WO1988003012A1

WO1988003012A1 - Wheel-chair for the handicapped, in particular for negotiating stairs

Info

Publication number: WO1988003012A1
Application number: PCT/HU1986/000057
Authority: WO
Inventors: József DUDÁS
Original assignee: Comporgan Rendszerház K.V.
Priority date: 1986-10-24
Filing date: 1986-10-24
Publication date: 1988-05-05

Abstract

The frame of the wheel-chair described comprises a controlled front wheel (3) and a driven rear wheel pair (4). The invention is characterized in that in the region of the front wheel (3) and the rear wheel pair (4) at least one wheel lifting or support unit (15 or 20) is provided. Furthermore, the wheel-chair is provided with a pushing unit (19, 19') for upward movement over the stairs.

Description

WHEELCHAIR FOR THE DISABLED, IN PARTICULAR FOR TRAFFIC ON STAIRS

TECHNICAL AREA

The invention relates to a wheelchair for the physically disabled, which is particularly suitable for traffic on stairs.

STATE OF THE ART

Various wheelchairs are used to transport the physically handicapped. These generally have a controlled front wheel and a driven rear wheel pair, and a frame provided with a seat, the drive being carried out manually or with the aid of a motor.

Such wheelchairs have the disadvantage that the transport of the physically handicapped on stairs or other routes that have a stair-like height difference is only possible with the assistance of auxiliary personnel in an arduous manner and with significant exertion of force by the personnel. In addition, there is a risk of jarring and getting out when transported on stairs falling of the physically handicapped.

For the traffic of the above wheelchair on stairs, a West German construction known under the name "small duty stair crawler" was already offered in the trade. This is essentially a mobile auxiliary frame, the driving surface of which is formed by two parallel crawlers, on their surface these can be fastened in the position of the conventional wheelchair by means of a locking construction. In the case of traffic on stairs, the body position of the disabled person in his wheelchair is essentially unchanged, while the crawlers of the mobile frame move along the edges of the steps. This construction is provided with an electrically operated braking device for downstairs traffic.

A disadvantage of such a mobile auxiliary frame is that it is extremely complex and the physically disabled person cannot use it on stairs without auxiliary personnel. Furthermore, the locking device, which secures the fastening of the wheelchair to the mobile auxiliary frame and its removal therefrom, is extremely sensitive to impurities, as a result of which its reliability is significantly impaired.

PRESENTATION OF ERPINDITION

The aim of the invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages, ie in the development of a wheelchair, by means of which physically handicapped persons can operate independently and safely on stairs without any additional auxiliary structures and without auxiliary personnel, with relatively little effort. In solving the problem, a known wheelchair was assumed, the frame of which is provided with a controlled (steered) front wheel and a driven pair of rear wheels. This was further developed according to the invention in that at least one wheel lifting or supporting unit is installed in the area of the controlled front wheel and the driven rear wheel pair, and an additional driver unit is also provided for moving up the stairs.

Such an embodiment has proven to be advantageous in which the wheel lifting and supporting units are formed by hydraulically operated working cylinders on one side, in which the end face of the piston opposite the piston rod is loaded by a compression spring. The additional driver unit can preferably for

Example can be formed by a one-sided actuable hydraulic working cylinder, which can be tilted to the frame in the direction of the movement of the wheelchair, the piston rod of which is provided with a self-adjusting foot, and a further hydraulic tilting working cylinder connects to the end of the cylinder. In a further embodiment, the additional driver unit is designed as a driver arm with a ratchet, which interacts with the axis of the driven impeller.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing, in which an exemplary embodiment of the solution according to the invention is illustrated. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawing shows:

Pigur 1 to 5: a side view of an embodiment of the wheelchair according to the invention, specifically in FIGS. 1 to 3 in a position during the upward movement of the stairs and in FIGS. 4 and 5 in a position during the downward movement of the stairs

and FIG. 6: a schematic side view of a section, specifically the braking device of the solution illustrated in FIGS. 1-5.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As can be seen from FIGS. 1-5, the wheelchair according to the invention has a collapsible frame 1 which is known per se and to which a seat 2 is attached. The frame 1 is provided with a controllable (steered) front wheel 3 and a driven rear wheel pair 4. A fork 5 of the front wheel 3 continues in a rod 6 which is mounted in a tubular sleeve 7 and can be rotated together with a control lever 8 about an axis of rotation 9.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the rear wheel pair 4 is driven by a chain drive known per se; which consists of a small sprocket 11, a chain 12, and a large sprocket 14 coupled to the axle 10 of the rear wheel pair 4, the large sprocket 14 being provided with a drive crank 13. The wheelchair designed according to the invention is provided with a wheel lifting or supporting unit 15 fastened to the frame 1 behind the front wheel 3 and having a roller 16 in its lower part. Furthermore, a further wheel lifting or supporting unit 17 is fastened to the frame 1 in the region of the rear wheel pair 4, which in turn has a self-adjusting foot 18 at its lower end. To move up the stairs, the wheelchair according to the invention is provided with a driver unit 19, with the aid of which the wheelchair can be moved forward discontinuously.

In the illustrated embodiment, provision was made for an additional wheel lifting or supporting unit 20 arranged in front of the axle 10 of the rear wheel pair 4, which is similar to the wheel lifting or supporting unit 15 and fastened to the frame 1 and with a roller 21 at its lower end is provided.

It should be noted that the wheel lifting or supporting unit 17 can also be omitted if necessary, since its puncture can be carried out by the wheel lifting or supporting unit 20.

The wheel lifting and support units 15, 17, 20 in the present exemplary embodiment are designed as hydraulic working cylinders which can be actuated in one direction and which are connected to a central hydraulic feed unit 22, which is only marked in outline; during their hydraulic actuation, their piston rod is together with the foot or roller at the end - indentable. (With these working cylinders, an opposite, ie in the sense of the extension, can be successful piston movement - in a manner known per se - is carried out by a compression spring which loads the end face of the piston opposite the piston rod and which is identified by reference numbers 23, 24 and 25, respectively. The hydraulic feed unit 22 also has control units known per se, which will not be discussed further below. It should only be noted here that if it is desired that the compression springs push out the pistons of the working cylinders, the control of the feed unit 22 enables a free outlet from the working spaces into an oil container (not shown separately). With the exception of this control state and the hydraulic actuation of the working cylinders, the pistons of the working cylinders of the wheel lifting and supporting units 15, 17, 20 are locked hydraulically.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the driver unit 19 is provided in a manner similar to the wheel lifting or supporting unit 17 with a hydraulic working cylinder 26 with a compression spring that functions on one side, said cylinder being fastened to the frame 1 so as to be tiltable in the direction of movement about a bolt 27 arranged in its central region . A self-adjusting foot 28 is connected to the end of the piston rod of the working cylinder 26. The upper end of the cylinder of the working cylinder 26 is followed by a piston rod of a further hydraulic working cylinder 29 of this type. However, the cylinder of this working cylinder 29 is rotatably mounted on a bracket 30 of the frame 1. The working cylinders 26 and 29 are also in control connection with the feed unit 22. A proposed braking device of the wheelchair designed according to the invention is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 6, which was identified overall with the reference symbol F. In the present exemplary embodiment, the braking device F is provided with a drum 31 fastened on the axle 10, on the outer lateral surface of which a brake shoe 34, which is provided with a rod 33 that can be displaced between two parallel guides 32, is pressed by means of a spring 35. The tapered extension of the rod 33 is articulated to a brake lever 36 (the base of which corresponds to the closed state of the brake has been marked with a strong line). The lower end of the brake lever 36 is connected via a bolt 37 to a bracket 38 which is fastened to the frame 1. The forward brake release position of the brake lever 36 is indicated by a thin dash-dotted line.

The exemplary embodiment of the wheelchair according to the invention for the physically disabled illustrated in the figures functions as follows:

When moving up the stairs, the hydraulic locking of the wheel lifting or support unit 15 is released when the front wheel 3 strikes the first step (FIG. 1), then the front part of the wheelchair is lifted by means of the compression spring 23 until the front wheel 3 a little is higher than the first step. Then the hydraulic locking of the wheel lifting or support unit 17 is also released, while the compression spring 24 presses the foot 18 against the ground for support (FIG. 2). At the same time, the hydraulic locking of the working cylinders 26 and 29 becomes the Mit Slave unit 19 solved, whereby the compression springs 39 and 40 push out the pistons. Oil under pressure is then passed from the feed unit 22 into the working cylinder 29 of the driver unit 19, whereupon its piston rod moves in against the compression spring 40. At the same time, the working cylinder 26 of the driver unit 19 tilts forward about the bolt 27 and consequently also the frame 1. Since the wheel lifting or supporting unit 17 essentially supports the wheelchair on the floor, the vehicle forcibly moves forward and thus the front wheel 3 reaches the first step. (It should be noted here that the wheel lifting or support unit 20 has no function during the upward movement of the stairs.)

Then the roller 16 is retracted by actuating the wheel lifting or supporting unit 15 against the compression spring 23, and the operations described above are then repeated cyclically until the landing is reached (FIG. 3).

During the downward movement of the stairs (FIGS. 4 and 5), the wheel lifting or supporting unit 17 and the driver unit 19 are not absolutely necessary. The braking device F and the wheel lifting or. Support units 15, 20 analogously to the above, operated in opposite directions. Before reaching the first step of the stair, the front part of the wheelchair is supported by means of the roller 16 of the wheel lifting or supporting unit 15 and at the same time the hydraulic locking of the tubular sleeve 7 (FIG. 1), which is also a spring-loaded hydraulic actuator that can be actuated on one side, is released, as a result of which it lowers the front wheel 3 on the force of the compression spring 41 on the first step. Then the load on the front part of the wheelchair is transferred to the front wheel 3. Before the rear wheel pair 4 reaches the first step, the roller 21 of the wheel lifting or supporting unit 20 is lowered onto the first step by releasing the lock. As a result, the roller 21 supports the structure elastically (sprung) during the change in height of the rear wheel pair 4 and at the same time dampens their vibrations. This means that the rear wheel pair can be lowered onto the first step of the staircase almost without hindrance. During the advancement of the brake lever 36 of the braking device F (ie the controlled loosening of the braking device F), the operations explained above are to be repeated cyclically until the lower landing is reached. 5 and 6, the position of the front wheel 3 lowered to the stair step is indicated by a dash-dotted line.

According to the invention, a large number of embodiments of the additional driver unit 19 are possible. For example, instead of the working cylinders 26 and 29 coupled in series, the additional driver construction can also be designed as illustrated in FIG. 2 with a thin dash-dotted line and identified by the reference number 19 '. In this embodiment, which is essentially designed as a two-armed lever, a manually operated arm 42 and a hub 43 which cooperates with the end of the locking mechanism are provided, the latter being fastened, for example, to the axle of the rear wheel pair 4. By actuating the arm 42, the physically disabled person can exert a significantly greater forward driving torque on the pair of rear wheels 4 when moving upward on an inclined path than with the manual drive crank 13. Within the scope of the invention, there is also one A large number of other design variants of the driver unit are possible, but these are not dealt with in any more detail here, since these are obvious to a person skilled in the art when the invention is known.

It is also mentioned that the wheel lifting and supporting units 15, 17 and 20 can also be designed as hydraulic working cylinders that function on both sides. Such a variant is also possible, in which the pistons of the wheel lifting or supporting units 15, 17 and 20 are not retracted by hydraulic actuation but by manual actuation.

The most important advantage of the solution according to the invention is that, with relatively little effort, such a reliable wheelchair, which virtually eliminates the risk of accidents and is gentle on the physically disabled, is proposed, by means of which the physically disabled can travel up and down stairs independently, without the use of auxiliary personnel.

An additional advantage of the invention is that the conventional wheelchairs can be converted relatively easily in the manner proposed. Ultimately, the additional psychological advantage should also be pointed out, namely that the range of motion of the physically disabled can be significantly expanded when using the wheelchair according to the invention and at the same time the stress effect that the physically disabled in the conventional wheelchairs are exposed to when it is too can be excluded traffic comes up stairs. Ultimately, it is mentioned that the wheelchair designed according to the invention can be used on stairs of any type. The relative angular position of the wheel lifting or support units 15, 17 and 20 to the horizontal main holder of the frame 1 in the present case and their relative position to the wheels are preferably adjustable, for example according to the different stair heights and the different widths of the stair steps. With the appropriate selection of the compression springs 23, 24, 25, 39, 40, 41 to be used, of course, the adjustment possibility corresponding to the body weight of the physically handicapped, or the exchange of pedals, must be taken into account. If necessary, the setting can be loosened, for example, by a known spring preloading device with screws.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. Wheelchair for the physically handicapped, in particular for traffic on stairs, the frame of which is provided with a controlled front wheel and a driven rear wheel pair, characterized geke nn zeic hn et that in the area of the front wheel (3) and the rear wheel pair (4) at least each a wheel lifting or supporting unit (15 or 20), and a driver unit (19, 19 ') is provided for moving up the stairs.

2. Wheelchair according to claim 1, characterized geke nn zeic hn et that the wheel lifting or support units (15, 17, 20) are designed as one-sided actuable hydraulic working cylinder, the cylinder on the frame (1) - preferably adjustable - attached while the end of its downward-facing piston rod is provided with a roller (16 or 21) or a self-adjusting foot (18) - and the side of its piston opposite the piston rod by a compression spring (23 or 24 or 25) is loaded, and that the wheel lifting or support units (15, 17, 20) are in control connection with a hydraulic feed unit (22).

3. Wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, characterized geke nn zeic hn et that the driver unit (19) consists of two, by a compression spring (39, or 40) loaded, actuatable in one direction, hydraulic working cylinders, one of which Working cylinder (26) in the region of the center of its cylinder in a vertical plane lying in the direction of travel is tiltably connected to the frame (1), and that the downward Directed piston rod of the wheel lifting or support unit (17) is provided with a self-adjusting foot (28), while the upper end of its cylinder is articulated to another working cylinder (29), which has one end on the frame (1) gelenn kig is connected.