JP2000255462A - Stair ascending/descending carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive carrier capable of ascending/descending stairs stably. SOLUTION: In a carrier provided with a load mounting portion 6, its inclining angle to a main body 1 having a stair ascending/descending traveling portion 2 being variable, an auxiliary leg 5 rotatably supported by one of the main body 1 and the load mounting portion 6 and a connecting member 55 connecting the other of the main body and the load mounting portion to the auxiliary leg are provided, and the auxiliary leg 5 changes a position with respect to the main body 1 according to an angular change between the main body 1 and the load mounting portion 6. By utilizing the angular change of the load mounting portion 6 with respect to the main body 1, the auxiliary leg 5 is inserted/pulled out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stair climbing and lowering vehicle for moving up and down stairs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 shows a stair-climbing transport vehicle in which a stair-climbing traveling section comprising a motor-driven crawler (infinite track) or the like is provided on a main body on which luggage is loaded so as to perform stair traveling. There are things. This means that the luggage mounting part 6 which can be rotated about the shaft 10 is mounted on the traveling part 2 provided with a crawler 20 which is an inclined part 20b for climbing the first step of the stairs. As shown in FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (e) and FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (e), the ceiling of the staircase is low or the landing of the staircase is narrow. Also, by tilting the luggage mounting unit 6 with respect to the traveling unit 2 and changing the angle of inclination, even if the luggage 9 is tall, it is possible to go up and down the stairs.

[0003]

By the way, in a stair climbing and lowering vehicle provided with the traveling section 2 as described above, when moving up from the stairs to a landing when climbing, or when starting to descend from the landing when descending, FIG. c) and the state shown in FIG. 10,
That is, the crawler 20 comes into contact with the ground at only one point, and a state in which the crawler 20 floats back and forth occurs. At this time, depending on the operation, there is a possibility of suddenly falling forward or backward, which is dangerous for the user and the surrounding people.

On the other hand, JP-A-2-60407 and JP-A-1-171549 disclose an auxiliary leg which can be protruded downward from a traveling portion in order to eliminate the unstable state. A configuration in which grounding is performed at two points is disclosed. The auxiliary leg here has a drive source for taking it in and out in order to cope with the need to change the position with respect to the traveling part according to the inclination of the traveling part, and the structure is complicated. And expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive stair-climbing transport vehicle capable of performing stable stair-climbing.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a stair-climbing transport vehicle including a stair-climbing traveling section and a luggage mounting section having a variable inclination angle with respect to a main body having the traveling section. An auxiliary leg rotatably supported on one of the main body and the luggage mounting portion, and a connecting member for connecting the other of the main body and the luggage mounting portion to the auxiliary leg, It is characterized in that the position with respect to the main body is changed according to a change in the angle between the main body and the luggage mounting portion. The auxiliary legs can be moved in and out using the change in the angle of the luggage mounting portion with respect to the main body.

A link can be used as the connecting member. Further, it is preferable that the auxiliary leg can be stowed freely and that it is provided with wheels.

The control member for controlling the operation of the traveling section reduces the traveling speed by the output of the detecting means for detecting that the auxiliary leg is in the operating state, or the auxiliary leg is in the operating state when going down the stairs. The safety can be further improved by lowering or stopping the traveling speed based on the output of the detecting means for detecting the fact.

[0009] It may be provided with a detecting means for detecting that the auxiliary leg is in the operating state, and a notifying means operated by an output of the detecting means.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail with reference to an example of an embodiment. The basic structure is the same as that shown in FIG. A mounting portion 6 for placing a load 9 on the vehicle is arranged. The mounting portion 6 having an L-shape composed of a vertical frame and a horizontal frame is connected to the main body 1 by a shaft 10 near a connection point of the vertical frame and the horizontal frame. And the shaft 10
Is rotatable around. A linear actuator 3 for changing the inclination angle of the mounting section 6 with respect to the main body 1 is provided between the main body 1 and the mounting section 6. The linear actuator 3 expands and contracts in the axial direction by rotation of a motor for controlling the tilt angle. One end of the linear actuator 3 is pivotally supported by the main body 1, and the other end is pivotally supported by the lower surface of the mounting frame 6. As the actuator 3 expands and contracts, the inclination angle of the mounting section 6 with respect to the main body 1 changes. When the linear actuator 3 is contracted, the horizontal frame of the mounting part 6 is
The mounting portion 6 is tilted about the shaft 10 so that the vertical frame falls down forward and the vertical frame is in an upright state, and when the linear actuator 3 is extended, the vertical frame falls forward.

The traveling means 2 disposed on the lower surface of the main body 1 comprises a pair of left and right crawlers 20, 20 driven by a drive motor (not shown). Each crawler 20 rises obliquely upward at the tip thereof. An inclined portion 20b is provided, and the presence of the inclined portion 20b allows the first step of the stairs to be climbed.

When the mounting section 6 is upright, the casters 6 for traveling on level ground provided on the horizontal frame of the mounting section 6 are provided.
Since 5 protrudes below the lower surface of crawler 20, crawler 20 does not touch the ground. However, if the mounting portion 6 is tilted as described above, the casters 65 move upward from the lower surface of the crawler 20, so that the crawler 20 can run. An operation unit 7 is arranged at the upper end of the vertical frame of the mounting unit 6, and operations on the crawler 20 and the linear actuator 3 can be performed while the operation unit 7 is held.

In the present invention, the auxiliary leg 5 is further added to the above-structured stair climbing and transporting vehicle. As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary leg 5 is pivotally supported on the main body 1 by the shaft 11 and has a wheel 50 at the tip, and is connected to a vertical frame of the mounting portion 6 by a link 55. It has become. The link 55 is formed by a toggle link that can be bent in the middle. When the link 55 is bent, the auxiliary leg 5 is greatly lifted to be in the housed state, and when the link 55 is extended, the auxiliary leg 5 is in the operating state. Become.

The auxiliary leg 5 is normally stored, but when the climbing of the stairs reaches the landing, as shown in FIG. 1, the user steps on the auxiliary leg 5 to extend the link 55 as shown in FIG. Thus, the vehicle is brought into the operating state, and the wheel 50 at the tip of the auxiliary leg 5 is brought into contact with the landing. Then, while the crawler 20 is operated, the mounting section 6 is gradually raised. Link 55
Connects the mounting portion 6 and the auxiliary leg 5, the wheels 50 of the auxiliary leg 55 move as the mounting portion 6 stands.
The amount of downward projection is reduced, and therefore, the traveling unit 2 can be shifted to a horizontal state while maintaining a state in which the crawler 20 and the auxiliary leg 5 are in contact with the ground. When the mounting section 6 is upright after climbing,
As shown in FIG. 1 (c), the auxiliary leg 5 is separated from the floor surface, and the auxiliary leg 5 can be returned to the housed state by pressing and bending the link 55 with a foot, for example.

When the traveling unit 2 is moved down the stairs by retreating, as shown in FIG. 2A, the storage unit is changed from the stored state to the operating state, and the mounting unit 6 is tilted so that the auxiliary leg 5 is grounded.
If the traveling unit 2 performs the retreating operation while further tilting the mounting unit 6, the traveling unit 2 moves on the steps of the stairs in a state where the crawler 20 and the auxiliary leg 5 are in contact with the ground. When the transfer is completed, the auxiliary leg 5 is returned to the stowed state so as not to hinder the running.

At the end of climbing the stairs or at the beginning of descending, the position of the auxiliary leg 5 is changed by using the inclination of the mounting portion 6 with respect to the vehicle body 1. A simple configuration is sufficient. In the illustrated example, the auxiliary leg 5 is pivotally supported on the main body 1, and the mounting portion 6 and the auxiliary leg 5 are supported.
Is connected by the link 55, but the auxiliary leg 5 may be pivotally supported on the mounting portion 6, and the main body 1 and the auxiliary leg 5 may be connected by the link 55.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show other examples. This is such that the link 55 can be brought into the housed state by bending the link 55, and a switch 52 that is turned on when the link 55 is extended to be in the operating state is provided, and this switch 52 is turned on. At times, the rotation speed of the drive motor that drives the crawler 20 of the traveling unit 2 is reduced so that the traveling speed is reduced. The use of the auxiliary leg 5 is a situation where safety is required more than usual,
It reduces driving speed and increases safety. Also, comparing the end of climb and the start of descend, higher safety is required at the start of descend because of acceleration due to gravity.
For this reason, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, when the auxiliary leg 5 is in the operating state and is in the state of descending the stairs, the rotation speed of the drive motor is further reduced or stopped.

It is preferable to detect whether the vehicle is going down the stairs as follows. That is, the operation unit 7
In the detection with only the up / down changeover switch 70 arranged in the above, since it is indistinguishable from the forward / backward movement when traveling on level ground,
As shown in FIG. 6, the driving speed of the crawler 20 is provided with a frequency generator FG, and feedback is applied to keep the traveling speed constant. In particular, in the case where the motor moves by its own weight even though the control circuit C does not drive the motor, a function of applying a current in the reverse direction to apply a brake so as to stop the excessive movement is provided. . In this case, whether the vehicle is in the state of descending the stairs is determined by "the up / down changeover switch 70 is on the down side" and "the motor speed is faster than the target value, the motor current is zero, or the motor current is lower. In the opposite direction (braking state) ".

The LED shown in FIG. 5 is light emission notifying means for turning on the switch 52 to notify the user that the auxiliary leg 5 is operating. Of course, a buzzer or the like may be used as the notification means.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a luggage mounting portion having a variable inclination angle with respect to a main body having a stair-climbing traveling portion, wherein one of the main body and the luggage mounting portion is provided. An auxiliary leg rotatably supported on the main body, a connecting member for connecting the other of the main body and the luggage mounting portion to the auxiliary leg, and the auxiliary leg is adapted to change an angle between the main body and the luggage mounting portion. The end of climbing or descending the stairs because the position with respect to the main body is changed accordingly, that is, the auxiliary legs are taken in and out using the angle change of the luggage mounting part with respect to the main body. The auxiliary legs for eliminating the unstable state at the beginning can be easily moved in and out without requiring any special power, and a device capable of stably moving up and down stairs can be provided at low cost.

When a link is used for the connecting member, the cost can be particularly reduced, and if the auxiliary legs are made freely retractable, the auxiliary legs can be prevented from hindering when not in use. If the wheels are provided, smooth operation can be obtained.

Further, the control member for controlling the operation of the traveling section reduces the traveling speed by the output of the detecting means for detecting that the auxiliary leg is in the operating state, or the auxiliary leg is in the operating state when going down the stairs. By reducing or stopping the traveling speed based on the output of the detecting means for detecting the above, it is possible to further enhance the safety.

If a detection means for detecting that the auxiliary leg is in the operating state and a notifying means operating by the output of the detection means are provided, it is possible to inform the user of the state of the auxiliary leg. In addition, it is possible to avoid erroneous use in which the auxiliary leg is used without being put out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation at the end of climbing according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation at the start of descending in the above.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part of the above.

FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are partial side views of another example of the above.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the above.

FIG. 6 is a block circuit diagram of the same.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the above.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the above.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing the above problem.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Running part 5 Auxiliary leg 6 Mounting part 55 Link

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A stair-climbing transport vehicle including a stair-climbing traveling unit and a luggage-mounting unit having a variable inclination angle with respect to a main body including the traveling unit, wherein one of the main body and the luggage-mounting unit is provided. An auxiliary leg rotatably supported on the main body, a connecting member for connecting the other of the main body and the luggage mounting portion to the auxiliary leg, and the auxiliary leg is adapted to change an angle between the main body and the luggage mounting portion. A stair-climbing transport vehicle characterized in that its position with respect to the main body is changed in response to the change. 2. The stair climbing and lowering vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is a link. 3. The stair climbing and lowering transport vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary leg is stowable. 4. The stair climbing and lowering vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary leg is provided with wheels. 5. A control member for controlling the operation of the traveling unit, wherein the traveling speed is reduced by an output of a detecting means for detecting that the auxiliary leg is in an operating state.
5. The stair climbing and lowering vehicle according to any one of Items 4 to 4. 6. A control member for controlling the operation of the traveling unit, wherein the traveling speed is reduced or stopped by an output of a detecting means for detecting that the auxiliary leg is in an operating state when going down the stairs. The stair climbing and lowering vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detecting means for detecting that the auxiliary leg is in an operating state, and a notifying means operating by an output of the detecting means. The stair climbing transport vehicle as described.