JPH08196571A - Driving device for travel of wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce burden on a sitter when a wheelchair is 'mannually driven' and also, to facilitate handling work when the wheelchair is carried, etc. CONSTITUTION: This device is equipped with a chair 5 on which the sitter sits, a traveling wheel 17 which supports the chair 5 on a floor 3, and a driving means 23 for the rotary driving of the traveling wheel 17. The driving means 23 is provided with a motor 40 which outputs a power, a battery 43 which supplies the power to the motor 40, and a controller 44 which controls the motor 40 in electronic manner. The motor 40, the battery 43 and the controller 44 coupled with each other so as to be integrated mutually, and the integrated driving means 23 is freely loaded/unloaded on a chair 5 side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling drive device for a wheelchair, the drive means of which is detachable from the wheelchair.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above wheelchair, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-95 has been used.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 976.

According to this, the wheelchair comprises a chair on which a seated person can sit, running wheels for supporting the chair on the floor, and driving means for rotating the running wheels. Of the electric motor, a battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor, and a control device for electronically controlling the electric motor, which are attached to the chair side.

The power transmission from the drive means to the running wheels is freely connectable and disconnectable. If the power transmission from the drive means to the running wheels is cut off, the wheelchair can be driven manually by rotating the running wheels. Made (hereinafter, this is called "manual driving")
That). On the other hand, if power is transmitted from the driving means to the running wheels, the wheelchair is driven by the rotation of the running wheels by the power of the driving means (hereinafter, this is referred to as "power running").

[0005]

By the way, when the wheelchair of the above-mentioned conventional structure is "manually run", since the wheelchair is still equipped with the driving means and the weight thereof is heavy, the "manual running" is particularly long-term. However, there is a problem in that the burden on the seated person for rotating the traveling wheels becomes unnecessarily large when it is performed over a long period.

Further, since the wheelchair is heavy as described above, there is a problem in that when the wheelchair is transported to any one by a car or the like, it is difficult to handle the wheelchair such as loading and unloading.

Therefore, when the wheelchair is "manually driven",
When transporting a wheelchair, it is possible to temporarily remove the drive means from the chair side. However, since the electric motor, the battery, and the control device that constitute this drive means are individually attached to the chair side, their removal work and the subsequent attachment work are extremely complicated, and they are not used for a long time. May be required.

Further, for example, in a facility equipped with many wheelchairs, the driving means is removed from a certain wheelchair,
If this drive means can be used for other wheelchairs, it is convenient that the number of drive means is smaller than the number of wheelchairs, that is, a plurality of wheelchairs share the drive means. Can be considered. However, as described above, the work of attaching and detaching the drive means to and from the chair side is complicated, so that it is extremely difficult to share the drive means with a plurality of wheelchairs.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is intended to reduce the burden on the occupant when the wheelchair is "manually run" and to transport the wheelchair. The purpose is to facilitate the handling work such as.

Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to facilitate the work of attaching and detaching the drive means to the chair side in order to achieve the above object.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to allow the driving means to be shared by a plurality of wheelchairs.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a traveling drive device for a wheelchair according to the present invention is a chair 5 on which a seated person 2 can sit, and traveling wheels for supporting the chair 5 on a floor 3. 17 and drive means 23 for rotationally driving the traveling wheels 17.
And an electric motor 4 whose driving means 23 outputs power.
0 and a battery 43 that supplies electric power to the electric motor 40.
And a controller 44 for electronically controlling the electric motor 40, the electric motor 40, the battery 4
3 and the control device 44 are connected to each other so as to be integrated with each other, and the integrated drive means 23 is detachable from the chair 5 side.

[0013]

[Operation] The operation of the above configuration is as follows.

The electric motor 40, the battery 43, and the control device 44 are connected to each other so as to be integrated with each other, and the integrated drive means 23 is detachable from the chair 5 side.

For this reason, when the "wheelchair 1" is to be "manually run", the drive means 23 may be removed from the chair 5 side. In this way, the wheelchair 1 does not include the drive means 23. , Lightweight.

Further, even when handling the wheelchair 1 or the like, it is sufficient to remove the drive means 23 from the chair 5 side, and thus, the wheelchair 1 without the drive means 23 mounted, The weight can be distributed to the drive means 23 and handled individually.

Moreover, the work of attaching / detaching the drive means 23 to / from the chair 5 side of the wheelchair 1 can be carried out with the components of the drive means 23, such as the electric motor 40, integrated, so that the work of attachment / detachment can be made extremely easy. .

As described above, the chair 5 of the wheelchair 1
Since the work of attaching / detaching the drive means 23 to / from the side can be easily performed, for example, the drive means 23 can be removed from one wheelchair 1 and the drive means 23 can be easily attached to another wheelchair 1.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 is a wheelchair, and the wheelchair 1 can freely move on a floor 3 on which a seated person 2 is placed. In addition, the symbol Fr in the figure indicates the front in the traveling direction of the wheelchair 1, and the left and right described below means the vehicle width direction toward the front.

1 to 11, the wheelchair 1 is substantially symmetrical with respect to the vehicle body center 4 in the vehicle width direction as a boundary unless otherwise specified.

The wheelchair 1 has a chair 5 on which the seated person 2 can sit. The chair 5 includes a chair frame 6, which includes a pair of left and right side frames 7 and 7 framed by pipes and a pair of front and rear connecting frames 8 for connecting the side frames 7 and 7 to each other.
It consists of and.

A flexible seat 10 is installed in the middle of the side frames 7, 7 in the front-rear direction, and a flexible backrest sheet 1 is provided at the rear of the side frames 7, 7.
1 is erected. The seated person 2 can be seated on the seated seat 10, and in that state, the seated person 2 can lean on the backrest seat 11. Further, in this state, the steps 12 on which the seated person 2 can put his / her feet are attached to the front ends of the side frames 7, respectively. Further, a grip 13 protruding rearward is formed on the upper rear portion of each side frame 7.

Axle shafts 16 each having a shaft center 15 extending left and right are supported on the left and right side portions of the chair frame 6 in the longitudinal direction. Each of these axles 16 is located on the same shaft center 15.

A traveling wheel 17 is supported on each of the axles 16 by a bearing 18, and is rotatable around the shaft center 15. Auxiliary wheels 19, which are casters, are attached to the left and right side portions of the front portion of the chair frame 6, respectively. The chair 5 is supported on the floor 3 by the traveling wheels 17 and the auxiliary wheels 19, and the wheelchair 1 rolls on the floor 3 in a desired direction by rolling the traveling wheels 17 and the auxiliary wheels 19. It is supposed to be movable.

A hand-turning ring 20 is provided on the shaft center 15 in the vicinity of the outer side of each running wheel 17, and the hand-turning ring 20 is attached to the running wheel 17. When the occupant 2 seated on the chair 5 rotates the hand-turning ring 20 around the axis 15, the running wheel 17 rolls on the floor 3 accordingly, and the wheelchair 1 moves "manually." It is possible.

The chair 5 and the running wheels 17 and the like form a vehicle body of the wheelchair 1. The running wheels 1 are attached to the vehicle body.
The driving means 23 for rotational driving of No. 7 is detachably provided. On the other hand, on the shaft center 15, gear type rotating bodies 24 are provided near the traveling wheels 17, respectively, and the rotating bodies 24 are located closer to the vehicle body center 4 side than the traveling wheels 17. The rotary body 24 is rotatably supported on the axle 16 about an axis 15. Further, the rotating body 24 can be driven to rotate about the axis 15 by the driving means 23.

A clutch mechanism 25 is provided between each of the traveling wheels 17 and the corresponding rotating body 24. If each of these clutch mechanisms 25 is disengaged,
Power transmission from the rotating body 24 to the traveling wheels 17 is cut off. In this case, the "manual running" is possible.

On the other hand, when the clutch mechanisms 25 are engaged and the power of the driving means 23 is transmitted to the traveling wheels 17 via the rotating body 24, the wheelchair 1 can be "powered".

In FIGS. 1 and 6, the chair frame 6 is shown.
A boss portion 28 is provided at the rear portion of each side frame 7 of each of the side frames 7, and the boss portion 28 has a support hole 2 on the shaft center 15.
9 is formed. An end of each of the axles 16 on the vehicle body center 4 side is fitted into the support hole 29 and is detachably fastened to the boss portion 28 by a fastener 30. And
The vehicle outer side end of the axle 16 projects outward from each side frame 7 of the chair frame 6, and the traveling wheel 17 is supported by the projecting portion of the axle 16 via the bearing 18, as described above, and The rotating body 24 is supported by bearings 31. In this case, the rotating body 24 includes the side frame 7 and the traveling wheels 1.
It is located between 7 and.

1 to 5, each traveling wheel 17 is
Is a hub 33 which is fitted onto the axle 16 on the shaft center 15 and supported by the bearing 18, and a tire 34 on the shaft center 15.
And left and right spokes 36, 36 that connect the axially outer end edges of the hub 33 to the rim 35. The hub 33 and the left and right spokes 36, 3
Space surrounded by 6 and 6 is dead space 37
Has become.

In particular, FIGS. 1, 7 and 10-12.
In the driving means 23, the pair of left and right electric motors 40, 40, which are the main components of the driving means 23 and output power, the output gear 41 which is an output portion meshing with each of the rotating bodies 24, and the power of each of the electric motors 40 are decelerated. A gear type speed reducer 42 that transmits to the output gear 41, a battery 43 that is a power source of the electric motors 40 and supplies electric power to the electric motors 40,
A control device 44 that electronically controls each electric motor 40,
A support body 45 is provided to support the components 40 to 44 by combining them so that the components 40 to 44 are integrated with each other. The battery 43 has a charging terminal 43.
a is attached.

1 and 7, the left and right electric motors 40, 40 described above are provided on a common shaft center 46 extending in the left and right directions. Each of the speed reducers 42 has a housing 48, and the electric motor 40 is fixed to the outer surface of the housing 48. The drive shaft 49 of the electric motor 40 is located on the shaft center 46 and inside the housing 48, and the output shaft 5 is attached to the housing 48 on the same shaft center 46 as the drive shaft 49.
1 is rotatably supported around its axis, and the output shaft 5
The output gear 41 is supported at 1. Further, an intermediate shaft 52 is provided in the housing 48 in parallel with the drive shaft 49 and the output shaft 51, and the intermediate shaft 52 is also rotatably supported by the housing 48 about its axis.

A drive gear 54 is attached to the drive shaft 49, a driven gear 55 is attached to the output shaft 51, and a large-diameter gear 56 and a small-diameter gear are provided on the intermediate shaft 52 in parallel with each other. 57 and 57 are attached respectively. The drive gear 54 and the large diameter gear 56 mesh with each other, and the small diameter gear 57 and the driven gear 55 mesh with each other, whereby the power of each electric motor 40 is reduced by the speed reducer 42 to the output gear 41. The output gear 41 is transmitted, and the rotating body 24 is driven to rotate about the shaft center 15.

In the above case, the output gear 41 is connected to the output shaft 51 by the universal joint 58, that is, the output gear 41 rotates together with the output shaft 51, but with respect to the axis of the output shaft 51. It is possible to rattle slightly like a swing. This rattling absorbs an error in meshing of the output gear 41 with the rotating body 24.

The support 45 has the left and right housings 48, 48 described above as components. The two housings 48, 48 are connected to each other by a connecting tool 61 whose axial center extends left and right.

The length of the connecting tool 61 in the axial direction is expandable and contractible. That is, the connector 61 has a columnar short boss portion 62 integrally projecting from the respective surfaces of the left and right housings 48, 48 facing each other. A pipe-shaped fixed shaft 63 having an axial center extending from the respective boss portions 62 to the left and right is provided in a protruding manner. These left and right fixed shafts 63, 63 are positioned coaxially, and a pipe-shaped movable shaft 64 is fitted over the respective projecting ends thereof so as to be relatively slidable in the axial direction.

The relative axial sliding of the fixed shaft 63 and the movable shaft 64 expands and contracts the length of the connector 61, and accordingly the dimension between the left and right electric motors 40, 40, etc. It can be adjusted freely.

The support 45 has a suspension frame 67,
One end of the suspension frame 67 is fitted onto the movable shaft 64 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and the other end thereof is suspended on the movable shaft 64. The suspension frame 67 is detachably fixed to a desired position in the axial direction of the movable shaft 64 by a fastener 68. Then, the battery 43 and the control device 44 are detachably supported by the suspension frame 67 by a rubber cord 69 which is a locking tool.

The fastener 68 is adapted to detachably fix the movable shaft 64 to each fixed shaft 63. That is, as described above, when the length of the connecting tool 61 is expanded and contracted to adjust to a desired dimension and the dimension between the left and right electric motors 40, 40, etc. is adjusted to a desired dimension, the fastener 68 is
When the fastening operation is performed, the dimension between the left and right electric motors 40, 40, etc. is fixed to a desired dimension. At this time, the suspension frame 6
7 is also fixed to the connecting tool 61.

The support body 45 has an arm 71 which is pivotally supported by the respective boss portions 62 so as to be vertically rotatable. The pivot ends of the left and right arms 71, 71 are connected to each other by a handle 72. There is.

The length of the handle 72 in the axial direction can be expanded and contracted as the connecting member 61 is expanded and contracted. That is, the handle 72 has a cylindrical fixed shaft 73 provided on the respective surfaces of the left and right arms 71, 71 facing each other. The left and right fixed shafts 73, 73 are positioned coaxially, and a pipe-shaped movable shaft 74 is fitted over the respective projecting ends so as to be relatively slidable in the axial direction.

The length of the handle 72 is expanded and contracted by relative sliding of the fixed shaft 73 and the movable shaft 74. When the grips 72 are gripped and lifted while the arms 71, 71 are rotated upward, the drive means 23 is lifted by itself together with the grips 72 and is carried to an arbitrary position. It has become so.

In particular, in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7 to FIG. 14, the drive means 23 is constituted by the electric motor 40,
The battery 43, the control device 44, the support body 45, and the like are detachably supported on the chair 5 side while being integrated.
More specifically, the support frame 77 is detachably supported on the chair frame 6 of the chair 5. The driving means 23 thus supported is located near the rear of the chair 5.

The support device 77 has plate-like brackets 79 attached to the side frames 7 of the chair frame 6, respectively. A part of each of the brackets 79 is externally fitted to the axle 16 and is detachably fastened by the fastener 30, and the other portion of each bracket 79 is detachably fixed to the side frame 7 by the fastener 80. Has been done. That is, the brackets 79 are firmly fixed to the side frames 7 by two-point support.
In this case, since the axle 16 is used for fixing the bracket 79 to the side frame 7 of the chair frame 6, the mounting of the bracket 79 can be achieved with a simple structure.

The upper ends of the brackets 79 extend rearward and upward of the axle 16, and the brackets 79 are provided.
The upper edge of is located near the rear of the chair 5 in the side view of FIG. 9 and FIG.

In the same side view, supporting notches 81 extending downward from the upper edge of each bracket 79 are formed in the same bracket 79, and each supporting notch 81 is also located near the rear of the chair 5. There is. On the other hand, a vertically long engaging projection 82 is integrally formed on the vehicle outer side surface of each housing 48 constituting the support body 45. The engaging projection 82 is formed by a boss portion for firmly supporting each one end of the output shaft 51 and the intermediate shaft 52, and parts are commonly used. The engaging projection 82 is the bracket 7.
9 is removably fitted into the support notch 81 from above, whereby the front and rear positioning of the drive means 23 is performed, and rotation around the left and right virtual axes is prevented.

By adjusting the length of the connecting tool 61,
The surface of each housing 48 on the vehicle exterior side is brought into contact with or brought close to the bracket 79, whereby the left and right positioning of the drive means 23 is performed.

Further, in the vicinity of the lower side of the support notch 81, an adjusting bolt 84 which is a vertical adjusting means of the driving means 23 is provided. A part of the intermediate shaft 52, which is a part of the driving means 23, is mounted on the upper end of the adjusting bolt 84, whereby the driving means 23 is vertically positioned.

The output gears 41 are accurately meshed with the rotating body 24 by the above-mentioned positioning.

As described above, the drive means 23 is positioned on the chair 5 side, that is, the drive means 23 is supported by the chair frame 6 by the support device 77, and the drive means 23 is supported by the support device 77. A fixing means 85 for detachably fixing is provided.

The fixing means 85 is provided with a locking pin 86 which is a locking tool projecting from each arm 71 toward the outside of the vehicle, that is, each arm 71 is used. Also,
A locking recess 87 is formed in the bracket 79 as a locking portion for locking and locking the locking pin 86 when the arms 71 are rotated downward.

As shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 10.
When the locking pin 86 is locked in the locking recess 87 by rotating the arms 71 downward, the locking pin 86 is elastically bent to some extent and the locking recess 87 is held.
It is locked in pressure contact with. Therefore, since the driving means 23 is fixed to the supporting device 77 by an elastic force, the driving means 23 is firmly fixed and the driving means 23 in the fixed state is prevented from rattling. It

As shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 9 and FIG. 12, when each arm 71 is rotated upward by gripping the grip 72 and pulling up the grip 72, each locking pin 86 is locked. With the elastic bending, it is released from the locking recess 87, and the fixation of the drive means 23 to the support device 77 is automatically released.

When the handle 72 is further lifted from the above state, as shown by the chain double-dashed lines in FIGS. 2 and 3 to 5, the engaging projections 82 are pulled out upward from the support notches 81, The drive means 23 will be removed from the support device 77 while the drive means 23 remains integrated. The supporting device 77 after the driving means 23 is removed is shown in FIG.
3 and as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the removed drive means 23 can be directly attached to another wheelchair 1 as it is, and
The driving means 23 can be replaced with another new one or repaired by itself. Then, as described above, the driving means 23 is attached / detached to / from the chair 5 side while the components such as the electric motor 40 and the like are integrated,
The attachment / detachment work can be performed very easily as compared with attaching / detaching the electric motor 40 and the like individually.

1 and FIGS. 7 to 12, the driving means 23 removed from the supporting device 77 as described above.
A guide means 90 is provided for facilitating the attachment to the supporting device 77 when the supporting device 77 is supported again. The guide means 90 is composed of a first guide surface 91 formed on the lower end surface of each housing 48 and a guide plate 93 attached to each engaging protrusion 82 by a fastener 92. The end side extends obliquely toward the lower side, and the lower surface of this guide plate 93 serves as a second guide surface 94. The first guide surface 91 and the second guide surface 9
4 extends downward in the left and right directions.

Further, the front and rear cutout surfaces of the upper end portion of each of the support cutouts 81 also extend in the directions away from each other in the upward and downward directions to form the third guide surface 96 and the fourth guide surface 97. ing.

Therefore, when the drive means 23 removed as described above is to be supported by the support device 77, the drive means 23 once lifted is lowered from above each bracket 79. Then, first, the first guide surface 9
The first or second guide surface 94 slides on the upper edge of each bracket 79, and the drive means 23 starts to be guided to predetermined positions on the left and right sides of the support device 77. Then
The engagement projection 82 is the third guide surface 96 or the fourth guide surface 96.
The drive means 23 begins to be guided to a predetermined position in front of and behind the support device 77 by slidingly contacting the guide surface 97.

Further, if the driving means 23 is lowered only by its own weight, the lower portion of the housing 48 and the guide plate 93 will be described.
Sandwiching the bracket 79 from the left and right to position the driving means 23 left and right, and the engaging projection 82 is fitted into the lower portion of the support notch 81 to perform front and back positioning. Intermediate shaft 5 which is a part of 23
By mounting a part of 2 on the adjusting bolt 84, vertical positioning is performed, whereby the driving means 23 is supported at a predetermined position with respect to the supporting device 77 as described above.

That is, according to the guide means 90, the driving means 23 detached from the supporting device 77 is supported by the same supporting device 77 as described above. Since the work is guided, the supporting work is light and easy.

As described above, the left and right support devices 77
When the driving means 23 is removed from the wheelchair 1, the wheelchair 1 can fold the connecting frame 8 so that the left and right side frames 7, 7 are overlapped with each other. Therefore, the wheelchair 1 can be made compact, that is, in combination with the weight reduction by removing the driving means 23, the handling work when carrying the wheelchair 1 can be facilitated.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, the clutch mechanism 25
Will be explained.

A hole 100 having a circular cross section, which is a through hole, is formed on the shaft center 15 of each axle 16. Further, a slit 101 is formed at a midway portion in the axial direction of each of the above-mentioned axles 16 so as to penetrate therethrough in the radial direction.
01, the connecting pin 102 is inserted, and the connecting pin 102
Extends along the radial direction of the axle 16 and
It is connected to. Also, the rotating body 24 and the connecting pin 1
02 is integrated with the axle 16 in the axial direction of the axle 16.
It is slidably supported on.

The connecting pins 102 are provided on the vehicle body center 4 side,
In addition, a spring 103 that elastically biases the traveling wheel 17 in a direction away from the traveling wheel 17 is provided. The spring 103 constitutes a part of the components of the clutch mechanism 25, and is housed inside the hole 100 outside the vehicle. Also, this hole 1
A vehicle outer end of 00 is closed by a fastener 104 so as to be openable and closable.

The rotating body 24 constitutes a part of the components of the clutch mechanism 25, that is, the engaging hole 105 which is an engaging portion is formed in the middle of the rotating body 24 in the radial direction.

On the other hand, a bracket 106 is provided in the space 37 of the traveling wheel 17, and the bracket 106 is detachably fixed to the hub 33 by a fastener 107. A hole 108 having an axis substantially parallel to the axis 15 is formed in the bracket 106, and an engagement shaft 109 as an engaged portion is slidably fitted in the hole 108 in the axial direction. .

A spring 110 for elastically urging the engaging shaft 109 toward the rotating body 24 is provided, and the spring 110 is housed in the hole 108.

By the biasing of the spring 110, the engaging shaft 1
A stopper 111 is provided to prevent this projection from exceeding a predetermined value when the 09 is projected toward the rotating body 24 side. More specifically, the engagement shaft 109 is urged by the spring 103 to slide on the axle 16, and the engagement shaft 109 does not come into contact with the side surface of the rotating body 24 separated by a predetermined distance from the running wheel 17 side. It is made to project, and further projection is made by the stopper 111.
It is being blocked.

In the above state, the engagement hole 105 and the engagement shaft 10
9, the traveling wheels 17 and the rotating body 24 can rotate individually. That is, the clutch mechanism 25 is in the disengaged state, and in this case, the "manual running" is possible.

In the above case, the bracket 106 and each of the parts 107 to 111 supported by the bracket 106 constitute a part of the components of the clutch mechanism 25, and these spaces 37 are dead spaces. The outer shape of the wheelchair 1 is made compact by that amount.

An operation shaft 114 is axially slidably fitted into the hole 100 on the vehicle body center 4 side. The operating shaft 114 constitutes a part of the components of the clutch mechanism 25, and the operating shaft 114 serves as the spring 10 described above.
If it is pushed toward the outside of the vehicle against 3, the operation shaft 11
4 pushes the connecting pin 102 toward the running wheel 17 side, and the sliding of the connecting pin 102 causes the rotating body 24 to slide on the axle 16 toward the running wheel 17 side.

In the above case, the hole 100 inside the axle 16
Is a spring 10 that is a part of the components of the clutch mechanism 25.
3 and the operation shaft 114 are arranged, and the same as the above-mentioned axle 1
6 is used for supporting the spring 103 and the operating shaft 114,
That is, the structure is simplified.

As shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6 and FIG.
By sliding the rotating body 24, the engaging hole 105 and the engaging shaft 1
When the projecting end side of 09 is engaged, the rotating body 24 and the traveling wheel 17 are integrated, that is, the clutch mechanism 25 is engaged. In this case, when the driving means 23 is driven, power is transmitted from each output gear 41 to the rotating body 24 and is driven to rotate, and the traveling wheels 17 are interlocked with this to roll on the floor 3, "Power run"
Becomes possible.

As described above, when the clutch mechanism 25 is engaged, the rotating body 24 slides on the axle 16 toward the running wheels 17 because the central portion of the rotating body 24 is pushed by the operating shaft 114. It is achieved by moving. Therefore, the external force for sliding the rotating body 24 is prevented from being biased in the radial direction, so that the rotating body 24 smoothly slides on the axle 16 without being twisted, that is, the clutch mechanism 25 moves. The connection operation is performed smoothly.

If the engaging hole 105 does not coincide with the projecting end side of the engaging shaft 109 when the rotating body 24 moves to the running wheel 17 side, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. The outer surface of the rotating body 24 is pressed against the protruding end side of the engaging shaft 109, and the engaging shaft 109 is pushed toward the vehicle outer side against the biasing force of the spring 110. After that, when the rotating body 24 is rotated by the driving of the driving means 23 and the engaging hole 105 of the rotating body 24 is aligned with the protruding end side of the engaging shaft 109, the engaging force of the spring 110 causes the engagement. The projecting end side of the coupling shaft 109 is fitted into the engagement hole 105, whereby the clutch mechanism 25 is engaged.

That is, in order to engage the clutch mechanism 25, it suffices to move the rotator 24 to the running wheel 17 side while the rotator 24 is being rotated, so that the clutch mechanism 25 engages. The operation for can be done easily.

The inner peripheral surface of the engaging hole 105 has an engaging shaft 109.
The taper surface 115 is tapered toward the side. On the other hand, the outer peripheral surface of the engagement shaft 109 on the projecting end side is an inverted taper surface 116 that has a tapered shape in a direction away from the engagement hole 105. For this reason, as described above, when the tapered surface 115 and the reverse tapered surface 116 are engaged with each other, they are fitted with each other to ensure reliable engagement. That is, even if a large amount of power is transmitted between the traveling wheel 17 and the rotating body 24, the engagement between the engagement hole 105 and the engagement shaft 109 does not suddenly disengage, and therefore,
The state of "power running" is secured.

In FIGS. 1 and 9 to 14, the seated person 2
The clutch operating means 117 for connecting and disconnecting the clutch mechanism 25 by the operation of is provided.

The clutch operating means 117 has an operating lever 119 which is pivotally supported on each bracket 79 by a pivot shaft 118 so as to be rotatable back and forth. The turning end of each of these operation levers 119 is a grip 120, and this grip 120 is located near the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the traveling wheel 17 so that the occupant 2 sitting on the chair 5 can easily operate it. One end of the pivot shaft 118 and the operation lever 119
The base of the operation lever 119 is fixed to each other by welding, and these are rotatable about the axis of the operation lever 119 as described above.

The cam member 1 is provided at the other end of the pivot shaft 118.
22 is detachably fastened by a fastener 123. An end portion of the operation shaft 114 on the vehicle body center 4 side is a cam engagement end 124, and a first cam surface 126 and a second cam surface 127 are formed on a surface of the cam member 122 that opposes the cam engagement end 124. And are arranged side by side so as to be continuous with each other. By the rotation of the cam member 122 accompanying the rotation of the operation lever 119, one of the first cam surface 126 and the second cam surface 127 of the cam member 122 and the cam engagement end 124 are moved. It is supposed to be cam-engaged selectively.

1, FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, FIG. 9, FIG. 11 and FIG.
3, and as indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 14, the operating lever 1
When 19 is rotated forward and downward, the first cam surface 126 of the cam member 122 which is rotated accordingly is moved to the cam engaging end 124.
Cam engagement with. In this case, the rotating body 24 is separated from the running wheel 17 side by the biasing force of the spring 103, and the clutch mechanism 25 is disengaged. This enables the "manual running".

As shown by two-dot chain lines in FIGS. 3 to 5, two-dot chain lines in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, and two-dot chain lines in FIG.
When the operation lever 119 is rotated rearward and upward, the second cam surface 127 of the cam member 122 which is rotated in association therewith is cam-engaged with the cam engagement end 124. In this case, the operation shaft 114 resists the urging force of the spring 103, and
2 is pushed to the running wheel 17 side, and along with this, the rotating body 24
The clutch mechanism 25 is engaged by sliding on the traveling wheel 17 side. Then, this enables the "power running".

In the above case, the axle 16 located at the center of rotation of the traveling wheel 17 and the pivot shaft 118 located at the center of rotation of the operating lever 119 are provided close to each other. Therefore, the turning locus of the grip 120 is determined by the traveling wheel 1.
7 is substantially along the outer peripheral surface of the grip 7, so that the grip 1 can be rotated regardless of which direction the operation lever 119 is rotated.
It is possible to prevent 20 from disturbing the seated person 2.

2 to 5, a driving operation grip 130 is attached to the right front end of the chair frame 6. When the seated person 2 seated on the chair 5 operates the driving operation grip 130, the electric motors 40, 40 in the drive means 23 are independently controlled by the control device 44.

Therefore, when the clutch mechanism 25 is engaged to enable the wheelchair 1 to "power-run", and the driving operation grip 130 is operated while the driving means 23 is driven, the wheelchair 1 moves on the floor 3. You can move forward, backward, turn left and right freely.

Although the above is based on the illustrated example, the rotor 2
4 and the output gear 41 may both be friction wheels, and their outer peripheral surfaces may be frictionally joined to each other to transmit power. In this case, rather than a gear type,
The configuration is simpler.

Further, the engaging shaft 109 may be fixed to the bracket 106, and a spring may be provided between the connecting pin 102 and the operating shaft 114. Even in this case, when the clutch mechanism 25 is engaged, the same action as the spring 110 can be obtained.

[0089]

According to the present invention, an electric motor, a battery,
Also, these are connected to each other so that the control device is integrated with each other, and the integrated drive means is detachable from the chair side.

Therefore, when the wheelchair is to be "manually run", the drive means may be removed from the chair side. In this case, the wheelchair does not have the drive means and is light in weight. The burden on the seated person when the wheelchair is "manually driven" is reduced, which is particularly useful when the "manual traveling" is performed for a long period of time.

Further, even when handling the wheelchair, it is sufficient to remove the driving means from the chair side. In this way, the weight of the wheelchair not equipped with the driving means and the weight of the driving means are increased. Can be dispersed and handled individually, which makes it easy to handle the wheelchair.

Moreover, the work of attaching / detaching the drive means to / from the chair side of the wheelchair can be carried out while the components of the drive means such as the electric motor are integrated, so that the work of attachment / detachment can be made extremely easy. Therefore, it is possible to easily reduce the burden on the seated person during the above-mentioned "manual traveling" and to facilitate the work of handling the wheelchair by a simple work on the wheelchair.

Further, as described above, the work of attaching / detaching the drive means to / from the chair side of the wheelchair can be easily carried out. Therefore, for example, the drive means can be easily removed from a certain wheelchair and attached to another wheelchair. Become.

Therefore, the driving means can be shared by a plurality of wheelchairs, and it is convenient that the number of driving means is smaller than the number of wheelchairs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a wheelchair.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the wheelchair.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the wheelchair.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view of the wheelchair.

6 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG.

7 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view corresponding to FIG.

9 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

10 is a view taken along the line 10-10 of FIG.

11 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a side view of driving means.

FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG. 10 with the drive means removed.

FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 11 with the drive means removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheelchair 2 Seated person 3 Floor 5 Chair 6 Chair frame 17 Traveling wheel 23 Driving means 40 Electric motor 43 Battery 44 Control device 45 Support body 77 Support device 85 Fixing means 90 Guide means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A chair on which a seated person can sit, running wheels for supporting the chair on the floor, and drive means for rotationally driving the running wheels, and an electric motor for outputting power from the drive means. In a wheelchair having a battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor and a control device for electronically controlling the electric motor, the electric motor, the battery, and the control device are integrated with each other so that they are integrated with each other. A driving device for a wheelchair, wherein the driving means is detachable from the chair side.