JPH0825484B2 - Body structure of four-wheeled standing golf cart - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a four-wheel standing type golf cart for carrying golf equipment, and more particularly to a structure around a vehicle body.

[Prior Art] A golf cart, which carries golf equipment used by players on a golf course, has an engine so as not to destroy the atmosphere of a quiet golf course. Quietness is required.

As a countermeasure against this noise, in a conventional golf cart, the engine and exhaust noise are suppressed as much as possible by covering the surroundings of the engine and the exhaust device that generate noise during traveling with a body panel.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, if all the parts around the engine are covered with only the body panel, the shape of the body panel becomes complicated, which naturally raises the cost.
In some cases, the body panel is forced to have a divided structure. Then, the number of connecting points of the body panel and the number of attaching points to the frame increase, so that the work of attaching and detaching the body panel is troublesome and the workability is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made based on such a situation, and noise from around the drive mechanism including the engine can be reliably shielded without dividing the body panel, and the shape and structure of the body panel are simplified. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body structure of a four-wheel standing golf cart which can be easily attached and detached and the maintenance and inspection work around the drive mechanism can be easily performed.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a four-wheel standing golf cart according to the present invention includes a frame that supports left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels; A drive mechanism mounted on the frame between and including an engine for driving the rear wheels; a step of being installed at a rear end portion of the frame for the driver to ride in an upright posture; a front end of the frame A bag receiver that is installed in the front part and supports the caddy bag in front of the front wheels; and is detachably covered from above the frame so as to continuously cover the front wheels, rear wheels, frame and drive mechanism from above. And a body panel made of synthetic resin having a planar shape.

The body panel includes a top plate portion that covers the frame and the drive mechanism from above, and a front end portion of the top plate portion that continuously covers the front wheel from above and that the front end portion follows the curvature of the front wheel. The left and right front fenders that extend downward to the front, and the front wall that straddles between these front fenders and that connects to the front end of the top in front of the engine, and the rear end of the top. Left and right rear fender portions that continuously cover the rear wheel from above, downwardly extending from both left and right portions of the top plate portion, and a rear end side portion of the front fender portion and a front end side portion of the rear fender portion. A pair of left and right side wall portions that connect the two sides to face the side of the body panel and cover the drive mechanism from the side, and extend downward from the rear end portion of the top plate portion and the step and the drive mechanism. Is intervened between In addition to covering the dynamic mechanism from the rear, a rear wall portion that straddles between the rear fender portions is integrally provided, and the frame covered by the body panel includes a front fender of the body panel. A sound insulation wall extending upward is attached to the inside of the front fender and the rear fender.The sound insulation wall is arranged in a standing posture so as to face the inner surface of the front wheel, and the upper end of the sound insulation wall has a sealing material on the inner surface of the front fender. The left and right front panels that are butted against each other are placed in a standing posture so as to face the inner surface of the rear wheel, and the upper end of the left and right panels that are butted against the inner surface of the rear fender through a sealing material. A rear panel and an underfloor panel that is attached to the lower surface of the frame and covers the engine from below. The panel when put on the frame, in cooperation with the body panel is characterized by surrounding the periphery of the drive mechanism.

[Operation] According to such a configuration, since the frame is provided with the sound insulation wall extending upward, when the body panel is put on the frame from above, the sound insulation wall is abutted against the inner surface of the body panel, and the golf cart runs. The periphery of the drive mechanism including the engine, which is a main noise source, can be surrounded by the body panel and the sound insulation wall. For this reason, noise from around the engine is less likely to leak to the outside of the body panel, which enables quiet operation.

Further, since the body panel does not need to cover the entire periphery of the drive mechanism including the engine, the shape of the body panel can be simplified accordingly. Therefore, the body panel can be easily molded, and
There is no need to divide this body panel into a separate structure,
The number of attachment points of the body panel to the frame can be reduced. At the same time, since the sound insulation wall extends upward from the frame, the body panel need only be covered from above on the frame, and the troublesome work of tilting the large body panel or rotating it about a vertical axis is unnecessary. . Therefore, the body panel can be easily attached to and detached from the frame in addition to the body panel becoming an integral structure.

Further, by removing the body panel, the periphery of the drive mechanism including the engine is wide open upward, and the workability in performing the maintenance and inspection work around the drive mechanism is improved.

[Embodiment of the Invention] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings applied to a four-wheel golf cart.

The frame indicated by reference numeral 1 in the drawing is configured by framing left and right main pipes 2, 2 extending in the front-rear direction and a plurality of cross pipes 3 connecting the main pipes 2, 2. A front axle 5 that supports the left and right front wheels 4, 4 and a rear axle 7 that supports the left and right rear wheels 6, 6 are supported on the frame 1, respectively. A step panel 8 on which the driver rides while standing upright is welded to the rear end of the frame 1, and the step panel 8 is located between the rear wheels 6,6.

The front end of the frame 1 is extended forward of the front wheels 4, 4, and a cage-shaped bag receiver 10 for receiving the caddy bag 9 is installed in this extended portion.

By the way, the frame 1 includes a front axle 5 and a rear axle 7.
It is located between and and has an engine 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the crankshaft of the engine 11 is interlocked with the final reduction gear 13 on the rear axle 7 via a V-belt type continuously variable transmission 12, and in the case of the present embodiment, these are used. The V-belt type continuously variable transmission 12 and the final reduction gear 13 drive the rear wheels 6,6.
Is composed.

The engine 11 has an air shroud around the cylinder.
This air shroud is a forced air cooling type that covers the inside with 14 and forcibly blows the outside air into this air shroud 14.
An exhaust pipe 15 for discharging the outside air after cooling the engine is connected to the downstream end of 14. The exhaust pipe 15 is opened toward the right side of the vehicle body, and the exhaust pipe 16 of the engine 11 is inserted into the exhaust pipe 15. This exhaust pipe 16 is used for the engine 11
It is connected to the silencer 17 located to the right of the. Further, an intake duct 19 extending forward is connected to the carburetor 18 connected to the engine 11, and the intake duct 19 is
It is connected to an air cleaner 20 arranged between the front wheels 4, 4.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 is a generator, 22 is a fuel tank, and 23.
Indicates a battery, and these fuel tank 22 and battery
23 are juxtaposed in front and back on the left side of the engine 11.

Bridges 25 and 26, which are located on the front and rear sides of the engine 11 and extend between the main pipes 2 and 2, are welded to the frame 1. A steering support pipe 27 is attached to the front bridge 25. The steering support pipe 27 extends obliquely rearward and upward from between the front wheels 4, 4, and a steering shaft 28 connected to the front wheels 4, 4 via a steering mechanism is inserted into the steering support pipe 27. A bar handle 29 is attached to the upper end of the steering shaft 28.

Further, a pair of left and right support pipes 30 extending obliquely upward and forward are connected to the rear bridge 26. The front portions of these support pipes 30 are connected via a cross pipe 31, and the upper portion of the steering support pipe 27 is connected to the cross member 31. Support pipe
The front ends of 30 are connected to each other in front of the steering support pipe 27, and a bag support 32 that supports the upper portion of the caddy bag 9 is attached to this connecting portion.

Then, the engine 11 and other drive mechanisms
Various parts such as 24, silencer 17 and fuel tank 22 are covered with a body panel 35 made of FRP covering the frame 1. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the body panel 35 is a flat surface that continuously covers the drive mechanism 24 including the frame 1, the front wheels 4, 4, the rear wheels 6, 6 and the engine 11 from above. It has a shape.

That is, the body panel 35 covers the drive mechanism 24 including the frame 1 and the engine 11 from above, and the front wheels 4 and 4 continuously from above from the top end portion of the top plate portion 36. The front end of the left and right front fenders 37a extended downward so as to follow the curvature of the front wheels 4, 4 and straddle between these front fenders 37a, and in front of the engine 11 and the air cleaner 20 described above. A front wall portion 37c connected to the front end of the top plate portion 36, left and right rear fender portions 37b that continuously cover the rear wheels 6 and 6 from above at the rear end portion of the top plate portion 36, and the top plate portion 36. Left and right side wall portions 38 that extend downward from both left and right side portions of the front side fender portion 37a and connect between the rear end side portion of the front side fender portion 37a and the front end side portion of the rear side fender portion 37b. Of the step panel 8 and the final reduction gear 13 extending downward from the rear end of the top plate 36. The final reduction gear 13 is interposed between the rear fender portions 37b and covers the final reduction gear 13 from the rear and integrally has a rear wall portion 39.

The top panel portion 36 of the body panel 35 is formed with an opening 40 for maintenance and inspection which faces directly above the engine 11 and the carburetor 18, and a cover 41 is detachably attached to the opening 40. Has been. And such a body panel
The 35 is detachably attached to the frame 1 by bolting the four corners of the opening 40 to brackets 42 provided on the front and rear bridges 25 and 26.

On the other hand, the frame 1 is provided with a sound insulating wall 45 that surrounds various components such as the engine 11 and the drive mechanism 24. The sound insulation wall 45 extends upward from the frame 1 toward the inside of the body panel 35. The sound insulation wall 45, as shown in FIG. 3 to FIG.
Inside the front fender portion 37a, the pair of left and right front panels 46, 46 arranged continuously in an upright position so as to face the inner surfaces of the front wheels 4, 4 and the inside of the rear fender portion 37b. A pair of left and right rear panels 47, 47 arranged continuously in an upright position so as to face the inner surfaces of the rear wheels 6, 6 and the front and rear panels 46, 47, and the body panel 35. This body panel continuous to the side plate part 38 of
A pair of left and right side skirts 48 and 49 protruding below 35
And a space which is interposed between the silencer 17 and the engine 11 and accommodates the silencer 17 between the right side skirt portion 49.
A partition panel 51 that forms 50 and an underfloor panel 52 that covers the lower side of the engine 11 are divided into eight parts. Only the underfloor panel 52 is an iron plate and the other parts are made of a synthetic resin material. And among such sound insulation walls 45,
Only the underfloor panel 52 is welded to the underside of the frame 1 and the other parts are bolted to the frame 1.

Further, in this embodiment, in order to enhance the sound insulation effect, the respective surfaces of the left and right rear panels 47, 47, the facing surfaces of the partition panel 51 and the right side skirt portion 49, and the side wall portion 38 and the cover 41 of the body panel 35. The inner surface is covered with a sound absorbing material 55 such as glass wool. Further, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the upper end portions of the front panels 46, 46 and the rear panels 47, 47 are butted against the body panel 35 via the sealing material 56. Is the body panel 35 and front panels 46,46 and rear panels 47,47.
Fills the gap between.

Therefore, such a sound insulation wall 45 is
In cooperation with 35, an engine room 58 for accommodating the intake system such as the engine 11, the drive mechanism 24 and the air cleaner 20 is formed. The engine room 58 is partitioned by the partition panel 51 from the space 50 that accommodates the silencer 17, and communicates with the outside through the outside air intake port 60 provided between the front panels 46 and 46. . This outside air intake
60 is open toward the front in the part surrounded by the left and right front wheels 4, 4 and the front end of the body panel 35. When the caddy bag 9 is placed on the bag receiver 10, the caddy bag 9 It is located in front of the outside air intake port 60.

Further, the partition panel 51 is formed with a cutout 53 through which the exhaust pipe 15 is inserted. The cutout 53 and the exhaust pipe 15 are formed.
Between the exhaust pipe 15 and the vibration of the exhaust pipe 15 is absorbed.
A rubber boot 54 is attached to keep the insertion part of the airtight. Therefore, the exhaust pipe 15 is opened in the space 50, and the outside air after engine cooling is discharged into the space 50 together with the exhaust gas.

Reference numeral 57 in the drawing denotes a side protector formed by bending a pipe material, and it projects laterally beyond the side wall portion 38 and the side skirt portions 48, 49 of the body panel 35.

According to such a configuration, since the engine 11 and the driving mechanism 24 are attached to the frame 1, the sound insulation wall 45 integrally surrounding the lower surfaces of the exhaust pipe 16, the silencer 17, and the intake duct 19 to the outer periphery is attached. In the state where the frame 1 is covered with the body panel 35, the body panel 35 and the sound insulation wall 45 are butted against each other to substantially seal the engine room 58, and a space for accommodating the silencer 17, the exhaust pipe 16 and the like.
It will cover around 50. Therefore, engine sound and exhaust sound are less likely to leak to the outside of the body panel 35, and noise can be reliably suppressed.

In particular, according to the above configuration, since the sound insulation wall 45 is provided with the sealing material 56, only by covering the body panel 35, the sound insulation wall 45 and the sound insulation wall 45 come into close contact with each other without a gap. At the same time, on the right side of the engine 11, the fuel tank 22 and the battery 23 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction, so that both of them function as a sound insulation wall. For this reason, the sound in the engine room 58 becomes even harder to leak, and quiet driving is possible.

Further, since the body panel 35 does not need to cover all of the engine 11 and its peripheral parts, the body panel 35 is accordingly
The shape of 35 can be simplified. Therefore, it is not necessary to divide the body panel 35, and sound can be shielded by simply covering the frame 1 with one sheet of the body panel 35, so that the number of attachment points of the body panel 35 to the frame 1 can be reduced.

In addition, even the sound insulation wall 45 has a simple shape that extends upward from the frame 1, so that the body panel 35 need only be covered over the frame 1 from above, and the body panel 35 having a large shape can be tilted or the vertical axis can be rotated. There is no need for troublesome work such as turning it to the right. Therefore, the body panel 35 can be easily attached to and detached from the frame 1 together with the body panel 35 being an integral structure.

At the same time, if the body panel 35 is removed, the periphery of the engine 11, the drive mechanism 24, and the silencer 17 will be wide open upward, and maintenance and inspection work around these various mechanisms and parts will be easily performed. be able to.

Further, since the outside air for cooling the engine and the intake air are sucked from the inside of the engine room 58, a flow of air occurs in the engine room 58, and the inside air from the outside air intake port 60 ventilates the inside of the engine room 58. It For this reason, even though the engine 11 is surrounded, the radiant heat from the engine 11 and other generators 21 and the drive mechanism 24 does not stay inside the engine room 58, and the temperature of the engine room 58 is high. Can be prevented.

Further, since the outside air intake port 60 is opened to the front far apart from the riding position of the driver, it becomes difficult for the driver to hear the intake sound and the outside air suction sound. At the same time, when traveling with the caddy bag 9 mounted, the caddy bag 9 stands in front of the outside air intake port 60, so that the caddy bag 9 functions as a sound insulation wall. For this reason, not only the driver, but also the people around him cannot hear the intake sound and the intake sound, which is advantageous for noise countermeasures.

Further, according to the above configuration, since the exhaust pipe 16 has a double pipe structure that passes through the inside of the exhaust pipe 15, it is not necessary to directly insulate the exhaust pipe having a high temperature, and the structure can be simplified accordingly. There is also the advantage of becoming.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention described in detail above, noise from around the engine is less likely to leak to the outside of the body panel, and quiet operation is possible. Moreover, since the body panel does not have to cover the entire periphery of the drive mechanism including the engine, the shape of the body panel can be simplified accordingly. Therefore, the body panel can be easily molded, and the body panel does not need to have a divided structure, so that the number of mounting positions of the body panel to the frame can be reduced.

At the same time, even the sound insulation wall has a simple shape that extends upward from the frame. Therefore, by simply covering the body panel from above, the periphery of the drive mechanism can be surrounded with this body panel. . Therefore, the troublesome and troublesome work of tilting the large body panel and rotating it about the vertical axis is not required, and the body panel becomes an integral structure, and this body panel can be attached and detached. It can be done easily.

Furthermore, if a single body panel is removed, the periphery of the drive mechanism including the engine is wide open upward, which has the advantage of facilitating maintenance and inspection work around this drive mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a plan view of a golf cart, Fig. 2 is a side view of the golf cart, and Figs. 3 and 4 show a state in which a sound insulating wall is attached to a frame, respectively. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII in FIG. -A sectional view taken along line VII. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the body panel. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the golf cart. 1 ... frame, 4 ... front wheel, 6 ... rear wheel, 8 ... step (step panel), 9 ... caddy bag, 10 ...
… Bag receiver, 11 …… Engine, 24 …… Drive mechanism, 35…
… Body panel, 36 ……… Top plate, 37a …… Front fender, 37b …… Rear fender, 37c …… Front wall, 38…
… Side wall, 39 …… rear wall, 45 …… sound insulation wall, 46 …… front panel, 47 …… rear panel, 52 …… underfloor panel.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A frame that supports left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels; a drive mechanism that is mounted on the frame between the front wheel and the rear wheel and that includes an engine for driving the rear wheels; A step of being installed at a rear end of the frame so that a driver can stand upright; a bag receiver installed at a front end of the frame for supporting a caddy bag in front of the front wheels; And a body panel made of synthetic resin having a plane shape that covers the front wheels, the rear wheels, the frame, and the drive mechanism continuously from above. The body panel covers the frame and the drive mechanism from above, and covers the front wheel from above continuously from the front end of the top plate. Left and right front fender portions whose front end portions are extended downward so as to follow the curvature of the front wheels, and a front wall portion that straddles between these front fender portions and that extends to the front end of the top plate portion in front of the engine. , Left and right rear fender portions that continuously cover the rear wheels from above at the rear end portion of the top plate portion, and downwardly extend from left and right side portions of the top plate portion, and rear end side portions of the front fender portion And a pair of left and right side wall portions that connect between the front fender portion and the front end side portion of the rear fender portion, face the side of the body panel, and cover the drive mechanism from the side, and the rear end portion of the top plate portion. Is provided between the step and the drive mechanism by extending downward from the rear side wall portion that extends between the step and the drive mechanism, covers the drive mechanism from the rear, and extends between the rear fender portions. Also, the top covered by this body panel A sound insulation wall extending upward is attached to the frame inside the front fender portion and the rear fender portion of the body panel. The left and right front panels, which are abutted against the inner surface of the front fender portion via a sealing material, are arranged in a standing posture so as to face the inner surface of the rear wheel, and the upper end portion thereof is the inner surface of the rear fender portion. And left and right rear panels that are abutted to each other via a sealing material, and an underfloor panel that is attached to the lower surface of the frame and covers the engine from below. This sound insulation wall covers the body panel on the frame. At the same time, the four-wheel standing golf car is characterized in that it surrounds the periphery of the drive mechanism in cooperation with the body panel. Body structure of.