JP2001340391A - Wheelchair-connected vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wheelchair-connected vehicle the drive wheels of which can obtain sufficient loads when a wheelchair is run while an auxiliary vehicle is connected to the wheelchair. SOLUTION: The main body 11 of the wheelchair itself is a manual wheelchair and mounted with a driving motor 19 which can drive the rear wheels 16 of the wheelchair. On the other hand, the auxiliary vehicle 30 is provided with running wheels 32, a carbody section 31 connected to the main body 11, and an operating device 33 and the carbody section 31 carries a battery 39. When electric power is supplied to the motor 19 by connecting the battery 39 to the motor 19 after the auxiliary vehicle 30 is connected to the main body 11, the wheelchair and vehicle 30 can travel by using the rear wheels 16 as drive wheels.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheelchair-coupled vehicle in which a wheelchair is connected to an auxiliary vehicle for assisting traveling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Wheelchairs generally used include a manual type and a motorized type. When moving on a long distance or a slope on a wheelchair, a manual wheelchair has a drawback that a heavy burden is imposed on a occupant. On the other hand, an electric wheelchair has a large weight because it is equipped with a large number of components such as a battery, a driving motor and a steering device, and is inconvenient to handle. In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. Hei 7-12126 discloses a technique. As shown in FIG. 13, this is a wheelchair-coupled vehicle 3 in which a front wheel of a manual wheelchair main body 1 is connected to an auxiliary vehicle 2 for assisting driving, and the auxiliary vehicle 2 includes a steering handle. 4, a traveling wheel 5 serving as a front wheel of the connected vehicle 3, a driving motor 6 for driving the traveling wheel 5, and a battery 7 for supplying electric power to the driving motor 6. Accordingly, the wheelchair body 1 can be moved manually by itself in normal times, and can be moved by connecting the auxiliary vehicle 2 and electrically driving the traveling wheels 5 for long-distance movements.

[0003]

However, in the wheelchair-coupled vehicle 3 described above, most of the load of the wheelchair main body 1 is applied to the wheelchair rear wheel 8 side, so that the running wheel 5 of the auxiliary vehicle 2 has insufficient load. Thus, there is a problem that a sufficient driving force cannot be obtained. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wheelchair-coupled vehicle capable of obtaining a sufficient load on drive wheels when traveling by connecting an auxiliary vehicle to a wheelchair. There.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wheelchair-coupled vehicle, comprising: a wheelchair main body; and an auxiliary vehicle connected to a front portion of the wheelchair main body to assist traveling. A wheelchair-coupled vehicle, wherein the wheelchair main body is equipped with a drive motor capable of driving a wheelchair rear wheel, while the auxiliary vehicle is operated by a traveling wheel serving as a front wheel of the vehicle and an occupant of the wheelchair main body. It is equipped with a possible steering device and a battery, and is characterized in that the battery can be connected to the driving motor and supplied with electric power so that the rear wheel of the wheelchair can be driven as a driving wheel.

[0005] A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the wheelchair main body can be manually driven by itself.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a battery mounted on an auxiliary vehicle is connected to a driving motor mounted on a wheelchair body to supply power. This allows
Since the wheelchair rear wheel on which a load is applied can run as a drive wheel, sufficient driving force can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the wheelchair main body can be manually driven, there is no need to mount an electric drive battery or a steering device on the wheelchair main body. Becomes possible.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The wheelchair-coupled vehicle 10 of the present embodiment includes a wheelchair main body 11 and an auxiliary vehicle 30 that can be connected to a front portion of the wheelchair main body 11. First, the wheelchair body 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. The wheelchair main body 11 is a manual wheelchair by itself. The wheelchair main body 11 includes a seating portion 13 at the center of a frame 12 and a pair of footrests 14 provided at a lower front portion thereof. A pair of left and right free wheels 15 is provided behind the footrest 14 so as to be free to turn, and a pair of left and right wheelchair rear wheels 16 is provided behind the pair. Each wheelchair rear wheel 16 is provided with a hand rim 17 so that the wheelchair body 11 can be manually driven. The axle of each wheelchair rear wheel 16 is connected to a drive motor 19 via a clutch mechanism (not shown), and the wheelchair main body 11 can also run by electrically driving the wheelchair rear wheel 16. A switching lever 21 connected to the above-mentioned clutch mechanism is protruded from a side portion of the seating portion 13. When the switching lever 21 is operated to the electric side, the wheelchair rear wheel 16 rotates the rotating shaft of the driving motor 19. (Not shown)
And are disconnected when operated to the manual side. A code reel 22A is provided at the front of the frame 12, from which a power plug 22 is pulled out and connected to a socket 41 of the auxiliary vehicle 30 so that power can be supplied to the drive motor 19.

A pair of left and right lower frames 12A extending in the front-rear direction are provided below the frame 12. Near the front end of each lower frame 12A, a connecting pin 23 projects obliquely downward and forward. Further, both lower frames 12
An extending portion 24 is provided from the vicinity of the center of A to the inside in the width direction,
A connecting pin 25 protrudes downward from the tip. These connecting pins 23 and 25 are connected to the auxiliary vehicle 3 described later.
It is provided at a position corresponding to the 0 positioning grooves 44 and 45.

Next, an auxiliary vehicle 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The auxiliary vehicle 30 includes a flat body portion 31 as a whole. The vehicle body 31 is connectable to the wheelchair main body 11 as described later in detail. A running wheel 32 is provided at the front center of the body 31 so as to be able to turn to the left and right.
A control device 33 that can be operated by the occupant is provided upright. The steering device 33 includes a steering shaft 34 connected to the traveling wheels 32 and a steering post 35 that accommodates the steering shaft 34.
And Further, a steering wheel 36 is provided at an upper end of the steering post 35 so that an occupant of the wheelchair main body 11 can steer the running wheels 32. An operation unit 37 is provided in the center of the rear part of the handle 36, and includes an accelerator and a lifting mechanism 49 described later.
And the like for operating the.

The vehicle body section 31 has a substantially ladder-shaped vehicle body frame 38 which is long in front and rear. The width of the center portion of the body frame 38 in the front-rear direction is slightly increased, and a pair of auxiliary wheels 42 is provided on the lower surfaces of both ends. Further, a pair of auxiliary wheels 43 is provided on the lower surface of the rear end portion of the body frame 38. When the auxiliary vehicle 30 is a single unit, as shown in FIG. 33 is supported in an upright position, and the auxiliary vehicle 3
It can be moved by pressing 0.

Running wheels 3 are provided on the upper surface of the front part of the body frame 38.
A pair of batteries 39 are placed on both sides of the battery 39. A control box 40 is provided behind the battery 39, and houses a control circuit (not shown) including a CPU. A socket 41 connected to the above-described control circuit is provided outside the control box 40, and the power plug 22 of the wheelchair body 11 is connected to the socket 41 so that the power of the battery 39 is transmitted to the drive motor 19. It can be supplied. Further, a lifting mechanism 4 described later is provided behind the control box 40.
9 are provided.

On the upper surface of the vehicle body frame 38, a pair of front and rear positioning grooves 44 and 45 are provided in close proximity to the auxiliary wheels 42 and 43, respectively. These positioning grooves 44 and 45 are connected to the respective connecting pins 2 of the wheelchair body 11.
The wheelchair main body 11 and the auxiliary vehicle 30 are positioned relative to each other by being provided at positions corresponding to the wheelchairs 3 and 25, and having the distal ends of the connecting pins 23 and 25 enter from the rear side. In addition, connection holes 46 and 47 into which the connection pins 23 and 25 can be inserted are formed in the depths of the positioning grooves 44 and 45, respectively. The front connection hole 46 is formed shallower than the rear connection hole 47 (see FIG. 9).
When the wheels 3 and 25 are inserted into the connection holes 46 and 47, the wheelchair body 11 and the auxiliary vehicle 30 are held in a predetermined posture.

The lifting mechanism 49 has a pair of left and right arms 51. Each of the arms 51 has a locking portion 51A that is bent in a V-shape at the distal end, and its base end is rotatably attached to the inside of the vehicle body frame 38. The arm portion 51 has a retracted position in which the locking portions 51A are tilted inward from each other (see FIGS. 4 and 6) and a locking position in which the locking portions 51A are spread out outside the vehicle body frame 38 in a wing shape (see FIGS. (See FIG. 7). In the locking position, the locking portion 51A is connected to the wheelchair main body 11.
Can be locked to the lower frame 12A. Also,
The two arms 51 are connected to each other via a spring 53, and are constantly urged toward the retracted position. Further, the ends of the wires 54 are connected to the two arm portions 51 on the surface opposite to the surface to which the spring 53 is connected. The wire 54 is connected to the left and right pulleys 5.
5A and 55B, and is further extended over a movable pulley 56 at one end of a rotating body 57 provided on the rear side of the vehicle body 31. One end of a wire 58 is connected to the other end of the rotating body 57, and the other end of the wire 58 is connected to a connection motor 59 provided on the front side so as to be able to be wound. When the wire 58 is taken up by the connecting motor 59, the rotating body 57 is rotated to displace the movable pulley 56 rearward, and the wire 54 is pulled to open the two arm portions 51 to the locking position. It has become.

This embodiment has the above configuration, and its operation will be described below. The wheelchair-coupled vehicle 10 uses the wheelchair body 11 alone as a manual wheelchair when moving indoors or the like. Since the wheelchair body 11 is not mounted with a battery and other components such as a steering device, it can be made sufficiently lightweight and easy to handle as compared with a general electric wheelchair.

When traveling a long distance, the auxiliary vehicle 30 is connected to the wheelchair main body 11 and travels. To connect the auxiliary vehicle 30 to the wheelchair main body 11, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary vehicle 30 and the wheelchair main body 11 are directly opposed, and the wheelchair main body 11 is advanced as indicated by the arrow. Then, the tips of the connecting pins 23 and 25 enter the positioning grooves 44 and 45 and abut against the inner walls 44A and 45A of the positioning grooves 44 and 45, so that the wheelchair body 11 and the auxiliary vehicle 30 can be connected to each other. (See FIGS. 8 and 9).

Next, by operating a switch (not shown) of the operation unit 37, the connection motor 59 is driven to wind up the wire 58. Then, the rotating body 57 rotates, the movable pulley 56 moves rearward, and the wire 54 is pulled. As a result, the distal end of each arm portion 51 at the retracted position is opened outward, and each locking portion 51A is locked on the upper surface of the lower frame 12A of the wheelchair body 11 (see FIGS. 5 and 7). When the wire 54 is further pulled, each arm 51 presses the lower frame 12A downward. Then, the vehicle body 3 is supported by the frame 12.
1 tilts so as to lift the rear end side, and the tips of the connection pins 23 and 25 enter the connection holes 46 and 47, and the tip of the front connection pin 23 abuts against the bottom surface of the front connection hole 46.

FIG. 12A shows a simplified state of the frame 12 and the body 31 at this time. When the arm portion 51 is displaced in the direction of pushing down the frame 12 from here, a torque is applied to the frame 12 around the axle 16A of the rear wheel 16 of the wheelchair (clockwise in the drawing) with the tip of the front connection pin 23 as a fulcrum. On the other hand, a torque is applied to the vehicle body portion 31 around the axle 32A of the traveling wheel 32 in a direction opposite to that of the vehicle body portion 31 (a direction around the clockwise direction). For this reason, the frame 12 and the vehicle body portion 31 tilt together in a direction in which torque is applied while supporting each other (see FIG. 12B). Thus, the universal wheel 15 and the auxiliary wheels 42, 4
3 is lifted off the ground, and when the rear connecting pin 25 reaches the bottom surface of the rear connecting hole 47, the connecting motor 59 is stopped, and the vehicle body 31 and the frame 12 are held in a connected state (FIG. 10). , 11).

Next, the power plug 22 is pulled out from the cord reel 22A and connected to the socket 41 on the auxiliary vehicle 30 side. Then, the switching lever 21 of the left and right wheelchair rear wheels 16 is tilted to the electric side, and the axle is connected to the drive motor 19. As described above, when the occupant of the wheelchair body 11 operates the accelerator of the operation unit 37, power is supplied from the battery 39 to the drive motor 19, and the wheelchair rear wheel 16 is driven by the wheelchair-coupled vehicle 10 as a drive wheel. Can be done.

The wheelchair-coupled vehicle 10 has excellent stability at high speed running compared to a control device such as a joystick of a general electric wheelchair, for example, because the control device 33 is erected in front of the wheelchair body 11. ing. In addition, since the free wheel 15 of the wheelchair body 11 and the auxiliary wheel 43 of the auxiliary vehicle 30 are lifted from the ground by the lifting mechanism 49 and run on the three wheels of the wheelchair rear wheel 16 and the running wheel 32, even on a road having irregularities or steps. Stable traveling is possible.

According to the present embodiment, the battery 39 mounted on the auxiliary vehicle 30 is connected to the drive motor 19 mounted on the wheelchair main body 11 to supply electric power, so that the wheelchair rear wheel 16 to which a load is applied is connected. Because it can run as a drive wheel,
A sufficient driving force can be obtained. Further, the wheelchair body 11 is dedicated to manual traveling alone, and does not include components such as a battery and a steering device as in a general electric wheelchair. Therefore, the wheelchair body 11 is lightweight and easy to handle.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiments, and, for example, those described below are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. (1) Although the wheelchair main body 11 of the above embodiment is not used alone and dedicated to manual traveling without a battery or the like, according to the present invention, the wheelchair main body may be an electric wheelchair equipped with a battery or the like. good. Also in this case, the battery of the wheelchair main body can be lightened because the battery of the auxiliary vehicle can be used in an auxiliary manner by connecting the auxiliary vehicle when traveling long distances.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wheelchair-coupled vehicle according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of a wheelchair body.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state before connecting the wheelchair main body and the auxiliary vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the auxiliary vehicle when the arm unit is at a retracted position.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the auxiliary vehicle when the arm portion is at a locking position.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the lifting mechanism when the arm unit is at the retracted position.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the lifting mechanism when the arm unit is at a locking position.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state where the wheelchair body and the auxiliary vehicle are positioned.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged side view showing a state where the wheelchair body and the auxiliary vehicle are positioned.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state in which the connection between the wheelchair body and the auxiliary vehicle is completed.

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged side view showing a state where the connection between the wheelchair body and the auxiliary vehicle is completed.

FIG. 12A is a simplified diagram showing a state in which the frame and the vehicle body are being lifted; FIG. 12B is a simplified diagram showing a state in which the frame and the body are being lifted;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a conventional wheelchair-coupled vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Wheelchair connection vehicle 11 ... Wheelchair main body 16 ... Wheelchair rear wheel 19 ... Driving motor 30 ... Auxiliary vehicle 32 ... Running wheel 33 ... Steering device 39 ... Battery

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A wheelchair-coupled vehicle comprising a wheelchair main body and an auxiliary vehicle connected to a front portion of the wheelchair main body to assist running, wherein the wheelchair main body includes a driving motor capable of driving a wheelchair rear wheel. On the other hand, the auxiliary vehicle has a traveling wheel serving as a front wheel of the vehicle, a steering device operable by an occupant of the wheelchair body, and a battery, and the battery is connected to the driving motor. A wheelchair-coupled vehicle characterized in that the vehicle can be driven by using the rear wheel of the wheelchair as a drive wheel by supplying electric power. 2. The wheelchair-coupled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the wheelchair main body can be manually driven by itself.