JP3178719U - Wheelbarrow handle height adjustment mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

A wheelbarrow handle height adjustment mechanism that is easy to operate even for a person with weak fingertips, such as an elderly person.
A handle pipe 31 is supported by a handle post 2, one of which is an outer tube and the other is an inner tube, and the inner tube is slidably inserted into the outer tube, and is attached to the outer tube. 4, the operation lever 6 is pivotally attached. The operation lever is provided with a pressing portion 61 at one end and a lock pin support portion 62 at the other end, and selects one of a plurality of locking holes 22 provided in the tube axis direction of the inner tube to select the lock pin 7. When the height of the handle is adjusted, the pressing portion of the operating lever is pushed, the lock pin is pulled out from the locking hole, and the handle pipe is moved up and down. An annular stopper 8 that slides up and down prohibits the operation lever from rotating and prevents the lock pin from coming out of the locking hole.
[Selection] Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to a handle height adjustment mechanism for a wheelbarrow such as a walking assistance car, a nursing wheelchair, and a baby carriage.

When moving a wheelbarrow, the handle is pushed and pushed forward, so the height of the handle is usually adjusted to the physique of the person pushing the wheel.
As the handle height adjustment mechanism of the wheelbarrow, a pin is attached to a lever pivotally attached to a housing attached to the outer tube (handle), and the pin is inserted into the locking hole of the inner tube by the biasing force of the spring. When holding and fixing the handle and adjusting the height of the handle, a mechanism is disclosed in which the lever is rotated to pull the pin out of the locking hole and move the handle up and down (Patent Document 1). With this mechanism, since the pin is inserted and removed by lever operation, the height of the handle can be easily adjusted.

  In Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that a part of the body touches the lever without being noticed, and the handle is released and the handle is unexpectedly lowered. For this reason, Patent Document 2 is provided with a stopper that prohibits the rotation of the operation lever in order to maintain the fitting state of the pin and the locking hole. The stopper rotates around a rotation axis different from that of the operation lever, and the presser wall covers a part of the operation lever so that the stopper itself is prevented from rotating at the brake portion.

JP 2004-90734 A No. 08-5388

However, in Patent Document 2, when the stopper is made of synthetic resin, the presser wall covering the operation lever is easily deformed. For example, even if the pin is not in the engagement hole, the stopper wall can be set by forcibly turning and pressing it. In addition, since the brake portion is bent, the holding force is small, which is not sufficient as a safety device. Furthermore, when the stopper is removed, it is necessary to raise the presser wall with the fingertip, which is difficult to operate for people with weak fingertip power, such as elderly people.
Therefore, the present invention provides a mechanism that can reliably and easily adjust the handle height of the handcart.

  The wheel height adjustment mechanism for a handcart according to the present invention supports a handle pipe that constitutes the core of the handle with a handle post extending upward from the main body of the handcart, and one is an outer tube and the other is an inner tube. The inner tube is slidably inserted into the outer tube, an operation lever is pivotally attached to the height adjustment mechanism attached to the outer tube, the operation lever is provided with a pressing portion at one end, and a lock pin is attached to the other end. A lock pin support portion is provided, is rotatable about a rotation shaft in the center portion, and is provided in the outer tube by selecting one of a plurality of locking holes provided in the tube axis direction of the inner tube. The height of the handle is fixed by fitting the lock pin through the insertion hole, and the lock pin is always urged toward the locking hole by a spring. When adjusting the height of the handle, press the operating lever. And pull the lock pin from the locking hole. This is a handle height adjustment mechanism for handcarts that move the handle pipe up and down. When the handle height is fixed, the operation lever is rotated by an annular stopper that slides up and down provided in the height adjustment mechanism. And the lock pin is prevented from coming out of the locking hole.

  According to this device, since the stopper is annular, it is surely difficult to be deformed even if it is made of a synthetic resin, and it is easy to operate because it is a vertical slide type.

  Also, the present invention is characterized in that the stopper is locked to the height adjusting mechanism at the position where the rotation of the operation lever is prohibited and the position where the stopper is allowed.

  According to this device, when the stopper is locked at a position where the rotation of the operation lever is prohibited, the stopper is prevented from being removed, and when the stopper is locked at a position where the rotation of the operation lever is allowed, the height adjustment of the handle is obstructed. The operation becomes easier.

  Further, according to the present invention, the operation lever is provided with a pressing portion at the lower end of the rotation shaft, a lock pin support portion is provided at the upper end, the stopper is provided above the height adjustment mechanism portion, and the lock pin of the operation lever is provided. The operation lever is prohibited from rotating by covering the outside of the support portion.

  According to this device, since the rotation of the operation lever is prohibited when the stopper is lowered, even if the stopper is loosely locked to the height adjusting mechanism, it works on the safety side.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the handle pipe is an outer tube and the handle post is an inner tube.

  According to this device, when the handle is raised and lowered, the height adjusting mechanism can be supported by hand, so that the operation becomes easy.

  Since the handle height adjusting mechanism of the wheelbarrow of the present invention is provided with an annular and vertically slidable stopper, it is more reliable as a stopper and can be easily operated even by a person with weak finger strength.

It is a perspective view which shows the walk auxiliary vehicle which is an example of a handcart. It is a perspective view of a height adjustment mechanism part. (A) is a side view of a fixing member, (b) is a longitudinal sectional view, and (c) is a plan view. (A) is a side view of an operation lever, (b) is a longitudinal sectional view, and (c) is a view taken along the line AA. It is a perspective view of a lock pin. (A) is a side view of a stopper, (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (c) is an AA arrow view, (d) is a plan view. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the height adjustment mechanism part which shows the latching state of a stopper, (a) is the state which raised the stopper, (b) is the state which lowered | hung the stopper. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the height adjustment mechanism part in the state which raised the stopper. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the height adjustment mechanism part of the state which lowered | hung the stopper and rotated the operation lever. It is a back perspective view at the time of performing height adjustment operation of a handle.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a handle height adjusting mechanism for a handcart according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a walking assist vehicle 1 for elderly people as an example of a handcart. The left and right front legs extend upward, and the upper end portion serves as a handle post 2 to support the handle 3. The handle 3 is obtained by covering the upper part of an inverted U-shaped handle pipe 31 constituting the core material with a synthetic resin cover 32, and the horizontal portion serves as a grip when the wheelbarrow is pushed. The height adjusting mechanism 4 is fixed to the lower ends of the left and right vertical pipes of the handle pipe 31.

  FIG. 2 shows a rear perspective view of the height adjusting mechanism section 4. The height adjustment mechanism 4 includes a fixing member 5, an operation lever 6, and a stopper 8.

  3A is a side view, FIG. 3B is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 3C is a plan view. The fixing member 5 includes a cylindrical attachment portion 51 that covers the lower end portion of the handle pipe 31 and an operation portion 52 that houses the operation lever 6. The attachment portion 51 is provided with quadrangular holes 51a and 51b for engaging the stopper 8, and the holes 51a and 51b are provided at the same height on the opposite sides. Inside the mounting portion 51, a projection 51c projects inward, two vertical ribs 51d are provided on the lower inner wall, and a step portion 51e is provided at the lower end. The operation portion 52 is provided with a hole 52 a that supports the rotation shaft of the operation lever 6. A hole 53 is opened in the wall between the attachment portion 51 and the operation portion 52.

  4A is a side view, FIG. 4B is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 4C is a view taken along the line AA. The operating lever 6 is provided with a pressing portion 61 at the lower end and a lock pin support portion 62 at the upper end, and is pivotally attached to the fixing member 5 by attaching it to a hole 52a of the fixing member 5 through a rotation shaft through a hole 63 positioned therebetween. Is done. A lock pin 7 shown in FIG. 5 is attached to a lock pin support hole 62 a provided in the lock pin support portion 62.

  The lock pin 7 is formed by covering one end of a metal pin 71 with a synthetic resin portion 72 and integrally forming a rotating shaft 72a. The rotating shaft 72a is chamfered 72b for easy mounting. . The lock pin 7 is attached to the operation lever 6 by supporting the rotation shaft 72 a in the hole 62 a of the operation lever 6.

FIG. 6 shows (a) a side view, (b) a longitudinal sectional view, (c) an AA arrow view, and (d) a plan view of the stopper 8. The stopper 8 is an annular body that covers the upper portion of the fixing member 5 and covers the upper portion of the stopper 8. A portion that covers the upper portion of the operation portion 52 projects from a cylindrical portion that covers the upper portion of the mounting portion 51. Do not turn to 5. A pair of tongue pieces 81 and 81 are provided on the lower side and opposed to each other, and quadrangular protrusions 82 and 82 are provided on the lower end thereof.
The fixing member 5, the operation lever 6, and the stopper 8 are all made of synthetic resin.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which the height adjusting mechanism 4 is assembled. For the sake of explanation, the handle pipe 31 and the handle post 2 are omitted. The lock pin 7 is attached to the operation lever 6, the operation lever 6 is pivotally attached to the fixing member 5, and the lock pin 7 is passed through the hole 53. At this time, the compression coil spring 9 is set between the pressing portion 61 of the operation lever 6 and the fixing member 5 to bias the lock pin 7 inward. When the stopper 8 is covered from above and moved downward, the pair of protrusions 82 of the stopper 8 are elastically fitted into the upper holes 51a of the fixing member 5 as shown in FIG. Is locked. When the stopper 8 is further moved downward, the projection 82 comes out of the hole 51a and is engaged and locked in the lower hole 51b as shown in FIG. 7B. Since the protrusion 82 is chamfered in the vertical direction, a strong force is not required for the vertical movement of the stopper 8.

  Thus, by providing the pressing portion 61 of the operating lever 6 on the lower side, the lock pin support portion 62 on the upper side, and the stopper 8 above the height adjusting mechanism portion 4, the engagement between the projection 82 and the holes 51a and 51b should be avoided. Even when the stop becomes loose, it is safe because it moves in the direction prohibiting the rotation of the operation lever 6 by its own weight.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the height adjusting mechanism 4 is fixed to the handle pipe 31 and the handle post 2 is inserted from the lower opening. The handle pipe 31 is made of an aluminum pipe and includes a horizontal tube portion and left and right vertical tube portions, and two holes are provided in the lower portion of the vertical tube portion. The upper hole is an insertion hole 31 a for the lock pin 7, and the lower hole is an attachment hole 31 b for fixing the height adjusting mechanism 4. Two slits (not shown) are provided at the lower end.
The handle post 2 is also made of an aluminum pipe, and an inner cap 21 made of synthetic resin is fixed to the opening portion at the upper end. The metal when the handle post 2 is slid and removed when the handle post 2 is inserted into the handle pipe 31. Prevent sound generation. In the tube axis direction of the handle post 2, three locking holes 22, 22, 22 for adjusting the height of the handle 3 are provided.

  In order to fix the height adjusting mechanism 4 to the handle pipe 31, the lock pin 7 is retracted, the handle pipe 31 is inserted into the height adjusting mechanism 4 from above, and the fixing member 5 is vertically inserted into the slit at the lower end of the handle pipe 31. Push in so that the rib 51d enters. When the handle pipe 31 is pushed down to the stepped portion 51e, the protrusion 51c is fitted into the mounting hole 31b. Since the protrusion 51c is chamfered only on the upper side, once the protrusion 51c is inserted into the mounting hole 31b, it cannot be removed. The vertical rib 51d is inserted into the slit, and the protrusion 51c is inserted into the mounting hole 31b, so that the positioning and retaining are performed, and the height adjusting mechanism 4 is fixed to the handle pipe 31. At this time, since the hole 53 of the fixing member 5 and the insertion hole 31a of the handle pipe 31 are set at the same position, the lock pin 7 passes through both the hole 53 and the insertion hole 31a. In FIG. 8, the lock pin 7 is fitted in the uppermost locking hole 22 of the handle post 2, and the handle 3 is fixed at the highest position.

  The lock pin 7 is urged toward the locking hole 22 by the compression coil spring 9, and the stopper 8 is further lowered to cover the outside of the lock pin support portion 62 of the operation lever 6, so that the lock pin 7 is locked. The hole 22 is prevented from coming off. Since the stopper 8 is locked at this position, it does not come off unless operated. Covering the outside of the lock pin support portion 62 of the operation lever 6 with the stopper 8 is more effective for inhibiting the rotation of the operation lever 6 than covering the pressing portion 61. Further, since the stopper 8 is an annular shape that covers the entire upper periphery of the fixing member 5, it is difficult to be deformed and is more reliable as a safety device.

  Here, an operation for adjusting the height of the handle 3 will be described. In the state of FIG. 8, since the stopper 8 is in the lowered position and the operation lever cannot be moved, first, the stopper 8 is grasped and pulled up. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B to FIG. 7A, the protrusion 82 of the stopper 8 moves from the hole 51b of the fixing member to the hole 51a and is locked in a floating state as shown in FIG. Even if you let go of the stopper 8, it will not go down, so it will not interfere with the height adjustment. In the present invention, the stopper 8 can be gripped and operated, so even a person with weak fingertips can easily operate.

  When the pressing portion 61 of the operation lever 6 is pressed in this state, the operation lever 6 is rotated because the outer side of the lock pin support portion 62 is not covered with the stopper 8 as shown in FIG. It moves and is withdrawn from the uppermost locking hole 22. Here, the finger is released from the pressing portion 61 of the operation lever 6 while lowering the handle pipe 31. When the lower locking hole 22 is aligned with the position of the lock pin 7, the lock pin 7 is fitted and the handle 3 is fixed at that height.

  Since the operation of the height adjustment mechanism 4 needs to be performed simultaneously on the left and right, in fact, the left and right stoppers 8 are moved upward after turning to the rear of the walking auxiliary vehicle 1 and then left and right with both hands as shown in FIG. The handle 3 can be moved up and down by grasping the handle post 2 and simultaneously pressing the pressing portions 61 of the left and right operation levers 6 with the thumb and moving the thumb up and down in this state.

  In the present invention, the handle post 2 side can be an outer tube. However, as in this example, the handle pipe 31 side is preferably an outer tube because it is easier to support when the handle 3 is raised and lowered.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Walk auxiliary vehicle 2 Handle post 3 Handle 4 Height adjustment mechanism part 5 Fixing member 6 Operation lever 7 Lock pin 8 Stopper 9 Compression coil spring

Claims (4)

  The handle pipe that forms the core of the handle is supported by a handle post that extends upward from the wheelbarrow main body. One is an outer tube, the other is an inner tube, and the inner tube is slidably inserted into the outer tube. An operation lever is pivotally attached to the height adjustment mechanism attached to the control lever, the operation lever is provided with a pressing portion at one end, and a lock pin support portion with a lock pin attached to the other end is provided. The handle height can be increased by selecting one of a plurality of locking holes provided in the tube axis direction of the inner tube and fitting the lock pin through the insertion hole provided in the outer tube. The lock pin is always urged toward the locking hole by a spring, and when adjusting the height of the handle, press the pressing part of the operating lever, pull the lock pin out of the locking hole and pull the handle pipe. Wheelbarrow moving up and down The handle height adjustment mechanism, when the handle height is fixed, the operation lever is prevented from rotating by an annular stopper provided in the height adjustment mechanism that slides in the vertical direction, and the lock pin comes out of the locking hole. A wheelbarrow handle height adjustment mechanism characterized by not having it.   The handle height adjusting mechanism for a handcart according to claim 1, wherein the stopper is locked to the height adjusting mechanism at a position where the operation lever is prohibited from rotating and a position where the stopper is allowed.   The operation lever is provided with a pressing portion at the lower end of the rotation shaft, a lock pin support portion is provided at the upper end, and a stopper is provided above the height adjustment mechanism portion, and is disposed outside the lock pin support portion of the operation lever. The handle height adjusting mechanism of the handcart according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation lever is prohibited from being rotated by covering.   4. The handle height adjusting mechanism for a handcart according to claim 1, wherein the handle pipe is an outer tube and the handle post is an inner tube.

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