ELECTRIC DRIVE UNIT FOR WHEELCHAIR AND ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIR

摘要

PPROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric drive unit which is designed to be mounted on a commercially available wheelchair and capable of switching to a manual travel motion by a quite simple operation even if the battery goes dead while in use. PSOLUTION: This wheelchair electric drive unit 1 is provided with a main body 2 coupled to a front part of a wheelchair body 50, a steering shaft 3 linked to the main body 2, a handle 4 connected to the upper end of the steering shaft 3, and drive wheels 5 to be driven by a drive motor disposed at the bottom of the steering shaft 3. The steering shaft 3 is divided at the middle into a lower lifting pipe 12 and an upper folding pipe 11 which can be folded down toward the lower lifting pipe 12. The electric drive unit 1 makes the wheelchair body 50 electrically move with the drive wheels 5 being pressed on the ground when the folding pipe 11 is in a standing state and the lifting pipe 12 is in a lowered state, while the electric drive unit 1 makes the wheelchair 50 manually move with the drive wheels 5 being lifted above the ground when the folding pipe 11 is in a folded state and the lifting pipe 12 is in a lifted state. PCOPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT