JP2002102293A - Frame structure of electric wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a frame structure of motor-driven wheelchair capable of loading a plurality of kinds of batteries and simplifying the structure of a main frame rear part by suspending rear wheels independently of each other. SOLUTION: This motor-driven wheelchair is provided with a battery storage part 30 in a space part below a seat 10 being surrounded by right and left main frames 14, 14 and cross members 16, 16 mutually connecting them and being substantially rectangular when viewed in a plan and a side bezel member 36 nipping and holding a bottom part bezel member 34 for loading the battery 32 and the battery 32 capable of adjusting right and left mounting positions from the right and left sides in the storage part 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a frame structure of an electric wheelchair.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an electric wheelchair has a four-wheeled vehicle configuration in which two front wheels and two rear wheels are arranged at a front part and a rear part of a lower part of a vehicle body, respectively, and two rear wheels are respectively provided by different electric motors. The two front wheels are respectively mounted on casters so as to follow the driving force of the two rear wheels (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-22258).

[0003] When a battery for supplying electric power is accommodated in a space surrounded by a frame below a seat, the battery is conventionally held by a wire type cage-shaped container or a resin case type container. There is something. However, since the capacity of the basket and case, and the surrounding main control box and charger are all fixed, it is impossible to accommodate batteries of various sizes if they are too large, but if they are too small, they will not be able to run. Because it dances and shakes in a stable manner,
Only one type of battery could be fixed.

On the other hand, in an electric wheelchair, when the rear wheel suspension system is a left-right independent suspension and trailing system, the one shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is adopted. FIG.
In the rear wheel suspension as shown in FIG. 3, a swing arm a is also used as a gear case of a drive unit, a swing arm pivot b is provided at a lower rear portion of the left and right main frames c, and a cushion unit d is provided at the rear of the axle e. . As described above, the suspension mechanism of the rear wheel e1 has a structure in which the suspension mechanism is entirely concentrated on the rear portion of the main frame c.

However, the electric wheelchair of the above-mentioned method has a simple structure without a suspension mechanism in the lower part of the left and right main frames c, but requires a space for the cushion unit d at the rear of the frame c. This is not preferable in appearance, and the cushion unit and the suspension mechanism are concentrated in the rear part of the vehicle body, so that it may be obstructive when the assistant tries to push the wheelchair.

In the electric wheelchair and the like described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-22258, a swing arm f pivot g is provided at the front lower part of the left and right main frames h and the swing arm f is attached, as in the electric wheelchair lower structure shown in FIG. Extends rearward, the cushion unit i is also located below the main frame h,
In addition, the axle j is the front part.

However, the left and right main frames h must be provided with a pivot g bracket k at the front and a cushion unit i mounting bracket m at the rear. In particular, at the rear cushion i mounting portion, it is necessary to extend the upper end of the cushion unit i above the lower surface of the main frame h to pivotally support the upper end of the cushion unit i because of the length of the cushion unit i.
However, it tends to have a complicated shape.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has been proposed in which a plurality of types of batteries can be mounted, and the rear of the main frame has a simple structure with independent rear wheel suspension. An object of the present invention is to provide a wheelchair frame structure.

[0009]

The present invention has the following features in order to achieve the above-mentioned object.

That is, the present invention provides a pair of left and right main frames for supporting a seat on which an occupant sits and holding a front wheel made of casters at a front portion so as to be pivotally movable, and a front portion and a rear portion of the left and right main frames. A front end portion is rotatably supported at the left and right front portions of each main frame, and a rear end portion is located near the rear portion of the main frame, and the left and right rear wheel shafts are located inside the rear wheels. A pair of left and right swing arms pivotally supported from, a drive motor mounted at the rear end of each swing arm and individually driving each of the rear wheels via a gear mechanism, and a rear end of each swing arm and a main frame. An electric wheelchair having a cushion unit mounted between the left and right main frames and a cross member connecting them. A battery housing portion is provided in a space below the seat, and a bottom vessel member for mounting the battery and a side vessel member for holding the battery whose right and left mounting positions are adjustable from the left and right are provided in the housing portion. It is a frame structure of an electric wheelchair.

According to the present invention, the battery is placed on the bottom bezel member, and the position of the battery can be adjusted by sandwiching the battery between the left and right bezel side members. (Between the battery width direction), it can be positioned and positioned optimally and mounted, so that various batteries can be easily installed and convenient. In addition, since the battery is sandwiched from the left and right, the battery can be pressed without a gap, and there is no problem that the battery rattles during running.

If a stopper member for positioning the rear portion of the battery is provided at the rear end of the battery housing portion,
The battery can be positioned reliably from the front and back, and does not rattle back and forth. In addition, since a separate part is not particularly required for installing and removing the stopper, the work load is low and the cost can be reduced.

The left and right main frames may be made of a metal press-formed material having a channel structure such as a C-shaped cross section, and a pivot shaft at the upper end of the cushion unit may be accommodated in a downward open portion of the rear end. The metal press material having a U-shaped cross section has high strength and also supports the swing arm without providing a bracket on the main frame, which complicates parts for optimizing the pivot position and the cushion unit mounting position. You don't need to. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the work load and the mounting cost around the rear wheel suspension while maintaining the strength.

[0014] Further, if a link mechanism is provided for connecting the left and right plates extending vertically provided at the center of the rear cross member and the bracket inside the rear end of the swing arm with upper and lower pairs of lateral rods, respectively, The torsional force can be supported by the compressive and tensile stresses of the lateral rod when the vehicle swings up and down, so the rear axle can move up and down in parallel without twisting, and the vehicle body does not swing right and left even on uneven road surfaces Stable traveling is possible.

At the rear end of each swing arm, a case body of a gear mechanism is provided behind the pivot shaft mounting position at the lower end of the cushion unit with the rear wheel shaft protruding outside the vehicle body. It is preferable that a motor is attached to the rear position of the lateral rod connecting bracket.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the entire configuration of the electric wheelchair according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the vehicle body frame viewed obliquely from above, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the vehicle body frame viewed from below, and FIG. Main part explanatory diagram,
FIG. 5 is a detailed explanatory view of the main frame in a side view, and FIGS. 6A to 6D are cross-sectional views of each part of the main frame in FIG.
7 is an explanatory view of the battery housing portion with the vehicle body seat removed, FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the rear view of the electric wheelchair, FIG. 9 is an external explanatory view of various batteries, and FIGS. FIG. In the following description, front and rear refer to front and rear along the traveling direction of the vehicle body.

As shown in the figure, the electric wheelchair of the embodiment supports a seat 10 on which an occupant sits and a caster 12a (a turning bearing of the caster 12a is denoted by reference numeral 12).
b), a pair of left and right main frames 14, 1 for rotatably holding the front wheel 12 rotatably supported at the front part.
4, cross members 16, 16 for connecting the front and rear portions of the left and right main frames 14, 14, and front ends 18 a at the left and right front portions of the main frames 14, 14.
18a is rotatably supported and rear ends 18b, 18b
Are located in the vicinity of the rear portions of the main frames 14, 14, and a pair of left and right substantially bow-shaped upwardly curved swing arms 18 that support the left and right rear wheel shafts 20, 20 from inside the respective rear wheels 22, 22. , 18 and each swing arm 18, 1
8, each rear wheel 22,
Drive motors 26, 26 for individually driving the motor 22 through gear transmission mechanisms 24, 24;
Cushion units 28, 28 installed between the other end of the main frame 8 and the main frames 14, 14 in a vertical direction.
And

The armrests 2 stand on the left and right of the seat 10, and the back seat 6 stands on the rear.
Further, a footrest 8 is provided at the lower front. A joystick 4 as a traveling steering control switch is provided at the front of the one arm rarest 2 (the right side in the embodiment). A signal is output to a controller 60 provided below the seat by tilting the joystick 4 back and forth and left and right by an occupant or the like, and the controller 60 controls the driving speed of the left and right drive motors 26 and 26. Forward and backward control is performed by tilting, and left and right steering is performed by a rotation difference between the rear wheels 22 and 22 by right and left tilting.

The left and right main frames 14,
14 and the cross members 16 and 16 connecting them
A battery accommodating portion 30 is provided in a space below the seat 10 which is substantially rectangular in plan view and surrounded by a bottom vessel member 34 for mounting the battery 32 and a battery 32 having an adjustable left and right mounting position. And a side vessel member 36 sandwiched from the left and right. In the embodiment, as shown in FIGS.
Shows a structure in which a bottom plate 34a having a substantially X shape and a bottom plate 34a are suspended from the cross member 16 by a bar-shaped bracket 34b having a substantially U-shaped open shape when viewed from the side, and is not a box type or a cage type. It has a hanging plate structure. The side vessel member 36 is fastened and fixed to a long hole of the front and rear brackets 34c protruding outward in the vehicle width direction at a vertically central portion of a front and rear portion of the rod-shaped metal fitting 34b substantially hanging down, with a bolt and a nut. The fastening position of the side vessel member 36 in the hole can be appropriately set in the vehicle width direction. The central portions of the left and right rod-shaped brackets 34b are connected by a bridge member 34d and are connected to a plate 44 described later.

A stopper member 38 for positioning the rear portion of the battery 32 is detachably provided at the rear end of the battery housing portion 30. In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the stopper member 38 has a substantially U-shape in a top view, and is formed by bending a plate material stepwise to open both ends in a crank shape. The portion is detachably fastened and fixed to the bridge member 34d of the bottom vessel member 34.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the left and right main frames 14 are formed by pressing a metal press-formed material having a channel structure having at least a rear portion having a C-shaped cross section at the front portion and opening at the rear portion, and The pivot shaft 4 at the upper end of the cushion unit 28 is inserted into the downward opening 40 of the rear end 14c.
2a. 5 and 6, the front end 14 of the main frame 14 can be seen.
The lower part is welded and closed. Further, in the central portion 14b of the may frame 14, an inward flange is formed at the lower open portion to increase the strength. A pivot bracket 50 of the swing arm front ends 18a, 18a is welded and fixed to the lower surface near the boundary between the front portion 14a and the center portion 14b in a shape of a U-shape that opens downward in cross section.

The vertically extending plate 44 provided at the center of the rear cross member 16 and the left and right swing arms 18 and the brackets 46 on the inside of the rear end thereof are respectively connected by upper and lower pairs of lateral rods 48, 48. This is provided with a link mechanism for connection.

At the rear ends 18b, 18b of the swing arms 18, 18, a gear transmission mechanism 24 housed in a case body behind the pivot shaft 42b mounting position at the lower end of the cushion unit 28 is provided with a rear wheel shaft 20. The drive motor 2 is provided so as to protrude to the outside of the vehicle body, and is provided on the inner portion of the case body behind the lateral rod connecting brackets 46, 46.
6, 26 are attached.

A substantially U-shaped carrying bar 64 is welded and fixed to the may frames 14, 14 from the outside of the vehicle body.

The operation of the embodiment will be described. In recent years, market demands have diversified, and various types of batteries, such as shielded types and large-capacity types, have been demanded for batteries in addition to conventional liquid-filled types, and batteries may have different sizes depending on the type. Various sizes of batteries 32 are shown in FIGS.

In the battery accommodating section 30, the battery 32 is placed on the bottom bezel member 34, and the front and rear portions of the side bezel member 36 are bolted to the holes of the bracket 34c before and after the frame. The hole of the bracket 34c has a so-called oval shape having a long axis in the horizontal direction, and the position of the side vessel member 36 can be freely adjusted in the vehicle width direction according to the width position when the battery is mounted.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a battery 3 of the same size.
FIG. 12 shows a case where the battery 32 is mounted in a position different from the front and rear, and FIG. In FIG. 10, the charger 62 is protruded rearward from the front of the battery housing 30 to
Can be pressed backward. Further, a stopper member 36 is provided at a rear portion of the housing portion, and the battery 32 can be pressed forward. Therefore, the position of the battery can be easily moved and adjusted in the front-rear direction, the position of the center of gravity of the wheelchair in the front-rear direction can be easily adjusted, and the control of steering and stability can be facilitated. Further, the main control box 60 can be placed between the batteries 32, 32 as shown in FIG. 12, or an arrangement space can be secured above the batteries 32, 32.

In the embodiment, the May frame 14,
14 is a press-integrated molding type, the basic cross-sectional shape is a substantially C-shape with a downward opening, and the portion where stress is concentrated is a closed cross-section, and the mounting portion of the rear cushion unit 28 is shown in FIGS. As the frames 14, 14
The structure is such that the cushion unit 28 is sunk into the inside. In addition, the main frame 14, 14 is tilted slightly forward and lowered forward to pass it back and forth, so that a swing arm 18 is provided.
The position of the front end pivot can be lowered, and the upper mounting portion (pivot shaft 42a) of the rear cushion unit 28 can be arranged higher. Also, the cross member 16 and the carrying bar 64 are connected to the main frame 14,
The main frames 14, 14, which are basically open sections, can be efficiently reinforced by welding by penetrating the main frames 14 (a welded portion is indicated by reference numeral 66 in FIG. 4).

[0029]

The present invention provides a frame structure of an electric wheelchair which has the above-described structure, allows a plurality of types of batteries to be mounted, and has a rear wheel independent suspension and a simple structure at the rear of the main frame. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an overall configuration of an electric wheelchair according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a vehicle body frame as viewed obliquely from above.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram viewed from below a vehicle body frame.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a main part as viewed from below the main frame.

FIG. 5 is a detailed side view of the main frame.

6 (a) to 6 (d) are cross-sectional views of respective parts of the main frame of FIG. 5, (a) is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a mounting portion of a cushion unit, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. Figure, (c)
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 5, and FIG. 6D is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a battery housing part with a vehicle body seat removed.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the electric wheelchair.

FIGS. 9A to 9C are explanatory views of the appearance of various batteries.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a mounted state in which a relatively small battery is moved backward.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of a mounted state in which a relatively small battery is moved forward.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a relatively large battery is arranged on the left and right, and a control unit is disposed at the center thereof.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a rear wheel suspension mechanism of an electric wheelchair.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the rear wheel suspension mechanism of the electric wheelchair.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Seat 12 Front wheel 14 Main frame 16 Cross member 18 Swing arm 22 Rear wheel 24 Gear transmission mechanism 26 Drive motor 28 Cushion unit 30 Battery storage part 32 Battery 34 Bottom vessel member 36 Side vessel member 38 Stopper member 40 Main frame opening part 42a Cushion unit Upper pivot shaft 42b Cushion unit Lower pivot shaft 44 Plate 46 Bracket

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A pair of left and right main frames for supporting a seat on which an occupant sits and holding a front wheel made of casters at a front portion so as to be pivotable, and a cross connecting the front and rear portions of the left and right main frames. With members,
A front end portion is rotatably supported on the left and right front portions of each main frame, and a rear end portion is located near the rear portion of the main frame, and a pair of left and right wheels that support the left and right rear wheel shafts from the inside of each rear wheel. A swing arm, a drive motor provided at a rear end of each swing arm and individually driving each of the rear wheels via a gear mechanism, and a cushion provided between the rear end of each swing arm and the main frame. An electric wheelchair having a unit, wherein a battery housing portion is provided in a space below the seat surrounded by the left and right main frames and a cross member connecting them, and a bottom vessel member for mounting a battery in the housing portion. A frame structure for an electric wheelchair, comprising: a side vessel member for sandwiching a battery whose right and left mounting positions are adjustable from the left and right. 2. A frame structure for an electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein a stopper member for positioning the rear portion of the battery is provided at a rear end portion of the battery housing portion. 3. The left and right main frames are made of a metal press-formed material having a channel structure, and a pivot shaft at an upper end portion of a cushion unit is accommodated in a downward open portion of a rear end portion. The frame structure of the electric wheelchair according to 1. 4. A link mechanism for connecting a vertically extending plate provided at a central portion of a rear cross member and a bracket inside a rear end portion of a left and right swing arm with upper and lower pairs of lateral rods. Item 4. The frame structure of the electric wheelchair according to any one of Items 1 to 3. 5. A case body of a gear mechanism is provided at a rear end of each swing arm behind a pivot shaft mounting position at a lower end of the cushion unit, with a rear wheel shaft protruding outside the vehicle body. The frame structure of an electric wheelchair according to claim 4, wherein a motor is mounted at a position rearward of the bracket for connecting the lateral rod.