JPH0838554A - Wheelchair with caterpillar and walking aid with caterpillar - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a wheelchair and a walking aid which achieve a limited energy consumption with a simple structure by enabling running on a rugged surface or a slope using a caterpillar to keep the posture of a user good free from the inclination of a body. CONSTITUTION:It is so arranged to have two intermediate play wheels 9a and 9b which are in contact with a caterpillar 14 mounted on a body base 1 tangentially to prescribe the ground contact range, a support rod 10 which has the intermediate play wheels mounted on a shaft at both ends thereof to be oscillated centered on a fulcrum shaft 3 mounted at the center thereof, a support body 2 which is fastened on the body base 1 to support the fulcrum shaft 3 and two elastic springs to retain the body base 1 near both the ends of the support rod 10. Thus, a wheel chair with a caterpillar has a support arm 4 which is mounted on the fulcrum shaft 3 to transmit the displacement of the intermediate play wheels 9a and 9b, a leg part 8a pivoted on a support strut 7 fastened on the body base 1 and a connecting rod 5 linking the lower end of the leg part and the upper end of the support arm. A walking aid is so arranged to link the main body having a caterpillar mounted thereon and an auxiliary pole supporting a user being allowed to rotate within a specified range of angle.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a walking aid for an elderly person or a handicapped person who has difficulty walking, and more particularly to a wheelchair with a track that can run on an uneven road surface without disturbing the posture of the user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As the aging of society progresses, the number of elderly people who have lameness tends to increase more and more, and many of them are rarely blessed with satisfactory caregivers, so they gradually go outdoors. The current situation is to lose the opportunity to leave and to decline both physically and mentally. In addition, such a handicapped elderly or handicapped person uses a wheelbarrow or a wheelchair instead of a cane as a walking aid or a vehicle, depending on the degree thereof.

[0003]

These types of wheels and wheelchairs such as wheelbarrows are generally premised on running on level ground, and have uneven road surfaces, sloping ground, thresholds, curbs on roads, etc. I could not get over the step of
An attendant is required except in limited places. On the other hand, there are special vehicles and construction machines that use the caterpillar method for traveling on such uneven road surfaces and slope values. However, these vehicles have been devised to mitigate vibrations that occur when driving on uneven road surfaces, but control to maintain the occupant's posture stable with respect to the leaning of the vehicle body is positive. Not done. Therefore, every time the inclination of the vehicle body changes, the occupant must move his / her body in the direction opposite to the inclination to maintain the equilibrium, which is difficult for an elderly person and a disabled person.

If the stability control of the seat due to the inclination of the vehicle body is automatically performed, a change in the inclination of the seat is electrically detected by an inclination sensor or the like, and the electric signal output from this sensor is processed. It is customary to employ a method of driving and controlling an electric motor or the like and operating a screw mechanism or the like having a quick response to correct the inclination of the seat. In this case, since extra power is consumed for the mechanical correction operation, energy consumption is severe with a limited energy source such as an electric caterpillar using a reversible charge / discharge battery. Not practical due to restrictions. In addition, it requires an electrically and mechanically complicated mechanism and becomes expensive, so that it cannot be easily obtained by the elderly and the disabled.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable the vehicle to travel on an uneven surface or a slope by itself by using a caterpillar, and at the same time, to incline the body of the user. (EN) Provided are a wheelchair with a track and a walking aid with a track, which does not affect the above-mentioned structure, has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost, and does not increase the power consumption.

[0006]

The present invention relates to a wheelchair with a caterpillar or a walking aid with a caterpillar, and the above object of the present invention is to provide a drive wheel 12 and a driven wheel 13 which are axially attached to a vehicle body base 1. Endless orbital zone 1 stretched between
The two intermediate idler wheels 9a, 9 provided inscribed in the No. 4 for defining the ground contact range of this endless track zone and supporting the weight of the vehicle body.
b, a supporting rod 10 having intermediate idler wheels pivotally attached to both ends thereof and swinging around a fulcrum shaft 3 attached at the center, and a support rod 10 fixed to the vehicle body base so that the fulcrum shaft is rotatable. A support body 2 to support, two elastic springs or coil springs 11a and 11b for elastically locking the support rod and the vehicle body base near the intermediate idle wheel, and attached to the other end of the fulcrum shaft. A support arm 4 which is provided and transmits the displacement of the intermediate idler wheel.
A chair 8 is placed on the upper side, and a leg portion 8a pivotally supported by a support column 7 fixed to the vehicle body base is tilted, and a lower end of this leg portion and an upper end of the support arm are connected. This is achieved by a wheelchair with a caterpillar that includes a connecting rod 5 and that automatically adjusts the tilt of the chair according to the tilt of the vehicle body base.

[0007] Another additional object of the present invention is achieved by a walking assist device in which a main body equipped with an endless track and an auxiliary support column for supporting a user are rotatably connected within a predetermined angle range. To be done.

[0008]

The operation of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view for explaining the structure and operation of one example of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows a state when traveling on a flat ground, in which the vehicle body base 1 and the support rod 10 are kept horizontal and the legs 8a are kept vertical. Then, for example, when the intermediate idler wheel 9b rides on the slope as shown in FIG. 1B, the support rod 10 tilts and at the same time, the vehicle body base 1
Rotates about the fulcrum shaft 3 by a predetermined angle in accordance with the elastic force of the elastic springs 11a and 11b, and causes an angular displacement relative to the support rod 10. This rotation is transmitted to the leg portion 8a via the support arm 4 and the connecting rod 5 to keep the chair 8 in a stable posture. This action works in the opposite direction on the downslope, also keeping the chair stable.

Further, in the case of the walking assist device of the present invention, since the main body can freely rotate with respect to the auxiliary support column within a predetermined angle range, the inclination of the vehicle body on the uneven surface is absorbed by that amount, and the steering wheel is less swayed.

[0010]

1 is a partially cutaway perspective view for explaining an example of the main structure of a wheelchair with a track according to the present invention.
As shown in the figure, two endless track zones (hereinafter referred to as tracks) made of elastic material such as hard rubber on both sides of the vehicle body 1
4, 14 'with rear drive wheels 12, 12' respectively
Are driven by electric motors 15 and 15 'to perform operations such as straight advance, direction change, back, stop and the like.

Since the mechanism described below is symmetrical on the left and right of the vehicle body, only one side will be described. The caterpillar 14 is grounded between two intermediate idler wheels 9a and 9b axially attached to both ends of the support rod 10, and these intermediate idler wheels 9a and 9b are grounded.
The weight of the vehicle body is supported by a and 9b. The connection relationship between the vehicle body base 1 and the support rod 10 is as follows. The support body 2 fixed to the vehicle body base 1 is connected to the support rod 10.
A fulcrum shaft 3 attached to the support rod is rotatably supported, and two coil springs 11a and 11b respectively lock the support rod 10 and the vehicle body base 1 near both ends of the support rod 10. As a result, the vehicle body base 1 and the support rod 10 perform a relative swinging motion about a state in which they are parallel to each other.

On the other hand, the leg portion 8a attached to the bottom portion of the chair 8 and holding the posture of the chair 8 is rotatably pivoted around the axle 16 attached to the support column 7 fixed to the vehicle body base 1. The lower end of the leg portion 8a and the support arm 4 attached to the fulcrum shaft 3 are connected by a connecting rod 5 so that the rotational movement of the fulcrum shaft 3 is transmitted as the tilting movement of the chair 8. To be done. The drawing shows a link mechanism in which the tilt of the support rod 10 and the tilt of the chair 8 are in opposite phase, and the user does not feel the tilt even when the vehicle body is on a slope.

FIG. 3 shows another example of the mechanism for stabilizing the inclination of the chair. A support 21 is fixed to the lower surface of the vehicle body base 1 having tracks on both sides, and a swing arm 22 for swinging a weight W is swingably attached to a shaft 23 attached to the lower end thereof. It is supported. On the other hand, a support pillar 7 is fixed to the upper surface of the vehicle body base 1, and a leg portion 8a of a chair 8 is tiltably supported about a shaft 28 attached to the upper end of the support pillar 7. In addition, the hydraulic unit that combines two cylinders
A first rod 24a integrated with the piston 26a of the first cylinder 25a and a piston 26 of the second cylinder 25b.
It has a second rod 24b integrated with b, and is connected to the swing arm 22 and the leg portion 8b via connecting rods 29a and 29b, respectively.

In such a structure, the stability control of the chair is performed as follows. Now, when the vehicle body comes to the ascending slope, the weight W moves in the N direction with respect to the vehicle body base 1 by the action of gravity. This movement is performed by the first cylinder 2 through the connecting rod 29a connected to the swing arm 22 and the first rod 24a.
The piston 26a of 5a is moved to the right, and the change in hydraulic pressure is transmitted to the second cylinder 25b. The second cylinder 25b moves the piston 26b in response to the change in the hydraulic pressure, and moves the second rod 24b to the left to tilt the leg portion 8a forward through the second connecting rod 29b. This allows the chair 8 to maintain a stable posture. Further, in the case of the down slope, the operation in the opposite direction to the above case is performed, and the stable posture of the chair is maintained.

An example in which the caterpillar is used in a wheelchair has been described above. Next, an example in which the caterpillar is used in a walking assistance trolley will be described. FIG. 4 is a front view and a side view showing an external configuration example of a walking assist device with a track (hereinafter referred to as a track reader). The caterpillar reader 100 includes a main body 101 in which a drive unit is provided and which has caterpillars 102 and 102 ′ mounted on both lower sides, and a side surface of the main body 101, and shafts 104 and 104 ′ attached to the side surfaces. A support base 106 that is rotatably supported around it, stoppers 107a and 107b that are fixed to this side surface and limit the rotation angle range of the support base 106, are installed on the top of the support base 106, and are provided on the upper end. It is composed of an auxiliary strut 108 that supports the user with a handle 109, and the auxiliary strut 108 can freely rotate back and forth by a predetermined angle θ around a position inclined about 15 ° forward from the vertical direction. There is.

In this way, the object of the present invention can be achieved with the simplest structure. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when traveling on a flat surface, the auxiliary column 108 is freely movable between B and B ′ positions at an angle of ± θ centered on the A position inclined by 15 ° from the vertical line O. Can rotate. Here, if there is a step 110 in the front, if the auxiliary column 108 is tilted further forward from the B position by an angle φ to the C position, the caterpillar 102 (102 ′) will move to the rear drive wheels 111, (1).
11 ') is a fulcrum and is lifted by an angle φ.
11, (111 ') thrust force the front driven wheel 112
(112 ') can ride on the step 110 and get over the step. Further, since the direction of the main body 101 can be easily changed by rotating the handle 109 with the front wheels thus floated, it is possible to drive the caterpillars on both sides at the same time with one motor, and to change the direction. The mechanism for can be omitted. Furthermore, when traveling on uneven surfaces,
The swing of the main body 101 is absorbed within the angle range of ± θ by the rotation of the shafts 104, 104 ′, and the influence of vibration or the like on the user who holds the handle 109 can be reduced.

[0017]

As described above, according to the wheelchair with caterpillar and the walking assist device with caterpillar of the present invention, by using the caterpillar, the uneven surface and the slope which cannot be achieved by the conventional wheelchair and the walking assist device are self-powered. Therefore, the user's posture is not disturbed by the tilting of the vehicle body that occurs in that case. Further, the posture stabilizing mechanism used is a simple one mainly utilizing inertia and does not require an extra drive source for operating this.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a main part of a wheelchair with a track.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the example of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining another configuration example for stably controlling a chair.

4A and 4B are a front view and a side view showing an example of the external structure of a walking assist device with a track.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the example of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 vehicle body base 3 fulcrum shaft 4 support arms 5, 29a, 29b connecting rod 8a legs 9a, 9b intermediate idler wheels 10 support rods 11a, 11b elastic springs (coil springs) 12,111 drive wheels 13,112 driven wheels 14,102 Tracked track (caterpillar) 15 Electric motor 22 Swing arm 24a, 24b Rod 25a, 25b Cylinder 100 Caterpillar reader 101 Main body 104 Shaft 106 Strut base 107a, 107b Stopper 108 Auxiliary strut 109 Handle

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inscribed orbital track 14 stretched between a drive wheel 12 and a driven wheel 13 axially mounted on a vehicle body base 1 is inscribed to define a grounding range of the endless orbital band, and Two intermediate idler wheels 9a, 9b that support the weight of the vehicle body, a support rod 10 that pivotally mounts these intermediate idler wheels on both ends, and swings around a fulcrum shaft 3 installed in the center, and the vehicle body base. A support body 2 which is fixed and rotatably supports the fulcrum shaft.
And two elastic springs or coil springs 11a and 11b for elastically locking the support rod and the vehicle body base near the intermediate idler wheel, and attached to the other end of the fulcrum shaft. A support arm 4 for transmitting the displacement of the idler wheel, a chair 8 placed thereon, and a leg portion 8a tiltably supported by a support column 7 fixed to the vehicle body base, and a lower end of this leg portion. And a connecting rod 5 connecting the upper end of the support arm with
A wheelchair with a caterpillar characterized in that the inclination of the chair is automatically corrected according to the inclination of the vehicle body base. 2. An upper end (or a lower end) is rocked by a support body 21 fixed to a lower surface (or an upper surface) of a vehicle body base 1 on which both sides of an endless track extending between a driving wheel and a driven wheel are mounted. A swing arm 22 rotatably supported and having a weight W attached to a lower end (or an upper end) and a chair 8 placed thereon are tilted to a supporting column 7 fixed to the vehicle body base. A leg portion 8a that is freely supported and a first cylinder 2 that is mounted on the vehicle body base and constitutes a hydraulic unit having two cylinders.
First rod 24a integrated with piston 26a of 5a
And a second rod 24b integrated with a piston 26b of a second cylinder 25b that operates in response to a change in hydraulic pressure caused by the movement of the first rod, an intermediate point of the swing arm and the first rod. The first connecting rod 29a for connecting the rod and transmitting the displacement of the weight W to the hydraulic unit, the intermediate point of the leg portion 8a of the chair and the second rod are connected to each other, and the change in hydraulic pressure is connected to the leg portion. And a second connecting rod 29b for converting the inclination angle displacement of the chair, and the tilt of the chair is automatically corrected according to the tilt of the vehicle body base. 3. Drive wheels 111, 111 'and driven wheels 11
Endless orbital zone 102,10 stretched between 2,112 '
2'is mounted on both sides, and a main body 101 having a drive unit internally provided,
A support base 106 that rotatably holds the side surface of the main body.
And stoppers 107a and 107b fixed to the side surface to limit the rotation angle range of the column base, and an auxiliary column 10 attached to the column base and having a handle 109 at the upper end.
8. A walking assist device with a caterpillar, comprising: a steering wheel for stably supporting a user with the handle; and a driving operation by tilting the auxiliary column and rotating the handle.