JPH0724012A - Running gear for wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a wheelchair to be smoothly stopped even when a main switch is turned off during running. CONSTITUTION:A motor 21 is coupled with a running wheel through a worm gear-type reduction gear, and is connected to a main switch through a controller 19. The controller 19 is so constituted as to gradually reduce the frequency of rotation of a motor 21 when the main switch is operated to be off, and finally to stop it. Even in the case where the worm gear-type reduction gear is used, the wheelchair can smoothly be stopped when the main switch is turned off during running.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheelchair automatic traveling device for automatically traveling a wheelchair by a motor, and more particularly to a control device for controlling running / stopping.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been an automatic traveling device for automatically traveling by driving a wheelchair by a motor in order to reduce a burden on an occupant when traveling in a wheelchair. This type of automatic traveling device
For example, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,050,695,
A device main body including a battery accommodating portion, locking means for removably locking the device main body to a wheelchair, rotatable traveling wheels arranged in front of the traveling device main body, and operating the traveling wheels. It consisted of a steering column, etc. to turn it.

In this type of automatic traveling device, it is necessary to use a motor that is as small as possible in order to prevent the entire device from increasing in size, and moreover, a wheelchair in which an occupant is sitting has a speed close to walking speed. Since thrust is required to drive at,
In some cases, the power of the motor is transmitted to the traveling wheels via a worm gear type speed reducer that can obtain a large reduction ratio.

[0004]

However, in using the worm gear type speed reducer as described above, the structure of the control device for controlling the rotation of the motor has been a problem.

For example, when the main switch is turned off during running to cut off the power supply to the motor, the worm gear type speed reducer cannot transmit the rotation of the running wheels to the motor. The wheels also stop. That is, the wheelchair cannot be stopped smoothly.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and even if a worm gear type speed reducer is used, the wheelchair can be smoothly stopped when the main switch is turned off during traveling. The object is to obtain an automatic traveling device for wheelchairs that can be used.

[0007]

In an automatic wheelchair drive system according to the present invention, a motor serving as a drive source is connected to a traveling wheel via a worm gear type speed reducer and connected to a main switch via a control device. However, the control device is configured to stop the motor by gradually reducing the rotational speed of the motor when the main switch is turned off during traveling.

[0008]

If the main switch is turned off while the vehicle is running, the wheelchair will gradually slow down and stop.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be described in detail by. 1 is an overall side view of a wheelchair equipped with the automatic traveling device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the automatic traveling device according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a side view of the automatic traveling device according to the present invention, and FIG. Is an enlarged plan view showing the steering column portion, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of the steering column portion and the power unit pivot portion in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the power unit, which is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. FIG. 8 is a side view showing a part of the automatic traveling device in a cutaway view, which shows a state immediately before being mounted on a wheelchair. FIG. 9 shows A in FIG.
FIG. 10 is a side view in which a part of the mounting portion of the handle unit is cut away, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged side view of the grip portion of the handle unit. FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state in which a handle unit for a caregiver is attached to the automatic traveling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control device used in the automatic traveling device according to the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a graph for explaining the operation of the control device. 15 to 19
Is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the control device,
15 shows a procedure for controlling the traveling speed according to the steering angle, FIG. 16 shows a procedure for controlling the traveling speed according to the accelerator opening / closing speed, and FIG. 17 shows the traveling speed according to the change in the set traveling speed. FIG. 18 shows a procedure for controlling the traveling speed according to switching of the forward / backward changeover switch, and FIG. 19 shows a procedure for controlling the traveling speed according to an OFF operation of the main switch.

In these figures, 1 is a wheelchair and 2 is an automatic traveling apparatus for wheelchairs according to the present invention. The wheelchair 1 is well known in the art, and includes a pair of left and right vertical frames 3, a pair of left and right horizontal frames 4 whose upper ends are fixed to the vertical frames 3, and the horizontal frames 4 for the occupant P to sit on.
It is composed of a seat 5 disposed between four, a main wheel 6 and a sub-wheel (caster) 7, and can be folded in the width direction. A leg support 8 and a footrest 9 are provided on the front portion of the lateral frame 4.
Further, rails 10 extending in the front-rear direction are arranged at the lower ends of the left and right vertical frames 3, 3. A locking frame 11 for locking the automatic traveling device 2 is provided at the center of the rail 10 in the front-rear direction. In addition,
The wheelchair 1 can be folded in the width direction even with the locking frame 11 attached.

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic traveling device 2 includes a frame 12, a power unit 13 and a handle unit 14 mounted on the front portion of the frame 12 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis, and the frame. Front locking means 15 and rear locking means 16 provided on both sides in the vehicle width direction of 12 and a rear portion of the frame 2 rotatable on both sides in the vehicle width direction about an axis parallel to the vehicle width direction. It is composed of the attached stand mechanism 17 and the like. The frame 12 includes two front and rear main pipes 12a extending in the vehicle width direction,
12b and main pipes 12a, 12b formed in a substantially box shape
A central frame 12c connecting the two and a power unit support pipe 12d extending forward from the front main pipe 12a.
And a handle unit support pipe 12e extending so as to branch from the power unit support pipe 12d.

The front side locking means 15 is attached to both ends of the main pipe 12a, and the rear side locking means 16 is attached to both ends of the main pipe 12b. Further, the central frame 12c accommodates a battery 18 as a power source of the power unit 13 described later and a controller 19 as a control device for controlling the power unit 13. Further, the power unit 13 is rotatably attached to the front end of the power unit support pipe 12d, and the handle unit 14 is rotatably attached to the front end of the handle unit support pipe 12e.

The power unit 13 has a structure in which the traveling wheels 20 are rotated by a motor 21, and a fork 23 integrally provided with the housing 22 is connected to the power unit support pipe 12d as shown in FIGS. ing. That is, the tubular inner ring member 26 is rotatably mounted on the tubular outer ring member 25 welded to the tip of the power unit support pipe 12d via the bearing 27.
An end portion of the fork 23 is rotatably connected to a rotating member 28 fixed to 6 via a connecting pin 29. Further, a rod 30 is vertically movably inserted through the axial center portion of the inner ring member 26, and the lower end of the rod 30 is engaged with an engaging recess 23 a of the fork 23. Reference numeral 31 is a compression coil spring for urging the rod 30 downward, and 32 is a lid member for housing the compression coil spring 31 in the inner ring member 26. The lid member 32 is screwed onto the upper portion of the inner ring member 26.

That is, the power unit 13 can rotate about the vertical axis by rotating the inner ring member 26 with respect to the outer ring member 25, and moves the rod 30 upward from the position of FIG. 5 to engage with the lower end thereof. By releasing the engagement state with the fitting recess 23a, the pin 29 can be rotated about the horizontal axis. The outer ring member 25 is provided with projections 25a and 25b as shown in FIG. 4, and the rotating member 28 is provided with projections 28a and 28b.
3 is configured to determine the maximum rotation angle about the vertical axis (the maximum cutting angle of the traveling wheel 20).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a lock releasing mechanism 33 for artificially pulling the rod 30 upward is connected to the upper end of the rod 30. In this lock release mechanism 33, a slide rod 35 is horizontally movably provided on a bracket 34 fixed to the outer ring member 25 via a support member 34a.
Is connected to the upper end of the rod 30 via a link 36 and an arm 37 formed integrally with the link 36. That is, the slide rod 35 is shown in FIG.
In the structure, the rod 30 is moved to the upper side by moving it to the right side (hereinafter, this direction is referred to as the unlocking direction). 36 a and 36 b are pivots of the link 36, the pivot 36 a penetrates the elongated hole 36 c of the link 36 to connect the link 36 to the slide rod 35, and the pivot 36 b connects the link 36 to the bracket 34. When the slide rod 35 is moved in the unlocking direction, the front end 35a of the slide rod 35 in the unlocking direction is located between the protrusions 28a and 28b in the state shown in FIG. 4 in which the traveling wheels 20 are not steered. It is designed to fit in.

When the slide rod 35 is artificially moved in the unlocking direction, the unlocking lever 37 rotatably attached to the bracket 34 is rotated by the unlocking wire 38 as shown in FIG. The method and the method of pushing the rear end 35b of the slide rod 35 by the cam 39 of the handle unit 14 described later are adopted. The release lever 37 is formed in an L shape, a central portion of which is rotatably supported by a bracket 34 via a support shaft 37a, and one end of which is a slide rod 35 via a pin 37b.
And the other end is connected to the lock release wire 38. The pin 37b is the support member 34a.
Is inserted into the long hole 34b.

Further, the unlocking wire 38 extends rearward from the release lever 37 as shown in FIG. 2, and its rear end is the pedal 4 provided at the rear of the central frame 12c.
It is locked to the base portion 40a of 0. That is, by rotating the cam 39 or stepping on the pedal 40, the rod 30 is pulled up and the power unit 13 is rotatable about the horizontal axis.

The power unit 13 is, as shown in FIG.
An axle 42 is rotatably provided on the housing 22 via a bearing 41. One end of the axle 42 is connected to an output shaft 21a of the motor 21 via a worm gear type speed reducer 43, and the other end of the traveling wheel 20 is connected. Hub 4 having a rim 20a of
4 is rotatably mounted. The worm gear type speed reducer 43 is a worm 43 fixed to the output shaft 21a.
a and a worm wheel 43b that meshes with the worm 43a and is fitted to the axle 42 by serration 42a.

At one end of the hub 44, the diameter of the hub 44 is made sufficiently larger than that of the axle 42 so that the opening recess 4 is formed.
4a is formed and a clutch 45 is provided. The clutch 45 has its relative rotation with the axle 42 restricted by a slide key 46, is fitted into the axle 42 so as to be movable only in the axial direction, and meshes with internal teeth 44b formed at the opening end of the opening recess 44a. Connecting member 47
7, a compression coil spring 48 for urging the connecting member 47 to the right side in FIG. 7, a slide member 49 for moving the connecting member 47 in the axial direction, a retaining ring 50 for preventing the slide member 49 from coming off, and the like. It is formed from and.

A substantially L-shaped guide hole 49a is formed in the slide member 49, and the position of the guide shaft 51 with respect to the axle 42 can be changed by fitting the guide pin 51 implanted in the output shaft 42 into the guide hole 49a. Is configured. The clutch 45 is switched between a connected state and a non-connected state depending on the position of the slide member 49. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, when the slide member 49 is in contact with the retaining ring 50 due to the spring force of the compression coil spring 48 applied via the connecting member 47, the connecting member 47 has internal teeth of the hub 44. Axle 4 from the relationship of meshing with 44b
The rotation of 2 can be transmitted to the running wheels 20. Further, the slide member 49 is moved leftward against the spring force of the compression coil spring 48 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7, so that the guide pin 51 engages with the terminal end portion 49b of the guide hole 49a. By rotating the clutch 45 in the circumferential direction, the clutch 45 is brought into a disengaged state. At this time, the connecting member 47 is opened by the opening recess 44.
The hub 44 is rotatable with respect to the axle 42 because it enters the inside of a and is disengaged from the internal teeth 44b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the handle unit 14 includes a steering column 52 extending in the vertical direction, a handle arm 53 having one end fixed to the upper end of the steering column 52, and the handle arm 53. And a grip portion 54 for occupant operation arranged at the other end of the. And this handle unit 1
As shown in FIG. 8, 4 is detachably attached to the frame 12 by engaging the lower end portion of the steering column 52 with the steering column attachment portion 55 of the handle unit support pipe 12e. Here, the structure of the mounting portion of the steering column 52 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 10, the reference numeral 56 provided at the lower end of the steering column 52 indicates a male terminal 57 connected to switches provided on the handle arm 53 and the grip portion 54 via a lead wire 56a. It is a male terminal part having. The male terminal portion 56 includes a plurality of male terminals 57,
It is formed so as to project in a substantially radial shape in a plan view.
Reference numeral 58 denotes a cam member for moving the slide rod 35 of the lock release mechanism 33 in the lock release direction.
The cam member 58 is formed with the cam 39 that is in contact with the rear end 35b of the slide rod 35, and a plate-shaped stopper 58a that functions to prevent the steering column 52 from coming off. The plate-shaped stopper 58a is formed with a notch 58b for inserting the slide rod 35, as shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 59 denotes a guide key which serves as a guide when the handle unit 14 is attached to and detached from the steering column mounting portion 55, and the key hole 5 of the steering column 52.
The spring member 60 is inserted and held in the steering wheel 2a and is biased outward by a spring member 60 mounted elastically in the steering column 52. Reference numeral 61 is an engaging notch formed at the lower end of the steering column 52.

On the other hand, the steering column mounting portion 55 is
The handle unit support pipe 12e is formed of a cylindrical body 63 that is rotatably supported by the outer ring member 62 and that steers the power unit 13 by a steering wire, which will be described later, and a female terminal portion 64 that is fixed to the cylindrical body 63. The lower end portion of the steering column 52 is connected to the tubular body 63 and the female terminal portion 6.
It has a structure in which it is inserted into and supported by the four through holes 63a and 64a. The female terminal portion 64 radially includes a plurality of female terminals 65 to which the male terminal 57 is pressed and electrically connected, and has a structure in which the male terminal portion 56 of the handle unit 14 can be fitted. . Further, the cylindrical body 63 is provided with a pin 66 that engages with the engagement notch 61 of the steering column 52.

Further, the steering column mounting portion 5
5, a guide groove 67 into which the guide key 59 is inserted,
68 and 69 are formed. The guide groove 67 and the guide groove 68 are formed along the axial direction. The guide groove 69 communicates with the upper portion of the guide groove 68 and extends in the circumferential direction, and the circumferential end portion extends upward along the axial direction. The positional relationship among the guide grooves 67, 68, the guide key 59, and the notch 58b of the cam member 58 is such that the cylindrical body 63 is located in the power unit 1.
3 is positioned such that it is in a straight traveling state, the notch 58b is positioned at a position corresponding to the rear end 35b of the slide rod 35 by engaging the guide key 59 with the guide groove 67. It has become. Further, the formation position of the guide groove 69 is the guide key 59.
Is set so that the plate-like stopper 58a is located above the slide rod 35 when it approaches the guide groove 69 from the guide groove 68 or the guide groove 67.

That is, in order to insert the steering column 52 into the steering column mounting portion 55 from above, first, with the tubular body 63 positioned in a position where the power unit 13 is in a straight traveling state, the guide key 59 is inserted into the guide groove 67,
I'm going to 68. By doing so, the slide rod 35 passes through the notch 58b, and the plate-shaped stopper 58a
Are positioned below the slide rod 35. next,
The steering column 52 is moved downward until the guide key 59 contacts the lower end of the guide groove 68 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As a result, the notch 61 engages with the pin 66. By doing so, the handle unit 14 is connected to the steering column attachment portion 55.

To remove the handle unit 14 from the above-mentioned mounted state, the steering column 52 is positioned so that the power unit 13 is in a straight traveling state and then lifted up. The steering column 52 is lifted upward until the guide key 59 faces the circumferentially extending portion of the guide groove 69, and then the guide key 5 is moved.
When the steering column 52 is operated so that 9 moves along the guide groove 69, the slide rod 35 of the lock release mechanism 33 can be moved in the lock release direction by the cam 39 of the cam member 58.

When the handle unit 14 is rotated while being mounted on the steering column mounting portion 55, the cylindrical body 63 and the female terminal portion 64 of the steering column mounting portion 55 also rotate accordingly. In the automatic traveling device 2, the rotation of the handle unit 14 is achieved by connecting the rotating member 28 integrally provided in the power unit 13 and the tubular body 63 by the steering wire 70 as shown in FIG. The structure is such that it is transmitted to the power unit 13. That is, the steering wire is provided in the pulley groove 71 formed in the outer peripheral portion of the rotating member 28 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the pulley groove 72 formed in the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical body 63 as shown in FIG. 70 is wrapped around. The steering wire 70 is configured to move within a tube 73 supported by the power unit support pipe 12d and the handle unit support pipe 12e.

That is, the steering column mounting portion 55 is rotated by rotating the handle unit 14, and this rotation causes the steering wire 70, the rotating member 28 and the pin 29.
Is transmitted to the power unit 13 via the power unit 1
3 rotates in the same direction as the handle unit 14. Rotation angle of this power unit 13 (handle turning angle)
Is detected by the steering wheel turning angle sensor 74 shown in FIG. 6 and input to the controller 19 described later.

The steering wheel turning angle sensor 74 is turned off when the detecting portion comes into contact with two cam bodies 75, 75 projecting from the outer peripheral portion of the rotating member 28 with a space as shown in FIG. The lock release mechanism 33 is positioned below the lock release mechanism 33 and fixed to the frame 12. In other words, when the steering angle of the steering wheel is relatively small until the cam body 75 contacts the detecting portion when the power unit 13 is steered from the straight traveling state shown in FIG. 4, the steering wheel steering angle sensor 74 is in the ON state. When the steering wheel turning angle becomes larger, it becomes the OFF state. In other words, the steering wheel steering angle sensor 74 detects whether the actual steering wheel steering angle is smaller or larger than the predetermined steering wheel steering angle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the handle arm 53 provided on the upper portion of the handle unit 14 has a switch box 7 electrically connected to the controller 19.
6 is attached. The switch box 76 includes a main switch 77 and a forward / backward changeover switch 78.
A high / low speed changeover switch 79 and an indicator 76a (FIG. 13) for displaying the operating state and the battery voltage are provided. Each of the switches is formed by a changeover switch for switching between ON and OFF.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the grip portion 54 provided on the handle arm 53 has a handle arm 53.
It is rotatably attached to either one of the tubular members 53a and 53b (in the embodiment, the tubular member 53a). Reference numeral 54a is a support shaft of the grip portion 54, and 54b is a circlip for preventing the support shaft from coming off. In the figure, 53c is a stopper member for setting the maximum rotation angle of the grip portion 54, and two stopper pieces 53 arranged at intervals of about 180 degrees.
d and attached to the tubular member 53a by a nut 53e.

Reference numeral 80 provided on the grip portion 54 is a push button type accelerator switch for controlling the vehicle speed. The accelerator switch 80 is also electrically connected to the controller 19 like the switches. In this accelerator switch 80, the resistance value of an electric resistance variable device (not shown) in the grip portion 54 changes according to the amount of pushing, and the change amount (hereinafter, this change amount is referred to as accelerator opening degree). ) Is detected by the controller 19 and speed control is performed.

Next, the front side locking means 15 and the rear side locking means 16 for mounting the automatic traveling device 2 on the wheelchair 1.
The configuration of will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, the front side locking means 15 includes a locking plate 81 of the locking frame 11 fixed to the rail 10 of the wheelchair 1, and the locking plate 81.
8 that engages with the notch 81a that opens rearward of the
2 and is provided with a guide plate 84 rotatably supported by a connecting rod 83 fitted into the main pipe 12a of the frame 2. Reference numeral 85 designates the connecting rod 83 fitted in the main pipe 12a.
It is a fixing screw for fixing to a. Then, the front side locking means 15 causes the automatic traveling device 2 to enter below the wheelchair 1 from the rear side so that the pin 82 is provided with the notch 81 a of the locking plate 81.
The frame 12 is connected to the wheelchair 1 by engaging with the engaging recess 81b of the notch 81a.

The rear side locking means 16 is the main pipe 12
a locking arm 87 rotatably supported by a connecting rod 86 fitted into the tubular member 12f of b, and the locking arm 87.
A coil spring 88 for urging the rotor to rotate counterclockwise in FIG.
And a guide plate 89 fixed to the connecting rod 86. 90 is a fixing screw for fixing the connecting rod 86 to the main pipe 12b. The locking arm 87 is formed so that its lower end is attached to the rail 10 of the wheelchair 1 from above and its front portion is attached to the vertical frame 3 from behind. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the automatic traveling device 2 is moved forward while the locking arm 87 is placed on the rail 10, the locking arm 87 rotates clockwise in the figure and the rear portion of the automatic traveling device 2 is a wheelchair. 1 will be supported.

The guide plate 8 of this rear side locking means 16
9, a stand mechanism 17 is provided. The stand mechanism 17 has a support column 92 having an auxiliary wheel 91 rotatably attached to one end thereof and the other end rotatably supported by the guide plate 89, and a driven arm integrally provided with the support column 92. And 93. This driven arm 93
Is formed with a cam hole 93a, and is connected to the locking arm 87 of the rear side locking means 16 via a connecting pin 94 engaged with the cam hole 93a.

That is, before the automatic traveling device 2 is mounted on the wheelchair 1, the driven arm 93 is pulled upward by the locking arm 87 that is urged to rotate counterclockwise by the coil spring 88, as shown in FIG. Then, the support column 92 is in the upright state, and the auxiliary wheel 91 comes into contact with the road surface E.
When the automatic traveling device 2 is mounted on the wheelchair 1 and the locking arm 87 rotates clockwise from the illustrated state, the driven arm 9
3 is rotated counterclockwise by the locking arm 87, the support column 92 is rotated in the same direction as this, and the auxiliary wheel 91 is separated from the road surface E. FIG. 3 shows this stand mechanism stored state.

In FIG. 8, the reference numeral 95 located behind the rear side locking means 16 is a rear steering column mounting portion which is constructed in the same manner as the steering column mounting portion 55. This steering column mounting portion 95 is
As shown in FIG. 12, the steering column 96a of the handle unit 96 for the operation of the caregiver S is attached. A handle arm 96b is fixed to the upper end of the steering column 96a, and the handle arm 96b is provided with a grip portion 96c having an accelerator switch 97 for controlling the vehicle speed. When both the handle units 14 and 96 are attached together and the accelerator switches 80 and 97 are simultaneously operated, either one of the handle units is prioritized, or one of the handle units 14 and 96 is operated. If the circuit configuration is such that the vehicle cannot run unless it is removed, inconvenience in operation can be avoided.

Further, in FIG. 2, a reference numeral 98 located near the rear steering column mounting portion 95 is an alarm device. The alarm device 98 is connected to the controller 19 and is configured to emit a warning sound when alerting the passenger P.

The controller 19 for controlling the automatic traveling device 2 is constructed as shown in FIG. In FIG. 13, 101 is a main relay and 102 is an automatic traveling device 2.
Is a power supply circuit that supplies power to the electrical components of. The main relay 101 is interposed between the power supply circuit 102 and the battery 18. 103 indicates that the main relay 101 is ON or O
It is a semiconductor switch for FF. This semiconductor switch 103 is a CPU to be described later via a drive circuit 104.
The main relay 101 is connected to the CPU 105 and is switched between the ON state and the OFF state based on a signal from the CPU 105.

Reference numeral 106 denotes an alarm device driving circuit for operating the alarm device 98. The alarm device driving circuit 106 is supplied with power from the main relay 101 and operates the alarm device 98 for a certain period of time based on a control signal input from the CPU 105. It is configured to be in the ON state. The alarm drive circuit 106 is configured to activate the alarm 98 when an overcurrent flows through the motor 21 and when the battery voltage drops below a set value. Reference numeral 107 denotes a motor drive circuit for rotating the motor 21 of the power unit 13. This motor drive circuit 107 is also supplied with power from the main relay 101, and based on a control signal input from the CPU 105, ON / OFF and forward rotation of the motor 21. -It is configured to switch between reverse rotation.

The CPU 105 turns on / off the main switch.
FF determination processing unit 108 and main relay processing unit 109
And a forward / backward movement determination processing unit 110 and a forward / backward movement switching unit 111.
A speed (high / low) determination processing unit 112, an accelerator opening determination processing unit 113, and a steering wheel turning angle determination processing unit 114.
And a speed instruction unit 115. The main switch ON / OFF determination processing unit 108 is connected to the main switch 77 via an interface circuit. Then, the operating state of the main switch 77 is detected, a main switch ON signal is output to the main relay processing unit 109 when the main switch 77 is in the ON state, and the main switch OF is in the OFF state.
While outputting the F signal to the main relay processing unit 109,
It is configured to output a stop signal to a speed instruction unit 115 described later. Further, the main switch ON / OFF determination processing unit 108 outputs the main switch OFF signal and the stop signal to the main relay processing unit 109 and the speed instruction unit 11 even when the lead wire shown by the thick line in FIG. 13 is broken.
It is also configured to output to 5.

Further, this main switch is turned on / off
The judgment processing unit 108 turns on the main switch 77 while the vehicle is running.
When the FF operation is performed or the lead wire is broken, the alarm drive circuit 106 is controlled so that the alarm 98 operates.

The main relay processing section 109 is constructed so as to control the semiconductor switch drive circuit 104 so that the main relay 101 is turned on when the main switch ON signal is input. Therefore, when the main switch 77 is turned on, the automatic traveling device 2 is ready to travel. Further, when the main switch OFF signal is input from the main switch ON / OFF determination processing unit 108, the main relay processing unit 109 maintains the ON state before that for a predetermined stop time t, and then the drive circuit 104 is turned on. The main relay 101 is controlled so as to be turned off.

The forward / backward traveling determination processing section 110 is connected to the forward / backward traveling changeover switch 78 through an interface circuit. Then, the forward / reverse traveling determination processing unit 110 determines whether the forward / reverse traveling changeover switch 78 is switched to the forward traveling side or the backward traveling side, and outputs a forward traveling signal or a backward traveling signal to the forward traveling traveling switching unit 111. Is configured to. Further, when the forward / reverse switching switch 78 is switched from the forward drive state to the reverse drive state or from the reverse drive state to the forward drive state, a reverse drive switching signal is output to the speed instruction unit 115. The forward / reverse selector switch 7
The structure of 8 is switched to the forward drive side in the OFF state and switched to the reverse drive side in the ON state.

The forward / reverse switching unit 111 is configured to control the motor drive circuit 107 so that the motor 21 rotates normally when a forward signal is input from the forward / backward determination processing unit 110. Further, when the reverse signal is input, the motor drive circuit 107 is controlled so that the motor 21 rotates in the reverse direction.

The speed (high / low) determination processing section 112 is connected to the high / low speed changeover switch 7 via an interface circuit.
9 is connected. Then, it is determined whether the high / low speed selector switch 79 is switched to the high speed side or the low speed side, and when it is switched to the high speed side, a high speed instruction signal is output to the speed instruction unit 115, When it is switched to the low speed side, the low speed instruction signal is output to the speed instruction unit 115. In the following, a state where a high speed instruction signal is input to the speed instruction unit 115 is referred to as a high speed traveling possible state, and a state where a low speed instruction signal is input is referred to as a low speed traveling possible state.

Further, when the high / low speed changeover switch 79 is changed over from the high speed side to the low speed side or from the low speed side to the high speed side, the speed (high / low) determination processing section 112 gives a speed changeover signal to the speed instruction. It is output to the unit 115. This speed switching signal can distinguish when the speed is switched to the low speed side and when it is switched to the high speed side. In addition,
The high / low speed changeover switch 79 has a structure in which it is switched to the low speed side in the OFF state and is switched to the high speed side in the ON state.

The accelerator opening determination processing unit 113 uses the accelerator switches 80 and 97 via an interface circuit.
It is connected to the. The accelerator opening determination processing unit 113 is connected to the accelerator switch 97 when the caregiver handle unit 96 is attached. The accelerator opening determination processing unit 113 is configured to detect the accelerator opening of the accelerator switches 80 and 97 and output an accelerator signal corresponding to the detected accelerator opening to the speed instruction unit 115. Further, when the speed at which the accelerator opening changes exceeds the set speed, such as when the accelerator switch 97 is quickly operated, the accelerator opening determination processing unit 113 sends an accelerator sudden change signal to the speed instruction unit 1.
Output to 15. The accelerator sudden change signal can be distinguished when the accelerator opening becomes small and when it becomes large.

The steering wheel turning angle determination processing unit 114 is connected to the steering wheel turning angle sensor 74 via an interface circuit. And the steering wheel turning angle sensor 74 is O
Whether it is in the N state (the steering wheel turning angle is small), OF
It is determined whether or not the vehicle is in the F state (state where the steering wheel turning angle is large), and when the ON state is turned to the OFF state, a turning signal is output to the speed instruction unit 115 and the OFF state is set to
It is configured to output a straight-ahead signal to the speed instruction unit 115 when the N state is reached.

The speed instructing unit 115 is based on the signals input from the above-mentioned respective judgment processing units, and the motor drive circuit 107
Is configured to control. More specifically,
The speed instruction unit 115 has a main switch ON / OFF.
When a stop signal is input from the determination processing unit 108, the motor drive circuit 107 is controlled so that the rotation speed of the motor 21 is gradually reduced and finally becomes zero, and a set speed mode and a smooth acceleration are described later. Either one of the mode and the smooth deceleration mode is selected and controlled according to the operating state of the switches. The main relay processing unit 109 described above is taken into consideration in consideration of the time required from the input of the stop signal to the stop of the motor 21.
The stop time t at is set.

That is, when the main switch 77 is turned off during traveling, the motor 21 is stopped so that its rotation speed gradually decreases regardless of the traveling state, and after the motor is stopped, the main relay 101 is stopped. Turns off. The same applies when the lead wire shown by the thick line in FIG. 13 is broken.

The three modes will be described below. In the set speed mode, the rotation direction of the motor 21 is determined by the forward movement signal and the reverse movement signal input from the forward / backward movement determination processing unit 110, and the maximum rotation speed (running speed) of the motor 21 when the accelerator is fully opened is set to the speed (high / low ) Judgment processing unit 11
The motor drive circuit 107 is set based on the accelerator signal input from the accelerator opening degree determination processing unit 113 based on the high speed instruction signal or the low speed instruction signal input from the controller 2.

That is, in this set speed mode, the automatic traveling device 2 travels in accordance with the operation of the forward / reverse selector switch 78, the high / low speed selector switch 79 and the accelerator switch 80. The maximum speed when the high / low speed changeover switch 79 is switched to the high speed side (high-speed traveling possible state) during forward movement is set to about 4 km / h, and when the speed is changed to the low speed side (low-speed traveling possible state). Maximum speed is about 2
It is set to Km / h. Further, the maximum speed during reverse travel is set to a constant low speed regardless of the switching position of the high / low speed changeover switch 79. This speed is set so as to be slower than the maximum speed in the low speed traveling state during forward movement.

Further, in this set speed mode, the steering wheel turning angle determination processing unit 114 is provided when the vehicle is in a high-speed running state.
When a turning signal is input from, the traveling speed is about 2 km /
It is set to decelerate to h.

The smooth speed-up mode is set so that the rotational speed of the motor 21 is gradually increased to smoothly increase the running speed. When switching to this smooth acceleration mode,
There are the following four cases. (1) When a forward / reverse switching signal is input from the forward / backward traveling determination processing unit 110 and the rotation speed of the motor 21 increases after the rotation direction of the motor 21 changes. When the forward / reverse switching signal is input, the speed instruction unit 115 controls the motor drive circuit 107 so that the motor 21 rotates in the reverse direction. At this time, the motor speed is reduced in a smooth deceleration mode described later, the motor 21 is stopped thereafter, and after the motor is stopped, the motor 21 is rotated in the opposite direction to that before. That is, in this smooth speed-up mode, the rotation of the motor is smoothly increased after stopping. (2) When a speed switching signal is input from the speed (high / low) determination processing unit 112, and the low-speed running state shifts to the high-speed running state. (3) When an accelerator sudden change signal is input from the accelerator opening determination processing unit 113 and the accelerator opening becomes large. The traveling speed in this case is smoothly increased until the speed corresponding to the accelerator opening at that time is reached. (4) When the signal input from the steering wheel turning angle determination processing unit 114 changes from the turning signal to the straight traveling signal in the high-speed traveling state, the traveling speed corresponding to the accelerator opening degree from the traveling speed at that time. If is high. The traveling speed in this case is also smoothly increased until the speed corresponding to the accelerator opening at that time is reached.

In the smooth deceleration mode, the rotational speed of the motor 21 is gradually reduced to set the traveling speed smoothly. There are the following four cases when switching to the smooth deceleration mode. (1) When a forward / reverse switching signal is input from the forward / reverse determination processing unit 110. (2) When a speed switching signal is input from the speed (high / low) determination processing unit 112, and the high-speed running state is changed to the low-speed running state. (3) When the accelerator opening change signal is input from the accelerator opening determination processing unit 113 and the accelerator opening becomes small. (4) In the case where the signal input from the steering wheel turning angle determination processing unit 114 changes from the straight-ahead signal to the turning signal in the high-speed traveling state. The traveling speed in this case is smoothly decelerated until it reaches a predetermined low speed (the maximum speed in the low speed traveling state), and is maintained at that low speed until the steering angle is reduced and a straight ahead signal is input. . Even in the smooth deceleration mode, the speed is reduced relatively quickly when the high speed running state is changed to the low speed running state or when the steering wheel is turned largely.

Next, the operation of the wheelchair automatic traveling device 2 according to the present invention will be described. Wheelchair 1 with automatic traveling device 2
First, the handle unit 14, 96
It is placed behind the wheelchair 1 in a state where the wheelchair is removed. At this time, the traveling wheel 20 and the auxiliary wheel 91 are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. Further, the lock release mechanism 33 releases the engaged state of the rod 30. That is, the power unit 13 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 8 about the pin 29.

Next, the wheelchair 1 is moved backward and the automatic traveling device 2 is inserted below the wheelchair 1 as shown in FIG. 8, and the main wheels 6 of the wheelchair 1 are braked (not shown). At this time, the locking arm 87 of the rear locking means 16 is placed on the rail 10 of the wheelchair 1, and the swinging end of the locking arm 87 is placed on the vertical frame 3.
Abut. With this configuration, the steering column mounting portion 55 is located on the front end side of the wheelchair 1, so that the steering column mounting portion 55 is mounted with the handle unit 14.

After mounting the handle unit 14, the main switch 77 is turned on while the forward / reverse selector switch 78 is switched to the forward side, and the accelerator switch 80 is subsequently operated. By doing so, the motor 21 is activated, and the automatic traveling device 2 is moved forward while the wheelchair 1 is stopped, so that the rear side locking means 15 is locked. As a result, when the forward movement of the automatic traveling device 2 is restricted, the traveling wheels 20 roll on the road surface E, and the power unit 13 causes the motor 2 to move.
The rotation torque of 1 causes the pin 29 to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. Then, the front portion of the automatic traveling device 2 moves upward, the pin 82 of the front side locking means 15 is engaged with the engagement recess 81b of the locking plate 81, and the traveling state as shown in FIG. 1 is achieved. .

The traveling by the automatic traveling device 2 is performed by operating various switches provided on the handle unit 14. For example, when traveling straight ahead at the maximum speed, the forward / reverse selector switch 78 is kept at the forward side and
The low speed changeover switch 79 is set to the high speed running state, the handle arm 53 is set to the straight traveling state, and the accelerator switch 80
Can be fully opened. The operation of the automatic traveling device 2 during traveling will be described below with reference to FIGS. 14 to 19.

As described above, when the handle arm 53 is largely rotated in order to turn while the vehicle is moving forward at the maximum speed, the handle angle sensor 74 is turned off as shown by A in FIG. As shown by, the traveling speed smoothly decreases to a preset speed. The traveling speed is maintained at a constant speed until the steering wheel arm 53 is returned and the steering wheel turning angle sensor 74 is turned on.
After entering the state, as shown in C, the speed increases until the speed corresponding to the throttle opening (full open) at that time is reached. The operation of the controller 19 at this time is shown in FIG.

That is, the smooth speed control based on the steering wheel turning angle is performed during high-speed traveling as shown in step S ₁ in FIG. 15, and the steering wheel turning angle determination processing unit 114 turns the vehicle as shown in step S _2. By inputting a signal or a straight-ahead signal to the speed instruction unit 115 of the controller 19, smooth deceleration / smooth acceleration control is performed as shown in step S ₃ .

After returning to the straight traveling state as described above, when the accelerator switch 80 is quickly brought into the fully closed state as shown by D in FIG. 14, the traveling speed smoothly decreases as shown by E, and eventually. It becomes zero. Accelerator switch 8
When 0 is the accelerator fully closed state, the stopped state is maintained. After that, when the accelerator switch 80 is quickly brought into the fully open state as shown by F, the traveling speed smoothly rises as shown by G. Controller 19 at this time
The operation of is shown in FIG.

The speed smoothing control based on the accelerator opening is performed during running or stop as shown in step S ₁ in FIG. 16, and the accelerator opening change processing unit 113 makes a rapid accelerator change as shown in step S _2. By inputting the signal to the speed instruction unit 115, smooth deceleration / smooth acceleration control is performed as shown in step S ₃ .

When the vehicle is running with the accelerator fully open, the accelerator switch 80 is returned and stopped at a relatively slow throttle opening / closing speed, as indicated by H in FIG. 14, and then the fully open state is achieved at the same slow speed as described above. In this manner, the traveling speed changes so as to substantially correspond to the accelerator switch operation, as indicated by I.

When the high speed / low speed changeover switch 79 is switched to the low speed side as shown by J in FIG. 14 when the vehicle is traveling with the accelerator fully opened in the high speed traveling state as described above, the traveling speed is K. As shown by, the vehicle speed is smoothly reduced to the maximum speed (about 2 km / h) in the low speed traveling state.
At this time, the speed is reduced relatively quickly. When the accelerator switch 80 is operated relatively slow as indicated by L during this low speed traveling, the traveling speed changes according to the accelerator opening degree as indicated by M. Then, the high / low speed changeover switch 79
Is switched to the high speed side, the running speed smoothly rises to the maximum speed in the high speed running state as indicated by N. The operation of the controller 19 when the high / low speed changeover switch 79 is operated will be described with reference to FIG.

The set speed smooth switching control is performed during traveling on the accelerator high speed side as shown in step S ₁ in FIG. 17, and is performed from the speed (high / low) determination processing section 112 as shown in step S _2. By inputting the speed switching signal to the speed instruction unit 115, smooth deceleration / smooth acceleration control is performed as shown in step S ₃ .

Further, if the forward / reverse selector switch 78 is switched to the reverse side as indicated by O in FIG. 14 when the accelerator is fully opened and the vehicle is moving forward at a high speed, the traveling speed in the forward state is indicated by P. It drops smoothly and eventually becomes zero. Then, the vehicle is in a reverse drive state, and the reverse drive speed smoothly rises to the maximum speed during reverse drive. At this time, the speed increases to the maximum speed during reverse travel because the accelerator opening is fully opened as indicated by Q at this time. The maximum speed during reverse travel is slower than the maximum speed when traveling at low speed during forward travel. When the reverse operation is performed, the accelerator switch 80 is fully closed and then rapidly opened again as shown by R, and the traveling speed smoothly decreases and does not follow the accelerator operation speed, as shown by S, and becomes zero. Will rise later. Then, the forward / reverse selector switch 7
When 8 is switched to the high speed side, the traveling speed smoothly rises to the maximum speed as indicated by T. The operation of the controller 19 when the forward / reverse selector switch 78 is operated will be described with reference to FIG.

The traveling direction smooth switching control is carried out during traveling as shown in step S ₁ in FIG. 18, and as shown in step S ₂ , the forward / backward traveling switching signal is sent from the forward / backward traveling determination processing portion 110 to the speed instruction portion 115. By inputting to, the control is performed such that the smooth deceleration is performed and then the smooth acceleration is performed in the opposite direction as shown in step S ₃ .

If the main switch 77 is turned off as indicated by U in FIG. 14 or the lead wire shown by the thick line in FIG. 13 is broken while traveling with the accelerator fully opened, the vehicle travels. The speed drops smoothly as indicated by V and eventually reaches zero. Then, after the stop time t determined in consideration of the time required for the stop elapses, W
As indicated by, the main relay processing unit 109 turns off the main relay 101.

The operation of the controller 19 when the main switch 77 is turned off during traveling will be described with reference to FIG. The smooth stop control when the main switch 77 is turned off is performed during traveling as shown in step S ₁ in FIG. 19, and the stop signal from the main switch ON / OFF determination processing part 108 is shown as shown in step S _2. Is input to the speed instruction unit 115, control is performed to smoothly decelerate and then stop as shown in step S ₃ . In step S ₂ , the main switch is turned off.
The signal is output to the main relay processing unit 109.

Then, as shown in step S ₄ , the main relay processing unit 109 waits until the stop time t elapses from the time of inputting the main switch OFF signal, and then the stop time t
After the passage of, the main relay 101 is turned off as shown in step S ₅ .

Therefore, in the wheelchair automatic traveling apparatus 2 according to the present invention, when the main switch 77 is turned off during traveling, the motor 21 is gradually reduced in speed and stopped, so that the traveling speed of the wheelchair 1 is reduced. It gradually becomes late and stops.

[0077]

As described above, in the wheelchair automatic traveling apparatus according to the present invention, the drive source motor is connected to the traveling wheels via the worm gear type speed reducer, and is connected to the main switch via the control device. When the main switch is turned off while the vehicle is running, since the connection is made and the control device is configured to stop the motor by gradually reducing the rotational speed of the motor when the main switch is turned off while the vehicle is running,
The wheelchair stops at a slower running speed.

Therefore, when using a small motor from the viewpoint of space saving, even if a worm gear type speed reducer with a large reduction ratio is used in order to obtain a large thrust even with a small motor, the motor is still running. The wheelchair can be smoothly stopped when the main switch is turned off.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a wheelchair equipped with an automatic traveling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an automatic traveling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the automatic traveling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a steering column section.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of the steering column portion and the power unit pivot portion in FIG.

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

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the power unit, which is shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a part of the automatic traveling device in a cutaway manner,
The figure shows a state immediately before being mounted on a wheelchair.

9 is a view on arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a cutaway part of a mounting portion of the handle unit.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged side view showing a grip portion of the handle unit.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state in which a handle unit for a caregiver is attached to the automatic traveling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device used in the automatic traveling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a graph for explaining the operation of the control device.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a procedure for controlling a traveling speed according to a steering wheel turning angle.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a procedure for controlling a traveling speed according to an accelerator opening / closing speed.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a procedure for controlling the traveling speed according to a change in the set traveling speed.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a procedure for controlling the traveling speed in accordance with the change of the forward / reverse changeover switch.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a procedure for controlling a traveling speed according to an OFF operation of a main switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Wheelchair 2 Automatic traveling device 13 Power unit 14 Handle unit 19 Controller 20 Traveling wheel 21 Motor 43 Worm gear reducer 77 Main switch 101 Main relay 105 CPU 108 Main switch ON / OFF judgment processing unit 109 Main relay processing unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic traveling device for a wheelchair that drives a wheelchair with a motor, wherein the motor is connected to a traveling wheel via a worm gear type speed reducer and connected to a main switch via a control device. Control device,
An automatic traveling device for a wheelchair characterized in that when the main switch is turned off during traveling, the motor is configured to gradually reduce its rotational speed and stop.