Slope device

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a compact slope device allowing a user to easily get on and off a wheelchair or the like and having excellent strength and rigidity. [Solution] Provided is a slope device including: a mounting panel fixed on a vehicle side; a main panel connected to the mounting panel so as to be freely rotatable in the front-rear direction; and a sub-panel connected to the main panel so as to be freely rotatable in the front-rear direction, the slope device characterized by having a support structure in which a support portion on the sub-panel side abuts on a receiving portion on the main panel side in a deployed state.

Description

Slope device

[0001] The present invention relates to a slope device used for a wheelchair or the like to board and alight from a vehicle.

[0002] In order to allow a wheelchair, a cart, etc. to board and alight from a vehicle, a slope device linearly spanned between the ground and the rear of the luggage compartment of the vehicle body as shown in Patent Document 1 is known. Although the slope device in the same publication becomes somewhat compact when slid and stored, when a wheelchair or the like boards and alights, it is slid and deployed to span the ground, so it takes up a large space at the boarding and alighting location and the device also tends to be large. On the other hand, as shown in Patent Document 2, some vehicles have a large back door that can be freely opened and closed upward and a small tailgate that can be freely opened and closed downward. For example, when boarding a wheelchair, the front wheels lifted by tilting the wheelchair backward can be placed on the open tailgate. However, if there is a large difference in height between the upper surface of the tailgate and the ground, it is necessary to tilt the wheelchair greatly, and the burden of lifting the rear wheel side to board also tends to increase.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-276133, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2024-007003

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a slope device that is compact, easy to board and alight a wheelchair or the like, and excellent in strength and rigidity.

[0005] The slope device according to the present invention is a slope device having a mounting panel fixed to the vehicle side, a main panel rotatably connected to the mounting panel in the front-rear direction, and a sub-panel rotatably connected to the main panel in the front-rear direction, and is characterized in that it has a support structure in which the support portion on the sub-panel side abuts against the receiving portion on the main panel side in the deployed state.

[0006] In the present invention, it is preferable to support the sub-panel by bringing the base end of the support portion into contact with the tip of the receiving portion at a position lower than the rotation center of the main panel and the sub-panel when in the deployed state. This allows the load to be borne not only at the rotation center of the main panel and the sub-panel, but also at the contact point between the tip of the receiving portion and the base end of the support portion, which is located below the rotation center, making it easier to distribute the load.

[0007] In the present invention, the front end of the main panel can be made into a mountain-shaped upper surface in the front-to-back direction to serve as a guide for the front wheels of a wheelchair. Since most wheelchairs consist of relatively small diameter front wheels and larger diameter rear wheels, the wheelchair is driven forward so that the front wheels are first placed on the upper surface of the sub-panel, and then the rear wheels of the wheelchair are placed on the sub-panel. In such cases, if the front end of the main panel is made into a mountain-shaped upper surface, it functions as a guide for the front wheels along its curved surface, but the mountain shape may also form a continuously sloping section from the front end of the main panel toward the sub-panel. Furthermore, in the stored state, the front end of the main panel and the base end of the sub-panel may roughly overlap, and a predetermined gap may be formed between the upper surface of the main panel and the upper surface of the sub-panel. This design allows foreign objects such as stones and gravel to be placed in the gaps when stored, preventing them from getting caught in the panel. When deployed, the wheelchair wheels rotate while in contact with the guide section, making it easier for the wheels to automatically orient themselves in the direction of boarding and alighting, resulting in superior wheelchair maneuverability.

[0008] The ramp device according to the present invention is compact, yet can reduce the height difference with the ground, and can easily ensure strength and rigidity by forming a support structure through abutment between the main panel and the sub-panel.

[0009] The diagram shows the deployed state of the ramp device according to the present invention. (a) shows an enlarged view of the deployed state, and (b) shows an enlarged view of the stored state. (a) shows the deployed state of the sub-panel, and (b) shows the state in which the sub-panel is superimposed on the main panel. A partial cross-sectional view is shown to illustrate an example of wheelchair boarding and alighting.

[0010] The ramp device according to the present invention may, for example, have a mounting panel fixed to the cargo floor side of the vehicle, a main panel that rotates integrally with the tailgate, and a sub-panel that floats above the ground to form a ramp surface. In the deployed state, the sub-panel that rotates and deploys from the main panel side is cantilevered, and in the stored state, the sub-panel is inverted and stored so as to overlap the main panel. As a result, the sub-panel does not touch the ground, so it is relatively compact even when deployed, while the ramp surface extended by the deployment of the sub-panel comes closer to the ground. However, in this state where the sub-panel is floating, the load on the ramp surface cannot be supported by the ground, as in the ramp device shown in Patent Document 1. Therefore, by abutting the support part provided on the sub-panel against the receiving part on the main panel or tailgate side to form a support structure when deployed, it becomes easier to ensure strength and rigidity. In other words, the ramp device according to the present invention forms a ramp surface with the sub-panel, which rotates and unfolds from the main panel, floating above the ground. This allows for a compact unfolded state while minimizing the height difference with the ground, and the support structure formed by the abutment between the main panel and the sub-panel makes it easier to ensure strength and rigidity.

[0011] The following describes an example of the structure of the ramp device according to the present invention based on the figures. Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view in the boarding / alighting direction with a ramp surface formed, showing the state in which the vehicle's back door 2 is opened upward and the tailgate 1 is opened downward. The ramp device 10 has a mounting panel 11 fixed to the vehicle side, a main panel 21 that is rotatably connected to the mounting panel in the front-rear direction, and a sub-panel 31 that is rotatably connected to the main panel 21 in the front-rear direction. Here, the front-rear direction refers to the boarding / alighting direction of a wheelchair, etc., and in this embodiment, since boarding and alighting are from the back door side, it coincides with the front-rear direction of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the mounting panel 11 is attached to the cargo floor side, and the main panel 21 rotates integrally with the tailgate 1 that opens downward. The sub-panel 31 rotates towards the rear from the main panel 21 side and unfolds outwards from the vehicle, thereby forming a ramp surface while floating above the ground F. The unfolded sub-panel 31 is inclined such that the tip side is lower toward the ground than the base end side that connects to the main panel 21. In the storage state, where the sub-panel 31 is reversed and stacked on top of the main panel 21 when the ramp device is deployed, for example, when the tailgate 1 is closed, the main panel 21 and sub-panel 31, which have moved together with the tailgate, are stored inside the vehicle in a compact state.

[0012] Figure 2(a) shows an enlarged view of the ramp device in its deployed state, and Figure 2(b) shows the sub-panel 31 stored so as to overlap the upper surface of the main panel 21. The base end of the main panel 21 is pivotally attached to the tip of the mounting panel 11 at the mounting-side pivot 12 using a hinge structure or the like, and similarly the base end of the sub-panel 31 is pivotally attached to the tip of the main panel 21 at the pivot 22. In the deployed state, the sub-panel 31 does not touch the ground F, etc., but is in a cantilevered state. In this case, in addition to being supported by the pivot 22, a support part 32 provided on the sub-panel 31 abuts against the main panel 21 and the receiving part 5 on the tailgate 1 side. Preferably, the sub-panel 31 is supported by the support part 32 abutting against the receiving part 5 at a position below the center of the rotation axis of the pivot part 22. The purpose of this is to prevent the load from concentrating on the pivot part 22, and the abutment part only needs to be at a position lower than the rotation axis, and does not necessarily need to be directly below the center of the rotation axis. In this embodiment, rail-shaped support portions 32 extending in the front-rear direction are attached to both the left and right ends of the sub-panel 31. As the sub-panel 31 rotates and unfolds, the base end portion 32a of the support portion 32 abuts against the tip portion 5a of the receiving portion 5 in approximately the front-rear direction, thereby forming a support structure. Note that the support portion 32 does not necessarily have to be rail-shaped as long as it is located on the base end side of the sub-panel 31 and can abut against the receiving portion 5. In this embodiment, the receiving portion 5 is a separate member disposed between the main panel 21 and the tailgate 1, and has a tip portion 5a that protrudes further rearward than the tailgate 1 when unfolded. However, for example, a part of the tailgate or the main panel may also serve as the receiving portion.

[0013] As shown in Figure 2(a), the unfolded sub-panel 31 may have a gently curved shape such that the tip is positioned lower than the base. On the other hand, the support portion 32 is an example of a substantially straight shape. The load acting on the slope surface can be borne not only near the pivot portion 22, but also at the contact point between the base end portion 32a of the support portion and the tip portion 5a of the receiving portion, which is located at a lower position, and the load can be transmitted to the vehicle body side via the main panel 21, mounting panel 11, tailgate 1, etc.

[0014] The main panel 21 and the sub-panel 31 rotate in a reversing direction between the deployed state and the stored state. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, each panel is constructed using a panel member with a hollow cross-sectional shape, and each panel has excellent rigidity. There is no limit to the number of hollow sections in the hollow cross-sectional shape that can be formed by extrusion molding or the like. As shown in Figure 3(a), it is preferable that the front end of the main panel 21 is a gently sloping inclined section 23 such that the front end is lower when deployed. In particular, if the upper surface of the inclined section 23 has a gently sloping mountain shape, it functions as a guide section that guides the front wheels 3 of the wheelchair forward, as will be described later. In that case, as shown in Figure 3(a), the inclined section 23 may have a sub-inclined section 31a on the base end side of the sub-panel 31 via the pivot section 22. As shown in Figure 3(b), when stored, the inclined section 23 of the main panel 21 and the base end side (sub-inclined section 31a) of the sub-panel 31 are in a relationship where they roughly overlap each other. In this roughly overlapping state, a gap S is formed between the top surface of the sub-panel 31 and the top surface of the main panel 21. This allows foreign objects such as pebbles and soil to be contained in the gap S, and the sub-panel 31 can be folded while avoiding interference with the main panel 21.

[0015] Using Figure 4, an example of wheelchair boarding and alighting using the ramp device 10 will be explained. The sub-panel 31 is short, for example, with a front-to-back width of about 10 to 30 cm, and forms a ramp surface while floating above the ground F, so the deployed state is compact. In this state, the front wheels 3 of the wheelchair can be placed on the upper surface of the sub-panel 31. For example, by tilting the wheelchair backward while the rear wheels 4 of the wheelchair remain in contact with the ground F, the front wheels 3 can be lifted off the ground. As the front end of the sub-panel 31 approaches the ground F, the difference in height between the ramp surface and the ground F becomes relatively small, and there is no need to tilt the wheelchair significantly. For example, the front-to-back width and height of each panel may be set so that the front wheels 3 are positioned on the inclined portion 23 of the main panel when the rear wheels 4 are close to the front end of the sub-panel 31. As the front wheels 3 rotate while in contact with the inclined portion 23, they face forward in line with the movement towards the inside of the vehicle, and the front wheels 3 automatically face in a direction that makes it easy to move without any adjustment. The rear wheels 4 can be placed on the upper surface of the sub-panel 31 while the front wheels 3 are aligned with the main panel 21. Here, the main panel 21 may have a recess 24 that curves gently downwards towards the base end of the inclined portion 23. With the front wheels 3 fitted into the recess 24 and the rear wheels 4 positioned on the sub-panel 31, it is easier to maintain a state where both wheels of the wheelchair are on the slope surface.

[0016] The ramp device according to the present invention can reduce the height difference between the sub-panel, which is deployed on the outside of the vehicle when wheelchairs or other vehicles are getting on or off, and the ground, and can be used as a ramp device mounted on various types of vehicles.

[0017] 1 Tailgate 5 Receiving part 10 Ramp device 11 Mounting panel 21 Main panel 31 Sub panel 32 Support part

Claims

1. A ramp device comprising a mounting panel fixed to the vehicle, a main panel rotatably connected to the mounting panel in the front-rear direction, and a sub-panel rotatably connected to the main panel in the front-rear direction, characterized in that, in the deployed state, the support structure abuts the support portion on the sub-panel side against the receiving portion on the main panel side.

2. The ramp device according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the deployed state, the base end of the support portion is brought into contact with the tip of the receiving portion at a position lower than the pivot center of the main panel and the sub-panel to support the sub-panel.

3. The ramp device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, in the stored state, the leading edge of the main panel and the base edge of the sub-panel approximately overlap, and a predetermined gap is formed between the upper surface of the main panel and the upper surface of the sub-panel.

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