JP2005162113A - Caster and mobile medical image diagnostic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a caster and a mobile medical image diagnostic device using this caster, in which its truck can be made small in size and light in weight, neither a large-scaled mechanism nor a large space is required for it, component parts are not damaged when the device rides over a step and an effect of preventing an accident of fall can be increased. <P>SOLUTION: This caster comprises a wheel 61 and a supporting member 63 for supporting the wheel 61. A truck fall preventing member 9 is installed at a falling direction of a truck 2 caused by a variation in the center of gravity of the truck 2 in respect to a rotating shaft of the wheel 61. The truck fall preventing member 9 comprises a rod-like member 91 and a connecting member 92 for connecting the upper end of the rod-like member 91 to a supporting member 63 (a protrusion 65). The connecting member 92 is formed by a resilient member that can be flexed, deformed and compressively deformed as the rod-like member 91 moves upward when a force acting upwardly in a vertical direction acts against the lower end of the rod-like member 91. Motion of the rod-like member 91 in an upward direction is restricted by the supporting member 63. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a caster which is attached to a cart whose position of the center of gravity changes depending on the state of use and includes a wheel and a support member which supports the wheel, and which can prevent the cart from falling, and a mobile medical diagnostic imaging apparatus using the caster About.

  In general, casters are attached to various carts for the purpose of facilitating movement and transportation. Some casters are fixed and others have a turning function to change direction. In addition, there are brakes that lock the rotation and turning of wheels, and those with additional functions such as shock absorbers to alleviate shocks when stepping over steps.

  Moreover, there are mobile medical image diagnostic apparatuses such as a mobile X-ray apparatus that moves in a hospital and performs X-ray imaging in a hospital room or the like as a caster.

  This mobile X-ray apparatus generally has an X-ray irradiation unit having an X-ray tube, a support arm that supports the X-ray irradiation unit, a support column on which the support arm can be moved up and down, and a support column that is rotatably fixed. And a device main body mounted on the cart. The carriage is provided with a drive wheel on the rear side and a caster capable of turning on the front side. The mobile X-ray apparatus can be moved from the storage location of the mobile X-ray apparatus to a patient's location such as a hospital room.

  In addition, the mobile X-ray apparatus needs to position the X-ray irradiation unit at the imaging region of the patient at the time of imaging. Therefore, the support arm can be expanded and contracted in accordance with the up / down / left / right movement, and the X-ray irradiation unit can move in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction within a certain range relative to the carriage by the operation of the support arm. ing.

  In the case of a normal mobile carriage, an eccentric load is applied and the carriage is unlikely to fall down. However, in the mobile X-ray apparatus described above, the support arm is extended and the X-ray irradiation unit is placed on the patient. An unbalanced load is generated, which may cause the device to fall.

  That is, since a mobile X-ray apparatus is an apparatus that captures a patient who cannot move to the imaging room, the patient often lies on a bed in the hospital room, and for imaging, the apparatus is transported close to the patient. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is necessary to move the X-ray irradiation unit 3 from the position of the two-dot broken line (virtual line) to the position indicated by the solid line.

  Here, since the X-ray irradiation unit 3 includes an X-ray tube, a high pressure generation unit, and the like, there is a considerable mass, and when the X-ray irradiation unit 3 is extended in the horizontal direction with respect to the carriage, the device A large moment load is applied. As a result, the center of gravity of the apparatus moves from G to G 'as shown in FIG. 4, for example.

  The ease with which the device falls is determined by the mass of the device and the moment due to the distance L1 from the line connecting the ground point A of the drive wheel 7 and the ground point B of the caster 6 to the center of gravity G '. The contact point when the contact point B of the caster 6 is located on the inner side of the device as shown in FIG. 4 among the tangent lines of the locus circle D drawn by the contact point of the caster 6 around the pivot axis of the caster 6. When the distance L1 about the tangent line E connecting B and the ground point A of the drive wheel 7 is moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the width of the carriage or increase the mass of the carriage to prevent the fall, but if this is done, the carriage becomes larger and the operability of the entire apparatus becomes worse.

  Moreover, as shown in Patent Document 1, an auxiliary support body that performs a horizontal operation similar to the support arm is separately provided below the carriage, and a wheel is provided at an end of the auxiliary support body. There is something. According to this configuration, by moving the auxiliary support in accordance with the movement of the X-ray irradiation unit, the apparatus can be supported by the wheels provided on the auxiliary support, and the apparatus can be prevented from overturning.

  Furthermore, as shown in Patent Document 2, an arc plate-like member is attached to the support member of the caster along the outer peripheral surface of the wheel, and when the carriage is tilted, the lower end portion of the arc plate-like member is brought into contact with the ground. Some of them are designed to prevent the cart from falling.

JP-A-10-99312 Registered Utility Model No. 3016886

  However, the mobile X-ray apparatus is moved in a narrow hospital, and the movement is mainly performed by a radiologist and a nurse. When the number of radiographs is large, it is as high as 60 per day, so the burden on the operator is large. Therefore, there is a demand for a small and lightweight mobile X-ray apparatus, and it is not possible to easily increase the width of the carriage or increase the mass of the carriage.

  Also, regarding the fall prevention mechanism shown in Patent Document 1, when the mobile X-ray apparatus is made small and light, an installation space for attaching the fall prevention mechanism cannot be formed at the lower part of the carriage, and the installation space is not provided. Even if this is ensured, the driving wheels, casters and the like become obstacles when the auxiliary support moves.

  In addition, with respect to the fall prevention mechanism shown in Patent Document 2, since the arc plate-like member that is the fall prevention mechanism is provided on the caster, the cart is made by the arc plate-like member near the wheel of the caster that becomes the fulcrum of the tilt of the carriage. Will be supported.

  Therefore, when the cart is about to fall, the cart is supported by the arc plate member unless the cart is supported by bringing the lower end of the arc plate member into contact with the ground before the cart tilts. It is not possible to perform a sufficient fall prevention function.

  Therefore, in the fall prevention mechanism described in Patent Document 2, the position of the lower end portion of the arc plate-like member must be set so as not to be far from the ground in the normal state of the carriage.

  However, according to the fall prevention mechanism of Patent Document 2, since the position of the lower end portion of the arc plate-like member is close to the ground, when the device gets over the step, the arc plate-like member hits this step portion, The caster may be damaged.

  The present invention is a caster that is attached to a cart that changes its position of the center of gravity due to a large unbalanced load depending on the state of use, and that includes a wheel and a support member that supports the wheel. There is provided a member for preventing the cart from falling on the side of the cart that falls due to the change in position. This dolly falling prevention member includes a rod-shaped body and a connecting member that couples the upper end portion of the rod-shaped body to the support member. The connecting member can be bent and deformed, and is formed of an elastic member that compressively deforms as the rod-shaped body moves upward when a force directed upward in the vertical direction acts on the lower end portion of the rod-shaped body. Further, the upward movement of the rod-shaped body is restricted by the support member.

  A cart in which the position of the center of gravity changes due to a large unbalanced load depending on the use state includes an X-ray irradiation unit and a support unit that supports the X-ray irradiation unit in a mobile medical image diagnostic apparatus, for example, a mobile X-ray apparatus. For example, a trolley.

  In the mobile X-ray apparatus, a driving wheel driven by a motor is generally attached to the rear part of the carriage, and a caster is attached to the front part of the carriage. The support portion includes a support column attached to the carriage, and a support arm unit that is slidably mounted on the support column and can be moved in the horizontal direction, and has an X-ray tube at the tip of the support arm unit. A line irradiation unit is provided. Since this X-ray irradiation part is heavy, if the tip of the support arm part is moved horizontally in a direction away from the carriage, a large offset load is applied to the carriage due to the weight of the X-ray irradiation part and the support arm part, and the position of the center of gravity is Will move. When the position of the center of gravity fluctuates in this way, the mobile X-ray apparatus tends to fall from the X-ray irradiation unit.

  The caster of the present invention can support the cart and prevent the cart from falling when the cart is about to fall.

  Specifically, the caster includes a wheel, a rotating shaft of the wheel, and a support member that supports the wheel via the rotating shaft. The caster is attached to the carriage by fixing the support member to the bottom surface of the carriage.

  And the cart fall prevention member of a caster is provided in the fall direction side of a cart by change of the gravity center position of a cart with respect to the axis of rotation of a wheel in a support member. The member for preventing the cart from falling includes a rod-like body and a connecting member, and the rod-like body is made of, for example, steel and is attached to the support member via the connecting member in a state in which the axial direction extends in the vertical direction. It is done.

  Furthermore, the rod-shaped body is preferably formed so that the upper end portion is tapered or hemispherical, and the lower end portion has a flat surface in order to secure a ground contact area to the ground.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the receiving member is formed with a receiving recess for receiving the upper end of the rod-shaped body. In this case, the rod-shaped body is attached to the support member via the connecting member so that the upper end portion of the rod-shaped body can be detached from the receiving recess.

  The connecting member is formed of an elastic member that can be expanded and contracted, and is formed of, for example, a coil spring. When the coupling member is a coil spring, the coil member is fixed to the support member so that a recess having the upper end portion of the coil spring formed in the support member is disposed in the coil. Moreover, the upper end part of a rod-shaped body is fixed to the lower end part of a coil spring. At this time, the rod-shaped body is attached so as to be suspended from the support member via the connecting member with a predetermined gap between the support member and the upper end of the rod-shaped body.

  This rod-like body is suspended from the support member via the connecting member so that the lower end portion of the rod-like body is lifted from the ground in a state where the wheel is in contact with the ground in the normal state of the carriage (the state where it is not collapsed). Installed in the lowered state. The distance from the lower end of the rod-like body to the ground can be set to 5 to 10 mm, for example.

  As described above, the rod-shaped body is attached to the support member via the connecting member, so that the rod-shaped body can be bent in any direction with respect to the support member by bending the connecting member. Further, when a force directed vertically upward acts on the lower end portion of the rod-shaped body, the rod-shaped body is pushed upward while elastically deforming the connecting member. At this time, when the rod-shaped body abuts on the support member and a recess is formed, the rod-shaped body is fitted into the recess and the upward movement of the rod-shaped body is restricted.

  With such a configuration, when a large offset load acts on the carriage and the carriage tends to fall down, the rod-shaped body hits the ground, the upper end of the rod-shaped body hits the support member, and the rod-shaped body becomes a tension rod. By this tensioning action, the cart can be prevented from falling down by supporting the cart before the cart is largely inclined.

  Further, when the carriage tries to get over the step, since the distance from the ground of the lower end portion of the rod-shaped body is small, the side surface of the rod-shaped body hits the stepped portion. However, in the present invention, when the stepped portion hits the side surface of the rod-shaped body, the coupling member made of an elastic member can be bent and deformed, and the rod-shaped body can be moved like a pendulum with the coupling member as a base point. As a result, the rod-shaped body can get over the step, so that the rod-shaped body is not damaged. After the rod-shaped body gets over the step, the rod-shaped body returns to its original state due to the elastic recovery of the connecting member.

  Further, in the case of a fixed caster that does not involve turning, the caster cart fall prevention member of the present invention is provided with a rod-like body in a direction in which the caster wheel can easily fall over.

  In addition, the caster overturn prevention member of the present invention can be applied to a so-called eccentric caster. The eccentric type means that a caster wheel is attached so as to be able to turn, and is attached to a support member so that the center of rotation of the wheel is eccentric with respect to the axis of the turning shaft. In the case of this eccentric type caster, the rod-shaped body of the support member is provided at a position facing the rotation center of the wheel across the axis of the turning shaft.

  In the case of an eccentric type caster, if the carriage falls down, it tends to fall down from the turning axis side with respect to the rotation axis of the wheel. Can be prevented.

  Furthermore, the caster according to the present invention includes a mobile X-ray apparatus or a surgical C-arm X-ray apparatus including an X-ray irradiation unit, a support unit that supports the X-ray irradiation unit, and a carriage to which the support unit is fixed. Or it can be provided in a cart such as a monitor cart device. In particular, by applying the caster of the present invention to a mobile X-ray apparatus that is desired to be reduced in size and weight, damage to the parts of the cart overturn prevention member can be achieved even when climbing over a step without forming a special space below the cart. It is possible to prevent the mobile X-ray apparatus from collapsing without the occurrence of the problem.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the effect of preventing a fall can be improved without requiring a large mechanism and a big space with a small and lightweight cart.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking a mobile X-ray apparatus as an example.

  FIG. 1 shows a mobile X-ray apparatus in which the caster of the present invention is used. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile X-ray apparatus 1 includes an X-ray irradiation unit 3 that irradiates a subject with X-rays on a carriage 2, a support arm unit 41 that supports the X-ray irradiation unit 3, and a support arm. The apparatus main body 5 is provided with a column 42 that constitutes a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the X-ray irradiation unit 3 via the unit 41. In the present embodiment, the support arm 4 and the support column 42 constitute the support portion 4.

  The carriage 2 includes a caster 6 on the front side and a driving wheel 7 on the rear side. A support 42 projects from the front of the carriage 2, and the apparatus main body 5 is mounted behind the carriage 2. The caster 6 can turn, and the drive wheel 7 is driven by a motor.

  Further, the caster 6 includes a wheel 61, a rotation shaft 62 of the wheel 61, and a support member 63 that supports the wheel 61 via the rotation shaft 62. The caster 6 is attached to the carriage 2 by fixing the support member 63 to the bottom surface of the carriage 2 via the turning shaft 64. The wheel 61 is attached to the support member 63 so that the center of rotation of the wheel 61 is located on the Z line in FIG. 3 that is eccentric with respect to the axis of the pivot shaft 64 (Y line in FIG. 3).

  The support column 42 is supported in front of the carriage 2 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. A support arm 41 is supported on the column 42 so as to be movable up and down. An X-ray irradiation unit 3 is attached to the tip of the support arm unit 41.

  The X-ray irradiation unit 3 includes an X-ray generation unit 31 and an X-ray movable diaphragm 32. Although not shown, the X-ray generation unit 31 includes an X-ray tube. An X-ray irradiation range is set by the X-ray movable diaphragm 32 and the patient is irradiated with the X-rays irradiated by the X-ray generator 31.

  Further, although not shown, the apparatus main body 5 is not shown in the drawing, but an X-ray irradiation condition setting of the X-ray irradiation unit 3 and an operation panel unit for performing X-ray irradiation, control means mounted inside the apparatus main body 5 (Microcomputer), equipped with a motor. A motor is provided for each of the two drive wheels 7.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a travel switch for traveling the carriage 2 is provided in the apparatus body 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the travel switch includes an operation handle 8 attached to the apparatus main body 5. The operator operates the operation handle 8 to move the mobile X-ray apparatus 1 to the hospital room.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cart overturning preventing member 9 is disposed on the caster 6 at a position facing the rotating shaft 62 of the wheel 61 with the turning shaft 64 interposed therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cart overturning prevention member 9 is attached to two bar-like projections 65 that project downward from the support member 63. The cart overturn prevention member 9 includes a rod-like body 91 made of steel, and connects the rod-like body 91 to the lower end portion of the protrusion 65 via a coupling member 92 made of a coil spring 92a. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of rods 91 and connecting members 92 assembled to one wheel 61 is provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a receiving recess 65 a is formed at the lower end of the protrusion 65. Further, the rod-shaped body 91 is formed so that the upper end portion is formed in a hemispherical shape, and the lower end portion has a flat surface.

  Then, the rod-like body 91 is attached to the projection 65 via the connecting member 92 so that the upper end of the rod-like body 91 can be detached from the receiving recess 65a of the projection 65.

  The connecting member 92 is formed of a coil spring 92a that can be expanded and contracted. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper end portion of the coil spring 92a is fitted and fixed to the outer periphery of the lower end portion of the projection portion 65 so that the receiving recess 65a formed in the projection portion 65 is disposed in the coil.

  Further, the upper end portion of the rod-shaped body 91 is fitted into the lower end portion of the coil spring 92a, and the rod-shaped body 91 is fixed to the coil spring 92a. At this time, the protrusion 65 and the rod-shaped body 91 are connected via the coil spring 92a so that a predetermined gap is provided between the lower end of the protrusion 65 and the upper end of the rod-shaped body 91.

  The rod-shaped body 91 is provided with a connecting member 92 so that the lower end of the rod-shaped body 91 is lifted from the ground when the wheel 61 is in contact with the ground when the carriage 2 is in the normal state (the state is not toppled). It is attached in the state suspended from the projection part 65 via. The distance from the lower end of the rod-shaped body 91 to the ground can be set to 5 to 10 mm, for example.

  In this way, when the rod-like body 91 is attached to the projection 65 via the connecting member 92, as shown in FIG. 3, when a vertically upward force acts on the lower end portion of the rod-like body 91, the rod-like body 91 is pushed upward while elastically deforming the connecting member 92. At this time, the rod-shaped body 91 is fitted into the receiving recess 65a of the protrusion 65, and the upward movement of the rod-shaped body 91 is restricted.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the rod-shaped body 91 is coupled by the coupling member 92, the rod-shaped body 91 can be bent in a pendulum shape in all directions with respect to the support member 63 by bending the coupling member 92. It can be done.

  By configuring the caster 6 as described above, when the mobile X-ray device 1 is likely to fall due to a large unbalanced load acting on the carriage 2, the lower end portion of the rod-shaped body 91 hits the ground (floor surface), and the rod-shaped body The upper end of 91 is fitted into the receiving recess 65a of the protrusion 65. When the upper end portion of the rod-like body 91 is fitted and fixed in the receiving recess 65a at the lower end portion of the projection portion 65, the rod-like body 91 is in a stretched state, and the rod-like body 91 acts as a tension rod for preventing the collapse. become. By the tensioning action of the rod-shaped body 91, the cart 2 can be supported by the rod-shaped body 91 before the cart 2 is largely inclined, and the cart 2 can be prevented from falling.

  Furthermore, the overturning conditions when the caster 6 is employed in the mobile X-ray apparatus 1 are shown in FIG. The distance between the straight line F connecting the grounding point A of the driving wheel 7 and the grounding point C of the rod-shaped body 91 of the caster 6 to the center of gravity G ′ is L2, and the grounding point A of the driving wheel 7 and the wheel 61 of the caster 6 at this time If the distance between the straight line E connecting the ground contact points B and the center of gravity G ′ is L1, L1 <L2.

  The fact that the distance of L2 is longer than the distance of L1 means that it is more difficult to fall than a conventional caster that does not include the above-mentioned cart falling prevention member 9. Further, in the present embodiment, since the ground contact point C of the rod-shaped body 91 is always opposed to the ground contact point B where the wheel 61 of the caster 6 is grounded with the swivel shaft 64 of the caster 6 interposed therebetween, the rod-shaped body 91. Can always be in an advantageous position to prevent falling.

  The caster of the present invention is particularly suitable for a caster attached to a cart of a mobile X-ray apparatus. By using the caster of the present invention in a mobile X-ray apparatus, the X-ray irradiation unit protrudes from the carriage in the horizontal direction when the X-ray irradiation operation is performed, thereby preventing the apparatus from falling. be able to.

  Furthermore, since the caster of the present invention can be used as a general eccentric caster, it can be applied not only to the mobile X-ray apparatus but also to various moving carts. For example, examples of the moving carriage include a surgical C-arm X-ray apparatus that can move in an operating room, a monitor carriage apparatus that includes a medical image display apparatus, and a carriage of a mobile medical image diagnostic apparatus that includes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

1 is a perspective view of a mobile X-ray apparatus using a caster according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the caster of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the caster of this invention, Comprising: The part of the member for cart fall prevention is shown with sectional drawing. It is explanatory drawing which showed the gravity center position of the mobile X-ray apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile X-ray machine
2 carts
3 X-ray irradiation unit 31 X-ray generation unit 32 X-ray movable diaphragm
4 Support section 41 Support arm section 42 Prop
5 Main unit
6 Caster 61 Wheel 62 Rotating shaft 63 Support member 64 Rotating shaft
65 Projection 65a Receiving recess
7 Drive wheels
8 Operation handle
9 Parts for preventing the cart from falling
91 Lower bar
92 Connecting member 92a Coil spring

Claims (2)

A caster that is attached to a carriage that is subjected to a large unbalanced load depending on the state of use and whose center of gravity changes, and that includes a wheel and a support member that supports the wheel,
With respect to the rotation axis of the wheel, on the tumbling side of the trolley due to the change in the position of the center of gravity of the trolley, a trolley fall prevention member
This member for preventing the cart from falling includes a rod-shaped body and a coupling member for coupling the upper end portion of the rod-shaped body to the support member. The coupling member can be bent and deformed, and a force directed vertically upward to the lower end portion of the rod-shaped body. Is formed with an elastic member that compressively deforms as the rod-shaped body moves upward,
A caster characterized in that the upward movement of the rod-shaped body is restricted by a support member. A mobile medical diagnostic imaging apparatus equipped with a medical image diagnostic apparatus and mounted on a carriage whose center of gravity changes due to a large unbalanced load depending on the state of use, and includes a wheel and a support member that supports the wheel. There,
The caster is provided with a member for preventing the cart from overturning on the side where the cart falls due to a change in the position of the center of gravity of the cart relative to the rotation axis of the wheel,
This member for preventing the cart from falling includes a rod-shaped body and a coupling member for coupling the upper end portion of the rod-shaped body to the support member. The coupling member can be bent and deformed, and a force directed vertically upward to the lower end portion of the rod-shaped body Is formed with an elastic member that compressively deforms as the rod-shaped body moves upward,
A movable medical image diagnostic apparatus characterized in that the upward movement of the rod-shaped body is restricted by a support member.

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