JPH0775219A - Motor-driven vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a motor-driven vehicle which has a motor mechanism including a battery and can be used for easily modifying a conventional hand drive wheelchair. CONSTITUTION:A drive section 40 operated by a battery 43 is built in a wheel 21 for a motor-driven vehicle to be used as a traveling vehicle by the aged; the battery 43 is built in the wheel 21; a controller 44 for controlling the drive section 40 is also built in on the side of wheel 21 as required; in some case, the controller 44 is connected to a receiver unit 45 on the wheel side; and the receiver unit receives signals from a transmitter on the vehicle body side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric vehicle such as an electric wheelchair that is used by elderly people to move, and more particularly to an electric vehicle that can be easily improved from a conventional manual vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional example of this type of electric vehicle will be described with reference to the electric wheelchair shown in FIG. The electric wheelchair 1 has a vehicle body 2
It is composed of a wheel 3, 4, a motor 5, a controller 6, a battery 7 and the like. The vehicle body 2 is generally composed of a pipe frame, and is provided with a push handle 11 having a grip 10, a backrest 12, a seat 13, an elbow pad 14, a foot plate 15, two drive wheels 3 and two free wheels 4 and the like. Has been.

As the motor 5, a DC motor with a gear is generally used, and one motor is connected to one drive wheel 3 via a gear transmission mechanism. A clutch is attached to the motor 5 or the gear transmission mechanism, and when the clutch is disengaged, the drive wheels 3 become free. Then, the caregiver standing behind the electric wheelchair 1 grips the grip 10 of the push handle 11,
The electric wheelchair 1 can be moved forward or backward.

A joystick lever 16 for control, a power switch, a battery meter and the like are attached to the control device 6. The joystick lever 16
Direction control is performed according to the tilted direction of the lever 16, and the lever 1
The speed is controlled at the tilted angle of 6. Therefore, the tilted angle of the lever 16 is electronically detected, and the rotation speed of the motor 5 is changed accordingly. Further, as the battery 7, a lead acid battery for an automobile is generally used. As disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-172826, it is known that a coil of a motor is attached to a fixed axle side, a magnet for the coil is attached to a movable rotating body side, and the motor is provided on a wheel side. However, the battery is provided on the vehicle body side.

The above-mentioned electric wheelchair is either propelled electrically or manually pushed with the clutch of the drive wheels 3 disengaged. However, if the occupant's upper body is healthy, there are manual wheelchairs that can be driven by themselves without relying on electric power. Such a manual wheelchair is shown in FIG.
explain.

In FIG. 13, the drive wheels 17 are 22, 24.
The one with a large diameter of inch is used.
The control unit, battery and joystick lever are not provided. Further, a hand rim 18 formed by forming a round pipe into a ring shape having a diameter slightly smaller than that of the drive wheel 17 is attached to the outside of the drive wheel 17 via an attachment portion (not shown). A person in a wheelchair grips the hand rim 18 with his / her hand and drives the wheel 1.
7 is turned to give an operation force for moving the vehicle forward or backward.

[0007]

By the way, in the wheelchair as described above, generally, a person whose upper body strength is maintained uses a manual type wheelchair so that not only the lower body such as an old person but also the upper body strength can be improved. People who have declined use electric wheelchairs. However, when a person using the above manual wheelchair feels the weakness of the upper body and tries to switch to an electric wheelchair, the configuration is completely different between the manual wheelchair and the electric wheelchair. Therefore, it was necessary to abandon the manual wheelchair used up to now and prepare a new electric wheelchair.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle in which the existing manual type vehicle can be converted into an electric propulsion vehicle even in the case as described above.

[0009]

An electric vehicle that achieves the above object is an electric vehicle in which a drive unit driven by a battery is incorporated in a wheel and is used by an aged person or the like to move.
Incorporating the battery in the wheel, further incorporating a control unit for controlling the drive unit on the wheel side, if necessary,
In some cases, the control unit is connected to the receiving device on the wheel side, and the receiving device wirelessly receives a signal from the transmitting device on the vehicle body side.

[0010]

By incorporating not only the drive unit but also the battery in the wheel, and further incorporating the control unit for the drive unit and the wireless communication receiving unit for the control unit, if necessary, most of the electric mechanism for driving is in the wheel. It is stored. All that is required is to add a small box on the vehicle body side, such as a transmitter to a receiver.

Particularly, as the transmitting / receiving device, two or more light receiving elements are arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of a predetermined distance from the axle on the inner surface of the wheel, and one or more light waves are transmitted toward the light receiving element on the vehicle body side. The light emitting element is arranged, and the interval between the adjacent light receiving elements is always one or more in the detectable range determined by the diffusion angle of the light wave, the light wave intensity detectable by the light receiving element and the orbital circumference of the light receiving element. If the setting is made, communication between the rotating wheel and the stationary vehicle body can be easily performed despite the light wave having a narrow detectable range.

Further, the drive unit comprises a large gear fixed to an axle fixed to the vehicle body, two or more small gears rolling around the large gear, and a motor having the small gear fitted on the shaft.
Assuming that the motor is attached to the rotating portion rotatably supported with respect to the axle in a circumferentially even distribution position, and the battery is incorporated in the rotating portion at the circumferentially even distribution position between the motors.
Wheels are well balanced and driving is smooth.

Further, the drive unit comprises a magnet body fixed to an axle fixed to the vehicle body and a coil located around the magnet body, and the coil is rotatably supported on the axle. Similarly, even if the battery is mounted on the outer periphery of the coil and the battery is further provided on the outer periphery of the coil, the wheels are well balanced and the running becomes smooth.

When the wheel is used for a wheelchair, the wheel may be manually propelled by providing a hand rim for the user to propel the vehicle by himself / herself.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of the electric vehicle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the electric vehicle of the present invention with a wheel cover removed, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 2, and FIG. It is a rear view in the state where the cover was attached. Note that, in FIG. 1, portions having the same operations as those in FIGS. 12 and 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, an electric vehicle 71 of the present invention is mainly different from that of FIGS. 12 and 13 in that a drive wheel (rotating portion) 33 has a wheel drive motor, a battery and the like which will be described later inside. Both side surfaces are covered with covers 82 and 82 ', and the left and right operation force detection units 72 and 73 are provided on the grip portion of the hand push handle, and the operation force detection units 72 and 73 are provided on the front portion on the vehicle body side. The point is that a conversion unit 76 that converts the signal of 1 to the drive signal of the motor is provided.

2 and 3, the wheel 21 comprises an axle 31 fixed to the vehicle body 2 with nuts and the like, and a rotating portion 33 rotatably supported on the axle 31 via a bearing 32. There is. The rotating portion 33 includes a frame 90, tires 37, and a hand rim 18. The frame 90 includes a hub portion 34 in which the bearing 32 is fitted, a spoke portion 35 radially extending from the hub portion 34, and a rim portion 36 formed at the tip of the spoke portion 35. The rim portion 36 is provided with the tire 37. Is held.

As shown in FIG. 3, the fixed axle 31 is provided.
A large gear 38 is fitted in and fixed to the motor 40, and a motor 40 is incorporated in the movable rotary unit 33 via a reinforcing panel 39.
A small gear 42 is press-fitted into the output shaft 41 of the motor 40, and the small gear 42 is positioned around and meshes with the large gear 38. That is, when the motor 40 is rotationally driven, the small gear 42 rolls around the large gear 38, and the rotating portion 33 is rotationally driven with respect to the fixed axle 31.

This motor 40 has two components as shown in FIG.
Individually incorporated, they are arranged on concentric circles equally divided by 180 ° of the circular rotating portion 33. This motor 40 is a reinforcement panel 3
The reinforcing panel 39 is attached to the frame 9 with screws 79 or the like, and the reinforcing panel 39 is fixed to the frame 90 with a fixture 80. 2 motors 4
Two batteries 43, 4 are arranged on a concentric circle of 180 ° equidistant part of the rotating part 33, which is a part of the remaining space in which 0, 40 are arranged.
3 is incorporated in the frame 90 via a reinforcing member 81 by a mounting bracket (not shown). Motor 4
By arranging the batteries 0, 40 and the batteries 43, 43, the balance of the wheels 21 is maintained.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 44 including the receiving circuit 84 and the drive unit 77 are attached to the last remaining portion of the rotating unit 33 where the motors 40, 40 and the batteries 43, 43 are arranged. There is.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotating portion 33
The light receiving elements T1 to T8 connected to the receiving circuit are arranged at equal intervals along the edge 93 of the inner diameter of the inner cover 82 ', and the light emitting elements are arranged at predetermined positions in the outer diameter direction of the inner diameter edge. D1 and D2 are attached to the vehicle body frame 84 via the mounting member 85.
Is attached to. Therefore, the light receiving elements T1 to T8 are configured to receive a control-related signal by infrared rays described later from the light projecting elements D1 and D2 on the vehicle body 2 side while rotating with the rotation of the wheels 21.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electric vehicle in which the above-mentioned wheels 21 are attached to the left and right of the vehicle body 2. On the wheel 21 side, the reception unit 45, the control unit 44, the drive unit 77, the motor 40.
And a battery 43. The receiving section is composed of the above-mentioned light receiving element, the control section 44 is composed of a receiving circuit connected to the light receiving element and a control circuit for speed control, and the driving section 77 is composed of a driving circuit for driving the motor 40. Is configured to supply necessary power to the control unit 44 and the receiving unit 45. On the side of the vehicle body 2, the left and right operation force detection units 72 and 73 provided on the grip portion of the push handle, the CPU that converts the operation force detection signals into control signals, and the transmission circuit connected to the light projecting element (Fig. (Not shown), etc.
The transmission unit 46 including a light projecting element for transmitting the control signal to the reception unit 45 is provided. In addition, the operating force detection unit 7
The reference numerals 2 and 73 may be, for example, Joystick, which emits signals corresponding to the traveling direction and the traveling speed depending on the inverted direction and the inverted angle of the inverted lever. Further, the transmission unit 46 may be one in which a wireless transmission circuit is incorporated, for example.

As shown in FIG. 6, the transmitter 46 is LE
Two light receiving elements D1 and D composed of light emitting diodes such as D
2, the light projecting elements D1 and D2 are connected in parallel to the transmitting circuit 83. The receiving section 45 is composed of eight light receiving elements T1 to T8 made of phototransistors, and the light receiving elements T1 to T8 are connected in parallel to the receiving circuit 84. Therefore, the infrared light carrying the control signal from the transmitting circuit 83 is transmitted from the light projecting elements D1 and D2, and the light receiving elements T1 to T8 detect this and send it to the receiving circuit 84.

As shown in FIG. 7, the light receiving element T1
The interval P2 between T8 and T8 is the diffusion angles θ1 and θ2 of infrared rays diffused from the light projecting elements D1 and D2 and the light receiving element T.
Infrared intensity (sensitivity) 91, 92 of 1 to T8 that can be detected
And one or more light receiving elements T1 to T8 are always present in the detectable range R of the light receiving elements T1 to T8 that is determined by the trajectory of the light receiving elements T1 to T8 (inner diameter edge portion 93 of the inner cover). Specifically, the light receiving elements T1 to T8
The ratio of the distance P2 between the light emitting elements D1 and D2 is P2.
It is preferable that /P1=1.5 to 0.5.

Therefore, in FIG. 7, when the wheel rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the receiving current I flowing in the receiving circuit 84 in FIG. 6 is, as shown in FIG. The detection currents I1 to I8 of T8 to T8 are superposed, and the reception current I always flows although there is some pulsation. Note that this pulsation becomes smaller as the ratio P2 / P1 between the above-described light receiving element interval P2 and the light projecting element interval P1 becomes smaller, which is preferable, but it is appropriately set in consideration of cost.

Next, the operation of the above-described electric vehicle will be described below. For example, when an attempt is made to move straight, the left and right operation force detection units 72 and 73 of the hand-pushed handle in FIG. 1 detect the same operation force, and the conversion unit 76 outputs a control signal for straight movement to the transmission unit 46 in FIG. A control signal is transmitted from the transmission unit 46 to the reception unit 45, and the control unit 44 uses the power source of the battery 43 to cause the motor 40 to generate a driving force according to the degree of the straight-ahead signal. When the drive shaft 41 of the motor 40 rotates, the small gear 42 rolls around the fixed large gear 38, and the wheels 21 move to the motor 40.
The car body 2 runs with the rotation. Further, when a bending attempt is made in either direction, the operation force detection unit 72 or 73 on the opposite side of the bending direction detects a larger operation force, and the conversion unit 76 responds to the degree of the bending. A control signal is output, and the control unit for the left and right wheels causes the motor 40 to generate a driving force corresponding to the control signal for bending, so that the electric wheel bends in the direction in which it is about to be bent.

On the side of the vehicle body 2, the left and right operating force detection units 7 are provided.
2, 73, the conversion unit 76, and the transmission unit 46 composed of the issuing diode need only be attached. Therefore, even a manual wheelchair as shown in FIG. 13 can be modified into an electric vehicle simply by exchanging the wheels and adding an operation unit and a transmission unit to the vehicle body. Further, in this case, if the wheels of the electric wheelchair are enlarged, a space for incorporating the battery can be secured, and the capacity can be increased.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of another wheel 22. The difference from FIG. 3 is that the strain gauge 52 is attached to the attachment bar 50 attached to the rim 36 of the frame 90. This wheel 22 is normally the hand rim 18
It is driven manually, but for example, electric drive is used to compensate for the shortage caused by manual driving on a slope or the like. The strain gauge 52 detects a manual driving force applied to the vehicle body 2 by the hand rim 18, and an electric signal corresponding to the manual driving force is generated by the control unit 53. That is, the manual driving force is applied to the wheel 2 via the hand rim 18 and the mounting bar 50.
2 is transmitted. Therefore, the mounting bar 50 receives a bending load in the rotation direction, and the strain gauge 52 receives a manual driving force for advancing or retracting and a compressing force or a pulling force corresponding to the driving direction. When the manual driving force exceeds a certain level, the electric mechanism operates to generate the electric driving force corresponding to the magnitude of the manual driving force. If the electric mechanism is not activated unless the manual driving force exceeds a certain level, the electric mechanism can be used as an auxiliary for the manual driving, and the battery 5
There is no need to make 4 so large. In this case, the operation unit of the electric mechanism may be only a switch as to whether or not the electric assist is used, and it can be provided on the wheel 22 side without providing it on the vehicle body 2 side, and all electric mechanisms are mounted on the wheel 22 side. You can also

10 and 11 are a rear view and a side sectional view showing still another wheel 23. As shown in FIG. The difference from FIGS. 2 and 3 is the type of motor. A permanent magnet 61, which constitutes a part of a motor, is fixedly mounted on the axle 31, and a motor housing 6 having a coil 63 built therein is mounted on the axle 31 via a bearing 62.
4 is rotatably supported. Spokes 65 are stretched between the motor housing 64 and the rim 36. Then, batteries 67 are arranged on the outer circumference of the motor housing 64 and inside the spokes 65 at equal circumferential positions. Reference numeral 68 is a control unit, 69 is a receiving unit, and 70 is a transmitting unit. Thus, if the motor is integrally formed with the axle, the space for accommodating the battery 67 can be widened. Further, since the battery 67 is in the wheel 23, the battery 67
The coil 63, which receives the power supply from the inside, is housed in the rotating portion of the wheel 23, and the power wiring between the rotating portion and the fixed portion is omitted.

[0030]

The electric vehicle of the present invention incorporates a battery into the wheels in addition to the drive unit, and further incorporates a control unit for the drive unit and a wireless wireless reception unit for the control unit to drive the vehicle. Since most of the electric mechanisms are housed compactly in the wheels, the vehicle body can be kept in a clear and free form. Therefore, even a conventional manual wheelchair can be remodeled into an electric wheelchair by simply replacing the wheels and adding a small box such as a transmitter to a receiver on the vehicle body side.

Further, in particular, as the transmitting / receiving device, two or more light receiving elements are arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of a predetermined distance from the axle on the inner surface of the wheel, and a light wave which is diffused toward the light receiving element is sent to the vehicle body side. If one or more light emitting elements are arranged and the distance between the adjacent light receiving elements is set so that there is always one or more light receiving elements in the detectable range, light waves between the rotating wheel and the stationary vehicle body may be generated. Communication can be performed easily and reliably.

Further, the drive unit comprises a large gear fixed to an axle fixed to the vehicle body, two or more small gears rolling around the large gear, and a motor having the small gear fitted on the shaft.
Assuming that the motor is attached to the rotating portion rotatably supported with respect to the axle in a circumferentially even distribution position, and the battery is incorporated in the rotating portion at the circumferentially even distribution position between the motors.
The wheels are well balanced and the running can be smooth.

Further, the drive unit comprises a magnet body fixed to an axle fixed to the vehicle body and a coil positioned around the magnet body, and the coil is rotatably supported on the axle. Similarly, even if the battery is mounted on the outer periphery of the coil and the outer periphery of the coil is incorporated, the wheels can be balanced and the running can be smoothly performed. Moreover, the storage area of the battery in the outer peripheral portion of the wheel can be increased, and the battery capacity can be increased.

Further, when used in a wheelchair, if the hand rim is attached to the wheel, even if the drive unit is broken or the battery is exhausted, it can be manually propelled like a manual wheelchair. Further, since the motor and the battery are incorporated into the wheels, the vehicle body can be folded like the conventional manual wheelchair, and there is an advantage that the electric wheelchair can be easily transferred.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric vehicle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the electric vehicle of the present invention with the wheel cover removed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the electric wheel of the present invention with a cover attached.

FIG. 5 is a drive block diagram of the electric vehicle of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a transmitter and a receiver.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement state of a light projecting element and a light receiving element.

FIG. 8 is a reception current graph showing the operation of the reception unit.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of a wheel of another electric vehicle of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of wheels of still another electric vehicle of the present invention.

11 is a sectional view taken along line ZZ of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a conventional electric wheelchair.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a conventional manual wheelchair.

[Explanation of symbols]

 D1, D2 Light projecting element θ1, θ2 Diffusion angle R Detectable range T1 to T8 Light receiving element 21, 22, 23 Wheel 33 Rotating part 38 Large gear (driving part) 40 Motor (driving part) 42 Small gear (driving part) 43 Battery 44 Control unit 45 Receiver 61 Permanent magnet (magnet body) 63 Coil 67 Battery 91, 92 Detectable light wave intensity 93 Inner edge (circumference of predetermined distance)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An electric vehicle in which a driving unit driven by a battery is incorporated in a wheel and used by an elderly person or the like for traveling, wherein the battery is incorporated in the wheel. 2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a control unit that controls the drive unit is incorporated in the wheel. 3. The electric vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is connected to a receiving device on the wheel side, and the receiving device wirelessly receives a signal from a transmitting device on the vehicle body side. 4. The electric vehicle according to claim 3, wherein a light wave is used as a signal carrier, and the receiving device is two or more light receiving devices arranged at equal intervals on a circumference of a predetermined distance from an axle on the inner surface of the wheel. The transmitting device has one or more light projecting elements that are arranged on the vehicle body side and that send out a light wave that is diffused toward the light receiving element, and the distance between the adjacent light receiving elements is the light wave of the light projecting element. Is set so that one or more light-receiving elements are always present in the detectable range determined by the diffusion angle and the detectable light wave intensity of the light-receiving element. 5. The drive unit includes a large gear fixed to an axle fixed to a vehicle body, two or more small gears rolling around the large gear, and a motor having the small gear fitted on the shaft. ,
5. The motor according to claim 1, wherein the motor is attached to a rotating portion rotatably supported with respect to an axle at a circumferentially evenly distributed position, and the battery is incorporated in the rotating portion at the circumferentially evenly distributed position between the motors. Electric vehicle. 6. The drive unit includes a magnet body fixed to an axle fixed to a vehicle body, and a coil positioned around the magnet body, and the coil is rotatably supported with respect to the axle. The electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the electric vehicle is mounted on a rotating portion and further includes the battery on the outer periphery of the coil. 7. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the wheel is used for a wheelchair, and the wheel is provided with a hand rim for a user to propel the vehicle by himself / herself.