JP2520090B2 - Body structure of a four-wheel standing golf cart - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates mainly to a body structure of a self-propelled standing four-wheel golf cart for a caddy. In addition, a four-wheeled golf cart, that is, a golf bag, which allows the driving operation to be easily and easily carried out like a motorcycle, is mounted on the front of the vehicle body.
In order to be able to jump from the rear of the vehicle body and jump back to the rear, it is located behind the axles of the two rear wheels of the cart body and close to the lower running ground, and the caddy or other driver stands up and stands up. For a four-wheeled standing golf cart having a driver step and a handle shaft that stands up from the cart body and is inclined rearward, the vehicle body structure is simplified, the weight is reduced, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.
It is possible to easily and easily assemble and disassemble the vehicle body structure, facilitate maintenance, and further improve its usability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional self-propelled four-wheeled golf cart for a caddy is one in which a caddy drives while walking, not one in which the caddy stands up and drives. Also, there is a so-called self-use golf cart in which several players drive together, but this is a so-called car,
The present invention is not the self-propelled four-wheel golf cart for caddies that is the subject of the present invention. It is known that a self-propelled golf cart for each golf player can stand up (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 53-73667), but this is extremely high in production cost for its utility, and has been put to practical use. Not in. If this caddy is loaded with many golf bags and is large enough to allow the caddy to stand up and move quickly, it will become large and the total weight of the vehicle will increase, so an electric motor or engine with a large output is required. And As the output of the engine increases, not only the vibration increases and the engine noise increases, but also the high rigidity of the body structure is required, and the total weight of the vehicle increases. A golf cart for a caddy that allows the caddy to stand up and move quickly is essential for practical use, and for that purpose the desired running performance is achieved with the smallest possible engine output. It must be able to demonstrate its performance, and in order to achieve the desired driving performance with the smallest possible engine, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the vehicle body structure as much as possible. Further, since the maintenance of the golf cart is performed at each golf course, it is required that the disassembly and assembly of the vehicle body structure can be performed as easily and easily as possible, and high usability is required.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to meet both of the above demands, and a lightweight lower frame and an upper frame can ensure necessary rigidity, and the number of constituent elements of a vehicle body structure can be reduced. It is an object to make assembly and disassembly simple and easy, and to improve usability such as ease of use.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The measures taken for solving the above problems are constituted by the following elements (a) to (d). (A) Attach an upper frame projecting upward to the lower frame of the vehicle body frame that supports the two front wheels that are smaller in diameter than the rear wheels and the two rear wheels that are larger than the front wheels. (B) The width of the upper end of the upper frame is narrower than the width of the lower end to form a taper shape. (C) The box-shaped cover body that opens downward is placed at the rear of the lower frame. The drive device cover that covers the installed drive device such as the engine and the fenders for the front and rear wheels are integrally formed so that the upper surface is a substantially horizontal flat surface, and the cover body is covered over the lower frame from above. (D) A space was formed on the left and right sides of the upper frame above the fenders of the front and rear wheels, and the handle shaft was supported by the upper frame.

[0005]

[Operation] Since the lower frame of the body frame that supports the front two wheels and the rear two wheels can be made of pipe material,
The lower frame itself can be extremely lightweight and its structure can be simple and easy to manufacture.
Since the lower axle supports the front and rear axles,
The axle support structure is also simple. When the box-shaped cover body that opens downward is placed over the lower frame from above and attached to the lower frame, the drive device such as an engine for driving rear wheels mounted on the rear part of the lower frame is covered by the drive unit cover section of the cover body. The front wheel and the rear wheel are covered by the fender integrated with the cover body. The upper frame can be manufactured by bending a pipe material, so that the upper frame itself can be made extremely lightweight, and its structure is simple and easy to manufacture. By attaching this upper frame to the lower frame, the lower frame is reinforced and its rigidity is further improved. With the axles of the front and rear wheels supported by the lower frame and fixed to the lower frame, the upper surface of the box-shaped cover body is substantially horizontal, and the front wheels have a smaller diameter than the rear wheels, so the front wheels and their fenders are There is a big space between and. Therefore, long turf grass scattered as it is cut off is not caught between the front wheel and its fender, and therefore the turf grass is not caught and the smooth rotation of the front wheel is not hindered. Although the space between the rear wheel and its fender is small due to the large diameter of the rear wheel, since the grass that has been mowed is stepped on by the front wheel, the rear wheel traveling thereafter does not involve the grass. In addition, the upper frame of the upper frame is made narrower in width than the lower frame to have a taper shape, and a wide space W is provided on both left and right sides of the upper frame above the fenders of the front and rear wheels. Since the cover body is formed, when a person stands up between the front and rear fenders of the cover body, it is easy to get on and off, and when an object is placed, it is easy to load and unload. Furthermore, since the upper frame has a tapered shape in which the lateral width of the lower end is narrower than the outer width between the left and right rear wheels and the lateral width of the upper end is narrow, when the protective cover is hung on the golf cart, it is easy to hang the cover. It is also easy to remove the protective cover.

[0006]

[Examples] Next, examples will be described with reference to the drawings. This golf cart 1 has a small diameter front wheel 2 which is located on the left and right of the front part of the lower frame 4 and whose axle is supported by the lower frame, and an axle which is located on the left and right of the rear part of the lower frame 4 and which is supported by the lower frame 4. Large diameter rear wheel 3
And a cover body 5 that is a box-shaped cover that opens downward and covers the lower frame and the drive devices for the front wheels, rear wheels, rear wheels, and the like.
And a top frame 6 having a mountain-like shape in a side view, which is detachably fixed to the bottom frame by screws or the like. The center of the rear part of the cover body 5 is recessed inwardly, whereby a driver step 7 on which a driver A such as a caddy stands is formed. This step is to make the center of gravity as low as possible
It is as close to the ground as possible to make it easier to jump off. The cover main body 5 is provided with a drive device cover portion 5a at the center of the rear portion thereof, and the drive device cover portion 5a covers the rear wheel drive device 30 such as an engine mounted on the rear portion of the lower frame 4. There is. Further, fenders 5b and 5c are integrally provided on the front and rear sides and the right and left sides of the cover body 5, and the upper surface 5d thereof is a flat horizontal surface. When the cover body is attached to the lower frame 4,
The front wheels and the rear wheels are covered by the fenders 5a and 5b. Since the upper surface of the cover body is a flat horizontal surface and the front wheel 2 has a smaller diameter than the rear wheel 3, the vertical distance d between the front wheel 2 and the fender 5a is sufficiently large, and therefore, long turfgrass scattered and cut between the front wheels 2 and fenders 5a. Does not get caught and get stuck. The handle shaft 9 for operating the steering mechanism S of the front wheels 2 is inclined obliquely rearward, the lever handle 8 is fixed to the upper end of the handle shaft 9, and the grip 10 is located above the driver's step 7. The lower frame 4 has a substantially rectangular box shape and extends in the front-rear direction. Since the lower frame 4 is made of a pipe material, it is possible to secure sufficient rigidity. The upper frame 6 includes a pair of left and right side frames 6a extending in the front-rear direction at the central portion of the cover body 5 straddling the front and rear portions of the lower frame, and a cross frame 6b connecting the side frames 6a. 6b supports the lever handle 8 via a handle shaft 9. Like the lower frame, the upper frame can be made of pipe material. The bag mounting frame 16 provided in front of the upper frame 6 supports a plurality of caddy bags in a state where they are diagonally arranged side by side in the vehicle body width direction, and the receiving portion 16a thereof is located in front of the front wheel 2. are doing. Receiver 1
A holding member 18 is provided at 6a, and the holding portion holds the bottom of the caddy bag 17. There is a support member 19 on the upper portion 16b of the bag mounting frame 16,
This supports the top of the caddy bag. Also,
The width of the lower end of the upper frame 6 is equal to that of the left and right rear wheels 3, 3.
Since the width is narrower than the outer width of the cover and the lateral width of the upper end is narrow, the fenders 5b at the front and rear of the cover body 5,
A wide space (space) W can be secured above 5c, and when a companion stands on the left and right passenger steps 22, it is easy to get on and off.
When an object is placed on the golf cart, it can be easily loaded and unloaded, and the protective cover is easy to hang on the golf cart and easy to remove when the protective cover is removed. Furthermore, if the golf bag receiving part is projected forward from the front wheel and the golf bag mounting frame is fixedly mounted on the tip of the mountain-shaped upper frame, the weight of the front golf bag and the caddy on the rear step of the driver's step Since the center of gravity of the total weight is applied to the approximate center of the lower frame while traveling, the unbalanced force does not act on the lower frame, and the rigidity of the lower frame can be reduced accordingly. This makes the structural design of the lower frame easier. Reference numeral 22 is a step for a passenger that is recessed on both sides of the cover body 5, 22a is an inner tread plate integrally provided with the cover body 5, and 22b is an outer tread plate pivotally attached to an outer edge of the inner tread plate 22a by a hinge 23. , 24 are grips to be gripped by a passenger who stands on the passenger step 22, and are provided on the upper end of the upper frame 6, 11 is a throttle lever, 12 is a brake lever, and 20 is a golf club. Is.

[0007]

The above-mentioned problems of the present invention are novel, and therefore, it was possible to solve the problems and to put into practical use a four-wheel standing golf cart for a caddy equipped with a large number of caddy bags. This is a unique effect. That is,
With the vehicle body structure of the present invention, it was possible to realize a practical four-wheel standing golf cart for a caddy. Also, since the cover body is a box-like shape that opens downward, the drive unit such as the engine is covered from the top so that the drive unit is completely invisible, and its soundproofing is improved. Is completely open, the drive device can be sufficiently air-cooled. For example, JP-A-60-5
In the case where the drive device is housed in the box-shaped lower frame as described in Japanese Patent No. 5974, the problem of insufficient cooling remains when the drive device having a large heat generation amount is used, but the present invention has this problem. There is no. Furthermore, the upper frame has a lower end whose width is narrower than the outer width between the left and right rear wheels,
Since the width of the upper end is narrow and tapered, a wide space W can be secured above the front and rear fenders of the cover body, and it is easy to get on and off when a companion stands on the left and right steps. In addition, when putting things on the left and right steps, it can be easily loaded and unloaded, and when the protective cover is hung on the golf cart, it is easy to put the cover on and remove it when removing the protective cover. . Also, with the axles of the front and rear wheels supported by the lower frame and fixed to the lower frame, the upper surface of the box-shaped cover body is substantially horizontal, and since the front wheel has a smaller diameter than the rear wheel, There is a large space with the fender. Therefore, long turf grass scattered as it is cut off is not caught between the front wheel and its fender, and therefore the turf grass is not caught and the smooth rotation of the front wheel is not hindered. Although the space between the rear wheel and its fender is small due to the large diameter of the rear wheel, since the grass that has been mowed is stepped on by the front wheel, the rear wheels that run after that do not involve the grass.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a lower frame and an upper frame.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a lower frame and an upper frame.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Golf cart 2 ... Front wheel 3 ... Rear wheel 4 ... Lower frame 5 ... Cover body 6 ... Upper frame 7 ... Driver's step 5a ... Parking device Cover parts 5b, 5c ... Fender 5d ... Upper surface of cover body W ... Space

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cart main body equipped with two front wheels and two rear wheels, which is self-propelled, and which is positioned behind the axle of the rear two wheels of the cart main body and close to the traveling ground below, and stands upright with the driver standing. In a four-wheel standing golf cart equipped with a driver's step for riding and driving, and a handle shaft that stands up from the cart body and is inclined rearward, a front two wheels having a smaller diameter than the rear wheels and a rear wheel having a larger diameter than the front wheels. An upper frame protruding upward is attached to the lower frame of the vehicle body frame that supports the two wheels, and the lateral width of the lower end of the upper frame is narrower than the outer width between the left and right rear wheels, and the lateral width of the upper end of the upper frame is smaller than the lateral width of the lower end. Also, the box-shaped cover body that opens downward has a narrower taper shape, and the drive unit cover that covers the drive unit such as the engine installed at the rear of the lower frame is integrated with the front and rear wheel fenders. The upper surface of the lower frame to cover the lower frame and attach it to the lower frame to form a space above and between the fenders of the front and rear wheels on the left and right sides of the upper frame. A vehicle body structure of a four-wheel standing golf cart in which the handle shaft is supported by the upper frame.