Stair climbing device and stair climbing apparatus

Abstract

This application relates to a stair-climbing device and equipment. The stair-climbing device includes a stair-climbing mechanism, a support mechanism, and a first sensing mechanism. The support mechanism includes a support adjustment component and support feet disposed on the support adjustment component. The support adjustment component is slidably disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism. The support adjustment component slides relative to the stair-climbing mechanism to have a first state and a second state. When the support adjustment component is in the first state, the support feet are floatingly supported with respect to the ground. When the support adjustment component is in the second state, the support feet are either detached from the ground or rigidly supported. The support adjustment component can drive the support feet to move up and down. The first sensing mechanism is used to sense whether the support adjustment component is in the first state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism. The stair-climbing device provided by this application can provide corresponding support in a timely manner according to the stair-climbing state, improving the safety of stair climbing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the technical field of stair climbing equipment, and more specifically, relates to a stair climbing device and stair climbing equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, there are stair-climbing devices on the market specifically designed for climbing stairs, such as stair-climbing wheelchairs, which are used to assist people with mobility impairments in going up and down stairs, and material handling equipment in the industrial field, which are used to assist in moving goods up and down stairs.

[0003] Taking a stair-climbing wheelchair as an example, existing stair-climbing equipment typically includes a climbing mechanism, a support mechanism mounted on the climbing mechanism, and a chair. The person sits in the chair, and the climbing mechanism enables the entire equipment to climb stairs. The support mechanism provides support during the climbing process. As the climbing mechanism moves, the center of gravity of the entire equipment shifts, making it prone to tipping over during subsequent movements. Therefore, the support mechanism plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of the stair-climbing equipment.

[0004] However, the existing support mechanism simply uses a support plate set diagonally below the stair climbing mechanism, relying on the contact between the support plate and the corner of the staircase for support. Such a support plate structure cannot be flexibly applied to different types and sizes of staircases. It cannot guarantee that the support plate will always be in contact with the staircase to provide support during the entire stair climbing process. Therefore, the existing stair climbing equipment has poor safety performance and the support provided by its support mechanism is weak. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a stair-climbing device and equipment to solve the technical problems of weak support provided by the support mechanism and poor safety of the stair-climbing equipment in the prior art.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted in this application is as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a support mechanism for a stair-climbing device, comprising:

[0008] Stair climbing mechanism;

[0009] A support mechanism includes a support adjustment component and support feet disposed on the support adjustment component. The support adjustment component is slidably disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism. The support adjustment component slides relative to the stair-climbing mechanism to have a first state and a second state. When the support adjustment component is in the first state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism, the support feet are floatingly supported with respect to the ground. When the support adjustment component is in the second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism, the support feet are either disengaged from the ground or rigidly supported. The support adjustment component is capable of driving the support feet to move up and down.

[0010] A first sensing mechanism is used to acquire a signal indicating whether the support adjustment component is in the second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism;

[0011] The control mechanism includes an electrical connection or a wireless communication signal connection between the support mechanism and the first sensing mechanism. The control mechanism can receive signals acquired by the first sensing mechanism and control the support adjustment assembly to drive the support foot plate to move up and down.

[0012] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the support adjustment component includes:

[0013] Mounting base, which is slidably mounted on the stair-climbing mechanism;

[0014] A driving component, the driving component being used to drive the support foot plate to slide up and down relative to the mounting base.

[0015] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the support adjustment assembly further includes a first transmission member and a second transmission member, the first transmission member and the second transmission member meshing with each other and capable of relative sliding, the first transmission member being drivenly connected to the drive member, and the second transmission member being connected to the support foot plate.

[0016] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the support adjustment component also has a third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, when the support adjustment component is in the third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, the support foot cannot slide relative to the mounting base.

[0017] In one embodiment of the first aspect, let the frictional force generated between the first transmission member and the second transmission member be f, and let the torque of the driving member be F1. When the support adjustment assembly is in the third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, f > F1.

[0018] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the support foot plate includes:

[0019] A first support plate is disposed on the support adjustment assembly;

[0020] The second support plate is inclinedly disposed on the first support plate.

[0021] In one embodiment of the first aspect, let α1 be the angle formed between the second support plate and the ground, and let α2 be the angle formed between the stair slope and the ground, wherein α1 ≥ α2, and the difference between α1 and α2 is in the range of 0° to 10°; and / or,

[0022] Let the height of a step be H1, and the vertical height of the second support plate be H2, where H2 ≥ H1; and / or,

[0023] Let L be the stroke in which the support foot slides relative to the mounting base, where L ≥ 2H1.

[0024] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the first sensing mechanism includes:

[0025] A sensor assembly is disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism, and the sensor assembly has a sliding range;

[0026] A sensor is disposed on the support adjustment assembly. When the sensor is located at the end point of the sliding interval, the support adjustment assembly is in the second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism.

[0027] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the sensor assembly includes a first sensor and a second sensor both disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism, wherein the second sensor and the first sensor are spaced apart in a vertical direction to form the sliding interval;

[0028] The second state includes a first position state and a second position state. When the support adjustment component is in the first position state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, the support foot plate is rigidly supported by the ground. When the support adjustment component is in the second position state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, the support foot plate is disengaged from the ground.

[0029] When the sensor is located at the height of the first sensor, the support adjustment assembly is in the first position state or the third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism.

[0030] When the sensor is at the height of the second sensor, the support adjustment assembly is in the second position relative to the stair-climbing mechanism.

[0031] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the stair-climbing device further includes a second sensing mechanism for sensing the angle at which the stair-climbing mechanism deviates from the vertical direction. Both the second sensing mechanism and the stair-climbing mechanism are electrically connected or wirelessly connected to the control mechanism. The control mechanism is able to receive the signal acquired by the second sensing mechanism and control the support mechanism and / or the stair-climbing mechanism to stop driving.

[0032] In one embodiment of the first aspect, the support mechanism is detachably disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism.

[0033] Secondly, this application provides a stair-climbing device, including a support device and a stair-climbing device as described above, wherein the stair-climbing device is mounted on the support device.

[0034] The beneficial effects of the stair-climbing device and equipment provided in this application are as follows: Compared with the prior art, a support mechanism is set on the stair-climbing mechanism, and the position and status of the support mechanism are sensed by a first sensing mechanism. The control mechanism receives the sensing signal from the first sensing mechanism and controls the support mechanism to make adjustments to provide support for the stair-climbing device. This allows for real-time monitoring and adjustment of the position and status of the support mechanism, ensuring that the support mechanism always maintains light contact with the ground. This guarantees that the support mechanism can provide good support for the stair-climbing mechanism in a timely manner. In addition, it can adapt to staircases of different shapes and sizes, improving the safety and practicality of the stair-climbing device.

[0035] The stair-climbing device of this application adopts the stair-climbing device provided in this application, which enables the stair-climbing mechanism to provide timely support during the stair-climbing process, and can also be adapted to the use of staircases of different shapes and sizes, thereby improving the safety and practicality of the stair-climbing device. Attached Figure Description

[0036] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0037] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the stair-climbing device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0038] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A magnified view of a portion of point A in the middle;

[0039] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the support adjustment component in the first state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the support adjustment component in a second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism, provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of the support adjustment component in the third state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0042] Figure 6 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the support mechanism in the stair-climbing device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0043] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Side view of the support mechanism shown;

[0044] Figure 8 Analysis of the tilt angle of the support footboard and the slope of the stairs provided in the embodiments of this application Figure 1 ;

[0045] Figure 9 Analysis of the tilt angle of the support footboard and the slope of the stairs provided in the embodiments of this application Figure 2 ;

[0046] Figure 10 A height analysis diagram of the second support foot and the step provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0047] The following are the labeling elements in the figure:

[0048] 1-Climbing mechanism; 2-Supporting mechanism; 3-First sensing mechanism;

[0049] 20 - Support adjustment assembly; 21 - Support foot plate;

[0050] 200 - Mounting base; 201 - First transmission component; 202 - Driving component; 203 - Second transmission component;

[0051] 210 - First support plate; 211 - Second support plate;

[0052] 30 - Sensor assembly; 31 - Sensing element;

[0053] 300 - First sensor; 301 - Second sensor; 302 - Sliding range;

[0054] 100 steps. Detailed Implementation

[0055] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects to be solved by this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0056] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on or indirectly on that other component. When a component is referred to as being "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to or indirectly connected to that other component.

[0057] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0058] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "multiple" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0059] Please refer to the following: Figures 1 to 4The stair-climbing device provided in this application embodiment will now be described. The stair-climbing device includes a stair-climbing mechanism 1, a support mechanism 2, a first sensing mechanism 3, and a control mechanism (not shown in the figure). The stair-climbing mechanism 1 is used to complete the stair-climbing action of the stair-climbing device. The support mechanism 2 is used to provide support for the stair-climbing device during the stair-climbing process. The support mechanism 2 includes a support adjustment component 20 and support foot plates 21 disposed on the support adjustment component 20. The support adjustment component 20 is slidably disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism 1. The support adjustment component 20 slides relative to the stair-climbing mechanism 1 to have a first state and a second state. When the support adjustment component 20 is in the first state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism 1, the support foot plates 21 are floatingly supported with respect to the ground. When the support adjustment component 20 is in the second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism 1, the support foot plates 21 are disengaged from the ground or rigidly supported. The support adjustment component 20 can drive the support foot plates 21 to move up and down. The first sensing mechanism 3 is used to obtain a signal indicating whether the support adjustment component 20 is in the second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism 1. Both the support mechanism and the first sensing mechanism are electrically connected to the control mechanism or wirelessly connected via signal. The control mechanism can receive the signal acquired by the first sensing mechanism and control the support adjustment component to drive the support foot plate to rise and fall.

[0060] Electrical connections here specifically include physical contact connections such as wire connections or connections via copper foil on a circuit board, while wireless communication signal connections include WiFi signal connections, Bluetooth signal connections, or mobile communication connections.

[0061] Climbing stairs typically involves vertical and horizontal displacement. Here, we define the height direction of the stairs as the vertical direction and the length direction of the stairs as the horizontal direction.

[0062] It should be noted that the term "ground" in this article is used in general, including flat ground and stair treads.

[0063] During the stair climbing process, the stair climbing device may encounter the following two situations:

[0064] The first state is when the stair-climbing mechanism 1 is climbing normally. At this time, the support adjustment component 20, which can slide relative to the stair-climbing mechanism 1, is in the first state, and the support foot 21 will always maintain a floating support state with the ground. The floating support here means that the support foot 21 can just make contact with the ground, but it is not a contact that completely restricts relative free movement. The support foot 21 can adaptively make a small range of displacements along the vertical direction of the stairs, and when the support foot 21 is in a floating support state with the ground, the floating support force of the support foot 21 in contact with the ground is much smaller than the overall weight of the stair-climbing device system, including the load.

[0065] Secondly, if the stair-climbing mechanism 1 tilts slightly, the support adjustment component 20 may be in the second state. In this state, the support foot 21 may detach from the ground or it may be rigidly supported by the ground. Rigid support means that the support foot 21 is in contact with the ground and the entire support adjustment component 20, including the support foot 21, cannot slide upward relative to the stair-climbing mechanism 1, so that the support foot 21 is no longer a floating support to the ground.

[0066] During normal stair climbing, the support foot 21 remains in a floating support state with the ground. This allows the support foot 21 to continuously adapt to potentially changing ground conditions, while also enabling the support mechanism 2 to provide timely support in case of any climbing anomalies in the stair climbing mechanism 1. To ensure timely support during stair climbing, the support adjustment component 20 drives the support foot 21 to move up and down, adjusting the support foot 21 that is either detached from the ground or rigidly supported to return to a floating support state with the ground. The action of the support adjustment component 20 driving the support foot 21 to move up and down is triggered by a signal from the first sensing mechanism 3, which senses the state of the support adjustment component 20 relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1 and thus determines the state of the support foot 21 relative to the ground.

[0067] Compared with the prior art, the stair-climbing device provided in this application has a support mechanism 2 set on the stair-climbing mechanism 1. At the same time, the position and state of the support mechanism 2 are sensed by the first sensing mechanism 3, and the control mechanism receives the sensing signal from the first sensing mechanism 3 to control the support mechanism 2 to make adjustments to provide support for the stair-climbing device. This allows for real-time monitoring and adjustment of the position and state of the support mechanism 2, ensuring that the support mechanism 2 always maintains light contact with the ground. This ensures that the support mechanism 2 can provide good support for the stair-climbing mechanism 1 in a timely manner. In addition, it can adapt to staircases of different shapes and sizes to provide support, thus improving the safety and practicality of the stair-climbing device.

[0068] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to [the relevant document / reference]. Figure 1 and Figure 6 The support adjustment assembly 20 includes a mounting base 200 and a drive component 202. The mounting base 200 is slidably mounted on the stair climbing mechanism 1. The drive component 202 is used to drive the support foot plate 21 to slide up and down relative to the mounting base 200.

[0069] Driven by the drive unit 202, the support foot 21 can slide relative to the mounting base 200, thereby adjusting the support foot 21 to maintain floating support with respect to the ground.

[0070] It should be added that the faster the support adjustment component 20 drives the support foot 21 to move, the more likely there is to be a dangerous situation where the stair climbing device tilts while the support foot 21 continues to rise.

[0071] Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the stair climbing device, the speed at which the support adjustment component 20 drives the support foot plate 21 to move up and down to maintain its floating support with the ground, and to ensure that the stair climbing mechanism 1 can climb normally, is set as slow as possible.

[0072] In another embodiment of this application, the travel distance of the support foot plate 21 relative to the mounting base 200 is L, and the height of a step 100 is H1, where L≥2H1.

[0073] Setting the sliding stroke of the support foot plate 21 to at least two steps height ensures that when the stair climbing mechanism 1 rises to the next step 100, the support foot plate 21 can still float and support on the step surface of the next step 100. That is, the support mechanism 2 in this application can achieve the effect of supporting across steps 100.

[0074] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to Figure 6 The support adjustment assembly 20 further includes a first transmission component 201 and a second transmission component 203. The first transmission component 201 and the second transmission component 203 mesh with each other and can slide relative to each other. The first transmission component 201 is driven to be connected to the drive component 202, and the second transmission component 203 is connected to the support foot plate 21.

[0075] The first transmission component 201 and the second transmission component 203 are set up to mesh with each other as transmission components between the drive component 202 and the support foot plate 21, so that the support adjustment component 20 is a self-locking structure. Specifically, the drive component 202 can drive the support foot plate 21 to rise and slide, but external force cannot drive the support foot plate 21 to rise and slide, thereby improving the safety of the stair climbing device.

[0076] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 6 The support adjustment assembly 20 adopts a self-locking screw and nut mechanism. Specifically, the first transmission component 201 is a screw, the second transmission component 203 is a sliding component, the screw is driven and connected to the drive component 202, the sliding component is fixedly connected to the support foot plate 21, the sliding component is provided with a threaded hole, the sliding component is threadedly connected to the screw through the threaded hole and can move along the axial direction of the screw.

[0077] The threaded engagement (meshing) between the screw and the threaded hole of the sliding member ensures that the sliding member can only move up and down when the driving member 202 drives the screw to rotate, thus guaranteeing the movement safety of the support adjustment assembly 20. Therefore, the support adjustment assembly 20 provided in this embodiment achieves the characteristic that the support foot 21 can only move up and down when driven by the driving member 202, and cannot move up and down under external force. To ensure the support adjustment assembly 20 has the above characteristics, in principle, only one transmission link in the entire transmission structure from the driving member 202 at the action input end to the support foot 21 at the action output end needs to be a self-locking structure. Therefore, in some other embodiments, the transmission structure of the support adjustment assembly 20 can also employ a worm gear self-locking reduction mechanism, etc.

[0078] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to [the relevant document / reference]. Figure 5 and Figure 6 The support adjustment component 20 also has a third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1. When the support adjustment component 20 is in the third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1, the support foot 21 cannot slide relative to the mounting base 200. That is, even under the driving action of the drive component 202, the support foot 21 cannot slide relative to the mounting base 200. This situation can prevent the support adjustment component 20 from being misdriven when the stair climbing device tilts significantly.

[0079] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 5 and Figure 6 Let f be the frictional force generated between the first transmission component 201 and the second transmission component 203. In this embodiment, the driving component 202 is a driving motor. Let F1 be the torque of the driving component 202. When the support adjustment component 20 is in the third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1, f > F1.

[0080] Understandably, motors have torque parameters. When the force required to rotate the first transmission component 201 exceeds the motor's torque, the motor cannot drive the first transmission component 201 to rotate. The frictional force *f* generated between the first transmission component 201 and the second transmission component 203 is the force that the motor needs to overcome to drive the first transmission component 201 to rotate. Therefore, when *f* > *F1*, meaning the driving component 202 cannot drive it, the second transmission component 203 cannot slide relative to the mounting base 200.

[0081] Based on the above, another situation that may occur during the stair-climbing process is described below:

[0082] During the climbing process, the climbing mechanism 1 tilts unexpectedly. This unexpected tilt is a large tilt, which means that the supporting force of the supporting foot 21 (let the supporting force be F2) needs to support part of the weight of the climbing mechanism 1 and the climbing equipment load. Compared to the floating support configuration, the force exerted on the support foot 21 by the ground is now considered very large. Consequently, the first transmission component 201 and the second transmission component 203 also experience significant pressure. According to the formula f = μ × F (where f is the frictional force, μ is the coefficient of friction, and F is the pressure), the coefficient of friction between the first transmission component 201 and the second transmission component 203 remains constant. The greater the pressure, the greater the frictional force. Therefore, a large frictional force is generated between the first transmission component 201 and the second transmission component 203. By selecting a drive component 202 with a torque lower than this frictional force, the drive component 202 is unable to drive the support foot 21 to slide when the stair-climbing mechanism 1 tilts unexpectedly. That is, the support adjustment component 20 is in a third state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism 1, which is also a self-locking state, providing stable and reliable support for the stair-climbing device. This also prevents the support adjustment component 20 from malfunctioning and causing more serious dangers in such a dangerous situation.

[0083] Therefore, it can be summarized as follows: when f≤F1, the support foot 21 can slide relative to the mounting base 200 under the drive of the drive component 202; when f>F1, the drive component 202 cannot drive the support foot 21 to slide, and the entire lifting and adjusting assembly enters a self-locking state.

[0084] In another embodiment of this application, when the support adjustment component 20 is in the first state relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1, the support foot plate 21 is floatingly supported on the ground (the force exerted on the support foot plate 21 by the ground at this time is much smaller than the weight of the entire stair climbing device). At this time, there is a corresponding frictional force between the first transmission component 201 and the second transmission component 203, and the torque parameter of the drive component 202 is equivalent to the frictional force at this time.

[0085] Therefore, in this embodiment, the drive component 202 only needs to be able to drive the support foot 21 to move up and down, and the support mechanism 2 does not need to have the power to adjust the posture of the stair climbing device. The support mechanism 2 provides support when necessary by keeping the support foot 21 floating with the ground, thereby preventing the stair climbing device from tilting excessively and falling off the stairs, thus improving the safety of the stair climbing device. Based on this, the drive component 202 of the support mechanism 2 can be configured as a motor with low driving force, i.e., a small, lightweight motor can be selected, thus making the entire support mechanism 2 compact, portable, and low-cost.

[0086] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7The support foot plate 21 includes a first support plate 210 and a second support plate 211. The first support plate 210 is disposed on the support adjustment assembly 20, and specifically disposed on the second transmission member 203. The second support plate 211 is inclinedly disposed on the first support plate 210.

[0087] The second support plate 211 is tilted and set on the first support plate 210. During the process of climbing the stairs, the second support plate 211 can always maintain contact with the ground, thereby ensuring that the support foot plate 21 as a whole can achieve the support effect.

[0088] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to Figures 6 to 9 Let α1 be the angle between the second support plate 211 and the ground, and α2 be the angle between the stair slope and the ground, where α1 ≥ α2, and the difference between α1 and α2 is in the range of 0° to 10°. The angle between the stair slope and the ground is the stair gradient; more specifically, it is the angle between the slope formed by the connection of two adjacent horizontal step surfaces and the horizontal step surface.

[0089] If the tilt angle of the second support plate 211 is set too large or too small, it will affect the support effect of the support mechanism 2, and may also affect the normal use of the support mechanism 2. Specifically, in the actual process of climbing stairs, taking going upstairs as an example, the stair-climbing mechanism 1 (see...) Figure 1 First, the stairs are raised to the next step 100. At this point, the support plate 21 may still be located at the next step 100. If the angle α1 (the angle between the second support plate 211 and the ground) is smaller than the angle α2 (the angle between the stair slope and the ground), then regardless of the length of the second support plate 211, it will collide and interfere with the edge of the step 100. This is especially true when the stair step 100 has a tread front edge or no baffle. The second support plate 211 will be blocked from moving by the tread front edge, preventing the support plate 21 from floating smoothly with the ground. Simultaneously, the angle α1 cannot be set too large. If the angle α1 is too large, i.e., the second support plate 211 is too steep, the support plate 21, leaning against the edge of the step 100 to support the load, is prone to sliding down the stairs, thus failing to support the load.

[0090] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to Figure 10 Let the vertical height of the second support plate 211 be H2, where H2 ≥ H1. H1 is defined as the height of a step 100, as mentioned above.

[0091] During the stair climbing process, if the vertical height of the second support plate 211 is less than the height of a step 100 (H1), the aforementioned problem of the support foot plate 21 colliding and interfering with the step 100 will also occur. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that H2 ≥ H1 to ensure that the support foot plate 21 can move smoothly with the ground floating support.

[0092] In another embodiment of this application, please refer back. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The first sensing mechanism 3 includes a sensor assembly 30 and a sensing element 31. The sensor assembly 30 is disposed on the stair climbing mechanism 1 and has a sliding range 302. The sensing element 31 is disposed on the support adjustment assembly 20. When the sensing element 31 is located at the end point of the sliding range 302, the support adjustment assembly 20 is in a second state relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1.

[0093] A sensor assembly 30 is installed on the stair climbing mechanism 1, and a sensor 31 is installed on the support mechanism 2. By sensing whether the sensor 31 is in the sliding range 302 through the sensor assembly 30, the relative position of the support mechanism 2 and the stair climbing mechanism 1 can be known, and the support status of the support foot 21 to the ground can be determined.

[0094] Of course, in other embodiments, a sensor 31 can be provided on the stair climbing mechanism 1 and a sensor assembly 30 can be provided on the support mechanism 2, as long as the relative position between the stair climbing mechanism 1 and the support mechanism 2 can be sensed.

[0095] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The sensor assembly 30 includes a first sensor 300 and a second sensor 301, both of which are mounted on the stair climbing mechanism 1. The second sensor 301 and the first sensor 300 are spaced apart in the vertical direction to form a sliding interval 302.

[0096] The second state includes a first position state and a second position state. When the support adjustment component 20 is in the first position state relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1, the support foot plate 21 is rigidly supported by the ground. When the support adjustment component 20 is in the second position state relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1, the support foot plate 21 is disengaged from the ground.

[0097] When the sensor 31 is at the height of the first sensor 300, the support adjustment assembly 20 is in a first position or a third position relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1. When the sensor 31 is at the height of the second sensor 301, the support adjustment assembly 20 is in a second position relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1.

[0098] The first sensor 300 and the second sensor 301 can be photoelectric sensors in the prior art.

[0099] By installing a first sensor 300 and a second sensor 301 on the stair-climbing mechanism 1, with the first sensor 300 and the second sensor 301 spaced apart, a sliding interval 302 is formed. It should be noted that in practical applications, this sliding interval 302 is very short, therefore the vertical movement range of the sensing element 31 is very small. This is because the ultimate purpose of setting the sliding interval 302 is to sense and determine the contact state between the support foot 21 and the ground, without requiring the sensing element 31 to move within a certain range. The mounting base 200 of the support mechanism 2 and the stair-climbing mechanism 1 can be connected via a linear movement pair to achieve a small range of movement between them.

[0100] When going up and down stairs normally or when there is a slight tilt, and the support foot 21 is rigidly supported by the ground, the sensor 31 will be at the height of the first sensor 300, which will trigger the first sensor 300. The first sensor 300 will then send a signal to the control mechanism. After receiving the signal, the control mechanism can reduce the opening angle of the support foot 21 by driving the angle adjustment component or move the support foot 21 upward by driving the support adjustment component 20, so that the support foot 21 and the ground are restored to floating support.

[0101] When the support foot 21 is detached from the ground during normal up and down stairs, the sensor 31 will be at the height of the second sensor 301 due to the gravity of the support mechanism 2 itself. This triggers the second sensor 301, which then sends a signal to the control mechanism. After receiving the signal, the control mechanism can increase the opening angle of the support foot 21 by driving the angle adjustment component or move the support foot 21 downward by driving the support adjustment component 20, so that the floating support between the support foot 21 and the ground is restored.

[0102] When a large tilt occurs, although the sensing element 31 will still be at the same height as the first sensor 300, as mentioned above, due to the excessive supporting force of the support mechanism 2, the entire support mechanism 2 is already in a self-locking state to provide a more stable and reliable supporting effect.

[0103] In another embodiment of this application, the stair climbing device further includes a second sensing mechanism (not shown in the figure). The second sensing mechanism is used to sense the angle at which the stair climbing mechanism 1 deviates from the vertical direction. Both the second sensing mechanism and the stair climbing mechanism 1 are electrically connected or wirelessly connected to the control mechanism. The control mechanism can receive the signal acquired by the second sensing mechanism and control the support mechanism 2 and / or the stair climbing mechanism 1 to stop driving.

[0104] The second sensing mechanism detects the tilt angle (angle of deviation from the vertical direction) of the stair-climbing mechanism. When the tilt angle of the stair-climbing mechanism exceeds the preset permissible tilt angle range, regardless of whether the support adjustment component 20 is in the first or second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism 1, the drive component 202 of the support mechanism 2 stops driving, and the stair-climbing mechanism 1 also stops operating. The preset permissible tilt angle range mentioned here can be simply understood as the permissible tilt angle range when the stair-climbing mechanism 1 is used alone (that is, when the stair-climbing device does not have a support mechanism).

[0105] Setting up a second sensing mechanism can prevent the support adjustment component 20 from not being in the third state relative to the climbing mechanism 1 when the climbing device tilts slowly. In this case, the support adjustment component 20 may still drive the support foot plate 21 to rise continuously, which can further improve the safety performance of the climbing device.

[0106] The specific implementation methods of electrical connection and wireless communication signal connection mentioned above are the same or similar, so they will not be repeated here.

[0107] In another embodiment of this application, the second sensing mechanism package is specifically a tilt sensor. The tilt sensor can be a tilt sensor in the prior art. The tilt sensor can be installed on the stair climbing mechanism or on the support adjustment component of the support mechanism.

[0108] In another embodiment of this application, the support mechanism 2 is detachably disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism 1, thereby improving the portability of the stair-climbing device. In fact, the stair-climbing mechanism 1 can complete the stair-climbing action independently, while the support mechanism 2 provides support for the stair-climbing mechanism 1, improving safety. When the stair-climbing device is not in use, the support mechanism 2 and the stair-climbing mechanism 1 can be detached for easy carrying and storage.

[0109] It should also be noted that, for mobile stair-climbing devices, portability and safety are often contradictory performance characteristics. Portability typically requires a small size and light weight; while safety usually requires support points spanning 100mm between steps, necessitating increasing the distance between support points along the staircase's vertical direction. Furthermore, to make the device suitable for various stair types (e.g., straight, spiral, L-shaped) and sizes while maintaining step-spanning support during climbing, it usually requires multiple, multi-degree-of-freedom, and complexly controlled front and rear support components. This increases structural complexity, size, and weight, thus reducing portability. Therefore, existing stair-climbing devices often fail to achieve a good balance between portability and safety. Those with high safety performance tend to be overly complex, expensive, and impractical; while those with high portability often lack structural safety guarantees and rely heavily on user skill.

[0110] Based on the above, in terms of safety and practicality, the support mechanism 2 of the stair climbing device of this application can adjust its position and state according to different types and sizes of stairs, and can provide timely support by maintaining a floating support state with respect to the ground. In addition, in terms of portability, the support mechanism 2 and the stair climbing mechanism 1 can be detached, thereby improving portability.

[0111] In another embodiment of this application, please refer to Figure 1 The stair-climbing mechanism 1 adopts the existing technology of climbing stairs primarily through horizontal and vertical relative movement. Specifically, it includes a mounting body, a forward and backward moving assembly, a vertical lifting assembly, and wheels. The forward and backward moving assembly is mounted on the mounting body and drives the stair-climbing mechanism 1 to move forward and backward on the step surface. The vertical lifting assembly is mounted on the mounting body and drives the stair-climbing mechanism 1 to move up and down between steps 100. The wheels are mounted on the bottom of the mounting body to facilitate movement of the stair-climbing mechanism 1 on the steps 100.

[0112] The forward and backward moving component may include a forward and backward moving motor, a forward and backward moving rack, a forward and backward moving gear, a forward and backward moving guide rail, and a forward and backward moving slider. The forward and backward moving motor, the forward and backward moving rack, and the forward and backward moving guide rail are all mounted on the mounting body. The forward and backward moving motor is driven by the forward and backward moving gear, the forward and backward moving gear meshes with the forward and backward moving rack, and the forward and backward moving slider is slidably connected to the forward and backward moving guide rail to provide a guiding function.

[0113] The lifting assembly may include a lifting body, a lifting motor, a lifting rack, and a lifting gear. The lifting body can slide relative to the mounting body via a guide rail structure and can be installed at the upper and lower ends of the mounting body. The lifting motor and the lifting rack are installed on the mounting body. The lifting motor is driven by the lifting gear, and the lifting gear meshes with the lifting rack to drive the lifting body to rise and fall relative to the mounting body.

[0114] In another embodiment of this application, the stair-climbing mechanism 1 may also employ a step-support stair-climbing mechanism that alternately supports two sets of support devices, mainly composed of star wheel and crank mechanisms, to achieve the stair-climbing function. For details, please refer to the stair-climbing device disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. US5263547A.

[0115] In another embodiment of this application, the control mechanism adopts the control mechanism in the prior art. When the first sensing mechanism 3 senses that the support adjustment component 20 is in the second state relative to the stair climbing mechanism 1, the first sensing mechanism 3 sends a signal to the control mechanism, and the control mechanism controls the support adjustment component 20 to drive the support foot plate 21 to move up and down.

[0116] This application also provides a stair-climbing device, which includes a support device and a stair-climbing mechanism as described above, with the stair-climbing mechanism mounted on the support device. In the field of daily necessities, the support device can specifically be a chair, on which a person sits, and the stair-climbing device can be used to assist people with mobility impairments in going up and down stairs. In the industrial field, the support device can specifically be a cargo-carrying device, on which goods are loaded, and the stair-climbing device is used to assist in moving goods up and down stairs.

[0117] The stair-climbing equipment provided in this application adopts the stair-climbing device provided in this application, which enables the stair-climbing mechanism 1 to provide timely support during the stair-climbing process, and can also be adapted to the use of stairs of different shapes and sizes, thereby improving the safety and practicality of the stair-climbing equipment.

[0118] In another embodiment of this application, the chair is detachably mounted on the stair-climbing device, which improves the flexibility and portability of the device. Correspondingly, the carrying device can also be detachably mounted on the stair-climbing device, allowing the device and the device to be used independently when climbing stairs is not required, thus further enhancing the flexibility and portability of the device. It is conceivable that the stair-climbing device can be adapted to accommodate both the chair and the carrying device in various usage scenarios.

[0119] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A stair-climbing device, characterized in that, include: Stair climbing mechanism; A support mechanism includes a support adjustment component and support feet disposed on the support adjustment component. The support adjustment component is slidably disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism. The support adjustment component slides relative to the stair-climbing mechanism to have a first state and a second state. When the support adjustment component is in the first state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism, the support feet are floatingly supported with respect to the ground. When the support adjustment component is in the second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism, the support feet are either disengaged from the ground or rigidly supported. The support adjustment component is capable of driving the support feet to move up and down. A first sensing mechanism is used to acquire a signal indicating whether the support adjustment component is in the second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism; The control mechanism includes an electrical connection or a wireless communication signal connection between the support mechanism and the first sensing mechanism. The control mechanism can receive signals acquired by the first sensing mechanism and control the support adjustment assembly to drive the support foot plate to move up and down.

2. The stair-climbing device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The support adjustment component includes: Mounting base, which is slidably mounted on the stair-climbing mechanism; A driving component, the driving component being used to drive the support foot plate to slide up and down relative to the mounting base.

3. The stair-climbing device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The support adjustment assembly further includes a first transmission component and a second transmission component. The first transmission component and the second transmission component mesh with each other and can slide relative to each other. The first transmission component is driven to be connected to the driving component, and the second transmission component is connected to the support foot plate.

4. The stair-climbing device as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The support adjustment component also has a third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism. When the support adjustment component is in the third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, the support foot cannot slide relative to the mounting base.

5. The stair-climbing device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, it is provided with The frictional force generated between the first transmission component and the second transmission component is f. Let the torque of the driving component be F1. When the support adjustment component is in the third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, f > F1.

6. The stair-climbing device according to any one of claims 2-5, characterized in that, The support foot plate includes: A first support plate is disposed on the support adjustment assembly; The second support plate is inclinedly disposed on the first support plate.

7. The stair-climbing device according to any one of claims 4-5, characterized in that, The first sensing mechanism includes: A sensor assembly is disposed on the stair-climbing mechanism, and the sensor assembly has a sliding range; A sensor is disposed on the support adjustment assembly. When the sensor is located at the end point of the sliding interval, the support adjustment assembly is in the second state relative to the stair-climbing mechanism.

8. The stair-climbing device as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The sensor assembly includes a first sensor and a second sensor, both of which are mounted on the stair-climbing mechanism. The second sensor and the first sensor are spaced apart in the vertical direction to form the sliding interval. The second state includes a first position state and a second position state. When the support adjustment component is in the first position state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, the support foot plate is rigidly supported by the ground. When the support adjustment component is in the second position state relative to the stair climbing mechanism, the support foot plate is disengaged from the ground. When the sensor is located at the height of the first sensor, the support adjustment assembly is in the first position state or the third state relative to the stair climbing mechanism. When the sensor is at the height of the second sensor, the support adjustment assembly is in the second position relative to the stair-climbing mechanism.

9. The stair-climbing device according to any one of claims 1-5 and 8, characterized in that, The stair-climbing device also includes a second sensing mechanism, which is used to sense the angle at which the stair-climbing mechanism deviates from the vertical direction. Both the second sensing mechanism and the stair-climbing mechanism are electrically connected or wirelessly connected to the control mechanism. The control mechanism can receive the signal acquired by the second sensing mechanism and control the support mechanism and / or the stair-climbing mechanism to stop driving.

10. A stair-climbing device, characterized in that, It includes a support device and a stair-climbing device as described in any one of claims 1-9, wherein the stair-climbing device is mounted on the support device.

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