JP2015029891A - Walking aid vehicle based on kicking-out detection - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a walking or travel aid vehicle which is used for a person difficult in walking, such as an elderly person, a physically handicapped person, a pregnant woman or a disabled person, which maintains a walking function and offers preventive care, rehabilitation or the like to prevent the user from becoming in a state of requiring care, as long as possible.SOLUTION: In a walking aid vehicle having three or more wheels, a kicking-out by an operator of the vehicle is detected through a change in rotations of any of the wheels, and either one of the wheels is driven by an electric motor when the kicking-off is detected.

Description

  The present invention provides a walking or driving assistance vehicle for elderly people, physically handicapped persons, pregnant women, persons with disabilities and the like who are difficult to walk, so as not to be in a state requiring nursing care as much as possible while maintaining the walking function. The present invention relates to a walking or driving assistance vehicle for preventive care, rehabilitation and the like.

  Electric assist bicycles (two-wheeled vehicles), electric wheelchairs, electric small vehicles, and the like are widely known and used as vehicles that assist walking or running electrically. A general electrically assisted two-wheeled bicycle is a system that assists running by an electric motor from about twice to about three times the human power when the pedal is depressed by human power. This electric assist bicycle assists the traveling of a two-wheeled manpowered bicycle, and is basically used for a healthy person who can operate the bicycle. For this reason, there are problems such as difficulty in maintaining the posture of a two-wheeled bicycle and difficulty in steering for elderly people and people with walking disabilities, which are not suitable for use.

  In addition, electric wheelchairs and small electric vehicles have stability due to the configuration of a three-wheeled vehicle or a four-wheeled vehicle and are effective for people with walking disabilities, but because they are driven with little human power (only electric). Opportunities to move the body are reduced, leading to a decline in physical function and falling into a person with difficulty walking.

  For those who are able to walk to some extent, such as elderly people and those who are rehabilitating, walking or driving assistance vehicles where walking assistance is performed only when necessary while walking on their own from the viewpoint of nursing prevention or rehabilitation Development is required.

  In addition, it is difficult to bring people who can walk to some extent into public transportation (buses, trains, airplanes, etc.) when they want to travel long distances. There is a problem that it is not easy to combine with other transportation means, and the range of movement is limited.

  A wheelchair or small electric vehicle is driven by human power as a wheelchair or a small electric vehicle combined with power driving and human power driving as described above (see Patent Document 1), which is a wheelchair provided with a pedal rotation for nursing or rehabilitation purposes. Various travel assistance vehicles provided with a mechanism have been proposed (see Patent Document 2). However, these devices are not only complicated and costly for both wheelchairs and small electric vehicles, but they cannot be folded down or downsized, and can be easily brought into public transportation. is not.

  Furthermore, since these electric wheelchairs and small electric vehicles according to the prior art can run only by electric power without human power, elderly people and those who have difficulty walking rely on electric driving and make use of human walking functions. It is not.

JP 2005-52383 A JP 2011-177340 A

  If there is a walking or driving assistance vehicle that supports walking while walking as much as possible while maintaining the physical ability to walk, such as elderly people and rehabilitation people, and if there is a walking or driving assistance vehicle that assists with an electric motor etc. when necessary, the moving distance for the elderly However, the rehabilitation can be expected to strengthen muscle strength and restore physical function. In addition, a small or portable driving assistance vehicle not only facilitates short-distance movement, but can also greatly increase the movement / action distance when combined with public transportation.

  There are many problems to perform electric assist in a compact or portable configuration, such as simplification of parts, drive mechanism, and weight reduction. The pedal-type torque drive electric assist mechanism widely used in conventional electric motorcycles is It is difficult to make it foldable, and a new drive system is required.

  The present invention is a foldable walking assist vehicle that can move as much as possible in movement and action distance while taking advantage of the walking body ability of the operator, mainly targeting elderly people, care recipients, and rehabilitation persons, It is an object to develop a walking assistance (assist) vehicle that is stable for traveling and excellent in portability for the elderly and rehabilitation persons or for nursing care.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the invention of claim 1, in the walking auxiliary vehicle having three or more wheels, the kick kicking by the operator of the vehicle is detected by a change in the rotational speed of any one of the wheels, When kick kick-out is detected, one of the wheels is driven by an electric motor.

  In addition, in the invention of claim 2, when the kick assist is detected, the walking auxiliary vehicle according to claim 1 controls the rotation of the wheel by the electric motor so that the deceleration rate of the wheel becomes small. A control program is provided.

  Moreover, in the invention of claim 3, the walking auxiliary vehicle according to claim 1 is provided with a control program for detecting kick kick-out when the acceleration of the wheel exceeds a predetermined set value set in advance. It is characterized by.

  In the invention of claim 4, the walking assistance vehicle of claim 2 has a foldable structure.

  In the invention of claim 5, the foldable structure according to claim 4 is a frame shaft in which a first frame supporting a front wheel and a second frame supporting a rear wheel are coupled to each other. It can be folded around the center.

  Further, in the invention of claim 5, the walking auxiliary vehicle according to claim 4 is provided with a regenerative brake.

  The walking assist (auxiliary) vehicle according to the present invention maintains stable running with three or more wheels, and an elderly person or a rehabilitation person performs kick kicking while steering the walking assist vehicle, whereby the walking assist is an electric motor. Therefore, walking assist by an electric motor can be obtained when necessary while maintaining the walking function of the operator.

  In addition, the walking assist (auxiliary) vehicle according to the present invention detects kick kicking out and performs walking assist with an electric motor, and the electric assist amount is controlled by the electric motor so that the reduction rate of the wheel becomes small. Therefore, since it is possible to perform control so that walking assistance for a predetermined time is performed by kick kicking out, more stable walking assistance is possible with a small and simple configuration.

  Further, the walking assist vehicle according to the present invention adopts a folding structure, and the user moves to a nearby station or stop by the walking assist vehicle according to the present invention, and the folded walk assist vehicle is moved to a public transportation such as a bus or a train. By bringing in and moving to the means, not only can elderly people and rehabilitated people move smoothly at short distances, but in combination with public transportation, the movement and action distance will be greatly expanded.

  Therefore, the walking assistance vehicle of the present invention can provide an extremely useful walking assistance vehicle for elderly people, care recipients, and rehabilitation persons who can significantly increase the distance of movement and action while maintaining the walking function.

Overall conceptual diagram of a walking assist vehicle according to the present invention Folded view of walking assistance vehicle according to the present invention The figure which shows the wheel speed (speed) by the present invention, and its variation (acceleration) Block diagram of a control program according to the present invention Flow chart of kick kick-out control program according to the present invention

  The present invention enables electric assistance as necessary while walking, such as elderly people, care recipients, rehabilitation persons, etc., and in combination with public transportation (bus, train, airplane, etc.) This is a walking assist vehicle that can be used to greatly increase the travel distance.

  In general, walking means a relatively low speed movement by a foot, and traveling means a relatively fast movement by a wheel of a two-wheeled vehicle, an automobile or the like. From the viewpoint of rehabilitation and the like, it may function as a walking assistance vehicle and may function as a traveling assistance vehicle. Therefore, it does not particularly distinguish walking (assist) or running (assist).

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Since the description here is the best mode for carrying out the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this mode. For convenience of explanation, the drawings are schematically drawn. FIG. 1 is an overall explanatory view of a walking assist vehicle according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the walking assist vehicle 1 is configured by a three-wheeled vehicle including a right front wheel 2, a left front wheel 3, and a rear wheel 4, and a front wheel shaft 5, a saddle 6 and a front wheel shaft 5 that connect the left and right front wheels 2 and 3. The first frame 7 supports the rear wheel 4, the rear wheel 4, and the second frame 9 that supports the handle portion 8. Further, the first frame 7 and the second frame 9 intersect with each other with the frame axis 10 as the center, and when used, the first and second frames become X-shaped and are in a driving state as a three-wheeled vehicle. . Further, the first and second frames 7 and 9 are configured to be folded around the frame axis 10, and the folded shape functions as a compact shape with excellent portability as shown in FIG. .

  The folding system of this embodiment is configured to fold the body back and forth simply by pulling a part of the saddle 6 (saddle post). That is, in use, when the saddle 6 is pulled up to a predetermined position, the first frame 7 and the second frame 9 forming an X-shape are fixed by a lock shaft (not shown) interlocked with the saddle 6. Function as In the case of folding, the saddle 6 is pulled up, or the folding frame (FIG. 2) is removed by removing the lock shaft in which the first frame 7 and the second frame 9 are interlocked with the saddle 6 simply by pulling the folding saddle post (not shown). It becomes.

  The user of the walking assist vehicle 1 of the present invention sits on the saddle 6 and moves forward to walk. That is, the vehicle moves forward with the walking propulsion force of the foot, but in the present invention, when the foot kicking operation is performed, the amount of increase in the rotational speed of any one of the wheels is detected. When a user applies kick propulsion, the number of rotations of the wheel increases, and only when the acceleration of the wheel increases, electric drive by an electric motor that constitutes a motor drive unit (not shown) stored in the second frame 9 The assist is operated to drive the rear wheel 4. Various methods have been proposed for the motor drive method, and any method conventionally used can be employed. In the present invention, since the running assist is performed by kick kicking out, there is an advantage that the starting torque can be reduced. Therefore, a relatively small servo motor can be used as the electric motor.

In the normal walking state, since the rotation speed of the walking assist vehicle 1 is a substantially constant rotation speed, the electric assist is not performed and the walking movement is performed by human power. When the user kicks the foot, a change (increase) in the rotational angular velocity of any wheel is detected. In the present invention, the electric motor is driven as kick assist only when an increase of the rotational angular velocity equal to or greater than a predetermined value is detected, and travel assistance is performed.

When the user wants to make use of the walking function by himself / herself, the user can sit on the saddle 6 of the walking assist vehicle 1 and walk by an operation close to normal walking. In this case, the user walks with the walking assist vehicle 1 according to the present invention, and the walking assist vehicle 1 is stable because of the three-wheeled vehicle structure and plays a role of supporting walking. Further, since the vehicle moves at a substantially constant walking speed during normal walking, the change (acceleration) in the number of rotations of the wheels is substantially constant, and the acceleration does not increase or decrease suddenly even if some fluctuation is observed.

  The reason why the kick propulsion method is adopted in the present invention is that the vehicle structure is mainly simple and suitable for improving the portability by the folding method, and the user is a rehabilitation person, elderly person, care assist traveling vehicle It is because it is also suitable for walking assistance. However, in order to put the kick propulsion method into practical use, it is necessary to solve various control problems. For example, even when electric assist is not desired during walking, an instantaneous amount of change in the rotational speed may occur for some reason, such as unevenness on a walking surface or a slope.

  Currently, electric bicycles (two-wheeled vehicles) that are commercially available mainly perform torque detection based on the power generated by pedal rotation and use electric assist. However, electric assist using such torque detection has a constant rotation on an uphill. However, since it is necessary to make the electric assist function, a configuration is required in which the electric assist is activated when a torque force is generated by the pedal rotation. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the amount of change in the rotational speed within a predetermined range is detected, the electric assist does not function when the amount of change is almost constant as during walking, and the walking function by human power is activated. It will be.

  FIG. 3 is a graph showing the rotational speed of the wheel and the amount of change in the rotational speed (increase in acceleration) when the walking assist mode of the present invention is in the walking movement mode, kick kick-out, and electric assist drive. In the walking movement mode (from t0 to t1), the user and the vehicle move at almost the walking speed of the person, but there are always slight increases and decreases in the rotational speed and acceleration due to the unevenness of the road surface.

  When the user kicks and kicks out (t1), the rotational speed of the wheel increases and the rate of change (acceleration) increases rapidly. When the amount of acceleration exceeds a predetermined value (threshold) T due to kick kicking, the electric assist drive by the electric motor is activated. When it is determined that the electric assist is kick kicking out, the rotation of the wheel is assisted so as to reduce the deceleration rate, and this electric assist is continued until it falls below the set constant speed.

  The rotational speed of the wheel rises by electric assist driving according to the kick kicking amount, and reaches a predetermined peak value (Rmax). In other words, if the acceleration value of the kick kicking amount is detected and the kicking force is strong, the rotation speed by the assist of the electric motor increases according to the amount, but as described above, the electric assist amount has a small deceleration rate. Therefore, even if the rotational speed exceeds the peak value (Rmax), the electric motor is controlled so that the rotational speed gradually decreases. As a result, even if the kicking force is weak for an elderly person or the like, it does not decelerate suddenly after kick kicking out and moves to coasting, and it corresponds to several steps or more while gradually reducing the speed during the period from t3 to t4. Control is performed so that electric assist is performed.

  During the electric assist drive, the electric motor is driven for a certain period of time according to the amount of increase in angular velocity. In other words, the longer the electric motor is driven, the greater the acceleration and change amount due to strong kick kicking. The electric assist is stopped when the speed falls below a certain speed after the start of driving and coasting is performed. As long as there is no further kick kicking out, it will return to the walking movement mode (after t4).

  Furthermore, it is conceivable that the number of rotations (speed) of the wheel will increase more and more when kick kicking is performed continuously, but the configuration is such that the electric motor is driven by detecting the increase in the number of rotations of the wheel. Therefore, once the rotation speed is increased by kick kicking out, the number of rotations increases continuously by kick kicking out multiple times in normal use as long as there is no further change in the rotation speed (acceleration). It is unlikely that the number will increase abnormally.

  However, since the number of revolutions (speed) may increase when kick kicking is continuously performed with the number of revolutions increasing on a downhill road or the like, in the embodiment of the present invention, The rotation speed is always monitored, and if the predetermined rotation speed is exceeded, the electric assist is not activated or controlled. The rotation speed and acceleration amount are basically controlled by the brake means.

  In the present invention, a regenerative brake using a counter electromotive force of an electric motor is proposed as the brake means in the present invention. This means that the brake means that uses the back electromotive force of the electric motor can flexibly respond to changes in shape when used and folded in the folding structure compared to wire brakes and disc brakes, and is simple in structure. This is because the structure can be excellent in carrying (portability).

  When setting the threshold, the threshold may be set in a range in which the change in the rotation speed of the wheel during the walking mode of the user is not reflected in the electric assist. In the walking mode (from t0 to t1), the amount of change in wheel rotation speed (change in acceleration) is clearly less than the amount of change and the change time compared to kick kick-out. Accordingly, in setting the threshold value, a threshold value that excludes the detected change amount of the rotation speed of the wheel and / or a predetermined value or less having a change time is set.

  In general, there is a considerable difference between the amount of acceleration change during walking movement mode and the amount of acceleration change when kick kicking out, so setting this threshold value is not so problematic that it is extremely kick kicking. In the case of a user having a weak output force, it may be more effective to exclude the instantaneous change (ta) having a shorter change time than the change value (amount) of the rotational speed. That is, in the case of a user having a weak kick force, the kick kick-out time (tb) is longer (ta <tb) than at least the rotation speed change time in the walking movement mode.

  It is conceivable that the kick kicking force of the user varies greatly depending on the user. Therefore, in the present invention, the kick kick detection point can be controlled to be variable according to the kick kick force of the user. In the case of a user with a strong kick kicking force, the wheel acceleration increases instantaneously, so it is sufficient to be able to detect more than a predetermined amount of change in the rotational speed. It is conceivable that the amount of change in the rotational speed of the wheel becomes small due to the above. For example, it is conceivable that it is difficult to distinguish between an increase in the rotational speed of the wheel instantaneously on unevenness or a slope, and an increase in the rotational speed change due to the kick kicking of the user. In this case, if the acceleration detection point T is adjusted and the kick kick-out time (tb) can be detected according to the user, more accurate kick kick-out detection can be performed.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a block circuit diagram of a kick assist propulsion system embodying the present invention. One of the wheels of the walking assistance vehicle has a rotation detection unit 41 that detects the number of rotations of the wheel, and a rotation sensor 42 is disposed in the detection unit 41. The output detected by the rotation sensor 42 is sent to the microprocessor unit 43. On the other hand, in the parameter setting unit 44, control parameters are set in the assist amount setting unit 45, the deceleration rate setting unit 46, and the threshold setting unit 47, which are set in advance or variably set, and the microprocessor unit. It is sent to 43. The microprocessor unit 43 creates a drive control signal for the assisting electric motor based on these control parameters and sends it to the drive control circuit 49 in the motor drive unit 48.

  The assist amount setting unit 45 sets a drive current to be applied to the electric motor according to the kick kicking amount. The deceleration rate setting unit 46 determines how much to reduce the rotational speed after the rotational speed of the wheel reaches the maximum. The threshold setting unit 47 sets a threshold value for kicking detection.

  The drive control circuit 49 controls the start / revolution / stop of the servo motor 50 according to the drive control signal received from the microprocessor unit 43. In the present embodiment, this drive control signal is performed by pulse width modulation (PWM) control. The drive control circuit unit 49 controls the drive current to the servo motor 50 while constantly monitoring the state of the battery 51. The rotation speed of the wheel by the servo motor 50 is constantly monitored by the rotation detector 41. Further, since the output of the servo motor 50 is used as a generator output for charging the battery 51 when acting as a regenerative brake, an output charging circuit from the motor driving unit 48 to the battery 51 is provided.

  FIG. 5 shows a main processing flowchart of the kick kick-out control program according to the present invention. First, when a switch that activates the assist function of the walking vehicle is turned on, an initial setting is performed and a detection timing and the like are set (S1). This initial setting is a reset and idling time of various parameters for stabilizing the system as well as checking the battery amount, the state monitor of the vehicle device, and the like. The number of rotations of the wheel is detected from a rotation detection unit installed in the vehicle by the movement of the walking auxiliary vehicle. Further, the acceleration as the amount of change is calculated (S2). Based on the calculated acceleration, an increase or decrease in the change in the rotational speed is determined (S3). If the change in the rotational speed of the wheel is decreasing, the electric assist is not activated or the assist is turned off (S4).

  If the change (acceleration) in the rotational speed of the wheel is increasing, it means that the rotational speed is gradually increasing, and kick kicking may have been performed. However, an increase in the number of revolutions due to unevenness of the slope or road surface may be considered instead of kick kicking. For this reason, when an increase in the rotational speed is detected, it is determined whether or not the increase amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S5). This predetermined value (threshold value) T is set to a value that can be distinguished from the kick kicking propulsion force. However, in the case of a rehabilitation person, an elderly person, or a child having a weak kick kicking force, the set value of T is set. It is also possible to set the threshold value appropriately by adjusting it according to the user's condition. When the increase amount of the wheel rotational speed is equal to or less than the predetermined value, it is not determined that kick kicking is started and the electric assist is not started or the electric assist is turned off (S6).

  If the wheel rotation speed is downhill, the rotation speed may increase to some extent without kick kicking out. In consideration of such a situation, in the present invention, in addition to the amount of change (acceleration) in the rotational speed, control based on the rotational speed is applied. That is, it is determined whether the rotational speed is equal to or less than a certain value (S7). When the rotational speed reaches a predetermined value or more, no assist is performed even if kick kick-out is performed (S8).

  If the rotational acceleration increase amount (acceleration) exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that kick kicking has been performed, and the assist amount (current value) preset by the parameter setting unit (44 in FIG. 4) is supplied to the servo motor. Given.

  Here, the preset assist amount is not a fixed value, but is set so as to be an amount corresponding to the propulsive force of kick kicking out, and is set so that the deceleration rate by the electric assist is reduced (S9). In other words, in this process S9, the current applied to the motor is set so as to increase in consideration of the increase in the rotational speed of the wheel detected in the process S3, and the driving assistance is performed as long as possible, and the speed is slowly reduced. The assist amount is set so that the deceleration rate of the rotation speed decreases. The degree of assist propulsion performed by one kick kick can be adjusted by parameter setting according to the user's wish.

  The duty ratio of the PWM waveform for driving the servo motor is set according to the assist amount and the deceleration rate set in S9 (S10). Thereby, the electric assist motor is driven (S11). Since the control amount of the motor drive is detected as the rotation speed of the wheel, the control amount of the electric assist motor is always monitored as a change in the rotation speed. As a result, the operation of the control program ends.

  Although the present invention has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed in the present specification are illustrative in all points and are not limited to the disclosed technology.

  According to the walking assist vehicle of the present invention, walking assistance by unique kick propulsion can be performed by a vehicle having three or more wheels, so that a rehabilitation person, a caregiver, an elderly person, etc. can perform kick kicking out while walking. The electric kick assist can be used safely, and it can be brought into public transportation by the folding method. It is much more convenient than electric wheelchairs and can be used as a walking assistance vehicle. It is expensive.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Walk assist vehicle 2 Right front wheel 3 Left front wheel 4 Rear wheel 5 Shaft 6 Saddle 7 1st frame 8 Handle part 9 2nd frame 10 Frame axis 41 Rotation detection part 42 Rotation sensor 43 Microprocessor 44 Parameter setting part 45 Assist amount Setting unit 46 Deceleration rate setting unit 47 Threshold setting unit 48 Motor drive unit 49 Motor drive control circuit 50 Servo motor 51 Battery

Claims (6)

  In a walking auxiliary vehicle having three or more wheels, the kicking kick by the operator of the vehicle is detected by a change in the rotation speed of any wheel, and when kick kicking is detected, any wheel is driven by an electric motor. A walking auxiliary vehicle characterized by driving.   2. The walking assist vehicle includes a control program for controlling rotation of a wheel by the electric motor so that a deceleration rate of the wheel is reduced when kick kicking is detected. The walking assistance vehicle described.   The walking assistance vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a control program that detects kick kick-out when a wheel acceleration exceeds a predetermined setting value set in advance.   The walking assistance vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the walking assistance vehicle has a foldable structure.   5. The foldable structure is foldable around a frame axis that couples the first frame supporting the front wheels and the second frame supporting the rear wheels to each other. The walking auxiliary vehicle according to 1.   The walking assistance vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the walking assistance vehicle includes a regenerative brake.

Images