JP2002284015A - Stroller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stroller allowing a wheel only on a front side in the direction of advance to turn around a vertical line axial line in any case of a back face manual pushing condition and a facing manual pushing condition. SOLUTION: Lock members 47a, 47b slidable vertically are provided in side parts of caster holders fixed to lower parts of a front leg 12 and a rear leg 14, respectively. Recessed parts 45a, 45b with which the lock members are selectively engaged when a front wheel 11 or a rear wheel 13 faces the direction of straight advance are provided in a caster shaft. Lead wires 50a, 50b whose both end parts are connected with the lock members on a front leg side and a rear leg side, respectively, and which are inserted into the front leg and the rear leg are engaged with the recessed parts 45a, 45b provided in the caster shaft selectively corresponding to the lock members 47a, 47b on the front wheel side or the rear wheel side by connecting the lead wires inserted into the front leg and the rear leg with a lock change-over operation member 54 mounted slidably on the front leg and a connection device 51 movable vertically together with the lock change-over operation member 54 in the front leg and the slide of the lock change-over operation member 54.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stroller, and more particularly, to a stroller capable of switching a facing handle and a back handle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a stroller used when taking an infant outdoors for a walk, shopping, or the like, is folded so that it can be easily stored and carried as necessary. In addition, there have been proposed and put into practical use various types of devices, such as a back state in which the baby is pushed from the back of the baby or a hand-held state in which the user faces the baby.

[0003] However, in a stroller, the front wheel is generally rotated around a vertical axis so as to improve the traveling operability. In the case where the rear hand pushing state is changed to the hand pushing state where the user faces the baby, the wheel on the rear side in the traveling direction becomes rotatable around the vertical axis, and the steerability is impaired. There is a problem that running is not performed smoothly.
Therefore, it is conceivable that both the front wheel and the rear wheel can rotate around the vertical axis, but there is a problem that it is difficult for the stroller to travel straight.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a stroller in which only the wheel on the front side in the traveling direction is rotatable about the vertical axis in both the back-push state and the face-push state. The purpose is to get.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A stroller with a U-shaped push rod mounted swingably back and forth so that it can be used in a face-to-face state or a back-side state. A caster holder provided with a lock member capable of being provided, a caster shaft provided with a recess in which the lock member is selectively engaged when the front wheel or the rear wheel is oriented in the straight traveling direction, a front leg side and a rear leg Both ends are respectively connected to the lock members on the side, a lead wire inserted into the front leg and the rear leg, a lock switching operation member slidably mounted on the front leg, and the lock switching operation member in the front leg together with the lock switching operation member. Movable, and has a connecting tool to which a lead wire inserted in the front leg and the rear leg is connected, and by sliding of the lock switching operation member, the front wheel side, There is characterized in that so as to engage in a recess provided in the caster axis to selectively corresponding locking member on the rear wheel side.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the lock switching operation member is pressed by the hand pushing rod when the hand pushing rod is swung forward, and the lock switching operation member is moved downward. A sliding piece is provided.

[0007] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the invention according to the invention, the lead wire inserted into the front leg and the rear leg is connected by a connecting tool, and the front leg side is locked between the connecting tool and the front leg via the lead wire inserted into the front leg. A spring for urging the member upward is provided.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a stroller according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, showing a pair of left and right front legs 12 having a front wheel 11 and a pair of right and left rear legs 14 having a rear wheel 13. A hand rod 15 bent in a substantially U-shape, a pair of left and right armrests 16, and one end of each of the armrests 16 pivotally attached to the left and right two extending parallel to each other.
It has a pipe 17.

A front leg 12 is pivotally attached to the other end of each of the armrests 16, and an arc-shaped bendable guard arm 18 is detachably provided between the front ends of the left and right armrests 16. . The left and right armrests 16
, The upper end of the rear leg 14 is pivotally mounted. Left and right front legs 12
Are connected by a front connection bar 20 having a footrest 19, and the left and right rear legs 14 are connected by a rear connection bar 21. Further, a front end of a connecting bar 22 is pivotally connected to an intermediate portion of each of the front legs 12, respectively.
The rear ends are pivotally attached to rear leg support members 23 fixed to the lower portion of the pipe 17, respectively. The left and right connection bars 22 are connected by an upper connection bar 24. And these front leg 12, rear leg 14, armrest 1
6, pipe 17, and connecting bar 2 connecting them
The stroller body is constituted by 0, 21, 22, and 24.

As shown particularly enlarged in FIG.
, A lower end of an L-shaped bracket 25 is pivotally connected, and an intermediate portion thereof is pivotally connected to the rear leg support member 23. The free end of the bracket 25 is provided with a notch step 25a that engages with a locking step 26a of a lock member 26 that locks the rear leg 14 to the pipe 17. The lock member 26 is slidably mounted on the pipe 17, and is vertically slid along the pipe 17 by a remote control device provided on the push rod. The rear leg supporting member 23 has a stepped portion 23 which abuts on the surface facing the rear leg 14 and contacts the rear leg 14 at the time of deployment and maintains the deployed state.
a is formed.

When the lock member 26 engages with the notch 25a of the L-shaped bracket 25 as shown in FIG. 3, the rear leg 14 and the pipe 17 are locked via the bracket 25. The stroller body is maintained in a usable deployed state. On the other hand, when the lock member 26 is pulled up by a remote control device provided on the push rod as shown by a dashed line, the lock by the lock member 26 is released, and the armrest 16, the front legs 12 (not shown),
The rear leg 14 can swing upward as indicated by a dashed line, and can be folded into two for convenience in carrying or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rear leg supporting members 2 fixed to the lower portions of the right and left pipes 17, respectively.
3, a lower end of a U-shaped push rod 15 is pivotally mounted on the outer surface so as to swing back and forth about a shaft 27.
On the outer side surface of the armrest 16, locking projections 28 and 29 projecting laterally from the front end and the rear end thereof are fixedly provided. On the other hand, a locking member 30 that engages with the locking projection 28 or 29 is slidably mounted on the push rod 15 along the push rod 15 (FIGS. 4 and 5). Is biased downward via a spring.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the locking member 30 has an opening 31a extending vertically in the surface facing the pipe 17 and having an opening 31a which is opened rearward at the lower end.
A first concave portion 31 for latching in the shape of a letter is provided, and a second concave portion 32 for locking is provided below the first concave portion 31 so as to extend vertically and open forward and downward. Have been.

When the locking member 30 is pulled up by the remote control device provided on the push rod and the push rod 15 is swung rearward, as shown in FIG. Through the opening 31a to the first recess 31
The locking projection 29 is inserted into the inside, and the locking projection 29 is engaged with the first recess 31 by the downward movement of the locking member 30. Thereby, as shown in FIG.
5 is fixed to the rear swinging position, that is, the back-side pushing state. On the other hand, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 5, when the locking member 30 is pulled up and the hand pushing rod 15 is swung forward, the second locking concave portion 32 is engaged with the locking projection 28, The downward movement of the stop member 30 fixes the push rod 15 to the forward swinging position, that is, the facing push state, as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A lock release member 33, which is operated by a remote control device below the locking member 30, is slidably mounted on the hand 5 along the push rod 15. The unlocking member 33 is urged downward by a spring 34 provided in the push rod 15, and an unlocking rod 35 projects from the outer surface. On the other hand, an operating plate 36 that protrudes above the lock release rod 35 protrudes from the lock member 26,
When the lock release rod 35 is lifted up together with the lock release member 33, the lock member 26
Is lifted upward, the bracket 25 is unlocked, and the stroller can be folded as described above.

FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) are enlarged views of the front wheel portion and the rear wheel portion of the stroller according to the present invention, and caster holders 40a and 40b are respectively provided at the lower end portions of the front leg 12 and the rear leg 14 of the stroller. The caster holders 40a, 40b are formed with a vertical portion bent downward in the lower half of the caster holders 40a, 40b. Locations 41a and 41b are formed. The above space 41a,
Inside 41b, caster bodies 42a, 42b having front wheels 11 or 13 pivotally supported by horizontal shafts 11a, 13a on one side.
Caster shafts 43a and 43b projecting therefrom are mounted rotatably about the axis of the caster holders 40a and 40b. A caster holder 40a is provided below the caster shafts 43a and 43b of the caster bodies 42a and 42b.
Steps 44a and 44b are formed in contact with the lower edge of the base 40b. The front wheels 11 or the rear wheels 13 are engaged with the step members 44a and 44b when the front wheel 11 or the rear wheel 13 is oriented in the straight traveling direction. Concave recesses 45a and 45b are formed.

On the other hand, the front wheel side caster holder 40a
A lock member accommodating portion 46 extending in the up-down direction is
a and 46b are formed, and the lock member accommodating portion 46
Lock members 47a and 47b are provided in a and 46b so as to be vertically slidable. Then, the lock members 47a, 47b
Are urged downward by springs 48a and 48b, respectively.

One end of a lead wire 50a, 50b is connected to the lock member 47a, 47b, respectively, and the lead wire 50a is connected to the front wheel side lock member 47a.
Are inserted into the front legs 12. Similarly, the lead wire 50b connected to the lock member 46b on the rear wheel side is connected to the rear leg 13
The other end of the lead wire 50b is inserted into the front leg 12 through the armrest 16, as shown in FIG. (FIG. 8).

FIGS. 8A and 8B show the lead wire 5
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing details of a connecting portion between the lead wire 50a and the lead wire 50b, and a connecting tool 51 to which ends of the lead wire 50a and the lead wire 50b are mounted is slidable along the front leg 12 in the front leg 12; It is arranged in. That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, a connector guide member 53 disposed in the front leg 12 is attached to a pivot 52 that pivotally connects the top end of the front leg 12 to the armrest 16, and the connection is established. The connecting tool 51 is inserted into a long groove 53a formed in the tool guiding member 53.
Are slidable along the long groove 53a. Also,
A lock switching operation member 54 is slidably fitted to the front leg 12, and is connected to the coupling tool 51 and the lock switching operation member 5 by a shaft 55 inserted into the long groove 12 a of the front leg 12.
4 are connected. The connecting member 51 is urged upward by a spring 56 provided between the connecting member 51 and the connecting member guide member 53. The lock switching operation member 54 is integrally provided with a protruding piece 54a protruding outward. When the push rod 15 is swung forward, a protrusion 57 (FIG. 8) provided on the push rod 15 is provided. (B) comes into contact with the protruding piece 54a, and the connecting tool 51 is moved downward via the lock switching operation member 54 against the spring 56.

When the push rod 15 is tilted rearward as shown in FIG. 2 and is in the rear push state, as shown in FIG.
The lock member 47a is pulled upward through a, and the lock of the caster body 42a on the front wheel 11 is released. Therefore, the front wheel 11 is free to rotate around the vertical axis. On the other hand, at this time, the locking member 4 on the rear wheel 13 side is used.
7b is moved downward by a spring 48b, and the concave portion 45b of the caster shaft 43b of the caster body 42b on the rear wheel side.
Is engaged. Therefore, the caster body 42b of the rear wheel 13 is locked, and the rotation of the rear wheel 13 around the vertical axis is prevented. Thus, only the front wheel 11 can be turned in the back-pushed state, and the stroller can be steered freely.

When the push rod 15 swings forward as shown in FIG. 6 so as to be in a face-to-face push state, the projection 57 provided on the push rod 15 contacts the projection 54 a of the lock switching operation member 54. Then, the lock switching operation member 54 is pressed downward. Therefore, the lock member 48a is pressed downward by the spring 48a, and as shown in FIG.
a, and the caster body 42a is locked. On the other hand, at this time, the lock member 47b on the rear wheel 13 side is pulled up by the lead wire 50b, and FIG.
The lock with the concave portion 54b is released as shown in FIG. Therefore, the caster main body 42b of the rear wheel 13 on the forward side in the traveling direction can rotate around the vertical axis, and the caster main body 42a of the front wheel 11 on the rear side in the traveling direction is locked.

In this manner, in either the rear-side pushing or the facing-side pushing state, only the front wheels in the traveling direction can be turned, and the rear wheels are locked from turning. Alternatively, the steering performance can be improved in either of the face-to-face pushing states.

FIG. 10 shows a modification of the present invention.
Caster holder 40 fixed to the lower end of front leg 12
A cylindrical space 60 having an open lower end surface is formed in a, and a caster shaft 43a that supports the front wheel 11 by a horizontal shaft 11a on one side is formed in the space 60 around the axis. , And slidably mounted along the inner surface of the space 60.

A recess 61 extending in the circumferential direction is provided on the upper outer surface of the caster shaft 43a.
A horizontally extending restricting pin 62 provided on the caster holder 40a is inserted into the inside of the caster holder 40a.
The vertical sliding range of 3a is regulated. The caster shaft 43a is provided with a front-wheel straight-moving position fixing pin 63 capable of moving back and forth in the radial direction of the caster shaft 43a.
4 is urged to protrude outward.

On the other hand, empty space 6 of caster holder 40a
The lower inner surface of the groove 0 is provided with a groove 65 with which the front wheel position fixing pin 63 is engaged when the caster shaft 43a is at the lower position together with the front wheel 11 and the front wheel 11 is directed straight. . The concave groove 65 extends in the axial direction, and the upper end of the concave groove 65 is formed with a slope toward the inner surface side of the cavity 60 of the caster holder 40a.

When using a stroller, the front wheel 1
Since 1 is in contact with the ground, the front legs 12 are moving downward, that is, the caster shaft 43a is located at an upper position relative to the caster holder 40a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the front wheel position fixing pin 63 is in contact with the inner surface of the cavity 60 and is rotatable along the inner surface.

On the other hand, when the front wheel 11 is lifted upward by the push rod when the stroller is folded, the front wheel 11 is lowered with the caster shaft 43a with respect to the caster holder 40a by the weight of the front wheel 11. Therefore,
In this state, when the front wheel 11 swings and turns straight ahead, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the front wheel straight-moving state position fixing pin 63 is projected by the spring 64 and engages with the concave groove 65, and is fixed in a state where the front wheel 11 faces in the straight-moving direction. Therefore, when the stroller is folded, it is possible to prevent the front wheel supported by the caster shaft 43a from being forcibly folded in a state where the front wheel is not in the straight traveling position.

[0029]

According to the present invention, the lead wire inserted into the front leg and the rear leg is moved by moving the lock switching operation member slidably mounted on the front leg upward or downward. The locking member provided on the side of the front leg or the rear leg can be selectively engaged with the recess provided on the caster shaft via the rear stroller in the stroller or in the facing hand pressing state. Also, only the wheels on the front side in the traveling direction can rotate about the vertical axis, so that the steerability of the stroller at the time of running can always be maintained in a good state, and a smooth running can be performed. In addition, the lead wire inserted into the front leg and the rear leg is connected to the connecting tool disposed in the front leg, and the connecting tool is moved by the lock switching operation member. Since the connecting portion is located inside the front leg and the lock switching device is merely slidably attached to the front leg, the appearance is good and the erroneous operation is little.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a stroller according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the stroller.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a connecting portion between a pipe and a rear leg.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing a configuration of a locking member and a lock releasing member of the push rod.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the swinging motion of the hand push rod.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the stroller in which the push rod is swung in a facing state.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are enlarged cross-sectional views of caster holder portions of a front wheel and a rear wheel, wherein FIG. 7A illustrates a front wheel portion, and FIG. 7B illustrates a rear wheel portion.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a lock switching operation member,
(A) is a figure which shows a back pressing state, (b) shows a facing pressing state.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are views showing a locked or unlocked state of the front wheel portion and the rear wheel portion in a face-to-face pressing state.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a caster holder according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view of the one shown in FIG. 10;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Front wheel 12 Front leg 13 Rear wheel 14 Rear leg 15 Push rod 16 Armrest 17 Pipe 20 Front connection bar 21 Rear connection bar 22 Connection bar 23 Rear leg support member 24 Upper connection bar 25 Bracket 26 Lock member 28, 29 Locking projection 30 Locking member 31 First concave portion 32 Second concave portion 33 Lock release member 40a, 40b Caster holder 42a, 42b Caster body 45a, 45b Recess 47a, 47b Lock member 50a, 50b Lead wire 51 Connector 54 Lock switching operation member 63 Front wheel position fixing pin 64 Spring 65 Groove

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A stroller in which a U-shaped push rod is swingably fixed back and forth so that it can be used in a face-to-face state or a back state, and is fixed to lower portions of a front leg and a rear leg, respectively. A caster holder provided with a lock member capable of sliding vertically, a caster shaft provided with a concave portion in which the lock member is selectively engaged when the front wheel or the rear wheel is oriented in the straight traveling direction, Both ends are connected to the locking members on the front leg side and the rear leg side, respectively, and a lead wire inserted into the front leg and the rear leg, a lock switching operation member slidably mounted on the front leg, and the lock inside the front leg. And a connecting tool connected to a lead wire inserted into the front leg and the rear leg, which can be moved up and down together with the switching operation member. , Stroller, characterized in that so as to engage in a recess provided in the front wheel side or caster axis to selectively corresponding locking member on the rear wheel side. 2. The lock switching operation member is provided with a protruding piece which is pressed by the hand pushing rod when the hand pushing rod is swung forward and slides the lock switching operation member downward. The stroller according to claim 1, 3. A lead wire inserted into the front leg and the rear leg is connected by a connector, and a lock on the front leg side is provided between the connector and the front leg via the lead wire inserted into the front leg. 3. The stroller according to claim 1, further comprising a spring for urging the member upward.