Wheelchair lift-loading vehicle

Abstract

To provide a wheelchair lift-loading vehicle allowing a wheelchair user and a healthy person to easily get on and off with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A vehicle 100 includes: a wheelchair lift 20 including lifting bases 23 developed toward the side of a vehicle or the rear of the vehicle and moving up and down between the ground GL and a floor surface 19 of a cabin 18; a vehicle outside camera 31; a vehicle inside camera 32; and a control unit 40 where images captured by the vehicle outside camera 31 and the vehicle inside camera 32 are input and the operation of the wheelchair lift 20 is adjusted. The control unit 40 determines whether or not a wheelchair user 50 is included in occupants on the basis of input images, develops a part of the lifting bases 23 when the wheelchair user 50 is not included in the occupants, develops all of the lifting bases 23 and moves the lifting bases 23 up and down between the ground GL and the floor surface 19 of the cabin 18 when the wheelchair user 50 is included in the occupants.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a structure of a vehicle equipped with a wheelchair lift. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle having a wheelchair lift that moves up and down between the ground and the floor. The vehicle described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a step device that is stored when the wheelchair lift platform moves up and down and is deployed when the wheelchair lift is not in operation. This allows able-bodied persons to get on and off the wheelchair lift by walking on the deployed steps when the wheelchair lift is not in operation.

[0003] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle equipped with a boarding and alighting lift step that is normally used as a boarding and alighting step for able-bodied persons and that becomes a platform for a wheelchair lift by extending and deforming into a horizontal state. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-208637 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-48866 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The vehicle described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it requires a step device in addition to the wheelchair lift, making the structure complicated. Also, the lift step for ascending and descending described in Patent Document 2 has a problem in that the mechanism for extending and deforming the step is complicated.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle equipped with a wheelchair lift that has a simple configuration and allows both wheelchair users and able-bodied persons to easily get on and off. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The wheelchair lift-equipped vehicle of the present disclosure includes a wheelchair lift including a platform that is deployed toward the side or rear of the vehicle and moves up and down between the ground and the floor of the vehicle compartment, at least one camera that captures images of the inside and outside of the vehicle, and a control unit that receives the images captured by the at least one camera and adjusts the operation of the wheelchair lift, wherein the control unit determines whether or not the passengers boarding and alighting include wheelchair users based on the images input from the at least one camera, and if the passengers boarding and alighting do not include wheelchair users, deploys part of the platform, and if the passengers boarding and alighting include wheelchair users, deploys the entire platform and moves the platform up and down between the ground and the floor of the vehicle compartment.

[0008] As a result, when a passenger is able-bodied, the platform can be used as a step to ascend and descend, and when a passenger is in a wheelchair, the platform can be used as a lift that moves up and down between the ground and the floor of the vehicle compartment. Therefore, the wheelchair lift-equipped vehicle of the present disclosure has a simple configuration and allows wheelchair users and able-bodied passengers to easily board and disembark. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The present disclosure can provide a vehicle equipped with a wheelchair lift that has a simple configuration and allows both wheelchair users and able-bodied persons to easily get on and off. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an elevational view showing the configuration of a wheelchair lift-mounted vehicle according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the wheelchair lift-equipped vehicle shown in FIG. 1 with a part of the platform deployed to the side of the vehicle. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an elevation view showing the wheelchair lift-equipped vehicle shown in FIG. 1 in a state where the platform has been moved downward after being fully deployed to the side of the vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a wheelchair lift-equipped vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as vehicle 100) will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, vehicle 100 is equipped with a body 10, a wheelchair lift 20, an exterior camera 31, an interior camera 32, and a control unit 40. In addition, FR, UP, and LH shown in each figure indicate the front, upper, and left sides of vehicle 100, respectively. Also, the opposite directions of FR, UP, and LH indicate the rear, lower, and right sides. In the following, when the directions of front / rear, left / right, and up / down are used for explanation, they refer to front / rear in the front / rear direction, left / right in the left / right direction, and up / down in the up / down direction of vehicle 100, unless otherwise specified.

[0012] The body 10 includes a left rocker 11, a right rocker 12, a cross member 13, a floor panel 14, a left side panel 15, a right side panel 16, and a sliding door 17.

[0013] The left rocker 11 is a framework member disposed at the left end of the lower part of the vehicle 100 and extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The right rocker 12 is a framework member disposed at the right end of the lower part of the vehicle 100 and extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The left rocker 11 and the right rocker 12 are longitudinal members with rectangular closed cross sections. The left rocker 11 is disposed at a lower position than the right rocker 12.

[0014] The cross member 13 is a framework member that connects the upper part of the left rocker 11 and the side surface of the right rocker 12 on the inner side in the vehicle width direction in the vehicle width direction. A plurality of cross members 13 are arranged in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. A floor panel 14 is arranged on the upper side of the plurality of cross members 13. The floor panel 14, the left side panel 15, the right side panel 16, and a roof panel (not shown) define a passenger compartment 18 of the vehicle 100. The upper surface of the floor panel 14 forms a floor surface 19 of the passenger compartment 18. A wheelchair user 50 in a wheelchair 51 and an able-bodied person board the floor surface 19.

[0015] A sliding door 17 is attached to the left side panel 15. The sliding door 17 slides in the front-rear direction of the vehicle to open and close an opening (not shown) for getting in and out that is provided in the left side panel 15.

[0016] A wheelchair lift 20 is disposed in the space between the cross member 13 and the floor panel 14. The wheelchair lift 20 is composed of an actuator 21, a link 22, and a lift platform 23. The actuator 21 moves in the vehicle width direction to deploy and store the lift platform 23 to the left side of the vehicle 100. The actuator 21 also rotates the link 22 to move the lift platform 23 up and down between the ground GL and the floor surface 19 of the vehicle compartment 18. The ground GL is the running surface on which the wheelchair 51 runs, and is the surface on which the wheelchair user 50 can get on the lift platform 23 while remaining in the wheelchair 51. Therefore, the ground GL may be, for example, the surface of a sidewalk or a road surface.

[0017] The exterior camera 31 is attached to the outside of the body 10 and captures images of the outside of the vehicle 100. The interior camera 32 is attached inside the passenger compartment 18 and captures images of the interior of the vehicle.

[0018] The control unit 40 receives images captured by the exterior camera 31 and the interior camera 32, and adjusts the operation of the wheelchair lift 20. The control unit 40 is a computer equipped with a CPU 41 that processes information therein, and a memory 42 that stores control programs and control data. The operation of the control unit 40 is realized by the CPU 41 executing the programs stored in the memory 42.

[0019] The actuator 21 of the wheelchair lift 20 is connected to the control unit 40 and operates according to commands from the control unit 40.

[0020] The control of the wheelchair lift 20 by the control unit 40 in the vehicle 100 configured as above will now be described.

[0021] Based on the images input from the exterior camera 31 and the interior camera 32, the control unit 40 judges whether or not the wheelchair user 50 is among the passengers disembarking from the passenger compartment 18 or among the passengers boarding from outside the vehicle at a bus stop or the like. If the passengers boarding and disembarking do not include the wheelchair user 50, the control unit 40 operates the actuator 21 in the vehicle width direction to deploy a part of the platform 23 to the left side of the vehicle 100, as shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the control unit 40 may deploy the platform 23 so that it protrudes 300 mm or more from the left end of the floor panel 14. This allows the platform 23 to form a step on which an able-bodied person walks, allowing the able-bodied person to easily board and disembark the vehicle 100.

[0022] On the other hand, when a wheelchair user 50 is included in the passengers, the control unit 40 operates the actuator 21 in the vehicle width direction as shown in Fig. 3 to deploy the entire lift platform 23 to the side of the vehicle 100, and then causes the actuator 21 to rotate the link 22 to raise and lower the lift platform 23 between the ground GL and the floor surface 19 of the vehicle compartment 18. This allows the wheelchair user 50 to get on and off the vehicle 100 while remaining in the wheelchair 51.

[0023] As described above, the vehicle 100 of the embodiment has a simple configuration and allows both wheelchair users 50 and able-bodied persons to easily get on and off.

[0024] In the above description, the wheelchair lift 20 in the vehicle 100 has been described as having the platform 23 deployed to the left side of the vehicle 100, but this is not limiting. For example, the sliding door 17 may be disposed on the right side of the vehicle 100, and the platform 23 may be deployed to the right side of the vehicle 100, or the platform 23 may be configured to be deployed to the rear of the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle 100 has been described as having two cameras, the exterior camera 31 and the interior camera 32, but this is not limiting, and an image of the interior and an image of the exterior of the vehicle may be acquired using one camera capable of acquiring images of both the interior and exterior of the vehicle.

[0025] Furthermore, if the vehicle 100 is equipped with a vehicle height adjustment mechanism, the control unit 40 may adjust the vehicle height so that the height of the upper surface of the lift platform 23 is approximately 200 mm above the ground GL when a part of the lift platform 23 is deployed to the side of the vehicle 100. This allows able-bodied persons to get on and off the vehicle 100 more easily. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 10 body, 11 left rocker, 12 right rocker, 13 cross member, 14 floor panel, 15 left side panel, 16 right side panel, 17 sliding door, 18 passenger compartment, 20 wheelchair lift, 21 actuator, 22 link, 23 lift platform, 31 exterior camera, 32 interior camera, 40 control unit, 41 CPU, 42 memory, 50 wheelchair user, 51 wheelchair, 100 vehicle (vehicle equipped with a wheelchair lift), GL ground.

Claims

[Claim 1] A wheelchair lift including a platform that is deployed toward the side or rear of the vehicle and moves up and down between the ground and the floor of the vehicle compartment; At least one camera for capturing images of the interior and exterior of the vehicle; A vehicle equipped with a wheelchair lift, comprising: a control unit that receives an image captured by the at least one camera and adjusts the operation of the wheelchair lift; The control unit determines whether or not the passengers boarding and disembarking include a wheelchair user based on the image input from the at least one camera, When the passengers do not include wheelchair users, a part of the platform is deployed, When the passengers include a wheelchair user, the entire platform is deployed and the platform is moved up and down between the ground and the floor of the vehicle compartment; A vehicle equipped with a wheelchair lift.

Images