JP2005176980A - Electric wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric wheelchair with a seat for a care giver on which a care giver can ride together and whose wheelchair body shape can be reduced by storing when the care giver does not ride together. <P>SOLUTION: In the electric wheelchair automatically travelling by operation by a riding person sitting on a sitting portion, a seat portion supporting frame 11 and an auxiliary wheel supporting frame 13 respectively supporting a sitting portion 10 for the care giver located behind the seat portion and an auxiliary wheel 12 located below the seat portion for the care giver and behind rear wheels 3 is pivotally attached to a rear end portion of the body frame 1 constituting the wheelchair body turnably between a using position where the auxiliary wheel 12 contacts with ground and a storing position where the auxiliary wheel 12 is upwardly and forwardly turned and floated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric wheelchair adapted to automatically travel by an operation by a rider seated on a seating portion.

  This type of electric wheelchair is widely used, and one with a traveling speed exceeding 6 km / h is also used.

  However, when an assistant is accompanied by a rider of an electric wheelchair, it is a burden to attach a long distance because the rider cannot ride, and the electric wheelchair must be driven at a speed corresponding to a normal walking speed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric wheelchair with an assistant seat that can be ridden by an assistant and can be retracted to reduce the shape of the vehicle body when the occupant does not ride.

  In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, an electric wheelchair adapted to automatically travel by an operation by a rider seated on a seating portion according to claim 1, a seating portion for an assistant located behind the seating portion. And a rotating position that supports the auxiliary wheel located below the assistant seat and rearward of the rear wheel is used for grounding the auxiliary wheel, and a retracted position for rotating the upper wheel forward and floating. It is pivotally attached to a rear end portion of a main body frame constituting the wheelchair main body so as to be rotatable between the two.

  The assistant's seat supported by the rotating frame is taken along with the wheelchair body by the auxiliary wheel being driven and rotated by the movement of the wheelchair body, and the assistant's seat rotates the rotating frame when not in use. Is stored on the wheelchair body side.

  In order to suppress the vibration of the seat for the assistant, according to claim 2, the rotating frame has a seat for attaching the seat for the assistant to the distal end and pivoting the base end to the rear end of the main body frame. And an auxiliary wheel support frame that supports the auxiliary wheel at the front end and pivotally attaches the base end portion to the rear end portion, and the auxiliary wheel support frame and the seating portion support frame are interposed via a buffer. Connected. In order not to impair the curvature, the auxiliary wheel is an omnidirectional wheel in which a rotor that is rotatable in a direction orthogonal to the straight traveling direction is arranged around the rotor. When there is a possibility that the stored rotating frame is reversed to the use position, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a locking device for restraining the rotating frame at the storing position is provided at the rear end portion of the main body frame. In order to ensure smooth running as an electric wheelchair with a passenger seat, according to claim 5, the front wheels on one side and one auxiliary wheel have a rotor that can rotate in a direction orthogonal to the straight direction. Arranged substantially semi-spindle-shaped omnidirectional wheels, the rear wheels on both sides are rotationally driven by a motor. With one auxiliary wheel, it is possible to smoothly get on and off the assistant without expanding the route when turning.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an electric wheelchair is realized that is stored in a normal state and can be set at a use position when necessary and an assistant can ride on it. This makes it possible to increase the moving speed even when an assistant is accompanied. Moreover, the influence of vibration can be suppressed by being connected to the wheelchair body in a pivotal manner, and the outer structure of the vehicle body can be made smaller without traveling together when moving in a narrow place.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the pivoting type, the assistant's seat and the auxiliary wheel are supported by another frame, and the shock absorber is interposed between them, so that the assistant can comfortably have a simple structure. I can sit well. According to the invention of claim 3, it is avoided that the traveling performance of the wheelchair body is impaired by adopting omnidirectional wheels as auxiliary wheels. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the reversal of the rotating frame from the storage position is restrained by the lock tool. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the adoption of omnidirectional wheels provided with semi-spindle-shaped rotors on the front wheels on both sides of the wheelchair body suppresses the generation of rattling noise during rotation by the substantially circular outer peripheral wheels. As a result, smooth turning is possible without the need to turn in the direction of travel, and smooth steering with a simple structure is possible even if the passenger seat is connected by one auxiliary wheel having the same structure. Can do.

  An electric wheelchair according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, this electric wheelchair includes a front wheel 2 that is a omnidirectional wheel in which a semi-spindle-shaped rotor 2 a that can rotate in a direction orthogonal to the straight traveling direction of the wheel is arranged, and a motor-driven rear wheel. 3, a passenger seat 9 is connected to the back of a normal wheelchair body provided with a seating portion 4 with an armrest 5, a footrest 6 provided at the tip thereof, and a seat back 7. .

  The body frame 1 of the wheelchair body to which these parts are assembled includes a lower base frame 1a and an upper base frame that is supported by the front and rear support frames 1c and 1d and functions as a support frame for the seating section 4. 1b, and the rear wheels 3 on both sides are differentially speed-controlled by motor drive units 3a mounted on both sides of the lower base frame 1a. The front wheels 2 on both sides are rotatably supported by a front wheel support frame 1e provided below the tip of the upper base frame 1b. Various structures are well known for such body frames.

  The assistant's seat 9 is positioned behind the seat 4 so that the assistant's seat 10 is supported by the tip of the oblique seat support frame 11 and the fork on the tip of the auxiliary wheel support frame 13. The auxiliary wheel 12 is supported by 13a so as to be rotatable, and is positioned below the assistant seat 10 so as to be driven and rotated behind the rear wheel 3 during automatic traveling. Further, behind the upper end of the frame constituting the seat back 7, a grip portion 9a for an assistant is provided.

  The base end portions of the two seating portion support frames 11 and the auxiliary wheel support frame 13 that are both rotating frames are rear end portions that cross between the rear wheels 3 of the base frame 1a in the main body frame 1 constituting the wheelchair body. The hinge brackets 18 and 19 provided on the frame 8 are pivotally attached by pins 18a and 19a. Between the transverse plate 11a between the seating part support frames 11 and the auxiliary wheel support frame 13 spaced apart by a narrow gap, an oil damper 15 and a spring 16 are mounted as shock absorbers. That is, the tip of the rod 15a of the damper 15 is pivotally attached to the bracket 11b provided on the transverse plate 11a by the pin 11c, and the base of the cylinder body is pivotally attached to the auxiliary wheel support frame 13 by the pin 11d. Spring seats 16a and 16b are provided between 15a and the cylinder body, and the spring 16 is mounted.

  Thereby, both the frames 11 and 13 are connected by the damper 15 as a shock absorber, and the auxiliary wheel support frame 13 is rotated substantially horizontally rearward so that the auxiliary wheel 12 is grounded to the traveling surface. Thus, the seating support frame 11 extends obliquely upward above and supports the seat for the assistant in a state where the seating part for the assistant is slightly tilted forward than the horizontal. When the assistant is seated, the spring 16 is compressed to bring the assistant's seat 10 into a substantially horizontal state.

  In order to restrain the passenger seat 9 in the retracted position where the front passenger seat 9 is lifted forward and upward, the rear end portion of the main body frame 1 is provided with a bracket 23 provided at the rear end portion of the base frame 1b with a pin 23. A hook lever 20 that is pivotally attached and has a distal end bent into an L-shape, a locking pin 25 protruding from the outer surface of the auxiliary wheel support frame 13, and one end locked to the base frame 1b. In addition, a locking device is provided which includes a tension spring 21 whose other end is engaged with the hook lever 20. As such a locking device, various other configurations such as a belt with a buckle wound around the auxiliary wheel support frame 13 and constrained can be considered.

  The operation of the electric wheelchair with a passenger seat configured as described above is as follows. 4B, in the retracted state shown in FIG. 4B, the hook lever 20 is removed and the assistant seat 9 is grounded along the straight traveling direction at the intermediate position in the lateral direction of the wheels 2 and 3 with the auxiliary wheel 12. The usage state shown in FIG. 4A is set. The assistant places his / her foot on the rear end partial frame 8 and grips the grip portion 9a with his / her hand and sits on the assistant's seat 10. The buffering action of the damper 15 with the spring 16 suppresses the propagation of vibrations or shocks to the caregiver's seating section 10 and allows the user to sit comfortably. The auxiliary wheel 12 and the rotor 2a of the front wheel 2 which are omnidirectional wheels have a semi-spindle shape, the outer periphery of the wheel is circular, and the clearance between the rotors 2a is small, so that noise is suppressed and the vehicle runs smoothly. When the drive speeds of the motor drive units 3a on both sides are controlled to be differentially rotated, the front wheel 2 generates a vector component in the direction orthogonal to the straight direction corresponding to the speed difference, and drives this vector component As a force, the rotor 2a rotates and is steered smoothly to bend. Further, the auxiliary wheel 12 is also the same type of omnidirectional wheel, and it is possible to avoid a decrease in traveling performance when the vehicle is bent due to the addition of the auxiliary wheel 12, and further, since one auxiliary wheel 12 is located in the middle in the lateral direction, Sometimes it is difficult to get in the way without widening the route, and it is also advantageous for getting on and off the assistant.

  When the assistant does not ride, the wheel support frame 13 is lifted, the seat lever support frame 11 is brought into contact with the upper base frame 1b, and the spring 16 is compressed. Lock and store. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4B, the assistant's seat 9 is stored in a state of slightly protruding rearward from the rear wheel 3. The pivoting position of the base end portion of the auxiliary wheel support frame 13 is positioned lower than the pivoting position of the seating portion support frame 11, so that the auxiliary wheel 12 is concentric with the pivoting position. Can be supported from a direction close to the vertically downward direction.

  As another embodiment, the rotation frame that supports the assistant seat 10 and the auxiliary wheel 12 can be integrally formed without being configured as separate bodies as described above. In this case, it is conceivable to provide a buffer directly on the back side of the assistant's seat 10. Further, if there is no possibility of reversing in a state of being rotated to the storage position by configuring the rotation frame in a foldable manner, it is not necessary to dare to provide a lock. The present invention is also applicable to an electric wheelchair configured as a three-wheeled vehicle for elderly people with one front wheel.

It is a principal part top view of the electric wheelchair by embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the buffer part of the assistance seat of the same electric wheelchair. It is a perspective view of the electric wheelchair. The operation of the passenger seat will be described. FIG. A is a side view during use, and FIG. B is a side view during storage.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body frame 2 Front wheel 2a Rotor 3 Rear wheel 4 Seating part 8 Rear end part frame 9 Passenger seat 10 Assistant seating part 11 Seating part support frame 12 Auxiliary wheel 13 Auxiliary wheel support frame 15 Damper 20 Hook lever 25 Locking pin

Claims (5)

In the electric wheelchair that has come to automatically run by the operation of the passenger seated in the seating section,
Use position in which a rotating frame that supports a seat for an assistant located behind the seat and an auxiliary wheel located below the seat for the assistant and behind the rear wheel contacts the auxiliary wheel And the electric wheelchair characterized by being pivotally attached to the rear-end part of the main body frame which comprises a wheelchair main body so that it can rotate between the storing positions which are rotated up and forward and floated.   The rotating frame has a seating support frame for attaching a seat for the assistant to the front end and pivoting the base end to the rear end of the main body frame, and supports the auxiliary wheel at the front end, and the base end. An electric wheelchair according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary wheel support frame that pivotally attaches to the rear end portion, and wherein the auxiliary wheel support frame and the seating portion support frame are connected via a shock absorber. .   The electric wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the auxiliary wheel is an omnidirectional wheel arranged around a rotor that can rotate in a direction orthogonal to a straight traveling direction of the wheel.   The electric wheelchair according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a lock device for restraining the rotating frame at a retracted position is provided at a rear end portion of the main body frame.   The front wheels on both sides and one auxiliary wheel are omnidirectional wheels with a semi-spindle shape arranged around a rotor that can rotate in a direction perpendicular to the straight direction of the wheels, and the rear wheels on both sides are driven by a motor. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the electric wheelchair is provided.

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