JP4195238B2 - Front wheel drive wheelchair - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a small front wheel drive wheelchair that can obtain a driving force by a stepping motion of the passenger himself, by a motor, or by a driving mechanism in which the stepping motion and the motor are coordinated. The present invention relates to a small front wheel drive wheelchair that can be used in a barrier-free manner such as in a house, in a facility, or on the road.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Recently, rear wheel drive type stepping wheelchairs have emerged as a new means of movement for people with lower limb movement disorders. According to the study by the inventors (running experiment with 10 patients), the foot-operated wheelchair is high-speed and long-distance by stepping on both feet without changing from a healthy person even in stroke hemiplegic patients who are almost unable to stand and walk It has been found that traveling is possible. In addition, some stepping wheelchairs that allow the seat chair to rotate 360 degrees have also appeared, making it easier to transfer to the wheelchair, expanding the daily living space, realizing a more advanced barrier-free, and improving QOL. It was confirmed that it leads to.
By the way, the conventional stepping wheelchair is a rear wheel drive type, and the steering device is connected to the front caster.
[0003]
However, the foot-operated wheelchair having the above configuration has the following disadvantages.
1) Because the front wheel is a caster wheel with a small diameter, it was not possible to get over even with a small step, and to get over with a rear wheel with a large diameter, it was necessary to retreat backward and get over the step.
2) In a foot-operated wheelchair in which a steering device is attached to a caster wheel which is a front wheel, the turning radius in stepping is larger than the turning radius of a manual wheelchair, which sometimes makes it difficult to use in a narrow space.
3) In the conventional foot-operated wheelchair, since the steering member (steering wheel) is fixedly attached to either the left or right of the front of the main body, it is difficult to easily exchange the left and right positions. Therefore, a common steering member cannot be supplied to right paralysis and left paralysis, and a dedicated wheelchair must be manufactured.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, in the present invention, in the front wheel drive wheelchair, the driving wheel is the front wheel and the rear wheel is the steering wheel or caster, so that some steps can be overcome by forward traveling and 360 degrees on the spot. An object of the present invention is to provide a front-wheel-drive wheelchair that can turn, that is, super-revolution, and further reduce the size of the wheelchair, and solve the above problems. It is another object of the present invention to provide a front wheel drive wheelchair that can be applied to both human power and motor systems as a drive system as required.
The present invention relates to a travelable front wheel drive wheelchair in which front and rear wheels are attached to a main body frame and a driving force is applied to the front wheel, the front wheel of the wheelchair is a drive wheel having a large diameter, and the rear wheel is a steering wheel having a small diameter or As a caster wheel, a steering device that is steered by a steering member (steering member) attached to either the left or right is disposed as a caster wheel.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
For this reason, the technical solution means adopted by the present invention is:
A difference is made in the driving force applied to the main body frame of the wheelchair, the rear wheel made of casters attached to the main body frame, the left and right front wheels attached to the main body frame and having a larger diameter than the rear wheel, and the left and right front wheels. A driving mechanism for applying a driving force to the front wheel on at least one of the left and right front wheels by a stepping operation of the passenger himself / herself, a differential mechanism that generates a speed difference between the left and right front wheels, a steering device that steers the rear wheels, and A steering mechanism mounted on the rear wheel, a steering pulley disposed on the main body frame, a steering shaft installed on the steering pulley and standing in front of the main body frame, and attached to the steering shaft. A front wheel that has a steering member and an endless belt that spans the pulleys, and that can steer the rear wheel with the steering member, and that can step over a step in forward travel, and that can make a super turn. Driving wheelchair A.
Further, the steering member of the steering device is a front wheel drive wheelchair characterized by being arranged at a front portion of the wheelchair .
The steering member is a front wheel drive wheelchair characterized in that it can be attached to and detached from either the left or right side of the wheelchair .
[0006]
Embodiment
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a front wheel drive wheelchair according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a front wheel drive wheelchair which is a first embodiment of the present embodiment, and FIG.
1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a body frame of a wheelchair, and left and right front wheels 2 and rear wheels 3 as drive wheels are attached to a wheel support portion of the body frame 1. A pedal 4 that can be stepped on by the passenger himself / herself is attached to the main body frame 1 like a known bicycle pedal, and a drive pulley 4 a is disposed on the rotating shaft of the pedal 4. The left and right front wheels are rotatably attached to the main body frame 1 through appropriate bearings, a driven pulley 6 is attached to the axle 7 of one front wheel, and an endless belt (between the drive pulley 4a and the driven pulley 6) A wire, a chain, a toothed belt, etc.) are wound around and the pedal 4 is stepped on so that a driving force can be applied to at least one front wheel 2.
[0007]
Further, at least one rear wheel 3 is attached to the rear of the main body frame 1, and this rear wheel is configured as a caster 3. A pulley 10 is attached to the rotation shaft of one caster 3, and a steering pulley 8a and an intermediate pulley 8b are disposed on the main body frame 1 below the main body frame 1 as shown in FIG. A band 9 is wound. A steering shaft 8c standing on the front side of the body frame 1 is attached to the steering pulley 8a, and a steering member (lever or handle type steering member) 8 is attached to the steering shaft 8c. The steering shaft 8c can be attached to and detached from the steering pulley 8a and the intermediate pulley 8b (for example, a method in which the lower end of the steering shaft can be inserted and fitted into a fitting hole formed in the steering pulley or the intermediate pulley). The steering member can be steered by either left or right hand according to the selection of the person.
In FIG. 2, 10a is a tension pulley, and the rear wheel 3 is shown as two left and right wheels, but it is also possible to have a single rear wheel and a three-wheel type.
[0008]
In FIG. 2, a passenger generates a driving force by rowing the pedal 4 with his / her legs. The driving force is transmitted to the driven pulley 6 and the front axle 7 through an endless belt (driving wire) 5 to drive the front wheel 2 on one side. Further, the steering operation is performed by the steering member 8 and is transmitted to the one-side rear wheel 3 through the endless belt (steering wire) 9 and the pulley 10 to change the direction (steering angle) of the rear wheel. The steering member 8 is attached and used on either the left or right side for the convenience of the passenger.
[0009]
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the second embodiment, left and right front wheels are attached to each axle 7, a known differential mechanism 12 is disposed at a connecting portion of each axle 7, and a driven pulley 12 a that transmits rotational force to the differential mechanism 12 is provided. The driven pulley 12a and the drive pulley 4a provided on the pedal shaft are connected, the rear wheels are two left and right wheels, and the pulley 10 and the steering angle distribution mechanism 11 are arranged between the left and right rear wheels. This is characterized in that the left and right rear wheels 3 can be steered simultaneously by the movement of. It should be noted that various mechanisms can be used as appropriate when designing the assembly mechanism of the differential mechanism 12 and the driven pulley 12a and the steering angle distribution mechanism.
[0010]
In FIG. 3, the passenger rowes the pedal 4 with his / her leg to generate a driving force. The driving force is transmitted to the driven pulley 12a, the differential mechanism 12, and the axles 7 through an endless belt (driving wire) 5 to drive the left and right front wheels 2. Further, the steering operation is performed by the steering member 8, and the steering angle of the rear wheels 3 on both sides is changed via the endless belt (steering wire) 9, the intermediate pulley 10, and the steering angle distribution mechanism 11. The steering member 8 can be disposed on either the left or right side.
[0011]
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The third embodiment is characterized in that the left and right rear wheels are constituted by casters to be in a free state, and the front and right front wheels are steered and driven. In FIG. 4, the left and right front wheels are attached to the left and right axles 7, a known driving force distribution mechanism is disposed at the connecting portion of the axles, and a driven pulley for transmitting rotational force to the driving force distribution mechanism is provided. The drive pulley provided in is connected with an endless belt. Further, the steering operation is performed by the steering member 8, and an endless belt (steering wire) 9 is connected to the driving force distribution mechanism 13 via the pulley 14, and the transmission driving force to the left and right front wheels is controlled by operating the steering member 8. It can be changed and steered. Note that various mechanisms can be adopted as the driving force distribution mechanism at the time of design.
[0012]
In FIG. 4, the passenger rowes the pedal 4 with his / her leg and generates a driving force. The driving force is transmitted to the driving force distribution mechanism 13 and the left and right axles 7 through an endless belt (driving wire) 5 to drive the front wheels 2 on both sides. Further, the steering operation is performed by the steering member 8 and transmitted to the driving force distribution mechanism 13 through the endless belt (steering wire) 9 to perform steering by distributing the driving force and the speed of the left and right axles. At this time, the rear wheels 3 on both sides serve as casters.
[0013]
As described above, an example of the present embodiment has been described. However, instead of the stepping type, a motor driving type in which a motor or the like is attached to the axle of the pedal can be used as the driving type. Further, the drive mechanism and the steering mechanism employ a mechanism using an endless belt, but it is possible to adopt various systems such as a gear type in place of these mechanisms. As the steering angle distribution mechanism and the driving force distribution mechanism, a known appropriate mechanism can be adopted as long as the function of the present invention can be achieved.
In addition, the present invention can be implemented in various other forms without departing from the spirit or main features thereof. Moreover, the above-mentioned Example is only an illustration in all the points, and must not be interpreted limitedly.
[0014]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, by using the front wheel having a large diameter as the driving wheel, some steps can be overcome by forward traveling, and by using the rear wheel as a steering wheel or a caster, You can turn. In addition, the size of the main body can be reduced. Therefore, in addition to the features of the stepping wheelchairs of the present inventors, such as being able to move at high speeds and long distances, and being easy to transfer by adopting a swivel chair, the features of the present invention can be added to Various facilities with relatively narrow passages and outdoor use are also possible, which can be expected to expand the living space, can realize a wider range of barrier-free and improve QOL, and the drive system is motorized By changing it, it is possible to achieve excellent effects such as a self-propelled wheelchair.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a simplified stepping wheelchair according to the present description.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a mechanism of a foot-operated wheelchair when a front wheel on one side is a driving wheel and a rear wheel on one side.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a mechanism of a foot-operated wheelchair in which both front wheels are driving wheels and both rear wheels.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a mechanism of a foot-operated wheelchair in which both front wheels are differential drive wheels and both rear wheels are casters.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body frame 2 Front wheel 3 Rear wheel 4 Pedal 5 Endless belt 6 Driven pulley 7 Axle 8 Steering member 9 Endless belt 10 Pulley 11 Steering angle distribution mechanism 12 Differential mechanism 13 Driving force distribution mechanism

Claims (3)

A difference is made in the driving force applied to the main body frame of the wheelchair, the rear wheel made of casters attached to the main body frame, the left and right front wheels attached to the main body frame and having a larger diameter than the rear wheel, and the left and right front wheels. A driving mechanism for applying a driving force to the front wheel on at least one of the left and right front wheels by a stepping operation of the passenger himself / herself, a differential mechanism that generates a speed difference between the left and right front wheels, a steering device that steers the rear wheels, and A steering mechanism mounted on the rear wheel, a steering pulley disposed on the main body frame, a steering shaft installed on the steering pulley and standing in front of the main body frame, and attached to the steering shaft. A front wheel that has a steering member and an endless belt that spans the pulleys, and that can steer the rear wheel with the steering member, and that can step over a step in forward travel, and that can make a super turn. Driving wheelchair The front wheel drive wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the steering member of the steering device is disposed in a front portion of the wheelchair. The front-wheel-drive wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the steering member can be attached to and detached from either the left or right side of the wheelchair.

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