JPH10295738A - Running chair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set a foot rest in a position where it is not in the way of a running chair with a seat arranged in such a state that the seat is close to a floor surface when the foot rest is mounted on the chair. SOLUTION: The base end part of a support arm 12a for a foot rest 12 is installed, in a freely vertically rocking manner, on the front end part of a chair frame 2 with a seat 4. On the other hand, a rotary arm with a nicked first gear is integrally fitted into the base end part of the support arm 12a. Further, the second gear of an electric motor for the foot rest 12 provided on the chair frame 2 side is engaged with the first gear. In addition, the foot rest 12 rocks to change from a contact position in which the foot rest 12 comes into contact with a floor surface to a separating position in which the foot rest 12 separates from the floor surface by the drive of the electric motor for the foot rest 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of a traveling seat and chair used when a person with a disability or an elderly person who has a disability or an elderly person moves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, elderly people with disabilities and persons with disabilities often use various equipments for persons with disabilities, such as self-help devices such as wheelchairs and assistive devices, so that they can perform their daily activities independently. Nowadays, there is a great demand for further development of such equipment for the disabled today. By the way, the lifestyle of Japanese households, as typified by tatami mats, still sits directly on the floor (including tatami mats), and those with high seats, such as wheelchairs, do not fit into home life. There are many. Therefore, it has been proposed that the wheelchair be seat-chair-type so that the seat can be lowered to a state close to that of a healthy person by lowering the seat. You will be able to live.

[0003]

By the way, even if the wheelchair is of a seat-chair type, it is necessary to provide a footrest so that the foot is not entangled during running, but the footrest has a low seat. For this reason, it is desirable to make the posture of the occupant's feet reasonable by setting the posture to be low so as to be in contact with the floor (folding surface). However, when the footrest is in such a low posture, when the chair is running, there is a problem that the footrest becomes an obstacle and free running is impaired, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is here. There is.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has been made in order to solve these problems, and is provided with a seat provided on a chair frame having traveling wheels. A movable sitting chair in a low sitting position, wherein a footrest on which a foot is to be placed is provided at the front end of the chair, and the base of the footrest is vertically moved to the front end of the chair frame. A transformation mechanism is provided movably to transform between a contact position in which the footrest on the distal end contacts the floor surface and a separation position in which the footrest portion moves upward and separates from the floor surface. Things. By doing so, while the seat is of a chair type with the seat lowered, the footrest can be set in a comfortable sitting posture as a further lower contact posture, while the running posture is set to the separated posture. In addition, it is possible to prevent the footrest from obstructing the running, so that the freedom of movement is not impaired. In this case, the footrest of the present invention is set in a separated posture when the chair is moved. By doing so, the separation posture of the footrest can be set when the chair is running, which is convenient. Further, in this apparatus, armrests are provided on the left and right sides of the seat, and the seat can be moved up to the same position as the armrest or a slightly higher position. By moving the arm up, it is easy to get on and off the chair without the armrest being in the way. Further, in this device, the up and down movement of the footrest is automatically performed by driving the actuator, and a footrest operating tool for operating the footrest actuator is provided on one of the left and right armrests. , The one armrest,
It can be configured to move up and down with the seat.
By doing so, even when the seat is moving upward, a person sitting on the seat can operate the footrest operating tool without difficulty. In addition, the seat chair shall travel with the driving force of the traveling actuator, and a traveling operating tool for operating the traveling actuator is provided on one of the left and right armrests, and the one armrest is The seat can be configured to move up and down together with the seat. With this configuration, even when the seat is moved up, it is possible to perform the running operation of the seating chair without an unreasonable posture. Further, traveling by the traveling operating tool is performed when the footrest is restricted in the contact position and is in the separated position, and thereby the chair is in contact with the floor. There is no running while leaving. Furthermore, at the input of the traveling operation signal by the traveling operation tool, first, a driving command for setting the separated posture to the footrest actuator is output,
Thereafter, a control means for outputting a travel control command to the travel actuator may be provided.
Thus, when the chair is traveling from the stopped state, the footrest is automatically changed to the separated posture, and the operability is improved. Further, in this case, the armrest can be constituted by a wheel cover, so that the member can be shared.

[0005]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the first embodiment is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a traveling chair, which comprises a chair frame 2 and a pair of large-diameter traveling wheels (front wheels) 3 which are supported on both left and right sides of the chair frame 2. The basic configuration of the seat 4 and the like mounted on the chair frame 2 is the same as the conventional one.

The chair frame 2 has left, right,
The front and rear frame members 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d are formed of a rectangular frame, and a rear bracket 2e that projects rearward is integrally formed at the rear of the rear frame member 2d. The left and right frame members 2a and 2b are integrally provided with an axle bracket 5 that stands upright, and the axle bracket 5 rotatably supports the axle 3a of the traveling wheel 3 serving as a driving wheel. . Further, a pair of caster brackets 6 are integrally formed on the lower surface of the rear bracket 2e on both left and right sides, and small-sized casters (free wheels) 6a serving as driven wheels (rear wheels) are respectively attached thereto. The seat 4 has a seating portion 4a for supporting the occupant's waist, a backrest portion 4b for supporting the back, and an inclined portion 4c therebetween, which are integrally formed. The portion 4a is a frame frame material 2a, 2b, 2
c, 2d, the inclined portion 4c is set to face above the rear bracket 2e in a state of being placed on the upper surface of the rear bracket 2e. In this state, the seat 4 is in a sitting posture, and the occupant can be located at a low position close to the floor surface. It has become. Further, the seat 4 of the present embodiment moves upward from this sitting posture and is displaced to a sitting posture, which will be described later.

[0007] Reference numeral 7 denotes a wheel cover which is open at a lower portion so that the upper portion of the traveling wheel 3 is fitted inside from above, and the wheel cover 7 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and an upper surface 7a thereof is in the sitting posture. It is set so that it is also used for the armrest of the seat 4 that is being used. The traveling wheels 3 provided inside the wheel covers 7 are connected to a battery 8 for supplying power, and are mounted on the left and right frame members 2a and 2b, respectively. 9) is driven by the engagement of a gear 9a on the motor side and a gear 3b integrally mounted on the wheel side so that the chair 1 can be self-propelled. Is set. Furthermore, each wheel cover 7
The left (right side in FIG. 6) wheel cover 7L is fixed to the axle bracket 5 on the chair frame left frame member 2a side, while the right wheel cover 7R is on the side of the seat seating portion 4a. It is fixed. When the seat 4 moves up with respect to the chair frame 2 to take a seated position, the left wheel cover 7L does not move as it is, but the right wheel cover 7R moves up with the chair frame 2. Is configured. On the other hand, the driving of the traveling electric motor 9 is performed by a joystick lever (a traveling operating tool of the present invention) provided on the upper surface of the right wheel cover 7R.
9b is set to be performed by operating
The battery 8 is connected to the rear bracket 2 of the chair frame.
e is mounted on the upper surface.

The rear bracket 2e is integrally formed with a support surface 2f for supporting the seat inclined portion 4c. From the support surface 2f, the support surface is located on both left and right sides of the rear bracket 2e and integrally formed. A pair of cylindrical frame-side guides 2g provided are protruded long toward the seat backrest 4b. An electric cylinder 10 is inserted substantially at the center of the support surface 2f in the left-right direction.
The base end of the cylinder cylinder portion 10a constituting the cylinder bracket 0 is supported on the upper surface of the rear bracket 2e. On the other hand, on the back of the seat backrest 4b, a pair of first recesses 4d located on both left and right sides for housing the frame side guides 2g are provided.
Are formed, and second concave portions 4e are provided at the center for housing the electric cylinder 10. The electric cylinder 10 in which the upper half is housed in the central second recess 4e has a distal end portion of the piston portion 10b.
When the power is supplied from the battery 8 to the electric cylinder 10, the piston 10b protrudes and retracts in the cylinder 10a to move the seat 4 up and down with respect to the chair frame 2. It is set to move. At this time, a pair of upper and lower sheet-side guides 4f formed in the left and right first recesses 4d respectively fit the frame-side guide body 2g in a vertically movable manner, so that the sheet 4 is guided by the frame-side guide 2g. It is set to move up and down in a state where Thus, sheet 4
The posture is changed from a sitting posture placed on the chair frame 2 to a sitting posture positioned above the chair frame 2,
In the sitting posture of the seat 4, the seating surface of the seating portion 7 a is set to be substantially flush with or slightly above the upper surface of the left wheel cover 7 </ b> L fixed to the axle bracket 5. As shown in FIG. 9, when the occupant turns his entire body to the left, care is taken so that his feet are not obstructed by the wheel cover 7L, so that the occupant can easily get on and off from that side. It has become. The position of the seat 4 is changed based on a switch operation of the seat operation switch 10c. The seat operation switch 10c is disposed on the inner side surface of the right wheel cover 7R.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a footrest provided on the front frame member 2c of the chair frame. The footrest 12 has a pair of left and right support arms 12a formed to be bent at an obtuse angle, and the tip of the support arm 12a. (Front end) Footrest 12 erected between
b. Each base end of the support arm 12a is supported by a support side 2h extending from a front end of the left and right frame members 2a, 2b of the chair frame 2 via a support pin 12c so as to be vertically swingable. . Reference numeral 13 denotes a pivot arm integrally provided between the base ends of the support arms 12a, and an outer peripheral surface of the pivot arm 13 has a first gear 13a
Are integrally formed. On the other hand, reference numeral 14 denotes an electric motor for a footrest (an actuator for a footrest of the present invention) arranged on a motor mounting portion 2i formed on the front frame member 2c of the chair frame, which is provided on an output shaft of the electric motor 14. Second gear 1
The first gear 13a on the rotating arm 13 side meshes with 4a (constituting the transformation mechanism of the present invention).
Then, when the electric motor 14 for footrest, which is supplied with power from the battery 8, is driven, the second and first gears 14
a, the pivoting arm 13 pivots via 13a, whereby the footrest 12 moves upward from the grounding posture in which the footrest 12b comes into contact with the floor, and the footrest 12b moves away from the floor. It is set so that the posture changes to the separated posture. still,
Reference numeral 12d denotes a footrest operation switch (footrest operation tool of the present invention) provided on the upper surface of the right wheel cover 7R to drive and control the footrest electric motor 14. The switch 12d is configured to push and operate the contact posture side or the separation posture side. F is a warming foot cover (hood) which is detachably provided on the foot rest 12b.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a control unit provided on the upper surface of the rear bracket 2e adjacent to the battery 8. The control unit 15 includes the joystick lever 9b, the seat operation switch 10c, and the footrest operation switch. 12d, a seat attitude detection sensor 10 for detecting a sitting attitude and a seating attitude of the seat 4 while receiving respective operation signals.
d, and each signal from the footrest posture detection sensor 12e that detects the contact posture and the separation posture of the footrest 12 is set to be input. Then, the control unit 15 outputs drive commands corresponding to the traveling electric motor 9, the electric cylinder 10, and the footrest electric motor 14 based on these input signals,
As a result, the actuators 9, 10, and 14 are set to drive and control, respectively.

Next, a control procedure by the control unit 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG.
The control procedure of the traveling electric motor 9 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 will be described. When the initial setting is performed, the control unit 15 determines whether or not an operation signal such as forward or backward movement is input from the joystick lever 9b, and Is determined, it is determined whether or not a separation detection signal is input from the footrest posture detection sensor 12e. If the separation detection signal is input, that is, the footrest 12 is in the separation posture. Only when it is determined, the travel control corresponding to the lever operation of the joystick stick lever 9b is set. On the other hand, when the footrest 12 is in the abutting posture, the traveling control is not performed, so that the chair 1 travels only when the footrest 12 is in the separated posture, and Joystick lever 9 in the contact position
Consideration is given not to run even if the user operates b.

Next, a control procedure of the footrest electric motor 14 by the control part 15 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 11. After the initial setting, the control part 15 outputs a signal from the footrest operation switch 12d. It is determined whether the signal is a separation posture signal or a contact posture signal. If the signal is a separation posture signal, it is determined whether the travel control is being performed.
When the traveling control is being performed, the electric motor 1
No. 4 is not controlled.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the traveling control is not being performed, that is, if it is determined that the chair 1 is stopped, it is determined whether or not a separation detection signal is input from the footrest posture detection sensor 12e.
If it is determined that there is no such signal, an up-moving drive command is output to the electric motor 14 for a foot until the separation detection signal is input, that is, until the foot 12 is moved up to the separated posture. On the other hand, when it is determined that the signal from the footrest operation switch 12d is the contact posture signal, similarly to when the separation posture signal is input, only when it is determined that the chair 1 is stopped. , The foot motor 12 for the foot motor 12
Is set to output a down movement drive command for moving down until a contact detection signal is input. In this manner,
Control is performed so that the posture change of the footrest 12 is performed only when the chair 1 is stopped.

The electric cylinder 10 for changing the position of the seat 4 is driven based on a seat operation switch 10c. Since it is not performed simultaneously with the transformation, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, the control is performed irrespective of the control of the traveling electric motor 9 and the footrest electric motor 14. In this case, a lock mechanism (not shown) is provided on the seat operation switch 10c so that the seat operation switch 10c is prevented from being erroneously operated while the electric motors 9 and 14 are being driven.

In the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the seating chair 1 is free to run while the normal position of the seat 4 is in a low-sitting position in accordance with a Japanese lifestyle. In this case, the footrest 12 on which the foot rests moves up and down between a contact position in which the foot position does not become an unreasonable position and a separation position in which the foot is separated from the floor surface. Since it is possible to reduce the fatigue of the occupant as a contact posture in which the feet can be lowered to a relaxed position when the vehicle is stopped, and when the seating chair 1 is run, the separated posture is used. Foot and footrest 1
2 itself can run without disturbing. Moreover, in this device, the seat 4 is vertically displaced between the sitting position and the sitting position, so that it is easy to get on and off the seat 1, but in this case, the arm 4 is provided on both sides of the seat 4. Of the wheel covers 7, the left wheel cover 7L is fixed to the chair frame 2 and is immovable.
When the seat 4 is in the sitting posture, the upper surface of the wheel cover 7L and the seating surface of the seating portion 4a have substantially the same height.
It is possible to turn on and off the body with the body turned to the left while sitting on the chair 1, so that the foot cover F at the tip of the footrest 12 is provided as in the present embodiment. Even if there is, it is possible to get on and off from a lateral position avoiding the foot cover F.

Further, the chair 1 is of an electric type,
Each operating tool for operating the seat 1, that is, the joystick lever 9 b for traveling and the operation switch 10 for the seat
c, the footrest operation switch 12d and the like are arranged on the right wheel cover 7R that moves upward together with the seat 4, so that the occupant can comfortably operate the operation tool 9 regardless of the posture of the seat 4 in any position.
b, 10c, and 12d can be operated, which can also help the disabled person to become independent. Moreover, in this case, when the chair 1 is run, the footrest 1
2 is controlled so that the running operation is performed in a state in which it is confirmed that the seat 2 is in the separated posture, and when the footrest 12 is operated, the foot is checked in a state in which the chair 1 is stopped. Since the operation of the platform is controlled,
There is no inconvenience such that the chair 1 runs while the seat 2 is in the contact position.

It is to be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be configured so that the upward movement of the footrest 12 is automatically performed in accordance with the traveling operation. That is, the control procedure is shown in FIG.
Based on this, the control unit 15 controls the joystick lever 9b in the stopped state.
It is determined whether or not an operation signal has been input from the CPU, and when the operation signal has been input, it is determined whether or not a separation detection signal has been input from the footrest posture detection sensor 12e. Then, when it is determined that the input has not been made, that is, the footrest 12 is not in the separated posture, an up-moving drive command is output to the footrest electric motor 14 until the footrest 12 is in the separated posture. The travel control corresponding to the operation of the joystick lever 9b is performed in response to the input of the separation detection signal. Thus, when the joystick lever 9b is operated to move the seated chair 1 in the stopped state in which the footrest 12 is in the abutting posture, the running of the chair 1 is automatically performed after the footrest 12 is in the separated posture. As a result, the switch operation for moving the footrest 12 upward as in the first embodiment is not required, and the operability is improved. In this case, a switch operation is required to move the footrest 12 downward.

Therefore, the third embodiment eliminates the need for this switch operation. The control when the seat 1 is run from the stopped state is the same as that of the second embodiment, and therefore will be omitted. However, when the chair 1 is stopped from the state in which the traveling control is performed, the setting is such that the control is performed according to the control procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, when the control unit 15 during the traveling control determines that the stop signal (neutral signal) is input from the joystick lever 9b,
Start the timer of the timer device, count the timer,
After the input of the stop signal, a predetermined time (for example, 5
(Seconds) has elapsed. Then, when it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, the timer of the timer device is reset and a downward movement drive command is output to the electric motor 14 for the footrest, whereby the footrest 12 is moved downward from the separated posture. It is set so that the posture changes to the contact posture. On the other hand, if an operation signal is input from the joystick lever 9b before the timer count reaches the predetermined time, the timer is reset and a drive command corresponding to the operation of the joystick lever 9b is set. With this, when a predetermined time has elapsed after the seating chair 1 is stopped, it is considered that there is an intention to continue stopping, and the footrest 12 is transformed into the contact position.
When the next operation of the joystick lever 9b is performed within a predetermined time, the next running operation is performed immediately without moving the footrest 12 down. As a result, the footrest 12 is moved up and down. This eliminates the need for a dedicated switch operation, thus further improving operability.

Further, the seat and chair may not be of an electric type. In this case, the footrest is moved up and down manually by lever operation or the like without using an electric type.
It may be configured such that the posture can be locked in the contact posture and the separation posture of the footrest.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a chair.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the chair showing a separated posture of the footrest.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the seat chair showing the seating posture of the seat.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a chair.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the chair.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a chair frame.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a use state of the chair.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control state of a control unit.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a traveling control procedure of a control unit.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a footrest control procedure of the control unit.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a sheet control procedure of a control unit.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure according to the third embodiment.

[Description of Signs] 1 Seat chair 2 Chair frame 3 Running wheel 4 Seat 5 Axle bracket 7 Wheel cover 9 Electric motor for traveling 10 Electric cylinder 12 Footrest 12b Footrest unit 14 Electric motor 15 Control unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A mobile seat chair in which a seat provided on a chair frame provided with running wheels has a low sitting posture, and a footrest for placing a foot on a front end of the seat chair. In providing the footrest, the base portion is provided at the front end of the chair frame so as to be movable up and down, and the footrest portion on the distal end side is in a contact position in which it comes into contact with the floor surface and a separated position in which the footrest portion moves upward and separates from the floor surface. A traveling chair equipped with a transformation mechanism for transforming between the two. 2. The traveling chair according to claim 1, wherein the footrest is set to a separated position when the chair is moved. 3. The traveling chair according to claim 1, wherein armrests are provided on left and right sides of the seat, and the seat can be moved up to the same position as the armrest or a slightly higher position. . 4. The footrest according to claim 3, wherein the vertical movement of the footrest is automatically performed by driving the actuator, and the footrest operating tool for operating the footrest actuator is one of right and left armrests. A traveling chair that is provided on one side and the one armrest is configured to move up and down with the seat. 5. The chair according to claim 3 or 4,
It is assumed that the vehicle travels with the driving force of the traveling actuator, and a traveling operation tool for operating the traveling actuator is provided on one of the left and right armrests, and the one armrest moves up and down together with the seat. The traveling chair is composed. 6. The traveling chair according to claim 5, wherein traveling by the traveling operating tool is performed when the footrest is restricted in the contact posture and is in the separated posture. 7. The driving operation device according to claim 5, wherein a driving command for setting the separated posture to the footrest actuator is output by inputting a driving operation signal from the driving operation tool, and then driving is performed to the driving actuator. A traveling chair provided with control means for outputting a control command. 8. The traveling seat chair according to claim 3, wherein the armrest is formed by a wheel cover.