JP2003079673A - Maneuvering box supporting device for motorized wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the user of a motorized wheelchair to easily adjust the height of the maneuvering box of the wheelchair by one hand when the wheelchair approaches a table, etc., and, in addition, to reduce the manufacturing cost of the maneuvering box and to make the box to surely work. SOLUTION: A maneuvering box supporting device for motorized wheelchair supports the maneuvering box of the motorized wheelchair which supports the box in front of an armrest section. The maneuvering box is installed to the upper part of a vertically extended stay 20 having a circular cross section and the stay 20 is vertically movably held by means of a stay holder 44 provided at the front bottom of the armrest section or its vicinity. A plurality of engaging holes 24 is formed in the stay 20 and, on the other hand, ratchets 45 which are engaged with and disengaged from the holes 24 are provided on the stay holder 44 so that the ratchets 45 may control the downward movement of the stay 20 with respect to the stay holder 44 while allowing the upward movement of the stay 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control box support device for an electric wheelchair, which supports a control box provided in front of an armrest part in a height adjustable manner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electric wheelchair, a control box is provided in front of the armrests on the left and right sides, and a control stick (joystick) provided upright on the upper surface of the control box is operated to operate an electric wheelchair. Manipulating wheelchairs. The control box can be placed in front of the armrest for optimal operability, but when approaching a table or desk with this electric wheelchair, the control box interferes with the table or desk and is difficult to approach. There was a problem.

Therefore, like the control box support device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-265361, a hinge portion and a lock mechanism are provided at the base of the arm supporting the control box, and the arm is rotated backward together with the control box. What was made possible, and
A control box support device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 0-84005, in which a support rod for supporting the control box from below can be fixed obliquely to the front, rear, left and right, or a configuration in which the control box can be removed together with the support rods, etc. Is proposed.

[0004]

However, none of the above-mentioned control box support devices is so operable that the user of the electric wheelchair can easily operate them with one hand, and the hinge part, the lock mechanism, the indirect part, etc. Since it has a complicated mechanism, the manufacturing cost is high.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the user can easily adjust the height of the control box with one hand when approaching a table or the like, and the manufacturing cost is low. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control box support device for an electric wheelchair, which has a reliable operation.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a control box supporting device for an electric wheelchair according to the present invention is operated in front of an armrest part as described in claim 1 of the claims. In a control box support device for an electric wheelchair that supports a box, the control box is installed on an upper part of a stay having a circular cross section that extends in a substantially vertical direction, and the stay is vertically moved to a stay holder provided near the lower front of the armrest part. The stay is movably held, and a plurality of engaging holes are linearly formed in the stay along the axial direction. On the other hand, the stay holder is provided with a turning claw that is engaged with and disengaged from the stay engaging hole. The claw is configured to allow the stay to move upward with respect to the stay holder and to restrict the movement of the stay downward.

In such a case, when the control box together with the stay is pulled up to an arbitrary height, the rotating pawl provided on the stay holder engages with the engaging hole of the stay, and after that the rotating pawl is released even when the hand is released. As a result, downward movement of the stay (control box) with respect to the stay holder is restricted, and the control box is set to a desired height. When lowering the height of the control box, pull up the control box together with the stay a little to release the engagement between the rotating claw and the engaging hole, and then rotate the stay of circular cross section a little around the axis. Since the turning claw cannot engage any of the engaging holes of the stay, the control box and stay can be lowered as they are. Therefore, the height of the control box can be easily adjusted with one hand, and since the hinge part, the lock mechanism, the indirect part, etc. are not provided, the manufacturing cost is low.

Further, in the control box support device for the electric wheelchair according to the present invention, as described in claim 2 of the appended claims, in the direction in which the rotary claw is engaged with the engagement hole of the stay. A biasing member for biasing is provided. As a result, the rotating claw can be firmly engaged with the engagement hole to ensure the operation of the control box support device.

Further, in the control box support device for the electric wheelchair according to the present invention, as described in claim 3 of the present invention, the rotating claw can be manually pulled out from the engagement hole of the stay. The manual rotation means is provided. With this configuration, the engagement between the rotating claw and the engaging hole can be released without rotating the stay about the axis, and operability and handleability are further improved.

The control box supporting device for an electric wheelchair according to the present invention, as described in claim 4 of the claims, prevents the stay holder from being pulled out upward from the stay holder. Protrusions are provided. This prevents the stay from being pulled out upward from the stay holder when the control box is pulled up together with the stay, and the handleability is improved.

Further, according to the control box supporting device of the electric wheelchair according to the present invention, as described in claim 5 of the present invention, the stay holder, the rotating claw, and the engaging hole of the stay are provided in the electric wheelchair. It was installed at a position visible to the user. With this configuration, the user of the electric wheelchair can directly confirm the configuration and operation of the control box support device, and thus the operability and the handleability are further improved.

Further, according to the control box supporting device of the electric wheelchair according to the present invention, as described in claim 6 of the invention, all the constituent parts including the stay and the stay holder are installed on the left and right sides of the electric wheelchair. It was formed in a symmetrical shape that can be used at the positions on both sides. As a result, parts can be shared on the left and right, contributing to cost reduction.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a left side view of an electric wheelchair to which an embodiment of a control box support device according to the present invention is applied. The frame 2 of the electric wheelchair 1 is provided with a seating surface 4 by connecting a pair of left and right frame bodies 3 in which metal pipes are combined with each other by several cross members (not shown).
And a backrest 5 and a pair of left and right armrests 6 are formed into a lightweight chair. A pair of left and right hand push handles 7 are provided on the upper rear portion of the backrest 5.

A pair of left and right rear wheels 9 are pivotally supported on both sides of the rear lower portion of the frame 2, and a direct drive motor 10 is provided at the axial center thereof. Further, a pair of left and right caster-type front wheels 11 are provided at the lower front portion of the frame 2, and a footrest plate 12 is installed in front of them. Further, a battery unit 13 is detachably provided on the back surface of the frame 2.

For example, a control box 15 is provided in front of the right armrest portion 6, and the left and right rear wheels 9 are operated by operating a control stick (joystick) 16 standing upright on the upper surface thereof.
The voltage of the battery unit 13 is appropriately supplied to the direct drive motor 10 to drive the electric wheelchair 1. Since each direct drive motor 10 is individually controlled, it is possible to freely move forward, reverse, bend, and turn.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the control box 1
5 is fixed to the right frame 3 by a control box support device 18 according to the present invention. The control box support device 18 includes a stay 20 that extends in a substantially vertical direction, a control box bracket 21 attached to an upper end of the stay 20, and a stay holder unit 22 that holds the stay 20 so that the stay 20 is vertically slidable. To be done.

The stay 20 is a round pipe material having a circular cross section,
As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of engagement holes 24 are linearly formed in the front surface and the rear surface of the stay 20 along the axial direction. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a bracket holder 25 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is fixed to the uppermost portion of the stay 20, and two upper and lower nuts 26, 26 are provided on the inner surface of the bracket holder 25.
27 is fixed. Further, a screw hole 28 is formed at the lowermost portion of the stay 20, and a screw 29 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is formed therein.
The protrusion shape is provided by fastening (see).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the control box bracket 21 includes a flat top plate 31 and a support plate 32 having a substantially U-shaped cross section, which are fixed (welded) in a T-shape. , Top plate 3
1, an oblong adjustment hole 33 extending in the left-right direction is formed, and a pivot hole 34 and an adjustment hole 35 are formed vertically in the support plate 32. The adjusting hole 35 is in the shape of an elliptic hole that is curved around the pivot hole 34.

The control box 15 has an adjusting hole 33 in the top plate 31.
It is fastened by a bolt 36 (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) which is placed on the upper side and inserted into the adjusting hole 33 from below. Since the bolt 36 can slide along the adjustment hole 33,
The left and right positions of the control box 15 can be adjusted.

The support plate 32 of the control box bracket 21 is applied to the right side surface of the bracket holder 25 at the upper end of the stay 20, and the two upper and lower bolts 37, 38 inserted from the right to the pivot hole 34 and the adjust hole 35 (see FIG. 3) are fixed to the bracket holder 25 by being fastened to the nuts 26 and 27 of the bracket holder 25, respectively. When the upper and lower bolts 37 and 38 are loosened, the lower bolt 38 can slide along the elliptical hole-shaped adjust hole 35 about the upper bolt 37 as a shaft, so that the control box bracket 21
The angle of (control box 15) can be adjusted.

On the other hand, a stay holder unit 22 for supporting the stay 20 is provided near the lower front of the armrest 6 on the right side, and as shown in FIGS. Four frame clamps 4
2, 43, a block-shaped stay holder 44, a rotating claw 45, and a coil-shaped spring 46 as a biasing member.
And is configured. The holder plate 41 is provided with an oblong hole-shaped adjust hole 48 extending in the front-rear direction, a pivot hole 49 and an adjust hole 50 are vertically formed in the middle part, and a vertically long slit 51 is formed in the rear part. Has been formed. The adjusting hole 50 is in the shape of an elliptic hole that is curved around the pivot hole 49.

The frame clamp 42 is fixed to the front left side surface of the holder plate 41 with bolts 53 and nuts 54, and the frame pipe 3a of the frame 2 (frame body 3) is sandwiched and fixed between the holder plate 41 and the frame clamp 42. To be done. Since the bolt 53 can slide back and forth within the adjustment hole 48, the position of the frame clamp 42 can be aligned with the position of the frame pipe 3a.

Further, the hook 43 of the frame clamp 43
a is from the left side, the slit 51 at the rear of the holder plate 41
The stay holder 44 is applied to the right side surface of the middle portion of the holder plate 41 while being hooked to
The bolts 55, 56 of the book are fastened to the stay holder 44, and the three members 41, 43, 44 are fastened together, and the frame pipe 3b is sandwiched and fixed between the holder plate 41 and the frame clamp 43.

The upper bolt 55 is used for the holder plate 41.
Of the upper and lower bolts 55, 5 since the lower bolt 56 is inserted into the adjusting hole 50.
When 6 is loosened, the upper bolt 55 is used as the shaft and the lower bolt 56
Can slide along the adjustment hole 50. Therefore, by rotating the stay holder 44 around the bolt 55,
The longitudinal position of the control box 15 can be adjusted by changing the longitudinal inclination angle of the stay 20 held by the stay holder 44. At that time, the bolts 37 and 38 of the control box bracket 21 are loosened to adjust the angle of the control box 15 horizontally.

As shown in FIG. 10, the stay holder 44
A stay insertion hole 59 that extends in the vertical direction is formed in the front half portion of the, and the stay 20 is held therein so as to be vertically movable. A bush 60 made of resin is fitted on the upper and lower ends of the inner circumference of the stay insertion hole 59 to promote smooth movement of the stay 20 and prevent play of the stay 20.

A slit-shaped turning claw holding portion 61 is formed in the rear half of the stay holder 44, and the turning claw 45 is held therein. The rotating claw 45 is formed of a steel plate material, and as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a tip 45a thereof is sharpened forward and an upper edge 45b connected to the tip 45a.
Is shaped horizontally, and the lower edge 45c is shaped to fall rearward, and is rotatably supported by a pivot bolt 62 that laterally penetrates the rotation claw holding portion 61. The position of the pivot bolt 62 is rearward and lower than the tip 45a and the lower edge 45c.

The spring 46 is annularly mounted on the pivot bolt 62, one end of which is hooked on the rotating pawl 45, and the other end of which is locked to the rear portion of the stay holder 44 so that the rotating pawl 45 moves forward, that is, on the stay 20 side. I am biased. The rotating claw 45 biased forward contacts the slope portion 63 of the stay holder 44 (the rotating claw holding portion 61) and does not rotate any further. Then, as shown in FIG. 13A and FIG.
The tip 45a of each of the engagement holes engages with any one of the plurality of engagement holes 24 of the stay 20. As a result, the downward movement of the stay 20 with respect to the stay holder 44 is restricted.

When the stay 20 is pulled up from this state, the pivot bolt 6 is pushed more than the tip 45a of the turning claw 45.
The position of 2 is rearward and downward, and the lower edge 45c of the rotating claw 45.
13B and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the rotating claw 45 is rotated rearward, and the tip 45a is pulled out from the engaging hole 24 of the stay 20. Therefore, the stay 20 is allowed to move upward with respect to the stay holder 44. However, as described above, since the protrusion shape (the screw 29) is provided at the bottom of the stay 20, the stay 2
The 0 does not come out of the stay holder 44 upward.

By the way, the stay holder 44 and the rotating claw 4
5 and the engagement hole 24 of the stay 20 are all provided at a position visible to the user sitting on the seating surface 4 of the electric wheelchair 1, for example, at a position where the user naturally drops his / her eyes downward to the front right. .

Control box support device 1 constructed as described above
8, when setting the height of the control box 15, the control box 15 together with the stay 20 need only be pulled up to an arbitrary height. As a result, the tip 45a of the rotating claw 45 is
Engages with the closest engaging hole 24 of the stay 20, and even after releasing the hand, the stay 20 (control box 1
The downward movement of 5) is restricted, and the control box 15 is set to a desired height.

Further, when the electric wheelchair 1 approaches a table or a desk, it is necessary to lower the height of the control box 15 so that the control box 15 does not get in the way. After pulling up a little together with 20 to release the engagement between the rotating claw 45 and the engaging hole 24 (see FIG. 13).
(State (b)), if the stay 20 having a circular cross section is slightly rotated about the axis, the tip 45a of the rotating claw 45 cannot engage with any engagement hole 24 of the stay 20 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the control box 15 and the stay 2 are directly attached according to gravity.
You can drop 0 down.

As described above, in order to increase the height of the control box 15, it is only necessary to pull the control box 15 upward, and in order to lower the height of the control box 15, the control box 15 is temporarily raised a little. Since the control box 15 can be lowered after rotating the stay 20 slightly about the axis, the control box 15 can be easily operated with one hand.
The height of can be adjusted. Moreover, since the control box support device 18 does not need any hinge part, lock mechanism, indirect part or the like, its structure is simple and the manufacturing cost is very low.

Further, the rotating claw 45 is provided in the engagement hole 2 of the stay 20.
Since the spring 46 that urges in the direction of engaging the gear 4 is provided, the rotating claw 45 (tip 45a) can be firmly engaged with the engaging hole 24 and the operation of the control box support device 18 can be ensured. When the tip 45a of the rotating claw 45 engages with the engaging hole 24, an engaging sound is generated by the urging force of the spring 46, so that the user can easily confirm the engagement. it can.

Further, since the protrusion 20 is provided at the lowermost portion of the stay 20 to prevent the stay holder 44 from being pulled out upward, the stay 20 is removed from the stay holder 44 when the control box 15 is pulled up together with the stay 20. It can be prevented from coming off and is easy to handle in this respect as well.

In addition, the stay holder 44 and the rotating claw 45
Since all the engaging holes 24 of the stay 20 and the stay 20 are provided at positions visible to the user of the electric wheelchair 1, the user or a caregiver directly sees the structure and operating state of the control box support device 18. It can be easily grasped by looking at, which also greatly improves the operability and handleability.

17 (a) and 17 (b) show another embodiment of the control box support device 18. As shown in FIG. here,
The configuration and operation of parts other than the rotating claw 65 are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and therefore, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

In this embodiment, the rotating claw 65 is provided with a knob plate 66 as a manual rotating means. The knob plate 66 is fixed to the upper part of the rotating claw 65 and extends rearward. The knob plate 66 is pushed downward from the state of FIG. 17A as shown in FIG. The tip 65a of 65 can be manually pulled out from the engagement hole 24 of the stay 20.

As a result, the rotating claw 65 and the engaging hole 24 can be formed without performing the operation of temporarily pulling up the control box 15 a little and then rotating the stay 20 around its axis as in the previous embodiment. Immediately release the engagement of the control box 15
The height can be lowered, and the operability and handleability can be further improved. Of course, the engagement between the rotary claw 65 and the engagement hole 24 can be released by pulling the control box 15 upward and rotating it. Note that the rotating claw 6 is also used here.
If the vicinity of 5 (knob plate 66) is provided at a position visible to the user of the electric wheelchair 1, the certainty of the operation can be increased.

In the above-mentioned embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiment, all the constituent parts of the control box support device 18 are formed in symmetrical shapes which can be used at the left and right sides. For example, control box 1
When the user wants to install 5 in front of the left armrest 6 instead of the right, the stay holder unit 22 is provided near the lower front of the left armrest 6. At this time, the symmetrically-shaped holder plate 41 and the rotating claw 45 (65) are moved to the left side as they are, and the vertically-symmetrical frame clamps 42 and 43 are inverted and assembled from the right side of the holder plate 41. The stay holder 44 having a vertically symmetrical shape is also inverted and incorporated from the left side of the holder plate 41. Further, the control box bracket 21 can be used symmetrically, and since the stay 20 has the engaging holes 24 formed on both front and rear surfaces, it can be used by shifting it to the left side as it is by making a half rotation.

In this way, for example, the control box 15 can be arranged on the right side for a person with a left hand, and the control box 15 can be arranged on the left side for a person with a right hand. it can. As a result, it is possible to promptly respond to the user's failure situation, and share the left and right parts to make a great contribution to cost reduction.

[0041]

As described above, according to the control box support device for an electric wheelchair according to the present invention, a user of the electric wheelchair can easily raise the control box height with one hand when approaching a table or the like. It can be adjusted, and the operation can be ensured while reducing the manufacturing cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a left side view of an electric wheelchair to which an embodiment of a control box support device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of a control box and a control box support device in which a part II of FIG. 1 is enlarged.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of a control box and a control box support device.

FIG. 4 is a unit view of the stay as seen from the direction of arrow IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view on arrow V in FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a left side view of a control box bracket.

8 is a bottom view of the control box bracket as viewed from the direction of arrow VIII in FIG. 7.

9 is an enlarged left side view of the stay holder unit in which the IX portion of FIG. 2 is enlarged.

10 is a cross-sectional view of the stay holder unit taken along the line XX of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a rear view of the stay holder unit taken along the line XI of FIG.

12 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the stay holder taken along line XII-XII in FIG.

13 shows an embodiment of the present invention by a longitudinal section taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG. 11, and FIG. 13A is a diagram showing a state in which the tip of the rotating claw is engaged with the engagement hole of the stay. ,
FIG. 6B is a view showing a state in which the tip of the rotating claw is pulled out from the engagement hole of the stay.

FIG. 14 is a transverse sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the stay is rotated around the axis in the stay holder.

FIG. 17 shows another embodiment of the present invention, (a)
FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a state where the tip of the rotating claw is engaged with the engagement hole of the stay, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a state where the tip of the rotating claw is pulled out from the engagement hole of the stay.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Electric wheelchair 6 armrests 15 Control box 18 Control box support device 20 stay 22 Stay holder unit 24 Engagement hole 29 Screw as a protrusion shape 44 stay holder 45, 65 rotating claw 46 Spring as biasing member 66 Knobs as means for manual rotation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A control box support device for an electric wheelchair supporting a control box in front of an armrest part, wherein the control box is installed on an upper portion of a stay having a circular cross section extending substantially vertically, and the stay is mounted on the armrest part. A stay holder provided near the front lower part of the stay is movably held up and down, and a plurality of engaging holes are formed in the stay linearly along the axial direction, while the stay holder is engaged with and disengaged from the engaging holes of the stay. A control box support device for an electric wheelchair, characterized in that the rotation claw is provided, and the rotation claw is configured to allow the stay to move upward with respect to the stay holder and to restrict the movement of the stay downward. . 2. The control box support device for an electric wheelchair according to claim 1, further comprising an urging member for urging the rotating pawl in a direction to engage with the engagement hole of the stay. 3. The control box support device for an electric wheelchair according to claim 1, further comprising a manual rotation means that allows the rotation claw to be manually pulled out from the engagement hole of the stay. 4. The protrusion shape for preventing upward pull-out from the stay holder is provided at a lower portion of the stay.
The control box support device for the electric wheelchair described in. 5. The electric wheelchair according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the stay holder, the rotating claw, and the engagement hole of the stay are provided at a position visible to a user of the electric wheelchair. Control box support device. 6. The electric wheelchair according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein all the components including the stay and the stay holder are formed in a symmetrical shape that can be used at both left and right positions of the electric wheelchair. Control box support device.