JP2009083774A - Electric walking cart - Google Patents

Abstract

A smart and space-saving electric walking cart that can be easily moved in a crowded place.
A grip body 2B is provided at the upper end of a main body 2A to which a hook 3 is attached, a hollow main body frame 2 having an axle 4 connected to the lower end, and an electric motor for driving a housing 7 rotating around the axle 4. Driving wheel 6 comprising a tire 9 mounted on the outer peripheral side of the motor 8 and the housing 7, a connecting body 10 that is externally fitted to the main body frame 2 and can be rotated, and left and right auxiliary arms 13 having upper ends connected to the connecting body 10. 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, rear wheel that restricts the rear arms 13, 13 from pivoting so that the auxiliary wheels 14, 14 pivotally supported at the lower end thereof, the drive wheels 6, and the auxiliary wheels 14, 14 stand independently The rotation restricting means 21, the drive control means 15 accommodated in the main body frame 2, the secondary batteries 16,..., The power switch 17 and the speed adjusting means 18 provided on the grip portion 2 </ b> A are provided.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric walking cart that is driven and moved by an electric motor while a user has a grip portion.

  As a conventional electric walking cart, a gate-shaped handle is obliquely installed on the front traveling vehicle body in which the driving members of the left and right traveling wheels are centrally arranged, and a storage case for small luggage is provided on the handle. Arms that extend rearward from both sides of the rear part of the front traveling vehicle body and are provided with idler wheels with caster angles at the rear ends of the arms (see Patent Document 1), left and right that are back, seat, and driven wheels A vehicle body unit having two rear wheels and a folding mechanism, a front wheel having a handle at the top and one drive wheel at the bottom, and being detachably connected to the front of the vehicle body unit via a connecting portion. There are those including a front wheel unit (see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-13324 (FIGS. 1-3) Registered Utility Model No. 3129587 (Fig. 1-6)

Since the electric walking carts of Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a relatively large structure with large dimensions in the front-rear direction (running direction) and the left-right direction (width direction), movement in a crowded place or movement when the battery runs out It is difficult to use and is not smart.
The electric walking cart of Patent Document 2 can fold the vehicle body unit, but needs to store and transport the folded vehicle body unit and the separated front wheel unit, and the storage and transport space becomes relatively large.

  Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned situation, the present invention intends to solve the problem that it is easy to move in a crowded place or when the battery runs out, and has a smartness that prevents its use from being avoided. The point is to provide an electric walking cart with a small storage and transport space.

  In order to solve the above problems, the electric walking cart according to the present invention is provided with a grip portion integrally or separately at the upper end of a main body portion extending substantially in the vertical direction, and an axle is connected to the lower end. From a hollow main body frame having a luggage support attached to an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction, an electric motor that is supported by the axle and rotates around the axle, and a tire attached to the outer periphery of the housing A connecting wheel that is externally fitted to the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the main body frame and is rotatable about the longitudinal axis, and left and right auxiliary arms that are connected to the connecting body and extend substantially obliquely rearward. An auxiliary wheel pivotally supported at the lower end of the auxiliary arm, and a rear rotation restricting means for restricting the backward rotation of the auxiliary arm so that the driving wheel and the auxiliary wheel are in a self-standing state, and Above A drive control unit for the electric motor and a secondary battery for supplying power, a power switch provided in the gripping part, and a speed adjusting means provided in the gripping part or the main body part, are housed in a body frame. Is.

  Here, the auxiliary arm is rotatable in the front-rear direction around the upper end thereof, and the auxiliary arm is moved from the rear end position where the backward rotation of the auxiliary arm is restricted by the backward rotation restricting means. It is preferable to include a forward rotation restricting means for restricting the forward rotation of the auxiliary arm at a position that rotates forward and the auxiliary wheel approaches the drive wheel.

  In addition, it is preferable that the main body frame is bent into a gentle S-curve when viewed from the side.

According to the electric walking cart of the present invention, the grip portion is provided integrally or separately at the upper end of the main body portion extending in the substantially vertical direction, the axle is connected to the lower end, and the longitudinal intermediate portion of the main body portion. A hollow body frame to which a luggage support is attached; a driving wheel comprising a tire mounted on an outer peripheral side of the housing; an electric motor that drives a housing that is pivotally supported on the axle and rotates around the axle; A connecting body that is externally fitted to a longitudinal intermediate portion of the main body frame and is rotatable about a longitudinal axis; left and right auxiliary arms that are connected to the connecting body and extend substantially obliquely rearward; and An auxiliary wheel pivotally supported at the lower end, a rearward rotation restricting means for restricting the rearward rotation of the auxiliary arm so that the driving wheel and the auxiliary wheel are in contact with each other in a grounded state; Since the electric motor drive control means and the power supply secondary battery, the power switch provided in the gripping part, and the speed adjustment means provided in the gripping part or the main body part are provided, When the power switch is turned on in a state where the driving wheel and the left and right auxiliary wheels are grounded, for example, the electric walking cart in a state where the load is supported by the load supporter runs independently.
Therefore, since the load is supported by the load support device of the electric walking cart, the weight of the load is not imposed on the user, and the traveling speed of the electric walking cart can be adjusted to the walking speed of the user by the speed adjusting means. For example, a pedestrian may simply walk at his / her own pace while grasping the grip portion while moving, and is particularly effective when carrying relatively heavy loads or climbing hills.

In addition, a main body frame that extends substantially in the vertical direction and a drive wheel that is connected to the lower end of the main body and is driven by an electric motor are used as the main body, and the drive control means of the electric motor and the secondary battery for power supply are accommodated in the main body frame. In addition, a simple configuration is provided in which two auxiliary arms having auxiliary wheels attached to the lower end are provided on the rear side of the main body frame, and rearward rotation restricting means for restricting the backward rotation of the auxiliary arms is provided. Since both the front-rear direction (traveling direction) and the left-right direction (width direction) are compact and have a slim structure, they do not interfere with shopping or when moving after shopping.
Furthermore, since it is compact and lightweight, it is relatively easy to move when the battery runs out, and the storage and transport space is reduced.
In addition, the drive control means of the electric motor and the secondary battery for power supply are accommodated in the main body frame, and the wiring including the power supply cable to the electric motor can be easily accommodated in the main body frame. Therefore, as described above, the structure is compact and slim, and the appearance is a clean and smart impression. Therefore, the appearance is not avoided.

  In addition, the auxiliary arm is pivotable in a substantially front-rear direction around an upper end thereof, and the auxiliary arm is moved forward from a rear end position where the rearward pivot restricting means restricts the rearward pivoting of the auxiliary arm. When the auxiliary wheel is provided with a forward rotation restricting means for restricting the auxiliary arm from rotating forward at a position where the auxiliary wheel approaches the driving wheel, in addition to the above effect, When the user moves when not in use, the auxiliary wheel is lifted and the auxiliary arm is rotated forward. At the front end position where the auxiliary wheel is close to the driving wheel, the front rotation restricting means further forwards the front. From this state, if the main body frame is tilted backwards and the driving wheel is lifted and the driven wheel is grounded, is the rotation applied and heavy even in the non-driving state? Or a configuration with a brake device Can, because a state of being grounded only auxiliary wheels without grounding the driving wheel does not rotate, that while rolling the auxiliary wheel, thereby lightly move the electric walking cart manually.

Further, when the main body frame is bent into a gentle S-curve shape when viewed from the side, in addition to the above effects, a baggage support tool is attached to the valley side (radially inside) of the bent portion, Since the position of the center of gravity approaches the center of a triangle connecting the contact positions of the driving wheels and the left and right auxiliary wheels in plan view, the traveling of the electric walking cart becomes more stable.
In addition, since the load is positioned on the center side of the electric shopping cart, it is possible to avoid interference between the load and the user or an external person or object while securing a relatively large space for the load.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, and includes all the embodiments that satisfy the requirements described in the claims. It is a waste. In addition, in this specification, the running direction (refer arrow A in the figure) side of the electric walking cart 1 is assumed to be the front, and the left and right are referred to as the front.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 to 4 are explanatory views of the configuration of the electric walking cart according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view, and FIG. 2 (a) is a storage state of a secondary battery or the like in the main body frame. FIG. 2B is a circuit diagram, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the driving wheel and the auxiliary wheel as viewed from the rear, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the driving wheel as viewed from the front.
5 (a) is an explanatory view of the backward rotation restricting means, FIG. 5 (b) is an explanatory view of the forward rotation restricting means, and FIG. 6 is a manual movement state when the battery is dead or unused. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electric walking cart 1 is provided with a grip portion 2 </ b> B at the upper end of a main body portion 2 </ b> A that extends substantially in the vertical direction, and the axle 4 is connected to the lower end via an axle support arm 5. A housing that is supported by a hollow body frame 2 and an axle 4 and that rotates around the axle 4 is mounted with a hook 3 that suspends the luggage B, for example, a luggage support, at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the body 2A. The motor 7 (see FIG. 4), which will be described later, and a drive wheel 6 consisting of a tire 9 mounted on the outer peripheral side of the housing 7 are fitted on the middle portion in the longitudinal direction of the main body frame 2 and The rings 11, 12 restrict relative movement in the vertical direction with respect to the main body frame 2. The connecting body 10 is rotatable about the longitudinal axis, the upper end is connected to the connecting body 10, and extends substantially obliquely backward. Top The left and right auxiliary arms 13, 13 that can rotate substantially in the front-rear direction, the auxiliary wheels 14, 14 that are pivotally supported at the lower ends of the auxiliary arms 13, 13, the drive wheel 6, and the auxiliary wheels 14, 14 are grounded. The rear rotation restricting means 21 described later for restricting the backward rotation of the auxiliary arms 13 and 13 and the forward rotation restriction described later for restricting the forward rotation of the auxiliary arms 13 and 13 so as to be independent in a state. As shown in FIG. 2, the drive control means 15 of the electric motor 8, the secondary battery for power supply 16,..., And the gripping portion 2B, which will be described later, are accommodated in the main body frame 2. A power switch 17 and speed adjusting means 18 are provided.
The main body 2A and the grip 2B may be integrally formed, and the luggage support may be a container that can store luggage such as a bag instead of the hook 3, and the speed adjusting means 18 You may provide in the main-body part 2A instead of the part 2B.

As shown in FIG. 4, a drive gear 29 is fixed to the output shaft 8 </ b> A of the electric motor 8, and the drive gear 29 meshes with the planetary gears 30,. Engage with the gear 31. Therefore, when the power switch 17 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is turned on and the output shaft 8A of the electric motor 8 is rotated, the output torque is decelerated by the drive gear 29, the planetary gear 30,. Since it is amplified and transmitted to the housing 7, the housing 7 and the tire 9 rotate, and the electric walking cart 1 runs.
Here, the drive wheel 6 is not configured to transmit the output of the electric motor 8 to the housing 7 via the gear reduction mechanism as described above, but, for example, an outer rotor type motor is used on the outer peripheral side of the outer rotor. A tire may be attached, and in such a configuration, the outer rotor corresponds to the housing 7.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body frame 2 is connected to the connecting body 10 to which the upper ends of the left and right auxiliary arms 13 and 13 to which the left and right auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 are attached at the lower ends are connected. Since it can be rotated around its longitudinal axis, the direction of the drive wheels 6 can be easily changed by operating the grip portion 2B, and therefore the traveling direction can be changed.

Further, if the power switch 17 is, for example, a 3-position deadman switch, it is turned on when lightly pressed, turned off when further pressed, and turned off when released, so that the grip portion 2B is released in an emergency. In addition to the above case, the power switch 17 is turned off and the traveling of the drive wheels 6 is stopped even when the grip portion 2B is strongly gripped, so that safety can be further improved.
Furthermore, a brake device that brakes the output shaft 8A of the electric motor 8 when the power is off may be attached to the drive wheels 6.
Furthermore, although not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, if a headlamp made of, for example, an LED or the like is mounted on the front surface of the main body 2A of the main body frame 2, the headlight can be used at dusk or at night. By turning on the light, safety is improved.

As shown in FIG. 4, the power supply cable 20 to the armature of the electric motor 8 is inserted into the hollow axle support arm 5 and enters the hollow main body frame 2 (main body portion 2A). In use, it is not visible from the outside.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the hollow main body 2A, the secondary batteries 16,... Are accommodated between the electrode plates 19A, 19B, and the electric motor 8, drive control means 15, power switch 17, and speed are accommodated. The secondary batteries 16,... Connected to the adjusting means 18 can be taken out from the upper part of the main body 2A, charged by the charger, and then remounted in the main body 2A. Alternatively, the secondary batteries 16,... Can be charged by connecting a charger to a charging terminal that is taken out from the main body frame 2 without taking out the secondary batteries 16,. Also good.
Further, since the speed of the motor 8 can be changed via the drive control means 15 by operating the speed adjusting means 18 composed of, for example, a volume or a pulse setting device, the electric power is adjusted according to the walking speed of the user. The traveling speed of the walking cart 1 can be set easily.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 (a), the rear turning restricting means 21 for restricting the turning of the auxiliary arms 13, 13 to the rear is, for example, a body frame by a ring 24 on the lower side of the connecting body 10. 2 is controlled in the downward direction relative to the lower connecting body 23, which is pivotable about the longitudinal axis, and protrudes rearwardly from the lower connecting body 23, and the middle of the left and right auxiliary arms 13 and 13 in the longitudinal direction. The rear rod 25B connected to the center of the connecting rod 27 that connects the portions is connected via the horizontal support shaft 26, and in the state of FIGS. Therefore, the auxiliary arms 13 and 13 are located at the rear end position, and the front drive wheel 6 and the rear left and right auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 are kept in the most separated state. When the power switch 17 is turned on in the state, the electric walking cart 1 Stand to travel.
Since the intermediate portions in the longitudinal direction of the auxiliary arms 13 and 13 are connected by the connecting rod 27, the distance between the left and right auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 is constant. ) Is maintained in a compact state and the running state is stabilized.

  According to the electric walking cart 1 configured as described above, the main body frame 2 extending substantially in the vertical direction and the drive wheels 6 connected to the lower ends thereof and driven by the electric motor 8 are used as the main body, and the electric motor 8 is driven. The control means 15 and the secondary battery 16 for supplying power are accommodated in the main body frame 2, and auxiliary arms 13 and 13 having auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 attached to the lower ends are provided on the rear side of the main body frame 2. The auxiliary arms 13 and 13 have a simple configuration provided with a rear rotation restricting means 21 for restricting the rearward rotation of the auxiliary arms 13, 13 and are compact in both the front-rear direction (traveling direction) and the left-right direction (width direction) and slim. Since it is a simple structure, it does not get in the way during shopping or when moving after shopping.

In addition, since the electric walking cart 1 is compact and lightweight, it is relatively easy to move when the battery runs out, and the storage and transport space is reduced.
Further, the drive control means 15 of the electric motor 8 and the secondary battery for power supply 16,... Are accommodated in the main body frame 2, and the power supply cable 20 to the electric motor 2 is also included in the main body frame 2. Since it has a compact and slim structure as described above and a smart impression with a clean appearance, use is not avoided by the appearance.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 (b), the forward rotation restricting means 22 for restricting the forward rotation of the auxiliary arms 13, 13 is, for example, an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the left and right auxiliary arms 13, 13. 5 and a cushioning material 28 attached to the substantially front surface thereof by sticking or the like. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the rear turning restricting means 21 moves the auxiliary arms 13, 13 to the rear. As shown in FIG. 5B, the auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 are lifted from the floor surface or the road surface FL from the rear end position where the rotation is restricted, and the rear rod 25B is rotated forward around the horizontal support shaft 26 to assist. Since the arms 13 and 13 are rotated forward so that the auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 approach the drive wheel 6, the cushioning material 28 contacts the rear surface of the lower end of the main body 2 </ b> A and the connecting rod 27 is stopped. In front of the left and right auxiliary arms 13, 13 connected by the connecting rod 27 Turning to is restricted.

As shown in FIG. 5B, since the forward rotation restricting means 22 restricts further forward rotation at the front end position where the auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 are close to the drive wheel 6, the state of FIG. As shown in FIG. 6 (a), if the main body frame 2 is tilted rearward and the driving wheel 6 is lifted and the driven wheels 14 and 14 are grounded, is the rotation applied and heavy even in the non-driving state? Alternatively, in the configuration including the brake device, since the non-rotating drive wheel 6 is not grounded and only the auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 are grounded, for example, while rolling the auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 as indicated by an arrow E, The electric walking cart 1 can be moved easily and manually.
Since the main body 2A and the connecting body 10 of the main body frame 2 are relatively rotatable around the longitudinal axis of the main body 2A, as shown in FIG. 6B, the state of FIG. Even if the main body frame 2 is rotated 180 ° around the longitudinal axis and turned upside down, the electric walking cart 1 can be moved easily by hand while rolling the auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 as indicated by the arrow E, for example. Can be made.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shape of the main body frame 2 is a shape that is smoothly bent into a gentle S-curve shape when viewed from the side, and the valley side of the bent portion (the inner side in the radius direction of curvature). , Refer to FIGS. 2C and 2D.) By attaching a luggage support (for example, hook 3), the center of gravity position of the luggage connects the grounding position of the driving wheel 6 and the left and right auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 in a plan view. Since the center of the triangle is approached, traveling of the electric walking cart 1 is more stable.
Further, since the load is located closer to the center of the electric shopping cart 1, it is possible to avoid the interference between the load and the user or an external person or object while ensuring a relatively large space for the load.
Further, since the shape of the main body frame 2 is a shape that is smoothly bent into a gentle S-curve shape when viewed from the side, only the left and right auxiliary wheels 14, 14 are grounded and moved manually as shown in FIG. In FIG. 6B, the lower side of the coupling body 10 that supports the upper ends of the auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 is the valley side (see also D in FIG. 2) when viewed from the side. This is a more stable state in which the position 6 is positioned below the position in FIG.

In the above description, the front rod 25A and the rear rod 25B can be relatively rotated via the horizontal support shaft 26, and the left and right auxiliary arms 13, 13 can be rotated substantially in the front-rear direction around the upper end thereof. However, the left and right auxiliary arms 13 and 13 are arranged around the upper end thereof by, for example, a configuration in which the front rod 25A and the rear rod 25B are integrated or a configuration in which the coupling rod 27 and the lower coupling body 23 are directly connected. It is good also as a structure which cannot be rotated in the substantially front-back direction.
Even in such a configuration, if the shape of the main body frame 2 is a shape that is smoothly bent into a gentle S-curve shape when viewed from the side, only the left and right auxiliary wheels 14, 14 are lifted by floating the driving wheel 6. When moving to the ground manually, as in the relationship of FIG. 6B with respect to FIG. 6A, the main body frame 2 is rotated 180 ° around the longitudinal axis so that it is driven upside down. It is possible to achieve a more stable state in which the position of the wheel 6 is closer to the auxiliary wheels 14 and 14 and is positioned on the lower side.

It is a perspective view of the electric walking cart which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. (A) is a perspective view which shows the accommodation state of a secondary battery etc. in a main body frame, (b) is a circuit diagram. It is the enlarged view which looked at the drive wheel and the auxiliary wheel from back. It is the fragmentary sectional enlarged view which looked at the driving wheel from the front. (A) is explanatory drawing of a back rotation control means, (b) is explanatory drawing of a front rotation control means. It is a figure which shows the manual movement state at the time of a battery run out, and when it is unused.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric walking cart 2 Main body frame 2A Main body part 2B Gripping part 3 Hook (baggage support tool)
4 axle 5 axle support arm 6 drive wheel 7 housing 8 electric motor 8A output shaft 9 tire 10 coupling body 11, 12 ring 13 auxiliary arm 14 auxiliary wheel 15 drive control means 16 secondary battery 17 power switch 18 speed adjustment means 19A, 19B Polar plate 20 Cable (wiring)
21 Back turning restricting means 22 Forward turning restricting means 23 Lower connecting body 24 Ring 25A Front rod 25B Rear rod 26 Horizontal support shaft 27 Connecting rod 28 Buffer material 29 Drive gear 30 Planetary gear 31 Internal gear A Traveling direction B Baggage C, D Valley side (radially inside)
FL Floor or road surface

Claims (3)

A hollow body in which a gripping part is integrally or separately provided at the upper end of a main body part extending in a substantially vertical direction, an axle is connected to the lower end, and a luggage support is attached to a middle part in the longitudinal direction of the main body part Frame,
A drive wheel comprising an electric motor that is supported by the axle and drives a housing that rotates around the axle, and a tire that is mounted on an outer peripheral side of the housing;
A coupling body that is externally fitted to a longitudinal intermediate portion of the main body frame and is rotatable about a longitudinal axis;
Left and right auxiliary arms having upper ends connected to the connecting body and extending substantially obliquely rearward;
An auxiliary wheel pivotally supported at the lower end of the auxiliary arm;
A rear turning restricting means for restricting the turning of the auxiliary arm to the rear so that the driving wheel and the auxiliary wheel are self-supporting in a grounded state;
The electric motor drive control means and the power supply secondary battery housed in the main body frame,
A power switch provided in the gripping part;
Speed adjusting means provided in the gripping part or the main body part;
Electric walking cart equipped with. The auxiliary arm is pivotable in a substantially front-rear direction around its upper end;
The auxiliary arm is rotated forward from the rear end position where the backward rotation of the auxiliary arm is restricted by the backward rotation restricting means, and the auxiliary wheel approaches the driving wheel at the position where the auxiliary wheel approaches. 2. The electric walking cart according to claim 1, further comprising a forward rotation restricting means for restricting the forward rotation of the arm.   The electric walking cart according to claim 1, wherein the main body frame is bent into a gentle S-curve shape when viewed from the side.

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