CN116744882A - Wheelchairs including wheel tilting devices - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a wheelchair (100), comprising: -a chassis (1) having at least two legs (2), the legs (2) having a lower end (20), wheels (200) being fitted to said lower end (20); -an adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels (200), comprising, for each wheel (200): -a mounting part for mounting the wheel (200) on the leg (2), the mounting part and the leg (2) forming two complementary parts of an indexing system, wherein a first part comprises at least two female members and a second part comprises at least one male member, each male member and/or each female member being movable between: -an engaged position, which locks the inclination of the wheel (200) with respect to the chassis (1), and-a disengaged position, which allows the rotation of the fitting components.

Description

Wheelchairs including wheel tilting devices

The field of the invention is that of the design and manufacture of devices for persons with reduced mobility.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a wheelchair of a type that includes at least three wheels, which include two side wheels and a central wheel, either front wheels or rear wheels.

The range of wheelchairs is now very wide to suit various conditions of use and aesthetic choices such as corresponding to the personality of the user, the overall appearance may be traditional or modern.

Two broad categories of wheelchairs can be distinguished, namely:

- So-called transfer wheelchairs or transport wheelchairs;

-Wheelchairs designed for sports activities.

In the category of transfer or transport wheelchairs, these wheelchairs have one of the most classic overall structures, namely, including a support frame for supporting two rear wheels and two directional front wheels (traditionally, the diameter of the rear wheels is significantly larger than that of the front wheels). wheel diameter), the support frame carries the seat and backrest.

Of course, many accessories are available to ensure various functions and/or increase user comfort.

As mentioned above, numerous variations of these wheelchairs are available, as examples include:

- "shell-shaped" wheelchair;

-Special wheelchairs in bathrooms and toilets;

-Wheelchairs for obese people;

-Wheelchairs for people of short stature;

-electric wheelchair;

- Reclining wheelchair;

-upright wheelchair;

-……

Especially for wheelchairs used for sporting activities, it is necessary to be able to adjust the inclination of the wheels to adapt the wheelchair to this specific use.

Wheelchairs provided with an adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels are known in particular from patent documents DE29704125, US2003034635, EP0824907, or DE4136456.

However, these wheelchairs provided with an adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels have certain disadvantages.

Firstly, these adjustment systems are so complex to adjust that it is not possible to change the inclination of the wheels during physical activity, thus requiring a temporary interruption of the physical activity. This is not conducive to sports activities.

Secondly, these adjustment systems generally consist of multiple components, some of which need to be temporarily removed when adjusting inclination. There is therefore a risk of losing parts, which would prevent the wheelchair from functioning properly.

Again, users usually have access to these adjustment systems so that they can manipulate them. As a result, these adjustment systems are susceptible to, for example, impacts from other wheelchairs and dirt or damage from the external environment.

The invention aims, inter alia, to alleviate the disadvantages of the prior art.

More specifically, the object of the present invention is to propose a wheelchair equipped with an adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels, which is simple and quick to use.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a wheelchair whose adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels is simple in design and reliable in use.

The present invention also aims to provide a wheelchair in which dirt and/or damage caused by the external environment to the adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels is limited.

These objects, as well as others that will appear subsequently, are achieved by the invention having the subject of a wheelchair, comprising:

-Chassis with at least two legs the at least two legs include two side legs having lower ends to which the wheels are mounted;

-Adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels,

Characteristically, the adjustment system includes for each wheel an assembly part for assembling the wheel on the leg, the assembly part being assembled to rotate about the rotation axis on the leg, the assembly part having an axle for receiving the wheel. a sleeve (fourreau) extending transversely to the axis of rotation,

the assembly part and the leg forming two complementary parts of an indexing system, wherein the first part includes at least two female members and the second part includes at least one male member,

Each male component and/or each female component can be moved between:

- the mutually engaged position in which the inclination of the wheels relative to the chassis is locked, and

- a non-interengaging position which allows the assembly parts to rotate to change the inclination of the wheels,

Features: The chassis includes:

-Central board, and

- at least three legs, including two side legs, each leg having an upper end opposite a lower end, through which the legs are connected to the chassis, each leg being hingedly assembled and rotating on the central plate.

With the help of this locking system, wheelchair users can change the inclination of each wheel independently.

Additionally, the user does not have to leave the wheelchair's seat to adjust the inclination of the wheels. This is especially important when it is necessary to adjust the inclination of the wheels during physical activity.

In addition, such an adjustment system is simple and fast to use.

The combination of the base frame and the adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels makes it possible to obtain a wheelchair that is comfortable for the user, since each arm is independent of the other arms and each wheel can be tilted independently of the other wheels.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the adjustment system includes a single male member in the form of a rod and a female member in the form of a cavity.

This construction enables a simple adjustment system to be designed and used.

Additionally, due to the low number of parts involved, the adjustment system is reliable and robust enough to last, especially when engaging in physical activities that may change the inclination of the wheel multiple times.

Advantageously, for each side leg, the lower end takes the form of a fork with two joues between which the mounting means are located.

In this way, the assembly parts are correctly held on the arms, which enhances the stability of the wheelchair, especially for performing physical activities.

Furthermore, when using a wheelchair to move a person over rough terrain, the forks enable a good retention of the assembly and thus a good connection of the wheels to the chassis.

Preferably, the rod of the adjustment system is movable in translation along the leg, the rod being at least partially received between the two cheeks of the fork in its mutually engaged position.

The positioning combination of the legs' forks and rods allows the wheelchair to withstand the forces to which the wheelchair is subjected during use (whether on rough terrain or due to collisions with other wheelchairs or with edges while performing body movements) Has good resistance.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the rod is equipped to slide within the leg.

This way, the pole is protected from any external damage, be it impacts or the environment such as weather.

Furthermore, the sliding assembly of the rod in the legs makes it possible to guide the rod during its movement and avoid deformation (for example bending) of the rod in the event of too rough manipulation and if the rod does not cooperate with the cavity.

Preferably, the adjustment system also includes an operating member integral with the female member or each male member, opposite the mounting part.

The manipulation member enables easy manipulation of the or each male or female member, in particular enabling its movement between an inter-engaging position and a non-inter-engaging position.

The operating member thus contributes to the ease of use of the wheelchair and in particular its adjustment system.

Advantageously, the leg has a receptacle in which the operating member is received.

Like the rods, the operating components are then protected from any external intrusion, whether from shocks or dirt.

Preferably, the receiving portion is open on the underside of the leg.

This also helps protect the operating components and aids in regulating the system's ease of use.

In fact, by opening on the underside of the leg, dirt and water cannot therefore stay in the receptacle and thus cannot hinder the correct movement of the operating member, which would impair the correct use of the adjustment system.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the adjustment system includes return means for returning the female member or each male member to a mutually engaged position.

The return means enable the female or each male member to be pushed back into its mutually engaged position to ensure locking of the wheel in one of the tilted positions.

In fact, when operating the adjustment device, in particular the lever, it may not be possible to lock in one position (that is to say the fit between the lever and one of the cavities of the mounting part). Therefore, due to the presence of the return means, during the release of the assembly part or its slight movement, the rod can therefore be in a position facing the cavity, in which case the rod is pushed back into the cavity to lock the inclination of the wheel.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly by reading the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which is given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, and the accompanying drawings, in which :

- Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a wheelchair according to the invention, comprising an adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels;

- Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of the legs of a wheelchair chassis according to the invention, incorporating an adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels;

- Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view of the adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels;

- Figure 4 is a top perspective view of an assembly part for assembling a wheel on a leg of a wheelchair chassis according to the invention, the retaining part comprising the female member of an adjustment system for adjusting the inclination of the wheel.

Referring to Figure 1, a wheelchair 100 according to the present invention is shown.

Types of wheelchair 100 include:

-Chassis 1, with

- at least three legs 2 extending from the chassis 1 and each leg having a lower end 20 carrying at least one wheel 200, each leg 2 having an upper end 21 connected to the chassis 1, and

-Seat A.

As shown in Figure 1, wheelchair 100 has:

-Two side legs 2L, and

-At least one central leg 2C.

Referring to Figure 1, each side leg 2L carries one side wheel 22, and the central leg 2C carries at least one directional wheel 23.

More specifically, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the central leg 2C is associated with an arch 230 provided with two directional wheels 23 .

The arch 230 extends between the two ends and has a central coupling area to the central leg 2C.

Therefore, the central leg 2C is coupled to the central coupling area, and the two directional wheels 23 are coupled to each end of the arch 230 .

The legs 2, and in particular at least the side legs 2L, are mounted on the chassis 1 so as to be able to be in two different configurations, namely:

- an operating configuration in which the legs 2 are in a tilted position in which the distance between their lower ends 20 is greater than the distance between their upper ends 21 (Fig. 1);

- A folded configuration, not shown, in which the side legs 2L and the central leg 2c pivot and come together near each other.

According to the principle of the present invention, the chassis 1 includes a central plate 10 on which the side legs 2L are hingedly assembled around joints 11 respectively.

The side legs 2L are then mounted on the central panel 10 in such a manner that they can move about the joint 11 between their operating configuration and their folded configuration.

Advantageously, the central leg 2C is also hingedly mounted on the central plate 10 via the central joint 12 .

In particular to enable sports physical activities, the wheelchair 100 includes an adjustment system 3 for adjusting the inclination of the wheels 200 . The tilting of the wheels 200 enables better ergonomics and therefore better comfort for the user of the wheelchair 1 when performing physical activities.

The adjustment system 3 for adjusting the inclination of the wheel 200 is described here with reference to each side wheel 22 .

However, the adjustment system 3 is also suitable for directional wheels 23 , in which case it does not act directly on each directional wheel 23 , but on the arch 230 . The adjustment of the inclination therefore relates to each directional wheel 23 and not to one of the directional wheels 23 independently.

As discussed below, the inclination of each side wheel 22 is adjustable independently of the other side wheel 22 .

To this end, and with reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4, the inclination adjustment system 3 is now described.

For each wheel 200, the adjustment system 3 consists of:

- an assembly part 4 for assembling the wheel 200 on the leg 2, and

- Indexing system 5.

The mounting part 4 is mounted to rotate on the leg 2 . More specifically, the mounting part 4 is mounted to rotate on the leg 2 about the rotation axis AR. This axis of rotation AR is in particular transverse to the forward and backward movement direction D of the wheelchair 100 (Fig. 1).

More specifically, the lower end 20 of each leg 2 takes the form of a fork having two cheeks 201 between which the mounting part 4 is located.

The mounting part 4 has a sleeve 41 for receiving the axle of the wheel 200 .

As shown in Figure 2, the sleeve 41 extends transversely to the axis of rotation AR. More specifically, the sleeve 41 extends perpendicularly to the axis of rotation AR.

Referring to Figure 3, the mounting part 4 and the leg 2 form two complementary parts of the indexing system 5.

The first part of the indexing system 5 includes at least two female members 51 and the second part includes at least one male member 52 as described below.

Each male member 52 or each female member 51 is movable between the following positions:

- the mutually engaged position in which the inclination of the wheels relative to the chassis is locked, and

- Non-interengaging position which allows the assembly to rotate to change the inclination of the wheel.

In other words, each male member 52 or each female member 51 may be:

- a locking configuration, wherein it cooperates with one of the female member 51 or the male member 52 and prevents the rotation of the assembly part 4 to lock the inclination of the wheel 200 relative to the chassis 1, and

- Free construction, in which it is detached from the female member 51 or the male member 52 and allows the assembly part 4 to rotate to change the inclination of the wheel 200.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the adjustment system 3 includes an operating member 53 integrated with the female member 51 or the male member 52 opposite the assembly part 4 .

More specifically, the indexing system 5 includes an operating member 53 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the adjustment system 3 includes a single male member 52 .

The male member 52 takes the form of a rod.

The female member 51 takes the form of a cavity.

Thus, in the mutually engaged position, that is to say in the locked configuration, the rod is inserted into one of the cavities.

Still according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , the rod of the adjustment system 3 can be moved in translation along the leg 2 .

More specifically, the rod is at least partially housed between the two cheeks 201 of the fork in its mutually engaged position, that is to say in its locked configuration, and cooperates with the cavity of the fitting part 4 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the rod, male member 52 , is assembled to slide within the leg 2 .

The control member 53 is integrated with the rod to enable the user of the wheelchair 100 to control it.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the leg 2 has a receiving portion 202 in which the operating member 53 is received.

The receptacle 202 is advantageously open on the underside 203 of the leg 2 .

The lower side 203 is to be understood as that side facing the ground on which the wheelchair 100 moves when the chassis 1 is in its operating configuration.

As a variant, the receiving portion 202 can be open on the side or on the upper side of the leg 2 .

Additionally, to facilitate maintenance of the inclination of the wheel 200, and to facilitate its use, the adjustment system 3 includes return means 7 in a mutually engaged position, ie in a locked configuration of the female member or of each male member.

More specifically, the return device 7 takes the form of a tension spring, which is fitted around the rod between the operating member 53 and the wall of the receptacle 202 . As a variant, the return means 7 may comprise a compression spring which helps to push back the operating member 53 to engage the rod with one of the cavities.

The return device 7 thus facilitates the return of the operating member 53 towards the mounting part 4 and thus the engagement of the rod with one of the cavities.

In a variant not shown, the male and female members may take one of the following forms:

-The male component adopts a gear and cooperates with the gear as the female component;

- The male member adopts a curved wall provided with pins, each pin corresponding to an inclined position, and the female member includes a single cavity for receiving one of the pins;

-The male component adopts a worm and cooperates with the nut as the female component;

- The male component adopts a frame ball (or balls), which cooperates with the movable receiving part as the female component.

Claims (9)

1. A wheelchair (100) comprising:

-a chassis (1) having at least two legs (2), said at least two legs comprising two side legs (2L), these legs (2) having a lower end (20), to which lower end (20) wheels (200) are fitted;

an adjustment system (3) for adjusting the inclination of the wheels (200),

wherein the adjustment system (3) comprises, for each wheel (200), a fitting part (4) for fitting the wheel (200) on the leg (2), the fitting part (4) being fitted to rotate on the leg (2) about an Axis of Rotation (AR), the fitting part (4) having a sleeve (41) for receiving the axle of the wheel (200), said sleeve (41) extending transversely to the axis of rotation,

the fitting part (4) forms with the leg (2) two complementary parts of an indexing system (5), wherein a first part comprises at least two female members (51) and a second part comprises at least one male member (52),

each male member (52) and/or each female member (51) is movable between:

-an interengaged position in which the inclination of the wheels (200) relative to the chassis (1) is locked, and

a non-interengaged position allowing the fitting (4) to be rotated to change the inclination of the wheel (200),

characterized in that the chassis (1) comprises:

-a central plate (10), and

-at least three legs (2), comprising two side legs (2L), each leg (2) having an upper end (21) opposite a lower end (20), the legs (2) being connected to the chassis (1) by the upper ends, each leg (2) being hinge-mounted for rotation on the central plate (10).

2. Wheelchair (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the adjustment system (3) comprises a single male member (52) in the form of a rod and in that the female member (51) is in the form of a cavity.

3. Wheelchair (100) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that for each side leg (2L) the lower end thereof takes the form of a fork with two cheeks (201), between which two cheeks (201) the fitting part (4) is located.

4. A wheelchair (100) according to claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the lever of the adjustment system (3) is movable in translation along the leg (2), the lever being at least partially housed between the two cheeks (201) of the fork in the non-interengaged position.

5. Wheelchair (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lever is fitted slidable in the leg (2).

6. Wheelchair (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjustment system (3) further comprises a handling member (53) integral with the female member (51) or with each male member (52) opposite the assembly means (4).

7. Wheelchair (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that the leg (2) has a receiving portion (202), the handling member (53) being received in the receiving portion (202).

8. Wheelchair (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the receiving portion (202) is open at the underside (203) of the leg (2).

9. Wheelchair (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjustment system (3) comprises return means (7) for returning the female member (51) or each male member (52) to the engaged position.