JP2011016403A - Connecting device for wheelchair and bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To freely unify and separate a wheelchair and a bicycle without performing a special work on each of the wheelchair and bicycle.SOLUTION: When the wheelchair 5 and bicycle 7 are to be unified, the tipping levers 12L, 12R of the wheelchair 5 are inserted into the holes 30L, 30R of a base member 21 of a first connecting member 20 to push the first connecting member 20 forward, and are locked with knob bolts 32L, 32R. Also, the shaft of a quick release 36 is inserted into a hole 35 of a shaft accommodating member 23 of the first connecting member 20 and ends 99L, 99R of a front fork 18, and a nut nt1 is fastened at its tip. Further, a pipe 51 is connected between the hand grips 14L, 14R of the wheelchair 5, and the pipe 51 and a handle 17 of the bicycle 7 are connected by pipe lock members 54L, 54R.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for reducing the labor of moving a wheelchair carrying a disabled person.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for integrating a wheelchair and a bicycle and advancing the wheelchair using the propulsive force of the bicycle. In the bicycle with a wheelbarrow disclosed in this document, the wheelchair and the bicycle are integrated by the following configuration. First, a box-shaped attachment portion is fastened to the frame on the back side of the backrest of the wheelchair, and two holes are formed in the upper and lower plates forming the attachment portion. On the other hand, the head pipe is removed from the frame of the bicycle, and a cylindrical body having a hole having the same diameter as the two holes in the attachment portion is welded to the removed part. Then, the wheelchair and the bicycle are integrated by fitting the cylindrical body between two holes in the mounting portion and fastening a bolt and a nut so as to penetrate the two holes and the cylindrical body. In the state where the wheelchair and the bicycle are integrated with the above configuration, when the assistant steps on the pedal across the saddle of the bicycle, the wheelchair receives the driving force of the bicycle and moves forward.

JP 2006-142926 A

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to perform processing for removing the head pipe on the bicycle frame, and after the processing, the bicycle can no longer be used as a single bicycle. In addition, an attachment part, which is an unnecessary member in terms of the wheelchair's original functions, is also fastened to the wheelchair side, and it is troublesome to separate the attachment part every time the wheelchair is used as a single unit.
The present invention has been devised under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to enable easy integration and separation of a wheelchair and a bicycle without performing special processing on each of the wheelchair and the bicycle. And

The present invention provides a first connecting member that detachably connects a left and right tipping lever of a wheelchair and a bicycle front fork, and a second connecting member that detachably connects the left and right handgrips of the wheelchair and the handle of the bicycle. A connecting device is provided.
In the present invention, the first connecting member detachably connects the tipping lever of the wheelchair and the front fork of the bicycle, and the second connecting member detachably connects the handgrip of the wheelchair and the handle of the bicycle. Therefore, according to the present invention, not only can the wheelchair and the bicycle with the front wheel removed be easily integrated without welding, but also the integrated wheelchair and the bicycle are separated, and the separated wheelchair and the bicycle are separated. Can be used as a single unit.

1 is a left side view of a wheelchair and a bicycle connected by a connecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the wheelchair and bicycle connected with the connecting device. It is a figure which shows the structure of the 1st connection member in the connection apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of the coupling in the coupling device. It is a figure which shows the structure of the coupling in the coupling device. It is a figure which shows the structure of the coupling in the coupling device. It is a figure which shows the structure of the coupling and pipe lock member in the connection device. It is a figure which shows the method of mounting | wearing the tipping lever of the 1st connection member in the connection apparatus. It is a figure which shows the method of mounting | wearing the front fork with the 1st connection member in the connection apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a left side view of a wheelchair 5 and a bicycle 7 connected by a connecting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the wheelchair 5 and the bicycle 7 connected by the connecting device 1. The coupling device 1 includes a first coupling member 20 and a second coupling member 50. In the following description, for the pair of left and right elements in each of the coupling device 1, the wheelchair 5, and the bicycle 7, the letter L is attached after the element number on the left side, and the letter R is placed after the element number on the right side. The two are distinguished by attaching. The first connecting member 20 serves to connect the tipping levers 12L and 12R formed by the rear end portions of the lower frames 11L and 11R of the wheelchair 5 and the front fork 18 of the bicycle 7. The second connecting member 50 is a member that plays a role of connecting the handgrips 14L, 14R formed by bending the upper ends of the backrest frames 13L, 13R of the wheelchair 5 to the rear and the handle 17 of the bicycle 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first connecting member 20 includes a pedestal member 21, a support member 22, and a shaft housing member 23.
The pedestal member 21 has two pipes 24 and 25 having the same dimensions arranged in parallel and connected by joints 26C, 26L, 26R, 27L, and 27R. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the joints 26 </ b> C, 26 </ b> L, 26 </ b> R includes a pair of halved members 28, 29. The pair of halved members 28 and 29 in each of the joints 26C, 26L, and 26R are united by sandwiching the positions of the pipes 24 and 25, which are slightly separated from the center of the outer periphery of the pipes 24 and 25 from the upper and lower sides. Therefore, the pipes 24 and 25 are integrated. The union of the halved members 28 and 29 is performed by passing a bolt bt between the halved members 28 and 29 facing each other across the pipes 24 and 25 and fastening a nut nt at the tip (described later). The same applies to the joints 27L, 27R, 52L, 52R, 53L, 53R).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the joints 27 </ b> L and 27 </ b> R include a pair of halved members 38 and 39. The pair of halved members 38 and 39 in each of the joints 27L and 27R are integrated with the pipes 24 and 25 by sandwiching the left and right ends of the pipes 24 and 25 from above and below and combining them. As shown in FIG. 3, when the pair of halved members 38 and 39 in each of the joints 27L and 27R are fixed to the pipes 24 and 25, the pipes 24 and 25 are disposed outside the left and right ends. Holes 30L and 30R perpendicular to the extending direction are formed. The distance between the holes 30L and 30R is the same as the distance between the tipping levers 12L and 12R, and the diameters of the holes 30L and 30R are slightly larger than the diameters of the tipping levers 12L and 12R. Therefore, the tipping levers 12L and 12R can be inserted into the holes 30L and 30R. Further, screw holes 31L and 31R (see FIG. 8) are formed at positions above the holes 30L and 30R in the joints 27L and 27R, and knob bolts 32L and 32R are screwed into the screw holes 31L and 31R. The

  In FIG. 3, a support member 22 is fixed above the joints 26 </ b> C, 26 </ b> L, 26 </ b> R in the base member 21. The support member 22 is obtained by stacking and fixing two plates 62 and 63. The plate 62 has a shape in which a short side of a rectangle is curved outward. The plate 63 has a shape in which the base of the triangle is connected to the short side of the rectangle, and the triangular part is bent upward along the base.

  A shaft housing member 23 is fixed to the tip of a triangular surface bent upward in the plate 63 of the support member 22. The shaft housing member 23 is a cylindrical member. The shaft housing member 23 is provided with a hole 35 penetrating in the left-right direction between the left end surface and the right end surface. The diameter of the hole 35 is that of the quick release 36 (see FIG. 9) which is a shaft member used for connecting the ends 99L and 99R (see FIG. 9) which are the front end portions of the front fork 18 of the bicycle 7 and the front wheel of the bicycle 7. Slightly larger than the shaft diameter.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second connecting member 50 includes a pipe 51, joints 52L, 52R, 53L, 53R, and pipe lock members 54L, 54R. The pipe 51 is a pipe having the same length as the distance between the left and right hand grips 14L, 14R of the wheelchair 5.

  As shown in FIG. 6, each of the joints 52 </ b> L and 52 </ b> R includes a pair of half-shaped members 40 and 41. The pair of halved members 40 and 41 in each of the joints 52L and 52R intersects the hand grips 14L and 14R of the wheelchair 5 and the left and right ends of the pipe 51 in a T shape. The parts are put together and united. The handgrips 14L, 14R and the left and right ends of the pipe 51 are cross-joined by joining the half-shaped members 40, 41 of the joints 52L, 52R (FIG. 2).

  In FIG. 2, each of the joints 53L and 53R includes a pair of halved members 40 and 41 that are the same as those of the joints 52L and 52R. Then, as shown in FIG. 7A, the pair of halved members 40 and 41 of the joints 53L and 53R are united by sandwiching the body 81 and the handle 17 of the pipe lock members 54L and 54R. Yes. By combining the half-shaped members 40 and 41, a rod-shaped member connecting the pipe lock members 54L and 54R and the joints 53L and 53R is formed, and the rod-shaped member and the handle 17 are cross-joined.

  A crank portion 82 is provided on the opposite side of the body portion 81 of the pipe lock members 54L and 54R from the side sandwiched between the joints 53L and 53R. The crank portion 82 is formed by connecting one ends of a frame 83 having an L-shaped section and a frame 84 having a U-shaped section by a hinge 79. A front end portion of the crank portion 82 on the side opposite to the hinge 79 in the frame 84 is bent so as to be folded back to form a hooking portion 85. The bottom surface of the frame 83 of the crank portion 82 is fixed to the end surface of the body portion 81.

  In addition, a pair of support plates 86L and 86R are erected from the outer peripheral surface of the body 81 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the connecting portions of the frames 83 and 84 are located, and the lock lever 87 is supported by the support plates 86L and 86R. Is supported by. More specifically, the lock lever 87 has an upper surface 88 and side surfaces 89L and 89R extending from both left and right ends so as to cover the support plates 86L and 86R. Each of the support plates 86L and 86R has a hole (not shown). Further, holes 90L and 91L are formed in the side surface 89L of the lock lever 87, and holes 90R and 91R are formed in the side surface 89R, respectively. A screw 98 passes through each hole (not shown) of the holes 90L and 90R of the lock lever 87 and the support plates 86L and 86R. A hook ring 92 is fitted in the holes 91L and 91R of the side surfaces 89L and 89R of the lock lever 87. The lock lever 87 is freely rotatable about the holes 90L and 90R as rotation axes. Further, the engagement ring 92 is freely rotatable around the holes 91L and 91R as a rotation axis.

The details of the configuration of the first connecting member 20 and the second connecting member 50 have been described above. The assistant uses the first connecting member 20 and the second connecting member 50 to connect the wheelchair 5 and the bicycle 7 as follows.
First, the rear ends 29L and 29R (FIGS. 1 and 3) of the tipping levers 12L and 12R are inserted into the openings of the two holes 30L and 30R in the base member 21 of the first connecting member 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the first connecting member 20 is pushed forward to a position where it is in contact with the longitudinal intermediate frames 16L, 16R (FIG. 1) on which the axles 19L, 19R of the wheels 15L, 15R are pivotally attached. , 31R are screwed into the knob bolts 32L, 32R. When the knob bolts 32L, 32R are screwed into the screw holes 31L, 31R, the lower ends thereof tighten the tipping levers 12L, 12R in the holes 30L, 30R. By this tightening, sliding of the tipping levers 12L and 12R in the holes 30L and 30R is restricted, and the first connecting member 20 is fixed to the tipping levers 12L and 12R.

  Next, the front fork 18 of the bicycle 7 with the front wheel removed is moved closer to the first connecting member 20 from above the first connecting member 20. As shown in FIG. 9, when the front fork 18 of the bicycle 7 is brought close to the first connecting member 20 until the end 99L, 99R and the hole 35 of the shaft housing member 23 overlap, the end 99L, 99R and the hole 35 are disposed. Is inserted into the shaft of the quick release 36, and the nut nt1 is screwed into the tip thereof. As a result, the tipping levers 12L and 12R of the wheelchair 5 and the front fork 18 of the bicycle 7 are connected.

  Next, the pipe 51 connected to the handgrips 14L, 14R of the wheelchair 5 is sandwiched inside the frames 83, 84 in the crank portion 82 of the pipe lock members 54L, 54R. Further, the lock lever 87 is folded back to the crank portion 82 side with the screw 98 as a fulcrum, and the engagement ring 92 fitted to the side surfaces 89L and 89R is hooked on the engagement portion 85. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, the lock lever 87 is folded back to the joints 53L and 53R while the hook ring 92 is hooked on the hook portion 85. Thus, the pipe 51 and the pipe lock members 54L and 54R are joined, and the handgrips 14L and 14R of the wheelchair 5 and the handle 17 of the bicycle 7 are connected.

  In the embodiment described above, by using the first connecting member 20 and the second connecting member 50, the wheelchair 5 and the bicycle 7 from which the front wheels are removed can be integrated without any processing. And in the state which integrated the wheelchair 5 and the bicycle 7, the assistant can advance the bicycle 7 and the wheelchair 5 by straddling the pedal across the saddle of the bicycle 7. The assistant can also turn the bicycle 7 and the wheelchair 5 forward in the left (right) direction by turning the handle 17 left (right) while pedaling the bicycle 7.

  The first connecting member 20 has a configuration that allows the tipping levers 12L and 12R of the wheelchair 5 and the front fork 18 of the bicycle 7 to be detachably connected. The handgrips 14L, 14R and the handle 17 of the bicycle 7 are configured to be separably connected. Therefore, by separating the integrated wheelchair 5 and the bicycle 7 and attaching the front wheel to the front fork 18 of the separated bicycle 7, the bicycle 7 can be used as a single body.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention may have other embodiments. For example, it is as follows.
(1) In the above embodiment, the pedestal member 21 of the first connecting member 20 is composed of two upper and lower plates, and the tipping levers 12L and 12R are sandwiched from above and below by the two plates, and the bolt bt2 and the nut nt2 The first connecting member 20 may be fixed at a desired position in the tipping levers 12L and 12R by the screwing tightening force.
(2) In the above embodiment, the second connecting member 50 includes the pipe block members 54L and 54R and the joints 53L and 53R, and connects the pipe block member 54L and the joint 53L, and the pipe block member 54R and the joint 53R, respectively. The handle 17 and the pipe 51 were connected by two rod-shaped members. However, the number of rod-shaped members may be three or more, and the handle 17 and the pipe 51 may be connected by these rod-shaped members.
(3) In the above embodiment, the first connecting member 20 may be constituted by the base member 21 and the shaft housing member 23. In this case, the shaft housing member 23 may be fixed to the center of the upper surface of the base member 21.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connection apparatus 5 ... Wheelchair, 7 ... Bicycle, 12L, 12R ... Tipping lever, 20 ... 1st connection member, 21 ... Base member, 22 ... Support member, 23 ... Shaft accommodation member, 24, 25 ... Pipe, 26C, 26L, 26R, 27L, 27R, 52L, 52R, 53L, 53R ... Joints, 28, 29, 38, 39 ... Half-shaped members, 50 ... Second connecting members, 54L, 54R ... Pipe lock members, 81 ... Body , 82 ... Crank part, 83, 84 ... Frame, 85 ... Engagement part, 88 ... Lock lever, 92 ... Engagement ring, 98 ... Screw.

Claims (4)

A first connecting member that detachably connects the left and right tipping levers of the wheelchair and the front fork of the bicycle;
A wheelchair / bicycle coupling device comprising: a second coupling member that detachably couples the left and right hand grips of the wheelchair and the bicycle handlebars. The first connecting member is
A base member in which two holes for inserting the left and right tipping levers are formed in the front-rear direction;
A cylindrical member fixed above the pedestal member, and a shaft receiving member in which a hole for inserting a shaft member connecting the member and the end of the front fork is formed in the left-right direction. The connecting device according to claim 1, comprising: The second connecting member is
A pipe having one end and the other end cross-joined to the left and right hand grips, and
The connecting device according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of rod-shaped members whose one end and the other end are cross-joined to the pipe and the handle, respectively. The first connecting member is
A base member in which two holes for inserting the left and right tipping levers are formed in the front-rear direction;
A cylindrical member fixed above the pedestal member, and a shaft receiving member in which a hole for inserting a shaft member connecting the member and the end of the front fork is formed in the left-right direction. Have
The second connecting member is
A pipe having one end and the other end cross-joined to the left and right hand grips, and
The connecting device according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of rod-shaped members each having one end and the other end cross-joined to the pipe and the handle.

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