JP2013183852A - Truck, wheelchair, carriage, and stroller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a one-side-drift phenomenon in the configuration/arrangement similar to usual trucks.SOLUTION: A truck includes: angle measurement sensors 53 that measure the turning angle of auxiliary wheels 5; turning actuators 54 that control the turning angle of auxiliary wheels 5; handle torque measuring sensors 21 that measure a torque added by an operator; and a processing part 6 that controls the turning actuators 54 to avoid a one-side-drift phenomenon based on the measurement result by the angle measurement sensors 53 and the handle torque measuring sensors 21.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport vehicle, a wheelchair, a carriage, and a stroller having a pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel.

A general non-electric wheelchair used by people with walking disabilities specializes in plane running. Then, the auxiliary wheel has a structure (turning wheel) in which the auxiliary wheel can freely turn so that the wheelchair can be directed in a desired direction using the handle or the hand rim. However, when using such a wheelchair and traveling on an inclined road surface having a level difference in the lateral direction with respect to the traveling direction, the auxiliary wheel turns to the lower side of the inclined road surface, changing the traveling direction of the wheelchair. The phenomenon of “single flow” occurs.
As described above, since the wheelchair cannot go straight on the inclined road surface, an assistant or a passenger who operates the wheelchair needs to operate the wheelchair against this one-way flow. It is a cause. Note that this problem is not limited to wheelchairs, and can be said to be applied to all transport vehicles (for example, carts and strollers) having a pair of left and right turning wheels and fixed wheels.

On the other hand, wheelchairs that enable straight traveling on the above-described inclined road surfaces are known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 6).
In the wheelchairs disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, the rotational moment due to the inclined road surface is reduced by changing the position of the main wheel. Further, in the wheelchair disclosed in Patent Document 3, the pivot shaft can be mechanically fixed so that the casters (auxiliary wheels) do not move freely. Moreover, in the wheelchair disclosed by patent documents 4-6, it is comprised so that a main wheel may be assisted electrically. With these configurations, the wheelchair can be straightened even on an inclined road surface, and a single flow can be avoided.

JP 2005-230200 A JP 2005-224400 A JP 2001-105805 A JP 2004-120875 A JP-A-9-248320 JP-A-9-262259

However, in the wheelchairs disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the position of the main wheel is changed, so that the position of the hand rim for the passenger to operate the wheelchair is also changed. For this reason, when the passenger self-travels using the hand rim, another problem arises that the operability is affected. Further, in the wheelchair disclosed in Patent Document 3, since the shaft can be fixed only in a specified direction (straight direction), once the uniflow occurs, it is difficult to correct the direction in the direction before the uniflow. There is.
Moreover, in the wheelchair disclosed by patent documents 4-6, although the single flow is avoided by driving-controlling a main wheel, there exists a subject that it cannot apply to a non-electric wheelchair. In addition, there is a problem that a large amount of power is required in the method of avoiding a single flow by driving control of the main wheel.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport vehicle capable of eliminating a single flow with the same configuration / arrangement as an ordinary transport vehicle.

  The transport vehicle according to the present invention includes an angle measurement sensor that measures a turning angle of a turning wheel, a turning actuator that controls the turning angle of the turning wheel, an input measurement sensor that measures torque or force applied by an operator, And a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid the single flow based on the measurement results of the angle measurement sensor and the input measurement sensor.

  In addition, the transport vehicle according to the present invention includes an angle measurement sensor that measures the turning angle of the turning wheel, a turning actuator that controls the turning angle of the turning wheel, and a running direction detection sensor that detects the running direction received by the operation unit. And a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid a single flow based on the measurement results of the angle measurement sensor and the traveling direction detection sensor.

  According to this invention, since it comprised as mentioned above, it is possible to eliminate a single flow by the structure / arrangement similar to a normal conveyance vehicle.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the wheelchair which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the wheelchair which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, (a) It is a top view, (b) It is a side view. It is a figure explaining the component of the gravity added when a wheelchair drive | works an inclined road surface. It is a schematic diagram which shows the case where the conventional wheelchair drive | works an inclined road surface. It is a schematic diagram which shows the case where the wheelchair which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention drive | works a slope road surface.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a non-electric wheelchair is used as the transport vehicle.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a wheelchair according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view. In addition, description of the chair part 1 and the process part 6 is abbreviate | omitted in Fig.2 (a).
As shown in FIG. 1, the wheelchair is provided with a chair portion 1 including a seat on which a passenger (not shown) rides, a backrest, an armrest, and the like. Above the chair portion 1, a handle 2 is provided for an assistant to perform a traveling operation of the wheelchair. Further, on both side surfaces of the chair portion 1, main wheels (fixed wheels) 3 that cannot turn are provided as rear wheels. A hand rim 4 is attached to the main wheel 3 so that the passenger can run the wheelchair. Further, in front of both side surfaces of the chair portion 1, as front wheels, there are provided auxiliary wheels (turning wheels) 5 that can turn for maintaining posture and assisting in running on a plane.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the auxiliary wheel 5 includes a rotating shaft 51 for rotating the auxiliary wheel 5 around the axis and a turning shaft for turning the auxiliary wheel 5 around the normal line of the ground plane. There are 52 two axes. Moreover, normally, the position of the rotating shaft 51 and the turning shaft 52 is shifted in the horizontal plane (has an offset). This offset facilitates the turning of the auxiliary wheel 5 by the force and torque applied to the handle 2 and the hand rim 4, and allows the wheelchair to travel in the direction desired by the assistant or passenger.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the auxiliary wheel 5 is equipped with an angle measurement sensor 53 for measuring the turning angle of the auxiliary wheel 5. As the angle measurement sensor 53, for example, a rotation sensor such as an encoder is used.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the auxiliary wheel 5 is equipped with a turning actuator 54 for controlling the turning angle of the auxiliary wheel 5 in accordance with control by the processing unit 6 described later. By turning off the control of the turning actuator 54, it is possible to naturally turn the auxiliary wheel 5 passively according to an external force, like a conventional wheelchair.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, a handle torque measurement sensor (input measurement sensor) 21 that measures torque applied to the handle 2 by an assistant (operator) is mounted on the handle 2. The handle torque measuring sensor 21 can detect the traveling direction (operation direction) of the wheelchair desired by the assistant.

The wheelchair is provided with a processing unit 6 that performs arithmetic processing based on the turning angle information by the angle measurement sensor 53 and the torque information by the handle torque measurement sensor 21, and controls the turning actuator 54 so as to avoid a single flow. . Here, the processing unit 6 assists via the turning actuator 54 when the turning direction based on the turning angle information by the angle measuring sensor 53 and the operation direction based on the torque information by the handle torque measuring sensor 21 are opposite directions. The wheel 5 is directed in the operation direction.
In addition, in FIG. 2, although the process part 6 is shown outside the wheelchair, this process part 6 is actually mounted in the wheelchair.

Next, an operation example of the wheelchair configured as described above will be described. In the following, a case where the assistant operates the wheelchair using the handle 2 will be described.
First, the case where a wheelchair runs on a plane will be described. In this case, since the operation of a helper against the turning of the auxiliary wheel does not occur as shown in a control sequence example when traveling on an inclined road surface, which will be described later, the turning actuator 54 is not controlled.
When the wheelchair travels on a plane, the assistant performs left and right steering by adjusting the balance of the force and torque applied to the left and right handles 2. On the other hand, in the auxiliary wheel 5, the positions of the rotating shaft 51 and the turning shaft 52 are shifted in the horizontal plane. Therefore, the auxiliary wheel 5 can be easily turned according to the handle operation of the assistant, and the wheelchair can be directed in a desired traveling direction.

Next, a case where the wheelchair travels on an inclined road surface having a height difference in the lateral direction with respect to the traveling direction will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the inclination angle of the inclined road surface on which the wheelchair travels is defined as θ. Moreover, in FIG.4, 5, description of the chair part 1 and the process part 6 is abbreviate | omitted.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, gravity component Gx = Mg · sin θ is applied to the wheelchair according to the inclination angle θ. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a frictional force is generated on the main wheel 3 and the auxiliary wheel 5 of the wheelchair in the direction opposite to the component force Gx at the road surface contact point. Note that the frictional forces generated on the left and right main wheels 3 are QLx and QRx, respectively, and the frictional forces generated on the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 are PLx and PRx, respectively. Moreover, the code | symbol A is a total gravity center position of a passenger and a wheelchair.

  On the other hand, in the auxiliary wheel 5, the positions of the rotating shaft 51 and the turning shaft 52 are shifted in the horizontal plane. And in the conventional wheelchair, the turning shaft 52 of the auxiliary wheel 5 is a passive shaft, and cannot generate a moment by itself. Therefore, when the conventional wheelchair travels on the above-described inclined road surface, the turning shaft 52 turns in the direction indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. That is, the auxiliary wheel 5 turns so that the wheelchair advances in the downward direction on the inclined road surface. As a result, the wheelchair is steered naturally so as to descend on an inclined road surface, and a single flow occurs.

On the other hand, the wheelchair of the present invention is equipped with an angle measurement sensor 53 that measures the turning angle of the auxiliary wheel 5 and a handle torque measurement sensor 21 that measures the torque applied to the handle 2. And when driving | running | working the said sloping road surface, when there is an operation intention that a helper wants to go straight to a wheelchair, as shown in FIG. A torque in the direction opposite to the downward direction is applied.
Therefore, the turning direction of the auxiliary wheel 5 of the wheelchair is determined based on the turning angle information by the angle measuring sensor 53 and the torque information by the handle torque measuring sensor 21, and the operation direction (operation intention) of the assistant at that time is determined. judge. And when it determines with the assistant performing operation so that a single flow may be avoided, the turning actuator 54 is controlled so that a single flow may be avoided. Thereby, the auxiliary wheel 5 turns in the direction shown in the one-dot chain line in FIG. 5 (the direction opposite to the direction shown in the one-dot chain line in FIG. 4), and one-sided flow can be avoided.

  Next, in the wheelchair of the present invention, an example of a control sequence when traveling on the inclined road surface will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the turning angle (counterclockwise is positive) of the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 is θR, θL, and the torque applied to the left and right handles 2 (counterclockwise is positive) is TR, TL. And Further, thresholds for control switching with respect to the turning angle and torque are set to T1R, T1L, θ1R, and θ1L, respectively, and turning angles with respect to the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 set in order to avoid a single flow are set to θ2R and θ2L.

First, as case 1, when the wheelchair is approaching the downward sloping road surface shown in FIG. 3, the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 are turned to the right, and the assistant returns the traveling direction of the wheelchair to the left against it. A case where torque is applied (θR <−θ1R, θL <−θ1L and TR> T1R, TL> T1L) will be described.
In this case, the single flow can be avoided by turning the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 to the left. Therefore, the processing unit 6 controls the turning angles of the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 via the turning actuator 54 so that θR = + θ2R and θL become θL = + θ2L.

Next, as case 2, the wheelchair approached the left-sloped road surface opposite to FIG. 3, so that the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 turn to the left, and the assistant turns the wheelchair to the right in the opposite direction. A case where torque is applied so as to return (θR> θ1R, θL> θ1L and TR <−T1R, TL <−T1L) will be described.
In this case, the single flow can be avoided by turning the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 to the right. Therefore, the processing unit 6 controls the turning angles of the left and right auxiliary wheels 5 via the turning actuator 54 so that θR = −θ2R and θL = −θ2L.

  On the other hand, in a state other than the above cases 1 and 2 (case 3), the processing unit 6 does not control the turning actuator 54 and performs normal traveling.

  In the above control sequence, the case where the turning direction of the auxiliary wheel 5 and the operation direction (operation intention) of the assistant are determined by using the threshold value and the auxiliary wheel 5 is controlled to a predetermined turning angle is shown. However, the control sequence is not limited to this. For example, a value (α × f (θ) obtained by multiplying a function corresponding to the turning angle θ of the auxiliary wheel 5 or the torque T applied to the steering wheel 2 by a predetermined coefficient α. , T)) may be the control value. In the case 1, the turning angle is controlled in the positive direction, and in the case 2, the turning angle is controlled in the negative direction.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the angle measurement sensor 53 that measures the turning angle of the auxiliary wheel 5 and the handle torque measurement sensor 21 that measures the torque applied to the handle 2 are provided. The turning direction of the auxiliary wheel 5 and the operation direction (operation intention) of the assistant are determined from the measurement results, and the turning angle of the auxiliary wheel 5 is controlled so as to avoid the single flow. It is possible to eliminate the single flow by the configuration / arrangement. In addition, by avoiding a single flow by driving control of the auxiliary wheel 5, it is possible to reduce power and reduce the weight of the wheelchair itself, compared to the conventional electric wheelchair that drives and controls the main wheel.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the handle torque measuring sensor 21 for measuring the torque applied to the handle 2 is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the input measuring sensor is applied to the handle 2, for example. A force measuring sensor (such as a strain gauge) for measuring the applied force may be provided. In this case, a force measurement sensor mounted on the left and right handles 2 is used to measure the difference in force applied to the left and right handles 2. Specifically, when the force applied to the left and right handles 2 is set to FL and FR, it can be determined that the intention is to steer leftward when FL <FR. > T1L, TR> T1R. On the other hand, if FL> FR, it can be determined that the intention is to steer in the right direction, which corresponds to TL <−T1L, TR <−T1R in case 2 above.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the assistant (operator) operates the wheelchair using the handle 2 is described, but the same applies to the case where the passenger (operator) operates the wheelchair using the hand rim 4. It is applicable to. In this case, a force measurement sensor (input measurement sensor) for measuring the force applied to the hand rim 4 is mounted on the hand rim 4. For example, a strain sensor is used as the force measurement sensor. Then, the processing unit 6 determines the occupant's intention to operate from the measurement result of the force measurement sensor, and controls the turning angle of the auxiliary wheel 5 so as to avoid the single flow.

The present invention can reduce the burden on the assistant and the passenger by avoiding the single flow, and thus exhibits a high effect in a non-electric wheelchair. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is similarly applicable to an electric wheelchair that performs assist control on the operation of the main wheel 3 as disclosed in Patent Documents 4 to 6, for example.
In the electric wheelchair, the passenger instructs the traveling direction of the wheelchair by operating, for example, an operation unit at hand. Therefore, instead of the handle torque measuring sensor 21, a traveling direction detection sensor for detecting the traveling direction received by the operation unit is provided. Then, the processing unit 6 determines that the auxiliary wheel 5 is turning by the angle measurement sensor 53 and turns the auxiliary wheel 5 through the turning actuator 54 when the straight direction instruction is detected by the traveling direction detection sensor. Rotate in the opposite direction to the direction you are doing. Thereby, in contrast to the configuration in which only the main wheel 3 has conventionally avoided the single flow, it is possible to reduce the power by using the auxiliary wheel 5 together to avoid the single flow.

  In Embodiment 1, a wheelchair is used as the transport vehicle. However, any transport vehicle including a turnable auxiliary wheel and a non-turnable main wheel may be used. The same applies to. In addition, in the cart and the stroller, an input measurement sensor that measures torque and force applied to the handle of the operator is mounted. Further, when the carriage or the stroller is an electric type, a traveling direction detection sensor that detects the traveling direction received by the operation unit used by the operator is provided.

  Further, in the present invention, any constituent element of the embodiment can be modified or any constituent element of the embodiment can be omitted within the scope of the invention.

1 Chair part 2 Handle 3 Main wheel (fixed wheel)
4 Hand rim 5 Auxiliary wheel (turning wheel)
6 Processing unit 21 Handle torque measurement sensor (input measurement sensor)
51 Rotating shaft 52 Rotating shaft 53 Angle measurement sensor 54 Rotating actuator

Claims (12)

In a transport vehicle having a pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel,
An angle measuring sensor for measuring a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A turning actuator for controlling a turning angle of the turning wheel;
An input measurement sensor that measures the torque or force applied by the operator;
A transport vehicle comprising: a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid a single flow based on measurement results obtained by the angle measurement sensor and the input measurement sensor. A rotating shaft that rotates the swivel wheel around an axis;
A turning shaft for turning the turning wheel around the normal line of the ground surface,
The transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the rotary shaft and the swivel shaft are arranged so as to be shifted in a horizontal plane. When the turning direction based on the measurement result by the angle measurement sensor is opposite to the operation direction based on the measurement result by the input measurement sensor, the processing unit operates the turning wheel via the turning actuator. The transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the transport vehicle is directed in a direction. A pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel, an operation unit that receives a travel direction instructed by an operator, and a drive control unit that performs drive control of the fixed wheel so as to face the travel direction received by the operation unit. In a transport vehicle
An angle measuring sensor for measuring a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A turning actuator for controlling a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A traveling direction detection sensor that detects a traveling direction received by the operation unit;
A transport vehicle comprising: a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid a single flow based on measurement results obtained by the angle measurement sensor and the traveling direction detection sensor. A rotating shaft that rotates the swivel wheel around an axis;
A turning shaft for turning the turning wheel around the normal line of the ground surface,
The transport vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the rotary shaft and the swivel shaft are disposed so as to deviate in a horizontal plane. The processing unit turns the turning wheel via the turning actuator when it is determined that the turning wheel is turning by the angle measurement sensor and a straight traveling instruction is detected by the traveling direction detection sensor. 6. The transport vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle is turned in a direction opposite to the direction in which the vehicle is located. In a wheelchair with a pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel,
An angle measuring sensor for measuring a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A turning actuator for controlling a turning angle of the turning wheel;
An input measurement sensor that measures the torque or force applied by the operator;
A wheelchair comprising: a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid a single flow based on measurement results obtained by the angle measurement sensor and the input measurement sensor. A pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel, an operation unit that receives a travel direction instructed by an operator, and a drive control unit that performs drive control of the fixed wheel so as to face the travel direction received by the operation unit. In a wheelchair
An angle measuring sensor for measuring a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A turning actuator for controlling a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A traveling direction detection sensor that detects a traveling direction received by the operation unit;
A wheelchair comprising: a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid a single flow based on measurement results obtained by the angle measurement sensor and the traveling direction detection sensor. In a carriage equipped with a pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel,
An angle measuring sensor for measuring a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A turning actuator for controlling a turning angle of the turning wheel;
An input measurement sensor that measures the torque or force applied by the operator;
A cart comprising: a processing unit that controls the turning actuator to avoid a single flow based on measurement results obtained by the angle measurement sensor and the input measurement sensor. A pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel, an operation unit that receives a travel direction instructed by an operator, and a drive control unit that performs drive control of the fixed wheel so as to face the travel direction received by the operation unit. In the trolley
An angle measuring sensor for measuring a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A turning actuator for controlling a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A traveling direction detection sensor that detects a traveling direction received by the operation unit;
A cart comprising: a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid a single flow based on measurement results obtained by the angle measurement sensor and the traveling direction detection sensor. In a stroller with a pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel,
An angle measuring sensor for measuring a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A turning actuator for controlling a turning angle of the turning wheel;
An input measurement sensor that measures the torque or force applied by the operator;
A stroller comprising: a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid a single flow based on measurement results obtained by the angle measurement sensor and the input measurement sensor. A pair of left and right turning wheels and a fixed wheel, an operation unit that receives a travel direction instructed by an operator, and a drive control unit that performs drive control of the fixed wheel so as to face the travel direction received by the operation unit. In the stroller
An angle measuring sensor for measuring a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A turning actuator for controlling a turning angle of the turning wheel;
A traveling direction detection sensor that detects a traveling direction received by the operation unit;
A stroller comprising: a processing unit that controls the turning actuator so as to avoid a single flow based on measurement results obtained by the angle measurement sensor and the traveling direction detection sensor.

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