JP5525648B1 - Dementia dedicated walking aid - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a dementia dedicated walking assist device that respects the autonomy of patients with dementia who wants to walk on their own and assists them to walk independently with their feet.
In this walking aid device 1, a harness 2 that can be worn by a user who is a dementia patient, a frame frame 3 having wheels on the front, rear, left and right respectively, and a frame frame 3 that can be raised and lowered freely. The seating surface 4 and the grip bar frame 5 erected on the front side of the frame body frame 3 are connected to the harness 2 and the seating surface 4 so that the seating surface is interlocked with the rising motion of the user. 4 rises, and the seat surface 4 falls down in conjunction with the user's sitting operation.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a dementia dedicated walking aid developed for a person diagnosed with dementia (hereinafter referred to as a dementia patient).

  Conventional wheelchairs have a problem that they cannot exercise, walk or exercise the lower limbs, require an assistant, and cannot move on their own, exercise or exercise on their own, which is necessary for maintaining and recovering their health.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, for example, in a wheelchair having a main frame frame equipped with a seat and wheels, a user extends a hand from the seat, grabs part of the frame portion in a handrail shape, rises to the front of the seat by a suspended action, and lower limbs A vertical frame for supporting the upper frame part to support the user's standing up movement in advance at the front upper part of the seat from the main frame frame so that exercise and gymnastics such as bending and stepping can be performed on the front floor of the seat. The arm part for supporting and protecting the upper body in the standing position and the horizontal frame part that can protect the moving body position are constructed on the frame, and the user puts a hand on this arm part and the frame part and uses the power of the upper limb. The body is able to stabilize its three-dimensional position, perform its standing up and whole body exercises and gymnastics within the front of the seat and within the position protection frame, and can exercise its own health and recovery exercises using its standing position and seat. Independent exercise life with support frame Incorporated wheelchair is disclosed.

  Here, even when elderly people or people with disabilities feel uneasy about independence and use walking assistance vehicles or wheelchairs, users can safely use these devices to stand up for the purpose of moving, exercising and gymnastics. Even if there is no helper in the position, you can do it at your own will, especially the rising health method that you can do at any time and the exercise method by using the seat that you can take even when you get tired, and the new upper exercise frame that is safe and easy to use It describes that it presents a function.

  However, in the above prior art, when there is no helper, the user himself / herself needs to raise and lower the seat and cannot be applied as it is to a patient with dementia. In other words, a patient with dementia does not have enough exercise space, does not remember the undulation state of the seat clearly, and if he sits with the seat upright, There was a risk of falling out of balance and falling.

  This hinders the autonomous willingness of dementia patients to walk, and now humans who can walk independently can no longer walk, and the foot pump called the human second heart does not work. There was a risk of systemic deterioration.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to respect the autonomy of patients with dementia who want to walk on their own, and to assist in walking independently with their feet. Ritsu is to provide walking aids.

  The present invention relates to a wheelchair-like walking aid for promoting self-sustained walking by a user who is a patient with dementia, a harness that can be worn by the user, and a frame that includes wheels on the front, rear, left, and right respectively. A frame, a seating surface attached in a undulating manner in the frame body frame, and a grip bar frame standing on the front side of the frame body frame, by connecting the harness and the seating surface, The seating surface rises in conjunction with the user's rising motion, and the seating surface falls down in conjunction with the user's sitting motion.

  According to the present invention, a harness that can be worn by a user, a frame frame that includes wheels in front, rear, left, and right, a seating surface that is undulated in the frame frame, and a front side of the frame frame A grip bar frame that stands upright and connects the harness and the seating surface, so that the seating surface rises in conjunction with the user's standing-up motion, and in conjunction with the user's sitting-in motion. Thus, since the seating surface falls down, the user can use it as a walking tool simply by getting up from the seating surface. In addition, when a user who is in use as a walking tool loses his intention to walk and tries to take a break, the harness becomes a lead, and the user can be naturally guided to the seating surface and can be seated.

  As a result, the user's autonomous gait (self-walking) is promoted, and the daily exercise amount is improved, and the whole body exercise leads to the enhancement of muscle strength and the activity of metabolism. Further, since the user himself / herself exercises safely, there is a further social significance such that the normally required watching is not complicated and the workload of the care worker is reduced.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, a part of the harness and the seating surface are connected so as to lead a user's standing motion and sitting motion, and the other portion of the harness and the grip bar frame. Is preferably connected.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, a part of the harness and the seating surface are connected so as to lead the user's standing motion and sitting motion, and the other part of the harness and the grip bar frame. Therefore, the user becomes a walking tool simply by getting up from the seating surface, and the user can lose balance while walking or can reliably prevent a fall accident due to sitting.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the range in which the seat surface rises is preferably less than 90 degrees forward from the lying position with the front end of the seat surface as the center.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the range in which the seat surface rises is less than 90 degrees from the lying position to the front side with the front end of the seat surface as the center, so if the user takes a seating posture, the seat surface Gravity always returns to its original lying position due to the action of gravity, so it will not interfere with its seating.

  As in a fourth aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that a walking caster bar extending on the left and right sides of the frame body frame is extended at the front lower portion of the frame body frame.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the walking caster bar extending on the left and right sides of the frame body frame is extended at the lower front side of the frame body frame, the stability of the user when walking is improved. The user's feet are less likely to get entangled with the walking caster bar.

  By the way, there are cases where the user is placed on a care vehicle (automobile) and moved outside the facility, etc. In that case, if the wheelchair rail equipped on the care vehicle is used, the care vehicle is kept seated on the wheelchair. The wheelchair can be fixed in place. Here, the frame frame in the present invention is set to the same width as the wheelchair, so there is no problem at all. However, the walking caster bar that protrudes from the frame frame to the left and right sides is an obstacle. Therefore, as in the invention described in claim 5, it is preferable that the walking caster bar can stand up toward the frame body frame.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the walking caster bar can stand up toward the frame body frame, so that it can get in while sitting on the care vehicle.

  Moreover, when a user wears the walking aid according to the present invention, the walking caster bar and the grip bar may become an obstacle. As described above, there is no problem with the walking caster bar because it can stand up (bounce up) toward the frame body, but a separate measure is required for the grip bar. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a grip bar that can rotate around the grip bar frame as in the invention described in claim 6.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the grip bar that can rotate around the grip bar frame is provided, the user can move by flipping up the walking caster bar and rotating the grip bar around the grip bar frame to open the user. Is easy to install.

  In addition, the walking aid according to the present invention is intended to provide a grip bar on the assumption of the movement (transfer) of the user by the assistant when using the facility, but the assistant's grip bar is used when the user walks. Also get in the way. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a foldable assistant grip bar on the rear side of the frame body as in the invention described in claim 7.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the foldable assistant grip bar is provided on the rear side of the frame body frame, the assistant grip used when the user transfers is used when the user walks. You can avoid getting in the way.

  Also, as is often seen in conventional wheelchairs, we want to encourage the user to walk independently by inspiring the user's autonomy by preventing the user from walking with his feet while sitting. Accordingly, as in the eighth aspect of the invention, the wheel of the frame frame is braked in conjunction with the sitting operation of the user, and the braking is released in conjunction with the rising operation of the user. It is preferable to provide a brake.

  According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the first brake that brakes the wheels of the frame body frame in conjunction with the sitting operation of the user and releases the braking in conjunction with the rising operation of the user. Because it is equipped, it will be equipped with a so-called stable brake when sitting, and therefore, inspiring autonomy by preventing users from walking with their feet while sitting, which was often seen in conventional wheelchairs Independent walking can be encouraged.

  As in the ninth aspect of the invention, it is preferable that a stopper for preventing the frame body from falling backward is provided in a foldable manner during the braking.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the stopper for preventing the frame body from falling backward is provided so as to be foldable during the braking, a stable brake is provided at the time of sitting. , Prevent the momentum from falling backwards.

  As in the tenth aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the assistant should provide a canceller that prohibits the braking when the user sits down.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, when the user sits down, since the assistant has provided a canceller that prohibits the braking, the assistant prohibits the braking even when the user remains seated. The transfer function can be used.

  In addition, patients with dementia have difficulty in recognizing obstacles, so they may collide with the walls of the facility, for example. It is known to take Therefore, as in the invention described in claim 11, a second brake that provides a sensor for detecting an obstacle and brakes the wheel of the frame or releases the brake according to a detection signal of the sensor. Is preferably provided.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, a sensor for detecting an obstacle is provided, and a second brake for braking the wheel of the frame or releasing the brake is provided in accordance with a detection signal of the sensor. Therefore, when approaching the obstacle detected by the sensor within 2 meters, for example, the wheel is gradually braked, and when it reaches, for example, 50 centimeters, the MAX state is reached and the wheel is completely locked. The locked wheels are released from the distance as opposed to approaching, and the locks are released, and then braking is gradually released. In this way, since the user moves away from the obstacle with the intention of changing the direction, the effect of suppressing the disturbing behavior due to the stress specific to dementia can be expected.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, one of the left and right walking caster bars extending at the front lower portion of the frame body frame can stand up toward the front side of the frame body frame, and the walking caster bar On the other hand, it is preferable to provide the sensor.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, one of the left and right walking caster bars extending at the front lower portion of the frame body frame can stand up toward the front side of the frame body frame, and the walking caster bar On the other hand, since the sensor is provided, it is convenient that only the walking caster bar without the sensor is flipped up and the user can enter the frame body frame.

  According to the present invention, a harness that can be worn by a user, a frame frame that includes wheels in front, rear, left, and right, a seating surface that is undulated in the frame frame, and a front side of the frame frame A grip bar frame that stands upright and connects the harness and the seating surface, so that the seating surface rises in conjunction with the user's standing-up motion, and in conjunction with the user's sitting-in motion. Then, since the seating surface falls down, it becomes a walking tool simply by getting up from the seating surface. Further, when the user loses his / her intention to walk during use and takes a break, the harness becomes a lead and is naturally guided to the seating surface and can be seated.

  As a result, self-independent walking by the user's autonomy is promoted, daily exercise amount is improved, and muscle strengthening and metabolic activity are promoted by whole body exercise. Further, since the user himself / herself exercises safely, there is a further social significance such that the normally required watching is not complicated and the workload of the care worker is reduced.

It is a side view which shows the whole structure of the walking aid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the whole structure of the walking aid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of a harness. It is a conceptual diagram of a 1st braking device, Comprising: (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a 1st braking device. It is a conceptual diagram of a 2nd braking device, (a) is a rear view, (b) is a block diagram. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of a 2nd braking device.

  FIG. 1 is a side view showing the overall configuration of a walking aid (corresponding to a walking aid for exclusive use of dementia) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. It is a conceptual diagram. In addition, the up-down, front-back, left-right in each figure is set on the basis of the user P who is using the walking aid 1.

  In the walking aid 1 which concerns on this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, the harness 2 which the user P can mount | wear, the frame body frame 3 provided with the wheel each in front, back, left, and right, and the frame body frame 3 A seating surface 4 mounted in a undulating manner inside, a grip bar frame 5 erected on the front upper side of the frame body frame 3, a walking caster bar 6 extending on the front lower side of the frame body frame 3, A fall-prevention bar 7 extending to the rear lower side of the frame 3, a first braking device (corresponding to a first brake) 8 that applies braking according to the operation of the user P, and obstacles And a second braking device (corresponding to a second brake) 9 for detecting presence or absence and applying braking.

  The harness 2 is an improvement of a so-called paragliding harness, and is a deformed main body 21 that is worn so as to cover the back of the user P from the back to the buttocks, a belt 22 that secures the user P to the main body 21, and a belt 22 An adjuster 23 for adjusting the length of the belt, connectors 26 and 27 for connecting the belts 22 in a separable manner, a lower harness 24 for securing the user P to the seat surface 4, and the user P for the grip bar frame 5 And an upper harness 25 to be secured. However, unlike a normal paraglider harness, here, in order not to give a sense of restraint to the user P as much as possible, contrivances such as largely cutting the neck of the main body 21 are made.

  The frame 3 includes left and right main frames 31 extending so as to surround the user P. The main frame 31 includes a front frame 32, a rear frame 33, and a plurality of frames that connect them appropriately. The auxiliary frame 34. Further, the upper end of the front frame 32 is bent rearward and becomes substantially horizontal, and is fixed to the middle stage of the rear frame 33. A caster (corresponding to a front wheel) 35 is attached to the lower end of the front frame 32 so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis and rotatable about the horizontal axis. Further, the upper end of the rear frame 33 is bent rearward and becomes substantially horizontal, thereby forming a caregiver grip bar 36. A joint member 37 is provided in the middle of the assistant grip bar 36 so as to be bent downward with a single touch. A rear wheel (corresponding to a rear wheel) 38 is attached to the lower portion of the rear frame 33 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. Further, a foot plate 39 is provided on the front auxiliary frame 34 so as to be flipped up.

  The seat surface 4 has a horizontally long rectangular shape in plan view. The front end of the seating surface 4 is attached so as to be freely rotatable in the range of 0 to 85 degrees (less than 90 degrees) around the left and right axis at the middle stage of the front frame 32 of the frame body frame 3. (A direction in FIG. 1). Specifically, a restricting member (not shown) that restricts the collapse of the seat surface 4 beyond 85 degrees from the lying position of the seat surface 4 may be provided near the rotation center. As described above, the range in which the seat surface 4 stands is restricted because the seat surface 4 standing in the range is always brought to the original lying position by the action of gravity as long as the user P takes a sitting posture. This is because it will not be an obstacle when the user P sits back. Further, a slightly flat annular portion 41 is provided at both left and right ends of the rear portion of the seat surface 4, and the lower harness 24 is detachably attached to the annular portion 41.

  Here, the conventional wheelchair has a structure in which a user does not get tired even if the user sits for a long time, but in the present invention, a user who has difficulty in self-control (self-control) is used as a walking tool. In order to walk independently from the autonomy, the seat 4 is intentionally shallow, and a structure that only touches the pelvis is adopted to promote the autonomy that the user P wants to get up. It has become. However, the point that cushions, guards, and the like are arranged at appropriate positions is the same as that of a normal wheelchair, and therefore, illustration and description thereof are omitted for convenience of explanation.

  The upper end of the grip bar frame 5 is bent forward and extends substantially horizontally, and further bent inward to form the grip bar 51 of the user P. The first bent portion is provided with a reinforcing member 52 inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and the upper harness 25 is slidably and detachably attached to the reinforcing member 52. The grip bar frame 5 is freely rotatable in the range of 0 to 180 degrees around the vertical axis (in the B direction in FIG. 1).

  The walking caster bar 6 is set to a length that is in front of the grip bar 51 and extends to the left and right sides of the main frame 31 of the frame body frame 3. This is so as not to disturb the walking of the user P. Further, a joint member 61 is provided at the rear part of the walking caster bar 6 so that it can be bent upward with a single touch, and one end of a reinforcing movable member 62 is detachably attached in the middle. Yes. The other end of the movable member 62 is attached to the middle stage of the front frame 32 of the frame body frame 3 so as to be rotatable about the horizontal axis (in the direction D in FIG. 1). As a result, the walking caster bar 6 can stand up toward the front frame 32 of the frame body frame 3 (in the direction E in FIG. 1). This is to prevent the walking caster bar 6 that protrudes from the frame body frame 3 to the left and right sides when using the care vehicle. A caster 63 is attached to the front portion of the walking caster bar 6 so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis and rotatable about the horizontal axis.

  The rear end of the fall-prevention bar 7 is bent downward and forms a stopper 71 that abuts against the floor surface and prevents the fall-down. A joint member 72 is also provided at the rear portion of the collapse prevention bar 7 so as to be bent upward with a single touch (in the F direction in FIG. 1).

  In addition, as is often seen in conventional wheelchairs, it is desirable to encourage the user P to walk independently by preventing the user P from walking with his / her legs while sitting. Therefore, a first braking device 8 is provided that brakes the rear wheel 38 of the frame 3 in conjunction with the sitting operation of the user P and releases the braking in conjunction with the rising operation of the user P. It was. 4A and 4B are conceptual diagrams of the first braking device 8, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view, FIG. 4B is a side view, and FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and FIGS. 5A to 5D, the first braking device 8 includes a sensor piston 81 that is detachably attached to the rear left and right of the seating surface 4, and a rear A disc circle lock 85 which is attached to the ring 38 so as not to rotate relative to each other and has a plurality of small holes arranged in an annular shape, a lock pin 84 which can be inserted into and removed from each small hole of the disc circle lock 85, and a sensor An operation transmission mechanism 82 that transmits the operation of the piston 81 to the lock pin 84 is provided.

  The sensor piston 81 can be extracted upward, and a safety pin (corresponding to a canceller) 811 having a convex portion formed at the lower end thereof, a flange 813 having a concave portion into which the convex portion can be fitted, and a lower surface of the flange 813 And a spring 812 provided so as to abut against the spring.

  The motion transmission mechanism 82 includes a sensor piston bar 822, a support member 821, and a ginkgo (or L-shaped) rotation member 83. The support member 821 has a small hole through which the safety pin 811 is inserted on the upper side and a small hole through which the sensor piston bar 822 is inserted on the lower side. In the cylindrical chamber 823 formed therebetween, the spring 812 The sensor piston bar 822 that is surrounded is sealed in a state where the tip of the sensor piston bar 822 is fixed to the flange 813. For this reason, the cylindrical chamber 823 can be divided and assembled in the vertical direction by, for example, a screw structure (not shown).

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the safety pin 811 is not removed, when the seat surface 4 is raised, the spring 812 extends upward and the safety pin 811 is raised, and the seat surface When 4 is lowered, the spring 812 is contracted downward and the safety pin 811 is lowered. In this way, when the safety pin 811 moves up and down, the sensor piston bar 822 also moves up and down via the flange 813, and this is converted into left and right movement by the rotating member 83, and the lock pin 84 is moved to the disk circle lock 85. The rear wheel 38 is locked or unlocked by inserting / removing it into one of the small holes.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, when the safety pin 811 is removed, the spring 812 extends upward regardless of the vertical movement of the seating surface 4, and therefore the flange 813 is Thus, the sensor piston bar 822 remains operating upward. Therefore, since the lock pin 84 remains pulled out from each small hole of the disk circle lock 85, the rear wheel 38 is always unlocked. In this case, of course, a brake 98 described later can be used.

  Moreover, since the user P who is a dementia patient has difficulty in recognizing the obstacle, there is a risk of colliding with, for example, the wall of the facility, and when the movement from the place is inhibited for some reason, It is known to take disturbing behavior due to stress. Therefore, a sensor 90 that detects an obstacle is provided, and in accordance with a detection signal of the sensor 90, the rear wheel 38 of the frame body frame 3 is braked steplessly or the brake is released steplessly. The apparatus 9 was provided. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of the second braking device 9, wherein (a) is a rear view and (b) is a block diagram.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 (a) and 6 (b), the second braking device 9 is provided at the front upper end of the right walking caster bar 6, for example, and includes a sensor 90 that detects an obstacle, a battery 92, a mounting box 91 including a control device 93, a motor 94, and a light-spoke disc drum type rotation lock 95.

  For example, an optical distance sensor is used as the sensor 90, a rechargeable storage battery is used as the battery 92, and an armadillo (registered trademark of Atmark Techno Co., Ltd.) board is used as the control device 93, for example. Adopted. Functionally, the control device 93 includes a storage unit 931, a measurement unit 932, a determination unit 933, and a control unit 934.

  The storage unit 931 stores various programs and various setting values. The measuring unit 932 measures the distance of the obstacle detected by the sensor 90. The determination unit 933 compares the measurement value obtained by the measurement unit 932 with the set value stored in the storage unit 931. The control unit 934 controls the rotation of the motor 94 based on the comparison result in the determination unit 933, but an appropriate driver is required depending on the type of the motor 94 and its control method.

  The disk drum type rotation lock 95 is directly connected to the motor 94 and is rotatably attached to, for example, the auxiliary frame 34 at the rear portion of the frame body frame 3. And the front-end | tip of the wire 97 wound around the disc drum-type rotation lock 95 is connected to the brake 98 via the pulley 96 provided in the appropriate position. As the brake 98, for example, a drum type brake is employed in order to perform a stepless braking.

  Hereinafter, the usage example of the walking aid 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. As shown by the solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2, the walking aid 1 is in a state where the user P can always use, but only the left walking caster bar 6 is the front frame of the frame body frame 3. Further, only the left grip bar 51 is rotated around the vertical axis of the grip bar frame 5 and is opened outward. Further, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 1, the assistant grip bar 36 is folded downward both on the left and right. As a result, as much as possible is not disturbed by the surroundings when walking.

  After wearing the harness 2, the user P enters the frame body frame 3 from the left front side of the walking aid 1. When the user P is seated, the rear wheel 38 of the frame body frame 3 is automatically braked by the action of the first braking device 8, which is safe. That is, the seating surface 4 at this time is horizontal, and the sensor piston 81 in contact with the rear lower surface of the seating surface 4 has the spring 812 contracted and the safety pin 811 is pushed down. Then, the sensor piston bar 82 is also pushed down, and its direction is changed by the rotating member 83, and as a result of inserting the lock pin 84 into one of the small holes of the disk circle lock 85, the rotation of the rear wheel 38 is stopped (see FIG. 4 (a) (b), see FIG. 5 (b)). At this time, the stopper 71 of the fall-prevention bar 7 comes into contact with the floor surface or the like so that the frame body frame 3 does not fall backward due to sudden braking.

  Next, the lower harness 24 is secured to the annular portion 41 of the seating surface 4, the upper harness 25 is secured to the reinforcing member 52 of the grip bar frame 5, and then the left walking caster bar 6 is brought down to be horizontal, It is fixed to the middle stage of the front frame 32 by a movable member 62 that is tilted until it becomes inclined (respectively opposite to the E direction and the D direction in FIG. 1). Further, the grip bar 51 is rotated in the reverse direction around the vertical axis of the grip bar frame 5 (in the direction opposite to the B direction in FIG. 1). Then, the user P is in a state where the back surface is surrounded by the frame body 3, the foot is surrounded by the walking caster bar 6, and the hand is surrounded by the grip bar 51.

  Next, when the user P stands by grabbing the grip bar 51, the seat surface 4 connected by the lower harness 24 rotates to the front side with respect to the frame body frame 3 at an angle θ (= 85 degrees) and stands up. (A direction in FIG. 1). Then, the braking of the rear wheel 38 of the frame body frame 3 is released by the function of the first braking device 8, so that the user P can walk. That is, the seating surface 4 at this time is in an upright state, and the spring 812 is extended and the safety pin 811 is pushed up in the sensor piston 81 of the first braking device 8. Then, the sensor piston bar 82 is also pushed up, its direction is changed by the rotating member 83, and the lock pin 84 is extracted from one of the small holes of the disk circle lock 85, so that the rear wheel 38 is free to rotate ( 4 (a) and 4 (b) and FIG. 5 (a)).

  Thereafter, the user P can walk forward while holding the grip bar 51. Then, when the user P twists his / her body to the left or right, the seat surface 4 connected by the lower harness 24 and the grip bar 51 connected by the upper harness 25 are pulled and become their directions. The direction change of the tool 1 becomes easy.

  Here, the operation of the second braking device 9 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the second braking device 9. When a power switch (not shown) is turned on, various programs and setting values stored in advance in the storage unit 931 of the control device 93 are read, and a measurement unit 932, a determination unit 933, and a control unit 934 are constructed.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the flag i = 0 is set as an initial setting (step S1), and the sensor 90 starts distance measurement (step S2). Next, it is determined whether or not the flag i = 0 (step S3). If it is determined that the flag i = 0, it is determined whether or not the obstacle is approaching within 2 m (step S4). If it is determined that the obstacle is not approached within 2 m, the process returns to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is approaching the obstacle within 2 m, the brake 98 is gradually strengthened (step S5). Specifically, the rotation angle of the motor 94 may be changed according to the measured value of the distance to the obstacle.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the obstacle has reached 50 cm (step S6). If it is determined that the obstacle has not reached 50 cm, the process returns to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the obstacle has reached 50 cm, a lock is applied (step S7). Specifically, the rotation angle of the motor 94 may be set to the maximum value so that the handedness of the brake 98 is maximized (MAX). Thereafter, the flag i is changed to 1 (step S8), and the process returns to step S2.

  At this time, since it is determined in step S3 that the flag i is not 0, it is determined whether or not the distance from the obstacle exceeds 50 cm (step S10). If it is determined that the distance from the obstacle does not exceed 50 cm, the process returns to step S2. On the other hand, when it is determined that the distance exceeds 50 cm from the obstacle, the lock is released (step S11), and then the degree of use of the brake 98 is gradually loosened (step S12).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the distance exceeds 2 m (step S13). If it is determined that the distance from the obstacle does not exceed 2 m, the process returns to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined that the distance exceeds 2 m from the obstacle, the flag i is changed to 0 (step S14), and the process returns to step S2. The above steps are repeated until a power switch (not shown) is turned off.

  If the user P wants to stop walking and take a break, the user P can be seated reliably in the reverse procedure just by taking the sitting posture as it is, and the rear wheel 38 of the frame body frame 3 is reliably braked. Further, the user P does not fall down with the upper harness 25 connected to the grip bar 51. Here, when the user P completely stops the use, the connection between the grip bar 51 and the upper harness 25 is released in the seated state, the connection between the seat surface 4 and the lower harness 24 is released, and then the left side again. Only the walking caster bar 6 is flipped up toward the front frame 32 of the frame body frame 3 and the grip bar frame 5 is rotated around the vertical axis to open the grip bar 51 to the outside. Then, remove the harness 2.

  On the other hand, consider a case where the assistant moves the user P within the facility while the user P is seated. At this time, it is necessary to inhibit (cancel) the operation of the first braking device 8 and rotate the rear wheel 38 of the frame body frame 3. The seating surface 4 at this time is horizontal, but the safety pin 811 of the sensor piston 81 in contact with the rear lower surface of the seating surface 4 is extracted. Then, the sensor piston bar 822 in the support member 821 is not pushed down, so that the rear wheel 38 is free to rotate (see FIGS. 5C and 5D). However, since the assistant's grip bar 36 is returned to the original horizontal position at this time, braking by the brake 98 can be applied by a braking lever (not shown) equipped therein.

  On the other hand, consider the case where the assistant moves the user P out of the facility with the care vehicle while the user P is seated. At this time, in addition to the above, the left and right walking caster bars 6 are flipped up to use the wheelchair rail mounted on the nursing care vehicle to get on the nursing care vehicle while the user P is seated, and to assist the walking aid 1 is fixed in place. And the user P can be easily moved with a care vehicle. Further, when the user P is not using the walking aid 1, the grip bar 51 is rotated around the grip bar frame 5 and directed rearward, the assistant grip bar 36 is directed downward, and the stopper 71 is directed upward. As a result, it is easy to secure a storage space for the walking aid 1 as a result of achieving narrowing and compactness.

  As described above, according to the walking aid 1 of the present embodiment, the harness 2 that can be worn by the user P, the frame body frame 3 provided with wheels on the front, rear, left and right respectively, and the undulation in the frame body frame 3 It is equipped with a seat surface 4 that is freely attached and a grip bar frame 5 that is erected on the front side of the frame 3, and is connected to the harness 2 and the seat surface 4, thereby interlocking with the rising motion of the user P. Then, the seat surface 4 stands up, and the seat surface 4 falls down in conjunction with the sitting operation of the user P, so that it becomes a walking tool simply by getting up from the seat surface 4. Further, when the user P loses his / her intention to walk during use and takes a break, the harness 2 becomes a lead and is naturally guided to the seating surface 4 and can be seated.

  As a result, the user P's self-sustained walking by the autonomous mind is promoted, and the daily exercise amount is improved. Further, the whole body exercise leads to the enhancement of muscle strength and the activity of metabolism. Further, since the user P himself exercises safely, the usually required watching is not complicated, and the work amount of the care worker including the caregiver is reduced, so that there is further social significance.

  In the above embodiment, the user P connects the lower harness 24 of the harness 2 to the annular portion 41 of the seating surface 4 and connects the upper harness 25 to the reinforcing member 52 of the grip bar frame 5. It is conceivable to reduce the sense of restraint as an elastic material. In that case, two places of the main body 21 of the harness 2 are secured to the auxiliary frame 34 between the rear frames 33 of the frame body 3 and the like with a non-slidable safety belt (not shown). Thus, the user P can be prevented from sliding down, and the safety can be further improved.

  In the above embodiment, when the user 9 enters and exits the walking aid 1, only the left walking caster bar 6 is flipped up and only the left grip bar 51 is opened to the outside. This is because there are many users P. If it is a left-handed user, the right walking caster bar 6 may be flipped up and the right grip bar 51 may be opened outward. In any case, the second braking device 9 can have a function of canceling the operation by the user 9 which is the nearest obstacle from the detection signal so that the user P is not detected by the sensor 90 on the opposite side. That's fine.

  In the above embodiment, the first braking device 8 and the second braking device 9 both brake only the rear wheel 38, but if the front wheel is not a caster, only the front wheel is braked, You may make it brake all the wheels.

  Furthermore, as a future concept, the above embodiment is equipped with a GPS function, and in conjunction with the national infrastructure industry, small sensor base stations are arranged in various public facilities such as sidewalks, roads, parks, etc. In addition, it is conceivable to create a space where a user P of a general household can freely walk. This reduces the physical and time burdens of care workers in facilities and general households, and uses the location information confirmation system of the mobile phone to identify the current location and greet the user P without waste. It is possible to go to.

1 Walking aids (corresponding to dementia dedicated walking aids)
2 Harness 24 Lower harness 25 Upper harness 3 Frame frame 31 Main frame 32 Front frame 33 Rear frame 34 Auxiliary frame 35 Caster (corresponding to front wheels)
36 Grip bar for caregiver 38 Rear wheel (corresponds to the rear wheel)
4 Seat surface 5 Grip bar frame 51 Grip bar 6 Walking caster bar 63 Caster 7 Falling prevention bar 71 Stopper 8 First brake device (corresponding to first brake)
811 Safety pin (corresponds to a canceller)
9 Second braking device (corresponding to the second brake)
90 sensors

JP 2009-207858 A

Claims (12)

A wheelchair-shaped walking aid for encouraging self-sustaining walking by a user who is a dementia patient,
A harness that can be worn by the user,
A frame with wheels on the front, rear, left and right respectively;
A seating surface mounted in a undulating manner in the frame body;
A grip bar frame erected on the front side of the frame body frame,
By connecting the harness and the seating surface, the seating surface rises in conjunction with the user's rising motion,
A walking aid for exclusive use of dementia, characterized in that the seat surface lies in synchronization with a user's sitting operation.   A part of the harness and the seat surface are connected so as to lead a user's standing motion and seating motion, and the other part of the harness and the grip bar frame are connected. Item 1. Dementia-only walking aid for dementia.   3. The dementia dedicated walking aid according to claim 1, wherein a range in which the seat surface stands is less than 90 degrees forward from the lying position with the front end of the seat surface as a center.   The walking caster bar that extends to the left and right sides of the frame frame is extended to the front lower part of the frame frame, and the dementia-only gait walking according to any one of claims 1 to 3 Auxiliary tool.   The walking aid for exclusive use of dementia according to claim 4, wherein the walking caster bar can stand up toward the frame body.   6. The dementia dedicated walking aid according to claim 1, further comprising a grip bar rotatable around the grip bar frame.   The fold walking aid for exclusive use of dementia according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a foldable assistant grip bar is provided on a rear side of the frame body.   2. A first brake for braking the wheels of the frame frame in conjunction with a user's sitting operation and releasing the braking in conjunction with a rising operation of the user is provided. The dementia dedicated walking aid according to any one of -7.   9. The dementia dedicated walking aid according to claim 8, wherein a stopper for preventing the frame body from falling backward is provided in a foldable manner during braking.   The dementia dedicated walking assist device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein a canceller is provided to prevent the braking when the user sits down.   A sensor for detecting an obstacle is provided, and a second brake for braking the wheel of the frame or releasing the braking according to a detection signal of the sensor is provided. The dementia dedicated walking aid according to any one of 10 above. One of the left and right walking caster bars extended to the lower front side of the frame body frame can stand up toward the frame body frame, and the sensor is provided on the other of the walking caster bars. The dementia dedicated walking aid according to claim 11.

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