JPH08182706A - Wheel chair - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce labor for moving the wheel chair straight by providing a pulley with a control wire to turn a screw shaft by a pulling force thereof and moreover a control roller to adjust the pulling force of the control wire. CONSTITUTION: When a slide part of a controller is slid in one direction to pull an inner wire 33, a pulley 26 is turned in one way to rotate a screw shaft 25 in the same way. Moreover, a thread shaft 28 screwed into a female thread groove 23 of the internal surface of the screw shaft moves in one way in the direction of cutting the thread of the female thread groove 23 and a stem 15 is inclined with a shaft 17 as fulcrum so that a caster wheel 13 is inclined horizontally in one way in the direction where a large wheel moves accordingly. When the slide part is slid in the opposite direction to pull the inner wire 33, the caster wheel 13 is inclined in the direction opposite to that in the previous action with respect to the direction where the large wheel moves. This enables the stem 15 of the caster wheel 13 to be fixed at a proper slope to the ongoing direction of the wheel chair.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, a manual wheelchair used by persons with lower limb disabilities. More specifically, the stem portion of a caster wheel is independent of the vehicle body in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the large wheels. The present invention relates to a wheelchair capable of maintaining straightness even when the straightness is impaired due to various reasons and helping a smooth curve in a curved portion by inclining.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wheelchair is an indispensable device for a person with a lower limb to act, but especially a manual wheelchair requires a considerable amount of labor for driving the wheelchair.

In a commonly used wheelchair, efforts have been made to reduce the weight of the vehicle body and reduce the running resistance in order to reduce this effort, but in actual driving, the vehicle body goes straight in the following cases. Sex is impaired.

First, the wheelchair moves straight due to the balance of the forces applied to the two large wheels, but it is very difficult to achieve this balance, and therefore the straightness of the vehicle body is impaired even on a flat road.

In addition, the normal road is a kamaboko type road or a single-flow type road for the purpose of improving drainage, and the laterally inclined surface existing on such a road is always placed on the lower side of the road surface due to gravity. As it is washed away, the straightness of the vehicle body is impaired.

Further, in practical use, the straightness of the vehicle body cannot be maintained even if slight deviations occur due to various causes.

As described above, the straightness of the wheelchair is impaired due to various causes, but it requires a considerable effort to move the wheelchair straight.

[0008]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional wheelchair has a structure in which the front pipe 1, the leg pipe 2, and the base pipe 3 that form the vehicle body are welded to the front pipe 1 and the stem portion 15 of the caster vehicle. Since it behaves integrally with the vehicle body and cannot be operated independently with respect to the vehicle body, considerable effort is required when attempting to move the vehicle body in which the straightness is impaired as described above.

Further, when a wheelchair is to be curved at a curved portion of a road, in the conventional wheelchair, one side brake must be applied at the curved portion to trigger a bend, which causes energy loss each time. There was inconvenience.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has a caster wheel at the front of the vehicle body,
Also, in a wheelchair in which large wheels are rotatably mounted on a pair of left and right back pipes, the stem portion of the caster wheel is pivoted at one end thereof on the front pipe so as to be tiltable in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the large wheels. And a screw shaft provided in the lateral direction of the vehicle body is rotatably attached to the other end of the stem portion, and a screw shaft having a female screw on the inner surface is fitted to the screw shaft. A wire take-up pulley is fixed to the screw shaft and rotatably attached to the front pipe.A control wire for rotating the screw shaft by pulling the pulley is installed, and a controller for adjusting the pull of the control wire is also installed. The purpose is to provide a wheelchair that has been made available.

The controller for adjusting the pulling of the control wire may be constituted by a slide portion which slides the guide pipe, or may be constituted by a rotary drum.

[0012]

That is, in the present invention, when the inner wire is pulled by the above means, the screw shaft rotates and the screw shaft screwed into the shaft moves left and right. This allows
The stem portion of the caster wheel is tilted in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the large wheels around a fulcrum provided in the lower part.

As described above, according to the present invention, the stem portion of the caster vehicle can be tilted in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle body independently of the vehicle body. The function of bending the advancing direction of the wheelchair occurs in the vertical direction, and the degree thereof is proportional to the angle at which the stem portion is tilted.

Therefore, in the case where the straightness of the vehicle body is impaired for various reasons as described above, if the stem portion of the caster vehicle is inclined at an appropriate angle in the direction opposite to the direction in which the vehicle body is easily bent, The vehicle body can be moved straight without requiring labor.

Further, in the conventional structure, the curve portion of the road is bent after the brake is applied, but in the present invention, if the stem portion of the caster vehicle is tilted in the desired direction,
You can smoothly cut a curve without applying a brake.

In this case, only the stem portion of one of the caster wheels may be tilted, but if the stem portions of both caster wheels are tilted in the same direction, the action is doubled. In this case, the inclinations of the stems of both caster wheels may be interlocked. .

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows a wheelchair according to the present invention, in which the body frame of the wheelchair includes a pair of front pipes 1, 1 and legs similar to a conventional wheelchair. The pipes 2, 2, the base pipes 3, 3 and the back pipes 4, 4 are connected by a cross rod 5, and a seat 6 is stretched between the front pipes 1, 1 and the back pipes 4, 4. , 4
A backrest portion 7 is provided therebetween, a leg rest 8 is provided between the leg pipes 2 and 2, and a footrest 9 is provided at the tip thereof.

A large wheel 11 having a hand rim 10 is rotatably supported below the back pipe 4, and a brake 12 for the large wheel 11 is provided at an appropriate position on the side of the vehicle body. A stem 15 is provided at the base end of the yoke 14 of 13 through a bearing. In addition, caster car 13
The left and right swinging movements of itself are due to this bearing.

On the other hand, an L-shaped mounting plate 16 is provided on the front pipe 1 along the stem 15, and a screw portion is provided at the tip of the lower and upper parts of the stem 15 in the traveling direction of the large wheel 11.
A fulcrum shaft 17 having a 17a and a fulcrum shaft 18 having a screw portion 18a at the tip thereof are provided in a protruding manner.

A bearing portion 19 is provided at the lower portion of the mounting plate 16, and the fulcrum shaft 17 is rotatably supported by the bearing portion 19, and the bearing portion 19 is mounted on the screw portion 17a through a washer 20 and a nut 21. Is fixed by screwing.

A sleeve is provided on the upper portion of the mounting plate 16.
The sleeve 22 is provided with an internal thread groove 23 on its inner surface.
And a screw shaft 25 having a screw portion 24 at one end thereof is rotatably fitted, and a pulley 26 is fitted at the rear end portion of the screw shaft 25.
A nut 27 is screwed on and fixed to the screw shaft 25.

Further, 28 is a female screw groove on the inner surface of the screw shaft 25.
A screw shaft that is screwed to 23, and a bearing portion 29 is provided at the tip of the screw shaft 28.
The fulcrum shaft 18 is rotatably supported by the bearing portion 29, and the bearing portion 29 is fixed to the screw portion 18a by screwing a nut 31 through a washer 30.

On the other hand, one end of the outer wires 32, 32 of the control wire is attached to the tip of the mounting plate 16, and the inner wire 33 inserted through the outer wires 32, 32 is wound around the pulley 26 at one position. The other end of the outer wires 32, 32 is attached to the inner wire controller.

In this embodiment, the controller for the inner wire is attached to a guide pipe 36 having a long hole 35 on the substrate 34 along the longitudinal direction of its lower end, and a slide portion 37 slidably attached to the guide pipe 36. And a pulley 38 is provided at the end of the guide pipe 36.

The sliding portion 37 will be described in more detail. A sliding groove 41 of the guide pipe 36 is provided in the gap between the outer peripheral portion 39 and the inner peripheral portion 40, and a receiving portion for the inner wire 33 is provided at the upper end of the inner peripheral portion 40. 42 is provided, the receiving portion 42 is provided with a metal fitting 43 for fixing the inner wire 33, and the sliding portion 37 is further provided.
Screw the bolts 44, 44 into the metal fitting 43 from the bottom of to fix the inner wire 33.

The inner wire 33 led out to the one outer wire 32 is fixed to the inside of the slide portion 37 as described above, and then the tip of the inner wire 33 is introduced to the other outer wire 32. The inner wire receiving fitting 45 connects the endless wires to engage the pulley 38. The pulling condition of the endless wire is adjusted by the inner wire receiving fitting 45.

In the above structure, the inner wire is slid by sliding the slide portion 37 of the controller in one direction.
When 33 is pulled, the pulley 26 rotates in one direction, the screw shaft 25 rotates in the same direction accordingly, and the screw shaft 25 rotates to screw the screw shaft 25 into the female screw groove 23 on its inner surface. The shaft 28 moves in one direction according to the engraving direction of the female screw groove 23.

On the other hand, the screw shaft 28 has a bearing portion 29 provided at the tip thereof rotatably bearing a fulcrum shaft 18 on an upper portion of the stem 15, and a stem bearing portion 19 provided at a lower portion of the mounting plate 16 has a stem 15. Since the fulcrum shaft 17 at the lower part of the shaft is rotatably supported, when the screw shaft 28 moves in one direction as described above, the stem 15 inclines with the shaft 17 as a fulcrum, and the caster wheel 13 moves accordingly. It inclines leftward and rightward with respect to the traveling direction of the large wheels 11.

When the slide 37 of the controller is slid in the opposite direction and the inner wire 33 is pulled, the screw shaft 28 moves in the opposite direction, and accordingly, the caster wheel 13 has large wheels.
It is inclined in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of 11.

As described above, by sliding the slide 37 of the controller, the caster wheel 13 can be tilted in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the large wheels 11, so that the stem 15 of the caster wheel is wheelchaired by adjusting the slide 37. Can be fixed with an appropriate inclination with respect to the traveling direction.

Therefore, if the wheelchair tends to turn to the right even if the user wants to go straight, the slide 37 provided on the controller provided with the caster wheel on the left is slid to the left, for example, and the wheelchair moves straight. Will be fixed.

In this embodiment, the stem 15 of the caster wheel can be adjusted within a range of about 5 degrees to the left and right by sliding the slide 37.

6 to 9 show another embodiment of the controller for the inner wire. In this embodiment, the controller has a rotating shaft 47 planted in the center of the substrate 46, and the rotating shaft 47 has an upper end. A drum 48 having a handle portion 48a is attached to the structure.

In this embodiment, one outer wire 32
The inner wire 33 led out to is wound around the drum 48,
The end is fixed to the inner wire end point 49 provided on the back surface of the drum 48, the other inner wire 33 is fixed to the inner wire start point 50, wound around the drum 48, and introduced to the other outer wire 32. It The pulling condition of the inner wire 33 is adjusted by fixing the inner wire end portion by the inner wire end point 49 and the start point 50.

When the handle portion 48a is rotated in one direction, the inner wire 33 wound around the drum 48 is pulled in one direction, the screw shaft 25 is rotated, and the screw shaft 28 is moved. Similarly, the caster wheel 13 is tilted leftward and rightward with respect to the traveling direction of the large wheels 11.

When the handle portion 48a is rotated in the opposite direction, the inner wire 33 wound around the drum 48 is pulled in the opposite direction, and the screw shaft 25 is rotated in the opposite direction.
Is rotated and the screw shaft 28 is moved, whereby the caster wheel 13 is tilted in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the large wheels 11.

In this invention, since the caster wheel 13 is fixed in the inclined state by screwing the screw shaft 28 into the screw shaft 25, the caster wheel 13 is inclined even if a force is applied to the caster wheel 13 from the outside. The state does not collapse.

[0038]

Therefore, according to the present invention, the imbalance of the force applied to the left and right large wheels, the lateral inclination on the road surface,
If the wheelchair does not go straight due to a vehicle body misalignment, etc., if the caster vehicle stem is tilted in the direction opposite to the direction in which the vehicle easily bends, the straightness of the vehicle body can be easily guaranteed. The effort to get it done is reduced.

Also in the curved portion of the road, according to the present invention, the body of the caster vehicle can be smoothly curved by inclining the stem of the caster vehicle in accordance with the curvature in the desired direction of bending without applying the brake. The characteristics are maximized when coasting on a gentle downhill.

The present invention is mainly intended for wheelchairs which are to be driven by themselves, but even in a wheelchair driven by an assistant, it is difficult to keep a straight line when pushing a laterally inclined road surface, Since the user feels the same inconvenience as described above, such as having to apply a brake on one side to create a trigger for turning when entering, the function of the present invention is effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wheelchair showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a caster wheel portion of the wheelchair.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the same inner wire controller as above.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line C-C of the above.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line DD of the above.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a wheelchair with another inner wire controller attached.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the above inner wire controller.

[Fig. 8] Rear view of the above

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway side view of the above.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a caster wheel portion of a conventional wheelchair.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the above.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 is front pipe 2 is leg pipe 3 is base pipe 4 is back pipe 5 is cross rod 6 is seat 7 is backrest 8 is leg rest 9 is footrest 10 is hand rim 11 is large wheel 12 is brake 13 is caster wheel 14 is yoke 15 is a stem 16 is a mounting plate 17 is a fulcrum shaft having a threaded portion 17a at its tip 18 is a fulcrum shaft having a threaded portion 18a at its tip 19 is a bearing 20 is a washer 21 is a nut 22 is a sleeve 23 is a female screw groove 24 Is the screw part 25 is the screw shaft 26 is the pulley 27 is the nut 28 is the screw shaft 29 is the bearing part 30 is the washer 31 is the nut 32, 32 is the outer wire 33 is the inner wire 34 is the base plate 35 is the long hole 36 is the guide pipe 37 Sliding part 38 Pulley 39 Outer part 40 Inner part 41 Sliding groove 42 Inner wire receiving part 43 Inner wire fixing bracket 44 Bolt 45 Inner wire Receiving brackets 46 the drum 49 is an inner wire end point 50 having a handle portion 48a is a substrate 47 rotating shaft 48 to the top end inner wire start

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. In a wheelchair having a caster wheel at the front of the vehicle body and having large wheels rotatably mounted on a pair of left and right back pipes, the stem portion of the caster wheel with respect to the traveling direction of the large wheels. One end is axially mounted on the front pipe so that it can be tilted in the left-right direction, and a screw shaft provided in the lateral direction of the vehicle body is rotatably attached to the other end of the stem portion. A screw shaft with a female screw on the inner surface is fitted, a wire take-up pulley is fixed to the screw shaft and rotatably attached to the front pipe, and a control wire that rotates the screw shaft by pulling it is provided on the pulley. , A wheelchair characterized in that a controller for adjusting the traction of the control wire is further provided. 2. The wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the controller for adjusting the traction of the control wire is constituted by a slide portion that slides the guide pipe. 3. The slide portion comprises an outer peripheral portion and an inner peripheral portion,
A sliding groove for a guide pipe is provided in a gap between an outer peripheral portion and an inner peripheral portion, a control wire receiving portion is provided at an upper end of the inner peripheral portion, and a control wire fixing metal fitting is provided. The wheelchair described in item 2. 4. The wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the controller for adjusting the traction of the control wire is a rotating drum. 5. The wheelchair according to claim 4, wherein a wire starting point and an end point for fixing the front end and the end of the control wire are provided on the back surface of the rotating drum.