JP2003199801A - Walking assisting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a walking assisting apparatus having a small size, a light weight, high operability and safety, excellent portability and running performance with small fatigue at a using time for a dysbasia person and to provide the walking assisting apparatus which can be useful to realize an active and healthy daily life for freely walking. <P>SOLUTION: The walking assisting apparatus for aiding to walker's walking comprises a truck 30 having wheels, a body 50 for supporting the walker, and a body support oscillating member 7 for supporting the body 50 on the truck 30 to couple laterally tiltably to an advancing direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a walking aid for assisting walking. In particular, the present invention relates to a walking assist device that allows a person with a walking disability to walk freely, safely, and easily over a long period of time not only indoors but also on a general road or in a crowd of people.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in walking a person with a walking disability, it is very effective to share the weight of oneself with an assisting tool and reduce the weight on the leg. However, the existing walking aids, which are roughly classified into the push type and the armrest type, do not have sufficient functions to reduce the load of weight on the legs. In addition, although measures such as enlarging the front wheels to cope with obstacles on the road surface and equipping a steering device can be seen, they lead to an increase in size and weight, resulting in a light feeling of use, easy operation, and portability. As a result, it loses the important basic functions of daily life aids, such as sex and storability. In addition, all of these seem to be aimed at walking around, and they lack the agility and operability to walk freely on a general road like a normal person.

[0003]

<A> The present invention is intended to improve the drawbacks of the conventional walking aids, and an object thereof is to provide a walking aid that facilitates walking. <B> Another object of the present invention is to provide a walking assist device in which a fulcrum of a vehicle body is provided at one place and a balance can be easily obtained. <C> Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a walking assist device that is stable on a slope and is easy to walk. <D> Further, the present invention provides a walking assist device that is small and lightweight, has high operability and safety, is highly portable, and has excellent running performance and little fatigue during use, and allows the walking disabled to freely walk and perform activities. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a walking aid that is useful for achieving a healthy and healthy daily life. <E> Further, the present invention improves the drawbacks of the conventional walking assist device, and enables a person with walking disabilities to freely and lightly walk a long distance for a long time regardless of indoors or on the road like a normal person. By doing so, the purpose of the present invention is to realize an active and healthy daily life for people with walking disabilities who tend to be withdrawn. <F> One of the specific issues is that it is possible to walk for a long time and a long distance by reducing the weight load on the waist and legs of walking-impaired persons with a walking aid to reduce walking fatigue. Is to <G> The second of the specific problems is to minimize the inclination of the auxiliary device even if the road surface has a left-right inclination and to allow safe traveling without the body falling. <H> The third of the specific challenges is to make the operability excellent, such as responding swiftly and avoiding obstacles on the road and opponents who meet each other. <4> The fourth of the concrete issues is to make the vehicle compact and lightweight so that it can be walked indoors as well as on general roads and can walk freely even if there is some crowd. <5> The fifth of the specific issues is to equip the situation with a brake required for running, a reverse-travel prevention device that prevents the walking aid from going backward when going uphill, and a brake fixing device when stopped. It is to improve safety and operability accordingly. <L> Sixth of the concrete issues is to make the vehicle body foldable so that it can be carried around at all times and has high storability.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a walking aid for assisting a pedestrian in walking, in which a dolly provided with wheels, a vehicle body supporting the pedestrian, and a vehicle body supported on the dolly and traveling in a traveling direction. A vehicle body support swinging member that is connected so as to be able to lean to the left and right with respect to the walking assist device,
Alternatively, in the walking assist device, the vehicle body supporting swing member is
It is arranged at one location near the center of the front part, or in the walking aid, or in the walking aid, equipped with vehicle body support springs on both sides so that a spring force acts between the carriage and the vehicle body. And when the body leans to the left and right with respect to the carriage,
The vehicle body support spring expands and contracts, the walking assist device, or in the walking assist device, the vehicle body support spring is
A walking aid characterized by being able to adjust the spring strength,
Or, in the above-mentioned walking assist device, the rear two wheels are provided with a brake mechanism, the walking assist device,
Alternatively, in the walking assist device, the vehicle body is provided with an armpit that can be put into a side of a pedestrian and a grip that is located under the armpit and that can be gripped by a hand. Alternatively, in the walking assist device, a brake lever is attached to the grip. In the walking assist device or the walking assist device, the brake lever is attached to the left and right grips and one of the brakes is attached. It is a walking aid characterized by being able to brake both rear wheels with a lever.

<B> Concrete Example 1 As a more concrete example, one of the basics of the present invention is that a pedestrian can freely operate a walking aid like a part of the body. Adopted a crutch system with armpit and grip. This is to make a new walking aid by taking advantage of the advantages of crutches that are widely used by people with walking disabilities in the body structure and improving their shortcomings. The crutch has an extremely simple structure, and if you get used to it, you can operate it freely while adjusting the force applied to the armpit and the grip, and you can walk freely, but for unfamiliar pedestrians, put your weight on the crutch, The posture to step out is extremely unstable and there is a great sense of anxiety. In addition to having an unstable posture intermittently step by step and not having enough weight-bearing function, there are drawbacks such as walking without fatigue and difficulty in using for a long time and a long distance. Many. The drawbacks are further exacerbated, especially on irregular road surfaces. Pedestrians of this device equipped with wheels are armrests 11, 1
Put your armpits on 1 to gain weight and grip 1 at the same time
Grab 3 and 13 with both hands, stand by yourself, adjust the weight of the armrests, and operate the walking aid freely, and slide the walking aid as if using a crutch. To drive. Intermittent weight movements and unstable postures can be avoided, and fatigue can be alleviated as the feeling of instability disappears, enabling long-term use over long distances.

[0006] By adopting the armrest system of the crutch, when using, the armrest and the grip are naturally put on the posture, and at the same time, the posture naturally reduces the weight load on the waist and legs. Become. Based on this posture, the posture of the pedestrian can be naturally adjusted to suit the posture changes caused by the road surface conditions such as upright, forward leaning, and backward leaning by adjusting the degree of side arm rest and grip grip. Can be adapted to. In this way, being able to freely change the posture depending on the situation is very effective in reducing fatigue. It is also possible to move the walking aid in the manner of running a game machine of some sort by kicking from the back, and it is relatively easy to obtain speed on a flat road. Such traveling is also possible due to stability and easy operation.

Equipped with caster type front wheels,
Since the walking aid and the body are integrated by the armrests and the grip, the walking aid can be directly operated by the movement of the body, so that the direction can be easily changed without using the steering device. Further, because of its small size and light weight, it is easy for a person with a slight disability to avoid a road obstacle such as a step or muddy road by lifting the walking aid with a grip.
The vehicle body has an open rear structure. This makes it easy to let go of the walking aid and let the body escape from the rear of the opened car body even if you encounter an unexpected trouble such as avoidance from the other person you meet. .

<B> Concrete Example 2 The second of the basics of the present invention is that the vehicle body supporting and swinging member 7 is provided between the carriage and the vehicle body to provide the vehicle body swinging mechanism. That is, the walking aid has a structure in which the wheels smoothly run and the influence from the road surface is reduced.
In particular, when traveling on a road surface that is inclined to the left and right, a rocking mechanism including a car body supporting rocking member 7 is provided between the bogie and the car body so as to prevent the car body from leaning, and stability and safety of travel are improved. In the case of a vehicle body having no swing mechanism, the left and right inclinations of the road surface cause the vehicle body to lean as shown in the diagram of FIG. 4B, and the body inside the vehicle body is pushed by the vehicle body and leans. As a result, there is a risk of falling into an unstable and unstable posture, and this device is designed to prevent this. That is, as shown in FIG. 4 (C), the carriage leans against the slope of the ground according to the inclination of the road, but the vehicle body swinging member at the joint between the truck and the vehicle body swings the vehicle body. And, the influence on the car body coming from the dolly is blocked. With this structure, pedestrians can walk smoothly while maintaining a vertical posture even on a sloped road surface, and the center of gravity is always in the center of the vehicle body, and it is possible to avoid the risk of rollover of the vehicle body. .

The provision of the rocking mechanism enables the width of the vehicle body to be significantly reduced as compared with the existing walking assist device which attempts to secure lateral stability by widening the vehicle body width. The reduction of the vehicle body width plays a major role in reducing the size, weight, portability and storability, and expanding the range of use in daily life.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

<A> Walking Assist Device The walking assist device is a device for assisting walking. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a trolley 30 and a vehicle body 5 on the trolley 30.
It has two parts of 0. The trolley 30 is supported by four wheels of front wheels 1 and 1 and rear wheels 2 and 2, and is designed to accurately grasp the road surface and perform stable traveling. Car body 50
Is designed to allow pedestrians to walk safely while maintaining a natural walking posture. The walking aid can be obtained by integrating the body and the walking aid by the crutch method, and can also block the influence of the carriage 30 due to the combined use of the vehicle body support swinging member 7 and the vehicle body support spring 8. .

<B> The bogie 30 is a vehicle that travels on the road using wheels. For example, the U-shaped bogie frame 3 and the caster-type front wheels 1 and 1 mounted on both lower front portions thereof. , The rear wheels 2 mounted on the lower rear parts. The trolley frame 3 is reinforced by attaching a trolley reinforcement frame 4 to the front position as needed.

<C> Vehicle body The vehicle body 50 is installed on the trolley 30 for supporting pedestrians. For example, the vehicle body frame 5 having a shape substantially corresponding to the vehicle frame is used as a base, and the vehicle body frame 5 is mounted on the vehicle body frame 5. A plurality of upright body frames 10 are upright, extended, and fixed. On the upper part of the upright body frame 10, side abutments 11 and 11 are attached separately (to the traveling direction). Attach the grips 13, 13 below the armpit supports 11, 11.
The vehicle body frame 5 is reinforced by attaching a vehicle body reinforcement frame 6 to a front position as needed. Further, the upright vehicle body frame reinforcing rods 14 are attached and reinforced between the right and left front upright vehicle body frames 10 and 10 between them in the traveling direction.

<D> Vehicle Body Support Swing Member The vehicle body support swing member 7 is a member that connects the carriage 30 and the vehicle body 50, and is connected so that the vehicle body 50 swings left and right with respect to the carriage 30. is there. The vehicle body support swing member 7 is
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it has a lower portion and an upper portion. The lower portion 72 and the upper portion 71 are connected by inserting a shaft portion 73 into their cavities, and the carriage 30 and the vehicle body 50 can swing to the left and right around this shaft portion 73 as viewed from the front. The lower portion 72 is attached to the bogie frame 3. Preferably, the lower portion 72 of the vehicle body supporting / swinging member 7 straddles the bogie frame 3 and the bogie reinforcing frame 4, and is attached to the central portion thereof. The upper portion 71 is attached to the vehicle body frame 5. Preferably, the upper portion 7 of the vehicle body supporting swing member 7
1 is mounted on the center portion of the vehicle body frame 5 and the vehicle body reinforcement frame 6. The weight of the vehicle body 50 and the pedestrian will be applied to the vehicle body support swinging member 7 and its surroundings. In particular, a material having sufficient tensile strength to prevent damage or deformation against the force pushing up the shaft portion 73 from below is used. Good to use.

<E> Body Support Spring The body support spring 8 applies a spring force between the carriage 30 and the body 50. The vehicle body support spring 8 is attached to the rear of the carriage 30 and the vehicle body 50, as shown in FIGS. Its internal structure is as shown in FIG.
Includes a lower arm portion 82 and an upper arm portion 83, and the lower arm portion 82 and the upper arm portion 83 are rotatably connected by inserting the shaft portion 81,
It has a flexible joint structure. A spring member 84 is attached to the shaft portion 81, and a spring force acts between the lower arm portion 82 and the upper arm portion 83 by the spring member 84. Further, the vehicle body supporting spring adjusting screw shaft portion 91 is penetrated through the inside of the shaft portion 81, and the vehicle body supporting spring adjusting screw 9 is operated, so that the spring force adjusting spring member 92 attached in contact with the inside of the adjusting screw 9 is interposed. The spring force acting between the lower arm portion 82 and the upper arm portion 83 can be adjusted. The spring function can be fixed by tightening the body support spring adjusting screw 9 to the maximum.

The role of the vehicle body support spring 8 is to keep the vehicle body 50 on the bogie 30 always in an upright posture, and to gently swing the vehicle body 50 on the bogie 30 during use so as to lighten the slope and unevenness of the road surface. It is to realize the followability. Depending on the physical condition of the pedestrian, the body support spring adjusting screws 9 and 9 may be adjusted to make a difference between the left and right spring forces, or the body supporting spring adjusting screws 9 and 9 may be used to optimize the spring force in consideration of the road surface condition. Adjust to

<F> Armpit support The armpit support 11 is placed on the side of a pedestrian to support the body and is attached to the upper part of the upright body frame 10. The armpit pads 11, 11 are movably mounted on the upper portion of the upright body frame horizontal axis 111, as shown in FIG. 6, for example. The upright body frame horizontal axis 111 indicates the left and right upright body frames 1
It is attached to the upper part of 0 and 10 to strengthen the vehicle body 50. The armpit is movably attached to the upright body frame horizontal axis 111, which helps to take a free posture by putting the armpit on or under the armpit while using the armpit when using the armpit. Together with this, it is an effective structure for operating the walking aid as desired.

The armpit support is stretched and adjusted by a height adjusting screw 21 of the upright body frame 10 to an appropriate height corresponding to the height. The upright body frame reinforcing rods 14 that connect the left and right upright vehicle body frames 10 are fixed to the left and right upright vehicle body frames 10 by reinforcing rod joining screws 15 and 15, respectively. As a result, the robustness of the entire vehicle body is further enhanced. In addition, the upright body frame reinforcing rod 14
The distance between the left and right armpits 11 can be adjusted by adjusting the armpit width adjustment screw 16 near the center of the.

<G> Grip The grip 13 is located below the armpit 11 and is used by a pedestrian to grip the vehicle body 50. The grips 13, 13 are, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, the grip frames 12, 12, 12, 1 extended integrally with the armpit support 11.
It is attached to the lower end of 2. Similarly for the grip 13, the distance from the armpit to the grip 13 is appropriately adjusted by the length adjusting screw 21 provided on the grip frame 12 extending from the armpit support. Adjusting the height of armpit 11, armpit 1
By adjusting the interval of 1 and adjusting the distance between the armpit 11 and the grip 13, it can be widely adapted to pedestrians having different physiques and a comfortable feeling can be provided.

<H> Brake and brake lever The brake 19 applies a braking force to the rear wheel 2.
The brake 19 is operated through a brake wire 18 by a brake lever 17 attached to the grip 13. The brakes 19, 19 are, for example, as shown in FIG.
Brake wire 18 wired so that both wheels 2 and 2 can be simultaneously actuated by one of the left and right levers
By the action of, it is possible to prevent an unintended change of direction due to a one-sided effect of the brake. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the brake lever 17 can be controlled in operation by changing the operation of the brake lever 17 to easily control the traveling of the vehicle body.

That is, in the free first position I in which the brake lever 17 is not pulled at all, the wheels can freely rotate, that is, move forward and backward. In the second position II where the brake lever 17 is slightly pulled, the reverse rotation of the wheels can be prevented, that is, the reverse movement can be prevented while the vehicle moves forward but does not move backward.
In the third position III where the lever is further pulled, the brake is operated and the control of the traveling speed and the stop can be selectively operated. Further, when the vehicle is stopped for a long time, it is possible to fix the wheel while keeping the brake applied to the wheel by moving the stop lever provided separately while keeping the lever pulled to the third brake position. The brake is released by moving the stop lever in the release direction.

<L> The folding upright body frame 10 is divided into upper and lower parts on the way as shown in FIG. When folding, first the upright body frame reinforcing rod 14 is removed and then the connecting portion 2
It is equipped with a mechanism that folds from 0 to the inside. The height of the left and right joints is different so that the left and right frames do not batting when folded, but overlap vertically. As a result, the height after folding becomes low, portability,
Storability is significantly improved.

The method of using the walking aid will be described below.

<A> Walking First, insert the armpit of the pedestrian into the armpit 11, put the weight on the armrest, and then grasp the grip 13 to integrate the body with the walking aid. Select an optimal walking posture according to the condition such as the condition and the road surface. Slow walking with both legs or one leg while standing upright,
Alternatively, take a forward leaning posture and kick forefoot to increase the speed, walk backward with a front descent, in some cases walk with a light brake, or lean forward with a forward lean, depending on the case. Various walking methods are possible, such as walking while using the reverse rotation prevention function.

<B> Slope walking On a horizontal road surface, a person walks in a state as shown in FIG. 4 (A), and the left / right inclination toward the traveling direction is as shown in FIG.
As shown in (C), the swing mechanism of the vehicle body support swing member 7 can minimize the influence of the inclination of the carriage 30 on the vehicle body 50. As a result, it is possible to walk with the same feeling as when walking on a flat road surface, with the walking assist device hardly worrying about the inclination of the road surface.

<C> Brake operation By freely adjusting the degree of pulling of the brake lever 17 of the brake 19, the vehicle can be freely controlled and run even on level ground, slopes, etc., and when the vehicle is stopped, the brake is fixed to prevent natural slipping out. The multi-purpose control according to the situation can be easily performed. In particular, when climbing a slope, the vehicle body naturally tries to move backward due to gravity, so in order to prevent this, it is necessary to constantly apply a pushing force. In order to enable a handicapped person to operate the walking aid smoothly even on an uphill road and to walk without fatigue, it is necessary to prevent the vehicle body from slipping backward, and at that time, pull the brake lever lightly. This is made possible by actuating the anti-reverse tab by two positions). In order to release the reverse rotation preventing mechanism, the brake lever can be released by further pulling the brake lever (third position) and releasing the lever.

<D> Stopping When the vehicle is stopped for a long time, as shown in FIG. 7, while the brake lever is pulled to the brake position of the third position, a separately provided stop lever is moved to brake the wheels. Fix as it is. The brake is released by moving the stop lever in the release direction.

[0028]

<A> The present invention improves the drawbacks of the conventional walking aids, and can provide a walking aid that facilitates walking. <B> Further, the present invention can provide a walking assist device in which the fulcrum of the vehicle body is located at one location and the balance can be easily maintained. <C> Further, the present invention can provide a walking assist device that is stable even on slopes and is easy to walk. <D> Further, the present invention provides a walking assist device that is small and lightweight, has high operability and safety, is highly portable, and has excellent running performance and little fatigue during use, and allows the walking disabled to freely walk and perform activities. It is possible to provide a walking aid that is useful for achieving a healthy and healthy daily life. <E> Further, the present invention improves the drawbacks of the conventional walking assist device, and enables a person with walking disabilities to freely and lightly walk a long distance for a long time regardless of indoors or on the road like a normal person. By doing so, it is possible to realize an active and healthy daily life for people with walking disabilities who tend to be withdrawn.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire structure.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the entire structure.

FIG. 3 Structure of vehicle body supporting swing member

FIG. 4 is a corresponding view of the swinging member on a sloped surface.

[FIG. 5] Structural view of a vehicle body support spring

[Fig. 6] Side view frame structure diagram

FIG. 7: Multipurpose brake structure diagram

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... front wheel, 2 ... rear wheel, 3 ... bogie frame,
4 ... Bogie reinforcing frame, 5 ... Body frame, 6
... Vehicle reinforcement frame, 7 ... Vehicle body support swing member,
71 ... upper part, 72 ... lower part, 73 ... shaft part, 8 ...
..Vehicle body support springs, 81..Shafts, 82..Lower arm parts, 8
3 ... Upper arm part, 84 ... Spring member, 9 ... Body support spring force adjusting screw, 91 ... Shaft part, 92 ... Spring member, 10
..Upright body frame, 11 ... side armor, 111.Upright body frame horizontal axis, 12..Grip frame, 13.
・ Grip, 14 ・ ・ Upright body frame reinforcing rod, 15 ・
・ Reinforcing rod joining screw, 16 ・ ・ Side contact width adjusting screw, 17 ・
・ Brake lever, 18 ・ ・ Brake wire, 19 ・
・ Brake, 20 ・ ・ Folding and bending mechanism, 21 ・ ・ Frame height adjusting screw, 30 ・ ・ Bogie, 50 ・ ・ Car body,

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A walking assist device for assisting walking of a pedestrian, comprising: a dolly provided with wheels; a vehicle body supporting the pedestrian; and a vehicle body supported on the dolly at a location near the center of the front portion thereof.
A walking aid, comprising: a vehicle body support swing member that is connected so as to be tiltable to the left and right with respect to the traveling direction. 2. The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein vehicle body support springs are provided on both sides so that a spring force acts between the carriage and the vehicle body, and when the vehicle body leans left and right with respect to the carriage, A walking aid characterized in that the body support spring expands and contracts. 3. The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body is provided with an armpit that can be put into a side of a pedestrian and a grip that is located under the armrest and that can be gripped by a hand. A walking aid characterized by.