JP4037507B2 - Wheelchair fixing device for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wheelchair fixing device for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for fixing a wheelchair in an unfolded state, particularly a wheelchair in which a person is riding, loaded in a rear cargo compartment of an automobile, using a cable or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
This type of fixing device is disclosed in JP-A-9-131376. As shown in FIG. 9, this is a device for fixing a wheelchair placed while a person is sitting by a slope 100a from the rear opening 100 of the automobile. As shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus has a pair of left and right ropes 101, 102, a front hook 103 and a rear hook 104 connected to the front and rear parts of the ropes, and a front hook and a rear hook, A series of pulleys or guide groups 105 and 106 for guiding the rope so as to be hooked from the outside and the inside of the crosspiece (frame), pulling ropes 107 and 108 respectively connected to middle portions of the left and right ropes, And a motor-driven feed device 109 for pulling the ropes together.
[0003]
In this fixing device, when the hooks 103 and 104 are hooked at predetermined positions on the frame of the wheelchair C and the right and left pull ropes 107 and 108 are pulled by the feeding device 109, the hooks 103 and 104 are outward or inward, respectively. Pulled down. Therefore, the wheelchair C can be firmly fixed to the floor surface. When the pulling ropes 107 and 108 are loosened, the hooks 103 and 104 can be removed. That is, this fixing device has an advantage that various wheelchairs having different sizes and shapes can be easily fixed by using a flexible force transmission element called a rope and a hook.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when this fixing device is employed at a rear seat position such as a three-door type automobile as shown in FIG. 9, it is difficult to fix the wheelchair. That is, after the wheelchair is put in from the rear door, the left and right rear hooks 104 can be hooked relatively easily. However, as for the front hook 103, first, the right front hook is turned to the door on the driver's seat side and then hooked, and the left front hook is turned to the front passenger seat side and hooked. The same applies when releasing the fixing device.
[0005]
The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems without impairing the advantages of the above-described fixing device, that is, after the wheelchair is loaded from the rear door, the hook is fixed around the wheelchair in the same position. It is a technical problem to provide a wheelchair fixing device such as a vehicle.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The wheelchair fixing device for a vehicle according to the present invention (Claim 1) includes a first bar member, a first hook means attached to the first bar member, and a first bar member connected to the first bar member . A first pulling force transmitting element for pulling the first bar to the left side and the left side of the vehicle, gripping the first bar, and using the first hook means as the left and right side rails of the wheelchair A first wheelchair coupling member that can be hooked on one of the horizontal rails, a second bar, a second hook attached to the second bar, and a second bar concatenated, the second bar in the floor of the vehicle, and a second tensile force transmission element for pulling to the right, the second hooking means grab the second bar, of rungs of the left and right of the wheelchair, second to the rungs hooked the first hooking means can be hooked on the rungs of the opposite And Wheelchair coupling member, by drawing said first and second pulling force transmission element, and said first and second bars and a retraction mechanism in the floor surface, and pull the left and right, respectively It is characterized by that.
[0007]
Wheelchair fixing apparatus according to claim 2 (hereinafter, simply referred to as fixing apparatus), at least one of the first and second hooking means, at intervals before and after the hook fitted with means bar fixed It is characterized by comprising at least two hooks. The wheelchair fixing device according to claim 3 is characterized in that an end portion of a pulling force transmitting element for pulling in the bar member provided with the two hooks is connected to the bar member between the two hooks. It is said. The wheelchair fixing device according to claim 4 further has one end of a flexible linear member connected to the bar, spaced apart from a connecting portion of a tensile force transmitting element for drawing the bar. The other end of the filament is fixed to the floor surface side.
[0008]
In the fixing device according to claim 5, the first tensile force transmission element and the second tensile force transmission element are constituted by a single tensile force transmission element, and the pulling means has the single tensile force. It is characterized by retracting the intermediate part of the transmission element. The fixing device according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in addition to the basic configuration, each of the first and second tensile force transmitting elements is a cable, and the cables are guided in a curved shape by a conduit. .
[0009]
[Operation and effect of the invention]
In the fixing device of the present invention, since the bar is connected to the vehicle via the tensile force transmitting element, the bar is grabbed and lifted freely or changed in the direction where the tensile force transmitting element is bent. Can be. Since the hooking means is fixed to the bar, the hooking means can be easily hooked even on a part of the wheelchair that is separated by gripping and manipulating the end of the bar. After hooking the left and right bars, when the left and right pulling force transmission elements are pulled by the pulling means, the first and second bars are pulled in the opposite direction, and the wheelchair is firmly on the floor. Fixed.
[0010]
In the fixing device according to the second aspect, since any one of the hooking means for the bar is provided with two hooks fixed at intervals in the front and rear directions, the posture of the bar with respect to the wheelchair is stabilized. Therefore, the wheelchair can be fixed more stably. In the fixing device according to the third aspect, since the pulling force transmitting element is connected between the two hooks, the two hooks can be pulled firmly at the same time by pulling them. In the fixing device according to the fourth aspect, the linear body is stretched between the bar and the floor surface by pulling the tensile force transmission element. Thereby, since one bar is pulled by the pulling force transmitting element and the linear body, the posture is further stabilized. Therefore, even when an unexpected force is applied to the wheelchair, such as when the vehicle stops suddenly, the wheelchair is not shaken to the left and right, which is safe.
[0011]
In the fixing device according to claim 5, since the left and right tensile force transmitting elements are substantially constituted by one tensile force transmitting element, the left and right bars can be pulled even when the left and right bars are pulled by one pulling means. Balances the pulling power. Therefore, there is no possibility that only the pulling force transmitting element on one side is loosened. In the fixing device according to the sixth aspect, since the cable for transmitting the pulling force is guided in a curved shape by the conduit, the use of pulleys and guides can be reduced, and the wiring is easy even in a narrow vehicle.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a fixing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the fixing device, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5a and 5b are plan views showing the cable winding mechanism of the fixing device and the lever removed, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5a, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway plan view showing another embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state before the main part of the cable winding mechanism is assembled.
[0013]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral C denotes a wheelchair to be fixed, and in this drawing, only the right frame C1 and the right half C2 of the seat are shown. This wheelchair C is a normal folding type in which the left and right frames are connected by a folding link, but a wheelchair that cannot be folded or an electric wheelchair may be used.
[0014]
Reference numerals 1 and 2 denote left and right bars, respectively. The rods 1 and 2 are made of, for example, a metal pipe, and the front hook 3 is fixed to the tip portion and the rear hook 4 is fixed to the rear portion. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the rear hook 4 is attached to a pipe-shaped position adjustment guide 4 b that is fixed to the bars 1 and 2 with a thumbscrew 4 a so that the position can be adjusted. The hooks 3 and 4 may be rotatable or swingable within a predetermined angle range. Further, a thick handle or grip 5 is provided at the rear ends of the bars 1 and 2. A U-shaped connecting member 6 is rotatably attached to the intermediate portion between the front hook 3 and the rear hook 4 of the bar 2 by a pin 6a, and one end of a cable 7 serving as a tensile force transmitting element is connected to the connecting member 6. Is attached. The cable 7 is equivalent to an inner cable of a so-called pull control cable, and is composed of a steel stranded wire or a wire provided with a coating such as a synthetic resin. In this embodiment, both ends of one cable 7 are connected to the left and right bar members 1 and 2. However, separate cables for the left and right can be used. As a tensile force transmission element, a cable, a rope, a chain, a belt, and the like can be used. The rods 1 and 2, the front and rear hooks 3 and 4, and the cable 7 constitute a wheelchair coupling member according to claim 1 as a whole.
[0015]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a front wheel stopper 8 that abuts the front wheel of the wheelchair is provided on the back side of the floor of the vehicle to which the wheelchair C is to be fixed. Although the front wheel stopper 8 has a rod-like shape that is passed to the left and right, other forms may be used. In contrast to the front wheel stopper 8, a rear wheel stopper may be provided on the rear wheel side of the wheelchair, and the cable 7 may be drawn into the rear side of the wheelchair. A retracting device 10 that is a retracting means is attached to the center of the floor surface. The retracting device 10 includes an idle pulley 11 that engages with an intermediate portion of the cable 7 passed to the left and right, a drive cable 12 for pulling the idle pulley 11 rearward, and a coil for winding the drive cable 12. And a winding mechanism 13. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the idle pulley 11 is rotatably attached to the slide guide 14 by a shaft 15. In addition, it is preferable that the left and right ends of the slide guide 14 are pressing pieces for preventing the cable 7 from falling out of the guide groove around the idle pulley 11.
[0016]
The slide guide 14 is slidably guided by a pair of guide rods 16 extending in the front-rear direction. The front and rear ends of the guide rod 16 are supported by brackets 17 and 17, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the front and rear brackets 17 are suspended by two spacer rods 20 together with a plate-like base 18 on the back side of the top surface of a box-shaped outer cover 19 attached to the floor surface. It is fixed so as to lower. Therefore, when the fixing device is no longer needed, the wheelchair specification vehicle can be easily returned to the general vehicle by simply removing the outer cover 19 from the vehicle body.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 3, the rear side of the outer cover 19 is slightly inclined along the slope for pushing up the wheelchair C. Therefore, the front and rear brackets 17 and the base 18, and the guide rod 16 and the winding mechanism 13 supported by them are also somewhat inclined. A pair of left and right openings are formed on the top surface of the front portion of the outer cover 19, and conduit fixing brackets 22 and 24 are respectively attached thereto. In FIG. 3, the orientation of the bracket 22 is changed for easy understanding. In the case of FIG. 3, the front hook 3 is hooked on the horizontal beam C5 on the rear side of the vertical beam C4 on the front side of the wheelchair C, and the rear hook 4 is hooked on the horizontal beam C5 on the rear side of the vertical beam C6 on the rear side. The position of the rear hook 4 is adjusted accordingly. The state in which the hooks 3 and 4 are hooked is shown in FIG.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 2, one end of a conduit 23 for slidably guiding the cable 7 is fixed to the right conduit fixing bracket 22, and the other end of the conduit 23 is connected to the guide rod bracket 17 described above. It is fixed on the left side. The middle of the conduit 23 is curved and guides the cable 7 along the curved path. The conduit 25 connected to the left conduit fixing bracket 24 is also arranged symmetrically so as to intersect the left conduit 23, and the other end is fixed to the right side of the guide rod bracket 17.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 5a, the winding mechanism 13 includes a drum 27 for winding the drive cable 12, and a handle lever (hereinafter referred to as a lever) 28 that rotates the drum via a ratchet mechanism. As shown in FIG. 6, the drum 27 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 29 held between the base 18 and the outer cover 19. As shown in FIG. 5 b, the ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet wheel 30 that is integrally fixed on the drum 27 with a screw, a first ratchet pawl 31 that is rotatably attached to the lever 28 with a pin 28 a, and a base 18. And a second ratchet pawl 32 rotatably attached by a pin 18a. The first ratchet pawl 31 and the second ratchet pawl 32 are urged by torsion coil springs 33 and 34 so that their tip portions are always pressed against the ratchet wheel 30 side. A knob shaft 43 passing through the hole 35 of the outer cover 19 is attached to one end of the lever 28, and a knob 44 for operating the lever 28 from the outside of the outer cover 19 is attached to the knob shaft 43. As shown in FIG. 2, the hole 35 through which the knob shaft 43 passes is opened in an arc shape with the support shaft 29 as the center.
[0020]
The direction of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 30 is such that the drum 27 rotates in the winding direction of the drive cable 12 (clockwise in FIG. 5a), the front side is a gentle slope (flank), and the rear side is a steep slope (engagement surface). This is the direction. Thereby, when the lever 28 is rotated clockwise, the first ratchet pawl 31 engages with the ratchet wheel 30 and the second ratchet pawl 32 escapes. Thereby, the drum 27 can be rotated clockwise. Conversely, when the lever 28 is returned counterclockwise, the first ratchet pawl 31 escapes and the second ratchet pawl 32 engages. Accordingly, the lever 28 can be returned in the counterclockwise direction while preventing the drum 27 from returning backward. Therefore, the drive cable 12 can be intermittently wound on the drum 27 by reciprocally turning the lever 28 around the support shaft 29.
[0021]
Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the lever 28 is divided into a first lever 28A and a second lever 28B. Both the first lever 28 </ b> A and the second lever 28 </ b> B are supported so as to be rotatable around the support shaft 29. However, in this embodiment, the sleeve 29a is rotatably fitted to the support shaft 29, the second lever 28B is rotatably fitted on the sleeve 29a, and the first lever 28A is integrally formed with the sleeve 29a. It is fixed by caulking. Further, the rear end of the first lever 28A is bent downward to form an engagement piece 36, which can be engaged with and disengaged from the notch 37 of the second lever B. That is, in FIG. 5a, when the first lever 28A rotates counterclockwise, the engagement piece 36 engages with the notch 37, and does not engage when it rotates clockwise. A torsion coil spring 38 is interposed between the first lever 28A and the second lever 28B so as to be wound around the sleeve 29a, and both levers are urged in a direction in which the engagement piece 36 contacts the notch 37. Yes. Therefore, normally, the first lever 28A and the second lever 28B rotate integrally, and when the torque for rotating the first lever 28A in the clockwise direction becomes stronger than a predetermined value, the torsion coil spring 38 bends and the second The lever 28B does not follow the first lever 28A. Thus, the torsion coil spring 38 functions as a torque limiter. Therefore, the drive cable 12 can always be wound with an appropriate tension.
[0022]
Reference numeral 39 in FIG. 5a is a push button for rotating the second ratchet pawl 32 for preventing return somewhat in the counterclockwise direction to release the ratchet wheel 30. Reference numeral 40 denotes a return spring of the push button 39. Reference numeral 41 denotes a return spring that urges the second lever 28B, and thus the entire lever 28, counterclockwise. Reference numeral 42 denotes a stopper for determining a fixed position of the lever 28 biased by the return spring. As shown in FIG. 5 b, the stopper 42 engages with a V-shaped notch 31 a at the rear end of the first ratchet pawl 31 to rotate the first ratchet pawl 31 in a counterclockwise direction, thereby ratchet wheel 30. It works to release the engagement. In that case, the edge of the notch 31a acts as a cam.
[0023]
Next, a procedure for using the fixing device configured as described above will be described. First, using a motorized or hydraulic lifter or slope installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, a caregiver gets on the wheelchair as it is from the rear of the automobile. At that time, the front wheel of the wheelchair is brought into contact with the front wheel stopper 8 as shown in FIGS. Next, holding the grip portions 5 of the pair of left and right rods 1 and 2, hooks 3 and 4 at two front and rear positions are hooked on a crosspiece C5 of the wheelchair C frame. In this state, the pull-in cable 7 and the drive cable 12 connected to the rods 1 and 2 are loose.
[0024]
Next, the lever 28 of the winding mechanism 13 is reciprocally rotated, and the drive cable 12 is wound on the drum 27 by the action of the ratchet mechanism described above. Along with this, the idle pulley 11 slides along the guide rod 16 in the right direction in FIG. For this reason, the central portion of the cable 7 for drawing is drawn, and the bars 1 and 2 connected to the end of the cable 7 are drawn toward the center of FIG. Therefore, the cable 7 and the drive cable 12 are tensioned, and the wheelchair is fixed. At that time, the tension of the cables 7 and 12 is maintained by the engagement of the second ratchet pawl 32 with the ratchet wheel 30. Note that. When the drive cable 12 is wound up and the lever 28 is unnecessarily rotated, the tension of the drive cable 12 exceeds the urging force of the torsion coil spring 38, and only the first lever 28A runs idle, 7 and 12 are prevented from being overloaded. In addition, since the ratchet sound cannot be heard during the idling, it is possible to recognize that the wheelchair has been fixed.
[0025]
In a state where no force is applied to the lever 28, the lever 28 is returned to a fixed position by the return spring 41. Therefore, the first ratchet pawl 31 is in contact with the stopper 42 and is not engaged with the ratchet wheel 30. When releasing the wheelchair from this state, the push button 39 for unlocking is pushed. Thereby, the second ratchet pawl 32 is released from the engagement with the ratchet wheel 30. Since the first ratchet pawl 31 is disengaged in advance, the ratchet wheel 30 and the drum 27 can be reversely rotated, and the tension of the cables 7 and 12 is loosened. Therefore, the hooks 3 and 4 can be removed from the wheelchair to remove the bar.
[0026]
In the fixing device shown in FIG. 8, two rear hooks 4, 4 are fixed to the bar 2 at a predetermined interval. This is because the rear vertical beam C6 is sandwiched between them. Thereby, even if the wheelchair is shaken back and forth, it can be stably fixed. In FIG. 8, the bar material on the left side (the lower side of the figure) is omitted. In this embodiment, the end portion of the cable 7 for drawing is connected to a front position between the front and rear hooks 3 and 4. One end of the anchor cable 45 is connected to the rear position between the front and rear hooks 3 and 4. The other end of the anchor cable 45 is fixed to the outer cover 19 of the drawing device 10. In addition, the anchor cable 45 may be fixed to the outer cover 19 backward, and the anchor cable 45 may be connected to the bar 2 behind the rear hook 4. The anchor cable 45 is connected to the left and right bars 1 and 2 respectively, but if the wheel is connected and fixed at least three places to the left and right bars 1 and 2, the position of the wheelchair can be regulated in the front and rear, left and right. One may be omitted. The ends of the pull-in cable 7 and the anchor cable 45 are fixed to the connecting member 6, and the connecting member 6 is rotatably connected to a connecting piece 46 projecting to the side of the bar 2 by a pin 6 a. ing. The retracting device 10 can be substantially the same as the embodiment of FIG.
[0027]
In this embodiment, when the retracting device 10 is operated to retract the retracting cable 7, as the cable 7 is stretched, the bar 2 is retracted inward and further pulled forward. Therefore, tension is also applied to the anchor cable 45. Accordingly, the left and right front portions of the wheelchair are drawn obliquely forward by the pull-in cable 7 and the rear portions are drawn obliquely backward by the anchor cable 45 in plan view. Therefore, even if complicated shaking or completion force is applied to the wheelchair, it can be reliably held. Further, the provision of the anchor cable 45 eliminates the need for the front wheel stopper 8 described above.
[0028]
The anchor cable 45 is a flexible linear body according to claim 4, and a rope, a chain, a belt, etc. can be used in addition to the cable. In the above-described embodiment, the horizontal rails of the left and right frames of the wheelchair are each drawn toward the center, but may be drawn outward. Further, the cable for pulling in (pulling force transmitting element) may be connected to the rear part of the bar, that is, the grip part side, and the anchor cable (wire body) may be connected to the front of the bar.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a wheelchair fixing device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the fixing device.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a main part rear view of the fixing device.
FIGS. 5a and 5b are plan views showing a cable winding mechanism of the fixing device and a state in which the lever is removed, respectively.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5a.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state before the main part of the cable winding mechanism is assembled.
FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway plan view showing another embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of an automobile in which the wheelchair fixing device of the present invention is used.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional fixing device.
[Explanation of symbols]
C Wheelchair C5 Bar 1 (Left) Bar 2 (Right) Bar 3 Front hook 4 Rear hook 7 Cable 10 Pull-in device 12 Drive cable 13 Winding mechanism 23 Conduit 25 Conduit 45 Anchor cable

Claims (6)

The first bar, the first hooking means attached to the first bar, and the first bar connected to the first bar are drawn to the vehicle floor side and to the left side. and a first tension force transmission element for the first that can be hooked to one of the rungs of the first hooking means of the left and right wheelchair rungs grabbed first bar A wheelchair coupling member;
The second bar member, the second hooking means attached to the second bar member, and the second bar member connected to the second bar member are drawn to the vehicle floor side and to the right side. And a second crossing means for gripping the second bar member and holding the second hooking means on the left and right side crosspieces of the wheelchair. A second wheelchair coupling member that can be hooked on the opposite side rail;
A wheelchair for a vehicle comprising pulling means for pulling the first and second bar members to the floor surface side and to the left side and the right side , respectively, by pulling the first and second tensile force transmission elements. Fixing device. At least one of at least two vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that comprises a hook fixed at intervals before and after the hooking rod fitted with means of the first and second hooking means Wheelchair fixing device. The wheelchair fixing device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein an end portion of a tensile force transmission element for pulling the bar provided with the two hooks is connected to the bar between the two hooks.   One end of a flexible linear member is connected to the bar member at a distance from a connecting portion of a tensile force transmitting element for drawing the bar member, and the other end of the linear member is a floor. The wheelchair fixing device for vehicles according to claim 3 currently fixed to the surface side. The first pulling force transmitting element and the second pulling force transmitting element are constituted by one pulling force transmitting element, and the pulling means pulls in an intermediate portion of the one pulling force transmitting element. The wheelchair fixing device for a vehicle according to claim 1.   The wheelchair fixing device according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second tensile force transmission elements is a cable, and the cables are guided in a curved shape by a conduit.

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