JP3040908B2 - Bathing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bathing apparatus which enables a person who needs bathing assistance, such as a physically handicapped person and an elderly person, to take a bath safely and without much labor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a bathing apparatus of this type, a column is erected outside a bath tub, and a holding arm is attached to the column so as to be vertically movable and swingable in a horizontal direction, and to be seated on a wheelchair seat. When the bather is moved to the vicinity of the bathtub together with the wheelchair, the seat that is separable from the traveling trolley below the wheelchair is moved upward together with the bather by the holding arm, and is turned. There has been known an apparatus in which a bather is lowered above a bathtub and then lowered so that a bather can enter the bathtub together with the seat body.

[0003] As another bathing device, two guide rails are provided at the edge of the bathtub so as to extend between the inside and outside of the bathtub and extend vertically in a slightly inclined state. The bather sitting on the upper side is moved to the vicinity of the bathtub together with the wheelchair, and the separable seat body is locked together with the bather on the two guide rails, and the seat body is separated by the two guide rails. By moving the seat body in the bathtub direction along the two guide rails while holding both sides,
In some cases, a bather is brought into a bathtub together with the seat body.

[0004]

In the former device, since a seat body and a bather are hung on the holding arm, a large load is applied to the column by a moment. In the structure in which the support is fixed only at the lower end, the support swings due to the weight of the suspended bather and the seat body, and there is a problem in safety. In the structure in which the upper and lower portions of the support are fixed, the upper end of the support is fixed. Has to be fixed to the ceiling, which makes it extremely difficult to mount it.

The latter device has a structure in which the seat body is supported on both sides thereof, that is, a structure in which guide rails are extended and installed on both sides of the seat body. However, a space occupied by the device is required on both sides of the seat body, and there is a disadvantage that the occupied area is large. In addition, since the guide rails are arranged on both left and right sides of the bather, there is a disadvantage that assistance during bathing cannot be performed smoothly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a bathing apparatus capable of bathing a person who needs bathing assistance, such as a physically handicapped person or an elderly person, safely and without a great deal of labor. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a seat mounted on an upper side of a traveling vehicle provided with a rail on the upper side is provided along the rail. A wheelchair capable of being separated while being moved, a support standing upright inside the bathtub, a lift rail supported by the support in a cantilever manner, and a driving means for operating the lift rail up and down. The height and width of the lift rail are set so as to be coaxial with the rail on the traveling trolley of the wheelchair when at the upper end position, and the driving means is provided outside the bathtub. Before
An intermediate rail projects outside the bathtub toward the bathtub and
When the lift rail is disposed at the upper end position, the lift rail
Provided so as to be coaxial with the seat body,
A seat body supported by a traveling carriage of a wheelchair, and the seat body
Chair that is rotatable along the vertical plane
Minutes and rotatably along the vertical plane in front of the chair
The seat body and the footrest portion
In between, the chair part was tilted backward by a predetermined angle
The footrest above the rail height of the traveling trolley
Interlocking means forcibly turning to lift up
It has a configuration that is.

[0008]

[0009] In the present invention of claim 2, wherein, in addition to the first aspect of the invention, the wheelchair seat body by traveling on the rails of the traveling vehicle, the said seat of the central axis line direction and the same It is configured to be movable in the direction.

[0010] In the present invention of claim 3, wherein, in addition to the first aspect of the invention, the seat of the wheelchair by traveling on the rails of the traveling carriage, with respect to the direction of the central axis of the seat body It was configured to be movable in the direction perpendicular to the direction.

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

According to the present invention, when a bathing assistance person is required to take a bath, the bathing person is placed on a sitting body set on the traveling trolley, and the assistant pushes the wheelchair and moves to the vicinity of the bathtub. The upper rail is positioned so as to be coaxial with the lift rail positioned at the upper end position.

After the wheelchair is positioned as described above, the caregiver pushes the seat on which the bather is placed toward the bathtub to move the seat. Then, the seat moves from the rails on the traveling carriage arranged on the same axis to the lifting rails supported by the columns of the bathtub. When the movement to the elevating rail is completed, the driving means is driven to lower the elevating rail, so that the bather can be put into the bathtub together with the sitting body and brought into a bathing state.

When taking a bath, the drive means is driven to raise the elevating rail to the upper end position. Then, as described above, the rail on the traveling trolley of the wheelchair is aligned in advance so as to be coaxial with the elevating rail, and the caregiver pushes the seat body on which the bather is placed toward the wheelchair, and The body may be transferred from the lifting rail to the rail on the traveling cart.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the bathing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention. The bathing apparatus of the first embodiment is a wheelchair 1
And a column 3 standing upright in the bathtub 2, a lifting rail 4 supported in a cantilevered state by the column, and a driving means 5 for raising and lowering the lifting rail 4.

The wheelchair 1 is provided with a caster 11 provided at a lower portion and two rails 12 provided on an upper surface thereof in parallel with each other, and a wheelchair 1 moved along the rails 12 on the rungable vehicle 13 and And a seat body 14 that can be separated from the traveling carriage 13.

The traveling carriage 13 is formed by assembling rods or square members made of a material such as steel or stainless steel into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. At the rear (here, the right is defined as the rear and the left is defined as the front in FIG. 1), a handle 15 used when the assistant pushes the traveling carriage 13 is attached.

The seat body 14 further includes a seat body 17 supported by the traveling carriage 13, and a shaft 18 on an upper portion of the seat body 17.
And a chair portion 19 provided rotatably along a vertical plane around the center, and a rotary member along the vertical surface about an axis 20 with respect to the seat body 17 in front of the chair portion 19. And a footrest 21 provided freely.

The seat body 17 is formed by assembling rods or squares made of a material such as steel or stainless steel into a substantially quadrangular shape, similarly to the traveling carriage 13, and is formed on the left and right sides of the lower surface thereof. Are provided with a plurality of wheels 23,... Running on the rails 12 on the traveling carriage 13. The shaft 18 for rotatably supporting the chair portion 19 is provided substantially at the center of the seat body 17, and a shaft 20 for rotatably supporting the footrest 21 is provided in front of the shaft 18. It is provided parallel to the axis 18. Here, the plurality of wheels 23 are
Are provided so as to be parallel to the direction of the center axis m of the seat body 14. Therefore, the seats 14 move in the same direction as the center axis m of the seat body 14 when the wheels 23. It is movable.

The seat portion 19 is formed so that a seat portion 19a and a back portion 19b are integrated with each other, and the seat portion 19 is provided between the back portion 19b and the seat body 14. As shown in FIG. 1, a lock mechanism 24 is provided for holding the seat in either a reclining seat state or a normal chair state. The lock mechanism 24 is shown in FIG.
A cylindrical body 24a pin-connected to the seat body 14 as shown in FIG.
A rod 24b is inserted into the cylindrical body 24a so as to be able to advance and retreat, and the upper end is pin-connected to the back surface of the backrest 19b of the seat 19. A lock pin 24c is provided on the cylindrical body 24a by being biased by a spring so that the tip of the lock pin 24c passes through the wall of the cylindrical body 24a and is inserted into a hole provided in the rod 24b. When the rod 24b is inserted into the hole 24b, the sliding of the rod 24b with respect to the cylindrical body 24a is restricted, so that the rotation of the chair 19 is prevented.

An arm 25 is attached to the lower surface of the seat portion 19a of the seat portion 19 with its tip projecting forward from the seat portion 19a, and the projecting tip of the arm 25 is attached to the lower surface of the footrest portion. Contacted. As shown in FIG. 1, when the chair 19 is tilted backward by a predetermined angle, the tip of the arm 25 pushes the lower surface of the footrest 21 upward, whereby the footrest 21 is moved to the clock shown in FIG. Is turned in the direction, and the entire foot rest 21 is
It is designed to lift up above the height of the building. That is, the arm 25 constitutes a connecting means for forcibly rotating the foot rest 21 when the chair 19 is inclined backward by a predetermined angle. In this embodiment, the foot rest 21 is rotatably provided on the seat body 17 via the shaft 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
9 may be provided so as to be rotatable.

Between the seat 14 and the traveling carriage 13,
In order that the seat body 14 does not move on the rail 12 carelessly,
A lock mechanism 27 that regulates the movement of the seat 14 is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, the lock mechanism 27 is provided on the seat body 14 such that a lock pin 28 can be protruded and retracted so that a lower end can protrude from the lower surface of the seat body 14. And a flat plate 31 on which an inclined portion 30 connected to the insertion hole 29 is formed. Reference numeral 32 denotes a handle for unlocking, and the handle 32 is
The lock pin 28 is rotatably provided around a shaft 33, and the distal end thereof is connected to an intermediate plate 33 which is engaged with the lock pin 28. When the handle 32 is rotated clockwise, the lock pin 28 is moved upward via the intermediate plate 33 to release the lock. In addition, a flat plate 34 having the same configuration as the flat plate 31 is mounted on a support table 42 for supporting the elevating rail 4 to be described later in the front-rear direction.

Reference numeral 35 denotes an intermediate rail interposed between the lifting rail 4 and the wheelchair 1. The intermediate rail 35 is provided outside the bathtub 2 and is supported by the gantry 36 so as to protrude toward the bathtub 2 and to be coaxial with the lift rail 4 when the lift rail 4 is disposed at the upper end position. Is provided. The height of the intermediate rail 4 and the interval between the left and right are set to the same values as those of the rail 12 provided on the upper surface of the traveling carriage 13 of the wheelchair 1. Also,
Positioning means 37 for positioning the traveling carriage 13 of the wheelchair 1 is provided on the opposite side of the gantry 36 with respect to the bathtub 2 so that the rail 12 on the traveling carriage 13 is coaxial with the intermediate rail 35.

The column 3 is formed to have a quadrangular cross section, and a rectangular cylindrical holding member 40 is provided on the outer periphery thereof. Is fitted. A support table 42 is supported by the holder 40 in a cantilever state, and the elevating rail 4 is attached to the upper surface of the support table 42.

A chain attaching member 46 is attached to the upper end of the holding body 40 via a connecting portion passing through a long hole in the side wall of the column 3. The length of the elongated hole is set so as to allow a required vertical movement range of the holder 40.

The drive means 5 will be described. A cylinder mechanism (drive source) 52 is horizontally mounted on a casing 50 surrounding the drive means 5 via a bracket 51. The cylinder mechanism 52 is provided at the tip of a piston rod 52a of the cylinder mechanism 52. Has a chain wheel 53 rotatably attached thereto. A chain wheel 54 is rotatably mounted above the column 3 via a bracket.
A chain 55 is wound around the chain wheels 53 and 54, and one end of the chain 55 is attached to one end of the bracket 51 via a connecting member 56.
The other end of 5 is passed through the column 3 via the idle wheel 57 and the chain wheel 54, and is attached to the chain attaching member 46. The cylinder mechanism 52 is connected to a hydraulic pressure source or a pneumatic pressure source (not shown). The drive means 5 is provided with a stopper (not shown) for determining the upper end position and the lower end position of the lift rail 4 when the lift rail 4 is moved up and down, and a sensor associated therewith. As a result, the lift rail 4 is stopped at the same height position as the intermediate rail 35 when the lift rail 4 is moved upward, and is stopped at a predetermined position where it does not hit the bottom of the bathtub 2 when the lift rail 4 is lowered. It has become.

Next, a case will be described in which a person who needs bathing assistance, such as a physically handicapped person or an elderly person, is bathed using the bathing apparatus having the above-described configuration. First, the bather is placed on the seat 4 set on the traveling carriage 13 of the wheelchair 1, and the caregiver pushes the wheelchair 1 to move to the washing area on the side of the bathtub 1. At the time of moving to the washing place, the lock pin 24c is pulled out to release the lock by the lock mechanism 24, and the seat portion 19 of the seat body 14 is rotated about the shaft 20 to fall backward (see FIG. 1). . At this time, when the chair portion 19 is tilted to a predetermined angle, the tip of the lock pin 24c is inserted into the rod 24b side by the urging force of the spring, and the inclined state of the chair portion 19 is held by the lock mechanism 24. You.

When the chair 19 is rotated, the footrest 21 is rotated by being pushed by the tip of an arm 25 that rotates integrally with the chair 19 as shown in the figure. As shown in the figure, the entire footrest 21 is lifted above the height of the rail 12 of the traveling vehicle 13. Therefore, when the seat body 14 is transferred from the wheelchair 1 to the intermediate rail 35 or the elevating rail 4 as described later, the feet of the bather and the footrest 21 of the wheelchair 1 do not interfere.

Thereafter, the wheelchair 1 is moved to the intermediate rail 35.
The rails 14 on the traveling carriage 13 of the wheelchair 1 are accurately positioned so as to be coaxial with the intermediate rails 35 by a positioning means 37 provided on a gantry 36 supporting the wheelchair 1. Then, pull the handle 32 toward you to lock the pin 2.
8 is pulled up and pulled out from the hole 29 of the flat plate 31.
Thereby, the lock by the lock mechanism 27 is released,
The seat body 14 becomes movable with respect to the traveling carriage 13. In this state, the caregiver pushes the seat body 14 with the bather on,
The seat 14 is moved to the elevation rail 4 by passing through the intermediate rail 35 which is coaxial with the rail 12 on the traveling carriage 13.

At this time, the lock pin 28 is once lifted when passing through the inclined portion of the flat plate 34 provided on the support base 42, and is pushed by a spring when it comes directly above the hole 34a of the flat plate 34, so that the lock pin 28 is pressed. 28 is inserted into the hole 34a and locked by the lock mechanism 27 again. This allows
The seat 14 is fixed to the lifting rail 4 and is prevented from moving back and forth. When the seat body 14 is moved forward and transferred to the lifting rail 4 via the intermediate rail 35, the driving means 5 is driven in advance to arrange the lifting rail at the upper end position.

Then, the cylinder mechanism 52 is contracted. Then, due to the weight of the seat body 14, the bather, etc., these are suspended by the chain 55 and descend, and sink below the surface of the bathtub 2 and stop at a predetermined height position. Thereby, the thing requiring the bathing assistance can be brought into a bathing state.

In order to take a bath, the cylinder mechanism 52 is extended in the opposite manner, the support table 42 is raised via the chain 55, and the bather is raised together with the seat 14. Then, the lift rail 4 reaches the upper end position, and the intermediate rail 35
At the same height as, the lock of the lock mechanism 27 is released, and the caregiver pushes the bather on the seat 14 while returning it to the wheelchair 1 side together with the seat 14.

<Modification> FIG. 7 shows a modification of the first embodiment. In this example, the lifting rail 4 attached to the upper end of the column 3 is a lifting rail body 4a.
And a connecting rail 4b hinged to an end of the lifting rail main body 4a. When the lift rail 4 is at the upper end position as shown by a solid line in the figure, the connecting rail 4b rotates clockwise around the hinge pin 4c by its own weight, and is coaxial with the lift rail main body 4a. To become. At this time, the lower surface of the connecting rail 4b is supported by the gantry 36. Further, as shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure, when the lifting rail 4 moves downward, the connecting rail 4b keeps its lower surface portion pressed and supported by the gantry 36, so that the lifting rail main body 4
As a moves downward, it rotates counterclockwise around the hinge pin 4c to reach a predetermined inclination angle. As described above, when the elevating rail 4 is moved up and down, the connecting rail 4b is automatically rotated, and the state is switched to a state where the bath can be taken and a state where the seat 14 from the wheelchair 1 can be moved.

<Second Embodiment> FIGS. 8 and 9 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the seat 1
A plurality of wheels (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the seat 4
4 is provided in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the center axis m of the seat 4, and therefore, the seat 14 is a lifting rail 4 whose wheels are supported by the rails of the seat 14 or the columns 3.
When traveling above, the seat body 14 can be moved in a direction orthogonal to the central axis m.

As described above, since the seat body 14 can be moved to the bathing state by moving the bather in the lateral direction while sitting, the seat body 14 can be moved from the state of sitting on the wheelchair 1 outside the bathtub 2 to the time of bathing. The distance by which the seat body 14 is moved between them can be shortened by an amount substantially corresponding to the length of the bather's foot, as compared with the embodiment shown in FIGS. In response to this, the driving means 5 for raising and lowering the elevating rail 4 is also devised to shorten the overall length.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, chain wheels 61 and 62 are provided at the tip of a piston rod 60a of a cylinder mechanism 60 at predetermined intervals vertically, and one end is connected to a connecting member 56 of a bracket 51. The other end of the chain 55 connected to the chain wheel 61, the idle wheel 63, the chain wheel 62,
After each of the windings 54 is wound, it is attached to a chain attaching member 46 in the column 3.

According to the driving means 5 having such a structure, when the cylinder mechanism 60 is operated to expand and contract, the lifting rail 4 can be moved up and down by twice the amount of expansion and contraction.
The drive unit 5 can also reduce the overall length by that much.

It should be noted that the bathing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the specific components such as the structure of the driving means and the cantilever support structure of the elevating rail can be changed as appropriate upon implementation. is there.

For example, in each of the above embodiments, the bathtub 2
, The support 3, the lifting rail 4, the driving means 5, the intermediate rail 35
Although only one bathing device including the wheelchair 1 is provided, the invention is not limited to this, and two or more bathing devices may be provided. At this time, if the two columns 3 and the driving means 5 are provided adjacent to each other, and the lifting rails 4 and the intermediate rails 35 are arranged so as to face the side opposite to the opposite side, effective use of space can be achieved. There is an advantage that the space for assistance can be widened.

In each of the above embodiments, the cylinder mechanisms 52 and 60 are used as the driving means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a structure in which the lifting rail is raised and lowered by using another drive such as a motor may be employed. Good.

[0042]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wheelchair which can be separated while being moved along the rail with respect to the traveling body provided with the rail at the top. A pillar erected inside the bathtub, a lifting rail supported by the pillar in a cantilever manner so as to be able to move up and down, and driving means for operating the lifting rail up and down, wherein the lifting rail is at an upper end position. Sometimes the height and width are set so that they are coaxial with the rails on the traveling carriage of the wheelchair. The bath can be lowered to the bathing state without raising the height, and the bather can be bathed without giving the bather an uneasy feeling. In addition, when taking a bath, the seat body is supported in a cantilever state via the elevating rail, so that a bather on the seat body can always be assisted from one side of the seat body. It is possible to further eliminate the feeling of anxiety of the elderly. In addition, there is an advantage that the assistant can easily perform the assistance work.

Further , since the driving means is provided outside the bathtub, the inside of the bathtub can be widely used, which is substantially the same as the case where the driving means is provided inside the bathtub. In order to obtain a bathtub of a sufficient size, a narrow bathtub is sufficient. In addition, outside the bathtub, wheelchair and lifting
Intermediate rails for passing bathers between the rails
Because it is located, for bathers from the wheelchair to the lift rail
Move smoothly and keep your wheelchair
Bathers can move without getting close to the bathtub
Therefore, it is also excellent in terms of safety. In addition, the seat
The foot rest is rotatable, and the chair is tilted.
At the same time when the foot rest is placed on the rail of the traveling cart
Forcibly rotate to lift up
Bathers move from the wheelchair to the elevating rails
When performing the bath, the feet of the bather and the
Strut or support the intermediate rail.
To prevent it from hitting the frame
Yes, so that bathers from wheelchairs to
Move smoothly and give anxiety to bathers
Not even.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the seat of the wheelchair is configured to be movable in the same direction as the center axis of the seat by traveling on the rail of the traveling vehicle. In addition, the bather can be moved in the front-rear direction where the feeling of anxiety is less likely to be given, and since the bather is opened before and after the bather, it is possible to easily perform the assistance work for washing the bather.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the seat of the wheelchair is configured to be able to move in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the center axis of the seat by traveling on the rail of the traveling vehicle. Therefore, the amount of movement of the seat body until the physically handicapped person or the like takes a bath can be reduced.

[0046]

[0047]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a driving means of the lifting rail according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a driving unit of the lifting rail according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a lock mechanism between the seat body and the traveling vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a modification of the above embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a driving means of a lifting rail according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheelchair 2 Bathtub 3 Support 4 Lifting rail 5 Driving means 12 Rail 13 Traveling trolley 14 Seat 17 Seat body 19 Seat chair part 21 Foot rest part 24 Lock mechanism 25 Arm (connection means) 27 Lock mechanism 35 Intermediate rail 40 Holding Body 41 Roller 42 Support 52 Cylinder mechanism 55 Chain 60 Cylinder mechanism m Center axis of seat body

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61H 33/00 310 A61G 7/10

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A wheelchair in which a seat mounted on an upper side of a traveling carriage having a rail provided thereon is separable while being moved along the rail, and a support standing upright inside a bathtub. A lifting rail supported by the column so as to be able to move up and down in a cantilevered state, and driving means for raising and lowering the lifting rail, wherein the lifting rail is a rail on a traveling trolley of the wheelchair when it is at an upper end position. The height and width are set so that they are coaxial with each other.The driving means is provided outside the bathtub, and an intermediate rail is projected outside the bathtub toward the bathtub side.
When the lifting rail is disposed at the upper end position,
The seat body is provided so as to be coaxial with the steering wheel, and the seat body is supported by a traveling cart of the wheelchair.
The body and the upper side of the seat body are rotatably provided along a vertical plane.
Chair part and a vertical surface in front of the chair part
A footrest portion rotatably provided along the
Between the body and the footrest, a chair portion is specified rearward
When the vehicle is tilted at an angle, the footrest is
Forcibly so that it rises above the height
A bathing device characterized by interposed connecting means . 2. The seat body of the wheelchair is configured to be movable in the same direction as the center axis of the seat body by traveling on rails of the traveling cart. The bathing apparatus according to 1. 3. The seat body of the wheelchair is configured to be movable in a direction perpendicular to a direction of a center axis of the seat body by traveling on rails of the traveling carriage. The bath apparatus according to claim 1.