JP4313583B2 - wheelchair - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wheelchair used for a physically handicapped person, an elderly person, an injured person and the like. Specifically, it relates to the improvement of a folding wheelchair.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A wheelchair is used as a means for a person who has difficulty walking to move. It is moved by the caregiver's hand or self-running. As for the function of the wheelchair, attention has been paid to the ease of movement and the physical compatibility of the user.
[0003]
The moving ground is not always smooth, but more often gives vibration to the wheelchair. Conventionally, the vibration of a wheelchair has been handled as being buffered by a suspension device between the wheel of the wheelchair and the gantry.
[0004]
Folding wheelchairs are usually assembled by a frame made of circular pipes. The frame includes a main frame that forms the skeleton and a seat frame that forms a seating surface. The main frame and the seat frame are separated when the wheelchair is folded, and abut when the wheelchair is used.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The vibration is transmitted to the person using the wheelchair through the seat frame. Usually, both the above-mentioned frames are connected by a support called a receiving metal fitting. The metal fittings are mainly made of metal, but hard resin ones are also used. These brackets do not have a mitigating function against vibration during traveling. For this reason, consideration to human fatigue, wheelchair damage, and the like due to vibration associated with traveling is not sufficient.
[0006]
As described above, vibration when sitting and moving on the seating surface causes fatigue of the human body and impairs driving comfort. It may also cause a wheelchair malfunction. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a wheelchair in which the impact caused by vibration during traveling is reduced.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A wheelchair according to the present invention includes a main frame having a pair of upper bone frames that are arranged opposite to each other in the left-right direction and extend in the front-rear direction, and a pair of lower bone frames that are arranged below the upper bone frame and parallel to the upper bone frame. I have. Moreover, it has a pair of seat frame arrange | positioned along each said upper bone frame. The seat frame and the lower bone frame are connected by a cross member. The seat frame is supported by the upper bone frame via a receiving member provided with a buffer made of a soft material. In this wheelchair, vibration transmitted from the main frame to the seat frame during traveling is reduced.
[0008]
Furthermore, the wheelchair support of the present invention comprises a main body made of a hard material and provided with a concave portion, and the above-described buffer body fitted in the concave portion. The impact of vibration is reduced by this soft material.
[0009]
The support body of the wheelchair of the present invention further includes a second recess having a depth in the bottom direction at the bottom of the first recess into which the buffer body is fitted. In this wheelchair, the coupling body is accommodated in the second recess, so that the buffering function can be exhibited without taking up an extra place.
[0010]
The wheelchair receiver is fixed to one of the upper bone frame and the seat frame, and is configured to receive the other. This wheelchair also alleviates the vibration impact as described above.
[0011]
Preferably, the buffer body of these receivers is made of a polymer material, and the JIS-A hardness is 20 or more and 80 or less. This wheelchair has a great vibration mitigating action.
[0012]
More preferably, the shock absorber is a wheelchair made of a damping material.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments with appropriate reference to the drawings.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a wheelchair 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wheelchair 1 includes a main frame 3, a seat frame 5, and a back frame 7. The seat frame 5 is attached to the main frame 3. The main frame 3 is provided with a pair of upper bone frames 9 that are arranged opposite to each other in the left-right direction of the wheelchair and extend in the front-rear direction. Further, the main frame 3 includes a pair of lower bone frames 11 disposed below the upper bone frame 9 and arranged in parallel to the upper bone frame 9.
[0014]
The wheelchair 1 includes a front wheel 13 and a rear wheel 14 attached to the main frame 3, a leg support 15 attached to the front of the main frame 3, a pair of left and right armrests 17 attached to the side of the seat frame, A pusher 19 attached above the frame is provided. As far as these configurations are concerned, they are equivalent to known wheelchairs.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. In FIG. 2, a seat sheet 21 that forms a seat surface, a seat frame 5 to which the seat sheet 21 is attached, an upper bone frame 9, a lower bone frame 11, a cross member 23, a receiving member 25, and a rear wheel 14 are shown. Has been.
[0016]
The upper end of the cross member 23 is fixed to the seat frame 5. Usually, it is fixed by welding. The lower bone frame 11 and the lower end side of the cross member 23 are connected via a connecting pin 31. The cross member 23 is crossed and connected by a rotation center shaft 29 at the center thereof, and the relative rotation of the cross members 23 is performed smoothly. With this configuration, the cross member 23 is rotatable relative to the main frame 23 at the lower end.
[0017]
Since the seat 21 attached to the seat frame 5 is made of a sheet having no rigidity, it can be folded. The main frame 3 and the seat frame 5 are connected by a cross member 23. The pair of seat frames 5 can be moved closer to or away from the width direction of the wheelchair. The same applies to the main frames 3. Accordingly, when the pair of seat frames 5 are brought close to each other in order to fold the wheelchair, the seat frames 5 are separated from the main frame 3 upward. When the wheelchair is unfolded, the seat frame 5 is supported in contact with a receiving tool 25 fixed on the upper bone frame 9. In the present embodiment, the receiver 25 is attached above the upper bone frame 9.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing the wheelchair support 25 of FIG. The receiver 25 includes a main body 37 made of a hard material and a buffer body 39 to be inserted therein. The buffer body 39 includes a buffer portion 41 and a pedestal portion 43. The main body 37 is made of metal or hard resin, and includes a first recess A. A buffer 41 is fitted in the recess A. The main body 37 further includes a second recess B having a depth in the bottom direction at the bottom of the recess A. The pedestal 43 is fitted in the recess B. Further, the recess B includes a step for receiving the bottom of the pedestal 43 and a bolt hole D for coupling the receiver 25 to the frame. Further, the recess B is provided with a ridge 47. The ridge 47 is fitted with a key groove 45 provided in the pedestal 43 of the buffer 39.
[0019]
The main body 37 includes a recess C that opens in the direction opposite to the recess A on the side facing the recess A. The recess A and the recess C have a shape along the frame that fills each recess. In this embodiment, the seat frame 5 fits into the recess A and the upper bone frame 9 fits into the recess C. The upper bone frame 9 and the main body 37 filling the concave portion C are fixed through a hole D with a connecting body.
[0020]
The buffer 39 is made of a soft material, and in this embodiment, the buffer 41 and the base 43 are integrally formed. The buffer portion 41 includes a bottom surface along the concave portion A of the main body 37. The buffer part 41 is the thickest at the bottom. The thickness of the bottom is usually 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less. From the viewpoint of space saving, it is preferably 1.5 or more and 3.5 mm or less.
[0021]
The pedestal 43 is formed in a shape that fits into the recess B of the main body 37. The center part of the base part 43 is provided with the recessed part for accommodating connection body heads, such as a volt | bolt, so that it may mention later. The outer peripheral surface of the pedestal portion 43 includes one or more key grooves 45. The key groove 45 is fitted with a ridge 47 provided in the recess B. The outer peripheral surface of the pedestal portion 43 includes a plurality of ridges 51. Since this ridge 51 is also made of a soft material, elasticity is imparted to the fitting between the recess B and the pedestal portion 43 of the buffer 39. With these ridges 47, the buffer body 39 is easily fitted into the main body 37, and is difficult to drop off from the main body 37.
[0022]
The buffer body 39 is made of a soft material for both the buffer portion 41 and the pedestal portion 43. The buffer portion 41 and the pedestal portion 43 may be made of the same material, but may be formed of different materials in consideration of the function of each portion. The soft material is rubber or soft resin. These materials are not particularly limited, but chloroprene rubber, natural rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, polyurethane, silicone rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, acrylic Rubber and fluororubber are exemplified. Of these, chloroprene rubber and natural rubber are preferable from the viewpoint of aging resistance, cost, and the like.
[0023]
In particular, the soft material constituting the buffer portion 41 preferably has a JIS-A hardness of 20 or more and 80 or less from the viewpoint of buffer efficiency. More preferably, it is 30 or more and 60 or less. More preferably, a vibration damping material is used. Any known damping material can be used as long as it is a soft material having a restoring property and a vibration damping function. However, natural rubber is preferable in terms of versatility. As the rubber having vibration damping performance, a rubber having a high filler and a low crosslinking degree can be applied. In particular, the loss tangent tan δ is more preferably not less than 0.4 and not more than 0.7 from the viewpoint of both vibration damping performance and durability.
[0024]
4 is a cross-sectional view of the receiving tool 25, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of FIG. 4 and 5 show the receiver body 37, the buffer body 39, and the coupling body 57. FIG. In these drawings, what is indicated by a two-dot chain line is an imaginary line between the seat frame 5 and the upper bone frame 9.
[0025]
As can be seen in FIG. 4, the buffer portion 41 of the buffer body 39 is disposed in the concave portion A on the upper portion of the receiver body 37. In the present embodiment, the seat frame 5 fits on the buffer portion 41. The upper bone frame 9 fits in the recess C below the main body 37. The shape of the concave portion A is formed in a shape that matches the seat frame 5 in consideration of the thickness of the buffer portion 41 attached to this portion.
[0026]
In the present embodiment, the main body 37 and the upper bone frame 9 are fastened through a hole D with bolts 57 that are connected bodies. A part of the bolt head and a washer are accommodated in the bottom of the recess B. Further, the pedestal portion 43 is also provided with a recess, in which the upper portion of the bolt 57 is accommodated. As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the concave portion at the bottom of the buffer 39 and the concave portion B provided in the main body 37 are both circular. These recesses are arranged so that the head of the bolt 57 does not get in the way, and the buffer portion 41 of the buffer body 39 has a sufficient thickness. These recesses allow the buffer 39 to be placed in a small space and the receiver 25 to be stably placed.
[0027]
Further, both sides of the concave portion C of the main body 37 form a spatula-like wall surface 55. As a result, the attachment work of the receiver is facilitated, and the stability of the attached receiver 25 is imparted.
[0028]
Although not shown in the drawings, another embodiment of the present invention is such that the relationship between the seat frame and the upper bone frame is reversed in the embodiment shown in FIGS. That is, the receiver is fixed to the seat frame. When the wheelchair is used, a support attached to the wheelchair descends under the seat frame in the direction opposite to that of the above-described embodiment. The support is abutted against and supported by the upper bone frame. This wheelchair is also compact and relieves the impact of vibration during travel.
[0029]
FIG. 6 is a front view showing a part of a folding wheelchair 61 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The wheelchair 61 includes a main frame 63, a seat frame 65, and a cross member 67. The main frame 63 includes an upper bone frame 69 and a lower bone frame 71. Although not shown, this wheelchair 61 is also provided with the same front wheel, rear wheel, leg support, armrest, back frame, pusher and the like as the wheelchair 1 shown in FIG. The seat frame 65 is fixed to the cross member 67 at the upper end. The seat frame 65 is connected by a lower pin frame 71 and a cross member 67 with a connecting pin 73. Further, the cross member 67 intersects with the rotation center shaft 75. These are the same as in the previous embodiment. However, a receiver 70 that supports the seat frame 65 is provided inside the upper bone frame 69.
[0030]
FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 7 shows a receiver 70 fixed to the upper bone frame 69. The left side of the figure is the outside in the width direction of the wheelchair, and the right side of the figure is the inside in the width direction of the wheelchair.
[0031]
The main body 77 of the receptacle 70 is made of a hard material. In the present embodiment, the main body 77 is integrated with the upper bone frame 69 by welding. As a form of coupling between the main body 77 and the upper bone frame 69, fastening by bolts or other known methods can be employed. The main body 77 is provided with a concave portion 81 adjacent to a fixing portion with the upper bone frame 69. A buffer 83 is disposed at the bottom of the recess 81. This buffer body 83 is made of a soft material like the above-described buffer body, and relieves the impact of wheelchair vibration. Although not shown, the buffer 83 may be fixed to the main body 77 by a fixing tool, or may be fixed to the main body 77 using an adhesive.
[0032]
When the wheelchair is used, the seat frame 65 (indicated by a two-dot chain line) is supported in the recess 81 of the receiving member 70. Since the seat frame 65 is supported by the receiving member 70 via the buffer 83, the impact of vibration caused by wheelchair travel is reduced.
[0033]
FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a folding wheelchair 84 according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows a receiver 87 fixed to the seat frame 85. Various known methods can be employed for fixing the receiving member 87 to the seat frame 85. The left side of the figure is the outside in the width direction of the wheelchair, and the right side of the figure is the inside in the width direction of the wheelchair. The top and bottom in this figure correspond to the top and bottom direction of the wheelchair. Although not shown, this wheelchair 84 also has the same front wheels, rear wheels, leg supports, armrests, back frames, pushers and the like as the wheelchair 1 shown in FIG.
[0034]
The main body 89 of the receiving member 87 is made of a hard material, and the main body 89 is provided with a concave portion 91 adjacent to a fixing portion with the seat frame 85 as in the case of FIG. A buffer 93 is disposed at the bottom of the recess 91, and the material, function, etc. of the buffer are the same as in the case of FIG. However, when the wheelchair is expanded, the receiving member 87 is lowered together with the seat frame 85. The support 87 is supported by the upper bone frame 95. In the present embodiment, the receiver 87 is fixed to the seat frame 85 with bolts 97, but various known fixing methods can be employed. Also in this wheelchair, the impact caused by vibration during traveling is reduced.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the wheelchair according to the present invention is compact and includes a receiver having excellent cushioning performance, thereby reducing fatigue of a person using the wheelchair and preventing damage to the wheelchair.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a wheelchair holder according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the receptacle of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of a frame of a wheelchair according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a part of the wheelchair of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a part of a wheelchair according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 61, 84 ... Wheelchair 3, 63 ... Main frame 5, 65, 85 ... Seat frame 9, 69, 95 ... Upper bone frame 11, 71 ... Lower bone frame 23, 67 ... Cross members 25, 70, 87 ... Receivers 29, 75 ... Rotation center shafts 31, 73 ... Connecting pins 37, 77,89 ... Receiver bodies 39, 83, 93 ..Buffer body 41 ... Buffer body buffer portion 43 ... Buffer body pedestal 57 ... Connected body

Claims (4)

A main frame having a pair of upper bone frames disposed opposite to each other in the left-right direction and extending in the front-rear direction, and a pair of lower bone frames disposed below the upper bone frame in parallel with the upper bone frame;
A pair of seat frames arranged along each upper bone frame,
In a wheelchair that is connected by a cross member between this seat frame and the lower bone frame,
This seat frame is made of a polymer material and is supported on the upper bone frame via a support provided with a buffer having a JIS-A hardness of 20 to 80.
This receptacle is provided with a main body provided with a first recess, and is configured such that the buffer is inserted into the first recess,
The main body further comprises a second recess having a depth in the bottom direction at the bottom of the first recess,
This second recess has a ridge,
This shock absorber has a pedestal,
This pedestal is formed in a shape that fits into the second recess,
A key groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pedestal portion to be fitted with the convex portion of the second recess,
A wheelchair characterized in that the outer peripheral surface of the pedestal portion is provided with a ridge that gives elasticity to the fitting between the second concave portion and the pedestal portion. The wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the receiving member is fixed to the upper bone frame and configured to receive a seat frame. The wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the receiving member is fixed to the seat frame and configured to receive the upper bone frame. It said cushion is a resin of rubber or soft, wheelchair according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the loss tangent tanδ is characterized in that 0.4 to 0.7.

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