JP3992135B2 - Wheel with rotating body - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wheel with a rotating body in which a plurality of non-turning rotating bodies that rotate in a direction orthogonal to the straight direction of the wheel are arranged for turning around the wheel.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a wheel with this type of rotating body, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-227404 discloses a roller-shaped rotating body that rotates in a direction perpendicular to the straight direction on a rotating shaft along the outer circumference of the wheel. A wheel in which a buffer member is disposed is disclosed. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-12829 or Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-500049, a large number of spindle-shaped rotating bodies are inclined with respect to the straight traveling direction on the premise that the driving wheels are provided. A wheel is disclosed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the former wheel, the turning body for turning does not turn unlike the caster, that is, without increasing the lateral width of the wheel, it runs in the lateral direction or diagonally while rotating the wheel according to the vector component force. However, a gap is inevitably generated between the front and rear ends of adjacent rotating bodies with a width corresponding to the diameter of the rotating body. Therefore, although a cushioning member is interposed in order to hold stones or the like in the gap, there remains room for improvement in terms of generating frictional resistance with the rotating body and being unable to rotate smoothly due to its non-rotation.
[0004]
On the other hand, according to the latter wheel, it is possible to travel in the lateral direction or the oblique direction without turning by the oblique turning rotating body. If the diameter of the wheel is increased in consideration of getting over and the vertical width of each rotating body is increased accordingly, the lateral width of the wheel, that is, the turning radius, is naturally increased by the inclined rotating body.
[0005]
Therefore, in this application, according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-206111, in a wheel with a rotating body in which a plurality of rotating bodies that rotate in a direction orthogonal to the straight traveling direction of the wheel are arranged around the wheels, The rotating body is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis intersecting with the radial direction centered on the axle, and each rotating body has a wheel outer circumference circle with a peripheral surface with a diameter at the tip end smaller than that at the base end. A wheel with a rotating body formed in a shape that forms a circular arc is proposed. This makes it possible not only to turn in the traveling direction like a caster, but also to turn the traveling direction of the vehicle freely and diagonally forward and backward, and to increase the wheel diameter so that the steps can be easily overcome. Even in this case, the gaps between the rotating bodies can be made as small as not interfering with each other.
[0006]
It is an object of the present invention to provide a wheel with a rotating body that makes it easier to increase the diameter of each rotating body so as to further develop such a wheel with a rotating body and make it easier to ride in the lateral direction. To do.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a wheel with a rotating body according to claim 1, in which a plurality of rotating bodies rotating in a direction orthogonal to the straight traveling direction of the wheel are arranged around the wheel. A plurality of rotating bodies that rotate about a rotation axis that intersects with the radial direction centered on the surface of the rotating body , and each rotating body has a peripheral surface with a diameter at the tip end smaller than a diameter at the base end Is formed into a shape that forms an arc of the wheel outer circumference circle, and the distal end portion partially enters the recess formed in the adjacent proximal end portion so that the distal end portion can be close to the adjacent proximal end portion The rotating bodies are separated from each other by placing a slit in the intermediate region in the rotation axis direction, so that the rotating body portion is composed of a distal end side rotating body portion and a proximal end rotating body portion, and the proximal end portion is attached to the rim. Bearing arm extends in the direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation By inputting, characterized in that rotatably supports the front end side rotating body portion and the base end side rotating body portion.
[0008]
The rotating body is rotatably supported on a rotation axis intersecting with the radial direction, and the diameter gradually decreases from the proximal end portion toward the distal end portion, or decreases once the diameter increases and the circumferential surface. To form a circle around the wheel. The tip of the small diameter can be closer to the base end of the large diameter compared to the case of the uniform diameter , and the tip enters the recess of the base end of the other party, so that there is a gap between the rotating bodies. Even smaller . It is simply supported by the bearing arm between the distal end side rotating body part and the proximal end side rotating body part.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A wheel with a rotating body that is attached to a vehicle body by a fork as a front wheel on both sides among four wheels of a wheelchair according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The wheel 9 has a diameter large enough to easily overcome a step such as a sidewalk between the roads, and is orthogonal to the straight traveling direction A of the wheel 9 around the rim 2 having the axle 1 at the center. A plurality of rotating bodies 10 having the same shape rotating in the direction are arranged.
[0010]
Each rotating body 10 is centered on a rotational axis X1 that is flush with the radius R1 centered on the rotational axis O of the axle 1 and intersects the radial circle with a deviation from the orthogonal direction. The diameter of each rotating body 10 continuously decreases from the base end portion 11 toward the tip end portion 12 along the radius R1, and the circular arc 19 is obtained when the peripheral surface 19 is rotated to the wheel outer circumference circle C1. Therefore, each rotating body 10 is formed in a semi-spindle shape. Furthermore, each rotating body 10 is separated from the distal end side rotating body portion 10a and the relatively large diameter proximal end rotating body portion 10b by being separated through the slit 13 in the intermediate region in the direction of the rotation axis X1. It is configured.
[0011]
Further, the distal end portion 12 of the distal end side rotating body portion 10a partially penetrates into the outer peripheral side half of the conical surface-shaped recess 14 formed in the proximal end portion 11 of the proximal end side rotating body portion 10b of the adjacent rotating body 10. Thus, the peripheral surface 19 rotated to the wheel outer peripheral circle C1 can be brought close to the proximal end portion 11 of the adjacent rotating body 10 with a gap 14a of preferably about 1 mm to 2 mm.
[0012]
Further, a base end portion of a plate-like bearing arm 20 extending in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis X 1 is attached to the peripheral surface of the rim 2 and enters the slit 13. Thereby, the bearing arm 20 supports the common rotating shaft 26 which rotatably supports the distal end side rotating body portion 10a and the proximal end side rotating body portion 10b.
[0013]
The operation in the case where the thus configured wheel 9 is adopted for the front wheels on both sides is as follows. When the wheelchair is pushed in the straight direction A of the wheel 9, the rotating body 10 goes straight without rotating. Similarly, retraction is possible. The entire peripheral surface 19 of the rotating body 10 can form a substantially continuous wheel outer periphery circle C1, and the gap 14a between the front and rear ends of the rotating body 10 and the slit 13 in the middle region are small, so that the gap This prevents the stones from getting caught and ensures smooth running.
[0014]
When the wheelchair is pushed in the lateral direction, the grounded rotating body 10 rotates and the traveling direction of the wheelchair is changed to the lateral direction. When it is pushed diagonally, the wheel 9 rotates about its axle 1 according to the component of the vector in which the traveling force is decomposed in the orthogonal direction, and the rotating body 10 also rotates about the rotating shaft 26 to rotate the wheelchair. The direction of travel turns diagonally forward or backward. That is, the vehicle can travel in all directions of 360 degrees without widening the width of the wheel 9 due to the non-turning of the rotating body 10. Since the peripheral surface 19 of the rotating body 10 is continuous with the outer periphery of the wheel 9 having a sufficient diameter, it is possible to easily get over a step or the like on the road surface without being caught. Since the rear wheel is not provided with the rotating body 10, the wheelchair gradually turns in that direction in a lateral or oblique traveling process, and goes straight.
[0015]
Incidentally, in the wheel with a rotating body according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-206111, a bearing arm having a base end attached to the rim enters the gap between the recess 14 of the rotating body 10 adjacent to the distal end of the rotating body 10, In contrast to the case of supporting the rotating shaft on the distal end side of the rotating body 10 at the tip position of the bearing arm and supporting the rotating shaft on the concave portion 14 side of the adjacent rotating body 10 at the midway position of the bearing arm, in the present invention, the rotating body is used. 10 is divided into two, and the rotating shaft 26 is easily and stably supported by the bearing arm 20 in the orthogonal direction. Further, the diameter of the rotating body 10 can be structurally easily increased with respect to the support in the concave portion 14, that is, as shown in FIG. it can. Furthermore, the dedicated bearing arm 20 is individually attached to each rotary body 10, so that the rotary body 10 can be easily disassembled and assembled.
[0016]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the traveling direction of the vehicle can be freely turned diagonally forward and backward, without having to turn in the traveling direction like a caster, and the steps can be easily overcome. Even when the diameter of the wheel is increased, the gaps between the rotating bodies can be made so small that they do not interfere with each other, and the gap can be further reduced by the front end portion entering the concave portion of the base end portion of the other party. Since the rotating shaft is supported by a single bearing arm in the middle region of the rotating body, the rotating body can be supported stably, and the bearing and rotating body can be individually unitized, making assembly and disassembly easier than in the conventional method. become.
[0017]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the difference in diameter between the front and rear ends is increased, the rotating bodies are easily brought close to each other, and the roundness due to the gap between the rotating bodies is reduced, that is, the generation of rattling noise during rotation is suppressed. Is done.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a wheel with a rotating body according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the wheel with the rotating body.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining a lateral overcoming operation of the wheel with the rotating body, FIG. 3A showing a state before improvement and FIG. B showing a case of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Axle 2 Rim 9 Wheel 10 Rotating body 10a Front end side rotating body portion 10b Base end side rotating body portion 11 Rotating body base end portion 12 Rotating body distal end portion 13 Slit 14 Recess 19 Rotating body peripheral surface 20 Bearing arm 26 Rotation axis C1 Wheel outer circumference circle O Axle rotation axis R1 Radius X1 Rotating body rotation axis

Claims (2)

In a wheel with a rotating body in which a plurality of rotating bodies rotating in a direction orthogonal to the straight direction of the wheel are arranged around the wheel,
It has a plurality of rotating bodies that rotate around a rotation axis that intersects the radial direction around the axle ,
Each of the rotating bodies is formed in a shape in which the diameter of the distal end portion is smaller than the diameter of the proximal end portion to form an arc of a wheel outer circumference circle by the peripheral surface , and the proximal end portion adjacent to the distal end portion So that the distal end partly penetrates into a recess formed in the adjacent proximal end part,
The rotating bodies are separated from each other by placing a slit in an intermediate region in the direction of the rotation axis, so that the rotating body portion includes a distal end side rotating body portion and a proximal end rotating body portion, and a proximal end portion is attached to the rim. The bearing arm extends in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis and enters the slit to rotatably support the distal end side rotating body portion and the proximal end side rotating body portion. Wheel with rotating body.   The wheel with a rotating body according to claim 1, wherein each rotating body has a semi-spindle shape in which the diameter is continuously reduced from the base end portion toward the tip end portion.

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