JPS6124224B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field This invention relates to a stroller, and in particular,
This invention relates to a foldable stroller with an improved mechanism.

BACKGROUND ART Folding strollers have been proposed in the past in consideration of saving storage space and carrying them into vehicles. In addition, in recent years, with the increase in high-rise housing such as housing complexes, there has been a particular need for foldable types.

As a foldable stroller, there is one described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 49-73938.
This stroller consists of a front wheel support rod, a hand push rod that is pivotally connected to the upper end of the front wheel support rod, and the upper end is pivotally connected to a handle that is slidably fitted to the middle of the hand push rod. A rear wheel support rod, a front connecting frame rod whose upper end is pivotally connected to the joint, whose lower end halfway crosses the middle part of the front wheel support rod, and this intersection is pivotally connected, a hand lever, and a front wheel support rod. The rear side connecting rod connects the pivot connecting portion with the rear wheel support rod and the midway portion of the rear wheel support rod.

When folding this conventional folding stroller, the locking mechanism is released while the front wheel located at the lower end of the front wheel support rod and the rear wheel located at the lower end of the rear wheel support rod are left on the ground. ,
The hand lever is thrown forward. As the hand lever falls forward, the folding operation progresses.In the first stage, the front wheel support rod and the rear wheel support rod are moved so that the front wheels and rear wheels are separated from each other. Rotate forward and backward respectively. In response to the forward rotation of the front wheel support rod, the hand lever is displaced downward, and the joint is pushed by the front connecting frame rod and slides upward on the hand lever. As a second step,
When the hand lever is further tilted forward, the front wheel support rod approaches the hand push lever so that it is almost parallel to the hand push lever, and at the same time, the joint slides further upward on the hand push lever. In response to this sliding movement of the joint, the rear wheel support rod is drawn toward the rear connecting rod and aligned substantially parallel to the hand push rod.

In the folded state obtained in this way,
The front wheel support rod is inverted so that the front wheel is located at a relatively upper position on the front side of the hand lever, and the rear wheel is located at a relatively lower position behind the hand lever. The rear wheel support lever is drawn to the hand lever so that the

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional stroller described above, when performing the folding operation, the operator had to bend down greatly at the waist and take a posture in which the hands were brought close to the ground. This is because, as can be seen by comparing the open and closed states,
The hand lever that provides the folding motion extends in a straight line with the front wheel support rod when it is open, but extends almost parallel to the front wheel support rod when it is closed. They lined up,
This is because it must be rotated until it fits between the pair of front wheels that are attached to the ground. This is a serious problem; for example, when carrying out a folding operation while holding an infant, the folding operation may be impossible or inconvenient, and may even be dangerous.

Another problem with the above-mentioned conventional baby stroller is that in the folded state, the push lever remains relatively long and its upper end protrudes, so that the bulk is not significantly reduced. The upper end of the hand lever must be at the level of the operator's hand in the open position and cannot be too low or short. In addition, this hand lever also works as a means to guide the upward sliding of the joint during the folding operation, so it must be at least long enough to allow the joint to slide. I can't make it shorter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a foldable stroller that can be folded almost in a standing position, and in which the push lever does not protrude much in the folded state.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, in this invention,
The following technical measures have been taken:

That is, in the open state, each of the pair of front wheel support rods rotatably supports the front wheels at their lower ends, and each of the pair of front wheel support rods rotatably supports the rear wheels at their lower ends. Each of the rear wheel support rods is opened in an inverted V shape, and the angle between each front wheel support rod and each rear wheel support rod in the open state is the same as that between each front wheel support rod and each rear wheel support rod. 1 connected to the rear wheel support rod and folded in two via the shaft
A pair of hand levers are defined by the pair of link members and further extend relatively upwardly from the upper ends of the front wheel support rods for connecting the handles between their respective upper ends. In the folding stroller, a pair of sliding slides are provided at the lower ends of each of the hand push rods to slidably support each of the front wheel support rods in a state where each of the front wheel support rods is aligned parallel to each of the hand push rods. The members are fixed, and each sliding member pivotally supports the upper end of each of the rear wheel support rods at its rear.

Further, a guide member is provided at a longitudinally intermediate portion of the front wheel support rod, and the guide member has a guide surface positioned at a distance behind the front wheel support rod to allow passage of the rear wheel support rod. and when each sliding member slides along the front wheel support rod toward the lower end of the front wheel support rod, the upper end of the rear wheel support rod touches the front wheel while the rear wheel support rod contacts the guide surface. The lower ends of the support rods are guided so that the lower ends of the rear wheel support rods are aligned with the upper ends of the front wheel support rods.

Further, each of the hand levers is provided with a first and a second rod that are divided into two in the length direction, and each first rod is housed inside each equally two rod rods. Each push rod is therefore longitudinally scalable.

Furthermore, a first stopper mechanism that fixes the state in which each of the sliding members is positioned at the upper end of each of the front wheel support rods when the stroller is in an open state; A second stopper mechanism is provided for fixing the extended state of the rod.

Operation To bring the stroller into the folded state, the sliding member is slid along the front wheel support rod toward the lower end of the front wheel support rod, and the first rod of the hand push rod is moved to the first position. A force is applied to the upper end of the hand lever in the direction of the lower end of the front wheel support lever so that the hand lever is housed inside the rod of No. 2. Then, in response to the above-described sliding movement of the sliding member toward the lower end of the front wheel support rod, the rear wheel support rod is guided by the guide surface of the guide member.
The upper end of the rear wheel support rod is aligned with the lower end of the front wheel support rod, and the lower end of the rear wheel support rod is aligned with the upper end of the front wheel support rod. In this way, in order to obtain the folded state of the stroller, the upper end of the push rod can be pushed toward the lower end of the front wheel support rod. Therefore, if the operator performs the above-mentioned operation while the front wheel remains on the ground and the front wheel support rod and hand lever are in a substantially standing position, the operator will have to bend over so much at the waist to use the hand. It is possible to perform folding operations without having to take a posture that brings the product close to the ground, and the length of the hand lever is shortened because the first bar is stored inside the second bar. becomes shorter, and the upper end of the hand lever does not protrude as much in the folded state. In this way, the technical problem mentioned above is solved.

Embodiment A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a right side view of a stroller according to an embodiment of the present invention in an open state, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the same. FIG. 3 is a right side view of the stroller of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a closed or folded state, and FIG. 4 is a front view thereof.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V--V in FIG. 1.

This stroller has a pair of front wheels 1 and a pair of rear wheels 2, and is moved by holding a handle 3. The handle 3 is fixed to one end of a pair of first tubular rods 4. A second rod 5 having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the first rod 4 is prepared, and one end of the second rod 5 is slidably inserted into the other end of the first rod 4. . A stopper 6 as a stopper mechanism is provided near one end of the second rod 5, and is elastically protruded by a suitable spring.A suitable slope is formed on the circumferential surface of the stopper 6. In response to the folding operation of the stroller, a front wheel support rod 8 (described later) comes into contact along the slope, and the stopper 6 is pushed into the second rod 5. In FIG. 1, the hand lever consisting of the first rod 4 and the second rod 5 is shown in an extended state, and the stopper 6 is in a protruding state.

A sliding member 7 is fixed to the lower end of the second rod 5. Details of the sliding member 7 are shown in FIG. A front wheel support rod 8 is slidably inserted into the center of the sliding member 7. The front wheel support rod 8 rotatably supports the front wheel 1 at one end thereof. A support 81 is fixed to the other end of the front wheel support rod 8, and the second rod 5 is slidably inserted into a cylindrical portion formed in the support 81. Note that the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion is selected to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the first rod 4. A stopper 82 as another stopper mechanism is provided on the front wheel support rod 8 at a position where it can come into contact with the lower surface of the sliding member 7 in the states shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The stopper 82 is a projection elastically projected by a suitable spring (not shown), and more strongly fixes the sliding member 7 in the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Also,
A guide member 9 is located in the middle of the front wheel support rod 8 in the longitudinal direction.
is fixedly provided. The guide member 9 has a guide surface 9A having an arcuate cross section. As will be described later, the guide surface 9A is for appropriately guiding the rear wheel support rod 12 (described later) during the folding operation of this stroller. The rear wheel support rod 12 is located at a distance behind the rear wheel support rod 12 to allow passage of the rear wheel support rod 12 therethrough.

A U-shaped member 10 is pivotally supported via a shaft 11 near the other end of a pair of front wheel support rods 8,8. This U-shaped member 10 serves as a frame material for the seat of this stroller. In addition, this U-shaped member is shown in FIG.
It is forced by a suitable spring to rotate clockwise about the shaft 11.

Further, the upper end of the aforementioned rear wheel support rod 12 is pivotally supported at the rear portion of the sliding member 7 via a shaft 13.
The rear wheel 2 is rotatably supported at the lower end of the rear wheel support rod 12. Shafts 14 and 15 are installed at predetermined positions of the rear wheel support rod 12 and the front wheel support rod 8, respectively.
The link member 16 is pivotally supported via. The link member 16 is for determining the angle between the front wheel support rod 8 and the rear wheel support rod 12 when the stroller is in an open state. The link member 16 is the shaft 1
7, and an extended end 16A is formed on the shaft 14 side.

Note that the first rod 4, the second rod 5, the front wheel support rod 8, and the rear wheel support rod 12 described above exist on the same plane (for example, the plane of the first drawing).

Referring to FIG. 2, the pair of front wheel support rods 8,
A reinforcing member 18 is connected to the end of the front wheels 8 on the side of the front wheels 1, 1 for maintaining the distance. In addition, front wheel support rod 8,
A footrest 19 is connected to a predetermined position of 8. Although detailed illustrations are omitted, a seat 20 and a backrest 21 (indicated by chain lines) as a seat of this stroller are supported by the U-shaped member 10, the first rod 4, etc., and are made of appropriate fabric. .

In the above configuration, operations and operations will be explained below.

First, when the stroller is in the open position,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front wheel support rod 8
is opened in an inverted V shape with respect to the rear wheel support rod 12, and the angle between the front wheel support rod 8 and the rear wheel support rod 12 in this open state is determined by the link member 16. ing. Furthermore, the link member 16 is
It is in a state where it has rotated clockwise about the shaft 14 and counterclockwise about the shaft 15, and has reached the final point of these rotations. That is, the shaft 17 is configured to be prohibited from rotating beyond the final point. Further, the hand lever constituted by the first rod 4 and the second rod 5 takes a posture of extending relatively upward from the upper end of the front wheel support rod 8. Further, the state in which the sliding member 7 is located at the upper end of the front wheel support rod 8 is controlled by the stopper 82, and the state in which the first rod 4 and the second rod 5 are extended is controlled by the stopper 6.
Each is fixed by That is,
Both stoppers 82, 6 function as a stopper mechanism for fixing the stroller in the open state.

When performing a folding operation, first, as shown in FIG. A slight clockwise rotation about the center causes the link member 16 to bend and release its tensile support.
The pressing in the direction of the arrow a is achieved, for example, by pressing the vicinity of the shaft 17 of the link member 16 with one foot. In addition, preferably, the left and right link members 1
6 and 16 may be configured to interlock, or the stopper 82 may be configured to be in a non-protruding state in conjunction with the above-described movement of the link member 16. In addition, when folding the front wheel 1, move the front wheel 1 to the appropriate corner 22.
It is preferable to carry out the process in contact with the Note that the corner portion 22 may be of any type as long as it can apply braking to the front wheel 1, and may exist everywhere on this earth.

As described above, when the handle 3 is pressed in the direction of the arrow b with the front wheel 1 in contact with a suitable corner 22, the following operations proceed and the folding operation of this stroller is completed.

That is, in response to the pressure of the handle 3 in the direction of arrow b, the sliding member 7 fixed to the lower end of the hand lever, that is, the lower end of the second rod 5 slides along the front wheel support rod 8, and The second rod 5 slides within the cylindrical portion of the support 81, and accordingly, the shaft 13 of the rear wheel support rod 12, which is pivotally supported by the sliding member 7, moves in the direction of arrow c and the rear wheel 2.
moves slightly in the direction of arrow d. In the process of this movement, the side part of the rear wheel support rod 12 comes into contact with the guide surface 9A of the guide member 9, and further the guide surface 9A
While the rear wheel support rod 12 slides along the direction A, the rear wheel 2
moves in the direction of arrow e. Therefore, at the final point of this movement, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 1,
The sliding member 7 is in the position shown in (7), and the rear wheel support rod 12 is in the position shown in (7).
The position indicated by (12) is reached, the shaft 13 reaches the position indicated by (13), and the rear wheel 2 is brought into the position indicated by (2).

As mentioned above, just before the sliding member 7 etc. reach the final point, the stopper 6 provided on the second rod 5 comes into contact with the end of the front wheel support rod 8, causing the slope of its circumferential surface to drop. It is pushed along. Therefore, the second rod 5 can be inserted into the first rod 4, and the second rod 5 is housed in the first rod 4. At the same time, the U-shaped member 10 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 and aligns with the front wheel support rods 8, 8. This state is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when folded, the stroller is particularly scaled in the longitudinal and thickness directions to become compact. In addition,
Preferably, case 2 as shown by the chain line in FIG.
3, you can hold the handle 3 and carry it in the same way as a normal bag. Therefore,
It is possible to prevent clothes, etc. from being soiled with mud or the like adhering to the front wheels 1 and rear wheels 2, making it suitable for carrying on trips and the like. A suitable locking device may also be provided to maintain the stroller in its folded state.

Next, the operation for opening the stroller will be explained. The opening operation can be performed by performing the reverse of the above-mentioned folding operation. That is, with reference to FIG.
For example, the handle 3 may be pulled up in the direction of arrow g while pressing the reinforcing member 18 in the direction of arrow f with one foot. If this is done, the motion that occurred in the above-mentioned folding operation will proceed in reverse, resulting in a state approximately as shown in FIG. Here, link member 16
Finally, in order to ensure support for the front wheel support rod 8 and the rear wheel support rod 12, the extension end 16A
When pressed with one foot in the direction of arrow h, the stopper 82 also protrudes at the same time, completing the opening operation.
At this time, the link member 16 rotates to the final point of rotation, and the substantially linear form of the link member 16 is maintained at this final point.

Effects of the Invention In this invention, a pair of sliding members are provided at the lower end of each hand lever to slidably support each front wheel support rod in a state where each front wheel support rod is lined up parallel to each hand push rod. The upper end of each rear wheel support rod is pivotally supported by each sliding member, and when each sliding member slides along the front wheel support rod toward the lower end of the front wheel support rod, the rear wheel support rod is fixed. A guide member having a guide surface for guiding the rod is provided on the front wheel support rod side, so that the upper end of the rear wheel support rod aligns with the lower end of the front wheel support rod in accordance with the sliding of the sliding member. In addition, the lower ends of the rear wheel support rods can be guided so as to be aligned with the upper ends of the front wheel support rods. Therefore, when the upper end of the hand lever is pushed toward the lower end of the front wheel support rod, the rear wheel support rod can be aligned with the front wheel support rod in accordance with the linear movement, making the folding operation easy. At the same time, if you perform a folding operation like this with the hand levers relatively upright, you can achieve the folded state without having to bend your hips or bring your hands close to the ground. be able to. This means that the stroller can be safely operated even while holding an infant in its arms, and satisfies safety, which is particularly important for strollers.

Furthermore, each hand lever is provided with a first and second rod divided into two in the length direction, and each of the first rods is housed inside each second rod. Since we have taken the technical means to be able to reduce the size of the hand lever, the hand lever itself can also be reduced in size in response to the operation on the hand lever described above. Therefore, the upper end of the push rod does not protrude significantly from the folded stroller, and the folded shape is suitable for carrying. In particular, if you hold the handle, you can even carry it around like a bag.

In the illustrated embodiment, the length from the front wheel 1 to the rear wheel 2 in FIG. 4 can be reduced to about 40 cm. If you prepare a case,
The folded main body can be stored in a case with only the handle exposed, making it even more convenient to carry.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a right side view of a stroller according to an embodiment of the present invention after assembly, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. FIG. 3 is a right side view of the stroller shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 after folding, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the same. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 1, showing the main parts. In the figure, 1 is the front wheel, 2 is the rear wheel, 3 is the handle,
4 is a first rod, 5 is a second rod, 6 is a stopper (second stopper mechanism), 7 is a sliding member, 8 is a front wheel support rod, 9 is a guide member, 9A is a guide surface, 10 is a seat U-shaped member serving as a frame material, 11, 13, 1
4, 15, 17 are pivot shafts, 12 is a rear wheel support rod, 1
6 is a link member, and 82 is a stopper (first stopper mechanism).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In the open state, each of the pair of front wheel support rods rotatably supports the front wheels at their lower ends, and each of the pair of front wheel support rods rotatably supports the rear wheels at their lower ends. Each of the rear wheel support rods is opened in an inverted V shape, and the angle between each of the front wheel support rods and the rear wheel support rod in the open state is the same as that of each front wheel support rod. By a pair of link members connected to each rear wheel support rod and folded in half through the shaft,
a foldable stroller, further comprising: a pair of hand levers connecting handles between respective upper ends thereof and extending relatively upwardly from the upper end of the front wheel support rod; A pair of sliding members are fixed to the lower ends of the hand levers to slidably support each front wheel support rod in a state in which the front wheel support rods are lined up parallel to each of the hand push rods. The member pivotally supports the upper end of each of the rear wheel support rods at its rear, and a guide member is provided at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the front wheel support rod, and the guide member supports the upper end of each of the rear wheel support rods at the rear of the front wheel support rod. It has guide surfaces positioned at intervals that allow passage of the rear wheel support rod, and when each sliding member slides along the front wheel support rod toward the lower end of the front wheel support rod, the rear wheel support While the rods are in contact with the guide surface, they are guided so that the upper ends of the rear wheel support rods are aligned with the lower ends of the front wheel support rods, and the lower ends of the rear wheel support rods are aligned with the upper ends of the front wheel support rods, and each of the hand push rods has first and second rods divided into two in the length direction, each second rod being housed inside each first rod, whereby each hand rod is a first stopper mechanism that is reducible in the length direction and that fixes each of the sliding members to be positioned at an upper end of each of the front wheel support rods when the stroller is in an open state, and each of the first bars; A stroller comprising a second stopper mechanism that fixes the rod and each of the second rods in an extended state.