JP2001087024A - Traveling bag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a handy traveling bag which is smoothly self-propelled and the self propelling speed of which is easy to adjust to the pace of a traveler carrying the bag. SOLUTION: This traveling bag is provided with a motor 4 coupled so that driving force is transmitted to driving wheels 31 and batteries 8 for driving the motor 4, housed in the body of the bag, so that the bag can be self-propelled by the motor 4. A force sensor 11 is connected with a drive circuit composed of the motor 4 and the batteries 8 for driving, and the driving of the motor 4 is controlled according to a value detected by the force sensor 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a travel trunk having a built-in motor and a driving battery, which can be driven by driving a motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A traveling trunk that can travel on its own is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-65221. In the travel trunk disclosed in this publication, a motor is connected to wheels via a bevel gear and a pinion gear, and a switch formed by a variable resistor is provided between the motor and a storage battery for driving. The dual-purpose slider is connected.

[0003] The travel trunk can be transported by pushing it with a handle, but it can also be driven by a motor by operating a slider that also functions as a switch so that it can be self-propelled. Then, by adjusting the slider, the speed of the motor can be increased or decreased to adjust the speed.

[0004]

However, in the travel trunk disclosed in this publication, the switch and slider are provided on the upper surface of the steering wheel.
There is a problem that it is difficult to operate when the handle is just grasped by hand and hidden behind the palm. In addition, since the slider is also adjusted manually, there is a problem that if the operation is performed while walking during transportation, the operation cannot be performed well, and fine fine adjustment cannot be performed. For this reason,
There is a possibility that the trunk running away due to erroneous operation may run out of control, or the speed of walking may not be adjusted well, and it may not be possible to carry smoothly, and in a crowded airport, it may collide with other pedestrians. There is a possibility that an accident such as falling or being pulled by the trunk and falling may occur.

Accordingly, the present invention proposes a travel trunk that is easy to carry and that is easy to adjust to the speed of self-propelling according to the pace of a traveling traveler.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a motor and a battery for driving the motor, which are provided with wheels on the bottom surface and handles on the upper surface, and which are connected to transmit power to the wheels. In a travel trunk that can be housed and made self-propelled by a motor, a force sensor is connected to a drive circuit unit composed of the motor and a driving battery, and the motor is driven in accordance with a value detected by the force sensor. The drive is controlled.

Further, the force sensor is mounted on the handle to detect an increase or decrease in an external force applied to the handle.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The exterior of the travel trunk of the present invention includes a rectangular trunk body 1, a handle 2 provided on the upper surface of the body 1, and wheels 3 provided on the bottom surface. The trunk body 1 is made of sturdy plastic and can be opened and closed by hinges, and has a storage space inside. After the main body is closed, the engaging portion can be locked by a dial or the like, so that it is not opened carelessly.

The handle 2 is large and firmly gripped by hand so that the hand can be sufficiently inserted. Handle 2
Is made of the same material as the trunk body 1 and made of a strong plastic or the like. In addition, since it is formed on the upper surface of the slightly elongated trunk body 1, when the adult walks with the arm, the arm is appropriately bent and the arm is arranged at a height that is easy to hold.

One wheel 3 is provided at the front of the bottom surface of the trunk body 1 in the traveling direction and two at the rear. The front wheel 3 is rotatably supported so that the direction can be changed, and is a driving wheel 31 connected to a motor as described later. On the other hand, the rear wheel 3 is mounted so as to roll only in the forward or backward direction, and does not run on its own.

Inside the trunk body 1, the driving wheels 3
1, a driving mechanism, a driving circuit, and a charging section for a built-in storage battery. The driving mechanism includes a driving motor 4 for driving the driving wheel 31, a shaft 5 connecting the driving wheel 31 and the motor 4, and a pulley 6 for adjusting the rotation speed of the motor 4 to the rotation ratio of the driving wheel 31
, Motor 4 and pulley 6, and pulley 6 and drive wheel 3
1 and a belt 7 connecting the first and second belts.

On the other hand, the drive circuit section includes a storage battery 8 such as a nickel cadmium battery connected to the motor 4.
, Power switch 9, control circuit 10, force sensor 1
And 1.

The charging section comprises a charging cord 12 for connection to a commercial AC, and a charging circuit 13 for rectifying the commercial AC and supplying a charging current to the storage battery 8. The connection charging cord 12 can be wound up and stored in the trunk body 1, or can be extended and connected to a household outlet.

Although the force sensor 11 and the power switch 9 are provided on the handle 2, other drive circuits, drive mechanisms, and charging units are provided on the bottom of the trunk body 1 just above the wheels 3. It is stored compactly so that the storage space of the trunk body 1 can be widened.

The shaft 5 is rotatably supported by the motor 4 and is formed to have a U-shaped refraction. Since the shaft 5 is bent and provided, the fulcrum, which is a supported portion, and the power point, which is a wheel that performs a rotational operation, are displaced and positioned, and the vector between the two smoothens the rotational operation and is light. The direction of the wheels can be easily changed by operation.

In this embodiment, of the three wheels,
The wheel of the drive wheel 31 located in front is rotatably supported,
The rear wheels roll only in the direction of travel and the direction of retreat. Since the self-propelled drive wheel 31 is rotatable in this manner, the rotational operation force can be further reduced,
The direction can be easily changed with almost no force applied to the handle 2.

Next, the control circuit 10 and the force sensor 11
A specific example of the circuit configuration will be described. Force sensor 1
1 includes a variable resistor 111 and a spring 112 that supports a slidable adjustment terminal. The force sensor 11 is attached to the handle 2 so that when the user grips the handle, the spring 112 expands and contracts in response to an external force applied to change the resistance value. For example, when the vehicle is used on an uphill, the handle is strongly gripped, but on a flat floor, the handle 2 is gripped with a light force.
Further, when used on a floor surface without irregularities such as a tiled surface or a place with a large friction such as a gravel road, the external force applied to the handle 2 is different due to the difference in the frictional force. The force sensor 11 can finely change the resistance value by detecting them.

Next, the control circuit 10 controls the force sensor 1
An operational amplifier 101 receives an output of the operational amplifier 101, and a transistor 102 controls the conduction state of the main current path by the output of the operational amplifier 101. Since the motor 4 is connected to the main current path of the transistor 102, the current flowing through the motor 4 is controlled, and the rotation speed of the motor 4 is controlled.

With the above configuration, the travel trunk of the present invention operates as follows. That is, when the power switch 9 is turned on and in use, the force sensor 11 detects an external force applied to the steering wheel 2. When the vehicle is used on an uphill or on uneven ground, the external force applied to the steering wheel increases, whereby the force sensor 11 changes the resistance value and outputs it to the operational amplifier 101. The operational amplifier 101 performs an output according to a difference between the reference voltage and the reference voltage. Then, the output of the operational amplifier 101 is output to the base of the transistor 102 to make the conduction state of the transistor 102 deeper. As a result, the current flowing through the motor 4 increases, and the driving force transmitted to the driving wheels 31 connected to the motor 4 increases.

As described above, when the driving force of the driving wheel 31 increases, the user is assisted by the motor 4 by hand pushing, so that the external force due to the hand pushing by the user may be small. Then, the external force applied to the steering wheel 2 becomes smaller, and the force sensor 11 detects this, and by the reverse operation described above, the rotational speed of the motor 4 is reduced and the driving force of the driving wheel 31 is reduced. I do.

As described above, when the user needs the assist by the motor 4, the driving force of the drive wheel 31 is increased, and when the user does not need the assist, the drive wheel 31 is used.
Driving force can be reduced. Therefore, the motor can assist the user as much as the user needs, so that the current consumption of the storage battery 8 can be reduced, and the user can perform automatic and fine drive control with almost no consciousness. There are features.

Further, the force sensor 11 can detect that an external force in the opposite direction is applied to the steering wheel 2 on a downhill, and can apply a brake to the drive wheel 31. It is also possible to make various changes, such as changing the diameter and adjusting the speed by constructing like a transmission.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, a motor and a battery for driving the motor are provided, the wheels being provided on the bottom surface, the handles being provided on the upper surface, and the wheels being connected so that the drive is transmitted. In a travel trunk that can be self-propelled by a motor, a force sensor is connected to a drive circuit unit including the motor and a driving battery, and the travel sensor is connected to a drive trunk according to a value detected by the force sensor. Because the drive of the motor is controlled,
When the user needs the assist by the motor, the driving force of the driving wheel can be increased, and when the user does not need the assist, the driving force of the driving wheel can be weakened. Therefore, the motor can assist the user as much as the user needs, so that the current consumption of the battery can be reduced, and the user can perform automatic and detailed drive control with almost no awareness.

As a result, the self-propelled trunk does not run out of control due to erroneous operation or cannot be adjusted to the walking speed properly, and may collide with other passers even in a crowded airport. In addition, there is no accident such as being pulled down by the trunk and falling down, etc., and the traveling trunk is easy to carry, making it easy to adjust the self-propelling speed to the pace of the traveler who is carrying it. Can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external plan view of a travel trunk of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of the travel trunk of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram of a force sensor and a control circuit.

FIG. 4 is a waveform chart of each part in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Trunk main body 2 Handle 3 Wheel 31 Drive wheel 4 Motor 5 Shaft 6 Pulley 7 Belt 8 Storage battery 9 Power switch 10 Control circuit 101 Operational amplifier 102 Transistor 11 Force sensor 111 Variable resistance 112 Spring

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yosuke Tanaka 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Takashi Fujimoto 2-chome Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5-5 in Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A motor provided on a bottom surface and a handle provided on an upper surface, and a motor and a driving battery for the motor connected so that driving is transmitted to the wheels are housed in a main body. In the enabled travel trunk, a force sensor is connected to a drive circuit unit including the motor and a drive battery, and the drive of the motor is controlled according to a value detected by the force sensor. And travel trunk. 2. The travel trunk according to claim 1, wherein the force sensor is mounted on the handle and detects an increase or decrease in an external force applied to the handle.