JP2006102241A - Bathing aid device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bathing aid device capable of being easily attached to and detached from a bathtub and enabling a seat part to easily and smoothly move between the position where a care receiver get on and off the seat face and an upper limit position when the seat face is raised or lowered. <P>SOLUTION: In the bathing aid device having a channel shape frame 10 comprising a base portion 100 and arm portions 200 extending substantially vertically from both ends of the base portion 100 and mounted on the rim of the bathtub, an raising and lowering unit attached to the frame 10, and the seat portion 600 and a seat base 500 attached to the frame 10 and capable of ascending and descending by the raising and lowering unit, the device has a pinion gear in the seat portion 600 and a slide guide guiding the slide of a rack gear and the pinion gear in the seat base 500 in an arm direction, the seat portion 600 can slide relative to the seat base 500 while turning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a bathing assistance device that assists in bathing of a person who needs assistance when taking a bath, for example, an elderly person or a physically handicapped person.

2. Description of the Related Art A bathing assistance device that is attached to an edge of a bathtub and assists bathing of a person who needs assistance at the time of bathing, such as an elderly person or a disabled person, has been conventionally known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The bathing assistance apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a seat with a seat provided on the base and the base, and the base has the seating portion moving slit and the seating portion only at both ends of the slit. It has a hole that allows rotation. And only when the seating part is moved along the slit to reach the bathing position and the transfer position, which are both ends of the slit, the seating part is rotated by approximately 90 ° to change the direction of the seat, It is designed to be transferred and bathed.
JP-A-9-294686 (page 3, FIG. 2)

  According to the bathing assistance device having such a structure, the sliding operation and the rotation operation of the seating portion with respect to the base are performed independently, so that the person being assisted gets between the transfer position and the bathing position. It cannot be moved smoothly. In addition, since the seating portion rotates only at the transfer position and the bathing position, the seating portion may suddenly rotate at these positions and the posture of the person being assisted may become unstable. Moreover, there is a possibility that the hand, finger, and leg of the person being assisted are caught between the bathing assistance device and the bathtub due to the rapid rotation of the seating portion.

  On the other hand, if a mechanism that simultaneously performs a sliding operation and a rotating operation of the seat as a combined operation is realized by a mechanical element such as a bearing, it becomes a bathing assistance device that is mechanically complicated, heavy, and has a high seating surface. End up. For this reason, it is impossible to easily attach to and remove from the bathtub, and the height of the seating surface makes it difficult for the person being assisted to get on and off the seating surface, resulting in a bathing assistance device that is inconvenient to use.

  An object of the present invention is to easily attach and detach a bathtub, and to smoothly move a seated portion between a position where a person being assisted on and off the seat surface and an upper limit position when the seat surface is raised and lowered. It is an object to provide a bathing assistance device that makes it possible.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a bathing assistance apparatus according to the present invention includes:
A U-shaped frame that is composed of a base portion and arm portions extending substantially vertically from both ends of the base portion and is placed on the rim of the bathtub;
A lifting device attached to the frame;
In the bathing assistance device provided with a seating portion and a seating base attached to the frame and capable of being lifted and lowered via the lifting device,
The seat portion includes a pinion gear, and the seat base includes a slide guide that guides the rack gear and the pinion gear to slide in the arm direction, and can slide in conjunction with the rotation of the seat portion relative to the seat base. It is characterized by that.

  Since the seating part moves in a compound motion that slides simultaneously with the rotation of the seating base, the seating part sits between the upper limit position when the seating surface moves up and down and the position where the caregiver gets on and off the seating surface. The part can be moved smoothly. That is, since the seating portion on which the person being assisted is not suddenly rotated, it is possible to transfer the seated person while stabilizing the posture of the seated person, and for the handcuffs of the seated person accompanying the sudden rotation of the seated portion. Can be prevented.

  In addition, by realizing such an operation by combining the rack gear and the pinion gear, it becomes possible to distribute the load of the occupant to the seating base through the entire pinion gear, and the transfer mechanism of the bathing assistance device It can be made thin. Thereby, the height of a seating part can be lowered | hung, and it becomes easy for a person to get in and out of a seating part, and the usability of a bathing assistance apparatus is improved. In addition, the bathing assistance device having such a simple configuration can reduce the size and weight of the bathing assistance device itself, and improve the usability of the bathing assistance device on the premise that it is retrofitted to the bathtub rim. .

  Moreover, the bathing assistance device according to claim 2 of the present invention is the bathing assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the pinion gear or a seat for contacting the pinion gear is provided with a sliding portion for sliding the pinion gear. It is characterized by.

  Instead of simultaneously rotating and sliding while receiving the load of the occupant on the entire surface of the pinion gear, for example, from a sliding protrusion such as a rib provided on the circumference of the pinion gear or a cylindrical roller (roller) By rotating and sliding through the sliding part, the sliding resistance between the pinion gear of the seating part and the seating base can be reduced, and the seating part can be rotated and slid more smoothly. Improve the usability of bathing assistance devices.

Moreover, the bathing assistance apparatus of Claim 3 of this invention is the bathing assistance apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2,
The seating base includes a seating base body and a sub-seat portion coupled to each arm side end portion of the seating base body so as to be able to rise up, and the sub-seat portion includes a housing portion for housing at least a part of the pinion gear. The upper surface of the sub-seat is formed so as to be substantially flush with the lower surface of the seat at the upper limit position when the seat is raised and lowered.

  Since the auxiliary seat is provided with an accommodating portion for accommodating the pinion gear so that at least a part of the pinion gear can move to the accommodating portion of the auxiliary seat, the sliding amount of the pinion gear can be sufficiently secured, and the seating portion It is possible to take a large amount of slide.

  In addition, the lower surface of the seating portion and the upper surface of the sub-seat portion are substantially flush with each other at the upper limit position when the seat surface is raised and lowered, so that no gap is generated between the seating portion and the sub-seat portion. Eliminate worries about the hand of the caregiver.

Moreover, the bathing assistance apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention is the bathing assistance apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The rack gear is attached to the seating base so that both end portions of the rack gear are positioned in the vicinity of the opposing arm portions at the upper limit position when the seat surface is raised and lowered. It is characterized by being able to slide simultaneously with rotation on either side of the arm part.

  By attaching the rack gear to the seating base in this way, the seating part can rotate and slide toward any arm side at the upper limit position when the seat surface moves up and down. Can also move the seating part, so that the person being assisted can sit on the seating part from either side of the bathtub. As a result, it is not necessary to consider the direction of attaching the bathing assistance device to the bathtub, and the usability of the bathing assistance device is improved.

Moreover, the bathing assistance apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention is the bathing assistance apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The seat portion is provided with a lock mechanism that locks the seat portion to the seat base at each of the seat surface transfer position where the person being assisted gets on and off the seat surface and the seat surface upper limit position when the seat surface is raised and lowered.

  By providing a lock mechanism that prevents the seating portion from rotating and sliding with respect to the seating base in such a position, the person being assisted can sit on the seating portion with peace of mind, and the seat can be raised and lowered with peace of mind. .

  According to the present invention, it is easy to attach and detach to / from the bathtub, and the seat portion can be moved smoothly and smoothly between the position where the person being assisted gets on and off the seat surface and the upper limit position when the seat surface moves up and down. The bathing assistance apparatus which enables is provided.

  Hereinafter, a bathing assistance apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a bathing assistance apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a frame 10 having a U-shape when viewed from above, and a back attached to the frame 10 and capable of moving up and down in a bathtub. The seat 50 includes a seat 50 (see FIG. 1), and the seat 50 has a seating base 500 and a seating portion 600, and only the seating portion 600 is located between the seating surface raising / lowering upper limit position and the seating surface transfer position at the seat upper limit position. It is designed to slide and move simultaneously with the rotation. Here, the seating surface elevation upper limit position is a seating position when the seating portion 600 of the seat 50 moves up and down in the bathtub in a state where the bathing assistance device 1 is attached to the bathtub (hereinafter referred to as “device attachment state”). The position where the portion 600 reaches the upper limit (see FIG. 8), and the seat surface transfer position refers to a position where the seated portion 600 moves completely to the rim side of the bathtub and the person being assisted gets on and off the seated portion 600. (See FIG. 11).

  The frame 10 is made of, for example, stainless steel, and includes a base portion 100 including an elevating device 300 (see FIG. 2) and arm portions 200 that extend substantially vertically from both ends of the base portion 100. And the base part 100 is mounted on the rim | limb of the longitudinal direction one end part of a bathtub, and the arm part 200 is mounted on the rim | limb of the both sides of a bathtub. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the frame 10 is covered with covers 101 and 201 made of resin having both strength and ease of molding on the base portion 100 and each arm portion 200.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where the covers 101 and 201 of the frame 10 are removed. As is clear from FIG. 2, the base unit 100 includes a DC motor 310, a reduction gear 320 that combines a worm gear and a spur gear, and a wire feeding and winding drum 330. Note that the reduction gear 320 and the wire take-up take-up drum 330 are firmly fixed to the base portion 100 with a support bracket 350. In addition, the base unit 100 includes a battery 370 for driving the DC motor 310 and a control box 360 for controlling the driving of the DC motor 310, and a wire that is wound around the wire feed and take-up drum 330 by a combination of a bracket and a spring. A wire turbulence prevention unit 380 that regulates the winding direction of W is provided. Moreover, the base part 100 is provided with an arm part interval adjusting mechanism (not shown) that can adjust the interval between the opposing arm parts, and the arm of the bathing assistance apparatus 1 according to the lateral width of the bathtub to which the bathing assistance apparatus 1 is attached. The interval between the parts is adjusted.

  Further, a guide pulley 390 for guiding the wire W fed from the upper side of the wire feeding / winding drum 330 to a pulley described later is provided in the vicinity of one (left side in the drawing) of the wire winding disturbance prevention unit.

  In the wire pay-out take-up drum 330, four wires W that form a flexible member for suspending the sheet 50, which are wires covered with resin with stainless steel strands, are provided for each arm part 200. Two pieces are wound toward each other. Further, both ends of the base portion 100 are provided with base pulleys 110 that change the extending direction of the wire W that is fed or wound up to the extending direction of the arm portion 200.

  On the other hand, in the vicinity of the base end portion and the tip end portion on the base side of each arm portion 200, four wires W are arranged in the first wire pay-out take-up pulley 210 (hereinafter referred to as two arm portions). , “First pulley 210”) is provided for each wire W. The first pulley 210 is made of, for example, a resin such as polyacetal (POM) having excellent strength, self-lubricating property, and moldability, and the rotation center axis of the first pulley 210 is oriented in the vertical direction when the apparatus is attached. By 210, the four wires W extend from the arm extending direction toward the opposing arm part 200.

  Further, in the vicinity of the first pulley 210 and in the state where the bathing assistance device 1 is attached to the bathtub, below the first pulley of the arm portion 200, a second wire feed winding corresponding to each first pulley 210 is provided. A take-up pulley 220 (hereinafter referred to as “second pulley 220”) is provided. The second pulley 220 is made of a resin such as polyacetal, which is excellent in strength, self-lubricating property, and moldability. The rotation center axis of the second pulley 220 faces the horizontal direction when the apparatus is attached, and is opposed to the first pulley 210. The direction of the wire W extending toward the arm portion 200 is changed to the descending direction of the seating portion 600. Further, a stopper 230 for positioning and fixing the arm part 200 on the side rim of the bathtub extends downwardly at the substantially central part in the longitudinal direction of each arm part 200 and on the lower surface of each arm part.

  With the above-described configuration, the wire W partially wound on the wire feeding / winding drum 330 of the base portion 100 has the remaining portions directed to both ends of the base portion via the wire winding preventing portion 380 and the guide pulley 390, respectively. And extending along the arm part 200 via the base pulley 110, and the forward part thereof extending to the opposite arm part side of each arm part 200 via the first pulley 210, It goes in the downward direction of the seat 50 via the second pulley 220. The end of each wire W is detachably attached to the seating base 500 and is coupled to a support shaft 290 made of, for example, stainless steel.

  On the other hand, the seat 50 shown in FIG. 1 is made of a seat 500 having a rectangular shape when viewed from the top, a resin having a sufficient strength and having a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the top, and a metal pipe 680. It has a backrest 690 attached, and moves while rotating simultaneously with the slide between the seat surface raising / lowering upper limit position and the seat surface transfer position as described above.

  Specifically, the seating base 500 is made of, for example, a substantially rectangular plate made of stainless steel. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a rack gear 510 made of a resin such as polyacetal having excellent strength and moldability is provided. It is attached to the upper surface of the seat. The rack gear 510 is attached to the seating base 500 at an angle perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of each arm portion 200 so that both end portions of the gear face each other at the upper limit position of the seat surface elevation. ing. The seating base 500 is formed with a slide guide groove 520 for sliding a pinion gear 610, which will be described later, spaced apart from the rack gear 510 by a predetermined distance and in parallel with the rack gear 510. As a result, the seating portion 600 can be slid simultaneously with rotation from either side of the seat surface elevation upper limit position to either side of each arm portion 200.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the seating base is suspended from the side of the seating base 500 adjacent to each arm part 200 at the seat upper limit position (hereinafter simply referred to as “side”). A support bracket 590 made of stainless steel is attached. The support bracket 590 has a notch or the like (not shown), and a support shaft 290 (see FIG. 7) is detachably attached to the support bracket 590. In addition, a protective cover 580 (see FIG. 1) for preventing a hand or the like from being caught between the seating part 600 and the seating base 500 is provided on the upper part of the seating base 500 so as not to hinder the movement of the seating part 600. Yes.

  Further, a hinge portion (not shown) is provided on the side of the protective cover 580 of the seating base 500, and a flap-shaped sub seat portion 570 made of resin is provided on the hinge portion so as to be able to rise. Note that the upper surface of the sub seat portion 570 is substantially flush with the lower surface of the seat portion 600 at the seat surface up / down upper limit position so that no gap is formed between the seat portion 600 and the sub seat portion 570. Thus, a handcuffed person (hereinafter referred to as a “seating person”) sitting on the seating part 600 is prevented from being pinched.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the auxiliary seat portion 570 rises upward by the wire W when the seat 50 is lowered into the bathtub, and covers a part of the wire W while the seat is lowered. It also plays a role in preventing handcuffs for seated persons. Each sub-seat portion 570 is formed with a semicircular accommodation recess 571 (see FIG. 1) on the side of the seating base, and the seating portion 600 is moved to the seating surface transfer position at the seat upper limit position. The receiving recess 571 sometimes receives about half of a pinion gear 610 (described later) provided in the seating portion 600.

  On the other hand, the seating portion 600 is made of a substantially rectangular plate made of a resin having both strength such as polyacetal and ABS (acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene) and ease of molding, and a metal pipe 680 such as stainless steel. A substantially rectangular backrest 690 made of resin is provided. And the pinion gear 610 which meshes with the rack gear 510 mentioned above is being fixed to the lower surface of the seating part 600 with fasteners, such as a screw which is not shown in figure.

  The pinion gear 610 is a spur gear having a small diameter and a large diameter made of a resin having a small sliding resistance when sliding, such as polyacetal. In other words, the seating portion 600 is moved while rotating with respect to the seating base 500 simultaneously with the slide.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the pinion gear 610 has a slider engagement hole 612 at the center thereof, and has a depth on one surface (the upper surface when attached to the seating portion) in a top view. A shallow circular slider engagement recess 611 is provided concentrically with the slider engagement hole 612. The slider engagement recess 611 is provided with a key groove-like lock mechanism accommodating portion 613 in the radial direction that accommodates the rotation lock mechanism at three positions at an angle of 90 ° in the circumferential direction. Also, on the other surface of the pinion gear 610 (the lower surface when attached to the seating portion), as shown in FIG. 6, there are two convex slip portions 614 and 615 having different radii in the circumferential direction. The gear 610 is formed concentrically with the central axis.

  If such sliding portions 614 and 615 are not formed, the entire lower surface of the pinion gear 610 comes into contact with the seating base 500, and the sliding resistance during the movement of the pinion gear increases, but this sliding portion 614 , 615 is formed, it is possible to disperse the weight of the seated person acting between the pinion gear 610 and the seating base 500, and as a result, the pinion gear 610 and the seating base 500 between the seating part 600 and The sliding resistance can be reduced, and the rotating operation and the sliding operation of the seating portion 600 can be performed more smoothly.

  The slider 530 is made of a resin having both strength and ease of molding, such as polyacetal, and the cross section along the longitudinal direction has a work shape. The slider 530 is attached between the pinion gear 610 and the slide guide groove 520 of the seating base 500 and serves to move the seating part 600 while rotating with respect to the seating base 500 simultaneously with the slide.

  The slider 530 includes an upper slider 530 a that engages with the slider engagement recess 611 and the slider engagement hole 612 of the pinion gear 610, and a lower portion that is fastened by a fastener such as a screw and the upper slider 530 a and slides on the lower surface of the seating base 500. A slider 530b is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the upper slider 530a is integrated with the slider base 531 having a thin disk shape that engages with the slider engagement recess 611 of the pinion gear 610 so as to be relatively rotatable, and the slider base 531. It has a slider shaft 532 that is concentrically engaged with the slider engagement hole 612 of the pinion gear 610 so as to be relatively rotatable. The slider shaft 532 has a shape in which a cylindrical body having an outer diameter larger than the groove width of the slide guide groove 520 of the seating base 500 is equally cut from both sides in the circumferential direction, and is engaged with the slide guide groove 520 at this portion. It is formed to be possible.

  Further, the lower slider 530b is formed of a thin disk-shaped plate body, and the outer diameter thereof is larger than the groove width of the slide guide groove 520.

  Further, lock notches 531a (see FIG. 9) for receiving a lever pin 720 of a lock mechanism (to be described later) and stopping the rotation of the pinion gear 610 are formed at three positions with a central angle of 90 ° at predetermined positions in the circumferential direction of the slider base 531. Has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the lock mechanism is formed by bending a groove-like lock mechanism housing portion 613 provided at a part of the upper surface circumferential direction of the pinion gear 610 and a metal plate having a low sliding resistance, for example. And a lever pin guide 710 that is fastened to the lock mechanism accommodating portion 613 with a fastener such as a screw, and is slidably accommodated in the lever pin guide, and a tip portion is formed on the slider base 531 of the slider 530. A lever pin 720 that engages with the lock notch 531a, a compression spring (not shown) that is interposed on the lever pin base end side in the lever pin guide and constantly urges the tip of the lever pin 720 to the slider base 531, and the lever pin 720 An unlocking wire (not shown) connected to the proximal end portion is provided.

  The unlocking wire is led out from the outer periphery of the pinion gear 610, and the other end of the unlocking wire is connected to an operation lever (not shown) provided on the back of the backrest 690. Then, the lock release wire is pulled by grasping the operation lever, thereby moving the lever pin 720 in the outer peripheral direction of the pinion gear 610 against the biasing force of the compression spring, and the lock notch 531a of the lever pin 720 and the slider base 531. Is released, and the relative rotation of the slider 530 and the pinion gear 610 is enabled, so that the seating portion 600 can be moved with respect to the seating base 500.

  Next, a method of assembling the seating base 500 including the rack gear 510, the seating portion 600 including the pinion gear 610, and the slider 530 that couples them will be described. In assembling them, first, the upper slider 530a is fitted into the slider engaging recess 611 and the slider engaging hole 612 of the pinion gear 610, the pinion gear 610 is engaged with the rack gear 510 of the seating base 500, and the slide guide groove 520 is engaged. The pinion gear 610 is positioned at an appropriate position on the seating base 500 by engaging the slider shaft 532. At this time, for example, when the seating portion 600 is attached to the seat surface up / down upper limit position, the pinion gear 610 is positioned at the center of the slide guide groove 520, and the lock mechanism provided in the pinion gear 610 is opposite to the rack gear 510 with respect to the slider 530. The pinion gear 610 is disposed on the seating base 500 so that the axis of the locking mechanism is in a direction orthogonal to the rack gear 510. Also, the slider 530 is assembled to the pinion gear 610 so that the middle lock notch 531a of the three lock notches 531a formed on the slider base 531 engages the lever pin 720 of the lock mechanism (see FIG. 9).

  Next, the lower slider 530 b is fastened to the upper slider 530 a from the lower surface of the seating base 500 so that the slider 530 does not come off the slide guide groove 520.

  Then, the seating portion 600 is attached to the pinion gear 610 via a fastener such as a screw, and the seating portion 600 and the seating base 500 are assembled as the seat 50. Next, the support bracket 590 of the seating base 500 is connected to the support shaft 290 at the end of the wire extending from the arm portion 200 so that the bathing assistance device 1 can be attached to the rim of the bathtub.

  Then, the actual usage method and the effect | action of the bathing assistance apparatus 1 mentioned above are demonstrated. 8 is a bathing assistance device in which the seating portion 600 is provided with a backrest 690, but the operation of the seating portion 600 with respect to the seating base 500 is provided with the backrest 690. It is equally applicable to bathing assistance devices that do not. 9 to 11, the seating portion 600 is not shown in order to facilitate understanding of the operation.

  First, the bathing assistance apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration is placed on one end of the bathtub rim in the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. At this time, the arm portion 200 of the bathing assistance device 1 is adjusted to the rim of the side wall of the bathtub according to the lateral width of the bathtub to which the bathing assistance device 1 is attached by adjusting the inter-arm spacing adjustment mechanism provided in the base portion 100 of the frame 10. Adjust to match The distance between the arms 200 is adjusted so that the stopper 230 (see FIG. 1) provided on the lower surface of the frame comes into contact with the bathtub wall surface. Further, the base portion 100 of the frame 10 is placed so as to match the rim on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the bathtub.

  In this state, the seating portion 600 is in the seating surface elevation upper limit position, and the pinion gear 610 is located at the center in the longitudinal direction of the rack gear 510, as is clear from FIG. In this state, the rack gear 510 is engaged. The slider 530 is positioned at the longitudinal center of the slide guide groove 520. In this state, the tip of the lever pin 720 is engaged with the lock notch 531a of the slider base 531 by the urging force of the compression spring, and thereby the pinion gear. 610 is locked without rotating relative to the slider 530. In other words, the pinion gear 610 fixed to the seating portion 600 remains engaged with the rack gear 510 fixed to the seating base 500 in this state, and the seating portion 600 is fixed to the seating base 500 at the seat surface elevation upper limit position. Yes. Note that this seat surface raising / lowering upper limit position is a so-called neutral position, and as shown in FIGS. 7 and 12, is a position where the seat 50 can be raised and lowered in the state where the bathing assistance apparatus 1 is placed on the bathtub.

  Next, the unlocking wire is pulled by operating an operation lever (not shown), and the lever pin 720 biased by the compression spring by the compression spring is pulled in the outer peripheral direction of the pinion gear 610 in response to this operation. The engagement of 531 with the lock notch 531 a is released, and the pinion gear 610 can be rotated relative to the slider 530.

  Accordingly, the seating portion 600 can be moved with respect to the seating base 500, and the seating portion 600 is moved to the rim side (the right side in the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 to 11) where the person being assisted by the bathtub waits. At this time, since the slider 530 and the pinion gear 610 are relatively rotatable, the slider 530 does not rotate along the slide guide groove 520 as shown in FIG. Move to the side (right side in the figure). At the same time, the pinion gear 610, which can rotate relative to the slider 530, moves to the side rim side (right side in the drawing) of the bathtub along the slide guide groove 520 while rotating while meshing with the rack gear 510. Accordingly, the seat 600 fixed to the pinion gear 610 rotates counterclockwise in the figure with respect to the seat 500 with the rack gear 510 fixed and the slide guide groove 520 (in the figure, on the side rim side of the bathtub). Move to the right). FIG. 10 shows a state in which the seating portion 600 is rotated about 45 ° from the seat surface elevation upper limit position shown in FIG. 9, and the lever pin 720 is along the circumferential surface formed between the lock notches of the slider base 531. You can see it moving.

  Next, when the seating portion 600 is further pressed against the seating base 500 to the side rim side (right side in the figure) of the bathtub, the pinion gear 610 further moves to the right as shown in FIG. One half enters the housing recess 571 formed in the sub seat 570 of the seating base 500. In response to this, the seating portion 600 moves further to the right while rotating with respect to the seating base 500. Then, the lever pin 720 engaged with the lock notch 531a reaches the lock notch 531a corresponding to the seat surface transfer position adjacent in the counterclockwise direction.

  At the same time, the tip of the lever pin 720 urged by the slider base 531 through the compression spring enters the adjacent lock notch 531a, and stops the relative rotation between the slider 530 and the pinion gear 610. As a result, the seating portion 600 stops at a position that is completely 90 ° deviated to one side (right side in FIG. 11) with respect to the seating base 500, and the person being assisted does not straddle the rim of the bathtub. It becomes possible to sit on the seating portion 600.

  As described above, since the bathing assistance device 1 realizes the seat surface transfer mechanism by the combination of the rack gear 510 and the pinion gear 610, the load on the person being assisted on the seating portion 600 is uniformly distributed throughout the pinion gear. The transfer mechanism of the bathing assistance apparatus 1 can be made thinner. As a result, the height of the seat 50 can be reduced, and the person being assisted can easily sit on the seating portion 600.

  In this seating surface transfer position, after the person to be assisted is seated on the seating part 600, the person who has been seated on the seating part 600 (hereinafter referred to as "seater") is the reverse of the movement of the seating part 600 described above. The seat is moved to the upper limit of the seat lift. At this time, the engagement between the lever pin 720 and the lock notch 531a of the slider base 531 released by the biasing force of the compression spring is released by grasping the operation lever (not shown) and pulling the lock release wire. Then, while pressing the upper body of the seated person and the backrest 690, the seating portion 600 is moved to the center of the seating base, that is, the seat surface raising / lowering upper limit position as shown in FIGS.

  During this movement, as described above, the pinion gear 610 of the seating portion 600 and the slider base 531 rotate relative to each other, and the pinion gear 610 moves to the center of the seating base while the pinion gear 610 is engaged with the rack gear 510. At the same time, the slider 530 moves along the slide guide groove 520 without rotating. As a result, the seating portion 600 to which the pinion gear 610 is fixed slides while rotating to the seat surface raising / lowering upper limit position with respect to the seating base 500 provided with the rack gear 510 and having the slide guide groove 520 formed therein.

  Then, when the seating portion 600 reaches the seat surface elevation upper limit position, as shown in FIG. 9, the lever pin 720 reaches the lock notch 531a of the slider base 531 corresponding to the seat surface elevation upper limit position, and the tip of the lever pin 720 is the lock notch. 531a is entered, and the relative rotation between the slider 530 and the pinion gear 610 is stopped. As a result, the seating portion 600 is the central portion of the seating base 500 and stops at the seat surface elevation upper limit position.

  As a result, the seating portion 600 on which the person being assisted sits is not accompanied by a rapid rotation during movement, so that the seated person can be transferred while the posture of the seated person is stabilized, and the seat 50 is accompanied by a rapid rotation or the like. It is possible to prevent pinching of the seated person.

  In addition, since the lower surface of the seating portion 600 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the sub-seat portion 570 at the upper limit position of the seat surface elevation, a gap is generated between the seating portion 600 and the sub-seat portion 570, You can eliminate the worry of the assistant's hand.

  Thus, after moving the seating part 600 to the raising / lowering position, the seating part 600 is lowered toward the bottom of the bathtub. At the time of the lowering, the seat motor lowering button of the lifting device drive switch (not shown) is pressed to rotate the DC motor 310 in a predetermined direction, and the wire W wound by the wire winding / unwinding drum 330 is unwound. . The wire W is fed out while changing the extending direction by the first pulley 210 and the second pulley 220 according to the operation amount of the lifting device drive switch, and the wire tip and the support shaft 290 to which the wire tip is connected are connected to the bottom of the bathtub. Descent toward As a result, the seat 50 attached to the support shaft 290 is also lowered while placing the seated person, so that the seated person is immersed in the hot water of the bathtub.

  When the seat is lowered, the sub-seat portion 570 connected to the seating base 500 so as to be able to rise up is pushed upward by the wire W when the seat 50 is lowered into the bathtub, and thus the seat surface is lowered. Further, a part of the wire W can be covered to prevent a seated person from pinching.

  In this way, when the sheet 50 reaches the bottom of the bathtub, the movement of the tip of the wire also stops, so that the wire W that is fed is bent at the wire feeding portion. A limit switch (not shown) is actuated by the bending of the wire W to detect that the sheet 50 has reached the bottom of the bathtub. Thus, the driving of the lifting device 300 is stopped and the seated person is immersed in hot water for a while.

  After the seated person enjoys bathing, the seat 50 is lifted by performing the reverse operation to that described above, and the seated person is moved to the seat surface transfer position via the seat surface lifting upper limit position. Specifically, by operating an operation switch (not shown), the DC motor 310 of the lifting device 300 is driven in the seat surface raising direction, the wire W is wound up, and the seat 50 is raised. As a result, the seat 50 moves up in the bathtub. Note that the seat occupant touches the wire W while the seat 50 is raised because the sub-seat portion 570 of the seat 500 rises and is interposed between the seat W and the wire W while covering a part of the wire W. The sheet 50 can be raised without worrying about the situation.

  When the seat 50 is completely lifted, a part of the seating base 500 hits a limit switch provided at an appropriate position of the arm unit 200 and activates it to stop the lifting operation of the lifting device 300. When the seat 50 reaches the upper limit position, the auxiliary seat portion 570 of the seating base 500 is not inclined by the wire W, so that the auxiliary seat portion 570 falls down to a horizontal state.

  In addition, since the lower surface of the seating portion 600 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the sub-seat portion 570 at the upper limit position of the seat surface elevation, a gap is generated between the seating portion 600 and the sub-seat portion 570, You can eliminate the worry of the assistant's hand.

  Subsequently, by pulling the wire W by grasping an operation lever (not shown), the engagement between the lever pin 720 and the lock notch 531a of the slider base 531 released by the biasing force of the compression spring is released. Then, while holding the upper body and backrest 690 of the seated person, the seating part 600 is moved to one arm part side of the seating base 500, that is, the seating surface transfer position in the order of FIGS.

  During this movement, as described above, the pinion gear 610 of the seating portion 600 moves to the seat surface transfer position while the pinion gear 610 and the slider base 531 rotate relative to each other with the rack gear 510 engaged. At the same time, the slider 530 moves to the seat surface transfer position without rotating the slide guide groove 520. As a result, the seating portion 600 fixed to the pinion gear 610 slides while rotating to the seating surface transfer position with respect to the seating table 500 provided with the rack gear 510 and having the slide guide groove 520 formed therein.

  As a result, the seating portion 600 on which the person being assisted sits is not suddenly rotated, so that the person being assisted can be transferred while the posture of the person being assisted is stabilized, and the seat 50 can be rotated suddenly. This can prevent the attendant's hand from being caught.

  When the seating portion 600 reaches the seat surface transfer position in this manner, as shown in FIG. 11, the tip of the lever pin 720 reaches the lock notch 531a of the slider base 531 corresponding to the seat surface transfer position, and the tip of the lever pin 720 The lock notch 531a is entered, and the relative rotation between the slider 530 and the pinion gear 610 is stopped. As a result, the seating portion 600 stops by changing its direction by 90 ° at a position completely deviated to one side with respect to the seating base 500.

  As described above, since the seat surface transfer mechanism is realized by the combination of the rack gear 510 and the pinion gear 610, the height of the seat 50 can be reduced, and the person being assisted is easily lowered from the seating portion 600.

  In the above-described embodiment, in FIGS. 10 and 11, the seating portion 600 is located between the seat surface raising / lowering upper limit position at the center of the seating base and the seating surface transfer position located on the right side of the seating base 500. However, since the rack gear 510 is attached to the seating base 500 so that both end portions of the rack gear 510 are positioned substantially in the vicinity of the respective arm portions at the seat surface raising / lowering upper limit position, The seating portion 600 can rotate and slide toward any arm portion side.

  Therefore, the seating part 600 can be moved to any rim side of the bathtub, and the person being assisted can be seated on the seating part 600 from any side of the bathtub. Therefore, it is not necessary to limit the seating position of the bathtub to which the person being assisted transfers as in the above-described embodiment. Similarly, it is not necessary to consider the direction of attaching the bathing assistance device 1 to the bathtub, and the usability of the bathing assistance device 1 is improved.

  On the other hand, when the caregiver has finished bathing as described above, for example, when a family other than the caregiver takes a bath, for example, the family 500 is removed from the support shaft 290 connected to the tip of the wire, and only the frame 10 is in the bathtub. The person is placed on the rim and a person other than the person being assisted takes a bath. This makes it possible for these people to fully enjoy the bath using the bathtub.

  In addition, since the moving mechanism of the seating portion 600 is realized by a simple configuration of a combination of the rack gear 510 and the pinion gear 610, the weight of the bathing assistance device itself can be reduced. Therefore, when the bathing assistance device itself is removed or replaced from the bathtub, the device can be easily removed and replaced.

  As described above, the bathing assistance apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment moves in a combined operation in which the seating portion 600 slides simultaneously with the rotation of the seating base 500 by combining the rack gear 510 and the pinion gear 610. Therefore, the seating part 600 on which the person being assisted is transferred during the transfer can be transferred while stabilizing the posture of the person being assisted without abrupt rotation, and the assistance accompanying the sudden rotation of the seating part 600 or the like. It is possible to prevent a person from pinching a person.

  Further, since the seating portion 600 is reliably rotated to the washing place side and moves and approaches the washing place side, it is possible to sit at the center of the seating portion 600 at the time of sitting, and an operation such as re-sitting is not required.

  Further, by realizing such an operation by the combination of the rack gear 510 and the pinion gear 610, it becomes possible to receive the load of the person being assisted on the seat surface uniformly over the entire pinion gear 610. It is possible to disperse the weight of the seated person acting between the seating base 500 and the seating base 500. As a result, the transfer mechanism of the bathing assistance apparatus 1 can be made thin. Thereby, the height of the seating part 600 can be reduced, and it becomes easy to get on and off the seating part 600 when the person being assisted transfers, and the usability of the bathing assistance apparatus 1 is improved. In addition, the bathing assistance device 1 having such a simple configuration can be used to reduce the size and weight of the bathing assistance device itself. Improve. That is, when trying to realize a mechanism that simultaneously performs a sliding operation and a rotating operation of the seating portion as a combined operation by means of a bearing or the like, a bathing assistance device that is mechanically complicated and heavy, and the seating portion height is high and the usability is poor. However, by realizing the moving operation of the seating portion 600 with the combination of the rack gear 510 and the pinion gear 610, a bathing assistance device that does not cause such inconvenience can be obtained.

  Further, the seating base 500 is provided with sub-seat portions 570 that are coupled so as to be able to rise up on both sides of the seating base 500, and the sub-seat portion 570 is provided with a housing recess 571 for housing the pinion gear 610. Can be secured sufficiently.

  In addition, since the lower surface of the seating portion 600 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the sub-seat portion 570 at the upper limit position of the seat surface elevation, a gap is generated between the seating portion 600 and the sub-seat portion 570, You can eliminate the worry of the assistant's hand.

  In addition, since the seating portion 600 locks the seating base 500 at the seating surface transfer position and the seating surface lifting / lowering upper limit position at the seat upper limit position, the person being assisted can sit on the seating portion 600 with peace of mind. And the seating part 600 can be raised / lowered safely.

  In addition, the bathing assistance apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment provides the sliding resistance between the pinion gear 610 of the seating portion 600 and the seating base 500 by providing the pinion gear with the slide portions 614 and 615 made of concentric protrusions. However, instead of providing the sliding portions 614 and 615 in the pinion gear 610, a sliding portion may be provided in the seating portion 600. Further, instead of providing the sliding portions 614 and 615 in the pinion gear 610, as shown in FIG. 13, the roller receiving recess 616 is formed at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction of the pinion gear 610, and the roller receiving recess 616 is formed in a cylindrical shape. A sliding portion 617 made of a roller (roller) or the like is disposed so as to be able to rotate, whereby the pinion gear 610 is rotated and slid, whereby the combined operation of the rotating motion and the sliding motion of the seating portion 600 with respect to the seating base 500 is performed. May be performed smoothly.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 14 instead of using the slider 530 as in the above-described embodiment, the pinion gear 610 is sandwiched in cooperation with the rack gear 510 and the pinion gear 610 and the rack gear 510 are moved while the pinion gear 610 is moving. A slide guide 540 that keeps meshing may be provided at a position facing the rack gear 510 of the seating base 500. Even in such a configuration, the pinion gear 610 can be moved in parallel with the rack gear 510 fixed to the seating base 500 simultaneously with the rotation, whereby the seating portion 600 fixed to the pinion gear 610 can be moved to the rack gear. It is possible to slide the table 510 simultaneously with the rotation with respect to the seating table 500 to which 510 is fixed. That is, by adopting such a configuration, the slider 530 is not necessary, and it is not necessary to form the slide guide groove 520 in which the slider 530 is engaged in the seating base 500, so that the structure can be further simplified. It becomes.

  In addition, it cannot be overemphasized that the material of each component of the bathing assistance apparatus concerning this invention is not limited to the material described in the above-mentioned embodiment.

It is the perspective view which showed the bathing assistance apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is the top view which showed the frame of the bathing assistance apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in the state which removed the cover. It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the seating base, rack gear, seating part, and pinion gear of the bathing assistance apparatus shown in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which fractures | ruptures and shows the seating base, rack gear, seating part, and pinion gear which are shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a state in which the seating base, the rack gear, the seating portion, and the pinion gear shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing (FIG. 6 (a)) and top view (FIG. 6 (b)) which show the sliding part of the pinion gear concerning this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the state which extended | stretched the wire of the bathing assistance apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and suspended the seating part from the arm part. It is the perspective view which showed the state which attached the bathing assistance apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to the rim | limb of the bathtub. It is the top view which showed the bathing assistance apparatus shown in FIG. 8 in the state which abbreviate | omitted the rim | limb of the bathtub and penetrated the seating part. It is the top view which showed the state which moved the bathing assistance apparatus shown in FIG. 9 slightly to the rim | limb side of the bathtub in the state which abbreviate | omitted the rim | limb of the bathtub and permeate | transmitted the seating part. It is the top view which showed the state which moved the bathing assistance apparatus shown in FIG. 9 completely to the seat surface transfer position in the state which abbreviate | omitted the rim | limb of the bathtub and permeate | transmitted the seating part. It is a perspective view which fractures | ruptures a part of bathtub and shows the state which dropped the seating part of the bathing assistance apparatus shown in FIG. 8 in the bathtub. It is sectional drawing (FIG. 13 (a)) and top view (FIG.13 (b)) which show the modification of the pinion gear concerning this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration in which a slide guide is provided on a seating base as a modification of the slider according to the present embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bathing assistance apparatus 10 Frame 50 Sheet | seat 100 Base part 101,201 Cover 110 Base pulley 200 Arm part 210 1st wire delivery winding pulley (1st pulley)
220 Second wire take-up take-up pulley (second pulley)
230 Stopper 290 Support shaft 300 Elevating device 310 DC motor 320 Deceleration gear 330 Wire feed take-up drum 350 Support bracket 360 Control box 370 Battery 380 Wire turbulence prevention part 390 Guide pulley 500 Seating base 510 Rack gear 520 Slide guide groove 530 Slider 530a Upper part Slider 530b Lower slider 531 Slider base 531a Lock notch 532 Slider shaft 540 Slide guide 570 Secondary seat 571 Housing recess 580 Protective cover 590 Support bracket 600 Seating portion 610 Pinion gear 611 Slider engagement recess 612 Slider engagement hole 613 Lock mechanism Housing portion 614, 615 Sliding portion 616 Roller housing recess 617 Sliding portion 680 Metal pie 690 Backrest 710 Lever pin guide 720 Lever pin W Wire

Claims (5)

A U-shaped frame that is composed of a base portion and arm portions extending substantially vertically from both ends of the base portion and is placed on the rim of the bathtub;
A lifting device attached to the frame;
Attached to the frame,
In the bathing assistance device provided with a seating portion and a seating base that can be raised and lowered via the lifting device,
The seat portion includes a pinion gear, and the seat base includes a slide guide that guides the rack gear and the pinion gear to slide in the arm direction, and can slide in conjunction with the rotation of the seat portion relative to the seat base. Bathing assistance device characterized by that.   The bathing assistance device according to claim 1, wherein a sliding portion for sliding the pinion gear is provided on the seat that comes into contact with the pinion gear or the pinion gear.   The seating base includes a seating base body and a sub-seat portion coupled to each arm side end portion of the seating base body so as to be able to rise up, and the sub-seat portion includes a housing portion for housing at least a part of the pinion gear. The bathing assistance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the upper surface of the auxiliary seat portion is formed and is substantially flush with the lower surface of the seating portion at an upper limit position when the seat surface moves up and down. apparatus.   The rack gear is attached to the seating base so that both end portions of the rack gear are positioned in the vicinity of the opposing arm portions at the upper limit position when the seat surface is raised and lowered. The bathing assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it can slide simultaneously with rotation on either side of the arm portion.   The seat portion is provided with a lock mechanism that locks the seat portion on the seat base at each position of the seat surface transfer position where the person being assisted gets on and off the seat surface and the seat surface upper limit position when the seat surface is raised and lowered, The bathing assistance apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images