JPH10118128A - Motor-driven wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a battery from being an obstacle for a helper by housing a wheel driving battery inside a hollow vehicle body frame. SOLUTION: The vehicle body frame 2 of a moor-driven wheelchair 1 is constituted mainly of hollow metallic pipes. The vehicle body frame 2 is constituted of a back pipe 21 which is the support frame of a back part and also where driving wheels 3 are fitted, arm pipes 22, seat pipes 24 and leg pipes 25. This pack pipe 21 is constituted of lower part pipes 21a, battery containing parts commonly used as vehicle shaft holding parts 21b which are erected on the upper parts and upper part pipes 21c. Grips 6 are fitting to the end parts of the upper part pipes 21c. The vehicle body length direction rearest parts of the battery housing parts commonly used as the vehicle shaft holding parts 21b are made to almost coincide with the same direction rearest part position of the uppermost part of a seat 7. Then, a rear part from a position indicated by a dashed line A is the position of a helper so that removal is executed from the battery containing part commonly used as the vehicle shaft holding part 21b and an operation is not disturbed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric wheelchair for driving wheels by adding auxiliary power generated by a motor to human power.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in general, a battery for an electric wheelchair is often provided at the bottom of a vehicle body.
It is difficult to remove the battery when charging or replacing,
In addition, when the wheelchair is folded, an improvement has been desired for the reason that the battery is obstructed if the battery is at the bottom.
Therefore, an electric wheelchair provided with a battery at a place other than the bottom has been proposed. For example, FIG.
It is a figure which shows the conventional electric wheelchair described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 79, (a) is a side view, (b) is a rear view (the figure seen from back of a wheelchair). In the figure, a wheelchair 100 is provided with a pair of left and right drive wheels 102 and casters 103 on a body frame 101, and each drive wheel 103 has a motor 1
04 are connected. A battery for driving the motor 104 is housed in a battery case 106 attached to the right side when viewed from the back side of the wheelchair 100, behind the back pipe 101a on which the back seat 105 is stretched. Each drive wheel 102 has a hand rim 107
Is attached, and the occupant has a pair of left and right hand rims 1
07, and a force is applied thereto, the force is detected by a detecting device (not shown), and an electric power is generated by the motor 104 in accordance with the detected human power. To run. When the caregiver pushes by hand, the wheelchair 1 is pushed by grasping the grip 108 attached to the end of the back pipe 101a and pushing the body.
Run 00.

[0003]

In the conventional electric wheelchair disclosed in the above publication, the battery case 106 is provided behind the back pipe 101a and the backrest seat 105, so that the space occupied by the caregiver can be accordingly increased. Was narrowing. Therefore, for example, when a caregiver attempts to operate a parking lever (not shown) for a parking operation, the battery case 106 hits the body of the caregiver, making operation difficult. In addition, when the back pipe 101a is required to be foldable, the battery case 106 is in the way, and this cannot be realized. As a result, there is a problem that the back pipe 101a cannot be compactly folded in the height direction. Further, since the battery case 106 is provided only on the right side when viewed from the rear side, there is also a problem that the left and right weight balance of the entire vehicle cannot be maintained and running stability is not good.

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, a first object of the present invention is to provide an electric wheelchair equipped with a battery so as not to hinder a caregiver's operation. A second object is to provide an electric wheelchair equipped with a battery so as not to hinder the folding operation. Further, a third object is to provide an electric wheelchair with good running stability that is balanced in weight.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an electric wheelchair provided with a mechanism for driving wheels by a motor using a battery as a power source, wherein the battery is housed inside a hollow body frame. is there. As a result, a part of the body frame is also used as a battery case, so that there is no need to separately provide a battery case at the bottom or rear side of the body frame. Therefore,
There are no obstacles to caregiver operation. Also, by storing the battery inside the body frame as described above, the battery does not hinder the folding operation even when the body frame is foldable.

In the above electric wheelchair, the battery is
It can also be housed in a pair of pipe parts provided symmetrically with respect to the traveling direction of the body frame. In this case, the batteries can be accommodated in the left and right pipe portions, respectively, and the power can be supplied to the motors provided on the respective sides, so that the current load on each battery can be reduced and used. As a result, the usable time of the battery by one charge is prolonged. In addition, since the left and right weights of the vehicle body can be balanced, running stability is not impaired.

[0007] In the electric wheelchair, a tubular battery storage section may be provided in a back pipe, which is a support frame of a backrest at the rear of the vehicle body, and a battery may be stored therein. In this case, since the back pipe is a part that originally has little interference with other parts of the body frame, and is a part having a relatively long linear shape,
A space for accommodating the battery can be easily and easily secured.

In the above electric wheelchair, when the vehicle body is foldable in the width direction, in the folded state, the widthwise inner surface of the battery storage portion is inside the width region of the folded body frame. So that they do not interfere with each other. In this case, the battery can be stored in the battery storage section of the back pipe without increasing the folding dimension value in the width direction as compared with the related art.

In the electric wheelchair, the battery storage portion is provided below the top of the backrest seat stretched in the width direction of the vehicle body frame, and is located at the rearmost position of the battery storage portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. May be configured to substantially coincide with the position of the top in the same direction. In such a configuration, the back pipe does not protrude rearward from the top of the backrest seat, so that the operation space of the caregiver is not impaired.

[0010] In the electric wheelchair, the back pipe is foldable, and a lid-like member for closing an opening formed in an upper part of the battery storage part; The opening may be opened and closed in accordance with a rotating operation of the upper pipe as a configuration including a rotatable upper pipe together with the lid-like member. With this configuration, the lid-like member can be operated by the turning operation of the upper pipe to open and close the upper opening of the battery storage portion, so that it is easy to attach and detach the battery when replacing or charging the battery. .

Further, in the electric wheelchair, a connector for electrically connecting the battery and the motor may be built in the body frame. With this configuration, the wiring from the battery can pass through the inside of the hollow body frame, so that the wiring is not exposed to the outside of the body frame.

[0012]

1 and 2 are a side view and a rear view, respectively, showing an electric wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2, an electric wheelchair 1 includes a body frame 2 mainly formed of a hollow metal pipe.
And a pair of left and right drive wheels 3 and casters 4 pivotally supported by the body frame 2. The body frame 2 is a support frame of a backrest portion, and is joined to the back pipe 21 to which the drive wheel 3 is attached,
An arm pipe 22 to which an armrest (elbow support) 8 is attached; a front pipe 23 extending downward from a front end of the arm pipe 22; a seat pipe 24 of a seat portion connecting the back pipe 21 and the front pipe 23;
A leg pipe 25 that is joined to the front pipe 23 and along which the occupant's legs are to be moved; and a caster bracket 2 that is fixed to the front pipe 23 and to which the casters 4 are attached.
6, a back pipe 21 and a front pipe 23 connected to each other, and a base pipe 27 joined to a leg pipe 25 as a main constituent member, which is provided in a pair of right and left, has an X-shape (see FIG. 2). The two cross bars 28 are connected in the width direction of the vehicle body. Further, a foot plate 5 on which the occupant's foot is placed is attached to a lower front portion of the leg pipe 25.
Between the left and right frames in the width direction of the body frame 2, a seat 7 serving as a seating portion and a backrest portion of the occupant is stretched. The operation lever 9 for the brake operation is the seat pipe 2
4 attached.

The back pipe 21 is further composed of three parts. That is, the back pipe 2
1 is a lower pipe 21 connected to a base pipe 27.
a, a battery storage part / axle holding part 21b standing upright, and an upper pipe 21c standing upright and extending substantially horizontally from an end thereof. A grip 6 to be held by a caregiver is attached to an end of the upper pipe 21c.

In FIG. 1, the rearmost position (the position indicated by the dashed-dotted line A in the vertical direction) of the battery housing / axle holding portion 21b in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is the same as the uppermost portion of the seat 7 in the same direction. It is arranged so as to substantially coincide with the rearmost position. This positional relationship has the following significance. In other words, the area behind the position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line A is the area where the body of the caregiver is present. Therefore, if a structure exists in this area, the operation of the caregiver will be hindered. However, since the battery storage unit / axle holding unit 21b does not enter the area, it does not hinder the caregiver's operation.
Further, as is clear from FIG. 1, since no battery case or the like is provided outside the vehicle body frame 2, there is no member that hinders the operation of the caregiver.

Next, the position of the battery housing and axle holder 21b in the width direction of the vehicle body will be described. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a state in which the electric wheelchair 1 is folded in the width direction. As is clear from the comparison with FIG. 2, by folding the crossbar 28 in the width direction, the entire width of the electric wheelchair 1 is reduced and the electric wheelchair 1 is compact. If the drive wheels 3 are removed, only the width of the vehicle body frame 2 indicated by the solid line is obtained, and it becomes very compact. At this time, the inner side surface 21ba in the width direction of the battery storage portion / axle holding portion 21b is
It is arranged and configured to be located inside the width region W of the body frame 2, and a gap is formed between them even in the folded state. In other words, the pair of left and right battery storage / axle holders 21b are arranged so as not to interfere with each other in the folded state. As a result, the battery housing and axle holding part 2 are provided in the middle part of the back pipe 21.
Despite the provision of 1b, the fold value in the width direction does not increase, and the fold value in the related art is maintained as it is.

Next, the battery housing and axle holder 21
The detailed structure of b will be described. 4 and 5 are a partial cross-sectional view of the electric wheelchair 1 as viewed from the side and a cross-sectional view as viewed from the rear, respectively, of the battery storage unit / axle holding unit 21b. FIG. 6 shows VI-VI in FIG.
It is sectional drawing. Battery storage and axle holder 21b
Is an axle holding portion 21b1 that holds the axle 39 (FIG. 5).
And the axle holding portion 21b1 and the battery 3
1 and a lid-like member 21b3 provided so as to close the upper opening of the battery storage portion 21b2. The battery housing portion 21b2 has a cylindrical cross-section in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof, which is not cylindrical.
). Further, the lid-like member 21b
3 is fastened to the upper end of the battery housing 21b2 by pins 21b4 and 21b5. Here, pin 2
Although 1b4 is fixed, the pin 21b5 can be inserted and removed in its axial direction. In the illustrated state, the pins 21b5
Is inserted and fitted to the upper end of the battery storage section 21b2 to be locked. The lid-like member 21b3 is
It is joined to the upper pipe 21c by welding. Also,
The axle holder 21b1 is joined to the lower pipe 21a by welding.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a battery 31 composed of a battery pack assembly is built in the battery storage section 21b2. The battery 31 is, for example, a package in which a plurality of Ni-Cd storage batteries 31a are connected in series by coating with plastic or the like, and a guide portion 32 and a connector 33 provided at a lower end portion.
a (female) and integrally formed, and inserted into the battery storage section 21b2. The example shown is an electric wheelchair 1
Ni-Cd storage batteries 31a are arranged in two rows in the length direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 4), in one row in the width direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 5), and in five rows in the vertical direction (FIG. 1). Battery 3 composed of a total of ten Ni-Cd storage batteries 31a arranged
1 is stored in the battery storage section 21b2. A holding member 35 holding the connector 33b (male) and having a spring 34 inserted outside is provided below the battery storage pipe 21b2. In the illustrated state, the connectors 33a and 33b are connected against the spring 34. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a pressing member 36 made of, for example, rubber is detachably attached to the center of the upper end of the battery 31 in the width direction of the battery storage portion 21b2.

As shown in FIG. 5, a connector 37a (female) is attached to the axle holding portion 21b1, and is connected to a connector 33b on the battery 31 side by a connection line 38. An axle portion 39 is inserted into the axle holding portion 21b1, and is fixed to each other by an axle rotation preventing pin 40. In this state, the connector 37b (male) on the axle portion 39 side is connected to the connector 37a on the axle holding portion 21b1 side.
Is connected to The connector 37b is connected to a slip ring 42 via a connection line 41, and is connected from the slip ring 42 to a control board 44 provided inside the drive wheel 3 via a connection line 43. The control board 44 is connected to a drive motor 45 provided inside the drive wheel 3 via a connection line (not shown). Drive wheel 3 is ball bearing 4
6, it is held rotatably with respect to the axle 39. In this manner, the wiring from the battery 31 to the drive motor 45 is provided inside the battery housing 21b2,
Inside the axle holding portion 21b1, inside the axle portion 39, and
It is made through the inside of the drive wheel 3 and is not exposed to the outside.
Therefore, the structure is excellent not only in the ease of wiring but also in the protection of electric wires.

The drive wheel 3 and the axle portion 39 can be removed from the axle holding portion 21b1 by pulling out the axle detent pin 40 and then pulling it rightward in FIG. By removing the connector 37b, the axle holder 21b
Since it is detached from the connector 37a on the one side, the electrical connection is also cut off at the same time.

In the electric wheelchair 1 constructed as described above, when a driving force is applied to the driving wheels 3 by human power and the vehicle runs, a detecting device (not shown) detects a running load and an output signal thereof is output. It is input to the control board 44. The control board 44 does not rotate the drive motor 45 when the input signal (that is, the traveling load) does not reach the predetermined value,
When the predetermined value is exceeded, power is supplied to the drive motor 45 to generate a torque corresponding to the value, and the drive motor 45
To rotate. When the drive motor 45 rotates, a drive force is applied to the drive wheels 3 via a drive mechanism (not shown), and the wheelchair runs using the drive force as auxiliary power. The batteries 31 are housed in each of a pair of battery housing sections 21b2 provided on the left and right in the width direction of the vehicle body, and the left and right drive motors 45 (FIG. 5) are driven by the batteries 31 on each side. As a result, the current load per pack of the battery 31 can be reduced and used.
One charge enables long-term use. The batteries 31 are evenly provided in the pair of left and right battery storage sections 21b2 to maintain the right and left weight balance. Therefore, the running stability of the vehicle body can be favorably maintained.

Next, the folding of the back pipe 21 will be described. FIG. 7 is a partial side view mainly showing a battery housing / axle holding portion 21b of the back pipe 21 and an upper pipe 21c. In the figure, first, the pin 21
b5 is unlocked and pulled out, and the upper pipe 21c is rotated counterclockwise about the pin 21b4.
At this time, since nothing is provided at the rear part of the battery storage part / axle holding part 21b, there is nothing obstructing the rotation of the upper pipe 21c, and the upper pipe 21c can rotate to the state shown by the two-dot chain line. . As a result, the overall height of the electric wheelchair 1 is significantly reduced, and the overall length is slightly reduced. By rotating the upper pipe 21c, the lid-like member 21b3 is separated from the upper end of the battery storage section 21b2, and the upper end of the battery 31 is exposed. Although the battery 31 is urged upward by a spring 34 (FIGS. 4 and 5), the battery 31 does not float because the pressing member 36 presses the upper end of the battery 31 as shown in FIG. , Are held in the battery storage section 21b2 as they are. Therefore, for example, even when the folded body frame 2 is turned upside down when being transported, the battery 31 does not fall out of the battery storage section 21b2.

On the other hand, when replacing the battery 31,
Alternatively, in the case of charging, after rotating the upper pipe 21c as described above, the holding member 36 is removed and the battery 31 is turned off.
In a state where it can be taken out. The notch 2 provided on the side of the upper end of the battery storage 21b2
1b21 (FIGS. 4 and 7), the connector 33a (female) is detached from the connector 33b (male) by grasping and lifting the upper portion of the battery 31, and the battery 31, the guide portion 32, and the connector 33a are integrated with the battery 33b. It is taken out of the storage section 21b2. In addition, when the charged or new battery 31 is loaded in the battery storage section 21b2, the upper pipe 21c is rotated, and
With the holding member 36 removed, the battery 31 is inserted and pressed against the spring 34 to attach the holding member 36. Then, the upper pipe 21c is rotated to close the upper opening of the battery storage portion 21b2 with the lid member 21b3, and then tightened through the pin 21b5 to tighten the lid member 21b3 and the battery storage portion 21b.
And 2 are fixed to each other. Thereby, the battery 31
Is pressed against the lid-like member 21b3,
The guide portion 32 compresses the spring 34 and abuts on the upper end of the holding member 35, and the connector 33a (female) is
(Male).

In the above-described embodiment, the battery housing portion 21b2 is provided in the back pipe 21 and the battery 31 is housed therein. However, the battery housing portion is not limited to the back pipe 21 and the battery housing portion may be provided in other body frames. It can also be provided. For example, the arm pipe 2 of FIG.
2. The seat pipe 24 or the base pipe 27 may be formed thick, and the battery 31 may be provided therein.

[0024]

The present invention configured as described above has the following effects. According to the present invention, in an electric wheelchair provided with a mechanism for driving driving wheels by a motor using a battery as a power source, a battery is housed inside a hollow body frame, so that a part of the body frame also serves as a battery case. This eliminates the need to provide the battery case at the bottom or the rear side of the body frame. Therefore, the caregiver can perform the operation without being restricted by the obstacle. Further, when the vehicle body can be folded in the width direction, the folding operation can be freely performed without restriction.

In the above-mentioned electric wheelchair, when a battery is housed in a pair of pipes provided symmetrically with respect to the traveling direction of the body frame, the batteries are housed in the left and right pipes, respectively. Side motor can be powered. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the current burden on each battery and use it. As a result, 1
The usable time of the battery with each charge can be extended. Further, since the left and right weights of the vehicle body can be balanced, good running stability can be obtained.

In the electric wheelchair, a battery storage portion is provided in a back pipe, which is a support frame of a backrest at the rear of the vehicle body, and when the battery is stored therein, the back pipe is originally connected to another part of the vehicle body frame. Since the portion has little interference and has a relatively long linear shape, a space for accommodating the battery can be easily and easily secured.

When the body of the electric wheelchair is foldable in the width direction, the inner surface of the back pipe in the width direction is inside the width region of the body frame in the folded state so as not to interfere with each other. In this case, the battery can be stored in the back pipe without increasing the conventional folding dimension value in the width direction. Therefore, even though it is a body frame containing a battery,
It can be folded compactly.

In the electric wheelchair, the battery storage portion is provided below the top of the backrest seat stretched in the width direction of the vehicle body frame, and is located at the rearmost position of the battery storage portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. Is substantially coincident with the position of the top in the same direction, the battery housing does not protrude backward from the top of the backrest seat, so that the caregiver's operation space is not impaired. . Therefore, the caregiver can perform the operation without being obstructed by the obstacle.

Further, in the electric wheelchair, the back pipe is foldable, and a lid-like member for closing an opening formed in the upper part of the battery storage part, and is provided upright from the lid-like member. In the case of having a configuration in which the upper portion is rotatable together with the lid-like member, and the opening is opened and closed according to the rotation operation of the upper pipe,
Since the lid member can be opened and closed by the turning operation of the upper pipe to open and close the upper opening of the battery storage section, the battery can be easily replaced when the battery is replaced or charged. In addition, since the battery is stored in the battery storage section in the back pipe, it is possible to freely rotate the upper pipe without restriction.

In the electric wheelchair, when a connector for electrically connecting the battery and the motor is built in the body frame, wiring from the battery can be passed through the hollow body frame. The wiring is not exposed to the outside of the body frame. Therefore, the wiring is easy and the wiring can be protected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the electric wheelchair according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the electric wheelchair according to the embodiment of the present invention in a folded state.

FIG. 4 is a side view including a partial cross-sectional view showing a detailed structure of a battery storage unit and an axle holding unit in a back pipe of the electric wheelchair according to the embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the same portion as FIG. 4 in the width direction of the electric wheelchair.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a partial side view showing a folding operation of the back pipe of the electric wheelchair according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view and a rear view showing a conventional electric wheelchair.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric wheelchair 2 Body frame 3 Drive wheel 4 Caster 5 Step 6 Grip 7 Seat 8 Armrest 9 Brake 21 Back pipe 21a Lower pipe 21b Battery storage part and axle holding part 21b1 Axle holding part 21b2 Battery storage part 21b3 Lid member 21c Upper pipe Reference Signs List 22 arm pipe 23 front pipe 24 seat pipe 25 leg pipe 26 caster bracket 27 base pipe 28 crossbar 31 battery 31a Ni-Cd battery 32 guide section 33a, 33b connector 34 spring 35 holding member 36 pressing member 37a, 37b connector 38 connection line 39 Axle part 40 Axle detent pin 41 Connection line 42 Slip ring 43 Connection line 44 Control board 45 Drive motor 46 Ball bearing

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An electric wheelchair having a mechanism for driving wheels by a motor using a battery as a power source, wherein the battery is housed inside a hollow body frame. 2. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the battery is housed in a pair of pipes provided symmetrically with respect to a traveling direction of the body frame. 3. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein a tubular battery housing portion is provided on a back pipe, which is a support frame of a backrest portion behind the vehicle body, and the battery is housed in the battery housing portion. 4. The vehicle body is foldable in a width direction, and in the folded state, the widthwise inner side surfaces of the battery housing portion are inside the width region of the vehicle body frame and do not interfere with each other. An electric wheelchair according to claim 3. 5. The battery storage part is provided below a top of a seat for a backrest stretched in a width direction of the vehicle body frame, and a rearmost position of the battery storage part in a length direction of the vehicle body is The electric wheelchair according to claim 3, wherein the position substantially coincides with the position of the top in the same direction. 6. The lid according to claim 6, wherein the back pipe is foldable, and has a lid-like member for closing an opening formed in an upper part of the battery storage part; The electric wheelchair according to claim 3, further comprising a rotatable upper pipe, wherein the opening is opened and closed in accordance with a turning operation of the upper pipe. 7. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein a connector for electrically connecting the battery and the motor is built in the vehicle body frame.