JPH076035U - Vehicle with swivel wheels - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To make it possible for a cart to move up and down easily and smoothly even if there are steps. [Structure] Plate climbing mechanism 2 when climbing stairs
0 is released to allow the plate 17 to rotate freely, and the spur gear 30
And the gear portion 38 are meshed with each other to allow the wheel 12 to rotate only in the upward direction. When the wheel a is brought into contact with the step X and the cart is pulled up, the plate 17 rotates around the axle 19 of the wheel a, and the wheel b arranged according to the step X rides on the tread surface Y. If you lift the cart as it is, the wheels b
Rides over the step X and climbs up to the tread Y. When going down the stairs, the brake member 48 is released from the brake disc 34 to allow the brake disc 34 to rotate freely, and the steps descend in the reverse order of the above.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a vehicle suitable for climbing stairs.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a manually operated cart for stacking and carrying boxes filled with canned juice or the like. Generally, a cart has a simple structure including a frame portion provided with a handle for operation above a cargo bed for supporting luggage and left and right wheels.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the above-mentioned conventional cart, the flat surface does not cause any trouble in transportation, but there is a problem when climbing a stepped portion such as stairs. In other words, if there is a step that is larger than the diameter of the wheel, you cannot get over the step as it is. Also, even if the driver gets over a place that has a smaller step than the stairs and can be pulled up, the impact on the stair will cause the luggage on the luggage platform to jump up, causing the cargo to collapse.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle having turning wheels that can smoothly climb up and down even if there is a step.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a vehicle equipped with a turning wheel according to the present invention has at least three wheels on each of the left and right sides, which are rotatably arranged at equal angular intervals around a spindle. A vehicle having a plurality of wheels as described above, wherein the wheels are configured to be capable of turning around the spindle.

[0006]

[Action]

 For example, when the vehicle climbs stairs, if the wheels are arranged in a predetermined manner according to the steps of the stairs, the vehicle is first supported in a state where the two wheels are on the tread. When the front wheel is brought into contact with the step surface (the top surface) and another wheel turns in the riding direction around the axle of this wheel, the wheel adjacent to the wheel rides on the tread of the next step. When this turning operation progresses further, the wheels that are in contact with the tread of the lower step get over the step while touching the step, and the whole climbs onto the tread of the next step.

When going down the step, each wheel goes down the step while turning around the spindle while following the reverse operation.

[0008]

[Effect of device]

 According to the present invention, when a vehicle climbs over a step, the wheel always receives the weight of the cart while grounding, and the wheel rolls during the overtaking operation, so that the step is smoothly carried out. You can go up and down.

[0009]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the vehicle of the present invention is applied to a cart for carrying luggage will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The cart of the present embodiment has a structure as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, is framed by bending a pipe material into a rectangular shape, and forms a frame 13 by bending a lower end portion thereof forward. There is. The lower end of the frame 13 serves as a loading platform 14 on which luggage is loaded, and the upper edge of the frame 13 serves as a handle portion 15 of the loading cart. On the other hand, a pipe material is welded and fixed to the lower end edge of the frame 13 so that both ends thereof slightly project in the left-right direction, and serves as a support shaft 16 for supporting the following wheel mechanisms.

Three wheels 12 are attached to both ends of the support shaft 16 via plates 17. The plate 17 is formed in a substantially triangular shape in which mounting projections 17a extend from each of the three vertices in the radial direction, and the center of the plate 17 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 16 via a bearing 17b. The wheels 12 are rotatably attached to the respective attachment protrusions 17 a via axles 19.

By the way, in this embodiment, the positional relationship among the wheels 12 is as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 1, two wheels are allowed to ride on one tread W at the same time. Considering that most of the steps of a normal staircase are ergonomically set to about 18 cm, one of the wheels 12 has both a step surface X and a tread surface W as shown in FIG. The wheel 12 located above the wheel 12 is placed so that the center of the wheel 12 is located above the tread surface Y of the next stage.

The cart of the present embodiment is provided with plate lock mechanisms 20 (see FIG. 4) that disable the rotation of both plates 17 with respect to the support shaft 16, on both the left and right sides, and normally, the wheels 12 are provided. In order to make it easy to change the direction of the cart, the entire cart is tilted backward from the condition that two wheels are on one side of the road and one wheel is supported on one side.

A through hole 13a penetrating in the left-right direction is provided near the lower end of the frame 13, and a pin case 21 is attached at a height position corresponding to the through hole 13a, and a coil spring 24 is provided inside thereof. A lock pin 22 biased in the pushing direction is provided so as to be slidable in the axial direction. On the other hand, the plate 17 is provided with three lock holes 23 at the same radial position as the through hole 13a with respect to the support shaft 16 and through which the lock pin 22 can penetrate, at equal intervals as shown in FIG. When the hole 13a and the lock hole 23 are aligned with each other, the lock pin 22 enters the lock hole 23 to prevent the plate 17 and the frame 13 from rotating. On the other hand, a pin operation lever 25 for advancing or retracting the lock pin 22 into the lock hole 23 is provided on one side of the upper portion of the frame 13, and both the lock pin 22 and the pin operation lever 25 arranged on the left and right are provided. Are connected together with a wire 26. As shown in FIG. 6, the pin operating lever 25 is rotatably attached about its one end, and when the pin operating lever 25 is substantially vertical to the frame 13 (solid line state in FIG. 6), the lock pin 22 is attached. When the wire 26 is projected into the lock hole 23 and is substantially horizontal to the frame 13 (indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the figure), the wire 26 is pulled to retract the lock pin 22 from the lock hole 23. The pin operating lever 25 is provided with a stopper (not shown) that holds the pin operating lever 25 in the parallel or vertical state.

In addition, the cart of the present embodiment is provided with a reverse movement preventing mechanism 28 that prevents the vehicle from traveling in the upward direction and traveling in the downward direction when climbing a step such as a stair. Spur gears 30 are fixed to the outer surface of each wheel 12 respectively. On the other hand, on the support shaft 16, a gear member 31 that meshes with each spur gear 30 and restricts the rotation direction of each wheel 12 to only one direction is arranged at a position surrounded by each spur gear 30. The gear member 31 is composed of a disk-shaped base 32 and an auxiliary disk 33 which are coaxial with each other and are arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween. It is possible to engage with the brake disc 34 in the axial direction by co-engaging with the brake disc 34. A free gear 37 is fitted around the periphery of the base 32, and a gear portion 38 is provided on the outer periphery of the base 32. The free gear 37 has a known configuration used for a gear portion on the rear wheel side of the bicycle, and plays a role of allowing the gear portion 38 to rotate only in one direction with respect to the base 32. The gear member 31 can be displaced between a position where the gear portion 38 meshes with each spur gear 30 and a non-meshing position, and this displacement operation is performed by a slide mechanism 42 described later. A coil spring 39 is interposed between the gear member 31 and the brake disc 34 to urge the gear member 31 toward the vehicle wheel 12 side.

A holding plate 40, which is provided at the tip of the support shaft 16 and holds the gear member 31 and the brake disc 34, is provided with a slide mechanism 42 for causing the gear member 31 to perform the above-described displacement operation. Has been. The slide mechanism 42 has an arm case 43 provided on the pressing plate 40, and a shift arm 44 penetrating the pressing plate 40 is incorporated therein. The shift arm 44 is provided with a groove portion 44a at the tip end edge thereof for receiving the peripheral side of the auxiliary plate 33 while allowing the rotation of the auxiliary plate 33. On the other hand, on the upper side of the frame 13, a gear operating lever 46 for sliding the shift arm 44 to the left and right is provided, and the gear operating lever 46 is connected to the shift arms 44 on both the left and right sides by a wire 47. The gear operating lever 46 has the same structure as the pin operating lever 25. When the gear operating lever 46 is set substantially perpendicular to the frame 13, the shift arm 44 is slid toward the wheel 12 side so that the gear portion 38 and each spur gear 30 are separated from each other. When meshed and made substantially parallel to the frame 13, the wire 47 is pulled and the shift arm 44 is slid outward so that the mesh between the gear portion 38 and the spur gear 30 is released.

A brake disk 34 is rotatably attached to the outside of the gear member 31 on the support shaft 16 via bearing means (not shown), and the gear member 31 and the spline fitting are fitted to the center portion thereof. The tubular portion 35 is integrally formed.

A brake member 48 having a brake pad 48 a for clamping the brake disc 34 is attached to the pressing plate 40. The brake member 48 is provided with a spring 48b that urges the brake disc 34 in a clamping direction. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of left and right brake levers 49 are attached to the handle portion 15 via the brackets 15a so that the brake levers 49 can be gripped and operated, and they are connected to the brake members 48 by wires 50, respectively. . The brake member 48 releases the brake disc 34 when the brake lever 49 is gripped, and restrains the brake disc 34 when the brake lever 49 is released.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When transporting a flat surface, the pin operating lever 25 should be parallel to the frame 13 and the lock pin 22 should be held at a position retracted from the lock hole 23 against the biasing force of the coil spring 24. The plate lock mechanism 20 is released, and the plate 17 is free to rotate with respect to the support shaft 16. Further, when the gear operating lever 46 is in the parallel position with respect to the frame 13, the shift arm 44 positions the gear member 31 on the brake disc 34 side against the biasing force of the coil spring 39. The meshing between 30 and the gear portion 38 is in the released state (the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4). When the cart is operated in this state, two wheels 12 on each side move in parallel in the front-rear direction, so that excellent straight running stability is obtained and fluctuations are remarkably alleviated.

When it is necessary to turn on a flat surface during transportation or at a landing of stairs, etc., do the following. When the pin operating lever 25 is placed vertically to the frame 13, the wire 26 is loosened, and the lock pin 22 is advanced by the coil spring 24 and engaged with the lock hole 23, so that the plate 17 cannot rotate with respect to the support shaft 16. Becomes Therefore, if the entire cart is tilted toward the front, the plate 17 rotates around the axle 19 of the front wheel 12, and as a result, the front wheel 12 is lifted and one wheel 12 is grounded on one side. As a result, the direction of the cart can be easily changed.

When climbing a step such as stairs, the procedure is as follows. First, the lock pin 22 is pulled out from the lock hole 23 by operating the pin operating lever 25, and the plate lock mechanism 20 is released. Then, when the gear operating lever 46 is hung vertically with respect to the frame 13, the shift arm 44 releases the pulled state with respect to the auxiliary board 33, so that the gear member 31 slides inward by the coil spring 39, and the gear portion 38 and each flat surface. The gears 30 mesh with each other.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the cart is pulled up from the state in which the cart is pulled until the wheel a comes into contact with the step surface X. Then, from this state where the two wheels a and c are riding on the tread W, the plate 17 rotates around the axle 19 of the wheel a as shown in FIG. Abut. At this time, the cart is to be lifted by using the "lever principle" with the wheel a as a fulcrum. Therefore, it is possible to lift the cart to the position shown in Fig. 2 with less force than when lifting the cart as it is. it can. In this state, when the wheel a is further pulled up, the wheel a rises along the step surface X, and at the same time, the wheel b moves to the left side in the figure along the tread surface Y, and as shown in FIG. Located in Y. At this time, the wheels a and b are raised while rotating while being in contact with the wheels a and b, and when the wheel a rises to the tread Y, the wheel b is in a position to substantially contact the next step surface Z. Therefore, when going up the stairs, there is almost no impact on the loading platform and it is possible to climb smoothly. Further, in the cart of the present embodiment, since the spur gear 30 and the gear portion 38 mesh with each other and the wheel 12 is prevented from rotating in the descending direction, the hand is accidentally released while climbing the stairs. Even in this case, it is possible to effectively prevent the cart from falling.

On the other hand, also when going down the stairs, the plate lock mechanism 20 is released and the gear portion 38 and the spur gears 30 are engaged with each other, as in the case of going up. In this state, if the brake lever 49 is released, the action of the free gear 37 causes the gear portion 38 and the spur gear 30 to mesh with each other so that the wheels 12 do not rotate in the direction down the stairs. Here, when the brake lever 49 is gripped, the wire 50 is pulled and the brake member 48 releases the brake disc 34, so that the brake disc 34 is free to rotate with respect to the support shaft 16. Accordingly, the gear member 31, which is spline-fitted with the brake disc 34, rotates freely together with the brake disc 34, and the wheel 12 is allowed to move down the stairs with the gear portion 38 and the spur gear 30 meshing with each other. Also becomes rotatable. Therefore, when the brake member 48 is gripped or released while the cart is supported by hand and the brake operation is performed, the wheels 12 can be rotated in the reverse order of going up, and the stairs can be slowly descended. Further, at this time, even if a situation occurs in which the hand is separated from the cart, the brake member 48 immediately binds the brake disc 34 when the brake lever 49 is released. Then, the rotation of the gear member 31 is also prohibited. Therefore, due to the action of the free gear 37, the gear portion 38 is allowed to rotate only in the ascending direction, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the stairs from proceeding in the descending direction and to effectively prevent the cart from falling.

According to the cart of the present embodiment, when climbing over a step such as a staircase, two wheels contact each other to support the weight of the cart, and the vehicle rolls over to smoothly climb up and down the step. be able to. Further, when climbing stairs, the wheel 12 turns around the support shaft 16 of the cart, and the lifting operation is performed by the handle portion 15 provided above the wheel 12, so that the lever principle requires less force. You can easily go up and down the cart. Furthermore, since a reverse movement prevention mechanism 28 for preventing the reverse movement of the wheels 12 is provided as necessary, when moving a flat surface, it is possible to move back and forth freely, but when moving up a stairway, It is possible to prevent the movement of the cart and prevent the cart from accidentally falling down while climbing the stairs.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but the following modifications can be made.

(1) The cart of the present embodiment is provided with a plate lock mechanism 20 for preventing rotation of the plate 17 and a reverse movement preventing mechanism 28 for preventing reverse rotation of wheels when climbing stairs. However, the present invention does not necessarily require the plate lock mechanism or the reverse movement prevention mechanism, and may be a cart without the plate lock mechanism or the reverse movement prevention mechanism.

(2) The cart of the present embodiment is provided with three wheels 12 around the support shaft 16 via plates 17. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 7, five wheels 53 may be provided around the support shaft 51 via the plate 52, and the number is not limited as long as it is three or more. Further, an arm may be provided so as to be rotatable around the support shaft in the radial direction at the tip of the support shaft, and a wheel may be rotatably attached to the end of the arm.

(3) The cart of the present embodiment is a manually operated cart, and has an operating handle portion 15 at the upper end. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to an automatic lifting type vehicle equipped with a motor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of a cart of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cart showing the process of climbing the stairs.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the cart showing a state of climbing stairs.

[Fig. 4] Vertical sectional view of the cart

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged front view showing a brake lever.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged side view showing a pin operating lever.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing another wheel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 ... Wheels 13 ... Frame 15 ... Handle part 16 ... Spindle 17 ... Plate 20 ... Plate lock mechanism 28 ... Reverse movement prevention mechanism

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A vehicle in which at least three wheels are arranged on both left and right sides so as to be rotatable around a support shaft at equal angular intervals, and the wheel is centered on the support shaft. A vehicle having turning wheels, which is configured to be able to turn.