JP2002165843A - Wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wheelchair capable of being normally used as a manual type wheelchair and being used as a motor-driven type wheelchair as desired by allowing a user to attach a driving part thereto all by himself/herself while sitting on the wheelchair. SOLUTION: This wheelchair 50 is provided with the manual type wheelchair 52, a driving wheel part 54 movable back and forth while freely changing a direction and a speed, and a connection part 53 for connecting the driving wheel part to the front part of the manual type wheelchair. As desired, it is used as the motor-driven type wheelchair by connecting the driving wheel part to the manual type wheelchair through the connection part and is manually used as the manual type wheelchair by detaching the driving wheel part. The connection part is provided with a fixed arm 92 fixed to the front part of the manual type wheelchair, provided with one member 90 constituting a hooking part by a pair on a lower part and extended upwards and a free arm 98 freely turnable around a hinge 94 provided on the upper end of the fixed arm and provided with the other member 88 of the hooking part for hooking one member of the hooking part and a block 96 provided with a connection recessed part for fitting the connection projected part 72 of the driving front wheel parts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheelchair, and more particularly, to a non-motorized type, that is, a manual wheelchair, which can be used by a user without needing the help of another person. The present invention relates to a wheelchair which can be used as an electric wheelchair by attaching a drive unit by itself while sitting on a wheelchair.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Wheelchairs for the handicapped or the elderly have been significantly improved in usability as the disabled enter the society or to promote the self-help efforts of the elderly. Here, with reference to FIG. 12, the configuration of a conventionally used manual wheelchair will be described. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a typical manual wheelchair. Conventional manual wheelchair 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a bogie 1 having a cloth or plastic backrest and a seat so that a user of a wheelchair can sit and ride, as shown in FIG.
2 and main wheels 14A, B having large wheel diameters provided on both sides of the trolley 12, and main wheels 14 provided in front of the main wheels 14A, B of the lower frame on both sides of the trolley 12, respectively.
Front wheels (casters) 16A, B with smaller wheel diameters than A, B
And The main wheels 14A and 14B are for driving the truck 12, and the rotation shafts 15A and 15B of the one main wheel 14A and the other main wheel 14B are independently attached to the frame of the truck 12, and 14A and 14
B can rotate independently of each other. The front wheels 16A and 16B are provided to support and stabilize the front portion of the truck 12.

[0003] Hand rims 18 are attached to the main wheels 14A and B, respectively, for rotating the main wheels 14A and B by a user's hand, and thereby driving the bogie 12 respectively. , B are provided on both sides of the bogie 12 for braking the rotation of the truck 12, and are operated by brake levers 22A, B. Main wheel 14
By rotating one of A and B and keeping the other stationary, or by letting one of the brakes 20A and B play and braking the other of the main wheels 14A and B using the other of the brakes 20A and B, The direction of the wheelchair 10 can be changed.

[0004] Electric wheelchairs that do not require the wheels to be rotated by hand have also been used. Next, FIG. 13 and FIG.
The configuration of a conventional electric wheelchair will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
3 is a perspective view of the electric wheelchair, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the back surface of the drive unit of the electric wheelchair. A conventional electric wheelchair 30 is a front-wheel drive type three-wheeled vehicle as shown in FIGS.
And a carriage 38 connected to the drive unit 34 via a connection unit 35 and having wheels 36A and 36B on both sides.
The drive unit 34 includes a metal frame-shaped frame 40, and the front wheel 32 is rotatably attached to a rotating shaft provided at a lower portion of the frame 40. As shown in FIG. 14, an electric motor 42 that drives the front wheels 32 and a storage battery 44 that is a power source for the electric motor 42 are provided on the back surface of the driving unit 34. The upper part of the frame 40 constitutes a handle 46 for controlling the traveling direction. Between the handles 46, a brake lever 48 for braking the rotation of the electric motor 42 and a rotation speed of the electric motor 42 are respectively controlled. An accelerator lever 49 for increasing and decreasing the speed is provided.

[0005]

However, in a conventional manual wheelchair, that is, a non-motorized wheelchair, the motive power for driving the bogie is always a rotational force by a hand, so that physically handicapped persons and elderly people are physically inferior. It is difficult for people to ride around for a long time. On the other hand, the electric wheelchair needs to constantly monitor the state of charge of the storage battery, and has a disadvantage that it cannot be operated if the storage battery is completely discharged.
Further, the conventional electric wheelchair is heavy and inconvenient to handle. Therefore, it is not practical for a disabled person or an elderly person to always use a conventional electric wheelchair as an alternative to a non-electric wheelchair.

For the handicapped and the elderly, as desired
It would be extremely convenient to have a wheelchair that could be used as a non-motorized wheelchair at some times and as a motorized wheelchair at some times. Furthermore, it is preferable for a person with a disability and the elderly if it can be used as a non-motorized wheelchair at all times, and if necessary, can be used as a motorized wheelchair. Furthermore, a disabled person and an elderly person in a non-motorized wheelchair can use the electric motorized wheelchair by attaching a drive unit to the non-motorized wheelchair on which he / she is riding without helping others. If you have a wheelchair, it is most preferred. However, none of the conventional non-motorized wheelchairs or motorized wheelchairs satisfy the above-mentioned requirements of users for wheelchairs.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to always use a non-motorized type, that is, a manual wheelchair, and to drive the vehicle alone without using the power of another person as needed. An object of the present invention is to provide a wheelchair which can be used as an electric wheelchair by attaching a part.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, a wheelchair according to the present invention comprises a manual wheelchair having a front wheel and a rear wheel provided with a hand rim, a wheel, and a driving device for driving the wheel. , A control device for controlling the drive device, and a handle for controlling the traveling direction, a drive wheel portion capable of freely moving forward and backward by changing the direction and speed, and an upwardly convex connection provided on the drive wheel portion It has a connecting recess that is detachably and rotatably fitted to the projection and is detachably attached to the front of the manual wheelchair. A connecting portion for connecting the drive wheel portion,
If desired, a wheelchair can be used as an electric wheelchair by connecting a drive wheel unit to a manual wheelchair via a connection unit, and a drive wheel unit can be removed and a manual wheelchair can be used manually. A fixed arm that is fixed to the front part of the manual wheelchair and has a lower part that constitutes a hooking part in a pair and extends upward, and a wheel of the manual wheelchair provided at the upper end of the fixed arm A free member that is rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the first portion and that has a block provided with the other member of the hook portion for hooking one member of the hook portion, and a coupling recess. And an arm.

In the present invention, the drive device is not limited as long as the drive wheels can be driven, and for example, an electric motor using a storage battery or a fuel cell as a power source can be suitably used. When using a storage battery, a battery fuel gauge and a spare battery should be mounted on the drive wheel. In the wheelchair according to the present invention, the connecting portion and the driving wheel portion can be connected to the manual wheelchair while the user is on the cart of the manual wheelchair.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, one of the members of the latch is a pin parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel of the manual wheelchair, and the other member of the latch is a snatch for latching the pin. Lock. If a certain load does not act on the drive wheel, the drive wheel of the drive wheel rotates idle, so that the front wheel of the manual wheelchair floats above the ground and a part of the weight of the user acts on the drive wheel. Thus, the connecting portion is configured. Therefore, the connecting portion can adjust the height position of the connecting portion and the width of the connecting portion according to the size of the manual wheelchair and the size of the driving wheel portion. When mounted, the front wheel of a manual wheelchair floats on a support surface such as the ground or floor. Further, by providing a handle for operating the free arm on the free arm, the hook can be easily hooked.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiment the present embodiment is an example embodiment of the wheelchair according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wheelchair in use as electric wheelchairs, FIG. 2 is a perspective of the front side of the driving wheel unit FIG. 3
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the back side of the driving front wheel portion, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the connecting portion, FIG. 5 is a side view of the connecting portion, and FIGS.
7A and 7B are a plan view of the fixed arm and a side cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 6A, respectively. FIGS. FIG. 8C is a side view showing the state of the fixed arm and the free arm when the snatch lock locks the hinge pin, and FIG.
(A) And (b) is the top view and sectional drawing of a fixed block. As shown in FIG. 1, the wheelchair 50 of the present embodiment is non-motorized, that is, a manual wheelchair 52, and is detachably connected to a front portion of the non-motorized wheelchair 52 via a connecting portion 53, Drive front wheel section 5 for pulling non-motorized wheelchair section 52
And 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drive front wheel portion 54 includes a support 56, handles 58 and drive wheels 60 provided on the upper and lower portions of the support 56, and a back side of the support 56, respectively. An electric motor 62 for driving the driving wheels 60 and a storage battery 64 serving as a power source for the electric motor 62 are provided. A brake lever 66 for braking the rotation of the electric motor 62 and an accelerator lever 68 for controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor 62 to increase and decrease the speed are provided between the handles 58. Further, there are provided operation buttons 70 such as a switching button for operating a switching device (not shown) for switching the rotation direction of the electric motor 62 to perform the forward drive or the reverse drive, and a light-on button. Furthermore,
On the back side of the support 56, in order to connect the drive front wheel portion 54 and the non-motorized wheelchair portion 52 via the connection portion 53, the support 56 is detachable from a fitting hole provided in a fixed block described later of the connection portion 53. And a connecting projection 72 to be rotatably fitted. The connecting projection 72 is a truncated conical member that is upwardly convex, and is attached to the support 56 by a support member 73.

The non-motorized wheelchair 52 includes a front wheel 16 of a lower frame of the bogie 12 of the non-motorized wheelchair 10 shown in FIG.
It has the same configuration as the non-motorized wheelchair 10 except that it has connecting pipes 74A and 74B at the upper portions of A and B, respectively. The connection pipes 74A and 74B are formed of, for example, stainless steel pipes, and the inner end face is closed by a blind plate so that an end of a pipe-shaped frame 76 of the connection portion 53, which will be described later, is fitted therein. Has become.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting portion 53 is attached to the center of the frame 76 with a stainless steel pipe frame 76 having a U-shape in plan view and a K-shape in side view. And a connecting block 78. The frame 76 includes two pipe frame members 80A and 80B having a substantially "L" shape in plan view and a "" shape in side view.
And a pipe connecting frame member 82 for inserting and connecting opposing ends of the frame members 80A and 80B, and screwing a screw 83a into a through hole 83 at both ends of the connecting pipe member 82, Frame member 80A,
B is fixed to the connecting pipe member 82. Connecting pipe member 8
2 is a rotating shaft 15 of the main wheel 14 of the non-motorized wheelchair 52
Mounted parallel to

By adjusting the length of the frame members 82A and 82B to be inserted into the connecting pipe member 82, the distance between the frame members 82A and 82B can be freely adjusted, for example, 25 mm / mm.
m, the connecting pipe 7 provided on the carriage 12
The end portions of the frame members 82A and 82B can be inserted into 4A and 4B. Frame members 82A, B
Depends on the width of the trolley 12, but is usually 500 m
m, the length of the horizontal portion of the frame members 82A and 82B is about 300 mm, and the height of the inclined portion is about 100 mm.

The connecting block 78 is mainly made of stainless steel, and has a plate-shaped fixing plate 84 fixed to the connecting pipe member 82 and the base plate 8 attached to the fixing plate 84.
6 and a hinge pin 90 which is attached to the surface of the base plate 86 opposite to the fixing plate 84 and engages with the snatch lock 88.
(See FIG. 6) is provided at a lower portion, and is provided with a plate-shaped fixing arm 92 extending upward and having a hinge coupling portion 94 at an upper end portion. Further, the connecting block 78 has a fixed arm 9 at the upper end.
The fixed arm 92 is rotatable via the second hinge coupling portion 94.
And a free arm 98 having two snatch locks 88 and a fixed block 96 at the lower end. The two snatch locks 88 are mounted on both sides of the free arm 98 at a distance from each other, and a fixing block 96 is fixed between the two snatch locks 88 by the free arm 98.
Fixed to.

The base plate 86 is provided with studs 8 through long vertically long holes (not shown) provided in the fixing plate 84.
7, the screw is fixed to the fixing plate 84.
The position can be adjusted up and down with respect to. Thus, when the drive front wheel portion 54 is attached to the manual wheelchair 52, the front wheels 16A and 16B of the manual wheelchair 52 float from supporting surfaces such as the ground and the floor, and the drive wheels 60 of the drive front wheel portion 54
Is applied to the manual wheelchair 52. As shown in FIG. 6, the fixed arm 92 has a support member 92b attached to the lower part of the fixed arm 92 with a stud 92a, and a hinge pin 90 is fixed between the support member 92b in parallel with the connecting pipe member 82 and fixed. It is held at a position separated from the arm 92.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the snatch lock 88 pivots around a pivot shaft 88a and a bifurcated lever 88b pivots around a pivot shaft 88c.
A drive lever 88d for rotating the forked lever 88b around the rotation shaft 88a is provided in the housing 88e.

In the snatch lock 88, the drive lever 88
By rotating d in a counterclockwise direction around the rotating shaft 88c to rotate the end 88f to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, FIG.
As shown in (b) and (c), the forked lever 88b is rotated around the rotating shaft 88a, and cooperates with the other end 88g of the driving lever 88d to be inserted into the forked of the forked lever 88b. The hinge pin 90 can be hooked and gripped. Also, by turning the other end 88f of the drive lever 88c clockwise and returning it to the original position shown in FIG.
The hinge pin 90 can be released from the snatch lock 88.

In order to facilitate rotation of the drive lever 88c, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an open handle 100 is attached to an end 88f of the drive lever 88c.
The hinge pin 90 can be locked and released by the snatch lock 88 by rotating the open handle 100 counterclockwise or clockwise. The hinge connection portion 94 includes a free arm 98.
When the hinge pin 90 provided at the lower end of the fixed arm 92 is hooked by a snatch lock 88 provided at the lower end of the fixed arm 92, the fixed arm 92 and the free arm 98 are constituted by a large hinge hinge substantially parallel to each other. When the open handle 100 is rotated counterclockwise, the free arm 98 is moved to the hinge joint 9 as shown in FIG.
When the hinge pin 90 is rotated counterclockwise away from the fixed arm 92 around the center 4 to release the hinge pin 90 from the engagement of the snatch lock 88 and, conversely, the open handle 100 is rotated clockwise, the free arm 98 is rotated. As shown in FIG. 7 (c), the fixed arm 9 is
2 and rotate in a clockwise direction to approach the snatch lock 88.
To lock the hinge pin 90.

The fixed block 96 is, as shown in FIG.
A hollow portion 96a having substantially the same contour as the outer contour of the connecting projection 72
Is formed as a connection recess, and the connection protrusion 72 is inserted from below so that the upper end of the connection protrusion 72 projects upward from the distal end opening 96b of the cavity 96a. The drive front wheel portion 54 is securely connected to the non-motorized wheelchair portion 52 in a rotatable manner by inserting and fitting the connection protrusion 72 into the hollow portion 96a of the fixed block 96.
4, the non-motorized wheelchair 52 can be pulled.
Although not shown, a battery fuel gauge and a spare battery are mounted on the driving front wheel unit 54.

Next, a method of using the wheelchair 50 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Normally, the user can move in the same manner as the conventional non-motorized wheelchair 10 by turning the hand rim 18 by hand while riding on the carriage 12 of the non-motorized wheelchair unit 52. Next, when it is desired to use the wheelchair 50 as an electric wheelchair,
By fitting the frame 76 into the connecting pipe 74,
The connecting portion 53 is attached to the non-motorized wheelchair portion 52. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the fitting of the frame 76 can be performed while the user is on the carriage 12. Note that the connecting portion 53 can be attached to the non-motorized wheelchair portion 52 in advance as long as there is no problem.

Subsequently, a drive front wheel portion 54 is prepared, and FIG.
As shown in (c) and (d), the user grips the handle 58 of the drive front wheel portion 54 with the left hand, lifts the open handle 100 with the right hand, rotates the free arm 98, and releases the snatch lock 88. The fixed block 96 is moved closer to the connection convex portion 72 of the driving front wheel portion 54 while maintaining the same. At the same time, the drive front wheel portion 54 is inclined toward the user,
As shown in (e) and (f), the connecting projection 72 is fitted into the cavity 96a of the fixed block 96. In this state,
The front wheels 16 of the non-motorized wheelchair 52 are slightly raised from the ground, and the connecting portions 53 are formed so that a part of the weight of the user acts on the driving wheels 60 of the driving front wheels 54 as a load.
And is attached to the non-motorized wheelchair 52.

Subsequently, the electric motor 62 of the driving front wheel portion 54
Is started and retracted, and as shown in FIGS. 10 (g) and (h), by bringing the drive front wheel portion 54 close to the non-motorized wheelchair portion 52, the free arm 98 is moved to the position shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the user approaches the fixed arm 92 and automatically grips the hinge pin 90 with the snatch lock 88, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the drive front wheel portion 54 is connected to the non-motorized wheelchair portion 52.
Can be connected. By the above operation, the wheelchair 50 of the present embodiment can be brought into a state where it can be used as an electric wheelchair.

When the drive front wheel portion 54 is separated from the non-motorized wheelchair portion 52, the open handle 100 is rotated with the right hand while the drive front wheel portion 54 is advanced at a low speed, and the hinge pin 90 by the snatch lock 88 is first turned on. 11 (j) and (k) by shifting the latch of
As shown in the figure, the fixing block 96 is automatically
2, the drive front wheel portion 54 can be separated from the non-motorized wheelchair portion 52. Then, at the time of separation, the driving front wheel portion 54 is stopped.

The wheelchair 50 of the present embodiment can be used as an electric wheelchair by connecting a drive front wheel portion 54 to a manual wheelchair 52 via a connecting portion 53, if desired. The wheelchair 52 can be used manually. The weight of the driving front wheel portion 54 including the connecting portion 53 is about 7 kg to 10 kg, and the weight of the storage battery 64 is 2 kg.
Since the weight is from 3 kg to 3 kg, the manual wheelchair 52, the connecting portion 53, and the driving front wheel portion 54 can be separately mounted on a vehicle, and can be easily lowered and assembled from the vehicle at the destination as an electric wheelchair. In the present embodiment, it is not always necessary to newly manufacture the driving front wheel portion 54, and for example, the driving portion 34 of the electric wheelchair 30 described above can be used.

[0027]

According to the present invention, a manual wheelchair, a drive wheel portion, and a connecting portion for connecting the drive wheel portion to a front portion of the manual wheelchair are provided, so that the power of another person can be used if desired. Without the user sitting alone in a wheelchair,
A driving wheel can be used as an electric wheelchair by connecting a driving wheel to a manual wheelchair via a connecting portion, and a wheelchair in which a driving wheel can be removed and a manual wheelchair can be used manually is realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wheelchair when used as an electric wheelchair.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a front side of a driving front wheel portion.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rear surface side of a driving front wheel portion.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a connecting portion.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a connecting portion.

6 (a) and 6 (b) are a plan view of a fixed arm and a side sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 6 (a), respectively.

7 (a) and 7 (b) are side views showing the configuration of a snatch lock, respectively, and FIG. 7 (c) shows the state of a fixed arm and a free arm when the snatch lock locks a hinge pin. FIG.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a fixed block, respectively.

9 (a) to 9 (d) are views showing a procedure for connecting the drive front wheel section to the manual wheelchair via the connecting section, respectively.

FIGS. 10 (e) to 10 (h) correspond to FIGS.
It is a figure which shows the procedure which connects a drive front wheel part to a manual wheelchair via a connection part following (d).

FIG. 11 (i) is a view showing a procedure of connecting the drive front wheel section to the manual wheelchair via the connecting section, following FIG. 10 (h), and FIGS. 11 (j) and (k). Are
It is a figure which shows the procedure which removes a drive front wheel part from a manual wheelchair.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a typical manual wheelchair.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an electric wheelchair.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the back surface of the drive unit of the electric wheelchair.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 conventional manual wheelchair 12 trolley 14 main wheel 16 front wheel (caster) 18 hand rim 20 brake 22 brake lever 30 conventional electric wheelchair 32 front wheel 34 drive unit 35 connection unit 36 wheel 38 trolley 40 frame 42 electric motor 44 storage battery 46 Handlebar 48 Brake lever 49 Accelerator lever 50 Wheelchair of the embodiment 52 Non-motorized, that is, manual wheelchair unit 53 Connecting unit 54 Driving front wheel unit 56 Support body 58 Handle wheel 60 Drive wheel 62 Electric motor 64 Storage battery 66 Brake lever 68 Accelerator lever 70 Operation button 72 Connection projection 73 Support member 74 Connection pipe 76 Frame 78 Connection block 80 Frame member 82 Connection frame member 84 Fixing plate 86 Base plate 88 Snatch lock 90 Hinge pin 92 Fixing arm 94 94 Hinge joint 96 Fixing block 98 Free arm 100 Open handle

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A manual wheelchair having a front wheel and a rear wheel having a hand rim, a wheel, a driving device for driving the wheel, a control device for controlling the driving device, and a handle for controlling a traveling direction. And
Manual type having a drive wheel portion that can freely change the direction and speed to move forward and backward, and a connection concave portion that is provided on the drive wheel portion and that is detachably and rotatably fitted with an upper convex connection convex portion. A coupling portion that is detachably attached to a front portion of the wheelchair, and a coupling projection portion is fitted to the coupling recess portion to couple the driving wheel portion to the front portion of the manual wheelchair; A wheelchair which can be used as an electric wheelchair by connecting a drive wheel to a wheelchair of a type, and in which a drive wheel can be removed and a manual wheelchair can be used manually, wherein the connection is fixed to the front of the manual wheelchair. And a fixed arm extending upward with one member constituting a pair of hanging portions provided at a lower portion, and a rotation axis provided at an upper end of the fixed arm and parallel to a rotation axis of a wheel of the manual wheelchair. To be able to rotate around the Wheelchair, characterized in that it comprises a free arm having the other member of the engagement portion, and a block in which a connecting recess at the bottom. 2. One of the members of the latch is a pin parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel of the manual wheelchair, and the other member of the latch is a snatch lock that latches the pin. The wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein 3. The connecting portion is capable of adjusting a height position at which the connecting portion is mounted and a width of the connecting portion in accordance with the size of the manual wheelchair and the size of the driving wheel portion. The wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front wheel of the manual wheelchair floats on a support surface such as the ground and a floor when mounted on the wheelchair. 4. A free arm is provided with a handle for operating the free arm to rotate.
4. The wheelchair according to any one of claims 1 to 3.