JP2007267940A - Walk assisting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a walk assisting device which can reduce the weight load of a user, and at the same time, can follow the vertical motions of the user accompanying the walking motion of the user, and can support a natural walk. <P>SOLUTION: This walk assisting device is equipped with a post 2, a hanging rod 3, a human body suspending point 4, a mechanism suspending point 8, an elastic stretching/contracting mechanism 5, a hanging rope 16, a taking-up mechanism 7, and an adjusting rope 6. In this case, the hanging rod 3 performs a seesaw motion reciprocating in the vertical direction by a fulcrum at the upper section of the post 2. The human body suspending point 4 is provided at the other end section 15 more than the fulcrum 14 of the hanging rod 3. The mechanism suspending point 8 is provided on one end section 12 more than the fulcrum 14 of the hanging rod 3. The hanging rope 16 is movably provided in a diraection along the hanging rod 3 with one end 16a connected with the elastic stretching/contracting mechanism 5, and the other end 16b extended along the hanging rod 3 and is suspended from the human body suspending point 4. One end 6a of the adjusting rope 6 is connected with the lower section of the elastic stretching/contracting mechanism 5, and the other end 6b is connected with the taking-up mechanism 7. The other end side dimension (a) from the fulcrum 14 of the hanging rod 3 to the human body suspending point 4 of the hanging rod 3 is longer than the one end side dimension (b) from the fulcrum 14 of the hanging rod 3 to the mechanism suspending point 8 of the hanging rod 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a walking support apparatus that can reduce a user's weight load and can follow a user's vertical movement accompanying a user's walking motion and can support natural walking.

2. Description of the Related Art A walking assist device is known in which a human body is suspended by attaching a spring in the middle of a suspension band. This walking support device includes an operation button of an electric winch that winds a suspension rope.
However, in the above walking support device, it is necessary to increase the spring force of the spring in order to increase the lifting force for suspending the user wearing the suspension band. In this case, the amount of expansion and contraction of the spring is reduced, and the vertically movable width associated with the user's walking motion is reduced. Therefore, the user is forced to perform an unnatural walking motion with little vertical motion. Conversely, if the spring force of the spring is weakened to increase the user's vertically movable width, the lifting force cannot be increased and the user's weight load cannot be reduced.
JP 2001-346842 A JP 2002-58712 A

  The problem to be solved by the invention is that the conventional walking support device can reduce the user's weight load and can also follow the user's vertical movement accompanying the user's walking motion, and the user can walk naturally. It is a point that cannot support walking.

The walking support device of the present invention has a support, a suspension bar attached to the top of the support so as to perform a seesaw motion that reciprocates in the vertical direction at the fulcrum, and the other end located behind the fulcrum of the suspension bar. The provided human body hanging point, the mechanism hanging point provided at one end located in front of the fulcrum of the hanging rod, the elastic stretching mechanism, one end connected to the elastic stretching mechanism and the other end to the hanging rod A suspension rope that is extended along the body and suspended from the suspension point of the human body and movable in the direction along the suspension rod, a winding mechanism, and one end connected to the lower part of the elastic expansion and contraction mechanism and the other end is wound An adjustment rope connected to the mechanism, and the other end side dimension from the fulcrum of the suspension bar to the human body suspension point of the suspension bar is larger than the one end dimension from the fulcrum of the suspension bar to the mechanism suspension point of the suspension bar. It is characterized by being long.
The elastic body provided in the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism is also a coil spring.
The winding mechanism is also formed by a hand-wound winch device.
The hanging rod is also provided with a stopper for restricting the upward movement of the other end of the hanging rope.

According to the present invention, a suspension rod such as a seesaw is provided, and the other end side dimension from the fulcrum of the suspension rod to the human body suspension point of the suspension rod is set to one end from the fulcrum of the suspension rod to the mechanism suspension point of the suspension rod. Since it is longer than the side dimension, the vertically movable width of the human body hanging point can be increased and the lifting force applied to the human body hanging point by the lifting device can be increased. That is, it is possible to increase the vertically movable width of the user suspended at the human body suspension point and to increase the lifting force for reducing the weight load of the user. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a walking support device that can reduce the user's weight load and can follow the user's vertical movement accompanying the user's walking motion to support natural walking. In addition, since the vertically movable width of the mechanism hanging point can be made smaller than the vertically movable width of the human body hanging point, the fluctuation of the lifting force accompanying the vertical movement of the user suspended at the human body hanging point is reduced. it can. And since the up-and-down movable width of the user suspended at the human body suspension point is increased, the other end of the suspension bar is positioned above the fulcrum in a state where no human is suspended at the human body suspension point. In the walking support device having the configuration, by operating the winding mechanism so that the position of the human body suspension point can be moved downward, it is possible to provide a walking support device that can easily shift from the wheelchair.
By using the coil spring as the elastic body of the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism, the configuration of the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism can be simplified, and a walking support device having a configuration that can easily change the lifting force can be obtained at low cost.
By using the hand-wound winch device as the winding mechanism, it is possible to obtain a walking support device having a configuration that can easily change the lifting force at low cost.
Since the suspension bar has a stopper that restricts the upward movement of the other end of the suspension rope, a lifting force is applied to the user after the upward movement of the other end of the suspension rope is restricted by the stopper. Therefore, it is possible to provide a highly safe walking support device without the user being suspended.

  1 to 3 show a walking support device according to the best mode of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows a walking support device, FIG. 2 shows a simplified configuration of the walking support device 1, and FIG. The structure of a storage case is disassembled and shown.

  First, an outline of the walking support device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The walking support device 1 includes a column 2, a suspension rod 3, a human body suspension point 4, an elastic telescopic mechanism 5, a winding mechanism 7, a mechanism suspension point 8, a device frame 9, a traveling unit 10, and a lifting mechanism 86.

  The support column 2 extends vertically. The device frame 9 is connected to the support 2. The apparatus frame 9 includes a base frame portion 33 at a lower portion, and the traveling unit 10 is provided on the base frame portion 33.

  The suspension bar 3 is rotatably attached to the upper part of the support 2 to perform a seesaw motion in which the one end portion 12 and the other end portion 15 reciprocate in the vertical direction with the rotation center shaft 13 as a fulcrum 14.

The human body suspension point 4 is provided at the other end portion 15 of the suspension bar 3 located behind the support point 14 of the suspension bar.
The mechanism suspension point 8 is provided at one end portion 12 of the suspension bar 3 positioned in front of the fulcrum 14 of the suspension bar 3.

  The other end side dimension a from the fulcrum 14 of the suspension bar 3 to the human body suspension point 4 of the suspension bar 3 is longer than the one end side dimension b from the fulcrum 14 of the suspension bar 3 to the mechanism suspension point 8 of the suspension bar 3. (See FIG. 2).

  The elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5 includes a coil spring 51 and a storage case 52 as elastic bodies. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage case 52 includes a large-diameter cylinder 53 that is closed at the lower end of the upper end opening, a small-diameter cylinder 54 that is closed at the upper end of the lower end opening, and a fastening cap 55. The inner diameter d of the large diameter cylinder 53 is larger than the outer diameter of the small diameter cylinder 54. A groove 58 is formed in the cylindrical wall of the large-diameter cylindrical body 53. The groove 58 extends from the inner peripheral surface 56 to the outer peripheral surface 57 of the cylindrical wall and extends in a straight line from the upper end opening 59 toward the lower end 60. A scale 61 for lifting force is provided on the outer peripheral surface 57 next to the groove 58 in the vertical direction of the groove 58. A pointer shaft 63 that protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface 62 is provided below the outer peripheral surface 62 of the cylinder of the small-diameter cylindrical body 54. When the small-diameter cylindrical body 54 is accommodated in the cylinder of the large-diameter cylindrical body 53, the pointer shaft 63 protrudes to the outside of the outer peripheral surface 57 of the large-diameter cylindrical body 53 from the groove 58 via the groove 58. It can move up and down. When the pointer shaft 63 is positioned beside a certain scale value of the scale portion 61, the scale portion 61 is formed such that the scale value indicates the lifting force. A threaded portion 64 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 57 of the large-diameter cylindrical body 53 on the upper end opening 59 side. A threaded portion 64 a (see FIG. 2) that is screwed into the threaded portion 64 is formed on the inner wall of the cylinder of the fastening cap 55. As shown in FIG. 2, the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5 is provided on the bottom surface of the cylinder of the small-diameter cylindrical body 54 by connecting one end 66 of the coil spring 51 to the anchoring portion 65 provided on the bottom surface of the cylinder of the large-diameter cylindrical body 53. The other end 68 of the coil spring 51 is connected to the moored portion 67 so that the cylinder portion on the lower end opening side of the small diameter cylindrical body 54 is fitted inside the cylinder on the upper end opening 59 side of the large diameter cylindrical body 53 and the pointer shaft 63. Is inserted into the groove 58, and the fastening cap 55 is inserted into the outer peripheral surface 62 of the small diameter cylindrical body 54 from the upper end closing side of the small diameter cylindrical body 54 and fastened to the screw portion 64 of the large diameter cylindrical body 53. The coil spring 51 can be connected to the small-diameter cylindrical body 54 and the large-diameter cylindrical body 53 by hooking hooks at both ends of the coil spring 51 to the anchoring portion 65 and the anchoring portion 67. Then, one end 16a of the hanging rope 16 and the connecting portion 22 at the upper end portion of the elastic telescopic mechanism 5 are connected to each other, and the other end 16b (see FIG. 1) of the hanging rope 16 is suspended from the human body hanging point 4 and attached. Connected to the tool 18. The lower end portion 24 of the elastic telescopic mechanism 5 and one end 6 a of the adjustment rope 6 are connected to each other, and the other end 6 b of the adjustment rope 6 is attached to the winding frame 92 of the winding mechanism 7. Therefore, the coil spring 51 extends in the vertical direction by operating the operation handle 94 of the winding mechanism 7 and rotating the winding frame 92 in the direction of winding the hanging rope 16. At this time, the force that the coil spring 51 tries to return to the original state (the force that the coil spring 51 tries to contract) becomes the lifting force, and the value of the lifting force is the scale on the side of the pointer shaft 63 at that time. Indicated by value. That is, by operating the winding mechanism 7 and winding the suspension rope 16 around the winding frame 92, the lifting force can be increased, and by lifting the suspension rope 16 from the winding frame 92, the lifting force can be decreased. That is, the lifting force (weight unloading amount) that lifts the body of the user 19 wearing the wearing tool 18 is determined by the winding amount of the hanging rope 16 by the winding mechanism 7, and the lifting force 1 The walking assist device 1 can be obtained which can easily change the lifting force and can easily change the lifting force.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 1, an example of the walking support device 1 according to the best mode in which the support column 2, the suspension rod 3, the device frame 9, the elevating mechanism 86 and the like are more specifically described will be described in detail.

  First, the structure of the support | pillar 2 and the apparatus frame 9 is demonstrated. The column 2 is formed by a left column 31 and a right column 32. The device frame 9 is connected to the support 2. The apparatus frame 9 includes a base frame portion 33 and a support column support frame portion 34.

  The base frame part 33 includes a left frame part 35, a right frame part 36, and a front frame part 37. The left frame part 35 and the right frame part 36 extend in the front-rear direction and are arranged in parallel with a certain distance therebetween. The front frame portion 37 extends in the left-right direction, and the left end is connected to the front end of the left frame portion 35 and the front end of the right frame portion 36. An open / close portion 38 is opened between the rear end of the left frame portion 35 and the rear end of the right frame portion 36. The user 19 can go in and out between the position just below the human body suspension point 4 and the outside via the access portion 38. That is, when a person stands outside the right frame portion 36 and faces the left frame portion 35 as viewed from above, the base frame portion 33 has a U shape with the rear portion opened. The left column 31 is provided to rise above the rear position from the middle of the front and rear of the left frame portion 35. The right column 32 is provided so as to rise above the rear position from the middle of the right frame portion 36 before and after. The left column 31 and the right column 32 are provided to be inclined forward from the rear.

  The column support frame part 34 includes left and right intermediate support frame parts 41; 42, an intermediate upper connection frame part 43, an intermediate front connection frame part 44, left and right upper and lower connection frame parts 45; 46, and left and right front and rear connection frame parts 47; 48. The upper connection frame part 49 is provided. The left intermediate support frame portion 41 connects a position shifted to the left with respect to the left and right intermediate portions of the front frame portion 37 and the upper and lower intermediate positions of the left support column 31. The right intermediate support frame portion 42 connects the position shifted to the right from the left and right middle of the front frame portion 37 and the upper and lower middle positions of the right column 32. The intermediate upper connecting frame portion 43 connects the intermediate positions where the left column 31 and the right column 32 face each other. The middle upper connecting frame portion 43 connects the left connecting point 71 between the left intermediate supporting frame portion 41 and the left column 31 and the right connecting point 72 between the right intermediate supporting frame portion 41 and the right column. The middle upper connecting frame portion 43 includes a left front and rear portion 73 extending forward from the left connecting point 71, a right front and rear portion 74 extending forward from the right connecting point 72, a left front and rear portion 73, and a right front and rear portion 74. It is formed by the front left and right portions 75 to be connected, and is U-shaped when viewed from the top like the base frame portion 33. The middle front connection frame portion 44 connects the left middle support frame portion 41 and the right middle support frame portion 42 to each other at a portion located below the left connection point 71 and the right connection point 72. The left upper and lower connecting frame portion 45 connects the left end portion of the intermediate front connecting frame portion 44 and the left end portions of the front left and right portions 75 of the intermediate upper connecting frame portion 43 located immediately above the left end portion. The right upper and lower connecting frame portion 46 connects the right end portion of the intermediate front connecting frame portion 44 and the right end portions of the front left and right portions 75 of the intermediate upper connecting frame portion 43 positioned directly above the right end portion. The left front / rear connection frame portion 47 extends rearward from the left side portion of the left intermediate support frame portion 41 corresponding to the left end portion of the intermediate front connection frame portion 44 beyond the left column 31 and the left side portion of the left intermediate support frame portion 41. And the left column 31 are connected to each other. The right front and rear connection frame portion 48 extends rearward from the right side of the left intermediate support frame portion 41 corresponding to the right end portion of the intermediate front connection frame portion 44 over the right column 32 and the right side portion of the left intermediate support frame portion 41. And the right column 32 are connected to each other. The upper connection frame portion 49 connects the upper end portion of the left column 31 and the upper end portion of the right column 32 to each other. The support column frame 34 gives strength to the support 2 with respect to the force applied from the left and right directions of the support 2 and the force applied from the front and rear directions of the support 2.

  The suspension rod 3 includes a left suspension rod 81, a right suspension rod 82, and a connection rod 83, and has a structure in which the left suspension rod 81 and the right suspension rod 82 are connected to each other by the connection rod 83 in a state where the left suspension rod 81 and the right suspension rod 82 are opposed to each other. . A bearing portion 84 is formed at a position shifted from an intermediate position of the entire length of the left hanging rod 81 and the right hanging rod 82. A bearing portion 85 is provided at the upper ends of the left column 31 and the right column 32. Both end portions of the rotation center shaft 13 serving as the fulcrum 14 of the hanging rod 3 are attached to the bearing portions 84 and 85. That is, the suspension rod 3 is attached to the rotation center shaft 13 so as to be rotatable about the rotation center shaft 13 by a bearing portion 84 provided in a portion closer to the one end portion 12 than the central portion in the length direction of the suspension rod 3. Thus, the seesaw motion is performed in which the one end portion 12 and the other end portion 15 reciprocate in the vertical direction with the rotation center shaft 13 as a fulcrum 14.

  The lifting mechanism 86 includes a winding mechanism 7, an adjustment rope 6, a winding side guide pulley 151, an elastic telescopic mechanism 5, a suspension rope 16, a suspension rod 3, a front side guide pulley 152, a central axis side guide pulley 153, and a human body hanging point. A side guide pulley 154 is provided. The other end 6 b of the adjustment rope 6 is attached to the winding frame 92 of the winding mechanism 7, and one end 6 a of the adjustment rope 6 is connected to the lower end portion 24 of the elastic telescopic mechanism 5 via the winding side guide pulley 151. . One end 16 a of the hanging rope 16 is connected to the connecting portion 22 at the upper end of the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5. The suspension rope 16 is bifurcated and the other ends 16b; 16b are individually suspended from the human body suspension point 4. That is, the left suspension rope 155 divided into two branches of the suspension rope 16 includes a front guide pulley 152 provided on the left side of the connecting rod 83, a center axis guide pulley 153 provided on the left side of the center shaft 13, and a left suspension rod. It is suspended from a human body suspension point 4 via a human body suspension point side guide pulley 154 provided at the other end 15 of 81. The right suspension rope 156 divided into two branches of the suspension rope 16 includes a front guide pulley 152 provided on the right side of the connecting rod 83, a center axis side guide pulley 153 provided on the right side of the center shaft 13, and a right suspension rod 82. It is suspended from the human body suspension point 4 via the human body suspension point side guide pulley 154 provided at the other end portion 15. The hooks 157 are attached to the other ends 16b and 16b (lower ends) of the suspension ropes 155 and 156 suspended from the human body suspension point 4, respectively. A stopper 158 that restricts the upward movement of the hook 157 is provided at the other end 15 of the left hanging rod 81 and the right hanging rod 82. The length of the hanging rope 16 is determined such that when the adjustment rope 6 is completely unwound from the winding frame 92, the hooking tool 157 descends to a position about the height of the wheelchair seat. The take-up frame 92 of the take-up mechanism 7 includes a mechanism such as a ratchet mechanism or a lock mechanism, so that the take-up state can be maintained.

  The raising / lowering operation by the raising / lowering mechanism 86 is demonstrated. When the hooking tool 157 collides with the stopper 158 and the stopper 158 moves the hooking tool 157 downward from the state where the movement of the hooking tool 157 is restricted, the adjustment rope 6 is unwound from the winding frame 92. The operating handle 94 is rotated in the direction, and the hooking tool 157 is moved downward to the position of the waist of the person riding in the wheelchair. A hooking tool (not shown) provided at the upper end of the hanging rope 200 (see FIG. 2) of the wearing tool 18 worn by the user 19 is hooked on the hooking tool 157. Then, the operating handle 94 is rotated in the direction in which the adjustment rope 6 is wound around the winding frame 92, and the hooking tool 157 is moved upward. Even after the upward movement of the hook 157 is restricted by the stopper 158, if the operation handle 94 is continuously rotated in the direction in which the adjustment rope 6 is wound around the winding frame 92, the adjustment rope 6 is taken up by the winding frame 92. By continuing to be applied, the coil spring 51 of the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5 is extended, and a lifting force is applied to the human body suspension point 4. If the desired lifting force is set by looking at the scale of the elastic telescopic mechanism 5, the user can be lifted with the desired lifting force and can walk with a reduced weight load.

  1, the human body hanging point 4 is formed by the rope hanging point of the human body hanging point side guide pulley 154, and the mechanism hanging point 8 is formed by the rope hanging point of the front side guide pulley 152. It is formed.

  In the best mode, the other end side dimension a from the fulcrum 14 of the suspension rod 3 to the human body suspension point 4 of the suspension rod 3 is the one end side from the fulcrum 14 of the suspension rod 3 to the mechanism suspension point 8 of the suspension rod 3. Since the length is longer than the dimension b, the up and down movable width of the user 19 suspended at the human body suspension point 4 can be increased. That is, the vertically movable width of the human body hanging point 4 = the vertically movable width of the mechanism hanging point 8 × (a / b). Therefore, it becomes possible to follow the vertical movement of the user 19 accompanying the walking motion of the user 19 and increase the lifting force for reducing the weight load of the user 19. Therefore, the walking support device 1 that can support walking so that even the user 19 who cannot support his / her weight by himself / herself can walk naturally can be obtained.

  Moreover, when the position of the human body hanging point 4 moves up and down with the walking motion of the user 19 from the state where the lifting force is acting on the human body hanging point 4, the lifting force varies. Since the other end side dimension “a” is longer than the one end side dimension “b”, the vertically movable width of the mechanism suspension point 8 can be made smaller than the vertically movable width of the human body suspension point 4 and is suspended at the human body suspension point 4. The fluctuation of the lifting force accompanying the vertical movement of the user 19 can be reduced.

For example, when the ratio of the other end side dimension a to the one end side dimension b is 7: 1, in order to apply a lifting force of 25 kg to the human body hanging point 4, the mechanism hanging point 8 is set to a force of 175 kg. It is necessary to pull it down. Then, the position of the human body suspension point 4 can be moved up and down by 10.5 cm in accordance with the user's walking movement from the state in which a lifting force of 25 kg is applied to the human body suspension point 4 (that is, In order to make the vertically movable width of the human body hanging point 4 21 cm), the mechanism hanging point 8 must be movable up and down by 1.5 cm by extending and contracting the coil spring 51 (that is, the mechanism hanging). The vertical movable width of point 8 is 3 cm). Therefore, in this case, a coil spring 51 that can apply a force of 175 kg to the mechanism suspension point 8 and can move the mechanism suspension point 8 up and down by 1.5 cm may be used. That is, the coil spring 51 may be selected so as to realize the set value according to the maximum lifting force to be set and the maximum vertically movable width of the position of the human body hanging point 4. in this case,
The vertically movable width of the user 19 suspended at the human body suspension point 4 can be increased to 21 cm, and the lifting force for reducing the weight load of the user 19 can be increased to about 25 kg. Therefore, the human body hanging point 4 can follow the vertical movement of the user 19 accompanying the walking movement of the user 19, and the lifting force for reducing the weight load of the user 19 is also large. Even if it is the user 19 who cannot support, the walk assistance apparatus 1 which can assist walk so that natural walk can be performed is obtained. Further, the vertically movable width of the mechanism hanging point 8 can be 3 cm with respect to the vertically movable width 21 cm of the human body hanging point 4, and the vertically movable width of the mechanism hanging point 8 can be vertically moved by the human body hanging point 4. Since it can be made smaller than the possible width, it is possible to reduce the fluctuation of the lifting force accompanying the vertical movement of the user 19 suspended at the human body suspension point 4.

  When the other end side dimension a and the one end side dimension b are the same, when the other end side dimension a is made shorter than the one end side dimension b, and when the other end side dimension a is made longer than the one end side dimension b When the other end side dimension “a” is longer than the one end side dimension “b”, the user 19 suspended at the human body suspension point 4 can have a larger vertical movable width and the weight of the user 19 can be increased. The lifting force for reducing the load can be increased, and the fluctuation of the lifting force accompanying the vertical movement of the user 19 can be reduced.

  Furthermore, according to the best mode, the up and down movable width of the user 19 suspended at the human body suspension point 4 can be increased and the lifting force for reducing the weight load of the user 19 can be increased, In the walking support device 1 that can reduce the fluctuation of the lifting force accompanying the vertical movement of the user 19, by providing the lifting mechanism 86, a person on the wheelchair can be lifted from the state on the wheelchair, A walking support device 1 that can be used even by a person on a wheelchair is obtained. In addition, since the lifting force is applied to the user 19 after the upward movement of the hooking tool 157 is restricted by the stopper 158, the user 19 is not suspended and the safety is high.

Further, in the best mode, the other end side dimension a of the suspension bar 3 is made longer than the one end side dimension b, so that the vertically movable width of the user 19 suspended at the human body suspension point 4 is increased. In a state where no person is suspended from the suspension point 4, the other end 15 of the suspension rod 3 is positioned above the fulcrum 14. In the walking support device 1 having such a configuration, the position of the hooking tool 157 can be moved downward by the elevating mechanism 86, so that the work of hooking the hooking tool of the mounting tool 18 on the hooking tool 157 becomes easy. There is. That is, by operating the take-up mechanism so that the position of the human body suspension point 4 can be moved downward, the walking support device 1 that can be easily shifted from the wheelchair can be provided.
Further, there is a significance that even a short person can hook the hook of the wearing tool 18 on the hook 158.

Moreover, according to the walking assistance apparatus 1 of the best form, since the winding mechanism 7 is provided and the lifting force is determined by the winding amount of the suspension rope 16 by the winding mechanism 7, the winding mechanism 7 is By operating and winding the suspension rope 16 or unwinding, the lifting force can be easily changed, and the walking assist device 1 that is easy to operate for changing the lifting force can be obtained.
In addition, since the coil spring 51 is used as the elastic body of the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5, the configuration of the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5 can be simplified, and the walking support device 1 having a configuration that can easily change the lifting force can be obtained at low cost. it can.
Further, by using a hand-winding winch device as the winding mechanism 7, it is possible to easily change the lifting force.
Moreover, since the user feels as if he / she pushes the heavy front side by using the front side where the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism is provided as shown in FIG. 2, the walking support device 1 can be easily moved forward. .
In addition, when the user 19 is used facing the front side where the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5 is provided, if the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5 is in the center of the front, the user 19's front field of view is hindered. As shown in FIG. 1, a device that does not obstruct the front field of view can be obtained by being provided close to the front right end (or left end).

Other form 1
As shown in FIG. 4, one support rod 2 is provided upright from the left and right intermediate portions of the front frame portion 37 in the base frame portion 33, and is extended to the front and rear on the upper portion of the support column 2. Is provided. In the upper and lower intermediate portions of the support column 2, a grip frame portion 201 having a shape extending from the intermediate portion to the left and right and then extending to the rear side is provided. The suspension rod 3 is attached to the upper portion of the support column 2 by the rotation center shaft 13 so that the portion closer to the end portion 12 than the central portion in the length direction of the suspension rod 3 is rotatably attached to the suspension rod 3. The rod 12 performs a seesaw motion in which the portion 12 and the other end portion 15 reciprocate in the vertical direction.

The human body suspension point 4 is provided at the other end portion 15 of the suspension bar 3 located behind the support point 14 of the suspension bar. The human body suspension point 4 is formed by the rope suspension point of the suspension guide pulley 202 provided at the other end of the suspension rod 3.
The mechanism suspension point 8 is provided at one end portion 12 of the suspension bar 3 positioned in front of the fulcrum 14 of the suspension bar 3. The mechanism suspension point 8 is formed by the rope suspension point of the suspension guide pulley 203 provided at one end of the suspension rod 3.

  The other end side dimension a from the fulcrum 14 of the suspension bar 3 to the human body suspension point 4 of the suspension bar 3 is longer than the one end side dimension b from the fulcrum 14 of the suspension bar 3 to the mechanism suspension point 8 of the suspension bar 3. (See Figure 2).

  The winding mechanism 7 is attached to the lower part of the front surface of the column 2. The elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5 is disposed along the support 2 on the front side of the support 2. A suspension rope 16 having one end 16 a connected to the upper end portion 22 of the elastic telescopic mechanism 5 passes along the suspension rod 3 via a suspension guide pulley 203, suspension rod guide pulleys 204, 205, 206, and a suspension guide pulley 202. And provided to extend. A suspension member 207 is connected to the other end 16 b of the suspension rope 16 suspended from the suspension guide pulley 202. The suspension member 207 includes a balance bar 208 whose center is connected to the other end of the suspension rope 16, and a hooking tool 157 that is suspended from both ends of the balance bar 208. One end 6 a of the adjustment rope 6 is connected to the lower end portion of the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5, and the other end 6 b of the adjustment rope 6 is connected to the winding frame 92 of the winding mechanism 7. As described above, the hook 157 can be moved up and down by operating the operation handle 94 of the winding mechanism.

  In addition, in the walking support device of Patent Document 1, for example, when the user is a child who is light, short, and weak, depending on the spring force of the spring, the user can be lifted by winding the rope with an electric winch. This is dangerous. In the present invention, in order to prevent such a phenomenon, a stopper 158 for restricting the upward movement of the hooking tool 157 above a certain level is provided so that a lifting force is applied in a state where the user cannot be lifted above a certain height. So it is safe.

  A plate is provided at the upper and lower ends of the coil spring, the upper end plate is connected to the inner bottom of the large diameter cylindrical body 53 with a wire, the lower end plate is connected to the inner bottom of the small diameter cylindrical body 54 with a wire, and the adjustment rope 6 is wound. By using the elastic expansion and contraction mechanism 5 having a structure in which the force that the coil spring tries to return to the original state (the force that the coil spring tries to extend) is the lifting force by contracting the coil spring between the upper and lower plates. May be. In this case, since the state in which the coil spring is fully contracted functions as a fall prevention stopper, it is not necessary to provide the fall prevention stopper 29 on the upper portion of the column 2. Rubber may be used as the elastic body of the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism 5. You may use the elastic expansion-contraction mechanism 5 using the elastic function by a fluid.

The perspective view (best form) of a walking assistance apparatus. The figure which showed the outline of the walking assistance apparatus (partial cross section) (best form). The disassembled perspective view which shows the storage case of an elastic expansion-contraction mechanism (best form). The perspective view of a walk assistance device (other form 1).

Explanation of symbols

1 walking support device, 2 struts, 3 suspension rods, 4 human body suspension points,
5 Elastic telescopic mechanism, 6 Adjustment rope, 7 Winding mechanism, 8 Mechanism hanging point,
9 Equipment frame, 14 fulcrum, 16 suspension rope, 51 coil spring,
158 Stopper, a other end side dimension, b one end side dimension.

Claims (4)

  A support rod, a suspension rod attached to the top of the support column so as to perform a seesaw motion that reciprocates in the vertical direction at a fulcrum, and a human body suspension point provided at the other end located behind the fulcrum of the suspension rod , A mechanism suspension point provided at one end located in front of the fulcrum of the suspension rod, an elastic expansion / contraction mechanism, one end connected to the elastic expansion / contraction mechanism and the other end extended along the suspension rod to suspend the human body A suspension rope that is suspended from a point and is movable in a direction along the suspension rod, a winding mechanism, and an adjustment rope having one end connected to the lower portion of the elastic expansion and contraction mechanism and the other end connected to the winding mechanism The other end side dimension from the fulcrum of the suspension bar to the human body suspension point of the suspension bar is longer than the one end side dimension from the fulcrum of the suspension bar to the mechanism suspension point of the suspension bar. apparatus.   The walking support device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body provided in the elastic expansion and contraction mechanism is a coil spring.   The walking assist device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the winding mechanism is formed by a hand-wound winch device.   The walking support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the suspension bar includes a stopper that restricts upward movement of the other end of the suspension rope.

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