the first link rod 23 constituting the inequality four-bar linkage mechanism 18.
Further, the petal 26 is always urged in the upward rotation direction by the spring 28 in the first link rod 23, and is rotated backward by the roller member 30 of the seat frame 12 with reclining, so that the bather When the posture is changed from the supine posture to the sitting posture, the pedal 26 is depressed to apply a lifting force to the seat frame 12 so that the upper limb operation force of the caregiver can be reduced.

[0010]

Since the bathing wheelchair is provided with a vehicle body provided with small-diameter wheels, an assistant can easily work while moving in the facility. In addition, as for the hot water bath in the general bathtub, the chair-shaped seat frame is arranged on the vehicle body by the inequality four-bar link mechanism, so that the seat frame is tilted backward while moving forward with reclining. , The center of gravity hardly moves with respect to the vehicle body. That is, since the center of gravity hardly moves, a compact vehicle body can be obtained. Further, a petal member is attached to the rear end of one of the link rods constituting the inequality four-bar linkage,
When changing the posture of the bather who reclined and took the supine position to the sitting position, the caregiver lifted the pusher with the upper limb while stepping on the petal, and the first link rod turned upward in conjunction with the petal. As a result, a force that pushes up the seat frame acts, so that it is possible to operate the bath relatively lightly even when a bather is on board.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The bathing wheelchair 1 includes a vehicle body 4 having front wheels 2 and 2 and rear wheels 3 and 3. The vehicle body 4 has front and rear side pipes 4b, 4a connecting the side pipes 4a, 4a in the front-rear direction and the side pipes 4a, 4a.
c, and the side pipes 4a, 4
a Caster-type front wheels 2 and 2 are attached to the front end, and rolling free rear wheels 3 and 3 are attached to the rear end.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a braking means. This braking means 5
A brake petal 6 bent in a substantially U-shape is pivotally connected to side pipes 4a, 4a via plates 7, 7 by pins 8, 8 so as to be freely rotatable. Brake pipes 9a, 9a are integrally formed at both ends thereof, and springs 10, 10 are hooked near both ends of the brake pipe 9 to urge the brake pipe 9 forward. . Reference numeral 11 denotes a regulating member for regulating the operating range of the braking piece, which is fixed to the side pipe 4a.

When the brake pedal 6 is depressed, the brake pipe 9 is pulled rearward against the springs 10 and 10 so that the brake piece 9 is depressed.
a, 9a abut on the rear wheels 3, 3 to regulate the rotation of the rear wheels 3, 3. Conversely, when releasing the braking means 5, if the brake petal 6 is flipped upward, the brake pipe 9 is pulled forward by the springs 10, 10, and the rear wheels 3, 3 can be rotated.

Above the vehicle body 4, there is provided a seat frame 12 in which a back support 12a, a waist support 12b, and a foot support 12c are integrally formed in a chair shape. The seat frame 12 is provided with a backing mat 13 and a waist receiving mat 14 formed of a soft material having low water absorption. Steps 15 and 15 are attached to the lower front portion of the seat frame 12. 1
6 and 16 are pushers. In the drawings, the hip support is formed in a U-shape with a front opening in plan view.

Next, the reclining means 17 of the seat frame 12 will be described. The reclining means 17 includes an inequilateral four-bar linkage 18 for swinging the seat frame 12 to rotate backward while moving the seat frame 12 forward with respect to the vehicle body 4 and an angle setting mechanism for setting the seat frame 12 to a predetermined angle. 19

First, both side pipes 4 are provided on the vehicle body 4 side.
Boss members 20 and 21 are fixed to a and 4a, respectively.
Further, reinforcing plates 22 and 2 are provided on the seat frame 12 side.
2 are provided with holes 22a and 22b, respectively. Soshi
The first link rod 2 is inserted into the boss member 20 and the hole 22a.
3 is pivotally connected by pins 24, 24, and
In the hole 22b, the second link rod 25 is
More pivotal. This will be described with reference to FIG. A is
The boss member 20 is shown, and B shows the boss member 21.
C₁Represents the hole 22a, C₂Indicates the hole 22b, and the side
AC₁Is the first link rod 23, side BD₁Is the second link rod 2
5 is shown. Note that the side AC₁> Edge BD ₁To do
By C₁Is the arc C₁C₂Move up and D₁Is an arc
D₁D₂Move up. And side C₁D₁Is C₂D₂
While moving forward around the virtual center 0 to the position
Move to rotate backward.

As described above, since the seat frame 12 is attached to the vehicle body 4 via the inequality four-joint link mechanism 18, the seat frame 12 appears to be near the knee of the bather M with respect to the vehicle body 4. Rotational movement around the center becomes possible,
The configuration is such that the movement of the position of the center of gravity due to reclining can be stably held with little change with respect to the vehicle body 4. That is, it is possible to configure the vehicle body 4 to be extremely compact.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a petal in which U-shaped plate members 26b, 26b are fixed to both ends of a pipe 26a bent substantially in a U-shape, and is fixed to the rear ends of the first link rods 23, 23. Bracket 23a, 23a. Further, pins 27, 27 are pivotally attached to the plate members 26b, 26b so as to be rotatable, and the first link rods 23, 2 are provided.
3 is inserted. The springs 28, 28 and the presser 29 are inserted into the first link rods 23, 23, and the pins 27, 27 are always urged rearward. That is,
The petal 26 is urged in a direction to rotate upward.
Then, when the seat frame 12 is reclined, the petal 26 becomes a roller material 30 fixed to the back support portion 12a.
Are configured to rotate the petal 26 rearward against the springs 28, 28. As shown in FIG. 13 (c), when returning the bather in the supine position to the sitting position, the pushers 16, 16 are depressed while stepping on the petal 26.
When the petal 26 is depressed, the first link bars 23, 23 act to push up the seat frame 12 so that the seat frame 12 is raised relatively lightly even when the bather M is in the vehicle. It is possible.

Next, the angle setting mechanism 19 will be described.
The angle setting mechanism 19 includes an angle setting plate 31 having a notch groove 31a formed substantially in the center, and a rear end pivotally connected to a rear lower surface of the seat frame 12; A fixing plate 32 fixed to a front pipe 4c of the vehicle body 4 is fixed to a fixing pin 32 fitted into the base 31a, and a support rod 3 fixed to a rear end portion of the fixing member 33 so as to protrude rearward from a lower surface of a seat portion.
4 and a release plate 36 in the center of which a lever member 35 disposed below the pusher 16 is inserted along the back of the back support 12a. The angle setting plate 31 is integrally formed with a plurality of grooves 31b, 31c, 31d into which the fixing pins 32 can be fitted, and the fixing pins 32 are formed with the grooves 31b, 31c,
By fitting into 31d, the movement of the angle setting plate 31 in the front-rear direction is regulated, and the swing by the inequality four-node link mechanism 18 is regulated.
By raising the lever member 35,
The release plate 36 is rotated upward, and the angle setting plate 3
By pushing up the reinforcing member 37 connecting the first and the first 31, the fixing pin 32 is positioned in the notch groove 31a from the groove portions 31b, 31c, 31d, and the angle can be set.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a test strip. A boss member 39 integrally formed with an arc-shaped stopper piece 39a is fixed to the seat frame 12. A stepped shaft member 40 is inserted through the boss member 39. The stepped shaft member 40 is a boss member 40 fixed so as to be perpendicular to the axis of the small diameter shaft portion 40a, the large diameter portion 40b, and the small diameter shaft portion 40a.
c, the large-diameter portion 40b and the boss member 40c are also integrally formed with arc-shaped stopper pieces 40d and 40e. Then, the file member 41 bent in an L-shape.
The shaft 41a fixed to the end of the boss member is inserted into and fixed to the boss member 40c. Further, a screw 42 is screwed to the shaft 41a, and an end of the screw 42 is configured to abut on the stopper piece 40e. 43 is a cover member. Also, 4
4 is a covering material having good cushioning properties. When the bather M gets on the escrow 38 configured as described above,
It is possible to use the tip 38 of the bath member M as the tip 38 of the bath member M by turning the tip of the tip member 41 inward, and when the tip end of the tip member 41 is turned upward and outward when assisting bathing from the front, The tip, which rotates about 270 degrees, faces downward and the front is open, which can help. Furthermore, if the styling member 41 is rotated so as to jump up, the sides are also opened, so that it is possible to easily carry out the transfer.

Next, the operation of the above example will be described in detail. First, when a physically handicapped person, an elderly person, or the like is run on the bathing wheelchair, the vehicle is run in a sitting posture as shown in FIG. In this state, the seat frame 12 pivots the release plate 36 upward by pulling up the lever member 35, pushes up the reinforcing member 37 fixed to the angle setting plate 31, and inserts a fixing pin from the groove 31b into the notch groove 31a. Relative to the groove 31d or the groove 3
1e, the seat frame can be tilted at a predetermined angle. In addition, since the seat frame 12 is arranged on the vehicle body 4 by the pair of unequal side four-bar linkages 18 including the first link rod 23 and the second link rod 25, the vicinity of the knees of the bather M is apparently at the center. Is possible, and it is possible to recline without moving the position of the center of gravity with respect to the vehicle body 4. Therefore, it was possible to make the vehicle body 4 extremely compact.

A petal 26 is pivotally attached to the rear ends of the first link rods 23, 23. The petal 26 pivots upward along the back portion 12a of the seat frame 12 in a sitting posture, and is used for reclining. The roller member 30 is made of petal 26
Is turned downward, and the pedaling pressure can be applied. By stepping on the petal 26, a force for rotating the seat frame upward acts on the first link rods 23, 23, so that the force applied to the upper limb of the caregiver can be reduced.

[0023]

As described above, by arranging the seat frame on the vehicle body via the trapezoidal four-bar link mechanism, the seat frame is rotated rearward while moving forward with respect to the vehicle body, and the Was able to keep the position of the center of gravity almost constant. That is, even if the vehicle body is made compact, it can be made sufficiently stable.
In addition, since a petal is provided at the rear end of the first link rod constituting the unequal side four-link mechanism, when the posture is changed from the supine position to the sitting position, the force for pushing up the seat frame by stepping on the petal is increased. Since it acts, the force applied to the upper limb of the caregiver can be reduced. As described above, the bathing wheelchair can be made compact and the operation can be easily performed, so that the burden required for bathing assistance by the assistant can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a bathing wheelchair according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is an overall side view thereof.

FIG. 4 is an overall front view thereof.

FIG. 5 is an overall rear view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a vehicle body.

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of a main part showing a braking device;

FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of a main part showing the reclining means.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view illustrating a inequality four-bar linkage mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of a main part showing a configuration of a petal (sitting state).

FIG. 11 is a sectional side view showing a main part of a petal structure (in a supine state).

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a tesley.

FIG. 13 is an overall side sectional view showing a reclining state;

FIG. 14 is an overall side view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bathing wheelchair 2 Front wheel 3 Rear wheel 4 Body 12 Seat frame 17 Reclining means 18 Non-equilateral four-node link mechanism 19 Angle setting mechanism 23 First link rod 25 Second link rod 26 Petal 30 Roller material

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle body 4 having front wheels 2, 2 and rear wheels 3, 3 so as to be able to travel, a chair-shaped seat frame 12, and reclining means 17 provided between the vehicle body 4 and the seat frame 12. In the bathing wheelchair 1, one end of the first link rod 23 and the second link rod 25 having different lengths are pivotally connected to the vehicle body 4, and the other end is pivotally connected to the seat frame 12, so that the knee of the bather M can be obtained. The part near the part is made rotatable backward as an apparent center of rotation, and the inequilateral four-node link mechanism 18 having a constant center of gravity relative to the vehicle body 4 and a fixing pin 32 fixed to the vehicle body 4 An angle setting plate 31 having a notch groove 31a and grooves 31b, 31c, 31d,... To be fitted is pivotally mounted on the lower surface of the rear portion of the seat frame 12 so as to be rotatable. The angle setting plate 31 is moved by the release plate 36 which rotates in conjunction with the
The fixing pin 32 is turned up and down to
A wheelchair for bathing, comprising reclining means 17 comprising an angle setting mechanism 19 configured to be movable from b, 31c, 31d to the notch groove 31a. 2. A petal 26 is rotatably provided at a rear end of a first link rod 23 constituting the inequality four-joint link mechanism 18, and the petal 26 is always raised by a spring 28 in the first link rod 23. When the bather M is rotated backward by the roller member 30 of the seat frame 12 in accordance with the reclining and the posture of the bather M is changed from the supine posture to the sitting posture, the petal 26 is depressed. The bathing wheelchair according to claim 1, characterized in that a lifting force is applied to the seat frame (12) to reduce the upper limb operation force of the caregiver.