JP6019509B2 - Electric wheelchair operation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an operating device for an electric wheelchair.

The operation of the electric wheelchair is performed by using an operation unit of an operation device attached near the elbow rest on either the left or right side in a state where an occupant of the electric wheelchair is on board. In the case of a tilting operation unit (operation lever), it is possible to instruct the traveling direction of the wheelchair and adjust the speed. The operation lever is arranged so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the operation device (not at a completely vertical direction, for example, the tip portion is slightly inclined toward the occupant side so that the occupant can easily operate). There are many cases. In addition, since the wheelchair is driven while operating the control lever, the position where the occupant can easily see the control device while looking at the direction of travel is a system where the arm is separated from the armrest. On the contrary, there is a possibility that it is not stable and difficult to operate. In addition, maintaining the same posture without placing an elbow easily causes fatigue regardless of the hand strength.
Patent Document 1 discloses an operating device to which a support plate ( palm rest ) that can place a hand near the operating lever is attached. By attaching the support plate near the operation lever, even if the arm is not supported by the armrest, the hand is supported by the support plate, and it is possible to maintain a posture that keeps operating the operation lever without being limited to a passenger with low arm strength.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-19461

  However, an occupant who can operate the control lever while the arm is supported by the armrest, an occupant with sufficient muscle strength of the arm, or an occupant who does not need a support plate simply because of personal preference, etc., always supports the operating device. The plate may not be attached. Since the support plate disclosed in Patent Document 1 is detachable so as to be attached to either the left or right of the operating device, it can be attached when the support plate is necessary, and can be removed when unnecessary. . However, since it is detachable by removing the operation lever, it cannot be easily detached when it is attached once. In addition, when the occupant performs assembly such as attachment work, left / right replacement work, and removal work, there is a problem that the operation lever can be attached in a correct state, so it is considered that it is not preferable for the occupant to perform the detachment work. Furthermore, although it is possible that the height of the hand arrange | positioned at an operation part differs depending on a passenger | crew, height adjustment cannot be performed.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and makes it the subject which should be solved to provide the operating device of the electric wheelchair which can remove | desorb the holding | maintenance auxiliary member (plate for support) which can adjust height.

The structural features of the invention according to claim 1 for solving the above-described problems include an operation unit for operating an electric wheelchair, a main body unit on which the operation unit is disposed, and a guide unit on a side surface of the main body unit. An electric wheelchair operating device having a mounting portion having a height adjusting groove, a palm rest for holding a hand of an occupant operating the operating portion, and a restricting portion capable of moving the palm rest from a movement restricting state to a movable state. There,
The guide portion is a member for attaching relatively movable in front Symbol palm rest up and down direction, and the height adjustment pawl preceding Symbol palm rest engaged is inserted in the height adjusting groove in said guide portion The height adjustment with respect to the operation part is mounted so that the palm rest can be detachably attached to the main body part by turning the restriction part into the movable state .

  Here, the “operation” includes not only the operation of the electric wheelchair itself, such as steering and speed adjustment of the electric wheelchair and switching of the power on / off.

A structural feature of the invention according to claim 2 is that, in claim 1, the attachment portion has a bottom surface that regulates the downward movement of the palm rest .

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 1, the operating device with the operation part which operates an electric wheelchair can be attached or detached to a main-body part, and the palm rest holding the passenger | crew's hand with which the height adjustment with respect to an operation part is mounted | worn is possible. Therefore, it is possible to place the hand at a height that matches the occupant and to continuously operate the operation unit at a height that is easy to operate.

Further, according to the invention according to claim 1, since the main body section of the control device has a location in the guide portion for attaching the palm rest can be mounted easily palm rest at a predetermined position of the operation device (main body).

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 1 , since it has a control part so that a palm rest may not move below, it can control that a palm rest falls after attaching or falls down, when putting a hand. .

It is a right view of the electric wheelchair with which the operating device 6 of Embodiment 1 was attached. It is a partial rear view of an electric wheelchair. It is a perspective view from the upper right of the operating device 6 of the first embodiment. It is a perspective view from the lower right of the palm rest 7 of the operating device 6 of Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the operating device 6 of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the operating device 6 of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the operating device 6 of the first embodiment. It is a perspective view from the upper right of the operating device 6 of Embodiment 1 in the state where the palm rest 7 is not attached. It is a perspective view from the lower right of the operating device 6 of Embodiment 1 in the state where the palm rest 7 is not attached. It is a perspective view from the upper left of the operating device 6 of Embodiment 1 in the state where the palm rest 7 is attached to the left and right. It is a perspective view from the upper left of the operating device 6 of Embodiment 1 in the state where the palm rest 7 is attached on the right side. It is a perspective view from the lower left of the operating device 6 of Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the operating device 6 of the second embodiment from the right slightly above. It is a perspective view from the upper left of the operating device 6 of Embodiment 2. It is a perspective view from the upper right of the operating device 6 of Embodiment 2.

  A representative embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. An electric wheelchair operating device (hereinafter referred to as “operating device”) according to the present embodiment is attached to the electric wheelchair. First, an electric wheelchair to which an operation device is attached will be described.

  The electric wheelchair is mainly composed of a body frame 10 constituting a skeleton and drive wheels 20 positioned on the left and right of the body frame 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body frame 10 includes a backrest portion 11 that supports the back of the occupant, a grip 12 that is held by an assistant, an operating device 6 for driving operation, a seating portion 14 on which the occupant is seated, An armrest 15 that supports the elbow, a footrest 16 on which an occupant places his / her foot, and an auxiliary wheel 17 are provided. The direction in which the occupant's face is directed forward. The direction opposite to the direction in which the occupant's face faces is the rear. Further, the left side and the right side correspond to the left and right of the occupant, and are the same as in the case where the occupant is seated even in the illustration in which the occupant is not seated on the seat portion 14.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operating device 6 is disposed on the right front side of the electric wheelchair. The operation device 6 is located on the left front side, and can be disposed on the dominant hand of the passenger or in an easy-to-use manner.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the drive wheel 20 is rotatably provided on the body frame 10 and has a diameter larger than the diameter of the auxiliary wheel 17. The driving wheel 20 is connected to a driving means 30 that rotationally drives them. A drive means 30 having an electric motor (not shown) and rotating and driving the drive wheels 20 via a speed reduction mechanism (not shown) is located between the drive wheels 20 located on the left and right sides, and is controlled by a controller ( Driven and controlled via (not shown). Further, the driving means 30 is attached to the power battery 50 mounted in the pocket portion 40 on the back side of the backrest portion 11 (opposite the surface on which the occupant can contact the back) or the battery holder 41 provided on the backside of the backrest portion 11. Power is supplied from the attached battery 51 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The auxiliary wheel 17 is located between the drive wheel 20 and the footrest 16 in the front-rear direction.

(Embodiment 1)
The operating device 6 of the present embodiment 1, as shown in FIG. 1, a main body 60 fixed to the body frame 10, an operation lever (operation unit) 61 attached to the body portion 60, and a palm rest 7 I have.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 60 has a first upper surface 601 to which the operation lever 61 is attached so as to be tiltable, and a second upper surface 602 positioned in front of the first upper surface 601. The first upper surface 601 and the second upper surface 602 are not parallel to the horizontal plane, but are slightly inclined with respect to an occupant located behind the operating device 6 so that the upper surface can be easily seen. In particular, the second upper surface 602 is inclined more than the first upper surface 601 so that various switches and displays on the second upper surface 602 can be easily seen from the passenger. The various switches are, for example, a power switch for an electric wheelchair, a switch for generating a horn-like sound, and the like. In addition, the inclination of the 1st upper surface 601 and the 2nd upper surface 602 can be adjusted for every passenger | crew, and does not necessarily need to incline with respect to a horizontal surface.

  The operation lever 61 is located at the approximate center of the first upper surface 601 and is a tiltable lever-like member whose base is covered with a rubber boot 63. When the occupant tilts the control lever 61 forward, it tilts forward, backward, tilts backward, left and right, turns on the spot, and tilts back and forth while tilting left and right (in the diagonal direction). Drive while turning in the corresponding direction. The traveling speed is determined by the tilting condition of the operating lever 61 (tilting condition).

  The palm rest 7 is disposed on the right side of the operation lever 61. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the operation lever 61 is operated with the right hand. When performing an operation with the left hand, it may be desirable to arrange the palm rest 7 on the left side, which can be changed as appropriate. In FIG. 3, a plate portion 71 of the palm rest 7 for placing a hand is located on the right side of the first upper surface 601. A hand is placed on the upper surface of the plate portion 71. When the upper surface is viewed from above, one of the minor axis directions of the ellipse is shortened when the major axis direction is the front-rear direction. The shortened side (operation lever 61 side) is a straight line substantially parallel to the front-rear direction. Note that the shape and size of the plate portion 71 are not limited to the shape and size shown in the drawing, and even if the entire hand is not placed, a part of the hand can be placed so that the hand is maintained near the operation lever 61. Any shape and size that can assist in doing this are acceptable. The position of the palm rest 7 also depends on the size of the plate portion 71, but in the vicinity of the operation lever 61, the operation lever 61 can no longer be tilted at a position where the hand can be supplementarily supported while the operation lever 61 is tilted. A position where the hand can be immediately placed immediately after the stop state) or a position where the operation lever 61 can be immediately tilted from a position where the hand is placed is desirable.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the palm rest 7 has a column part 72 and a regulating part 73 in addition. The support column 72 is coupled to the central portion in the front-rear direction on the operation lever 61 side of the plate unit 71 and extends downward. The column portion 72 is integrally formed so that the surface on the operation lever 61 side is perpendicular to the upper surface of the plate portion 71. The column part 72 has a rail part (guided part) 721 to be inserted into a guide part 641 of the mounting part 64 described later. The guided portion 721 is located in the entire front vertical direction of the support column 72 and the entire rear vertical direction. The restricting portion 73 includes a lever portion 731 and a support portion 732. The lever portion 731 has an upper surface that can contact the lower surface of the plate portion 71. The support portion 732 is integrally coupled to the upper surface of the lever portion 731 at an angle narrower than the upper surface of the lever portion 731, and the surface on the operation lever 61 side that can come into contact with the back surface of the side of the operation lever 61 of the support column 72. The restricting portion 73 has a shape obtained by reducing the shape in which the plate portion 71 and the column portion 72 are combined, and a shaft portion 735 that is axial in the front-rear direction in which the lever portion 731 and the support portion 732 are combined. Have. The shaft portion 735 protrudes from the lever portion 731 (support portion 732) in the front-rear direction, and engages with a right-angle portion where the plate portion 71 and the column portion 72 are coupled. The coupling angle between the lever portion 731 and the support portion 732 is smaller than the coupling angle between the plate portion 71 and the column portion 72, and the regulating portion 73 is the opposite surface of the lower surface of the plate portion 71 and the surface of the column portion 72 on the operation lever 61 side. The surface on the operation lever 61 side of the support portion 732 is in contact with the opposite surface of the support column 72 on the operation lever 61 side so that the upper surface of the lever portion 731 is in contact with the lower surface of the plate portion 72. The shaft 735 rotates. A torsion spring 734 is engaged with the shaft portion 735, and the torsion spring 734 causes the restricting portion 73 to face the operation lever 61 side surface of the support portion 72, and the surface opposite to the operation lever 61 side surface of the support column 72. It is urged so that it may contact. This state of the restriction unit 73 is referred to as a “movement restriction state”. Then, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the restricting portion 73 is a height adjustment that protrudes (to the left) from the surface on the operation lever 61 side in the center in the front-rear direction and near the center in the up-down direction (to the left). It has a nail 733. When the height adjustment claw 733 penetrates the support column 72 to the left and is inserted into a height adjustment groove 642 to be described later, it is always urged to the left (inserted direction) by the torsion spring 734. The engaged state with the height adjusting groove 642 is maintained.

As shown in FIG. 8, the operating device 6 has a mounting portion 64 formed on the right side surface 60 </ b> R of the main body portion 60 where the operating lever 61 is positioned. The attachment portion 64 has a guide portion 641 and a height adjustment groove 642. The guide part 641 is formed with a groove in the vertical direction so that the rail part 721 of the column part 71 of the palm rest 7 is inserted, the front side is forward and the rear side is rearward. A plurality of height adjustment grooves 642 are opened in the left-right direction at equal intervals in the up-down direction between the guide portions 641 in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the palm rest 7 is attached to the attachment portion 64 at the lower end portion of the column portion 72 from above the first upper surface 601 of the main body portion 6, and the rail portion 721 slides on the guide portion 641. It can move up and down. The movement of the palm rest 7 is stopped and restricted when the height adjustment claw 733 on the palm rest 7 side is inserted into and engaged with the height adjustment groove 642 in the attachment portion 64. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, since there are a plurality of height adjustment grooves 642 formed in the attachment portion 64, which height adjustment groove 642 the height adjustment claw 733 on the palm rest 7 side is engaged with. The height of the palm rest 7 is determined. As shown in FIG. 10, in order to change the height of the palm rest 7 from the state in which the height adjustment claw 733 is engaged with the height adjustment groove 642, the height adjustment claw 733 is removed from the height adjustment groove 642. The palm rest 7 is moved up and down (disengagement). In order to remove the height adjustment claw 733 from the height adjustment groove 642, the restricting portion 73 is rotated. As shown in FIG. 7, the restricting portion 73 is urged by the torsion spring 734 so that the surface of the support portion 72 on the operation lever 61 side is in contact with the opposite surface of the support portion 72 on the operation lever 61 side. Since the upper surface of the lever portion 731 is not in contact with the lower surface of the plate portion 71, the restriction is made so that the upper surface of the lever portion 731 is in contact with the lower surface of the plate portion 71 as shown in FIGS. The part 73 is rotated around the shaft part 735. A state in which the upper surface of the lever portion 731 of the restricting portion 73 is in contact with the lower surface of the plate portion 71 is referred to as a “movable state”. When the restricting portion 73 is moved from the movement restricting state to the movable state (the restricting portion 73 rotates about the shaft portion 735), the height adjusting claw 733 of the support portion 73 moves to the right to adjust the height. The groove 642 comes off and the height adjustment claw 733 and the height adjustment groove 642 are disengaged. The palm rest 7 can move in the vertical direction. If the restricting portion 73 is maintained in a movable state, the palm rest 7 can be freely moved in the vertical direction. Therefore, the restriction part 73 is changed from the movable state to the movement restricted state at a desired height. At this time, if there is no height adjustment groove 642 at the position where the height adjustment claw 733 is located, the height adjustment claw 733 cannot be inserted into and engaged with the height adjustment groove 642, and the palm rest 7 is not fixed. Therefore, the palm rest 7 is moved in either the vertical direction until the height adjustment claw 733 is inserted into the height adjustment groove 642 and engaged, and it is confirmed that the palm rest 7 cannot move in the vertical direction. The palm rest 7 is now in a state where a hand can be put on the plate portion 71. If the height of the palm rest 7 is changed again, the restricting unit 73 is changed from the movement restricted state to the movable state. Also, when the palm rest 7 is to be removed, the restriction portion 73 is changed from the movement restriction state to the movable state, the palm rest 7 is moved upward until the rail portion 721 comes off the guide portion 641, and the palm rest 7 is attached to the attachment portion 64. Remove from. By making the restricting portion 73 movable, the palm rest 7 can be easily detached from the attachment portion 64 (main body portion 60).

  The attachment portion 64 has a bottom surface 643 below, and is not formed on the entire side surface of the main body portion 60 in the vertical direction. The palm rest 7 is restricted from further downward movement when the lower end of the support 72 is in contact with the bottom surface 643. The bottom surface 643 is preferably the lower limit of the height at which the operation lever 61 can be operated with the hand placed on the plate portion 71 of the palm rest 7. When the engagement between the height adjustment claw 733 and the height adjustment groove 642 is released, the palm rest 7 has a lower end of the support 72 that abuts the bottom surface 643 and is further restricted from moving downward. This is one of the restriction parts different from the restriction part 73.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the palm rest 7 can be attached to the left side of the operating device 6. In the main body 60, a mounting portion 64 similar to the right side surface 60R is formed on the left side surface 60L (see FIGS. 3 and 8). The palm rest 7 may be one on the right side if the operating device 6 is on the right side, or one on the left side if the operating device is on the left side. In addition, the attachment part 64 of the main-body part 60 may be formed in the right side 60R and the left side 60L of the operating device 6 of the passenger | crew who does not attach the palm rest 7, and the palm rest 7 can be prepared and attached if needed. . This is because the attachment portion 64 itself is not in a shape protruding in all directions, but is formed inward from the side surface of the main body portion 60.

  According to the operation device 6 of the first embodiment, the palm rest (holding auxiliary member) 7 can be attached to and detached from the operation lever 61 of the operation device 6 on either the left or right side, and the height can be easily changed. Therefore, since the hand can be placed at a height that matches the occupant according to the occupant, the operation unit can be continuously operated at a height that is easy to operate.

  Further, attachment portions 64 are formed on the right side surface 60 </ b> R and the left side surface 60 </ b> L of the main body portion 60, and the attachment portion 64 has a guide portion 641. And since the rail part 721 inserted in the guide part 641 is provided in the support | pillar part 72 at the palm rest 7 side, the palm rest 7 can be easily attached to the predetermined position of the operating device 6 (main-body part 60).

  Moreover, the height adjustment nail | claw 733 of the palm rest 7 is inserted in the height adjustment groove 642 formed in the attaching part 64, and it can fix the height of the up-down direction of the palm rest 7 by engaging. Even if a hand is put on the plate part 71 of the palm rest 7, the height is maintained and the movement to the downward direction (arrow A direction) of the palm rest 7 is controlled.

(Embodiment 2)
The operation device 6 according to the second embodiment has the same configuration and operational effects as the operation device 6 according to the first embodiment. Below, it demonstrates focusing on a different structure.

  The operating device 6 of Embodiment 2 has a palm rest 8 shown in FIG. The palm rest 8 has a plate part 81 and a support part 82. The column portion 82 is integrally coupled to the plate portion 8 that extends downward at a right angle to the upper surface of the plate portion 81. The column portion 82 includes a rail portion 821 and a height adjusting claw 822. The rail portion 821 has a vertical shape in the vertical direction on each of the front and rear sides of the column portion 82. The height adjusting claw 822 is positioned approximately at the center in the front-rear direction and the front-rear direction. The rail portion 821 is inserted into the guide portion 651 of the attachment portion 65 located on the right side surface 60R (left side surface 60L) of the main body portion 60. The height adjustment claw 822 is inclined such that the upper surface is obtuse with respect to the side surface of the mounting portion 65 of the support column 82, and the lower surface is perpendicular to the support column 82 or an acute angle from a right angle.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the attachment portion 65 is formed on the left side surface 60 </ b> L and the right side surface 60 </ b> R of the main body portion 60 where the operation lever 61 is located. The attachment portion 65 includes a guide portion 651 and a height adjustment groove 652. The guide portion 651 is recessed forward on the front side and rearward on the rear side, and penetrates in the vertical direction. A plurality of height adjustment grooves 652 are opened in the left-right direction at equal intervals in the up-down direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the palm rest 8 is inserted into the guide portion 651 of the mounting portion 65 on the plate portion 81 side of the rail portion 821 from below the main body portion 60 of the operating device 6. Then, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the palm rest 8 is moved upward until the plate portion 81 reaches a desired height. The palm rest 8 can be moved upward by the rail portion 821 on the palm rest 8 side sliding on the guide portion 651 on the attachment portion 65 side. The palm rest 8 moves only in one direction, from the bottom to the top. The palm rest 8 cannot move downward in a state where the height adjustment claw 822 is engaged with the height adjustment groove 652. This is because the upper surface of the height adjusting claw 822 is inclined at an obtuse angle with respect to the moving direction, and the lower surface is inclined at a right angle or less with respect to the moving direction. The height adjustment claw 822 and the height adjustment groove 652 can be inserted into the height adjustment groove 652 when the height adjustment claw 822 moves from below to above, but from above to below. The height adjustment claw 822 is caught in the height adjustment groove 652 and cannot be disengaged. Therefore, when attaching the palm rest 8, the palm rest 8 is gradually raised upward from the lower part of the main body 60, and if the palm rest 8 is detached from the upper part, the palm rest 8 is attached again from the lower part of the main body 60, Adjust the height.

  Similar to the operation device 6 of the first embodiment, the operation device 6 of the second embodiment can be height-adjusted and the palm rest 8 can be easily detached. However, the operation device 6 is simpler than the operation device 6 of the first embodiment. It is.

(Other embodiments)
The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the guide portion is not necessarily formed. In addition to the effect that the guide portion is easy to mount the palm rest in a predetermined position and can be moved up and down smoothly, the guide portion also serves as an auxiliary to maintain the fixed state of the palm rest and is also a regulating portion. If the function only of the guide is used as a main, it may be formed as one guide part on one side, only at the front, only at the rear, or at the center. Further, the guide part and the guided part (rail part) are not limited to those described above. For example, a female screw and a male screw may be used. Since the height of the palm rest can be adjusted by inserting the male screw and screwing the male screw, a configuration in which the height adjusting claw and the height adjusting groove are not formed is also possible. Subtle height adjustment is possible compared with the case of a nail and a groove. However, it is desirable that the male screw does not protrude, including the plate portion on which the hand is placed.

  In addition, the height adjustment nail is not limited to one palm rest. By using a plurality in the vertical direction, the load can be more strongly stabilized against a downward load. Moreover, the same effect can be expected by using a plurality in the front-rear direction. In the case of a plurality in the front-rear direction, the height adjustment groove on the attachment portion side of the main body of the operating device is also formed at a corresponding position.

10: body frame, 11: backrest part, 12: grip, 14: seating part, 15: armrest, 16: footrest, 17: auxiliary wheel, 20: drive wheel, 30: electric motor, 40: pocket part, 41: battery Holder, 50, 51: Power supply battery, 6: Operating device, 60: Main body, 601: First upper surface, 602: Second upper surface, 61: Operation lever (operation unit), 63: Rubber boot, 64, 65: mounting portions, 641 and 651: guide unit, 642, 652: height adjustment groove, 7,8: palm rest, 71 and 81: the plate portion, 72 and 82: struts, 721,821: rail section (guided portion ), 73: restriction portion, 731: lever portion, 732: support portion, 733, 822: height adjustment claw, 734: torsion spring, 735: shaft portion.

Claims (2)

An operation unit for operating an electric wheelchair;
A main body on which the operation unit is disposed;
A mounting portion having a guide portion and a height adjustment groove on a side surface of the main body portion;
A palm rest for holding a hand of an occupant operating the operation unit ;
A restricting section capable of moving the palm rest from a movement restricted state to a movable state;
An electric wheelchair operating device having
The guide portion is a member for attaching relatively movable in front Symbol palm rest up and down,
Before Symbol height adjustment pawl in the palm rest is the guide portion to the inserted to a height adjustment groove in the mounted height can be adjusted with respect to the operation portion engages,
The palm rest is detachably attached to the main body by turning the restricting portion to the movable state ,
Electric wheelchair operating device characterized by this. The electric wheelchair operation device according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion has a bottom surface that restricts the downward movement of the palm rest .

Images