JPH1147195A - Wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To design a wheelchair of the type having casters on its right and left front wheels, so that the interval between the front wheels can be varied, so that when it is used on an inclined or stepped road surface, the interval between the front wheels is increased to prevent the wheelchair from becoming unstable because of its inclination. SOLUTION: A caster 1 is attached to each rod 7, and each rod 7 is assembled to one side of a hinge 8, and the other side of the hinge 8 is assembled to a mounting frame 3. The above members are symmetrically assembled to the right and left frames 3 in such a way that the casters 1 open outward, so that when the hinge 8 is opened, the position of the caster 1 turns outward via the rod 7, enabling the interval between the right and left rods to be increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a wheelchair in which the left and right front wheels are caster-type, and a caster 1 (hereinafter referred to as a front wheel) is assembled to a frame 3 via a rod 7 and a hinge 8 to form a hinge. By turning the caster 1 horizontally, the position of the caster 1 is horizontally turned outward by the turning operation of 8, thereby making it possible to widen the space between the casters 1 on the left and right. FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a wheelchair according to the present invention, showing a state before the position of the caster 1 is turned outward. When viewed from above, as shown in FIG. It is inside the interval of 2. Next, FIG. 3 is a front view of the wheelchair according to the present invention, showing a state in which the position of the caster 1 is turned outward, and as shown in FIG.
When the position of the caster 1 is outside the space between the drive wheels 2,
Compared to the state of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the left and right intervals of the caster 1 are wider. .

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in a side view of FIG. 5, a front view of FIG. 6, or a plan view seen from the top of FIG. 7, a conventional wheelchair has a caster 1 fixed to a frame 3 and assembled. Therefore, the structure of the caster 1 cannot be changed. For this reason, there is no need to worry in the range of passing through a passage or a flat road in the building, but as shown in FIG. There is a danger of falling.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention is intended to eliminate such a danger, and the wide distance between the left and right of the caster 1 is a factor of stability. Focusing on this, we propose a wheelchair that can change this interval.

[Means for Solving the Problems] FIG. 9 is a side view and a plan view showing a concrete example of the method of the present invention in which the caster 1 is assembled to the frame 3 via the rod 7 and the hinge 8. Is attached to the frame 3 side and the other is attached to the rod 7 side, so that the rod 7 can be turned by opening and closing the hinge 8. Note that the rod 7 rotates in a range of 90 degrees and is fixed with a thumbscrew 9 at one of the mounting frames of the frame 3.
Further, as is apparent from the state shown in FIG. 3, the position of the caster 1 attached to the tip of the rod 7 turns symmetrically to the left and right, thereby widening the space between the casters 1 and returning to the original position. Can do that.

[Embodiments and Effects of the Invention] FIGS. 10 and 11 show a change in stability of a wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention on an inclined surface. FIG.
Is in the original position, and the deviation angle A of the gravity W relative to the inclination angle A of the road surface exceeds the angle B connecting the center of gravity G assumed at the center of the seat 4 and the fulcrum C of the gravity hanging on the caster 1. Therefore, the wheelchair is extremely unstable, and it is easily assumed that the vehicle falls down. This state is the same as that which can occur in the conventional wheelchair, as in FIG. On the other hand, FIG. 11 shows a case where the position of the caster 1 is shifted to the outside to widen the space between the casters 1 on the left and right.
Is larger than the deviation angle A of the gravity W, it is clear that the wheelchair is kept in a safe zone, and the instability on the inclined surface is eliminated as compared with the conventional wheelchair. . The functional effects of the present invention are as described above. However, as a structural effect, since the distance between the casters 1 is variable, the distance between the casters 1 can be reduced on a passage or a flat road surface where there is no concern about stability. It can be used with the same road width as before, without any problems. In addition, the wheelchair is of a foldable type as in a general case so as to take up no space at the time of storage, but in the present invention, by returning the position of the caster 1 to the original position, the wheelchair can be stored in the same space as before.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a simplified plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the outline of the present invention in which the distance between the casters 1 is increased.

FIG. 4 is a simplified plan view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view schematically showing a conventional wheelchair.

FIG. 6 is a front view schematically showing a conventional wheelchair.

FIG. 7 is a simplified plan view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a simplified front view of a conventional wheelchair on an inclined surface.

FIG. 9 is an assembly diagram (side view and plan view) showing a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing an unstable state of the inclined surface according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a front view showing a stable state on the inclined surface according to the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 is a caster (caster type front wheel) 2 is a drive wheel 3 is a frame 4 is a seat 5 is a footrest 6 is a backrest 7 is a rod 8 is a hinge 9 is a thumbscrew

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A wheelchair in which the front wheels on the left and right wheels are caster-shaped, and the position of the front wheels is variable so that the distance between the front wheels can be widened. 2. A wheelchair characterized in that the caster 1 is mounted on a rod 7 and this is mounted on a frame 3 via a hinge 8.