EP0506964A1

EP0506964A1 - Traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped

Info

Publication number: EP0506964A1
Application number: EP91908461A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tadashi Iura
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-10-28
Filing date: 1991-04-23
Publication date: 1992-10-07
Also published as: CA2070686A1; JPH04164448A; KR920702989A; EP0506964A4; WO1992007538A1

Abstract

A traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped in which the person handicapped at leg can ride by himself without assistance of a helper. The vehicle is provided with a single type steering front wheel appropriately drivable in the back and forth directions and a single type propelling rear wheel drivable in the forward or reverse direction to permit forward or backward movement, in which a saddle type seat narrow in the right and left direction is provided in a position above the front and rear wheels and spaces are provided on both sides of the seat so as to permit the movement of knees of the rider as desired, chair arms extending in the back and front directions are positioned higher than the seat, and, when viewed from above, vertically extending spaces are provided on the rear side of the vehicle and between the seat lying midway of the transverse direction and the chair arms positioned on both sides of the seat.

Description

Field of Art

The present invention relates to a traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped mainly used indoors and, more particularly, to a traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped on which a physically handicapped person who cannot come down from a bed and stand and walk can easily ride from the bed by oneself and on-bed condition and by which the person can freely move to a toilet or dining room.

Background of Art

The structure of the wheelchair of prior art has been such that one can ride on it only when facing backward, whereby one cannot ride it directly from a bed, and thus a physically handicapped person having trouble in the leg has been unable to ride on it by oneself without the assistance of a helper.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped on which a physically handicapped person can ride without standing up once on the floor from a bed, and by which the person can freely move indoors.

Disclosure of the Invention

A traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped in connection with the present invention comprises a single-type steering front wheel 2 capable of being operated properly and a single-type driving rear wheel 7 capable of being operated movably forward/backward and rotatably in the normal/reverse direction both of which are disposed in the forward/backward direction on the middle part between the right and left of a machine body; a straddle-ride type seat 17 with a long length in the forward/backward direction and a narrow width in the right/left direction which is provided on the upper position in the forward/backward direction from the rear wheel side to the front wheel side; a step 36 which is formed from the middle part in the forward/backward direction of the seat 17 to the front end side in a convex shape on the front side when viewed as a plane, and stretchingly provided at a position with a very low height from the travelling plane; and handrails 15a, 15b which provide desired spaces through that the right/left knees can pass freely on the right/left sides of said seat 17, and are provided extendingly in the forward/backward direction at a position higher than the seat 17, thereby forming vertical gaps a, a on the rear side of the machine body when viewed as a plane between the seat 17 on the middle part between the right/left of the body and the handrails 15a, 15b on the both sides.
With such construction, when a physically handicapped person rides from a bed on a mobile vehicle, the person downs his/her feet from the bed to the floor and allows the mobile vehicle to move backward as sitting condition with his/her legs apart right/leftward, thereby allowing the rear seat end of said mobile vehicle to come in contact with the bed end face between his/her legs to effect connection. At this point, the seat height has been adjusted to a level approximately equal to that of the bed.
In this condition, the feet end of the physically handicapped person is still on the floor because of the right/left gaps of the mobile vehicle, and the right/left hands can move without difficulty to handrails on respective sides by which his/her body can be held, whereby the person can by oneself move forward by going along the handrails with a stoop, and ride on the mobile vehicle. At this point, the bed and the seat are continuous with each other, whereby without riding on the vehicle by a single effort, the person rides gradually on it in a manner to crawl about slowly according to his/her physical strength, moves his/her feet forward and places them on the step to complete the riding.
The present invention comprises a handle operating frame 22 which is vertically provided on the front side of the machine body and on the head of an arm 18 supported pivotably on the underside of the step 36; a handle for steering said front wheel 2 and a mechanism for changing over the normal/reverse rotation of said rear wheel 7 both of which are mounted to the handle operating frame; and a pivot fixing device 28 which is provided on said arm 18, and can change over the condition of the handle operating frame 22 in a manner to fix to the front position of the middle part between the right/left sides of the machine body or displaces to at least one of the right/left directions of the machine body. Accordingly, in a condition in which riding has been completed, with the operating handle set to the front side, the person can drive properly the front wheel and move the vehicle forward/backward and to an appropriate place.
Where when using a toilet and the like, the person gets off the vehicle and sits astraddle on a toilet stool, the person operates the handle situated on the center of the front of the machine body to be pivoted to one of the lateral sides, whereby the person can get off easily without being obstructed by the handle.
To return again to the mobile vehicle after finishing evacuation and the like, the person moves backward as his/her posture condition and sits astraddle on the seat, and sets pivotally the handle to its original center position and thereafter operates the handle to allow the rear seat end to come in contact with the bed, thereby returning easily back to the bed by a movement reverse to the above.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a general side view;
Fig. 2 is a plan view;
Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of a principal part;
Fig. 4 is a side view in a condition in which a back supporting seat is lowered;
Fig. 5 is a plan view in a condition in which an operating handle is pivoted sideward;
Fig. 6 is a side view of a principal part in a condition in which a handle supporting cylinder is locked;
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the part of Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 is a side view of a principal part in a condition in which a handle supporting cylinder is unlocked;
Fig. 9 is a plan view of the part of Fig. 8;
Figs. 10 and 11 are rear elevations of a principle part showing a front wheel steering mechanism;
Figs. 12 and 13 are rear elevations of a principle part showing the actuation mechanism of a back supporting seat;
Figs. 14 and 15 are plan views of the principle part showing the actuation mechanism of the back supporting seat;
Figs. 16 and 17 are side views showing the mounting structure of a handle for actuating the back supporting seat;
Figs. 18 and 19 are plan views showing the mounting structure of a handle for actuating the back supporting seat;
Fig. 20 is a side view showing another embodiment;
Fig. 21 is a plan view of the embodiment; and
Fig. 22 is a perspective view of the embodiment.

Best Form to Embody the Invention

Explaining in detail one embodiment of the present invention on the basis of the drawings, numeral 1 indicates a frame of a machine body which is provided with a front frame 1a on the bottom plane part in front of the middle part between the front and rear of the machine body in a semicircle shape with the front side extended when viewed as a plane, provided with a center frame 1b placed forward/backward for disposing right/leftward a required space on the middle part between the right/left of the body, only the center frame 1b being allowed to extend backward beyond said front frame 1a, provided vertically with side frames 1c, 1c for mounting later-explained handrails from the both right/left ends on the rear side of said front frame 1a, and provided vertically with seat supporting frames 1d, 1e, 1f for supporting a later-explained seat with a long length in the forward/backward direction on the center frame 1b.
Numeral 2 indicates a front wheel for steering which is disposed in the right/left spaces of said center frame 1b and mounted steeringly and pivotably through a bracket 3 and a supporting metal 5 of a front wheel fork 4 from said seat supporting frame 1d. Numeral 6 indicates a steering lever integrated with the fork 4.
Numeral 7 indicates a rear wheel for driving which is supportingly mounted through a bracket 7a and a bearing metal 8 on the seat supporting frame 1e vertically provided from the rear end side of said center frame 1b, its rear wheel shaft being integrally provided on one side face with a pulley 10 having a larger diameter for allowing a timing belt 9 to be wound on.
Numeral 11 indicates a motor which is incorporated with a reducer, capable of rotating normally/reversely and loaded through a receiving frame onto said center frame 1b. A battery 12 being a power source of the motor 11 is properly and supportingly mounted on said motor 11. Said timing belt 9 is wound on a pulley 14 fixedly secured to a drive shaft 13 of said motor 11.
Numerals 15a, 15b indicate right/left handrails which are supported through handrail receivers 16 on said handrail supporting frames 1c, 1c, and extend longly on their rear side.
Numeral 17 indicates a seat which is supported by said handrail supporting frames 1d, 1e, 1f, extends longly from the upper part of the front wheel to that of the rear end of the rear wheel, and provided at a height approximately equal to or somewhat lower than that of a bed.
Numeral 18 indicates an arm for mounting a later-explained operating frame which is located on the underside of said frame 1, and pivotably connected through a vertical shaft 20 to a lateral plate 19 mounted to said center frame 1b. The arm is constructed in such a manner that it is bent in a hook shape when viewed as a plane to avoid said front wheel 2, whereby the front wheel can be located in the bent concave part.
Numeral 21 indicates a handle supporting cylinder which is vertically and fixedly mounted to said arm 18.
Numeral 22 indicates a handle operating frame which is pivotably inserted into said handle supporting cylinder 21 and fixedly secures a steering arm 23 through a pin 24 to its lower end.
Numeral 22 indicates a handle for operating which is fixedly secured to the upper end of said operating frame 22.
Linking wires 26a, 26b effectively utilizing inner wires and outer wires are connected between both right/left sides of said steering lever 6 and said steering arm 23. That is, the linking wires are constructed in such a manner that while one ends q, r of the outer wires are locked to said center frame side, the other ends are connected to said arm 18 side s and to the steering arm 23 side t, the inner wire of the wire 26b connected to the arm 18 side s is locked to the steering arm 23, the inner wire of the wire 26a is locked to the arm 18, and when the steering arm 23 is pivotally operated by the operating handle 25, the outer wire of the wire 26a and the inner wire of the wire 26b are effectively actuated, thereby steering the front wheel 2.
Numeral 27 indicates a cover for surrounding the center frame which is constructed in a manner to cover the front wheel section and the motor section.
Numeral 28 indicates a device for fixing said arm 18 which is constructed in such a manner that a locking arm 30 which vertically pivots on the rear side and is supported on said handle supporting cylinder 21 side is engaged with and disengaged from a locking projection 29 which is located on the front end center part between the right/left of said frame 1 side and extends upward, the arm 30 being integrated with an operating pedal 31.
Numerals 32a, 32b indicate first operating switches which are mounted on a panel 33 fixedly secured to said handle 25, and can be individually turned on and off by the use of a switch lever 34 supported at its right/left and center by said panel 33. The lever 34 allows the normal/reverse rotation of said motor 11 to be changed over. That is, the right switch 32a allows the motor to be normally rotated, thereby moving forward the vehicle, while the left switch 32b allows the vehicle to be moved backward. The switch of this embodiment is a push changeover type switch which is constructed in such a manner that each time the switch is pushed, the rotation is changed over to normal or reverse mode, and releasing the switch causes the power supply to be turned off.
Numeral 35 indicates a second operating switch in which switches 35a, 35b are mounted to the rear end of the right handrail 15a in the indicated embodiment. The switches perform the same action as said first operating switches such that the front side switch 35a allows forward moving and the rear side switch 35b backward moving. The second operating switch is utilized to draw a mobile vehicle toward the bed or keep it from the bed when a physically handicapped person is not on the vehicle but on the bed.
Numeral 36 indicates a step which is stretchingly provided on the top side of said front frame 1a, but not on the rear side from the middle part between the front/rear of the machine body. Between the seat 17 on the middle part between the right/left sides and the handrails 15a, 15b located on the upper part apart from the right/left sides, gaps a, a are constructed in which nothing is provided, thereby allowing the person to walk on the floor within the gaps.
Numerals 37a, 37b indicates side wheels which are mounted rollingly through brackets to the right/left end at the rear end of said front frame 1a.
Numeral 38 indicates a back supporting seat. Seat mounting arms 40a, 40b are rotatably supported at their base ends by metal cylinders 39a, 39b which are inclined to allow their center part to become high in a manner to assume inverted V shape when viewed as a back plane by said seat supporting frames 1f, 1f. Said seat 38 is mounted to the heads of the right/left arms, the base ends of the right/left arms are coupled through a bendable joint 41 to each other, and the arm 40a is fixedly mounted with a sprocket 42.
Numeral 43 indicates a back support operating handle which is mounted through a locking lever 46 supported through u by a metal 45 integrated with a sprocket 44 shaftingly mounted to the frame 1 at the front lower part of said seat 17, the locking lever 46 being capable of engaging with or disengaging from a stopper 47 which is provided on the frame 1 side and extends outward in a semicylindrical shape. Between said sprocket 40 and the sprocket 44, and a chain 48 is wound, and the handle 43 disengages the lever 46 from the stopper 47 to operate pivoting, whereby the back supporting seat 36 can be vertically provided in a back supportable condition while being developed right/leftward and locked as it is, or on the contrary, can be pivoted downward while being narrowed right/leftward.
Explaining the operation of the above embodiment, to ride at first from the bed to a mobile vehicle, with the back supporting seat 36 previously pivoted to the rear lower part so as to make the right/left width equal to or narrower than that of the seat 17, a physically handicapped person assumes a posture of chair sitting on one side of the bed on which the mobile vehicle is situated, and opens his/her legs to some extent. For a special bed for physically handicapped persons in which a bed back side rises simultaneously as the bed pivots, with the bed operated to the chair sitting posture, a physically handicapped person opens his/her legs to some extent as with the above.
In such condition, the person draws the mobile vehicle near the bed with its back toward him/her so that the rear end of the seat 17 of mobile vehicle comes to the center between his/her legs and comes in contact with said bed end face.
To perform the operation, it suffices to operate the second switch 35 so as to move backward the mobile vehicle. In this case, said switch 35 is located on the rear end of the handrail 15a extending backward, whereby only extending his/her hand allows the vehicle to be moved easily backward. Since the mobile vehicle is light in weight and small in size, the position can be freely changed by muscle with the handrail grasped.
Then, while catching the handrails 15a, 15b as bed sitting condition, the physically handicapped person walks on the floor plane of the gaps a, a as stopped condition without raising his/her body and at the same time, crawls about forward while sitting astraddle on the seat 17, and then places his/her feet on the step 36, thereby positively riding on the vehicle.
Then, while catching the operating handle 25 of the mobile vehicle, the person operates pivotally the back support operating handle 43 to raise upward the back supporting seat 36, thereby providing a back supportable condition. At this point, the back supporting seat 36 is extended right/leftward to become a posture so as to support sufficiently the back of the person, and locked. In this condition, while steering the front wheel 2 and selecting the forward/backward moving with the first switch 32, the person by oneself can operate and move the vehicle. When using a Japanese-style toilet to sit astraddle on a toilet stool, a physically handicapped person must get off the front wheel of the mobile vehicle. In this case, using a tiptoe, the person pivots upward the pedal 31 of the fixing device of the arm 18 to swing up the locking arm 30 and disengage it from the locking projection 29, thereby allowing the handle 25 to be pivoted in the lateral, right direction. Hereby, the front side of the seat 17 is opened, whereby the person can freely get off forward and conveniently move onto a toilet stool and the like. On the contrary, returning from the toilet stool to the mobile vehicle needs only to perform the operation reverse to the above in a manner to return the handle 25 to the center between the right/left and lock it.
Returning to the bed can be easily performed by the operation reverse to that for the case where the back supporting seat 36 is allowed to be collapsed in the back downward direction by the handle 41 and the seat 17 allowed to come in contact with the bed end for riding on the vehicle.
As described previously, according to the traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped in connection with the present invention, a physically handicapped person can move forward by going along the handrails while sitting on one side of the bed without rising up from the body and facing backward, and ride easily by oneself on the mobile vehicle with a stoop. Putting the front handle to either of right/left left side of the machine body allows the person to get off from the front without being obstructed by the handle frame and handle.
Figs. 20 through 22 show another embodiment having a simpler construction such that the handrail 15a is provided with a steering rod 50 to which a steering grip 51 and a first operating switch 52 for changing over the normal/reverse rotation of the motor 11 are mounted, and that a second operating switch 53 is provided at the rear end of the handrail 15a. In Figs. 20 through 22, the same numeral indicates the same part as that of the above-mentioned embodiment. The steering rod 50 and the second operating switch 53, when used by a right-handed person, is set to the right handrail side, and when used by a left-handed person, set to the left handrail side.

Industrial Possibility of Utilization

As described previously, the traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped in connection with the present invention can be utilized as a mobile vehicle on which a physically handicapped person having trouble in the leg can ride from a bed without being assisted by a helper.

Claims

A traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped comprising:
a single-type steering front wheel (2) capable of being operated properly and a single-type driving rear wheel (7) capable of being operated movably forward/backward and rotatably in the normal/reverse direction both of which are disposed in the forward/backward direction on the middle part between the right and left of a machine body;
a straddle-ride type seat (17) with a long length in the forward/backward direction and a narrow width in the right/left direction which is provided on the upper position in the forward/backward direction from the rear wheel side to the front wheel side;
a step (36) which is formed from the middle part in the forward/backward direction of the seat (17) to the front end side in a convex shape on the front side when viewed as a plane, and stretchingly provided at a position with a very low height from the travelling plane; and
handrails (15a), (15b) which provide desired spaces through that the right/left knees can pass freely on the right/left sides of said seat (17), and are provided extendingly in the forward/backward direction at a position higher than the seat (17), thereby forming vertical gaps (a), (a) on the rear side of the machine body when viewed as a plane between the seat (17) on the middle part of the right/left of the body and the handrails (15a), (15b) on the both sides.
A traveling vehicle for the physically handicapped comprising:
a single-type steering front wheel (2) capable of being operated properly and a single-type driving rear wheel (7) capable of being operated movably forward/backward and rotatably in the normal/reverse direction both of which are disposed in the forward/backward direction on the middle part between the right and left of a machine body;
a straddle-ride type seat (17) with a long length in the forward/backward direction and a narrow width in the right/left direction which is provided on the upper position in the forward/backward direction from the rear wheel side to the front wheel side;
a step (36) which is formed from the middle part in the forward/backward direction of the seat (17) to the front end side in a convex shape on the front side when viewed as a plane, and stretchingly provided at a position with a very low height from the travelling plane;
handrails (15a), (15b) which provide desired spaces through that the right/left knees can pass freely on the right/left sides of said seat (17), and are provided extendingly in the forward/backward direction at a position higher than the seat (17), thereby forming vertical gaps (a), (a) on the rear side of the machine body when viewed as a plane between the seat (17) on the middle part of the right/left of the body and the handrails (15a), (15b) on the both sides;
a handle operating frame (22) which is vertically provided on the front side of the machine body and on the head of an arm (18) supported pivotably on the underside of the step (36);
a handle for steering said front wheel (2) and a mechanism for changing over the normal/reverse rotation of said rear wheel (7) both of which are mounted to the handle operating frame; and
a pivot fixing device (28) which is provided on said arm (18), and can change over the condition of the handle operating frame (22) in a manner to fix to the front position of the middle part between the right/left of the machine body or displaces to at least one of the right/left directions of the machine body.