JPH1043248A - Manual type motorized wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of an input member, and correctly detect man power inputted to the input member by restricting lateral deflection of the input member. SOLUTION: In a manual type motorized wheelchair in which man power inputted to a hand rim as an input member relatively rotatably supported at a center part on a hub 2a of each of a right and a left wheel is detected, and in which assist power in accordance with the size of the detected man power is added to each wheel to be driven to rotate, slider (deflection proofing member) 25 is provided on the hub 2a side to face plural positions in the circumferential direction close to an outer circumferential part of a disc 14 supporting the hand rim, and a gap between the slider 25 and the disc 14 is set to be adjustable to zero or a micro-value. Deflection of a support part at a center part of the disc 14 is thus eliminated, lateral deflection of the hand rim is restricted to improve its operability, and circumferential man power (torque) applied to the hand rim can be correctly detected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manual electric wheelchair in which auxiliary power is applied to each wheel via input members in accordance with the magnitude of human power applied to left and right wheels.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such a manual electric wheelchair is located between a manual wheelchair and an electric wheelchair, and detects a human force (torque) intermittently applied to an input member such as a hand rim. By applying auxiliary power corresponding to the magnitude of the human power (torque) to the left and right wheels, the physical load on the occupant is reduced.

[0003] As a method of detecting the human power (torque) applied to the input member, the input member is rotatably supported on the wheel via an elastic member such as a spring, and the relative rotation between the input member and the wheel is detected. There is known a method of detecting a magnitude of a human power (torque) proportional to a relative rotation amount by detecting the amount.

[0004]

By the way, the applicant of the present invention is studying such a manual electric wheelchair in which a center portion of an input member such as a hand rim is supported by a small diameter boss portion of a wheel hub. .

However, in general, when a human force is applied to the hand rim, not only a circumferential force but also a lateral force in the vehicle width direction acts, so that the hand rim oscillates in the lateral direction. The frictional force is increased due to the strain on the support portion, and not only the operability is poor, but also the human power (torque) applied to the input member in the circumferential direction cannot be accurately detected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to suppress the lateral swing of an input member to improve its operability, and to accurately control the human force applied to the input member. Another object of the present invention is to provide a manually operated electric wheelchair which can be detected at the same time.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a human power input to an input member whose center is rotatably supported by hubs of left and right wheels is provided. In a manual electric wheelchair that detects and detects and adds auxiliary power corresponding to the magnitude of the detected human power to each wheel and rotationally drives the wheel, the wheelchair opposes a plurality of circumferential positions near the outer peripheral portion of the input member. Provide a steady rest member on the hub side,
The gap between the steadying member and the input member can be adjusted to zero or minutely.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the input member includes a disk-shaped disk rotatably supported by a hub of the wheel. The anti-sway member is disposed facing a plurality of circumferential positions near the outer peripheral portion.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the gap between the steady member and the input member is adjusted by an adjusting screw which is screwed into the hub side of the wheel so as to be able to move forward and backward. It is characterized by doing.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a steady rest member is provided on the hub side facing a plurality of circumferential positions near the outer peripheral portion of the input member, and a gap between the steady rest member and the input member is reduced to zero.
Alternatively, since the support member at the center of the input member is prevented from being twisted, the lateral deflection of the input member is suppressed, the operability is improved, and the human force in the circumferential direction applied to the input member is reduced. (Torque) is accurately detected. In addition, since the steady member is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the input member, even if the input member is pressed against the steady member, the input member is brought into a surface contact state, so that the surface pressure is reduced and the frictional force is also reduced. In particular, if the steadying member is made of a resin having a low friction coefficient, the frictional force can be further reduced even if the steadying member contacts the input member.

[0011]

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

FIG. 1 is a side view of a manual electric wheelchair according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the wheelchair, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the wheelchair, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion B of FIG. 4, and FIG.
8 is a sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG. 4, and FIG. 10 is an inner side view of the right wheel of the manual wheelchair according to the present invention. 11 is an inner side view of the left wheel of the wheelchair.

The manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment applies auxiliary power corresponding to the magnitude of human power applied to the left and right wheels 2 to each of the wheels 2 to rotate them. Wheels 2 are detachably mounted on the left and right sides of the body of an existing folding manual wheelchair. The front and rear portions of a pipe frame-shaped body frame 3 are movably supported by a pair of left and right casters 4 and wheels 2. ing.

At the center of the vehicle body frame 3, a cloth seat 5 on which an occupant sits is installed. still,
In FIG. 1, the seat 5 is shown in a state where a detachable cushion body is placed on a cloth sheet. Also, body frame 3
3 has a pair of front and rear cross members 3a as shown in FIG. 3. The two cross members 3a forming an X shape are pivotally connected at their intersections by a shaft 6, and the body is folded around the shaft 6. It is configured to be able to.

Further, a pair of left and right back pipes 3b is provided upright at the rear part of the body frame 3, and the upper end of each back pipe 3b is bent rearward, and the bent part has a grip for an assistant. 7 is attached. A wheelie bar 8 for preventing falling is attached to the inside of each wheel 2 to extend obliquely downward toward the rear of the vehicle body (to the right in FIG. 1).

The back pipe 3 of the body frame 3
A pair of left and right elbow pipes 3c extending horizontally from the intermediate height position b to the front of the vehicle body have front ends bent at substantially right angles and extend vertically downward, and the casters 4 are rotatably supported at lower ends thereof. I have. The front portions of the pair of left and right seat pipes 3d disposed below the elbow pipe 3c extend obliquely downward toward the front of the vehicle body, and have a pair of left and right steps 9 at their extended ends (front ends). Is attached.

As shown in FIG. 9, each of the pair of left and right wheels 2 is rotatably supported via a ball bearing 12 on an axle 11 supported by an axle mounting boss 10 welded to the body frame 3. A ring-shaped hand rim 13 is provided on the outside of each wheel 2 so that an occupant can turn the wheel by hand. As shown in FIG. 7, the hand rim 13 has a disk-shaped disk 14 rotatably supported via a bush 50 and a thrust washer 51 on a boss 2b formed integrally with the hub 2a of the wheel 2. It is attached by bolts 16 via the spokes 15 of the book, so that the hand rim 13 can rotate independently with respect to the wheel 2. Note that, in the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a seal ring 17 made of an elastic material is interposed between the hub 2a of the wheel 2 and the disk 14, and the disk 14 is covered by a cover 18 attached thereto. The seal ring 17 also functions as a friction damper that suppresses circumferential vibration due to the inertia of the disk 14 together with the sealing function.

The hand rim 13 is elastically supported at all three locations around the entire circumference so as to be rotatable relative to the wheel 2 in two directions by the structure shown in FIGS.

That is, as shown in FIG.
4 are formed at three locations on the entire circumference of the recess 4 and are formed at three locations on each of the rectangular holes 14a and the end face of the hub 2a of the wheel 2 and have a semicircular recess 2a-1 as shown in FIG. As shown, springs 19, 20 of different sizes are contracted, and both ends of these springs 19, 20 are received by spring receivers 21, 22. Each of the springs 19 and 20 is held by a retainer 24 connected to the hub 2a of the wheel 2 by two bolts 23 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, and no human power is applied to the hand rim 13. In the neutral state, both spring receivers 21 and 22 are in contact with the rectangular hole 14a of the disk 14, the hub 2a and the retainer 24 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, a resin slider 25 having a U-shaped cross section is provided at the tip of each retainer 24.
Are slidably fitted and held, and each slider 25 is provided with an adjusting screw 26 which is threadably engaged with the tip of the retainer 24 so as to advance and retreat.
To make light contact with the outer end surface of the disk 14, and the gap between them is adjusted to 0 or a minute value. Therefore, the disk 14 and the hand rim 13 held by the disk 14 are held by the sliders 25 that come into light contact with three places on the outer end surface of the disk 14, and the lateral deflection (play) is suppressed by the slider 25. Here, the slider 25 is made of a polyacetal resin (Duracon), a polyamide resin (nylon), a fluororesin (Teflon), or the like having a small coefficient of friction.

As shown in detail in FIG. 6, a guide groove 25a having a semicircular cross section is formed in the widthwise inner surface of each slider 25 in a lateral direction. The protrusions 24a having a semicircular cross section projecting long in the lateral direction are engaged with both end surfaces in the width direction of the portion.
5 slides along the projection 24a, and the projection 24a
Is prevented from falling off by engagement with the guide groove 25a.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS.
The wheel 2 (hub 2a) and the hand rim 13
A potentiometer 27 for detecting the magnitude and direction of the human force applied to the hand rim 13 based on the relative rotation amount and the relative rotation direction with respect to the (disk 14) is mounted so as to be position-adjustable, and an end of the input shaft of the potentiometer 27. Is connected to one end of a lever 28, and the other end of the lever 28 is engaged with a pin 29 protruding from the disk 14 by a long hole.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11,
A disk-shaped fixing plate 30 is provided on the inner side of each hub 2a of the pair of left and right wheels 2 in the vehicle width direction and is connected to the axle 11, and the fixed plate 30 has a controller 31 which constitutes control means, and An electric motor 32 as a drive source is attached.

A space surrounded by the fixed plate 30 is formed inside each wheel 2. The space is divided into a chamber S 1 and a chamber S 2 by a ring-shaped partition 33, and the space S 1 is formed in the chamber S 1. Houses the controller 31 and a rotary transformer 34 which is a signal transmission means. Incidentally, the rotary transformer 34 includes the controller 31 and the potentiometer 2.
7 is performed.

The auxiliary power generated by each of the electric motors 32 is transmitted to each wheel 2 via a power transmission means. The power transmission means includes a belt transmission mechanism G1 and gears G2, G3. It is configured.

The human power detecting means constituted by the springs 19 and 20 and the potentiometer 27 described above, the signal transmitting means constituted by the rotary transformer 34, the control means constituted by the controller 31, the electric motor 32 and the belt transmission mechanism G1, The power transmission means including the gears G2, G3 and the like constitutes the auxiliary power unit, which is a hub 2a of each wheel 2.
And a pair of right and left wheels 2 each having the auxiliary power unit incorporated in the hub 2a as described above, which are collectively arranged around the axle 11 of the fixed plate 30 in the radial direction and the axial direction. It is detachably attached to. Note that each wheel 2 can be easily removed together with the axle 11 by operating the lever 100 shown in FIG.

In the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment, a main switch (not shown) is built in the hub 2a of the right wheel 2, and the main switch is provided with a lever 35 shown in FIG. ON by rotating operation
/ OFF. That is, the lever 35 is pivotally mounted on the axle 11 so as to be freely rotatable.
Are partially formed, and the gear 35a meshes with a sector gear 36 for turning on / off the main switch. A not-shown LED (light emitting diode) for display is embedded at the tip of the lever 35, and a lead wire 37 derived from the LED is connected to a battery 38 described later.
Is electrically connected to

In the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, a battery 38 is detachably provided on the right wheel 2 side. That is, as shown in detail in FIG. 9, a bracket 39 is attached to the fixing plate 30 of the right wheel 2 by bolts 40, and a battery holder 41 is attached to the upper part of the bracket 39 by screws 42. The battery 38 is attached to and detached from the holder 41 upward.

Thus, the battery 38 is
When the main switch is turned on by the turning operation of the lever 35 in a state where the battery 38 is
Supplies power to the auxiliary power units provided on the left and right wheels 2 via the wire harnesses 52 and 43, respectively, to drive the respective auxiliary power units.

As shown in FIG. 10, the wire harnesses 43 and 52 are electrically connected to each other by couplers 44a and 44b. One end of the wire harness 43 penetrates the grommet 101 and assists the right wheel 2. The other end of the wire harness 43 is electrically connected to the power unit, as shown in FIG.
Are electrically connected to the auxiliary power unit. As shown in FIG. 11, a coupler 45 is attached to the fixed plate 30 of the left wheel 2, and the wire harness 43 couples a coupler 46 attached to an end of the coupler 45 to the coupler 45. Thereby, the electrical connection of the left wheel 2 to the auxiliary power unit is easily made with one touch.

Next, the operation of the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

When the occupant applies a left and right independent force to the pair of left and right hand rims 13 to rotate, for example, in the forward direction,
As shown in FIG. 5B, the springs 19 and 20 are compressed and deformed by the disk 14, and the reaction force is transmitted to the hub 2a, so that the human power is transmitted to each of the left and right wheels 2.

In the above process, each hand rim 13 rotates relative to each wheel 2 by an angle corresponding to the amount of compressive deformation of the springs 19 and 20, and the relative rotation amount of the hand rim 13 is enlarged by a lever 28 to be transmitted to a potentiometer 27. The transmitted potentiometers 27 transmit a detection signal proportional to the relative rotation amount of each hand rim 13 to the control unit of each controller 31 via each rotary transformer 34.

Here, since the amount of compression deformation of the springs 19 and 20 is proportional to the magnitude of the human force applied to the hand rim 13, the controller of each controller 31
The magnitude of the manpower applied to the hand rim 13 is determined based on a detection signal proportional to the relative rotation amount of the manipulator, a control signal corresponding to the magnitude of the manpower is transmitted to the power unit, and the magnitude of the detected manpower (torque) is determined. An electric power (current) having a value corresponding to the power is supplied to each electric motor 32, and the electric motor 32 is driven to rotate to generate a required auxiliary power.

When the respective electric motors 32 are driven as described above, the rotation of the electric motors 32 is performed by the belt transmission mechanism G1 and the gear G.
The power is transmitted to each of the left and right wheels 2 via power transmission means including the second and G3. Then, the left and right wheels 2 are rotationally driven by the driving force of the magnitude obtained by adding the auxiliary power to the human power, whereby the wheelchair 1 is moved forward, and the occupant can easily operate with a small human power of about 1/2 of the total driving force. Wheelchair can be operated.

Although the operation of the manual electric wheelchair 1 at the time of forward movement has been described above, the operation at the time of backward movement is the same as that at the time of forward movement.

As described above, in the present embodiment,
As described above, the disc 14 and the hand rim 13 held by the disc 14 are held by the slider 25 that comes into light contact with three places on the outer end surface of the disc 14 and the lateral runout (play) is suppressed to a small degree. The operability is enhanced, and the human power (torque) in the circumferential direction applied to the hand rim 13 is accurately detected by the potentiometer 27, and an appropriate auxiliary power corresponding to the detected human power is applied to each wheel 2. You. Since the slider 25 is brought into light contact with the disk 14 to the extent that no frictional force is generated between the two, the operating force of the hand rim 13 can be kept small, and the manpower (torque) applied to the hand rim 13 is controlled by the potentiometer 27. Detected with high accuracy.

[0038]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the human power input to the input member whose center is supported by the hub of each of the left and right wheels so as to be relatively rotatable, is detected. In a manual electric wheelchair that applies rotational power to each wheel by adding auxiliary power according to the detected level of human power,
An anti-sway member is provided on the hub side in opposition to a plurality of circumferential positions near the outer peripheral portion of the input member, and a gap between the anti-sway member and the input member can be adjusted to be zero or minute. It is possible to obtain the effect that the operability of the input member can be improved by suppressing the lateral vibration and the human power applied to the input member can be accurately detected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the manual electric wheelchair according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the manual electric wheelchair according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state in which a cover of a hub portion of a wheel of the manual electric wheelchair according to the present invention is removed.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of a portion B in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line EE of FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is an inner side view of the right wheel of the manual wheelchair according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an inner side view of the left wheel of the manual wheelchair according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manual electric wheelchair 2 Wheel 2a Hub 13 Hand rim (input member) 14 Disk (input member) 25 Slider (anti-sway member) 26 Adjustment screw 27 Potentiometer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A human power input to an input member whose center is rotatably supported by a hub of each of left and right wheels is detected, and auxiliary power corresponding to the magnitude of the detected human power is supplied to each wheel. In addition to the above, in a manual electric wheelchair that rotationally drives it, a steady rest member is provided on the hub side in opposition to a plurality of circumferential positions near an outer peripheral portion of the input member, and the steady rest member and the input member are connected to each other. A manual electric wheelchair characterized in that the gap can be adjusted to 0 or minutely. 2. The steady member according to claim 1, wherein said input member includes a disk-shaped disk rotatably supported by a hub of said wheel, and is opposed to a plurality of circumferential positions near an outer peripheral portion of said disk. 2. The manual electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein 3. The manual electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein a gap between the steady rest member and the input member is adjusted by an adjusting screw which is screwed to the hub side of the wheel so as to be movable forward and backward.