JP3933754B2 - Bathing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a bathing apparatus that allows a person who needs bathing assistance, such as a physically handicapped person or an elderly person, to take a bath safely and without much assistance.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a bathing apparatus of this type, an elevating rail that is moved up and down by an elevating drive mechanism is arranged inside a bathtub, and on the other hand, a seat mounted on the upper side of a traveling carriage provided with a rail on the upper side is a rail. Prepare a wheelchair that can be separated while being moved along, and transfer the seat from the traveling carriage onto the lifting rail in a state where the elevation rail is matched with the height of the rail on the traveling carriage of the wheelchair. In such a state, a type in which the bather is brought into the bathtub together with the seat body by lowering the elevating rail is known (see JP-A-6-319778).
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the said bathing apparatus, the support | pillar which supports a raising / lowering rail stood up in the approximate center part of the bathtub, and when the general person took a bath, there existed a problem that this support | pillar got in the way.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can be arranged at the corner of the bathtub or outside of the bathtub without protruding a column for supporting the lifting rail or the like at the center of the bathtub. An object of the present invention is to provide a bathing apparatus that can be used not only for caregivers but also for bathing the general public, and that can be used widely in the bathroom by minimizing the installation space.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a seat body (51) placed on the upper side of a traveling carriage (41) provided with a rail (44) on the upper side is along the rail. A wheelchair (1) which is separable while being moved, and a lift rail (10) which is provided in the bathtub and is lifted and lowered by a lift drive mechanism (7), the lift rail on the wheelchair traveling carriage In the bathing apparatus for transferring the seat from the traveling carriage onto the lifting rail in a state matched with the height of the rail, the lifting rail is interposed between the lifting rail and the lifting drive mechanism. Through a link mechanism (11) that rotates around a horizontal axis , the body is horizontally moved between a seat body delivery position (A) at the bathtub edge and a bathing position (B) at the substantially central part of the bathtub. . The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the link mechanism operates only when the elevating rail reaches the upper position and horizontally moves the elevating rail. According to a third aspect of the present invention, an elevating rail (10) is supported by the elevating rail support member (9) supported by the elevating drive mechanism so as to be horizontally movable between the seat body delivery position and the bathing position, Between the lifting rail support member and the lifting rail, the horizontal movement of the lifting rail is allowed only when the lifting rail support member reaches the upper position, and when the lifting rail support member is at the lower position or the intermediate position, the lifting rail support member is lifted or lowered. A lock mechanism (30) for restricting horizontal movement of the rail is provided.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show a bathing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This bathing apparatus includes a wheelchair 1 capable of traveling on the floor 2 and facilities on the bathtub 3 side.
[0007]
As the equipment on the bathtub 3 side, a first support column 4 is provided outside the bathtub 3 and in the vicinity of the side wall of the bathtub, and a second support column 5 is provided adjacent to the first support column 4. A lifting drive mechanism 7 that lifts and lowers a lifting rail 10 to be described later via a lifting body 6 incorporated in the second support column 5, and a lifting rail support member attached to the lifting body 6 via a connecting member 8. 9, a rail support plate 10a that is supported by the elevating rail support member 9 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3), and has a pair of left and right elevating rails 10 fixed to the upper surface, a rail support plate 10a, and the elevating rail 10 And a link mechanism 11 that rotates around a horizontal axis .
[0008]
As shown in FIG. 2, the elevating drive mechanism 7 includes a cylinder 13 fixed to the upper lid portion 12 of the first support column 4 and a first end attached to the tip of a piston rod 13 a protruding from the lower end of the cylinder 13. The chain 15 is wound around the sprocket 14a, and the elevating body 6 is attached to the end of the chain 15. One end of the chain 15 is fixed to the upper lid portion 12 of the first support column 4, and the intermediate portion is connected to the upper end portion of the intermediate portion of the first sprocket 14 a and the first and second support columns 4, 5. The other end is connected to the elevating body 6 by being wound around the attached second sprocket 14b. The elevating body 6 is incorporated in a hollow portion of the second support column 5 through guide rollers 16 attached to the upper and lower ends thereof and arranged in a cross shape so as to be movable up and down.
[0009]
When the cylinder 13 is expanded and contracted, the lifting body 6 is moved up and down following the movement of the chain 15.
In the space on the right side in FIG. 2 of the first support column 4, hydraulic equipment such as a pump, a solenoid valve, and a tank for driving a cylinder 24 (to be described later) that horizontally moves the cylinder 13 and the lifting rail 10 is provided. Has been placed.
[0010]
The elevating body 6 is provided with the connecting member 8 so as to protrude outside through a vertical groove formed in the second support column 5. The connecting member 8 includes a connecting plate portion 8a connected to the elevating body 6 and a cylindrical portion 8b attached integrally to the side portion of the connecting plate portion 8a. A handrail 17 is attached to the upper end of the cylindrical portion 8b. On the other hand, the elevating rail support member 9 is attached to the lower end of the cylindrical portion 8b.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 4, the elevating rail support member 9 is provided with lower rollers 18 and 18 and upper rollers 19 and 19, and is supported so that the rail support plate 10 a is sandwiched between the rollers 18 and 19. ing. Further, the elevating rail support member 9 is provided with horizontal rollers 20 and 20, and a pair of guided bars 21 and 21 fixed to the rail support plate 10a are engaged with the horizontal rollers 20, whereby the rail support plate 10a. When moving in the front-rear direction, it does not shift to the side in the traveling direction.
[0012]
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a swing bar 23 is pin-coupled to the upper side of the first support column 4 so that it can swing around the horizontal axis along the moving direction of the lifting rail 10. The swing bar 23 is swing-operated by pushing and retracting its middle portion by the cylinder 24. On the other hand, a guide bar 25 is provided at an intermediate portion in the height direction of the columns 4 and 5 so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction, and the moving member 26 is guided along the guide bar 25. Further, a pin 26 a is provided at the corner of the moving member 26, and this pin 26 a is fitted into the long hole 23 a at the lower end of the swing bar 23. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a vertical plate 27 is integrally attached to the moving member 26, and this vertical plate 27 is engaged with a U-shaped member 29 integrally attached to the rail support plate 10a. Combined.
[0013]
When the swing bar 23 is swung by the cylinder 24 in a state where the U-shaped member 29 is engaged with the vertical plate 27, the rails are moved via the moving member 26, the U-shaped member 29 and the like. The support plate 10a and the elevating rail 10 fixed thereto are moved and operated in the front-rear direction.
That is, the cylinder 21, the swing bar 23, the moving member 26, and the like constitute the link mechanism 11 that horizontally moves the elevating rail 10 in the front-rear direction. An enlarged diameter portion 29 a is formed at the upper end of the U-shaped member 29 so as to quickly engage with the vertical plate 27 when the U-shaped member 29 rises.
[0014]
Further, the horizontal drive mechanism 11 allows the horizontal movement of the lifting rail 10 only when the lifting rail support member 9 is in the upper position, and lifts and lowers when the lifting rail support member 9 is in the lower position or the intermediate position in the height direction. A lock mechanism 30 that restricts horizontal movement of the rail 10 is provided.
[0015]
The locking mechanism 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, a plate member 32 is attached to a U-shaped member 29 provided integrally with the rail support plate 10a via a bracket 31 so as to be rotatable around a pin 31a. It has been. A lock bar 33 is attached to a side portion at the front end of the plate member 32. The lock bar 33 is formed of a channel member 34a and a triangular member integrally attached to the lifting rail support member 9 when the plate member 32 is in a horizontal state. It fits in the locking groove 34 formed between 34b.
When the plate 32 that moves up and down integrally with the rail support plate 10a reaches the upper position, the end 32a of the plate 32 opposite to the side on which the lock bar 33 is attached is the lower end of the vertical plate 27. When the plate member 32 is inclined obliquely, the lock bar 33 comes out of the locking groove 34 at this time, and when the plate member 32 is slightly lowered from the upper position together with the rail support plate 10a, the plate member 32 The end 32a is not pushed by the lower end of the vertical plate 27, and the plate 32 is in a substantially horizontal state. Therefore, the lock bar 33 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. Thereby, the mutual attachment position of the said board | plate material 32 and the vertical board 27 is determined so that the rail support plate 10a may not move to the front-back direction with respect to the raising / lowering rail support member 9. FIG.
[0016]
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 36 denotes a guide bar attached to the upper surface of the side wall of the bathtub, thereby restricting the rail support plate 10a from shifting laterally in the moving direction. Reference numeral 38 denotes guide means for guiding the traveling carriage 41 below the wheelchair 1 to the bathtub 3.
[0017]
The wheelchair 1 will be briefly described. The wheelchair 1 includes a lower traveling carriage 41 and an upper seat 51 that is detachably mounted on the traveling carriage 41 as shown in FIG. The traveling carriage 41 has a frame 42, and a caster 43 for traveling on the floor surface 2 is provided below the frame 42. In addition, a pair of left and right rails 44 for causing the seat body 51 to travel in the front-rear direction and a lock plate (not shown) disposed between the rails 44 are provided on the upper surface of the frame 42.
[0018]
The seat body 51 includes a seat body main body 52 supported by the traveling carriage 41, and a plurality of unillustrated wheels that roll on the rails 44 of the traveling carriage 41 are provided on the lower surface of the seat body main body 52. ing. The seat body 51 has a footrest 55 in front of the seat body 52. Further, a handle 56 to be gripped when the assistant pushes the hand is attached to the rear end of the seat body 52, and the backrest 53 is tilted backward, and the handle 56 is further tilted backward to move the footrest 55 forward. As shown in the figure, a so-called reclining state can be achieved. The wheelchair 1 is provided with a lock mechanism that fixes the seat body 51 to the traveling carriage 41.
[0019]
A lock pin (not shown) of the lock mechanism is detachable with respect to a lock hole provided in the lock plate of the traveling carriage 41, and is normally biased in the locking direction and fits into the locking hole on the traveling carriage 41 side. Thus, the seat body 51 can be fixed in a state of being positioned on the traveling carriage 41. In addition, the lock pin can also be fitted into a lock hole (not shown) of the rail support plate 10a to fix the seat body 51 to the rail support plate 10a.
[0020]
Next, the operation of the bathing apparatus having the above configuration will be described.
When a physically handicapped person or the like takes a bath, the elevating drive mechanism 7 and the link mechanism 11 are operated, and the elevating rail 10 is disposed at the seat body delivery position (A) above the bathtub edge. In this state, the wheelchair 1 on which a care recipient M such as a physically handicapped is previously placed is positioned at a predetermined position on the side of the bathtub 3 through the guide means 38. At this time, the rail 44 and the elevating rail 10 of the traveling carriage 41 are arranged in a straight line. In this state, the lock mechanism for fixing the seat body 51 to the traveling base 41 is released, and the assistant pushes the seat body 51 forward to move, and the care recipient M is transferred onto the lifting rail 10 together with the seat body 51. .
[0021]
When the seat body 51 is transferred onto the elevating rail 10, the lock pin biased in the locking direction automatically fits into a lock hole (not shown) of the rail support plate 10a, and the seat body 51 is locked to the rail support plate 10a. Is done. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the elevating rail 10 is moved horizontally from the (A) position to the (B) position, and then lowered, whereby the care recipient can be put in a bathing state.
[0022]
That is, when the transfer of the seat body 51 to the rail support plate 10a is completed, the cylinder 24 is extended. The piston rod 24a of the cylinder 24 pushes the middle part of the swing bar 23 forward (leftward in FIG. 2), and accordingly the swing bar 23 rotates in the same direction. As a result, the moving member 26 moves forward. To do. As the moving member 26 moves forward, the U-shaped member 29 engaged with the vertical plate 27 of the moving member 26 moves integrally with the moving member 26 in the same direction. The rail support plate 10a to which the member 29 is attached and the elevating rail 10 fixed to the upper surface of the rail support plate 10a move forward while reaching the position (b) while being guided through the rollers 18, 19, and 20.
[0023]
Thereafter, the cylinder 13 of the elevating drive mechanism 7 is driven and supported by the elevating rail support member 9 supported by the elevating body 6 via the chain 15 and the connecting member 8 and the elevating rail support member 9. The rail support plate 10a, the lifting rail 10 and the like are lowered. At this time, since the U-shaped member 29 is engaged with the vertical plate 27 of the moving member 26 as shown in FIG. 5 at the beginning of the lowering, the movement of the elevating rail 10 in the front-rear direction is in the extended state. Regulated by.
On the other hand, when the elevating rail 10 or the like descends and the lower end of the U-shaped member 29 is lowered from the lower end of the vertical plate 27, the plate member 32 is positioned so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction as shown in the lower part of FIG. As a result, the lock bar 33 is fitted into the locking groove 34. As a result, the lock mechanism 30 enters a locked state and restricts the movement of the rail support plate 10a and the lifting rail 10. That is, when the rail support plate 10a and the lifting rail 10 are lowered and lowered to the lower limit position, the horizontal movement of the lifting rail 10 and the like is restricted and held at the position shown in FIG. Therefore, the seat body 51 does not move unnecessarily, and the care recipient can reach the bathing state with peace of mind.
[0024]
After bathing, the elevating drive mechanism 7 is operated to raise the elevating rail 10. Then, as the elevating rail 10, the rail support plate 10a, and the U-shaped member 29 that moves up and down integrally with the elevating rail 10, the U-shaped member 29 engages with the vertical plate 27 via the enlarged diameter portion 29a at the upper end. Further, the vertical plate 27 descends relative to the U-shaped member 29, and with the relative lowering of the vertical plate 27, the other end 32a of the plate material 32 is pushed down by the vertical plate 27, and the plate material 32 is Inclined state. At this time, the lock bar 33 comes out of the locking groove 34. That is, the locked state by the lock mechanism 30 is released.
[0025]
Thereafter, as the cylinder 24 is shortened, the rail support body 10a and the elevating rail 10 move rearward (rightward in FIG. 3), thereby bringing the elevating rail 10 to the seat body delivery position (A). Thereafter, the lock mechanism that fixes the seat body 51 on which the care recipient M is placed to the rail support plate 10a is released, and the seat body 51 is moved rightward in FIG. Transfer. At that time, when the seat body 51 comes to a predetermined position on the traveling carriage 41, the lock mechanism automatically operates to fix the seat body 51 to the traveling carriage 41.
[0026]
It should be noted that after the seat body 51 is transferred to the rail support plate 10a via the elevating rail 10, the rail support plate 10a is moved horizontally from the position (A) to the position (B), and the seat body 51 is then moved to the rail. The operation of lowering the entire support plate 10a may be input to a computer in advance, and these operations may be automatically operated based on detection signals from position sensors provided at appropriate locations, or manually with a button or the like. You may make it operate by.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, after the seat body 51 is transferred to the rail support plate 10a via the elevating rail 10, the rail support base 10a is horizontally moved from the (A) position to the (B) position. The seat body 51 is lowered together with the rail support plate 10a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lowering of the seat body 51 starts immediately before the rail support plate 10a reaches the position (b) from the position (b). You may make it drive | work automatically. In this case, when the seat body 51 rises from the lower end position at the (B) position, the seat body starts to move in the horizontal direction before reaching the raised position. By doing in this way, the shock at the time of the seat body 51 reaching the rising position of (B) position can be relieved.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the wheelchair is transferred onto the elevating rail while facing the front. However, this is not always necessary, and the upper seat body 51 of the wheelchair is mounted on the rail support plate in a sideways state. You may make it transfer to 10a.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lifting rail is connected via the link mechanism interposed between the lifting rail and the lifting drive mechanism to the seat body delivery position at the bathtub edge and the bathing position at the substantially central part of the bathtub. Since it is made the structure which moves horizontally between, the support | pillar etc. which support a raising / lowering rail can be arrange | positioned in the corner or the outer side of a bathtub in a bathtub as far as possible from the center part of a bathtub. For this reason, a support | pillar etc. do not get in the way, and the bathtub can be used in common for both a care recipient and a general bather, and is particularly suitable for home care. In addition, since the link mechanism that rotates around the horizontal axis is used, the horizontal occupied space can be reduced, and there is an advantage that it can be installed sufficiently even when the bathroom is compact.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the link mechanism is operated only when the elevating rail reaches the upper position to move the elevating rail horizontally, so that the elevating rail is lowered during bathing or after rotation. In addition, even if the link mechanism is activated, it is possible to prevent the elevating rail and the seat from moving horizontally, and the elevating rail does not collide with the wall of the bathtub, so that the damage to the bathtub can be prevented. Can be prevented.
According to the invention of claim 3, between the lift rail support member and the lift rail, the lift rail support member is allowed to move horizontally only when the lift rail support member reaches the upper position. Since the lock mechanism that restricts the horizontal movement of the lift rail is provided when the is in the lower position or the intermediate position, the horizontal movement of the lift rail and the seat body during bathing can be restricted with a simple configuration. The care recipient who sits on the seat through the seat can take a bath or take a bath with peace of mind, and the burden on the caregiver is reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the same embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the same embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the same embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing details of a lock mechanism and a horizontal movement mechanism used in the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheelchair 3 Bath 6 Lifting body 7 Lift drive mechanism 8 Connecting member 9 Lift rail support member 10 Lift rail 10a Rail support plate 11 Link mechanism 13 Cylinder 23 Swing bar 24 Cylinder 25 Guide bar 26 Moving member 27 Vertical plate 30 Lock mechanism 33 Lock bar 34 Locking groove

Claims (3)

A wheelchair (1) in which a seat (51) placed on the upper side of a traveling carriage (41) provided with a rail (44) on the upper side is made separable while being moved along the rail, and in a bathtub And a lift rail (10) that is lifted and lowered by a lift drive mechanism (7), and the lift rail is raised and lowered from the top of the traveling carriage in a state where it matches the height of the rail on the traveling carriage of the wheelchair. In the bathing device for transferring the seat on the rail,
The elevating rail is connected to a seat body delivery position (b) at the bathtub edge and a substantially center of the bathtub via a link mechanism (11) that rotates around a horizontal axis interposed between the elevating rail and the elevating drive mechanism. Bathing apparatus characterized by being horizontally moved between the bathing positions (b) of the part.   2. The bathing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the link mechanism operates only when the elevating rail reaches an upper position and horizontally moves the elevating rail.   An elevating rail (10) supported by the elevating rail support member (9) supported by the elevating drive mechanism is supported so as to be horizontally movable between the seat body delivery position and the bathing position, and the elevating rail supporting member, the elevating rail, A lock that allows the horizontal movement of the lifting rail only when the lifting rail support member reaches the upper position, and restricts the horizontal movement of the lifting rail when the lifting rail support member is in the lower position or the intermediate position. 3. A bathing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a mechanism (30) is provided.

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