JPH09249044A - Driver following type self-traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent runaway of a vehicle when a driver is forced into a state not to follow traveling of a vehicle due to the occurrence of an abnormal state, in a vehicle being of a type wherein a driver does not ride in a vehicle but drive following the vehicle. SOLUTION: A means is provided to be operated such that when a safety lever 17 is in 'a free position', engagement of a clutch is not allowed and when it is moved to 'a handle approach position' engagement of the clutch is permitted and when it is moved from 'the handle approach position' to 'the free position', the clutch is disengaged. The safety lever 17 is grasped togetherwith a steering handle 9, and when it is maintained in 'the handle approach position', the clutch is brought into an engaging state but when a driver is incapable of following traveling of the vehicle due to the occurrence of an abnormal state and when the steering handle 9 and the safety lever 17 are released from a hand hold, the safety lever 17 is returned to 'the free position' through the force of a safety lever return spring and the clutch is disengaged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-propelled vehicle associated with a driver, in which the driver does not board the vehicle but walks behind the self-propelled vehicle while driving the vehicle while accompanying the vehicle. In particular, when a driver is unable to follow the running of the vehicle due to some abnormal situation, the vehicle is equipped with a safety mechanism to prevent the vehicle from leaving the driver and running out of control. Regarding the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some vehicles such as self-propelled lawnmowers and agricultural machines, the driver does not board the vehicle, but walks after the vehicle that is self-propelled using an engine as a power source. While driving the vehicle.

[0003]

Conventionally, in such a self-propelled vehicle accompanied by a driver, the driver may stumble and fall, or the driver may suddenly feel unwell, or some other abnormal situation may occur. However, if the driver cannot follow the traveling of the vehicle, there is a problem that the vehicle may leave the driver and run out of control.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle to a driver when the driver cannot follow the running of the vehicle due to some abnormal situation. (EN) Provided is a driver-accompanied self-propelled vehicle equipped with a safety mechanism for preventing the vehicle from being left behind and running away.

[0005] Other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, a safety lever is provided so as to be movable between a "free position" away from a steering handle and a "handle proximity position" near a steering handle. When in the "steering wheel proximity position", the driver can grip the safety lever together with the steering wheel. Then, the safety lever is urged to the "free position" by the safety lever return spring. Further, when the safety lever is in the "free position", the clutch in the power transmission mechanism that links the power source and the drive wheel is not allowed to be connected, and the safety lever is in the "free position".
When the safety lever is moved from the "handle proximity position" to the "free position" while the clutch is engaged, the clutch is disengaged. The means to do is provided.

Thus, when the driver is not gripping the safety lever, the safety lever is biased to the "free position" by the safety lever return spring, so that the clutch cannot be engaged and the vehicle cannot be driven. .

Next, when the driver moves the safety lever to the "steering wheel proximity position" and grasps it together with the steering wheel,
The clutch can be connected. Therefore, while holding the safety lever together with the steering wheel, the clutch can be connected and the drive wheels can be driven by the drive source via the clutch to drive the vehicle.

While the lawnmower is running in this way, some abnormal situation occurs such as the driver stumbles and falls, or the physical condition of the driver suddenly deteriorates. When the driver cannot follow the running and consciously or unconsciously releases the steering handle and the safety lever, the spring force of the safety lever return spring causes the safety lever to return to the "free position". Then, the clutch is disengaged and the driving force is not transmitted to the drive axle, so that the vehicle is stopped and a runaway accident of the vehicle is prevented.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below based on Examples.

[0011]

1 to 9 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a lawn mower (however, the present invention can also be applied to a driver-assisted self-propelled vehicle other than a lawn mower).

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of left and right rear wheel shafts 2 are provided on a vehicle body 1 of the lawn mower of this embodiment.
These rear wheel shafts 2 are driven by an engine 3 mounted on the vehicle body 1 via a power transmission mechanism including a differential device 4 and a clutch (not shown). Roller-shaped rear wheels (driving wheels in this embodiment) 5 are attached to the left and right rear wheel shafts 2, respectively. On the front part of the vehicle body 1, one roller-shaped front wheel 6 is rotatably supported. On the vehicle body 1, between a front wheel 6 and a rear wheel 5, a rotary blade 7 formed by combining an appropriate number of spirally bent blades is rotatably supported and rubbed with the rotary blade 7. A receiving blade (not shown) is supported.

A handle support arm 8 extending obliquely upward and rearward is attached to a rear portion of the vehicle body 1, and a steering handle 9 is fixed to an upper end portion of the handle support arm 8. The steering wheel 9 has a rectangular frame shape as shown in FIG. An accelerator lever 10 and a brake lever 11 are attached to the steering handle 9 as shown in FIG. A support shaft 12 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to 9 is fixed to the handle support arm 8 so as to extend in the width direction of the vehicle body 1, and a fixing member 13 is further fixed to the support shaft 12. Has been done. The fixing member 13 has a structure shown in FIG.
9 to 9, a first hole 14 and a second hole 15 are provided. A generally hollow cylindrical safety lever support member 16 is rotatably fitted to the support shaft 12 adjacent to the fixing member 13. The safety lever support member 16 has an end opposite to the fixing member 13. Part of slope 16
a is formed. In addition, this safety lever support member 1
6 is substantially immovable in the axial direction. A safety lever 17 having a rectangular frame shape is fixed to the safety lever support member 16, whereby the safety lever 17 is secured.
Together with the safety lever support member 16 are a “free position” shown by a solid line in FIG. 2 (a position away from the steering handle 9) and a “handle proximity position” shown by a chain line in FIG. 2 (a position close to the steering handle 9). It is possible to rotate between. A safety lever return spring 18, which is a torsion spring, is interposed between the handle support arm 8 and the safety lever 17.
8 biases the safety lever 17 toward the “free position” (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 4 and 5).

A roughly hollow stepped cylindrical clutch lever main shaft 19 is fitted on the support shaft 12 so as to be rotatable and linearly movable along the support shaft 12, and one end of the clutch lever main shaft 19 is fitted. Is provided with an inclined surface 19 a, and the inclined surface 19 a faces the inclined surface 16 a of the safety lever support member 16. In addition, a hold pin 2 is attached to the clutch lever main shaft 19 via a pin support member 20.
One base end is fixed. This hold pin 21
Extends in parallel with the support shaft 12 with the tip end facing the fixing member 13. A base end portion of a clutch lever 22 is fixed to the clutch lever main shaft 19. A wire hook lever 23 is fixed to the clutch lever main shaft 19, and the wire hook lever 23 is connected to the clutch via a clutch wire 24 (see FIGS. 5, 7, and 9). Further, the clutch lever 22 is
A clutch spring (not shown) urges the clutch wire 24 toward the "off position" (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 4 to 7). When the clutch lever 22 is in this "off position", the clutch is disengaged, while when it is in the "on position" shown by the alternate long and short dash line in Fig. 2 and Figs. 8 and 9, the clutch is engaged. It An axial spring 26, which is a compression coil spring, is interposed between the spring bearing 25 fixed to the support shaft 12 and the clutch lever main shaft 19.
6 is a clutch lever main shaft 19 and a safety lever support member 16
It is biased to the side (left side in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8).

The support shaft 12, fixing member 13, safety lever support member 16, safety lever return spring 18, clutch lever main shaft 19, pin support member 20, hold pin 21,
The wire hook lever, the axial spring 26, etc. are housed in a cover 27 (see FIG. 1) attached to the handle support arm 8, and the clutch lever 22 and the safety lever 17 are exposed outside the cover 27.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

This lawnmower is self-propelled by driving the rear wheel 5 (or the tire 28 described later) via the power transmission mechanism and the rear wheel shaft 2 by the engine 3. During this traveling, the driver does not board the lawn mower and walks after the lawn mower while gripping the steering wheel 9. The lawn mowing work is performed straight ahead, and when it is necessary to change the direction, the steering wheel 9 is pushed down to raise the front wheels 6, and a lateral force is applied to the vehicle body 1 via the steering wheel 9 (opposite to the desired direction). Change direction (applying force to the side). During lawn mowing work, the rear wheel 5 is grounded and the vehicle travels at a relatively low speed, but when moving the lawn mower to a place where lawn mowing is performed or when returning to the storage place after lawn mowing, Tires 28 having a diameter larger than that of the rear wheels 5 (shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1) are attached to the rear wheel shaft 2, and instead of the rear wheels 5, these tires 28 are grounded on the ground surface as driving wheels. Thereby, the lawnmower can be moved at a relatively high speed.

When the driver does not grip the safety lever 17, the safety lever 17 is biased to the "free position" by the safety lever return spring 18 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 and FIGS. The axial spring 26
Due to the spring force, the tip of the hold pin 21 has entered the first hole 14 of the fixing member 13, the clutch lever main shaft 19 and thus the clutch lever 22 cannot rotate, and the clutch lever 22 is locked in the "off position". Has been done. At this time, the clutch lever 22 disconnects the clutch via the wire hook lever 23 and the clutch wire 24. Therefore, in this case, the clutch lever 2
It is not possible to rotate 2 from the "off position" to the "on position" (the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 2 and in FIGS. 8 and 9) to engage the clutch, and consequently to drive the lawnmower.

Next, when the driver pulls up the safety lever 17 and grasps it together with the steering wheel 9 as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 2, the safety lever support member 16 also rotates together with the safety lever 17, and its inclined surface. Since 16a presses the inclined surface 19a of the clutch lever main shaft 19, the clutch lever main shaft 19 linearly moves in the right direction (away from the fixing member 13) in FIGS. 4 and 6 against the axial spring 26. As described above, the hold pin 21 comes out of the first hole 14 of the fixing member 13, and the clutch lever main shaft 19 and thus the clutch lever 22 are rotatable. This state is maintained as it is as long as the driver holds the safety lever 17 together with the steering wheel 9. Therefore, the driver operates the clutch lever 22 with one hand while holding the steering handle 9 with the safety lever 17 together with the other hand to operate the clutch lever 22 in the “on position” (one point in FIG. 2). 8 and 9 when rotated to the dashed line and the positions shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, the clutch lever main shaft 19 also rotates and the hold pin 21 moves to the second hole 15 of the fixing member 13.
8 and the spring force of the axial spring 26 causes the clutch lever main shaft 19 to move to the left in FIG. 8 (fixing member 1
3) to enter the second hole 15 and lock the clutch lever 22 in the “on position”. As a result, the clutch is maintained in the connected state thereafter.

Therefore, when the engine 3 is rotating, the rear wheel 5 is driven and rotated by the engine 3 via the clutch and the differential device 4, and the lawn mower travels on the ground surface. At this time, the driver walks following the vehicle body 1 while gripping the steering handle 9 and the safety lever 17 behind the vehicle body 1. When lawn mowing is desired, the rotary blade 7 is driven and rotated by the engine 3 through the transmission device 6, and the lawn is cut by the rubbing of the rotary blade 7 and the receiving blade to mow the lawn. Go.

While the lawnmower is running in this way, the driver may run over the vehicle due to some abnormal situation such as the driver tripping over and falling, or the physical condition of the driver suddenly deteriorates. When the steering handle 9 is consciously or unconsciously released from the steering handle 9, the safety lever 17 is also released from the hand, and the spring force of the safety lever return spring 18 causes the safety lever 17 to be in the "free position" (solid line in FIG. 2 and Figure 4,
(Position indicated by 5). At this time, the safety lever support member 16 also rotates together with the safety lever 17, and the inclined surface 16a thereof presses the inclined surface 19a of the clutch lever main shaft 19, so that the clutch lever main shaft 19 faces rightward in FIG. (The direction of moving away), the hold pin 21 slips out of the second hole 15 of the fixing member 13, and the clutch lever main shaft 19 becomes rotatable, so that the clutch lever main shaft 19 and the clutch lever main shaft 19 are rotated by the spring force of the clutch spring. 22 rotates to the "off position" (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 4 and 5) and the clutch is disengaged. Also, hold pin 21
The spring force of the axial spring 26 enters the first hole 14 of the fixing member 13 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and locks the clutch lever 22 in the “off position”. Therefore, after that,
The clutch is maintained in the disengaged state, and the engine 3 is attached to the rear wheel axle 2.
Since the driving force of the lawn mower is not transmitted, the lawn mower is stopped and the runaway accident of the lawn mower is prevented.

Although the steering wheel 9 is fixed in this embodiment, the present invention can be applied to a vehicle in which the steering wheel is movable with respect to the vehicle body 1.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a self-propelled vehicle accompanied by a driver, when the driver cannot follow the running of the vehicle due to some abnormal situation, the vehicle leaves the driver and runs away. It is possible to obtain excellent effects such as prevention of the occurrence of

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a lawn mower.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a handle in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the embodiment with the safety lever in a “free position” and the clutch lever in an “off position”.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the embodiment in a state in which the safety lever is in a “handle approaching position” and the clutch lever is in an “off position”.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the embodiment when the safety lever is in the “handle close position” and the clutch lever is in the “on position”.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Engine (Drive Source) 9 Steering Handle 12 Support Shaft 13 Fixing Member 14 First Hole 15 Second Hole 16 Safety Lever Support Member 16a Inclined Surface 17 Safety Lever 17a Inclined Surface 18 Safety Lever Return Spring 19 Clutch Lever Spindle 19a Inclined Surface 21 Hold pin 22 Clutch lever 26 Axial spring

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A self-propelled vehicle associated with a driver, wherein a driver does not board a vehicle and drives the vehicle while accompanying the self-propelled vehicle, the drive source, drive wheels, and the drive source. In a vehicle having a clutch provided in a power transmission mechanism that links the drive wheels and a steering wheel, a "free position" away from the steering wheel and a driver near the steering wheel and together with the steering wheel The safety lever provided so as to be movable between the "handle close position" and the safety lever return spring for biasing the safety lever to the "free position", and the safety lever When the safety lever is moved from the "free position" to the "handle close position", the clutch is not allowed to be engaged when the clutch is in the "free position". , A driver-accompanied vehicle that has means for disengaging the clutch when the safety lever is moved from the "handle proximity position" to the "free position" while the clutch is connected. Running vehicle. 2. A driver-accompanied self-propelled vehicle in which a driver does not board a vehicle and drives the vehicle while accommodating the vehicle, the drive source, drive wheels, and the drive source. A clutch provided in a power transmission mechanism that links the drive wheels and a predetermined "off position" and "on position" are movably provided and are linked to the clutch to provide the "off position". When the clutch lever is disengaged, the clutch lever is disengaged when in the "on position", while the clutch lever that connects the clutch when in the "on position" and a steering handle are attached to the clutch lever toward the "off position". A biasing clutch spring, a "free position" that moves away from the steering wheel, and a "proximity to the steering wheel" that allows the driver to grip the steering wheel together with the steering wheel. A safety lever movably provided between the safety lever, a safety lever return spring for urging the safety lever toward the "free position", and the safety lever in the "free position". Locking the clutch lever to the "off position", unlocking the clutch lever to the "off position" when the safety lever is moved from the "free position" to the "handle approaching position", When the clutch lever is moved to the “on position” while the safety lever is in the “handle proximity position”, the clutch lever is locked to the “on position”, and the clutch lever is moved to the “on position”. When the safety lever is moved from the “handle close position” to the “free position”, the clutch lever is moved to the “on position”. A self-propelled vehicle associated with a driver, comprising: means for releasing a lock. 3. A driver-accompanied self-propelled vehicle, in which a driver does not board a vehicle and drives the vehicle while accommodating the vehicle, the drive source, drive wheels, and the drive source. A clutch provided in a power transmission mechanism that links the drive wheels and a predetermined "off position" and "on position" are rotatably provided and are linked to the clutch, and the "off position". When the clutch lever is disengaged, the clutch lever is disengaged when in the "on position", while the clutch lever that connects the clutch when in the "on position" and a steering handle are attached to the clutch lever toward the "off position". A biasing clutch spring, a fixing member fixed to the vehicle body, a first hole and a second hole provided in the fixing member, a support shaft, and a safety rotatably supported by the support shaft. Les -A support member, an inclined surface provided at one end portion of the safety lever support member in the axial direction, and a safety lever support member that are linked to rotate together with the safety lever support member and that move away from the steering wheel. Position "and a" steering wheel proximity position "which is close to the steering wheel and allows the driver to grip it together with the steering wheel, and a safety lever which can be turned toward the" free position ". A safety lever return spring that urges the clutch lever, a clutch lever main shaft that is supported by the support shaft so as to be linearly movable and rotatable along the support shaft, and that rotates together with the clutch lever, and the clutch lever main shaft. Attached to the clutch lever main shaft and an inclined surface provided at the end portion on the safety lever supporting member side and facing the inclined surface of the lever supporting member. A holding pin and an axial spring that biases the clutch lever main shaft toward the fixing member and the safety lever support member, and when the safety lever is in the "free position", When the hold pin is biased toward the fixing member by the axial spring via the safety lever support member, the tip of the hold pin enters the first hole of the first fixing member. When the safety lever is moved from the "free position" to the "handle approaching position" by locking the clutch lever to the "off position", the inclined surface of the safety lever supporting member is moved to the clutch supporting member. By pressing the inclined surface of the clutch lever main shaft, the hold pin is moved in the direction opposite to the fixing member, and the tip of the hold pin is moved. A portion of the clutch lever is released from the first hole to unlock the clutch lever in the "off position", and the clutch lever is moved to the "on position" when the safety lever is in the "handle proximity position". When moved, the hold pin is rotated to the position of the second hole together with the clutch lever and the clutch main shaft,
Further, when the tip portion of the hold pin enters the second hole by the spring force of the axial spring to lock the clutch lever in the “on position” and the clutch lever is in the “on position”. When the safety lever is moved from the "handle proximity position" to the "free position", the safety lever support member is also rotated and the inclined surface of the safety lever support member is changed to the inclined surface of the clutch lever main shaft. So that the clutch lever main shaft moves to the side opposite to the fixing member, the tip of the hold pin comes out of the second hole, and the clutch lever is unlocked in the “on position”. A self-propelled vehicle accompanied by a driver. 4. The steering handle and the safety lever both have a rectangular frame shape.
A self-propelled vehicle accompanied by a driver.