JP2002325804A - Foldable wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a foldable wheelchair which can be easily folded by light power when not used. SOLUTION: Each both half parts bordered by each central part in the width direction of a support member 7, a seat 1, and a foot rest 5 are respectively made rotatable. By operating an operation lever 28a equipped on a part of the support frame 2, both half parts of the support member 7, the seat 1, and the foot rest 5 are respectively rotated to fold the whole wheel chair. The folding means is equipped with a first bevel gear 29 fixed on the base end part of the operation lever 28a and rotated by rotation of the operation lever 28a and a shaft 36a which is equipped in parallel with a longitudinal member 11 and is equipped with a shaft 36a which has one end pivotally supported by a fixed part of the support frame 2 and the other end rotated by rotation of the first bevel gear 29.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a wheelchair, in which the wheelchair can be folded with a light force when the wheelchair is not used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wheelchair is used when a person with a physical disability or an injured person such as a broken leg goes out. There are various types of conventionally known wheelchairs. The basic structure is shown in FIG. 13, and a seat 1 on which a user can sit, a support frame 2 for supporting the seat 1, and the seat A pair of wheels 3 provided at both sides in the width direction (oblique left and right directions in FIG. 13) and rotatably supported by the support frame 2;
And a pair of casters 4 provided on both sides of a front end of the support frame 2, and a footrest (foot plate) provided at the front end of the support frame 2 for placing a user's foot when the user sits on the seat 1. And 5). An annular hand rim 6 that rotates integrally with the wheels 3 is provided outside each of the pair of wheels 3. The user of the wheelchair can rotate the wheel 3 by rotating the hand rim 6 with his / her own hand, and can move the wheelchair forward or backward.

[0003] By the way, when the conventionally known wheelchair is not used (for example, when the user goes to bed) as described above,
Leave this wheelchair indoors. At this time, since the occupied area of the wheelchair is large, the family of the user or the like is prevented from passing through the house.

[0004] In order to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages,
It is conceivable and practical to use wheelchairs. As shown in FIG. 13, such a conventionally known folding wheelchair includes upper and lower components 7 and 8 constituting the support frame 2, a pair of Xs.
These are linked by links 9 and 10. When folding such a conventionally known foldable wheelchair, a pair of wheels 3 are brought close to each other while the seat 1 is folded at the center in the width direction. Thereby, the wheelchair is folded.

However, in the conventional folding wheelchair as described above, when folding, it is necessary to perform an operation of bringing the pair of wheels 3 closer to each other while folding the seat 1 at the center in the width direction. Requires great power. In Japan, there are many cases where elderly people who use wheelchairs, for example, care for the elderly, are also performed by their children, who are elderly people. Have been.

Further, in the case of a foldable wheelchair employing the above-mentioned X-links 9 and 10, when moving by using the wheelchair, the X-links 9 and 10 are directly received by the state of the road surface.
Riding comfort was poor due to vibrations of 10 and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a folding wheelchair which solves any of the above-mentioned disadvantages, can be easily folded with a light force, and is not easily affected by vibrations or the like during use.

[0008]

A foldable wheelchair according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, has a seat on which a user can sit, a widthwise member extending in a width direction of the seat, and a seat of the seat. A support member for supporting the sheet, the support member having a length member extending in the length direction and a height member extending in the height direction of the sheet, and being provided at both sides in the width direction of the sheet; A pair of wheels rotatably supported, a pair of casters provided on both side portions of the distal end of the support member, and a pair of casters provided at the distal end of the support member, which are used when a user sits on the seat. A foldable wheelchair that is provided with at least a footrest for placing a person's foot, and is foldable when not in use. In the foldable wheelchair described in claim 1, the width member forming the support member, the seat, and the footrest,
By making both halves freely rotatable to one side or the other in the height direction at the center in the width direction, and by operating an operation lever provided on a part of the support member,
By rotating both halves of the width member, the seat, and the footrest via folding means, the entire wheelchair is freely foldable. The folding means includes a base end of the operation lever. A first rotating member that rotates with the rotation of the operation lever, and a first rotating member that is provided in parallel with the lengthwise member, and one end of which is pivotally supported by a portion fixed to the support member. At the other end, a shaft that rotates with the rotation of the first rotating member,
The base end of the width member is fixed to an intermediate portion of the shaft.

It is possible to adopt a configuration in which one of the armrests constituting the wheelchair is used as the operation lever. Further, as described in claim 3, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a suspension for absorbing shock and vibration is provided at an appropriate place of each component.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 8 show the whole view of the folding wheelchair according to this embodiment. The foldable wheelchair according to the present embodiment has a seat 1 on which a user can sit, a support frame 2 for supporting the seat 1, and a support frame 2 fixed to the support frame 2 at both sides of the support frame 2. A pair of left and right wheels 3 supported by a bearing member 24 (described later) as a member, a pair of casters 4 provided on both sides of a lower surface of a front end portion of the support frame 2, and a pair of casters 4 provided at a tip portion of the support frame 2. And a foot plate (foot plate) 5 for placing the user's feet when the user sits on the seat 1.

The support frame 2 has an upper length extending in the length direction of the seat 1 (left and right directions in FIGS. 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8, and front and back directions in FIGS. 4 and 5). A front member that connects the front members of the direction member 11, a lower length member 12 also extending in the length direction of the sheet 1, and the opposing front ends of the upper length member 11 and the lower length member 12; The longitudinal member 13 and the upper longitudinal member 11
And a rear vertical member 14 that makes the rear end portions of the lower length direction member 12 facing each other continuous with each other. Note that, in the case of the present embodiment, the upper longitudinal member 11 and the rear vertical member 14 are connected in a state where they abut against each other. This is because a suspension 16b, which will be described later, is provided between the upper longitudinal member 11 and the rear vertical member 14 so that vibrations and the like applied to the wheelchair can be absorbed.

The pair of support frames 15 are formed as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10, respectively.
They are arranged in parallel at a distance from each other. Both ends of each of the front and rear support pieces 17 are fixed to two opposing intermediate portions of the upper lengthwise member 11 constituting the pair of support frames 15. Further, both ends of a loading table 18, which will be described later, are fixed to respective opposed intermediate portions of the lower lengthwise members 11 constituting the pair of support frames 15.

At least the upper longitudinal member 11 of the upper longitudinal member 11, the lower longitudinal member 12, the front longitudinal member 13, and the rear longitudinal member 14 constituting the support frame 15 is provided.
The lower longitudinal member 12 and the rear vertical member 14 are hollow, and shafts 36a, 36b,
And so on. Further, a continuous portion between the front end of the upper lengthwise member 11 and the front vertical member 13 has a smooth curved portion as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10, respectively. Further, a cover made of rubber or the like is provided on the curved portion. The reason why the curved portion is used instead of the corner portion in consideration of the safety of the user and the surrounding people.

The front and rear support pieces 17 are formed by connecting mutually opposing ends of a pair of bars 17a and 17b made of metal or the like having the same length by a hinge member 19. Of the hinge members 19
Is rotatable around. The ends of the bars 17a and 17b constituting the front and rear support pieces 17 where the hinge member 19 is not provided are fixed to the upper lengthwise member 11.

The receiving table 18 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 10, respectively,
In addition to the same configuration as the rear supporting pieces 17, a plurality of metal linear members 20 are provided so as to span the surfaces of the front and rear supporting pieces 17 facing each other. That is, the receiving table 18 is provided with a pair of bar members 17 respectively.
A plurality of linear members 20 on which the luggage and the like can be placed are provided on the front and rear support pieces 17 composed of the hinge members 19a and 17b.

Since the support frame 2 is configured as described above, when a force is applied in a direction in which the pair of support frames 15 approach each other, the hinges of the front and rear support pieces 17 and the load receiving table 18 are respectively provided. With the member 19 as a center, the rods 17a and 17b constituting the front and rear support pieces 17 and the front and rear support pieces 17 of the load receiving table 18, respectively, rotate, and the support frame 2 is folded.

Casters 4 are provided on the lower surfaces of the front ends of a pair of lower longitudinal members 12 constituting a pair of support frames 15 constituting the support frame 2 via suspensions 16a. As the suspension 16a, a conventionally known one such as an elastic member such as a coil spring or a damper device is employed.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, from the front or lower surface of the front end of the pair of lower longitudinal members 12, as shown in FIGS. A foldable foot plate 5 is provided at the center (the vertical direction in FIGS. 6 and 7). The foot plate 5 is formed by connecting the tips of flat U-shaped halves 5 a formed by combining metal pipes or the like via hinge members 19.

Further, a support post 22 for supporting the backrest portion of the seat 1 is fixed to a position where the upper longitudinal direction member 11 is aligned with each other on the upper surface of the rear end portion. In the case of the present embodiment, the connecting portion between the lower end portion of the column 22 and the rear end portion of the upper lengthwise member 11 is connected by a connecting member 23 that can switch between the rotation and the rotation prevention of the column 22. are doing. This is to make it possible to adjust the backrest portion of the seat 1 according to the user's preference and the like.

Further, between the upper longitudinal member 11 and the rear vertical member 14, a substantially rectangular suspension 16b is interposed as shown in FIGS. In the case of the illustrated example, one end (the right end in FIGS. 8 and 9) is rotatably provided on the rear vertical member 14, and the shaft of the wheel 3 is rotatably provided on the other end (the left end in FIGS. 8 and 9). Bearing member 24 to be supported
The arm member 25 provided with an arm member 25 has one end (the left end in FIGS. 8 and 9) connected to the other end of the arm member 25 and the other end (the right end in FIGS. 8 and 9) connected to the upper length direction member. And a coil spring 26 connected to the coil spring 26.
Therefore, in a state where the wheel 3 is provided on the bearing member 24, if the wheel 3 vibrates due to unevenness of the road surface, the vibration is absorbed by the suspension 16b including the coil spring 26 and the like.

A cover 27 as shown in FIG. 1 is attached to the pair of right and left upper longitudinal members 11 constituting the support frame 2, the front and rear support pieces 17, and the columns 22. By putting on the seat, the seat 1 can be freely seated by the user.

The lower ends of substantially L-shaped armrests 28a and 28b are fixed from the upper ends of the pair of rear vertical members 14. The pair of armrests 28
A first bevel gear 29 as shown in FIG. 12 is provided at a lower end portion of one of the armrests 28a, 28b via a one-way clutch (not shown).
8a is rotatable in one direction (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 12),
In addition, the first bevel gear 29 also rotates with this rotation. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the second and third bevel gears 30, 31 meshing with the first bevel gear 29 are provided on the upper end of one rear vertical member 14 corresponding to the armrest 28a. Disc 34 having bevel gear arrangement notches 35 equally spaced from each other to adjust the position
Is fixed. The upper and lower longitudinal members 11 and 12 corresponding to the rear vertical member 14 have second and fourth bevel gears 30 at the base end (the right end in FIG. 12). , 32 are fixedly arranged rotatably. These shafts 36a, 36
The distal end (not shown) of b is supported by a bearing device (not shown). A shaft 37 having third and fifth bevel gears 31 and 33 fixed at both ends thereof is rotatably disposed inside the hollow of the rear vertical member 14. The second bevel gear 30 meshes with the first bevel gear 29 while being arranged in one bevel gear disposing notch 35 formed in the disk 34. The third bevel gear 31
Also, it is meshed with the first bevel gear 29 while being arranged in one bevel gear disposing notch 35 formed in the disk 34. The fourth and fifth bevel gears 32 and 33 are meshed with each other inside a joint portion between the lower longitudinal member 11 and the rear vertical member 14.

Therefore, when the armrest 28a is rotated, the first bevel gear 29 rotates, and the second bevel gear 30 rotates with this rotation. As a result, each half of each of the front and rear support pieces 17 is rotated, and the sheet 1 can be folded in two. Further, with the rotation of the first bevel gear 29, the third bevel gear 31 also rotates. The rotation of the third bevel gear 31 is transmitted to the fourth bevel gear 32 via the shaft 37 and the fifth bevel gear 33, and the shaft 36b to which the fourth bevel gear 32 is fixed rotates. Each of the support pieces 17 on the front side and the rear side of the loading table 18 connected to 36b can be folded in two from the hinge member 19.

The method of using the foldable wheelchair according to the present embodiment configured as described above as a moving means for a person with a physical disability or the like is the same as the conventional wheelchair described above. In particular, in the folding wheelchair according to the present embodiment, the wheelchair can be easily folded with a small force. That is, when folding the folding wheelchair, the armrest 28a is rotated in the direction of arrow A shown in the figure. Thus, the first bevel gear 29 rotates. With the rotation of the first bevel gear 29, the second and third bevel gears 3 meshing with the first bevel gear 29, respectively.
0 and 31 rotate. As a result of the rotation of the second bevel gear 30, the shaft 36a fixing the second bevel gear 30
The half of each of the front and rear support pieces 17 fixed to the shaft 36a is rotated in the direction of folding the seat 1 with the rotation. Further, as a result of the rotation of the third bevel gear 31, the shaft 37 fixing the third bevel gear 31 and the fifth bevel gear 33 fixed to the other end of the shaft 37 rotate. . Further, the fourth bevel gear 32 meshing with the fifth bevel gear 33 rotates, the shaft 36b fixing the fourth bevel gear 32 rotates, and is fixed to the shaft 36b with this rotation. Each half of each of the front and rear support pieces 17 constituting the receiving table 18 is connected to the receiving table 1.
8 is turned in the direction of folding.

As a result, the wheelchair is folded as shown in FIG. At this time, the foot plate 5
The sheet 1 and the receiving table 18 are folded following the folding.

When returning the wheelchair from the folded state to a usable state, the one-way clutch provided on the armrest 28a is released by pressing a lock button (not shown), and the armrest 28a is released.
a can rotate in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 12 opposite to the above, and the first bevel gear 29 can freely rotate in either the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction.
As a result, if a force is applied in a direction to push and open the seat 1 and the loading tray 18, the shafts 36a, 36b
37 allows the sheet 1 and the receiving tray 18 to be pushed open by rotating in an appropriate direction. When the wheelchair is completely pushed open, the armrest 28a is returned to the initial state, and then the lock button is pressed to activate the one-way clutch. As a result, the folding wheelchair is ready for use.

The folding wheelchair according to the present embodiment is constructed and used as described above, so that it can be easily folded with a small force. Further, the rigidity of the support frame 2 can be made sufficient, instead of using the X link as in the conventional structure described above. In addition to such an improvement in rigidity, the provision of the suspensions 16a and 16b also has the effect of eliminating adverse effects such as vibration.

Instead of using the above-described bevel gears, various transmission means such as a ball joint can be adopted. Since these various transmission means are not the gist of the present invention, detailed description will be omitted. In the figure, reference numeral 38 denotes a conventionally known braking device.

[0030]

As described above, the folding wheelchair according to the present invention can be easily folded with a small force when the wheelchair is not used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the same.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the same.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view of the same.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the support frame portion taken out.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 9, showing a state of being folded.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing the same folded state.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the transmission means.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a conventional structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat 2 Support frame 3 Wheel 4 Caster 5 Foot plate 6 Hand rim 11 Upper longitudinal member 12 Lower longitudinal member 13 Front vertical member 14 Rear vertical member 15 Support frame 16a, 16b Suspension 17 Support piece 18 Loading table 19 Hinge member 20 Linear member 21 Connecting member 22 Prop 23 Connecting member 24 Bearing member 25 Arm member 26 Coil spring 28a, 28b Armrest 29 First bevel gear 30 Second bevel gear 31 Third bevel gear 32 Fourth bevel gear Gear 33 Fifth bevel gear 36a, 36b, 37 Shaft

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A seat on which a user can sit, a width member extending in a width direction of the seat, a length member extending in a length direction of the seat, and a height member extending in a height direction of the seat. A support member for supporting the sheet, a pair of wheels provided on both sides in the width direction of the sheet and rotatably supported by the support member, and provided on both side portions of a tip end portion of the support member At least a pair of casters and a footrest provided at the distal end of the support member, on which the user places his or her feet when the user sits on the seat, and can be folded when not in use. A folding wheelchair, wherein the two halves are turned to one side in the height direction or the other side in the height direction, with the width direction member constituting the support member, the seat, and the footrest being bounded by the width direction center portion. It should be movable and By operating an operation lever provided on a part of the holding member, the width direction member, the seat and the footrest are each rotated by a folding means so that both halves can be turned to make the entire wheelchair freely foldable. Wherein the folding means is fixed to a base end of the operation lever, and a first rotating member that rotates with the rotation of the operation lever, and is provided in parallel with the lengthwise member, A shaft that is rotatably supported at one end by a portion fixed to the support member and that rotates at the other end with rotation of the first rotating member; A foldable wheelchair characterized in that the base end is fixed. 2. The folding wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein one of the armrests constituting the wheelchair is the operation lever. 3. The foldable wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein a suspension for absorbing shock and vibration is provided at an appropriate position of each of the constituent members.