JPH1071176A - Motor-driven wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To absorb the longitudinal loosening of electric wiring and to prevent the generation of electric trouble caused by water. SOLUTION: A motor-driven wheelchair is respectively provided with motor- driven units including electric motors at respective left and right wheels and adopts a system for supplying power from a battery 32 provided on one motor- driven unit side through wire harnesses (electric wiring) 38 and 39 to the respective motor-driven units. In this case, a housing space S is formed under a battery holder 35 for mounting the battery, the length of the wire harness is adjusted while housing one part of the wire harness in the housing space, and a coupler 40 is fixedly held at the upper part of the housing space.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric wheelchair that travels using electric power from an electric unit as driving force or auxiliary power.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As such an electric wheelchair, the present applicant has
An electric power unit is provided on each of the left and right wheels, and a system adopting a method of supplying power to each of the power units via an electric wiring from a battery provided on one of the wheels has been previously proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. No. 172,862, Japanese Patent Application No. 7-27397
No. 8, etc.).

[0003]

In the above-mentioned electric wheelchair, since the battery is provided only on one electric unit side, the electric wiring for supplying electric power to the electric unit provided on the other wheel becomes longer. It requires some ingenuity in its handling.

By the way, the length of the electric wiring differs depending on the mounting position of the battery and the size and type of the wheelchair, and should be set to an optimum length according to each. However, the electric unit and the electric wiring are common. When responding, the length of the electrical wiring is usually set slightly longer to allow for all cases, so that depending on the wheelchair, the electrical wiring may be slackened in the lengthwise direction. May occur.

Further, in the conventional electric wheelchair, since the coupler for connecting the electric wires is exposed to the outside, it is not possible to ensure high waterproofness of the coupler, and the electric Trouble could occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric motor capable of absorbing slack in the length direction of electric wiring and preventing occurrence of electric trouble due to water. To provide wheelchairs.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an electric unit including an electric motor is provided on each of left and right wheels, and a battery provided on one of the electric units is provided. In an electric wheelchair adopting a method of supplying power to each of the electric units via electric wiring, a storage space is formed below a battery holder for mounting the battery, and a part of the electric wiring is stored in the storage space. The length of the electric wiring is adjusted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the coupler for connecting the electric wires is fixed and supported on the upper part of the storage space.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, a means for fixing the electric wiring is provided at an introduction portion of the electric wiring into the storage space. .

Therefore, according to the present invention, the storage space formed below the battery functions as a drawing space for the electric wiring, and the slackness of the longer electric wiring is absorbed in the storage space. In addition to improving the performance, various inconveniences due to loosening of the electric wiring are eliminated. Since the coupler is stored in the storage space and fixed and held at the upper part of the storage space, the waterproofness of the coupler is ensured, and the occurrence of electric trouble due to water is reliably prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the electric wiring drawn into the storage space is not pulled back out of the storage space, and the slack of the electric wiring is reliably absorbed in the storage space. .

[0012]

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

FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric wheelchair according to the present invention,
2 is a plan view of the electric wheelchair, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the electric wheelchair, FIG. 4 is an inner side view of right wheels of the electric wheelchair, FIG.
Is an inner side view of the left wheel of the electric wheelchair, and FIG.
7 is an inner side view in which a part of the battery box portion of the right wheel is cut away, and FIG. 8 is an electric connection diagram of the electric wheelchair according to the present invention.

The electric wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment is a manual electric wheelchair in which auxiliary power corresponding to the magnitude of human power applied to the left and right wheels 2 is applied to each wheel 2 and driven to rotate. This is constructed by attaching and detaching wheels 2 to the left and right sides of the body of an existing folding manual wheelchair, and the front and rear portions of a pipe frame-shaped body frame 3 are moved by a pair of left and right casters 4 and wheels 2. It is freely supported.

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. 6, 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. The hand rim 13 is attached to a disk-shaped disk 14 rotatably supported by a boss formed integrally with the hub 2 a of the wheel 2 by three bolts 16 via bolts 16.
The hand rim 13 can rotate independently with respect to the wheel 2.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, 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 connected to the seal ring 17. Is covered by the cover 18. still,
The seal ring 17 has a sealing function as well as a function as a friction damper for suppressing circumferential vibrations caused by inertia of the disk 14.

As shown in FIG. 6, the hand rim 13 is resiliently supported by the hub 2a at all three places by a spring 19 so as to be able to rotate relative to the wheel 2 in both directions. ing.

On the outer end surface of the hub 2a, the magnitude and direction of the human force applied to the hand rim 13 are detected based on the relative rotation amount and the relative rotation direction between the wheel 2 (hub 2a) and the hand rim 13 (disk 14). A potentiometer 20 is attached so as to be adjustable in position. One end of a lever 21 is connected to an end of the input shaft of the potentiometer 20, and the other end of the lever 21 is a pin protruding from the disk 14. The long hole 22 is engaged.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a disk-shaped fixing plate 23 is provided on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of each of the hubs 2a of the pair of left and right wheels 2 so as to be connected to the axle 11. The fixed plate 23 is provided with a controller 24 constituting control means and an electric motor 25 as a drive source.

As shown in FIG. 6, a space surrounded by the fixed plate 23 is formed inside each wheel 2, and the space is formed by a ring-shaped partition 26 between the chambers S1 and S.
2 and the room S1 has the controller 2
4 and a rotary transformer 27 as a signal transmission means are housed therein. The rotary transformer 27 transmits signals between the controller 24 and the potentiometer 20.

The auxiliary power generated by each of the electric motors 25 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 spring 19 and the potentiometer 20 described above, the signal transmitting means constituted by the rotary transformer 27, the control means constituted by the controller 24, the electric motor 25, the belt transmission mechanism G1 and the gear G2 , G3 and the like constitute a power transmission unit,
The electric units are collectively arranged in the radial and axial directions around the hub 2a of each wheel 2 and the axle 11 of the fixed plate 23.
The pair of left and right wheels 2 incorporated in a is detachably attached to the vehicle body as described above.

In the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment, a main switch 28 (see FIG. 8) is built in the hub 2a of the right wheel 2, and the main switch 28 is shown in FIG. It is turned ON / OFF by the turning operation of the lever 29 shown. That is, the lever 29 is connected to the axle 1
1, a gear 29a is partially formed at the base end thereof, and the gear 29a meshes with a sector gear 30 for turning on / off the main switch 28. ing. A not-shown LED (light emitting diode) for display is embedded at the tip of the lever 29, and a lead wire 31 derived from the LED is electrically connected to the controller 24.

In the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a battery 32 is detachably provided on the right wheel 2 side.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, a bracket 33 is attached to the fixing plate 23 of the right wheel 2 by bolts 34, and a battery holder 35 is attached to the upper part of the bracket 33 by screws 36. The battery 32 is attached to and detached from the battery holder 35. The battery holder 35 has a connection terminal 3
7, a wire harness 38 extends from the connection terminal 37 as shown in FIG.

When the battery 32 is mounted on the battery holder 35 as shown in FIG. 4, a connection terminal (not shown) provided on the battery 32 side is connected to the connection terminal 37 on the battery holder 35 side. Connected, and the main switch 28 is turned on by rotating the lever 29
Then, the battery 32 is connected to the wire harnesses 38 and 39.
, And power is supplied to the electric units provided on the left and right wheels 2 to drive the electric units.

As shown in FIG. 7, the wire harnesses 38 and 39 are electrically connected to each other by couplers 40a and 40b.
One end of 9 is electrically connected to the electric unit of the right wheel 2 through the grommet 50, and the other end of the wire harness 39 is electrically connected to the electric unit of the left wheel 2 as shown in FIG. Have been. As shown in FIG. 5, a coupler 41 is attached to the fixed plate 23 of the left wheel 2, and a wire harness 39 connects a coupler 42 attached to an end of the coupler 41 to the coupler 41. Thereby, the electrical connection of the left wheel 2 to the electric unit is easily made with one touch.

Here, the electric connection structure of the manual electric wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown, the wire harness 39 includes a control power supply line 39a, two communication lines 39b, and a power supply line 3a.
The control power supply line 39a and the communication line 39b, and the power supply line 39c and the ground line 39d are provided on the electric units of the left and right wheels 2 respectively. Controller 2 of controller 24
4a and the power section 24b. or,
The wire harness 38 is configured by binding a wire 38a connected to a positive pole of the battery 32 and a wire 38b connected to a negative pole of the battery 32, and the wires 38a and 38b are connected via couplers 40a and 40b. The power supply line 39c and the ground line 39d of the wire harness 39 are electrically connected to each other.

The electric power supplied from the battery 32 to the power section 24b of each controller 24 is
5 is supplied to the electric motor 25 to drive the electric motor 25, and the electric power supplied to the control unit 24a via the main switch 28 is supplied to the rotation-side potentiometer 20 via the rotary transformer 27, and is detected by the potentiometer 20. The signal is transmitted to the control unit 24a via the rotary transformer 27.

Here, the gist of the present invention will be described.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a storage space S surrounded by the motor cover 33 is formed below the battery box 35, and the wire harness is formed in the storage space S. 39 and a coupler 40 are housed.

The length of the wire harness 39 is set slightly longer than the required length, and an extra portion of the wire harness 39 penetrates through the front and bottom surfaces of the motor cover 33, and It is drawn into the storage space S inside 33 and stored. Therefore, the extra part drawn into the storage space S of the wire harness 39 is bent and stored as shown in the drawing, whereby the length of the wire harness 39 (exposed outside the storage space S of the wire harness 39). The length of the wire harness 39 is adjusted to absorb the slack of the wire harness 39, the external appearance of the manual electric wheelchair 1 is enhanced, and various problems associated with the slack of the wire harness 39 are eliminated.

By the way, notches are also formed on the front surface of the bracket 33, opposite to the notches through which the wire harness 39 penetrates, and the notches are formed in the notches.
3 and 44 are fitted respectively, and the bracket 33
The grommet 44 is also fitted into the notch on the bottom surface of the. And each grommet 4 of the wire harness 39
The inner parts of the locks 3 and 44 are the fixing means 4
5 and 46. Actually, after an extra portion of the wire harness 39 is drawn into the storage space S so that the wire harness 39 is not loosened, the wire harness 39 is insulated by the insulating locks 45 and 46.
The two portions of the introduction portion (the inner portions of the grommets 43 and 44) into the storage space S are fixed to the bracket 33 by the insulator locks 45 and 46. Then, the portion of the wire harness 39 drawn into the storage space S is not pulled back to the outside of the storage space S, and the slack of the wire harness 39 is reliably absorbed in the storage space S.

In this embodiment, the storage space S
A coupler 40 is fixedly held at the upper part of the inside. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, two front and rear hooks 47 and 48 are attached to the upper surface of the bracket 33 at an appropriate interval, and a portion that sandwiches the coupler 40 of the wire harness 39 between the two hooks 47 and 48. It is hung and held substantially horizontally. Therefore, the coupler 40 is fixedly held at the upper part in the storage space S as described above.

As described above, when the coupler 40 is fixed and held in the upper part of the storage space S covered by the motor cover 33, rainwater or the like accumulates even if the wire harness 39 becomes loose in the storage space S. The coupler 40 does not fall to the bottom of the storage space S, so that the coupler 40 has high waterproofness and the occurrence of electric trouble due to water is reliably prevented.

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

When the occupant applies force to the left and right hand rims 13 independently in order to rotate the hand rim 13 in, for example, a forward direction,
The spring 19 shown in FIG. 6 is compressed and deformed, and the reaction force is transmitted to the hub 2a, so that 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 spring 19, and the relative rotation of the hand rim 13 is transmitted to the potentiometer 20 after being expanded by the lever 21. , Each potentiometer 20 is connected to each hand rim 13
A detection signal proportional to the relative rotation of the
To the control unit 24a of each controller 24 via the.

Here, since the amount of compressive deformation of the spring 19 is proportional to the amount of human power applied to the hand rim 13, the control unit 24a of each controller 24
The magnitude of the human power applied to the hand rim 13 is obtained based on the detection signal proportional to the relative rotation amount of the motor 3, and a control signal corresponding to the magnitude of the human power is transmitted to the power unit 24b. Is supplied to the electric motor 25, and the electric motor 25 is rotationally driven to generate required auxiliary power.

When each of the electric motors 25 is driven as described above, its rotation 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.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the case where the present invention is applied particularly to a manual electric wheelchair, the present invention is similarly applied to an electric wheelchair which travels while constantly receiving a constant driving force from an electric motor. be able to.

[0046]

As apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the storage space formed below the battery functions as a space for drawing in the electric wiring, and the longer electric wiring is not slackened in the longitudinal direction. Since the electric wheelchair is absorbed in the storage space, the appearance of the electric wheelchair is improved, and various problems associated with the loosening of the electric wiring are eliminated. And the coupler is stored in the storage space, and is fixed and held at the upper part of the storage space, so that the coupler has high waterproofness,
The effect is obtained that the occurrence of electrical trouble due to water is reliably prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, the effect is obtained that the electric wiring drawn into the storage space is not pulled back out of the storage space, and the slack of the electric wiring is reliably absorbed in the storage space. Can be

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

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

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

FIG. 4 is an inner side view of the right wheel of the electric wheelchair according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an inner side view of a left wheel of the electric wheelchair according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an inner side view in which a part of a battery box portion of a right wheel of the electric wheelchair according to the present invention is broken.

FIG. 8 is an electric connection diagram of the electric wheelchair according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manual electric wheelchair (Electric wheelchair) 2 Wheels 32 Battery 35 Battery holder 38, 39 Wire harness (Electrical wiring) 40 Coupler 45, 46 Insulok (fixing means) S Storage space

Claims (3)

[Claims] An electric wheelchair adopting a system in which an electric unit including an electric motor is provided on each of left and right wheels, and a power supply is supplied from a battery provided on one of the electric units to the electric units via electric wiring. An electric wheelchair, wherein a storage space is formed below a battery holder in which the battery is mounted, a part of the electric wiring is stored in the storage space, and the length of the electric wiring is adjusted. 2. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein a coupler connecting the electric wires is fixedly supported on the upper part of the storage space. 3. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein a means for fixing the electric wiring is provided at a portion where the electric wiring is introduced into the storage space.