JP2012020724A - Tricycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tricycle in which steering of a front wheel 5 is carried out without need of power for steering by changing rotational speed of rear wheels 16L, R on either side by a driver pressing down a pedal 7 with own foot, and moving the sitting seat 6, while demonstrating driving force of forward and backward traveling direction.SOLUTION: The tricycle includes: a support unit 50 which movably supports a seat 6 where a driver sits down with respect to frames 1 and 2; and a transmission unit 69 which transmits the movement amount of the seat 6 to a speed gear 60 which changes rotation speed of the rear wheels 16L and R on either side, and changes a traveling direction of the tricycle by changing the rotation speed of the rear wheels 16L and R on either side according to the movement amount of the seat 6.

Description

  The present invention relates to a three-wheeled bicycle.

  Conventionally, a three-wheeled electric cart is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, by providing pressure sensors 10L and 10R on the seat 7, the operation of the thigh and calf of the seated operator is detected, and the steering servo motor 13 is driven based on the detection result. A three-wheeled electric cart is described in which the steering shaft 1A of the front wheel steering handle 1 is rotated to steer.

A three-wheeled bicycle that controls the rotation of the left and right rear wheels is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Patent Document 2 describes a three-wheeled bicycle that differentially changes the rotational speed of the left and right rear wheel axles by providing a bevel gear 7 between the left and right rear wheel axles.

JP 7-299097 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-146692

  The electric cart described in Patent Document 1 is a three-wheeled electric cart and requires electric power as a power source for steering. In addition, the three-wheeled bicycle described in Patent Document 2 steers the front wheels by hand.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a three-wheeled bicycle that does not require steering power, and further, when the driver steps on the pedal with his / her foot, An object of the present invention is to provide a three-wheeled bicycle capable of steering the front wheels by changing the rotational speed of the left and right rear wheels by moving the seats that are seated while demonstrating the driving force in the forward direction. .

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the structural feature of the invention according to claim 1 is that a frame, a pair of drive wheels rotatably supported by the frame, and a seat that is supported by the frame and seated by a driver. A drive sprocket that is rotatably supported by the frame and driven by a driver, a transmission that is supported by the frame and changes a rotational speed of the pair of drive wheels, and a driving force of the drive sprocket that is the transmission In a three-wheeled bicycle including a first transmission means for transmitting to the frame, a support means for supporting the seat so as to be movable in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction with respect to the frame, and a movement amount of the seat are transmitted to the transmission. A second transmission means, and changing a traveling direction of the three-wheeled bicycle by changing a rotational speed between the pair of driving wheels according to a movement amount of the seat. A.

  In order to solve the above problem, a feature of the invention according to claim 2 is that the transmission is a continuously variable transmission.

  In order to solve the above problem, a feature of the invention according to claim 3 is that the pair of drive wheels are rear wheels.

  In order to solve the above problem, a feature of the invention according to claim 4 is that the pair of drive wheels are front wheels.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the transmission includes an input shaft and an output shaft, and the first transmission means for transmitting the driving force from the drive sprocket to the transmission is as follows. , Connected to the input shaft of the transmission, one of the pair of drive wheels is connected to the input shaft of the transmission, and the other of the pair of drive wheels is connected to the output shaft of the transmission It has been done.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the feature of the invention according to claim 6 is:
The support means is curved.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a feature of the invention according to claim 7 is that the support means includes a square rail and a square slider.

  According to the inventions according to claims 1 to 7 configured as described above, power is not required, and the driver exerts the driving force in the forward / rearward direction by stepping on the pedal with his / her foot and is seated. A three-wheeled bicycle that can change the rotational speed of the left and right rear wheels and steer the front wheels by moving the seats that are present can be provided.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing movement and steering of a seat according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a continuously variable transmission that changes the rotational speeds of the left and right rear wheels of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention. Example 1 FIG. 4 is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a mechanism for moving the seat of the present invention shown in FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the mechanism for moving the seat of the present invention shown in FIG. (Example 2) FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a recumbent bicycle. (Example 3) FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing still another embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a recumbent bicycle. Example 4

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

  1 and 2 are explanatory views showing the principle of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) shows a state in which the vehicle travels straight, and FIG. 1 (b) shows a state in which the seat 6 moves to the left and moves right. Show. 2 shows a continuously variable transmission for changing the rotational speed of the left and right rear wheels, FIG. 2 (a) shows the connection between the continuously variable transmission and the left and right rear wheels, and FIG. The detail of a continuously variable transmission is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the three-wheeled bicycle of the present invention is mainly composed of a front wheel 5, a pedal 7, a seat 6, a rear wheel 16 and the like, as in the conventional three-wheeled bicycle. A rail 50 that is movably supported and a continuously variable transmission 60 that changes the rotational speed of the left and right rear wheels 16L, R are included.

The continuously variable transmission 60 is a continuously variable transmission as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-524119, and changes the inclination of the ball rotation shaft 63 as shown in FIG. Thus, the rotational speeds of the input disk 64 and the output disk 65 in contact with the ball 62 are changed, and the rotational speeds of the input shaft 18 and the output shaft 67 connected thereto are changed.
The inclination of the ball rotation shaft 63 is caused through an internal screw mechanism or the like by inserting / removing the wire 69 connected to the control 61.

The driving force in the forward and backward direction of the pedal 7 that the driver steps on is transmitted to the input shaft 18 via the front gear 8, the chain 13, and the sprocket 10A. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, the input shaft 18 of the continuously variable transmission 60 is connected to the right rear wheel 16R via the sprocket 10B and the chain 14R, and the output shaft 67 is connected to the chain 14L. To the left rear wheel 16L.
Accordingly, when the movement amount of the seat 6 is input to the controller 61 of the continuously variable transmission 60 shown in FIG. 2B via the wire 69, the ball rotation shaft 63 is tilted via the internal screw mechanism or the like. Then, the rotational speeds of the input disk 64 and the output disk 65 in contact with each other are changed, and the rotational speeds of the input shaft 18 and the output shaft 67 to be connected are changed.

Referring to the case where the vehicle travels straight from the straight direction shown in FIG. 1 (a) to the right shown in FIG. 1 (b), the driver steps forward by stepping on the pedal 7 as shown in FIG. 1 (b). When the wire 6 is moved to the left, the wire 69 is pulled out from the controller 61, and the ball rotation shaft 63 is tilted according to the amount of movement. In this case, the rotation speed of the output shaft 67 is the speed of the input shaft 18. It becomes faster than the rotation speed.
As a result, the left and right rear wheels 16L, R rotate at different rotational speeds, and the rotational speed of the left rear wheel 16L is faster than that of the right rear wheel 16R. Due to the difference in rotational speed between the left and right rear wheels 16L, R, a difference in driving force occurs between the left and right rear wheels 16L, R, and the front wheels 5 are steered in the lean direction (tilt) and the toe direction (traveling direction). The bicycle will turn right.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a front view thereof, showing the overall configuration of the three-wheeled bicycle for the disabled in the upper limbs of the present invention. The frame of this three-wheeled bicycle has a front frame 1 and a rear frame 2. A front fork 3 and a handle 4 are rotatably attached to the front of the front frame 1, and a front wheel 5 is attached to the front fork 3. It is rotatably mounted on the shaft. The front frame 1 supports the pedal 7 and the front gear 8 so as to be rotatable.

  A vertical frame 9 is fixed to the front frame 1, and two rails 50 are fixed to the vertical frame 9 via attachment members 20. On the rail 50, the seat 6 is supported so as to be movable in the left-right direction via three sliders 51 fixed to the seat 6. The rail 50 is curved so as to be concave at the center.

  The front frame 1 is pivotally supported with respect to the rear frame 2 by a bearing 12 fixed to the rear frame 2, and has a cylindrical shape between metal inner and outer shells (not shown) built in the bearing 12. A vertical return force is given by a Knighthard type return spring that is press-fitted with rubber. The bearing 12 may be a bearing using a knighthard rubber 20 as described in JP-A-60-157971, for example.

  The rear frame 2 supports the support bearings 11L and R by the welded support frames 19L and R, respectively. The rear frame 2 rotatably supports the left rear wheel 16L having the axle 68L and also supports the right rear wheel 16R having the axle 68R via the support bearing 11R.

A continuously variable transmission 60 is supported on the support bearing 11L, and its input shaft 18 and output shaft 67 are rotatably supported. A sprocket 10 </ b> A is fixed to the input shaft 18, and a driving force from the pedal 7 is transmitted through the front gear 8 and the chain 13. Further, the sprocket 10B is fixed to the input shaft 18, and the driving force from the pedal 7 is transmitted to the right rear wheel 16R via the chain 14R, the sprocket 15R, and the axle 68R.
The sprocket 10C is fixed to the output shaft 67 of the continuously variable transmission 60, and the driving force of the output shaft 67 is transmitted to the left rear wheel 16L via the chain 14L, the sprocket 15L, and the axle 68L.

  Accordingly, the driving force from the pedal 7 is directly transmitted to the right rear wheel 16R, and the driving force shifted by the continuously variable transmission 60 is transmitted to the left rear wheel 16L.

A controller 61 is fixed to the continuously variable transmission 60, and a wire 69 is connected to the controller 61. The left / right movement amount of the seat 6 supported by the rail 50 so as to be movable left / right is transmitted to the controller 61 via a wire 69 and is continuously variable according to the movement amount via an internal screw mechanism or the like. The inclination of the ball rotation shaft 63 of the device 60 is changed.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), when moving right, the rotational speed of the left rear wheel 16L increases, and the front wheel 5 is steered in the lean direction (tilt) and the toe direction (travel direction). The bicycle goes right.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a mechanism for moving the seat of the present invention shown in FIG.
Three sliders 51 fixed to the lower part of the seat 6 are supported on the rail 50 so as to be movable left and right. When the driver wants to steer left and right, the driver depresses the pedal 7 and moves the seat 6 in the left-right direction with the pedal 7 as a support.
A wire 69 is fixed to the rear slider 51, and the amount of left and right movement of the seat 6 is transmitted to the controller 61 of the continuously variable transmission 60.
The movement amount is adjusted by a known method (not shown), for example, a movement amount adjusting means that combines a plurality of pulleys, or a continuously variable transmission as described in the above-mentioned special table 2003-524119. It can also be transmitted to the controller 61 after being adjusted by a variable length lever 56 device or the like.
In the first embodiment, the rail 50 is curved so as to be concave at the central portion, but may be a mountain shape that is convex at the central portion.

6 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the mechanism for moving the seat of the present invention shown in FIG. (Example 2)
In the second embodiment, the rail 50 shown in FIG. 5 is constituted by one square rail 52 and the slider 51 shown in FIG. 5 is constituted by a single square slider 53, whereby the square rail 52 moves the seat 6. In addition to preventing the movement of the foot, the mechanism is simplified.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a recumbent bicycle. (Example 3)
In the third embodiment, a pedal 7 is disposed in front of and above the front wheel 5. In the third embodiment, when the chain 13 cannot be linearly connected to the continuously variable transmission 60, a free wheel or the like may be relayed and bent to be connected on the way.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing still another embodiment (embodiment 4) in which the present invention is applied to a recumbent bicycle. In this embodiment 4, a pedal 7 is arranged behind the front wheel 5. In FIG. is there.
In the recumbent bicycle shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the driver sits on a seat with a backrest and leans on the pedal with the feet facing forward. An easy-to-use tricycle will be provided.

<Modification of First Embodiment>
Next, a modification of the first embodiment will be described. In the present invention, the direction of the seat 6 can be changed from the left direction to the right direction shown in FIG. 4 to provide a three-wheeled bicycle with two front wheels and one rear wheel.
1 to 4 show an example in which the seat 6 moves leftward with respect to the traveling direction and moves right, but the present invention is limited to this embodiment. Instead, for example, by changing the connection between the wire 69 and the controller 61, the seat 6 can be configured to move leftward with respect to the traveling direction and to move leftward. In particular, when the rail 50 has a mountain shape that is convex at the center, smooth weight movement is possible, which is effective for high-speed turns (slalom).
Further, although a chain is used as the driving force transmission means, a belt may be used instead of the chain.

1: Previous frame
2: Rear frame 3: Front hawk 4: Handle 5: Front wheel 6: Seat 7: Pedal 8: Front gear 9: Vertical frame 10A: Sprocket 10B: Sprocket 10C: Sprocket 11L: Support bearing 11R: Support bearing 12: Bearing 13: Chain 14L: Chain 14R: Chain 15L: Sprocket 15R: Sprocket 16L: Left rear wheel 16R: Right rear wheel 18: Input shaft 19L: Support frame 19R: Support frame 20: Mounting member 50: Rail 51: Slider 52: Square Rail 53: Square slider 60: Continuously variable transmission 61: Controller 62: Ball 63: Ball rotating shaft 64: Input disc 65: Output disc 67: Output shaft 68L: Axle 68R: Axle 69: Wire

Claims (7)

Frame,
A pair of drive wheels rotatably supported by the frame;
A seat supported by the frame and seated by a driver;
A drive sprocket rotatably supported by the frame and driven by a driver;
A transmission that is supported by the frame and changes a rotational speed of the pair of drive wheels;
First transmission means for transmitting the driving force of the drive sprocket to the transmission;
In a tricycle equipped with
Support means for supporting the seat so as to be movable in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction with respect to the frame;
Second transmission means for transmitting the amount of movement of the seat to the transmission;
With
A three-wheeled bicycle, wherein the traveling direction of the three-wheeled bicycle is changed by changing a rotational speed between the pair of driving wheels in accordance with a movement amount of the seat. The three-wheeled bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the transmission is a continuously variable transmission. The three-wheeled bicycle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of driving wheels are rear wheels. The three-wheeled bicycle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of driving wheels are front wheels. The transmission includes an input shaft and an output shaft,
The first transmission means for transmitting the driving force from the drive sprocket to the transmission is connected to the input shaft of the transmission;
One of the pair of drive wheels is connected to the input shaft of the transmission,
The three-wheeled bicycle according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the other of the pair of drive wheels is connected to the output shaft of the transmission. The three-wheeled bicycle according to claim 5, wherein the supporting means is curved. The three-wheeled bicycle according to claim 5, wherein the supporting means includes a square rail and a square slider.

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