GB2196591A

GB2196591A - A drive unit for a golf trolley

Info

Publication number: GB2196591A
Application number: GB08724919A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roy Norman Frederick Alden
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-10-23
Filing date: 1987-10-23
Publication date: 1988-05-05
Also published as: GB8625366D0; GB8724919D0

Abstract

A drive unit 15 for a golf trolley 10 comprises a chassis 16 having wheels 17, a motor 18, a gear box 19 and a battery location 20. The chassis is connectable to the trolley by means of shaft 28 and bracket 30, whereby the trolley rotates relative to the chassis about an upwardly extending axis. The drive unit is compact, easy to mount, operates without the need for a differential gearing and has a free wheel facility. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A drive unit for a golf trolley This invention relates to drive units for golf trolleys.

Over recent years the tendency has been for golfers to use motorised golf trolleys.

Of those which have reached the market place, all consist of a complete motorised unit, although it may be collapsible. There have been paper proposals for devices which could be connected to existing '8manual'' golf trolleys but none have achieved any commercial success because they are too complex, too heavy or provide inadequate steering.

It is the object of this invention to provide an improved drive unit for a golf trolley which at least mitigates some of the above problems.

This invention consists in a drive-unit for a golf trolley, comprising a wheeled chassis, an electric motor for driving the wheels of the chassis, means for receiving a battery on the chassis and coupling means releasably engageable on the trolley and including a pivot whereby the trolley can be rotated about the generally axis relative to the chassis when the two are coupled by the coupling means.

The result of this configuration is, in contrast to the prior art devices, that the trolley can be steered using its existing wheels which not only makes for light and positive steering, but also removes the need for specialised steering mechanisms, such as tillers and jockey wheels as have been used in the prior art.

It is preferred that the unit includes a gear box and the chassis has a pair of wheels which are connected to a common shaft. In particular it is preferred that the wheels are sufficiently close together to dispense with the need for a differential gear so that the drive system will act as a brake to prevent the unit running away down hill, as occurs on existing products. The shaft may include a clutch and means for disengaging the clutch to allow free-wheeled operation to the trolley, for example should the battery run out.

The clutch is preferably spring-loaded and may comprise a number of pins which locate in corresponding apertures or recesses in an opposed plate.

The coupling means may include a bracket for receiving a longitudinal frame support of a golf trolley and means for releasably retaining the support in the bracket. The latter may consist of a number of aligned pairs of holes on respective sides of the bracket through which a pin or the like can be passed to trap the support within the bracket, the pairs of holes being located such that supports of different dimension can be accommodated. The bracket may also include a screw adjustment for engaging the longitudinal support and urging it against the retaining means to lock the support against movement relative to the bracket. Alternatively the retaining means may comprise screw fastening means mounted in an anchor plate which is itself mountable in the bracket.

The pivot which is preferably self-centering may be constituted by a shaft depending from the bracket and a bearing on the chassis through which the shaft passes. The position of the shaft within the bearing may be axially adjustable to allow for trolleys of different height. preferably the axis of the pivot is inclined to the vertical in a rearward direction with respect to the normal direction of travel.

From another aspect the invention consists in a drive unit for a golf trolley, including a pair of wheels positioned sufficiently close together that they are connected for identical and common rotation.

From a further aspect the invention consists in a golf trolley coupled to a drive unit having wheels wherein the unit is dimensioned such that the wheels lie generally under the handle grip of the trolley.

The advantage of this arrangement is that the grip of the wheels can be significantly increased when necessary, for example, when going up hill, by a small extra downward pressure on the handle of the golf trolley. For such circumstances some drive units are made heavier than otherwise necessary in order to achieve such grip.

The invention also includes a golf trolley coupled to a drive unit as defined above.

Although the invention has been defined above it is to be understood that it includes any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the following description.

The invention may be performed in various ways and a specific embodiment will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a drive unit coupled to a golf trolley; Figure 2 is a view from above of the chassis of the drive unit of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged side view of the bracket for use on the chassis of Figure 2; Figure 4 is an end view of the bracket of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view through the drive mechanism of the drive unit.

A golf trolley, generally indicated at 10 comprises a longitudinal central support 11 having a handle 12, bag rests 13 and an undercarriage 14 fixed to the support. The trolley shown in the drawings is merely illustrative and it will be appreciated that there are a number of shapes and sizes and folding frames, although many show the features mentioned above.

A drive unit, generally indicated at 15, for use with the trolley 10, comprises a chassis 16 having wheels 17, a motor 18, a gear box 1 9 and a battery location 20. The wheels 1 7 are mounted on a common shaft 21, which includes a spring-loaded clutch 22 which can be released by unscrewing a knurled knob 23.

The close positioning of the wheels 1 7 relative to each other removes the need for any differential gears.

The motor 18 is connected to the shaft through the gear box 19 and is controlled via control boxes 24 and 25, the latter of which is mounted adjacent to the handle 12. The motor is powered by the battery 26 carried in the battery support 20.

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2 the chassis is essentially longitudinal and, at the end remote from the wheels 17, is provided with a circular bearing aperture 27. This aperture is dimensioned to receive a dependent shaft 28 of a bracket 30 which can be attached to the longitudinal central support 11.

The bracket 30 forms a channel in which the longitudinal support can lie. The bracket 30 (as can be seen in Figures 4 and 5) is provided with opposed longitudinal recesses 3 1 for receiving an anchor plate 32 in which is mounted a screw locking fixing 33 having a plate 34 which can be screwed against the central support 11 to trap it in the bracket 30. The plate 32 and fixing 33 can be removed from the bracket 30 during mounting and demounting of the drive unit 15 and is conveniently retained by a chain 33a. The bracket is pivotally secured on the head 35 of the shaft 28 by a bolt 36. The head 35 has an inclined face 38 against which a screw 39, which is mounted on the bracket 30 by a pivot plate 40, can act to adjust the angle of the support 11 relative to the shaft 28 to allow for different constructions of trolley.

It is preferred that the shaft 28 extends at an inclined angle to the vertical, because the pivot then becomes self-centering and the drive unit lines up with the wheels 17. An additional fixed wheel 41 can be mounted on the end of the trolley to prevent 'digging in' on undulations on the course. This is not a steerable wheel.

A speed control box 25 is provided with suitable clips (not shown) which allow it to be retained on the longitudinal support 11.

It will thus be seen that the drive unit 15 provides a very simple lightweight construction which by means of the bracket 30 can be quickly mounted on and dismounted from the golf trolley 10. It provides a very effective steering arrangement without causing lateral pulling of the drive wheels 1 7 and without the provision of any additional steering equipment.

The location of the drive wheels 17 beneath the handle 12 means that the downward force on the wheels can be significantly increased by fairly light downward pressure on the handle 12 and hence, when necessary the grip of those wheels can be improved. The unusual arrangement of the drive wheels, which enables a differential gear to be dispensed with, means that if the trolley is going down hill the gear box 19 acts as a brake and the trolley will not run away as happens with other designs.

In the event of the battery running out or the motor failing for some reason, the knurled knob 23 can be undone allowing the clutch 22 to be disengaged and the whole unit can then free-wheel. The clutch 22 is more clearly illustrated in Figure 5. This shows that the clutch 22 comprises two portions 43, 44 which interengage by cooperating springloaded pins 45 and recesses 46 which can be held engaged, against spring 47, by the clamping action of knob 23. The axial movement of the shaft 21 through the knob 23 draws the left hand wheel, and its extension 48, into driving engagement with the gear box 19. When the knob 23 is undone the clutch 22 releases and the left hand wheel is moved away from the gear box 19.

Claims

1. A drive unit for a golf trolley, comprising a wheeled chassis, an electric motor for driving the wheels of the chassis, means for receiving a battery on the chassis and coupling means releasably engageable on the trolley and including a pivot whereby the trolley can be rotated about an upwardly extending axis relative to the chassis when the two are coupled by the coupling means.

2. A drive unit as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the pivot is self-centering such that the chassis wheels realign with the direction of travel after any change of course.

3. A drive unit as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the axis is inclined to the vertical in a rearward direction with respect to the normal direction of travel.

4. A drive unit as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4 further including a gear box between the motor and the wheels.

5. A drive unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wheels are mounted on a common shaft.

6. A drive unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wheels are sufficiently close together to avoid the need for a differential gear.

7. A drive unit as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6 as dependent on Claim 5, wherein the shaft includes a clutch and means for disengaging the clutch to allow the trolley to free wheel.

8. A drive unit as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the clutch is spring-loaded and can be engaged and disengaged by axial movement of the shaft.

9. A drive unit as claimed in Claim 8, wherein means for disengaging the clutch comprises an element screw mounted on one end of the shaft to act against one wheel such that when the element is rotated the shaft is moved axially through the wheel.

10. A drive unit as claimed in Claim 9, wherein axial movement of the shaft in a sense to engage the clutch causes the other wheel or an extension thereof to engage the gear box such that it is directly driven from the gear box.

11. A drive unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling means includes a bracket for receiving a longitudinal frame support of a golf trolley and means for releasably retaining the support in the bracket.

12. A drive unit as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the retaining means comprises screw fastening means mounted in an anchorplate which is itself mountable in the bracket.

13. A drive unit substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A drive unit as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the retaining means comprises a number of aligned pairs of holes on respective sides of the bracket through which a pin or the like can pass the bracket and support within the bracket, the pairs of holes being located such that supports of different dimensions can be accommodated.

15. A drive unit for a golf trolley, including a frame of wheels positioned sufficiently close together that they are connected for identical and common rotation.

16. A golf trolley coupled to a drive unit having wheels wherein the unit is dimensioned such that the wheels lie generally under the handle grip of the trolley.

17. A golf trolley coupled to a drive unit as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 15.