JPS6331685A - Golf cart - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a golf cart that runs along a golf course, and particularly to a golf cart that runs along a rail laid on a fairway of a golf course.

(Prior Art) When playing golf, various types of golf carts are used that carry players and golf equipment and travel as the play progresses. Typical examples include tricycles and four-wheeled carts that are driven by batteries or small engines. I have a car. Since the wheels of this type of cart run directly on the grass surface, it is easy to damage the grass surface, and therefore it is necessary to run it on the rough of a golf course or on a concrete path next to the rough.

- On the other hand, instead of the above-mentioned vehicle type 9 cart, a type of cart that runs on rails buried in a golf course has also been developed. This type of cart does not run directly on the grass surface, so it does not damage the grass surface, but conventional carts have wide rails, so the ball hits the exposed rail surface. It was necessary to run the golf course over the rough, as it could get in the way of play if hit.

When driving a golf cart in the rough away from the fairway, the player or caddy must go back and forth between the fairway and the rough every time he or she changes clubs when hitting a ball, which is just a hassle for the player or caddy. Not, but
It was also a major cause of delays in the progress of play.

In order to solve such problems, the applicant has developed a golf cart that runs on rails but can be installed on the fairway.
There is one disclosed in Publication No. 3363. This golf cart uses rails with a roughly U-shaped cross section, and the width of the rail surface exposed on the grass is reduced so that it can be installed on fairways.
It is configured to move along the rail by driving wheels running on the lower running surface within the U-shaped rail with power. In addition, in order to prevent the golf cart from tipping over while the golf cart is running, a tipping prevention wheel is provided separately from the running wheels. The anti-falling wheel runs along the upper running surface of the U-shaped rail while being constantly pressed against the upper running surface by a spring.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Generally, golf courses are designed with various undulations to enhance the enjoyment of play, and therefore, golf carts are not only used when traveling on flat ground. It must be able to run stably at all times without slipping, even when traveling on ascending and descending roads. For this purpose, it is meaningful to run the cart with the overturn prevention wheels constantly pressed against the upper running surface by springs, as in conventional golf carts.

However, running the golf cart with the anti-overturn wheels constantly pressed against the upper running surface is a major cause of increased running resistance.

Golf carts are driven by power sources such as battery-powered motors and small engines, so an increase in running resistance leads to an increase in battery power consumption and gasoline consumption, which reduces the golf cart's mileage. Become shorter or
There is a problem of increasing the frequency of battery charging and gasoline replenishment.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a golf cart that can solve the above problems by reducing the running resistance of the golf cart.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the running wheels and the falling wheels are attached to the prop of the golf cart extending within the golf cart rail having a substantially U-shaped cross section. A prevention wheel is supported, the running wheel runs on a lower running surface formed within the golf cart rail, and the overturn prevention wheel runs on an upper running surface also formed within the golf cart rail. In the golf cart that travels along
When the distance between the overturn prevention wheel and the upper running surface is greater than a certain distance, the pressing force of the spring does not act on the overturn prevention wheel, but when the distance is less than a certain distance, the pressing force of the spring is A golf cart is provided that is configured to act on anti-tip wheels.

(Function) By adding a device to the running surface of the rail (particularly the lower running surface on which the running wheels run), the inventor has discovered that when a golf cart runs on a flat area of a golf course, it is not necessary to use overturn prevention wheels. It has been found that the running wheels can run stably without slipping even if they are not pressed against the upper running surface. Therefore, when the golf cart of the present invention travels on a flat land, the pressing force of the spring does not act on the anti-overturn wheels, while when traveling on an ascending road or a descending road (on an ascending road or a descending road, the rail The distance between the upper running surface and the lower running surface is slightly narrowed so that the anti-overturn wheel is pressed against the upper running surface by the pressing force of the spring.

Therefore, according to the golf cart of the present invention, when traveling on flat land, the fall prevention wheels are not subjected to the pressing force of the spring and are not pressed against the upper running surface of the rail, so that the running resistance when traveling on flat land is reduced. This allows the golf cart to run for a longer period of time by reducing the power consumption of the battery and the gasoline consumption of the small engine.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the golf cart of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 3, the golf cart of the present invention includes a golf cart rail 10 and a cart 50 that runs on the golf cart rail. The cart 50 has a base 51, and the base has two pillars 5 at the front and rear of the cart.
2 is installed.

Further, a pedestal 53 for placing golf equipment such as a golf bag is attached to the base 51, and a pillar portion 55 that supports the upper part of the golf equipment via a frame member such as a pipe 54 is attached to the base 51. is installed. Although the illustrated embodiment shows a cart on which only golf equipment is placed, a chair for a player to sit on may also be attached to the base 51.

Each support column 52 of the cart 50 supports a running wheel 57 and a rolling prevention wheel 58 via a wheel support block 56. The running wheels 57 are provided before and after each fall prevention wheel 58. Further, the running wheels 57 attached to either one of the front and rear columns 52 are attached to the base 51.
electric motor (or small engine) 59 attached to
It is designed to be driven by a chain (or belt) 60.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a structure in which running wheels 57 and overturn prevention wheels 58 are attached to each support column 52 via wheel support blocks 56. A horizontal support plate 62 of a wheel support block 56 is attached to the support column 52 via a pin 61. Vertical support plates 63 are fixed to both sides of the horizontal support plate 62 (however, only one of the two vertical support plates 63 is shown in FIG. 1). Both vertical support plates 6
3, the horizontal support plate 62 has two holes 62
A is provided, and a loft 64 is inserted into the reciprocal 62a. The upper end of each rod 64 is fixed to the base 51 of the cart 50 by a nut 65. A block 66 that supports the anti-fall wheel 58 is loosely inserted into a portion of the rod 64 that extends below the horizontal support plate 62 . The block 66 has an axle 70 supporting the anti-overturn wheel 58.
(Fig. 4) is provided with a hole 66a for fixing it. As shown in FIG. 4, the fall prevention wheel 58
It is supported by an axle 70 via.

A threaded portion is formed at the lower end of the rod 64, and the spring bearing plate 67 is screwed into the threaded portion. As shown in FIG. 1, a spring 70 is provided around each rod 64. The spring 70 is arranged between a block 66 and a spring plate 67, and the spring 70 is arranged between a block 66 and a spring plate 67.
is constantly pressed upward. In addition, the horizontal support plate 62 includes
An adjusting screw 72 is screwed on, and the tip of the adjusting screw 72 is in contact with the upper surface of the block 66. Therefore, by adjusting the adjustment screw 72, the block 66 can be moved up and down, and therefore, the anti-tip wheel 58 can be moved up and down together with the block 66. In order to enable vertical movement of the fall prevention wheel 58, the vertical support plate 63 includes:
A long hole 63a is formed in a portion through which the axle 70 of the fall prevention wheel passes.

In addition, the code 6″b is the axle 74 of the running wheel 57 (FIG. 5).
This is a hole for fixing a bearing 75 that supports the.

The relative positional relationship between the fall prevention wheel 58 and the rail 10 will be explained based on FIG. 4. The rail 10 is approximately U as shown in the figure.
The upper running surface 11, on which the anti-falling wheel 58 runs, is formed inside the rail. The upper running surface 11 is formed as an inclined surface that gradually slopes downward from the center of the rail toward both side surfaces. The fall prevention wheel 58 also has a shape that follows the shape of the upper traveling WJ11, and has a truncated conical shape as shown. When the cart 50 swings from side to side while the cart 50 is running, the fall prevention wheels 58 come into contact with the upper running surface 11, causing the cart 50 to sway from side to side.
This prevents the vehicle from falling over. Therefore, it is not always necessary to keep the overturn prevention wheels 58 and the main running surface 11 in contact with each other at all times, and in the present invention, in order to reduce running resistance, when the cart runs on a flat ground without tilting to the left or right, The anti-overturn wheels 58 are designed not to contact the main running surface 11, but to come into contact when traveling on an ascending road or descending road or when tilting to the left or right.

Although not directly related to the present invention, the rail 10
Two vertically extending flanges 13 are provided at the upper end, and a groove 14 is formed between the two flanges 13, which is large enough for the cart support 52 to pass through, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Furthermore, when the rail 10 is buried underground, the width of both flanges exposed to the ground surface can be made extremely small. Therefore, this golf cart can be installed on the fairway. In addition, a groove cover 1 made of an elastic material such as rubber or artificial turf is provided on the top surface of both seven lunges 13.
5 is provided, and this groove cover 15 is attached to the support column 5 of the cart.
When the golf ball 2 passes through, the golf ball is pushed out to the left and right as shown in FIG. 4, but when the pillar 52 does not pass, the groove 14 is closed as shown in FIG. 5, so that the golf ball hits the groove cover 15. Even if this happens, you can prevent the ball from irregularly bouncing.

FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the rail 10 and the running wheels 57, and the running wheels 57 are always in contact with the lower running surface 12 of the rail 10 under the weight of the cart. The lower running surface 12 of the rail 10 is formed as an inclined surface that gradually slopes upward from the center of the rail toward both side surfaces. Further, the traveling wheels 57 also have a truncated conical shape similar to the fall prevention wheels 58. Incidentally, the reference numeral 76 indicates the chain 60.
(Fig. 3) is a sprocket that engages with the sprocket.

Returning to FIG. 1 again, as described above, by adjusting the adjusting screw 72, the block 66 and the anti-overturn wheels 58 supported by the block 66 can be moved up and down, so that the golf cart can be moved up and down. Adjusting the adjustment screw 72 when the rail 10 is on flat ground allows the anti-overturn wheel 58 to be positioned close to but not in contact with the main running surface 11 of the rail 10. At this time, if the fall prevention wheel 58 is made of an elastic material, the fall prevention wheel 58 is
1 may be left in light contact. If the fall prevention wheel 58 is positioned at such a position on a flat ground, the fall prevention wheel 58 will not come into contact with the main running surface 11 when the golf cart runs on a flat ground, thereby reducing running resistance. can be done. On the other hand, on an ascending path or a descending path, the lower running surface 12 of the rail 10 is processed to be roughened so that the interval between the upper and lower running surfaces 11 and 12 is slightly narrowed, and the adjustment screw is By setting the setting position of block 72 so that when the golf cart approaches this narrow part, the anti-overturn wheel 58 is pressed against the main running surface II, the block 66 is pushed downward. Spring 70 is compressed. That is, when the golf cart approaches an ascending path or descending path on a golf course or tilts to the left or right, the anti-overturn wheels 58 are automatically pressed against the main running surface 11 of the rail 10, and the pressing force at this time is It can be arbitrarily selected depending on the set load of the spring 70. Therefore, even when the golf cart of the present invention approaches an ascending road or a descending road, the driving wheels 57 do not slip, and the golf cart can run with stable driving force.

Next, a second embodiment of the golf cart of the present invention will be described based on FIG. In this embodiment, a further spring bearing plate 68 is provided between the block 66 and the spring bearing plate 67, and a first spring bearing plate 68 having a small spring constant is provided between the slope 67 and the spring bearing plate 66. The spring 77 and the spring holder are on the slope 6.
The second spring 78 with a large spring constant is provided between the spring holder 7 and the plate 68, and the member adjusted by the adjustment screw 72 is not the block 66, but the spring holder is the plate 68. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In the case of this second embodiment, the upward movement of the block 66 is not restricted by the adjustment screw 72;
The block 66 is always pressed upward by the first spring 77, and therefore the fall prevention wheel 58 supported by the block 66 is also always pressed against the upper running surface 11 of the rail 10. However, since the first spring 77 is a spring with a small spring constant, even if the fall prevention wheel 58 is always in contact with the upper running surface 11, it has little effect on the increase in running resistance. Also, in the case of this second embodiment, the adjustment screw 72 is adjusted with the golf cart placed on a flat surface. position. With this adjustment, when the golf cart approaches the ascending path or descending path of the golf course and the golf cart leans against the rail, the upper running surface 11 prevents the overturning wheels 58 from falling.
When pressed, the plate 68 of the block 66 and spring holder supporting the anti-overturn wheel 58 moves downward, and the second spring 78 having a large spring constant is compressed. That is, when the golf cart approaches an ascending path or a descending path, the anti-overturn wheels 58 apply a strong pressing force to the rail 10.
Since the drive wheels 57 are pressed against the upper running surface 11 of the lower running surface 12, the drive wheels 57 can run with stable driving force without slipping against the lower running surface 12.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, in the golf cart of the present invention, when the golf cart runs on a flat area of a golf course, the fall prevention wheels do not come into contact with the upper running surface of the rail, or contact with the upper running surface of the rail with a weak pressing force. However, when traveling on an ascending or descending path on a golf course, the anti-overturn wheels are configured to come into contact with the upper running surface of the rail with a strong pressing force, so it does not work like a conventional golf cart. Compared to a structure in which the golf cart always makes contact with a constant pressing force, the running resistance when the golf cart runs on flat ground can be reduced, and when the golf cart runs on the ascending or descending roads of the golf course, the driving resistance is reduced. This prevents the wheels from slipping and allows the vehicle to travel with stable driving force.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a structure in which a fall prevention wheel is supported by a wheel support block of a golf cart according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of a support structure similar to that of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the schematic structure of the golf cart of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line I'V-rV in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 3. 10... Golf cart rail, 11...
... Upper running surface, 12 ... Lower running surface, 50 ... Golf cart, 52 ... Support column, 56 ... Wheel support block, 57 ... ...Traveling wheel, 58...Tip prevention wheel, 66...Block, 67.68...Spring holder is he, 70...Spring, 77...First spring, 78...Second spring. Figure 1 Figure 2! -/ Listening to the voice bb -n Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A running wheel and an anti-overturn wheel are supported by a golf cart support that extends within a golf cart rail having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the running wheel is formed within the golf cart rail. In a golf cart that runs on a lower running surface and the overturn prevention wheels run along an upper running surface formed in the golf cart rail, the overturn prevention wheels are rotated against the upper running surface by a spring. and when the distance between the fall prevention wheel and the upper running surface is a certain distance or more, the pressure of the spring is applied to the fall prevention wheel. The golf cart is characterized in that the pressing force of the spring acts on the fall prevention wheel when the distance falls below a certain distance.