JPH047027Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] This invention relates to a mechanism for adjusting the height of the handle used when pushing a handcart, such as a luggage carrier or a baby carriage. be.

[Prior Art] As a mechanism for adjusting the height of the handle of a handcart, a combination of an outer tube and a longitudinal insert slidably received within the outer tube is employed, for example, like a telescope. There is something. Using a combination of such an outer tube and an inner insert,
As a handle height adjustment mechanism for a handcart, there is one described, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 78667/1983, which was filed by the applicant of the present invention.

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the height of the handle is changed by the sliding movement of the outer circumferential tube and the inner body, but in order to fix the changed height, the inner body has a longitudinal direction. A plurality of engagement holes are formed in alignment, and an operating lever including an engagement pin is held in the outer circumferential tube. A through window through which the engagement pin can pass is formed in the outer circumferential tube.
In such a configuration, in response to the rotation of the operating lever, the engagement pin passes through the through window and is inserted into any of the engagement holes that are aligned with the through window. The changed height as described above is now fixed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the height adjustment mechanism using the above-mentioned combination of the outer circumferential tube and the insert body inevitably encounters the following problems. That is, when the insert is slidably received in the outer tube, in order to make such a sliding movement smooth, there must be a large gap between the outer circumferential surface of the insert and the inner circumferential surface of the outer tube. A small clearance must be created. Therefore, even if the height of the handle is fixed by inserting the above-mentioned engagement pin, it is inevitable that the handle will wobble with respect to other parts due to the existence of such a clearance. Such rattling becomes more noticeable especially when the handle is brought to a relatively high position, that is, when the length of overlap between the outer tube and the inner insert is shortened.

Although the rattling of the handle as described above is not a fatal defect, it gives a feeling of anxiety to the person pushing the handcart and has an undesirable effect on the product value.

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a structure that can advantageously prevent rattling of the handle in a handle height adjustment mechanism for a handcart as described above.

[Means for Solving the Problems] This invention is first directed to a handle height adjustment mechanism for a handcart having the following structure. That is, the member for holding the handle of the handcart is composed of a vertically extending outer circumferential tube and a longitudinal insert that is slidably received within the outer circumferential tube. A plurality of engagement holes are formed in the outer circumferential tube, and a through window is formed in the outer circumferential tube that aligns with any of the plurality of engagement holes during sliding movement between the inner tube and the inner tube. A bracket for rotatably mounting the lever is fixed, and the operating lever is inserted into an engagement hole that passes through the through-hole and is aligned with the through-hole in response to the rotation of the operating lever. Equipped with matching pins. The height of the handle is changed by the sliding movement of the outer circumferential tube and the inner insert, and the height of the handle is changed by inserting the engagement pin into any of the engagement holes. The specified height is fixed.

This invention is characterized by adopting the following configuration in order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem in a handle height adjustment mechanism for a handcart having the above-described structure. That is, a slit extending in the longitudinal direction is formed in the outer circumferential tube to enable the diameter to be reduced. Further, the operating lever is formed with a cam-shaped portion that presses the outer circumferential tube to reduce its diameter when the engagement pin rotates in a direction in which the engagement pin is inserted into the engagement hole.

[Operation] In the characteristic configuration described above, when the engagement pin is inserted into any of the engagement holes to fix the changed height of the handle, the cam-shaped portion formed on the operating lever Press to reduce the diameter of the outer tube. Therefore, the outer circumferential tube in this state is in a state of pressing the outer circumferential surface of the insert body so as to substantially eliminate the clearance formed between the outer circumferential tube and the outer circumferential surface of the insert body.

[Effect of the invention] As described above, according to this invention, when the height of the handle is fixed, the clearance between the diameter-reduced portion of the outer tube and the insert body is substantially eliminated. , the wobbling of the handle can be eliminated.

Furthermore, according to this invention, by simply rotating the operating lever, it is possible to not only insert the engagement pin into the engagement hole but also to reduce the diameter of the outer circumferential tube as described above. , operation is extremely simple.

Further, the state in which the cam-shaped portion presses the outer circumferential tube to reduce its diameter also corresponds to a state in which braking is applied to the rotation of the operating lever. Therefore,
The state in which the engagement pin is inserted into the engagement hole and the changed height of the handle is fixed can also be reliably maintained by the action of the cam-shaped portion.

[Example] Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 are respectively enlarged cross-sectional views showing the main parts of a handle height adjustment mechanism of a handcart that is an embodiment of this invention. 2 shows a state in which the handle height is fixed, and FIG. 2 shows a state in which the handle height can be changed. The handle height adjustment mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is applied, for example, to a handcart whose overall side view is shown in FIG. 3.

First, referring to FIG. 3, this handcart 1 is a luggage carrier used for shopping, etc., and has front legs 3 with front wheels 2 attached to the lower end, and rear wheels 4 attached to the lower end. It includes rear legs 5 and side rods 6. The handle 7 includes an outer circumferential tube 8 extending in the vertical direction and an outer circumferential tube 8 extending in the vertical direction.
It is retained by a handle retaining member 10 in combination with an elongate insert 9 slidably received therein. The handle holding member 10 is connected to the rear leg 5 and the side bar 6. Further, a frame 12 that holds the upper edge of the basket 11 for storing luggage is connected to the front legs 3 and the handle holding member 10.

As shown in FIG. 3 by an imaginary line, the height of the handle 7 can be adjusted, and in order to perform such a change operation, the operating lever 13 moves the pin 14. It is rotatably attached to the bracket 15 via the bracket 15. The bracket 15 is fixed to the outer tube 8.

The detailed structure of the portion of the handle holding member 10 where the bracket 15 is located, shown in FIG. 3, is shown in FIGS.
This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9 to 9.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the insert 9 has a plurality of engagement holes 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 1 aligned in its longitudinal direction.
6e is formed. In this embodiment, the insert body 9 is composed of a tubular member, and the above-mentioned engagement hole 16
A to 16e are formed as holes penetrating the wall surface of the tubular member. Although it is preferable that the insert 9 be made of a hollow tubular member because it is lightweight, it may be made of a solid member. An end cap 17 is inserted into the lower end of the insert 9 made of a tubular member. For example, the end cap 17 is firmly inserted into the lower end of the insert 9 and is attached to the insert 9 by engaging its engagement piece 18 with a mounting hole 19 formed in the insert 9. Mechanically fixed. The end cap 17 also includes a flange portion 20 at its lower end.
The outer diameter of the insert 9 is selected to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the insert 9. This difference in outer diameter between the flange portion 20 and the insert body 9 acts to positively form a clearance with the outer circumferential tube 8, which will be described in detail below. This clearance facilitates the sliding movement of the insert 9 in the outer tube 8. The end cap 9 is made of, for example, hard plastic, and is designed to allow the flange portion 20 to slide smoothly against the inner circumferential surface of the outer tube 8.

The outer tube 8 is particularly well shown in FIG.
The outer circumferential tube 8 has a slit 2 extending in its longitudinal direction.
1 is formed, for example, in a predetermined length range downward from its upper end. The outer circumferential tube 8 is
For example, it is made of a metal material such as aluminum, and due to the elasticity of the material itself and the presence of the above-mentioned slit 21, the diameter can be reduced at the upper end. The upper limit of possible diameter reduction is determined by the widthwise dimension of the slit 21. In this embodiment, four slits 21 are provided at angular intervals of 90 degrees. Note that the number of slits 21 is arbitrary, and may be three or less or five or more. The circular through hole 22 shown in FIG. 5 is used to fix the outer tube 8 to the bracket 15, which will be described in detail later. Furthermore, a through window 23 is formed at the upper end of the outer circumferential tube 8 . The through window 23 is inserted into the plurality of engagement holes 16 described above during the sliding movement between the outer circumferential tube 8 and the inner insert 9.
It is aligned with any one of a to 16e.

The operating lever 13 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6. The operating lever 13 is made of resin, for example, and as a whole is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
It includes a wall 24 shown in the figure and a wall 25 parallel to this and shown in FIG. 6, with a predetermined distance being formed between the wall 24 and the wall 25. A circular through hole 26 is formed to penetrate each of the walls 24 and 25. As described above, this through hole 26 receives the pin 14 for rotatably supporting the operating lever 13 with respect to the bracket 15.

Each wall portion 24, 25 is also provided with a guide hole 27 extending in an arc shape with the through hole 26 at the center. The guide hole 27 functions to connect the engagement pin 28 to the operating lever 13, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. More specifically, a guide pin 29 extending laterally is attached to the base of the engagement pin 28 so as to pass through the base, and each end of the guide pin 29 is attached to the base of the engagement pin 28 .
It is received within the guide hole 27. Note that the guide pin 29 is arranged in the space formed between the pair of walls 24 and 25 described above.

A positioning protrusion 30 protruding, for example, in a spherical shape is provided on the outwardly facing surface of each of the walls 24 and 25 of the operating lever 13 . This positioning protrusion 30 is for stabilizing the attitude of the operating lever 13 with respect to the bracket 15, as will become clear from the explanation to be given later.

Further, the operating lever 13 is formed with a cam-shaped portion 31 having an edge whose distance from the through hole 26 gradually changes.

Bracket 15 is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7-9. The bracket 15 is made of resin, for example, and includes a cylindrical portion 32 that receives the upper end of the outer circumferential tube 8, and a pair of parallel wall portions 33 and 34 that project laterally from the cylindrical portion 32. The cylindrical portion 32 is provided with, for example, a circular through hole 35 . This through hole 35 corresponds to the through hole 22 shown in FIG. 15 is fixed to the outer tube 8. Note that fixing using the pin 36 as described above may be replaced by other means.

Each wall portion 33, 34 of the bracket 15 is provided with a circular through hole 37 for receiving a pin 14 for rotatably supporting the aforementioned operating lever 13. In the vicinity of this through hole 37, two positioning holes 38 and 39 are formed at equal distances from the through hole 37. These positioning holes 38 and 39 elastically receive the positioning protrusion 30 provided on the operation lever 13 described above. As a result, when the positioning protrusion 30 is received in the positioning hole 38, the operating lever 1
3 is stably held in the attitude shown in FIG. 1, and on the other hand, when the positioning protrusion 30 is received in the positioning hole 39, the operating lever 13 is stably held in the attitude shown in FIG.

A portion of the cylindrical portion 32 sandwiched between the pair of wall portions 33 and 34 constitutes an elastically deformable portion 40 that is elastically deformable. That is, the cylindrical portion 32
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, there is a gap between the elastic deformation section 40 and other parts.
A slit 41 is formed. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the bracket 15 is made of, for example, resin. Therefore, the elastically deformable portion 40 held between the slits 41 can be elastically deformed in the radial direction of the cylindrical portion 32 based on the elasticity of the material constituting the bracket 15 itself.

A through hole 42 is formed below the elastic deformation portion 40 to receive the tip of the engagement pin 28 described above. Further, below the through hole 42, an overhang 4 is provided.
3 is provided.

Based on the configuration described above, the handle 7 will be explained below with reference mainly to FIGS. 1 and 2.
The operation for adjusting the height (FIG. 3) and the accompanying operations will be explained.

First, referring to FIG. 2, the operating lever 13 is
Compared to the state shown in FIG. 1, it has been rotated counterclockwise. This state is temporarily maintained by the positioning protrusion 30 being received in the positioning hole 39, as described above. In this state, the guide pin 29 is inserted into the guide hole 27.
As a result, the tip of the engagement pin 28 is in a state where it has escaped from, for example, the engagement hole 16a of the insert 9. Therefore, the inner insert 9 is slidable with respect to the outer circumferential tube 8, and the handle 7 is moved in accordance with this sliding movement.
(Fig. 3) is changed.

When the handle 7 is positioned at a desired height, the operating lever 13 is moved to the second position in order to fix the position.
It is rotated clockwise from the state shown in the figure to the state shown in FIG. For example, the through window 2 of the outer tube 8
3 is aligned with the engagement hole 16a of the insert 9,
Assuming that the height corresponds to the desired height of the handle 7, the through-hole 23 and the engagement hole 16a should be aligned as shown in FIG.
3 in a clockwise direction. Engagement pin 28
Initially, this is not accompanied by the rotation of the operating lever 13, but after the guide pin 29 is positioned at the end of the guide hole 27, it changes in accordance with the rotation of the operating lever 13, as shown in FIG. , and is inserted into the engagement hole 16a through the through window 23. This fixes the changed height of the handle 7.

In response to the rotational movement of the operating lever 13 as described above, the cam-shaped portion 31 presses the upper end portion of the outer circumferential tube 8 via the elastic deformation portion 40. Due to the presence of the slit 21 shown in FIG.
The outer circumferential tube 8 is reduced in diameter at its upper end.
In this way, the upper end of the outer tube 8 is connected to the inner insert 9.
As a result, the handle 7 is prevented from wobbling. Note that the position of the operating lever 13 in a state in which the cam-shaped portion 31 is pressing the outer circumferential tube 8 is more firmly maintained by the positioning protrusion 30 being received in the positioning hole 38. However, even if the positioning protrusion 30 is not received in the positioning hole 38, the posture of the operating lever 13 can be maintained relatively firmly simply by the elastic contact of the cam-shaped portion 31 with the elastically deformable body 41.

In addition, in FIG. 1, the engagement pin 28 is inserted into the engagement hole 16.
Although the engagement pin 28 is shown engaged in the other engagement holes 16b to 16e, depending on the desired height of the handle 7. Regarding the states of the bracket 15, operating lever 13, and engagement pin 28, other engagement holes 16b
- 16e, a state substantially similar to that shown in FIG. 1 is obtained, no matter which one of the pins 28 is engaged with.

Although the invention has been described above in connection with the illustrated embodiment, other variations are possible within the scope of the invention.

For example, in the illustrated embodiment, in order to direct the movement of the engagement pin 28 in a linear direction as much as possible, an arcuate guide hole 2 is provided for mounting the operation lever 13.
7 and the guide pin 29 were adopted, but
The engagement pin may be held on the operating lever so as to be rotatable around a fixed rotation center. Furthermore, the engagement pin may be configured integrally with the operating lever 13. For example, if the engagement pin is configured integrally with the operating lever, the through window 23
does not need to have substantially the same vertical dimension as each of the engagement holes 16a to 16e, and may be larger than these engagement holes 16a to 16e. Furthermore, even if the engagement pin 28 is rotatably held with respect to the operating lever 13 as in the illustrated embodiment, the engagement pin 28 cannot be inserted into the through hole 42 provided in the bracket 15. If a configuration is adopted in which the pin 28 passes through, the through window 23 may be selected to have a size that allows the engagement pin 28 to be received in a loose state.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the handle 7 is fixed to the inner insert 9, but since the outer tube 8 and the inner insert 9 are configured to be slidable relative to each other,
For example, the handle 7 may be attached to the outer circumferential tube 8 by turning it upside down in FIG.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the cam-shaped portion 31 is configured to act not directly on the outer circumferential tube 8 but through the elastic deformation portion 40 as a part of the bracket 15. A corresponding portion may be cut out so that such a cam-shaped portion directly acts on the outer circumferential tube.

In the illustrated embodiment, a luggage carrier is used as an example of a handcart to which this invention is applied, but this invention can be applied to any other handcart. For example, this invention can also be applied to handcarts such as baby carriages.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view showing the main part of an embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, and shows a state in which the operating lever 13 is rotated clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 1, and the outer tube 8 and the inner insert 9 can freely slide. It shows. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the entire handcart 1 to which the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is applied. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the insert 9 shown in FIG. 1 alone. FIG. 5 shows the outer circumferential tube 8 shown in FIG.
It is a perspective view showing alone. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the appearance of the operating lever 13 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a left side view showing the bracket 15 shown in FIG. 1 alone. FIG. 8 is a front view of the bracket 15 of FIG. 7. Figure 9 shows the 8th
FIG. In the figure, 1 is a handcart, 7 is a handle, 8 is an outer tube, 9 is an insert, 10 is a handle holding member,
13 is an operating lever, 14 is a pin, 15 is a bracket, 16a to 16e are engagement holes, 21 is a slit,
22 is a through hole, 23 is a through window, 26 is a through hole, 27 is a guide hole, 28 is an engagement pin, 29 is a guide pin,
31 is a cam-shaped part, 35 is a through hole, 36 is a pin, 37
4 is a through hole, 40 is an elastic deformation part, 41 is a slit, 4
2 is a through hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A member for holding the handle of a handcart is composed of a vertically extending outer circumferential tube and a longitudinal insert that is slidably received within the outer circumferential tube. , a plurality of engagement holes aligned in the longitudinal direction are formed, and the outer circumferential tube has a through window that is aligned with any of the plurality of engagement holes during sliding movement between the outer circumferential tube and the inner insert. A bracket is formed, and a bracket for rotatably mounting the operating lever is fixed, and the operating lever passes through the through window and is aligned with the through window in accordance with the rotation of the operating lever. An engaging pin is inserted into the hole, and the height of the handle is changed by the sliding movement of the outer circumferential tube and the inner insert, and the engaging pin is inserted into one of the engaging holes. In the wheelbarrow handle height adjustment mechanism in which the changed height is fixed by insertion, the outer circumferential tube is formed with a slit extending in its longitudinal direction to enable diameter reduction. and the operating lever is provided with a cam-shaped portion that presses the outer circumferential tube to reduce its diameter when the engagement pin rotates in a direction in which the engagement pin is inserted into the engagement hole. A wheelbarrow handle height adjustment mechanism.