JP3166358U - Front wheel mechanism of walking assist vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a front wheel mechanism of a walking assist vehicle that is capable of climbing over a step and that can also climb over a continuous step. A sub-holder is attached to a holder so as to be swingable with respect to the holder, and a tip of the sub-holder comes closer to a traveling direction than a front wheel. At least one auxiliary wheel 5 having a small diameter is rotatably provided, the swing shaft 12 of the sub-holder is provided below the rotation axis of the auxiliary wheel, and the sub-holder is pressed downward between the holder and the sub-holder. With the elastic member 6 interposed, the swing of the sub-holder is controlled such that the lower end of the auxiliary wheel is located above the lower end of the front wheel. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in a step climbing mechanism used in a walking assist vehicle or the like.

  A person with weak legs may use a walking assistance vehicle for walking assistance or carrying baggage. The user walks while pushing the walking auxiliary vehicle.

  When you walk on a sidewalk while pushing the walking assistance vehicle, you often come across a step. Specifically, according to the standards of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism regarding barrier-free, it is required to provide a step of 20 mm at the boundary between the pedestrian crossing and the sidewalk, and this step is often encountered.

  However, walking assist vehicles generally have a small wheel diameter, so it is difficult to cross even a step of about 20 mm, and there is an accident in which the vehicle is turned forward by a collision with the step and falls.

  On the other hand, if the user pulls a pusher such as a handle toward the front and lifts the front wheel, the step can be crossed. However, when such an operation is performed, the walking auxiliary vehicle is often lightweight and tends to lose its balance. Also, because the vehicle cannot move forward with the brakes applied, that is, the step cannot be exceeded, the front wheel must be lifted over the step without applying the brake, and extra force is applied to lift the front wheel. Together, the walking assistance vehicle moves forward unexpectedly, and the walking assistance vehicle, and thus the user, may fall.

  In view of this, various wheelchairs and walking assistance vehicles capable of getting over the steps to avoid such dangers have been proposed.

  For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-85583 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-7855 are examples of patent documents in which devices related to such walking assistance vehicles are described.

  In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-85583, a vehicle body frame is extended rearward from the rear wheel axle, and a step of lifting the front of the vehicle body about the rear wheel axle is provided at the extension.

  In the device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-7855, a holder for rotatably supporting the front wheel is provided so as to be rotatable in the advancing direction, a spring for returning it to the original position is interposed, and an auxiliary wheel is further provided in front of the front wheel. It is provided.

JP 2000-85583 A JP 2006-7855 A

  The invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-85583 lifts the front wheel and exceeds the step, and there is a risk of losing balance as described above. Moreover, when it contacts a level | step difference without noticing, there exists a strong possibility that it may become the front and lose balance.

  In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-7855, the front wheel moves backward when the step passes and the auxiliary wheel works, so that it can pass over the step as it is, and then the front wheel is moved to its original position by the force of the spring. Is also a mechanism to return. However, the front wheel does not return to the original position when passing through successive steps such as a Braille block, and if the user continues walking, the front wheel is caught at the next step, and the user may lose balance.

  Therefore, the present invention can overcome even a step or a step that has collided unexpectedly, and even if the step is higher than the height of the auxiliary wheel rotation shaft from the ground, The purpose is to present the front wheel mechanism.

  The configuration of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.

  (1) The front wheel mechanism of the walking auxiliary vehicle according to claim 1 is a front wheel mechanism of the walking auxiliary vehicle in which a holder for rotatably supporting the wheel is attached to the lower portion of the frame, and the sub holder can swing with respect to the holder. In addition, the sub-holder is attached in such a manner that the tip of the sub-holder is closer to the traveling direction than the front wheel, and at least one auxiliary wheel having a smaller diameter than the front wheel is rotatably provided at the tip of the sub-holder in the traveling direction. Is provided below the rotating shaft of the auxiliary wheel, and an elastic member is provided between the holder and the sub-holder to apply a force for swinging the sub-holder downward. The sub-holder was controlled to swing so as to be positioned above the lower end.

  (2) The invention according to claim 2 is a front wheel mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a contact member is provided on the upper rear end of the sub holder, and the contact member abuts the holder to control the swing of the sub holder. It was configured as follows.

  The effects of the present invention configured as described above will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The diameter of the front wheel of a general walking assistance vehicle is about 130 mm, and a step of about 15 mm can be overcome without the action of the auxiliary wheel. However, if the height of the step exceeds 20 mm, when the front wheel collides with the step, the step cannot be exceeded only by the front wheel, and the rear wheel is lifted by the impact, that is, the handle is lifted diagonally forward and upward. As a result, the user is turned forward.

  Therefore, with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, it will be described in detail how the walking auxiliary vehicle having the front wheel mechanism according to the present invention can overcome the step of 20 mm. 3 to 5, the ratio of the front wheel diameter to the step is 130: 20.

  According to the front wheel mechanism according to the present invention, the auxiliary wheel 5 is located in front of the front wheel 2 and at a higher position than the front wheel 2 as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the front wheel 2 collides with a step A of about 20 mm as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the sub-holder 4 swings upward about the swing shaft 12, and the auxiliary wheel 5 as shown in FIG. Rides on top of step A. This positioning of the auxiliary wheel 5 helps to lift the front wheel 2 and allows the step A to be exceeded.

  That is, in the present invention, an elastic member 6 that applies a force for swinging the sub-holder 4 downward is interposed between the holder 3 and the sub-holder 4. The elastic member 6 assists the lifting of the front wheel 2, and the auxiliary wheel 5 existing at the top of the step A serves as a fulcrum, so that the front wheel 2 is easily lifted as shown in FIG.

  In other words, when the movement that the handle 8 is lifted occurs, the auxiliary wheel 5 comes into contact with the top of the step A, and the movement that the handle 8 is lifted is suppressed. In addition, since the sub-holder 4 to which the auxiliary wheel 5 is attached swings upward, and the sub-holder 4 is given a force of swinging downward by the elastic member 6, it tries to swing downward. With this force, the main holder 3, and thus the front wheel 2, is lifted, and it is possible to go over the step A.

  In addition, according to the present invention, even if the steps are continuous, the front wheel 2 is lifted each time the auxiliary wheel 5 comes into contact with each step, so that it is possible to get over smoothly.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the height H2 of the swing shaft 12 of the sub holder from the ground G is set smaller than the height H1 of the rotating shaft 5a of the auxiliary wheel from the ground G. Therefore, even if the step B exceeds 20 mm or the step B higher than the height of the auxiliary wheel rotation shaft from the ground, it is possible to get over as shown in FIGS. Details will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the auxiliary wheel 5 collides with the step B, the swing shaft 12 is located below the rotation shaft 5a, so that the sub-holder 4 swings upward as shown in FIG. Incidentally, if the swing shaft 12 is provided above the rotating shaft 5a, the sub-holder 4 swings downward.

  As the sub-holder 4 swings upward, the auxiliary wheel 5 rides on the top of the step B as shown in FIG. The positioning of the auxiliary wheel 5 helps to lift the front wheel 2, and the step B can be exceeded by the same action as when the step A is overcome.

1 is a schematic front view showing an embodiment of a front wheel mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which gets over a level | step difference. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which gets over a level | step difference. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which gets over a level | step difference. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which gets over a level | step difference. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which gets over a level | step difference. The perspective view which shows the state equipped with the walk auxiliary vehicle. The front view which shows other embodiment.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the front wheel mechanism according to the present invention will be outlined as an example when used in a walking assistance vehicle.

  In the front wheel mechanism according to the present invention, a holder 3 is fixed to a lower end of a front wheel frame 1a by a fixing pin 10 as shown in FIG. A front wheel 2 is supported by the holder 3 so as to be rotatable about a shaft 11, and a sub-holder 4 is supported so as to be swingable about a swing shaft 12.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sub-holder 4 is a plate that is bent so as to sandwich the holder 3, and an auxiliary wheel 5 is rotatable around the rotation shaft 5a at the front end of the traveling direction. The front wheel 2 is attached in a form that comes forward. The sub-holder 4 may be provided in a shape that sandwiches the holder 3 with two plates, or may be provided in a shape that sandwiches the holder 3 by bending one plate into a substantially U shape.

  In addition, a contact member 14 is provided between the side walls 4b and 4b at the upper rear end of the sub-holder 4. The contact member 14 abuts on the rear end of the holder 3 to control the downward swing of the sub-holder 4. That is, it serves to prevent the rotating shaft 5 a of the auxiliary wheel 5 from coming below the swinging shaft 12.

  The contact member 14 may have any shape as long as the swing of the sub-holder 4 can be controlled, and may be a shaft shape, a plate shape, or a protrusion.

  An elastic member 6 is interposed between the holder 3 and the sub-holder 4. Specifically, the lower end of the elastic member 6 serving as a push spring is fixed to the bottom portion 4 a of the sub-holder 4 on the traveling direction side of the swing shaft 12, while the upper end is the recess 3 a provided in the holder 3. It is inset. Thereby, the sub-holder 4 is given a force that swings downward.

  As described above, the elastic member 6 may be a plate spring other than the push spring, or may be formed as an elastic member 6 by interposing a tension spring on the opposite side of the moving direction from the swing shaft 12 as shown in FIG. May be.

  FIG. 8 shows a case where the present invention is applied to a walking assistance vehicle. The walking assist vehicle 7 is provided with a handle portion 8 gripped by a user at the top, and a pair of front wheels 2 and a pair of rear wheels 9 are rotatably attached to the lower end of the frame 1. At the lower end of the front wheel frame 1a, the holder 3, the sub-holder 4, and other front wheel mechanisms according to the present invention are mounted.

2. Front wheel 3 Holder 4 Sub holder 5 Auxiliary wheel 5a Rotating shaft 6 Elastic member 12 Oscillating shaft 14 Contact member

Claims (2)

In the front wheel mechanism of the walking assistance vehicle, which has a holder that supports the wheel rotatably at the bottom of the frame,
The sub-holder (4) is attached so that it can swing with respect to the holder (3) and the tip of the sub-holder (4) is closer to the traveling direction than the front wheel (2),
At least one auxiliary wheel (5) having a diameter smaller than that of the front wheel (2) is rotatably provided at the front end in the traveling direction of the sub-holder (4).
The swing shaft (12) of the sub-holder (4) is provided below the rotation shaft (5a) of the auxiliary wheel (5),
An elastic member (6) for applying a force to swing the sub-holder (4) downward is interposed between the holder (3) and the sub-holder (4);
Controlling the swing of the sub-holder (4) so that the lower end of the auxiliary wheel (5) is located above the lower end of the front wheel (2);
A front wheel mechanism of a walking assistance vehicle characterized by   The swinging of the sub-holder (4) is controlled by providing a contact member (14) at the upper rear end of the sub-holder (4), and the contact member (14) is in contact with the holder (3). Front wheel mechanism for walking assistance vehicles.

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