JP6647920B2 - vehicle - Google Patents

Description

    The present invention relates to a vehicle in which a front wheel is upright with respect to the ground, while a rear wheel and a vehicle body are tiltable.

    Conventionally, as a vehicle as described above, for example, a vehicle described in Patent Literature 1 below is known.

JP 2001-010577 A

  This is a front frame that rotatably supports two front wheels that are separated in the width direction and that stands upright on the ground, a vehicle body that is connected to the front frame so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis that extends in the front-rear direction, A rear wheel rotatably supported by a rear end portion of the vehicle body, and one rear wheel that tilts with the vehicle body about a ground contact point with respect to the ground when the vehicle body rotates about a rotation axis; and a rotatably supported by the vehicle body. A steering shaft having a handle attached to an upper end thereof, which is positioned at a neutral position during straight running, steering means for transmitting rotation of the steering shaft to the front wheels to steer the front wheels, and Interlocking means for inclining the vehicle body and the rear wheels together with the rotation of the steering shaft, and a C-shape installed while bridging between the front frame and the vehicle body. By aid granted an elastic restoring force based on tilting the vehicle body, in which a two return springs swinging return to upright with respect to the ground the vehicle body.

    However, in such a conventional vehicle, a relatively large centrifugal force acts on the driver and the vehicle when shifting from a state in which the vehicle is turning at a high speed or a medium speed to a straight traveling, so there is not much problem. Although it is possible to shift from turning to straight running, when shifting from straight turning at low speed to straight running, the centrifugal force acting on the driver and the vehicle is a small value, and the above-mentioned auxiliary However, since the elastic restoring force of the return spring acting on the vehicle is not a sufficient value, there has been a problem that a smooth transition to straight running has been difficult. In addition, it is conceivable that the driver may move the center of gravity farther than the rotation axis of the vehicle body to the outside of the rotation and return to the straight traveling state when turning, but in this case the vehicle body swings rapidly and the vehicle body This causes the stability to be reduced. In addition, when the two return springs are arranged in a C-shape as described above, it is necessary to avoid interference between these return springs and the tires and peripheral members. There was also a problem that the width of the pattern became too wide to be practical.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle that can smoothly transition from low-speed turning traveling to straight traveling and that can easily reduce the width thereof.

    Such a purpose is to allow a narrow front frame rotatably supporting a plurality of front wheels that are separated from each other in the width direction and stand upright on the ground S, and that the front frame can rotate about a rotation axis Z extending in the front-rear direction. A connected vehicle body and at least one rear wheel rotatably supported at a rear end of the vehicle body and tilting with the vehicle body about a ground contact point M with respect to the ground S when the vehicle body rotates about a rotation axis Z; A steering wheel having a handle attached to an upper end thereof, and a rotatable steering shaft positioned at a neutral position during straight running; steering means for transmitting rotation of the steering shaft to the front wheels to steer the front wheels; and rotation of the steering shaft. To the vehicle body to tilt the vehicle body and the rear wheels together in conjunction with the rotation of the steering shaft; and an upper end supported by the vehicle body so as to hang down from the vehicle body; A pendulum member which is swingable about an axis N which is parallel and is located above the rotation axis Z and which has a seat at its lower end, and transmitting the rotation of the steering shaft to the pendulum member, While swinging from the hanging state about the axis N in the same direction as the tilting direction of the vehicle body, a rotational moment based on the force applied to the pendulum member is transmitted to the steering shaft, and the steering shaft is rotated toward the neutral position. This can be achieved by a vehicle provided with a swinging means for causing the vehicle to swing.

  In the present invention, a pendulum member that hangs down from the vehicle body and that can swing about the axis N and is provided with a seat at the lower end, and transmits the rotation of the steering shaft to the pendulum member, and moves the pendulum member from the hanging state. Swinging means for swinging in the same direction as the tilting direction of the vehicle body, transmitting a rotational moment based on the force applied to the pendulum member to the steering shaft, and rotating the steering shaft toward the neutral position. Therefore, even when the centrifugal force is small, such as when shifting from low-speed turning to straight running, it is easy to increase the value of the rotational moment transmitted to the steering shaft based on the weight of the driver. As a result, the steering shaft and the vehicle body can be easily returned to the neutral position and the upright state, respectively. Further, according to the present invention, since two return springs arranged in a C shape are unnecessary, the present invention can be applied to a narrow vehicle such as a bicycle without any problem.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the arm of the rotational moment transmitted to the steering shaft is easily increased in length while being small and lightweight, and as a result, the value of the rotational moment is easily increased. can do. Further, according to the structure described in claim 3, the steering shaft does not tilt even when the vehicle body tilts, so that the driver only applies force to the arm while gripping the steering wheel, so that the driver's own weight ( Center of gravity) can be easily and accurately moved in the width direction of the vehicle. In addition, according to the structure described in claim 4, since the value of the rotational moment transmitted from the pendulum member to the steering shaft can be increased, high-speed traveling with a small turning radius (a large front wheel steering angle) is possible. It is possible to easily shift to straight running. Furthermore, if the power transmission path from the steering shaft to one end of the transmission mechanism is shared by the interlocking means and the rocking means, the structure of the rocking means can be simplified.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the first embodiment of the present invention when the vehicle body is in an upright state. It is a side view when a vehicle body is in an upright state. FIG. 5 is a front view when the vehicle body is inclined to the left. FIG. 4 is a rear cross-sectional view when the vehicle body is inclined to the left. (A), (b) is explanatory drawing explaining an effect | action.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIGS. 1 to 4, reference numeral 11 denotes a front two-wheel, rear-wheel vehicle, here a three-wheeled bicycle. Here, in the description of this embodiment, the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions mean the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions as seen from the driver facing the front of the vehicle body. Reference numeral 13 denotes a pair of knuckles supported at the front end of the front frame 12 at the left and right ends thereof via a king pin 14 extending in a substantially vertical direction so as to be rotatable.These knuckles 13 are rotatable around a horizontal axis. In this case, a plurality of, in this case, a pair (two) of front wheels 15 are supported apart from each other in the width direction of the vehicle 11, and one of the front wheels 15 on the circumference is in contact with the ground S. As a result, the pair of front wheels 15 is supported by the front frame 12 while maintaining an upright state with respect to the ground S (with the rotation shaft not tilting horizontally when the vehicle 11 turns). You can swing right and left while maintaining the upright state with the center as the center. The distance between the pair of front wheels 15 is not as wide as the distance between the pair of rear wheels in a three-wheel buggy, and is relatively narrow. As a result, a large lateral force such as a large centrifugal force is applied to the vehicle 11. When it works, stable driving becomes difficult compared to a three-wheel buggy. In the present invention, there may be three front wheels.

  A central portion in the longitudinal direction of a horizontal fixed link 18 extending in the width direction of the vehicle 11 is fixed to a rear portion of the front frame 12, and a pair of parallel links 19 having the same length and being parallel to each other are fixed to both ends of the fixed link 18. The rear end is rotatably connected. Reference numeral 20 denotes a moving link whose both ends are rotatably connected to the front end of the parallel link 19, and the moving link 20 has a U-shape. When the parallel link 19 swings synchronously around the connection point with the fixed link 18, the moving link 20 moves in the horizontal direction. The inner ends of a pair of tie rods 21 extending substantially in the left-right direction and having the same length are connected to the center of the moving link 20 by ball joints, and the outer ends of the tie rods 21 are connected to the knuckles 13 via the ball joints. Are linked. As a result, as described above, when the moving link 20 moves in the width direction of the vehicle 11, the knuckle 13 turns around the kingpin 14, and the pair of front wheels 15 oscillate in the same direction and at the same angle by the same angle.

  24 includes a horizontal portion 24a extending substantially horizontally, and an expanded portion 24b having a substantially V-shape that expands upward and whose bent portion is integrally connected to a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal portion 24a. The front end of the horizontal portion 24a of the vehicle body 24 is rotatably inserted into and supported by the rear end of the front frame 12. As a result, the vehicle body 24 is connected to the front frame 12 described above so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis Z extending in the front-rear direction, that is, the center axis of the horizontal portion 24a. A crankshaft (not shown), to which the base ends of a pair of cranks 25 are connected, is rotatably supported at a connecting portion where the horizontal portion 24a and the expanding portion 24b are connected. The pedal 26 is rotatably supported. On the other hand, at the rear end of the vehicle body 24 (horizontal portion 24a), at least one, here one rear wheel 27, which is rotatable around an axis extending in the left-right direction, is supported. One point on the circumference is in contact with the ground S in the same manner as in the above. In the present invention, there may be two rear wheels as in the case of the front wheel 15 described above, and in this case, the interval between the rear wheels is preferably the same as the interval between the front wheels 15.

  Since the front end of the horizontal portion 24a is rotatably supported by the upright front frame 12 as described above, the vehicle body 24 will rotate around the aforementioned rotation axis Z. At this time, the vehicle body 24 tilts together with the vehicle body 24 around a ground contact point M of the rear wheel 27 with respect to the ground S. A front gear (crank sprocket) 30 is fixed to the crankshaft, and a rear gear (rear sprocket) 31 is fixed to the rear wheel 27. A chain 32 is hung between the front gear 30 and the rear gear 31. Has been passed. As a result, when the driver depresses the pedal 26 and rotates the crankshaft, the rotation of the crankshaft is transmitted to the rear gear 31 via the front gear 30 and the chain 32, and rotates the rear wheel 27 to rotate the vehicle 11. Let go forward. The above-described crankshaft, crank 25, pedal 26, front gear 30, rear gear 31, and chain 32 as a whole constitute a propulsion means 33 that applies propulsive force to the vehicle 11, which is a three-wheeled bicycle, and causes the vehicle 11 to travel. In the present invention, the propulsion means may be constituted by a power source such as an engine or an electric motor and a power unit including a transmission device and the like, and in this case, the vehicle is a motorcycle or a scooter.

  Reference numeral 36 denotes a steering shaft whose lower part is rotatably supported by the front frame 12. The steering shaft 36 is inclined rearward from the lower end to the upper end, and has a horizontal handle 37 at its upper end. Is attached. When the vehicle 11 travels straight, the steering shaft 36 is located at a position where the steering wheel 37 extends in the width direction of the vehicle 11, that is, a neutral position (see FIG. 1). In the present invention, the steering shaft may be rotatably supported by the vehicle body. A transmission member 38 is fixed to the lower end of the steering shaft 36 projecting downward from the front frame 12 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). One end of the transmission member 38 is connected to the left parallel link 19 via a ball joint. The other end of the connected transmission rod 39 is connected via a ball joint. As a result, when the steering shaft 36 rotates and the transmission rod 39 moves in the longitudinal direction by being pulled or pushed, the moving link 20 moves in the horizontal direction as described above, and the front wheel 15 swings.

  The above-mentioned fixed link 18, parallel link 19, moving link 20, tie rod 21, transmission member 38 and transmission rod 39 as a whole are steering means 40 for transmitting the rotation of the steering shaft 36 to the front wheel 15 to steer the front wheel 15. Is configured. In the present invention, a well-known worm roller type or rack and pinion type steering means may be used. A central portion in the longitudinal direction of a transmission plate 43 extending parallel to the handle 37 is fixed to the steering shaft 36 immediately above the front frame 12, and a pair of generally extending front and rear directions via ball joints is provided at both ends of the transmission plate 43. Of the transmission links 44 are connected to each other. Reference numeral 45 denotes a pair of triangular plates spaced apart in the width direction of the vehicle 11, and the first apexes of these triangular plates 45 are rotated by a horizontally extending pin 46 fixed to the upper end of the front frame 12. The transmission link 44 is connected to the second apex via a ball joint. Reference numeral 47 denotes a connection block fixed to the vehicle body 24 (horizontal portion 24a) located immediately after the front frame 12, and a pair of lower ends connected to both ends in the width direction of the connection block 47 via ball joints. The upper end of the connecting rod 48 is connected to the vicinity of the third vertex of the triangular plate 45 via a ball joint.

  As a result, when the steering shaft 36 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise from the neutral position, the rotation of the steering shaft 36 is transmitted to the triangular plate 45 via the transmission plate 43 and the transmission link 44, and any one of them is transmitted. The triangular plate 45 is pivoted upward about the pin 46 and the other triangular plate 45 is pivoted downward (in the opposite direction) about the pin 46 by the same angle as the pivot angle of the one triangular plate 45. At this time, since the swing of the triangular plate 45 described above is transmitted to the connection block 47 via the connection rod 48, the vehicle body 24 rotates by a predetermined angle around the rotation axis Z together with the connection block 47. The rear wheel 27 is tilted toward the inside of the turn (on the side where the turning center exists) around the contact point M while interlocking with the steering shaft 36, and the vehicle 11 moves from the straight running shown in FIGS. Then, the vehicle shifts to the turning travel shown in FIG. The transmission plate 43, the transmission link 44, the triangular plate 45, the connecting block 47, and the connecting rod 48 transmit the rotation of the steering shaft 36 to the vehicle body 24 as a whole, and rotate the vehicle body 24 and the rear wheels 27 to rotate the steering shaft 36. The interlocking means 51 is configured to tilt together with the interlock. Here, the ratio between the rotation angle of the steering shaft 36 and the tilt angle of the vehicle body 24 is determined according to what kind of driver is driving, what kind of road to drive, It is determined in consideration of whether to run at an appropriate speed. In the present invention, the interlocking means may be constituted by a bevel gear, a belt or the like provided between the steering shaft and the vehicle body.

  Here, the steering shaft 36 is rotatably supported by the front frame 12 as described above. With this configuration, even when the vehicle body 24 is tilted as described above, the steering shaft 36 stands upright with the front frame 12. The driver can easily and accurately move his or her own weight (the center of gravity of the body) in the width direction of the vehicle 11 simply by applying force to the arm while holding the steering wheel 37 because the driver does not tilt the vehicle. This makes it easy to return the vehicle body 24 to the upright state. In the present invention, the steering shaft may be rotatably supported by a tiltable vehicle body. In this case, the amount of torsion of the driver's body at the time of turning is reduced, and the operational feeling is improved. . A pair of center pins 54 and 55 parallel to the rotation axis Z and separated in the left-right direction are fixed to the front upper end and the rear upper end of the expanding portion 24b (see FIGS. 2 and 4). The upper ends of the pair of inclined rods 56 and 57 are inserted into the rear center pins 54 and 55, respectively.As a result, the upper ends of the inclined rods 56 and 57 are connected to the vehicle body 24 via the center pins 54 and 55. This means that they are swingably connected.

  The inclined rods 56, 57 hang down from the center pins 54, 55 and extend substantially perpendicularly to the ground S when there is no load when no external force is applied to the inclined rods 56, 57. When an external force in the left-right direction is applied to the inclined rods 56, 57, the inclined rods 56, 57 swing synchronously in the left-right direction about the center pins 54, 55. An extension 60 is provided between the front inclined rods 56, 57 and the rear inclined rods 56, 57 and extends in the front-rear direction. In this case, the extending body extends substantially parallel to the rotation axis Z. A seat 62 on which a driver sits is provided via a spring 61 on the rear side of the body 60 in the longitudinal direction. The front end of the extending body 60 is rotatably connected to the lower end of the front inclined rods 56 and 57, while the rear end of the extending body 60 is connected to the rear inclined rod 56. , 57 are rotatably connected at their lower ends. The above-described front and rear inclined rods 56 and 57 and the extending body 60 are generally a pendulum member having an upper end supported by the vehicle body 24 so as to hang down from the vehicle body 24 and a seat 62 provided at a lower end. Make up 63.

  Here, the distance Q between the connecting point between the inclined rod 56 and the extending body 60 and the connecting point between the inclined rod 57 and the extending body 60 is the distance between the center pin 54 and the center pin 55. As a result, the front inclined rods 56 and 57 and the rear inclined rods 56 and 57 both approach each other as they go upward. When the inclined rods 56, 57 approach upward as described above, and approach, the lower end portion of the inclined rods 56, 57 connected to the extending body 60 swings as described above. The pendulum member 63 suspended from the vehicle body 24 swings about an axis N located above the rotation axis Z. Here, the axis N is a straight line parallel to the rotation axis Z while connecting intersections where the extension lines of the front and rear inclined rods 56, 57 intersect (see FIG. 5). The center plane in the width direction of the vehicle 11 (located on a plane including the rotation axis Z and perpendicular to the ground S when the vehicle body 24 is in an upright state. In this embodiment, the extension 60 is Although supported by the vehicle body 24 with both ends via 56 and 57, in the present invention, it may be supported by the vehicle body with one end.

  Reference numeral 66 denotes a rotating member rotatably fitted around the rotation axis Z to the outside of the horizontal portion 24a between the connection block 47 and the crankshaft about the rotation axis Z. The lower ends of the pair of short rods 67 are connected to each other via a ball joint, and the upper ends of these short rods 67 are connected to the pair of triangular plates 45 via a ball joint. Here, the connecting position of the short rod 67 to the triangular plate 45 is closer to the third vertex than the connecting position of the connecting rod 48 to the triangular plate 45. As a result, the connecting position of the short rod 67 to the triangular plate 45 is increased. The distance from the position to the pin 46 (the swing center of the triangular plate 45) is larger than the distance from the connecting position of the connecting rod 48 to the triangular plate 45 to the pin 46. Thereby, when the pair of triangular plates 45 swing in the opposite directions, and the connecting block 47 and the rotating member 66 separately rotate in the same direction about the rotation axis Z, the rotating member 66 becomes larger than the rotating angle of the connecting block 47. Becomes large.

  Reference numeral 69 denotes a pair of long rods respectively connected to the rotation member 66 via ball joints on both sides of the rotation axis Z. These long rods 69 have a longer overall length than the short rod 67, and the upper end thereof is inclined forward. The projections 70, 71 formed on the upper ends of the rods 56, 57 and protruding outward in the width direction are connected via ball joints. As a result, when the driver rotates the steering shaft 36 to shift the vehicle 11 from straight running to turning, the rotation of the steering shaft 36 is transmitted to the vehicle body 24 through the interlocking means 51, and the vehicle body 24 turns. While being tilted inward, it is transmitted to the inclined rods 56 and 57 of the pendulum member 63 via the transmission plate 43, the transmission link 44, the triangular plate 45, the short rod 67, the rotating member 66, and the long rod 69, and the pendulum member 63 is axially moved. From the hanging state, the swinging is performed so as to incline in the same direction as the tilting direction of the vehicle body 24 around the N, in other words, the swinging is performed so as to swing outward from the hanging state.

  On the other hand, when the driver rotates the steering shaft 36 in the opposite direction to the above in order to shift the vehicle 11 from turning to straight running, the rotation of the steering shaft 36 is transmitted to the vehicle body 24 through the interlocking means 51, and The vehicle body 24 is returned to the upright state. At this time, the rotational moment generated by the vertically downward force (mainly the driver's weight and the weight of the pendulum member 63) acting on the seat 62 is generated by the steering moment. When transmitted to the shaft 36, the steering shaft 36 rotates toward the neutral position, and the vehicle body 24 also rises toward the upright state, thereby assisting the vehicle body 24 to return to the upright state. Note that it is conceivable to swing the pendulum member 63 by directly connecting the above-described triangular plate 45 and the inclined rods 56 and 57 with only two rods. This is not practical because the movement causes twisting of the two rods.

  Here, the above-mentioned operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5A shows a state where the vehicle body 24 is in an upright state and the vehicle 11 is traveling straight. At this time, since the pendulum member 63 is in a hanging state, the weight W of the driver acts. The acting point R, that is, the center in the width direction of the seat 62, is located on a plane passing through the axis N and perpendicular to the ground S. As a result, no rotational moment based on the weight W is generated. On the other hand, FIG. 5 (b) shows a state in which the vehicle body 24 is tilting to the left and the vehicle 11 is turning, and at this time, the pendulum member 63 is moved around the axis N as described above. Since it swings in the same direction as the tilting direction, the weight W in the direction perpendicular to the tilting direction of the pendulum member 63 is equal to the distance from the axis N to the point of action R (the length of the arm of the moment). A rotational moment having a value multiplied by the component force is generated. Such a rotational moment acts on the pendulum member 63 to swing the pendulum member 63 toward the hanging state. Such swing is transmitted from the pendulum member 63 to the vehicle body 24 and the steering shaft 36 through the long rod 69, the rotating member 66, and the short rod 67, and assists in returning the vehicle body 24 to the upright state. Return to the neutral position is also assisted.

  The above-described short rod 67, rotating member 66, and long rod 69 constitute a transmission mechanism 73 as a whole, and the transmission plate 43, the transmission link 44, the triangular plate 45, and the transmission mechanism 73 as a whole constitute the steering shaft 36. Is transmitted to the pendulum member 63, and the pendulum member 63 is swung about the axis N from the hanging state in the same direction as the tilting direction of the vehicle body 24, while the force (weight W) applied to the pendulum member 63 The swinging means 72 transmits a rotational moment based on the steering shaft 36 to the steering shaft 36 and rotates the steering shaft 36 toward the neutral position. Here, since the transmission plate 43, the transmission link 44, and the triangular plate 45 are shared by the interlocking means 51 and the swinging means 72, the transmission mechanism 73 has one end in the power transmission path of the interlocking means 51, Here, it is connected to the triangular plate 45, and the other end is connected to the inclined rods 56 and 57 of the pendulum member 63. As a result, the transmission mechanism 73 controls the rotation of the steering shaft 36 to a part of the interlocking means 51. While transmitting to the tilt rods 56 and 57 of the pendulum member 63 in cooperation, the rotational moment from the pendulum member 63 is transmitted to the steering shaft 36 in cooperation with a part of the interlocking means 51, and the steering shaft 36 is moved to the neutral position. Can be rotated toward. If the power transmission path from the steering shaft 36 to one end (short rod 67) of the transmission mechanism 73 is shared by the interlocking means 51 and the oscillating means 72, the structure of the oscillating means 72 can be simplified. it can. In the present invention, the swinging means and the interlocking means may be completely different from each other, and the power transmission paths may be different from each other.

  When the vehicle 11 shifts from turning to straight running as described above, the returning force of the vehicle body 24 to the upright state based on the rotation of the steering shaft 36 by the driver is based on the rotational moment due to the weight W of the driver. Although a returning force to the upright state of the vehicle body 24 is added, the value of the rotational moment transmitted to the steering shaft 36 can be easily increased, so that the traveling speed of the vehicle 11 is reduced to a low speed with a small centrifugal force. Even during traveling, the vehicle body 24 can be easily returned to the upright state and the steering shaft 36 can be returned to the neutral position. In addition, the force applied to the pendulum member 63 (for example, the inclination direction of the pendulum member 63) can be changed simply by moving the entire body in the lateral direction or tilting the trunk and moving the center of gravity outward. (The component force of the body weight W in the direction orthogonal to the direction of rotation) can be increased, whereby the rotational moment transmitted to the steering shaft 36 and the vehicle body 24 can be increased.

  At this time, the amount of movement of the driver's center of gravity is gradually adjusted while visually confirming the rotation of the steering shaft 36 and the degree of tilt of the vehicle body 24, so that the steering shaft 36 and the vehicle body 24 can be smoothly returned. be able to. Further, in this embodiment, since two return springs arranged in a C shape as described in the related art are unnecessary, the present invention can be applied to narrow vehicles such as bicycles and motorcycles without any problem. In the present invention, the bevel gear mechanism converts the rotation about the axis of the steering shaft to rotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the steering shaft, and the output rotation of the bevel gear mechanism. An endless body such as a belt or a chain that transmits to the pendulum member and swings the pendulum member from the hanging state in the same direction as the tilting direction of the vehicle body may be used.

  Here, as described above, the pendulum member 63 is extended in the front-rear direction, and the extension body 60 provided with the seat 62 is connected to the extension body 60 so that the lower end portion is rotatably connected to the vehicle body. 24, and is constituted by two inclined rods 56, 57 which are swingably connected to each other as they go upward, and the axis N passes through an intersection where the extension lines of the two inclined rods 56, 57 intersect. Straight line. The vehicle body and the extending body may be connected to each other by a rod parallel to each other, and the rod may be extended upward to the position of the axis N. There is a possibility that the driving will be interrupted and the driving will be hindered. On the other hand, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the arm of the rotational moment transmitted to the steering shaft 36 can be easily lengthened while being small and lightweight, and as a result, the value of the rotational moment can be easily increased. Can be bigger.

  In this embodiment, as described above, the distance from the connecting position of the short rod 67 to the triangular plate 45 to the pin 46 is greater than the distance from the connecting position of the connecting rod 48 to the triangular plate 45 to the pin 46. Since the rotation angle of the rotation member 66 due to the rotation of the steering shaft 36 is larger than the rotation angle of the connection block 47, the swing angle V of the pendulum member 63 from the hanging state is relative to the ground S of the vehicle body 24. As a result, the value of the rotational moment transmitted from the pendulum member 63 to the steering shaft 36 can be easily increased, so that the turning radius is small (the steering angle of the front wheel 15 is large. 1) It is possible to easily shift from high-speed traveling to straight traveling. In the present invention, the swing angle of the pendulum member when swinging may be smaller than the tilt angle of the vehicle body.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
Now, it is assumed that the vehicle 11 is traveling straight. At this time, the vehicle body 24 maintains an upright state in which it is upright with respect to the ground S, the steering wheel 37 extends in the left-right direction, the steering shaft 36 is located at the neutral position, and the front wheels 15 and the rear wheels 27 move forward. It is suitable. In this state, when the vehicle 11 turns and turns, for example, turns to the left, the driver rotates the steering wheel 37 and the steering shaft 36 counterclockwise as viewed from above. It is transmitted to the parallel link 19 through the transmission member 38 and the transmission rod 39, and swings the parallel link 19 clockwise around the connection point (rear end) with the fixed link 18. As a result, the moving link 20 and the tie rod 21 move rightward, the front wheel 15 turns left around the kingpin 14, and the front wheel 15 is steered. At this time, the rotation of the steering shaft 36 is transmitted to a pair of triangular plates 45 through a transmission plate 43 and a transmission link 44, and among these triangular plates 45, the triangular plate 45 on the inner side (left side) of turning turns downward around the pin 46. The triangular plate 45 on the outer side (right side) of the turning swings upward around the pin 46. Such swing of the triangular plate 45 is transmitted to the connection block 47 and the vehicle body 24 through the connection rod 48, and the vehicle body 24 rotates counterclockwise by a predetermined angle around the rotation axis Z. The wheels 27 are both tilted inward (turning center side) around the ground point M while interlocking with the steering shaft 36, and the vehicle 11 shifts from straight running to turning.

  At this time, a centrifugal force that acts on the vehicle 11 and the driver toward the outside of the turn acts on the driver. In this embodiment, the pair of upright front wheels 15 are supported on the front frame 12 in the width direction of the vehicle 11. Therefore, even if the rotation speed of the handle 37 described above is higher than the rotation speed at the time of turning of the bicycle, the front frame 12 and the front wheel 15 oppose the centrifugal force, so that the front frame 12 and the front wheel 15 turn with a large centrifugal force as in the case of a bicycle. The situation in which the player falls over and falls down is effectively suppressed, and the turning response is better than that of the bicycle. Further, the rotation of the steering shaft 36 described above is transmitted to the inclined rods 56 and 57 of the pendulum member 63 via the transmission plate 43, the transmission link 44, the triangular plate 45, the short rod 67, the rotating member 66, and the long rod 69. The tilt rods 56, 57 and the extending body 60 are swung about the axis N from the hanging state at a swing angle V larger than the tilt angle U of the vehicle body 24 with respect to the ground S in the same direction as the tilt direction of the vehicle body 24. When the pendulum member 63 swings from the hanging state in this way, since the extending body 60 and the driver are lifted, the potential energy of the driver and the seat 62 increases, and the pendulum member 63 generates a rotational moment toward the hanging state. Give. When turning the vehicle 11 rightward, the direction is reversed, but the operation is almost the same.

  Next, when returning the vehicle 11 from the above-described leftward turning traveling to straight traveling, the driver rotates the steering wheel 37 grasped clockwise to return the steering shaft 36 to the neutral position. The rotation of the steering shaft 36 is transmitted to the knuckle 13 via the steering means 40, and the front wheels 15 are steered so as to face forward. At this time, the rotation of the steering shaft 36 is transmitted to the vehicle body 24 via the interlocking means 51, and the tilted vehicle body 24 rotates about the rotation axis Z and tends to stand upright on the ground S. Here, when the vehicle 11 is turning at a high speed or a medium speed, a relatively large centrifugal force is applied to the vehicle body 24 and the driver, so that the aforementioned rotational force of the steering shaft 36 by the driver and the centrifugal force are applied. Thus, the vehicle body 24 can return to the upright state with almost no problem. However, when the vehicle 11 is turning at a low speed, since the value of the centrifugal force applied to the vehicle body 24 and the driver is small, the vehicle body 24 and the driver are tilted only by the force of the driver's arm. It may be difficult to return to the upright state from the state.

  In order to cope with such a situation, in this embodiment, a rotation moment based on the force (weight of the driver) applied to the pendulum member 63 is transmitted to the steering shaft 36 via the swinging means 72, and Since the shaft 36 is rotated toward the neutral position, the rotational moment is also applied to the vehicle body 24 to assist the vehicle body 24 in returning to the upright state. Return is easy and smooth. Further, at this time, the force applied to the pendulum member 63 can be increased only by moving the center of gravity position on the seat 62 to the turning outside on the seat 62, whereby the rotational moment transmitted to the steering shaft 36 can be increased. Therefore, the steering shaft 36 can be more easily returned to the neutral position, and the vehicle body 24 can be more easily returned to the upright state.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to the industrial field of vehicles in which the front wheels are upright with respect to the ground, while the rear wheels and the vehicle body are tiltable.

11… Vehicle 12… Front frame
15 ... front wheel 24 ... body
27 ... rear wheel 36 ... steering shaft
37 ... steering wheel 40 ... steering means
51 ... interlocking means 56, 57 ... inclined rod
60 ... Extension body 62 ... Seat seat
63: Pendulum member 72: Swing means
73… Transmission mechanism

Claims (5)

    A narrow front frame rotatably supporting a plurality of front wheels that are separated from each other in the width direction and stand upright on the ground S, and a vehicle body connected to the front frame so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis Z extending in the front-rear direction. At least one rear wheel rotatably supported at a rear end of the vehicle body and tilting with the vehicle body about a ground contact point M with respect to the ground S when the vehicle body rotates about a rotation axis Z; Attached, a rotatable steering shaft located at a neutral position when traveling straight, steering means for transmitting the rotation of the steering shaft to the front wheels to steer the front wheels, and transmitting the rotation of the steering shaft to the vehicle body, Interlocking means for inclining the vehicle body and the rear wheels together with the rotation of the steering shaft, and an upper end supported by the vehicle body so as to hang down from the vehicle body; A pendulum member provided with a seat at its lower end, and transmitting the rotation of the steering shaft to the pendulum member, and pivoting the pendulum member about the axis N. Swinging means for swinging in the same direction as the tilting direction of the vehicle body from the hanging state, transmitting a rotational moment based on the force applied to the pendulum member to the steering shaft, and rotating the steering shaft toward the neutral position. A vehicle comprising:     The pendulum member is extended in the front-rear direction and provided with the seat, and a lower end portion is rotatably connected to the extension body, while an upper end portion is swingably connected to the vehicle body. 2. The axis N is a straight line passing through an intersection point where the extension lines of the two inclined rods intersect and parallel to the rotation axis Z. vehicle.     3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the steering shaft is rotatably supported by the front frame.     The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a swing angle V at the time of swinging of the pendulum member is larger than a tilt angle U of the vehicle body.     The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the swinging means has a transmission mechanism having one end connected to a middle of a power transmission path of the interlocking means and the other end connected to an inclined rod of a pendulum member.

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