Wheelchair for four-legged animal

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a wheelchair which is for a four-legged animal and which is less likely to fall over by moderating the inclination of a disabled limb-side holder due to a state change of a road surface or the body, has a sense of security, has high safety, and allows stress-free walking based on free will. [Solution] The present invention comprises: a disabled limb-side holder 3; at least one pair of left and right wheel arms 5 that are provided at left and right positions of the disabled limb-side holder 3 and pivotally support wheels 6; and a wheel lifting / lowering mechanism 7 that independently changes the relative heights of the wheels 6 with respect to the disabled limb-side holder 3 so as to moderate the inclination when the mounted disabled limb-side holder 3 is inclined due to a state change of the road surface or the body.

Description

quadrupedal animal wheelchair

[0001] The present invention relates to a wheelchair for quadrupedal animals that has difficulty walking due to illness, accident, or the like.

[0002] Conventionally, wheelchairs for quadrupedal animals have been proposed for quadrupedal animals that have difficulty walking due to illness, accidents, etc. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7300787 discloses a wheelchair for quadrupedal animals that, when the wheels stop, moves the main frame downward to allow the animal to transition to a sitting position, and when the wheels start rotating, moves the main frame upward to allow the animal to transition to a standing position (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent No. 7300787

[0004] However, in conventional quadrupedal animal wheelchairs, including the one described in Patent Document 1, the left and right wheels are always at the same height. This causes the problem that if the wheelchair tilts left or right due to unevenness in the ground while walking, it loses balance and is prone to tipping over. Some wheelchairs have a wider wheel gap to make them less likely to tip over, but this makes them more likely to collide with nearby obstacles, which causes significant mental stress for the quadrupedal animal.

[0005] Furthermore, in the wheelchair for quadruped animals described in Patent Document 1, the main frame always moves upward while the animal is walking. Therefore, when the wheelchair leans forward or backward (leaning forward) on a downhill slope, the main frame always moves downward when the wheelchair stops. Therefore, even if the quadruped animal does not intend to rest, the main frame is forced to move into a sitting position, which interferes with the animal's free movement and causes psychological stress.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a wheelchair for quadrupedal animals that reduces the tilt of the holder on the disabled limb due to changes in the road surface or torso conditions, making it less likely to tip over, and that provides a sense of security and safety, allowing stress-free walking based on the animal's own will.

[0007] The quadrupedal animal wheelchair of the present invention is a quadrupedal animal wheelchair used by quadrupedal animals to solve the problem of providing a high level of safety and stress-free walking based on free will by reducing the tilt of the disabled limb side holder due to changes in the road surface or torso conditions, making it less likely to tip over, and is equipped with an disabled limb side holder that is attached to the torso of the quadrupedal animal on the disabled limb side, one or more pairs of wheel arms on the left and right sides of the disabled limb side holder that rotatably support the wheels, and a wheel lifting mechanism that independently changes the relative height of each wheel with respect to the disabled limb side holder so as to reduce the tilt when the attached disabled limb side holder tilts due to changes in the road surface or torso conditions.

[0008] Furthermore, as one aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the problem of obtaining a command signal from the control unit or an external smartphone or remote controller and reliably reducing the tilt of the disabled limb side holder, the wheel lifting mechanism may have an actuator provided for each wheel arm that drives the wheel arm according to a specified drive direction and drive amount, and a command signal obtaining unit that includes the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator and obtains a command signal for reducing the tilt of the disabled limb side holder by moving each wheel arm up and down.

[0009] Furthermore, as one aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the problem of accurately and automatically calculating the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator that can mitigate the tilt of the impaired limb side holder, the present invention may have a tilt sensor that detects the tilt of the impaired limb side holder, and a control unit that calculates the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator based on the detection signal output from the tilt sensor and outputs the command signal to the command signal acquisition unit.

[0010] Furthermore, as one aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the problem of automatically and independently returning a quadrupedal animal that has fallen and fallen into a lying position to an upright position, a fall recovery mechanism may be provided which is provided with a pair of assist bars that can be extended and contracted to the right and left of the holder on the impaired limb side, and when the quadrupedal animal falls and falls into a lying position, the assist bars on the road surface side are extended to abut against the road surface, and the reaction force from this extends the quadrupedal animal to an upright position.

[0011] Furthermore, as one aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the problem of making it easier for a quadrupedal animal that has fallen and is in a lying position to return to an upright position, the control unit may drive the actuator to move each of the wheel arms upward before the fall recovery mechanism extends the assist bar.

[0012] According to the present invention, the tilt of the holder on the disabled limb side due to changes in the road surface or torso conditions is reduced, making it less likely to fall, and it also provides a sense of security and safety, allowing stress-free walking based on one's own will.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a quadruped animal equipped with a first embodiment of a quadruped animal wheelchair according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation of the fall recovery mechanism of the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing (a) a state before reducing the tilt and (b) a state after reducing the tilt when walking on a road surface that is inclined in the left-right direction; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing (a) a state before reducing the tilt and (b) a state after reducing the tilt when walking on a road surface that is inclined in the front-back direction; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing (a) a state before reducing the tilt and (b) a state after reducing the tilt when taking a rest; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing (a) a state before reducing the tilt and (b) a state after reducing the tilt when standing up; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how the quadruped animal returns from a fallen state to an upright state by the fall recovery mechanism of the first embodiment; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the inside of a gear box of the second embodiment; FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a quadruped animal equipped with a third embodiment of a quadruped animal wheelchair according to the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the inside of a gear box of the third embodiment.

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a wheelchair for a quadruped animal according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] As shown in Figure 1, the wheelchair 1A for quadrupedal animals of this first embodiment is used for quadrupedal animals with disabled hind legs. Note that, in this first embodiment, a dog is illustrated as the quadrupedal animal, but the present invention is not limited to this and is applicable to all quadrupedal animals that can walk on all four legs. In the following description, directions will be indicated using the forward / backward, left / right, and up / down directions of a quadrupedal animal, as shown in Figure 1.

[0016] 1, the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A of the first embodiment mainly comprises an healthy limb holder 2 attached to the healthy limb side body of the quadruped animal, an impaired limb holder 3 attached to the impaired limb side body of the quadruped animal, a connecting member 4 connecting the healthy limb side holder 2 and the impaired limb side holder 3, a pair of wheel arms 5, 5 provided on the left and right sides of the impaired limb side holder 3, a wheel lifting mechanism 7 that independently changes the relative height of each wheel 6 with respect to the impaired limb side holder 3, and a fall recovery mechanism 8 that returns a fallen quadruped animal to an upright position. Each component will be described below.

[0017] The healthy limb side holder 2 is attached to the healthy limb side trunk of the quadruped. In this first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the healthy limb side holder 2 has an attachment part 21 made of mesh fabric or the like that encases the healthy limb side trunk of the quadruped, an arched neck frame 22 that is provided above the attachment part 21 and placed around the neck of the quadruped, and an arched back frame 23 that is provided above the attachment part 21 and placed around the back of the quadruped.

[0018] The impaired limb holder 3 is attached to the trunk of the quadruped animal on the impaired limb side. In this first embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the impaired limb holder 3 is provided with a pair of horizontal frames 31, 31 arranged in a substantially horizontal direction along both sides of the trunk of the quadruped animal, a saddle frame 32 connected to the front ends of each horizontal frame 31 to support the abdomen of the quadruped animal and to be arranged around the tail, and a waist frame 33 connecting the front ends of the saddle frames 32 so as to span the waist.

[0019] The connecting member 4 connects the healthy limb side holder 2 and the impaired limb side holder 3. In this first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, a pair of connecting members 4 are provided to connect the healthy limb side holder 2 and the impaired limb side holder 3 at left and right positions, respectively. Furthermore, each connecting member 4 is configured to be extendable and retractable in length in the front-to-rear direction independently of each other so that a quadruped animal can freely bend its body in the left-to-right direction. Specifically, each connecting member 4 has a hinge structure in which two or more plates are connected in a zigzag pattern by a hinge pin, and the hinge pin is provided so as to extend approximately vertically.

[0020] The wheel arms 5 rotatably support the wheels 6. In this first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, a pair of wheel arms 5 are provided on the left and right sides of the impaired limb holder 3. The upper end of each wheel arm 5 is swingably provided at the connection between the connecting member 4 and the impaired limb holder 3, and the wheels 6 are rotatably supported at the lower end.

[0021] In this first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the upper end of each of the impaired limb covers 51, which are formed in a semi-cylindrical shape from plastic or the like and which encase and hold the impaired limb, is fixed to the lower part of the saddle frame 32. This allows each impaired limb cover 51 to freely rise and fall while hanging from the saddle frame 32. Note that each impaired limb cover 51 may be fixed anywhere as long as it can rise and fall freely. For example, the impaired limb covers 51 may be fixed to the rotation shafts of the wheels 6 so that they rise and fall independently of each other as the wheels 6 rise and fall.

[0022] The wheel lifting mechanism 7 independently changes the relative height of each wheel 6 with respect to the impaired limb holder 3. In the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the wheel lifting mechanism 7 is provided for each wheel arm 5 and includes an actuator 71 that drives each wheel arm 5, an inclination sensor 72 that detects the inclination of the impaired limb holder 3, a control unit 73 that calculates the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71 based on the detection signal output from the inclination sensor 72, and a command signal acquisition unit 74 that acquires a command signal including the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71.

[0023] In the first embodiment, the actuator 71 is configured by a linear actuator made up of a feed screw 71a and a stepping motor 71b, and drives the wheel arm 5 in accordance with a specified drive direction and drive amount. Specifically, as shown in Figure 1, the actuator 71 has a slider 75 fixed to the feed screw 71a and slidable along the horizontal frame 31, and a connecting frame 76 connecting the slider 75 and the wheel arm 5.

[0024] With this configuration, when the stepping motor 71b drives the slider 75 fixed to the feed screw 71a forward by a predetermined amount, the connecting frame 76 swings the wheel arm 5 downward by that amount, so that the wheel 6 moves to a lower position relative to the impaired limb holder 3. On the other hand, when the stepping motor 71b drives the slider 75 fixed to the feed screw 71a backward by a predetermined amount, the connecting frame 76 swings the wheel arm 5 upward by that amount, so that the wheel 6 moves to a higher position relative to the impaired limb holder 3.

[0025] The stepping motor 71b is housed in an actuator box 77 together with the control unit 73, command signal acquisition unit 74, power supply, etc. The tilt sensor 72 is fixed to the saddle frame 32, and when the impaired limb holder 3 attached by the quadruped torso tilts in the front-to-back direction (tilt about the left-to-right axis) or the left-to-right direction (tilt about the front-to-back axis) due to changes in the road surface or torso situation, it outputs a detection signal indicating the tilt. The tilt sensor 72 can also detect from the detected tilt that the quadruped has fallen and fallen into a recumbent position. The tilt sensor 72 is preferably attached on the center line of the quadruped's torso, in a location that does not interfere with movement.

[0026] The control unit 73 is configured as a functional unit executed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and calculates the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71 that can reduce the tilt of the impaired limb side holder 3 based on the detection signal output from the tilt sensor 72. Then, it outputs a command signal including the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71 to the command signal acquisition unit 74.

[0027] The command signal acquiring unit 74 is configured as a functional unit executed by the CPU, acquires the command signal output from the control unit 73, and instructs the actuators 71 on the drive direction and drive amount contained in the command signal. In other words, the command signal contains the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71, and is a signal for alleviating the tilt of the impaired limb side holder 3 by moving each wheel arm 5 up and down with the actuators 71.

[0028] In the first embodiment, the control unit 73 and the command signal acquisition unit 74 are configured by a CPU, and the command signal acquisition unit 74 acquires the command signal generated by the control unit 73, but this configuration is not limiting. For example, the command signal acquisition unit 74 may be configured by a wireless receiver and acquire the command signal from an external device such as a smartphone or a remote controller.

[0029] In the case of a smartphone, the posture of the walking quadruped animal is analyzed in real time while the image is being captured, and if any tilt occurs, a command signal to alleviate the tilt is generated and transmitted to the command signal acquisition unit 74. In the case of a remote controller, an operation button (up / down button, etc.) corresponding to each wheel 6 is provided, and the remote controller is configured to transmit a command signal to drive the actuator 71 in the direction corresponding to the operation button only while the operation button is pressed.

[0030] With the remote controller described above, an owner or the like can operate the operation buttons while watching the quadruped animal walking, and a command signal to reduce the quadruped animal's tilt is transmitted to the command signal acquisition unit 74. Furthermore, an owner who is familiar with the unique gestures and habits of quadruped animals can output an appropriate command signal at an appropriate time, such as lifting the wheel arm 5 when the animal is about to sit down (with its buttocks on the road) to encourage it to take a rest.

[0031] The fall recovery mechanism 8 returns a fallen quadruped animal to an upright position. In this first embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the fall recovery mechanism 8 includes a pair of assist bars 81, 81 that can extend and retract to the right and left of the impaired limb holder 3, an assist box 82 that houses these assist bars 81, and a drive motor 83 that drives the extension and retraction of each assist bar 81, and these drive motors 83 are controlled by the control unit 73.

[0032] 2, both ends of a wire 84 are fixed to the tip and base ends of the assist bar 81, and the wire 84 is wound around a winding shaft 85 provided at both ends inside the assist box 82 and a rotating shaft 86 of the drive motor 83. As a result, when the drive motor 83 is rotated forward or backward, the wire 84 is pulled in either direction, causing the assist bar 81 to expand and contract relative to the assist box 82.

[0033] When the tilt sensor 72 detects that the quadruped animal has fallen and is in a lying position, the control unit 73 of the fall recovery mechanism 8 first drives the actuators 71 to move each wheel arm 5 upward. The control unit 73 then drives the drive motor 83 to extend the assist bar 81 that is now facing the road surface, causing it to abut against the road surface, and the reaction force of this extends the quadruped animal back to an upright position. After extending the assist bar 81, the control unit 73 then drives the actuators 71 to move each wheel arm 5 downward.

[0034] Next, the operation of the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that Figures 3 to 7 show a simplified version of the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A.

[0035] 3(a) , when a quadruped animal wearing the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A of the first embodiment is walking and the road surface changes to one that is inclined left or right about the front-to-rear axis, the inclination sensor 72 detects the inclination and outputs a signal to the control unit 73. The control unit 73, which has received a detection signal from the inclination sensor 72, calculates the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71 so as to reduce the inclination of the impaired limb side holder 3, i.e., so as to lower the left wheel 6 and raise the right wheel 6, and outputs a command signal including these to the command signal acquisition unit 74.

[0036] When the command signal acquisition unit 74 acquires a command signal from the control unit 73, it instructs the actuator 71 on the drive direction and drive amount contained in the command signal. As a result, the actuator 71 moves each wheel arm 5 up and down in the drive direction and drive amount specified by the command signal, thereby reducing the tilt of the impaired limb side holder 3, as shown in Figure 3(b). This allows the quadruped animal to walk stably without losing balance and is less likely to tip over. Furthermore, because there is no need to widen the spacing between the wheels 6, the quadruped animal is less likely to collide with surrounding obstacles, reducing the mental stress on the quadruped animal.

[0037] 4(a), when a quadruped animal wearing the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A of the first embodiment is walking and the road surface changes to one that is inclined in the front-to-rear direction about the left-to-right axis (downhill), the inclination sensor 72 detects the inclination and outputs a signal to the control unit 73. In response, the control unit 73 calculates the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71 so as to reduce the inclination of the impaired limb side holder 3, i.e., so as to raise the wheels 6 on both sides, and outputs a command signal including these to the command signal acquisition unit 74.

[0038] As a result, the actuators 71 lift each wheel arm 5, reducing the tilt of the impaired limb holder 3 as shown in Figure 4(b). This reduces the forward leaning posture of the quadruped animal when going downhill, eliminating the fear of falling and giving a sense of security and improving safety. On the other hand, when going uphill, the backward leaning posture is reduced, so weight is not placed too much on the impaired limb and weight is also placed on the healthy limb (forelimb). This makes it easier for the claws and soles of the healthy limbs to transmit force to the road surface, making it easier for the quadruped animal to walk uphill.

[0039] Furthermore, when a quadruped animal takes a rest of its own volition, it will attempt to assume a forward-leaning posture by folding its healthy limbs (forelimbs), as shown in FIG. 5( a). This causes the body to change to a forward-leaning posture, and the tilt sensor 72 detects this tilt and outputs a signal to the control unit 73. The control unit 73 then calculates the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71 so as to reduce the tilt of the impaired limb holder 3, i.e., so as to raise the wheels 6 on both sides, and outputs a command signal including these to the command signal acquisition unit 74. As a result, the actuators 71 lift each wheel arm 5 in response to the quadruped animal's resting movement, allowing the animal to assume a resting position on its own, without the help of an owner, as shown in FIG. 5( b).

[0040] On the other hand, when a quadruped animal stands up of its own volition, it extends its healthy limbs (forelimbs), as shown in Figure 6(a). This causes the body to tilt backward, and the tilt sensor 72 detects this tilt and outputs a signal to the control unit 73. The control unit 73 then calculates the drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71 so as to reduce the tilt of the impaired limb holder 3, i.e., so that the wheels 6 on both sides are lowered, and outputs a command signal including these to the command signal acquisition unit 74. As a result, the actuators 71 push down each wheel arm 5 in response to the quadruped animal's standing up motion, allowing the animal to stand up on its own without the help of an owner, as shown in Figure 6(b).

[0041] Next, the operation of the fall recovery mechanism 8 will be described. When a quadruped animal equipped with the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A of the first embodiment falls and assumes a recumbent position, it flops around with its abdomen slightly facing upward, as shown in Figure 7(a). At this time, the healthy limb (front limb) facing the road surface, which is the trigger for getting up, becomes the abdominal side, and the animal can only struggle in this state. This is because, in order for a quadruped animal to stand up from a recumbent position, its chest must be facing the road surface.

[0042] Therefore, when the tilt sensor 72 detects that the animal has entered a recumbent position, the control unit 73 of the fall recovery mechanism 8 first drives the actuators 71 to lift each wheel arm 5 upward and move it to about waist height, as shown in Figure 7(b). This puts the quadruped animal in a state where it can easily rotate its body about the front-to-back axis.

[0043] Next, the control unit 73 drives the drive motor 83 to extend the assist bar 81 that is now facing the road surface. As a result, as shown in Fig. 7(c), the assist bar 81 comes into contact with and presses against the road surface, and as a reaction to this, the body of the quadruped rotates about the front-to-back axis, and the abdomen, which was facing slightly upward, turns sideways, as shown in Fig. 7(d).

[0044] Furthermore, when the assist bar 81 is extended, the posture of the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A approaches the state before the fall, as shown in Figure 7(e). As a result, the quadruped animal is able to move the healthy limb (left forelimb) on the road side relative to the trunk toward the fall side (right side in Figure 7) as shown in Figure 7(f), so that only the trunk (upper half of the body) on the healthy limb side is lying face down as shown in Figure 7(g). Finally, when the control unit 73 drives the actuator 71 to lower both wheel arms 5 as shown in Figure 7(g), the trunk (lower half of the body) on the impaired limb side is raised as shown in Figure 7(i), so that the quadruped animal automatically and unassisted returns to a standing position.

[0045] In the first embodiment, as described above, as an operation to make it easier for the quadruped animal to return to an upright position, each wheel arm 5 is moved upward before extending the assist bar 81, and each wheel arm 5 is moved downward after extending the assist bar 81. However, this operation is not necessarily required if the animal can return to an upright position using only the assist bar 81. Furthermore, after the torso on the healthy limb side (upper body) has assumed a prone position ( FIG. 7( g )), it may be desirable to remain in that position and rest, so the operation of moving each wheel arm 5 downward is not essential.

[0046] The first embodiment of the quadrupedal animal wheelchair 1A according to the present invention as described above provides the following advantages. 1. The wheelchair 1A reduces the tilt of the impaired limb holder 3 due to changes in the road surface or trunk conditions, making it less likely to tip over, and provides a sense of security and safety, allowing the animal to walk stress-free and at will. 2. The wheelchair 1A can reliably reduce the tilt of the impaired limb holder 3 by receiving command signals from the control unit 73 or an external device. 3. The drive direction and drive amount of each actuator 71 that can reduce the tilt of the impaired limb holder 3 can be accurately and automatically calculated. 4. A quadrupedal animal that has fallen into a lying position can be automatically and independently returned to an upright position. 5. A quadrupedal animal that has fallen into a lying position can be easily returned to an upright position. 6. The wheelchair 1A can assume a resting position and stand up from that position on its own, without the help of an owner or other person. 7. Since there is no need to widen the left-right spacing of the wheels 6, the quadruped animal is less likely to collide with surrounding obstacles while walking, reducing mental stress. 8. By reducing the tilt of the disabled limb holder 3, shaking of the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A due to unevenness in the road surface is reduced, thereby preventing inflammation of the skin that can occur when the skin gets pinched between the quadruped animal wheelchair 1A and bones. 9. Because the wheel lifting mechanism 7 lifts and lowers the wheels 6 only in response to tilt caused by changes in the road surface or torso condition, the quadruped animal will not perform undesired lifting or lowering movements, as compared to prior art that lifts and lowers the wheels 6 according to the state of the wheels 6.

[0047] Next, a second embodiment of the wheelchair for quadruped animals 1B according to the present invention will be described. Of the components of this second embodiment, the same or corresponding components as those of the first embodiment described above will be assigned the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0048] In the first embodiment described above, the wheel lifting mechanism 7 oscillated the wheel arm 5 up and down using a slider 75 and a connecting frame 76, but the feature of this second embodiment is that the wheel arm 5 is moved up and down using a worm gear.

[0049] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 8, a gear box 9 is provided on each of the left and right horizontal frames 31. As shown in Fig. 9, the gear box 9 accommodates a wireless receiver serving as the command signal acquisition unit 74, a lift motor 91 for lifting and lowering the wheels 6, a worm 92 provided on the output shaft of the lift motor 91, a worm wheel 93 that rotates in mesh with the worm 92, and a vertical movement bar 95 that moves up and down by a rack 94 that meshes with the worm wheel 93.

[0050] The lower end of the vertical movement bar 95 is connected to the wheel arm 5, and by swinging the wheel arm 5 up and down, the height position of the wheel 6 is raised and lowered. The vertical movement bar 95 is formed in an arc shape so as to follow the swing trajectory of the wheel arm 5.

[0051] According to the wheelchair for quadrupedal animal 1B of the second embodiment described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be achieved.

[0052] Next, a third embodiment of the wheelchair for quadruped animals 1C according to the present invention will be described. Note that, among the components of this third embodiment, components that are the same as or equivalent to those of the above-described embodiments will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0053] In the second embodiment described above, the wheel lifting mechanism 7 raised and lowered the wheel 6 by swinging the wheel arm 5 using the vertically movable bar 95, but the feature of this third embodiment is that the wheel 6 is attached directly to the vertically movable bar 95 and moved up and down.

[0054] Specifically, as shown in Figure 10, vertical frames 34 hang down from the left and right horizontal frames 31 along the disabled limb, and the gear box 9 is attached to these vertical frames 34. The interior of the gear box 9 is configured in the same way as in the second embodiment, as shown in Figure 11, with a vertical movement bar 95 formed in a substantially L-shape. The wheel 6 is rotatably supported at the tip of the vertical movement bar 95.

[0055] According to the wheelchair for quadrupedal animal 1C of the third embodiment as described above, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiments can be achieved.

[0056] The wheelchairs 1A, 1B, and 1C for quadruped animals according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified as appropriate.

[0057] For example, in the above-described embodiments, the wheelchairs 1A, 1B, and 1C for quadruped animals used by quadruped animals with impaired hind limbs have been described, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. Specifically, the wheelchair may be configured as a quadruped animal wheelchair for quadruped animals used by quadruped animals with impaired fore limbs by reversing the front-rear relationship between the healthy limb holder 2 and the impaired limb holder 3.

[0058] Furthermore, for quadrupedal animals with weak limbs, the wheelchair for quadrupedal animals may be configured to allow attachment of an impaired limb holder 3 to both the front and rear limbs. In this case, the heights of the pair of wheel arms 5 in each of the impaired limb holders 3 on the front and rear limbs are changed independently. Alternatively, the impaired limb holder 3 may be configured to be attachable to the entire torso, and one impaired limb holder 3 may be provided with a pair of wheel arms 5 on each of the front and rear limbs. In other words, the wheel arms 5 provided on the impaired limb holder 3 may be a pair on the left and right, or two pairs on the left and right, or more than one pair of wheel arms 5 on the left and right.

[0059] Furthermore, the wheel lifting mechanism 7 is not limited to the configuration of each of the above-described embodiments, and may have any configuration as long as it can raise and lower the height of the wheels 6 independently. For example, in the first embodiment described above, the slider 75 is driven by the feed screw 71a, but it may also be driven by a drive wire (not shown). Specifically, the slider 75 may be fixed to a drive wire, and the drive wire may be pulled in the forward and backward directions by a stepping motor 71b to drive the slider 75.

[0060] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A, 1B, 1C Wheelchair for quadruped animal 2 Healthy limb holder 21 Mounting part 22 Neck frame 23 Back frame 3 Impaired limb holder 31 Horizontal frame 32 Saddle frame 33 Waist frame 34 Vertical frame 4 Connecting member 5 Wheel arm 51 Impaired limb cover 6 Wheel 7 Wheel lifting mechanism 71 Actuator 71a Feed screw 71b Stepping motor 72 Tilt sensor 73 Control unit 74 Command signal acquisition unit 75 Slider 76 Connecting frame 77 Actuator box 8 Fall recovery mechanism 81 Assist bar 82 Assist box 83 Drive motor 84 Wire 85 Winding shaft 86 Rotating shaft 9 Gear box 91 Lifting motor 92 Worm 93 Worm wheel 94 Rack 95 Up and down movement bar

Claims

1. A quadruped wheelchair for use by a quadruped, an impaired limb side holder attached to the body of the quadruped animal on the impaired limb side; one or more pairs of left and right wheel arms provided on the left and right sides of the disabled limb side holder and supporting wheels rotatably; a wheel lifting mechanism that independently changes the relative height of each wheel with respect to the impaired limb holder so as to reduce tilting of the attached impaired limb holder due to changes in the road surface or trunk conditions; and and The wheel lifting mechanism includes: an actuator provided for each of the wheel arms, which drives the wheel arms in a specified drive direction and drive amount; a command signal acquiring unit that acquires a command signal including a drive direction and a drive amount of each of the actuators, for reducing the tilt of the impaired limb side holder by moving each of the wheel arms up and down; and The quadrupedal animal wheelchair further comprises: an inclination sensor that detects the inclination of the impaired limb side holder; a control unit that calculates a drive direction and a drive amount of each of the actuators based on the detection signal output from the tilt sensor, and outputs the command signal to the command signal acquisition unit; A wheelchair for quadruped animals.

2. A quadruped wheelchair for use by a quadruped, an impaired limb side holder attached to the body of the quadruped animal on the impaired limb side; one or more pairs of left and right wheel arms provided on the left and right sides of the disabled limb side holder and supporting wheels rotatably; a wheel lifting mechanism that independently changes the relative height of each wheel with respect to the impaired limb holder so as to reduce tilting of the attached impaired limb holder due to changes in the road surface or trunk conditions; and and This wheelchair for a quadruped animal has a pair of extendable assist bars to the right and left of the holder on the disabled limb side, and has a fall recovery mechanism that, when the quadruped animal falls and assumes a lying position, extends the assist bars on the road surface side to make them contact the road surface, and uses the reaction force to return the quadruped animal to an upright position.

3. The wheel lifting mechanism includes: an actuator provided for each wheel arm, which drives the wheel arm in a specified drive direction and drive amount; a command signal acquiring unit that acquires a command signal including a drive direction and a drive amount of each of the actuators, for reducing the tilt of the impaired limb side holder by moving each of the wheel arms up and down; and 3. The wheelchair for quadruped animals according to claim 2, wherein the actuator moves each of the wheel arms upward based on the command signal before the tip-over recovery mechanism extends the assist bar.

4. The wheel lifting mechanism includes: an actuator provided for each wheel arm, which drives the wheel arm in a specified drive direction and drive amount; a command signal acquiring unit that acquires a command signal including a drive direction and a drive amount of each of the actuators, for reducing the tilt of the impaired limb side holder by moving each of the wheel arms up and down; and The quadrupedal animal wheelchair further comprises: an inclination sensor that detects the inclination of the impaired limb side holder; a control unit that calculates a drive direction and a drive amount of each of the actuators based on the detection signal output from the tilt sensor, and outputs the command signal to the command signal acquisition unit; and 3. The wheelchair for quadruped animals according to claim 2, wherein the control unit drives the actuator to move each of the wheel arms upward before the fall recovery mechanism extends the assist bar.