JPH06199488A - Walking assist device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve a walking assist effect in a walking assist device at stairs or the like, by installing a handle at a moving member which is driven by a motor on a guide rail along a traveling passage for moving the handle. CONSTITUTION:The handle 3 of a moving frame 2 which is on standby at the upward start point of stairs A is pulled out by a user. Since the handle 3 is formed into a U shape and provided with holding arms 3a, 3b in a horizontal direction on both the upper and lower sides, the user can hold either the holding arm 3a or 3b on the side which suits to the user's height. A start switch 20 is automatically switched on, and a motor is driven. The moving frame 2 moves toward the top of the stairs. The user is pulled by the driving frame 2 to assist his traveling. When the user releases the hand from the handle 3, the start switch 20 is switched off to stop the moving frame. Therefore, the user also can take a rest on the way.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a walking assistance device that assists pedestrians in walking on stairs, slopes, hospital corridors, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, with the progress of an aging society, it is necessary to take some kind of walking assistance measures in order to reduce fatigue when an old man climbs stairs or a slope in a hilly area.

Conventionally, handrails are generally provided along the walking path as the walking assisting means, and an escalator, a belt-conveyor type walking path, etc. are used in places where the traffic is heavy.

[0004]

However, a mere handrail is inferior in the function of assisting the walking of an elderly person, especially on long stairs and slopes. On the other hand, in the case of escalators and walkways, there are drawbacks that equipment costs and operating costs are high and maintenance is troublesome.

Therefore, the present invention is to provide a walking assistance device which is low in equipment cost and operation cost and can obtain a sufficient walking assistance effect.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a guide rail provided along a walking path, a moving member moving along the guide rail, and a driving means for driving the moving member. And a handle attached to the moving member in a state of protruding outside the guide rail.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the construction of the first aspect, the driving means is provided on the rack gear provided in the guide rail along the walking path, the pinion meshing with the rack gear, and the moving member. It is configured by a motor that rotationally drives this pinion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the construction of the first or second aspect, the handle is provided with a switch for starting the motor of the driving means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the handle has a vertical axis as a center.
It is rotatably mounted between an overhanging position that projects substantially at right angles to the guide rail and a folding position along the moving member.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the structure according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the handle has grasping arms on both upper and lower sides.

[0011]

According to the above construction, the moving member is driven by the driving means to move along the guide rail, and the pedestrian caught in the steering wheel is towed within the moving section of the moving member to assist walking. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a sufficient walking assistance effect as compared with a mere handrail, and it is possible to significantly reduce fatigue of an old man or the like especially on long stairs or slopes.

Moreover, since the structure is not to move the entire weight of the pedestrian like an escalator or a walkway, but tow the pedestrian to assist the walking, the structure is simple, and the equipment cost and the operating cost are low. Cheap and easy to maintain.

According to the structure of claim 2, wherein the moving member is provided with a motor, and the rotational force of the motor is converted into the moving force of the moving member by the pinion and the rack gear. Compared to the case where the wire rope is used to convert the traction force of the moving member, there is no risk of accident such as breakage of the traction rope, and safety is high.

On the other hand, according to the structure of claim 3 in which the handle is provided with the motor start switch, the pedestrian can control the start and stop of the motor at his / her own will, which is safe.

According to the construction of claim 4 in which the handle is foldable, the handle may come into contact with other pedestrians or interfere with walking when waiting or when the moving member independently returns to its original position. There is no danger of becoming

Further, according to the constitution of claim 5 in which the handle is provided with gripping arms on both upper and lower sides, the pedestrian can walk comfortably and comfortably by grasping the gripping arms suitable for his / her height.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the whole apparatus of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the case where it is applied to the stairs is taken as an example.

This apparatus comprises a guide rail 1 provided on a side wall A1 extending between an ascending opening and a top of a stairway (walkway) A, and a moving frame (moving member) moving along the guide rail 1. 2 and a handle 3 attached to the moving frame 2.

Further details will be described with reference to FIG.

The guide rail 1 is formed in a substantially C-shaped cross section, and is attached to the side wall A1 of the stairs via rail mounting brackets 4 ... As shown in FIGS.

A guide plate mounting bracket 5 is provided on the movable frame 2 toward the guide rail 1, and a guide plate 6 attached to the tip of the bracket 5 is attached to the guide rail 1.
Has been inserted inside.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a plurality of vertical guide rollers 7, horizontal guide rollers 8 and horizontal auxiliary guide rollers 9 are provided on the guide plate 6 in contact with the inner surface of the guide rail 1. The movable frame 2 is provided in a moving state, and by the guide action of the guide rail 1 and the respective guide rollers 7, 8 and 9, the movable frame 2 moves smoothly along the guide rail 1 while suppressing rattling in the vertical and horizontal directions.

Further, a motor 10 (shown in FIG. 3) as a drive source is provided in the moving frame 2, and the motor 10
The rotational force of the reduction gear 11, the spur gears 12, 1 shown in FIG.
3, transmitted to the pinion 15 provided in the guide rail 1 via the rotary shaft 14, and by the meshing action of the pinion 15 and the rack gear 16 provided on the bottom surface of the guide rail 1 over substantially the entire rail length. , The moving frame 2 is driven.

On the other hand, the handle 3 is formed in a U-shape having horizontal gripping arms 3a and 3b on both upper and lower sides, and the base ends of the gripping arms 3a and 3b use the vertical shafts 17 and 17 as the center of rotation. It is attached to the front surface of the moving frame 2 (the front surface when viewed from the ascending opening) via the hinges 18, 18.

As a result, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the handle 3 extends in the horizontal direction at a right angle to the guide rail 1 and in parallel with the guide rail 1 as shown by the phantom lines in FIGS. It can be rotated between the folding position in which it is folded along the movable frame 2 in a horizontal posture.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the handle holders 19 and 19 for holding the gripping arms 3a and 3b of the handle 3 from the upper and lower sides on the folding surface of the handle of the moving frame 2 from the upper and lower sides to hold them in the folding position. Is provided.

Further, the both-side gripping arms 3a, 3b are provided with starting switches 20, 20 which are turned on when these are grasped by a pedestrian.
Motor 1 if any of 20 is turned on
0 is configured to start.

Thus, the start switch 2 is attached to the handle 3.
By providing 0 and 20, it is possible for the pedestrian to control the start and stop of the motor 10 at will by the operation of gripping and releasing the handle 3 as desired, so that the motor 10 is started against the will of the pedestrian. There is no danger of stopping and it is safe.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 21 is a cable for supplying electric power to the motor 10. The cable 21 is pulled out from a cord reel box 22 of an automatic winding type provided on the top of the stairs and passes under the guide rail 1. Moving frame 2
Will be introduced to. Denoted at 23 are cable guides that support the cable 21 below the guide rails.

The moving frame 2 is provided with a controller (not shown), and the starting and stopping of the motor 10 described below are controlled by this controller.

As a sensor for sending control information to the controller, a switch for detecting that the moving frame 2 has reached the ascent and the summit and a switch for detecting that the handle 3 is folded (usually both are provided). A limit switch (not shown) is provided.

Next, the operation of this device will be described.

Before the start of use, the movable frame 2 stands by at the ascending opening of the stairs A, and the handle 3 is in a folded state.

In use, the pedestrian stretches out the handle 3 and grasps the grasping arm 3a or 3b on the side corresponding to his / her height.

As a result, the start switch 20 is turned on, the motor 10 is started, and the moving frame 2 starts moving toward the top of the stairs.

As a result, a pedestrian can be pulled by the moving frame 2 to assist walking and can easily climb to the top. When the pedestrian releases his hand from the steering wheel 3 for a break on the way, the start switch 20 is turned off, so that the motor 10 stops and the moving frame 2 stops there.

When the moving frame 2 reaches the top, the rotation of the motor 10 is stopped by the action of the above-mentioned switch,
Then, when the handle 3 is folded by a pedestrian, the motor 10 reversely rotates and descends toward the ascending opening, and when returning to the ascending opening, the motor 1 is actuated by the action of the switch that detects this.
0 stops and mobile frame 2 waits for the next use.

Other Embodiments (a) In the above embodiments, the moving frame 2 is provided with the motor 10, and the rotational force of the motor 10 is converted into the moving force of the moving frame 2 by the pinion 15 and the rack gear 16. However, a configuration may be adopted in which a motor is provided on the top of the stairs and the moving frame 2 is pulled by a rope or a chain using this motor as a drive source.

(B) The handle 3 may be formed in a rod shape having only one gripping arm. Further, means for locking the handle 3 at the extended position may be provided. Further, the handle 3 may be folded downward. Furthermore,
The handle may be configured to be extendable and retractable so that it is extended when used.

(C) The present invention is particularly suitable for the stairway portion described in the above embodiment, but can be applied to slopes and corridors of hospitals.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, the moving frame provided with the handle is moved by the drive means along the guide rail provided along the walkway so that the pedestrian caught by the handle is Since it is structured to assist walking by pulling within the moving section of the moving member, it is possible to obtain a sufficient walking assistance effect compared to handrails, and to significantly reduce fatigue for the elderly, especially on long stairs and slopes. be able to.

Moreover, the structure is simple and the facility cost and the operating cost are low because the pedestrian is towed by the whole weight of the pedestrian instead of moving the total weight of the pedestrian like an escalator or a walkway. Cheap and easy to maintain.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, since the moving member is provided with a motor and the rotational force of the motor is converted into the moving force of the moving member by the pinion and the rack gear, it is provided on the guide rail side, for example. Compared to the case where the rotational force of the motor is converted into the traction force of the moving member by the wire rope, there is no risk of accident such as breakage of the traction rope, and the safety is high.

On the other hand, according to the third aspect of the invention, since the motor start switch is provided on the handle, the pedestrian can control the start and stop of the motor at his / her will, which is safe. Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the handle is configured to be foldable along the moving frame, the handle comes into contact with another pedestrian during standby or when the moving member independently returns to the original position. There is no danger of doing or disturbing walking.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, since the handle has the gripping arms on both upper and lower sides, a pedestrian can easily and comfortably walk by grasping the gripping arms that match his or her height.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an entire apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway enlarged view of FIG.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Guide rail 2 Moving frame (moving member) 3 Handles 3a, 3b Grasping arms on both upper and lower sides of the handle 18 Hinge for folding the handle 17 Vertical axis as the turning center of the handle 10 Motor as driving means 11 Same speed reducer 12, 13 Same spur gear 14 Same rotating shaft 15 Same pinion 16 Same rack gear

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A guide rail provided along a walking path, a moving member that moves along the guide rail, a driving unit that drives the moving member using a motor as a driving source, and protrudes outside the guide rail. A walking assist device, comprising: a handle attached to the moving member in a state. 2. The driving means is composed of a rack gear provided in the guide rail along the walking path, a pinion meshing with the rack gear, and a motor provided on the moving member for rotationally driving the pinion. The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein a switch for activating a motor of the driving means is provided on the handle. 4. The handle is attached rotatably between an overhanging position that projects substantially at a right angle to the guide rail about a vertical axis and a folding position along the moving member. The walking assist device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The walking assist device according to claim 1, wherein the handle has grasping arms on both upper and lower sides.