JPH0699793A - Automatic running device for chairwheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce an amount of energy consumed for jack up by providing a stand member which is held in a position, where one end part of a device body is separated away from a road before mounting, and contained on the device body side after mounting and a jack up means to perform jack up of the device body. CONSTITUTION:A stand member 154 is held in a position wherein one end part of a device body is separated away from a road. After mounting of a device, the stand member 154 is contained on the device body side and jack up of the device body is effected by means of a jack up means 83. Since, as noted above, the device body is jacked up in a state that one end part of the device body is separated away from a road, a jack up amount by the jack up means 83 can be reduced. This constitution causes reduction of an amount of energy consumed for jack up and facilitation of jack up.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic traveling device for wheelchairs which is attachable to and detachable from a wheelchair, and more particularly to a structure for facilitating jacking up of a device body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to reduce the burden on an occupant when traveling in a wheelchair, a wheelchair with an automatic traveling device is provided. Furthermore, for the purpose of facilitating transportation of a wheelchair, an automatic traveling device that is detachable from the wheelchair is provided. As shown in US Pat. No. 5,050,695, this type of automatic traveling device includes a rotatable traveling wheel, a device main body including a battery accommodating portion, and a lock for detachably locking the device main body to a lower portion of a wheelchair. And a jack-up means for jacking up the apparatus body. In addition, a part of the device body is in a grounded state before being mounted on the wheelchair.

When the device is mounted on the wheelchair, the device body is locked to the lower part of the wheelchair by the locking means. Then, the grounding portion of the apparatus body is jacked up by the jack-up means. This jack-up ensures the minimum ground clearance of the wheelchair after the device is mounted.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, since a part of the main body of the device is grounded before jacking up, the amount of jacking up required to secure the above-mentioned minimum ground height is increased. There must be. Therefore, there is a problem that the energy consumption required for jacking up becomes excessive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic traveling device for wheelchairs which can reduce the energy consumption required for jacking up and can be easily jacked up. .

[0006]

The present invention is an automatic traveling device for wheelchairs having rotatable traveling wheels and a device main body, which is detachable from a wheelchair, and is arranged at one end of the device main body. A stand member that holds the one end at a position away from the road surface before being mounted on a wheelchair and is housed in the device body after mounting, and a jack-up means for jacking up the device body are provided. Is characterized by.

[0007]

According to the wheelchair automatic traveling device of the present invention,
Before mounting on a wheelchair, one end of the device body is held at a position separated from the road surface by a stand member. After the device is mounted, the stand member is housed in the device body side, and the device body is jacked up by the jack-up means.

As described above, since the main body of the apparatus is jacked up with one end of the main body of the apparatus separated from the road surface,
The amount of jacking up by the jacking up means can be reduced. As a result, the amount of energy consumed for jacking up can be reduced, and jacking up can be done easily.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 29 are views for explaining an automatic traveling device for wheelchairs according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 and 2 show a wheelchair to which the device of the present embodiment is applied,
FIG. 3 mainly shows the automatic traveling device. In these figures, the wheelchair is shown by a chain double-dashed line and the automatic traveling device is shown by a solid line.

The wheelchair 1 will be briefly described below. The wheelchair 1 mainly includes a pair of left and right vertical frames 2 and a pair of horizontal frames 3 each having one end fixed to the vertical frame 2. A seat 4 disposed between the lateral frames 3, a main wheel 5 and a sub-wheel (caster) 6
It consists of and. A leg support 7 and a footrest 8 are provided on the front side portion of the lateral frame 3. Rails 9 are provided at the lower ends of the vertical frames 2, respectively, and the rails 9 are provided at the center in the front-rear direction.
A locking frame 11 for locking the automatic traveling device 10 is provided.

The automatic traveling device 10 is mainly composed of traveling wheels 1.
2, a motor 13 for driving the traveling wheels 12, a handle unit 14 for steering the traveling wheels 12, a battery (for example, 12V power source) 15 for supplying electric power to the motor 13, and the motor. A controller 16 for controlling the rotation of 13 and the like, a pair of left and right front locking means 17 for locking the locking frames 11, and a pair of left and right for locking the vertical frames 2 and the rails 9. The rear side locking means 18 is provided. In addition, the battery 1
5 and the controller 16 are housed in the housing portion 19 (FIG. 3).

Next, FIG. 4 shows details of a traveling drive system composed of the traveling wheels 12 and the motor 13. In FIG. 4, a worm gear 20 is attached to the tip of the rotary shaft 13a of the motor 13. On the other hand, an output shaft 21 is arranged in the left-right direction of the drawing. A part of the output shaft 21 and the worm gear 20 are housed in a housing 22, and the output shaft 21 has a bearing 23 in the housing 22.
It is rotatably supported by. Also, the output shaft 2
A serration 24 is formed on a part (left side in the drawing) of the device 1, and a worm wheel 25 that meshes with the worm gear 20 is attached to the serration 24.

A rotating member 26 is rotatably attached to a substantially central portion of the output shaft 21. A flange portion 26a is formed on the outer periphery of the rotating member 26, and a rim 27 on which the traveling wheel 12 is mounted is fixed to the flange portion 26a. The rotating member 26 has an opening recess 26b at one end, and inner teeth 26c are formed on the inner periphery of the end of the rotating member 26 on the opening recess 26b side. On the other hand, the right part on the output shaft 21 has the inner teeth 2
A gear 28 meshing with 6c is mounted by a slide key 29. As a result, the gear 28 is slidable on the output shaft 21 in the axial direction. In addition, the opening recess 26
A coil spring 30 is mounted in the portion b, and one end of the coil spring 30 is in pressure contact with the rotating member 26 and the other end is in pressure contact with the gear 28. As a result, the gear 28 is always urged to the right in the figure.

A slide member 31 is attached to the other end of the output shaft 21 so as to be axially slidable and rotatable. One end of the slide member 31 is in contact with the end surface 26c of the gear 26, and the other end is in contact with a retaining ring 32 attached to the end of the output shaft 21. In addition, the slide member 3
1 has a substantially L-shaped hole 33 as shown in the figure. On the other hand, a pin 34 is planted in the output shaft 21, and the pin 34 is slidably engaged in the hole 33.

The slide member 31, the pin 34 and the like constitute the clutch mechanism of the main drive system.
FIG. 4 shows a power transmission (clutch ON) state. In addition, in order to make the power cut (clutch OFF),
From this state, a force in the arrow direction is applied to the slide member 31. Then, the gear 28 moves to the left in the figure against the spring force of the coil spring 30, and as a result, the internal teeth 26c of the rotating member 26 and the gear 28 are disengaged from each other. As a result, the power is cut off. Then, the slide member 3
1 is rotated counterclockwise when viewed from the right end of the figure, pin 3
4 is engaged with the terminal end portion 33a of the hole 33 so that the slide member 3
1 is locked, and the power cutoff state is maintained.

Therefore, when the automatic traveling of the wheelchair 1 becomes impossible with the automatic traveling device 10 mounted, for example, when the battery runs out, the wheelchair 1 is placed in the clutch OFF state as described above. It can be run manually. Next, the handle unit 14
Will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 5 to 13.

The handle unit 14 is mainly composed of
The steering column 40 includes a vertically extending steering column 40, a handle arm 41 having one end fixed to the upper end of the steering column 40, and an occupant operating grip 42 disposed at the other end of the handle arm 41. There is. A push-button type operator 43 for controlling the vehicle speed is attached to the grip portion 42, which is electrically connected to the controller 16 (FIG. 2). When the operator 43 is pushed, the resistance value of the electric resistance variable device (not shown) in the gripping portion changes according to the pushing amount, and the change amount is detected by the controller 16 to control the speed. It has become.

A switch box 44 (FIG. 2), which is also electrically connected to the controller 16, is attached to the handle arm 41. The switch box 44 is provided with a main switch 45, a forward / reverse switching lever 46, and a high / low speed switching lever 47. The high / low speed switching lever 47 maintains the vehicle speed at 4 km / h on the high speed side and maintains the vehicle speed at 2 km / h on the low speed side. Further, when the forward / reverse switching lever 4b is switched to the reverse side, a buzzer 48 (FIG. 2) provided at the rear part of the accommodating portion 19 sounds.

The steering column 40 is a substantially crank-shaped member as shown in FIG. 5, and a cam member 50 having a cam surface 50a as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is fixed to the lower portion thereof. A disc-shaped protrusion 51 is formed on the upper portion of the cam member 50, and a notch 51a is formed in the protrusion 51. A male terminal portion 52 is fixed below the cam member 50 of the steering column 40. The male terminal portion 52 has a plurality of male terminals 53 radially protruding as shown in FIG. 9 and these male terminals. 53
Base 54 (Fig. 8) for fixing
It consists of and. Each of the male terminals 53 has a variable electric resistance device (not shown) of the grip portion by a lead wire 55.
And the switch box 44 is electrically connected.
A spring member 61 having a key 60 fixed at one end is mounted in the lower portion of the male terminal portion 53 of the steering column 40. The key 60 partially projects to the outer peripheral side from a hole 62 formed in the steering column 40, and is constantly urged to the outer peripheral side by the spring force of the spring member 61. A notch 63 is formed at the lower end of the steering column 40.

On the other hand, a steering column mounting portion 70 (FIGS. 3 and 6) is provided at the front ends of frames 80 and 81 which will be described later. The steering column mounting portion 70 is
Female terminal portion 71 to which the male terminal portion 52 is detachably connected
And a base portion 72 fixed to the lower portion thereof. As shown in FIG. 10, the female terminal portion 71 is radially arranged and has a plurality of female terminals 73 corresponding to the male terminals 53. As shown in FIG. 11, each of the female terminals 73 is composed of a pair of spring-like metal pieces, and the corresponding male terminals 53 are engaged with each other from above.

The female terminal portion 71 and the base portion 72 are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, through holes 74 and 75 into which the lower portion of the steering column 40 can be inserted are formed, and a key groove 71a into which the key 60 can be engaged from above.
And 72a are formed respectively. Further, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 13, key grooves 71b through which the keys 60 can pass vertically are formed on both sides of the key groove 71a in the bottom wall portion of the female terminal portion 71. on the other hand,
The base 72 is formed with a circumferential groove 76 through which the key 60 can pass (FIGS. 6 and 12). The groove 76 has holes 7 formed in the vertical direction at both ends thereof.
7 communicates with the key groove 71b (see FIG. 1).
3). Further, a pin 78 with which the notch 63 at the lower end of the steering column 40 can be engaged with the lower portion of the base 72.
Is fixed, and a groove portion 72b is formed on the entire circumference on the upper portion.

Next, the steering column mounting portion 70
And FIG. 7 and FIG. 1 regarding the connection relationship with the traveling wheel 12.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. Frames 80 and 8 extending in the front-rear direction are provided in front of the accommodating portion 19 (FIG. 3).
1 is provided. A support portion 82 that rotatably supports the steering column attachment portion 70 is provided at the front end of the frame 80.

At the front end of the frame 81, there is provided a lock mechanism 84 for locking the upper portion of the fork 83 of the traveling wheel 12 in the standing state (the mounted state of the automatic traveling device 10) shown in FIG. The lock mechanism 84 includes an outer ring member 85 fixed to the front end of the frame 81, an inner ring member 86 rotatably supported by the outer ring member 85, a rotating member 87 fixed to a lower portion of the inner ring member 86, and the inner ring member. It has a lid member 88 that is screwed onto the member 86 from above, and a vertically movable rod 89 that passes through the lid member 88 and the rotating member 87. The rod 89 is constantly urged downward by a coil spring 90 mounted in the inner ring member 86.

A supporting portion 95 for supporting the upper portion of the fork 83 is provided below the rotating member 86.
7, the pin 96 is inserted through the upper portion of the fork 83 and the supporting portion 95. This allows
The fork 83 is rotatably supported by the support portion 95. A recess 97 is formed in the upper portion of the fork 83 so that the lower portion of the rod 89 can be engaged and disengaged. The state in which the lower portion of the rod 89 is engaged with the recess 97 is the locked state by the lock mechanism 84.

Further, a pulley groove portion 98 is formed on the outer periphery of the rotating member 87, and the pulley groove portion 98 and the pulley groove portion 72b of the steering column mounting portion 70 are
Wire 99 (FIG. 7) is wrapped around. The wire 99 is movable in the tube 100 supported by the frames 80 and 81. With this configuration,
When the handle arm 41 is turned to perform steering, the steering column mounting portion 70 is rotated via the pin 78,
As a result, the wire 99 moves to rotate the rotating member 87. By the rotation of the rotating member 87, the traveling wheels 12 are steered via the forks 83.
At this time, the output shaft 21 together with the traveling wheels 12 is
(FIG. 4) and the entire traveling drive system including the motor 13 (FIG. 2) rotate, but in this case, FIG. 3 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, since the motor shaft 13a is disposed substantially vertically and close to the traveling wheels 12, the steering system during steering (that is, the traveling drive system and the handle unit 14).
The system has a small moment of inertia. Therefore, steering can be easily performed.

Further, projections 101 and 102 projecting upward are formed on a part of the rotating member 87 with a predetermined space e therebetween. On the other hand, the outer ring member 85 has the protrusions 101 and 102 when the handle arm 41 is turned.
Stopper portions 103 and 104 that can contact with each other are formed at a predetermined interval. As a result, the maximum turning angle of the handle arm 41 during turning is determined.

Cam members 105 are attached to the rotating member 87 at two central positions in the axial direction at predetermined intervals. On the other hand, the sensor 10 is provided outside the rotating member 87.
6 are arranged. The sensor 106 is connected to the controller 16 (FIG. 2), and the respective cam members 105 can come into contact with the detection portion thereof. Then, when the handle arm 41 turns and the sensor 106 detects the cam member 105, the vehicle speed is set to about 1/2 of the vehicle speed at the time of sensor detection.

On the side of the lock mechanism 84, a lock release mechanism 11 for releasing the lock of the lock mechanism 84.
0 is placed. The lock release mechanism 110 has a rod 111 arranged horizontally between the lock mechanism 84 and the steering column mounting portion 70. The rod 111 is slidably supported by a support member 112 fixed to a bracket 85a fixed to the outer ring member 85. In addition, the rod 111
The steering column mounting portion 70 side end portion 111a of the above is configured such that the notch 51a of the cam member 51 can be inserted in the vertical direction, and the lock mechanism 8 of the rod 111 can be inserted.
The fourth-side end portion 111b can be inserted into the space e between the both protruding portions 101 and 102 of the rotating member 87.
A link 113 is arranged at the side of the lock mechanism 84, and the bracket 85 is provided at the upper end of the link 113.
The pin 114 fixed to a is inserted. As a result, the link 113 is rotatable around the pin 114. A long hole 113a is formed in the lower portion of the link 113, and the rod end portion 111b is formed in the long hole 113a.
The pin 115 that is inserted through is engaged. Further, one end of the arm member 116 is fixed to the upper portion of the link 113, and the other end of the arm member 116 is engaged with the head of the rod 89 of the lock mechanism 84.

With this structure, when the rod 111 approaches the lock mechanism 84 side, the rod end 111b is inserted into the space e between the protrusions 101 and 102, and
The link 113 and the arm member 116 rotate around the pin 114 counterclockwise in FIG. 15, and the rod 89 rises. As a result, the lower part of the rod 89 is disengaged from the recess 97 in the upper part of the fork 83, and the lock of the lock mechanism 84 is released.

As shown in FIG. 16, the rod 1
A lever 160 for the caregiver to unlock the lock mechanism 84 is provided in the vicinity of 11, and the lever 160 is provided on the support shaft 16 fixed to the bracket 85a.
It is rotatable around 1. A pin 162 is inserted in a hole formed at one end of the lever 160. On the other hand, a long hole 112a is formed on the upper surface of the support member 112, and the pin 162 is inserted into the long hole 112a and fixed to the rod 111 (see FIG. 15). Moreover, one end of a wire 163 is locked to the other end of the lever 160. The wire 163 is arranged in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 2), and the other end thereof is locked to the base portion 164a of the pedal 164 provided on the rear side of the accommodating portion 19.

With this structure, when the caregiver steps on the pedal 164, the lever 160 rotates via the wire 163 and the rod 111 moves. As a result, the lock mechanism 84
Will be unlocked. In addition, the accommodation section 1
A steering column mounting portion 170 having the same structure as the steering column mounting portion 70 is provided on the rear side of 9 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 17, the steering column mounting portion 170 includes the steering column 1 of the handle unit 171 for the caregiver S to operate.
It is for attaching 72. A handle arm 173 is fixed to the upper end of the steering column 172, and the handle arm 173 is provided with a grip portion 175 having an operator 174 for vehicle speed control.
When both the handle units 14 and 171 are attached together and both the operators 43 and 174 are operated at the same time, either one of the operations is given priority,
Alternatively, if the circuit configuration is such that the vehicle cannot travel unless one of the handle units 14 and 171 is removed, inconvenience in operation can be avoided.

Next, details of the mounting portion of the grip portion 42 will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19. A support shaft portion 42a that protrudes downward is formed on the lower portion of the grip portion 42. On the other hand, tubular members 130 and 131 for rotatably supporting the support shaft portion 42a are provided at the tip end portion of the handle arm 41, and the support shaft portion 42a has either one of the tubular shape. Member, eg tubular member 1
Mounted within 30. A circlip 132 for retaining is attached to the lower portion of the support shaft portion 42a, and the stopper member 1 is attached to the upper portion of the tubular member 130.
33 is fixed by a nut 134. The stopper member 133 has stopper portions 133a and 133b (FIG. 19) arranged at approximately 180 ° intervals. On the other hand, below the grip portion 42, the stopper portions 133 are provided.
Protrusions 135 that can come into contact with a and 133b are provided. The protrusion 135 is located in the middle of the stoppers 133a and 133b when the wheelchair 1 travels straight (the handle arm 41 is in the state shown in FIG. 19A) and turns right (see FIG.
State), the stopper portion 133a abuts the protrusion 135, and when turning left (state of FIG. 6C), the stopper portion 133b.
Touches the projection 135. Accordingly, the rotation angle amount of the grip portion 42 can be regulated, and the lead wire 55
Can be prevented from twisting.

Further, as described above, since the grip portion 42 is rotatable, the manipulator 43 can be arranged at one end of the grip portion 42 in both cases of straight traveling and left / right turning. . As a result, the occupant does not have to bend his / her wrist during turning, and the occupant with limited hand can easily operate the handle arm 41. By appropriately changing the arrangement of the stopper portions 133a and 133b when tightening the stopper member 133 with the nut 134, it is possible for the occupant to operate the operation element 43 with a finger that is easy to operate.

Next, each front side locking means 1 arranged on the left and right
7 and each of the rear side locking means 18 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 20. Note that FIG. 20 shows a state before the automatic traveling device 10 is locked to the wheelchair 1.
Each of the front locking means 17 has a band plate 140. A long hole 140a is formed in the strip 140, and a pin 141 inserted through the long hole 140a.
Is fixed. On the other hand, the locking frame 1 on the wheelchair 1 side
1 is formed with a notch 11a that opens to the rear side (right side in FIG. 3) of the wheelchair 1, and an engaging recess 11b with which the pin 141 can be engaged is formed in this notch 11a. ing. Further, the rear end side of the strip plate 140 (lower side in FIG. 2)
Is supported by a shaft 142. On the other hand, the storage unit 19
Are supported by frames 143 and 144 arranged at the front and rear, and the frame 143 is connected to the shaft 14 described above.
2 has an engaging recess 143a that can be slidably engaged. The frame 144 also has a similar engaging recess 144a.
have. With this configuration, the vehicle width of the automatic traveling device 10 can be changed. Further, the frame 143 is provided with a bolt 145 for fixing the shaft 142 when setting the vehicle width, and the frame 144 is also provided with a similar bolt 146. The front end side (upper side in FIG. 2) of each strip 140 is bent inward. This facilitates insertion of the automatic traveling device 10 from the rear side of the wheelchair 1.

Each of the rear side locking means 18 has an arm-shaped member 150 which comes into contact with the vertical frame 2 of the wheelchair 1 from the rear and also comes into contact with the rail 9 from above. The arm-shaped member 150 is rotatably supported by a shaft 151 and is rotatable around the axis of the shaft 151. The other end of the shaft 151 is slidably inserted into the engaging recess 144a of the frame 144, and a coil spring 152 is attached to the shaft 151. Due to the spring force of the coil spring 152, the arm-shaped member 150 is always biased around the axis of the shaft 151 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. A plate 153 is attached to the shaft 151. In addition, each plate 15
The front end side of 3 is bent inward similarly to each strip plate 140. One end of a stand member 154 is rotatably attached to the rear end side of the plate 153, and the auxiliary wheel 1 is attached to the other end of the stand member 154.
55 is provided. In addition, the stand member 154
A plate-shaped projecting portion 156 is attached to the projecting portion 156, and the projecting portion 156 has a cam hole 15 having a shape as shown in FIG.
6a is formed. On the other hand, the arm-shaped member 150
The pin 15 that engages with the cam hole 156a is provided on the rear end side.
7 have been planted.

With this structure, the stand member 154 is in a standing state (FIG. 2) before the automatic traveling device 10 is mounted.
0), the bottom of the housing portion 19 is held at a position away from the road surface. Further, after the mounting, the stand member 154 is in the retracted state (FIGS. 1 and 3) and is stored and held on the upper side. Next, the work of mounting the automatic traveling device 10 on the wheelchair 1 will be described.

In this case, first, the automatic traveling device 10 is placed behind the wheelchair 1 with the handle unit 14 removed from the automatic traveling device 10. At this time, as shown in FIG. 20, the stand member 154 of the automatic traveling device 10 is rotated downward, and the auxiliary wheel 155 is in the grounded state. The lock release mechanism 110 (FIG. 15) unlocks the lock mechanism 84. That is, the lower part of the rod 89 is disengaged from the engaging recess 97 on the upper part of the fork 83, and the fork 83 rotates upward around the pin 96,
The running wheels 12 are raised (FIG. 20).

Next, the occupant P manually moves the wheelchair 1 backward. Then, the automatic traveling device 10 enters the lower portion of the wheelchair 1, and the arm-shaped members 150 of the automatic traveling device 10 come into contact with the vertical frames 2 of the wheelchair 1 from the rear side (FIG. 20). At this time, the lower part of each arm-shaped member 150 is in contact with the rail 9 of the wheelchair 1. On the other hand, the steering column mounting portion 70 is located on the front end side of the wheelchair 1.

From this state, the occupant P attaches the handle unit 14. In this case, the steering column 40 is mounted on the steering column mounting portion 70 with the handle arm 41 arranged in the left-right direction as shown in FIG.
Gradually enter. Then, as shown in Fig. 21 (a), (b),
As shown in (c), the key 60 passes through the respective key grooves 71a and the grooves 72a of the female terminal portion 71 and the base portion 72, and the steering column 40 descends. Then, as shown in FIG. 3D, the notch 63 at the lower end of the steering column 40 is formed.
When is engaged with the pin 78 of the steering column mounting portion 70, the mounting of the handle unit 14 is completed.

Next, with the main wheels 5 locked, the forward / reverse switching lever 46 (FIG. 2) is switched to the forward side.
After turning on the main switch 45, the operator 43
To operate. Then, the motor 13 is activated, and the automatic traveling device 10 starts to move forward with the wheelchair 1 stopped. As a result, as shown in FIG. 22, the pin 141 of the front side locking means 17 enters the notch 11a of the locking frame 11, and the arm-shaped member 150 of the rear side locking means 18 is formed.
Rotates around the axis of the shaft 151 in the clockwise direction. As a result, the pin 157 on the rear end side of the arm-shaped member 150 moves in the cam hole 156a of the projecting portion 156, and the stand member 154 is rotated upward through the projecting portion 156. As a result, the stand member 154 is housed on the upper side, and the auxiliary wheel 1
55 leaves the road surface and moves upward. In this way
The rear side locking means 18 locks the automatic traveling device 10.

When the traveling wheel 12 further rotates from this state, in this case, the movement of the automatic traveling device 10 is restricted by the rear side locking means 18, so that the traveling wheel 12 rolls on the road surface, Along with this, the fork 83 rotates around the pin 96 and gradually shifts to the standing state. As a result, the pin 141 of the front side locking means 17 is locked by the locking frame 11
Engages with the engaging recess 11b. In this way, the front side locking means 17 locks the automatic traveling device 10.
When the traveling wheel 12 further rotates, the fork 83 is completely erected (FIG. 23), and the front portion of the wheelchair 1 is jacked up via the locking frame 11. As a result, the storage unit 19 moves further upward, and the minimum ground height when using the wheelchair is secured. Further, when the wheelchair 1 is jacked up, the casters 6 rise and move away from the road surface, as shown in FIG.

When the fork 83 is in the upright state, the lower part of the rod 89 of the lock mechanism 84 is engaged in the engaging recess 97 at the upper part of the fork 83. This allows
The locked states of the front side locking means 17 and the rear side locking means 18 are locked. In this case, when mounted on the wheelchair 1, the front side locking means 17 locks on the locking frame 11 from the rear side of the locking frame 11, and the rear side locking means 18 positions on the rear side of the vertical frame 2. Since it is adapted to be locked to the vertical frame 2 and the rail 9, the automatic traveling device 10 can be mounted from the rear side of the wheelchair 1. This not only reduces the burden on the occupant P when mounting the device, but also facilitates mounting on a domestic wheelchair equipped with leg support.

Before the wheelchair 1 is mounted, the stand member 154 in the upright position preliminarily positions the accommodating portion 19 upward, so that the jack-up amount for ensuring the minimum ground height is small. The energy consumption required for jacking up can be reduced. Further, since the auxiliary wheels 155 are attached to the lower end of the stand member 154, the movement of the automatic traveling device 10 itself and the stand member 15 are prevented.
The rotation of 4 can be performed smoothly, and the mounting work can be performed smoothly.

Next, the work of removing the automatic traveling device 10 will be described. In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 7, the handle arm 41 is moved straight. At this time,
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 15, the end portion 11 of the rod 111 is
A notch 51a of the protrusion 51 is arranged below the la 1a, and a space e between the protrusions 101 and 102 faces the end 111b.

From this state, the occupant P grips the steering column 40 and slightly lifts the handle unit 14. Then, the key 60 moves upward in the key groove 72a and is arranged at the position shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. Further, the notch 51a of the projection 51 passes through the rod end 111a, and the cam member 50 moves upward (FIGS. 24 to 26).
reference). At this time, the end portion 111a of the rod 111 is
The cam surface 50a of the cam member 50 faces.

Next, with the occupant P supporting the steering column 40, as shown in FIG.
Turn 1 At this time, the key 60 is the same as in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 9, it moves along the circumferential keyway 76 (see FIG. 10) and moves to a position in the keyway 76 that faces the keyway 71b (see FIG. 10) of the female terminal portion 71. When the steering column 40 is moved upward from this state, the key 60 moves to the key groove 77 (FIG. 13) and the key groove 71.
It comes off from the steering column 70 through the inside of b. In this way, the handle unit 14 is removed.

By turning the handle arm 41,
The cam member 50 rotates, whereby the cam surface 50a comes into contact with the rod end portion 111a and the rod 111 is pushed in. As a result, the rod end portion 111b becomes
It is inserted in the space e between 102, and the running wheels 12 are locked in a straight running state. On the other hand, the movement of the rod 111 causes the link 113 and the arm member 116 of the lock release mechanism 110.
Rotates around the pin 114, and the rod 89 moves upward against the spring force of the coil spring 90 (FIGS. 28 and 2).
9). As a result, the lower part of the rod 89 is disengaged from the engaging recess 97 in the upper part of the fork 83. In this way, the lock of the lock mechanism 84 is released. At this time, the clutch mechanism (FIG. 4) of the traveling drive system described above is used for power transmission (clutch O
N) state, the worm gear 20 and the wor
Due to the large gear ratio of the mufoils 25, the running wheels 12 do not roll and remain stationary. However, if the main wheel 5 is not locked, the wheelchair 1 itself can be moved forward, so that the fork 83 can be easily brought into the posture shown in FIG.

In this case, since the lock mechanism 84 is unlocked in conjunction with the removal work of the handle unit 14, it is not necessary to separately perform the unlock work and the removal work of the handle unit 14, and the automatic traveling device is not required. 10
Can be easily removed. Further, when the handle unit 14 is removed, the traveling wheels 12 are locked in a straight-ahead state, so that the mounting work for mounting the automatic traveling device 10 on the wheelchair again becomes easy.

In the above embodiment, the handle unit 14 is detachable so that the automatic traveling device 10 can be easily attached to and detached from the wheelchair 1 from the rear side. Other than the formula, it may be a retractable type. An example of this retractable handle unit is shown in FIGS. 30 and 31. In the handle unit 200 of FIG. 30, the steering column 201 is made of a telescopic member, and is expandable and contractible. The grip portion 2 is provided on the upper end of the steering column 201.
02 is attached. This steering column 2
A column support frame 204 is connected to the lower part of 01 by a connecting pin 203.
1 is rotatable about the connecting pin 203 by approximately 90 °. As a result, the steering column 201 is shown in FIG.
The standing state shown in (a) and the stored state shown in FIG. Note that (b) is a plan view. With such a stored state, the wheelchair 1 can be easily attached and detached similarly to the detachable type. Although not shown in FIG. 30, a lock release link mechanism for releasing the lock of the lock mechanism 84 in association with the storage operation of the steering column 201 is provided.

The structure shown in FIG. 31 differs from that shown in FIG. 30 in that a connecting pin 205 connecting the retractable steering column 201 to the column supporting frame 204 is arranged in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. Therefore, in this case, the steering column 201 is approximately 1 in the plane of the drawing.
It is rotatable by 80 ° and can be in a standing state shown by a one-dot chain line and a stored state shown by a two-dot chain line.

Further, in the above embodiment, the handle arm 4
Although one end of No. 1 is fixed to the steering column 40 and the occupant P operates the grip section 42 with one hand,
The handle unit is not limited to this. For example, the central portion of the handle arm 41 is fixed to the steering column 40, and the grip portions 4 are provided at both ends of the handle arm 41.
2 may be arranged so that the occupant can operate by gripping each grip 42 with both hands.

In the above embodiment, the wheelchair 1 is jacked up by rotating the running wheels 12, but the jackup structure is not limited to this. For example, the fork 83 is a telescopic member. It may be configured to jack up using hydraulic pressure or the like.

[0053]

As described above, in the wheelchair automatic traveling apparatus according to the present invention, one end of the device body is held at a position away from the road surface before mounting, and a stand member is housed on the device body side after mounting. Since the jack-up means for jacking up the device body is provided, the device body is jacked up with one end of the device body separated from the road surface, and the jack-up amount by the jack-up means is reduced. it can. As a result, the amount of energy consumed for jacking up can be reduced, and jacking up can be done easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a wheelchair to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the apparatus of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the apparatus of the embodiment.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing details of a mounting portion of the handle unit of the apparatus of the embodiment.

7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the male terminal portion of the handle unit of the apparatus of the above embodiment.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

10 is a view taken along line XX of FIG.

11 is a view taken along the line XI-XI of FIG.

12 is a sectional view taken along line XII-XII in FIG.

13 is a sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG.

14 is a sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG.

15 is a sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG.

16 is an enlarged partial view of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a state in which a handle unit for a caregiver is attached to the apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a view showing an attached state of a grip portion of the handle unit of the embodiment apparatus.

FIG. 19 is a view for explaining the rotating operation of the handle arm of the apparatus of the above-mentioned embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining a mounting operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a mounting operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a mounting operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a mounting operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining the removal work of the apparatus of the above-described embodiment.

25 is a sectional view taken along line XXV-XXV in FIG.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view taken along line XXVI-XXVI of FIG. 24.

FIG. 27 is a view for explaining the removal work of the apparatus of the above-mentioned embodiment.

28 is a sectional view taken along line XXVIII-XXVIII in FIG. 27.

29 is a sectional view taken along line XXIX-XXIX in FIG. 27.

FIG. 30 is a schematic configuration diagram of a retractable handle unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a schematic configuration diagram of a retractable handle unit according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheelchair 10 Automatic traveling device 11 Locking frame 12 Running wheel 17 Front locking means 18 Rear locking means 19 Housing part 83 Fork 96 pin 141 pin 154 Stand member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotatable wheel and a device body are provided,
In a wheelchair automatic traveling device for automatically traveling a wheelchair, the wheelchair automatic device is disposed at one end of the device body and is held at a position separated from the road surface before being mounted on the wheelchair. An automatic traveling device for wheelchairs, comprising: a stand member that is housed in the device body side after mounting and jacking up means for jacking up the device body.