FR3115979A1 - Wheelchair incorporating a wheel tilting device - Google Patents

Abstract

Title: Wheelchair incorporating wheel tilt device The invention relates to a wheelchair (100) comprising:- a frame (1) having at least two legs (2) having a lower end (20) to which a wheel (200) is mounted;- a system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels (200), the adjustment system comprising, for each wheel (200), a 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, of which 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 engagement position , preventing the inclination of the wheel (200) with respect to the frame (1), and - a position of non-engagement, allowing rotation of the mounting part. Figure for abstract: Fig. 1

Description

Wheelchair incorporating a wheel tilting device

The field of the invention is that of the design and manufacture of equipment for people with reduced mobility.

More specifically, the invention relates to a wheelchair of the type comprising at least three wheels, including two side wheels and a central, front or rear wheel.

The range of wheelchairs is now very wide to meet different conditions of use and also aesthetic choices, corresponding for example to the personality of the user, with possibilities of general appearance either traditional or modern.

We can distinguish two main families of wheelchairs, namely:
- so-called transfer or transport chairs;
- armchairs designed for sporting activities.

In the category of transfer or transport wheelchairs, these have one of the most classic general structures, in terms of comprising a support frame with two rear wheels and two directional front wheels (the rear wheels traditionally being of one diameter significantly greater than that of the front wheels), the chassis carrying a seat and a backrest.

Of course, many accessories can be offered to ensure different functionalities and/or improve user comfort.

As mentioned above, many variations of these armchairs are available, including, for example:
- "shell"wheelchairs;
- specific armchairs for bathrooms and toilets;
- wheelchairs for obese people;
- wheelchairs for people of small stature;
- electric wheelchairs;
- wheelchairs with reclining backs;
- standing wheelchairs;
- …

Particularly for wheelchairs used for sports activities, the inclination of the wheels must be adjustable to adapt the wheelchair to this particular use.

Armchairs provided with systems for adjusting the inclination of the wheels are known in particular from patent documents published under the numbers DE29704125, US2003034635 EP0824907, or even DE4136456.

However, these wheelchairs, provided with systems for adjusting the inclination of the wheels, have certain drawbacks.

Firstly, these adjustment systems are complex to adjust so that it is not possible to change the inclination of the wheels during the practice of a sporting activity and a temporary interruption of the sporting activity is necessary. The practice of sporting activity is thus degraded.

Secondly, these adjustment systems are generally made up of several parts, some of which are to be dismantled temporarily, while adjusting the inclination. There is therefore a risk of losing parts which can then prevent proper use of the wheelchair.

Third, these adjustment systems are generally accessible by the user to allow their manipulation. Therefore, these adjustment systems are vulnerable to impacts with other wheelchairs for example and to fouling or deterioration by the external environment.

The object of the invention is in particular to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

More specifically, the invention aims to provide a wheelchair equipped with a system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels, which is simple and quick to use.

The invention also aims to provide such a wheelchair whose system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels is simple in design and reliable in its use.

The invention also aims to provide such a wheelchair whose system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels whose fouling and/or deterioration by the external environment is limited.

These objectives, as well as others which will appear subsequently, are achieved thanks to the invention which relates to a wheelchair comprising:
- A frame having at least two legs, including two side legs, having a lower end to which a wheel is mounted;
- a system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels,
characterized in that the adjustment system comprises, for each wheel, a part for mounting the wheel on the leg, the mounting part being rotatably mounted on the leg, according to an axis of rotation transverse to a direction of displacement forward/ rear of the wheelchair, the mounting part having a sheath for receiving a wheel axle, the sheath extending transversely to the axis of rotation,
the mounting part and the leg forming two complementary parts of an indexing system, of which a first part comprises at least two female members and a second part comprises at least one male member,
each male organ and/or each female organ being movable between:
- a position of mutual engagement, in which the inclination of the wheel relative to the frame is blocked, and
- A position of mutual non-engagement, allowing the rotation of the mounting part to modify the inclination of the wheel.

Thanks to the locking system, the occupant of the wheelchair can change the inclination of each of the wheels independently of the others.

In addition, the occupant is not obliged to leave the seat of the wheelchair to adjust the inclination of the wheels. This is particularly appreciable when the inclination of the wheels must be adjusted during the practice of a physical activity.

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

According to an advantageous embodiment, the adjustment system comprises a single male member which is in the form of a rod, and the female members are in the form of cavities.

Such a configuration makes it possible to produce an adjustment system that is simple in design and use.

In addition, due to the small number of parts that it involves, this adjustment system is reliable and robust enough to withstand sustained use, in particular when practicing a physical activity during which the inclination of the wheels can be changed multiple times.

Advantageously, for each side leg, the lower end is in the form of a fork having two flanges between which the mounting part is located.

The assembly part is thus correctly held on the arms, which reinforces the robustness of the wheelchair, in particular for the practice of physical activities.

In addition, when using the wheelchair to move a person over uneven ground, the fork allows the mounting part to be held in place and therefore secures the wheels to the frame.

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

The combination of the positioning of the rod and the fork of the leg makes it possible to give the wheelchair a good resistance to the forces undergone by the wheelchair during its use, both on uneven ground and due to collisions with other wheelchairs. wheels or with edges when practicing a physical activity.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the rod is mounted to slide inside the leg.

The upper is thus protected from any external aggression, whether shocks or the environment such as the weather.

In addition, the sliding assembly of the rod in the leg makes it possible to guide the rod during its movement and to avoid its deformation (for example its buckling) in the event of too rough handling and that the rod is not in cooperation with a cavity.

Preferably, the adjustment system also comprises a manipulation member secured to the female members or to each male member, opposite to the mounting part.

This manipulation member makes it possible to easily manipulate the or each male or female member, in particular to allow its movement between the position of mutual engagement and the position of mutual non-engagement.

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

Advantageously, the leg has a housing inside which the manipulation member is housed.

Like the stem, the manipulation device is thus protected from any external aggression, whether it be shocks or dirt.

Preferably, the housing opens onto an underside of the leg.

This also contributes to the protection of the manipulation device and to the reliability of use of the adjustment system.

In fact, by opening on the underside of the leg, dirt and water cannot thus remain trapped in the housing and therefore cannot prevent the correct movement of the manipulating member, which would be detrimental to the correct use of the adjustment system.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the adjustment system comprises means for returning the female members or each male member to the position of mutual engagement.

The return means make it possible to push the female members or each male member back into their position of mutual engagement so as to ensure the locking of the wheels in one of the tilting positions.

Indeed, when handling the adjustment means, in particular the rod, it is possible that the locking in one position (that is to say the cooperation between the rod and one of the cavities of the mounting part ) is not effective. Thus, thanks to the presence of the return means, during the release or a slight movement of the mounting part, the rod can thus end up facing a cavity in which case it is pushed back into the cavity to block the inclination of the wheel.

Preferably, the chassis comprises:
- a central plate, and
- At least three legs, including the two side legs, each leg having an upper end opposite the lower end, by which it is connected to the frame, the legs each being mounted articulated in rotation on the central plate.

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

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, given by way of illustrative and non-limiting example, and the appended drawings, among which:
there is a perspective view from above of a wheelchair according to the invention, comprising systems for adjusting the inclination of the wheels;
there is a perspective view from below of a leg of a wheelchair frame according to the invention, the leg integrating a system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels;
there is a perspective view from below of a wheel lean adjustment system;
there is a perspective view from above of a part for mounting a wheel on a leg of the frame of the wheelchair according to the invention, the retaining part comprising female members of a system for adjusting the inclination of the wheels .

With reference to the , a wheelchair 100 according to the invention is shown.

The wheelchair 100 is of the type comprising:
- a chassis 1 having
- at least three legs 2, extending from the frame 1 and each having a lower end 20 carrying at least one wheel 200, each leg 2 having an upper end 21 connected to the frame 1, and
- a seat A.

As illustrated by the , the 100 armchair features:
- two 2L side legs, and
- at least one central leg 2C.

With reference to the , the side legs 2L each carry a side wheel 22, and the central leg 2C carries at least one directional wheel 23.

More particularly, in the embodiment illustrated in the , the central leg 2C is associated with a hanger 230 provided with two directional wheels 23.

The hanger 230 extends between two ends, and has a central coupling zone with the central leg 2C.

The central leg 2C is thus coupled to the central coupling zone and the two directional wheels 23 are coupled to each of its ends.

The legs 2, and in particular at least the side legs 2L, are mounted on the frame 1 so as to be able to occupy two distinct configurations, namely:
- a rolling configuration in which the legs 2 occupy an inclined position in which their lower ends 20 have a spacing between them greater than that between their upper ends 21 ( );
- A folded configuration, not shown, in which the lateral legs 2L and the central leg 2c are pivoted and grouped in the vicinity of each other.

According to the principle of the invention, the frame 1 comprises a central plate 10 on which the lateral legs 2L are each mounted articulated around a joint 11.

Thus, the side legs 2L are movably mounted on the central plate 10 around the joint 11 between their rolling configuration and their folded configuration.

Advantageously, the central leg 2C is also mounted articulated on the central plate 10 via a central articulation 12.

To allow the practice of sports physical activities in particular, the wheelchair 100 comprises a system 3 for adjusting the inclination of the wheels 200. The inclination of the wheels 200 during the practice of sports physical activities allows better ergonomics and therefore improved comfort for the wheelchair occupant 1.

The description of the system 3 for adjusting the inclination of the wheels 200 is made here with reference to each side wheel 22.

However, the adjustment system 3 is also adaptable to the steered wheels 23, in which case it does not act directly on each of the steered wheels 23 but on the hanger 230. Therefore, the adjustment of the inclination concerns each of the steered wheels 23 and not one of the steering wheels 23 independently of the other.

As described below, the inclination of each side wheel 22 can be adjusted independently of the other side wheel 22.

For this, and with reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4, a tilt adjustment system 3 is now described.

The adjustment system 3 comprises, for each wheel 200:
- a mounting part 4 of the wheel 200 on the leg 2, and
- an indexing system 5.

The mounting part 4 is rotatably mounted on the leg 2, according to an axis of rotation AR transverse to a direction of movement D front/rear of the wheelchair 100 ( ).

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

The mounting part 4 has a sheath 41 for receiving a wheel axle 200.

As shown on the , the sleeve 41 extends transversely to the axis of rotation AR. More particularly, the sheath 41 extends perpendicular to the axis of rotation AR.

With reference to the , the mounting part 4 and the leg 2 form two complementary parts of the indexing system 5.

A first part of this indexing system 5 includes at least two female members 51, and a second part includes at least one male member 52, as described below.

Each male member 52 or each female member 51 is movable between:
- a position of mutual engagement, in which the inclination of the wheel relative to the frame is blocked, and
- A position of mutual non-engagement, allowing the rotation of the mounting part to modify the inclination of the wheel.

In other words, each male organ 52 or each female organ 51 can adopt:
- a blocking configuration in which it cooperates with one of the female members 51 or male member 52, and prevents the rotation of the mounting part 4 to block the inclination of the wheel 200 relative to the frame 1, and
- a free configuration in which it is separated from the female members 51 or male members 52, and allows the rotation of the mounting part 4 to modify the inclination of the wheel 200.

As shown on the , the adjustment system 3 comprises a manipulation member 53 integral with the female members 51 or the male members 52, opposite to the mounting part 4.

More particularly, it is the indexing system 5 which comprises the manipulation member 53.

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

The male organ 52 is in the form of a rod.

The female organs 51 are, for their part, in the form of cavities.

Thus, in the position of mutual engagement, that is to say in the blocking configuration, the rod is inserted into one of the cavities.

Still according to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, the rod of the adjustment system 3 is movable in translation along the leg 2.

More particularly, the rod is at least partially housed between the two cheeks 201 of the fork in its position of mutual engagement, that is to say in its locking configuration, and cooperates with the cavities of the mounting part 4 .

As shown on the , the rod, that is to say the male member 52, is slidably mounted inside the leg 2.

The manipulation member 53 is integral with the rod to allow its manipulation by the occupant of the wheelchair 100.

As illustrated on the , the leg 2 has a housing 202 inside which the manipulation member 53 is housed.

Housing 202 advantageously opens onto an underside 203 of leg 2.

By lower face 203 is meant a face facing a ground on which the wheelchair 100 moves when the frame 1 is in its rolling configuration.

As a variant, the housing 202 could open onto a side or upper face of the leg 2.

In addition, to help maintain an inclination of the wheels 200, and to facilitate its use, the adjustment system 3 comprises return means 7 in the position of mutual engagement, that is to say in the blocking configuration. female organs or each male organ.

More specifically, the return means 7 are in the form of a tension spring mounted around the rod, between the manipulation member 53 and a wall of the housing 202. As a variant, the return means 7 can comprise a compression spring which tends to push back the manipulation member 53 to cause the rod to cooperate with one of the cavities.

The return means 7 thus tend to bring the manipulation member 53 towards the mounting part 4 and therefore to make the rod cooperate with one of the cavities.

In a variant not shown, the male organs and the female organs can be in one of the following forms:
- toothed wheel for the male member, which cooperates with a toothed wheel for the female member;
- An arcuate wall provided with pins each corresponding to a position of inclination for the male member, the female member comprising a single cavity for receiving one of the pins;
- endless screw for the male member, which cooperates with a nut for the female member;
- Ball(s) caged(s) for the male member, which cooperate(s) with movable housings for the female member.

Claims (10)

Wheelchair (100) comprising:
- a frame (1) having at least two legs (2), including two side legs (2L), having a lower end (20) to which a wheel (200) is mounted;
- an adjustment system (3) for the inclination of the wheels (200),
characterized in that the adjustment system (3) comprises, for each wheel (200), a part (4) for mounting the wheel (200) on the leg (2), the mounting part (4) being mounted at rotation on the leg (2), along an axis of rotation (AR) transverse to a direction of forward/rear movement (D) of the wheelchair (100), the mounting part (4) having a sheath (41) for receiving a wheel axle (200), the sheath (41) extending transversely to the axis of rotation,
the mounting part (4) and the leg (2) forming two complementary parts of an indexing system (5), of which a first part comprises at least two female members (51) and a second part comprises at least one member male (52),
each male member (52) and/or each female member (51) being movable between:
- a position of mutual engagement, in which the inclination of the wheel (200) relative to the frame (1) is blocked, and
- a position of mutual non-engagement, allowing the rotation of the mounting part (4) to modify the inclination of the wheel (200). 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 members (51) present in the form of cavities. Wheelchair (100) according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterized in that for each lateral leg (2L), the lower end is in the form of a fork having two flanges (201) between which is located the mounting piece (4). Wheelchair (100) according to Claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the rod of the adjustment system (3) is movable in translation along the leg (2), the rod being at least partially housed between the two cheeks ( 201) of the fork in the position of mutual non-engagement. Wheelchair (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the rod is mounted to slide inside the leg (2). Wheelchair (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjustment system (3) also comprises a manipulation member (53) integral with the female members (51) or with each male member (52), opposite to the mounting piece (4). Wheelchair (100) according to Claim 6, characterized in that the leg (2) has a housing (202) inside which the manipulation member (53) is housed. Wheelchair (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the housing (202) opens onto an underside (203) of the leg (2). Wheelchair (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjustment system (3) comprises means (7) for returning the female members (51) or each male member ( 52). Wheelchair (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the frame (1) comprises:
- a central plate (10), and
- at least three legs (2), including the two side legs (2L), each leg (2) having an upper end (21) opposite the lower end (20), by which it is connected to the frame (1) , the legs (2) each being mounted articulated in rotation on the central plate (10).