RU2306127C2 - Transportation vehicle for handicapped persons - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: wheel chairs for handicapped persons.

SUBSTANCE: wheel chair allows handicapped persons moving as along horizontal surface and ladder footsteps. Transportation vehicle has top and lower semi-frames. Each semi-frame is provided with support wheel pairs for moving along horizontal surface and with pairs of star-shaped support members to overcome steps, borders, rises and slopes. Transportation vehicle has mechanism for switching vehicle from one mode of motion to other one. Mechanism is made of vertical plates in form of sectors with slots for rests at top semi-frame and of levers provided with spring-loaded rests. Rests come into slots and they are tightly fixed on lower semi-frame. Semi-frames are linked to each other by means of hinges for rotation about main horizontal axis, which axis is disposed at vertexes f sectors and bases of levers and which axis is disposed between axes of support wheels and between axes off support members. Transportation vehicle is provided with brake to prevent arbitrary rolling-down a down under effect of gravity. Transportation vehicle also has mechanism for correction of position at angular shift relatively steps or in case when beams of support members get damaged parts of steps as well as in case when wheel chair has to move along steps of different height and width. Correction mechanism has two autonomous spring-loaded levers. Levers are capable of sliding along guides, which guides are installed onto top semi-frame. Support members are made in form of stars with 3 to 6 beams and they are made interchangeable to reduce sizes of transportation vehicle. Power is taken off by chain transmissions from pinions to support members. Pinions are disposed at naves of driving wheels.

EFFECT: reduced labor input of manufacture and reduced material consumption.

Description

The invention relates to wheelchairs for the disabled, allows you to independently move both on a horizontal surface, and to overcome stairs.

A vehicle for the disabled is known (see US Pat. RU 2220696 C2), consisting of two semi-frames equipped with supporting wheelsets for moving on a horizontal surface and supporting crosses for overcoming steps. Half frames rotate around the main horizontal axis, which changes the mode of movement. The support crosses are driven by means of a friction gear, bevel gears, cardans and worm gears.

The disadvantages of this solution: structural complexity and a large loss of power when overcoming the resistance of friction meshing and worm gears; the lack of a mechanism for correcting the stroller when it is angularly displaced relative to the steps, when the supporting crosses hit the destroyed part of the steps, and when the crosses “step over” the step if they are too narrow; the efforts exerted on levers when changing the mode of movement are quite significant and insurmountable for weakened people with disabilities.

The objective of the claimed solution is to simplify the design, increase safety on the steps and increase the comfort of the stroller.

The technical result obtained when solving the problem is expressed in reducing the complexity of manufacturing and material consumption of the product and ensuring the versatility of the stroller, which allows you to overcome stairs with any, unequal and even dilapidated steps.

To solve this problem, a vehicle for the disabled, consisting of two semi-frames, an upper and a lower one, equipped with support wheels and support crosses, rotating around the main axis to change the driving mode, is characterized in that power is taken out through gears on the hubs of the drive wheels and then through chain drives to crosses; has a correction mechanism for angular displacement relative to steps, for steps of different widths and for dilapidated steps, consisting of two spring-loaded levers sliding along rails located on the upper frame; has a compensating device to facilitate the effort exerted on the levers when changing the mode of movement, consisting of a cylinder with a spring inside, turning on a horizontal axis located above the driven wheels of the upper half frame and a rod that compresses the spring, which rotates on an axis at the front end of the lower half frame; has a centrifugal brake mounted on the intermediate shaft, which does not allow the wheelchair to spontaneously slide down the stairs under the influence of gravity by more than one step and prevents the disabled person from moving along the steps with excessive speed, fraught with complications; It has interchangeable crosses, is easily removable, after which the stroller does not exceed the dimensions of ordinary serial strollers.

The claimed device is illustrated by drawings, where figure 1 shows a side view of the device when driving on wheels; figure 2 shows a side view of the device when moving on crosses; figure 3 shows a view of the upper frame with a seat; figure 4 is a view of the lower frame with levers; figure 5 shows the front departments of both half-frames with a compensating device when driving on wheels; figure 6 - the front sections of the semi-frames with a compensating device when moving on crosses; Fig.7 shows a kinematic diagram of power take-off and drive support crosses.

The claimed device operates as follows:

Driving on a flat surface. The stops 10 of the levers 7 of the lower half-frames 2 are fixed in the rear slots of 9 sectors 8 of the upper half-frames 1, while the crosses do not come in contact with the supporting surface and the carriage rests on the wheels - leading 4 and driven 5 uncontrolled and freely rotating around vertical axes. The rotation is due to the difference in the forces applied to the rims 13.

To change the mode of movement, the disabled person pulls the levers 7 slightly toward him (to reduce the pressure of the slots 9 on the stops 10) and, pressing the buttons 11, releases the stops 10 from the slots 9. Then he gives the levers 7 away from himself until the stops click into the front slots, having previously released buttons. The stroller rests on the crosses 6, and the wheels rise above the supporting surface. At the same time, the gears 12 of the driving wheels 4 come into engagement with the gears 14 of the intermediate shaft 15, from which the rotation through a pair of gears 16 is transmitted to the main axis 3 and through the sprockets 17 of the main axis and the sprockets 18 of the hubs of the crosspieces with chains 20 to the crosspieces 6. Rotating the driving wheels 4 rims 13, a disabled person makes the crosses rotate, "walking" along the steps. All crosses work strictly synchronously. Climbing the stairs is done with the back forward.

Having overcome the steps, the disabled person gives the levers 7 slightly away (weakening the pressure of the slots on the stops), presses the buttons 11, thereby releasing the stops 10 from the slots 9, and then pulls them to themselves until the stops click in the rear slots of sectors 8, having previously released the buttons . The carriage is supported by wheels, the crosses are raised, gears 12 and 14 are disengaged.

During the movement along the steps, for various reasons, the wheelchair can be angularly displaced relative to the steps at which further movement is not possible (tipping the sidecar sideways). If the end of one of the crosses hits the broken or destroyed part of the step, it is also possible to tip the stroller to one side. With very narrow steps, it is possible to “step over” the front crosses over the step and, when descending from the stairs, tipping the stroller forward. To prevent this, a device is mounted on the stroller that corrects the position of the stroller relative to the steps. It consists of two levers 21, spring-loaded with springs 29 and sliding in the guides 22, which are fixed on the upper frame 1. In the transport position, the levers 21 are fixed by clamps 23 to the back of the seat. If it is necessary to correct the position of the stroller, the disabled person releases the levers 21 from the clamps 23 and, taking them away from him, lowers them to touch the step of the ladder, overcoming the resistance of the springs 29. Then, acting alternately or simultaneously with the levers, corrects the position of the stroller and again fixes them in the clamps 23.

To alleviate the significant effort exerted to transform the stroller when changing the driving mode, a compensating device is proposed, consisting of a cylinder 24 that rotates on an axis 25, mounted above the driven wheels 5 of the upper half frame 1. Inside the cylinder there is a spring 26, compressed by a rod 27, rotating on the axis 28 located on the front of the lower half frame 2.

The first phase of the transformation of the stroller (convergence of the ends of the half-frames) in both cases occurs under the influence of gravity of the stroller and the disabled person, compressing the spring 26. At the end of the phase, the cylinder 24 rotates on the axis 25, and later, when the ends diverge, the spring, straightening, helps the disabled person finish the second a transformation phase that requires considerable effort.

Claims (3)

1. A vehicle for the disabled, containing the upper and lower half frames, each of which is equipped with support wheel pairs for moving along a horizontal surface and pairs of star-shaped support elements for overcoming stair steps, curbs, ascents and descents, a vehicle transfer mechanism from one driving mode in the other, consisting of vertical plates in the form of sectors with slots for stops on the upper half frame and levers with spring-loaded stops that enter into the slots of the sectors and rigidly fixed lenghts on the lower half-frame, moreover, the half-frames are pivotally connected to each other with the possibility of rotation around the main horizontal axis located at the tops of the sectors and the bases of the levers, located between the axles of the support wheels and between the axes of the support elements, characterized in that it has a brake to prevent arbitrary rolling with stairs under the influence of gravity and a position correction mechanism with an angular displacement relative to the steps, or when the rays of the supporting elements hit the destroyed part of the steps, or when moving about steps of different heights and widths, which consists of two self-contained spring-loaded levers that can slide along rails mounted on the upper frame, while the supporting elements are star-shaped with 3-6 beams and are made interchangeable to reduce the dimensions of the vehicle, and power take-off comes from gears located on the hubs of the drive wheels, and is transmitted to the supporting elements by chain transmissions. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the brake is made centrifugal and mounted on an intermediate shaft. 3. The vehicle for the disabled according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a compensating device in the form of a steel or gas spring, mounted between the half frames in the front section, made to facilitate the effort when transferring funds from one driving mode to another.

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