JPH0858641A - Crawler type mobile carrier capable of climbing up and down stairways - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To secure a safety traveling by providing a compressive spring mechanism whereby the tension of a belt crawler is increased or reduced so that the belt crawler is bent in recessed shape when a horizontal ground-contact surface between a drive wheel and a ground-contact wheel and the ground- contact wheel and a floating wheel is made in contact with the step peak parts of a stairways in climbing the stairways. CONSTITUTION: A compressive spring mechanism 6 is provided between idly an axle for pivoting an idler wheel 3 on the right and left rows and an axle for pivoting a ground-contact rolling wheel 4 in a crawler type traveling device. Also the compressive spring mechanism 6 is so constructed that an adjusting screw shaft is provided between a pair of right and left telescoping spring tube. Then, when the device climbs a downstairs, a tension of a belt crawler 5 is so adjusted that the belt crawler 5 is bent in recessed shape when the ground-contact surface of the belt crawler 5 between a drive wheel 2 and a the ground-contact wheel 4 and the ground-contact wheel 4 and the idler wheel 3. Tks the inclined angle of a body is not changed largely.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crawler type self-propelled carrier capable of climbing up and down stairs, and more specifically, when moving up and down stairs, when moving from the top stairs to a flat landing or from landing to stairs. The present invention relates to a crawler-type stair lift transport vehicle that enables a smooth change of running posture when moving to a descent.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A crawler-type transporting vehicle having a self-propelling ability that enables climbing and descending stairs has been proposed in the past. When climbing up and down stairs with a crawler-type carrier,
At the top of the stairs, when changing the direction of the vehicle from the inclined state to the horizontal state toward the landing or from the horizontal state to the downward direction of the stairs, stop the vehicle once at the center of gravity of the vehicle The vehicle is driven after changing the traveling direction of the vehicle, and in this traveling state, a phenomenon in which the tilt angle of the vehicle greatly changes occurs.

When the above tilt angle greatly changes, the running posture of the vehicle suddenly changes at a high place on the stairs. Therefore, an operator who operates a transport vehicle or a person who has a wheelchair in a stair climbing vehicle for a wheelchair. Give a great fear to. Therefore, the above-mentioned measures for reducing the tilt angle are considered, and as a measure of this kind, for example, the Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-62 previously proposed by the present applicant.
The prior art described in JP-A-22834 is known.
In the case of this prior art, a track frame is provided on the horizontal grounding surface, and the crawler regulating surface of the track frame is "he" at the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal grounding surface (the center of gravity of the total body weight)
When the uppermost step ridge line portion comes into contact with the intermediate position of the horizontal ground contact surface when traveling on stairs, the belt crawler bends in a concave shape to reduce the tilt angle of the vehicle body.

[0004]

Even in the above-mentioned prior art,
Although the effect of reducing the tilt angle of the vehicle to some extent can be expected when moving from the top of the stairs to a flat landing or when moving from the landing to the down of the stairs, the vehicle is still at the top of the stairs. When the vehicle's orientation changes from a tilted state to a horizontal state or from a horizontal state to a tilted state, it is not possible to change the running posture continuously and continuously. It will be started after stopping and changing the driving posture by the operator. Therefore, when the operator is unfamiliar, it is difficult to select the position of the center of gravity,
The problem of giving a great fear to the operator of the transport vehicle and the passengers in the wheelchair still exists.

The present invention has been proposed for the purpose of eliminating the above-mentioned fear, and it is possible to continuously and smoothly change the running posture when the direction of the vehicle changes at the top of the stairs. An object of the present invention is to provide a crawler-type stair climbing carrier whose tilt angle does not change significantly.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a drive wheel disposed near one end of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction and an idle wheel and a ground roller disposed near the other end of the vehicle.
A transport vehicle comprising an endless belt crawler having a length that extends across the front and rear drive wheels, idle wheels, and ground contact wheels, and has a horizontal ground contact surface that contacts at least two steps of stairs. A compression spring mechanism is provided between the wheel and the wheel so as to repel both wheels in a direction to separate them from each other and to give a required tension action to the belt crawler. The tension force of the belt crawler is set so that the horizontal ground contact surface between the ground contact roller and the idler wheel bends and runs in a concave shape when the horizontal contact surface contacts the step ridge portion of the stairs. To do.

[0007]

In the self-propelled transport vehicle constructed in this way, when traveling up and down the stairs, the idle wheel side is positioned on the front side in the traveling direction to climb the stairs, and when descending, the drive wheel side is opposite to the front side. And then descend.

When climbing the stairs, the belt crawler starts to climb with the horizontal ground contact surface between the idler wheel and the ground contact roller contacting the first step stair step ridge. At this time, since the horizontal ground contact surface between the idler wheel and the ground contact wheel can be bent in a concave shape,
The lug provided on the outer peripheral surface of the belt crawler and the step ridge portion of the stairs are reliably locked, and the running stability at the start of climbing the stairs is obtained.

In the middle of the stairs, the horizontal grounding surface between the advancing grounding wheel and the driving wheel sequentially comes into contact with two or more stair step ridges, and at this time, the belt crawler also travels. Since the ground contact surface can be bent in a concave shape at a position in contact with the step ridge line portion, the locking action between the outer peripheral lug of the belt crawler and the stair step ridge line portion is ensured, and the stability of stair running can be obtained.

When reaching the uppermost stage of the stairs, only the uppermost staircase step ridge portion is in contact with the horizontal grounding surface between the grounding wheel and the driving wheel, and in this case, the bending angle of the horizontal grounding surface is large. Therefore, the preceding ground contact wheel travels so as to move to a flat landing without being separated from the stairs. As a result, it is possible to continuously run when shifting from the uppermost stage of the stairs to the flat landing, and moreover, it becomes possible to smoothly change the running posture without tilting the running posture of the vehicle largely.

Also, when moving from a flat landing to descending stairs, if the driving wheels are moved forward with the driving wheels facing down, the horizontal ground contact surface will be reached when the preceding driving wheel crosses the uppermost stair step ridge. Since it bends in a concave shape and the grounding wheels shift to descending stairs while being in contact with the landing, the running posture of the vehicle does not tilt significantly and the running posture can be changed continuously and smoothly. It will be possible.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a crawler-type self-propelled transporting vehicle whose control section is not shown. The vehicle body 1 includes a pair of left and right drive wheels 2 near one end in the front-rear direction and a pair of left and right idler wheels near the other end. 3 and a ground roller 4 are provided, and endless belt crawlers 5 made of rubber are separately wound so as to straddle the drive wheel 2 and the idler wheel 3 and the ground roller 4 in the left and right rows. Thus, a crawler type traveling device having an inclined ground contact surface on one end side is configured.

The belt crawler 5 is well known in the prior art, and mountain-shaped lugs 5a are formed on the outer peripheral surface at a predetermined pitch, and an uneven surface 5b that meshes with the drive wheels 2 is formed on the inner peripheral surface. In the rubber belt, a required number of metal core wires are inserted in the belt direction and have a rigidity capable of withstanding a predetermined tension force. The endless belt crawler 5 wound around the drive wheel 2, the idler wheel 3, and the ground contact roller 4 is
The horizontal grounding surface that straddles the drive wheel 2 and the grounding roller 4 should have a length that spans at least two steps of the stairs when traveling up and down stairs, which will be described later, and that the distance between the idler wheel 3 and the grounding roller 4 is small. It is configured to have at least one staircase.

Although not shown, the drive wheel 2 is configured to receive a rotational force from a drive motor, and a compression spring mechanism 6 shown in FIG. 2 is provided between the idler wheel 3 and the ground roller 4.
Is provided. The compression spring mechanism 6 is interposed between an axle 31 that pivotally supports the left and right rows of the idler wheels 3 and an axle 41 that pivotally supports the grounding wheel 4, and both axles 31, 41.
A pair of left and right expandable spring cylinders 61, 6 spanning between
2 and an adjusting screw shaft 63 interposed between the left and right expandable spring cylinders 61 and 62.

The left and right expansion spring cylinders 61 and 62 are respectively provided between an inner cylinder 6a whose one end is pivotally supported by the axle 31 of the idle wheel 3 and an outer cylinder 6b whose one end is pivotally supported by the axle 41 of the grounding wheel 4. A compression spring 6c is installed in the interior of the belt, and the compression spring 6c elastically repels the idler wheel 3 and the grounding roller 4 in a direction in which the idler wheel 3 and the grounding roller 4 are separated from each other, thereby imparting a required tension action to the belt crawler 5. The adjusting spring shaft 63 has one end pivotally supported on the axle 31 of the idler wheel 3 and the other end having left and right expansion spring cylinders 61,
The spring force of the adjusting spring 6g interposed between the nut 6f and the plate material 6e is adjusted by inserting the adjusting nut 6f which is inserted into the hole of the plate material 6e installed between 62 and screwed into the adjusting spring shaft 63. The tension force applied to the belt crawler 5 can be adjusted as required.

The crawler type traveling unit constructed as described above does not have a track frame serving as a belt restriction surface on the ground contact surface side of the belt crawler 5, and the belt crawler 5 is driven when traveling up and down stairs. When the crawler ground contact surfaces between the wheel 2 and the ground contact roller 4 and between the ground contact roller 4 and the idler wheel 3 come into contact with the step ridge of the stairs, the belt crawler 5 bends in a concave shape and runs. The tension force of the belt crawler 5 is adjusted by the compression spring mechanism 6. Therefore, the belt crawler 5 is prevented from being removed from the drive wheel 2, the idler wheel 3, and the ground contact roller 4, and the belt crawler 5 is prevented.
When a tension force is applied to a part of the above, the tension force is relaxed by the elastic force of the compression spring mechanism 6, and as a result, the belt crawler 5 is protected.

Next, referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the operation during the stair climbing operation will be described. The self-propelled carrier according to the present invention, when traveling up and down the stairs A, moves the idler wheel 3 side to the front side in the traveling direction to climb the stairs A, and when descending, the drive wheel 2 side is opposite to the front side. Run down.

When climbing the stairs A, as shown in FIG. 3, in the belt crawler 5, the inclined horizontal ground contact surface between the idler wheel 3 and the ground contact wheel 4 is in contact with the first step stair step ridge line a. Start climbing. At this time, the ground contact surface between the idler wheel 3 and the ground contact roller 4 can be bent in a concave shape because there is no track frame serving as a belt restriction surface on the ground contact surface side of the belt crawler 5, so that the belt crawler 5 can be bent. The locking action between the outer peripheral lug 5a and the stair step ridge line portion a is ensured, and the climbing of the stair A is performed stably.

In the middle stage of the stairs A, as shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal grounding surface between the advancing grounding wheel 4 and the driving wheel 3 sequentially contacts two or more stair step ridges bb. The belt crawler 5 also moves at this time.
Since the ground contact surface can be bent in a concave shape at a position in contact with the step ridge line portion b-b, the outer peripheral lug 5 of the belt crawler 5 can be bent.
The locking action between the a and the stair step ridge line portion b is ensured, and the stability of stair running is obtained.

When reaching the uppermost stage of the stairs A, as shown in FIG. 5, only the uppermost staircase step ridge line portion c contacts the horizontal grounding surface between the grounding wheel 4 and the driving wheel 3, At this time, since the horizontal ground contact surface tends to be largely bent at the stair step ridge portion c, the leading ground contact wheel 4 travels so as to move to the flat landing B without being separated from the stairs. As a result, it is possible to continuously run when shifting from the uppermost stage of the stairs A to the flat landing B, and moreover, it becomes possible to smoothly change the running posture without tilting the running posture of the vehicle largely.

Also, when moving from the flat landing B to the descent of the stairs A, if the vehicle runs downward with the drive wheels 2 on the front side,
When the preceding drive wheel 2 gets over the uppermost stair step ridge c, the horizontal ground contact surface bends in a concave shape, and the ground contact wheel 4
Since the vehicle shifts to the descending traveling of the stairs A while being in contact with the landing B, the traveling posture of the vehicle can be smoothly changed without any significant tilting of the traveling posture of the vehicle.

[0022]

As described above, according to the self-propelled carrier according to the present invention, the track frame serving as the belt regulating surface is eliminated on the grounding surface side of the belt crawler, and the tension force of the belt crawler is increased by the compression spring mechanism. Because we are adjusting
When moving up and down the stairs, when moving from the top stage of the stairs to a flat landing or when going down from the landing to the stairs,
Since the belt crawler bends in a concave shape, the running posture of the vehicle can be changed without largely tilting, and smooth continuous running can be performed. Therefore, there is no need to change the running posture at the center of gravity of the vehicle as in the conventional case, and in the case of a stair climbing vehicle for wheelchairs, a problem that gives a great fear to the passengers of the wheelchair even if the operator is unfamiliar Can be resolved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a self-propelled vehicle according to the present invention with a control section omitted.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a compression spring mechanism interposed between an idler wheel and a grounding wheel.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation during traveling up and down stairs.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an operation during traveling up and down stairs.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation when traveling up and down stairs. 1 vehicle body 2 drive wheel 3 idler wheel 31 axle that supports idler wheel 4 grounding roller 41 axle that supports grounding roller 4 belt crawler 6 compression spring mechanism 61, 62 expansion spring cylinder 63 adjusting screw shaft 6a idler Inner cylinder 6b having one end pivotally supported on the axle 31 of the wheel 3 Outer cylinder 6c having one end pivotally supported on the axle 41 of the grounding wheel 4c Compression spring 6e inserted in the expansion spring cylinders 61, 62 6e Expansion spring cylinders 61, 62 Plate material 6f installed between the adjustment nuts 6g screwed onto the screw shaft 6d Adjustment spring interposed between the nut 6f and the plate material 6e

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drive wheel is arranged near one end of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction, and idle wheels and ground contact wheels are arranged near the other end.
An endless belt crawler having a length that makes contact with at least two steps of the stairs and that has a horizontal grounding surface that straddles the front and rear drive wheels and the idler wheel and the grounding roller is wound around the idler wheel and the grounding roller. A compression spring mechanism is provided between the driving wheel and the grounding wheel, and a grounding roller is provided between the driving wheel and the grounding wheel when traveling up and down stairs. The stair climbing is characterized in that the tension force of the belt crawler is set so that the horizontal ground contact surface between the rolling wheel and the idler wheel bends and runs when contacting the step ridge of the stairs. Possible crawler type self-propelled carrier.