KR20210062873A - Electric assist module for wheelchair driving on stairs and stepped terrain - Google Patents

Abstract

An objective of the present invention is to provide an electric assist module allowing driving of a wheelchair on steps and stepped ascents without an assisting person. To achieve the objective, the electric assist module provided on a wheelchair frame having a seating unit allowing a passenger to sit thereon and provided on a frame with a footrest and a handle and having drive wheels provided on both sides of the frame comprises: a caterpillar unit which is a caterpillar-type driving member having a plurality of wheels and a chain belt rotating the wheels, and is mounted on the wheelchair frame to ascend on steps or stepped protrusions of the wheelchair frame; and a landing gear unit provided on the caterpillar unit, wherein a front and a rear free end thereof are lifted/lowered about the center of gravity of the wheelchair frame. When one end of the landing gear unit is lifted, the caterpillar unit is lifted to come in contact with a step or a stepped surface. Then the slope of the step or the stepped protrusion of the wheelchair frame is lifted without an assisting person by ascending on the stepped protrusion by driving of the caterpillar unit.

Description

ELECTRIC ASSIST MODULE FOR WHEELCHAIR DRIVING ON STAIRS AND STEPPED TERRAIN

The present invention relates to an electric assist module that assists inclining driving of a wheelchair, and more particularly, to an electric assist module that assists in stairway or step driving of a wheelchair so that an occupant can drive it without an assistant.

A wheelchair has a structure in which a chair is provided with wheels so that it can be moved in a seated state for a person who has difficulty walking due to lack of free legs or an uncomfortable body. Recently, due to the rapid aging of the population and the increase in the number of people with walking disabilities, the number of people with disabilities in transportation has increased dramatically. Accordingly, the demand for wheelchairs, which are the main means of transportation for the transportation vulnerable, is increasing, and the desire to use wheelchairs in various environments is increasing.

Among those who answered that they felt uncomfortable when going out using a wheelchair, 20.8% had jaws and 20% had stairs, and it was surveyed that many people had difficulty moving on terrain with steps. Wheelchair users must use a separate elevator or lift to navigate stairs and slopes. However, in the case of a building that has restrictions on the use of lifts due to the size and weight of the existing electric wheelchair and does not have an elevator or lift installed, it is inconvenient that a guardian must lift and move the user to move the stairs. In addition, although there are cases where a separate slope or lift is installed as a solution to the movement of stairs, additional costs are charged because they must be installed on each main movement path, and installation is difficult due to structural problems. Therefore, in order to secure the mobility rights of wheelchair users, there is a need to develop a device that can climb on its own regardless of location and guardian and can move on stairs by simply attaching it to a manual wheelchair.

Examples of devices that allow wheelchair users to climb stairs on their own are the wheel-type iBot, and the caterpillar-type Scelovo and Topchair. A wheel-type stair climbing device such as the iBot runs the stairs with precise balance control in the form of an inverted pendulum. However, due to the inability to stand up due to power cut off while driving on the stairs. Accidents such as overturning may occur. Therefore, in most of the research on the development of devices for safe stair climbing, studies using a caterpillar-type mechanism rather than a general wheel are being conducted. Since the caterpillar-type mechanism has excellent contact performance with curved surfaces and the grounding area is evenly distributed, stable driving is possible in climbing obstacles or stairs compared to other driving methods.

In the case of existing studies, studies on the caterpillar mechanism have focused on stable stair entry and stair climbing, but studies on exceptions that may occur during driving are insufficient. In particular, yawing such as misalignment during stair driving may occur due to external factors such as slippage and slippery ground. Yawing loses straightness and causes a phenomenon of driving biased to one side, and it can lead to safety accidents such as overturning, so there is a high need for research.

On the other hand, as a prior art, US Patent No. 7080842 discloses a wheelchair device for stairs. The prior art up to now is provided with a pivot member for landing on the step, but an assistant is required due to safety accidents such as overturning when climbing the stairs. Currently, a wheelchair and auxiliary assist module for stair lifts that are commercially available include SANO's lift car PTR. Currently, a caterpillar-type product that is applied to a wheelchair and enables the wheelchair to travel up the stairs is also being released, but safety issues such as overturning have not been solved because the lift car's unique function helps the wheelchair go up and down the stairs alone without an assistant.

US Patent No. 7080842

An object of the present invention is to provide an electric assist module that enables the driving of stairs and step elevation of a wheelchair without an assistant.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric assist module with excellent safety during driving of stairs and step elevation of a wheelchair.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electric assist module provided in a wheelchair frame in which a seating portion for a passenger to sit is provided on a frame having a footrest and a handle, and driving wheels are provided on both sides of the frame, a plurality of As a caterpillar type traveling member provided with a wheel and a chain belt for rotating the wheel, the caterpillar part is mounted on the wheelchair frame to raise and lower stairs or steps of the wheelchair frame; and a landing gear part provided in the caterpillar part, wherein the free ends of the front and rear free ends are raised/lowered around the center of gravity of the wheelchair frame. When one end of the landing gear part is raised and lowered, the caterpillar part is lifted up and down stairs or steps It is in contact with the vehicle surface, and thereafter, by driving the caterpillar unit to raise and lower the step, characterized in that the stairs or the slope of the step of the wheelchair frame are raised and lowered without an assistant.

Preferably, the landing gear unit comprises: a gear shaft located at the center of gravity of the wheelchair frame; a front landing wheel and a rear landing wheel provided on a body having a length extending in the front-rear direction about the gear shaft; and a driving module having a motor and selectively elevating the front landing wheel or the rear landing wheel around the gear shaft to elevate one side of the caterpillar part.

Preferably, the front landing wheel and the rear landing wheel are disposed under the caterpillar part, and when the front landing wheel is raised, the rear end of the caterpillar part is raised and lowered, and when the rear landing wheel is raised, the front end of the caterpillar part is raised and lowered can be

Preferably, the driving module may elevate the front landing wheel when ascending and descending a staircase, and elevate the rear landing wheel when ascending and descending a step other than a staircase.

Preferably, the landing gear unit is controlled so that the front free end is raised and lowered in a state in which the direction of the wheelchair frame is switched to the reverse direction so that the occupant can have their back on the stairs when ascending and descending the stairs, and the passenger faces the front when ascending and descending the step. Controlled so that the free end at the rear is raised and lowered in a state where the direction of the wheelchair frame is positioned in the front, so that the occupant travels straight through the stepped terrain when ascending and descending by a single step, and when ascending and descending a plurality of steps of the stairs, the occupant moves backward It can be controlled to travel on a stepped terrain.

According to the present invention, the caterpillar part of the caterpillar track linearly raises and lowers the step difference of the stairs, and a separate landing gear part for the initial landing of the caterpillar part is provided, so that it is possible to ascend and descend the stairs of the wheelchair without an assistant.

In addition, in the present invention, the landing gear unit has front and rear free ends and raises and lowers the front/rear based on the center of gravity, and when the continuous step difference such as stairs is raised, the center of gravity is positioned toward the stairs to prevent a fall by backward driving. make this possible In addition, there is an advantage of assisting the user to properly respond according to the type of the step by looking at the step in front of the obstacle of the hill, such as a step difference, not the stairs.

1 shows a perspective view of a wheelchair in which an electric assist module is coupled to a wheelchair frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an electric assist module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 shows a driving state of the electric assist module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the contents described in the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited or limited by the exemplary embodiments. The same reference numerals provided in the respective drawings indicate members that perform substantially the same functions.

Objects and effects of the present invention can be naturally understood or made clearer by the following description, and the objects and effects of the present invention are not limited only by the following description. In addition, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 shows a perspective view of a wheelchair 1 in which an electric assist module 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention is coupled to a wheelchair frame 10 .

Referring to FIG. 1 , the wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment capable of ascending and descending stairs and steps may include a wheelchair frame 10 and an electric assist module 3 . The wheelchair frame 10 is provided with a seating portion 13 on which a passenger sits on the frame 11 having a footrest and a handle, and driving wheels 15 are provided on both sides of the frame 11 . The electric assist module 3 according to the present embodiment may be supplied by being integrally coupled to the wheelchair frame 10 , or may be supplied separately to be compatible with the wheelchair frame 10 .

The electric assist module 3 is fastened to the lower portion of the wheelchair frame 10 . Preferably, the electric assist module 3 may be provided by being fastened to the space between the left and right driving wheels 15 . The electric assist module 3 does not interfere with the driving of the driving wheels 15 on flat ground, but assists the occupant to drive on a slope or a single step of a staircase or sidewalk block.

The electric assist module 3 may include a caterpillar unit 30 , a landing gear unit 50 , and a control unit 70 . In the electric assist module 3 , when one end of the landing gear unit 50 is raised and lowered, the caterpillar unit 30 is raised and lowered by reaction force so that the stair or step surface and the caterpillar unit 30 come into contact with each other. Thereafter, the step is driven by the driving of the caterpillar unit 30 so that the stairs or the slope of the step of the wheelchair frame 10 can be raised and lowered without an assistant.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the electric assist module (3) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The caterpillar unit 30 is a caterpillar-type traveling member provided with a plurality of wheels 31 and a chain belt 33 for rotating the wheels 31 , and is mounted on the wheelchair frame 10 and is a step of the wheelchair frame 10 . Or raise and lower the step.

In this embodiment, the caterpillar unit 30 is a wheel that travels up and down the stairs of the wheelchair frame 10 and is distinguished from the driving wheel 15 . Traveling when ascending and descending stairs is performed by the caterpillar unit 30 . The caterpillar part 30 is a caterpillar-type traveling member consisting of a wheel 31 and a chain belt 33, and the curved surface contact performance is excellent even without precise balance control in the inverted pendulum type of the stair climbing device in the form of a driving wheel 15. It is excellent and has the characteristic that the grounding area is evenly distributed. The caterpillar part 30 of the caterpillar track type is particularly excellent for climbing stairs because the chain belt 33 provides a continuous running surface in the stairs having a continuous step. On the other hand, several studies have focused on stable stair entry and stair climbing of the caterpillar mechanism, but studies on exceptional situations that may occur during driving are insufficient. In particular, yawing such as misalignment during stair driving may cause a phenomenon of losing straightness and driving biased to one side, which may lead to safety accidents such as overturning. In this embodiment, the landing gear unit 50 is configured as a means for the stable step entry of the caterpillar unit 30 . In addition, the control unit 70 on which the logic of driving control for stable driving of the caterpillar unit 30 is mounted may be included.

The landing gear unit 50 is provided in the caterpillar unit 30 , and the free ends of the front and rear sides of the wheelchair frame 10 can be raised/lowered around the center of gravity. The landing gear unit 50 means an auxiliary member for the initial elevation of the caterpillar unit 30 . Note that the landing gear unit 50 according to the present embodiment is provided with a gear structure capable of elevating the front or the rear, respectively, based on the wheelchair. When ascending and descending stairs in a wheelchair without an assistant, it is necessary to drive the user to go up and down the stairs with the user facing the rear to prevent safety accidents such as falls. Therefore, it is preferable that the landing gear unit 50 is provided to lift the front or rear of the wheelchair so that the front or rear of the wheelchair can be driven separately according to the type of step.

The landing gear unit 50 may include a gear shaft 51 , a front landing wheel 53 , a rear landing wheel 55 , and a driving module 57 .

The landing gear unit 50 is controlled so that the front free end is raised and lowered in a state in which the direction of the wheelchair frame 10 is switched to the reverse direction so that the passenger can have their back on the stairs when ascending and descending the stairs. In addition, the landing gear unit 50 is controlled so that the free end of the rear is raised and lowered in a state in which the direction of the wheelchair frame 10 is positioned in the front so that the occupant faces the front when the step is lifted. The landing gear unit 50 may be controlled so that the occupant travels the stepped terrain in a straight line when ascending and descending by a one-time step, and the occupant travels the stepped terrain in a reverse manner when ascending and descending by a plurality of steps of the stairs.

The gear shaft 51 is located at the center of gravity of the wheelchair frame 10 . Referring to FIG. 2 , the gear shaft 51 is provided under the caterpillar unit 30 , and provided on both sides with a DC motor driving the gear in the center. The gear shaft 51 may be provided as a parallel frame as shown in FIG. 2 , but may also be provided as a single frame.

The front landing wheel 53 and the rear landing wheel 55 are provided on a body having a length extending in the front-rear direction about the gear shaft 51 . The front landing wheel 53 and the rear landing wheel 55 are provided with wheels at the ends of the body, respectively, and can be driven complementary.

The driving module 57 may include a motor to selectively elevate the front landing wheel 53 or the rear landing wheel 55 around the gear shaft 51 to elevate one side of the caterpillar unit 30 . The driving module 57 may be located at the rear of the caterpillar unit 30 and may be connected to the rear landing wheel 55 .

The front landing wheel 53 and the rear landing wheel 55 are disposed under the caterpillar part 30, and when the front landing wheel 53 is raised and lowered, the rear end of the caterpillar part 30 is raised and lowered, and the rear landing wheel 55 ), the front end of the caterpillar unit 30 is raised and lowered when this is lifted.

The driving module 57 may raise and lower the front landing wheel 53 when ascending and descending a staircase, and may raise or lower the rear landing wheel 55 when ascending or descending a step other than a staircase.

The control unit 70 controls the landing gear unit 50 to enable stable stair elevation of the caterpillar unit 30 .

3 shows a driving state of the electric assist module 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3 , the step at which the wheelchair frame 10 ascends and descends exemplifies a staircase 8 having a large continuous step and a sidewalk block 9 having a single step.

Fig. 3 (a) is a view showing the control unit 70 controlling the electric assist module 3 when ascending and descending the stairs 8 . The control unit 70 rotates the wheelchair frame 10 when entering the stairs 8 of successive steps so that the seated person has their back to the stairs. Then, the control unit 70 presses the rear landing wheel 55 of the landing gear unit 50 toward the ground, and lifts the front landing wheel 53 . Accordingly, the rear of the caterpillar part 30 is lifted around the gear shaft 51, and the wheelchair frame 10 is laid down in the rear direction. When the wheelchair frame 10 is seated on the first step while maintaining the stability of the center of gravity, the caterpillar unit 30 is then driven to elevate the continuous step surface.

Figure 3 (b) is, the control section 70 is a control state of the electric assist module (3) when lifting the sidewalk block (9). When the control unit 70 enters the sidewalk block 9 of a single step, the risk of overturning of the wheelchair is weak, so that it enters the forward state without a rotation operation as shown in FIG. 3 (a). The control unit 70 presses the front landing wheel 53 of the landing gear unit 50 toward the ground, and lifts the rear landing wheel 55 . Accordingly, the front of the caterpillar part 30 is lifted around the gear shaft 51 , and is seated on the step of the sidewalk block 9 .

Although the present invention has been described in detail through exemplary embodiments above, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. will be. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is limited to the described embodiments and should not be determined, and should be determined by all changes or modifications derived from the claims and the concept of equality as well as the claims to be described later.

1: wheelchair
8: Stairs
9: sidewalk block
10: wheelchair frame
11: frame
13: seating area
15: drive wheel
3: Electric assist module
30: caterpillar part
31: wheel
33: chain belt
50: landing gear unit
51: gear shaft
53: front landing wheel
55: rear landing wheel
57: drive module
70: control unit

Claims (5)

In the electric assist module provided in a wheelchair frame provided with a seat part on which a passenger sits on a frame having a footrest and a handle, and driving wheels on both sides of the frame,
A caterpillar part provided with a plurality of wheels and a chain belt for rotating the wheel, the caterpillar part being mounted on the wheelchair frame and elevating the stairs or steps of the wheelchair frame; and
It is provided in the caterpillar part, and includes a landing gear part in which the front/rear free ends are raised/lowered around the center of gravity of the wheelchair frame as an axis,
When one end of the landing gear part is raised and lowered, the caterpillar part is raised and brought into contact with the step or step surface, and then the step is driven by driving the caterpillar part to raise and lower the stairs or the inclined surface of the step of the wheelchair frame without an assistant, characterized in that Electric assist module.
The method of claim 1,
The landing gear unit,
a gear shaft located at the center of gravity of the wheelchair frame;
a front landing wheel and a rear landing wheel provided on a body having a length extending in the front-rear direction about the gear shaft; and
Electric assist module comprising a driving module having a motor and selectively elevating the front landing wheel or the rear landing wheel around the gear shaft to elevate one side of the caterpillar part.
The method of claim 2,
The front landing wheel and the rear landing wheel are
It is disposed under the caterpillar part, the rear end of the caterpillar part is raised and lowered when the front landing wheel is raised and lowered, and the front end of the caterpillar part is raised and lowered when the rear landing wheel is raised and lowered.
The method of claim 2,
The driving module is
Electric assist module, characterized in that the front landing wheel is raised and lowered when ascending and descending stairs, and the rear landing wheel is raised and lowered when ascending and descending a step other than stairs.
The method of claim 1,
The landing gear unit,
Controlled so that the front free end is raised and lowered in a state in which the direction of the wheelchair frame is switched to the reverse direction so that the passenger can have his or her back on the stairs when ascending and descending the stairs,
Controlled so that the free end of the rear is raised and lowered in a state where the direction of the wheelchair frame is positioned in the front so that the occupant faces the front when the step is lifted,
An electric assist module, characterized in that the occupant is controlled so that the occupant travels the stepped terrain in a straight line when one-time ascending and descending steps, and the occupant travels the stepped terrain in reverse when ascending and descending a plurality of steps.

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