Movable chair

• US 5,413,367 A
• Filed: 04/29/1994
• Issued: 05/09/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Inventors: Ochiai, Shigeyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Focarino, Margaret A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOEHLER, ANNE MARIE M
• Application Number:
  US08/235,249
• Time in Patent Office: 375 Days
• Field of Search: 180/6.5, 180/6.54, 180/6.62, 180/7.1, 180/8.1, 180/8.2, 180/8.5, 180/8.6, 180/8.7, 180/9.62, 180/10, 180/907, 180/79.3, 305/4, 305/8, 305/16-18, 305/24, 280/5.2, 280/5.22, 280/5.24, 280/5.26, 280/244, 280/250.1, 280/304.1, 280/761, 280/844, 280/98, 280/DIG. 10, 280/650
• US Class Current: 280/250.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/061 for climbing stairs
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/066 with endless belts
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/10 Parts, details or accessories
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/104 Devices for lifting or tilting the whole wheelchair transfer lifts A61G3/06; arrangements for adjusting the seat height A61G5/1059
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/1059 adjusting the height of the seat
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/1072 rotating the whole seat around a vertical axis
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 280/10 Stair climbing chairs

Abstract

A movable chair includes a chair main body and a pair of left and right traveling devices. The chair main body has a seat portion. The traveling devices are disposed on left and right sides of the chair main body and are designed to move the chair main body while supporting the chair main body. The traveling devices includes traveling frames disposed along a traveling direction, endless rail portions respectively disposed around the traveling frames, endless tracks respectively wound around the endless rail portions, a driving section for driving the endless tacks, and a control section for allowing a sitting person to control the driving section. The endless tracks includes endless driving belts, and a plurality of ground-contact feet mounted on the endless driving belts and having different shapes.

Claims

1. A movable chair comprising:

a chair main body having a seat portion; and

a pair of left and right traveling devices, disposed on the left and right sides of said chair main body, for moving said chair main body while supporting said chair main body,

said traveling devices including

traveling frames disposed along a traveling direction,

endless rail portions respectively disposed around said traveling frames,

endless tracks respectively wound around said endless rail portions,

driving means for driving said endless tracks, and

means for allowing a sitting person to control said driving means, and

said endless tracks including,

endless driving belts, and

a plurality of ground contact feet mounted on said endless driving belts at a predetermined interval, said ground-contact feet being of two types, said two types being one of a plurality of low ground-contact feet and a plurality of a high ground-contact feet, each of said low ground contact feet being shorter than said high ground contact feet.

2. A chair according to claim 1, said plurality of ground-contact feet are disposed such that at least two feet are always located on a lower edge portion of said endless rail portion of each of said traveling frames so as to be in contact with the ground.

3. A chair according to claim 1, wherein each of said high ground contact feet comprises:

a foot main body having at least one pivot pin for attaching said foot main body to said endless driving belts, and,

a plurality of rollers axially supporting the foot main body, allowing the foot main body to travel along said endless rail portions,

each of said plurality of rollers having a corresponding axial support pin for attaching said roller to said foot main body,

an engaging groove that engages a traveling frame portion of said endless rail portions.

4. A chair according to claim 1, wherein each of said low ground contact feet comprises:

a foot main body having at least one pivot pin for attaching said foot main body to said endless driving belts, and,

a plurality of rollers axially supporting the foot main body, allowing the foot main body to travel along said endless rail portions,

each of said plurality of rollers having a corresponding axial support pin for attaching said roller to said foot main body,

an engaging groove that engages a traveling frame portion of said endless rail portions.

5. A movable chair comprising:

a chair main body having a seat portion; and

a pair of left and right traveling devices, disposed on the left and right sides of said chair main body, for moving said chair main body while supporting said chair main body,

said traveling devices including

traveling frames disposed along a traveling direction,

endless rail portions respectively disposed around said traveling frames,

endless tracks respectively wound around said endless rail portions,

driving means for driving said endless tracks, and

means for allowing a sitting person to control said driving means, and

said endless tracks including,

endless driving belts, and

a plurality of ground contact feet mounted on said endless driving belts and having different shapes,

a direction change device wherein said direction change device has a direction change disk disposed below said main chair body to be vertically movable and rotatable and designed to be selectively brought into contact with the ground.

6. A chair according to claim 5, further comprising rotating shaft means, disposed between said chair main body and said direction change disk, for coupling said chair main body onto said disk to allow said disk and said chair main body to be relatively rotated, and

an elevating mechanism, interposed between said chair main body and said direction change disk, for vertically moving said disk below said chair main body.

7. A chair according to claim 6, wherein said elevating mechanism comprises means for, when a weight of the person sitting on said seat portion of said elevating mechanism is shifted to said sticks through arms of the person, lowering and causing said direction change disk to come into contact with the ground, and setting a distance from said disk to said seat portion of said chair main body to be longer than a distance from a ground-contact surface of each of said traveling devices to said seat portion, thereby lifting said chair main body and said traveling devices from the ground, and

while said chair main body and said traveling devices are lifted from the ground, a direction change operation can be performed in a desired direction by said rotating shaft means.

8. A chair according to claim 7, wherein said elevating mechanism comprises a compression spring as spring means for causing said direction change disk to come into contact with the ground and biasing said disk in a direction to separate from said chair main body so as to lift said chair main body and said traveling devices from the ground.

9. A chair according to claim 8, wherein said compression spring has a maximum pressing force smaller than a sum of weights of the person sitting on said chair main body, said chair main body, and said traveling devices, and has a biasing force larger than a sum of weights of said chair main body and said traveling devices,

the distance from a ground-contact surface of said disk to said chair main body becomes longer than the distance from the ground-contact surface of each of said traveling devices to said chair main body when said compression spring extends most, and

the distance from the ground-contact surface of said disk to said chair main body becomes shorter than the distance from the ground-contact surface of each of said traveling devices to said chair main body when said compression spring contracts most.

10. A chair according to claim 8, wherein said compression spring constituting said elevating mechanism comprises a pair of extendible cylindrical members for forming a sealed space serving as an air damper mechanism, and a valve mechanism controlled by a lever operation to be caused to communicate with the outside and to be shut off from the outside.

11. A chair according to claim 10, wherein said valve mechanism is designed to be opened/closed by an operation lever disposed near said stick.

12. A movable chair comprising:

a pair of left and right traveling devices, disposed on the left and right sides of the chair main body, for moving said chair while supporting said chair main body,

said traveling devices including

traveling frames disposed along the traveling direction,

endless rail portions respectively disposed around said traveling frames,

endless tracks respectively wound around said endless rail portions,

driving means for driving said endless tracks,

means for allowing a sitting person to control said driving means, and

said endless tracks including,

endless driving belts, and

a plurality of ground contact feet mounted on said endless driving belts and having different shapes;

a direction change device, disposed below said main chair body, for changing the traveling direction of said traveling devices;

a chair main body having a seat portion; and

a first rotating shaft, disposed as a separate member on an upper portion of said chair main body, for coupling said chair main body and said seat portion to each other to allow said chair main body and said seat portion to be relatively rotated,

a second rotating shaft, disposed below said chair main body to be vertically movable and selectively brought into contact with the ground, for coupling said chair main body onto said direction change disk to allow said chair main body to be relatively rotated, and

an elevating mechanism, disposed between said chair main body and said direction change disk, for vertically moving said disk below said chair main body to selectively switch a traveling mode in which said traveling devices supporting said chair main body is brought into contact with the ground and a direction change mode in which said direction change disk is brought into contact with the ground,

said elevating mechanism being designed to shift axes of said first and second rotating shafts from each other in the traveling mode, and cause the axes to coincide with each other in the direction change mode.

13. A chair according to claim 12, wherein said means for switching said elevating mechanism to the traveling mode or the direction change mode comprises lift levers pivotally supported on lower ends of front and rear leg portions, located below said chair main body, and on a support plate, disposed on said second rotating shaft.

14. A chair according to claim 12, further comprising lock means, disposed between said chair main body and said traveling devices, for locking said elevating mechanism in the traveling mode.

15. A movable chair comprising:

a pair of left and right traveling devices, disposed on the left and right sides of said chair main body, for moving said chair while supporting said chair main body,

said traveling devices including

traveling frames disposed along the traveling direction,

endless rail portions respectively disposed around said traveling frames,

endless tracks respectively wound around said endless tracks,

driving means for driving said endless tracks, and

means for allowing a sitting person to control said driving means, and

said endless tracks including,

endless driving belts,

a plurality of ground contact feet mounted on said endless driving belts and having different shapes; and

a chair main body having a seat portion wherein said chair main body has front and rear leg portions having lower end portions axially supported on said left and right traveling devices and having upper end portions axially supported on said seat portion to be pivotal, and

coupling means capable of adjusting an extendible amount and biasing means for applying a biasing force to maintain said front and rear leg portions in a substantially vertical posture are disposed between a coupling shaft, disposed between said front and rear leg portions, and a vertical portion of one of said leg portions.

16. A chair according to claim 15, wherein said biasing means for maintaining said front and rear leg portions in a substantially vertical posture to maintain said seat portion of said chair main body in a normal sitting posture are constituted by tension springs,

said tension springs being designed to have the biasing force to hold said front and rear leg portions in a vertical posture against a weight of a person sitting on said seat portion.