Attaching and detaching type driving device and wheelchair having the same
The inventive concept relates to an attaching and detaching type driving device, which is formed to be attachable and detachable to a manual wheelchair whose wheels are manually driven by a user, and to switch the manual wheelchair to an electric wheelchair that automatically drives wheels using power, and particularly, which is capable of being attached to and detached from the manual wheelchair regardless of shape or size of the wheelchair, being switched to the electric wheelchair, and supplying the electric wheelchair with low cost. The attaching and detaching type driving device includes a driving module mounted on each of both installation frames supporting both wheels in the wheelchair and putting rollers in close contact with the wheels to transfer a rotational force of the rollers to the wheels and a steering module controlling a drive of the driving module.
1. A driving device comprising:
a driving module mounted on each of both installation frames supporting both wheels in a wheelchair and putting rollers in close contact with the wheels to transfer a rotational force of the rollers to the wheels; and
a steering module controlling a drive of the driving module,
wherein the driving module comprises:
a clamp for fixing a whole driving module to the installation frames;
a body connected to the clamp;
a lever disposed on an upper portion of the body to provide a pressing lever manipulated by a user;
a gear placed at a side portion of the body and moving to the body according to an operation of front and rear movements of the pressing lever; and
a motor connected to the gear and transferring the rotational force to the gear, and
wherein the respective roller is connected to a side portion of the gear and rotated in response to the rotational force provided from the gear.
2. The driving device of claim 1 , wherein the driving module is fixed to the respective installation frame, which is parallel to a circular surface defined by the wheel, among a plurality of frames for the wheelchair.
3. The driving device of claim 2 , wherein the installation frame is located at a lower end of a seat of the wheelchair.
4. The driving device of claim 1 , wherein the motor receives an electric power from a battery and is driven by the electric power.
5. The driving device of claim 1 , wherein the clamp comprises a first clamp and a second clamp, which form a pair of left and right clamps, a first engaging groove and a second engaging groove are respectively defined under the first clamp and the second clamp, and the installation frames are accommodated in the first engaging groove and the second engaging groove to be fixedly coupled while the first clamp and the second clamp are coupled to each other.
6. The driving device of claim 5 , wherein a first mounting groove and a second mounting groove are respectively defined on upper portions of the first clamp and the second clamp, and a mounting bar of the body is accommodated in the first mounting groove and the second mounting groove to be rotatably coupled while the first clamp and the second clamp are coupled to each other.
7. The driving device of claim 6 , wherein a position of the roller is controlled by rotating the clamp about the installation frames when the clamp is fixed to the installation frames, and when the clamp rotates, the mounting bar of the body rotates in a direction opposite to a direction in which the clamp rotates to maintain a position of the driving module.
8. The driving device of claim 1 , wherein the gear comprises a gear box, the roller is connected to a side surface of the gear box, the motor is connected to the gear box, and the rotational force from the motor is transferred to the roller after a rotational direction of the rotational force is changed by a gear provided in the gear box.
9. The driving device of claim 8 , wherein a disk-shaped rotating disk, which is connected to a lower end portion of the pressing lever of the lever to rotate about a first shaft depending on an operation of the pressing lever, is disposed in a disk housing, a stopper section is defined in the disk housing along a direction to the gear box, a second shaft is rotatably coupled to a surface of the disk housing in a region of the stopper section, and a rotating frame projectingly formed on an upper side of the gear box is rotatably coupled to the second shaft, and the gear box is provided to be rotatable about the second shaft.
10. The driving device of claim 9 , wherein a third shaft is rotatably coupled to a side portion of the stopper section outside the disk housing, one end of a connection link is rotatably coupled to the third shaft, a fourth shaft is rotatably coupled to the other end of the connection link, a side portion of the gear box is rotatably coupled to the fourth shaft, the rotating disk rotates in a forward or reverse direction according to the operation of the pressing lever, and the rotational force of the rotating disk is transmitted to the gear box through the connection link to move the gear box forward or backward.
11. The driving device of claim 10 , wherein the first shaft rotating the rotating disk, the third shaft connected to the one end of the connection link, and the fourth shaft connected to the other end of the connection link perform a toggle function, and the gear box to which the roller is connected is prevented from moving to the body.
12. The driving device of claim 11 , wherein, when the user selects an electric mode and the pressing lever is locked, the third shaft is located below an imaginary line defined by the first shaft and the fourth shaft such that the first shaft, the third shaft, and the fourth shaft have a V shape, and even though the rotating disk rotates by an external force, a movement of the gear box is blocked since the stopper section is limited by the second shaft.
13. A wheelchair according to claim 1 , wherein the driving module of the driving device is disposed in the installation frames.