JP7679804B2 - Backrest pad - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the structure of a backrest pad that is sandwiched between the vehicle compartment wall and the back of a wheelchair user to support the wheelchair user's back.

Patent Document 1 discloses that when securing a wheelchair inside a bus, a backrest plate is secured to a protruding structure such as a wheelhouse that protrudes above the floor, a wheelchair securing device is attached to this, and the wheelchair back is secured to the wheelchair securing device with the backrest facing the backrest plate.

JP 2004-65414 A

The backrest plate described in Patent Document 1 is subjected to an impact force from a wheelchair user in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle when the bus suddenly accelerates or collides. The backrest plate is required to absorb this impact force. For this reason, the installation of a backrest pad made of a flexible material instead of the backrest plate has been considered. However, if the backrest pad is made of a flexible material, there is a risk that the backrest pad will deform in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle when it receives the back of a wheelchair user.

Therefore, the present invention aims to prevent deformation of the backrest pad when it supports the back of a wheelchair user.

The backrest pad of the present invention is a backrest pad formed of a flexible material that is attached to a horizontal handrail arranged along the wall of the vehicle compartment and is sandwiched between the wall and the back of a wheelchair user seated in the wheelchair to support the back of the wheelchair user, and is characterized in that it is provided with a reinforcing member that is provided on the outer widthwise portion and extends in the vertical direction, and a groove portion that is open to the bottom and can be hooked onto the horizontal handrail, the reinforcing member extending in the vertical direction from above to below the groove portion, and the length of the upper portion above the groove portion is longer than the length of the lower portion below the groove portion .

This increases the bending strength in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and suppresses deformation of the upper part of the backrest pad in the front-rear direction of the vehicle when the back of a wheelchair user is supported. This also increases the support force for the area from the back to the shoulders of the wheelchair user, and suppresses deformation of the upper part of the backrest pad in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

The backrest pad of the present invention comprises a base portion having a backrest surface for supporting the back of the wheelchair user, an upper base portion having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape protruding from the base portion in the upper part in the opposite direction to the backrest surface, and a lower base portion having a generally quadrangular pyramid shape protruding from the base portion in the lower part in the opposite direction to the backrest surface, the groove portion being formed on the lower surface of the upper base portion, the reinforcing member being embedded in the base portion and being composed of the upper portion, the lower portion and a central portion between the upper portion and the lower portion, and the length of the upper portion of the reinforcing member may be 1/2 or more of the length from the upper end of the groove portion to the top of the base portion.

This helps to further reduce deformation of the upper part of the backrest pad in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

This invention can prevent deformation of the backrest pad when it supports the back of a wheelchair user.

1 is a perspective view showing a backrest pad according to an embodiment attached to a horizontal handrail of a vehicle compartment, and a wheelchair user seated in a wheelchair in the vehicle compartment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a backrest pad according to the embodiment. 2 is a plan cross-sectional view of the backrest pad according to the embodiment, taken along line AA in FIG. 1. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the backrest pad of the embodiment, taken along line BB of FIG. 1. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the backrest pad according to the embodiment, taken along line CC of FIG. 1. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a backrest pad according to another embodiment. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the backrest pad of another embodiment, taken along the line DD shown in FIG. 6. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the backrest pad of another embodiment, taken along line E-E of FIG. 6.

The backrest pad 10 of the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the vehicle 100 to which the backrest pad 10 is attached will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The arrows FR, UP, and RH shown in each figure indicate the forward direction (travel direction), upward direction, and rightward direction of the vehicle 100, respectively. The opposite directions of the arrows FR, UP, and RH indicate the rearward direction, downward direction, and leftward direction of the vehicle. In the following description, when the directions of front-rear, left-right, and up-down are used, they refer to front-rear in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, left-right in the left-right direction of the vehicle (vehicle width direction), and up-down in the up-down direction of the vehicle, unless otherwise specified. In the following description, a bus, which is a shared vehicle, will be described as an example of the vehicle 100, but the vehicle 100 may be of other types of vehicles.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 100 has a driver's cab 101 at the front where the driver sits, and a passenger compartment 102 at the rear where passengers sit. A driver's seat 103 is provided in the driver's cab 101, and the driver's cab 101 and the passenger compartment 102 are separated by a partition wall 109 attached to the rear of the driver's seat 103. The partition wall 109 has a lower wall portion 111 and an upper wall portion 110 that protrudes further rearward than the lower wall portion 111.

The passenger compartment 102 includes a floor 104, a right wall 105 on the right side of the vehicle, and a door opening 106 on the left side of the vehicle. The door opening 106 is opened and closed by a door (not shown), and is an entrance and exit point for passengers to get on and off the passenger compartment 102. FIG. 1 shows the state in which the door is open and the door opening 106 is exposed. A slope 107 is provided at the bottom of the door opening 106 for passengers getting on and off in wheelchairs 80. In addition, a wheelchair loading space 108 for loading wheelchairs 80 is provided on the floor 104 behind the partition wall 109.

Attached to the rear of the partition wall 109 are a vertical handrail 112 that rises from the floor 104 and a horizontal handrail 113 that bends to the right from the top end of the vertical handrail 112 and extends along the rear face of the partition wall 109 toward the right side of the vehicle. The right end of the horizontal handrail 113 is connected to a handrail 114 that is attached to the right wall 105 and extends in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

A backrest pad 10 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113. The backrest pad 10 is a structure that is sandwiched between the partition wall 109 and the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90 seated in the wheelchair 80 to support the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90. The backrest pad 10 has a backrest surface 12 that supports the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90 and a groove portion 40 that is hooked onto the horizontal handrail 113. When the groove portion 40 is hooked onto the horizontal handrail 113 and the backrest pad 10 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113 as shown in FIG. 1, the backrest surface 12 of the backrest pad 10 faces the rear of the vehicle, and the upper base portion 20 and the lower base portion 30 arranged on the front side of the backrest pad 10 abut against the rear surfaces of the upper wall portion 110 and the lower wall portion 111 of the partition wall 109, respectively. The structure of the backrest pad 10 will be explained in detail later.

Wheelchair user 90, seated in wheelchair 80, boards vehicle interior 102 via slope 107 while still seated in wheelchair 80. Then, wheelchair user 90 parks wheelchair 80 in wheelchair loading space 108 facing backward so that back 91 is in contact with backrest surface 12 of backrest pad 10, and secures wheelchair 80 to handrail 114 with belt 84. As a result, backrest pad 10 is sandwiched between partition wall 109 and back 91 of wheelchair user 90 seated in wheelchair 80, and absorbs impact force from wheelchair user 90 toward the front of the vehicle when vehicle 100 suddenly stops or is hit head-on.

Next, the detailed structure of the backrest pad 10 will be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 5. As shown in Fig. 2, the backrest pad 10 comprises a base portion 11, an upper base portion 20, and a lower base portion 30. The base portion 11, the upper base portion 20, and the lower base portion 30 are integrally molded from a flexible material such as urethane. In the following description, the front, rear, upper, lower, left, and right directions of the vehicle 100 are respectively described as the front, rear, upper, lower, left, and right directions of the backrest pad 10 when the backrest surface 12 of the backrest pad 10 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113 so that it faces the rear of the vehicle as shown in Fig. 1. Also, UP, FR, and RH in each figure indicate the upper, front, and right directions of the backrest pad 10.

2 and 3, the base portion 11 includes a backrest surface 12 on the rear side, left and right side portions 13, an upper portion 14, and a lower portion 15. The base portion 11 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape whose vertical length is longer than its horizontal width. As shown in FIG. 3, the backrest surface 12 of the base portion 11 is a surface that receives an impact force from the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90. The backrest surface 12 is gently curved so that the central portion in the horizontal direction is slightly recessed toward the front of the vehicle so as to fit the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90. The left and right side portions 13 are portions that protrude outward from the side of the upper base portion 20. When the side portions 13 receive an impact force from the wheelchair user 90, they curve to receive the sides of the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90. As shown in FIG. 2 and 3, a reinforcing member 60 is attached inside the base portion 11. The reinforcing member 60 will be described in detail later.

2, 4, and 5, the upper base 20 is an approximately rectangular parallelepiped-shaped portion that protrudes forward from the upper portion of the base 11 in the opposite direction to the backrest surface 12. The upper base 20 is surrounded by an upper surface 21, an upper side surface 22, an upper front surface 23, and a lower surface 24. The upper surface 21 is a surface that continues to the upper portion 14 of the base 11. The upper side surface 22 is a surface that continues to the side portion 13 of the base 11. The upper front surface 23 is a flat surface that is approximately parallel to the backrest surface 12 of the base 11, and is a surface that abuts against the vehicle rear surface of the upper wall portion 110 of the partition wall 109 when the backrest pad 10 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113. The upper front surface 23 is provided with two recesses 25, 26. The lower surface 24 is provided with an inverted U-shaped groove 40 that is open downward.

The lower base 30 is a generally quadrangular pyramid-shaped portion that protrudes forward from the lower portion of the base 11 in the opposite direction to the backrest surface 12. The lower base 30 is surrounded by an upper inclined surface 34 and a lower inclined surface 33 on the front side, a lower side surface 35, a lower front surface 32, and a lower end surface 36. The upper inclined surface 34 is a surface that extends diagonally downward and forward from the inner surface of the rear side of the groove 40 of the upper base 20 on the front side of the base 11. The lower inclined surface 33 is a surface that extends diagonally downward and forward from the lower end of the upper inclined surface 34 at a larger inclination angle than the upper inclined surface 34. The space formed by the upper inclined surface 34, the lower inclined surface 33, and the lower surface 24 of the upper base 20 forms a space in which the horizontal handrail 113 moves up and down when the backrest pad 10 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113.

The lower side surface 35 is a surface that continues to the side portion 13 of the base portion 11. The lower end surface 36 is a portion that continues to the lower portion 15 of the base portion 11. The lower front surface 32 protrudes forward from the upper front surface 23 of the upper base portion 20, is a plane that is approximately parallel to the backrest surface 12 of the base portion 11, and is the surface that abuts against the vehicle rear surface of the lower wall portion 111 of the partition wall 109 when the backrest pad 10 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113. A recess 31 is provided in the lower front surface 32.

As shown in FIG. 4, a U-shaped bracket 43 is embedded in the groove 40 of the upper base 20 and the upper end of the upper inclined surface 34 of the lower base 30, and is molded so that its surface is flush with the inner surface 41 of the groove 40 (see FIG. 5) and the upper inclined surface 34. The front end of the bracket 43 is bent and embedded in the lower surface 24 of the upper base 20. The bracket 43 is made of a material such as resin or hard rubber, and transmits the load of the backrest pad 10 to the horizontal handrail 113 when it is hung on the horizontal handrail 113. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the bracket 43 is provided in the center of the groove 40, and is not provided on the left and right widthwise outer parts of the groove 40.

3 and 4, a reinforcing member 60 is embedded in the widthwise outer portion of the base portion 11 that is on the widthwise outer side of the central portion where the bracket 43 is disposed. The reinforcing member 60 is a metal longitudinal member with an L-shaped cross section, embedded so as to extend in the vertical direction. As a result, when the wheelchair user 90 parks the wheelchair 80 in the wheelchair mounting space 108, the position of the reinforcing member 60 is separated in the width direction from the position of the spine of the wheelchair user 90, so that the wheelchair user 90 is prevented from feeling the hardness of the reinforcing member 60. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing member 60 is embedded in a position that is a distance D away from the backrest surface 12 toward the front so that the wheelchair user 90 does not feel the hardness of the reinforcing member 60 on the back 91. The distance D can be set arbitrarily. The distance D may be, for example, 10 mm or more.

4 and 5, the reinforcing member 60 is embedded in the base 11 so as to extend vertically above and below the groove 40. The reinforcing member 60 is composed of an upper portion 62 above the groove 40, a lower portion 63 below the groove 40, and a central portion 61 between the upper portion 62 and the lower portion 63. The central portion 61 is a portion of length L1 that overlaps with the groove 40 in the front-rear direction. The length L2 of the upper portion 62 of the reinforcing member 60 is about 1/2 the length H0 from the upper end of the groove 40 to the upper portion 14 of the base 11, and is longer than the length L3 of the lower portion 63. This makes it possible to suppress the upper portion 14 of the backrest pad 10 from bending forward and deforming when the backrest surface 12 receives the shoulders 92 from the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90.

As described with reference to FIG. 1, when the backrest pad 10 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113, the backrest pad 10 is sandwiched between the front partition wall 109 and the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90 seated in the wheelchair 80 at the rear. When the vehicle 100 suddenly stops or crashes head-on, the forward impact force from the wheelchair user 90 is transmitted to the backrest surface 12. The impact force transmitted to the backrest surface 12 is transmitted from the backrest surface 12 to the horizontal handrail 113 via the central portion 61 of the reinforcing member 60. The impact force transmitted to the upper portion of the backrest surface 12 acts to bend and deform the upper portion 14 of the backrest pad 10 forward. Here, the upper portion 62 of the reinforcing member 60 extending upward from the groove portion 40 receives this forward impact force and suppresses the forward deformation of the upper portion 14 of the backrest pad 10. This prevents the head 93 of the wheelchair user 90 from moving forward when the vehicle 100 suddenly stops or crashes head-on. Also, part of the impact force transmitted to the backrest surface 12 is transmitted to the upper base 20, and then from the upper front surface 23 of the upper base 20 to the upper wall 110 of the partition wall 109. The upper base 20 then collapses in the fore-aft direction of the vehicle to absorb the impact force. Similarly, part of the impact force transmitted to the backrest surface 12 is transmitted to the lower base 30, and then from the lower front surface 32 of the lower base 30 to the lower wall 111 of the partition wall 109. The lower base 30 then collapses in the fore-aft direction of the vehicle to absorb the impact force, just like the upper base 20.

As described above, the backrest pad 10 prevents the wheelchair user 90 from feeling the hardness of the reinforcing member 60 on the back 91, while preventing the upper portion 14 from bending forward and deforming when the vehicle 100 suddenly stops or crashes head-on, and absorbs the impact force.

Furthermore, the length of the upper portion 62 of the reinforcing member 60 is approximately half the length H0 from the upper end of the groove portion 40 to the upper portion 14 of the base portion 11, and is longer than the lower portion 63. This effectively prevents the upper portion 14 of the backrest pad 10 from bending forward and deforming when the vehicle 100 suddenly stops or undergoes a frontal collision, and effectively prevents the head 93 of the wheelchair user 90 from moving forward.

In the above explanation, the length of the upper portion 62 of the reinforcing member 60 is described as about half the length H0 from the upper end of the groove portion 40 to the upper portion 14 of the base portion 11, but it is not limited to this and may be longer than this.

In the above description, the backrest pad 10 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113 of the vehicle compartment 102 so that the backrest surface 12 of the backrest pad 10 faces the rear of the vehicle, but this is not limited to the above. For example, if a partition wall 109 is arranged at the rear of the vehicle, the horizontal handrail 113 may be arranged in front of the partition wall 109, and the backrest pad 10 may be attached to the horizontal handrail 113 so that the backrest surface 12 faces the front of the vehicle. In this case, the backrest pad 10 is sandwiched between the rear partition wall 109 and the back 91 of the wheelchair user 90 seated in the wheelchair 80 in front, and receives the impact force from the wheelchair user 90 toward the rear when the vehicle 100 suddenly starts or is crashed from behind. At this time, the upper part 14 of the backrest pad 10 is prevented from bending and deforming toward the rear by the reinforcing member 60, so that the head 93 of the wheelchair user 90 can be prevented from moving backward.

In the above description, the reinforcing member 60 is described as a metal member with an L-shaped cross section, but it is not limited to an L-shape and may have a cross section of other shapes, such as a square, round, or cylindrical cross section, and may be made of a material other than metal, such as hard plastic.

Next, a backrest pad 50 according to another embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 8. The same parts as those of the backrest pad 10 previously described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 are given the same reference numerals and will not be described. The backrest pad 50 has a reinforcing member 70 disposed in the part where the thickness between the backrest surface 12 and the upper inclined surface 34 is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and in the part that covers the upper end of the groove portion 40. The other parts have the same structure as the backrest pad 10 previously described.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the reinforcing member 70 is composed of an upper portion 72 above the groove 40, a lower portion 73 below the groove 40, and a central portion 71 between the upper portion 72 and the lower portion 73. The central portion 71 is a portion of length L1 that overlaps with the groove 40 in the front-rear direction. The length L4 of the upper portion 72 is shorter than the length L2 of the upper portion 62 of the reinforcing member 60 of the backrest pad 10. The length L4 extends slightly above the upper end of the bracket 43 provided in the groove 40, and is a length that allows the load received by the backrest surface 12 to be transmitted to the bracket 43. The length of the lower portion 73 is the same length L3 as the lower portion 63 of the backrest pad 10. The length L3 of the lower portion 63 is longer than the length L4 of the upper portion 72.

When the backrest pad 50 is attached to the horizontal handrail 113, the upper front surface 23 of the upper base portion 20 abuts against the front partition wall 109. The impact force transmitted to the upper portion of the backrest surface 12 is transmitted from the upper portion 14 of the backrest pad 10 through the upper base portion 20 and the upper front surface 23 to the partition wall 109. This prevents the upper portion 14 of the backrest pad 50 from deforming forward when a forward impact force is applied from the wheelchair user 90. In addition, the impact force transmitted to the backrest surface 12 is transmitted from the backrest surface 12 to the horizontal handrail 113 via the center portion 71 of the reinforcing member 70. This prevents the head 93 of the wheelchair user 90 from moving forward when the vehicle 100 suddenly stops or crashes head-on.

In addition, the backrest pad 50 has reinforcing members 70 in the area where the thickness between the backrest surface 12 and the upper inclined surface 34 is below a predetermined value and in the area that covers the upper end of the groove 40, so the length of the reinforcing members 70 can be shortened to reduce weight.

10, 50 backrest pad, 11 base portion, 12 backrest surface, 13 side portion, 14 upper portion, 15 lower portion, 20 upper base portion, 21 upper surface, 22 upper side surface, 23 upper front surface, 24 lower surface, 25, 26, 31 recessed portion, 30 lower base portion, 32 lower front surface, 33 lower inclined surface, 34 upper inclined surface, 35 lower side surface, 36 lower end surface, 40 groove portion, 41 inner surface, 43 bracket, 60, 70 reinforcing member, 61, 71 central portion, 62, 72 upper portion, 63, 73 lower portion, 80 wheelchair, 84 belt, 90 wheelchair user, 91 back, 92 shoulder, 93 head, 100 vehicle, 101 driver's cab, 102 passenger compartment, 103 driver's seat, 104 Floor, 105 right wall, 106 door opening, 107 slope, 108 wheelchair loading space, 109 partition wall, 110 upper wall, 111 lower wall, 112 vertical handrail, 113 horizontal handrail, 114 handrail.

Claims (2)

A backrest pad made of a flexible material is attached to a horizontal handrail arranged along the wall of a vehicle compartment, and is sandwiched between the wall and the back of a wheelchair user seated in the wheelchair to support the back of the wheelchair user.
A reinforcing member provided on an outer portion in the width direction and extending in the up-down direction ;
A groove portion that opens downward and can be hooked onto the horizontal handrail,
the reinforcing member extends in the up-down direction across the upper and lower sides of the groove, and a length of an upper portion above the groove is longer than a length of a lower portion below the groove;
Features a backrest pad. 2. The backrest pad according to claim 1 ,
A base portion having a backrest surface for supporting the back of the wheelchair user;
an upper base portion having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape and protruding from the base portion in an upper portion of the base portion in a direction opposite to the backrest surface;
a lower base portion having a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape protruding from the base portion in a lower portion of the base portion in a direction opposite to the backrest surface,
The groove portion is formed on a lower surface of the upper base portion,
the reinforcing member is embedded in the base portion and is configured with the upper portion, the lower portion, and a central portion between the upper portion and the lower portion,
a length of the upper portion of the reinforcing member is equal to or greater than half the length from the upper end of the groove portion to the upper portion of the base portion;
Features a backrest pad.