JP2003062015A - Reclining wheelchair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reclining wheelchair that a user can adjust the angle of gradient of a backrest by himself in the chair, and fold a wheelchair itself in a horizontal direction. SOLUTION: The reclining wheelchair provides a frame 3 which can be folded in a horizontal direction, a seat 15 which is set up on the frame 3, a backrest 20 which is set up on the backside of the seat 15 of the frame 3 and is movable between an uprising position and a sloping position, a actuator 24, 24 which drives the backrest 20 and can be retained at any positions between the uprising position and the sloping position, a reclining lever 33 which is set on a position manipulated by a user sat down in the seat 15 and manipulates the actuator 24, 24, and a headrest 41 which is placed on the frame 3. The headrest 41 has a headrest main body 42 and a fixing mechanism 43 which supports the headrest main body 42, is linked to the right and left end of the frame 3, and is folded in a horizontal direction with fold of the frame 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reclining wheelchair having a variable backrest inclination angle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a wheelchair has a frame made of metal pipe material and foldable in the left-right direction, and a pair of left and right wheels of large diameter and small diameter (large wheels and casters) are mounted on the frame. It is installed. Further, a seat for seating a user and a back seat for resting the back are attached to the frame. Further, a pair of left and right armrests are provided on both left and right sides of the seat using a part of the frame.

In addition to such general wheelchairs, various reclining wheelchairs have been proposed in recent years, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-149413 is known. The frame of this reclining wheelchair is composed of a main body frame that supports wheels, and a seat frame that supports a seat and a back seat,
The seat frame swings in the front-rear direction with respect to the body frame. A lock device for locking the seat frame at a desired inclination angle with respect to the main body frame is provided between both frames, and a lever for unlocking the lock device is provided on the back seat. It is provided on the back side. In other words, in this reclining wheelchair, the assistant behind the wheelchair operates the lever to move the seat frame while unlocking the lock device, thereby setting the back seat at the inclination angle desired by the user. It is supposed to be adjusted.

[0004]

In such a reclining wheelchair, reclining cannot be performed unless the caregiver operates the lever on the back side of the back seat. In other words, if there is no helper, reclining cannot be performed, and the user of the wheelchair remains seated,
I cannot adjust the inclination angle of the back seat by myself.
Further, in this reclining wheelchair, both the main body frame and the seat frame have a plurality of reinforcing members extending in the left-right direction in order to firmly support the user without bending or twisting of the frame during reclining. There is. That is, this reclining wheelchair has a structure that cannot be folded in the left-right direction. Further, since the armrests of wheelchairs are generally fixed, if the back seat tilts a large amount to the rear during reclining, a gap may be created between the back seat and the armrests, or the armrests may remain in a high position. This may prevent the armrests from being used properly.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the user can adjust the inclination angle of the backrest by himself / herself while sitting down, and the wheelchair itself can be moved in the left / right direction. An object of the present invention is to provide a foldable reclining wheelchair.

[0006]

A reclining wheelchair according to the present invention includes a frame which can be folded in the left-right direction, a seat portion provided on the frame for a user to sit on, and a rear side of the seat portion of the frame. Between the standing position and the tilted position, the backrest is rotatable about a horizontal axis line in the left-right direction between the standing position and the tilted position that is inclined rearward and upward. And a backrest drive device that can be held at any position between the upright position and the tilted position, and a position that can be operated by a user sitting on the seat for operating the backrest drive device. The headrest is provided with an operation section and a headrest attached to the frame. The headrest supports the headrest body and the headrest body, and the left and right end portions of the frame. Is connected, characterized in that a, a folding mechanism which folds in the lateral direction with the folding of the frame.

According to this structure, the backrest drive device is actuated by operating the operating portion, and the backrest is moved to any position between the upright position and the tilted position (hereinafter referred to as the main position) about the axis. In the specification, it can be rotationally driven to the "reclining position" and can be held at the reclining position. Since the operation section is provided at a position where the user can operate it while sitting on the seat, the user can adjust the inclination angle of the backrest by himself / herself while sitting in the wheelchair. Further, the headrest attached to the frame has a folding mechanism that supports the headrest body, and this folding mechanism is
As the frame is folded in the left-right direction, the wheelchair itself can be folded in the left-right direction without removing the headrest from the frame.

In this case, the armrests provided in at least one of the left and right sides of the seat portion and extending in the front-rear direction, and the armrests,
It is preferable to further include an armrest interlocking mechanism that moves in at least one of the front-rear direction and the up-down direction in association with the rotation of the backrest.

According to this structure, the armrests provided on the left and right sides of the seat portion or on one of the left and right sides of the seat portion are moved in the front-rear direction and / or the up-down direction by interlocking with the rotation of the backrest by the armrest interlocking mechanism. Therefore, for example, the armrest moves rearward and / or downward in conjunction with the rotation of the backrest from the standing position to the reclining position, so that the armrest can be appropriately used even in the reclining state. It will be possible. On the other hand, in conjunction with the backrest turning from the reclining position to the standing position,
By moving the armrest forward and / or upward, the armrest can be easily returned to the state before reclining.

Further, in this case, the backrest driving device is connected to the left and right ends of the backrest, respectively, and drives the backrest when the operating portion is operated, and a pair of left and right actuators which holds the backrest when the operating portion is not operated, One end is connected to each of the pair of actuators, a pair of control cables for controlling the pair of actuators, and the other ends of the pair of control cables are connected to each other, and the pair of control cables is operated by the operation unit to make a pair. Via a control cable of, a connector for operating a pair of actuators at the same timing with each other,
The operating part preferably has a single operating member for operating the connector.

According to this structure, by operating the single operating member of the operating portion, the pair of left and right actuators can be operated at the same timing via the connector and the pair of control cables. That is, the user can operate the pair of actuators easily and in a well-balanced manner by operating the single operation member.
As a result, reclining can be performed easily and smoothly.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a reclining wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in these figures, this reclining wheelchair 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as "wheelchair")
Is a self-propelled type that can be folded in the left-right direction and the user can move by turning the wheel by himself. Wheelchair 1
Has a frame 2 constructed by assembling metal pipe materials such as aluminum and steel substantially symmetrically. The frame 2 is composed of a base frame 3 and a back frame 4 provided at the rear part (right part of FIG. 1) of the base frame 3.

The base frame 3 has a pair of left and right base frame bodies 11, 11 that are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction and are assembled in a predetermined shape extending in the front-rear direction. These left and right base frame bodies 11, 11 are
Large-diameter wheels 12, 12, casters 13, 13 and footrests 14, 14 (each shown in FIG. 1) are provided symmetrically. Further, a seat portion 15 for a user to sit on is provided in an upper portion between the base frame bodies 11, 11. This seat 15
Cloth-like seat 16 and the above-mentioned base frame main body 1
1 and 11 are formed with a pair of left and right seat seat supporting members 17 and 17 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) having substantially the same spacing in the left and right direction and having left and right edges of the seat seat 16 fixed. ing. These left and right seat seat supporting members 17, 17
All extend a predetermined length in the front-rear direction in parallel with each other, and each seat seat support member 17 is mounted on the corresponding base frame body 11 on the side via a receiving metal fitting (not shown). There is.

Further, the left and right base frame main bodies 11, 1
Between 1 is a cross link 1 with an X shape when viewed from the front.
8 are provided (see FIG. 2). This cross link 1
8 has two link bars 18a and 18a,
A connecting pin 18b extending in the front-rear direction at each central portion
Are rotatably connected to each other. The lower end of the cross link 18, that is, both link bars 18a, 18
The lower end portions of a are fixed to the lower portions of the left and right base frame main bodies 11, 11 which are different from each other. On the other hand, the upper ends of the cross links 18, that is, the upper ends of the link bars 18a, 18a are fixed to the lower parts of the left and right seat seat supporting members 17, 17 of the seat 15 which are different from each other. Therefore, when the wheelchair 1 is folded in the left-right direction, the cross link 18 is also folded in the left-right direction, and the seat portion 15 is lifted while the seat seat 16 bends.

On the other hand, the back frame 4 has a pair of left and right back frame main bodies 21, 21 which are spaced from each other in the left-right direction and extend in parallel in the up-down direction. The lower end portion of each back frame body 21 is rotatably connected to the corresponding side base frame body 11 via a horizontal connecting shaft 22 (axis line) extending in the left-right direction. Further, the upper end of each back frame body 21 extends backward while curving, and this extended portion serves as a handgrip for an assistant. Further, a cloth-like back sheet 23 is provided between the left and right back frame bodies 21, 21.
Are provided, and both left and right edges thereof are fixed to the left and right back frame main bodies 21, 21, respectively. The backrest 20 of the wheelchair 1 is constituted by the left and right back frame bodies 21 and 21 and the back seat 23. Therefore, the backrest 20 is provided between an upright position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1) which is substantially vertically erected and an inclined position (a position indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1) inclined obliquely rearward and upward. It can rotate about the connecting shaft 22.

On the back side of the backrest 20, a pair of left and right actuators 24, 24 are provided for rotating the backrest 20 and for holding it at an arbitrary position (reclining position) between the standing position and the inclined position. (Backrest drive) is provided. Each actuator 24 is
The cylinder 24a and the piston rod 24b are composed of a gas spring or an oil spring or the like.
While being locked with respect to a, when the reclining lever 33 described later is operated to release the lock, a spring force is generated in the direction in which the piston rod 24b comes out of the cylinder 24a.

Then, these left and right actuators 2
Reference numerals 4 and 24 are respectively provided on the left and right sides on the back side of the backrest 20 so as to connect the base frame body 11 and the back frame body 21 connected thereto. More specifically, in each actuator 24, the front end of the piston rod 24b is rotatably connected to the upper rear end of the base frame body 11, while the cylinder 24a
The front end of the back frame is rotatably connected to substantially the center of the back frame body 21 in the vertical direction. Therefore, by these actuators 24, 24, the piston rod 2
The backrest 20 is driven toward the upright position by the movement of 4b in the direction of leaving the cylinder 24a. On the other hand, when the user leans against the backrest 20 to lean on it, the piston rod 24b moves in the direction of entering the cylinder 24a against the spring force of the actuator 24, whereby the backrest 20 moves toward the inclined position. Rotate.

The pair of actuators 24,
One end of each of the control cables 25a and 25a is connected to each of 24, and the other end thereof is connected to the connector 26. As shown in FIG. 2, the connector 26 is attached to a position near the lower end of the left back frame body 21, and connects the pair of actuators 24, 24 to each other via two control cables 25a, 25a. It is for operating at the same timing. Further, the connector 26 is connected to a reclining lever 33 described later via another control cable 25b.

Above the left and right sides of the seat 15 described above,
A pair of left and right armrests 31, 31 are provided. Each armrest 31 extends in the front-rear direction by a predetermined length, and its rear end is rotatably connected to the back frame main body 21, while the portion near the front end extends in the vertical direction.
Base frame body 1 via 2 (armrest interlocking mechanism)
1 is rotatably connected. Therefore, when the backrest 20 rotates from the standing position to the inclined position, the left and right armrests 31, 31 interlock with this and move largely backward and slightly descend. Conversely, the backrest 20
By rotating toward the upright position, the left and right armrests 31, 31 move largely forward and slightly move up to return to their original positions.

A single reclining lever 33 (operating portion, operating member) for adjusting the inclination angle of the backrest 20 is provided at the tip of the left armrest 31. As described above, the reclining lever 33 is connected to the connector 26 via the control cable 25b. Therefore, by operating the reclining lever 33, that effect is indicated by the control cable 25a,
It is transmitted to the left and right actuators 24, 24 via 25a, 25b and the connector 26, and the piston rods 24b, 24b of these actuators 24, 24 are unlocked at the same time.

A headrest 41 is attached to the upper portion of the backrest 20 described above. This headrest 4
1 is composed of a headrest main body 42 that supports the head of a user sitting in a wheelchair 1 from behind, and an attachment device 43 (folding mechanism) for attaching the headrest main body 42 to the left and right back frame main bodies 21, 21. There is. The mounting device 43 includes a support body 45 that supports the headrest body 42 so that the headrest body 42 can be positionally adjusted in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, and the support body 45 and the mounting portions 21a and 21a at the upper ends of the left and right back frame bodies 21 and 21. It is composed of a pair of left and right folding links 46, 46 that connect the two.

The support body 45 has a cylindrical lateral rod support member 52 for slidably supporting the lateral rod 51 projecting rearward from the back surface of the headrest body 42 in the front-rear direction, and a predetermined downward direction from the lateral rod support member 52. While supporting the vertically extending vertical rod 53 slidably in the vertical direction,
The left and right folding links 46, 46 are composed of a supporting / connecting member 54 that is rotatably connected. Therefore, the headrest main body 42 is attached to the lateral rod support member 5
The position can be adjusted to a desired position by sliding the 2 and the supporting / connecting member 54 in the front-back direction and the vertical direction, respectively.

Further, the left and right folding links 46, 46
One end of each of these is rotatably connected to the support / coupling member 54, and the other end is rotatably connected to the corresponding side mounting portions 21a of the left and right back frame bodies 21, 21. ing. As shown in FIG. 2A, in a normal state (usable state) of the wheelchair 1, each of the folding links 46 has an end portion on the side of the supporting / connecting member 54 which is the attachment portion 21a.
It is arranged to be slightly higher than the end portion on the side. In other words, the left and right folding links 46, 46 are located closer to the support / coupling member 5 than the dead center that is a straight line parallel to each other.
The end portion on the fourth side is raised, and the left and right back frame main bodies 21, 21 are held in a stretched state so as not to approach each other. As a result, the left and right back frame main bodies 21, 21 have the left and right folding links 46,
They are firmly connected to each other via 46 and the supporting / connecting member 54.

Next, a reclining operation and a folding operation of the wheelchair 1 configured as described above will be briefly described in order. It is assumed that the backrest 20 is in the standing position before the reclining operation.

First, the user sitting on the wheelchair 1 operates the reclining lever 33 provided on the left armrest 31 in the same state. When the user leans against the backrest 20 while leaning on the backrest 20 while operating the reclining lever 33, the left and right actuators 2
Each of the piston rods 24b of Nos. 4 and 24 moves in the direction of entering the cylinder 24a, whereby the backrest 20 rotates toward the inclined position, and the left and right armrests 31,
The 31 also moves backward and descends slightly. Then, when the backrest 20 reaches a desired inclination angle, the user releases the reclining lever 33. This locks the left and right actuators 24, 24,
The backrest 20 is held in a reclining position with a desired tilt angle.

On the contrary, the backrest 20 in the reclining position
When returning to the standing position, the user raises the upper body to some extent and then operates the reclining lever 33. As a result, the left and right actuators 24, 24 are unlocked, and each piston rod 24b is driven by the spring force in the direction to move out of the cylinder 24a, whereby the backrest 20 automatically returns to the standing position.

When folding the wheelchair 1, first,
The headrest 41 is pushed down, and the supporting / connecting member 54 is
The left and right folding links 46, 46 are lowered so as to exceed the dead points. Then, similarly to a general wheelchair, the cross link 18 is contracted in the left-right direction while lifting the seat portion 15 by folding the center portion of the seat seat 16 in the left-right direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2B, the frame 3 is folded in the left-right direction while the left and right base frame bodies 11, 11 and the left and right back frame bodies 21, 21 are brought close to each other. Along with this, the left and right folding links 46, 46 are also folded in the left-right direction. Thus, in this wheelchair 1, the wheelchair 1 itself can be folded in the left-right direction without removing the headrest 41 from the frame 3.

As described in detail above, according to the reclining wheelchair 1 of this embodiment, the user operates the reclining lever 33 provided on the armrest 31 to allow the user to sit back while sitting on his / her back. The tilt angle of 20 can be adjusted. Moreover, since the left and right actuators 24, 24 can be operated at the same timing with each other simply by operating the single reclining lever 33, the actuators 24, 24 can be operated easily and in good balance. result,
Reclining can be performed easily and smoothly. Also, the left and right folding links 46 of the headrest 41,
Since the left and right back frame main bodies 21, 21 are firmly connected to each other via the 46 and the supporting / connecting member 54, even if the left and right actuators 24, 24 are unavoidable in terms of spring force and operation timing in manufacturing. Even if there are variations, the left and right back frame bodies 21, 21 operate in synchronization with each other. Thereby, in the reclining wheelchair 1 of the present embodiment, the reclining of the backrest 20 can always be performed smoothly and stably. Furthermore, the left and right armrests 31, 31 are attached to the backrest 20.
Since the armrests 31 and 31 move in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction in conjunction with the reclining, the armrests 31 and 31 can always be used properly and sufficiently.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented in various modes. For example, in the embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a self-propelled wheelchair has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can of course be applied to an assistance type wheelchair and the like. Further, although the reclining lever 33 is provided on the left armrest 31, the reclining lever 33 may be provided in addition to the armrest 31 as long as it is within the reach of the user, and instead of the lever,
Buttons and switches may be used. Furthermore, the detailed configuration of the wheelchair 1 shown in the embodiment is merely an example, and can be appropriately changed within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

[0030]

As described in detail above, in the reclining wheelchair of the present invention, the user can adjust the inclination angle of the backrest while sitting down, and the wheelchair itself can be folded in the left-right direction. It has the effect of being able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a reclining wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the reclining wheelchair shown in FIG. 1, in which (a) is a usable state (a state before folding),
(B) shows a state after folding.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 reclining wheelchair 2 frames 3 base frame 4 back frame 11 Base frame body 15 seat 20 backrest 21 Back frame body 22 Connection shaft (axis) 23 back sheet 24 Actuator (backrest drive) 25a control cable 25b control cable 26 Connector 31 armrest 32 connection link (armrest interlocking mechanism) 33 Reclining lever (operation part, operation member) 41 headrest 42 Headrest body 43 Attachment device (folding mechanism) 46 Folding link

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A frame foldable in the left-right direction, a seat portion provided on the frame for a user to sit, and a rear side of the seat portion of the frame, a standing upright position and an oblique rear position. A backrest rotatable about a horizontal axis line in the left-right direction between an inclined position inclined upward and a backrest driven between the standing position and the tilted position, and the standing position. A backrest drive device that can be held at an arbitrary position between the tilted position and an operation part that is provided at a position that can be operated by a user sitting on the seat portion, and that operates the backrest drive device, A headrest attached to the frame, the headrest supporting the headrest body, and connecting the headrest body to the left and right end portions of the frame. Are, reclining wheelchair, characterized in that a, a folding mechanism which folds in the lateral direction with the folding of the frame. 2. An armrest extending in the front-rear direction, which is provided on at least one of the left and right sides of the seat portion, and the armrest is moved in at least one of the front-rear direction and the up-down direction in conjunction with the rotation of the backrest. The reclining wheelchair according to claim 1, further comprising an armrest interlocking mechanism. 3. The backrest driving device is connected to left and right ends of the backrest respectively, and drives the backrest when operating the operating portion, and holds the backrest when the operating portion is not operated. And one pair of control cables for controlling the pair of actuators, and one pair of control cables for controlling the pair of actuators, and the other ends of the pair of control cables, respectively, for operation by the operation section. A connector for operating the pair of actuators at the same timing with each other via the pair of control cables, and the operating unit is a single unit for operating the connector. The reclining wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: