JP3124825U - wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wheelchair that is excellent in operability so that even an elderly person can master an operation immediately and that has a simple structure and is inexpensive.
A drive unit, a steering unit, and a seat unit are configured, and the drive unit generates a force that assists the rotational force applied to the rowing pedal 13 and the rowing pedal 13 that is manually rotated. 15, a chain 16 that transmits a rotational force applied to the rowing pedal 13 and an auxiliary force generated by the motor 15 as a driving force, and a right rear wheel 10 that is driven by the driving force transmitted by the chain 16. The steering unit includes a left rear wheel 20, a steering handle 31, and a left front wheel 30 serving as a steering wheel. The seat unit includes a seat 40 that is positioned between the drive unit and the steering unit.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a wheelchair, and more particularly to a wheelchair having a power assist function.

Conventionally, as a general wheelchair, there is a self-propelled wheelchair that runs by rotating a wheel with an arm or pushing an assistant later.
This self-propelled wheelchair is widely used because it has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost. There are also aluminum and titanium self-propelled wheelchairs to reduce weight and durability.
However, the self-propelled wheelchair cannot smoothly run unless there is a certain level of arm strength. In particular, the elderly and the like often have difficulty in operating the self-propelled wheelchair due to the weakness of the arm strength. In addition, since the assistance of the assistant is not always obtained, it can be said that there is a high possibility that the elderly will be inconvenient to live alone using a self-propelled wheelchair.
In consideration of such points, in recent years, many electric wheelchairs have been proposed that travel by operating with a joystick lever using an electric motor as a power source (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-34679 A

However, there is a problem that it is not easy to learn the operation of the electric wheelchair. In particular, elderly people, etc., who have been able to walk in the past often need a wheelchair suddenly, and in many cases it takes time to get used to the operation. May lead to accidents.
In general, electric wheelchairs are often complicated and expensive.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an inexpensive wheelchair that is excellent in operability and can be easily mastered by an elderly person. For the purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, a wheelchair according to the present invention includes a drive unit, a steering unit, and a seat unit, and the drive unit is a handle pedal that is manually rotated, and a rotation that is applied to the handle pedal. A motor that generates a force that assists the force, a chain that transmits the rotational force and the assisting force generated by the motor as a driving force, and a driving wheel that is driven by the driving force that is transmitted by the chain. The unit includes a rear wheel provided at a position facing the drive wheel, a handle for operating the steering wheel, and a steering wheel that moves to the left and right by the operation of the handle, and the seat unit includes the drive unit and A seat for a user to sit is provided between the steering unit and the steering unit.
Here, a part of a conventional battery-assisted bicycle can be used as the drive unit, and most of the conventional bicycle can be used as the steering unit.
As a result, the operation is the same as that of a conventional bicycle except that the pedal is manually stroked. Therefore, it is possible to realize a wheelchair with excellent operability that allows an elderly person to immediately master the operation. Moreover, since it is constituted by a part of the conventional battery-assisted bicycle and most of the conventional bicycle, the wheelchair is simple and inexpensive. Further, since the driving force is generated by the force of turning the pedal by hand and the auxiliary force output from the motor, it is possible to travel with a slight force.
Further, a footrest for a user to place his / her foot under the seat and an auxiliary wheel on the side of the footrest may be provided, and the steering wheel may be located in front of the seat. .
Thereby, the stability of the vehicle body at the time of steering or the like can be improved.

As described above, according to the wheelchair according to the present invention, the force assisting the motor is output to generate the driving force with respect to the force of turning the pedal by hand. It becomes possible.
Moreover, since the operation of the bicycle, which is familiar to many elderly people, is not greatly different from the point where the pedal is stroked by hand instead of the foot, even elderly people can learn the operation immediately.
Furthermore, it is a simple structure combining a part of a conventional battery-assisted bicycle and a part of a conventional bicycle, and an inexpensive wheelchair can be realized.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 are external perspective views of a power-assisted wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention.
This electric auxiliary wheelchair 1 is a wheelchair that travels with a pedal in one hand and steers a handle with the other hand, and is roughly divided into a drive unit that has a pedal and is positioned on the right side, and a left side that has a handle and is positioned on the left side. And a seat unit located between the drive unit and the steering unit.
The drive unit is configured by removing the front part of the conventional battery-assisted bicycle and inclining the remaining part upward, the right rear wheel 10, the wheel cover 12, the rowing pedal 13, the battery 14, the motor 15, A chain 16 and a spring 17 are provided.
The rowing pedal 13 is a handle pedal in which a bicycle pedal is rotated by hand, and is configured by replacing one pedal portion of the bicycle with a handle for easy gripping.
The motor 15 outputs a force that assists the force of the user turning the rowing pedal 13 to generate a driving force suitable for driving the right rear wheel 10. The motor 15 has a function of detecting the force and speed of turning the rowing pedal 13 with a sensor and controlling the auxiliary force to be output. The motor 15 is supplied with power from the battery 14.
The chain 16 is a member that transmits the driving force generated by the rowing pedal 13 and the motor 15 to the right rear wheel 10.
The spring 17 maintains the tension of the chain 16 inclined upward, and also has a function as a shock absorber.
The front part of the conventional battery-assisted bicycle is removed, and the remaining part is tilted upward to form the drive unit, so that the right front is wide open. Is secured.
The steering unit is configured by removing a conventional bicycle chain or pedal, and includes a left rear wheel 20, a wheel cover 22, a left front wheel 30, a steering handle 31, a brake lever 32, and a brake hose 33.
The left front wheel 30 moves to the left and right by the operation of the handle 31 and functions as a steering wheel.
As the handle 31, for example, one obtained by removing one (for example, the right part) of a conventional bicycle handle can be used, and the brake lever 32 is also used for the conventional bicycle. can do. Here, since the brake of the steering unit is preferably provided on both the left rear wheel 20 and the left front wheel 20 and the brake lever 32 is preferably one, the brake hose 33 is provided on the left rear wheel 20. And a brake provided on the left front wheel 30 are preferably separated. The brake used here may be a band brake, but is preferably a disc type because it is not suitable for braking against backward movement. In addition, it is more preferable in terms of safety if the drive unit is also provided with a side brake.
The seat unit includes a seat 40, a seat frame 41, a footrest 42, and an auxiliary wheel 43.
The seat 40 is composed of a frame-shaped seat frame 41, a backrest and a seat such as a cushion material, and each of the right rear wheel 10 and the left rear wheel 20 at the approximate center of the side portion of the seat frame 41. It is fixed to the axles 11 and 21.
The footrest 42 is a plate-like member that protrudes forward from the lower portion of the seat frame 41, and serves as a stepping platform when the user sits on the seat 40 and a footrest when the user sits down. An auxiliary wheel 43 is provided on the right side of the footrest 42, that is, on the side facing the steering wheel. The auxiliary wheel 43 is for maintaining the stability of the electric auxiliary wheelchair 1 when the steering wheel is operated so as to bend in the direction of the driving wheel, and is in a grounded state even when the electric auxiliary wheelchair 1 goes straight. Or, as shown in the figure, it may be left floating in the air.
The electric auxiliary wheelchair 1 configured in this way can be run by turning the rowing pedal 13 with the right hand and operating the steering handle 31 with the left hand.
At this time, a force assisted by the motor 15 is output with respect to the force of turning the rowing pedal 13 to generate a driving force, and the driving force is transmitted to the right rear wheel 10 via the chain 16, so A wheelchair that can be easily traveled even by a person or the like can be realized. Further, since the steering handle 31 uses a conventional bicycle handle, there is no great difference from the operation of a bicycle that many elderly people are accustomed to, and the operation of the power-assisted wheelchair can be easily worn.
As mentioned above, although the electric auxiliary wheelchair which concerns on this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to these Examples, The objective of this invention can be achieved and it does not deviate from the summary of invention. Various design changes can be made within the scope, and they are all included in the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the left front wheel is a steering wheel, but the steering wheel may be disposed between the right rear wheel and the left rear wheel, that is, in front of the seat. By arranging the steering wheel in the center, the stability of the vehicle body is increased and no auxiliary wheel is required. When the steering wheel is arranged at the center, for example, the steering unit uses a conventional folding bicycle so that the steering wheel can be bent in a direction facing the drive unit, thereby impairing the convenience of the user's ride. It is preferable to configure so as not to exist.
In addition, a conventional bicycle transmission mechanism may be incorporated into the drive unit so that the transmission can be changed. At this time, it is preferable to provide a shift switch or the like in the vicinity of the rowing pedal.
Further, the seat unit has a frame shape, but may not have a frame shape as long as it can be fixed to the left and right rear wheels.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the drive unit is arranged on the right and the steering unit is arranged on the left, but it goes without saying that the left and right may be reversed.

  The present invention is useful, for example, as a wheelchair or the like for placing in a nursing facility or the like to support the independence of elderly people.

1 is an external perspective view of a power-assisted wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the electric auxiliary wheelchair seen from another angle. It is the external appearance perspective view of the electric auxiliary wheelchair seen from another angle.

Explanation of symbols

1 Electric Auxiliary Wheelchair 10 Right Rear Wheel 11, 21 Axle 12, 22 Wheel Cover 13 Rowing Pedal 14 Battery 15 Motor 16 Chain 17 Spring 20 Left Rear Wheel 30 Left Front Wheel 31 Steering Handle 32 Brake Lever 33 Brake Hose 40 Seat 41 Seat Frame 42 Footrest 43 Auxiliary Wheel

Claims (3)

A drive unit, a steering unit, and a seat unit;
The drive unit is
A manually operated handle pedal,
A motor for generating a force to assist the rotational force applied to the handle pedal;
A chain that transmits the rotational force and the auxiliary force generated by the motor as a driving force;
A driving wheel driven by the driving force transmitted by the chain,
The steering unit is
A rear wheel provided at a position facing the drive wheel;
A handle for operating the steering wheel;
A steering wheel that moves to the left and right by the operation of the handle,
The wheelchair characterized in that the seat unit is provided between the drive unit and the steering unit and includes a seat for a user to sit on. A footrest for a user to place a foot under the seat;
The wheelchair according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary wheel on a side portion of the footrest. The wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the steered wheel is located in front of the seat.

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