JPH11115858A - Small vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the convenience at the time of getting on/off while securing a footrest space by providing a footrest part having a wide step extended in the cross direction of vehicle between front wheels and a narrow step extended backward of vehicle so as to be throttled inside and having the nearly same width with seat width. SOLUTION: A footrest part 51 is formed of a wide step 51a extended in the cross direction of a vehicle between the right and left front wheels 8 and a narrow step 51b formed continuously to the wide step 51a so as to be throttled inside and extended backward. Since the narrow step 51b is set with the nearly same dimension with the width dimension W of a seat 32, convenience at the time of getting on/off is improved while sufficiently securing a foot-rest space. Since the wide step 51a is extended over the whole of a space between the right and the left front wheels arranged with a space wider than that of the rear wheels, the footrest space can be sufficiently secured, and stabilized getting posture can be obtained. Convenience at the time of getting on/off is improved by standing near the seat 32 while positioning feet F near the seat 32, and sitting on the seat at this position for sitting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small electric vehicle in which wheels are driven by a motor powered by a battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, attention has been paid to electric small vehicles for the physically handicapped and the elderly who have difficulty walking. This small vehicle is configured to supply current from a battery to a motor by operating an accelerator member, and to rotate wheels by the motor.

[0003] In this type of small vehicle, a wide footrest step is conventionally provided between the front and rear wheels in order to secure a stable riding posture by increasing the footrest space as much as possible. In general, a seat is provided near the rear wheel on the rear side of the step.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional small vehicle, steps are obstructed when getting on and off the vehicle, and it is necessary to go up on the steps once to sit on the seat. There is a problem of poor sex.

[0005] Further, in the conventional small vehicle, there is a problem that the body frame is exposed to the outside and the appearance is poor. To cope with this problem, it is effective to cover the body frame with a body cover. However, depending on the shape of the vehicle body cover and the like, for example, when the above-described wide steps are provided, there is a concern that the steps may easily come into contact with obstacles when the vehicle turns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and provides a small-sized vehicle which can improve getting on and off while securing a footrest space, and can avoid contact with obstacles while improving the appearance. It is intended to be.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle body frame which is disposed near the center in the vehicle width direction and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction and supported by a pair of left and right front wheels and a pair of left and right rear wheels. A steering shaft arranged so as to extend upward between the left and right front wheels of the front half of the body frame and having a steering handle fixed to an upper end, and a seat arranged to be positioned above the rear half of the body frame; A vehicle body cover that covers the vehicle body frame, the vehicle body cover extending in the vehicle width direction between the left and right front wheels, and extending rearward of the vehicle so as to be narrowed inward following the wide step, and viewed in plan. A footrest portion having a narrow step having substantially the same width as the seat width, a fender portion covering the upper left and right front wheels following the left and right side edges of the wide step, and a step following the narrow step. It is composed of a side cover which covers the seat lower Te is a small-sized vehicle according to claim.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the vehicle body cover extends in the vehicle width direction between the left and right rear wheels following the side cover portion, and the rear cover portion is connected to the rear cover portion. And a fender that covers above the right and left rear wheels.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the side cover portion of the vehicle body cover is formed so as to surround a lower portion of the seat, and is opened and closed by the seat below the seat in the side cover portion. The storage box is arranged.

[0010]

According to the small vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the body frame is covered with the body cover including the footrest, the fender, and the side cover, the body frame is exposed to the outside. Can be prevented and the appearance can be improved.

A wide step extending in the vehicle width direction between the left and right front wheels, extending rearward so as to be narrowed inward following the wide step, and substantially equivalent to the seat width in plan view. Since it is composed of narrow steps of the same width,
A sufficient footrest space can be secured without impairing the seat getting on and off, and the riding posture can be stabilized.

In other words, a wide step extending between the left and right front wheels is provided for the foot rest space, so that a sufficient foot rest space can be secured, and for the seat getting on and off, a portion near the seat of the foot rest portion is substantially viewed in plan. Because the seat width is narrow, it can stand on the part of the ground close to the seat when getting on and off the seat, and can sit down on the seat without sitting down, that is, without stepping up There is an effect that can be done.

Since the width of the narrow step portion of the footrest portion is substantially the same as the seat width, the narrow step portion passes inside the inner wheel trajectory of the rear wheel when the vehicle turns, and the step portion becomes The problem of contacting or involving an obstacle can be avoided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rear cover portion extending in the vehicle width direction between the left and right rear wheels following the side cover portion, and the upper portion of the left and right rear wheels following the left and right edges of the rear cover portion. With the covering fender, the appearance can be further improved and the number of parts can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the side cover portion is formed so as to surround the lower part of the seat, and the storage box opened and closed by the seat is disposed below the seat in the side cover portion. There is an effect that the storage box can be arranged by effectively utilizing the dead space, and further, the external appearance of the lower portion of the seat can be avoided to further improve the appearance.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 to FIG.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are side views and plan views of an electric small four-wheeled vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detached state of the battery, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the attachment / detachment operation of the battery.

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes an electric small four-wheeled vehicle, which is a body frame 2, a drive system 3, a seat mechanism 4,
And a steering mechanism 5. The body frame 2 is made of a single iron pipe, and is disposed so as to extend in the vehicle front-rear direction at the center in the vehicle width direction. The front half 2a extends substantially in the horizontal direction, and is connected to the front half 2a. And a rear half 2b extending linearly obliquely rearward and upward.

An axle arm member 6 extending in the vehicle width direction is provided in the front half 2a, and a front wheel 8 can be steered left and right through joint members 7 at both ends of the axle arm member 6, respectively. It is pivoted. The axle arm member 6 is supported by the front half 2a via a swing support mechanism 15. The swing support mechanism 15 pivotally supports the axle arm member 6 so as to be rotatable around a vehicle longitudinal direction axis. The swing angle of the axle arm member 6 is regulated.

A lower end of a steering pipe 9 constituting the steering mechanism 5 is fixed to a portion of the front half 2a located slightly forward of the axle arm member 6, and the steering pipe 9 extends obliquely rearward. A T-shaped steering handle 10 is mounted on an upper end of a steering shaft 9a rotatably inserted into the steering pipe 9, and a lower end of the steering shaft 9a is a link composed of a known tie rod, knuckle arm or the like. It is connected to the front wheel 8 via a mechanism 9b.

The right grip portion 10 of the steering handle 10
The a is provided with an accelerator lever 11 and the left grip portion 10b is provided with a rear wheel brake lever 12, and the brake lever 12 is provided with a parking lock button 13 for locking the grip in a gripped state. I have. At the front of the steering pipe 9, a basket 14 for storage is mounted. The basket 14 is located in front of the legs of the occupant, and also functions as a leg shield that covers the front of the legs.

A front end of a rear arm 16 is pivotally supported by a pivot shaft 17 on a bent portion 2c which defines a boundary between the front half 2a and the rear half 2b of the body frame 2. The rear arm 16 has a pair of left and right arms 16a and 16b having bosses 18a and 18b at the front end, and the front and rear portions of the pair are connected by cross pipes 19 and 20. The two arms 16a and 16b are viewed in plan. They are arranged so that the interval becomes narrower toward the front.

The pivot shaft 17 is connected to the left and right arm portions 1.
The bosses 18a and 18b fixed to 6a and 16b, and the pivot support cylinder 21 fixed to the rear half 2b,
The nut 17a is fastened and fixed, and a bush made of a rubber member is interposed between the pivot tube 21 and the pivot shaft 17. A pair of left and right support brackets 22, 22 fixed to the lower surface of the rear half portion 2b
It is stuck to. The rear arm 16 is vertically swingably supported around a pivot 17 and is vertically swingable around the vehicle longitudinal axis within an angle permitted by the elastic force of the rubber member. That is, the left and right rear wheels 2
7, 27 are vertically movable independently.

At the rear ends of the left and right arms 16a and 16b, brackets 25 are provided upright, and the left and right brackets 25 support a drive shaft 26. Rear wheels 27, 27 are fixed to both ends of the drive shaft 26, and the interval between the left and right rear wheels 27, 27 is set smaller than the interval between the front wheels 8, 8 (see FIG. 2). . Thereby, the difference between the inner wheel trajectory of the rear wheel 27 and the inner wheel trajectory of the front wheel 8 at the time of turning can be reduced, and it is easy to avoid the rear wheel 27 from contacting an obstacle on the inner wheel side.

A lower end of a single shock absorber 30 is pivotally supported at the center of the rear cross pipe 20 of the rear arm 16 in the vehicle width direction. It is pivotally supported near the rear end of the rear half 2b.

The above-mentioned seat mechanism 4 is provided in the rear half 2b of the body frame 2. This seat mechanism 4
Has a structure in which a seat 32 is attached to a lateral side 31a and a backrest 33 is attached to a vertical side 31b of a single substantially L-shaped seat frame 31 in a side view. Left and right armrests 34, 34 are attached to the upper end of the side 31b so as to be rotatable between a substantially horizontal use position and a substantially vertical storage position. One seat post 35 is fixed to the lower surface of the lateral side 31a of the seat frame 31.
Numeral 5 is fastened and fixed near the rear end of the rear half 2b by a plurality of bolts 36 so that it can be attached and detached and the mounting position can be moved along the rear half 2b.

The drive system 3 is provided between the rear half 2b of the body frame 2 and the rear arm 16.
The drive system 3 includes a motor 40 that rotationally drives the rear wheel 27.
And two sets of batteries 7 for supplying power to the motor 40.
0, 70. The motor 40 is disposed substantially at the center between the left and right rear wheels 27, 27, and is fixed to the rear arm 16 via a mounting bracket (not shown). The output shaft of the motor 40 is connected to a differential gear device 42 via a speed reducer, and the differential gear device 42 is connected to the drive shaft 26. As a result, a current corresponding to the operation amount of the accelerator lever 11 is supplied from the battery 70 to the motor 40, and the rotation of the motor 40
7 is transmitted.

Each of the batteries 70 has a battery case 4
The battery holding case 4 includes a large number of unit cells housed in the battery holder 1 and is disposed on the left and right sides of the shock absorber 30.
A front end portion 41b of the battery case 41 is fitted to 3 and held detachably.

The battery holding case 43 is a cylindrical shape having a shape and a size for accommodating the battery front end portion 41b. Opening 43 of battery holding case 43
a is a seat frame 31, left and right rear wheels 27, and a motor 4
It is located in a space surrounded by 0 and faces obliquely upward from the rear of the vehicle.

In the battery holding case 43, the mounting boss 43b formed on the bottom wall is fixed to the bracket 44 fixed to the rear half 2b of the vehicle body frame 2 with bolts, and the mounting boss formed on the lower wall is fixed. 43c is bolted and fixed to a stay 45 fixed to the rear half 2b to be suspended and supported by the rear half 2b.

On the lower side wall of the battery holding case 43, a guide plate 46 is formed so as to protrude obliquely upward and rearward. The guide plate 46 supports the lower surface of the battery case 41 when the battery case 41 is mounted.
1 functions as a guide when taking the handle 1 a into and out of the battery holding case 43 with the handle 41 a attached to the hoist so as to be able to undulate. That is, the guide plate 46 is slidably inserted into the guide groove 41d formed by the lower surface of the battery case 41 and the guide piece 41c.

A male connector 47 for connecting the battery 70 to the motor 40 is provided on a bottom wall of the battery holding case 43. The male connector 47 is electrically connected to a front end surface of the battery front end 41b. A female connector 48 to be electrically connected is provided. Battery front end 41
When b is fitted into the battery holding case 43, the female connector 48 is automatically connected to the male connector 47.

A charging connection port 49 is provided at the rear end of the battery case 41. This charging connection port 49
By connecting a battery charger to the battery 70, the battery 70 can be charged in either a vehicle-mounted state or a state taken out of the vehicle. When the handle 41a is folded, the handle 41a covers the charging connection port 49, thereby preventing mud, rainwater, and the like from entering the battery.

A body cover 50 extending in the front-rear direction along the front half 2a and the rear half 2b of the vehicle body frame 2 is disposed above the body frame 2. The body cover 50 is mounted and fixed to the body frame 2. I have.

The vehicle body cover 50 includes a footrest portion 51 on which the occupant rests his / her feet, front fender portions 52, 52 for covering above the left and right front wheels 8, 8, a left and right side portion below the seat 32, and A side cover portion 53 that covers the front portion is integrally formed. A non-slip rubber sheet (not shown) is adhered to the upper surface of the footrest portion 51, and a bumper 54 made of a hollow resin extending in the vehicle width direction is fixed to a front end of the footrest portion 51. I have.

The footrest 51 has a wide step 51a extending over the entire surface between the front wheels 8, 8, and a narrow step extending slightly rearward from the wide step 51a and extending rearward of the vehicle. The narrow step 51b is set to be substantially the same as the vehicle width dimension w of the seat 32 when viewed from a plane, and is narrower than the interval between the left and right rear wheels 27. Further, a steering cover portion 51c surrounding the base of the steering pipe 9 is bulged at the wide step 51a.

The left and right front fender sections 52 extend obliquely upward following the left and right edges of the wide step 51a, and are formed in an arc shape surrounding the outer peripheral upper edge of each front wheel 8. The side cover portion 53 is connected to the left and right battery holding cases 43, 4 following the narrow step 51b.
3 is formed so as to cover it. The upper side and the left and right sides of the battery holding case 43 are covered with the side cover portion 53 so as to be invisible from the outside.

A rear cover portion 55 extending in the vehicle width direction is provided between the left and right rear wheels 27. After this cover part 5
Reference numeral 5 is formed separately from the vehicle body cover 50, and is provided above and in front of the motor 40 and the differential gear unit 42.
It covers the rear and is attached to the rear arm 16. Rear fender portions 56, 56 covering the upper portions of the left and right rear wheels 27 are formed integrally with the rear cover portion 55 in an arc shape following the left and right side edges, and the rear cover portion 55 and the rear fender portion 56 are vertically moved together with the rear arm 16. Move.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described. According to the small four-wheeled vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the foot rest portion 51 on which the occupant rests his / her feet, the front fender portions 52, 52 covering above the left and right front wheels 8, 8, and the side covering below the seat 32. Since the vehicle body frame 2 is covered by the vehicle body cover 50 including the cover portion 53, the external appearance of the vehicle body frame 2 can be improved by avoiding the external exposure of the vehicle body frame 2.

The foot rest 51 is made up of a wide step 51a extending in the vehicle width direction between the left and right front wheels 8, 8, and a narrow step 51b formed to be narrowed inward following the wide step 51a and extending rearward. With this configuration, the narrow step 51b is set to be substantially the same as the vehicle width dimension w of the seat 32, so that it is possible to improve the getting on and off property while securing a sufficient foot mounting space.

Regarding the footrest space, the wide step 51a is extended so as to extend over the entire area between the left and right front wheels arranged at a wider interval than the rear wheel, so that the footrest space is sufficient. And a stable riding posture can be obtained.

As for the ease of getting on and off the seat 32, the narrow step 51b of the footrest portion 51 is set to substantially the same size as the width of the seat 32, and therefore, as shown in FIG. The foot F can be positioned in the vicinity of the seat with the foot F positioned at the portion where the seat is located, and the seat can be seated by sitting down on the seat without climbing up the steps as in the related art, thereby improving the getting on and off property.

Since the width of the narrow step 51b is set to be substantially the same as the seat width w and is set to be smaller than the interval between the left and right rear wheels 27, 27, the footrest 51 is turned when the vehicle turns.
In particular, since the portion between the front and rear wheels passes inside the trajectory of the inner wheel of the rear wheel 27, the portion does not come into contact with an obstacle or involve an obstacle.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle body cover 50
And the case where the rear cover part 55 and the rear cover part 55 are separately described.
In the present invention, the vehicle body cover 50 and the rear cover 5
5, the rear fender portion 56 may be integrally formed. In this case, the number of components can be reduced, and the appearance can be further improved.

FIGS. 7 to 10 are views for explaining an electric small four-wheeled vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 6 denote the same or corresponding parts. Is shown.

The basic structure of the small four-wheeled vehicle according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and therefore only different parts will be described below. Two rear seat posts 60, 61 are provided on the rear half 2b of the body frame 2 so that the upper surface height is the same.
Are installed at an interval, and both seat posts 6
A sheet frame 62 having a rectangular frame shape in a plan view is provided on the upper ends of the reference numerals 0 and 61.

A seat 63 is provided on the seat frame 62. The seat 63 has a structure in which a cushion 63b is arranged on a bottom plate 63a and the cushion 63b is covered with a skin 63c. The seat 63 has a front edge of a bottom plate 63 a rotatably supported by the seat frame 62 via a hinge 64.

The side cover 53 of the vehicle body cover 50
Subsequently, a seat cover 53a that covers the front part and the left and right parts below the seat 63 and a battery cover part 53b that covers the left and right parts of the battery holding case 43 and the battery case 41 are integrally extended. Is formed. A control unit 69 is suspended and supported by the rear half 2b. The control unit 69 is surrounded by the rear half 2b and the left and right batteries 70, 70, thereby preventing the control unit 69 from being damaged by external force. I have. The control unit 69 controls the current supplied from the battery main body 41b to the motor 40 according to the operation amount of the accelerator lever.

A storage box 65, which is opened and closed by the seat 63, is disposed in a space below the seat covered by the seat cover 53a, and the storage box 65 is formed on the periphery of the opening 56b. The flange portion 65 a is supported by the seat frame 62 by being placed on the seat frame 62.

The seat 63 is provided with a lock mechanism 68. The locking mechanism 68 includes a seat bottom plate 63.
a, a hook member 67a removably engaged with the striker 66, a key cylinder 67 that holds the hook member 67a rotatably and is bolted and fixed to the seat frame 62. With
The locking and unlocking of the sheet 63 is performed by key operation.

In this embodiment, a seat cover 63a that covers the lower part of the seat 63 is formed as an extension on the side cover 53 of the vehicle body cover 50, and a storage box 65 opened and closed by the seat 63 is provided in the seat cover 63a. With the arrangement, the storage box 65 can be arranged by effectively utilizing the empty space below the seat while improving the appearance.
Further, since the sheet 63 can be locked by the lock mechanism 68, valuables can be stored and theft can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating an electric small four-wheeled vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the small four-wheeled vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining a body cover of the small four-wheeled vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which a battery of the small four-wheeled vehicle is attached and detached.

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

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a battery attaching / detaching operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a small four-wheeled vehicle according to an embodiment of the third invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional front view of a storage section under a seat of the small four-wheeled vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a seat of the small four-wheeled vehicle.

FIG. 10 is a sectional side view showing the lock mechanism of the seat.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric small-sized four-wheeled vehicle 2 Body frame 2a Front half 2b Rear half 8 Front wheel 9a Steering shaft 10 Steering handle 27 Rear wheel 32, 63 Seat 50 Body cover 51 Foot rest 51a Wide step 51b Narrow step 52 Front fender 53 Side Cover 65 Storage box w Seat width

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle body frame, which is disposed near the center in the vehicle width direction and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction and is supported by a pair of left and right front wheels and a pair of left and right rear wheels, between a left and right front wheel of a front half of the vehicle body frame. A steering shaft having a steering handle fixed to an upper end and extended at an upper end, a seat disposed to be located above a rear half of the body frame, and a body cover for covering the body frame, A wide step extending in the vehicle width direction between the left and right front wheels, and a width extending rearward of the vehicle so as to narrow inward following the wide step, and having a width substantially equal to the seat width in plan view. A footrest portion having a narrow step, a fender portion covering the right and left front wheels following the left and right side edges of the wide step, and a side cover portion covering the seat below the narrow step following the narrow step. A small vehicle characterized by comprising: 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body cover is
A rear cover portion extending in the vehicle width direction between the left and right rear wheels following the side cover portion, and a fender covering above the left and right rear wheels following the rear cover portion are provided. Small vehicles. 3. The vehicle body cover according to claim 1, wherein a side cover portion of the vehicle body cover is formed to surround a lower portion of the seat, and a storage box that is opened and closed by the seat is disposed below the seat in the side cover portion. A small vehicle characterized by the following.