JP2023138887A - Wheelchair for getting over level difference - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a wheelchair equipped with an auxiliary mechanism for getting over level difference, a wheelchair that reduces a burden of getting over level difference by a helper who pushes the wheelchair and that also secures safety of a user.SOLUTION: An inventor discovered, as a result of keen research for solving the foregoing problem, that a chair handle installed in the rear facilitates getting-over of a level difference by an extremely small force compared with an ordinary wheelchair. However, a new problem comes up in which a handle longer than an ordinary one causes inconvenience in various situations such as in storing and passing through a narrow corridor and doors. Consequently, as a result of further research, instead of installing the root part of a wheelchair handle directly to the frame of the wheelchair, by installing to the top end of a handle column which is rotatably fitted to the frame of a wheelchair, it was discovered that the wheelchair handle could be moved rearward only when necessary.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a wheelchair that is an assistive device for people who have difficulty walking due to old age, illness, injury, etc., and is equipped with a mechanism that makes it easier to get over steps.

In a wheelchair, when going over a step, the caregiver uses the rear wheel as a fulcrum to push down on the handle, lift the front wheel, and place the front wheel on the step.Then, the caregiver uses the front wheel as a fulcrum to lift the handle and lift the rear wheel. It is necessary to place the rear wheel on the bump. The burden of such work is considerable, and various attempts have been made to reduce this burden. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2016-203956, Wellfan Co., Ltd.) provides a step-climbing caster that can be used as a front wheel of a wheelchair and is equipped with a step plate that can move up and down. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-74951, Systech Co., Ltd.) provides a wheelchair equipped with a mechanism in which a handle and a front wheel support are connected by a wire so that the front wheels can be moved back and forth.

Furthermore, it is also being researched to provide a reclining function in a wheelchair to reduce the burden on the occupant, and to make the handle extendable and retractable in order to adjust the lowering position of the handle (Patent Document 3, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012) -135420, Matsunaga Seisakusho Co., Ltd.).

JP2016-203956A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-74951 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-135420

However, in the step-over caster of Patent Document 1, the height of the step that can be climbed over is limited to the height of the step moving plate, and after the front wheels get over the step, the rear wheels also have to get over the step. The force required to do so is no different from that of a regular wheelchair. Furthermore, in the wheelchair of Patent Document 2, the height of the step that can be overcome is limited to the height of the raised front wheels, and furthermore, the problem of the rear wheels has not been solved as in Patent Document 1. In the wheelchair disclosed in Patent Document 3, if the user lifts the front wheels to get over a step while the wheelchair is reclined, the user's head may be pulled back significantly and the wheelchair may fall.

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a wheelchair equipped with a step-climbing assist mechanism that reduces the burden of climbing over steps on a caregiver pushing the wheelchair and also ensures the safety of the user. .

As a result of intensive research to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventors of the present invention found that when the handle of a wheelchair is located at the rear, it is possible to get over a step with extremely little force compared to a normal wheelchair. However, a new problem arose in that longer handles than normal handles were actually more inconvenient in various situations, such as when storing them, passing through narrow hallways and doors, etc.As a result of further research, we decided to Rather than attaching the base directly to the wheelchair frame, the handle is attached to the top end of the handle post, which is rotatably attached to the wheelchair frame, allowing the wheelchair handle to be moved backwards only when necessary. I found out what I can do.

Therefore, the present invention provides a wheelchair that can easily get over steps, and is characterized in that a handle is attached to the upper end of a handle column that is attached to the frame of the wheelchair so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction. (hereinafter referred to as the wheelchair of the present invention).

In the wheelchair of the present invention, the handle strut is provided with a bearing extending through the frame in the left-right direction so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction on the frame at its lower end, and a shaft is provided at the lower end of the handle strut to support the bearing. The shaft is inserted into the shaft to connect the shaft to the shaft. The handle of the wheelchair is attached to the upper end of the rotatable handle column, and the height of the handle is preferably the same as that of a normal wheelchair.

In the wheelchair of the present invention, since the handle support is rotatably attached to the frame, the handle position can be changed independently of the frame of the wheelchair, particularly the backrest portion.

In the wheelchair of the present invention, the handle may be equipped with a brake mechanism like a normal wheelchair. Further, the length and shape of the handle portion alone may be any length and shape that can be adopted in a normal wheelchair.

In the wheelchair of the present invention, the handle can be folded by attaching the handle support to the frame of the wheelchair so as to be rotatable back and forth. In a preferred embodiment, a strut fixing mechanism may be further provided to secure the handle strut in order to secure the handle in a predetermined position. Such a column fixing mechanism may, for example, have a rotating part of a locking type, or may include a fixed shaft whose end is connected to the middle of the column and a protrusion to prevent it from coming off at the other end, and the shaft is inserted through the fixed shaft. The fixing device may be a combination of a bearing and a bearing rotatably attached to the frame. A lock-type rotating part is, for example, provided with a fastener that can stop the rotating part, and the fastener is connected to an operating means provided on the handle part, such as a lever, using a wire or the like. , is achievable.

In the wheelchair of the present invention, it is preferable that the handle strut is further adjustable in height in order to adapt it to the height and physique of the caregiver. The height of the handle can be adjusted, for example, by making the column telescopic.In such a mechanism, for example, the column serves as a shaft and a bearing, and a protrusion can be inserted into the shaft and the protrusion can be inserted into the bearing. It may be a mechanism with a hole.

In the wheelchair of the present invention, the handle can be tilted further back than the handle of a normal wheelchair, and the wheelchair can be climbed over steps with less burden on the caregiver. In other words, it is better to tilt the steering wheel backwards to get over a step than when going over a step with the handlebars in the normal position. This allows more force to be applied to the front wheels. Alternatively, the gripping portion of the handlebar, which is the point of effort, is located further away than the front wheels (in the case of riding over the rear wheels), and the principle of leverage can produce a greater effect on the rear wheels. The more the handle is moved backward, the less this necessary force will be, but if the handle is pushed too far back, it will become difficult to maneuver in narrow spaces such as hallways and doors, and the wheelchair frame will not hold up when folded. If it protrudes from the handlebar, even if it is folded, it will take up storage space when not in use, so it is preferable that the length of the handlebar of the wheelchair of the present invention is within a range that does not cause these problems. Furthermore, one might simply think that providing an extension member for the handle would be sufficient if only to reduce the burden on the caregiver, but the work of carrying and fitting such a member each time is cumbersome and impractical. The problem of not having one can be addressed by attaching a rotatable handle support. Furthermore, since the wheelchair of the present invention is based on the premise that the backrest cannot be moved forward or backward, the risk of the user's weight being applied to the rear side of the rear wheels and causing the user to fall is avoided. Such falls are more dangerous the further back the user is due to reclining. Furthermore, in a more preferred embodiment, the height of the handle support of the wheelchair of the present invention is adjustable, so that the handle can be set at a height that makes it easier for the caregiver to apply force.

FIG. 1 is a left side view of the wheelchair of the present invention in a first embodiment. The handlebar strut is unfolded. FIG. 1 is a left side view of the wheelchair of the present invention in a first embodiment. The handlebar strut is folded.

Embodiments of the wheelchair of the present invention will be described in detail below. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown below, and design changes can be made as appropriate. Further, throughout this specification, up, down, left, right, front and back will be described with the traveling direction as the front and the wheel side as the bottom, but this is only a relative distinction for the convenience of explanation. The wheelchair of the present invention will be explained below using a left side view, but the right side may be left-right symmetrical, and the explanation will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wheelchair (1) of the present invention in the first aspect comprises a front wheel (11), a rear wheel (12), a seat surface (13), a handle (14), and a frame (15) that holds them. The base portion of the handle (14) is fixed to the tip of a handle post (21) that is attached to the frame (15) so as to be rotatable back and forth. A bearing (16) for attaching the handle support (21) is provided on the lower side of the backrest portion of the frame (15), and a shaft (22) to be inserted into the bearing (16) is attached to the handle support (21). 21) Provided at the lower end. With such a shaft and bearing, the handle column (21) of the present invention can be rotated back and forth with respect to the frame (15). The height of the handle strut (21) is the height of a normal handle when the handle strut is folded. A fixing device (23) is attached to the middle of the handle column (21), and one end of the fixing device (23) is connected to the middle of the handle column (21), and the other end has a projection to prevent it from coming off. It consists of a fixed shaft (24) provided with a fixed shaft (24), and a bearing (25) through which the shaft (24) is inserted and rotatably attached to the frame. By sliding the fixed shaft (24) stepwise with respect to the bearing (25), the angle of the handle support column (21) can be fixed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the handle column (21) can be rotated and folded. As is clear from a comparison of Figures 1 and 2, even if the handle column (21) is rotated, the handle position only moves back and forth, and the frame (15) of the wheelchair (1), especially the backrest portion, does not deform.

1 Wheelchair 11 Front wheel 12 Rear wheel 13 Seat surface 14 Handle 15 Frame 16 Handle post bearing 21 Handle post 22 Handle post shaft 23 Fixture 24 Fixed shaft 25 Fixed bearing

Claims (2)

A wheelchair characterized in that a handle is attached to the upper end of a handle column that is attached to the frame of the wheelchair so as to be rotatable in the front and rear directions. The wheelchair according to claim 1, further comprising a strut fixing mechanism.

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