JP2005219633A - Slide device of front frame in folding bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a folding bicycle in which a seat frame and a rear wheel supporting frame are connected to each other in a substantial X-shape, the position of a front portion of the rear wheel supporting frame to a front frame can be smoothly changed, the front portion of the rear wheel supporting frame is easily positioned so that the position is not shifted between the riding mode and the folding mode, and the handling is excellent. <P>SOLUTION: A slide device 19 of a front frame in a folding bicycle comprises a cylindrical contact cylinder 20 which surrounds a front frame 6 and is slidably brought into contact with an outer circumference of the front frame 6, a slide device body 22 having a rear wheel supporting frame connection part 21 in which a pair of split bodies 24 are mounted so as to surround the outer circumference of the front frame 6 via the contact cylinder 20, and a rear wheel supporting frame 11 is turnably connected to a rear part in the longitudinal direction of the bicycle, and a positioning means 23 to position the slide device body 22 to the front frame 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sliding device for a front frame in a folding bicycle.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a folding bicycle that can be made compact has been proposed for the purpose of improving portability during transportation and reducing the space occupied when not riding.
And in this folding bicycle, a front frame having a handle post that can be rotated on its axis, a seat frame in which a saddle is arranged at the rear, and a rear wheel that is mounted with a rear wheel that can be rotated at the rear. A basic frame, and the seat frame and the rear wheel support frame are connected to each other in a substantially X shape so as to be rotatable at the center of the vehicle body, and the front portion of the seat frame is connected to the lower side of the front frame. The rear part of the seat frame can be moved forward in the vehicle length direction, and the front part of the rear wheel support frame is moved upward along the length direction of the front frame as the seat frame rotates. The rear part (rear wheel side) moves forward in the vehicle length direction while the front part of the rear wheel support frame moves upward. It includes the (e.g., Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2), the body size of the vehicle length direction to cause make the rear wheel support frame and the seat frame is not to be smaller as needed.
Public utility Showa 52-078237 (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3) Public utility Showa 62-174990 (Fig. 1)

However, in the folding bicycle in which the seat frame and the rear wheel support frame described above are connected in a substantially X shape at the center of the vehicle body, the position of the front portion of the rear wheel support frame with respect to the front frame is folded at the time of riding. It was only shown to change with time.
In other words, in a folding bicycle in which the seat frame and the rear wheel support frame are connected in a substantially X shape, the front part of the rear wheel support frame seems to be stable with respect to the front frame both when riding and when folded. It is necessary to quickly move the position of the front part of the rear wheel support frame in the length direction of the front frame when folding or unfolding. However, no technology has been shown to make these operations simple and reliable, and even current folding bicycles still have this technology. I did not.
Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention can smoothly change the position of the front portion of the rear wheel support frame with respect to the front frame in a folding bicycle in which the seat frame and the rear wheel support frame are connected in a substantially X shape. The purpose is to easily position the rear wheel support frame so that it does not move between riding and folding, and to obtain a bicycle that is easy to handle Is.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and a front frame having a handle post having a handle portion at an upper end and a front fork portion for rotatably supporting a front wheel at a lower end so as to be axially rotatable and disposed inside. Further, a seat frame having a saddle disposed at the rear is supported so as to be rotatable in the vehicle length direction, and a rear wheel is rotatably attached to the front frame. A rear wheel support frame having a drive unit for rotating the vehicle is supported by a slide device so as to be slidable in the length direction of the front frame and rotatable in the vehicle length direction, and the seat frame is supported by the rear wheel support frame. Rotating pivotally mounted so as to intersect the front position of the drive unit, the rear part of the seat frame moving forward in the vehicle length direction, and the Freon in the rear wheel support frame The sliding device of the front frame in a folding bicycle configured to be capable of folding to reduce the vehicle body length in the vehicle length direction by rotating the frame side upward and the rear part moving forward in the vehicle length direction, A cylindrical contact cylinder that surrounds the front frame and slidably contacts the outer periphery of the front frame, and a pair of split bodies are attached to the front frame via the contact cylinder so as to surround the outer periphery of the front frame. The slide device main body includes a rear wheel support frame connecting portion that is connected to the rear portion of the rear wheel support frame in a rotatable manner, and positioning means for positioning the slide device main body with respect to the front frame. The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a slide device for the front frame of a folding bicycle. That.

In the present invention, it is preferable that an upper and lower end of the contact cylinder is provided with an abutting impact buffering portion formed by projecting from the slide device main body in the front frame length direction.
Further, it is preferable that the contact cylinder is partly divided and can be expanded and contracted.
Further, a gap is provided between the opposed end portions of the pair of split bodies, and the positioning means is provided so as to adjust the tightening force of the slide device main body against the front frame by separating the opposed end portions from each other. It can be assumed that
Still further, the positioning means can be detachably locked in a locking hole opened in the front frame.
A gap is provided between the opposed end portions of the pair of split bodies, and the contact tube is integrally provided with a vertical collar portion that fits into the gap between the opposed end portions, and the front end portion is disposed between the opposed end portions. It is possible to make the frame unexposed.
Further, it is preferable that the contact cylinder is molded from a synthetic resin material.

  According to the slide device for the front frame in the folding bicycle of the present invention, by moving the slide device, the front portion of the rear wheel support frame moves along the longitudinal direction of the front frame along with the slide device, and the entire vehicle body Can be folded and unfolded. And, by operating the positioning means of the slide device, it is possible to switch between the fixed position and the movable state of the slide device with respect to the front frame, so that it is easy to maintain the vehicle body form when riding and folding, There is an effect that it becomes easy to switch between a state in which the vehicle body form is maintained and a state in which the vehicle body can be folded and unfolded.

In addition, since the slide device has an abutting impact buffering portion, when the slide device is raised or lowered, even if it collides with a member at the slide top dead center position or the bottom dead center position on the front frame side, Damage to the slide device due to impact can be prevented.
And since a contact cylinder is partly divided and can be expanded / contracted, mounting | wearing of this contact cylinder with respect to a front frame becomes easy.
Further, the positioning means opens and closes the gap between the opposing ends of the pair of split bodies, thereby applying a tightening force to the front frame and releasing the tightening force. Therefore, it is possible to easily switch the position of the slide device relative to the front frame and the slidable state. Furthermore, the position of the slide device can be fixed at an arbitrary position within the slide range of the slide device.
Further, the positioning means is detachably locked in the locking hole opened in the front frame so that the position of the sliding device relative to the front frame can be easily fixed and switched between the slidable state. Become.

And a clearance gap is provided between the opposing edge part in a pair of split body, and the said contact cylinder is integrally provided with the vertical collar part which fits in the clearance gap between the said opposing edge parts, Between the said opposing edge parts, it is a front frame. In this case, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering between the contact cylinder and the front frame from the gap between the opposed end portions of the pair of split bodies.
Furthermore, if the contact cylinder is molded from a synthetic resin material, the sliding device can be moved more smoothly in the longitudinal direction of the front frame because of the good sliding property of the synthetic resin material itself.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiment shown in FIGS.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a folding bicycle, and the basic frame configuration of the folding bicycle 1 is a front fork portion having a handle portion 2 at the upper end and a front wheel 3 rotatably supported at the lower end as shown in FIG. A handle post 5 having a shaft 4 is rotatably mounted on a front frame 6 disposed inside, a seat frame 8 on which a saddle 7 is disposed on a rear portion, and a rear wheel 9 on a rear portion. The rear wheel support frame 11 includes a drive unit 10 that rotates the rear wheel 9.
The rear wheel support frame 11 is formed by arranging two pipe members side by side. The seat frame 8 is inserted between the pipe members, and as shown in FIG. In this position, the rear wheel support frame 11 and the seat frame 8 are pivotably connected to each other in a substantially X shape. Further, the rear wheel support frame 11 is provided with the drive unit 10 on the rear side of the connecting part 12 to the seat frame 8, and two pipe members are sandwiched between the bottom bracket holder 14a and the joining plate 14b. A crank 15 is attached to a bottom bracket 14 which is arranged and fixed so as to extend over a pipe material, and a pedal 16 is provided at the tip of the crank 15 so as to be raised and lowered. The drive unit 10 includes a front gear 17 which is disposed on one side of the bottom bracket 14 and has a chain 18 extending from a rear wheel gear. The front gear 17, the chain 18, and the rear wheel The rear wheel 9 is rotated by transmitting the gear and the rotational force.

As described above, the bottom bracket 14 is fixedly disposed by being sandwiched between the bottom bracket holder 14a and the joining plate 14b with respect to the rear wheel support frame 11 (FIG. 4). Thus, the bottom bracket holder 14a can be moved, and the position of the drive unit 10 in the length direction of the rear wheel support frame 11 can be adjusted.
In addition, the rotational force transmission mechanism between the rear wheel gear and the rear wheel 9 is configured to be able to rotate in the forward direction without receiving the rotational force from the chain 18 in the forward direction as in a normal bicycle. It is equipped with.

The front portion of the rear wheel support frame 11 is connected to a slide device 19 that is movable along the longitudinal direction of the front frame 6 and that can be positioned. FIGS. 5A and 5B show the slide device 19. In order to make the configuration of the slide device 19 easier to understand, the state seen from the direction opposite to the direction of the vehicle body in FIGS. 1 to 4 is shown, and the handle post is removed. .
The slide device 19 surrounds the front frame 6 and has a cylindrical contact cylinder 20 made of a synthetic resin material whose inner diameter corresponds to the outer diameter of the front frame 6 so as to slidably contact the outer periphery of the front frame 6; A rear wheel support frame connecting portion that is attached to the front frame 6 so as to surround the outer periphery of the front frame 6 via the contact cylinder 20, and the front portion of the rear wheel support frame 11 is rotatably connected to the rear portion in the vehicle length direction. The slide device main body 22 having 21 and positioning means 23 for positioning the slide device main body 22 with respect to the front frame 6 are provided.
As shown in the drawing, the slide device main body 22 is a combination of a pair of split bodies 24, and the rear portions of the split bodies 24 are fixed so that the central recesses correspond to the contact cylinders 20, respectively. They are connected by screws 25. And the combination part of the said rear parts of the split body 24 is made into the state which protrudes back in the vehicle length direction, This part is comprised as the said rear-wheel support frame connection part 21, and the front part of the rear-wheel support frame 11 rotates here. It is linked movably.

The contact cylinder 20 can be smoothly slidably moved without damaging the front frame 6 in a state where a tightening force described later is not applied, and the tightening force described later can be properly transmitted to the front frame 6. In addition, it is molded by selecting a synthetic resin material that has both good slipping and friction resistance, and is partly divided at a position in front of the vehicle length direction so that it can be expanded and contracted. is there. That is, when the slide device 1 is assembled to the front frame 6, since the illustrated crown portion 26 (having a larger diameter than the front frame main body) is provided in advance at the upper end of the front frame 6, The contact cylinder 20 is opened so that it can be attached through the crown portion 26. Furthermore, when the tightening force is released, the contact cylinder 20 is slightly opened to make sliding contact with the outer periphery of the front frame 6. When the tightening force is applied, the diameter is slightly reduced, and the tightening force is applied to the front frame 6 by appropriately closely contacting the outer periphery of the front frame 6. The expansion and contraction of the contact cylinder 20 according to the tightening force is performed by the slide device main body 22.
In addition, the contact cylinder 20 includes an abutting shock buffering portion 27 in which upper and lower ends are projected from the slide device main body 22 in the front frame length direction. The crown portion 26 is provided as a member for determining the top dead center position in the slide range of the slide device 19, and a stopper 28 is provided at the center position of the front frame 6 as a member for determining the bottom dead center position. When the slide device 19 is raised and lowered within the range to reach the top dead center position or the bottom dead center position, the slide device body 22 is prevented from directly hitting the crown portion 26 or the stopper 28, and the impact of the slide device 19 is reduced. Prevent damage. Since each of the abutting impact buffering portions 27 is made of a synthetic resin material, the contact noise when the abutting impact buffering portion 27 hits the crown portion 26 or the stopper 28 is also reduced.

A gap 29 is provided between the opposed ends of the front ends of the pair of split bodies 24 of the slide device main body 22. The positioning means 23 is provided so as to adjust the tightening force of the slide device main body 22 against the front frame 6 via the contact cylinder 20 by bringing the opposing ends of the split body 24 into contact with each other. One end of the fastening screw 30 penetrating the opposing end is screwed into a cap nut 31 disposed on one opposing end, and the lever 32 is turned to the other end of the fastening screw 30 on the other opposing end. The lever 32 is attached to the fastening screw 30 so that the pivot point of the lever 32 is decentered from the center point of the base end of the lever 32 and the lever 32 is tilted in the vehicle length direction. Applying a tightening force to the front frame 6 so that the thick part of the fulcrum presses the opposite end and the gap 29 between the opposite ends narrows, and raises the lever 32 In which the thick portion at pivot point releases the way clamping force gap 29 is widened between its opposite ends offset from the opposite end portion side. By rotating the cap nut 31, the tightening force itself of the positioning means 23 can be adjusted.
As described above, since the gap 29 is located at the front portion of the slide device main body 22 where the positioning means 23 is provided, foreign matter can enter between the contact cylinder 20 and the front frame 6 through the gap 29. There is sex. Therefore, in the present slide device 19, in order to prevent this, the vertical collar portion 33 is provided integrally with the contact cylinder 20, and the vertical collar portion 33 is positioned in the gap 29 to prevent the entry of the foreign matter. Further, since the vertical collar portion 33 is held at the opposite end portion of the split body 24 so as to be positioned in the gap 29, the contact cylinder 20 does not cause an idle rotation around the front frame 6 of the contact cylinder 20, and the contact cylinder 20 Unnecessary sliding contact with the slide device main body 22 can be prevented.

  The front portion of the rear wheel support frame 11 is connected to the front frame 6 through the slide device 19 so as to be rotatable and movable. Then, by switching between the addition and release of the tightening force with respect to the front frame 6 by the slide device 19, the fixed state at the front position of the rear wheel support frame 11 at the time of riding and the position at the time of folding, The movable state from the position is switched, and it becomes easy to quickly change the body of the folding bicycle to a desired form (note that the seat frame 8 is arranged in front of the seat frame 8 as described later). The part is connected to the lower side of the front frame 6 so as to be rotatable and does not move from the height position of the lower part). In addition, since the slide device can be fixed at an arbitrary position within the movable range of the slide device 19, the folded state can be maintained with the interval between the front wheel and the rear wheel being arbitrarily set even in the folded state. When the front and rear wheels are installed and moved in the state, a front and rear wheel interval that is easy for the passenger to handle can be obtained.

Although the positioning means 23 of the slide device 19 is configured to open and close the gap between the front ends of the pair of split bodies 24 by rotating the lever 32, the positioning means 23 is limited to this. is not. 6 (a) and 6 (b) show other examples. A locking member 35 that is constantly urged toward the front frame 6 by a tension spring 34 is provided on one split body 24 of the slide device main body 22, The front end of the locking tool 35 may be locked through the split body 24 and the contact cylinder 20 to any of the locking holes 36 that are arranged in the longitudinal direction in the front frame 6 and opened at a plurality of locations. . The locking hole 36 is provided so that the slide device 19 is positioned at the top dead center and the bottom dead center of the slide device 19, and is provided at a position close to the top dead center and a center position of the top and bottom dead centers. ing. The locking hole 36 at a position other than the bottom dead center is for allowing the occupant to select the front-rear wheel spacing in the folded state.
In this slide device 19, the locking tool 35 in the positioning means 23 can be detachably locked in the locking holes 36 of the front frame 6, so that the sliding tool 19 can be slid by a simple operation of pulling the locking tool 35. Since the position of the device 19 can be easily changed, and the locking device 35 is locked in the locking hole 36, the slide device 19 is reliably positioned at each position. The vehicle body form can also be reliably maintained.

The front frame 6 receives the slide device 19 from below when the vehicle body is extended and the rear wheel support frame 11 reaches a predetermined riding angle, and the position of the front portion of the rear wheel support frame 11 is determined. A drive part protection body mounting device 37 having a function of maintaining the riding angle is provided. The drive unit protector mounting device 37 includes the stopper 28 and a protector lower receiver 38 serving as a protector upper receiver, and the drive unit 10 adjacent to the front frame 6 when the folding bicycle 1 is folded. The drive part protection body 39 which can be covered is made attachable. Further, in the stopper 28 which also serves as a protective body upper receiver of the drive unit protective body mounting device 37, the drive unit 10 in the folded state of the bicycle body is positioned above the corresponding part of the front frame 6 in the vicinity. As described above, the slide body 19 that has been slid and lowered along the front frame 6 when the bicycle body is extended is abutted and supported from below. That is, the stopper 28 is a member that sets the bottom dead center in the movable range of the slide device 19 as described above.
The other protector lower support 38 is fixed to the lower part of the front frame 6 and is positioned below the corresponding part of the front frame 6 that is close to the drive unit 10 when folded. The protector lower support 38 also has a function of supporting the seat frame 8 so as to be rotatable in the vehicle length direction. The front portion of the seat frame 8 is the protector lower receiver. By being pivotably connected to the tool 38, the seat frame 8 rotates about the lower protector lower support 38 side so that the rear part moves forward in the vehicle length direction when folded. Thus, if the seat frame 8 and the rear wheel support frame 11 are both raised, the vehicle body dimension in the vehicle length direction can be folded so that the front wheel 3 and the rear wheel 9 come closer to each other ( (See FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 8, the drive unit protector 39 has latching means 41 on the stopper 28 and the protector lower support 38 at the upper and lower ends of the core 40 on one side. It is made of curtain material 42 and can be mounted on the folding bicycle 1 by being attached to the drive part protection body attaching device 37 by the latch means 41. In the illustrated example, each of the latching means 41 has a hook shape that can be locked in a locking hole 43 provided in the stopper 28 and the protector lower receiving member 38.
In the folded-up state of the vehicle body, the curtain member 42 is rotated around the seat frame 8 and the rear wheel support frame 11 as shown in FIG. The other end of 42 is detachably positioned on the core 40 side so that the drive unit 10 can be covered, and the curtain member 42 prevents the drive unit 10 from coming into direct contact with the other. Of course, when the vehicle body is extended, the connection between the other end of the curtain material 42 and the core portion 40 side is released.
The curtain material 42, which is in a height position that covers the driving unit 10 when the folding bicycle 1 is folded and has a vertical width that covers the driving unit 10, is made of a stretchable material. In addition, an opening 44 is provided at the lower part of the curtain material so that the front and rear wheels 3 and 9 are rotatably exposed when the drive unit 10 is covered with the curtain material 42. The rotation of the front and rear wheels 3 and 9 that are exposed when the vehicle is covered is not restricted, and the front and rear wheels 3 and 9 can be grounded and routed while the vehicle body is folded.

Further, in the drive part protection body 39, a cage frame 45 that can be folded up is provided on the core part 40 of the curtain member 42 as shown in the figure. When the driving unit protection body 39 is not used, the curtain member 42 is turned around the drawn-out cage frame 45 so as to cover the periphery, and the other end of the curtain member 42 can be attached to and detached from the core part 40 in the same manner as described above. As shown in FIG. 9.
The drive unit protection body 39 is not necessarily provided with the basket frame 45 and the core part 40, and is attached to the drive unit protection body mounting device 37 by the latching means 41 made of a string or the like, and the curtain material 42. You may make it support the drive part protection body attachment apparatus 37 in the non-use state which wound itself.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the folding bicycle which implemented the slide apparatus of the front frame in the folding bicycle of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the basic frame of a folding bicycle in the state which decomposed | disassembled the vehicle body. It is explanatory drawing which shows a vehicle body folded state. It is explanatory drawing which shows attachment of the bottom bracket of a folding bicycle. An example of the slide device in the present invention is shown. (A) is an explanatory view showing a disassembled state, and (B) is an explanatory view showing a state attached to a front frame. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the state decomposed | disassembled, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state attached to the front frame. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which covered the drive part by an example of the drive part protection body. It is explanatory drawing which shows attachment of an example of a drive part protection body. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which made an example of the drive part protection body the form of the basket.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Folding bicycle 6 ... Front frame 8 ... Seat frame 19 ... Slide apparatus 20 ... Contact pipe | tube 21 ... Rear-wheel support frame connection part 22 ... Slide apparatus main body 23 ... Positioning means 24 ... Splitting body 27 ... Butting impact buffer part 28 ... Stopper 29 ... Clearance 32 ... Lever 33 ... Vertical collar 35 ... Locking tool 36 ... Locking hole

Claims (7)

A seat post having a handle post at the upper end and a front post at the lower end rotatably supporting a front fork that is axially rotatable and arranged inside, a seat frame with a saddle arranged at the rear, A rear wheel support frame that is supported by being pivotable in the vehicle length direction and that has a rear wheel rotatably attached to the front frame and has a drive unit that rotates the rear wheel is slid It is supported by being slidable in the longitudinal direction of the front frame and pivotable in the vehicle longitudinal direction via the device, and is pivotally attached so that the seat frame intersects the front position of the driving portion of the rear wheel support frame. The rear part of the seat frame moves forward in the vehicle length direction, the front frame side of the rear wheel support frame moves upward, and the rear part moves forward in the vehicle length direction. By a rotation to move a said slide device of the front frame in folding bicycle that body length of vehicle length direction is configured to be folded small,
A cylindrical contact cylinder that surrounds the front frame and slidably contacts the outer periphery of the front frame, and a pair of split bodies are attached to the front frame via the contact cylinder so as to surround the outer periphery of the front frame. The slide device main body includes a rear wheel support frame connecting portion that is connected to the rear portion of the rear wheel support frame in a rotatable manner, and positioning means for positioning the slide device main body with respect to the front frame. A sliding device for a front frame in a folding bicycle. 2. The sliding device for a front frame in a folding bicycle according to claim 1, further comprising an abutting impact buffering portion formed by projecting the upper and lower ends of the contact cylinder from the sliding device main body in the front frame length direction. The sliding device for a front frame in a folding bicycle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact cylinder is partly divided and can be expanded and contracted. A gap is provided between the opposing ends of the pair of split bodies, and the positioning means is provided so that the opposing ends can be separated from each other and the tightening force of the slide device main body against the front frame can be adjusted. The sliding device of the front frame in the folding bicycle as described in any one of Claims 1-3 which is what. The sliding device for a front frame in a folding bicycle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the positioning means is detachably locked in a locking hole opened in the front frame. A gap is provided between the opposed ends of the pair of split bodies, and the contact tube is integrally provided with a vertical collar portion that fits into the gap between the opposed ends, and a front frame is provided between the opposed ends. The sliding device of the front frame in the folding bicycle as described in any one of Claim 1 to 5 made into the non-exposure state. The sliding device for a front frame in a folding bicycle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the contact cylinder is molded from a synthetic resin material.

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