JP2013034780A - Walking aid vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a walking aid vehicle with easy walking training and transferring including a lifting mechanism capable of having a seat section lifted up/down even with small energizing force.SOLUTION: The walking aid vehicle including the seat section which is freely lifted includes a vehicle body frame including a main member which is in the front-back direction in the middle of the right and left directions; a supporting pillar in front of the main member; the lifting mechanism composing a four joint link by vertically separating a first link and a second link and respectively axially supported by the pillar and extended sections formed facing downward in a seat supporting member which is fitted to a bottom surface of the seat member; an energizing means including a lock mechanism located in the rear position of the four joint link in between the body frame and the seat supporting member; and furthermore a lock release means so as to be capable of being operated in front of a user seated on the seat section, wherein the energizing force of the energizing means works in the direction of lifting the seat section when the lock of the lock mechanism is released.

Description

  In the present invention, a person who has difficulty in walking due to obstacles in walking function, or a person who has a slight walking ability remaining on one or both lower limbs can make the remaining walking ability work sufficiently, and walking training and bed Alternatively, the present invention relates to a walking assistance vehicle that can be easily transferred to a toilet or the like.

Conventionally, people who have a gait disorder due to cerebrospinal disease, organic disorders of the lower limbs, or a decrease in muscle strength of the lower limbs or trunk due to aging, depending on the degree of the disorder as a walking means, electric wheelchair, wheelchair, walker, cane Use nursing equipment. A walker and a cane can exercise the motor function of walking, but an electric wheelchair and a wheelchair cannot exercise the motor function of walking.
Therefore, even if walking ability remains in the lower limbs, those who have difficulty walking with a walker or cane often use wheelchairs, further reducing the remaining walking ability. There was a case.

  For this reason, there are walking assist vehicles in which a walker is provided with a seat so that more people can walk. This is because the load on the lower limbs is reduced by supporting the upper body load applied to the lower limbs by this seat during independent walking, so that the remaining walking ability can work sufficiently and walk on its own. It is a thing.

  Furthermore, in this type of walking assistance vehicle, the seat portion is configured to move up and down, and it can be used for training for standing up, or can be easily transferred by matching the height with a bed or toilet.

JP 2002-166035 A

  The elevating mechanism used in this walking assist vehicle includes a parallel link that raises and lowers the seat, and an elevating auxiliary member that acts on the parallel link and assists the elevating of the seat, and the elevating auxiliary member has a biasing force. It consists of an urging member and a lock mechanism that locks the movement of the urging member. The tip of the lifting / lowering assisting member is pivotally supported on the arm of the parallel link or the seat mounting member, and the lifting / lowering assisting member is located at a lower position. It is configured so that it can efficiently assist lifting.

  However, since the seat portion is provided so as to be located further rearward than the parallel link and the biasing means that operate up and down with the front side of the walking assist vehicle as the base end, the biasing member having a large biasing force is provided. Need. This is because if the biasing force is small, it will not function adequately as a starting aid.

  The problem to be solved is to provide a walking assistance vehicle that facilitates walking training, transfer, and the like by providing an elevating mechanism that can elevate the seat with a smaller urging force.

The present invention relates to a walking auxiliary vehicle comprising a vehicle body frame comprising a plurality of wheels and a seat portion attached to the vehicle body frame via an elevating mechanism, wherein the vehicle body frame is a main member in the front-rear direction at a middle portion in the left-right direction. And the elevating mechanism supports the first link and the front end of the second link vertically apart from each other and supports the first link and the first link. While the rear end portion of the two links is fixed to the extending portion formed in the downward direction of the seat support member fixed to the lower surface of the seat portion, the four-bar link is configured in a state of being vertically spaced apart, while the vehicle body frame An urging means having a lock mechanism is attached between the seat support member and the seat support member in a state of being positioned rearward of the four-bar link, and is further operated at the front portion of the user sitting on the seat portion. Possible So as to provide a lock release means, characterized in that the biasing force of the biasing means to unlock said locking mechanism is configured to act in the direction of increasing the seat.
Further, the four-bar link is configured as a parallel link.
Or when the said seat part raises / lowers from the lowest position to the highest position, it comprised as the four-bar link which acts so that the said seat part might be in the state inclined forward from the substantially horizontal state.
Further, the horizontal member is fixed to the front part of the main member of the vehicle body frame, and the vehicle body frame is formed in a substantially E shape in plan view by fixing the side members from both ends of the horizontal member toward the rear side. It is configured, and a handrail frame is fixed to the left and right side members.
And the latching body was fixed to the rear-end lower surface of the said seat part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

In the walking auxiliary vehicle according to the present invention, the lifting mechanism composed of the four-bar link supporting the seat and the urging means is configured to act as a second type so that the upper body of the user is tilted forward. By changing the position of the center of gravity of the user by deflecting, the user can move up and down even if the biasing force of the biasing means is small. Therefore, it can be provided at low cost. In addition, since a compact urging means can be used, even if the seat portion has a narrow width, an elevating mechanism can be arranged in a very narrow range below it, and there is nothing that hinders walking training, and walking It can be easy to train. And by holding the seat at a high position by the lifting mechanism, it is possible to support the weight of the upper body in a state close to the posture during normal bipedal walking, so even if the walking ability is reduced, You can walk easily. Accordingly, the remaining walking ability can be fully utilized to move, which leads to a rehabilitation effect.
Further, when the four-bar link is configured as a parallel link, the seat portion can be lifted and lowered while maintaining a horizontal state, and can be stably seated at any height.
On the other hand, a four-bar link that acts to be substantially horizontal when the seat is low and tilts forward when the seat is raised is stable when the seat is low and easily walks at a high position. There is an effect that the posture can be taken.
Furthermore, since the handrail frames are provided on the left and right sides, the user's body can be sufficiently supported.
Also, the trousers remain on the seat and can be excreted by hooking the trousers on the hanging body provided at the lower rear of the seat and moving backward toward the toilet etc. Become. Therefore, you can take off your pants without having to sit up, and you can do your own toilets and changing clothes. As a result, it leads to improvement of walking ability and muscular strength and reduction of labor for assistance.

The whole perspective view which shows the walk auxiliary vehicle concerning this invention. The whole top view. The whole rear view. The whole front view. The whole side view. The whole side view which shows the state which raised the seat part. The principal part sectional side view which shows a raising / lowering mechanism. The whole perspective view which shows another lock release means. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure. (A) Operation unit. (B) Actuator. Explanatory drawing which shows the raising / lowering operation method. Explanatory drawing which shows the use condition in a toilet. The whole perspective view which shows another Example.

  The present invention relates to a walking auxiliary vehicle comprising a vehicle body frame comprising a plurality of wheels and a seat portion attached to the vehicle body frame via an elevating mechanism, wherein the vehicle body frame is a main member in the front-rear direction at a middle portion in the left-right direction. And the elevating mechanism supports the first link and the front end of the second link vertically apart from each other and supports the first link and the first link. While the rear end portion of the two links is fixed to the extending portion formed in the downward direction of the seat support member fixed to the lower surface of the seat portion, the four-bar link is configured in a state of being vertically spaced apart, while the vehicle body frame An urging means having a lock mechanism is attached between the seat support member and the seat support member in a state of being positioned rearward of the four-bar link, and is further operated at the front portion of the user sitting on the seat portion. Possible So as to provide a lock release means, the biasing force of said biasing means to unlock said locking mechanism is configured to act in the direction of increasing the seat.

Hereinafter, the walk auxiliary vehicle 1 of this invention is demonstrated based on drawing.
The walking auxiliary vehicle 1 according to the present invention mainly comprises a vehicle body frame 3 to which wheels 2, 2,... Are attached, and a seat portion 5 attached to the vehicle body frame 3 via an elevating mechanism 4. Is configured to support the seat portion 5 with a four-bar link, and a biasing means 6 is attached between the vehicle body frame 3 and the seat portion 5, and a locking mechanism (illustrated) provided in the biasing means 6 is illustrated. An unlocking means 7 is provided for performing the omission operation.

First, the vehicle body frame 3 has lateral members 3b, 3b fixed to the front side of the main member 3a in the front-rear direction, and side members 3c, 3c fixed to both ends of the lateral members 3b, 3b, so that it is substantially in plan view. It is configured to be E-shaped.
As wheels 2, 2,... To be attached to the vehicle body frame 3, turnable caster type front wheels 2a, 2a are attached to the left and right ends of the front part of the vehicle body frame 3, and rolling is possible at the rear end. The rear wheels 2b and 2b are attached. A U-shaped bracket 3d is fixed to the rear end of the main member 3a, and an auxiliary wheel 2c is attached to the rear portion of the bracket 3d.
Steps 8 and 8 are attached to the upper surfaces of the transverse members 3b and 3b.

  The vehicle body frame 3 configured in this manner can be used with peace of mind because there is no member that hinders when the user M transfers or walks between the main member 3a and the side members 3c, 3c. It is possible.

The body frame 3 is provided with a seat portion 5 via an elevating mechanism 4.
First, the seat portion 5 will be described. The seat portion 5 is configured so that most of the weight can be supported by sitting in a state where the user M straddles, and is configured to have a narrow width. The width of the seat 5 may be about 10 to 20 cm, for example. This is because if the width of the seat portion 5 is too narrow, it is not suitable for sitting or walking training for a long time, and if it is too wide, it becomes difficult to perform walking training.
Although the shape is shown in the drawings as an embodiment, the shape is not limited to that shown in the drawings. For example, the shape may be a bag or a bicycle saddle. It is only necessary that the width is narrow so that walking training is easy, and there is no need to specifically limit it.

Next, the lifting mechanism 4 will be described.
A seat support member 9 is fixed to the lower surface side of the seat portion 5. The seat support member 9 has a U-shape that is open downward when viewed from the front, and has a substantially L-shape with the rear side extending downward when viewed from the side.
On the other hand, a support column 10 is erected on the front side of the main member 3a of the body frame 3.
And the 1st link 11 and the 2nd link 12 are supported in the space | interval up and down between this support | pillar 10 and the said sheet | seat support member 9. As shown in FIG. That is, the support 10, the seat support member 9, the first link 11, and the second link 12 constitute a four-bar link. Thereby, in a state where the four-bar link forms a parallel link mechanism, the seat portion 5 can be lifted and lowered while maintaining a horizontal state. Further, by changing the length of each link, it is possible to form a four-bar link that acts to be in a substantially horizontal state when the seat portion 5 is at a low position and to tilt forward at a raised position. When such a link mechanism is used, there is an effect that the seat portion 5 can be stably seated in a low state and can easily take a walking posture at a high position.

The urging means 6 is supported between the bracket 3d of the vehicle body frame 3 and the seat support member 9 so as to be positioned behind the four-bar link.
The biasing means 6 is configured to bias in the extending direction and includes a lock mechanism (not shown), and is configured to be able to be held at an arbitrary length. As an example of the urging means 6, a gas spring with a lock mechanism can be used. The urging unit 6 may be any unit having the above-described function. For example, a hydraulic cylinder or an actuator can be used.

  The elevating mechanism 4 configured in this way has a first link 11 with the column 10 side as a fulcrum, a center of gravity of the user M applied to the seat 5 as an action point, and an upper end of the biasing means 6 as a force point. They are arranged in two different ways. For this reason, even if the urging force of the urging means 6 is small, it acts as a large force by the action point (the center of gravity of the user) approaching the fulcrum side.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the unlocking means 7 for releasing the locking mechanism of the biasing means 6 includes an operation handle 13 attached to the front of the seat support member 9 so as to be able to rotate back and forth, and a bias. It consists of a rod 15 inserted through a guide hole 14a provided in a fixing bracket 14 fixed to the upper part of the means 6. The rod 15 is supported on the base side of the operation handle 13, and a tapered cam member 15 a is fixed to the other end, and the tapered portion of the cam member 15 a is a locking mechanism (not shown) of the urging means 6. ) Is released so as to come into contact with the pin 6a.

In the lock release means 7 configured as described above, the rod 15 is pulled forward (arrow (B) direction) by pulling the operation handle 13 toward the front (arrow (B) direction), and the taper portion of the cam member 15a. The pin 6a is pushed in by the action described above, and the biasing means 6 is unlocked.
The biasing means 6 thus unlocked acts to push the seat 5 upward (in the direction of the arrow (c)) with a constant biasing force.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show another unlocking means 7 ′, and an unlock lever 17 is attached to a substantially T-shaped handle 16 in a front view fixed to the front portion of the seat support member 9. A wire 19 is stretched between a fixing bracket 14 attached to the upper portion of the urging means 6 and a release plate 18. With such a configuration, by pulling the lock release lever 17, the release plate 18 pushes the pin 6a, and the lock mechanism can be released.
With such an unlocking means 7 ′, since the handle 16 is fixed, when the user M performs walking training, the user M can stabilize the body by gripping it. is there.

  Further, the walking assist vehicle 1 is provided with handrail frames 20 and 20 on both right and left sides in order to sufficiently support the body of the user M. The handrail frame 20 is fixed to the left and right side members 3c, 3c of the vehicle body frame 3, and can be held at least at the lowest and highest positions of the seat portion 5 and can be placed on an elbow. It is preferable to provide an armrest 21, a grip portion 22, and the like.

A method of using the walking auxiliary vehicle 1 configured as described above will be described.
This walking auxiliary vehicle 1 is used by being placed near a bed, for example.
Then, when transferring from the bed, the bed lifting / lowering mechanism is operated to adjust the height of the bed so as to be substantially the same height as the seat portion 5 of the walking assist vehicle 1.
After that, he takes an end-sitting position on the bed and transfers to the walking assistance vehicle 1 while riding forward. At this time, since the vehicle body frame 3 is configured in an approximately E shape in plan view, an open space is formed from the left and right side portions of the seat portion 5 to the rear side, and the user M does not hit his / her foot. It can be safely transferred and is suitable for walking training.

Next, when walking training is performed using the walking auxiliary vehicle 1, the seat portion 5 is raised and used.
This raising / lowering operation is performed as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), in the state where the user M is seated on the seat 5, the user M supports his / her weight to some extent by the lower limbs. The position of the arrow. Since the load applied to the seat 5 at this time is about 70% of the body weight excluding the load on the lower limbs, for example, a user M of 50 kg means that 35 kg is applied to the seat 5.
At this time, if the urging force of the urging means 6 is about 35 kg, the urging force and the load are substantially balanced in the state shown in FIG. It is in a state that does not.

When the body is tilted from this state in the direction of arrow (A) in FIG. (A), the center of gravity moves forward from the original center of gravity position, that is, to the fulcrum side of the first link 11 described above, as shown in FIG. Then, the urging force of the urging means 6 with respect to the load is won by the lever principle, and the seat 5 can be easily raised by releasing the lock of the urging means 6 by the lock releasing means 7. At this time, even if the seat portion 5 does not rise, it is possible to hold the test piece 21 (gripping portion 22) and stand up, or to apply some force to the lower limbs to lift the waist. The load applied to the seat portion 5 is reduced, and the seat portion 5 can be easily raised. That is, it is possible to make the urging means 6 compact by configuring the elevating mechanism 4 so that even the urging means 6 having an urging force smaller than the weight of the user M acts as a large urging force. It is possible.
And by setting it as the state shown in FIG.4 (c), the posture which is easy to perform walking training with the walking ability of the user M remaining can be taken.

  Conversely, when the seat member 5 is lowered, the center of gravity moves backward by bending the body in the direction of the arrow (B) in FIG. Since it works like this, it can descend gradually.

According to the walking auxiliary vehicle 1 configured as described above, the lifting mechanism 4 including the four-bar link supporting the seat portion 5 and the biasing means 6 is configured to act by acting as a second type. Since the thing with small biasing force of the means 6 can be used, it can be provided at low cost. In addition, since the compact biasing means 6 can be used without applying external energy, the elevating mechanism 4 can be arranged in a very narrow range below the seat portion 5 having a narrow width, There are no obstacles to walking training, and walking training can be facilitated.
And if the seat part 5 is hold | maintained at a high position by operating the raising / lowering mechanism 4, since the weight of an upper body can be supported in the state close | similar to the attitude | position at the time of normal bipedal walking, walking ability is falling. Even those who are can walk. Accordingly, the remaining walking ability can be fully utilized to move, which leads to a rehabilitation effect.

In addition, the walking assist vehicle 1 has a hook 23 attached to the lower surface of the rear portion of the seat 5 so that the user M can take off his / her pants without standing in the toilet. The retaining body 23 is configured in a bowl shape as shown in FIGS.
A method of using the walking auxiliary vehicle 1 provided with such a retaining body 23 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, it moves to the front of the toilet T while walking training with the walking auxiliary vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the heights of the toilet seat B and the seat portion 5 are matched.

Next, the rear upper part of the trousers P is hooked on the hook 23 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4C, the upper side of the pants P is shifted downward, and the toilet B is moved. Then, as shown in FIGS. 4D and 4E, the lower side of the trousers P is hooked on the retaining body 23 and the upper side is shifted downward, so that the trousers P are seated as the user M moves backward. Since it remains in the part 5, it gradually takes off as a result.
And as shown in the figure (e), when the movement from the seat part 5 onto the toilet seat B is completed, the trousers P are lowered to the level of the knee, and can be excreted.
In this way, since the trousers P can be taken off by sitting on the seat 5 and moving to the toilet seat B, the user M does not need to lift his / her waist and is concerned about falling over. It can be safely undressed.
That is, since the pants can be lowered without raising the waist, even if the person who has become difficult to take a standing posture with a decrease in walking ability can take an excretion, the person can excrete by himself.

Then, after excretion, the trousers P can be peeled by moving in the reverse of the above-described procedure, that is, while moving forward while pulling up the trousers P.
In addition, when changing clothes or bathing, the trousers P may be lowered after the trousers are removed from the state shown in FIG. When putting on the trousers P, the trousers P are lifted up to the knees in a sitting state, the walking auxiliary vehicle 1 is brought close, and the trousers P are hooked on the hanging body 23. Then, if it moves so that it may go to the seat part 5 side, as above-mentioned, the trousers P can be peeled off.

Many elderly people use urine absorption pads for frequent urination. If such a person also uses this walking auxiliary vehicle 1 and lowers the trousers P, the pad remains on the seat 5 together with the trousers P, so that there is an effect that it can be easily replaced.
Further, in the present application, the hook body 23 is configured in a hook shape, but may be configured to be sandwiched between clips. That is, what is necessary is just to be able to stop the rear upper part of the trousers P at a position lower than the upper surface of the seat part 5.

  Thus, by providing the latching body 23 on the seat portion 5 of the walking assist vehicle 1, the pants P and the like can be removed without standing up. Therefore, as described above, not only the toilet but also undressing at the time of bathing, and changing clothes can be easily performed.

  As described above, in the walking assistance vehicle 1 according to the present invention, the load on the lower limb can be reduced by supporting the load of the upper body of the user M with the seat portion 5 that can be moved up and down, and the seat portion is raised. Since it can take a posture close to the normal walking posture, walking training that makes use of the remaining walking ability can be performed. Furthermore, by providing a hanging body at the lower part of the seat part, toilets and changing clothes can be carried out by oneself, enabling more independent activities. As a result, it leads to improvement of walking ability and muscular strength and reduction of labor for assistance.

FIG. 12 shows the walking auxiliary vehicle 1 using another body frame 3 ′.
The vehicle body frame 3 ′ is configured so that a short transverse member 3b is fixed to the front end of the main member 3a, and a bracket 3d is fixed to the rear end of the main member 3a, so that it has a substantially T shape in plan view. ing. The front wheels 2a and 2a are attached to both front ends of the vehicle body frame 3 ', and the auxiliary wheels 2c are attached to the bracket 3d.
Other configurations are the same as those described above, and are denoted by the same reference numerals.
The walking auxiliary vehicle 1 configured in this way has no handrail frames on both the left and right sides, so the stability is inferior to that described above. However, if the person who can hold his / her own body to some extent, the walking assist vehicle 1 is narrow and compact, and therefore has good indoor mobility and is more convenient to use.
In addition, as described above, the user can move up and down by changing the position of the center of gravity of the user M, making it easy to carry out walking training, transfer easily, and detachable pants.

  Therefore, the walking assistance vehicle according to the present invention can be used for the movement of elderly people who tend to be "sitting down" on a wheelchair or the like because of fear of falling, or for early rehabilitation after injury of a femoral neck fracture. . And if you get tired, you can sit and take a rest, so the range of action and exercise time will increase, and you will be able to promote independence from both the mental and physical aspects of the user, while at the same time greatly reducing the burden on assistance. It has become.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Walk auxiliary vehicle 2 Wheel 3 Body frame 4 Elevating mechanism 5 Seat part 6 Energizing means 7 Lock release means 9 Seat support member 10 Post 11 First link 12 Second link 23 Hook

Claims (5)

  In a walking auxiliary vehicle comprising a vehicle body frame comprising a plurality of wheels and a seat portion attached to the vehicle body frame via an elevating mechanism, the vehicle body frame includes a main member in the front-rear direction at a middle portion in the left-right direction, A strut is erected on the front side of the main member, and the lifting mechanism supports the front end portions of the first link and the second link separated from each other up and down on the strut, and after the first link and the second link. A four-bar link is constructed by bearing in an upwardly spaced state with an extending portion formed downwardly of a seat support member whose end is fixed to the lower surface of the seat portion, while the vehicle body frame and the seat support An urging means provided with a lock mechanism is attached to the member in a state of being located behind the four-bar link, and can be operated at the front part of the user sitting on the seat part. Unlock means is provided, the walking assist vehicle in which the biasing force of said biasing means to release the lock of the lock mechanism is characterized by being configured to act in the direction of increasing the seat.   The walking auxiliary vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the four-bar link is configured as a parallel link.   2. The four-bar link is configured to act so that when the seat is moved up and down from the lowest position to the highest position, the seat is tilted forward from a substantially horizontal state. Walking assistance car.   The vehicle body frame is configured to have a substantially E shape in plan view by fixing a horizontal member to the front part of the main member of the vehicle body frame and fixing side members from both ends of the horizontal member toward the rear side. The walking auxiliary vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein handrail frames are fixed to the left and right side members.   The walking auxiliary vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a latching body is fixed to a lower surface of a rear end of the seat portion.

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