JP3560101B2 - Electric wheelchair - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electric wheelchair that can adjust the height of a seat.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When traveling manually in a wheelchair, it is necessary for the user seated on the seat to be in a height position where it is easy to operate the hand rim provided along the wheel, and this height varies depending on the body shape of the user. It is convenient to be able to adjust the position of the seat relative to the axle.
[0003]
Of course, the electric wheelchair is of a type where the driving force of the motor assists the manual force, but even if it is a type of electric wheelchair that only runs with the driving force of the motor, the drive power is insufficient or the motor breaks down In this case, it is necessary to manually drive the vehicle so that the height of the seat can be adjusted to facilitate manual operation.
[0004]
In the case of an electric wheelchair, it is conceivable that the seat can move up and down with respect to the body frame, but a mechanism for raising and lowering the seat must be specially incorporated, and the structure becomes complicated and the weight of the wheelchair increases. .
[0005]
Therefore, in the case of a non-electrically operated manual wheelchair, an example in which the axle position can be adjusted (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-90522), or an axle holder that is eccentric from the center of rotation by an axle holder that is rotatably supported by the body frame. There is an example in which the height of the vehicle body frame relative to the axle is changed and the seat height is adjusted by pivoting the axle holder and rotating the axle holder.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the position of the axle relative to the vehicle body frame is not fixed, it has been difficult to support a motor that transmits driving force to the axle when applied to an electric wheelchair.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the object of the present invention is to provide an electric wheelchair capable of adjusting the seat height with a simple configuration capable of fixing the motor to the vehicle body frame.
[0008]
[Means for solving the problems and effects]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in an electric wheelchair that is mounted with a motor and travels using its power, a seat is attached to the vehicle body frame and is rotated by a fixed support means provided on the vehicle body frame. A freely-supported axle holder is fixed by prohibiting rotation by tightening the fixing support means, and a wheel is supported by an axle that is pivotally supported at a position eccentric from the center of rotation of the axle holder. An electric wheelchair is provided in which a rotation transmission shaft for transmitting a driving force is rotatably supported at the center of rotation of the axle holder, and the motor is supported on a vehicle body frame with the rotation transmission shaft as a motor drive shaft.
[0009]
When the axle holder supported by the fixed support means is rotated, the eccentric axle is displaced with respect to the body frame, and the height of the seat attached to the body frame can be adjusted.
Since the rotation transmission shaft provided at the rotation center of the axle holder is rotationally driven by the motor, it is only necessary that the motor rotationally drives the rotation transmission shaft that is not displaced by the rotation of the axle holder, that is, the adjustment of the seat height. The motor can be fixed to the body frame, and the structure can be simplified and the weight can be reduced.
[0010]
The electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the rotation transmission shaft and the drive shaft of the motor are integrally and coaxially connected, whereby the motor can be fixedly supported to the vehicle body frame.
[0011]
The axle holder is a circular member whose outer periphery forms a circumferential surface, and the fixed support means is a cylindrical member whose diameter can be expanded and contracted. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the axle wheel holder is tightened and fixed by restricting the diameter and the axle holder is prevented from being rotated, so that the seat is obtained by rotating the axle holder with a simple structure. Can be easily adjusted.
[0012]
An annular hand rim is provided coaxially along the wheel, the motor is driven and controlled according to a manual force applied to the hand rim, and the driving of the motor assists the manual force. By using the electric wheelchair described above, it is possible to provide an electric auxiliary wheelchair capable of adjusting the seat position with a simple structure.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The present embodiment relates to an electric wheelchair 1 and is an electric wheelchair in which a motor assists manual force.
FIG. 1 is an overall side view of the electric wheelchair 1.
A seat 3 is supported on the body frame 2, and a seat back 4 is erected on the rear end of the seat 3.
[0014]
A footrest arm 5 extends obliquely downward and forward from a lower end of the rear end of the body frame 2, and a footrest 6 is provided at the tip thereof.
Wheels 7 are pivotally supported on the left and right sides of the body frame 2 around the base end portion of the footrest arm 5, and free wheels 8 are attached to the front left and right sides of the footrest arm 5, respectively.
The vehicle body is movably supported by the left and right wheels 7 and the left and right universal wheels 8 described above.
[0015]
Hand rims 9 having the same rotation center are provided on the outside along the left and right wheels 7, and the user sits on the seat 3 and operates the left and right hand rims 9 to rotate the wheels 7 to run.
The shaft support structure of the wheel 7 together with the hand rim 9 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0016]
2 is an overall cross-sectional view on the right wheel 7 side, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part thereof, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3, and FIG. It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected along.
Referring to FIG. 5, an axle holder 10 whose outer periphery forms a circumferential surface is fitted and supported by a cylindrical fixed support member 11 formed integrally with the vehicle body frame 2.
The fixed support member 11 is partly cut out of a cylinder, and both ends of the fixed support member 11 are projecting outward to form fastening stays 11a and 11b.
[0017]
When the interval between the two fastening stays 11a and 11b is increased, the inner diameter of the fixed support member 11 is increased, and when both the fastening stays 11a and 11b are brought closer, the inner diameter of the fixed support member 11 is reduced.
An axle holder 10 is fitted inside the fixed support member 11, and the diameter of the fixed support member 11 is reduced by screwing a bolt 12 and a nut 13 that pass through the fastening stays 11 a and 11 b. Tighten and fix the circumference.
If the bolts 12 and nuts 13 are loosened, the fixed support member 11 can be expanded in diameter to freely turn the axle holder 10.
[0018]
The axle holder 10 supported by the fixed support member 11 integrated with the vehicle body frame 2 supports the wheels 7 on the outer side, and the motor unit 20 is disposed on the inner side and supported by the vehicle body frame 2.
Referring to FIG. 3, a drive shaft 21, which is an output of motor unit 20, has a circular hole in the center axis of outer circumference of axle holder 10, that is, rotation center axis XX, through bearing member 19. On the other hand, from the wheel 7 side, a rotation transmission shaft 24 pivotally supported by a cover plate 22 via a bearing 23 is fitted, and the drive shaft 21 and the rotation transmission shaft 24 are located on a rotation center axis XX. Are connected by a connecting member 18.
[0019]
There is a wheel center axis YY at a position eccentric from the rotation center axis XX, and an axle 25 is fitted into a circular hole formed in the wheel center axis YY of the axle holder 10 from the wheel side. 25 penetrates the cover plate 22 and protrudes outward to support the wheel 7.
[0020]
The axle 25 on which the wheel 7 is supported is on the wheel center axis YY that is eccentric from the rotation center axis XX of the axle holder 10, and the eccentric axle 7 is turned by rotating the axle holder 10. Thus, the relative position of the wheel 7 with respect to the vehicle body frame 2 can be changed.
That is, the height of the seat 3 attached to the vehicle body frame 2 can be adjusted by rotating the axle holder 10.
[0021]
A cylindrical torque link 27 is rotatably supported on the outer periphery of the axle 25 via a bearing 26, and a hub 29 of the wheel 7 is supported outside the torque link 27 via a bearing 28.
The inner end of the hub 29 is supported by the cover plate 22 via a bearing 30, and a spline 29 a formed on the inner peripheral surface in the vicinity of the inner end is formed on the outer periphery of the inner end of the torque link 27. The spline 27a is spline-fitted.
Therefore, power is transmitted between the torque link 27 and the hub 29 by spline fitting.
However, the torque link 27 has a property of elastically allowing torsion.
[0022]
The hub 29 has a cylindrical portion 29b formed by extending an outer end portion of a cylindrical portion covering the periphery of the torque link 27 to the outside, and has a coaxial large diameter on the inner surface of the circular plate portion 29b with a space from the cylindrical portion. A cylindrical hub 31 is fixed by bolts 32.
The base end is locked to the outer peripheral edge of the hub 29 and the flange outer peripheral edge of the cylindrical hub 31, and a plurality of spokes 33 extend in the radial direction to constitute the wheel 7.
[0023]
An annular internal gear 35 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the cylindrical hub 31 and fixed by bolts 36.
A gear 24a formed at the end of the rotation transmission shaft 24 meshes with the internal gear 35 (see FIG. 4).
Therefore, when the drive shaft 21 is rotated by driving the motor unit 20, the rotation transmission shaft 24 connected coaxially is rotated, and the power is transmitted to the wheel 7 together with the internal gear 35 by meshing between the gear 24 a and the internal gear 35. Can be rotated.
[0024]
An annular rotary potentiometer 40 is disposed in an annular space between the cylindrical portion of the hub 29 and the cylindrical hub 31, and its flange 41 a is fixed to and supported by the cylindrical hub 31 with a bolt 39.
The rotary potentiometer 40 is substantially divided into three in the axial direction, and the operation part 42 and the output part 43 are arranged on the left and right sides of the central body part 41 so as to be relatively rotatable, and a flange 41a formed on the central body part 41 is cylindrical. Attached to the hub 31.
[0025]
A slip ring is interposed between the main body portion 41 and the output portion 43 on the cover plate 22 side to transmit a signal, and a protrusion 43 a protruding from the output portion 43 is formed on the cover plate 22 on the fixed side. The output portion 43 is fixed by being fitted to the cylindrical portion 22a.
On the other hand, the operating portion 42 on the opposite side penetrates the circular hole of the disc portion 29b of the hub 29, and the protrusion 42a protrudes.
A flange 27 b is formed at the outer end portion of the torque link 27, and a projection 42 a of the operating portion 42 is brought into contact with the flange 27 b and fixed by a bolt 44.
[0026]
A disk-like support plate 45 is brought into contact with the flange 27b of the torque link 27 from the outside and is fixed by a bolt 46, and four support rods 47 whose base ends are fixed to the support plate 45 extend in the radial direction. The hand rim 9 is supported at its outer end.
[0027]
Accordingly, when a force is applied to the support plate 45 via the support rod 47 by manual rotation of the hand rim 9, a manual force is transmitted to the outer end of the torque link 27 fixed by the bolt 46, and The power is transmitted to the hub 29 through the spline fitting at the end, the wheel 7 is rotated, and the electric auxiliary wheelchair 1 runs.
[0028]
In the power transmission path, the torque link 27 is twisted between the outer end to which the force is applied and the inner end that is connected to the wheel 7 and becomes a load, and thus the flange 27b at the outer end of the torque link 27 and the cylindrical shape are formed. A relative rotation angle difference is generated between the hub 31 and the hub 31.
[0029]
This rotation angle difference is caused by the rotation between the operating portion 42 of the rotary potentiometer 40 fixed to the flange 27b of the torque link 27 by the bolt 44 and the main body 41 of the rotary potentiometer 40 fixed to the bolt 39 to the cylindrical hub 31. Since it appears as an angle difference, the rotary potentiometer 40 detects this as a manual operating force, sends the detection signal to the fixed output unit 43 via the slip ring, and outputs it to a control unit (not shown).
[0030]
The control unit determines an auxiliary force by the motor based on the detected manual operation force, and outputs a control signal to the motor unit 20 to drive and control the motor.
The drive of the motor is transmitted from the cylindrical hub 31 to the wheel 7 via the drive shaft 21, the rotation transmission shaft 24, the gear 24a, and the internal gear 35 as described above, so that manual force can be assisted.
[0031]
In addition, in order to restrict the torsion of the outer end and the inner end of the torque link 27 to a certain limit or less, a pin 50 protruding from the disk portion 29b of the hub 29 is provided with a groove 45a formed inside the support plate 45. The relative rotation between the two is regulated within a predetermined range.
[0032]
The axle part of the electric auxiliary wheelchair 1 according to the present embodiment has the above-described structure, and the motor can assist the manual operation force.
Even if there is assistance by the motor, the user who is seated on the seat 3 of the electric assist wheelchair 1 should be able to easily operate the hand rim 9 so that the force is effectively applied to the hand rim 9. Therefore, the seat height is adjusted so that the most suitable seating posture can be obtained.
[0033]
Therefore, in the present electric auxiliary wheelchair 1, the fixing support member 11 that fastens and fixes the axle holder 10 is loosened by loosening the screwing of the bolt 12 and the nut 13 to release the fastening, and the axle holder 10 is rotated.
As shown in FIG. 5, assuming that the wheel center Y eccentric with respect to the rotation center X of the axle holder 10 is located obliquely above, the body frame 2 is at a relatively low position with respect to the wheels 7. Therefore, the height of the sheet 3 is at a relatively low position.
[0034]
The bolt 12 and the nut 13 are loosened to release the tightening of the fixed support member 11, the axle holder 10 is rotated counterclockwise by about 90 degrees in FIG. 5, the fixed support member 11 is tightened again, and the axle holder 10 is tightened. When fixed, it becomes as shown in FIG.
That is, the wheel center Y is located obliquely below the rotation center X of the axle holder 10, and the body frame 2 is relatively high with respect to the wheels 7, so that the height of the seat 3 is relatively high. Can be changed.
[0035]
As described above, the height of the seat 3 can be easily changed. This height changing structure is a simple structure in which the axle support 10 is fastened by the fixed support member 11.
Since the drive shaft 21 of the motor unit 20 is made to coincide with the rotation center X of the axle holder 10 whose position does not change with respect to the vehicle body frame 2 when the height of the seat 3 is adjusted, the motor unit 20 is also relative to the vehicle body frame 2. Therefore, the position can be fixed and supported on the vehicle body frame 2, the structure can be further simplified, and the weight can be reduced.
[0036]
In the above embodiment, the motor is a wheelchair that assists manual force, but even if it is an electric wheelchair that travels only with the driving force of the motor, when the driving power is insufficient or the motor breaks down Therefore, it is necessary to have a hand rim and be able to travel manually, and therefore, it is necessary to adjust the height of the seat according to the body shape of the user so that the manual force works effectively. Can be applied.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a power-assisted wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a right wheel of the electric auxiliary wheelchair.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main part.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another state.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electric auxiliary wheelchair, 2 ... Body frame, 3 ... Seat, 4 ... Seat back, 5 ... Footrest arm, 6 ... Footrest, 7 ... Wheel, 8 ... Free wheel, 9 ... Hand rim, 10 ... Axle holder, 11 ... fixed support members, 12 ... bolts, 13 ... nuts,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 ... Connecting member, 19 ... Bearing member, 20 ... Motor unit, 21 ... Drive shaft, 22 ... Cover plate, 23 ... Bearing, 24 ... Rotation transmission shaft, 25 ... Axle, 26 ... Bearing, 27 ... Torque link, 28 ... Bearing, 29 ... Hub, 30 ... Bearing, 31 ... Cylindrical hub, 32 ... Bolt, 33 ... Spoke,
35 ... Internal gear, 36 ... Bolt,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 39 ... Bolt, 40 ... Rotary potentiometer, 41 ... Main-body part, 42 ... Actuation part, 43 ... Output part, 44 ... Bolt, 45 ... Support plate, 46 ... Bolt, 47 ... Support bar,
50 ... pin.

Claims (4)

In an electric wheelchair that is equipped with a motor and travels using its power,
A seat is attached to the body frame,
The axle holder supported rotatably by the fixed support means provided on the vehicle body frame is fixed by being prohibited from rotating by tightening the fixed support means,
Wheels are supported on an axle that is pivotally supported at a position eccentric from the center of rotation of the axle holder,
A rotation transmission shaft that transmits a driving force to the wheels is rotatably supported at a rotation center of the axle holder,
An electric wheelchair characterized in that the rotation transmission shaft is rotationally driven by a motor. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein the rotation transmission shaft and the drive shaft of the motor are integrally connected coaxially. The axle holder is a circular member whose outer periphery forms a circumferential surface, and the fixed support means is a cylindrical member whose diameter can be expanded and contracted. 3. The electric wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the axle holder is tightened and fixed by restricting the diameter of the axle holder to prevent rotation of the axle holder. An annular hand rim is provided coaxially along the wheel,
The motor is driven and controlled according to the manual force applied to the hand rim,
The electric wheelchair according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the driving of the motor assists a manual force.

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