JPS61235266A - Auxiliary truck with wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a wheelchair auxiliary trolley that is used mainly when a wheelchair user ascends and descends stairs or escalators.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

In general, a wheelchair user needs an attendant to help them use stairs or escalators, and it is difficult for wheelchair users to do so alone. For this reason, recently, a wheelchair auxiliary trolley has been proposed which is equipped with a wheelchair so that the wheelchair user can go up and down stairs and escalators even with an attendant.

The schematic structure and operating state of the conventional wheelchair auxiliary trolley will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 to 11. First, FIG. 5 is a side view of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley, and FIG. 6 is the line FIG. 7 is a front view seen from the direction of the arrow (■) in FIG. 5. In these Figures 5 to 7, 1 in the figure
is a bogie main body, which includes a motor 3, a drive wheel 5 and a guide wheel 6 driven by the motor 3, and a guide (a frame that also serves as the bogie frame 2) mounted on these drive wheels 5 and guide wheels 6. ) is equipped with a crawler device 8 equipped with an endless belt 7 made of an elastic body with a high coefficient of friction and which rotates forward and backward in a closed loop.

In addition, front and rear wheels 9 and 10, each set on two sides, are disposed on both outer sides of the front and rear ends of the ground contact portion of the left and right endless belts 7 of the crawler device 8 of the truck body 1. The left and right front and rear wheels 9 and 10 of these two side sets are each provided with a swing arm 1 pivoted on a central shaft 11 protruding from both side frames of the bogie frame 2.
2, so that when running on flat ground, the front and rear wheels 9, 10 are both grounded on the running surface with the left and right endless belts 7 of the crawler device 8 slightly floating above the running surface. ing.

Further, a pair of left and right handles 13 are attached to a frame portion near the upper front end of the bogie frame 2 of the bogie body 1 so as to stand up diagonally forward with their base ends supported by the bogie frame 2. The left and right handles 13 are integrally connected to each other, and the wheelchair A (eighth
Fixtures 14,15 are provided for fixing (shown in the following figures).

In addition, the handle 13 is attached to the trolley frame so that the wheelchair A can be stably held in a constant and correct posture so that the wheelchair user can ride with peace of mind when traveling on level ground or climbing up and down stairs or escalators. 2, the rising angle can be automatically adjusted. That is, the handle 13 is rotatably attached at its base end to the upper frame portion of the truck frame 2, and the piston rod 16a is connected to the handle 13 to rotate the handle 13 in the up/down direction. A hydraulic cylinder 16 is attached to the front end side of the bogie frame 2, and a hydraulic power unit 17 that drives the hydraulic cylinder 16 and a battery 1 that serves as its power source.
8 is provided at the center of the bogie frame 2. Furthermore, an inclination angle sensor 19 is attached to the bogie frame 2 and detects the inclination angle of the bogie frame 2 and outputs an output of a size corresponding to the inclination, and a rotation device for the handle 13 relative to the bogie frame 2 is provided. A handle device detector 20 is provided, and is attached to the lower part of the tip side of the handle 13 to control the drive of the hydraulic power unit 17 based on output signals from the inclination angle sensor 19 and the handle device detector 20. A container 21 is provided. This controller 21 receives an output signal of a magnitude corresponding to the inclination of the truck main body outputted from the inclination angle sensor 19, and controls the drive of the hydraulic power unit 17 by comparing it with a predetermined setting value. The hydraulic cylinder 16 is operated by the drive of the hydraulic power unit 17 and the handle 1.
The hydraulic power unit 17 is configured to include a control circuit for a stop control section that stops driving the hydraulic power unit 17 when the handle device detector 20 detects that the hydraulic power unit 3 has rotated to a predetermined device.

Furthermore, the rear end frame portion 2 of the bogie frame 2 of the bogie body 1
2, not only is the center shaft 11 of the swinging arm 12 of the rear wheel 10 set on two sides, each of the left and right wheels, protruding, but also the left and right auxiliary handles 23 are tilted slightly diagonally toward the rear via a locking mechanism. It is attached so that it can be attached and detached in an upright position.

However, when going up and down stairs, the wheelchair auxiliary trolley is used as shown in Figure 8, and when going up an escalator, it is provided with an auxiliary handle 23, and when going up and down, it is used as shown in Figure 9. In this case, use the condition shown in Figure 10. When moving on flat ground, it is used in the state shown in Figure 11.

By the way, in the above-mentioned wheelchair auxiliary trolley, when going up and down stairs or an escalator, the left and right endless belts 7 of the crawler device 8 rotate to crawl up and down the edges of the steps of the stairs or escalator, but at this time, the front and rear wheels 9. 10 must escape from the edge, and for this purpose, it is essential that the front and rear wheels 9 and 10 are assembled on two sides and are able to swing about a central axis 11 via a swing arm 12. be. Furthermore, since it is necessary for the auxiliary trolley to move straight at the entrance when using an escalator, the front and rear wheels 9.
It is difficult to replace 10 with a swivel caster wheel.

Therefore, in the conventional wheelchair auxiliary trolley, when traveling on flat ground, it is not possible to smoothly perform steering, that is, a change in direction, and in the state shown in FIG. Lift the wheel 9 off the running surface and turn the handle 1
It was only possible to change the direction slightly by twisting the trolley body 1 through the handle 3. This makes it extremely difficult to change direction on narrow landings of stairs or escalators.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and it does not impair the ability to ascend and descend the stairs or escalator trolley or the ability to go straight, and when driving on level ground, the steering direction can be changed very smoothly with a simple operation, making it possible to use a wheelchair. To provide a convenient auxiliary cart for a wheelchair which has excellent maneuverability and allows a person to easily transport a person along with the wheelchair to a target device.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the wheelchair auxiliary trolley of the present invention has the following features:
A wheelchair equipped with a crawler device equipped with two swingable wheels on each side (front, rear, right) and a handle for securing the wheelchair, which can be used to travel on level ground and to go up and down stairs or escalators. In the auxiliary trolley, the base end is pivotally attached to the front end side of the above-mentioned trolley body where the handle is provided, and a rotating arm is provided protrudingly so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. In addition to providing a caster wheel, a flip-up means is provided that lifts the rotating arm to an upward rotation limiter to keep the left and right caster wheels high above the running surface during normal times, and also pushes the rotating arm downward. When the crawler device is caused to travel backwards a little, the engagement engages with the surface irregularities of the endless body and pulls and holds the caster wheels below the endless body until the front left and right wheels float above the running surface. A mating member is provided, and the rotating caster wheel is moved in and out by forward and reverse rotation of the endless body of the crawler device, raised so as not to touch the ground when going up and down stairs or escalators, and lowered when traveling on flat ground to connect the swinging wheels at the rear. It is constructed so that it can be lifted off the running surface to facilitate turning and changing direction.

(Embodiment of the Invention) An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The same reference numerals will be used to simplify the explanation.

Here, a mounting shaft 30 is attached to the upper front end frame portion of the bogie frame 2 of the bogie body 1 so as to protrude from side to side.
A pair of left and right rotating arms 3 with their base ends pivoted to both ends of the
1 are respectively attached so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction.

Frames 32 are fixed to the tips of the left and right rotating arms 31, and the left and right frames 32 are connected to each other by a connecting pipe 33, so that the left and right rotating arms 31 rotate together. One rotating caster wheel 34 is attached to the lower surface of each of the left and right frames 32 at the tip of the rotating arm 31.

In addition, in order to hold the left and right rotating caster wheels 34 on a device floating high above during normal times, the left and right rotating arms 31
A pair of left and right tension springs 35 are provided as flipping means for pulling up to the upper limit of rotation. Note that the left and right tension springs 35 are installed on the upper frame of the bogie frame 2 at an upper part slightly diagonally in front of the mounting shaft 30, and the support is attached to the rod 3.
6, and the other end is secured to a midway portion of the left-right rotation arm 31.

Furthermore, plate-shaped engagement members 37 are bent and project obliquely downward from the rear end sides of the left and right frames 32, respectively. This left and right engaging member 37 has a plurality of protrusions 37a on the upper surface, and each of the protrusions 37a is provided at the same interval as the pitch of the unevenness 7a on the surface of the left and right endless body 7 of the crawler device 8. It is being The left and right engaging members 37 come into contact with the inclined lower surfaces of the front end sides of the left and right endless body 7 of the crawler device 8 due to the downward rotation of the left and right rotating arms 31, and the surface of the endless body 7 is The unevenness 7a and each protrusion 37a can be engaged to mesh with each other, and in this state, when the endless body 7 of the crawler device 8 rotates in the forward direction, it follows this and is drawn diagonally downward.

Further, a cam 38 that moves together with the arm 31 is provided on the base end side of the rotating arm 31 which is pivotally connected to the mounting shaft 30, and a cam 38 that moves together with the arm 31 is provided on the bogie underframe frame near the mounting shaft 30. A microswitch 39 connected to the drive circuit of the crawler device 8 is provided, and the rotating arm 31
When the device rotates downward beyond a certain level, a microswitch 39 is actuated by the cam 38 to cut off the power to this drive circuit in order to stop the crawler device 8.

To explain the operation of the wheelchair auxiliary trolley with the above-mentioned configuration, when going up and down stairs or escalators,
In order to prevent the left-right swing type caster wheel 34 from touching the ground, the left-right swing arm 31 is kept pivoted at the upper rotation limit shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1 by a spring 35 of a flip-up means. This makes it possible to go up and down stairs or escalators in the same way as the conventional ones shown in FIGS. 5 and after.

Next, when driving on flat ground, if you are simply driving straight ahead,
As mentioned above, the left-right swivel caster wheels 34 can be left floating upward, but if it is necessary to change direction by curving or turning in a narrow place such as a landing, an attendant can connect them with their feet or hands. The pipe 33 is pushed down and the left and right rotating arm 31 is rotated downward about the mounting shaft 30 against the spring 35. In this way, the left and right rotating arm 31 is connected to the left and right engaging members 37 of the end frame 31 of the crawler device 8.
Push down until it touches the slope of the left and right endless body 7,
The protrusions 37a of the left and right engaging members 37 and the irregularities 7a on the surface of the endless body 7 are engaged with each other so as to mesh with each other. In this state, the crawler drive switch 40 is operated to drive the crawler in the forward direction (upward direction on stairs or escalators), thereby slightly rotating the endless body 7. As the endless body 7 rotates in the backward direction, the engaging member 37 that has engaged with the surface irregularities 7a via the protrusions 37a is dragged to follow the downward slope of the endless body 7. The left-right rotating arm 31 further rotates downward, and the left-right rotating caster wheel 34 is drawn into the lower front end of the bogie frame 2 (the lower front end of the left and right endless body 7). Now, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the left and right swivel type caster wheels 34 are in a state in which not only the left and right endless bodies 7 but also the swingable wheels 9 on the left and right front sides are suspended upward. It is possible to run by touching the ground on the running surface.

When the left and right swivel caster wheels 34 are pulled into the preset device, a microswitch 39 is actuated by a cam 38 provided on the rotating arm 31 to prevent the caster wheels 34 from being pulled in any further. The power to the drive circuit is automatically turned off to stop the rotation of the left and right endless bodies 7. In this state, even if the crawler drive switch 40 is operated, the forward drive circuit remains cut off, but the electric circuit is configured so that the backward drive circuit remains active.

In this way, when the left-right swing type caster wheel 34 is pulled in and set, the engaging member 37 engages with the unevenness 7a of the left-right endless body 7 via the protrusion 37a, and the spring 35 is reversed, so that the left-right swing arm 31 Since the engaged state is maintained by pulling the endless body 7 towards the sloped side, it will not come off unnecessarily. In this state, if an attendant holds the left and right handles 13 and moves them to the left or right, the left and right swing casters 34 turn and the truck body 1 can easily change direction and travel to the destination.

Next, when you finish traveling on flat ground and go up or down stairs or escalators, turn the crawler drive switch 40 in the backward direction (the direction in which the trolley descends), and the left and right endless bodies 7 rotate in the opposite direction to the previous time. The left and right engaging members 3 that were engaged with this
7 is pushed diagonally upward and the rotation arm 31 rotates upward, and as a result, the left and right swing type caster wheels 34 float up from the bottom of the front end of the bogie frame 2, and instead move from the left and right rear sides. The wheels 10 on each of the two sides are in contact with the running surface.

Note that the engagement member 37 is pushed up until it is separated from the front end reversal portion of the left and right endless body 7. In this state, by pulling up the connecting vibrator 33 a little with a foot or hand, the left-right rotating arm 31 is rotated to its upper rotational limit by the tensile force of the spring 35 and returned to its initial state. This makes it possible to go up and down stairs or escalators in the same way as above.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, this invention includes a trolley body equipped with a crawler device, which is equipped with swingable wheels on each of the front, rear, left, and right sides, and a handle that also serves as a wheelchair fixing handle for holding the wheelchair. In an auxiliary wheelchair trolley that can be climbed up and down, a rotating arm is provided with a proximal end pivotally attached to the front end side of the trolley body on which the handle is provided, and a rotating arm protrudes so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. A pair of left and right swivel caster wheels are provided on the swivel arm, and a flip-up means is provided in which the swivel arm is pulled up to an upward rotation limiter during normal times so that the left and right caster wheels are raised high above the running surface. When the crawler device is caused to run backwards a little by pressing down, the caster wheels are moved to the lower side of the endless body until it engages with the surface irregularities of the endless body and lifts the front left and right wheels above the running surface. Since the structure includes an engaging member that pulls in and holds the rotating caster wheel in the opposite direction, the rotating caster wheel can be moved in and out by forward and reverse rotation of the endless body of the crawler device, and can be raised so as not to touch the ground when going up and down stairs or escalators. When running on level ground, the swinging caster wheels can be lowered to a state where the front swinging wheels are lifted from the running surface, so the platform can be run on level ground without any deterioration in the ability to go up and down or the straightness of the platform for stairs or escalators. To provide a convenient wheelchair auxiliary trolley with excellent maneuverability, which can change the steering direction very smoothly with a simple operation, and can easily transport a wheelchair user to a target device along with the wheelchair.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same part with the handle portion omitted, Fig. 3 is a front view of the same, and Fig. 4 is a set of swivel caster wheels when traveling on flat ground. State diagram, Fig. 5 is a side view showing a conventional auxiliary trolley, Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a front view seen from the arrow ■ direction in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the conventional auxiliary trolley in the stair ascending and descending state, Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing the conventional auxiliary trolley in the escalator climbing state, and Fig. 10 is the conventional auxiliary trolley in the escalator descending state. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the conventional auxiliary truck running on a flat ground. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Bogie body, 2... Bogie frame, 3... Motor, 5... Drive wheel, 6... Guide wheel, 7... Endless body, 7a... Unevenness, 8 ...Crawler device, 9,10・
... Swingable front and rear wheels, 13... Wheelchair fixed handle, 30... Mounting shaft, 31... Rotating arm, 3
2...Flange, 33...Connection vibe, 34...
Swivel caster wheel, 35... flip-up means (spring),
37...Engagement member, 37a...Protrusion, A...Wheelchair. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] A crawler device is equipped with a motor, a drive wheel and a guide wheel driven by the motor, and left and right endless bodies with uneven surfaces that are hung over these drive wheels and guide wheels and rotate along the guide. The wheels are installed in pairs to form a trolley body, and a set of two wheels are provided via swinging arms pivoted to the front, rear, left and right sides of the trolley body, and the wheelchair mounted on the upper part of the trolley body is stabilized. A wheelchair auxiliary trolley is provided with a handle that can be used to fix the wheelchair and hold the wheelchair in a fixed position, and is capable of traveling on level ground and climbing up and down stairs or escalators. A rotating arm is protruded so as to be able to rotate, and a pair of left and right rotating caster wheels is provided at the tip of this rotating arm, and during normal times, the rotating arm is pulled up to the upper rotation limiter to control the left and right caster wheels. A flip-up means is provided that is placed high above the running surface, and when the rotating arm is pushed down and the crawler device is moved slightly forward, it engages with the surface irregularities of the endless body and moves the front left and right parts. An auxiliary cart for a wheelchair, comprising an engaging member that pulls and holds the caster wheels below the endless body until the wheels are lifted off the running surface.