JP2002104057A - Lift - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lift that does not generate a shock when a platform is transferred from one guide to another. SOLUTION: A wheel 40 that runs on rails 16, 44 over the outer side rail 16 mounted on the outer guide 15 and the inner side rail 44 mounted on the inner guide 13 is mounted on the platform 14. When the inner guide 13 inclines, the outer side rail 16 and the inner side rail 44 lap in a running direction of the wheel 40 to form a dual running section A where the wheel 40 contacts both the rails 16, 44.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle lift used for raising and lowering a wheelchair and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With respect to a vehicle lift of this type, the present applicant has already submitted to the Patent Office an invention relating to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-226492. In addition, the present invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of the invention related to the above-mentioned application, and the overall configuration as a lift is almost the same as the invention related to the already-filed application. In other words, the present invention is characterized in that the wheels provided on the platform have a double contact running section in contact with both the outer side rail and the inner side rail in the invention according to the already filed application. This is the same as the above-mentioned invention already filed. Therefore, as for the description of the conventional lift, the description of the embodiment of the present invention except for the double contact traveling section is directly used.

[0003]

According to the above-mentioned invention, when the platform is raised and lowered, the wheels provided on the platform move from the rail provided on one guide to the rail provided on the other guide. However, since there is a gap between these rails, there is a problem that a shock occurs when the wheels pass through the rail, giving a feeling of anxiety to a person riding on the platform. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a lift that does not cause a shock when the platform moves from one guide to another.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a pair of outer guides disposed on the left and right of an opening of a vehicle, and a pair of inner guides provided inside the outer guides and movable along the outer guides. And a platform that extends between the inner guides and is movable along the inner guide and the outer guide, a linkage mechanism that links the platform and the inner guide, and a thrust corresponding to a moving direction of the platform. Alternatively, a drive mechanism for applying a pulling force and a rotating mechanism for rotating the inner guide at a predetermined position are provided.

[0005] When a thrust or a pulling force is applied by the driving mechanism, the platform horizontally moves together with the inner guide linked by the linking mechanism. On the other hand, when the inner guide reaches a predetermined position, the rotating mechanism rotates about its base end as a fulcrum, and keeps its tip inclined downward. It is assumed that the platform is released from being linked with the inner guide by the mechanism, and is lifted while the platform is supported in a horizontal state.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an outer rail provided on the outer guide is provided on the premise of the lift.
Wheels running on these rails are provided on the platform over the inner rails provided on the inner guide, and when the inner guide is inclined, the outer rail and the inner rail wrap in the running direction of the wheels. Thus, a double traveling section in which wheels contact both rails is configured. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the outer rails and the inner rails that constitute the double travel section are provided at the tips.
It is characterized in that inclined surfaces are respectively formed.

[0007]

1 to 14 show an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a lift L is provided in a rear opening 11 of the vehicle 10. This lift L is
, A pair of inner guides 13, 13 linked to the main body 12,
3 and 13, and a platform 14. The main body 12 includes a pair of left and right outer guides 15 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the inner guides 13, 13 and the platform 1 are provided in the outer guides 15, 15.
4 can be stored.

[0008] The outer guides 15, 15
As shown in FIG. 2, a lower rail 16 and an upper rail 17 are provided, and an intermediate rail 18 is provided between the two rails 16 and 17. A stopper 19 is formed on the upper surface of the lower rail 16 on the distal end side. Also, the intermediate rail 1
An inclined portion 20 is provided at a distal end portion of 8. The turning mechanism of the present invention is constituted by the inclined portion 20 and the stopper 19, and the function thereof will be described later in detail.

[0009] Chain guides 21 and 21 are provided above the outer guides 15 and 15, respectively. The chain guides 21 and 21 are
22. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, the push-pull chains 22 include a plurality of outer members 23 and a plurality of inner members 24 provided inside the outer members 23.
Are connected by a pin 25.

The outer member 23 and the inner member 24 are
As shown in FIG. 6, the convex portion 26 and the rotation regulating surface 2
7 so that the tip of the convex portion 26 of one member comes into contact with the rotation regulating surface 27 of the other adjacent member. Then, in such a state, the push-pull chain 22 is kept straight. The push-pull chain 22 thus configured uses the pin 25 as a fulcrum,
It bends downward in the drawing but not on the other side. This is because the relative rotation between the two is regulated by the convex portion 26 and the rotation regulating surface 27.

As shown in FIG. 2, the push-pull chain 22 has one end fixed to the connecting portion 47 of the platform 14 and the other end connected to the chain cassette 31 via the driven sprocket 29 and the driving sprocket 30.
It is stored inside. Drive sprocket 3
Numeral 0 is fixed to the rotating shaft of the electric motor M, and is rotated by the operation of the electric motor M. Then, the push-pull chain 22 moves in accordance with the rotation direction of the driving sprocket 30, and applies a thrust or a pulling force to the platform 14. The push-pull chain 22, the driven sprocket 29, the drive sprocket 30, and the electric motor M constitute a drive mechanism of the present invention.

On the other hand, the inner guides 13
As shown in FIG. 4, the first and second rollers 32, 3 include a base end 13a and a straight portion 13b, and are provided on side surfaces of the base end 13a.
3 is rotatably mounted. As shown in FIG. 3, the first and second rollers 32 and 33 are
When the members 3 and 13 are stored in the outer guide 15, they are guided by the lower rail 16 and the intermediate rail 18, as shown in FIG. Then, it is possible to move in the horizontal direction while maintaining this guided state. In the state shown in the figure, the lower rail 16 and the intermediate rail 18
And the first and second rollers 32 and 33 are supported by
The straight portion 13b of the inner guide 13 is kept horizontal.

The inner guides 13, 13 supported on the base end 13a side as described above,
A downward force is acting. Therefore, when the inner guides 13 and 13 move rightward from the state shown in the figure and the second roller 33 reaches the inclined portion 20 of the intermediate rail, the inner roller 13 is pressed against the lower surface of the inclined portion 20 while the inner roller is pressed. The guides 13 and 13 rotate about the first roller 32 as a fulcrum, and the linear portion 13b starts to lower. And FIG.
As shown in (1), when the first roller 32 comes into contact with the stopper 19, and the convex portion 34 fixed to the inner guides 13, 13 contacts the regulating piece 35 provided on the outer guides 15, 15, the inner guides 13, 13 are moved. It is kept at a predetermined angle.

That is, the inner guides 13, 13
When the stopper 1 is moved to a predetermined position,
9 and an inclined portion 20, the first roller 32 provided on the base end 13a side thereof is pivoted about a fulcrum,
The tips of the inner guides 13 and 13 are kept in a downwardly inclined state. Note that pins P are fixed to the base ends 13a, 13a of the inner guides 13, 13, as shown in FIG. The function of this pin P will be described later in detail.

Each of the inner guides 13 has a lower rail 44 and an upper rail 45 with the straight portions 13b, 13b having a U-shaped cross section. The wheels 39 and 40 provided on the platform 14 are guided by these two rails 44 and 45. Hereinafter, the platform 14 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the platform 14 includes a plate portion 36.
And the side member 3 fixed to the side surface of the plate portion 36
7 and 37, and wheel mounting portions 38, 38 provided on the side members 37, 37. Then, the first and second wheels 39, 40 are rotatably mounted on the wheel mounting portions 38, 38, and the first and second wheels 39, 4 are mounted.
0 to the rails 44, 4 of the inner guides 13, 13.
5 guides you.

The connecting portions 47 of the wheel mounting portions 38 are connected to the ends of the push-pull chains 22, 22. The push-pull chains 22, 22 apply a thrust or a pulling force to the platform 14. I try to make it. Further, the side members 37, 37
, A third wheel 41 is rotatably mounted. Then, as shown in FIG.
When stored inside, the second wheel 40 and the third wheel 41 are guided by the lower rail 16, and the first wheel 39 is guided by the upper rail 17.

Further, on the side surfaces of the side members 37, 37, first and second link plates 42, having different heights, are provided.
43 are fixed at predetermined intervals. As shown in FIG. 3, the platform 14 and the inner guides 13 and 13
As shown in FIG. 10, a pin P provided on the inner guides 13, 13 is sandwiched between the inner guides.

Therefore, when the platform 14 moves rightward from the state shown in the figure, one of the link plates 4
2, the pin P is pushed rightward, and the inner guide 13 moves rightward with the platform 14.
Conversely, when the platform 14 moves to the left, the pin P is pushed to the left by the other linking plate 43, and the inner guide 13 moves to the left with the platform 14. That is, the link plate 4
The link mechanism of the present invention is constituted by the pins 2 and 43 and the pin P.

When the inner guide 13 rotates, the position of the pin P is as shown in FIG. That is, when the inner guide 13 rotates, the position of the pin P becomes higher with respect to the platform 14. The position of the pin P at this time is set to be higher than the upper surface of the connection plate 42 and lower than the upper surface of the linked play 43. Therefore, when the inner guide 13 rotates, the pin P does not contact the link plate 42, so that only the platform 14 can move rightward as shown in the figure.

When the platform 14 moves leftward from the state shown in FIG. 11, the connecting plate 43 contacts the pin P, and after this contact, the pin P is pushed leftward. When the pin P is pushed leftward in this manner, the inner guide 13 rotates about the first roller 32 as a fulcrum. That is, by pushing the pin P leftward with the connecting plate 43, the inner guide 13 can be returned to the horizontal position. The configuration described above is the same as the above-mentioned invention of the already-filed application.

Next, a description will be given of a double contact traveling section which is the most significant feature of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, an extension 48 is formed at an end of the lower rail 16 of the outer guide 15. An extension 49 is also formed at the end of the lower rail 44 of the inner guide 13. These extensions 48 and 49 are adjacent to each other when the inner guide 13 is in the inclined state shown in the figure. Therefore, the second wheel 40 provided on the platform 14 runs on the extension portions 48 and 49 while contacting the extension portions 48 and 49. That is, the extension portions 48, 4
9 constitutes a double contact running section in which the wheels 40 contact both rails.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the extension portions 48 and 49 constituting the double contact traveling section as described above
The inclined surfaces 50 and 51 are formed at the tips, respectively.
Therefore, the double contact traveling section where the wheel 40 contacts both rails is in the range A shown in the figure. Now, as shown in FIG.
When the vehicle travels rightward in the drawing, the wheel 40 smoothly rides on the extension 49 on the inner guide 13 side due to the inclined surface 51. Then, the wheel 40 travels on the double contact traveling section A where the extension portions 48 and 49 overlap, and the inclined surface 50
, The vehicle smoothly moves from the double contact traveling section A to the inner guide 13 side. In this manner, the inner guide 13 is moved from the rail 16 on the outer guide 15 side.
The wheels 40 move smoothly to the side rails 44,
No shock occurs.

Contrary to the above, when the wheels 40 move from the inner guide 13 side to the outer guide 15 side, the wheels 40 smoothly move to the double contact traveling section A by the inclined surface 50, and this double contact traveling section A Slope 51 from
As a result, the vehicle smoothly moves to the outer guide 15 side. Therefore, also in this case, no shock occurs. The lower rail 16 of the outer guide 15 corresponds to the outer rail of the present invention, and the lower rail 44 of the inner guide 13 corresponds to the inner rail of the present invention.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, when the electric motor M is operated from the state shown in FIG. 3, that is, the state in which the inner guide 13 and the platform 14 are stored in the main body 12, thrust is given to the platform 14 by the push-pull chain 22. At this time, the platform 14 and the inner guide 1
As shown in FIG. 10, the inner guide 13 moves integrally with the platform 14 because the pins 3 and 13 are linked with the pin P by the link plate 42.

When the inner guide 13 moves rightward in FIG. 7 together with the platform 14, the inner guide 13 starts rotating as described above. And FIG.
As shown in FIG.
When the inner guide 13 is moved to a position where it hits the stopper 19, the inner guide 13 is held at a predetermined inclination angle.
At this time, the inclination angle of the inner guide 13 is
The angle formed by the plate portion 36 of the platform 14 and the line connecting the first wheel 39 and the second wheel 40 provided on the platform 14 are substantially the same. The platform 14 can be kept horizontal by the two-point support by the first and second wheels 39 and 49.

When the inner guide 13 rotates as described above, the rail surface of the lower rail 16 of the outer guide 15 and the rail surface of the lower rail 44 of the inner guide 13 coincide with each other. Upper rail 17
And the rail surface of the upper rail 45 of the inner guide 14 match. Further, at this time, the extension 48 of the lower rail 16 of the outer guide 15 and the extension 49 of the lower rail 44 of the inner guide 13 overlap.

When the inner guide 13 rotates as described above, the pin P moves above the upper surface of the link plate 42 and separates, as shown in FIG. 11, so that only the platform 14 is moved rightward thereafter. Move in the direction.
The second wheel 40 provided on the platform 14
Moves from the lower rail 16 of the outer guide 15 to the lower rail 44 of the inner guide 13. In addition, at this time, the second wheel 40 smoothly moves through the double contact traveling section A, so that no shock occurs. After the second wheel 40 has moved from the outer guide 15 side to the inner guide 13 side as described above, the first wheel 3
9 also moves from the upper rail 17 of the outer guide 15 to the upper rail 45 of the inner guide 13.

When the platform 14 has completely moved from the outer guide 15 side to the inner guide 13 side in this way, thereafter, the platform 14 descends obliquely downward along the inner guide 13 while keeping the horizontal state. . Note that the inclination angle of the inner guide 13 is
First wheel 39 and second wheel 4 provided on platform 14
0, so that when the platform 14 moves from the outer guide 15 side to the inner guide 13 side as described above, this platform 1
4 always keeps a horizontal state without tilting.

Then, the wheelchair W is placed on the plate portion 36 in the state shown in FIG. 1, that is, with the platform 14 in contact with the ground. When the wheelchair W is placed in this manner, the electric motor M is operated and the push-pull chain 22 is pulled, so that the first and second wheels 39 and 40 are guided by the inner guide 13 and the platform 14
Rises obliquely upward while maintaining a horizontal state. When the platform 14 is raised obliquely upward in this manner, the head of a person sitting in the wheelchair W also rises obliquely upward. Therefore, the head of the person sitting in the wheelchair W does not hit the rear hatch of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the running directions of the push-pull chains 22, 22 are deflected downward by pulleys 46, 46 provided on the outer guide. Then, the deflected push-pull chains 22, 22
Are guided in parallel to the inner guide 13, and the tip thereof is fixed to the connecting portion 47 of the platform 14. Therefore, the pulling force T in the horizontal direction of the push-pull chains 22, 22 acts on the platform 14 as it is.

Here, assuming that the total load of the platform 14's own weight and the loaded load is m, the component force parallel to the slope is a, and the component force perpendicular to the slope is b, as shown in FIG. Is sufficient as long as it is equal to or more than the component a in the inclination direction. The component force a in the inclination direction is smaller than the total load m. That is,
Than lifting the same load vertically.
Can be pulled with a small force. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the output of the electric motor M can be made smaller than when the platform 14 is lifted in the vertical direction, and the electric motor M can be downsized accordingly.

The platform 14 has a first,
Since the slope is rolled by the second wheels 39 and 40, the friction force generated by the component force b perpendicular to the slope becomes the rolling friction force. The rolling friction force is sufficiently smaller than the sliding friction force. Thus, according to this embodiment,
The platform 14 can be moved smoothly and with a smaller pulling force, and accordingly, the output of the electric motor M can be reduced.

When the platform 14 is raised along the inner guide 13 and its second wheel 40 moves on the lower rail 16 of the outer guide 15, as shown in FIG. The upper surface of 43 comes to a position higher than the pin P of the inner guide 13. Therefore, when the platform 14 moves leftward from this state, the pin P is pushed leftward by the linking plate 43, and the inner guide 13 is moved to the first position.
The roller 32 rotates about the fulcrum.

Therefore, as the platform 14 moves, the inner guide 13 moves leftward while returning to the horizontal state. And, as shown in FIG.
The platform 14 and the inner guides 13 are completely stored in the main body 12. When the inner guide 13 returns to the horizontal position, the mounting position of the pin P and the plates 42 and 43 is set so that the pin P is located between the linking plate 42 and the linking plate 43.

In the above embodiment, the push-pull chain 2
Although a thrust or a pulling force is applied to the platform 14 by using 2, 22, a cylinder or the like may be used instead of the push-pull chain. In this case, sequence control may be performed for a cylinder that moves the platform 14 in the horizontal direction and a cylinder that moves the platform obliquely along the inner guide 13. However, as in this embodiment, the push-pull chain 22,
22, the pair of push-pull chains 2
2, 22 can be driven by coaxial sprockets. That is, only one electric motor M is required, which is advantageous in cost.

In the above embodiment, the extension portions 48, 49
The inclined surfaces 50 and 51 are formed at the tip of the, but these inclined surfaces 50 and 51 are not essential components. That is, when the inner guide 13 is rotated and maintained in the inclined state, if the accuracy is increased so that the heights of both the extension portions 48 and 49 coincide with each other, even if the inclined surfaces 50 and 51 are not provided, it is possible to increase the height. The wheels 40 can move from one guide to the other guide via the heavy contact traveling section. However, if the inclined surfaces 50 and 51 are formed, it is certain that the second wheel 40 smoothly transitions from one guide to the other guide even if the accuracy is somewhat poor.

[0037]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a double contact running section in which the wheels simultaneously contact both rails is provided between the inner guide side rail and the outer guide side rail. Wheels move smoothly from one guide to the other. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a shock when the platform is raised and lowered, and does not give anxiety to a person riding on the platform.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the inclined surfaces are formed at the ends of the outer side rail and the inner side rail, so that even if there is a difference in height between the two rails, the wheels can be smoothly transferred. Can be made.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a state where a lift L of an embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment, and shows a platform 1;
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the grounding is performed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment, and shows a platform 1;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state where 4 is stored.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing a state before assembling the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the push-pull chain 22.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the push-pull chain 22.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mechanism of the embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a state where a platform 14 and an inner guide 13 are stored in a main body 12. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mechanism of the embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which an inner guide 13 is completely rotated.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the mechanism of the embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a state where the platform 14 is grounded.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between link plates 42 and 43 and a pin P, showing a state before the inner guide 13 rotates.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between link plates 42 and 43 and a pin P, and illustrates a state in which an inner guide 13 is rotated.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a force relationship when the platform 14 is pulled.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a double contact traveling section A.

14 is a side view showing a double contact traveling section A. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle 11 Rear opening 13 Inner guide 14 Platform 15 Outer guide 16 Lower rail which constitutes the outer side rail of the present invention 19 Stopper which constitutes the rotating mechanism of the present invention 20 Intermediate rail which constitutes the rotating mechanism of the present invention Inclined part 22 Push-pull chain constituting the drive mechanism of the present invention 29 Driven sprocket constituting the drive mechanism of the present invention 30 Drive sprocket constituting the drive mechanism of the present invention 39 First wheel 40 Second wheel 42 Linkage of the present invention Linkage plate 43 that constitutes the mechanism Linkage plate 44 that constitutes the linkage mechanism of the present invention Lower rail P that constitutes the inner rail of the present invention P Pin M that constitutes the linkage mechanism of the present invention M Electric drive that constitutes the drive mechanism of the present invention Motor A Double contact traveling section

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pair of outer guides disposed on the left and right sides of an opening of a vehicle, a pair of inner guides provided inside the outer guides and movable along the outer guides, and a pair of inner guides hung between the inner guides. A platform that is movable along the inner guide and the outer guide, a linkage mechanism that links the platform and the inner guide, and a drive mechanism that applies a thrust or a pulling force according to the moving direction of the platform. A rotating mechanism for rotating the inner guide at a predetermined position, wherein the platform horizontally moves together with the inner guide linked by the linking mechanism when the driving mechanism applies a thrust or a pulling force. When the guide reaches the predetermined position, The platform is pivoted about its base end by the pivot mechanism to keep the tip inclined downward, and along the inclined inner guide, the platform released from the linkage with the inner guide by the linkage mechanism is guided. In a lift that moves up and down while the platform is supported in a horizontal state, the wheels traveling on these rails extend over an outer rail provided on the outer guide and an inner rail provided on the inner guide. Provided on the platform, when the inner guide is inclined, the outer side rail and the inner side rail wrap in the running direction of the wheels, and a double contact running section in which the wheels contact both rails is configured. Features lift. 2. The lift according to claim 1, wherein an inclined surface is formed at each end of the outer side rail and the inner side rail constituting the double contact traveling section.