Lifting device

Abstract

To provide a lifting device capable of stably lifting an object while achieving miniaturization.SOLUTION: A lifting device 1 comprises: a base part 2; a lifting part 3; a link mechanism 10 for lifting; an operation member 20 that operates the link mechanism 10 for lifting; and an actuator 30 that rotates the operation member 20. The link mechanism 10 for lifting is provided with a pair of link members 11 and 12 intersecting each other in an X shape. The operation member 20 is provided with a plurality of pressing parts 22, 23 that changes an intersecting angle of the link members 11 and 12 by contacting and lifting one link member 11 from below. The pressing parts 22, 23 are arranged at different distances from the rotation center of the operation member 20. When the operation member 20 rotates in one direction, one link member 11 is lifted in order from the pressing parts 22 closer to the rotation center.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lifting device. [Background technology]

[0002] As a conventional bathing device, Patent Document 1 discloses a lifting-type bathing device in which a lifting plate that moves up and down by a lifting device is placed inside the bathtub, and the bather can load the bather (including his / her wheelchair) onto the lifting plate at the raised position, and then the lifting plate is lowered to allow the bather to take a bath.

[0003] The lifting device has a pair of link members that cross in an X shape, and by supplying tap water into a foldable, bag-shaped soft cylinder, the soft cylinder expands and the lifting plate is raised, while by discharging the tap water from inside the soft cylinder to the outside, the soft cylinder contracts and the lifting plate is lowered.

[0004] In the lifting device disclosed in Patent Document 1 above, particularly when the lifting plate is in the lowest lowered position, the flexible cylinder is folded multiple times, making it necessary to increase the supply pressure of tap water to the flexible cylinder.However, when the flexible cylinder begins to expand, the supply pressure of tap water may become too high, causing the lifting plate to rise suddenly, making it difficult to stably raise the lifting plate.

[0005] A linear actuator has conventionally been used as a driving means for a pair of link members (for example, Patent Document 2), but it is difficult to efficiently transmit the power of the linear actuator to the link members, especially when the lifting plate is in the lowered position, and a large force is required to lift the lifting plate, which causes the entire device, including the linear actuator, to become large in size. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-290414 [Patent Document 2] JP 2014-27987 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a lifting device that can stably lift an object while being miniaturized. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The object of the present invention is achieved by a lifting device comprising a base portion, a lifting portion arranged above the base portion, a lifting link mechanism interposed between the base portion and the lifting portion for lifting and lowering the lifting portion, an actuating member rotatably provided on the base portion for actuating the lifting link mechanism, and an actuator for rotating the actuating member, wherein the lifting link mechanism comprises a pair of link members crossing in an X shape, and the actuating member comprises a plurality of pressing portions that change the crossing angle of the pair of link members by contacting one of the link members from below and pushing it up, the plurality of pressing portions are each arranged at a different distance from the rotation center of the actuating member, and when the actuating member rotates in one direction, the pressing portion closest to the rotation center pushes up one of the link members in order.

[0009] In this lifting device, it is preferable that the operating member is bent or curved so as to be upwardly convex between a rotation center and the pressing portion furthest from the rotation center.

[0010] It is preferable that the operating member has a driven part protruding from the center of rotation, and the actuator has a main body whose base end is rotatably attached to the base part, and a rod provided on the tip side of the main body so as to be movable forward and backward, and the rod rotatably engages with the driven part.

[0011] The lifting portion may be formed in an elongated shape so as to be able to support the edge of the bathtub bottom plate placed in the bathtub. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a lifting device that can stably lift an object while being miniaturized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a lifting device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a front view showing a state after the lifting device shown in FIG. 1 has been operated. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining an application example of a lifting device according to the present invention. [Figure 4] 13 is a schematic front view for explaining the operation of a lifting device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a front view of a lifting device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the lifting device 1 includes a base section 2, a lifting section 3, a lifting link mechanism 10, an operating member 20, and an actuator 30. The base section 2 and the lifting section 3 are strip-shaped members extending horizontally and parallel to each other, and the lifting section 3 is disposed above the base section 2. A support section 3a for supporting an object to be lifted is provided on the upper surface of the lifting section 3.

[0015] The lifting link mechanism 10 comprises a pair of link members 11, 12 which intersect in an X-shape so as to be rotatable at a central intersection 13, and is interposed between the base portion 2 and the lifting portion 3, thereby enabling the lifting portion 3 to be raised and lowered while remaining in a horizontal position.

[0016] One link member 11 has a lower end 11a rotatably attached to the base portion 2, and an upper end 11b provided so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction) of the lifting / lowering portion 3. The other link member 12 has an upper end 12a rotatably attached to the lifting / lowering portion 3, and a lower end 12b provided so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction (horizontal direction) of the base portion 2.

[0017] The lifting link mechanism 10 may be configured with multiple stages of a pair of link members 11, 12 intersecting in an X shape, or may be configured as a pantograph type in which the upper ends of one pair of link members 11, 12 are rotatably connected to the lower ends of another pair of link members 11, 12.

[0018] The actuating member 20 is formed in a strip shape, and one end side is attached to the base part 2 so as to be rotatable around the rotating part 20a. The actuating member 20 is bent from the rotating part 20a toward the other end side so as to be convex upward, and pressing parts 22, 23 are provided at the apex of the bent part and the tip part of the other end side, respectively. The pressing parts 22, 23 are arranged so as to be able to abut on the lower part of one link member 11 between the intersection part 13 and the upper end part 11b by the rotation of the actuating member 20. The pressing parts 22, 23 are both made of rollers, and by moving along one link member 11 while pushing up one link member 11, the intersection angle of the pair of link members 11, 12 can be changed, and the lifting part 3 can be raised. The pressing parts 22, 23 do not necessarily have to be rollers, and may be, for example, members that slide or slide against one link member 11.

[0019] Moreover, the operating member 20 includes a driven part 21 protruding from the rotating part 20a, and the operating member 20 can be rotated by driving the driven part 21 with the actuator 30. The position at which the driven part 21 is provided is not particularly limited, and the driven part may be provided, for example, on the other end side of the pressing part 23 of the operating member 20.

[0020] The actuator 30 is, for example, a hydraulic cylinder, and includes a main body 31 with a cylinder tube, and a rod 32 provided on the tip side of the main body 31 so as to be movable forward and backward. A base portion 31a of the main body 31, which is the base end side of the actuator 30, is rotatably attached to the base portion 2. A tip portion 32a of the rod 32 rotatably engages with a tip portion of the driven portion 21 of the actuating member 20, and the actuating member 20 can be rotated by the advancement and retreat of the rod 32. Note that in FIG. 1, the portion of the actuator 30 overlapping the pressing portions 22, 23 is cut out. The actuator 30 is not necessarily limited to a linear actuator, and for example, the actuating member 20 can be rotated by the rotation of a motor via a reducer.

[0021] 1, when the lifting device 1 having the above configuration has the lifting unit 3 in the lowest lowered position, the pressing unit 22, of the two pressing units 22, 23, which is closer to the rotating unit 20a, comes into contact with the underside of one of the link members 11. When the rod 32 of the actuator 30 is advanced from this state to rotate the operating member 20 in the direction of the arrow, the pressing unit 22 moves along the one of the link members 11 toward the intersection 13 while pushing up the one of the link members 11 so that the lifting unit 3 rises.

[0022] When the one link member 11 is pushed up to a certain extent by the pressing portion 22, as shown in FIG. 2, the pressing portion 22 moves away from the one link member 11, while the pressing portion 23 on the side farther from the rotating portion 20a comes into contact with the lower side of the one link member 11. Then, with further rotation of the operating member 20, the pressing portion 23 moves along the one link member 11 toward the intersection portion 13 while pushing up the one link member 11. In this way, the lifting / lowering portion 3 can be raised to the highest raised position. Also, by retracting the advanced rod 32 and rotating the operating member 20 in the opposite direction to the above, the lifting / lowering portion 3 can be lowered from the raised position to the lowered position by utilizing the weight of the lifting / lowering portion 3 and the object itself.

[0023] In the lifting device 1 of this embodiment, the multiple pressing parts 22, 23 are each disposed at a different distance from the rotation center of the actuating member 20, and when the actuating member 20 rotates in one direction, each pressing part 22, 23 presses up one of the link members 11 in turn. This allows the power of the actuator 30 to be efficiently transmitted to the lifting link mechanism 10 by each pressing part 22, 23 in turn, so that the entire lifting device 1 including the actuator 30 can be made compact.

[0024] 1, if the operating member 20' has a single pressing portion 23', it is necessary to raise the lifting unit 3 from the lowered position to the raised position by pushing up one of the link members 11 only with the pressing portion 23', and therefore it is difficult to apply a pushing force to one of the link members 11, particularly when the lifting unit 3 is in the lowered position. In contrast, in the operating member 20 of this embodiment, in the initial stage of lifting when the lifting unit 3 is near the lowered position, the pressing portion 22 closer to the rotation center reliably pushes up one of the link members 11, and after the one of the link members 11 stands up to some extent and becomes easier to push up, the pressing portion 23 farther from the rotation center continues to push up one of the link members 11, thereby allowing the lifting unit 3 to be smoothly lifted from the lowered position to the raised position.

[0025] The lifting device 1 of this embodiment can stably lift an object from a lowered position to a raised position while being compact, and can therefore be suitably used, for example, in a lifting bathing device that allows a bather to take a bath in a wheelchair. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 3, the lifting device 1 is accommodated in a space formed along the periphery of the bathtub 100, and a plurality of lifting devices 1 are arranged so as to face each other across the bathtub 100. The lifting section 3 (see FIG. 1) of the lifting device 1 is formed in an elongated shape extending along the edge of the bathtub bottom plate 110 placed in the bathtub 100 so as to reliably support the edge of the bathtub bottom plate 110. The support section 3a (see FIG. 1) provided on the upper surface of the lifting section 3 can support the supported section 111 provided on the edge of the bathtub bottom plate 110 via a deformable partition section 101 partially provided on the bathtub 100. A bathtub user can be placed on the bathtub bottom plate 110, and the bathtub bottom plate 110 can be raised and lowered within the bathtub 100 by operating the lifting device 1.

[0026] In this embodiment, the actuating member 20 is configured to include two pressing portions 22, 23, but may be configured to include three or more pressing portions. By increasing the number of pressing portions, the lifting device 1 can be raised and lowered more efficiently. For example, as shown in the schematic front view of Fig. 4, the actuating member 20 may be bent at two points so as to be convex upward, and pressing portions 22, 23, 24 may be provided at each bent portion and at the tip portion. In Fig. 4, the same components as those in Fig. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the actuator 30 is not shown.

[0027] In the lifting device 1 shown in Figure 4, when the lifting section 3 is in the lowered position and the operating member 20 rotates in one direction, first, as shown in Figure 4(a), the pressing section 22 located closest to the rotation center of the operating member 20 pushes up one of the link members 11, and then, as shown in Figure 4(b), the pressing section 23 located in the intermediate position pushes up the one of the link members 11 further, and then, as shown in Figure 4(c), the pressing section 24 located farthest from the rotation center pushes up the one of the link members 11 further.

[0028] When the actuating member 20 has multiple pressing parts, the pressing parts are arranged at different distances from the rotation center of the actuating member 20, and when the actuating member 20 rotates in one direction, one of the link members 11 is pressed up in order starting from the pressing part closest to the rotation center. As a shape of the actuating member 20 for easily realizing such an arrangement of pressing parts, it is preferable that the area between the rotation center of the actuating member 20 and the pressing part furthest from the rotation center is bent or curved so as to be convex upward. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1 Lifting device 2 Base 3 Lifting section 10 Lifting link mechanism 11,12 Link member 20. Operating member 21 Driven part 22, 23, 24 Pressing part 30 Actuator 32 Rod 100 Bathtub 110 Bathtub base plate

Claims

1. A base portion; A lifting unit disposed above the base unit; a lifting link mechanism interposed between the base portion and the lifting portion for lifting and lowering the lifting portion; an actuating member rotatably provided on the base portion for actuating the lifting link mechanism; An actuator for rotating the actuating member, The lifting link mechanism includes a pair of link members intersecting in an X-shape, the actuating member includes a plurality of pressing portions that change the crossing angle of the pair of link members by contacting one of the link members from below and pushing it up, The multiple pressing portions are each positioned at a different distance from the rotation center of the actuating member, and when the actuating member rotates in one direction, the pressing portion closest to the rotation center pushes up one of the link members in order.

2. The lifting device according to claim 1 , wherein the operating member is bent or curved so as to be convex upward between a rotation center and the pressing portion furthest from the rotation center.

3. The actuating member includes a driven portion protruding from a rotation center, The lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises a main body whose base end is rotatably attached to the base portion, and a rod arranged to be movable forward and backward on the tip side of the main body, the rod rotatably engaging with the driven portion.

4. The lifting device according to claim 1 , wherein the lifting portion is formed in an elongated shape so as to be able to support an edge portion of a bathtub bottom plate to be placed in the bathtub.

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