JP2012143382A - Stair lift apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stair lift apparatus maintaining the inclined state of a platform portion during going up and down stairs without using an especially complicated mechanism, and reduced in size to improve turning performance during travel on a flat place.SOLUTION: The stair lift apparatus includes a pair of right and left suspending frames for suspending a platform portion on which a wheelchair is mounted, and a gantry frame for turnably supporting the suspending frame on both right and left sides of a crawler driving portion. The platform portion has a double floor structure, and is provided with an adjustment mechanism for adjusting a relative positional relationship between the floors. Accordingly the center of gravity of the platform portion is allowed to be changed in position, and while the platform portion is suspended from the gantry frame, predetermined inclination is maintained.

Description

  The present invention relates to a stair lift that is suitable when a person who is difficult to walk on his / her feet climbs up and down stairs.

  Conventionally, as such a stair lift (hereinafter also referred to as an airframe), for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. This prior art will be described with reference to FIG. 1 (FIG. 1A shows a flat ground movement state, and FIG. 1B shows a stair climbing state). The main structure of the stair lift 100 includes a wheelchair mounting portion 102 and a crawler driving portion 103, and the end of the wheelchair mounting portion 102 (the rear side end of the wheelchair K to be mounted) is pivotally supported with respect to the crawler driving portion 103. The wheelchair mounting portion 102 is supported by the wheelchair mounting portion 102 with respect to the crawler driving portion 103 by the expansion / contraction operation of the expansion / contraction cylinder 105 that is pivotally supported by the shaft 104 and is supported at one end by the wheelchair mounting portion 102 and at the other end by the crawler driving portion 103. It is the structure which can be made to incline.

  According to Patent Document 1, the inclination angle of the wheelchair mounting portion 102 with respect to the crawler driving portion 103 is such that when the crawler driving portion 103 moves up and down the stairs, the wheelchair K mounted on the wheelchair mounting floor 121 is slightly horizontal. It is set to be in a backward tilt posture. That is, for example, when the maximum stair inclination angle that the wheelchair stair lift 100 can move up and down is 35 degrees, the inclination angle of the wheelchair mounting section 102 with respect to the crawler driving section 103 is set to 40 degrees, and the maximum inclination angle is set to 40 degrees. When moving up and down the stairs, the expansion / contraction control of the expansion / contraction cylinder 105 is performed so that the wheelchair-mounted floor 121 is inclined about 5 degrees with respect to the horizontal. As a result, the wheelchair K mounted on the wheelchair-mounted floor 121 is always urged toward the stairs side, that is, the holding handle body 124 side of the wheelchair K. Since the passenger K1 is always in a posture in which the line of sight is directed obliquely upward when the stairs are raised and lowered, it can be expected that the passenger's psychological anxiety such as a fall or fall is alleviated when the stairs are raised and lowered.

  In addition, when shifting from stair climbing to flat ground running, the direction in which the telescopic cylinder 105 is contracted so that the inclination angle of the wheelchair mounting portion 102 is slightly inclined from 40 degrees to a horizontal state (for example, 5 degrees). To control.

  As another prior art of the stair lift, there is a wheelchair stair lift assist cart 200 described in Patent Document 2 below. This prior art is shown in FIG. 2 (the figure shows a flat ground movement state). The main components of the stair lift assisting cart 200 are a cage 221 as a wheelchair mounting portion, a suspension fitting 218 for hanging the cage 221 at one point like a bell, and a frame 215 that supports the suspension fitting 218. And a support shaft 216, 217 at the bottom of the frame 215, and a crawler device 201 provided with a pair of left and right crawlers that can rotate and swing about the support shafts 216, 217 as front and rear, and a wheelchair was placed thereon By suspending the cage 221, the cage 221 maintains a horizontal state even on the stairs.

Japanese Patent No. 2551862 Utility Model Registration No. 3033484

  As described above, according to the stair lift 100 described in Patent Document 1, in order to change the inclination angle of the wheelchair mounting portion 102 when traveling on a flat ground and when moving up and down the staircase, the telescopic cylinder 105 is controlled to expand and contract according to the traveling state. There is a need. Although the expansion cylinder 105 is excellent in load resistance, it has a certain response delay because the piston is expanded and contracted by driving means such as a hydraulic drive. Also, as the load to be controlled increases, the response of the operation tends to be delayed (that is, the control system using a telescopic cylinder with high load resistance has a narrower band and cannot respond quickly). ) It takes a considerable amount of time to change the inclination angle according to the flat ground traveling state and the stair climbing state. For example, as a mode of moving to another floor by raising and lowering stairs, 1) running on flat ground before raising and lowering, 2) raising and lowering stairs, 3) running on flat ground at landing, 4) running on flat ground after raising and lowering stairs , Etc., and each time the change occurs, the expansion / contraction control of the expansion / contraction cylinder 105 is involved, so that the inclination control becomes complicated and the waiting time for temporarily stopping until the inclination state becomes a desired state. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes a long time to move up and down the stairs.

  On the other hand, according to the wheelchair stair lift assist cart 200 described in Patent Document 2, the cage 221 that is a wheelchair mounting portion is suspended, so that tilt control by the telescopic cylinder is not required. However, since the stair lift of Patent Document 2 has a structure in which the cage 221 is suspended at one point of the hanging bracket 218 so as to hang a bell, it is sufficient for the load of the cage 221 including the weight of the passenger K1 and the wheelchair K. A frame 215 having sufficient rigidity to withstand is indispensable. Moreover, in order to reliably support the four columns constituting such a robust underframe 215, support shafts 216 and 217 having rigidity sufficient to support them and a crawler device 201 for further supporting them are provided. It is configured to have one unit before and after the fuselage, and it is necessary to increase the weight and size of the fuselage. The increase in weight and size of the airframe is the biggest factor that lowers the turning performance of, for example, a stair landing, and the wheelchair stair lift assist cart of Patent Document 2 is practical considering the Japanese staircase circumstances. It can not be said.

  Moreover, in patent document 2, since it is a bell structure devised for the purpose of keeping the cage 221 loaded with a wheelchair horizontal, a device for inclining the wheelchair mounting portion when raising and lowering the stairs is not considered at all.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to always keep the passenger's boarding state constant regardless of the running state of the airframe without relying on a complicated tilting mechanism using an expansion cylinder. The present invention provides a practical wheelchair stair lift that can be maintained and realizes excellent turning performance by enabling downsizing.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a stair lift according to claim 1 includes a pair of left and right belt crawlers, a track frame that defines a track of the belt crawler, and a gantry frame supported by the track frame. And a crawler driving section that drives each belt crawler and a riding section provided with a pair of left and right suspension frames, and the pair of left and right suspension frames are connected to the pair of left and right frame frames And is rotatably supported.

  Moreover, the stair lift according to claim 2 is the stair lift according to claim 1, wherein the riding section includes a first floor and a second floor that can move relative to the first floor. The pair of left and right suspension frames are fixed to either the first floor or the second floor.

  Further, the stair lift according to claim 3 is the stair lift according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of left and right track frames each include a front frame for guiding the belt crawler to the ground surface, And a rear frame disposed so as to be tiltable with respect to the front frame, wherein the gantry frame is supported to be rotatable with respect to the front frame.

  According to the present invention, the suspension frame provided in the riding section is supported by the pedestal frame supported by the track frame so as to be rotatable at one point on each of the left and right sides, that is, on both sides of the airframe, respectively in the forward and backward directions. It is set as the structure. Therefore, since it can be set as the structure which supports a mount frame at the side surface of a track frame, it becomes possible to make it small as a whole compared with the prior art which provides four support | pillars forward and backward. In particular, it is preferable because it is easy to turn at a staircase with a narrow depth.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the riding section is configured as a double floor of the first floor and the second floor that can move relative to the first floor, this relative positional relationship is By changing the position, the position of the center of gravity (hereinafter referred to as the combined center of gravity) of the entire riding section including the passenger can be changed. As a result, the riding section is in a predetermined inclined state according to the position of the combined center of gravity when suspended from the gantry frame. In addition, in this inclined state, gravity acts so that the position of the combined center of gravity of the riding section is always in the vertical direction, so that it is always constant with respect to the horizontal regardless of the inclined state of the main body supporting the gantry frame. The tilt angle can be maintained. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a complicated control mechanism using an extension cylinder, and it becomes possible to reduce power consumption and downsize the aircraft. Since the inclining state of the riding section can always be maintained constant, the stairs can be moved up and down stably regardless of the manufacturing variation of the aircraft and the skill of the operator.

It is a side view which shows a prior art. It is a side view which shows another prior art. It is a side view of the stair lift 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of a stair lift according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the boarding part 2 shown in FIG. It is a side view of the stair lift 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state at the time of stair running (down) of the stair lift of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, the term indicating the relative direction of “front / rear / left / right” is determined when the passenger sits on the stair lift of the present invention and faces the front unless otherwise specified. The direction shall be indicated. That is, in the following description, “front” refers to the front direction of the passenger seated on the aircraft, “rear” refers to the rear direction of the passenger, and “left” refers to the left hand direction of the passenger. "Right" refers to the right-hand direction of the passenger.

Each component will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3A is a side view of the stair lift 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view centered on the notch 45 of the gantry frame 4 in FIG. FIG.3 (c) is sectional drawing in line segment AA of FIG.3 (b). 4A is a perspective view seen from the left front, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view seen from the right rear. FIG. 5 is a side view of only the riding section 2 shown in FIG.

  The main components of the stair lift 1 in the present embodiment are composed of a riding part 2 and a crawler driving part 3, and the riding part 2 and the crawler driving part 3 are linked to gantry frames 4, 4 provided in a pair of left and right. The structure is connected by rods 5 and 5.

  In addition, in this embodiment, the example which employ | adopted the wheelchair K and the wheelchair mounting floor 21 for mounting this wheelchair K as the boarding part 2 is shown.

  The riding section 2 includes a wheelchair-mounted floor 21, a car stop frame 22, and a pair of left and right suspension frames 23 and 23.

  The wheelchair-mounted floor 21 is in a state where the upper floor 21U serving as a first floor having a mounting surface on which the wheelchair K is placed is separated from the left and right widths of the upper floor 21U by approximately the same distance and extended in the front-rear direction. The upper floor 21U is provided with slide rails (not shown) having the pair of underframes 21D and 21D on the left and right ends of the upper floor 21U. It has been. As this slide rail, for example, a known slide rail with a lock mechanism used for sliding the seat position of the automobile in parallel with the floor surface of the automobile can be adopted. By this slide rail, the relative positional relationship between the upper floor 21U and the under frames 21D and 21D in the track direction can be adjusted, and the adjusted positional relationship is maintained by the lock mechanism. More specifically, the upper floor 21U is configured to be movable with respect to the under frame 21D, and the relative positions thereof can be adjusted. As the second floor, instead of the pair of left and right underframes 21D and 21D, a relative position of the upper floor 21U to a single floor member made of planar metal, resin, or the like, similar to the upper floor 21U. A structure in which an adjustment mechanism such as the above-described slide rail for adjusting the relationship may be provided.

  The car stop frame 22 is a U-shaped frame (for convenience, in the following description, each side forming the U-shaped frame is arranged in order from the left side, as shown in FIG. 4B, with a frame 22a, a frame 22b, and a frame 22c. And two ends forming the opening of the U-shaped frame (the ends of the frame 22a and the frame 22c, which are located on the opposite side of the end coupled to the frame 22b) Part) are joined at the rear ends of the underframes 21D and 21D to form a U-shaped frame integrated as the entire riding part 2.

  In addition, the frame 22a and the frame 22c in the car stop frame 22 are curved toward the side on which the wheelchair K is mounted from each coupling portion (the rear end portion of the underframes 21D and 21D) with the underframes 21D and 21D. Thereby, the frame 22b is formed to be positioned at a height equal to or higher than the radius of the wheel of a standard wheelchair that is assumed to be mounted (for example, a wheelchair conforming to JIS standard number 9201). The frames 22a and 22c are connected by a metal plate-like connecting member 22d such as aluminum, thereby forming a contact surface with the wheel of the wheelchair K. It is possible to receive the wheel of the mounted wheelchair K so that the wheelchair does not fall off from the wheelchair-mounted floor 21 by this contact surface when inclining.

Each of the suspension frames 23 and 23 is made of a metal plate made of aluminum or the like in the shape of an isosceles triangle, and in order to reduce the weight, leave a width sufficient to maintain a desired strength for each side of the triangle. The frame structure has the same left and right shape formed by hollowing out (see also FIG. 5). The bottom of the isosceles triangular suspension frame 23 is fixedly connected to the left and right sides of the upper floor 21U by welding, fixing screws, or the like, thereby being integrated with the upper floor 21U. Yes. Note that the suspension frames 23 and 23 may be fixedly connected to the underframes 21D and 21D serving as the second floor. In short, it is only necessary to be fixed to one of the floors and movable relative to the other floors. In addition, the suspension frames 23 and 23 are respectively supported by gantry frames 4 and 4 described later at fulcrums P and P provided in the vicinity of the apex corresponding to the apex angle of the isosceles triangle.
The boarding part 2 is comprised by the above.

Next, the configuration of the crawler driving unit 3 will be described.
The crawler driving unit 3 has a pair of left and right track frames 30 and 30.
Each track frame 30 has a frame structure divided into two by a front frame 30F and a rear frame 30B. The pair of left and right front frames 30F and 30F are connected to each other via a bottom frame made of a metal plate such as aluminum (not shown), and the bottom frame includes a reduction gear that integrates a drive motor and a reduction gear. A first telescopic cylinder CY1 for controlling the inclination of the case, the battery, and the rear frame 30B is disposed rearward with respect to the first telescopic cylinder CY1, and a rear wheel unit BW, which will be described later, is placed in its storage position / mounting position. The second telescopic cylinders CY2 and the like for position control between them are fixedly mounted. The shafts (hereinafter also referred to as telescopic movable shafts) that are telescopic in each of the first telescopic cylinder CY1 and the second telescopic cylinder CY2 are adjusted in the arrangement of the telescopic cylinders so that they do not interfere with each other during the telescopic operation. Yes. Drive wheels 34 are respectively attached to a pair of left and right front drive shafts 33F that are output shafts of the speed reducer. The front frame 30F functions as a ground guide frame for the belt crawler 36, and includes a central connection shaft 33C that connects the left and right frames at the rear end of the front frame 30F. The central connecting shaft 33C is disposed so as to penetrate the left and right front frames 30F, and a pair of left and right central idlers 35C and 35C are attached to the tips thereof.

  The front frame 30F has a grounding guide portion that functions as a so-called grounding guide frame on the grounding side, and is depressed with a predetermined inclination angle upward (in a direction away from the grounding surface) with respect to the grounding surface. When traveling in a normal state (running on a flat ground or moving up and down stairs) other than during the transition of the vehicle, it has a bent portion 30C having a triangular shape in side view that does not contact the running surface (a virtual inclined surface connecting the flat ground or the stair nosing of the staircase). is doing. As shown in FIG. 3A, the bent portion 30 </ b> C is provided so as to be positioned at a substantially central portion with respect to the entire length of the track frame 30.

  On the other hand, the rear frames 30B and 30B are connected at the rear end portion thereof via a rear connection shaft 33B that connects the left and right frames. The front ends of the rear connecting shaft 33B are arranged so as to penetrate the rear frames 30B and 30B, respectively, and the rear idlers 35B and 35B are attached to the front ends. In addition, at a substantially central position in the left-right direction of the rear connecting shaft 33B, there are a free wheel BW2 used for wheel driving instead of a crawler during flat road traveling (wheel traveling), which will be described later, and a support rod that supports the universal wheel. The rear wheel wheel portion BW including BW1 is attached so that one end of the support rod BW1 is rotatable about the rear connecting shaft 33B.

  The tip of the telescopic movable shaft of the first telescopic cylinder CY1 whose one end is fixed on the bottom frame of the front frame 30F is coupled to the rear coupling shaft 33B. Similarly, the tip of the telescopic movable shaft of the second telescopic cylinder CY2 fixed to the bottom frame is connected to the support rod BW1 of the rear wheel portion BW.

  With the above configuration, the front frames 30F and 30F and the rear frames 30B and 30B, which form a frame structure divided into two front and rear parts, are integrated so that the relative inclination state can be changed via the first telescopic cylinder CY1. It has become. Accordingly, the rear frames 30B and 30B are inclined in a sled shape with respect to the front frame 30F, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 by the expansion control of the first expansion cylinder CY1 (control of the expansion and contraction movable shaft in the reduction direction). When the stairs are raised, the belt crawler 36 functions as an inclined guide frame for gripping the stair nosing of the first stairs, and when the stairs are raised and lowered, as shown in FIG. It functions as a grounding guide frame for securing a grounding length with respect to the stairs by controlling in the extending direction.

  Note that loose shafts 38 and 38 are provided in front of the rear idler wheels 35B and 35B in the rear frames 30B and 30B, and the center of gravity of the riding portion 2 with respect to the crawler driving unit 3 is adjusted at the tip. One end of the link rods 5 and 5 is supported rotatably. The function of this link rod 5 will be described later.

  Between a pair of left and right drive wheels 34, 34 provided at the front end of these front frames 30F, 30F and a pair of left and right rear idlers 35B, 35B attached to the rear ends of the rear frames 30B, 30B, respectively. Belt crawlers 36 and 36 are wound, and each belt crawler 36 is guided to the grounding portion by the front frame 30F, and is guided to the rear frame 30B via the bent portion 30C and the central idler wheel 35C to be driven endlessly. It is configured.

  The front frame 30F is provided with a pair of left and right restraining rollers 37, 37, one end of which is pivotally supported by the central coupling shaft 33C and is always urged in the direction of the central idler wheel 35C by a spring (not shown). By guiding the belt crawler 36 between the restraining roller 37 and the central idler wheel 35C, a desired tension is always applied to the belt crawler 36. As a result, the belt crawler 36 always maintains a state of being wound with a constant tension regardless of the inclined state of the rear frame 30B.

  Further, side wheels SW are arranged on both sides of the crawler driving unit 3, and a support rod SW1 for attaching the free wheel SW2 of the side wheel SW can be rotated by a central connecting shaft 33C. It is pivotally supported. Further, one end of the support rod SW1 of the side wheel portion SW (an end portion located on the side opposite to the wheel) is fixed to the rear frame 30B by welding or a fixing screw. With such a configuration, the side wheel portion SW has a central connecting shaft that serves as a rotation shaft of the side wheel portion SW according to the relative inclination state of the wheel SW2 with respect to the front frame 30F of the rear frame 30B. The arrangement is adjusted around 33C so as to be movable from a grounded position to a non-grounded position. The function of this side wheel unit SW will be described later.

  The crawler driving unit 3 and the riding unit 2 configured as described above are connected by the gantry frame 4 and the link rod 5 as follows.

  The gantry frame 4 has a substantially right-angled trapezoidal frame structure (for convenience, each side of the trapezoidal frame is referred to as an upper base 41, a height side 42, a lower base 43, and a hypotenuse 44). A support hole h1 provided in the vicinity of the corresponding apex (the intersection of the height side 42 and the lower base 43) is rotatably connected to the above-described central connection shaft 33C, that is, to the crawler driving unit 3. Yes. Further, in the vicinity of the other end portion (intersection of the lower base 43 and the oblique side 44) of the trapezoidal lower base 43 of the base frame 4 facing the end portion provided with the support hole h1, the suspension frame 23 described above is provided. A support hole h2 is provided to support the suspension frame 23 with a connecting rod or the like (not shown) with the center of the support hole h2 as a fulcrum P. The crawler driving unit 3 is configured to support the frame frames 4 and 4 at two points. Thus, the riding section 2 can swing back and forth around the left and right fulcrums P, P like a so-called cradle.

  Further, at the substantially central portion of the gantry frame 4, the other end portion of the rod-shaped link rod 5 whose one end is supported by the rear frame 30 </ b> B is provided with a protrusion (not shown) directed from the other end portion to the gantry frame 4. A long hole 40 is provided for inserting and supporting. The long hole 40 has an arc shape with the length of the link rod 5 as a radius and the loose shaft (support shaft) 38 of the rear frame 30B as a center point. More specifically, according to the inclination state with respect to the front frame 30F of the rear frame 30B, the shape along the track on the gantry frame 4 drawn by the link rod 5 is formed. The gantry frame 4 is restricted by the link rod 5 from turning backward. That is, the gantry frame 4 that supports the riding section 2 is supported by the link rod 5 and the rear frame 30 </ b> B that cantilever-supports the link rod 5. Note that how to determine the position of each end of the arc-shaped long hole 40 will be described later.

  Further, in the vicinity of the end portion (the intersection of the upper base 41 and the height side 42) facing the support hole h 1 in the height side 42 of the gantry frame 4, the lock arm 6 is fitted and locked. A notch 45 serving as a track for restricting the moving direction of the arm 6 is provided (see also FIGS. 3B and 3C). The notch 45 is notched over a predetermined length in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the height side 42 in a state where the height side 42 of the gantry frame 4 is horizontal. .

  The lock arm 6 includes a curved portion 61 and a straight portion 62 in which a part of a rod-like metal is bent in an arc shape with substantially the same curvature as that of the arc-shaped long hole 40 described above. At the end facing the curved portion 61 (the end of the linear portion 62 on the crawler driving unit 3 side), the width W (height side of the notch 45) from the end toward the longitudinal direction of the linear portion. (Length in the direction of 42) is provided over the range longer than the notch 45 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3B). ). At the other end (the end on the side facing the linear portion 62) of the fitting insertion portion 63, a plate shape having a length in the direction of the side 42 of the height that is longer than the width W of the cutout portion 45. (Indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 3 (b)), and the fitting portion 63 is inserted into the notch 45, whereby the linear portion 62 and the plate-like fastener are provided. 64 and the frame 4 is held. Further, at a predetermined position in the vicinity of the opening side of the notch 45 of the gantry frame 4, the movement of the lock arm 6 is restricted by interference with the plate-like fastener 64 (the lock arm 6 extends from the opening of the notch 45. A protrusion (stopper) 46 is provided for preventing the dropout.

  In addition, by making the length of the fitting insertion part 63 longer than the width of the notch part 45, the lock arm 6 is prevented from rotating in the front-rear direction around the fitting insertion part 63. The function of the lock arm 6 will be described later.

  Further, the pair of left and right gantry frames 4 and 4 are connected by a gripping portion 7 that functions as a handle when an assistant of the stair lift 1 according to the present invention operates the stair lift 1. The gripping portion 7 is a U-shaped frame made of a metal rod such as aluminum, and is connected to the left and right gantry frames 4 and 4 at each end corresponding to the U-shaped opening through welding or screws (not shown). Thus, it is attached so as to surround the back of the riding section 2.

  The stair lift 1 in the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above. Although not particularly mentioned above, the stair lift 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a control unit (not shown) that controls the stair lift operation in a unified manner. It has a configuration that performs necessary operation control in accordance with operations such as raising and lowering and traveling on flat ground.

  Next, characteristic operations in the stair lift 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

First, an adjustment method for the riding unit 2 to maintain a backward tilting posture with respect to the crawler driving unit 3 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the boarding portion 2 includes a passenger K1 who is a wheelchair user and a wheelchair K, with the line facing the vertical direction from the fulcrum P as a reference line in a state where the riding section 2 is placed on a horizontal plane. Between the upper floor 21U and the underframe 21D in the wheelchair-mounted floor 21 so that the combined center of gravity position of the portion 2 (including the wheelchair-mounted floor 21 and the car stopper frame 22) is located behind the fulcrum P (the car stop frame 22 side). Adjust the relative position. Specifically, the angle formed by the straight line connecting the fulcrum P and the combined center of gravity Q and the reference line is adjusted to be, for example, about 5 degrees.

  The inventor of the present application ranges from 24 kg to 135 kg on a wheelchair-mounted floor 21 (30 kg) shown in the present embodiment, with a standard weight wheelchair (JIS 9201 compliant wheelchair: 15 kg) and a dummy weight as a substitute for the weight of the passenger. In other words, the fluctuation state of the composite center of gravity with respect to the change in the total weight of the riding section 2 was confirmed by experiments. According to this, as shown by the black circles in FIG. 5, the dummy weight is assumed to be a position inclined about 10 degrees in the range of 120 kg to 135 kg (total weight: 165 kg to 180 kg). It is known to fall within the range of 5 degrees to 10 degrees. In other words, for example, the upper floor 21U is set so that the angle formed by the composite center of gravity Q and the fulcrum P is about 5 degrees with respect to the total weight (120 Kg) corresponding to the intermediate weight of 75 kg between 24 kg and 135 kg. By adjusting the relative position with the under frame 21D by the slide rail mechanism and locking it so as to maintain the adjusted relative position, it is always in the range of 5 to 10 degrees over the entire weight of the assumed passenger. It is possible to suspend the riding section 2 in the rearward tilted posture. In the case of stair lifts, it is difficult for passengers to feel anxiety when going up and down staircases by making the boarding section tilt about 5 ° upward relative to the horizontal. We know through user questionnaires and rules of thumb.

  The upper floor 21U is not adjusted with the representative total weight (120 kg in the above example) as described above, but is adjusted to the weight of each passenger (or with the passenger on board). The relative position of the underframe 21D may be adjusted to an arbitrary (preferred) angle by the slide rail mechanism described above.

  By adjusting as described above, the riding section 2 always maintains a backward inclined state with respect to the horizontal at a predetermined angle (for example, about 5 degrees) regardless of the inclined state of the crawler driving unit 3. That is, even when traveling on a flat ground or when going up and down stairs, the passenger always rides in a state inclined about 5 degrees with respect to the horizontal.

Next, operations of the gantry frame 4, the link rod 5, and the lock arm 6 will be described.
The gantry frame 4 has a function of changing the relative position of the fulcrum P with respect to the crawler driving unit 3. As described above, the gantry frame 4 is pivotally supported by the central connection shaft 33C through the support hole h1, and can be rotated in the front-rear direction of the machine body 1 around the central connection shaft 33C. The range is limited by the link rod 5 within the range of the long hole 40.
Specifically, the crawler drive unit 3 can exist as a support at the rear end of the long hole 40 in the vertical direction from the combined center of gravity Q of the riding unit 2 when moving up and down the staircase having the maximum design inclination. It is the position. That is, when the relative positional relationship between the fulcrum P for suspension and the crawler driving unit 3 is fixed, the crawler driving unit 3 is inclined as the stairs are moved up and down, so that the tip of the gantry frame 4 (that is, the fulcrum) The vertical position from the combined center of gravity of the riding section 2 suspended in P) moves to the front of the crawler driving section 3 as compared with the case where the crawler driving section 3 is placed in a horizontal state. Even if there is this forward movement, the projection length onto the horizontal plane of the crawler driving unit 3 that is inclined as the stairs are raised and lowered (that is, the length at which the crawler driving unit 3 functions as a support for the composite center of gravity Q). Thus, the position of the rear end of the elongated hole 40 is set so as to be a position having a predetermined margin. That is, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the crawler driving unit 3 is arranged in a parallel state (the relative inclination angle between the front frame 30F and the rear frame 30B is 0 degree) and horizontally. In the state, the combined center of gravity Q of the riding section 2 is behind the crawler driving unit 3 and the rear frame 30B is positioned within the range of functioning as a support for the combined center of gravity Q. The position is adjusted in advance.

  However, when the link rod 5 is positioned at the rear end of the long hole 40 in this way and the combined center of gravity Q is positioned on the rear frame 30B, the combined center of gravity Q causes the frame 4 to be directed rearward. The moment of force works to rotate. Therefore, if there is no lock arm, the gantry frame 4 tries to rotate to a position where the link rod 5 interferes with the front end of the elongated hole 40. There is a risk of falling backwards. Therefore, in order to avoid this, a lock arm 6 for fixing the position of the gantry frame 4 to the rear end portion of the long hole 40 is provided.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, in other words, the front end portion of the long hole 40 is positioned so that the combined center of gravity of the riding portion 2 during wheel travel, which will be described later, is located behind the free wheel SW2 of the side wheel portion SW. The free wheel SW2 and the free wheel BW2, which is the rear wheel, are defined such that they do not function as a support and do not fall forward.

  As described above, the lock arm 6 is movable along the notch 45, and when the lower end of the straight portion 62 of the lock arm is stopped by interference with the stopper 46, the bending portion 61 covers the elongated hole 40. The length of the lock arm 6 and the length of the lock arm 6 and the stopper 46 so that the end of the curved portion 61 is opened from the rear end of the long hole 40 by the length of the width of the end of the link rod 5. The positional relationship with is adjusted. With such a configuration, when the link rod 5 is present at the rear end of the long hole 40, the lock arm 6 is lowered along the track of the notch 45 by its own weight, and the long hole 40 is stopped by the stopper 46. When the bending portion 61 stops above, the link rod 5 is retained at the rear end portion of the long hole 40. Accordingly, the backward rotation of the gantry frame 4 is prohibited, and the relative positional relationship between the gantry frame 4 (that is, the fulcrum P) and the crawler driving unit 3 is locked.

  On the other hand, when the link rod 5 is located at the front end of the long hole 40 (more precisely, the position other than the rear end), the lock rod 5 is locked by the interference between the link rod 5 and the curved portion 61 of the lock arm 6. The descent due to the weight of the arm 6 is prevented. For this reason, for example, in the wheel running described later, the link rod 5 moves forward as the rear frame 30B tilts, that is, the gantry frame 4 tries to rotate backward, but is defined by the front end of the slot 40. The rotation stops at a predetermined position. At this time, since the urging force directed forward is always applied to the link rod 5 by tilting the rear frame 30B, it is not necessary to provide a lock mechanism in particular.

Next, operations related to wheel traveling will be described.
As described above, the stair lift 1 according to the present invention includes a pair of left and right side wheel portions SW and SW and a rear wheel portion BW. Each of these wheel portions is used particularly when traveling on flat ground. During wheel running, the support frame BW1 that supports the free wheel BW2 by the second telescopic cylinder CY2 while the rear frame 30B is inclined from the horizontal by the first telescopic cylinder CY1 with respect to the body 1 placed in a horizontal state. Is pushed out of the rear frame 30B until the universal wheel BW2 comes into contact with the ground. On the other hand, when the rear frame 30B is brought into a predetermined inclination state by the first telescopic cylinder CY1, the free wheels SW2 and SW2 of the side wheel portion SW formed integrally with the rear frame 30B are centered to the position where they are grounded. The center guide shaft 33C is rotated around the center connecting shaft 33C, and the ground guide portion of the front frame 30F is slightly separated from the ground surface. At this time, the gantry frame 4 is fixed at the position defined by the front end portion of the long hole 40 as described above by the link rod 5, and the combined center of gravity Q of the riding portion 2 is the side wheel portion SW, SW. And the rear wheel portion BW.

  By setting it as such a state, the airframe 1 can carry out wheel traveling by three points of the pair of left and right side wheel portions SW, SW and the rear wheel portion BW. As a result, it is possible to easily move on a flat ground, and since the ground contact state by the belt crawler 36 is changed to the point ground contact state by the wheels, for example, turning at the landing stage of a staircase with a small depth Becomes easier.

  Next, the transition operation from the flat ground to the stair descent, which is a characteristic operation in the stair lift 1 of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), when entering the descending stairs from the landing, the rear wheel part BW is fed out and the telescopic movable shaft of the first telescopic cylinder CY1 is contracted so that the rear frame 30B is, for example, 20 °. Tilt. At this time, the free wheel SW2 of the side wheel portion is housed inside the crawler, and the body 1 is supported by the crawler (front frame 30F) and the rear wheel portion BW. In this state, when entering the stairs, as shown in FIG. 7B, while the front portion of the front frame 30F is a linear portion as a ground guide frame, in other words, the bent portion 30C of the front frame 30F. The front frame 30F is in a state where its front end protrudes toward the descending stairs until it faces the nose of the landing that faces the descending stairs (between the landing and the stairs). In this state, if the inclination angle of the staircase is lower than the inclination angle θ (for example, 20 °) of the stair lift 1, the tip of the crawler driving unit 3 is the second step (counting from the nose of the landing) Since it is in contact with the nose of the eyes), it is possible to shift to a smooth stairs descent.

  On the other hand, when the inclination angle of the stairs is steeper (larger) than the inclination angle θ (20 ° in this example) of the stairs elevator 1, for example, as in the conventional stairs elevator 1 shown in FIG. If the crawler drive part is linear over the entire length of the ground contact length, the landing center 2 will continue to move into the stairway, and the center of gravity of the riding part 2 will reach the position beyond the landing nose. The tip of the crawler drive unit falls toward the second step nose, like a seesaw with the step nose as a fulcrum. The impact caused by the drop is uncomfortable for the passenger and gives an anxiety reminiscent of the fall of the front.

  In this invention, the device which relieves such an impact is made | formed. Specifically, by providing the bent portion 30C on the ground contact surface side of the crawler driving unit 3 and in a substantially vertical direction of the combined center of gravity of the riding unit 2 at the time of inclined traveling as shown in FIG. By continuing the approach operation to the stairs, as shown in FIG. 7C, when the bent part 30C of the front frame 30F comes into contact with the landing nose of the landing toward the descending stairs, the airframe 1 (to be precise, the crawler driving part) 3) Since the process proceeds along the inclined surface of the bent portion 30C (the angle of the inclined surface is larger than the inclined angle θ of the airframe 1), the front frame 30F is moved to the second stage along with the progress. It will gradually incline toward the nose. At this time, in the staircase having the maximum inclination angle assumed to descend, the inclination of the front frame 30F by the bent portion 30C proceeds while the composite center of gravity is positioned rearward with respect to the traveling direction with respect to the stair nosing of the landing. The inclination angle of the bent portion and the opening length (projection length of the front frame 30F on the ground contact surface at the bent portion 30C) so that the front frame comes into contact with the second step nose before the composite center of gravity crosses the landing nose. Is decided.

  As a result, the transition from flat ground to descending staircases will be performed gradually for staircases that have all the inclinations that are assumed in the design, and it is possible to reduce unpleasant impact and anxiety for passengers. It becomes.

  In the above-described descending operation, when the bent portion 30C comes into contact with the nose of the landing, this contact is detected by a control unit that controls the driving of the airframe 1 (not shown), and the inclined rear frame 30B becomes the front frame 30F. The first telescopic cylinder CY1 is extended so as to be in parallel with each other. Then, after the front frame 30F comes into contact with the second step nose, the rear wheel portion BW is stored when it is sensed that the bent portion 30C is separated from the landing nose.

  As a result, the crawler driving unit 3 can come into contact with the step nose of three or more consecutive stairs when the stairs are descending, and can stably descend the stairs (FIG. 7D). reference).

  The state of contact / separation with the bent portion 30C is detected by, for example, installing pressure sensors at the positions of the front frame 30F and the rear frame 30B corresponding to the bent portion 30C, respectively, and outputting from the pressure sensor. It can be known by the presence or absence of a signal.

  In addition, although the boarding part 2 demonstrated the example which mounts a wheelchair in the wheelchair mounting floor 21 in the said embodiment, it is not limited to this. A seat that can be directly seated may be provided as the boarding unit 2 instead of a wheelchair. In this case, the seating surface of the seat may be a double floor, and the seats may be configured to be slidable with each other so that the relative positions of the floors can be adjusted and inclined. According to this, since only a space for mounting a seat is required, the size can be further reduced.

  As described above, since the stair lift 1 of the present invention is configured to support the riding part 2 at two points by the left and right fulcrums P, P by the gantry frame 4, by initially setting the inclination of the riding part 2, Regardless of the operating state of the airframe 1, it is possible to always maintain a predetermined inclination when boarding. In addition, since the riding portion 2 is supported at two points from both sides, it is not necessary to employ a large support structure that is required when the riding portion 2 is supported at one point. For this reason, since the size can be reduced, it is easy to turn at the landing stage of stairs, which is practical.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stair lift 2 Riding part 21 Wheelchair mounting floor 21D Under frame 21U Upper floor 22 Car stop frame 23 Suspension frame 3 Crawler drive part 30 Track frame 30B Rear part frame 30C Bending part 30F Front part frame 33B Rear part connecting shaft 33C Center part connecting shaft 34 Drive wheel 35B Rear idler wheel 35C Center idler wheel 36 Belt crawler 37 Retaining roller 38 Levitation shaft 4 Mounting frame 40 Slot 45 Notch 46 Stopper 5 Link rod 6 Lock arm 61 Curved part 62 Linear part 7 Gripping part BW Rear Wheel unit BW1 Support rod BW2 Swivel wheel CY1 First telescopic cylinder CY2 Second telescopic cylinder h1, h2 Support hole K Wheelchair P Support point Q Composite center of gravity SW Side wheel unit SW1 Support rod SW2 Swivel wheel

Claims (3)

A belt crawler, and a track frame that defines a track of the belt crawler,
A crawler drive unit that has a pair of left and right frame frames supported by the track frame, and drives each belt crawler;
A riding section provided with a pair of left and right suspension frames;
With
A pair of left and right suspension frames are supported by a pair of left and right pedestal frames so as to be rotatable.   The riding section includes a first floor and a second floor that can move relative to the first floor, and the pair of left and right suspension frames is either the first floor or the second floor. The stair lift according to claim 1, which is fixed to one side. Each of the pair of left and right track frames includes a front frame that guides the belt crawler to the grounding surface, and a rear frame that is disposed so as to be tiltable with respect to the front frame. The stair lift according to claim 1 or 2, which is rotatably supported with respect to the frame.

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