JPH0613694Y2 - wheelchair - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to improvement of a human-powered wheelchair used by a physically handicapped person, a patient, or the like in a hospital, a facility, or the like.

[0002]

[Prior art]

Regarding the improvement of the wheelchair, there are few proposals that are structurally effective and appropriate for both the physically disabled people who directly use the wheelchair, the user side such as a patient and the caregiver side for moving the user. The following are suggestions for improvement that have been made effective for the user. The one proposed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-95720 is an elbow rest device for a wheelchair. This device comprises a nearly parallelogram link mechanism in which the elbow rests are connected by pin joints to the upper ends of the link members that have risen from the front and rear of the left and right upper horizontal frames, respectively.
The elbow rest is formed so that it can be displaced in the front-back direction.
When the user gets on and off, displace the elbow rest so that it does not get in the way, and when you sit down, the elbow rest is displaced forward so that there is a gap between it and the standing frame. The hand rim can be driven without touching the elbow rest.

As a next proposal, there is a wheelchair disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-5816. This is because the floor-running vehicle body and the road-running vehicle body are separately prepared, and a seat body that can be worn in common is provided so that the patient can be used indoors and outdoors without having to change trains one by one. By that,
The user is free from the pain at the time of changing trains, the caregiver is made easier, and the effect of eliminating the conventional cleanliness that is used indoors and outdoors in the same wheelchair is obtained.

Of the above-mentioned two examples, the former is similar to the invention of the present invention in that the elbow rest is improved, and the contents are completely different, and the latter is different from the present invention in both purpose and configuration. No other similar precedents are found.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

In general, a wheelchair has a narrow structure for both the seat and the elbow rest, so both elbows feel extremely cramped for the user unless the user operates the hand rim. It is extremely unsanitary because the sleeves rub against each other due to friction between the pad and the tires of the large wheels.

On the other hand, when the caregiver moves a user on a wheelchair, the L-shaped hand-pushing portion for pushing with a hand is fixed because the grip is fixed in the same direction as the elbow rest, that is, right behind. Whether the person holds the grip and pushes it or withdraws it,
Since the directions of the forces applied together are unnatural, extra force is required and therefore fatigue is great. In addition, there is an inconvenience that the height of the hand pushing part cannot be adjusted according to the height of the caregiver.

When moving a wheelchair and passing over an obstacle, the caregiver needs to put his foot on the stepping rod to float the small caster-shaped wheel in front. However, in conventional wheelchairs, the foot rod is almost parallel to the floor and faces straight to the rear, and there is no inclination, so the foot is unnatural and it is necessary to apply more force than necessary. In addition, since the foot pedal is in parallel with the spokes of the large wheels, there is a drawback that the feet may cause anxiety such that the spokes may be heard. This drawback is especially noticeable when a person in a wheelchair is heavy.

As described above, the conventional wheelchair has an unnatural structure which is difficult for both the user and the caregiver to use. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to eliminate these drawbacks and provide a wheelchair that is both comfortable and easy to use for both the user and the caregiver.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In the wheelchair of the present invention, the frame serving as a skeleton is formed of a metal pipe, large wheels 18 provided with a hand rim are arranged as the left and right rear wheels, and caster-shaped small wheels 20 are also equipped as the left and right front wheels. Of the standard type that is most frequently used, the large wheels and the small wheels are attached to the left and right lower horizontal frames 3, respectively, and a footrest 22 is provided at the tip of the lower horizontal frames, and a bottom seat and A seat 24 having a backrest integrally formed is stretched so as to be connected to the left and right intermediate horizontal frames 11 and the rising frame 2.

In order to reduce the cramping of both elbows that a user in a wheelchair feels like unless he / she operates the hand rim himself, the wheelchair of the present invention has an elbow mounted on the left and right upper lateral frames 1. An auxiliary elbow pad 5 of a plate-shaped rectangular parallelepiped is attached and fixed to the outside of the pad 4 from a position in contact with the standing frame 2 to a substantially middle position of the elbow pad, and an upper surface of the auxiliary elbow pad is It is desirable that the elbow pad 4 is provided at a position slightly lower than the upper surface in a horizontal state, or is provided so as to be inclined slightly downward to the outside.

The auxiliary elbow rest 5 is provided with a shallow U-shaped notch 6 inside the outer edge in the longitudinal direction, and a roll 7 rotatable in the longitudinal direction is attached to the notch. And, immediately below the roll shaft 9 that holds the roll,
A plate-shaped mudguard 10 is suspended and formed. (Fig. 1,
(See FIG. 2) As described above, the auxiliary elbow pad 5 is attached and fixed to reduce the tightness of both elbows, and when operating the hand rim 19, the sleeve of the user's clothes rolls. The rotation of the wheel almost eliminates rubbing, and since there is mudguard, the sleeve does not contact the tire of the large wheel, so there is no dirt and a hygienic favorable effect is produced.

As described above, in the ordinary wheelchair, the frame that serves as the skeleton is generally formed of a metal pipe, and the left and right standing frames 2 are also 1 each up to the upper end L-shaped pushing portion.
It is made of metal pipes. Therefore, since the height of the hand-pushing portion cannot be adjusted and the direction of the grip 21 is directed right behind, the caregiver suffered much labor. Therefore, in the present invention, the hand-pushing portion is formed by using a thick-walled pipe or a round bar as another structural body which can be rotatably fitted at an appropriate position above at least the middle of the left and right rising frames 2 and above. By using the L-shaped hand-pushing rod 12 as described above, it is possible to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks.

That is, the L-shaped hand-pushing rod 12 has a plurality of butterflies on an appropriate peripheral surface extending from the bent portion to the lower end, with a grip 21 inserted into the upper terminal bent in a substantially L shape. Screw stop hole 1
A plurality of lateral grooves 13 each having a bottom surface formed with 4 are provided.
The L-shaped push rod 12 thus formed has a thumbscrew hole 15
The L-shaped hand-pushing rod is fitted to the stand-up frame 2 having the upper part formed therein, and the thumbscrew 16 is screwed into the thumbscrew stop hole 14 through the lateral groove 13 corresponding to an appropriate height, so that the L-shaped push rod can be carried by the caregiver. Can be fixed at any height you choose.

At this time, the grip 21 can be directed in a predetermined outward direction by appropriately selecting the position of the thumbscrew fixing hole 14. That is, the position of the thumb screw stop hole 14 is
It suffices to drill the grip 21 in advance according to the direction.
Also, the position of the lateral groove 13 may be provided in a plurality of steps by selecting the height in advance. (See FIGS. 1, 4 and 5)

Next, since the foot rod 17 which occupies the rear of the left and right lower lateral frames 3 faces straight rearward and is substantially parallel to the floor as described above, it is a major cause of obstruction of the caregiver's motion. there were. The wheelchair of the present invention has the left and right lower horizontal frames 3
By slightly bending the foot rod 17 rearward from the joint position with the left and right rising frames 2 that locks the large wheel shafts 25 downward and inward from the joint position,
The drawbacks have been eliminated. That is, the caregiver, in combination with the improvement of the L-shaped push rod 12 described in the preceding paragraph, can push down the rear portion of the wheelchair vertically downward and raise the small wheel 20 with an extremely natural and easy operation. (See FIGS. 1, 6 and 7)

[0016]

【Example】

An embodiment of the wheelchair of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the whole of the present invention, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are perspective views of an auxiliary elbow rest that is attached to the elbow rest, and FIG. 4 is a stand-up frame and an L-shaped push rod that is fitted therein. 5 is a perspective view showing the relationship with FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4, FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a bent state of a foot rod.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, on the rear outer side of the elbow rests 4 mounted on the left and right upper horizontal frames 1,
From the position in contact with the standing frame 2 to the middle position of the elbow rest 4, the thickness is about the same as the elbow rest and the width is about 2
Double, and in advance, a shallow U-shaped cutout 6 is provided inside the outer edge in the longitudinal direction, and a roll shaft 9 through which a roll 7 is rotatably inserted is attached to the center of the cutout in the longitudinal direction. A mudguard consisting of a rectangular plate directly underneath in the longitudinal direction 1
A plate-shaped rectangular parallelepiped in which 0 is suspended is attached and fixed, and an auxiliary elbow rest portion 5 is formed there.

Here, it is preferable that the upper surface of the auxiliary elbow rest 5 is located at a position slightly lower than the upper surface of the elbow rest 4, and is inclined horizontally or outwardly. The diameter of the roll 7 is preferably slightly smaller than the thickness of the notch 6, and the roll 7 may be freely rotated around the roll shaft fixed to the wall of the notch, or the roll shaft 9 to which the roll 7 is fixed is rotated. ,
A configuration in which the cutout wall is rotatably mounted on the wall may be used. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, instead of the rolls, a plurality of spherical bodies 8 having the same diameter and connected in a beaded shape may be mounted on a shaft.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mudguard 10 suspended below the roll shaft 9 on the lower surface of the auxiliary elbow rest 5 is located above the outer side of the tire of the large-sized wheel 18 and can be used by the user. When operating the hand rim 19, there is an effect that the clothes are not soiled. Further, as described above, a thin plate having a full length in the longitudinal direction of the auxiliary elbow rest and a short width of about 10 mm is sufficient for the mudguard.

There is a method of attaching the auxiliary elbow rest 5 to the elbow rest 4 by attaching it with an adhesive, but preferably, a strip-shaped iron plate is welded to the outer surface of the upper horizontal frame 1, and this iron plate is welded. Secure by screwing on. Further, the material may be made in the same manner as the conventional elbow rest 4 of a wheelchair, and a soft and cushioned seat may be attached to the surface to give the user a comfortable contact feeling. The auxiliary elbow rest 5 of the present invention is
It can be attached to a ready-made standard wheelchair and modified, or at the beginning of production, it is integrally molded with the elbow rest,
It can also be attached to the upper horizontal frame.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the fitting relationship between the upper end portion of the rising frame 2 and the L-shaped hand pushing rod 12 which is rotatably fitted to the rising frame 2. FIG. FIG. In both drawings, the L-shaped push rod uses a thick-walled pipe or a round bar, and is provided with two to four steps of lateral grooves 13 on the circumferential surface according to the caregiver's height. A plurality of thumbscrew fixing holes 14 into which the tips of The position of the thumbscrew stop hole is set according to the opening angle of the L-shaped push rod 12 to the outside. Normally, the L-shaped push rod is optimally oriented to the outside about 30 degrees from the rear direction from the experimental results, so the butterfly is located at the rear, about 30 degrees, and about 45 degrees, that is, at three positions. It is sufficient to drill the screw holes 14, and the number of holes may be increased if necessary. For the pipe opening 23 at the upper end of the rising frame 2 into which the L-shaped push rod is fitted, select a proper position above the joining point with the upper horizontal frame 1 and screw the thumbscrew 16 into the proper position on the outside surface. Holes 15 are provided. The position setting of the thumbscrew hole serves as a reference for selecting the position of the lateral groove 13 according to the height of the caregiver. Therefore, it is desirable to set the position of the thumbscrew hole 15 prior to providing the lateral groove 13 on the L-shaped hand pushing rod 12.

The third improvement of the wheelchair of the present invention relates to the foot rod 17, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 6 and 7. 6 shows an inward tilting state of the left footing rod when viewed from the rear of the wheelchair, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a leftward tilting state of the left and right footing rods. As shown in FIG. 1 showing the whole of the present invention, in the foot rod 17, the left and right lower lateral frames 3 are located behind the joining point with the rising frame 2. This stepping rod is the result of the experiment shown in FIG.
As described above, an inclining angle of about 5 degrees is optimal, and an inclining angle of downward shown in FIG. 7 is optimally about 10 degrees. That is, it is optimal that the left and right foot rods are respectively tilted inward by about 5 degrees and at the same time tilted downward by about 10 degrees.

[0023]

[Effect of device]

The present inventors, who heard directly from the people actually using it in hospitals, facilities, etc., worked together to find that the conventional standard wheelchair accepts unreasonable structures for both users and caregivers. Working on improvement, repeated field tests and finally users,
We succeeded in improving the wheelchair that both the caregivers can satisfy. That is, as a result of the above-mentioned three improvements, the user feels less cramped in both elbows, less friction on the sleeves when operating the hand rim, and dirt on the sleeves when traveling on the road is eliminated. In addition, since the L-shaped push rod is fixed to the outside of the caregiver, the force applied is much less than in the conventional case, the stability during running is improved, and it is easier to push. Further, even if a slight inclination is given to the stepping rod, the additional effect of the L-shaped hand pushing rod is added, the stepping force of the foot is reduced, and the anxiety felt by the spokes of the large wheel is reduced. . Both users and caregivers can now comfortably use it. The present invention is relatively inexpensive whether it is a modification of an existing wheelchair or a new design and manufacture thereof, and it greatly contributes to welfare.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire wheelchair of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an auxiliary elbow rest fixed to an elbow rest.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the above.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a fitting relationship of an L-shaped hand pushing rod with a rising frame.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the L-shaped push rod.

[Figure 6]

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a tilted state of a foot rod.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Upper horizontal frame 2 Standing frame 3 Lower horizontal frame 4 Elbow rest 5 Auxiliary elbow rest 6 Notch 7 Roll 8 Sphere 9 Roll shaft 10 Mudguard 11 Intermediate horizontal frame 12 L-shaped push rod 13 Lateral groove 14 Thumb screw stop hole 15 Thumbscrew hole 16 Thumbscrew 17 Footing rod 18 Large wheel 19 Hand rim 20 Small wheel 21 Grip 22 Footrest 23 Pipe mouth 24 Seat seat 25 Large wheel axle

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Naohisa Yamamoto 425 Hikata, Hainan City, Wakayama Prefecture (72) Inventor Noboru Fujimoto 75-5 Ononaka, Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture (72) Inventor Koshi Shibamura Kuroe, Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture 612 Examiner Osamu Kawabata

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An auxiliary elbow pad part 5 of a plate-shaped rectangular parallelepiped which is affixed and fixed to the outside of an intermediate position of the left and right elbow pad 4 approximately horizontally and slightly lower than the elbow pad. A shallow U-shaped notch 6 provided on the inner side of the outer edge of the auxiliary elbow rest 5 in the longitudinal direction has a rotatable roll 7 axially mounted in the longitudinal direction, and the lower end of the notch 6 in the longitudinal direction. A wheelchair, characterized in that it has a plate-shaped mudguard 10 suspended on the side by the auxiliary elbow rest 5. 2. An L-shaped push rod 12 rotatably fitted into the upper ends of the left and right rising frames 2 is provided with a plurality of thumb screw stop holes 14 provided in the lower portion of the L-shaped push rod. It is formed so that it can be fixed in a predetermined direction and height by a plurality of lateral grooves 13 formed with holes and a thumbscrew 16 screwed through a thumbscrew hole 15 formed in the upper portion of the rising frame 2. wheelchair. 3. A wheelchair characterized in that the foot rods 17 occupying the rear portions of the left and right lower lateral frames 3 are slightly bent inward and downward from the joint position with the rising frame 2, respectively. .