JP4624596B2 - Fall shock absorber for wheelchair - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to wheelchair tipping impact absorbing device using a switch which performs an electrical switching operation by being uncoupled state of the wheelchair.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a wheelchair used by a person who has difficulty in walking, a wheelchair that is driven by the power of a user or an assistant, an electric wheel that can be driven by a user's driving operation, and the like are known. That is, even a person who has difficulty in walking can move freely by using a wheelchair as long as the wheelchair can travel.
[0003]
However, even if the wheelchair can travel, the wheelchair may fall down due to an accident. In such a case, since the conventional wheelchair is not provided with means for absorbing the impact to the user at the time of falling, there is a problem that the user is not sufficiently protected. In particular, wheelchair users are often unable to protect themselves more quickly than healthy people, and there is an increasing need to protect users from impacts when a wheelchair falls.
[0004]
Therefore, the present applicant has proposed a fall shock absorber for a wheelchair for protecting a human body from the fall of the wheelchair (Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-101036).
[0005]
This apparatus includes a human body wearing tool worn by a wheelchair user, an air bag covering a predetermined part of the human body when inflated, an air-charging device for inflating the air bag, and an inclination sensor for detecting an inclination in a predetermined direction. The air bag is inflated when an inclination due to the wheelchair falling is detected, and the shock when the wheelchair user falls is absorbed by the air bag. In this case, the air bag, the charging device, the inclination sensor, and these control devices are provided in the human body wearing tool.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when arbitrarily controlling the operation of various devices and devices by an electrical switch, it is generally performed by manually operating an operation unit of a switch provided in a main body of the device or the like. .
[0007]
However, in the fall shock absorber for wheelchairs, the user can get off the wheelchair while wearing the human body wearing device, and thus the control device is artificially turned on / off using the manual switch as described above. In this case, if you leave the wheelchair with the control device turned on, the tilt sensor tilts due to changes in the posture of the human body such as bending or supine, such as tilting, which is not assumed except for falling over the wheelchair. The air bag may be unnecessarily inflated.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object, if it descended user from a wheelchair to provide a wheelchair tipping impact absorbing device without the air bag is inflated There is.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in claim 1, a human body wearing tool worn by a wheelchair user, an air bag covering a predetermined part of the human body when inflated, an inflating means for inflating the air bag, An inclination detecting means for detecting an inclination in a predetermined direction; and a control means for inflating an air bag by an inflating means when the inclination is detected by the inclination detecting means. The air bag, the inflating means, the inclination detecting means and the control means are A switch for shock absorption for a wheelchair provided on a human body wearing device, having a pair of holding parts biased in directions approaching each other and detachably connectable to any part of the wheelchair by holding each holding part a body, provided on a predetermined portion of the switch body, and a contact portion for electrically turned on or off in contact with any portion of the wheelchair were sandwiched by the sandwiching portions, are electrically connected to the contact portion, Switch and a predetermined length of the lead wire can be tensile extending outside from a predetermined portion of the body, and a switch coupled to the body attachment side through the lead wire, wherein only when the switch is coupled to the wheelchair And an operation restricting means for enabling the expansion means .
[0010]
Accordingly, by holding any part of the wheelchair by each holding part of the switch body, the switch body is coupled to the wheelchair , and the contact part comes into contact with any part of the wheelchair and is electrically turned on or off. . In addition, when the user leaves the wheelchair while wearing the human body wearing tool, the lead wire is pulled, the switch is detached from the wheelchair side, and the connection between the switch and the wheelchair is released. The operation is restricted and the air bag does not expand when the user gets off the wheelchair.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention , in the overturning shock absorbing device for a wheelchair according to the first aspect, a protruding portion that protrudes to the inside of the switch body is provided on at least one tip side of each of the holding portions.
[0012]
Thereby, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the switch body is not inadvertently detached from the article because the protruding portion of the clamping part is locked to the article.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 to 9 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of a wheelchair and a fall shock absorber, FIG. 2 is a front view of a human body wearing tool, FIG. 3 is a front view of a switch, and FIG. Is a block diagram showing the control system, FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing the direction of angular velocity in the wheelchair, FIG. 6 is a front view showing the inflated state of the air bag, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the inflated air bag and the human body, 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the switch.
[0014]
This wheelchair fall impact absorbing device includes a human body wearing tool 10 that is detachably attached to a user A of the wheelchair 1, an air bag 20 provided in the human body wearing tool 10, and an air charging device that inflates the air bag 20. 30, a plurality of sensors 40 that detect the distance from the wheelchair 1 side to the road surface, a control unit 50 that inflates the air bag 20 when the inclination of the wheelchair 1 is detected based on the detection distance of each sensor 40, and a main power supply The switch 60 is turned on / off.
[0015]
The human body wearing device 10 includes a belt portion 11 that wraps around the chest of the human body, and a pair of left and right shoulder portions 12 that are connected to the belt portion 10a at both ends. A cover portion 13 for storing a part of the air bag 20 is provided on the front side of each shoulder portion 12, and each cover portion 13 is formed by a plurality of couplers 13a made of, for example, a well-known removable cloth tape. Both ends are detachably coupled. The human body wearing tool may be in the form of clothes.
[0016]
The air bag 20 is formed along the region corresponding to both shoulders and chest from the neck on the back side of the human body, and is sewn with a highly airtight and durable fabric. Both end sides (portions extending along both shoulders and chest) of the air bag 20 are folded along the shoulder portions 12 of the human body wearing device 10 and covered with the respective cover portions 13.
[0017]
The charging device 30 has a known structure in which high pressure gas is sealed in a gas cylinder, and the gas discharge port is connected to the air bag 20. That is, in the charging device 30, the explosive explosive is exploded by an electric signal from an ignition device (not shown), and the plug of the discharge port of the gas cylinder is opened.
[0018]
The sensor 40 is a known biaxial angular velocity sensor, and is accommodated in a sensor unit 41 attached to the belt portion 11 of the human body wearing tool 10. As the biaxial angular velocity sensor, for example, a piezoelectric sensor that can detect angular velocities in two directions with one sensor can be used. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the sensor 40 detects an angular velocity centered on the left-right axis (Y-axis) of the wheelchair 1 and an angular velocity centered on the front-rear axis (Z-axis). Yes.
[0019]
The control unit 50 is configured by a microcomputer and is accommodated in the sensor unit 41. The control unit 50 is connected to the charging device 30 and the sensor 40 and is connected to a timer 51. In this control unit 50, based on the angular velocity Ωy (angular velocity when the wheelchair 1 is tilted in the front-rear direction) and the angular velocity Ωz (angular velocity when the wheelchair 1 is tilted in the left-right direction) around the Z-axis detected by the sensor 40. The inclination with respect to the road surface of the wheelchair 1 is detected, and the charging device 30 is operated.
[0020]
The switch 60 includes a switch body 61 that can be detachably coupled to the frame 1a (for example, a pipe-shaped member) of the wheelchair 1, a contact portion 62 that is electrically turned on by contacting the frame 1a, and the switch body 61 to the outside. The lead wire 63 extends. The switch body 61 has a pair of clamping portions 61a that are biased toward each other by a spring (not shown), and the proximal ends of the clamping portions 61a are rotatable around a support shaft 61b that is screwed to each other. It is connected to. A circular protrusion 61c that protrudes inside the switch body 61 is provided at the tip of each clamping part 61a. The contact portion 62 is disposed on one clamping portion 61 a and protrudes at the tip thereof to the inside of the switch body 61. The lead wire 63 is a well-known cable having an appropriate tensile strength, and covers two conductive wires (not shown). Further, the lead wire 63 is formed to a predetermined length (for example, 50 to 60 cm), and connects the sensor unit 41 and the proximal end side of one clamping portion 61a. That is, each conducting wire of the lead wire 63 is connected to the contact portion 62 of the switch body 61, and when the contact portion 62 is pressed, each conducting wire is electrically conducted, and the main power source (the sensor 40 and the control portion 50) of the sensor unit 41 is obtained. Etc.) is turned on. That is, the said structure comprises the operation control means which can operate the charging device 30 only when the switch 60 is couple | bonded with the wheelchair.
[0021]
In the above configuration, when the user A wearing the human body wearing device 10 gets on the wheelchair 1 and connects the switch 60 to the frame 1a of the wheelchair 1, the frame 1a is connected to the contact portion 62 of the switch 60 as shown in FIG. , The main power supply of the sensor unit 41 is turned on. In this case, the switch 60 is not inadvertently disconnected due to the engagement between the protruding portion 61c of each clamping portion 61a and the frame 1a.
[0022]
Next, when the wheelchair 1 is tilted such that the wheelchair 1 falls while traveling, the tilt of the wheelchair 1 is detected by the sensor 40, whereby the charging device 30 is activated and the air bag 20 is inflated. At that time, due to the expansion of the air bag 20, the coupling tool 13a of each cover portion 13 of the human body wearing tool 10 is removed, and the air bag 20 is expanded as shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the air bag 20 bulges around the head of the user A, and the head and the neck of the user A are covered with the air bag 20. However, the overturning impact on the user A is absorbed by the air bag 20.
[0023]
Here, the operation of the controller 50 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the main power is turned on by the switch 60 (S1), detection of the angular velocities Ωy and Ωz is started (S2). Next, when the absolute value of the angular velocity Ωy with respect to the tilt in the front-rear direction becomes larger than the predetermined reference velocity Vy (S3), the timer 51 starts counting (S4). Here, before the predetermined time t (for example, 0.7 seconds) elapses (S5), when the absolute value of the angular velocity Ωy becomes equal to or lower than the reference velocity Vy (S6), the timer 51 is reset (S7). Return to step S3. If the time t has elapsed in step S5 before the absolute value of the angular velocity Ωy becomes equal to or less than the reference velocity Vy in step S6, the values of the angular velocities Ωy and Ωz are integrated (S8), and one angular velocity Ωy is obtained. When the absolute value of the integral value (inclination angle) of is not less than the predetermined reference value θy (S9), or when the absolute value of the other integral value of the angular velocity Ωz is not less than the predetermined reference value θz (S10), The air device 30 is operated to inflate the air bag 60 (S11). If the absolute values of the integrated values of the angular velocities Ωy and Ωz are not more than the reference values θy and θz in steps S9 and S10, the process returns to step S3.
[0024]
Further, when the user A gets off the wheelchair 1 while wearing the human body wearing tool 10, when the user A leaves the wheelchair 1, tension is generated in the lead wire 63 of the switch 60, as shown in FIG. Thus, the switch 60 is pulled so that the projecting portion 61c of each clamping portion 61a gets over the frame 1a, and the switch 60 is detached from the frame 1a of the wheelchair 1 as shown in FIG. 9 (b). As a result, the pressing of the contact portion 62 of the switch 60 is released and the main power supply of the sensor unit 41 is turned off. Thereafter, the inclined state that is not assumed other than the fall of the wheelchair 1, for example, the user A bends. Even when taking a posture such as leaning or supine, the air bag 20 does not expand.
[0025]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the switch 60 detachably coupled to the frame 1a of the wheelchair 1 is connected to the sensor unit 41 of the human body wearing device 10 via the lead wire 63, and the user A can connect the human body wearing device. Since the lead wire 63 is pulled and the switch 60 is detached from the frame 1a of the wheelchair 1 and the main power of the sensor unit 41 is turned off when the user 10 leaves the wheelchair 1 while wearing the wearer 10, the user A can turn off the wheelchair 1. When getting off, the air bag 20 is not inflated, and the air bag 20 can be reliably prevented from being inflated.
[0026]
In addition, since the circular protrusions 61c are provided at the tips of the sandwiching portions 61a of the switch 60, the switch 60 is not inadvertently detached due to the engagement between the protrusions 61c and the frame 1a, and the switch 60 is turned on. Can be surely kept. In this case, the protruding portion 61c may be provided only on the one clamping portion 61a.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above , according to the overturning shock absorbing device for a wheelchair of the first aspect, since the air bag is not inflated when the user gets off the wheelchair, it is possible to reliably prevent unnecessary inflation of the air bag. be able to.
[0028]
According to the overturning shock absorbing device for a wheelchair of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the switch body is not inadvertently detached, so that the on state of the switch can be reliably maintained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a wheelchair and a tipping shock absorber according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of a human body wearing tool. FIG. 3 is a front view of a switch. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing the direction of angular velocity in a wheelchair. FIG. 6 is a front view showing an inflated state of an air bag. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the inflated air bag and a human body. Flowchart [Fig. 9] Switch operation diagram [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wheelchair, 10 ... Human body wearing tool, 20 ... Air bag, 30 ... Air-filling device, 40 ... Sensor, 50 ... Control part, 60 ... Switch, 61 ... Switch main body, 61a ... Clamping part, 61c ... Projection part, 62 ... Contact part, 63 ... Lead wire, A ... User.

Claims (2)

A human body wearing tool worn by a wheelchair user, an air bag covering a predetermined part of the human body when inflated, an inflating means for inflating the air bag, an inclination detecting means for detecting an inclination in a predetermined direction, and an inclination detecting means In the fall shock absorber for a wheelchair provided with the air bag, the inflation means, the inclination detection means and the control means provided in the human body wearing device, the control means for inflating the air bag by the inflating means when the inclination is detected by
A switch body that has a pair of clamping parts biased in directions approaching each other and can be detachably coupled to any part of the wheelchair by clamping each clamping part, and each clamping part is provided at a predetermined part of the switch body A contact part that contacts or turns on or off an arbitrary part of the wheelchair sandwiched by the part, and a lead of a predetermined length that is electrically connected to the contact part and extends outward from a predetermined part of the switch body A switch that is connected to the human body wearing device side through a lead wire,
An overturning impact absorbing device for a wheelchair comprising: an operation restricting means for enabling the expansion means only when the switch is coupled to the wheelchair. The overturning impact absorbing device for a wheelchair according to claim 1, wherein a projecting portion that projects inward of the switch body is provided on at least one distal end side of each of the sandwiching portions.

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