JP2015009729A - Wheel structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wheel structure of a baby carriage which uses a hollow wheel axle and can keep aesthetic appearance even when it is in any state of a back pushing state and a face-to-face pushing state.SOLUTION: A wheel structure of a baby carriage whose state can be changed between a back pushing state and a face-to-face pushing state includes: a hub member (22) which is swingably held by a carriage body frame (51); a hollow wheel axle (30) which penetrates the hub member (22); and wheels (6) which are rotatably held with respect to the hub member (22) with the hollow wheel axle (30) therein. Both ends of the hollow wheel axle (30) are respectively mounted with caps (33, 34) covering a center hole of the hollow wheel axle (30). In this case, typically a fixed flange (31) and a post-attached flange (32) are respectively installed at positions away from both end edges of the hollow wheel axle (30) toward the center side.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wheel structure, and more particularly to a wheel structure of a baby carriage that can be switched between a back-side push state and a face-to-face push state.

  As shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-184567 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-6553 (Patent Document 2), baby carriages that can be switched between the back-pressing state and the face-to-face pressing state are in circulation. . When the push state is switched in such a baby carriage, each wheel is inverted by 180 °. For this reason, for example, in a stroller provided with two front legs and two rear legs, the side faces of the wheels facing the inside in the width direction in the back pushing state face the outside in the width direction in the face pushing state.

JP-A-63-184567 JP 2013-6553 A

  The wheel is rotatably held with respect to the hub member via the axle. A pair of flanges for preventing detachment from the wheels are provided at both ends of the axle. In general, one of the pair of flanges is integrally formed at the end edge of the axle, and the other is attached later at a position away from the end edge of the axle toward the center.

  There is a baby carriage in which a cap made of resin is fitted on the spokes on both sides of the wheel, while there is also a baby carriage in which the cap is directly attached to the axle. In the latter case, in general, the cap is attached only to the side of the both sides of the wheel that faces outward in the back-pressed state. In this case, in a baby carriage that employs a hollow axle for weight reduction, the side surface facing inward in the rear pushing state faces outward in the face pushing state, so that the center hole of the hollow axle is visible from the outside. End up. As a result, aesthetics are impaired.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to maintain an aesthetic appearance regardless of whether the baby carriage employing the hollow axle is in the back-pressed state or the face-to-face pressed state. It is to provide a wheel structure that can.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a wheel structure in which caps can be easily attached to both ends of a hollow axle.

  A wheel structure according to an aspect of the present invention is a wheel structure of a baby carriage that can be switched between a rear pushing state and a face pushing state, and includes a hub member that is pivotably held by a body frame of the baby carriage, and the hub member. A hollow axle, wheels that are rotatably supported with respect to the hub member via the hollow axle, and a pair of caps that are attached to both ends of the hollow axle and cover the center hole of the hollow axle.

  Preferably, it further includes a fixed flange integrally formed at one end portion of the hollow axle, and a retrofit flange attached later to the other end portion of the hollow axle.

  A wheel structure according to another aspect of the present invention is a wheel structure of a baby carriage that can be switched between a rear pushing state and a face pushing state, and includes a hub member that is pivotably held by a body frame of the baby carriage, and a hub member that penetrates the wheel structure. A hollow axle, a wheel rotatably held with respect to the hub member via the hollow axle, and a position away from both ends of the hollow axle toward the center side to prevent detachment from the wheel A pair of flanges.

  Preferably, the hollow axle further includes a pair of caps attached so as to hold portions outside the pair of flanges and covering the center hole of the hollow axle.

  The pair of caps desirably have the same structure and shape.

  Preferably, the wheel includes first and second wheels sandwiching the hub member.

  According to the present invention, a pair of caps that cover the center hole of the hollow axle are provided as the wheel structure of the baby carriage. Therefore, even if the baby carriage that employs the hollow axle is in the state of pushing back or pushing back, the aesthetic appearance can be maintained.

  Moreover, according to this invention, a pair of flange is provided in the position away from the both ends of the hollow axle toward the center side. Accordingly, caps having the same structure and shape can be attached to both ends of the hollow axle. As a result, the cap can be easily attached.

It is a side view which shows the schematic structure of the baby carriage which concerns on embodiment of this invention in a back pushing state. 1 is a side view showing a schematic structure of a baby carriage according to an embodiment of the present invention in a face-to-face pressed state. It is a mimetic diagram showing typically the wheel structure of the baby carriage concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is an external view which shows the axle member which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic cross section which shows the axle member which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which looked at the wheel part of the baby carriage provided with the axle member concerning an embodiment of the invention from the side in the back pushing state. It is the figure which looked at the wheel part of the baby carriage provided with the axle member concerning an embodiment of the invention from the side in the face pushing state. It is a schematic cross section which shows the axle member which concerns on the modification 1 of embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic cross section which shows the axle member which concerns on the modification 2 of embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic cross section which shows the axle member which concerns on the modification 3 of embodiment of this invention. It is an external view which shows a general axle member. It is a schematic cross section showing a general axle member. It is the figure which looked at the wheel part of the baby carriage provided with the general axle member from the side in the back pushing state. It is the figure which looked at the wheel part of the baby carriage provided with the general axle member from the side in the face pushing state.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

<About the schematic structure of the baby carriage>
First, the schematic structure of the baby carriage according to the present embodiment will be described.

  1 and 2 are side views showing a schematic structure of a baby carriage 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows the baby carriage 5 in a back-push state, and FIG. 2 shows the baby carriage 5 in a face-to-face push state.

  The baby carriage 5 has a basic shape in the state of being pushed back as shown in FIG. The baby carriage 5 includes a frame main body 50, a pair of front legs 51 that are positioned forward in the rear pushing state, a pair of rear legs 52 that are located rearward in the rear pushing state, a pair of push bars 53, and a slide member. 59. A front wheel 6 is provided at the lower end of each front leg 51, and a rear wheel 7 is provided at the lower end of each rear leg 52. The front wheel 6 and the rear wheel 7 each represent a wheel attached to each leg, and these wheels are typically a dual-wheel structure having two wheels per leg. The structure of the wheels 6 and 7 will be described later.

  The frame body 50 is connected to the upper end portion of the front leg 51 and the upper end portion of the rear leg 52. The frame body 50 includes a pair of seat support members 55 and a pair of backrest support members 56 for supporting the infant seat 60, and a central connection member 57 that connects the upper ends of the front legs 51 and the upper ends of the rear legs 52. Is included. A slide member 59 that supports the hood 61 is slidably connected to the central connecting member 57. The slide member 59 slides downward when the baby carriage 5 is folded.

  The pair of push rods 53 extends in the vertical direction and is attached to the frame main body 50 via a pivot 53a. The upper end portions of the pair of push rods 53 are connected by a handle portion 54. The push bar 53 can rotate in the front-rear direction around the pivot 53a, and is switched between a back-side push position shown in FIG. 1 and a face-to-face push position shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front leg 51 and the front wheel 6 are located forward in the traveling direction in the back-pressed state, but are rearward in the traveling direction in the facing-pressed state. The rear leg 52 and the rear wheel 7 are positioned rearward in the traveling direction when the rear surface is pushed, but are located forward in the traveling direction when facing the front. The basic directions of the front wheel 6 and the rear wheel 7 differ by 180 ° between when the baby carriage 5 is in the state of being pushed in the back and in the state of being face-to-face.

  In the present embodiment, of the both side surfaces 6a and 6b of the front wheel 6, the outer side surface located outside in the back pushing state is referred to as “side surface 6a”, and the inner side surface located inside is referred to as “side surface 6b”. Similarly, out of the both side surfaces 7a and 7b of the rear wheel 7, the outer side surface located outside in the rear pushing state is referred to as “side surface 7a”, and the inner side surface located inside is referred to as “side surface 7b”.

  Below, the structure of the front wheel 6 and the rear wheel 7 of such a baby carriage 5 is demonstrated in detail.

<About wheel structure>
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the wheel structure of the baby carriage 5 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 typically shows an example of the structure of the front wheel 6 provided at the lower end of one front leg 51, but the structure of the front wheel 6 and the rear wheel 7 on the other side may be the same.

  Referring to FIG. 3, a caster including front wheel 6 is attached to front leg 51 of baby carriage 5. Since the front wheel 6 has a twin-wheel structure, the front wheel 6 includes two wheels 11 and 12. In addition to the wheels 11 and 12, the caster further includes a fixing member 21, a hub member 22, and an axle member 3. The fixing member 21 is fixed to the lower end portion of the front leg 51. The hub member 22 is pivotally connected to the lower end portion of the fixed member 21. Thereby, the hub member 22 is held by the front leg 51 which is a vehicle body frame so that turning is possible. The axle member 3 is disposed so as to penetrate the hub member 22 and the two wheels 11 and 12 sandwiching the hub member 22.

  The wheel 11 is located on the outside in the back-pushing state, and is located on the inside in the face-to-face pushing state. The wheel 12 is located on the inner side in the back-pressed state, and is located on the outer side in the facing-on state. In this case, the outer surface of the wheel 11 corresponds to the side surface 6a, and the outer surface of the wheel 12 corresponds to the side surface 6b.

  Here, prior to the description of the structure of the axle member 3 in the present embodiment, the structure of a general axle member that is reduced in weight will be briefly described.

(General axle member structure)
FIGS. 11 and 12 are an external view and a schematic cross-sectional view showing a general axle member 103, respectively. FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are views of a wheel portion of a baby carriage provided with a general axle member 103 as viewed from the side in the back-pressed state and the face-pressed state, respectively. In FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, an arrow A <b> 1 indicates the traveling direction of the pair of wheels 11 and 12.

  Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the axle member 103 includes a hollow axle 130, a fixing flange 131 integrally formed on one end edge of the hollow axle 130, and a central side from the other end edge of the hollow axle 130. And a retrofitting flange 132 attached at a position away from it. The wheels 11 and 12 are rotatably held with respect to the hub member 22 via the hollow axle 130. The fixed flange 131 is located on the wheel 12 side, and the retrofitting flange 132 is located on the wheel 11 side.

  In a typical axle member 103, a cap 133 that covers the center hole 104a of the hollow axle 130 is attached only to the rear flange 132 side of both ends of the hollow axle 130. In this case, when the rear surface is pressed as shown in FIG. 13, the side surface 6a of the wheel 11 located on the outer side faces the outer side, but the cap 133 exists at the center position of the side surface 6a. Therefore, the center hole 104 a of the hollow axle 130 is hidden from the outside by the cap 133. On the other hand, in the face-to-face pressing state shown in FIG. The flange 131 of the hollow axle 130 is exposed at the center position of the side surface 6b. Therefore, in the face-to-face pressing state, the center hole 104b of the hollow axle 130 is fully visible from the outside. If the axle is solid, even if the flange is exposed, there is no hole in the center of the flange, so the aesthetics are maintained to some extent. However, in the case of the hollow axle 130, the center hole 104b is visible from the outside as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the structure of the axle member 3 is as follows in order to maintain the aesthetic appearance when in the face-to-face pressing state.

(Structure of axle member according to the present embodiment)
FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are an external view and a schematic cross-sectional view showing the axle member 3 according to the present embodiment, respectively. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are views of the wheel portion of the baby carriage provided with the axle member 3 as viewed from the side in the back pushing state and the face pushing state, respectively. Also in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, arrow A1 has shown the advancing direction of one set of wheels 11 and 12. FIG.

  3 to 5, the axle member 3 is attached to the hollow axle 30, a fixed flange 31 integrally formed at one end of the hollow axle 30, and the other end of the hollow axle 30 as a retrofit. And a retrofitted flange 32. These flanges 31 and 32 prevent the hollow axle 30 from being detached from the wheels 11 and 12. Also in the axle member 3, the fixed flange 31 is located on the wheel 12 side and the retrofitting flange 32 is located on the wheel 11 side, similarly to the above-described general axle member 103.

  The fixed flange 31 and the retrofitted flange 32 are respectively provided at positions away from both end edges of the hollow axle 30 toward the center side. In other words, in the present embodiment, not only the retrofitting flange 32 but also the fixing flange 31 is provided by leaving the end portion (end edge) of the hollow axle 30. Therefore, the caps 33 and 34 as ornaments can be mounted along the outer peripheral surfaces of the both ends of the hollow axle 30. The caps 33 and 34 cover the center holes 4a and 4b of the hollow axle 30. In addition, the part engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the hollow axle 30 among the caps 33 and 34 shall have flexibility.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the caps 33 and 34 are arranged on both the exposed side surface 6 a of the wheel 11 and the exposed side surface 6 b of the wheel 12. Therefore, the center hole 4b of the hollow axle 30 is concealed from the outside by the cap 34 not only in the back-pressed state shown in FIG. 6 but also in the facing-pressed state shown in FIG. The beauty of the part can be kept.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is desirable that the outer diameters of both ends of the hollow axle 30 are substantially the same. Moreover, it is desirable that both the fixed flange 31 and the retrofitted flange 32 are provided at positions separated from the end edge of the hollow axle 30 by substantially the same distance toward the center side. By doing so, the caps 33 and 34 having the same structure and shape can be attached to both ends of the hollow axle 30. That is, the caps 33 and 34 can be mounted on either side of the wheels 11 and 12. Therefore, the caps 33 and 34 can be easily attached to the hollow axle 30. As a result, the assembly work of casters can be simplified.

  Incidentally, as described above, there is also a baby carriage in which a resin cap or the like is fitted in the spokes on both side surfaces of the wheel. In this case, the flanges at both ends of the axle are concealed by this cap. However, when it is desired to reduce the diameter of the wheels 11 and 12, it is difficult to attach such a cap. In contrast, in the present embodiment, since the caps 33 and 34 are directly attached to the hollow axle 30, the design of the wheels can be improved regardless of the diameters of the wheels 11 and 12.

  In the axle member 3, the caps 33 and 34 are attached along the outer peripheral surface of the hollow axle 30, but the structure of the axle member is not limited to such an example. Modified examples 1 and 2 of the axle member are shown below. In each modification, only a different part from the said axle member 3 is demonstrated.

<Modification 1>
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an axle member 3A according to Modification 1 of the embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 8, caps 33 </ b> A and 34 </ b> A are attached to both ends of hollow axle 30 in axle member 3 </ b> A. The caps 33A and 34A have structures for holding the outer edges of the flanges 31 and 32, respectively.

<Modification 2>
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an axle member 3B according to Modification 2 of the embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 9, in axle member 3 </ b> B, caps 33 </ b> B and 34 </ b> B are attached to both ends of hollow axle 30. The caps 33B and 34B have structures that are fitted into the center holes 4a and 4b of the hollow axle 30, respectively.

  In the case of the cap structure as in the first and second modifications, the position of the fixing flange may be the one side edge. A structural example of the axle member in that case will be shown as a third modification below.

<Modification 3>
FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an axle member 3C according to Modification 3 of the embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 10, axle member 3 </ b> C includes a fixing flange 31 </ b> A formed at one end edge of hollow axle 30. Even in this case, for example, as in the second modification, the pair of caps 33B and 34B can be attached so as to be fitted into the center holes 4a and 4b at both ends of the hollow axle 30, respectively.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment and the first to third modifications thereof, the center hole of the hollow axle is formed in both the rear pushing and the facing pushing even when the baby carriage is a hollow axle. Hidden from the outside. Therefore, both the weight reduction of the baby carriage and the improvement of aesthetics can be achieved.

  In the present embodiment and its modifications 1 to 3, caps having the same structure and shape are attached to both ends of the hollow axle. However, caps having different structures or shapes are attached to one side and the other side. It is good as well. In the present embodiment and its modifications 1 and 2, both ends of the hollow axle may be retrofitted flanges.

  Further, in the present embodiment and the first to third modifications thereof, the stroller that can be switched between the back-side push and the face-to-face push is premised. However, the wheel structure described above is also applied to the stroller that employs only one of the states. Can be applied. Even in such a baby carriage, the aesthetic appearance of the wheel portion can be improved by disposing a cap that covers the center hole of the hollow axle on the side face that is always facing inward among the both side faces of the wheel.

  Moreover, although it was set as the twin-wheel structure which has two wheels per leg, the single-wheel structure comprised only with one wheel may be sufficient.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  3, 3A, 3B, 3C, 103 axle member, 4a, 4b, 104a, 104b center hole, 5 baby carriage, 6 front wheel (wheel), 7 rear wheel (wheel), 11, 12 wheel, 21 fixing member, 22 hub member , 30, 130 Hollow axle, 31, 31A, 131 Fixed flange, 32, 132 Retrofit flange, 33, 33A, 33B, 34, 34A, 34B, 133 Cap, 50 frame body, 51 Front leg, 52 Rear leg, 53 Push rod, 54 handle part, 55 seat part support member, 56 backrest part support member, 57 center connecting member, 59 slide member, 60 infant seat, 61 hood.

Claims (6)

A wheel structure of a baby carriage that can be switched between a back pushing and a face pushing state,
A hub member that is pivotably held by a body frame of the baby carriage;
A hollow axle passing through the hub member;
A wheel that is rotatably held with respect to the hub member via the hollow axle;
A wheel structure comprising a pair of caps attached to both ends of the hollow axle and covering a center hole of the hollow axle. A fixing flange integrally formed at one end of the hollow axle;
The wheel structure according to claim 1, further comprising a retrofit flange attached to the other end portion of the hollow axle as a retrofit. A wheel structure of a baby carriage that can be switched between a back pushing and a face pushing state,
A hub member that is pivotably held by a body frame of the baby carriage;
A hollow axle passing through the hub member;
A wheel that is rotatably held with respect to the hub member via the hollow axle;
A wheel structure provided with a pair of flanges provided at positions away from both end edges of the hollow axle toward the center and for preventing separation from the wheel.   4. The wheel structure according to claim 3, further comprising a pair of caps that are attached so as to hold portions outside the pair of flanges in the hollow axle and that cover a center hole of the hollow axle.   The wheel structure according to claim 4, wherein the pair of caps have the same structure and shape.   The wheel structure according to claim 1, wherein the wheel includes first and second wheels sandwiching the hub member.

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