JPH10328241A - Vehicle with mechanism for keeping seat horizontal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep a vehicle seat horizontal without using power and an inclination measuring device. SOLUTION: A wheelchair 1 has a vehicle main body 10, a rail 20, a seat 30, and a hanging support mechanism 40. The rail 20 is circular with a downwardly bulging longitudinal cross section and is secured to the vehicle main body 10. The seat 30 has a seat surface 31a, a projecting part 32a, and a moving mechanism 33 and describes a circular track about the projecting part 32a by moving along the rail 20. The projecting part 32a is placed in a position above the seat surface 31a. The moving mechanism 33 is supported on the rail 20. The moving mechanism 33 has a bearing and is secured to the vehicle main body 10. The bearing supports the projecting part 32a in such a way that the projecting part 32a can be rotated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle with a horizontal seating mechanism, and more particularly to a wheelchair with a horizontal seating mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vehicle, for example, an electric wheelchair, even when a vehicle body is inclined along a slope such as a sloping road when ascending and descending a sloping road or an escalator, a driver sits on a seat. In order to maintain a sense of balance and remove fear, it is desirable to maintain a horizontal state.

As a mechanism for keeping the seat horizontal with respect to the inclination of the vehicle body, it is conceivable to use a horizontal holding mechanism conventionally used in a luggage carrier. As shown in FIG. 8, the horizontal holding mechanism of the luggage carrier includes a vehicle body 91,
It comprises an arc-shaped rail 92 bulging upward, and a luggage stand 93 which moves on the rail 92 in accordance with the inclination.

A luggage carrier 90 having this horizontal holding mechanism
When going up or down the hill 95,
The luggage stand 93 moves on the rail 92 while being controlled so as to keep the horizontal state (see FIG. 9).

[0005]

If the horizontal holding mechanism of a luggage carrier as described above is diverted as it is to an electric wheelchair,
A wheelchair 80 (see FIG. 10) including a vehicle body 81, an arc-shaped rail 82 bulging upward, and a seat 83 is provided. However, when such a horizontal holding mechanism is employed, a measuring device for measuring the inclination of the vehicle body 81 and a power for moving the seat 83 along the rails 82 are additionally required. For this reason, the weight and cost of the wheelchair increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to maintain a seat in a vehicle horizontally without using a power and inclination measuring device.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle including a vehicle body, a receiving and supporting member, and a seat. The receiving support member has an arc shape whose vertical cross section swells downward, and is fixed to the vehicle body. The seat has a seat surface and a movable supported portion. The seat moves along the receiving support member, and draws a locus of an arc centered on a predetermined position above the seat surface. The movable supported portion is a portion supported by the receiving support member.

When the vehicle is traveling on a horizontal road surface, the seat is supported at a predetermined position of the receiving and supporting member by the movable supported portion. The predetermined portion of the receiving and supporting member is a portion of the receiving and supporting member having the lowest height in the vertical direction. The height before and after the predetermined location of the receiving support member, because the longitudinal section of the receiving support member is an arc shape swelling downward,
It is higher than the height of a predetermined location. Therefore, the movement of the seat along the receiving and supporting member is restricted.

When the vehicle travels on a sloped road surface, the receiving support member is also inclined together with the vehicle body. Then, when the vehicle is traveling on a horizontal road surface, a portion where the height in the vertical direction is lower than a predetermined portion of the receiving support member on which the seat is supported appears on the receiving support member.
Therefore, due to gravity, the moving supported portion of the seat moves to a position where the height of the receiving support member in the vertical direction is the lowest, and balances. By such a movement, the seat can be kept horizontal even when the vehicle travels on an inclined road surface.

In this case, the seat moves and balances on the receiving support member by gravity according to the inclination of the road surface, so that a power or inclination measuring device for holding the seat horizontally is unnecessary. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle according to the first aspect, the receiving support portion is an arc-shaped rail extending forward and backward of the vehicle. Further, the movable supported portion has a rolling element that comes into contact with the rail.

In this case, the seat can be moved by a combination of the rail and the moving supported portion moving along the rail. The moving supported portion has rolling elements such as wheels and rollers, and moves along the rails by bringing the rolling elements into contact with the rails and rolling against the rails. Since the rolling elements are used as described above, the resistance between the rail and the moving supported portion is small, and the moving supported portion moves smoothly along the rail.

A vehicle according to a third aspect includes a vehicle body, a seat, and a suspension support mechanism. The seat has a seat surface and a suspended supported portion. The suspended supported portion is disposed above the seat surface. Further, the seat draws a locus of an arc centered on the suspended supported portion. The suspension support mechanism is fixed to the vehicle body. The suspension support mechanism has a suspension support section that rotatably supports the suspension supported section of the seat.

When the vehicle is traveling on a horizontal road surface, the seat is suspended by the suspension support of the suspension support mechanism via the suspension support, and is suspended from the suspension support. It becomes a state. When the vehicle travels on an inclined road surface, the suspension support mechanism is also inclined together with the vehicle body. However, since the suspended support portion of the seat is rotatably supported by the suspension support portion of the suspension support mechanism, even if the suspension support mechanism is inclined, the seat is centered on the suspended support portion due to gravity as it inclines. Move along an arc trajectory. By such a movement, the seat is kept horizontal even when the vehicle travels on an inclined road surface.

In this case, since the seat is moved and balanced by gravity, no power or inclination measuring device for holding the seat horizontally is required. A vehicle according to a fourth aspect includes a vehicle body, a receiving support member, a seat, and a suspension support mechanism. The receiving support member is a member that has a circular arc shape whose vertical cross section swells downward and is fixed to the vehicle body. The seat has a seat surface, a suspended supported portion, and a movable supported portion. The suspended supported portion is disposed above the seating surface. The movable supported portion is supported by the receiving support member. This seat can move along the receiving and supporting member to draw a locus of an arc centered on the suspended supported portion. The suspension support mechanism has a suspension support portion, and is fixed to the vehicle body. The suspension support section rotatably supports the suspension supported section of the seat.

When the vehicle is traveling on a horizontal road surface, the seat is supported at a predetermined position on the receiving and supporting member by the movable supported portion. The predetermined portion of the receiving and supporting member is a portion of the receiving and supporting member having the lowest height in the vertical direction. The height before and after the predetermined location of the receiving support member, because the longitudinal section of the receiving support member is an arc shape swelling downward,
It is higher than the height of a predetermined location. Therefore, the movement of the seat along the receiving and supporting member is restricted. In addition, the seat is supported by the suspension support unit of the suspension support mechanism via the suspension supported unit, is suspended from the suspension support unit, and is in a horizontal state.

When the vehicle travels on an inclined road surface, the receiving and supporting members are inclined together with the vehicle body. Then, when the vehicle is traveling on a horizontal road surface, a portion where the height in the vertical direction is lower than a predetermined portion of the receiving support member on which the seat is supported appears. Therefore, due to gravity, the movable supported portion of the seat moves to a position where the height of the receiving and supporting member in the vertical direction is the lowest. When the vehicle travels on an inclined road surface, the suspension support mechanism is also inclined together with the vehicle body. However, since the suspended support portion of the seat is rotatably supported by the suspension support portion of the suspension support mechanism, even if the suspension support mechanism is inclined, the seat is centered on the suspended support portion due to gravity as it inclines. Move along an arc trajectory. Such movement of the seat keeps the seat level even when the vehicle travels on a sloped road surface.

In this case, since the seat is moved and balanced by gravity, no power or inclination measuring device for holding the seat horizontally is required. In addition, here, there are two places for supporting the seat (a place where the height of the receiving support member is the lowest in the vertical direction, and a suspended supported part), and stress acting on these places and the seat structure is dispersed and small. Become. Thus, the weight of the vehicle can be reduced while ensuring the strength of each part.

The vehicle according to the fifth aspect is a wheelchair, and in the vehicle according to the third or fourth aspect, the suspended support portion and the seating surface are vertically separated from each other by 150 mm to 2000 mm. The wheelchair assumed in the present claim is a wheelchair having a total length of 1200 mm or less, which is the maximum total length of an electric wheelchair of Japanese Industrial Standard. Here, since the distance between the suspended supported portion and the seat surface is ensured to be 150 mm or more, even when the driver in the expected range sits on the seat, the combined center of gravity of the seat and the driver will be at the height of the suspended supported portion. It is located lower than the position. Thereby, the state where the seat is suspended is maintained even when the driver sits down.

In this case, the distance between the suspended supported portion and the seating surface is set to 2000 mm or less. When the seat moves to the front or rear of the wheelchair, the balance is lost, and the wheelchair is moved forward or rearward. Falling is suppressed.

[0020]

1 and 2 are schematic views of a wheelchair 1 as a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wheelchair 1 is an electric wheelchair that is moved by an operation of a driver 50 (see FIGS. 6 and 7), and mainly includes a vehicle body 10.
And a rail (receiving support member) fixed to the vehicle body 10
20, a seat 30 movable along the rails 20, and a suspension support mechanism 40. The total length of the wheelchair 1 is 1150 mm.

The vehicle body 10 mainly comprises a main frame 11, a front wheel 12 mounted on a lower front portion of the main frame 11, a motor 13 and a rear wheel 14 mounted on a lower rear portion of the main frame 11. I have. The distance (wheel base) between the rotation center of the front wheel 12 and the rotation center of the rear wheel 14 is about 600 mm. Main frame 11
A steering mechanism (not shown) is provided at the front of the vehicle, and the steering mechanism enables the front wheels 12 to be steered. The motor 13 is an inverter-controlled motor with a brake, and has a built-in speed reduction mechanism on the output side. The rear wheel 14 is rotated and stopped by the motor 13. Note that a battery 15 as a power source of the motor 13 is fixed to an upper rear portion of the main frame 11. Further, an operation panel 16 arranged at a position where the driver 50 can operate is fixed to the main frame 11. The operation panel 16 is provided with a steering operation lever, a main switch, a lever for controlling the traveling speed, a brake switch, a display unit, other switches, and the like.

The rail 20 is an arc-shaped member having a radius of 400 mm centered on a point on a central axis OO of a protruding portion 32a of an armrest bar 32 of the seat 30 described later. As shown in FIG. 2, the rails 20 are arranged one by one on the left and right. As shown in FIG. 4, both rails 20 have two first rails.
The connecting member 21 and one second connecting member 22 are connected and integrated. The rail 20 is connected to the connecting protrusion 21 fixed to the center of the first connecting member 21.
It is fixed to the main frame 11 via a rail support member 23 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) connected to the main frame 11.

The seat 30 mainly includes a seat body 31 on which a driver 50 sits, an armrest bar 32, and a moving mechanism 33.
It is composed of As shown in FIG. 1, the seat body 31 has a seat surface 31a that mainly supports the weight of the driver 50. The armrest bar 32 is a member extending forward from both sides of the center of the back portion of the seat body 31, and as shown in FIG. 3, a columnar protruding portion (suspended supported portion) protruding outward.
32a. The central axis of the projection 32a is shown in FIG.
Axis OO.

The moving mechanism (moving supported part) 33 is fixed to the lower part of the seat body 31 and, as shown in FIG.
5 and 36 and a positioning member 37 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). As shown in FIG. 5, the frames 35 and 36 are rotatably mounted on inclined portions at both ends of the plate 34, and are arranged so as to sandwich the rail 20 diagonally from both sides. The rolling surface (outer peripheral surface) of the top 35 is the rail 2
It comes into contact with 0 from inside and from above. The rolling surface (outer peripheral surface) of the top 36 contacts the rail 20 from outside and from below. The moving mechanism 33 moves along the rail 20 by rotating the frames 35 and 36. The positioning member 37 is for positioning the frames 35 and 36 with respect to the rail 20. A gap holding member 38 extends upward from the center of the upper surface of the plate 34, and the upper end of the gap holding member 38 is joined to the lower surface of the seat body 31.

The suspension support mechanism 40 is a mechanism for suspending the seat 30.
Bearing 42 fixed to a portion where both columns 41 intersect
(See FIG. 3). The lower end of the support 41 is fixed to the main frame 11. Bearing 42
The outer race is fixed to the column 41, and the inner race is fixed to the protrusion 32a of the armrest bar 32. Thus, the seat 30 is rotatably suspended with respect to the suspension support mechanism 40 fixed to the main frame 11.

Next, traveling of the wheelchair 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, when traveling on a flat ground 60, the moving mechanism 33 of the seat 30 is located substantially at the center of the rail 20,
The seat 30 is in a substantially horizontal state. As shown in FIG.
When climbing the slope 61, the rail 20 is also inclined together with the vehicle body 10. Accordingly, the moving mechanism 33 of the seat 30
Moves to the rear of the rail 20 along the rail 20 due to gravity. That is, the seat 30 rotates about the central axis OO of the projection 32a of the armrest bar 32, and draws a locus of an arc. By such movement of the seat 30, the wheelchair 1
When the user climbs up the slope 61, the seat 30 is kept substantially horizontal.

As shown in FIG. 7, when descending the slope 61, the rail 20 is inclined together with the vehicle body 10. Accordingly, the moving mechanism 33 of the seat 30 moves to the front of the rail 20 along the rail 20 by gravity. That is,
The seat 30 is provided with a central axis O of the protrusion 32 a of the armrest bar 32.
Rotate around −O and draw an arc trajectory. Due to such movement of the seat 30, even when the wheelchair 1 descends on the slope 61, the seat 30 is kept substantially horizontal.

As described above, according to the structure of the wheelchair 1 described in the present embodiment, the seat 30 moves by gravity in accordance with the inclination of the slope 61, and the seat 30 is held horizontally with natural balance. . Therefore, a tilt measuring device for detecting the power for moving the seat 30 and the tilt of the seat 30 becomes unnecessary. Further, in the structure of the present embodiment, since there are two places for supporting the seat 30 (the rail 20 and the bearing 42 of the suspension support mechanism 40), the stress acting on each part is dispersed as compared with the case where the seat 30 is supported at any one place. Being smaller. As a result, the wheelchair 1 is secured while maintaining the strength of each part.
Is lightened.

Further, the projection 3 which is the center of rotation of the seat 30
The distance between the central axis OO of 2a and the seating surface 30a is 400 mm.
Therefore, when the driver in the supposed range is seated on the seat 30, the seat 30 and the combined center of gravity of the driver are set to the seat 30.
Comes to a position lower than the position of the rotation center. For this reason,
In a normal use area, a problem that the seat 30 is disengaged from the rail 20 does not occur.

[0030]

According to the vehicle of the present invention, the seat is supported by the arc-shaped receiving support member whose longitudinal section swells downward, and the seat is moved and balanced by gravity. No power or tilt measuring device is required.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrows II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a rail and a moving mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a front half sectional view of a rail and a moving mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a state diagram of a wheelchair.

FIG. 7 is a state diagram of a wheelchair.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a luggage carrier.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a state of a luggage carrier.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a wheelchair.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheelchair (vehicle) 10 Vehicle main body 20 Rail (receiving support member) 30 Seat 31a Seat surface 32a Projection (suspension supported part) 33 Moving mechanism (movement supported part) 35, 36 Roller (rolling element) 40 Suspension support mechanism 42 Bearing (suspension support)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle body, comprising: a receiving support member fixed to the vehicle body, the receiving support member fixed to the vehicle body, and a movable supported portion supported by the receiving support member. And a seat that moves along the receiving and supporting member and draws an arc trajectory centered on a predetermined position above the seating surface. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the receiving and supporting portion is an arc-shaped rail extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the movable supported portion has a rolling element that comes into contact with the rail. 3. A seat having a vehicle body, a seat surface, and a suspended supported portion disposed above the seat surface, wherein the seat draws an arc locus centered on the suspended supported portion. A suspension support mechanism fixed to the vehicle body and having a suspension support portion rotatably supporting the suspended supported portion of the seat;
Vehicle equipped with. 4. A vehicle main body, a receiving support member fixed to the vehicle main body, the support section being fixed to the vehicle main body, and having a vertical cross section bulging downward, a suspended support portion disposed above the seat surface. A seat having a movable supported portion supported by the receiving support member, and moving along the receiving support member to draw a locus of an arc around the suspended supported portion; and A suspension support mechanism that is fixed and has a suspension support portion that rotatably supports the suspension supported portion of the seat;
Vehicle equipped with. 5. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the suspended supported portion and the seat are vertically separated from each other by 150 mm to 2000 mm in a wheelchair.