JP2005145281A - Get-on/get-off assist device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a get-on/get-off assist device to allow passengers such as the aged to easily get on and off a vehicle, equipped risably/fallably with an assisting seat part beside the existing seat, capable of still more facilitating getting on and off the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The get-on/get-off assist device for the vehicle is equipped with the assisting seat part 11 to admit any person to seat himself and an elevating and sinking mechanism 20 installed inside the cabin and supporting the assisting seat part 11 movably between the up-position located approximately at the same level as the seating part 2 of the seat 1 and adjoining to the side part on the side with the get-on/get-off hole K of the seating part 2 and the down-position located outside the cabin more than the up-position and lower than it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an auxiliary device for an occupant such as an elderly person to easily get on and off a vehicle.

Conventionally, in a so-called welfare vehicle, various devices for easily getting on and off an occupant (particularly an elderly person or a disabled person) have been made. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-113073, a seat body is provided so as to be horizontally rotatable between the front of the vehicle and the door opening, and the seat body is further moved to the outside of the passenger compartment while facing the door opening. The thing provided with the mechanism to which it makes is disclosed. According to this rotary seat device, the occupant can move between the interior and exterior of the vehicle while sitting on the seat body, so it is possible to easily get on and off without helping caregivers or the like. The burden on caregivers as well as the person can be greatly reduced.
However, the seat device configured to rotate between the vehicle interior and exterior as described above has a problem that it is difficult to apply the seat device to the driver's seat because the steering wheel becomes an obstacle. Therefore, conventionally, a driver's seat has been provided with a simple assisting tool that assists the passenger in getting on and off. This auxiliary tool has a substantially flat plate shape in which a cushion layer is wrapped around a frame. For example, the auxiliary tool is erected on the side of a seat cushion (seat part) of the seat, and is erected almost vertically. The seat cushion is provided so as to be rotatable between a seat cushion and a horizontal position that is substantially flush with the seat cushion. By setting the assisting device in the horizontal position, the occupant can easily move between the seat body and, for example, a wheelchair outside the vehicle, by leaning on the assisting device or once on the assisting device. be able to.
Further, by positioning the auxiliary tool in the standing position, the holdability of the thigh at the time of sitting can be improved.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 13-341555 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-113073

However, the above-mentioned conventional assisting device is simply provided on the side portion of the seat cushion so that it can be pivoted up and down between the standing position and the horizontal position. A large step in the height direction occurred between the wheelchair and the wheelchair, and it was necessary for the occupant to get into the passenger compartment and to get out of the passenger compartment with great effort.
An object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary device that can more easily get on and off the vehicle.

For this reason, this invention made it the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus of the structure described in each claim of a claim.
According to the boarding / alighting assist device according to claim 1, the auxiliary seat portion moves from the raised position to the outside of the passenger compartment in the passenger compartment adjacent to the seat and descends to a lowered position close to the road surface. The step in the height direction of the seating surface of the wheelchair outside the passenger compartment is absorbed, thereby making it easier to move between the seating position of the passenger in the passenger compartment and the wheelchair outside the passenger compartment (getting on and off).
According to the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus according to the second aspect, when the auxiliary seat portion is positioned at the standing position, the holdability of the thigh of the occupant at the time of sitting can be improved. In addition, by standing in the raised position, the lateral projecting dimension can be reduced, thereby avoiding interference between the auxiliary seat and the door of the entrance and exit, and the distance between the seat and the door. Can be reduced.
According to the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus according to claim 3, in addition to the above-described effects, the auxiliary seat portion can be utilized not only during boarding / alighting but also when seating, thereby increasing the added value of the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus. it can.
According to the boarding / alighting assist device of the fourth aspect, the lifting device can be stored compactly by effectively utilizing the space below the seat.

According to the fifth embodiment, when the slide mechanism is operated and the second base is slid to the outside of the passenger compartment, the distance between the second base and the support mechanism is reduced, so that the four-link mechanism is lowered. The first base and the auxiliary seat portion are moved downward while moving toward the outside of the passenger compartment. On the other hand, when the second base slides toward the vehicle interior side, the distance between the second base and the support mechanism increases, so that the four-bar linkage mechanism moves toward the vehicle interior side while tilting upward. And the auxiliary seat part rises while moving to the vehicle interior side.
By adopting a configuration in which the movement of the second base is performed manually, the boarding / alighting assistance device can be manually operated, thereby providing the boarding / alighting assistance device at a low cost. On the other hand, by adopting a configuration in which the movement of the second base is performed using an electric motor as a drive source, the boarding / alighting assisting device can be made electric, thereby making it easier for passengers to get on and off the boarding / alighting operation. It can be carried out.
According to the boarding / alighting assisting device of the sixth aspect, the sliding mechanism and the four-bar linkage mechanism (elevating mechanism) are stored below the seat in a state where the auxiliary seat portion is located at the ascending position in the passenger compartment. It is possible to secure a large room space in the vehicle interior by effectively utilizing the space below.
According to the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus according to the seventh aspect, when the seat is moved in the vehicle front-rear direction in order to adjust the so-called seat position, the elevating mechanism and thus the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus move together with the seat. For this reason, even when the seat is moved back and forth to adjust the seat position, it is not necessary to move the boarding / alighting assisting device in the vehicle longitudinal direction separately from this operation. The auxiliary device can be used in a state where it is always located at a fixed position.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a driver's seat side of a vehicle M provided with a boarding / aiding assisting device 10 according to this embodiment described below is viewed from the front side of the vehicle. A seat 1 is arranged on the floor F of the vehicle M. In the present embodiment, the seat 1 is used as a driver seat. The seat 1 includes a seat cushion 2 (seat portion) and a seat back 3 (backrest). The seat back 3 is supported by the rear part of the seat cushion 2 so as to be tiltable, whereby the seat 1 has a so-called reclining function.
The seat 1 is supported on the floor F via the front / rear slide mechanism 5. The front / rear slide mechanism 5 includes a pair of left and right slide rails 6 and 6 mounted on the floor F in parallel to each other, and a seat base 7 supported so as to be slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction via the slide rails 6 and 6. The seat 1 is supported on the upper surface of the seat base 7. The front / rear slide mechanism 5 can adjust the position of the seat 1 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1), so that the occupant (seater) can adjust the so-called seat position to a desired position. it can.
The entrance / exit (door opening K) is located on the right side (left side in FIG. 1) as viewed from the occupant of the seat 1. The auxiliary seat 11 of the boarding / alighting assisting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment enters and exits through the door opening K. Outside the passenger compartment, a wheelchair 9 that is used when a passenger gets off is laid side by side. The auxiliary seat portion 11 of the boarding / alighting assisting device 10 moves between the wheelchair 9 and the seat 1.
Details of the boarding / alighting assistance device 10 according to the present embodiment are shown in FIGS. This boarding / alighting assisting device 10 includes an auxiliary seat portion 11 on which an occupant can be seated, and an elevating device 20 for moving the auxiliary seat portion 11 between the interior and exterior of the vehicle interior via the door opening K.
The auxiliary seat portion 11 has a substantially flat plate shape having an area that can be seated by an occupant. The auxiliary seat portion 11 is covered with a cushion pad on a frame 11a and covered with a skin material. Is used.
The elevating device 20 is provided in the vehicle interior and has a function of moving the auxiliary seat portion 11 between a raised position on the vehicle compartment side and a lowered position on the outside of the vehicle compartment. In the present embodiment, the ascending position is a position adjacent to the door opening K side of the seat cushion 2 of the seat 1 and is set to a position that is substantially the same height as the seat cushion 2. Further, the descending position of the auxiliary seat portion 11 is set to the height outside the passenger compartment and lower than the ascending position and closer to the road surface.

The elevating mechanism 20 of the present embodiment includes a first base 21 that supports the auxiliary seat portion 11 so as to be tiltable up and down, and a second base 22 that supports the first base 21 via a four-bar linkage mechanism 23 so as to be vertically movable. And two upper and lower slide mechanisms (upper slide mechanism 36 and lower slide mechanism 24) that support the second base 22 so as to be slidable in the vehicle width direction.
The 1st base 21 has two support pillar parts 21a and 21a which stand up and down mutually parallel. A frame 11a of the auxiliary seat portion 11 is supported by the support column portions 21a and 21a so as to be rotatable up and down around a support shaft 21b.
The frame 11a of the auxiliary seat part 11 is provided with a lock claw 12 for fixing the auxiliary seat part 11 to an upright position standing up almost vertically. The lock claw 12 is supported by the frame 11a so as to be pivotable up and down via a support shaft 12a. On the other hand, the support column 21a is provided with a lock recess 21c. With the auxiliary seat portion 11 positioned at the standing position, the tip end portion of the lock claw 12 is fitted into the lock recess 21c, whereby the auxiliary seat portion 11 is locked at the standing position. The lock claw 12 is biased toward the lock side (clockwise direction in FIG. 2) by a torsion spring (not shown). For this reason, the lock claw 12 is held in a state in which the tip side is engaged with the lock recess 21c by the torsion spring. This locked state can be released by operating the lock release knob 13.
The unlocking knob 13 is provided at the distal end portion (upper end portion in the standing position) of the auxiliary seat portion 11 so as to be movable. The unlocking knob 13 and the locking claw 12 are connected by a wire 14. When the occupant or the like moves the lock release knob 13 upward with the auxiliary seat portion 11 in the upright position as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, the lock claw 12 is moved via the wire 14 to the torsion spring. 2 moves in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 (the direction in which the tip is removed from the lock recess 21c, that is, the unlocking direction), and thereby the locked state of the standing position of the auxiliary seat 11 is released.
By unlocking the standing position, the auxiliary seat portion 11 can be rotated downward (a direction in which the tip end side projects to the door opening K side, a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2). The auxiliary seat part 11 can be rotated to a horizontal position projecting almost horizontally toward the door opening K side. Stoppers 21d and 21d are provided on both support pillars 21a and 21a. When the auxiliary seat portion 11 is moved to the horizontal position, the stoppers 21d and 21d abut against the lower surface of the frame 11a, thereby holding the auxiliary seat portion 11 in the horizontal position. By holding in this horizontal position, an occupant can be seated on the auxiliary seat portion 11.

Next, the front end side of the four-bar linkage mechanism 23 is connected to both side portions of the first base 21 that supports the auxiliary seat portion 11 so as to be rotatable up and down. The four-joint link mechanisms 23 on the left and right sides are configured symmetrically. Each of the four-joint link mechanisms 23, 23 includes one outer arm 23a and two inner arms 23b, 23b. The outer arm 23 a has a distal end side connected to a side portion of the first base 21 via a support shaft 29 so as to be vertically rotatable. A rear end side of the outer arm 23a is connected to a side portion of the second base 22 via a support shaft 25 so as to be vertically rotatable. The front ends of the inner arms 23 b and 23 b are connected to the side of the first base 21 via a support shaft 26 so as to be rotatable up and down, and the rear end side of the second base 22 is connected via a support shaft 27. It is connected to the side part so that rotation up and down is possible.
Support rollers 28 are rotatably supported between the inner arms 23b and 23b and close to the support shaft 27, respectively. The support rollers 28 and 28 are rolled along the upper surfaces of the guide rails 31 and 31 provided on the third base 30. The second base 22 is slidably supported on the upper surface side of the third base 30 via a pair of left and right linear motion mechanisms 32, 32. A screw shaft 33 is supported on the upper surface of the third base 30 so as to be rotatable about its axis. The rear end side (right end side in FIG. 4) of the screw shaft 33 is connected to the output shaft of the electric motor 34 for driving the second base. The nut 35 meshed with the screw shaft 33 is fixed to the lower surface of the rear end side of the second base 22. When the second base drive motor 34 rotates forward and backward, the screw shaft 33 rotates, whereby the nut 35 moves and the second base 22 moves forward to the vehicle interior outside (left side in FIG. 4). It moves backward (to the right in FIG. 4). The pair of left and right linear motion mechanisms 32, 32, the screw shaft 33, the nut 35, and the electric motor 34 constitute an upper slide mechanism 36. The second base 22 is supported via the upper slide mechanism 36 so as to be slidable in the vehicle width direction with respect to the third base 30. The upper slide mechanism 36 corresponds to an embodiment of the slide mechanism described in the claims.
When the second base 22 moves toward the vehicle interior side or vehicle interior side with respect to the third base 30 by the operation of the upper slide mechanism 36, the support rollers 28, 28 roll along the upper surfaces of the guide rails 31, 31. Is done. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper surfaces of both guide rails 31, 31 are curved in a circular arc shape within a certain range outside the passenger compartment (curved portion 31a). For this reason, when the second base 22 moves to the outside of the passenger compartment with respect to the third base 30, and the both support rollers 28, 28 reach the curved portions 31 a, 31 a of the guide rails 31, 31, the four-bar linkage mechanism The outer arms 23a of 23 and 23 are pivoted downward about the support shaft 25, and the inner arms 23b are rotated downward about the support shaft 27, whereby the first base 21 and thus the auxiliary seat portion 11 are moved to the outside of the passenger compartment. While moving downward.

The third base 30 is supported on the upper surface side of the main base 40 attached to the seat base 7 through a pair of left and right linear motion mechanisms 41, 41 so as to be movable outside the vehicle compartment or inside the vehicle compartment. A screw shaft 44 is supported on the upper surface of the main base 40 so as to be rotatable around the shaft. The nut 42 meshed with the screw shaft 41 is fixed to the lower surface side of the third base 30. The screw shaft 41 is connected to the output shaft of the third base driving electric motor 43 attached to the upper surface of the main base 40. For this reason, when the third base drive motor 43 is activated and the screw shaft 41 starts to rotate, the nut 42 moves, and thereby the third base 30 moves to the vehicle interior outside or vehicle interior side. The pair of left and right linear motion mechanisms 41, 41, the screw shaft 44, the nut 42, the electric motor 43, and the like constitute the lower slide mechanism 24.
As the electric motor 34 of the upper slide mechanism 36 and the electric motor 43 of the lower slide mechanism 24, an electric motor with a reduction gear is used, and the screw shafts 33 and 44 are respectively connected to the electric motors 34 and 43 via the reduction gear. Connected to the output shaft. In addition, the electric motor 34 and the electric motor 43 are mutually controlled with respect to the rotation direction, rotation speed, start / stop timing, and the like. Hereinafter, the operation of the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus 10 having the above configuration will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 2, in the retracted state of the boarding / alighting assisting device 10, the second base 22 and the third base 30 are respectively located below the seat 1 and at the vehicle interior side end of the sliding range. Since the second base 22 is located at the vehicle interior side end, the first base 21 and the four-joint link mechanisms 23, 23 are also located at the vehicle interior side end. In this state, the first base 21 is located at substantially the same height as the second base 22, and therefore both the four-bar linkage mechanisms 23, 23 are located substantially horizontally. In a state where the first base 21 is located on the vehicle interior side, the auxiliary seat portion 11 is adjacent to the side of the seat 1 on the door opening K side.
In a state where the vehicle assisting device 10 is stored, for example, when the vehicle is traveling, the auxiliary seat portion 11 can be positioned in the standing position and used as an armrest. When the auxiliary seat portion 11 is positioned in the standing position, the lock claw 12 is locked in the standing position by engaging the lock recess 21c. The auxiliary seat 11 in this state is shown by a solid line in FIG.

In order to operate the boarding / alighting assisting device 10 for the passenger to get on and off from the above-described stored state, first, the knob 13 is picked and pulled upward. When the knob 13 is pulled upward, the lock claw 12 rotates in the unlocking direction about the support shaft 12a via the wire 14, and thereby the engagement state of the lock claw 12 with respect to the lock recess 21c is released. Thus, the auxiliary seat 11 can be tilted sideways. The auxiliary seat 11 that has been tilted sideways is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
When the auxiliary seat portion 11 is rotated downward about the support shaft 21b and tilted sideways, the frame 11a comes into contact with the stoppers 21d and 21d and the auxiliary seat portion 11 is held in a substantially horizontal position. Thus, the occupant can transfer from the seat 1 to the auxiliary seat portion 11 (when getting off) by tilting the auxiliary seat portion 11 to the horizontal position.
Next, after the occupant changes to the auxiliary seat portion 11, the lifting mechanism 20 is operated. First, the electric motor 43 for driving the third base is activated on the forward rotation side (alighting side), and the first to third bases 21, 22, 30 and the auxiliary seat portion 11 are integrally moved to the outside of the passenger compartment. After the third base 30 is slid to the outer end of the passenger compartment, the electric motor 34 for driving the second base is activated on the forward rotation side (alighting side), and the first and second bases 21 and 22 are outside the passenger compartment. Move to. At the stage where the second base 22 moves to the outside of the passenger compartment with respect to the third base 30, the support rollers 28 and 28 roll on the upper surface of the guide rail 31, respectively. When the support rollers 28, 28 reach the curved portions 31a, 31a of the guide rails 31, 31, both the support rollers 28, 28 are displaced downward while moving to the outside of the passenger compartment. For this reason, both the four-bar linkage mechanisms 23, 23 tilt downward, and thereby the first base 21 is displaced downward while moving to the outside of the passenger compartment. When both the support rollers 28 and 28 reach the vehicle compartment outer end of the curved portions 31a and 31a and the second base 22 reaches the vehicle compartment outer end, the first base 21 descends to the lowest position outside the vehicle compartment. FIG. 3 shows the state at this stage.
Thus, by moving the first base 21 to the outside of the passenger compartment, the occupant seated on the auxiliary seat 11 can be moved from the passenger compartment to a height closer to the road surface outside the passenger compartment. Outside the passenger compartment, the occupant can easily move from the auxiliary seat 11 to the wheelchair 9.

Conversely, in order for an occupant seated in the wheelchair 9 to get into the passenger compartment, the boarding / alighting assisting device 10 may be operated in the reverse manner. That is, after the empty auxiliary seat portion 11 is moved to a height closer to the road surface outside the passenger compartment as described above, the occupant transfers from the wheelchair 9 to the auxiliary seat portion 11. In this case, the auxiliary seat portion 11 may be moved from the raised position in the vehicle interior to the lowered position outside the vehicle compartment while the auxiliary seat portion 11 is in the standing position, and the auxiliary seat portion 11 may be brought down to the horizontal position at the lowered position.
After the auxiliary seat portion 11 is positioned at the lowered position and the occupant moves onto the auxiliary seat portion 11, the second base driving electric motor 34 is activated on the reverse side (ride side) to drive the second base 22 into the vehicle. Move indoors. As a result, both the four-bar linkage mechanisms 23, 23 are tilted upward, and the occupant ascends together with the first base 21 and the auxiliary seat portion 11 and moves to the vehicle interior side.
After the second base 22 has moved to the sliding end on the vehicle interior side, the third base driving electric motor 43 is activated on the reverse rotation side (boarding side), so that the occupant and the auxiliary seat portion 11, The three bases 21, 22, and 30 are moved horizontally toward the vehicle interior. At this stage, since the auxiliary seat portion 11 has moved to almost the same height as the seat cushion 2 of the seat 1, the occupant can easily transfer from the auxiliary seat portion 11 onto the seat cushion 2. After the occupant sits on the seat 1 in this way, the auxiliary seat 11 is raised. Since the auxiliary seat 11 that has been erected is held by the lock claw 12 engaging with the lock recess 21c, it can be used as an armrest.

As described above, according to the boarding / alighting assisting device 10 of the present embodiment, the occupant moves from the seat 1 to the auxiliary seat portion 11 by tilting the auxiliary seat portion 11 from the standing position to the horizontal position on the door opening K side of the seat 1. Therefore, for example, movement between the wheelchair 9 and the seat 1 prepared outside the passenger compartment, that is, getting on and off the vehicle can be easily performed. Moreover, the boarding / alighting assisting device 10 of the present embodiment can lower the auxiliary seat portion 11 from the raised position adjacent to the seat 1 to the lowered position closer to the road surface outside the passenger compartment, so that it is easier than before. You can get on and off.
In addition, since the auxiliary seat portion 11 can be moved to the standing position at the raised position on the side of the seat 1, the seat 1 can be made more in comparison with a configuration in which the seat 1 is fixed at a horizontal position protruding to the door opening K side. It can arrange | position to the door opening part K side. According to this, since the auxiliary seat part 11 can be largely moved to the vehicle compartment outer side, a passenger | crew's boarding / alighting operation can be made still easier.
Furthermore, since the lifting device 20 can be stored below the seat 1 in a state where the auxiliary seat portion 11 is located at the raised position, the space below the seat 1 can be effectively utilized to make the lifting device 20 compact. Can be stored.
Further, since the lifting device 20 is mounted on the seat base 7, when the seat 1 is moved in the vehicle front-rear direction in order to adjust the seat position, the boarding / alighting assisting device 10 also moves together. For this reason, it is not necessary to separately adjust the position of the boarding / alighting assistance device 10 according to the position of the seat 1.

Various modifications can be made to the embodiment described above. For example, although the boarding / alighting assistance device 10 applied to the driver's seat 1 is illustrated, the boarding / alighting assistance device according to the present invention can be applied not only to the driver's seat but also to the passenger seat or the rear seat.
Moreover, although the structure which can move the auxiliary seat part 11 to a standing position and a horizontal position in the raising position of the side of the seat 1 was illustrated, this function can be omitted.
Furthermore, although the electric drive type elevating device 20 is illustrated using the electric motor 34 for driving the second base and the electric motor 43 for driving the third base, these elevating devices are omitted and operated by manual operation. It is good.
Moreover, although the structure which mounts the raising / lowering apparatus 20 on the seat base 7 and moves to the vehicle front-back direction integrally with the seat 1 by the front-back slide mechanism 5 was illustrated, the raising-lowering mechanism is installed directly on the vehicle floor F, for example, The position may be adjusted in the front-rear direction separately from the seat 1.

It is a figure which shows embodiment of this invention, and is the driver's seat which provided the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus, and the right front view of a vehicle. It is a front view of the boarding / alighting assistance apparatus in the retracted state. In this figure, the state where the auxiliary seat portion is positioned in the upright position at the raised position is indicated by a solid line, and the state where the auxiliary seat portion is positioned at the horizontal position is indicated by a two-dot chain line. It is a front view of a boarding / alighting assistance apparatus. This figure shows a state where the auxiliary seat portion is positioned in the horizontal position in the lowered position. It is a top view of a raising / lowering apparatus. This figure has shown the state in the time of an auxiliary seat part moving to a lowered position. It is the figure which looked at the raising / lowering apparatus from the arrow (5) direction in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

K ... Door opening F ... Vehicle floor 1 ... Seat 2 ... Seat cushion (seat)
3 ... Seat back (backrest)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... Wheelchair 10 ... Alighting assistance apparatus 11 ... Auxiliary seat part, 11a ... Frame 12 ... Lock claw, 12a ... Support shaft 13 ... Knob 14 for unlocking ... Wire 20 ... Lifting device 21 ... 1st base 21a ... Supporting column part , 21b ... support shaft, 21c ... lock recess, 21d ... stopper 22 ... second base 23 ... four-bar linkage mechanism, 23a ... outer arm, 23b ... inner arm 24 ... lower slide mechanism 25 ... support shafts 26, 27 ... support shaft 28 ... support roller 29 ... support shaft 30 ... third base 31 ... guide rail, 31a ... curved portion 32 ... linear motion mechanism 33 ... screw shaft 34 ... electric motor (for upper slide mechanism)
35 ... Nut 36 ... Upper slide mechanism 40 ... Main base 41 ... Direct acting mechanism 42 ... Nut 43 ... Electric motor (for lower slide mechanism)
44 ... Screw shaft

Claims (7)

A boarding / alighting assistance device attached to a seat adjacent to a vehicle entrance / exit,
An auxiliary seat that can be seated, and a lift position that is provided in the passenger compartment and that is adjacent to a side portion of the seat on the entrance / exit side at substantially the same height as the seat of the seat; A vehicle boarding / alighting assisting device including an elevating mechanism that is movably supported between a lowering position and an outer side lower than a rising position.   The boarding / alighting assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary seat portion is rotatable up and down between a standing position and a horizontal position at the raised position.   The boarding / alighting assistance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary seat portion in the standing position can be used as an armrest.   The boarding / alighting assisting device according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the lifting device is located below the seat in a state where the auxiliary seat portion is located at the ascending position.   2. The boarding / alighting assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the elevating mechanism includes a first base that supports the auxiliary seat portion, and a second base that supports the first base so as to move up and down via a four-bar linkage mechanism. And a slide mechanism that supports the second base so as to be slidable in the vehicle width direction, and when the second base is moved to the outside of the passenger compartment by the slide mechanism, an end portion on the first base side of the four-bar linkage mechanism And a support mechanism for supporting the four-bar linkage mechanism so as to move down outside the passenger compartment.   The boarding / alighting assisting device according to claim 5, wherein the sliding mechanism and the four-bar linkage mechanism are stored below the seat when the auxiliary seat is in the raised position. .   6. The boarding / alighting assisting device according to claim 5, wherein the seat can be adjusted in position in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the elevating mechanism moves in the vehicle front-rear direction integrally with the seat.

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