JP4187204B2 - Attitude control type electric wheelchair - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a posture-controlled electric wheelchair whose posture is controlled in a plurality of posture modes such as raising and lowering of a seating portion and backward tilting of a seat back.
[0002]
[Prior art]
According to Patent Document 1, the seat structure is provided with a link structure behind the seat back, and the seat moves from the normal position to the lower position close to the floor surface while moving forward from the footrest attached to the front wheel side, An electric wheelchair in which the footrest is not disturbed when seated is disclosed. Further, according to Patent Document 2, an electric wheelchair is disclosed in which the seating portion can be moved up and down along the rear elevating rail so that the user can easily get on and off and can perform work in the kitchen at a high position while sitting. ing.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-323047 [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-104397
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
On the other hand, according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-71617, the applicant of the present application pivots a base end portion of a front wheel support frame having a front wheel at the front end and a seating portion on a body frame that supports a motor-driven rear wheel. The footrest arm and the base end of the seat back are pivotally attached to the front and rear end portions of the seating portion, and the power cylinder for moving the seating portion up and down by driving the rear wheel and the front wheel apart from each other, and the seating portion in the horizontal position. Combination of various postures of wheel base, seat, seat back and footrest by power cylinder for tilting from the rear, power cylinder for tilting the seat back, and power cylinder swinging the footrest forward from a substantially vertical downward position In an electric wheelchair in which a plurality of types of posture modes defined by To detect the forward and backward position of the cylinder rod, and proposed a position sensor of the electric wheelchair power cylinder with rotary potentiometer.
[0005]
This posture-controlled electric wheelchair has slightly raised the "rest mode" for raising the seat, "down mode" for lowering, "tilt mode" for tilting the seat upward, and slightly moving the footrest, seat and seat back It is assumed that the posture can be controlled by the rotation control at the pivotally mounted positions of the above-described parts in “stand-up mode” or the like that stands up straight.
[0006]
Therefore, the seat portion can be moved up and down by the expansion and contraction control by the rotation of the wheel base, and the footrest arm is pivotally attached to the seat portion, so that the footrest is attached to the front wheel side as in Patent Document 1. A mechanism for moving the part back and forth is unnecessary, and there is no need to use a bulky structure with vertical lifting rails as in Patent Document 2.
[0007]
However, in the case of a handicapped person with a missing leg, etc., the `` stand-up mode '' in which the user stands on the footrest cannot be used, so the height of the upper body is the same as that in the normal standing posture. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to further raise the seating portion in a horizontal state, and it becomes difficult to ensure a sufficient lifting stroke only by the expansion and contraction control of the wheel base.
[0008]
In view of the above, the present invention provides a posture-control-type electric wheelchair that can further increase the lifting / lowering stroke of the seating portion by adding another portion of the rotation control to the rotation control for expanding and contracting the wheel base. The purpose is to provide.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a posture-controlled electric wheelchair in which the posture is controlled in a plurality of posture modes such as raising and lowering of the seating portion and backward tilting of the seatback. A seating portion frame and a seating portion main body superimposed on the seating portion frame from above are provided, and a seating portion main body and a corner portion of the seat back that are substantially perpendicular to each other are fixed to each other to support a motor-driven rear wheel. The base frame is pivotally attached to the base frame of the front wheel support frame with the front wheel at the tip and the front part of the seat frame, and the corner is pivotally attached to the base frame of the seat frame. A first actuator for rotating the front wheel support frame relative to the main body frame so as to expand and contract the wheel base, and a seating portion frame for rotating relative to the main body frame 2 and a third actuator for rotating the seat body relative to the seat frame, a travel mode in which the seat is horizontal at a standard height position, and the seat is a standard height. Posture control in down mode that descends from the position and up mode in which the seat base moves backward away from the seat frame so that the seat base is held in a horizontal position with the wheel base shortened and raised. As described above, the operations of the first, second and third actuators are controlled.
[0010]
Since the seat frame is pivotally attached to the main body frame, the seat frame rises when the front wheel support frame is rotated with respect to the main body frame so that the front and rear wheels approach each other and the wheel base is shortened. To do. In this state, the seating part frame is moved forward by turning, and the seating part main body is turned away from the seating part frame with the raised base end as a fulcrum. As a result, in addition to the stroke corresponding to the shortening of the wheel base, the seat portion main body further rises by the stroke corresponding to the forward movement of the seat portion frame.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An attitude control type electric wheelchair according to an example of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The front wheel 2 of the electric wheelchair is arranged around a semi-spindle-shaped rotating body that can rotate in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction, and is supported by the front end portion of the front wheel support frame 2a. The motor-driven rear wheel 1 is supported by a main body frame 1a including a pipe 1b, frames 1c on both sides, and the like. The base end portion of the front wheel support frame 2a is pivotally attached to the main body frame 1a by being provided with a transverse shaft 2b supported by the main body frame 1a. It is pivotally attached by 11a. A base end portion of a legrest 6 that supports a leg portion below the knee is pivotally attached to a distal end portion of the seating portion frame 11 via brackets 6b on both sides by a shaft 6a that traverses the seat portion frame 11.
[0012]
The seat back 7 is composed of a seat back main body 7a and a seat back frame 7b, is provided with a headrest 8 at a tip portion, and supports an armrest 9 at an intermediate position so as to be movable up and down. The seating portion 10 includes a seating portion frame 11, a seating portion main body 12 placed on the seating portion frame 11, and a fixed seating portion 12 a attached to the distal end portion of the seating portion frame 11. The seating portion main body 12 is fixed in a state where the base end portions are fixed at a substantially right angle with respect to the seat back 7, and a corner portion formed by these base end portions, for example, a base end portion of the seating portion main body 12 is used. It is pivotally attached to the base end portion of the seating portion frame 11 via hinge brackets 17 projecting on both sides by a traversing shaft 18. Thereby, the seating part main body 12 can be separated from the seating part frame 11 by turning about the shaft 18 as a fulcrum.
[0013]
Power cylinders 20 to 50 that have built-in motor mechanisms and perform forward / backward driving are attached to the respective parts that can be rotated with these pivoting positions as fulcrums. Among them, the base end portion of the cylinder body 22 of the lifting power cylinder 20 is pivotally attached by a pin 28 to a distal end portion of a link arm 23 whose base end portion is pivotally attached to the main body frame 1 a by a pin 29. The front end of each is pivotally attached by a pin 24 to a hinge bracket 27 attached to the shaft 2b. Thereby, the shaft 2b is rotationally driven by the advancement and retraction of the cylinder rod 21, the front wheel support frame 2a is rotated with respect to the main body frame 1a, and the wheel base that is the distance between the front wheel 2 and the rear wheel 1 is controlled to expand and contract. . A pair of the lifting power cylinders 20 is provided on the outermost sides on both sides.
[0014]
The seating portion frame power cylinder 30 for rotating the seating portion frame 11 with respect to the main body frame 1a within a range where the seating portion frame 11 changes from the backward state to the forward state via the horizontal state is seated at the base end portion of the cylinder body 32. The front end of the cylinder rod 31 is pivotally attached to a hinge bracket 35 attached to the frame body 1a by a pin 33. A pair or one of the power cylinders 30 is provided on both sides inside the seat frame 11.
[0015]
The seating portion main body power cylinder 40 for rotating the seating portion main body 12 with respect to the seating portion frame 11 is pivotally attached to the seating portion frame 11 by a pin 44. A tip end of the rod 41 is pivotally attached to a hinge bracket 7d protruding from the seat back frame 7b by a pin 45. One power cylinder 40 is provided at an intermediate position, and when the cylinder rod 41 is driven backward, the seat body 12 is rotated upward with the shaft 18 as a fulcrum and then tilted backward.
[0016]
The legrest power cylinder 50 for rotating the legrest 6 forward from a substantially orthogonal position with respect to the seating part frame 11 is pivotally attached to the seating part frame 11 with a pin 55 at the base end of the cylinder body 52. The tip of the rod 51 is pivotally attached to a hinge bracket 54 protruding from the back surface of the legrest 6 with a pin 53. One power cylinder 50 is provided at an intermediate position, and when the cylinder rod 51 is driven forward, the legrest 6 swings upward with the shaft 6a as a fulcrum.
[0017]
In this way, the power cylinders 20 to 50 are accommodated in the back side of the seating part frame 11 or the main body frame 1a without being bulky. In response to a manual operation by a seated person at an operation unit (not shown) provided around the seating unit main body 12, these power cylinders are changed from a “running mode” that is a standard state to an “up mode”, A computer-based control means 60 is attached so that the posture is controlled in the “down mode” and the “reclining mode”, and a drive input corresponding to the motor control signal is supplied to the associated drive unit 61.
[0018]
That is, the control means 60 holds control data that defines the interrelation between the rotation direction and rotation amount of the motor built in the power cylinders 20 to 50 related to each posture mode and the rotation amount when interlocking. A motor control signal corresponding to the control data of the posture mode selected by the operation is supplied to the associated drive unit 61, and the associated power cylinders 20 to 50 are automatically operated. Further, in the “travel mode” or “up mode”, the control means 60 outputs a motor control signal correspondingly to the power cylinders 20 and 30 or the power cylinders 30 and 40 in response to a manual operation, thereby The height is adjusted and stored as a preset value of control data during automatic operation. Further, in response to the manual operation, the tilt angle of the reclining is adjusted correspondingly by the power cylinder 40 and stored as a preset value, and the swing position from the vertically lower position of the legrest 6 to the forward position by the power cylinder 50 is stored. To adjust.
[0019]
Thereby, when “up mode” is selected, the wheel base is shortened to the shortest by the advance of the cylinder rod 21 of the lifting power cylinder 20 to raise the seating part frame 11, and the power cylinder 30 for the seating part frame is raised. The cylinder rod 31 is advanced to rotate the rear end portion of the seating portion frame 11 above the horizontal position corresponding to the preset value, and further, the cylinder rod 41 of the seating portion main body power cylinder 40 is moved backward in conjunction with the preset value. Thus, the horizontal position of the seating section main body 12 is held.
[0020]
When “down mode” is selected, the wheel base is extended to the longest when the cylinder rod 21 of the lifting power cylinder 20 is retracted, and the cylinder rod 31 of the power cylinder 30 is retracted to move the seating portion 10 back to the horizontal position. Further, the cylinder rod 51 of the legrest power cylinder 50 is moved forward in conjunction with each other, thereby swinging the legrest 6 to a gentle downward slope and bringing its tip close to a running surface such as a road surface.
[0021]
When the “traveling mode” is selected and the vehicle is stopped and the “reclining mode” is selected, the cylinder rod 41 of the seating portion main body power cylinder 40 is moved backward to bring the seating portion main body 12 from the horizontal position to a preset value. The seat back 7 is moved backward at an angle corresponding to. Further, the height of the seat frame 11 is varied by shortening or extending the wheel base by the lifting power cylinder 20 in response to the height adjustment operation, and the seating section is powered by the seat frame power cylinder 30 in conjunction therewith. Hold 10 horizontal positions. Moreover, the legrest 6 is swung to an arbitrary front angle by advancing the cylinder rod 51 of the power cylinder 50 for the legrest according to a manual operation.
[0022]
The operation of the posture-controlled electric wheelchair configured as described above is as follows. FIG. 2 shows various posture modes in which the posture of the electric wheelchair is controlled (power cylinder is not shown). In the “running mode” (A in the figure), which is a normal state, the vehicle can automatically run, the height of the seating body 12 can be adjusted, and the legrest 6 that touches the leg part below the knee is appropriately swung forward from the vertical position. Can do. Furthermore, the posture can be controlled in a “reclining mode” in which the seat back 7 is moved backward together with the seating portion main body 12 in a stopped state, and the reclining angle can be manually adjusted.
[0023]
When “down mode” (FIG. B) is selected, the seat base 12 occupies the lowest position due to the maximum extension of the wheel base, and the legrest 6 swings forward so that the tip is on the running surface. approach. Thereby, along with the gentle inclination of the legrest 6, even a handicapped person with a disability or a deficiency in a foot or a leg can be easily seated from the buttocks.
[0024]
When operated in the “up mode” (FIG. C), the seat frame 11 that has been lifted due to the maximum shortening of the wheelbase is moved forward from the horizontal state, the base end portion is further raised, and the lift is further interlocked. At this position, the seating section main body 12 is separated from the seating section frame 11 and rotated to the horizontal position. In this state, the upper body can be raised to the same height as the “stand-up mode” in which a person stands on a conventional footrest, and can work in the standing posture of a healthy person. You can also interact with each other.
[0025]
As another embodiment, all or one of the actuators for rotating the front wheel support frame 2a and the seating part frame 11 with respect to the main body frame 1a and for rotating the seating part main body 12 and the legrest 6 with respect to the seating part frame 11 are used. The part can also be configured to directly rotate and drive the shaft at the associated pivot position by a motor with a reduction gear without using the power cylinder described above.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the invention, in addition to raising the seating portion frame by shortening the wheel base by turning, the base end portion of the seating portion frame itself is also turned upward, so that it is not bulky. With this structure, a posture-controlled electric wheelchair that can significantly raise the seating section main body is realized. Thereby, even for a disabled person who cannot stand up, the upper body of the seated state can be raised to the same level as the standing posture of a healthy person.
[0027]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the leg rest is connected obliquely toward the floor in front of the seating portion in the down mode, so that it can be easily seated from the buttocks. According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to select a reclining mode in which the positional relationship between the seating portion and the seat back is moved backward while maintaining a substantially orthogonal state.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of a posture-controlled electric wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of various posture modes in which the posture of the posture-controlled electric wheelchair is controlled.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rear wheel 1a Main body frame 2 Front wheel 2a Front wheel support frame 6 Legrest 7 Seat back 10 Seating part 11 Seating part frame 12 Seating part main body 20-50 Power cylinder

Claims (3)

In the posture-controlled electric wheelchair whose posture is controlled in a plurality of types of posture modes such as raising and lowering the seating part, tilting the seat back, etc.
The seating portion includes a seating portion frame and a seating portion main body that is superimposed on the seating portion frame from above, and the seating portion main body and the corner portion of the seat back that are arranged substantially at right angles to each other are fixed to each other,
A base end portion of a front wheel support frame having a front wheel at a front end thereof is pivotally attached to a main body frame that supports a motor-driven rear wheel, and a front portion of an intermediate position of the seating portion frame. Is pivotally attached to the base end of the seat frame,
A first actuator for rotating the front wheel support frame relative to the main body frame so as to expand and contract a wheel base; a second actuator for rotating the seating portion frame relative to the main body frame; and the seating portion A third actuator for rotating the main body relative to the seat frame,
The driving mode in which the seating portion is in a horizontal state at a standard height position, the down mode in which the seating portion is lowered from the standard height position, and the seating portion frame that has been lifted by shortening the wheel base is moved forward. In this state, the operations of the first, second, and third actuators are controlled so that the posture is controlled to the up mode in which the seat body main body maintains a horizontal state so as to rotate away from the seat frame. A posture-controlled electric wheelchair characterized by being The base end portion of the legrest is pivotally attached to the distal end portion of the seating portion frame, and the posture is controlled to the down mode by including a fourth actuator that rotates the legrest with respect to the seating portion frame. 2. The posture-controlled electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the legrest is rotated so that the legrest is inclined downward toward the traveling surface. The posture control formula according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the posture is controlled by a third actuator in a reclining mode in which the seat portion main body is tilted backward together with the seat back with respect to the seat portion frame in a horizontal state. Electric wheelchair.

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