JP2023010633A - wheelchair support structure and wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a wheelchair in which inclination of a chair can be simply dissolved.SOLUTION: Left and right main frames 1, 1 are connected by a pair of front and rear upper trusses 5f, 5b, and left and right bottom frames 2, 2 for supporting front wheels 3 and rear wheels 4 are connected by a lower truss 6. Each of the upper trusses 5f, 5b includes a pair of connection members having a posture of crossing each other and, in a part where these connection members cross each other, a connection shaft 8 is positioned and connected to each connection member. In a lower part of the intermediate position in a front/rear direction of a seat part of the connection shaft 8, a support member 85 for supporting the connection members of the lower truss 6 is attached in a rockable manner relatively in front/rear and left/right directions for the connection shaft 8. In the lower part of both sides of the seat part, there is installed an elastic member 9 which is connected to a part supporting the seat part of the main frame 1 and to the bottom frame 2 in a rockable manner in front/rear and left/right directions and which extends and contracts along an external direction, with the connected state maintained in accordance with the upward or downward external force.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 36

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a support structure for supporting a chair body of a wheelchair in a stable posture and a wheelchair having the structure.

In a typical manual wheelchair, the frame that supports the seat and the frame that supports the wheels are integrated. , makes the user feel uneasy and uncomfortable. In addition, when a caregiver pushes the vehicle from behind to advance the wheelchair, the wheelchair must be turned backwards to ensure the safety of the caregiver when traveling downhill, and the caregiver must also turn his back to the direction of travel. Caregivers often have a heavy burden, such as being forced to take detours to avoid uneven surfaces. Even with a self-propelled wheelchair, it may be difficult for the user to move alone.

In addition, some wheelchair users put their buttocks in front of the seat and lean back (a posture called "sacral sliding"), and others lean forward or left and right. Some people have sitting instability. When carrying such a user, even when moving on a flat surface, the possibility of the user slipping off the seat or the wheelchair overturning increases. The burden on caregivers is also very large.

To solve the above problems, it is necessary to easily change the inclination of the seat surface. Based on this problem, the inventor of the present invention recently proposed a wheelchair in which a pair of left and right lower frames connecting the wheels to both sides of the upper frame forming the skeleton of the chair body are configured to be swingable in the front-rear direction. (See Patent Document 1.).

The lower frame of the wheelchair disclosed in Patent Document 1 consists of a base frame arranged along the surface with which the wheels come into contact, and hollow hollow structures erected at predetermined intervals on at least three points on the upper surface of the base frame. A front wheel and a rear wheel are supported by a strut frame and a connecting frame that interconnects the strut frames. Column-shaped movable members with a size that allows vertical movement within the frame are inserted into each of the support frames. It will be connected to the frame. Furthermore, each movable member can move back and forth about the movable member when the movable member inserted into the column frame located in the center of the row of column frames is at a height position where it cannot move downward. The amount of downward movement of each movable member is set so that the member can swing, and is suspended and supported by the upper frame.

According to the above configuration, the amount of downward movement of each movable member is set so that only the central movable member descends to a height position where the user cannot move downward when the user sits on the seat. , the front and rear movable members can be swung about the central movable member as an axis. Therefore, for example, when the wheelchair goes downhill and the entire vehicle body including the seat is tilted forward, it is necessary to raise the movable member forward of the center with respect to the lower or upper frame. By applying force, the movable member on the front side is raised and the movable member on the rear side is lowered, so that the forward tilting posture of the seat can be eliminated. Also, when the wheelchair goes uphill and the entire vehicle body including the seat is tilted backward, apply the force necessary to raise the movable member behind the center to the lower or upper frame. As a result, the movable member on the rear side can be raised and the movable member on the front side can be lowered to eliminate the backward tilting posture of the seat.

Furthermore, in Patent Document 1, elastic members that contract when movable members inserted into the respective support frames are lowered are arranged at the bottoms of the support frames positioned forwardly and rearwardly of the central support frame. , that it functions as an assisting member that reduces the operation for moving the movable member up and down when the vehicle body is tilted on an inclined surface.

Conventional manual wheelchairs have another serious problem:
In many manual wheelchairs, a support member including a bifurcated fork supports the front wheel so that it can also rotate around a vertical axis so that the direction of travel can be easily changed. Even when the wheelchair is going to go straight, the forks and front wheels will rotate around the above-mentioned axis due to the influence of the slope and steps of the road surface, making it difficult to go straight.

In particular, on a road surface that has a slope in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as a "width-sloping road surface"), the direction of the front wheels fluctuates greatly, making movement very difficult in many cases. Since there is a risk of the wheelchair overturning, it is necessary to avoid crossing the road surface when the degree of the slope of the road surface exceeds a certain level.

As a solution to the above problem, the front wheels and the main wheels behind them can be rotated only in the straight direction, and another smaller diameter wheel (rear wheel) behind the main wheels can be turned in the horizontal direction. A mounting invention is known (see Patent Document 2). According to this configuration, when both the front wheels and the main wheels are in contact with the road surface, the wheelchair can only go straight, and the wheelchair can change direction by bringing the rear wheels into contact with the road surface while the front wheels are lifted. .

JP 2019-205827 A Japanese Patent No. 6664794

According to the invention described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to provide a wheelchair in which the seat surface can be adjusted to a desired posture by a simple operation. However, since this wheelchair has a complicated structure using a frame of a shape different from the conventional one, the manufacturing cost increases, and it seems difficult to provide it to many users who have the first problem.

According to the invention described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to solve the problem that the direction of the front wheel is changed when it should not be changed, but the front wheel must be lifted when changing direction. , the support of the front part of the vehicle body becomes unstable. Further, Patent Document 2 describes that the wheelchair can be advanced while the front wheels are lifted. It seems that it will be difficult to proceed with When changing direction, there is also a risk of accidents such as the wheelchair overturning or the user falling.
In addition, it is considered very difficult and dangerous to smoothly move a person whose sitting position is unstable as described above on the wheelchair described in Patent Document 2.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, a first object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost wheelchair in which the posture of a chair body including a seat can be easily changed.

A second object of the present invention is to maintain a state in which the entire chair body is stably supported, and to maintain a straight running state without changing the direction of the front wheels.

A wheelchair support structure according to the present invention includes a chair body including a pair of left and right main frames, a seat portion supported by a portion of the main frames and arranged between the main frames, and one each on the left and right sides. It is connected to the provided front and rear wheels to support them, and has the function of canceling the inclination when the chair body is inclined due to the inclination of the surface with which the wheels are in contact.

The support structure includes a pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms that connect and support a pair of left and right main frames forming both sides of the chair body, and a frame that forms the bottom of each main frame (hereinafter referred to as "base frame"). ), and a pair of left and right bottom frames that are arranged to face each other on the outer side or the lower side of the wheelchair and rotatably support the front and rear wheels of the wheelchair; and a bottom frame support mechanism that connects and supports each bottom frame. a connecting shaft arranged in the space under the seat portion of the chair body along the longitudinal direction of the chair body, and a connecting shaft located below the intermediate position of the seat portion in the longitudinal direction. support members attached to the base so as to be able to swing back and forth and left and right, and support members provided below the rear portions on both sides of the seat to swing back and forth and left and right between the portion of the main frame that supports the seat and the bottom frame. A pair of expandable members that are connected in a possible manner and expand and contract in response to an upward or downward external force while maintaining the above-described connected state in accordance with the direction of the external force.

The upper frame support mechanism includes a pair of connecting members having a predetermined length. These connecting members are located on one side of the seat or on the side of the side of the main frame supporting the seat and on the side opposite to the side in such a way that they intersect each other at the central part in the longitudinal direction. respectively connected between the base frame of the main frame at the .

The connecting shafts are connected to the connecting members while being aligned with the intersections of the connecting members forming the pair of the front and rear upper frame support mechanisms.
In one embodiment of the connection, the connection shaft is passed through the intersection of the pair of connection members of each upper frame support mechanism and held. In another embodiment, a connecting shaft is attached to each of the connecting members of each upper frame support mechanism via a connecting tool so that the connecting shafts face the intersections of the connecting members at a predetermined height below them. are concatenated.

The bottom frame support mechanism also includes a pair of connecting members of predetermined length. One ends of these connecting members are connected to the left and right bottom frames one by one, and the other ends are connected to the supporting member.

According to the above configuration, a pair of left and right main frames forming both sides of the chair body are connected via a pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms, and central portions of each upper frame support mechanism (a pair of connecting members intersecting each other) ) and the connecting shaft aligned with it can be arranged in the center in the width direction of the vehicle body to stabilize the spacing between the main frames and the posture of these frames. The pair of connecting members of the bottom frame support mechanism that supports the bottom frame are also connected to the above-mentioned connecting shaft via a support member at a location below the middle position in the front-rear direction of the seat, at one end of each of the connecting members. The posture is maintained from the bottom frame toward the center in the width direction of the vehicle body diagonally above, and the spacing between the left and right bottom frames and the posture of these frames can be stabilized.

While the wheels are moving on a flat road surface, the bottom frame also assumes a horizontal posture, and the seat of the chair body, including the main frame, is also in a posture suitable for placing the user (hereinafter referred to as "good posture"). ). If there is a difference in the height of each wheel due to a slope on the surface that the wheels contact, the difference in height between the front and rear parts of each bottom frame or between the left and right bottom frames should be adjusted accordingly. Under the influence of this, the chair body also tilts along the slope direction.

However, in the present invention, the main frame, which forms the frame of the chair body, can swing back and forth and left and right with respect to the bottom frame by means of support members arranged below the middle position in the front-rear direction of the seat. Since the telescopic members are arranged in the rear part on both sides of the vehicle body as a means for supporting the swinging, by applying force to the telescopic members to extend or contract the members, The tilted posture of the chair body can be eliminated by moving the chair body including the main frame and the upper frame support member and connecting shaft connected to the main frame so as to assume a posture different from that of the bottom frame.

For example, when the wheelchair goes downhill, the front part of the bottom frame will be positioned lower than the rear part due to the change in the height of the front and rear wheels, and the main frame will be in the same state, and the chair body will move forward. It becomes a leaning posture (lowering forward). At this time, force is applied to the extensible member in the direction of contracting the same member, and when the extensible member starts to contract according to the force, a force pushing down the rear portion also acts on the rear portion of the main frame. This force causes the main frame to rotate about the connecting position between the connecting shaft and the support member in such a direction that the portion behind the connecting position is lowered and the portion in front of the connecting position is raised. The components of the chair body other than the main frame, the upper frame support member and the connecting shaft connected to the main frame also rotate in the same direction as the main frame moves.

Therefore, by appropriately contracting the extensible member, the rear part of the chair body including the main frame is lowered and the front part is raised, so that the forward tilting posture of the chair body can be eliminated. The posture of each connection member of the upper frame support member and the connection shaft also changes following the movement of the chair body.

When the wheelchair goes uphill, the front part of the bottom frame is placed at a higher position than the rear part, and accordingly the chair body including the main frame is tilted backward (downward). At this time, a force is applied to the extensible member in a direction to extend it, and when the extensible member starts to extend according to the force, a force acts on the rear portion of the main frame to pull up the rear portion. This force causes the main frame to rotate around the connecting position between the connecting shaft and the support member in such a direction that the portion behind the connecting position rises and the portion in front of the connecting position lowers. The components of the chair body other than the main frame, the upper frame support member, and the connecting shaft also rotate in the same direction according to the movement of the main frame.

Therefore, by appropriately extending the extensible member, the rear portion of the chair body including the main frame is raised and the front portion is lowered, thereby eliminating the backward tilting posture of the chair body. The posture of each connection member of the upper frame support member and the connection shaft also changes following the movement of the chair body.

When the wheelchair enters a width sloping road surface, a difference in height occurs between the left and right bottom frames, and accordingly the height of the chair body including the main frame is also different on the left and right. At this time as well, by applying a force to each elastic member so that the elastic member on the raised side contracts and the elastic member on the lowered side expands, the joint position between the connecting shaft and the support member is the center. By rotating the chair body including the frame, the upper frame support member, and the connecting shaft in the direction according to the force, the tilted posture can be eliminated.

Even when the wheelchair is on a flat road surface, the posture of the chair body can be changed by extending or contracting the telescopic member. Therefore, when the user sitting on the seat can only take a tilted posture, the posture of the chair body can be adjusted so that the seat surface tilts in a direction in which the user can be safely supported.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the front upper frame support mechanism of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms is arranged in the center of the space below the seat in the front-rear direction, and the rear upper frame support mechanism is arranged in the space below the seat. It is arranged in the rear part of the space under the seat. Further, the support member is connected near the connection position to the upper frame support mechanism on the front side of the connection shaft.

According to the above configuration, the support member and each connection member of the bottom frame support mechanism can be arranged near the central portion in the front-rear direction in the space below the seat portion.

The front upper frame support mechanism may be arranged in the front part of the space under the seat, and the rear upper frame support mechanism may be arranged in the rear part of the space under the seat. In that case, the connecting shafts connected to the front and rear upper frame support mechanisms are also arranged in the range from the front part to the rear part of the seat. Therefore, by attaching a support member at an intermediate position between the connection positions of the connection shaft to each upper frame support mechanism and connecting each connection member of the bottom frame support mechanism to the support member, the support member and the bottom frame support mechanism can be can be arranged in the vicinity of the central portion in the front-rear direction in the space under the seat portion.

In the above configuration, the portion of the main frame that supports the seat portion and the bottom frame are also connected to the lower front portion of both sides of the seat portion so as to be capable of swinging back and forth and left and right. It is possible to provide an elastic member that expands and contracts along the direction of the external force while maintaining the above-described connected state according to the external force.

In the bottom frame support mechanism of the support structure of the present invention, second connecting members are added that extend along the width direction of the vehicle body at positions forward and rearward of the pair of connecting members to connect the left and right bottom frames. be able to. By doing so, the left and right bottom frames are connected via a total of three members, the first connecting member connected to the support member and the second connecting member in front and behind the first connecting member, so that the spacing and orientation between the frames can be further improved. can be stabilized.

A gas spring with a locking function can be employed as the pair of elastic members arranged on the rear side. The gas spring is connected to a portion of the main frame that supports the seat, and the end opposite to the piston rod is connected to the bottom frame, thereby connecting the main frame and the bottom frame. deployed between.

In the above configuration, if an operation unit for switching between the locked state and the unlocked state of the gas spring is provided at the rear end of each main frame (handle frame or back frame) or at a position near the seat, assistance can be provided. By unlocking the gas spring and increasing or decreasing the load applied to the rear portion of the main frame by the operation of the person or user, the aforementioned action can be produced and the inclination of the chair body can be eliminated.

A pair of telescoping members arranged on the rear side has a feed screw, a feed nut, and an accommodating portion that can accommodate a predetermined length range including a portion where the feed nut of the feed screw is connected, and a seat of the main frame. a movable member connected to the portion supporting the part and the feed nut; an operating shaft extending along a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the feed screw; and a transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the operating shaft to the feed screw.

According to the above configuration, by rotating the operating shaft, the rotation is also transmitted to the feed screw to generate a force for raising or lowering the nut and the movable member. This force is also transmitted to the main frame connected to the movable member and various members associated with the main frame, and can move them in the same direction as the movable member.

Furthermore, a positioning mechanism for maintaining a constant positional relationship in the height direction between the main frame and the bottom frame can be added to each of the left and right sides of the support structure of the present invention. The positioning mechanism includes a first positioning member connected to a frame forming the back of the main frame, a second positioning member connected to the bottom frame and supported so as to face the first positioning member, A connecting member is included that engages and connects both the first and second positioning members and is removable with respect to at least one of the positioning members.

According to the above positioning mechanism, each positioning member is connected via the connecting member when it is not necessary to adjust the posture of the chair body, such as when the wheelchair is moving on a flat road surface with almost no slope. By doing so, the positional relationship in the height direction between the main frame and the bottom frame is maintained substantially constant, and the posture of the chair body can be stabilized.

Furthermore, a position adjusting mechanism for limiting the range of movement in the height direction of the main frame within a certain range can be added to each of the left and right sides of the support structure of the present invention. This position adjustment mechanism has a slit hole of a predetermined length, a first member connected to the frame constituting the back of the main frame with the length direction of the slit hole along the height direction, and a bottom part. a second member connected to the frame and supported so as to be opposed to the formation range of the slit hole of the first member; A guide pin connected to the two members is included.

According to the above position adjusting mechanism, the range in which the main frame can move up and down according to the contraction or extension of the expandable member is adjusted from the height position when the guide pin abuts the upper end position of the slit hole. It is possible to keep the range up to the height position when contacting the lower end position. Therefore, even when too much force is applied to adjust the posture of the chair body, or when a large force is applied due to some trouble, the chair body can be prevented from taking an unfavorable posture.

Furthermore, the front wheel of the wheelchair to which the support structure of the present invention is introduced is arranged so as to straddle the front wheel and supports the rotation shaft of the front wheel at both ends, and the fork is rotatable around the axis along the vertical direction. means for preventing the orientation of the front wheel from changing as the fork rotates (hereinafter referred to as "front wheel retention means") ) can be added.

In the first embodiment of the front wheel holding means, a rod-shaped member having one end formed in a size that can be inserted into the gap between the fork and the bottom frame has the end facing the gap. It is supported reciprocatingly along the length direction of the bottom frame so as to be able to move in and out of the gap, and rotation of the fork is restricted by the rod-like member entering the gap.

A second embodiment of the front wheel holding means includes a movable member provided with a pair of side plates having hook portions at one end at the base of the front wheel support portion, and a support that supports the movable member on the front surface of the base so as to be vertically movable. and a stopper member. The movable member of this stopper member is supported at the lowest position of the range of vertical movement while maintaining a state in which the hook protrudes forward at the upper end position, and is turned upside down when pulled up to the uppermost position. As a result of the rotation, the hooks of the side plates enter the gaps between the fork and the front wheel, restricting the rotation of the fork.

In any of the embodiments, by restricting the rotation of the fork, the direction of the front wheel is not changed, and the front wheel can be kept facing forward and the entire vehicle body can be driven straight. In the first embodiment, the front end of the rod-like member is retracted from the gap between the fork and the bottom frame. The front wheel can be returned to its steerable state by rotating the movable member until the portion is positioned upwards and then returning the movable member to its lowest position.

According to the present invention, the posture of the main body of the chair can be easily adjusted by applying a force for contracting or extending the expandable member provided at the rear part of the wheelchair.

In addition, according to the present invention, a support structure with a simple structure centering on the existing chair body, front and rear wheels, frame members and shaft members, and commercially available gas springs or expansion members with a simple structure are used. As a result, the wheelchair having the function of adjusting the posture of the chair body can be assembled, so that there is no possibility that the material and manufacturing costs will increase, and the manufacturing is easy. Existing wheelchairs can also be remodeled into wheelchairs to which the functions according to the present invention are added by utilizing the main parts of the chair body as they are.

Therefore, it becomes possible to provide a wheelchair whose posture can be easily adjusted at a reasonable price, and to promote widespread use of the wheelchair. In addition, it becomes possible to move comfortably while protecting the safety of the user, and it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience and burden felt by many users and caregivers.

Furthermore, according to the front wheel holding means of the present invention, by restricting the rotation of the fork that supports the front wheel, the front wheel can go straight without changing its direction. The wheelchair can be easily moved forward even on a wide sloping road surface or a step where it is difficult to go straight.

It is a side view of wheelchair CH1 of the 1st example to which the present invention was applied. It is a front view of said wheelchair CH1. It is a rear view of said wheelchair CH1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1; It is a top view (illustration of a part of structure above a seat part is abbreviate|omitted) of said wheelchair CH1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a connecting shaft and the connecting structure of an upper truss bracket with respect to the connecting shaft (a cross-sectional view over the entire length of the connecting shaft and an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion corresponding to frame r1 in the cross-sectional view); FIG. 4 is a view (a cross-sectional view along the radial direction of the connecting shaft) showing the connecting structure of the lower truss and the bottom connecting member relating to the bottom frame; It is a front view showing the state where said wheelchair CH1 was folded. It is sectional drawing (corresponding|compatible to FIG. 4) showing the state by which said wheelchair CH1 was folded. FIG. 9 is a diagram (corresponding to FIG. 8) showing the state of the lower frame and the bottom connecting member when the wheelchair CH1 is folded. It is a top view (corresponding|compatible to FIG. 6) showing the state by which said wheelchair CH1 was folded. FIG. 2 is a view (partially cutaway view of the inner surface of the vehicle body) showing the connection structure between the gas spring and the main frame/bottom frame and the relationship between the switching lever and the gas spring; FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration relating to a rear gas spring (enlarged cross-sectional view within region r2 in FIG. 13; cross-sectional view along line CC in the enlarged cross-sectional view); 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view (partial illustration of the gas spring is omitted) showing the connection structure of the gas spring to the main frame and the bottom frame; FIG. FIG. 4 is a view (side view/rear view of a portion of the vehicle body) showing a state in which a gas spring unlocking cable and a brake cable are guided along the back frame; FIG. 14A is a diagram (corresponding to FIG. 14A) showing the principle of unlocking of the gas spring; FIG. 4 is a view (one side view viewed from the inside) showing the configuration of the positioning mechanism together with the relationship between the main frame and the bottom frame; 3A and 3B are a rear view and a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the positioning mechanism; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram (rear view of a portion of the vehicle body) showing an example in which the positioning members of the positioning mechanism are disconnected; FIG. 4 is a diagram (a plan view, a front view, and a side view of the bottom of the vehicle body) showing the configuration of the positioning stopper together with the relationship with the bottom frame and the front wheel fork; FIG. 4 is a diagram (a plan view, a front view, and a side view of the bottom of the vehicle body) showing the configuration of the positioning stopper together with the relationship with the bottom frame and the front wheel fork; It is a side view of wheelchair CH2 of the 2nd example to which the present invention was applied. It is a front view of said wheelchair CH2. It is a rear view of said wheelchair CH2. FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A1-A1 in FIG. 23; FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B1-B1 in FIG. 23; It is a top view (illustration of a seat part and one part is abbreviate|omitted) of said wheelchair CH2. It is a figure showing the structure of the inner surface of the other side part, and the center part of the width direction except one side part of said wheelchair CH2. A connecting shaft and a bracket in the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view (a side view and a front view in which only the bracket is cross-sectioned) showing the connecting structure of the upper truss and the lower truss. FIG. 10 is a diagram (a front view and a side view in which only the connecting portion is sectioned) showing the connection structure between the gas spring and the main frame/bottom frame in the second embodiment; 8A and 8B are a front view and a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the position adjustment mechanism of the second embodiment; FIG. It is the top view showing the structure of the stopper member of the front wheel of 2nd Example, a front view, and a side view. It is a perspective view of a stopper member of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which rotation of the fork is restricted by the stopper member of the second embodiment; It is a side view of wheelchair CH3 of the 3rd example to which the present invention was applied. It is a front view of said wheelchair CH3. It is a rear view of said wheelchair CH3. FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A2-A2 in FIG. 36; FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B2-B2 in FIG. 36; It is a top view (illustration of a seat part and one part is abbreviate|omitted) of said wheelchair CH3. It is a figure showing the structure of the inner surface of the other side part, and the center part of the width direction except one side part of said wheelchair CH3. A connecting shaft and a bracket in the third embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a connecting structure of an upper truss and a lower truss (only a bracket is a sectional view), and a perspective view showing a connecting fitting included in the connecting structure; FIG. 44 is a view showing the connection structure of FIG. 43 from the front side of the front upper truss, and a view showing the connection structure from the front side of the rear upper truss. FIG. 11 is a view (a front view and a side view in which only the connecting portion is sectioned) showing the connection structure between the gas spring and the main frame/bottom frame in the third embodiment; FIG. 10 is a rear view and a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the position adjustment mechanism of the third embodiment; It is the top view, the front view, and the side view showing the structure of the stopper member of the front wheel of 3rd Example. It is a perspective view of a stopper member of the third embodiment. It is a figure showing the change of the stopper member when restricting the rotation of the fork by the stopper member of the second embodiment. It is a figure showing the change of the said stopper member when restrict|regulating rotation of a fork by the stopper member of 3rd Example. It is a figure showing the example which adjusted the inclination attitude|position of a chair main body, when wheelchair CH1 of 1st Example is moving downhill. It is a figure showing the example which adjusted the inclination attitude|position of a chair main body, when wheelchair CH1 of 1st Example is moving uphill. When wheelchair CH1 of 1st Example is going down a step, it is the figure showing the example which maintained the direction of the front wheel by the positioning stopper, and adjusted the inclination posture of a chair main body. It is a figure showing the example which adjusted the inclination attitude|position of a chair main body, when wheelchair CH1 of 1st Example is moving on the width|variety inclination road surface. It is a figure showing the example which adjusted the inclination attitude|position of a chair main body, when wheelchair CH1 of 1st Example is moving on the width|variety inclination road surface. It is a figure showing the example which adjusted the inclination attitude|position of a chair main body, when wheelchair CH3 of 3rd Example is moving downhill. It is a figure showing the example which adjusted the inclination attitude|position of a chair main body, when wheelchair CH3 of 3rd Example is moving uphill. It is a figure showing the example which adjusted the inclination attitude|position of a chair main body, when wheelchair CH3 of 3rd Example is moving on the width|variety inclination road surface. It is a figure showing the example which made the chair main body into the backward inclination posture under the state which wheelchair CH3 of 3rd Example exists on the flat surface. It is a figure showing the example which carried out the attitude|position which the height of the right and left of the chair main body differs under the state which wheelchair CH3 of 3rd Example exists on the flat surface. It is a figure showing the structure of the 1st expansion-contraction member 9X replaced with a gas spring. It is a figure showing the structure of the 2nd expansion-contraction member 9Y instead of a gas spring. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the connecting structure of the expansion members with respect to the main frame and the bottom frame;

<First embodiment>
1, 2, and 3 are a side view, a front view, and a rear view showing the overall configuration of a wheelchair CH1 to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the frame structure of the wheelchair CH1.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, configurations related to the wheels 3 and 4 are represented by dashed-dotted lines, and part of the configuration appearing behind the cutting lines is omitted. In FIG. 6 as well, in order to show the connecting structure of the left and right frames, illustration of the configuration above them is omitted. In subsequent drawings as well, the illustration of a configuration that is not related to the description of the drawing may be omitted.

In addition, in each drawing, the important components of the pair of front and rear components are distinguished by a common number followed by f (front side) or b (rear side). , which have the same configuration, are represented by common numerals only.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the wheelchair CH1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 and subsequent drawings as appropriate.

The wheelchair CH1 of this embodiment is provided with front wheels 3 and rear wheels 4, a main frame 1 forming the framework of the chair body, and a bottom frame 2 supporting the front and rear wheels 3, 4 on each side. The left and right components are connected by a pair of front and rear upper trusses 5f, 5b, a lower truss 6 arranged in the center in the front-rear direction, and a pair of bottom connecting members 7f, 7b arranged in front and rear of the lower truss 6. configuration. Furthermore, this wheelchair CH1 is connected to a connecting shaft 8 that aligns and connects the upper trusses 5f, 5b and the lower truss 6 at their respective centers, and connects the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 so that the interval between them can be changed. a positioning mechanism 200 for maintaining a constant positional relationship in the height direction between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2; referred to as "front wheel stopper 300").

The main frame 1 is made by bending or welding a round pipe material, and includes a seat frame 10 forming the sides of the seat of the chair body, a back frame 11 forming the sides of the back of the chair, and a handle. A frame 12, a front frame 13 forming a skeleton on the front side, side frames 14 connecting to the front frame 13 and forming side armrests, and connected to the front frame 13 at a height position facing the bottom frame 2 to provide front and rear support. A base frame 15 extending along the direction, a pair of front and rear strut frames 16f and 16b connecting the seat frame 10 and the base frame 15, and the like are included.

Mounting members 17 on which the seat 101 is placed are continuously provided at the front and rear portions of the lower ends of the left and right seat frames 10, respectively. Both ends of the seat sheet 101 are wound around a core material 18 made of a pipe, and these ends are supported by the mounting member 17 . The seat 101 serves as a seat on which a user is placed by being supported by the placing member 17, the seat frame 10, and upper trusses 5f and 5b, which will be described later.

The seat frame 10 is set such that the front side is slightly higher than the rear side in order to prevent the user sitting on the seat from leaning forward. Both ends of the seat 101 including the core member 18 are connected to the upper trusses 5f and 5b as will be described later, and the seat 101 is held on the mounting member 17 by the connection.

A backrest cushion 102 is provided between the left and right back frames 11 , 11 , and armrests 104 are attached to the upper surfaces of the side frames 14 . A cloth sheet 105 called a leg support is provided between the left and right front frames 13 , 13 , and a footrest plate 103 is connected to the tip of each front frame 13 .

A handle 107 and a brake lever 110 are attached to the tip of the handle frame 12 (see FIG. 1). Brake levers 106 for the user are also provided on the outer surfaces of the left and right seat frames 10 near the front ends.
Further, the handle frame 12 of this embodiment is provided with a switching lever 100 which is arranged inside the handle 107 and serves as an operating portion for adjusting the posture of the chair body (Fig. 3, see Figure 6, etc.).

The bottom frame 2 is an iron plate with its rear end raised upward. Both the left and right bottom frames 2 are arranged outside the base frame 15 of the main frame 1 on the same side. are connected to each other.

Connection plates 20, 21f, and 21b for connecting the lower truss 6 and the bottom connection members 7f and 7b are provided on the inner surface side of the bottom frame 2. As shown in FIG. These connecting plates 20, 21f, and 21b are also made of iron, and their thickness directions are aligned with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and one end face is fixed to the bottom frame 2 by welding (see FIG. 6, etc.). ).

The left and right main frames 1, 1 are connected and supported via upper trusses 5f, 5b at two points, one slightly behind the center of the front wheel 3 and the other slightly forward of the center of the rear wheel 4. (See Figures 1, 4, 5 and 6).

The left and right bottom frames 2, 2 are connected and supported via a lower truss 6 at a central position in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, in order to maintain the space between the bottom frames 2, 2 and the positional relationship in the front-rear direction, there are two positions, one a predetermined distance forward from the lower truss 6 and the same distance behind the lower truss 6, respectively. Bottom frames 2, 2 are connected by bottom connecting members 7f, 7b extending along the width direction of the vehicle body (see FIGS. 2, 3, 6).

The pair of front and rear upper trusses 5f, 5b connecting the main frames 1, 1 and the lower truss 6 connecting the bottom frames 2, 2 are connected via a connecting shaft 8 at their central portions.

FIG. 7A is a sectional view showing the configuration of the connecting shaft 8 and the connection structure of the upper trusses 5f and 5b and the lower truss 6 with respect to the connecting shaft 8, and FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of the range of the frame r1 in (A)). FIG. 8 shows a support structure for the lower truss 6 and the bottom connecting member 7 (7b) by means of a sectional view taken along a line passing through the left edge of the frame r1. Hereinafter, with reference to these figures, the structure related to the support and connection of the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 will be described.

The connecting shaft 8 of this embodiment comprises an iron rod member 80 and a pair of front and rear pipe members 81f and 81b fitted to the rod member 80. As shown in FIG. Each of the pipe members 81f and 81b is arranged in a range from a position slightly separated from the front end or rear end of the rod member 80 to a predetermined distance short of the longitudinal center position.
A bracket 85 serving as a support member for supporting the lower truss 6 is attached to the central portion of the three portions of the rod member 80 where the pipe member 81 is not provided, and fixing nuts 82 are attached to both ends thereof.

Each of the upper trusses 5f and 5b has a pair of connecting members 50 and 50 (hereinafter referred to as "truss members 50") having a hinge piece 51 attached to one end (Figs. 4 and 5). 5 and 6). Each truss member 50 is formed in a shape that gradually widens in width from both ends toward the center of the length, and a through hole 53 (see FIG. 7 ( A)) is provided. The paired truss members 50, 50 of the upper trusses 5f, 5b are arranged such that the ends on the side where the hinge piece 51 is located face down, and the respective through holes 53, 53 are aligned so that they intersect each other. , one end of the rod member 80 passed through the through-holes 53, 53 is sandwiched and supported between the fixed nut 82 and the pipe member 81f or 81b (FIGS. 2, 3, 7A). ).

The lower end of each truss member 50 is rotatably supported by the base frame 15 via a hinge piece 51, and the upper end is connected to the core member 18 at the end of the seat 105 (Fig. 4, see Figure 5, etc.). The core member 18 is exposed from the seat sheet 101 at the connecting portion to the truss member 50, and the truss member 50 is fixed to the exposed portion by a method such as welding or screwing.

A bracket 85 attached to the central portion of the length of the rod member 80 has a rectangular parallelepiped case body 86 provided with openings (reference numerals omitted) for passing the rod member 80 on the front and rear surfaces. It is composed of a spherical bearing 87 attached to the rod member 80 together with the case body 86 in the state of entering, the spherical bearing 87, and positioning members 88 and 89 arranged between the case body 86 and the pipe members 81f and 81b ( See FIG. 7(B).). The back surface of the case body 86 is opened, and the cover plate 84 is fitted to the opening, and two types of bolts 801 and 802 with different lengths (two bolts for each of four bolts in total are attached to the shorter bolt 802). are on the upper side and the longer bolts 801 are on the lower side, and are inserted through the respective corners of the case body 8b. .

The lower truss 6 includes a pair of plate-like connecting members 60, 60 (hereinafter also referred to as "truss members 60"), mounting brackets 61 connected to both ends of each truss member 60, and the like. (See FIGS. 6 and 8).
The mounting bracket 61 is a double clevis in which a pair of mounting pieces (reference numerals omitted) are arranged facing each other.

The pair of truss members 60, 60 are plate members having a width much larger than that of the truss member 50, and are arranged one each on the left side and the right side of the center of the width of the vehicle body, with the width direction along the front-rear direction. . These truss members 60 are shorter in length than the truss members 50 of the upper trusses 5f and 5b. The other mounting bracket 61 is axially fixed to the connecting plate 20, and the lower corners of the case body 86 and the cover plate 84 of the bracket 85 are sandwiched between the mounting pieces. It is axially fixed to the corner portion together with the aforementioned cover plate 84 (see FIGS. 6, 7(B), and 8).
With the mounting structure described above, the truss members 60, 60 are rotatably supported with respect to the bracket 85 and the bottom frame 2 with a left-down or right-down attitude from below the connecting shaft 8 (see FIG. 8). .).

The bottom connecting members 7f, 7b arranged in front and behind the lower truss 6 are constructed by connecting a pair of left and right bar members 70, 70 side by side. Each bar member 70, 70 is rotatably connected to each other by a connecting pin (reference numeral omitted), and the outer end of each bar member 70 is also connected to the connecting plate 21f or 21b of the bottom frame 2 on the corresponding side. By being pivoted, it is rotatably supported with respect to the bottom frame 2 (see FIGS. 2, 3, 6 and 8). As shown in FIG. 8, the truss member 60 of the lower truss 6 and the bar members 70 of the bottom connecting members 7f and 7b are connected to the bottom frame 2 at a height that does not interfere with the base frame 15 of the main frame 1. .

As described above, the pair of left and right main frames 1, 1 are connected via the base frames 15 and the upper trusses 5f, 5b connected to the connecting shafts 8, respectively. supported with a stable spacing. The pair of left and right bottom frames 2, 2 are also supported by being connected via the lower truss 6 and the bottom connecting members 7f, 7b so that the distance between them is stabilized. Further, since the center portions of the trusses 5f, 5b, 6 are aligned by the connecting shaft 8, the positional relationship between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 in the width direction of the vehicle body can be stabilized.

Furthermore, since the bracket 85 that supports the lower truss 6 is supported by the internal spherical bearing 87 so as to be able to swing relative to the connecting shaft 8 in the front-back and left-right directions, the connecting position to the spherical bearing 87 is used as a reference. In addition, the connecting shaft 8 and the upper truss 6 connected thereto and the main frame 1 can be moved back and forth and left and right with respect to the bottom frame 2 .

9 to 12 are a front view corresponding to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view at a position (AA line) corresponding to FIG. 4, and a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. (A view of the components related to the bottom frame 2), which is represented by a plan view corresponding to FIG.

When both sides of the vehicle body are pressed in order to fold the wheelchair CH1, as shown in FIGS. Rotate toward each other while maintaining the position and crossed posture. In accordance with this movement, the seat 101 connected to the upper end of each truss member 50 separates from the mounting member 17 and is displaced upward while being bent.

The truss members 60, 60 of the lower truss 6 also rotate toward each other while maintaining the positions of the ends on the side connected to the bracket 85 (see FIG. 11). The bottom connecting members 7f and 7b are displaced upward at the intermediate portions where the bar members 70 and 70 are connected to change into a chevron shape.
As the upper and lower trusses 5f, 5b, 6 and the bottom connecting members 7f, 7b change, the left and right main frames 1 and 1 and the bottom frames 2 and 2 also move closer to each other, narrowing the width of the vehicle.

The expansion member 9 connects the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2, and contracts or expands in the direction according to the external force while maintaining the above-mentioned connection state according to the application of an upward or downward external force. to change the spacing between frames 1 and 2. A specific configuration of the expandable member 9 of this embodiment and a configuration of a mechanism for moving the expandable member 9 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 13 to 17. FIG.

Since the expandable members 9 of this embodiment are all lock-type gas springs, the same members 9 are hereinafter referred to as "gas springs 9". Gas springs 9 are arranged one by one under each of the four front and rear portions on both sides of the seat, and are connected to the upper seat frame 10 and the lower bottom frame 2 . A switching lever 100 provided on the handle frame 12 functions as an operating portion for collectively switching between the locked state and the unlocked state of the two gas springs 9 on the same side.

FIG. 13 is a side view (part of the main frame 1 is cut away) of one side of the vehicle body viewed from the inside, showing the connection structure of the gas spring 9 and the relationship between the switching lever 100 and the gas spring 9. represent. FIG. 14(A) is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the gas spring 9 on the rear side and the range in the vicinity thereof (within the frame r2 in FIG. 13), and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a range corresponding to -C line; FIG. FIG. 15 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a connecting structure between the gas spring 9, the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2. As shown in FIG. FIGS. 16(A) and 16(B) are a side view and a rear view of a portion of the rear portion of wheelchair CH1 as seen from the inside. FIGS. 17A and 17B are enlarged cross-sectional views similar to FIG. 14A showing how the gas spring 9 is unlocked. The front side gas spring 9, which is not shown in enlarged view, is also connected to the frames 1 and 2 with the same configuration and connection structure as shown in FIGS.

The gas spring 9 of this embodiment includes a piston rod 90 projecting from a main body portion 91, a release pin 92 for unlocking extending through the inside of the piston rod 90 to an intermediate position of the main body portion 91, a distal end portion of the piston rod 90 and the main body. Mounting metal fittings 93 and 94 are provided on the bottom of the portion 91, respectively. The mounting brackets 93, 94 are also double clevises having a pair of mounting pieces (93a, 93b or 94a, 94b). A projection 904 projecting in a direction orthogonal to the direction is provided (see FIG. 14A). Although the reference numerals are omitted, the mounting pieces 93a, 93b, 94a, and 94b of the mounting brackets 93 and 94 have through holes (hereinafter referred to as "shaft holes") through which the support shafts 97 described below pass. is provided.

As shown in FIG. 15, a mounting through hole (reference numerals omitted) is formed in the connecting portion of the bottom frame 2 to the gas spring 9, and the support shaft 97 is passed through the through hole. A spherical bearing 95 is attached to the central portion of the support shaft 97, and a positioning member 96 and an annular member 98 serving as a bearing retainer are attached to the outside thereof. A bottom fitting 94 is attached.
Furthermore, fixing nuts 99, 99 are attached to both ends of the support shaft 97 protruding outside the respective mounting pieces 94a, 94b to maintain the axially supported state of the above components on the support shaft 97. As shown in FIG.

An iron connecting plate 120 having a through hole (not shown) is fixed by welding to the connecting portion of the seat frame 10 to the gas spring 9 by means of a round pipe material. This connecting plate 120 is also connected to the piston rod via a connecting mechanism (including spherical bearing 95, positioning member 96, support shaft 97, annular member 98, and nuts 99, 99 at both ends) similar to that on the bottom frame 2 side. A fitting 93 on the side of 90 is connected.

As described above, the upper and lower mounting brackets 93 and 94 of the gas spring 9 are axially fixed to the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 by a connecting mechanism including the spherical bearing 95, so that they are not attached to the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 in the front and rear direction. And it is in a state of being supported so as to be able to swing in each of the left and right directions.

A lever metal fitting 900 for pushing the release pin 92 of the gas spring 9 is axially fixed to the projection 904 of the mounting metal fitting 93 on the piston rod 90 side (see FIGS. 13 and 14). One end of the lever metal fitting 900 enters the gap between the mounting pieces 93 a and 93 b of the mounting metal fitting 93 , and the other end protrudes rearward of the mounting metal fitting 93 . A cable C1 or C2 for transmitting the operation of the rear switching lever 100 is connected to this projecting portion.

A cable C1 connected to the lever fitting 900 of the gas spring 9 on the front side is inserted into the seat frame 10 through a small hole (not shown) formed in the seat frame 10 thereabove and guided to the back. Furthermore, the cable C1 passes through cylindrical guide members 131, 132, and 133 provided on the back frame 11 in order, is guided to the handle frame 12, and is connected to the switching lever 100 arranged inside the handle 107 ( 13, 14(A), 16(A) and 16(B)).

Inside the seat frame 10, a hemispherical guide piece G for guiding the cable C1 is provided near the small hole and at the rear end of the seat frame 10 (see FIGS. 13 and 14 (A ).). A connector 901 for connection with the cable C2 on the rear side is provided at the lower end of the cable C1 (position near the upper portion of the guide member 131).

The cable C2 connected to the lever fitting 900 of the gas spring 9 on the rear side is guided by the feed rollers 902, 902 provided at the rear end portion of the lower portion of the seat frame 10 and led to the back portion, and the tip portion thereof It is held by being passed through the connector 901 (see FIGS. 13, 14(A) and 16(B)). The feed roller 902 is supported on both sides by the support plates 134 shown in FIGS. 1, 14 and 16A.

Of the guide members 131 to 133 for cable guidance provided on the back frame 11, the uppermost guide member 133 and the intermediate guide member 132 are provided with a cable connecting the rear wheel brake mechanism 41 and the brake lever 110. C0 is also passed through (see FIGS. 13 and 16 (A) and (B)). These guide members 132 and 133 hold the two cables C0 and C1 along the back frame 11 .

The cable C1 connected to the front gas spring 9 is pulled up by pulling the operating lever 100 toward the handle 107 (outside). This force is also transmitted to the cable C2 of the gas spring 9 on the rear side via the connector 901, and the range of these cables C1 and C2 on the side of the seat frame 10 is pulled rearward. Each lever fitting 900 rotates (see FIG. 17(B)). By this rotation, the end of the lever metal fitting 900 inserted between the mounting pieces 93a and 93b of the mounting metal fitting 93 is lowered to push down the release pin 92 in the gas spring 9, thereby releasing the locked state of the gas spring 9. be done. When the operation lever 100 is released, the cables C1 and C2 and the lever fitting 900 move in the direction opposite to the above, the release pin 92 also returns to its original position, and the gas spring 9 is locked again ( See FIG. 17(A)).

The main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 are connected so that the distance between them can be changed by expanding and contracting the piston rods 90 of the four gas springs 9. Positioning mechanisms 200 are provided on both sides of the back of the vehicle body (see FIG. 3).

FIG. 18 shows the relationship of the positioning mechanism 200 to the main frame 1 and bottom frame 2 together with the relationship between each frame 1,2. 18 also shows the state of the frames 1 and 2 located on the right side as seen from the rear side as seen from the inside of the vehicle body in order to clearly show the positioning mechanism 200. As shown in FIG. 19(A) is a rear view of the portion shown in FIG. 18, and FIG. 19(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 19(A). FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a state in which the connection between the frames 1 and 2 by the positioning mechanism 200 is released.

The positioning mechanism 200 of this embodiment includes a first positioning member 201 connected to the support frame 16b on the rear side of the main frame 1, and a second positioning member 201 connected to the rear end of the upright portion 22 of the bottom frame 2. A member 202 and a toggle pin 203 for connecting both positioning members 201 and 202 are included. These positioning members 201 and 202 are metal plate materials, and are fixed to the frames 16b and 2 to be connected by welding so that the thickness direction thereof is aligned with the longitudinal direction so as to protrude inward of the vehicle body. . Also, the second positioning member 202 is set to have a size that faces the entire rear surface of the first positioning member 201 .

A through hole (reference numeral omitted) for inserting the toggle pin 203 is formed in a portion of the first positioning member 201 and the second positioning member 202 facing the positioning member 201 . The toggle pin 203 is passed through each through-hole with the locking piece 204 at the tip directed toward the front side, and as shown in FIG. It is supported in a rotated position. By this support, the positional relationship between the support frame 16b and the upright portion 22 of the bottom frame 2 is kept constant, and the state in which the length direction of the support frame 16b and the surface of the bottom frame 2 are substantially parallel is maintained.

The toggle pin 203 can be extracted from each through hole by rotating the locking piece 204 forward. When the toggle pin 203 is pulled out, the alignment state between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 is released, and the gas spring 9 is operated to set the positional relationship between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 in the height direction. Then, the relationship between the orientations of the support frame 16b and the bottom frame 2 can be changed (see FIG. 20).

Although not shown, the toggle pin 203 is connected to a holding member provided at an appropriate location on the main frame 1 by means of a chain or the like. Further, when pulled out from the respective positioning members 201 and 202, the toggle pin 203 can be attached and held by the holding member.

The positioning members 201 and 202 are not limited to plate-like bodies, and may be of other forms.
The means for connecting the positioning members 201 and 202 is not limited to the toggle pin 203. For example, a common pin member without a locking piece is inserted through each of the positioning members 201 and 202, and a hanging metal fitting is provided to prevent the pin member from coming off. It may be disposed in the gap between the positioning members 201 and 202 so as to appear and disappear. According to this configuration, when disconnecting the positioning members 201 and 202, the pin member is pulled out only from the first positioning member 201, and the pin member is passed through the second positioning member 202. The pin member can be held by hooking the hook on the pin member again (the same applies to the second and third embodiments described later).

21 and 22 show a plan view (A), a side view (B) and a front view (C) of a range including the front wheel stopper 300, the bottom frame 2 and the front wheel 3, in correspondence. (A) and (B) also show the state of displacement of the front wheel stopper 300 .

The front wheel support portion 30 includes a base portion 31 connected to the outer surface of the bottom frame 2 and a bifurcated fork 32 supporting the rotation shaft of the front wheel 3 at both ends. A support shaft 33 extends vertically through the base portion 31 . The fork 32 is connected to the support shaft 33 so as to be rotatable about the support shaft 33 together with the front wheel 3 .

The front wheel stopper 300 comprises a rectangular tubular case body 301 fixed to the lower edge of the outer surface of the bottom frame 2 by welding or the like, a rod-shaped member 302 inserted into the case body 301 so as to reciprocate, and the rod-shaped member 302. It is composed of a spherical operation piece 303 and the like provided at the rear end portion, and is arranged at a height position corresponding to the upper end portion (the portion connected to the base portion 31) of the fork 32 of the front wheel support portion 30 described above.

The rod-like member 302 projects rearward from the bottom frame 2 and has a length that allows it to pass through the gap between the front fork 32 and the bottom frame 2 while maintaining the projecting state. Further, the surface of the front end portion facing the base portion is notched so that the width of the front end portion of the rod-shaped member 302 that enters the gap is narrower than that of the rear portion.

One end of a plate spring 304 curved in a mountain shape is screwed to the rear end position of the inner surface of the bottom frame 2 . The other end of the leaf spring 304 protrudes behind the bottom frame 2 and contacts the bar member 302 .

A concave portion 305 is formed on the inner side surface of the rear end portion of the rod-like member 302 and is large enough to receive the free end of the leaf spring 304 . When the rod-shaped member 302 moves forward by pushing the operation piece 303 forward with the fork 32 and the front wheel 3 facing forward, the tip of the rod-shaped body 302 moves forward as shown in FIG. enters the gap between the bottom frame 2 and the fork 32, and the rotation of the fork 32 around the support shaft 33 is restricted. As a result, the front wheels 3 are also prevented from swinging to the left and right, and are kept facing forward. Further, the free end of the plate spring 304 enters the concave portion 305 at the rear end of the rod-like body 302 , and the biasing force of the plate spring 304 holds the position of the rod-like member 302 after being displaced.

When the operation piece 303 is pulled rearward while the rotation of the fork 32 is restricted, the leaf spring 304 escapes from the recess 305 and the rod-shaped member 302 retreats. Exit. This makes it possible to turn the front wheel 3 by rotating the fork 32 .

As shown in FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C, even when the fork 32 is rotated around the support shaft 33 to move the front wheel 3 forward of the bottom frame 2, the fork 32 and front wheel 3 are By operating the operating piece 303 of the front wheel stopper 300 in the same manner as in the example of FIG. Rotation around the axis 33 can be restricted. Therefore, even when the front wheel 3 is arranged in front of the bottom frame 2, the front wheel 3 can be maintained facing forward.

<Second embodiment>
23, 24, and 25 are a side view, a front view, and a rear view showing the overall configuration of a second wheelchair CH2 to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 26 is a cross section along line A1-A1 in FIG. FIG. 27 is a sectional view along line B1-B1 in FIG. FIG. 28 is a plan view showing the skeletal structure of the wheelchair CH2, and FIG. 29 is a plan view showing the inner surface of the other side and the space below the seat by removing the left-hand side as viewed from the back of the wheelchair CH2. It is a figure showing a structure. In FIG. 23, the rear wheel 4 is indicated by a chain double-dashed line, and in FIG. 28 only the main portion is indicated.

In the drawings of the second embodiment, including the subsequent FIGS. 30 to 35, the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment are assigned to the constituent elements that are different in shape from those of the first embodiment but have the same function. . In the following description as well, the description of the configuration that can be said to be substantially the same as that of the first embodiment will be omitted or only a brief description will be given, and the description will focus on the configuration that differs from the first embodiment.

The wheelchair CH2 of the second embodiment also has a bottom frame 2 supporting the front wheels 3 and the rear wheels 4 outside the base frame 15 of each of the left and right main frames 1, 1. 5f, 5b, connecting shaft 8, bracket 85, and lower truss 6 are connected. The form of the main frame 1 is not much different from that of the first embodiment, but the support frame 16b of the first embodiment is integrated with the back frame 11, and the back frame 11, the front frame 13, and the front support frame 16f are integrated. Each lower end is connected by a base frame 15 (see FIGS. 25 and 29).

The bottom frame 2 has a greater vertical width than that of the first embodiment, and the front end of the bottom frame 2 is connected to the front wheel 3 via the front wheel support portion 30 (see FIGS. 23, 24 and 28). A rear wheel 4 is connected to the portion 22 (see FIG. 29). A notch is provided in the lower edge of the front end portion of the bottom frame 2 for the convenience of providing a space for arranging the fork 32 and the front wheel 3 .

In the wheelchair CH2 of the second embodiment, the front upper truss 5f of the upper trusses 5f, 5b that support the left and right main frames 1, 1 is located at the position in the case of the first embodiment (in front of the space below the seat). ), and is arranged in the center of the space below the seat in the front-rear direction. The rear upper truss 5b is positioned slightly forward of the axle 40 of the rear wheel 4, as in the first embodiment.

As in the first embodiment, the upper trusses 5f and 5b are composed of a pair of truss members 50 and 50 that intersect at the central portion in the length direction, each of which is connected to one core member 18 of the seat and the base portion on the opposite side thereof. It is configured to be connected to the frame 15 . Similarly to the first embodiment, the central portions of the upper trusses 5f and 5b are aligned with the central portion in the width direction of the vehicle body together with the connecting shafts 8 by the connecting shafts 8 passed through the respective intersections.
However, while the truss member 50 of the first embodiment was connected to the base frame 15 via the hinge member 51, in the second embodiment, the truss member 50 is directly attached to the base frame 15 by welding. connected to Even in this case, the truss members 50, 50 are rotatable around the position where they are connected to the connecting shaft 8, so that folding of the wheelchair CH2 is not hindered.

As the upper truss 5f retreats, the connecting shaft 8 also becomes shorter than in the first embodiment, but protrudes forward from the upper truss 5f to some extent, and a bracket 85 for supporting the lower truss 6 is connected to the front end of the projecting portion. (See FIGS. 23, 26, 28 and 29). The connecting shaft 8 also projects slightly behind the upper truss 5b, and a fixing nut 82 is connected to the projecting portion (see FIGS. 25 and 28).

FIG. 30 shows the connecting structure of the upper trusses 5f and 5b, the connecting shaft 8, the bracket 85 and the lower truss 6. As shown in FIG. FIG. 30(A) is an enlarged side view of the connection structure appearing in FIG. 29, but only the bracket 85 portion is a cross-sectional view along the width center to show the internal structure. FIG. 30B is an enlarged front view of the bracket 85 and the upper end of the lower truss 6. FIG.

The connecting shaft 8 of this embodiment is a stepped shaft with an enlarged outer peripheral portion between the connecting points of the upper trusses 5f and 5b. A positioning member 800 is provided in front of the connecting portion of the connecting shaft 8 with the upper truss 5f, and a bracket 85 including a spherical bearing 87 is connected in front thereof. A bolt 810 with a nut is inserted into and fixed to the front end of the connecting shaft 8 from the front end face, and a bracket 85 is sandwiched between the nut of the bolt 810 and the positioning member 800, whereby the bracket 85 is attached to the upper truss 5f. It is held in a fixed position slightly forward.

Similarly to the first embodiment, the bracket 85 of the second embodiment also includes a case body 86 having a housing space for the spherical bearing 87, a spherical bearing 87 housed in the case body 86, and an opening of the case body 86 (this and a cover plate 84 that closes the front side in the embodiment. However, the case body 86 of this embodiment protrudes considerably above the accommodation space of the spherical bearing 87, and the protruding portions extend in the left and right directions, and the truss members 60 of the lower truss 6 are attached to the extending portions. , 60 are concatenated. The lid plate 84 is connected to the case body 86 by bolts 811 and nuts 812 at positions above and below the hole through which the connecting shaft 8 is passed.

The truss member 60 of the lower truss 6 of the second embodiment also has a form in which the width widens downward. Both ends of the truss member 60 are connected to mounting metal fittings 62 and 63 (both of which are double clevises) having sizes corresponding to the width length of the respective portions. The mounting bracket 62 on the upper end side is in a state in which the left or right extending portion of the case body 86 is sandwiched between a pair of mounting pieces (reference numerals omitted). concatenated.

An auxiliary plate 26 is fixed to the central portion of the inner surface of the bottom frame 2 in order to increase the support strength for the truss member 60, and a pair of connecting plates 25a and 25b are arranged so that their surface directions are aligned with the surface of the auxiliary plate 26. They are fixed to the surface of the auxiliary plate 26 so as to be perpendicular to each other and aligned in the front-rear direction with an interval suitable for fitting the mounting metal fittings 63 on the lower end side of the truss member 60 .
A mounting metal fitting 63 at the lower end of the truss member 60 is in a state in which a pair of mounting pieces 63a and 63b of the metal fitting 63 are in contact with the inner surfaces of the pair of connecting plates 25a and 25b, respectively. and nuts 65 to connect the connecting plates 25a and 25b.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the upper end of the truss member 60 of the lower truss 6 is connected to the bracket 85 at a position higher than the connecting shaft 8, so that when the wheelchair CH2 is folded, the lower truss 6 does not move. The purpose is to prevent the upper truss 5 and the connecting shaft 8 from colliding with each other. Even in such a connection structure, the lower truss 6 is arranged together with the bracket 85 in the center of the space under the seat in the front-rear direction, and is supported so as to be able to swing relative to the connection shaft 8 in the front-rear and left-right directions. state.

The seat frames 10 on both sides and the bottom frame 2 are connected at the rear part of the vehicle body via gas springs 9, which are elastic members. Both frames 10 and 2 are separated from each other at the front (see FIG. 29).

FIG. 31 is an enlarged view of the gas spring 9 and its connection points (the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 on the left side of the user or caregiver) in the second embodiment. In this figure as well, only the connecting portions are shown as cross-sectional views.

The gas spring 9 has a locking function similar to that of the first embodiment, and its main configuration is also similar to that of the first embodiment. A through hole 905 is provided for passing through, and a projection 906 is formed so as to extend outward from below the hole.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as a means for connecting the gas spring 9 to the seat frame 10 or the bottom frame 2, a spherical bearing 910 (for example, Nippon Thomson Co., Ltd. The company's pillow ball (registered trademark) is used. Accordingly, an iron connection block 140 having a thickness equivalent to the outer diameter of the seat frame 10 is connected to the rear end of the seat frame 10 instead of the connection plate 120 of the first embodiment. The connection block 140 has a screw hole 141 that can be screwed onto the mounting rod 911, and is welded to the lower surface of the seat frame 10 with the length direction of the screw hole 141 along the left-right direction of the vehicle body.

The upper and lower mounting brackets 93, 94 of the gas spring 9 are in a state in which the body portion of the spherical bearing 910 and the positioning member (reference numerals omitted) are sandwiched between a pair of mounting pieces (93a, 93a or 94a, 94a). It is attached to the support shaft 912 together with the main body and the positioning member. Nuts 913 are connected to both ends of the support shaft 912 protruding outside the mounting pieces 93a, 93b, 94a, 94b to maintain the above mounting state (see FIG. 31(A)).

The spherical bearing 910 that supports the mounting bracket 93 on the upper end side is supported on the outer surface of the connecting block 140 together with the mounting bracket 93 by inserting the mounting rod 911 into the screw hole 141 of the connecting block 140 and connecting the two. (See FIG. 31(B).). A positioning nut 914 is attached to the proximal end portion of the mounting rod 911 that does not enter the screw hole 140 .

Due to the above connection, the pair of mounting pieces 93a and 93b of the mounting bracket 93 on the upper end side are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body with the spherical bearing 910 interposed therebetween with the mounting piece 93b on the side with the through hole 905 facing backward. It will be in a state of being lined up along (see FIG. 31(A)).

The lever metal fitting 900 of the second embodiment is in the form of an elongated rod, one end of which is inserted into the mounting pieces 93a and 93b through the through hole 905, and the position near the end is the projection. 906. The other end of the lever metal fitting 900 is connected to the cable C (see FIGS. 23 and 29) along the back frame 11 . Although not shown in FIGS. 23 and 29, the cable C is guided to the vicinity of the handle frame 12 along the back frame 11 and connected to the switching lever 100 as in the first embodiment. The tip of the lever fitting 900 is lowered and the lock pin 92 is pushed according to the operation of pulling the lever 100 toward the handle frame 12 side.

A screw hole 250 penetrating through the thickness portion is also provided at the connection position of the bottom frame 2 to the gas spring 9 (in this embodiment, at the rear portion of the lower end of the bottom frame 2). The mounting rod 911 of the spherical bearing 910 that supports the mounting bracket 94 on the lower end side of the gas spring 9 is inserted into the screw hole 250 from the inner surface side of the bottom frame 2 and connected to the screw hole 250 (FIG. 31 ( B).). By connecting the mounting rod 911 and the screw hole 250, the mounting bracket 94 is supported on the inner surface side of the bottom frame 2 together with the spherical bearing 910 in a state in which the mounting pieces 94a and 94b are aligned in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. (See FIG. 31(A).). The mounting rod 911 protrudes outside the bottom frame 2, and a nut 914 is attached to the protruding portion.

According to the above-described connecting mechanism, the gas spring 9 of the second embodiment assumes a posture rotated by about 90 degrees from the posture of the first embodiment, and is attached to the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 in the front, rear, left, and right directions, respectively. It is connected so that it can swing in each direction.

In the second embodiment, the means (gas spring 9) for connecting the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 from the front side of the vehicle body is removed, but the range of the left and right bottom frames 2, 2 facing the front wheel 3 is the bottom portion. By connecting with the connecting member 7f, the gap between the front portions of the bottom frames 2, 2 is stabilized (see FIGS. 28 and 29).
The rear bottom connecting member 7b is connected to the rear end of each bottom frame 2 (below the standing portion 22) in order to stabilize the distance between the bottom frames 2, 2 in the range facing the rear wheel 4. As shown in FIG.

Reinforcing plates 27 are also fixed to portions where the bottom connecting members 7f and 7b of the bottom frame 2 are connected. Bottom connecting members 7f and 7b are connected.

Further, a position adjusting mechanism 210 is provided at the rear portion of the wheelchair CH2 of the second embodiment for limiting the variation in the height position of the main frame 1 within a certain range.
FIG. 32(A) is an enlarged view from the front side of the range in which the position adjustment mechanism 210 is arranged (an enlarged circular region R1 in FIG. 27). FIG. 32(B) shows the configuration of the main part of the position adjusting mechanism 210 by a cross-sectional view taken along line C1-C1 of FIG. 32(A).

This position adjusting mechanism 210 has a function corresponding to the positioning mechanism 200 of the first embodiment (a function of maintaining a constant positional relationship between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2). A first member 211 fixed to a predetermined position below the seat, and a second member 212 welded to a position forward of the back frame 11 on the inner surface of the bottom frame 2 (near the position where the gas spring 9 is attached). and a toggle pin 203 and a guide pin 213 connected to these members are main components.

The first member 211 includes a main plate portion 211a that is welded to the front surface of the back frame 11, and a sub plate portion 211b that is welded to the inner surface of the back frame 11 so as to be substantially perpendicular to the main plate portion 210a (see FIG. 32). (A) and (B) are indicated by dashed lines). Both the main plate portion 211a and the sub-plate portion 211b have a thickness sufficient to ensure supporting strength.

The main plate portion 211a includes a portion (reference numerals omitted) that protrudes inward of the vehicle body without being welded to the back frame 11. As shown in FIG. This projecting portion is formed in a triangular shape whose projecting width widens toward the center of height from the upper and lower edges, and a through hole (not shown) for inserting the toggle pin 203 is formed in the center of height. formed. A slit hole 215 (passing through the thickness of the main plate portion 211a) for passing the guide pin 213 is formed in the center of the width of the portion of the main plate portion 211a welded to the back frame 11 along the vertical direction. formed.

The second member 212 is also a thick metal plate, and is attached to the bottom frame 2 so as to extend obliquely upward from the bottom frame 2 with the surface direction of the plate aligned with the first member 212. It is arranged in a range where it can face the slit hole 215 and the through hole of the portion 211a. The upper end is provided with a pair of through holes (reference numerals omitted) through which the toggle pin 203 and the guide pin 213 are passed.

The toggle pin 203 is connected to an appropriate location of the main frame 1 by a chain or the like, and is connected to the through hole of the projecting portion of the main plate portion 211a of the first member 211 and the through hole of the second member 212 located opposite to the through hole. It is removably inserted from the side of the second member 212 .

The guide pin 213 is a bolt having a shaft with a thickness that allows it to slide along the length direction of the slit hole 215 . , and the slit hole 215 of the first member 211 . Note that the guide pin 213 may be integrated with the second member 212 by welding or the like.

According to the above configuration, when the heights of the through holes for the toggle pins 203 of the first member 211 and the second member 212 are matched, the toggle pin 203 is inserted into these through holes, is engaged with the sub-plate portion 211b of the first member 211 and the rear surface of the back frame 11, the relative height of the main frame 1 with respect to the bottom frame 2 can be maintained even if the load applied to the main frame 1 changes. can be maintained at a substantially constant position.

When the toggle pin 203 is removed and the left and right gas springs 9, 9 are unlocked, the relative height of the main frame 1 with respect to the bottom frame 2 changes according to the load applied to the main frame 1 changes. However, the change is limited to a range from the height position when the guide pin 213 contacts the upper end of the slit hole 215 to the height position when the guide pin 213 contacts the lower end of the slit hole 215. be done.

The slit hole 215 has a width that increases from the central portion toward the upper and lower ends. With this configuration, when it is necessary to displace the left and right main frames 1, 1 in mutually different directions on a width-sloping road surface, etc., the main frames 1, 1 can be tilted in the left-right direction with respect to the bottom frames 2, 2. can be rotated to produce the above displacement.

In the second embodiment, instead of the front wheel stopper 300 shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, a stopper member 310 is provided integrally with the base portion 31 of the front wheel support portion 30 to stop the front wheel 3 from rotating in the left-right direction. ing.

FIG. 33 is a plan view (A), a front view (B), and a side view (C) showing the front wheel support portion 30 including the stopper member 310, the front wheel 3, and the front portion of the bottom frame 2. FIG. be. 34 is an enlarged perspective view of a range including each member shown in FIG. 33, and FIG. 35 is a side view showing a state in which the front wheel 3 is restricted from rotating in the left-right direction by a stopper member 310. As shown in FIG.

The stopper member 310 includes a support member 311 fixed to the front lower portion of the base portion 31 of the front wheel support portion 30, a movable member 312 connected to the support member 311 so as to be vertically movable, and a movable member 312 connected to the movable member 312. and a lever member 313 are included.
The support member 311 is a block made of metal, and a pin hole (reference numeral omitted) is formed through the thickness of the support member 311 at a position near the front end of the central portion in the vertical direction.

The movable member 312 is composed of a pair of side plates 314 and 314 having a forwardly protruding hook portion H continuously formed at the upper end thereof, and a connecting block 315 connecting the side plates 314 at a position higher than the support member 311 . These side plates 314 and connecting blocks 315 are also made of metal. A slit hole S (through hole) having a width slightly larger than the diameter of the pin hole is formed in the lower portion of each side plate 314 along the vertical direction. Further, in order to enable the rotation operation to be described later, the lower end surface of each side plate 314 has a rounded shape in which the front portion and the rear portion are inclined obliquely upward.

The movable member 312 and the support member 311 are arranged such that the support member 311 enters the space below the connection block 315 in the space between the side plates 314, and the pin holes of the support member 311 are aligned with the slit holes S. are aligned so as to be aligned, and are connected by support pins P passed through the respective slit holes S and pin holes and nuts (reference numerals omitted) attached to both ends of the support pins P. As shown in FIG.

The lever member 313 is formed by bending a metal round bar at two points, and the portions q1 and q3 outside the bent portions are oriented in the same direction with different lengths and heights to connect them. The intermediate portion q2 is oblique. The three portions q1, q2, and q3 are hereinafter referred to as "first piece q1," "second piece q2," and "third piece q3," respectively.

A pair of front and rear concave portions D1 and D2 are provided on the upper end surface of the bottom frame 2 near the front wheel support portion 30 to support the lever member 313 . The inner surfaces of these recesses D1 and D2 are sloped surfaces that slope downward toward the rear. Further, the recess D1 on the front side is set to be wider in the front-rear direction than the recess D2 on the rear side, and the inclined surface is also longer than the recess D2.

Out of the outer pieces q1 and q3 of each bent portion of the lever member 313, the shorter first piece q1 moves the movable member 313 (the pair of side plates 314 and 314 and the connecting block 315 therebetween) from the outside to the inside. It is fixed to the outer surface of the outer side plate 314 by a nut (reference numerals omitted). The second piece q2 connected to the first piece q1 is aligned along the inner surface of the bottom frame 2 and aligned in a direction in which the tilt direction increases toward the rear, and the third piece q3 is supported in the recess D2 at the rear of the bottom frame 2. It will protrude outward.
By being connected as described above, the lever member 313 is rotatably supported forward and backward about the first piece q1 passed through the movable member 312 as an axis.

A support pin P that connects the movable member 312 and the support member 311 is set to a size that allows it to slide inside the slit hole S. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the movable member 312 is positioned at a height position at which the support pin P contacts the upper end of the slit hole S (hereinafter referred to as the “lowest position”) and at a height at which the support pin P contacts the lower end of the slit hole S. (hereinafter referred to as “highest position”), but is normally supported at the lowest position by the action of the weight of the connecting block 315 . The hook portion H is also kept facing forward. The lever member 313 is also normally maintained in a state of being supported by the recess D2.

However, by moving the lever member 313 in the manner shown in FIG. 49 to be described later, the movable member 312 is pulled up to the highest position and then rotated halfway, as shown in FIG. enters the gap between the fork 32 and the front wheel 3 and functions as a restricting piece for stopping the rotation of the fork 32.例文帳に追加At this time, the lever member 313 is in a state of being supported by the rearmost portion of the recess D1 on the front side of the bottom frame 2 .

As shown in FIG. 35(B), even when the fork 32 is rotated so that the front wheel 3 protrudes in front of the base 31, the movable member 312 is moved in the same manner as described above so that the hook portion H of each side plate 314 is moved. The rotation of the fork 32 can be restricted by inserting it in the gap between the fork 32 and the front wheel 3.

<Third embodiment>
36, 37 and 38 are a side view, a front view and a rear view showing the overall configuration of a third wheelchair CH3 to which the present invention is applied. 39 is a cross-sectional view along line A2-A2 in FIG. 36, and FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view along line B2-B2 in FIG. FIG. 41 is a plan view showing the skeletal structure of the wheelchair CH3, and FIG. 42 shows the inner surface of the other side and the lower part of the seat after removing the left-hand side as viewed from the back of the wheelchair CH3. It is a figure showing the structure of space.

In the drawings of the third embodiment as well, constituent elements having the same functions as those of the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of these embodiments, and substantially the same as those of the first and second embodiments. Descriptions of configurations that can be said to be essentially the same are omitted or simplified, and descriptions are focused on configurations that differ from each embodiment.

The main frame 1 of the third embodiment has a form similar to that of the first embodiment (there is also a rear strut frame 16b), but the position of the base frame 15 of the main frame 1 of the main frame 1 is different from that of the first embodiment. is higher than shown in the drawing. Further, as shown in FIGS. 42 and 43, the base frame 15 of this embodiment is a stepped frame whose lengthwise rear portion is thicker than its front portion.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a connection block 140 to which the upper end of the gas spring 9 is connected is welded to the rear end surface of the seat frame 10 as an extension of the seat frame 10 , and the back frame 11 is attached to the upper surface of the connection block 140 . are connected, and the support frame 16b is connected to the lower surface (see FIGS. 36, 41, and 42).

As the height of the base frame 15 of the main frame 1 is changed, the bottom frames 2, 2 are arranged almost directly below the base frame 15 of the main frame 1 on the same side (see FIGS. 39 and 40). An upright portion 22 at the rear end of the bottom frame 2 protrudes rearward from the base frame 15, and the shaft portion 40 of the rear wheel 4 is connected to the outer surface thereof via a connection block 45 (see FIGS. 41 and 42). A front wheel connecting block 35 is also connected to the outer surface of the front end portion of the bottom frame 2, and the front wheel support portion 30 is connected to the outer surface of the connecting block 35 (see FIGS. 37 and 41). Also in the third embodiment, a notch is provided in the lower edge of the front end portion of the bottom frame 2 in order to provide a space for arranging the forks 32 and the front wheel 3 .

As in the second embodiment, the upper trusses 5f and 5b are arranged in the front-rear direction central portion and rear portion of the space below the seat. In this embodiment, the front and rear upper trusses 5f and 5b have slightly different forms, and for the convenience of explaining the forms and the relationship with the connecting shaft 8, the truss members of the upper truss 5f are indicated by reference numerals _50f1 and _50f2 , and the lower The truss members of the truss 5b are denoted by 50b ₁ and 50b ₂ .

FIG. 43(A) is an enlarged side view showing the connecting structure of the upper trusses 5f and 5b, the connecting shaft 8, the bracket 85, the lower truss 6 and the bottom frame 2. 43(B) is a perspective view showing the appearance of the connecting fitting 500 included in the connecting structure. FIG. 44(A) is an enlarged view showing the connection structure as seen from the front of the front upper truss 5f, and FIG. 1 is an enlarged view showing a state viewed from .

The upper trusses 5f, 5b of the third embodiment also have a pair of truss members 50f ₁ , 50f ₂ or truss members 50b ₁ , 50b ₂ intersecting at the center of the length, and one end of each truss member is connected to the seat 101. The main frames 1, 1 and the seat 101 are supported by connecting to the core member 18 on the left or right side and connecting the other end to the base frame 15 on the opposite side. Also in this embodiment, the lower ends of the truss members 50f ₁ , 50f ₂ , 50b ₁ , 50b ₂ are connected directly to the base frame 15 without interposing the hinge member 51 .

_The connecting _{shaft 8} is connected to the truss members 50f ₁ and 50f ₂ by the connecting fitting 500 shown in _FIG . , 50b ₁ and 50b ₂ are supported at a position slightly below their intersection.

As shown in FIG. 43(B), the connecting fitting 500 is a V-shaped member in which a pair of pieces u1 and u2 are continuous with an obtuse angle relationship, and the tip of the piece u1 is screwed to a truss member. A screw hole 501 is provided for fixing. The piece u2 is wider than the piece u1, and has a through hole 502 large enough for the connecting shaft 8 to pass through at the tip. Screw holes (not shown) are also provided at locations where the truss members 50f ₁ , 50f ₂ , 50b ₁ , 50b ₂ of the upper trusses 5f, 5b are connected to the connecting fittings 500 .

In the upper truss 5f on the front side, one piece u1 of the connecting fitting 500 is connected to the rear surface of the truss member _50f1 arranged on the front side and the front surface of the truss member _50f2 arranged on the rear side. (See FIG. 44(A).). In the upper truss 5b on the rear side as well, the pieces u1 of the connecting fittings 500 are connected one by _one to the rear surface of the truss member 50b1 arranged on the front side and the front surface of the truss member _50b2 arranged on the rear side. (See FIG. 44(B).). The pieces u2, u2 of the connecting fittings 500, 500 connected to the truss members _50f1 , _50b1 on the front side and the pieces u2, u2 of the connecting fittings 500, 500 connected to the truss members _50f2 , _50b2 on the rear side, u2 are superimposed so that the through holes 502 are connected to each other, and the connecting shaft 8 is passed through those holes.

The connecting shaft 8 is a stepped shaft that is slightly longer than the interval between the upper trusses 5f and 5b and has both ends where the connecting fittings 500 are attached smaller than the other portions. Both ends of the connecting shaft 8 are provided with screw holes that are open at the end faces, and bolts 810 with nuts are connected to these screw holes. Each connecting fitting 500 is held at a fixed position on the connecting shaft 8 by being sandwiched between the nuts of these bolts 810 and the stepped portion of the connecting shaft 8 .

The pair of truss members 50f ₁ and 50f ₂ and the pair of truss members 50b ₁ and 50b ₂ are attached to the connecting shaft 8 by overlapping the connecting metal fittings 500 connected to them, respectively. , the distance between the truss members _50f1 and _50f2 and the distance between the truss members 50f1 and 50f2 and the truss The distance between the members 50b- ₁ and 50b- ₂ is also stabilized, and the positional relationship between each truss member and the connecting shaft 8 is kept constant. Therefore, the connecting shaft 8 is supported at a height slightly lower than the intersecting position of the truss members 50f ₁ and 50f ₂ and the intersecting position of the truss members 50b ₁ and 50b ₂ so as to face these intersecting positions. . The truss members _50f1 and _50f2 and the truss members _50b1 and 50b2 that form a _pair can rotate in a direction toward each other while maintaining the positional relationship with the connecting shaft 8 and the state of crossing. can be folded without

As shown in FIG. 44(A), a spherical body 55 having an arcuate cutout on the upper end face is integrally provided at the upper ends of the truss members 50f ₁ and 50f ₂ of the upper truss 5f on the front side. ing. The truss members 50f ₁ and 50f ₂ are welded to the core material 18 of the seat 101 with the notched portions of the spherical bodies 55 in contact with the lower surface of the core material 18 . On the other hand, the truss members 50b ₁ and 50b ₂ on the rear side do not have spherical bodies 55, and as shown in FIG. be done.

Since the lengths of the truss members 50f ₁ and 50f ₂ excluding the spherical bodies 55 are the same as those of the rear truss members 50b ₁ and 50b ₂ , they are supported by the upper trusses 5f on both sides (core material 18) of the seat 101. The forward part supported by the upper truss 5b is higher than the rear part supported by the upper truss 5b. In the third embodiment, due to the difference in support height between the front and rear sides, the entire seat 101 is gently tilted backward (see FIG. 42).

As shown in FIGS. 39 and 40, on the lower surface of the seat frame 10 at positions in front of the upper trusses 5f and 5b, there are mounting members 17f and 17b which are suitable for supporting the seat 101 at those positions. Concatenated. Considering that the height of the rear portion of the seat 101 is lower than that of the seat frame 10, the upper surface of the rear mounting member 17b is set lower than the upper surface of the front mounting member 17f. Further, in order to ensure the support strength of the rear side of the seat 101, the rear mounting member 17b is thicker than the front mounting member 17f.

The bracket 85 that supports the lower truss 6 is behind the connection position of the front side of the connecting shaft 8 to the upper truss 5f, and corresponds to the central portion of the seat in the longitudinal direction, like the upper truss 5f. Concatenated to a range (see Figure 42). As shown in FIG. 43(A), the portion where the bracket 85 of the connecting shaft 8 is attached also has a smaller diameter than the area behind it.

The case body 86 of the bracket 85 of this embodiment has a pentagonal front surface and a cross section along the front surface. The spherical bearing 87 inside the case body 86 is also held at a fixed position on the connecting shaft 8 by being sandwiched between the stepped portion of the connecting shaft 8 and the positioning member 800 (see FIG. 43A). The connection between the spherical bearing 87 and the connecting shaft 8 supports the bracket 85 so as to be able to swing back and forth and left and right with respect to the connecting shaft 8 .

The truss member 60 of the lower truss 6 has substantially the same form as that of the second embodiment, and the mounting metal fittings 62 at the upper end are connected to the left and right corners of the lower part of the case body 86 (Fig. 43(A), See FIG. 44(A)). The mounting bracket 63 at the lower end of the truss member 60 is fitted between the pair of connecting plates 25a and 25b fixed to the auxiliary plate 26 on the inner surface of the bottom frame 2, as in the second embodiment. It is connected to the connecting plates 25 a and 25 via long bolts 64 .

In the second embodiment, the truss member 60 is connected to the bottom frame 2 at the upper end of the bottom frame 2. In the third embodiment, however, the distance between the connecting shaft 8 and the bottom frame 2 is reduced. Accordingly, the truss member 60 is connected to the lower end of the bottom frame 2 .

A bottom connecting member 7f that connects the front sides of the left and right bottom frames 2, 2 is arranged near the lower truss 6 and the front upper truss 5f (see FIGS. 41 and 42). Also, the bottom connecting member 7f is designed to resist the force (the force that changes the space between the bottom frames 2, 2) generated when the load applied to the lower truss 6 increases due to changes in the attitude of the main frame 1, etc. is connected to the upper end of the bottom frame 2 (at a position above the connecting position of the lower ends of the truss members 50f ₁ and 50f ₂ of the upper truss 5f) in order to increase the counter force of .
The bottom connecting member 7b on the rear side is connected to the rear lower end of the bottom frame 2 in the same manner as in the previous two examples in order to stabilize the distance between the left and right rear wheels 4,4.

As described above, in the wheelchair CH3 of the third embodiment, the width in the height direction of the range below the seat portion of the main frame 1 is shorter than the wheelchairs CH1 and CH2 of the first and second embodiments, and the bottom frame 2 is opposed to the base frame 15 of the main frame 1 on the lower side, the vehicle width can be made narrower than the wheelchairs CH1 and CH2 of the first and second embodiments. In addition, since the distance between the connecting shaft 8 connecting the upper trusses 5f, 5b and the lower truss 6 and the base frame 2 can be greatly shortened, the base frame 2 and the base frame 2 which are caused by swinging when the posture of the chair body is adjusted can be reduced. The swing width of the back frame 11 can be reduced.

In the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the gas springs 9 connecting the seat frame 10 of the main frame and the bottom frame 2 are provided only in the rear portions on both sides, and the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 are provided in the front portion. 2 is in a separated state.

FIG. 45 is an enlarged view of the gas spring 9 and its connection points (the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 on the left side of the wheelchair CH2 as viewed from the rear of the wheelchair CH2) in the second embodiment (the diagram of the second embodiment). 31.).

The connecting structure of the gas spring 9 is also substantially the same as in the second embodiment, but in the third embodiment, a connecting block 140 connected to the upper end of the gas spring 9 is welded to the rear end of the seat frame 10. A spherical bearing 910 and a fitting 93 for the gas spring 9 are supported on the outer surface of the connecting block 140 (see FIG. 45(A)). In addition, considering that the bottom frame 2 faces the base frame 15 on the lower side, the mounting bracket 94 and the spherical bearing 910 on the lower end side of the gas spring 9 are supported on the outer surface side of the bottom frame 2 (Fig. 38 to 40, see FIG. 45(B).)

A position adjusting mechanism 210 is also provided at the rear portion of the wheelchair CH3 of the third embodiment for limiting the variation in the height position of the main frame 1 within a certain range. FIG. 46A shows an enlarged view of the range in which the position adjusting mechanism 210 is arranged (the range of the circular region R2 in FIG. 38). FIG. 46B is a cross-sectional view taken along line C2-C2 in FIG. 46A.

The position adjustment mechanism 210 of the third embodiment includes a first member 211 welded to the support frame 16b located below the back frame 11, a second member 212 welded to the inner surface of the bottom frame 2, a toggle pin 203 and a guide pin. 213 and the like. Since the functions of the respective members are the same as those of the second embodiment, they are given the same reference numerals as those of the second embodiment. The shape of the whole including is rectangular. The main plate portion 211a is welded to the rear surface of the support frame 16b, and a hole (reference numerals omitted) for inserting the toggle pin 203 is formed at the welded portion. slit holes 215 are formed.

The second member 212 is also a rectangular plate member. The second member 212 is connected to the rear end portion of the bottom frame 2 (at a position behind the support frame 16b and slightly ahead of the standing portion 22). At the upper end of the second member 212, a through hole (reference numerals omitted) for inserting the toggle pin 203 is provided at a location facing the support frame 16b, and a guide pin 213 is inserted at a location protruding inward from the support frame 16b. A through hole (reference numeral omitted) is provided.
Furthermore, in the third embodiment, a through hole 216 (see FIGS. 39 and 40) for inserting the toggle pin 203 is also provided in the support frame 16b.

In the wheelchair CH3 of the third embodiment, when the holes for inserting the toggle pins 203 of the members 211 and 212 of the position adjustment mechanism 210 are positioned at a height that matches the through hole 216 of the support frame 16b. The relative height of the main frame 1 with respect to the bottom frame 2 is maintained by passing the toggle pin 203 through these three holes and bending the locking piece protruding forward of the support frame 16b to engage with the front surface of the frame 16b. be able to.

When the regulation by the toggle pin 203 is released and the locked state of each gas spring 9 is also released, the relative position of the main frame 1 with respect to the bottom frame 2 changes according to the change of the load applied to the main frame 1 . However, the change is limited to a range from the height position where the guide pin 213 of the position adjustment mechanism 210 contacts the upper end of the slit hole 215 to the height position where the guide pin 213 contacts the lower end of the slit hole 215. be done.

A stopper member 310 is also fixed to the front surface of the front wheel support portion 30 of the third embodiment for restricting the rotation of the front wheel 3 in the left-right direction. FIG. 47 is a plan view (A), a front view (B), and a side view (C) of the stopper member 310 and related members, and FIG. 48 is a range including each member shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the .

The stopper member 310 of the third embodiment has the same structure of the basic parts (supporting member 311 and movable member 312) as that of the second embodiment, but the lever member 313 for moving the movable member 312 is located in the middle. A support base 320 for supporting the lever member 313 is provided on the outer surface of the bottom frame 2 while the configuration is changed so that the second piece q2 is not inclined. The upper end surface of the support base 320 is aligned with the upper end surface of the bottom frame 2, and a pair of recesses D11 and D12 that play the same role as the recesses D1 and D2 of the second embodiment are provided on the upper end surface. there is In addition, the recessed part D12 on the rear side has a form in which the back part is opened.

As shown in FIG. 48, the lever member 313 of this embodiment is passed through the movable member 312 so that the first piece q1 protrudes outside the movable member 312, and the end of the third piece q3 extends into the recess of the support base 320. As shown in FIG. By being placed on D12, most of it protrudes outward from the front wheel support portion 30 and the stopper member 310. As shown in FIG. As in the second embodiment, the normal movable member 312 is supported at the lowest position with the hook portion H directed forward.

<Explanation of the operation of the front wheel stopper member>
49 and 50 show movement of the movable member 312 that occurs when the fork 31 and the front wheel 3 are not rotated around the support shaft 33 in the stopper member 310 of the second and third embodiments, respectively. It is represented.

In any embodiment, the movable member 312 of the stopper member 310 is normally supported at the lowest position with the hook portion H facing forward (FIGS. 49(A) and 50(A)).

If it is desired that the front wheels 3 only go straight without rotating left and right, after confirming that the front wheels 3 are facing the front, lift the lever member 313 manually and rotate it forward. Let The movable member 312 moves upward as the lever member 313 rotates, and after reaching the highest position, the movable member 312 also rotates forward (FIGS. 49B, 49C, 50B). ) (C))

When the movable member 312 rotates upside down, the hook portion H of each side plate 314 enters the gap between the fork 31 and the front wheel 3 (FIGS. 49(D) and 50(D)). Rotation of the fork 32 is restricted by the hook portion H, and the front wheel 3 is also maintained facing forward.

After the above-described rotation of the movable member 312 is completed, the lever member 313 is rotated so that the third piece q3 moves above the recess D1 or D11, and then the lever member 313 is released by releasing the lever member 313. The third piece q3 of 313 slides on the sloped surfaces of the recesses D1 and D11 and settles in the deepest place at the rear end. As a result, the lever member 313 is stably supported by the recesses D1 and D11.

After that, when it is desired to return the direction of the front wheel 3 to a state in which the direction can be changed, the lever member 313 is manually lifted again, rotated forward to some extent, and then changed to the rearward direction to stop the rotation. By continuing, the movable member 310 can be rotated in the same direction as the lever member 313 so that the hook portion H of each side plate 314 can be pulled out from the gap.

Further, when the lever member 313 is rotated above the recesses D2 and D12 on the rear side, the movable member 312 returns to the state supported at the lowest position with the hook portion H directed forward. When the lever member 313 is released, the lever member 313 also returns to being supported by the concave portions D2 and D12.

As shown in FIG. 35B, even when the front wheel 3 is arranged in front of the base portion 31, the lever member 313 can be moved in the same manner as described above with the front wheel 3 facing forward. By rotating the movable member 312 until it is turned upside down, the hook portion H of each side plate 314 can be inserted into the gap between the fork 32 and the front wheel 3 . Therefore, even when the front wheel 3 is arranged in front of the base portion 31 , the fork 32 and the front wheel 3 can be restricted from rotating around the support shaft 33 .

As described above, according to the stopper member 310 of the second embodiment and the third embodiment, the operation of rotating the lever member 3313 restricts the traveling direction of the front wheels 3 only to the straight traveling direction. can be changed freely.

The front wheel stopper 300 of the first embodiment also has the same function as the stopper member 310, but the operation for restricting the rotation of the fork 32 is performed at the rear position of the vehicle body (the position where only the caregiver can operate). Therefore, it was difficult for anyone other than an assistant to operate the front wheel stopper 300 . In contrast, with the stopper member 310 of the second and third embodiments, even the user sitting on the seat can easily perform the switching by operating the lever member 313, so that the user is in charge of the operation. You can also

<About the principle of eliminating the inclination of the chair body>
In the wheelchairs CH1, CH2, CH3 of the three embodiments described above, the upper trusses 5f, 5b connecting the left and right main frames 1, 1 forming the skeleton of the chair body, and the left and right bottom frames 2 supporting the front wheels 3 and the rear wheels 4 , 2 through the connecting position between the connecting shaft 8 and the spherical bearing 87, the chair body swings back and forth and left and right with respect to the bottom frame 2 based on the connecting position. It is in a state of possible support. Therefore, the chair body can be moved to a different posture from that of the bottom frame 2 while maintaining the posture of the bottom frame 2 along the surface with which the wheels 3 and 4 are in contact.

Further, in each embodiment, the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 is biased so that the piston rod 90 is contracted to some extent even in the initial state where no user is sitting on the seat. Therefore, when the locked state of the gas spring 9 is released, the piston rod 90 can be moved in both contraction and extension directions.

However, in the first embodiment, in the initial state, the main frame is configured such that the positioning members 201 and 202 of the left and right positioning mechanisms 200 can be connected via toggle pins 203 (see FIG. 19B). 1 and the bottom frame 2 are adjusted in the height direction. In the second and third embodiments as well, the main frame 1 and the bottom portion are arranged so that the first member 211 and the second member 212 of the position adjustment mechanism 210 can be connected via the toggle pin 203 in the initial state. The positional relationship in the height direction with respect to the frame 2 is adjusted.

Therefore, in any embodiment, the state in which the positioning members 201 and 202 are connected via the toggle pin 203 or the state in which the first member 211 and the second member 212 of the position adjusting mechanism 210 are connected is maintained. By doing so, the positional relationship between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 is stabilized (the gas spring 9 hardly moves even if the switching lever 100 is erroneously operated), and the chair body remains in its initial state. can be maintained.

When the wheelchairs CH1, CH2, CH3 move on a sloped road surface or a step, the entire vehicle body tilts along the direction of the slope or the step, as in conventional wheelchairs. However, the connection by the toggle pin 203 between the positioning members 201 and 202 or the members 211 and 212 of the position adjusting member 210 is released, and the locked state of each gas spring 9 is also released to eliminate the inclination of the main frame 1. By applying the force, the main frame 1 and the piston rods 90 of the gas springs 9 are moved in the direction according to the force, and the tilted posture of the entire chair body including the main frame 1 can be eliminated.

First, using the wheelchair CH1 of the first embodiment as an example, a method for eliminating the tilted posture of the chair body will be described. In any case, it is assumed that the connection by the toggle pin 203 has been released in advance.

51 to 53 are side views corresponding to FIG. 1 and show the state of the vehicle body when the wheelchair CH1 of the first embodiment moves downhill, uphill and steps. FIGS. 54 and 55 show cross-sectional views at positions corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively, showing the state of the wheelchair CH1 moving on a width-sloping road surface having a slope in the width direction.

When the wheelchair CH1 enters a downward slope, the entire vehicle body is lowered forward (forward leaning posture) in accordance with the change in the height positions of the wheels 3 and 4, as is the case with the slope. At this time, the caregiver who pushes the wheelchair CH1 pulls the switching lever 100 toward the handle 107 to release the locked state of each gas spring 9, and applies a downward force to the handle 107 while maintaining the released state. ), the downward force is transmitted to the rear part of the chair body including the main frame 1 as a force to increase the load, and the upper truss 5b, the rear part of the connecting shaft 8, and the gas spring 9 on the rear side The downward force is also transmitted to

The left and right main frames 1, 1 are in a swingable state with respect to the bottom frame 2 around a bracket 85 (spherical bearing 87) attached to the central portion of the connecting shaft 8. When a downward force is applied, an upward force is generated in the front portion of the connecting shaft 8 and the main frame 1, forming a force couple relationship with the force applied to the rear portion. This upward force is also transmitted to the upper truss 5f and the gas spring 9 on the front side as a force that reduces the load.

The chair body, which has received forces in each direction, moves along with the connecting shaft 8 and the upper trusses 5f and 5b, centering on the part where the bracket 85 (spherical bearing 87) of the connecting shaft 8 is connected. The lower front part tries to rotate in the upward direction. Almost simultaneously with this movement, the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 on the rear side starts to contract and the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 on the front side starts to expand, thereby assisting the above-mentioned movement of the chair body. As shown in FIG. 51, the space between the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 is narrowed on the rear side, and the space between the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 is widened on the front side, so that the seat is gently tilted backward. , the forward leaning posture of the chair body is eliminated.

When the caregiver releases the switching lever 100 after confirming that the forward leaning posture has been eliminated, the lever 100 returns to its original position, the gas spring 9 also returns to the locked state, and the changed length of each piston rod 90 is maintained. . As a result, the space between the bottom frame 2 and the seat frame 10 is maintained wide on the front side and narrowed on the rear side while the chair moves downhill, so that a good posture of the chair body is maintained.

When the wheelchair CH1 enters an uphill slope, the entire body of the wheelchair CH1 descends backward (rearward tilting posture) in accordance with the change in the height positions of the wheels 3 and 4. At this time, the caregiver pulls the switching lever 100 toward the handle 107 to release the locked state of each gas spring 9, and while maintaining the released state, applies an upward force to the handle 107 (pulls the handle 107). Then, the upward force is transmitted to the rear part of the chair body including the main frame 1 as a force to reduce the load, and also to the upper truss 5b, the rear part of the connecting shaft 8, and the gas spring 9 on the rear side. of force is transmitted.

At this time, a downward force is generated in the front portion of the connecting shaft 8 and the main frame 1, forming a couple relationship with the upward force applied to the rear portion. This downward force is also transmitted to the upper truss 5f and the gas spring 9 on the front side as a force that increases the load.

The chair body, which has received forces in each direction, moves along with the connecting shaft 8 and the upper trusses 5f and 5b, centering on the part where the bracket 85 (spherical bearing 87) of the connecting shaft 8 is connected. The rising front part tries to rotate in the direction of falling. Almost at the same time as this movement, the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 on the rear side starts to expand and the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 on the front side starts to contract, thereby assisting the above-mentioned movement of the chair body. As shown in FIG. 52, the space between the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 is widened on the rear side, and the space between the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 is narrowed on the front side. The backward tilting posture of the chair body is eliminated.

When the caregiver releases the switching lever 100 after confirming that the backward tilting posture has been eliminated, the lever 100 returns to its original position, the gas spring 9 also returns to the locked state, and the changed length of each piston rod 90 is maintained. . As a result, the space between the bottom frame 2 and the seat frame 10 is maintained narrow on the front side and widened on the rear side while moving uphill, so that the chair body is kept in good posture.

In this way, the chair body including the main frame 1, the upper trusses 5f and 5b, and the connecting shaft 8 can be lifted by pushing the handle 107 or pulling up the handle 107 by the caregiver on both the downhill and the uphill. Each can be moved in a direction in which the inclination is eliminated, and the piston rod 90 of each gas spring 9 can be moved in a direction in which the movement is assisted.

Since the gas springs 9 are also connected to the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 so as to be able to swing back and forth and to the left and right, the directions of the axes of the gas springs 9 at the four locations can quickly follow changes in the posture of the main frame 1. can be changed by
Therefore, even if the caregiver does not apply a large force to the handle 107, the tilted posture of the chair body can be eliminated.

When it is necessary to go down a place with a step, as shown in FIG. 53, the front wheels 3 are moved forward to widen the space between them and the rear wheels 4, thereby reducing the inclination of the vehicle body that occurs when going over the step. be able to. At this time as well, the inclination of the chair body can be eliminated by the same method as in the downhill case shown in FIG. Furthermore, by advancing the rod-shaped member 302 of the front wheel stopper 300 to restrict the rotation of the fork 32 of the front wheel support part 30, the front wheel 3 can be maintained in a forward posture to easily and safely go over a step.

Conventionally, when going down a step, in order to prevent the user from falling or the wheelchair toppling over, it was necessary to take measures such as turning the wheelchair backward and moving while the caregiver moves backward. According to CH1, as shown in FIG. 53, the seat can be maintained in a state close to the good posture, and forward movement can be performed in the same manner as usual, so that the descending step can be easily overcome. The operation of adjusting the posture of the chair body can be easily performed without applying a large force, as in the adjustment on the inclined surface described above.

Even when going up a step, the front wheels 3 are moved forward to reduce the inclination of the vehicle body when going over the step, the front wheel stopper 300 restricts the rotation of the fork 32 of the front wheel support part 30, and further, The tilting of the chair body can be eliminated in a manner similar to the uphill case shown in FIG.

When the wheelchair CH1 enters a width-sloping road surface that is tilted in the width direction (horizontal direction), the wheels 3 and 4 are at different heights on the left and right sides, and the entire vehicle body is also tilted along the width direction (horizontal direction). become. At this time as well, the caregiver pulls the switching lever 100 toward the handle 107 to release the locked state of each gas spring 9, pushes the raised handle 107 downward, and pushes the lowered handle 107 downward. By pulling up 107, the load applied to the pressed side of the chair body and upper frames 5f and 5b is increased and the load applied to the lifted side is reduced. A similar force acts on the gas springs 9 on each side.

By these forces, the chair main body, along with the connecting shaft 8 and the upper trusses 5f and 5b, moves down around the position where the bracket 85 (spherical bearing 87) of the connecting shaft 8 is attached, and the side that is lifted up is lowered. Attempt to rotate upwards. Almost simultaneously with this movement, the gas spring 9 on the pushed side starts to contract, and the gas spring 9 on the lifted side starts to expand and contract. And as shown in FIG. 55, the left and right heights of the chair body can be made approximately the same.

After the adjustment, when the caregiver releases the switching lever 100, the gas cylinder 9 is locked again, and the good posture after the adjustment can be maintained. Furthermore, if the rod-shaped member 302 of the front wheel stopper 300 is moved forward to regulate the rotation of the fork 32, the orientation of the front wheel 3 can be prevented from becoming unstable due to the influence of the gradient in the width direction, and the front wheel 3 can move smoothly. can.

Since each gas spring 9 is also supported so as to be able to swing in the lateral direction with respect to the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2, the axial direction of each gas spring 9 also follows the change in the inclination of the seat frame 10. can be changed by
Therefore, the tilted chair body can be easily moved in the direction of canceling the tilt, the force applied to the handle 107 for causing the movement can be reduced, and the burden on the caregiver can be reduced.

In the wheelchair CH1 of the first embodiment, the gas springs 9 are provided at the left and right front and rear parts of the vehicle body. If the configuration is such that the interval between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 is changed by the contraction or extension of the piston rod 90, the chair body including the main frame 1 can be moved around the connecting position between the connecting shaft 8 and the spherical bearing 87. It is possible to rotate in the direction corresponding to the movement of the piston rod 90 . Therefore, even if the configuration of the wheelchair CH1 of the first embodiment is changed by removing the gas spring 9 at the front portion, the same action as shown in FIGS. can be done.

In the wheelchairs CH2 and CH3 of the second and third embodiments, the gas springs 9 are provided only in the rear portion of the vehicle body, but the left and right main frames 1, 1 forming the framework of the chair body are installed below the wheelchairs. centered on the connecting position between the connecting shaft 8 and the spherical bearing 87 in the center of the space under the seat in the front-rear direction. is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the second embodiment and the third embodiment, the tilted posture of the chair body can be eliminated by performing the same operation as in the first embodiment.

56 to 58, which show the state of the vehicle body when the wheelchair CH3 of the third embodiment moves downhill, uphill, and on a width-sloping road surface, the direction of the force for resolving the tilted posture and its direction will be described below. The action will be explained. In any example, the first member 211 and the second member 212 are disconnected by the toggle pin 203 in advance, and the height of the main frame 1 can be changed within the limits of the guide pin 213. do.

When the vehicle body leans forward on a downhill, the caregiver releases the locked state of each gas spring 9 by operating the switching lever 100, and applies downward force to the handle 107 while maintaining the released state. When the handle 107 is pressed, the downward force is transmitted to the rear part of the chair body including the main frame 1 as a force to increase the load, and the upper truss 5b, the rear part of the connecting shaft 8, the gas The downward force is also transmitted to the spring 9 . In addition, an upward force (a force that reduces the load) is generated in the front part of the chair body in a couple relationship with the force applied to the rear part.

The chair body, which receives the force in each direction, along with the connecting shaft 8 and the upper trusses 5f and 5b, the rear part is lowered around the position where the bracket 85 (spherical bearing 87) of the connecting shaft 8 is attached, and the front part is lowered. Attempt to rotate upwards. Almost at the same time as this movement, the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 also starts to contract, and as a result of the contraction assisting the movement of the chair body, as shown in FIG. , the space between the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 is widened on the front side, and the forward leaning posture of the chair body is eliminated.

When the vehicle body tilts backward on an uphill, when the caregiver releases the locked state of the gas spring 9 and applies an upward force to the handle 107, the upward force is the main force that reduces the load. The upward force is transmitted to the rear portion of the chair body including the frame 1, and also to the upper truss 5b, the rear portion of the connecting shaft 9, and the gas spring 9. Furthermore, in the front part of the chair body, a downward force (a force that increases the load) is generated in a couple relationship with the force applied to the rear part.

The chair body, which receives the force in each direction, raises the rear part along with the connecting shaft 8 and the upper trusses 5f and 5b, and the front part rises around the position where the bracket 85 (spherical bearing 87) of the connecting shaft 8 is attached. Attempt to rotate downwards. Almost at the same time as this movement, the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 also begins to expand, and as a result of the expansion assisting the above-mentioned movement of the chair body, as shown in FIG. , the space between the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 is narrowed on the front side, and the rearward tilting posture of the chair body is eliminated.

When the left and right sides of the vehicle body are different in height on a width-sloping road surface, the caregiver can release the locked state of the gas spring 9, press the handle on the raised side, and pull up the handle on the lowered side. , the load applied to the pressed side of the chair body and the upper trusses 5f and 5b is increased, and the load applied to the lifted side is reduced. A similar force acts on the gas springs 9 on each side. By these forces, the chair main body, along with the connecting shaft 8 and the upper trusses 5f and 5b, moves down around the position where the bracket 85 (spherical bearing 87) of the connecting shaft 8 is attached, and the side that is lifted up is lowered. Attempt to rotate upwards. Almost simultaneously with this movement, the gas spring 9 on the pushed side starts to contract, and the gas spring 9 on the lifted side starts to expand and contract. , the heights of the left and right sides of the chair body can be made approximately the same.

Thus, in the third embodiment as well, by contracting or extending the gas spring 90, the chair body including the main frame 1, the upper trusses 5f and 5b, and the connecting shaft 8 are moved in the direction in which the inclination is eliminated. The chair body can be returned to a good posture.
Wheelchair CH2 of the second embodiment is similar to the examples shown in FIGS. , the tilted posture of the chair body can be eliminated.

In the second and third embodiments, the range in which the relative height of the main frame 1 to the bottom frame 2 can be changed is limited to a certain range by the position adjustment mechanism 210. Even if an excessive load is applied to the rear part of 1, it is possible to prevent the chair body from tilting in an unfavorable direction. Even when the chair body is rocked in the lateral direction on the width-sloping road surface, the rocking is limited to a range in which the guide pin 213 of the position adjusting mechanism 210 can move in the slit hole 215 .

When the wheelchairs CH2 and CH3 move over a step, the front wheels 3 are moved forward to reduce the inclination of the vehicle body when the wheelchair moves over the step, as in the example of FIG. Further, by moving the movable member 312 of the stopper member 310 by the method shown in FIGS. 49 and 50 to insert the hook portion H of each side plate 314 into the gap between the fork 32 and the front wheel 3, the front wheel 3 is moved forward. Able to maintain orientation. After taking these measures, the gas spring 9 is unlocked, and when going down a step, the same force as when going downhill is applied, and when climbing a step, the same force as when going uphill is applied. By applying force, the chair body can be placed in a good posture and the steps can be easily and safely crossed.

In any of the first to third embodiments, when the wheelchairs CH1, CH2, CH3 return to the flat road surface after exiting the inclined surface or the step, the bottom frame 2 assumes a posture along the horizontal direction. Since the frame 1 is in a bad position, it is necessary to return the piston rod 90 of the stretched gas spring 9 to its normal length to return the chair body to the position along the bottom frame 2 . In this case also, the caregiver can easily pull the switch lever 100 and apply a force to the handle 107 that increases the load on the raised portion and decreases the load on the lowered portion. The relationship between the chair body and the bottom frame 2 can be returned to the normal relationship. At this time also, the posture of the chair body can be adjusted without applying a large force to the handle 107 .

The gas spring 9 has the characteristic that the generated load does not change significantly even if the length of the piston rod 90 changes. If it is set to a size suitable for supporting the weight of the part plus the user's weight (maximum value in the assumed range), even if the length of each piston rod 90 changes, The chair body and the user can be stably supported.

As described above, in any embodiment, the left and right main frames 1, 1, the upper trusses 6f, 6b connecting them, and the connecting shaft 8 can be easily moved by the expansion and contraction of the gas spring 9. A large amount of force is not required for the operation of the caregiver (pushing down or pulling up the handle 107) for adjusting the posture of the chair body, and there is no fear of weakening the force supporting the user sitting on the seat. In addition, by pulling the left and right switching levers 100 toward the handle 107, the locked state of the gas springs 9 on both sides is released, and force is applied to the handle 107 in a direction suitable for canceling the inclination of the chair body. The posture of the chair body can be adjusted by a method that can be intuitively recalled.
Therefore, the posture of the chair body can be easily adjusted without imposing a heavy burden on the caregiver, and the safety of the user can be ensured.

In any embodiment, in order to ensure safety, the gas spring 9 is normally unlocked only when it is necessary to adjust the posture of the chair body, and the gas spring 9 is locked during movement. It is desirable to keep the condition

Further, when traveling on a road surface with almost no inclination, the positional relationship between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 does not fluctuate greatly even if the gas spring 9 is unlocked. Then, it is desirable to connect the positioning members 201 and 202 of the positioning mechanism 200 via toggle pins 203 . In the second and third embodiments as well, the first member 211 and the second member 212 of the position adjusting mechanism 210 are connected by the toggle pin 203 so that the positional relationship between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 is maintained. It is desirable to

However, for a user who sits in a forward tilted posture or a sacrum slipping posture, as shown in FIG. can be guided to the back of the seat to correct posture and improve safety. Even if the user leans to the left or right, as shown in FIG. 60, by adjusting the chair body to lean in the direction opposite to the direction in which the user inclines, the user can be placed on the seat. can be led to the center of the width to enhance safety.

Even when the user is sitting in a good sitting position, when the user stops the wheelchair in front of the table for eating, etc., the front part of the chair body can be put under the table by tilting the chair body forward. The user's body can be brought closer to the table.

The front wheel stopper 300 of the first embodiment and the stopper member 310 of the second and third embodiments can be displaced to restrict the rotation of the fork 32 as necessary even when the posture of the chair body is not adjusted. can be done. By doing so, when the wheelchairs CH1, CH2 and CH3 only need to be moved straight, the direction of the front wheels 3 is changed to prevent the movement from becoming difficult, and the wheelchairs can be moved smoothly.

<Modification>
With the above, the description of the three embodiments to which the present invention is applied is completed, and modified examples obtained by partially changing these embodiments will be described below.

The expansion member connected between the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2 and contracting or expanding in response to changes in external force to change the distance between the frames 1 and 2 is not limited to the gas spring 9. Absent.

61 and 62 show configuration examples of expandable members 9X and 9Y that can be substituted for the gas spring 9. FIG. These examples are applied to the wheelchair CH3 of the third embodiment, and the structure of connection to the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 is the same as in FIG. The description of the connecting structure is omitted or simplified.
In any embodiment, the switching lever 100 on the portion of the handle frame 12 becomes unnecessary.

The expandable member 9X in the example of FIG. 61 includes a movable member 920 made of a cylindrical body, a cylindrical support member 921 inserted into the movable member 920 from one open end surface of the movable member 920, and a support member for the movable member 920. It is composed of a coil spring 922 which is accommodated in a range where 921 is not included, a pair of upper and lower mounting brackets 93 and 94, and the like. The end portion of the movable member 920 on the side where the support member 921 is not inserted is connected to the connection block 140 at the rear portion of the seat frame 10 via the mounting bracket 93 and the spherical bearing 910 . The end of the support member 921 not inserted into the movable member 920 is connected to the bottom frame 2 via the mounting bracket 94 and the spherical bearing 910 . By these connections, the elastic member 9X connects the extension portion (connection block 140) of the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 with the length directions of the movable member 920 and the support member 921 along the vertical direction. is supported so as to be able to swing back and forth and left and right with respect to the frames 10 and 2 of the .

The coil spring 922 is long enough to protrude from the movable member 920 when no load is applied from above. By receiving it, even in the initial state in which no user is sitting on the seat portion, the movable member 920 is urged by being contracted to some extent. Both end portions of the coil spring 922 are fixed to the connecting fitting 93 and the support member 921 by welding, adhesive, or the like.

When the load from above increases, the coil spring 922 contracts more and the movable member 920 descends according to the contraction, and when the load from above decreases, the coil spring 922 expands and the movable member 920 rises. . The rear portion of the chair body including the connecting block 140 also starts to displace in the same direction as the movable member 920, and as a result of this displacement, the chair body rotates about the connecting position between the connecting shaft 8 and the spherical bearing 87, and as a result, the chair body attitude is changed.

Therefore, when the elastic member 9X is employed, the chair body including the main frame 1 can be moved simply by pressing the handle frame 12 or pulling up the handle frame 12 . Even so, in the wheelchair CH3 of the third embodiment, the range in which the chair body can be moved is limited by the position adjustment mechanism 210, so there is no possibility that the chair body will move more than necessary and take an unfavorable posture. Absent. Even when the chair body does not need to be moved, the first member 211 and the second member 212 of the position adjusting mechanism 210 are connected by the toggle pin 203 so that the height and posture of the main frame 1 do not change. be able to.

It should be noted that the movable member 920 is not limited to a complete cylindrical body, and the shape of the cylindrical body can be appropriately arranged, such as a shape in which a portion of the cylindrical body is opened or several places are opened.

The expandable member 9Y in the example of FIG. 62 includes a movable member 930 made of a cylindrical body having a diameter larger than that of the movable member 920 of FIG. , a feed nut 932 fitted and fixed to the opening of the movable member 930 on the insertion side of the feed screw 931 in a state slidably connected to the feed screw 931, and a feed nut 932 not inserted into the movable member 930 of the feed screw 931. The main components are a bevel gear 933 connected to the side end, a pair of rotary shafts 934 and 935 inserted through the gears 933a and 933b of the bevel gear 933, and a pair of upper and lower mounting brackets 93 and 94.

A unitized bevel gear 933 can be used similarly to the spherical bearing 910 . A helical gear can also be used instead of the bevel gear 933 . Also, the movable member 930 of this embodiment is not limited to being a complete cylinder, and its shape can be arranged.

One shaft 934 of the pair of rotating shafts 934 and 935 is continuously connected to the feed screw 931, and is connected to the bottom frame 2 via the gear 933a, the mounting bracket 94, the spherical bearing 910, and the like. The end of the movable member 930 on the side where the feed screw 931 is not inserted is connected to the connecting block 140, which is an extension of the seat frame 10, via the mounting bracket 93, the spherical bearing 910, and the like. By these connections, the telescopic member 9Y connects the seat frame 10 (connection block 140) and the bottom frame 2 with the length directions of the feed screw 931 and the movable member 930 along the vertical direction. 2 so that it can swing back and forth and left and right.

A rotating shaft 935 passed through a gear 933b is oriented toward the outside of the vehicle body (in the example shown in FIG. 61, the direction to the left when viewed from the rear side of the vehicle body), and a handle 936 for operation is connected to the end thereof. be.

According to the above configuration, when the caregiver rotates the shaft 935 by operating the handle 936, the other shaft 934 and the feed screw 931 are also rotated, and the feed nut 932 and the movable member 930 are moved upward or downward by the rotation. can be moved. Following this movement, the rear portion of the chair body including the connecting block 140 (extended portion of the seat frame 10) to which the movable member 930 is connected also starts to displace in the same direction as the movable member 930, and the chair moves according to the displacement. As a result of rotating the main body around the connection position between the connecting shaft 8 and the spherical bearing 87, the posture of the chair main body is changed. Also, by reversing the direction of rotation of the handle 936, the altered posture of the chair body can be restored.

In the extensible member 9Y described above, the direction and amount of change in posture of the chair body including the main frame 1 vary depending on the direction and amount of rotation of the handle 936 . However, in this case as well, the range in which the chair body can be moved is limited by the position adjustment mechanism 210, so that it is possible to prevent the chair body from moving more than necessary and taking an unfavorable posture.

Unlike the gas cylinder 9 and the telescopic member 9X, the telescopic member 9Y applies a force to pull down the frame 1 (downward force) or a force to push up the frame 1 (upward force) from the lower side of the main frame 1. , to change the height of the main frame 1. When using the gas cylinder 9 or the telescopic member 9X, it is necessary to adjust the spring pressure, etc. in consideration of the variation range of the load that can be applied to the seat, but when using the telescopic member 9Y, such adjustment is necessary design can be simplified.

Further, when the telescopic member 9Y is used, a rechargeable electric motor is attached to the shaft 935, an operation switch is connected to the motor, and the movement of the main frame 1 is electrically controlled by arranging it near the handle frame 12. can also be controlled.

In the wheelchair CH2 of the second embodiment as well, the elastic members 9X or 9Y can be used in place of the gas springs 9 on both sides.

In the wheelchair CH1 of the first embodiment as well, the elastic member 9Y can be used in place of the gas spring 9. Further, if the position adjusting mechanism 210 as in the second and third embodiments is provided to limit the movement range of the height position of the main frame 1, the gas spring 9 can be replaced with the elastic member 9X. can also

<Concerning the connecting structure of the expansion members>
The means for swingably connecting the expandable members 9, 9X, 9Y to the seat frame 10 and the bottom frame 2 is not limited to spherical bearings, and can be replaced with a connecting mechanism 950 as shown in FIG.

Although the example of FIG. 63 also assumes the configuration of the third embodiment, it can be replaced with the configuration of the first or second embodiment. The expansion/contraction member is not limited to the gas spring 9, and can be replaced with the expansion/contraction member 9X in the example of FIG. 61 or the expansion/contraction member 9Y in the example of FIG.

A connecting mechanism 950 in the example of FIG. 63 includes a support member 951 made of a rectangular parallelepiped metal block, one long axis piece screw 961 and a pair of short axis piece screws 962 , 962 .
The supporting member 951 is formed with a rectangular hole 971 for passing the piece 961a of the piece screw 961, centered on the central axis along the longitudinal direction. A pair of screw holes 972 , 972 for connecting a short-axis piece screw 962 is formed along the direction and sandwiching the hole portion 971 .

The support member 951 is aligned so that the hole 971 communicates with the screw hole 141 of the connection block 140 and the screw hole 250 of the bottom frame 2 , and the outer surfaces of the connection block 140 and the bottom frame 2 are aligned. fixed to

As shown in the upper part of FIG. 63(B), the long shaft piece screw 961 includes a cylindrical piece portion 961a, a screw portion 961b having the same size as the mounting rod 911 of the spherical bearing 910 in the example of FIG. and a head portion 961c provided integrally with the piece portion 961a. The piece screw 961 is configured such that most of the piece portion 961a is passed through the hole portion 971, and the screw portion 961b is connected to the screw hole 141 of the connection block 140 or the screw hole 250 of the bottom frame 2, so that are supported along the lateral direction of the vehicle body.

The short shaft piece screw 962 also has a cylindrical piece portion 962a, a screw portion 962b, and a head portion 963c, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 63(A). Each piece screw 962 has a piece portion 962a passed through a shaft hole of one piece (any of the mounting pieces 93a, 93b, 94a, 94b) of the mounting metal fittings 93, 94 of the gas spring 9, and a threaded portion 962b of the threaded portion 962b. By being connected to 972, it is supported in a state in which the longitudinal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. The length of the threaded portion 963b is set shorter than that of the screw hole 972 so that the threaded portion 962b does not come into contact with the piece portion 961a of the piece screw 961 . A washer 973 is attached to the piece portion 962a.

Although not clearly shown in FIG. 63, the piece 961a of the piece screw 961 is slightly longer than the hole 971, and the portion of the piece 961a protruding outside the hole 971 allows the head of the piece screw 931 to move. A predetermined amount of gap is created between 961c and support member 951 . The piece screw 962 also has a predetermined gap between the washer 973 and the head 962c by adjusting the piece 962b so that it is longer than the thickness of the washer 973 attached to the piece 962b.

With the above configuration, the connecting member 951 is rotatable around the axis of the long-axis piece screw 961 , and the fittings 93 and 94 of the gas spring 9 connected to the connecting member 951 are also connected to the short-axis piece screw 962 . can be rotated around the axis of Therefore, the upper and lower mounting brackets 93 and 94 of the gas spring 9 rotate according to a change in the inclination of the connecting block 140 (extended portion of the seat frame 10) to which the connecting member 951 is attached and the bottom frame 2. The attitude of the gas spring 9 changes depending on the direction and the rotation angle of .

<Application to self-propelled wheelchairs>
When the present invention is applied to a self-propelled wheelchair, by adopting the configuration of the second embodiment or the third embodiment, the user himself/herself operates the stopper member 310 of the front wheel support portion 30 to It is possible to easily switch between a state in which the front wheels 3 are kept facing the front and a state in which the front wheels 3 are rotatable to the left and right.

When a gas spring 9 with a locking function is used as a contracting member that connects the main frame 1 and the bottom frame 2, a lever switch for releasing the locked state of the gas spring 9 should be placed within reach of the user. Thus, the posture of the chair body can be adjusted by the user's motion.

For example, when going downhill, the user switches the lever switch from the locked state to the unlocked state and leans against the backrest cushion 102 to increase the rearward load of the vehicle body and reduce the forward load, thereby increasing the piston of the gas spring 9. By changing the rod 90 to a state similar to that shown in FIGS. 51 and 56, the inclined posture of the chair body can be eliminated. Even on an uphill slope, the user tilts the body forward by switching the lever switch to the unlocked state, thereby increasing the forward load of the vehicle body and decreasing the rearward load, thereby moving the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 to the position shown in FIG. 57 to eliminate the tilted posture of the chair body.

Even on a wide sloping road surface, the user can increase the load on the higher side and reduce the load on the lower side by switching the lever switch to the unlocked state and leaning the body to the higher side. By changing the piston rod 90 of the gas spring 9 to the state similar to that shown in FIGS. 54, 55 and 58, the inclined posture of the chair body can be eliminated.

In either case, after the tilted posture of the chair body is eliminated, the lever switch is returned to the locked state to maintain the length of the piston rod 90 of each gas spring 9 after the change, thereby bringing the chair body into a good posture. can be moved on slopes. When the wheelchair returns to the flat surface, the piston rod 90 of each gas spring 9 is extended to its normal length by releasing the lever switch again and applying the load on the opposite side of the inclined surface. can be returned to Thereafter, by locking the lever switch again and maintaining the piston rod 90 at its normal length, the chair body can be moved while maintaining a good posture.

When the configuration of the second embodiment or the third embodiment is adopted in a self-propelled wheelchair, the gas springs 9 at the rear portions on both sides are changed to the telescopic members 9Y shown in FIG. A motor may be used to move these extensible members 9Y. In this case as well, if a switch for moving the motor is provided near the seat, or if a controller including the switch is connected to the side frame 14 or the like, the user can operate the switch without having to change his or her posture. It is possible to easily eliminate the tilted posture of the chair body by simply

<Other Modifications>
A standing portion may also be provided in front of the bottom frame 2, and a wheel having a larger diameter than the front wheel 3 of each embodiment may be connected to this standing portion without interposing the front wheel support portion. In this case, the front wheel stopper 300 and the stopper member are unnecessary.

In the first to third embodiments, the reference position (connection position between the spherical bearing 87 and the connecting shaft 8) for rotating the chair body is provided in the center of the space under the seat in the front-rear direction. Even if the position is shifted forward or backward from the central part, the posture of the chair body can be adjusted by the height of the reference position and the connection position between the left and right main frames 1, 1 and the elastic members 9 (9X, 9Y). can be determined. In addition, the posture of the chair body can be changed by contraction and expansion of the expansion and contraction members 9 (9X, 9Y).

The members (truss member 50, bar member 70) constituting the upper truss 5 and the bottom connecting members 7f, 7b of each embodiment are not limited to rod-shaped members as shown in the drawings of each embodiment. It can also be in the form of a thick elongated plate.
Moreover, if the wheelchair does not need to be folded, the upper end of the truss member 50 of the upper truss 5 may be connected to the seat frame 10 instead of the side portion of the seat 101 .

The bottom frame 2 of each embodiment, the members related to the bottom frame 2 such as the truss member 60 of the lower truss 6 and the bottom connecting member 7, and the truss member 50 of the upper truss 5 are made of robust wood or FRP (fiber reinforced plastic). It can also be manufactured using materials other than metal. The main frame 1 is likely to be made of metal for the convenience of using existing wheelchair parts, but making it of metal is not an essential requirement.

<Summary>
The wheelchair of the present invention, which has been described in the above embodiments and modified examples, uses a main frame 1 having the same configuration as the conventional one and a bottom frame 2 made of a simple plate material. The configurations of the bottom connecting members 7f and 7b and the connecting shaft 8 are also simple. The means for adjusting the posture of the main frame 1 can also use the commercially available gas spring 9 or the expandable member 9X or 9Y that can be manufactured by combining commercially available parts, thereby preventing the material cost from becoming large. . Also, the labor required for the assembly work can be greatly reduced, and the overall manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

Further, in many of the existing wheelchairs, a pair of left and right frames are connected by truss members at the central position and the rear end position in the front-rear direction. can be manufactured.

Therefore, it is possible to provide, at a reasonable price, a wheelchair capable of easily restoring a tilted chair body to a good posture, thereby resolving the inconvenience faced by many users and caregivers.

CH1, CH2, CH3 Wheelchair 1 Main frame 2 Bottom frame 3 Front wheel 4 Rear wheels 5f, 5b Upper truss 6 Lower truss 7f, 7b Bottom connecting member 8 Connecting shafts 9, 9X, 9Y Spring member 10 Seat frame 11 Back frame 12 Handle frame 13 Front frame 14 Side frame 15 Base frame 16a, 16b Strut frame 17 Mounting member 30 Front wheel support part 31 Base part 32 Fork 50, 60 Truss member 85 Bracket (support member)
87 spherical bearing 90 piston rod 92 release pin 100 switching lever 107 handle 200 positioning mechanisms 201, 202 positioning member 203 toggle pin (connecting member)
210 Position adjustment mechanism 211 First member 212 Second member 213 Guide pin 300 Front wheel stopper 302 Rod member 310 Stopper member 311 Support member 312 Movable member 500 Connecting fitting 950 Connecting mechanism

Claims (12)

A structure for supporting a chair body of a wheelchair,
a pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms for connecting and supporting a pair of left and right main frames forming both sides of the chair body;
a pair of left and right bottom frames that are arranged at positions facing each other on the outer side or the lower side of the frame that constitutes the bottom of each main frame and that rotatably support the front and rear wheels of the wheelchair;
a bottom frame support mechanism for connecting and supporting the pair of left and right bottom frames;
a connecting shaft arranged in the space under the seat portion of the chair body so as to extend along the longitudinal direction of the chair body;
a support member attached to the connecting shaft at a position below the intermediate position in the front-rear direction of the seat so as to be capable of swinging back and forth and left and right;
Provided below the rear portion on both sides of the seat, they are connected to the portion of the main frame that supports the seat and the bottom frame so as to be able to swing back and forth and left and right, and are resistant to an upward or downward external force. a pair of expandable members that expand and contract along the direction of the external force while maintaining the above-mentioned connected state,
each of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms and the bottom frame support mechanism includes a pair of connecting members each having a predetermined length;
The pair of connecting members of each upper frame support mechanism is a portion that supports the seat of the main frame on one side of the seat or on the side of the side with a posture that intersects each other at the center in the length direction. and a frame forming the bottom of the main frame on the side opposite the side,
The connecting shaft is connected to the connecting members in a state of being aligned with the intersections of the connecting members forming the pair of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms,
In the bottom frame support mechanism, one end of each of the pair of connecting members is connected to the left and right bottom frames, and the other end of each of these connecting members is connected to the support member. support structure. The connecting shaft is held in a state of being passed through a portion where the paired connecting members of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms intersect,
A support structure for a wheelchair according to claim 1. The connecting shaft of each upper frame support mechanism is arranged so as to face the intersection of each pair of connecting members of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms at a predetermined height below the intersecting portion. connected to each via a connector,
A support structure for a wheelchair according to claim 1. Of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms, the front upper frame support mechanism is arranged in the center in the front-rear direction of the space below the seat, and the rear upper frame support mechanism is arranged below the seat. It is placed in the rear part of the space,
The support member is connected in the vicinity of the connection position to the upper frame support mechanism on the front side of the connection shaft,
A support structure for a wheelchair according to claim 1. Of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms, the front upper frame support mechanism is arranged in the front part of the space below the seat, and the rear upper frame support mechanism is arranged behind the space below the seat. placed in the
The support member is connected to an intermediate position between the connecting positions of the connecting shaft to each upper frame support mechanism,
A support structure for a wheelchair according to claim 1. The bottom frame support mechanism includes second connecting members that extend along the width direction of the vehicle body at positions forward and rearward of the pair of connecting members, respectively, and connect the left and right bottom frames.
A support structure for a wheelchair according to claim 1. The pair of extensible members are gas springs with a lock function, and the tip of the piston rod of the gas spring is connected to the portion supporting the seat of the main frame, and the end opposite to the piston rod is connected to the main frame. is connected to the bottom frame;
An operating portion for switching between a locked state and an unlocked state of the gas spring is provided at a rear end portion of each main frame or at a position near the seat portion.
A support structure for a wheelchair according to claim 1. The pair of extensible members has a feed screw, a feed nut connected to the feed screw, and an accommodating portion capable of enclosing a predetermined length range including a portion of the feed screw to which the feed nut is connected, A movable member connected to the portion of the main frame that supports the seat portion and the feed nut, an operating shaft extending along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the feed screw, and between the feed screw and the bottom frame. a transmission mechanism connected to the operating shaft and transmitting the rotation of the operating shaft to the feed screw;
A support structure for a wheelchair according to claim 1. A first positioning member connected to the frame forming the back of the main frame is provided in each of the combination of the left main frame and the bottom frame and the combination of the right main frame and the bottom frame; a second positioning member that is connected and supported so as to be able to face the first positioning member; 2. The wheelchair support structure according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning mechanism including a connecting member. The combination of the left main frame and the bottom frame and the combination of the right main frame and the bottom frame each have a slit hole of a predetermined length, and the length direction of the slit hole extends along the height direction. a first member connected to a frame constituting the back portion of the main frame; a second member connected to the bottom frame and supported so as to be opposed to the formation range of the slit hole of the first member; A position adjustment mechanism including a guide pin connected to the second member while being slidably inserted through the slit hole of the first member along its length direction is further provided,
The wheelchair support structure according to claim 1 or 9. a front wheel and a rear wheel provided one each on the left and right;
a chair body including a pair of left and right main frames and a seat portion supported by a portion of the main frames and arranged between the main frames;
a pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms for connecting and supporting the pair of left and right main frames;
a pair of left and right bottom frames arranged at positions opposed to the frame forming the bottom of each main frame on the outer side or the lower side and supporting the front wheels and the rear wheels in a rotatable manner;
a bottom frame support mechanism for connecting and supporting the pair of left and right bottom frames;
a connecting shaft arranged in the space under the seat portion of the chair body so as to extend along the longitudinal direction of the chair body;
a support member attached to the connecting shaft at a position below the intermediate position in the front-rear direction of the seat so as to be capable of swinging back and forth and left and right;
Provided below the rear portion on both sides of the seat, they are connected to the portion of the main frame that supports the seat and the bottom frame so as to be able to swing back and forth and left and right, and are resistant to an upward or downward external force. a pair of expandable members that expand and contract along the direction of the external force while maintaining the above-mentioned connected state,
each of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms and the bottom frame support mechanism includes a pair of connecting members each having a predetermined length;
The pair of connecting members of each upper frame support mechanism is a portion that supports the seat of the main frame on one side of the seat or on the side of the side with a posture that intersects each other at the center in the length direction. and a frame forming the bottom of the main frame on the side opposite the side,
The connecting shaft is connected to the connecting members in a state of being aligned with the intersections of the connecting members forming the pair of the pair of front and rear upper frame support mechanisms,
In the bottom frame support mechanism, one end of each of the pair of connecting members is connected to the left and right bottom frames, and the other end of each of these connecting members is connected to the support member. . The front wheel has a front wheel support portion including a fork arranged to straddle the front wheel and supporting a rotation shaft of the front wheel at both end positions, and a base portion supporting the fork rotatably around the shaft along the vertical direction. connected to the bottom frame through
A stopper member including a movable member having a pair of side plates with a hook portion provided at one end thereof and a support member supporting the movable member on the front surface of the base portion so as to be vertically movable is provided at the base portion of the front wheel support portion. be
The movable member is supported at the lowest position of the range of vertical movement while maintaining the state in which the hook portion protrudes forward at the upper end position, and is turned upside down when pulled up to the uppermost position. It is possible to rotate, and by the rotation, the hook portion of each side plate enters the gap between the fork and the front wheel, and the rotation of the fork is restricted.
Wheelchair according to claim 11 .

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