JP7497856B2 - Self-propelled dental chair - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a self-propelled dental treatment chair.

Due to the recent aging of society, the proportion of elderly patients and patients with walking disabilities who visit dental clinics and use wheelchairs is increasing.
When such a patient who uses a wheelchair comes to a dental clinic in their wheelchair, the dentist or dental clinic staff must push the wheelchair around the dental clinic to get close to the dental examination table, and in some cases, transfer the patient from the wheelchair to the dental examination table (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-94274

However, wheelchairs such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 are not equipped with various driving functions sufficient for moving through the narrow corridors of a dental clinic where many types of medical equipment are located, and are simply provided with handles for the dentist or dental clinic staff. This means that dentists or dental clinic staff who are not very strong must carry the combined weight of the patient and wheelchair by themselves when moving around, making it difficult for them to climb slopes or overcome steps when moving around the dental clinic.

The present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above. In other words, the object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled dental treatment chair that allows dentists or dental clinic staff to easily transfer patients who come to the dental clinic by car or the like into the dental treatment room and perform dental treatment without using a wheelchair.

The invention according to claim 1 is a self-propelled dental treatment chair comprising a contour seat for supporting the lower body of a patient, a backrest that is provided so as to be freely raised and lowered with respect to the contour seat and supports the upper body of the patient, a base frame provided below the contour seat, running wheels provided below the base frame for running on the floor surface of a dental clinic, and a drive unit provided on the base frame for driving the running wheels, the self-propelled dental treatment chair comprising a control device that drives and controls the drive unit when the backrest is in a seated position with the backrest raised, and a control device provided on the back of the backrest and controlled by the control device. and a control device that transmits a signal, the control device having a lifting operation unit that lifts or lowers the contour sheet, the base frame includes a base part and a lifting part disposed above the base part, a lifting mechanism that lifts or lowers the lifting part when the traveling wheels are stopped and the lifting operation unit is operated, and a spitting receptacle connection part that is electrically conductive with the spitting receptacle, and the backrest includes an auxiliary operation unit that lifts or lowers the contour sheet when the spitting receptacle and the spitting receptacle connection part are electrically conductive with each other, thereby solving the above problems.

The self-propelled dental treatment chair according to claim 2 solves the above-mentioned problem by having the same configuration as the self-propelled dental treatment chair according to claim 1, and in addition, the steering device has a forward/backward operation unit that controls the forward or backward movement of the traveling wheels.

The self-propelled dental treatment chair according to claim 3 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the self-propelled dental treatment chair according to claim 1 or claim 2, the traveling wheels are composed of at least one steering wheel that can be steered left and right, and the drive device is equipped with a direction changing unit that changes the traveling direction of the steering wheel left and right based on the left and right rotation of the steering device.

The self-propelled dental treatment chair according to claim 4 further solves the above-mentioned problem by, in addition to the configuration of the self-propelled dental treatment chair according to any one of claims 1 to 3, providing the backrest with an attachment position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the attachment position of the steering device up and down.

The self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention is equipped with a contoured seat that supports the lower half of the patient's body, a backrest that is freely raised and lowered relative to the contoured seat and supports the upper half of the patient's body, a base frame that is attached below the contoured seat, running wheels that are attached below the base frame and run on the floor of the dental clinic, and a drive unit that is attached to the base frame and drives the running wheels. Not only can the chair be self-propelled with a patient on it, but the unique configuration of the present invention described below provides the unique effects of the present invention.

According to the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the invention of claim 1, a control device that transmits a control signal to the control device is provided on the back of the backrest, so that a dentist or dental clinic staff member can operate the self-propelled dental treatment chair from the back side of the backrest. This allows the self-propelled dental treatment chair to be moved within the dental clinic even when the patient is unable to operate it himself, providing a so-called hospitality function for the patient.

In addition, a control device is provided that controls the drive mechanism when the patient is in a seated position with the backrest upright. This prevents the drive mechanism from being driven even if the control device is operated incorrectly when the backrest is tilted during treatment, preventing unforeseen accidents such as misalignment of the treatment area that can occur when the self-propelled dental chair moves during treatment.

Furthermore, the control device has a lifting operation unit that raises or lowers the contour seat, and the base frame is equipped with a base unit, a lifting unit provided above the base unit, and a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the lifting unit when the running wheels are stopped and the lifting operation unit is operated. The lifting mechanism raises and lowers the seat unit relative to the base frame, so that the patient's body can be raised to an appropriate height when getting into a car to go home after treatment, etc.

More specifically, by having the control device execute lift control only when the running wheels are stopped, the contour seat does not rise or fall while the self-propelled dental treatment chair is moving, and this makes it possible to prevent unforeseen accidents caused by the contour seat rising or falling due to incorrect operation of the lift control unit while the self-propelled dental treatment chair is being moved within the dental clinic.

Furthermore, the control device performs lift control to cause the lift mechanism to raise the lift part when the lift operation part rotates in a first direction from a predetermined position, and to cause the lift mechanism to lower the lift part when the lift operation part rotates in a second direction from a predetermined position. This allows the lift mechanism to be controlled simply by operating the lift operation part, so that the patient's body can be raised to an appropriate height when getting into a car to go home after treatment, for example, simply by operating the lift operation part.

In addition, the base frame has a cuspidor connection part that is electrically connected to the cuspidor, so that the lifting mechanism can be operated and the power battery can be charged by power supplied from the cuspidor.

Furthermore, since the backrest has an auxiliary operation unit that raises or lowers the contour sheet when electricity is applied between the cuspidor and the cuspidor connection part, the auxiliary operation unit is always exposed to a dentist or dental clinic staff regardless of whether the operation device is raised or lowered. Therefore, even if the operation device is housed in the handle accommodating recess and the backrest is lowered during treatment, the seat unit can be raised or lowered by operating the auxiliary operation unit.

More specifically, the control device controls the lifting mechanism to lift or lower in accordance with a command operation to the auxiliary operation unit only when the spitting receptacle connection part is electrically connected to the spitting receptacle, so that when the spitting receptacle connection part is not connected to the spitting receptacle, the contour sheet does not lift or lower even when the auxiliary operation unit is operated. This prevents unexpected accidents caused by the contour sheet lifting or lowering due to erroneous operation of the auxiliary operation unit, for example, when transferring a patient from the self-propelled dental treatment chair to a car after treatment.

According to the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the steering device has a forward/backward operation part that controls the forward/backward movement of the traveling wheels, so that the dentist or dental clinic staff can move the self-propelled dental treatment chair forward or backward simply by operating the forward/backward command on the forward/backward operation part of the steering device, and therefore the self-propelled dental treatment chair can be easily moved within the dental clinic.

More specifically, the control device controls the drive unit to rotate the traveling wheels forward when the forward/backward operation unit rotates in a first direction from a predetermined position, and controls the drive unit to rotate the traveling wheels backward when the forward/backward operation unit rotates in a second direction from a predetermined position. This allows the dentist or dental clinic staff to stop, move forward, or move backward simply by rotating the forward/backward operation unit with one hand, so the dentist or dental clinic staff can easily move the self-propelled dental treatment chair around the dental clinic while caring for the patient or carrying luggage with the other hand.

According to the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effects of the invention of claim 1 or claim 2, the traveling wheels are composed of at least one steering wheel that can be steered left and right, and the drive device is equipped with a direction changing part that changes the traveling direction of the steering wheel left and right based on the left and right rotation of the steering device, so that the self-propelled dental treatment chair moves in the direction that the steering wheel is rotated, and the direction of the self-propelled dental treatment chair can be easily changed within the dental clinic.

More specifically, the control device performs directional control by causing the direction-changing section to rotate the steering wheel to the right when the steering device rotates to the right from a specified position, and by causing the direction-changing section to rotate the steering wheel to the left when the steering device rotates to the left from a specified position, so that the dentist or dental clinic staff can control the direction of travel of the self-propelled dental treatment chair by simply operating the rotation operation section with one hand, and therefore the dentist or dental clinic staff can easily change the direction of the self-propelled dental treatment chair within the dental clinic while caring for a patient or carrying luggage with the other hand.

According to the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effects of the inventions of claims 1 to 3, the backrest is equipped with an attachment position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the attachment position of the control device up and down, so that the control device can be moved freely up and down relative to the backrest, and the control device can be set to a height that is easy to operate depending on the height of the dentist or dental clinic staff.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a self-propelled dental treatment chair disposed adjacent to a cuspidor according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a self-propelled dental treatment chair disposed adjacent to a cuspidor, as viewed from the rear side of the chair; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the rear side of the backrest in the self-propelled dental treatment chair of FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3 for explaining the operation of the operating handle used in the present invention. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 3 for explaining the raising and lowering operation and the mounting position adjustment operation of the operating handle used in the present invention. 5A to 5C are schematic diagrams for explaining the raising and lowering action of the backrest and the lifting and lowering action of the contour seat in the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the function and action of a lifting mechanism used in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the self-propelled dental chair shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the lifting and lowering operation of the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the lifting and lowering operation of the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control relationship in the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention.

The self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention comprises a contour seat that supports the lower half of the patient's body, a backrest that is freely raised and lowered relative to the contour seat and supports the upper half of the patient's body, a base frame that is provided below the contour seat, running wheels that are provided below the base frame and run on the floor surface of the dental clinic, a drive unit that is provided on the base frame and drives the running wheels, a control unit that drives and controls the drive unit when the backrest is in an upright seated position, and a steering unit that is provided on the back of the backrest and sends control signals to the control unit. Any specific embodiment is acceptable as long as the chair allows a dentist or dental clinic staff member to easily transfer a patient who visits the dental clinic to the chair and move the patient to the dental treatment room without using a wheelchair and allows dental treatment to be performed there.

For example, the specific installation location of the control device used in the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention may be built into either the contour seat, the backrest, or the drive device.

The backrest, which can be rotated freely between an upright seating position and a reclined treatment position relative to the contour seat, can also be raised and lowered manually.

Hereinafter, the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs.
1 is a perspective view of a self-propelled dental treatment chair disposed adjacent to a spitting receptacle, as viewed from a front side of the chair, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the self-propelled dental treatment chair disposed adjacent to a spitting receptacle, as viewed from a rear side of the chair, FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration of a rear side of a backrest in the self-propelled dental treatment chair of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3 for describing an operation of an operating handle used in the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 3 for describing a raising and lowering operation and an installation position adjusting operation of the operating handle used in the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the raising and lowering operation of the backrest and the lifting and lowering operation of the contour seat in the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a block diagram for showing the function and operation of the lifting mechanism used in the present invention; FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the self-propelled dental treatment chair shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram showing the lifting and lowering operation of the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention; FIG. 9B is an explanatory diagram showing the lifting and lowering operation of the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention; and FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the control relationship in the self-propelled dental treatment chair of the present invention.

As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6, the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 includes a base frame 130 facing the floor surface F, running wheels 140 attached to the underside of the base frame 130 and running on the floor surface F, a contour seat 120 arranged on the base frame 130, a backrest 110 arranged so as to be freely raised and lowered relative to the contour seat 120, an operating handle 150 provided on the back side of the backrest 110 and receiving various operating support, a handle storage recess 160 that stores the operating handle 150, a lifting mechanism 180 that raises and lowers the contour seat 120 or the entire self-propelled dental treatment chair 100, and a control device 190 that controls various operations of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100.

<Contour sheet>
The contour seat 120 has a seat portion 121 that is arranged approximately horizontally with respect to the floor surface F and supports the patient's buttocks, a leg rest portion 122 that is provided in front of the seat portion 121 and supports the patient's legs, and a footrest portion 123 that is provided below the leg rest portion 122 and supports the patient's feet, these forming the contour seat 120 that supports the patient's lower body.

A backrest 110 that supports the patient's back is installed behind the seat portion 121 that constitutes the contour seat 120 and can be raised or lowered freely relative to the seat portion 121 of the contour seat 120.

<Backrest>
The backrest 110 includes a backrest portion 111 that supports the patient's back, a headrest portion 112 that supports the patient's head, an armrest portion 113 that supports the patient's arms, an auxiliary operating portion 114 for instructing and controlling the raising and lowering of the contour seat 120 and the raising and lowering of the backrest 110, a back portion 115 on the opposite side of the backrest portion 111, and a backrest raising and lowering sensor portion 116.

The auxiliary operation unit 114 is provided on the side of the backrest and includes a seat up instruction button 114a, a seat down instruction button 114b, a backrest upright instruction button 114c, and a backrest tilt instruction button 114d.

When the seat lift instruction button 114a is pressed, the auxiliary operation unit 114 transmits a lift signal to the control device 190 to lift the contoured seat 120 via a lifting unit 131 that constitutes a base frame 130 described below.
When the seat lowering instruction button 114b is pressed, the auxiliary operating unit 114 transmits a lowering signal to the control device 190 to lower the contoured seat 120 via a lifting/lowering unit 131 constituting a base frame 130 described below.

When the backrest raising instruction button 114c is pressed, the auxiliary operation unit 114 sends a backrest raising signal to the control device 190. When the backrest tilting instruction button 114d is pressed, the auxiliary operation unit 114 sends a backrest tilting signal to the control device 190.

The backrest 110 is configured to be freely raised and lowered by a raising and lowering means (not shown) between an upright seating position and a reclined treatment position relative to the contour seat 120.

When the backrest 110 is in a treatment posture inclined relative to the contour seat 120 , the backrest raising/lowering sensor unit 116 does not transmit a seating posture signal to the control device 190 .
When the backrest 110 is in an upright seating position relative to the contoured seat 120 , the backrest raising/lowering sensor unit 116 transmits a seating position signal to the control device 190 .

The headrest portion 112 is housed in an area where the upper end of the backrest 110 is recessed downward, and the headrest portion 112 can be manually raised and lowered relative to the backrest 110.

The leg rest portion 122 is spaced apart from the floor surface F.
The footrest portion 123, like the legrest portion 122, is spaced apart from the floor surface F and is approximately horizontal to the floor surface F in the seated position.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5, an operating handle 150 is provided in a freely retractable manner as a control device for operating the self-propelled dental chair 100 in a handle accommodating recess 160 (described below) provided in the rear portion 115 of the backrest 110.

<Operation handle>
The operating handle 150 comprises a handle main body 151, a grip portion 153 located at the tip of the handle main body 151, an advance/retract throttle portion 152R provided on both sides of the grip portion 153 as an advance/retract operation portion that instructs the forward and backward movement of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100, and a lift throttle portion 152L as a lift operation portion that instructs the lifting and lowering operation of the lift portion 131, a handle lifting shaft portion 155 that serves as the center of rotation when the operating handle 150 is raised or lowered, a bush portion 154 that supports the handle lifting shaft portion 155 so that it can be steered freely, a direction changing shaft portion 156 that serves as the center of rotation when the operating handle 150 is rotated left and right, a direction changing sensor portion 157 connected to the direction changing shaft portion and detecting the left and right rotation of the operating handle 150, a spiral spring 158 as an anti-drop-out mechanism, and a handle lifting sensor portion 159 that detects whether the operating handle 150 is in the stowed position or the steering position.

The operating handle 150 is configured to rotate freely up and down around the handle up and down shaft 155, which is supported horizontally by the bushing 154.

When the backrest 110 is in a seated position with the backrest 110 standing upright relative to the seat portion 121, the operating handle 150 can be raised and lowered between a storage position in which it is stored in the handle storage recess 160 of the backrest 110 as shown in Figures 3 to 5, and a protruding operating position in which it is rotated backward to an angle close to horizontal.

The operating handle 150 is further equipped with a helical spring 158 as an anti-jump mechanism and is spring-biased in the direction of returning to the stored position, so that the operating handle 150 does not accidentally jump out to the operating position under its own weight when the backrest 110 is in a position where it is tilted backward.

A handle raising/lowering sensor unit 159 disposed within the handle body 151 detects whether the operating handle 150 is accommodated within the handle accommodating recess 160 in a accommodated position, or whether it has protruded rearward in a control position.
When the operating handle 150 is in the operating position, the handle raising/lowering sensor unit 159 transmits a control possible signal to the control device 190.

The forward/backward throttle section 152R, which acts as the forward/backward control section, protrudes from the right side surface of the grip section 153 located at the tip of the handle body section 151, is freely rotatable in the forward/backward direction, and receives commands to move forward or backward.

When the forward/backward throttle section 152R is rotated forward/backward, the operating handle 150 transmits a forward/backward control signal to the control device 190.

More specifically, when the forward/backward throttle section 152R is rotated forward, the operating handle 150 transmits a forward movement signal to the control device 190 to move the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 forward.

In addition, when the forward/reverse throttle section 152R is rotated backward, the operating handle 150 transmits a reverse signal to the control device 190 to cause the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 to move backward.

The lift throttle section 152L, which serves as the lift operation section, protrudes from the left side surface of the grip section 153 located at the tip of the handle body section 151, is freely rotatable in the front-rear direction, and receives lift command operations.

When the lift throttle section 152L is rotated forward or backward, the operating handle 150 transmits a lift control signal to the control device 190.

More specifically, when the lift throttle section 152L is rotated forward, the operating handle 150 transmits an elevation signal to the control device 190 via the lift section 131 to raise the seat section 121.

In addition, when the lift throttle section 152L is rotated rearward, the operating handle 150 transmits a descent signal to the control device 190 via the lift section 131 to lower the contour seat 120.

The bushing 154 is fitted to the handle mounting plate 163 that constitutes the handle accommodating recess 160 so that it can be steered left and right. When the operating handle 150 is rotated left and right while the operating handle 150 is in the steering position protruding rearward, the bushing 154 rotates left and right in conjunction with the operating handle 150.

When the operating handle 150 is rotated left or right, the direction changing shaft portion 156 rotates in conjunction with the operating handle 150 .
The rotation of the operating handle 150 is detected by a direction changing sensor unit 157 via a direction changing shaft unit 156 .

When the direction change sensor unit 157 detects the rotation of the operating handle 150, the direction change sensor unit 157 transmits a direction control signal to the control device 190.

More specifically, when the operating handle 150 is rotated to the right from the initial position, the direction change sensor unit 157 transmits a right rotation signal to the control device 190.

When the operating handle 150 is rotated to the left, the direction change sensor unit 157 detects this and transmits a left rotation signal to the control device 190.

<Handle accommodating recess>
The handle accommodating recess 160 is provided in the back portion 115 of the backrest 110 to accommodate the operating handle 150, and is equipped with a handle accommodating recess side wall portion 161 extending in the depth direction along the edge of the handle accommodating recess 160, a vertical adjustment rail portion 162 and a handle mounting plate portion 163 as a mounting position adjustment mechanism, and a damper portion 164 as a shock absorbing mechanism.

A pair of left and right vertical adjustment rails 162 are provided on the side wall 161 of the handle housing recess, and the handle mounting plate 163 engages with the pair of left and right vertical adjustment rails 162 so as to be movable up and down, forming a mounting position adjustment mechanism.

When the operating handle 150 is in an operable state where it protrudes rearward, the handle mounting plate portion 163 can be adjusted up and down along the vertical adjustment rail portion 162.

The damper portion 164, which acts as a shock absorbing mechanism, is located at a position where it comes into contact with the grip portion 153 when the operating handle 150 is returned to the storage position, and absorbs the shock when the operating handle 150, which is biased by the helical spring 158, hits the handle storage recess 160.

The shape of the handle accommodating recess 160 is set according to the shape of the operating handle 150.

Specifically, when the operating handle 150 is accommodated in the handle accommodating recess 160, the forward/backward throttle section 152R and the up/down throttle section 152L provided on the left and right sides of the operating handle 150 have a throttle section gap dimension CO1 between them and the handle accommodating recess side wall section 161, and the grip section 153 has a grip section gap dimension CO2 between them and the handle accommodating recess side wall section 161.

<Base frame>
The base frame 130 has a base portion 132 and a lifting portion 131 arranged thereon so as to be capable of being raised and lowered.

The base part 132 further includes a spitting receptacle connection part 132a having an electrode socket part 132b provided at a front end thereof and electrically connected to the spitting receptacle S described below.

The electrode socket portion 132b is opened upward and can be electrically connected to the electrode plug portion S10b formed downward from the connection arm portion S10a of the spitting receptacle S.

<Traveling wheels>
As shown in Figures 1, 2, 6 and 8, the running wheels 140 consist of drive wheels 141 arranged at both front corners on the underside of the base portion 132, a steering wheel 142 arranged in the center at the rear, and a drive shaft 141a connecting each of the two front drive wheels 141.

<Drive unit>
The drive unit 170 includes a driving motor 172 for rotating the drive wheel 141, a transmission belt section 173 for transmitting the rotation of the driving motor 172 to the front drive shaft 141a, and a power supply battery 171 for supplying power to the driving motor 172.

In this way, the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 is equipped with the running wheels 140 and the drive unit 170, allowing it to move freely on the floor surface electrically.

<Lifting mechanism>
The lifting mechanism 180 is composed of a lifting motor unit 181 , a pump unit 182 , a tank unit 183 , an electromagnetic valve unit 184 , and a jack unit 185 .

The tank portion 183 includes a ram portion 183a, a pump case portion 183b, and a storage area portion 183c, and the solenoid valve portion 184 is composed of a first solenoid valve portion 184a, a second solenoid valve portion 184b, a third solenoid valve portion 184c, and a fourth solenoid valve portion 184d.

As shown in FIG. 8, a total of four jack units 185 are arranged on the bottom side of the base unit 132, and land in place of the running wheels 140.

As shown in Figures 9A and 9B, the jack section 185 has a hollow guide bush section 185a that is inserted into an opening formed in the bottom plate section 132c of the base section 132, a hydraulic cylinder 185b that is placed on the guide bush section 185a, and a contact pad 185c that is connected to the tip of the hydraulic cylinder 185b and faces the floor surface F.

The lifting section 131 can be raised and lowered freely in the vertical direction relative to the base section 132, and has a lifting motor section 181 provided on the base section 132, a tank section 183 provided in the center of the base section 132 when viewed from the bottom and storing oil, a pump case section fixed on the storage area section 183c of the tank section 183, and a ram section 183a provided in the center of the pump case section 183b.

The tank section 183 has a tank chamber that is rectangular in plan view and fixed to the center of the tank base, which is roughly circular in plan view, and oil used for raising and lowering the self-propelled dental chair 100 is stored in the tank chamber.

The pump case portion 183b has an oil introduction chamber that is circular in plan view and fixed to the center of the legs that extend in the front-to-rear direction of the bottom plate portion 132c.

The tank portion 183 and the pump case portion 183b are connected by an oil flow path, and the seat portion 121 of the contour seat 120 is fixed above the ram portion 183a.

<Control device>
As shown in FIG. 10, the control device 190 controls various operations of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 in response to various input signals.

<Cupid>
Although it is not a component of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100, the spittoon S which is used in a dental treatment and is electrically connected to the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 will now be described.

The spitting receptacle S is powered by power from a commercial power source supplied to the spitting receptacle S and includes a spitting receptacle main body S10 incorporating a power source and a water source, a water supply part S12 provided on the upper part of the spitting receptacle main body S10, and a bowl part S11 for receiving water used by the patient to gargle.

The spitting receptacle main body S10 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a connection arm portion S10a extending toward the side of the spitting receptacle S (toward the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100) is formed at the bottom thereof.

An electrode plug portion S10b (see Figure 9A) is provided on the underside of the connection arm portion S10a.

<System Configuration>
Next, the system configuration of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 thus configured will be described with reference to FIG.

The control device 190 is electrically connected to the forward/backward throttle unit 152R as the forward/backward operation unit, the lift throttle unit 152L as the lift operation unit, the handlebar raising/lowering sensor unit 159, the direction change sensor unit 157, the backrest raising/lowering sensor unit 116, the auxiliary operation unit 114, the driving motor 172, the direction change motor unit 174, the lift motor unit 181, and the solenoid valve unit 184 provided within the base unit 132.

With this configuration, the control device 190 receives a direction change amount signal from the direction change sensor unit 157, a handle tilt signal from the handle tilt sensor unit 159, a forward movement signal and a backward movement signal as forward and backward movement control signals from the operating handle 150, an up and down signal as lifting and lowering signals, an up and down signal as lifting and lowering signals from the auxiliary operating unit, and a backrest upright signal and a backrest tilt signal as backrest tilting signals, which are all input to the control device 190.

In addition, the control device 190 controls the travel drive motor 172, the direction change motor unit 174, the lift motor unit 181, and the solenoid valve unit 184 in response to the various signals received.

First, we will explain the electric driving of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 using the operating handle 150. Below, we will explain the case where a patient is sitting on the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 and a dentist or dental clinic staff member gives instructions to operate the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100.

<Advance and retreat control>
When the forward/backward throttle section 152R of the operating handle 150 is in the initial position, no drive signal is sent from the operating handle 150 to the control device 190, so that the drive device 170 does not drive the travel drive motor 172, or by stopping the drive, the drive wheel 141 does not rotate, and the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 comes to a standstill.

When the forward/backward throttle section 152R is rotated forward or backward from the initial position, a forward/backward control signal is sent from the operating handle 150 to the control device 190.

The control content of the control device 190 for the forward/backward control signal changes depending on whether or not the seating posture signal is input and sent to the control device 190 from the backrest raising/lowering sensor unit 116 described above.

The backrest raising/lowering sensor unit 116 transmits a seating position signal to the control device 190 when the backrest 110 is in an upright seating position relative to the contoured seat 120, but does not transmit a seating position signal when the backrest 110 is in a treatment position reclined relative to the contoured seat 120.

When no seating position signal is transmitted from the backrest raising/lowering sensor unit 116, that is, when the backrest 110 is in a treatment position tilted relative to the contour seat 120, the control device 190 ignores the forward or backward signal even if it is input, and does not execute forward or backward control.

In other words, the control device 190 controls the travel drive motor 172 to move the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 forward or backward only when the backrest 110 is in an upright seating position relative to the contour seat 120.

This is to prevent accidents caused by the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 moving inadvertently due to incorrect operation during treatment when the backrest 110 is in the treatment position.

When the forward/backward throttle section 152R of the operating handle 150 is rotated forward from the initial position, a forward movement signal is sent from the operating handle 150 to the control device 190.

The control device 190, which has received the forward movement signal, controls the drive motor 172 to rotate the drive wheels 141 and move the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 forward only if a seated posture signal is input from the backrest raising/lowering sensor unit 116.

When the forward/reverse throttle section 152R of the control handle 150 is rotated backward from the initial position, a reverse signal is sent from the control handle 150 to the control device 190.

The control device 190, which has received the backward movement signal, controls the drive motor 172 to rotate the drive wheels 141 and rotate the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 backward only if a seated posture signal is input from the backrest raising/lowering sensor unit 116.

<Direction change control>
When the operating handle 150 is tilted backward and extended to be in the initial position of the steerable state, no directional control signal is transmitted from the operating handle 150 to the control device 190, so that the drive device 170 does not drive the direction-changing motor unit 174, or the steering wheel 142 is returned to its initial orientation, and the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 moves straight ahead.

When the operating handle 150 is rotated to the right from the initial position, the direction change sensor unit 157 detects this and transmits a right rotation signal as a direction control signal to the control device 190. The control device 190, which receives the right rotation signal, drives the direction change motor unit 174 as a direction change unit, and rotates the steering wheel 142 to the right from the initial position.

When the operating handle 150 is rotated to the left, the direction change sensor unit 157 detects this and transmits a left rotation signal as a direction control signal to the control device 190 .
The control device 190 that receives the right rotation signal drives the direction changing motor unit 174 serving as a direction changing unit to rotate the steering wheel 142 leftward.

Therefore, by operating the operating handle 150, the direction of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 can be changed to either the left or right while it is moving.

<Lifting and lowering operation using the operating handle>
Next, the raising and lowering of the lifting section 131 of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 (i.e., the raising and lowering of the contoured seat 120) will be described with reference to FIG.

When the lift throttle section 152L of the operating handle 150 is rotated forward from the initial position, an up signal is sent from the operating handle 150 to the control device 190, and on the other hand, when the lift throttle section 152L of the operating handle 150 is rotated backward from the initial position, a down signal is sent from the operating handle 150 to the control device 190.

The control content of the control device 190 in response to the up and down signals sent from the operating handle 150 changes depending on the presence or absence of a forward/backward control signal input to the control device 190.

While the control device 190 receives a forward/backward control signal from the operating handle 150, it ignores the input up and down signals and does not perform lift control to raise or lower the contour sheet 120 via the lift unit 131.

This is to prevent accidents caused by the contour seat 120 inadvertently rising or falling while the self-propelled dental chair 100 is moving forward or backward.

In addition, when the control device 190 does not receive an advance/retract control signal from the operating handle 150, in response to an input of an up or down signal transmitted from the auxiliary operating unit 114, the control device 190 controls the contour sheet 120 to rise or fall via the lifting unit 131 in the same manner as if the signal had been transmitted from the operating handle 150.

Therefore, the control device 190 controls the elevation of the lifting mechanism 180 only when it does not receive a forward/backward control signal, i.e., when the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 is stopped.

When the lift throttle section 152L of the operating handle 150 is rotated forward from the initial position to raise the lift section 131, an elevation signal is sent from the operating handle 150 to the control device 190.

When the control device 190 receives the up signal, it opens the first solenoid valve portion 184a of the solenoid valve unit 184 and drives the lift motor unit 181 to drive the pump unit 182 only when it has not received a forward/backward control signal.

As a result, the oil in the tank portion 183 is sent at a predetermined pressure into the pump case portion 183b and added to the ram portion 183a, and the contour sheet 120 rises via the lifting portion 131.

When the lift throttle section 152L of the operating handle 150 is rotated backward from the initial position to lower the lift section 131, a lowering signal is sent from the operating handle 150 to the control device 190.

When the control device 190 receives the descent signal, it opens the second solenoid valve portion 184b of the solenoid valve unit 184 and drives the lift motor unit 181 only when it is not receiving a forward/backward control signal.

As a result, the oil in the pump case portion 183b is pushed downward by the weight of the lifting portion 131 and the contour sheet 120, etc., and the oil coming out of the pump case portion 183b returns to the tank portion 183 through the second solenoid valve portion 184b, and the contour sheet 120 descends via the lifting portion 131.

<Lifting and lowering operation by auxiliary operation unit>
An auxiliary operating unit 114 provided on the backrest 110 transmits an up signal to the control device 190 when a seat up command button 114a is pressed, and transmits a down signal to the control device when a seat down command button 114b is pressed.

Furthermore, the control content of the control device 190 with respect to the up signal and the down signal transmitted from the auxiliary operation unit 114 varies depending on whether the spitting receptacle S described below and the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 are electrically connected or not.

When the spitting receptacle S and the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 are not electrically connected, the control device 190 ignores the up and down signals and does not perform lifting and lowering control to raise or lower the lifting part 131.

This is to prevent an accident from occurring due to the contour sheet 120 inadvertently rising or falling before the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 is electrically connected to the spitting receptacle S and treatment can be performed.

In addition, when the spitting receptacle S and the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 are electrically connected, the control device 190 controls the contour sheet 120 to rise or fall via the lifting unit 131 in response to an input of an up or down signal transmitted from the auxiliary operation unit 114, in the same manner as when the signal is transmitted from the operation handle 150.

That is, the control device 190 controls the lifting mechanism to lift only when it is electrically connected to the spitting receptacle S.

<Lifting mechanism>
Next, the lifting mechanism of the thus configured self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 (lifting and lowering of the lifting part 131 relative to the base part 132, and lifting and lowering of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 relative to the floor surface F) will be described with reference to Figs. 6 to 10.

First, we will explain how the lifting section 131 moves up and down relative to the base section 132.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lifting section 131 further includes a pump section 182 driven by a lifting motor section 181, a first solenoid valve section 184a connected downstream of the pump section 182 to open and close the flow path to the ram section 183a, and a second solenoid valve section 184b connected downstream of the ram section 183a to open and close the flow path to the tank section 183.

When the contour sheet 120 is to be raised, the first solenoid valve portion 184 a is opened and the pump portion 182 is driven by the lifting motor portion 181 .
As a result, the oil in the tank portion 183 is sent at a predetermined pressure into the pump case portion 183b and applied to the ram portion 183a, and the contour sheet 120 rises together with the lifting portion 131.

When lowering the contour sheet 120, the pump section 182 is stopped and the first solenoid valve section 184a is closed while the second solenoid valve section 184b is opened.

As a result, the oil in the pump case portion 183b is pushed downward by the weight of the contour sheet 120 and the lifting portion 131, and the oil coming out of the pump case portion 183b returns to the tank portion 183 through the second solenoid valve portion 184b, and the contour sheet 120 descends together with the lifting portion 131.

<Raising and lowering the entire self-propelled dental treatment chair>
Next, the raising and lowering of the entire self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 relative to the floor surface F will be described with reference to Figs. 7 to 9B.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lifting section 131 further includes a third solenoid valve portion 184c of the solenoid valve section 184 that is connected to the upstream side of the pump section 182 and opens and closes the flow path to the jack section 185, and a fourth solenoid valve portion 184d of the solenoid valve section 184 that is connected to the downstream side of the jack section 185 and opens and closes the flow path to the tank section 183.

When the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 itself is raised from the state shown in FIG. 9A in which the drive wheels 141 and steering wheels 142 of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 are on the ground and the drive wheels 141 and steering wheels 142 are separated from the floor surface F to the state shown in FIG. 9B, the third solenoid valve portion 194c is opened and the lifting motor portion 181 drives the pump portion 82.

As a result, the oil in the tank section 183 is sent to the hydraulic cylinder 185b of the jack section 185 at a predetermined pressure, causing the contact pad 185c to land on the floor surface F. As a result, more oil is sent in, and the drive wheels 141 and steering wheels 142 move away from the floor surface F, as shown in FIG. 9B. In other words, the entire self-propelled dental chair 100 rises.

When the entire self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 is lowered from the state shown in FIG. 9B in which the contact pad 185c of the jack portion 185 of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 is landed and the running wheels 140 are landed on the floor surface F, the drive of the pump portion 182 is stopped and the fourth solenoid valve portion 184d is opened with the third solenoid valve portion 184c closed.

As a result, the weight of the entire self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 excluding the contact pad 185c pushes the hydraulic cylinder 185b downward, and the oil coming out of the jack part 185 returns to the tank part 183 through the fourth solenoid valve part 184d, causing the entire self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 to descend, and the drive wheels 141 and steering wheels 142 land on the floor surface F as shown in FIG. 9A.

<Raising and lowering operation>
The control device 190 controls the raising and lowering means (not shown) to raise and lower the backrest 110 in response to input of a backrest raising signal transmitted by operation of the backrest raising instruction button 114c of the auxiliary operating unit 114, or a backrest tilting signal transmitted by operation of the backrest tilting instruction button 114d.

<Electrical connection between the self-propelled dental chair and the cuspidor>
The electrode socket portion 132b on the upper surface of the spitting receptacle connection portion 132a of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 is positioned directly below the electrode plug portion S10b on the lower surface of the connection arm portion S10a of the spitting receptacle S, and when the jack unit 185 is driven as described above, the entire self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 is lifted so that the electrode plug portion S10b is engaged with the electrode socket portion 132b.

When the electrode plug portion S10b of the spitting receptacle S and the electrode socket portion 132b of the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 are connected, power from the commercial power source supplied to the spitting receptacle S can also be supplied to the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100, so that power from the commercial power source supplied to the spitting receptacle S can be supplied to the self-propelled dental treatment chair 100 to drive various devices and charge the power battery 171.

[0023] 100: Self-propelled dental treatment chair 110: Backrest 111: Backrest part 112: Headrest part 113: Armrest part 114: Auxiliary operation part 114a: Seat up instruction button 114b: Seat down instruction button 114c: Backrest up instruction button 114d: Backrest tilt instruction button 115: Rear part 116: Backrest up/down sensor part 120: Contour seat 121: Seat part 122: Leg rest part 123: Footrest part 130: Base frame 131: Lifting part 132: Base part 132a: Cuspidor connection part 132b: Electrode socket part 132c: Bottom plate part 140: Traveling wheel 141: Driving wheel 141a: Driving shaft 142: Steering wheel 150: Operation handle (operation device)
151: Handle body portion 152R: Throttle portion (advance/retract operation portion)
152L: Lift throttle section (lift operation section)
153: gripping portion 154: bushing portion 155: handle tilting shaft portion 156: direction changing shaft portion 157: direction changing sensor portion 158: spiral spring (anti-jumping mechanism)
159: Handle lift sensor unit 160: Handle accommodating recess 161: Handle accommodating recess side wall 162: Up-down adjustment rail unit (mounting position adjustment mechanism)
163...Handle mounting plate portion (mounting position adjustment mechanism)
164...Damper part (shock absorbing mechanism)
170: Drive device 171: Power battery 172: Travel drive motor 173: Transmission belt unit 174: Direction change motor unit (direction change unit)
180...Lifting mechanism 181...Lifting motor unit 182...Pump unit 183...Tank unit 183a...Ram unit 183b...Pump case unit 183c...Accommodating area unit 184...Solenoid valve unit 184a...First solenoid valve unit 184b...Second solenoid valve unit 184c...Third solenoid valve unit 184d...Fourth solenoid valve unit 185...Jack unit 190...Control device S...Spitting receptacle S10...Spitting receptacle main body unit S10a...Connection arm unit S10b...Electrode plug unit S11...Bowl unit S12...Water supply unit F...Floor surface CO1...Gap dimension for throttle unit CO2...Gap dimension for gripper unit

Claims (4)

A self-propelled dental treatment chair comprising: a contour seat for supporting the lower body of a patient; a backrest for supporting the upper body of the patient, the backrest being arranged so as to be freely raised and lowered with respect to the contour seat; a base frame arranged below the contour seat; running wheels arranged below the base frame for running on the floor surface of a dental clinic; and a drive unit arranged on the base frame for driving the running wheels,
A control device that drives and controls the drive device in a seated posture in which the backrest is raised, and an operating device that is provided on a back surface of the backrest and transmits a control signal to the control device,
The control device has a lifting operation unit that raises or lowers the contour sheet,
the base frame comprises a base part, a lifting part disposed above the base part, a lifting mechanism which lifts and lowers the lifting part when the traveling wheels are stopped and the lifting operation part is operated, and a spitting receptacle connection part electrically conductive with the spitting receptacle,
13. A self-propelled dental treatment chair, wherein the backrest comprises an auxiliary operation part which raises or lowers the contour sheet when the spitting receptacle and the spitting receptacle connection part are energized. The self-propelled dental chair according to claim 1, characterized in that the steering device has a forward/backward operation unit that controls the forward and backward movement of the traveling wheels. The running wheels are composed of at least one steering wheel that can be steered left and right,
3. The self-propelled dental treatment chair according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the drive device is provided with a direction changing unit that changes the traveling direction of the steering wheel to the left or right based on the left or right rotation of the steering device. 4. The self-propelled dental treatment chair according to claim 1, wherein the backrest is provided with an attachment position adjustment mechanism for adjusting the attachment position of the steering device up and down.