JPH1119165A - Bathing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use a bathtub not only for a person requiring care attendance but also for the bathing of general people by arranging a strut or the like for supporting a lift rail at the corner part of the bathtub or outside the bathtub without expanding the strut at the central section of the bathtub. SOLUTION: A lift rail 10 is horizontally moved between a seat delivery position at the edge part of the bathtub and a bathing position at the almost central part of the bathtub through a link mechanism 11 to be perpendicularly rotated while being interposed between the lift rail 10 and a lift driving mechanism 7. Between a lift rail supporting member 9 and the lift rail 10, a lock mechanism 30 is provided for allowing the horizontal move of the lift rail 10 only when the lift rail supporting member 9 reaches the upper position and for regulating the horizontal move of the lift rail while the lift rail supporting member 9 is located at lower and intermediate positions.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bathing apparatus which enables a person who needs bathing assistance, such as a physically handicapped person or an elderly person, to take a bath safely and without much labor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of bathing apparatus, an elevating rail, which is raised and lowered by an elevating drive mechanism, is disposed inside a bathtub, and is mounted on a traveling cart provided with a rail on an upper side thereof. Prepare a wheelchair that can be separated while the seat body to be moved along the rail, and the lifting rail is adjusted to the height of the rail on the traveling trolley of the wheelchair, and on the lifting rail from the traveling trolley There has been known a type in which a seat body is transferred and a lifting rail is lowered in that state, so that a bather is brought into a bathtub together with the seat body (see JP-A-6-319778).

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned bathing apparatus, the column supporting the elevating rail rises substantially at the center of the bathtub, and this column becomes a hindrance when an ordinary person takes a bath. There was a problem.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can be disposed at the corner of the bathtub or outside the bathtub without supporting columns or the like for supporting the elevating rail protruding from the center of the bathtub. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bathing device which can be used both for a person requiring care and for bathing for a general person, and furthermore, can minimize the installation space and can widely use a bathroom.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a seat body mounted on an upper side of a traveling carriage (41) having a rail (44) provided on an upper part thereof. (51) is provided with a wheelchair (1) capable of being separated while being moved along the rail, and a lifting rail (10) provided in a bathtub and raised and lowered by a lifting drive mechanism (7). In a bathing apparatus for transferring the seat from a traveling trolley to an elevating rail in a state where a rail is matched with a height of the rail on the traveling trolley of the wheelchair, the elevating rail includes the elevating rail and the elevating Through a vertically rotating link mechanism (11) interposed between the drive mechanism and the vertical position, a horizontal position is provided between the seat transfer position (a) at the edge of the bathtub and the bathing position (b) at substantially the center of the bathtub. Characterized by being moved The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the link mechanism operates only when the lift rail reaches the upper position, and moves the lift rail horizontally. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the lifting rail support member (9) supported by the lifting drive mechanism is provided with a lifting rail (1).
0) is supported so as to be able to move horizontally between the seat transfer position and the bathing position, and only between the lift rail support member and the lift rail when the lift rail support member reaches the upper position. A lock mechanism (30) is provided, which permits horizontal movement of the lifting rail and restricts horizontal movement of the lifting rail when the lifting rail support member is at the lower position or the intermediate position.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show a bathing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This bathing apparatus includes a wheelchair 1 that can travel on a floor 2 and equipment on a bathtub 3 side.

[0007] The equipment on the side of the bathtub 3 includes a first column 4 standing outside the bathtub 3 and near the side wall of the bathtub, and a second column 4 standing adjacent to the first column 4. Of the strut 5
An elevating drive mechanism 7 for elevating and lowering an elevating rail 10, which will be described later, via an elevating body 6 incorporated in the second column 5, and an elevating rail support member 9 attached to the elevating body 6 via a connecting member 8. , The vertical rail support member 9 in the front-rear direction (FIG.
Rail support plate 10a movably supported and having a pair of left and right elevating rails 10 fixed on its upper surface.
And a link mechanism 11 that rotates the rail support plate 10a and the elevating rail 10 in a horizontal direction to move horizontally.

As shown in FIG. 2, the elevation drive mechanism 7 includes a cylinder 13 fixed to the upper lid 12 of the first column 4.
And a first sprocket 1 attached to a tip of a piston rod 13a protruding from a lower end of the cylinder 13.
It comprises a chain 15 wound around 4a, and the elevating body 6 attached to the end of the chain 15.
One end of the chain 15 is fixed to the upper lid portion 12 of the first column 4, and an intermediate portion is provided at an upper end of the first sprocket 14 a and an intermediate portion between the first and second columns 4 and 5. Each is wound around the attached second sprocket 14b, and the other end is connected to the elevating body 6. The elevating body 6 is incorporated in the hollow portion of the second support 5 so as to be able to ascend and descend through guide rollers 16 attached to upper and lower ends thereof and arranged in a cross shape.

When the cylinder 13 is extended and retracted, the elevating body 6 is moved up and down following the movement of the chain 15. In the space on the right side in FIG. 2 of the first support 4, hydraulic equipment such as a pump, a solenoid valve, and a tank for driving a cylinder 24 described below that horizontally moves the cylinder 13 and the elevating rail 10 is provided. Are located.

The elevating body 6 is provided with the connecting member 8 so as to protrude to the outside through a vertical groove formed in the second column 5. The connecting member 8 includes a connecting plate portion 8a connected to the elevating body 6, and a cylindrical portion 8b integrally attached to a side portion of the connecting plate portion 8a, and a handrail 17 is attached to an upper end of the cylindrical portion 8b. On the other hand, the elevating rail support member 9 is attached to the lower end of the cylindrical portion 8b.

[0011] As shown in FIG.
Lower rollers 18, 18 and upper rollers 19, 19
The rail support plate 10a is supported between the rollers 18 and 19. Also,
Lateral rollers 20, 20 are provided on the elevating rail supporting member 9, and a pair of guided bars 21, 21 fixed to the rail supporting plate 10a are engaged with the lateral rollers 20, so that the rail supporting plate 10a is moved back and forth. When moving in the direction, it does not shift to the side in the traveling direction.

2 to 4 are attached to the side of the first column 4.
As shown in the figure, a swing bar 23 is pin-connected at its upper end and is arranged so as to be swingable in the vertical direction along the moving direction of the elevating rail 10. The swing operation is performed by the retraction operation. On the other hand, a guide bar 25 is provided at an intermediate portion in the height direction of the columns 4 and 5 so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction, and the moving member 26 is guided along the guide bar 25. Also,
A pin 26 a is provided at a corner of the moving member 26, and the pin 26 a is fitted into the elongated hole 23 a at the lower end of the swing bar 23. Further, a vertical plate 27 is integrally attached to the moving member 26 as shown in FIG.
Is engaged with a U-shaped member 29 integrally attached to the rail support plate 10a.

In the state where the U-shaped member 29 is engaged with the vertical plate 27, the swing bar 2 is
When the swing operation is performed on the moving member 26 and the U-shaped member 2,
The rail support plate 10a and the lifting rail 10 fixed to the rail support plate 10a are moved in the front-rear direction via the members 9 and the like. That is, the cylinder 21, the swing bar 23, the moving member 26 and the like constitute the link mechanism 11 for horizontally moving the elevating rail 10 in the front-rear direction. The U-shaped member 29 is provided at the upper end of the U-shaped member 29.
The enlarged diameter portion 29a is formed so as to quickly engage with the vertical plate 27 when the ascending force rises.

The horizontal drive mechanism 11 is provided with the lift rail 10 only when the lift rail support member 9 is at the upper position.
Is allowed to move horizontally, and when the lift rail support member 9 is at the lower position or the middle position in the height direction, the lift rail 1
A lock mechanism 30 for restricting the horizontal movement of 0 is provided.

The lock mechanism 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a plate member 32 is attached to a U-shaped member 29 provided integrally with the rail support plate 10a via a bracket 31 so as to be rotatable about a pin 31a. A lock bar 33 is attached to the side of the front end of the plate member 32. The lock bar 33 includes a channel member 34a integrally attached to the lifting rail support member 9 and a triangular member when the plate member 32 is in a horizontal state. 34b. When the plate member 32 that moves up and down integrally with the rail support plate 10a reaches the upper position, the end 32a of the plate member 32 opposite to the side on which the lock bar 33 is attached is connected to the lower end of the vertical plate 27. , The plate member 32 is inclined obliquely, and at this time, the lock bar 33 comes out of the locking groove 34,
When the plate 32 is slightly lowered from the upper position together with the rail support plate 10a, the end 32a of the plate 32 is
Is not pushed by the lower end of the vertical plate 27, and the plate member 32 is in a substantially horizontal state. Therefore, the lock bar 33 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. The rail support plate 10 and the rail support plate 10
The mounting positions of the plate member 32 and the vertical plate 27 are determined so that a does not move in the front-rear direction.

Reference numeral 36 in FIG. 3 denotes a guide bar attached to the upper surface of the side wall of the bathtub, which restricts the rail support plate 10a from shifting to the side in the moving direction. Numeral 38 denotes a guiding means for guiding the traveling cart 41 below the wheelchair 1 with respect to the bathtub 3.

The wheelchair 1 will be described briefly. As shown in FIG. 1, the wheelchair 1 includes a lower traveling vehicle 41 and an upper seat 51 which is separably mounted on the traveling vehicle 41. The traveling carriage 41 has a frame 42, and a caster 43 for traveling on the floor 2 is provided below the frame 42. A pair of left and right rails 44 for moving the seat body 51 in the front-rear direction and a lock plate (not shown) arranged between the rails 44 are provided on the upper surface of the frame 42.

The seat body 51 has a seat body 52 supported by the traveling vehicle 41. On the lower surface of the seat body 52, wheels (not shown) that roll on rails 44 of the traveling vehicle 41 are provided. A plurality is provided. The seat body 51 has a footrest 55 in front of the seat body 52. At the rear end of the seat body 52, a handle 56 to be gripped when the caregiver pushes the hand is attached. The backrest 53 is tilted rearward, and the handle 56 is tilted rearward so that the footrest 55 is moved forward. By so doing, the so-called reclining state can be achieved as shown in the figure. Further, the wheelchair 1 is provided with a lock mechanism for fixing the seat body 51 to the traveling carriage 41.

A lock pin (not shown) of the lock mechanism includes:
The seat 51 can be inserted into and removed from a lock hole provided in a lock plate of the traveling vehicle 41, and is normally urged in the locking direction, and is fitted into the locking hole on the traveling vehicle 41 side. It can be fixed in the positioned state.
The lock pin can also be fitted into a lock hole (not shown) of the rail support plate 10a to fix the seat body 51 to the rail support plate 10a.

Next, the operation of the bathing apparatus having the above configuration will be described. When bathing a physically handicapped person or the like, the elevator drive mechanism 7 and the link mechanism 11 are operated to move the elevator rail 10
Is placed at the seat transfer position (a) above the edge of the bathtub. In this state, the wheelchair 1 on which the care-requirer M such as a physically handicapped person has been previously placed is positioned at a predetermined position on the side of the bathtub 3 via the guide means 38. At this time, the rail 44 of the traveling vehicle 41
And the lifting rail 10 are arranged in a straight line. In this state, the lock mechanism for fixing the seat body 51 to the traveling platform 41 is released, and the caregiver pushes the seat body 51 forward to move and move the care-requiring person M on the elevating rail 10 together with the seat body 51. .

When the seat 51 moves on the elevating rail 10, the lock pin urged in the locking direction automatically fits into a lock hole (not shown) of the rail support plate 10a, and the seat 51 is moved to the rail support plate. Locked to 10a. Next, the lifting rail 10 is moved from the position (a) to the position (b) as shown in FIG.
By moving horizontally to the position and then descending,
The care recipient can be placed in a bathing state.

That is, the rail support plate 10a of the seat body 51
Is completed, the cylinder 24 is extended. The piston rod 24a of the cylinder 24 pushes the middle part of the swing bar 23 forward (to the left in FIG. 2),
Accordingly, the swing bar 23 rotates in the same direction, and as a result,
The moving member 26 moves forward. When the moving member 26 moves forward, the U-shaped member 29 engaged with the vertical plate 27 of the moving member 26 moves integrally with the moving member 26 in the same direction. The rail support plate 10a to which the shaped member 29 is attached and the elevating rail 10 fixed to the upper surface of the rail support plate 10a move forward while being guided via the rollers 18, 19, 20 to reach the position (b).

Thereafter, the cylinder 13 of the lifting drive mechanism 7 is driven, and the lifting body 6 is supported by the chain 15, the lifting rail support member 9 supported by the connecting member 8, and the lifting rail support member 9. The supported rail support plate 10a, the lifting rail 10 and the like are lowered. At this time, since the U-shaped member 29 is engaged with the vertical plate 27 of the moving member 26 at the beginning of the lowering as shown in FIG.
4 regulated. On the other hand, when the lowering of the lifting rail 10 or the like proceeds and the lower end of the U-shaped member 29 is lower than the lower end of the vertical plate 27, the plate 32 is positioned so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction as shown in the lower part of FIG. By doing so, the lock bar 33 fits into the locking groove 34. Thereby, the lock mechanism 30 is in the locked state, and regulates the movement of the rail support plate 10a and the lift rail 10. That is, when the rail support plate 10a and the elevating rail 10 are lowered and lowered to the lower limit position, the movement of the elevating rail 10 and the like in the horizontal direction is restricted, and is held at the position shown in FIG. Therefore, the seat body 51 does not move unnecessarily, and the care recipient can reach the bathing state with peace of mind.

After bathing, the lifting drive mechanism 7 is operated to raise the lifting rail 10. Then, lift rail 1
0, as the rail support plate 10a and the U-shaped member 29 that moves up and down integrally with the rail support plate 10a rise, the U-shaped member 29 engages with the vertical plate 27 via the enlarged diameter portion 29a at the upper end, and The vertical plate 27 is relatively lowered with respect to the shape member 29, and with the vertical plate 27 being relatively lowered, the other end 32 a of the plate 32 is pushed down by the vertical plate 27, and the plate 32 is inclined. . At this time, the lock bar 33 comes out of the locking groove 34. That is, the locked state by the lock mechanism 30 is released.

Thereafter, as the cylinder 24 is shortened, the rail support 10a and the elevating rail 10 move rearward (to the right in FIG. 3).
0 is brought to the seat transfer position (a). Thereafter, the lock mechanism which fixed the seat body 51 on which the care recipient M is mounted to the rail support plate 10a is released, and the seat body 51 is moved rightward in FIG. Transfer.
At this time, when the seat body 51 comes to a predetermined position on the traveling vehicle 41, the lock mechanism automatically operates to move the seat body 51 to the traveling vehicle 41.
Fix to 1.

The operation of horizontally moving the rail support plate 10a from the position (a) to the position (b) after the seat body 51 is transferred to the rail support plate 10a via the elevating rail 10, and thereafter the seat body The operation of lowering 51 together with the rail support plate 10a is input to a computer in advance,
Based on detection signals from position sensors provided at appropriate locations,
These operations may be automatically operated, or may be manually operated with a button or the like.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, after the seat body 51 is transferred to the rail support plate 10a via the elevating rail 10, the rail support base 10a is horizontally moved from the position (a) to the position (b). Although the seat body 51 is lowered together with the rail support plate 10a, the invention is not limited to this, and the lowering of the seat body 51 is started immediately before the rail support plate 10a reaches the position (b) from the position (b). The automatic driving may be performed as follows. Further, in this case, when the seat body 51 rises from the lower end position at the position (b), the movement of the seat body in the horizontal direction is started before reaching the rising position. By doing so, it is possible to reduce a shock when the seat body 51 reaches the raised position of the (b) position. further,
In the above-described embodiment, the wheelchair is moved on the elevating rail with the front of the wheelchair facing forward. However, this is not always necessary, and the seat body 51 on the upper part of the wheelchair is placed sideways.
May be transferred to the rail support plate 10a.

[0027]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lifting rail is connected to the seat delivery position at the edge of the bathtub and substantially at the center of the bathtub via the link mechanism interposed between the lifting rail and the lifting drive mechanism. Since it is configured to move horizontally between the bathing position of the section and the column, it is possible to dispose the pillars and the like that support the elevating rail as far as possible from the center of the bathtub and at the corner of the bathtub or outside the bathtub. For this reason, the struts and the like do not become an obstacle, and the bathtub can be used in common for both those requiring care and those for general bathers, and is particularly suitable for home care. In addition, because the link mechanism is configured to rotate in the vertical direction, the space occupied in the horizontal direction can be reduced, so that there is an advantage that the bathroom can be installed sufficiently even when it is compact. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the link mechanism is operated only when the elevating rail reaches the upper position to move the elevating rail horizontally. Therefore, when the bath is taken or when the elevating rail is lowered after rotation. In addition, even if the link mechanism is activated, it is possible to prevent the lifting rail and the seat body from moving horizontally, and the lifting rail and the like do not hit the wall of the bathtub, thus preventing damage to the bathtub. Can be prevented. According to the third aspect of the invention, the horizontal movement of the lift rail is allowed only between the lift rail support member and the lift rail when the lift rail support member reaches the upper position. The lock mechanism that regulates the horizontal movement of the lift rail when the is at the lower position and the intermediate position is provided, so that the horizontal movement of the lift rail and seat during bathing can be restricted with a simple configuration, and the lift rail can be controlled. The care-requirer sitting on the upper body through the seat can take a bath or take a bath with ease, and the burden on the care-giver is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing details of a lock mechanism and a horizontal movement mechanism used in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheelchair 3 Bath tub 6 Elevating body 7 Elevating drive mechanism 8 Connecting member 9 Elevating rail supporting member 10 Elevating rail 10a Rail support plate 11 Link mechanism 13 Cylinder 23 Swing bar 24 Cylinder 25 Guide bar 26 Moving member 27 Vertical plate 30 Lock mechanism 33 Lock bar 34 Lock groove

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A seat (5) mounted on an upper side of a traveling cart (41) provided with a rail (44) on the upper side.
1) a wheelchair (1) capable of being separated while being moved along the rail, and a lifting rail (10) provided in a bathtub and raised and lowered by a lifting drive mechanism (7). In a bathing device that allows the seat to be transferred from the traveling trolley to the elevating rail in a state where the height of the seat is adjusted to the height of the rail on the traveling trolley of the wheelchair, the elevating rail includes the elevating rail and the elevating drive. Link mechanism (1)
A bathing apparatus characterized in that the bathing apparatus is horizontally moved between (1) a transfer position of a seat at the edge of the bathtub and (b) a bathing position substantially at the center of the bathtub. 2. The bathing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the link mechanism operates only when the lift rail reaches an upper position, and moves the lift rail horizontally. 3. A lift rail (10) is supported by a lift rail support member (9) supported by the lift drive mechanism so as to be able to move horizontally between the seat transfer position and the bathing position. Between the member and the lifting rail, horizontal movement of the lifting rail is allowed only when the lifting rail support member reaches the upper position, and when the lifting rail support member is at the lower position, the intermediate position, 3. The bathing device according to claim 1, further comprising a lock mechanism for restricting movement.