TW201914886A - Bicycle capable of easily changing moving directions even without a handle - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle that is capable of easily changing moving directions even without a handle and is suitable for carrying and for being moved. A bicycle 10 is configured in such a way that a rear wheel is supported by a frame body 12 having a hanging tube 124, a free wheel 18 having a diameter smaller than that of the rear wheel 16 is disposed below the hanging tube 124, and the rotation axle of the free wheel 18 is arranged along the direction orthogonal to the axle C1 of the hanging tube 124. Preferably, the frame body 12 is provided with a head tube fixed on the hanging tube 124, and the rotation axle of the free wheel 18 is the axle center of the head tube.

Description

bicycle

The present invention relates to bicycles, and more particularly to bicycles having no handle that changes the direction of the front wheels.

A bicycle that is generally widely used (for example, Patent Document 1) is provided with a handle for rotating the front wheel around the steering shaft. The direction of travel of the bicycle can be changed by operating the handle by the occupant to change the direction of the front wheel as the steering wheel. However, the handle portion of the bicycle has a width on the left and right sides of the front portion of the vehicle body, and thus, for example, when carried by a public transportation agency, there is a problem that the handle portion is bulky.

On the other hand, a wheelbarrow (for example, Patent Document 2) which is one type of bicycle is configured as a small vehicle body having no handle and a steering wheel (front wheel), and thus it is difficult to cause the above problem. On the other hand, in the case of a wheelbarrow, if the occupant cannot wiggle the body and rotate the whole body while maintaining a good balance, the direction of the wheel cannot be changed. Therefore, in terms of the operation operation for changing the traveling direction, the wheelbarrow is obviously difficult to have a bicycle with a handle. [Prior Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2016-159720 (Patent Document 2) Japanese Invention Registration No. 3131271

[The problem that the invention wants to solve]

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle suitable for carrying and carrying, even if the direction of travel can be easily changed without a handle. [Technical means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, a bicycle according to the present invention is characterized in that it is attached to a bicycle that supports a rear wheel by a frame body having a hanging pipe, and a free wheel having a smaller diameter than the rear wheel is provided below the hanging pipe. The free wheel is a rotation axis center in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the pipe.

Further, in the bicycle of the present invention, the frame body has a head pipe fixed to the hanging pipe, and the free wheel has an axis of the head pipe as the rotation axis.

Further, the bicycle of the present invention is characterized in that the axle center of the wheel axle of the free wheel is located further rearward than the pivot axis, and the center of gravity is located further forward than the pivot axis. [Effects of the Invention]

According to the bicycle of the present invention, a free wheel having a smaller diameter than a rear wheel which is a direction perpendicular to the axis of the pipe is disposed below the pipe, so that the free wheel can be changed by moving the center of gravity to the left and right. The direction is such that the direction of travel can be easily changed without a handle. Further, in addition to the fact that the free wheel is disposed below the pipe, the free wheel is a small vehicle body having a greatly reduced wheelbase, thereby providing a bicycle suitable for carrying and carrying.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the bicycle of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> As shown in Fig. 1, the bicycle 10 of the first embodiment includes a frame body 12. The frame body 12 has a riser 121. A pair of right and left upper forks 122 are respectively connected to the upper ends of the risers 121. The lower end portion of the riser 121 is fixed to a pair of right and left rear forks 123 disposed on both sides of the lower end portion. The front ends of the pair of rear lower forks 123 are respectively connected to the hanging pipe 124 (Fig. 2). The hanging pipe 124 is disposed at a position further forward than the lower end portion of the riser 121 such that its axis C1 is horizontal.

After the same side in the left and right, the respective rear ends of the upper fork 122 and the rear lower fork 123 are respectively coupled to the rear hooks 125. The wheel axle of the rear wheel 16 is fixed to each of the left and right rear claws 125 by a hub nut 14. Thereby, the rear wheel 16 is supported between the left and right triangular portions constituted by the riser 121, the left and right rear upper forks 122, and the rear lower fork 123.

As shown in FIG. 2, a head pipe 126 is fixed to the hanging pipe 124. The head pipe 126 has a portion in which the axial center C2 is positioned in the orthogonal direction with respect to the axial center C1 of the hanging pipe 124, and one of the lower peripheral surfaces is fixed to the outer peripheral portion of the hanging pipe 124 at the rear middle portion. Moreover, the head pipe 126 and the riser pipe 121 are connected to each other via the connection pipe 127 at a higher side than the portion of the head pipe 126 fixed to the pipe 124.

A free wheel 18 is disposed below the hanging pipe 124 constituting the frame body 12. The free wheel 18 includes a smaller front wheel 181 than the rear wheel 16. The wheel axle 182 of the front wheel 181 is supported by the fork portion 183 disposed on both sides with the front wheel 181 interposed therebetween. A rod portion (not shown) is provided on the upper side of the fork portion 183. The rod portion is rotatably attached to the head pipe 126 via a known rolling bearing (not shown) such as a ball bearing or a roller bearing provided in the head pipe 126. Thereby, the free wheel 18 is configured to be swingable in a swingable manner with respect to the axis C2 of the head pipe 126 in the direction orthogonal to the axis C1 of the pipe 124.

Returning to Fig. 1, a hooking member (not shown) including a crankshaft (not shown) is attached to the hanger 124. A gear crank 20 is fixed to the right end of the crankshaft. Similarly, a crank 22 is fixed to the left end of the crankshaft. A drive sprocket 24 is fixed to a root portion of the gear crank 20. Further, the driven sprocket 26 is fixed to the hub (not shown) of the rear wheel 16. Further, a chain 28 is hung between the drive sprocket 24 and the driven sprocket 26. When the gear crank 20 is rotated by the pedal force of the occupant, the pedaling force is transmitted to the rear wheel 16 via the drive sprocket 24 and the driven sprocket 26 and the power transmission mechanism including the chain 28, and the rear wheel 16 is Rotate the drive.

A seat post 30 is inserted into the upper end opening of the riser 121. A saddle 32 is attached to the upper end of the seat post 30. The seat post 30 is slidable in the direction of the axis C3 of the riser 121, the seat post 30 can be slid to adjust the height of the saddle 32 to a suitable height, and the saddle position can be positioned by a locking mechanism not shown. Further, the grip lever 34 (grip) extends forward from the upper circumferential side of the seat post 30. A brake handle 36 is mounted to the grip bar 34. By operating the brake lever 36, a caliper brake (not shown) provided with respect to the rear wheel 16 is actuated.

In the bicycle 10 configured as described above, when the occupant moves the weight or the like while traveling, the center of gravity is moved to the right in the traveling direction, and the vehicle body is inclined to the right side. At this time, the rear wheel 16 is intended to be inclined to the right side integrally with the frame body 12. On the other hand, the free wheel 18 is tilted clockwise about the axis of rotation C2 of the head pipe 126 as the frame body 12 is tilted, and the front wheel 181 is turned to the right. As a result, the traveling direction of the bicycle 10 becomes rightward.

Further, when the traveling direction of the bicycle 10 is turned to the left, the same as the case where the left side is reversed, basically the same as the case where the bicycle 10 is turned to the right. That is, when the occupant moves the center of gravity to the left side in the traveling direction of the bicycle 10, the vehicle body is intended to be inclined to the left side. At this time, the rear wheel 16 is intended to be inclined to the left side integrally with the frame body 12. On the other hand, the free wheel 18 is tilted in the counterclockwise direction about the axis of rotation C2 of the head pipe 126 as the frame body 12 is tilted, and the front wheel 181 is turned to the left. As a result, the traveling direction of the bicycle 10 becomes leftward.

As described above, according to the bicycle 10, the direction of the free wheel 18 can be changed to the left and right by an operation operation of moving the center of gravity to the right and left. Therefore, the configuration of the traveling direction of the bicycle 10 can be easily changed even if there is no handle that is normally provided. Moreover, the operation of the bicycle 10 does not require a high-difficult technique of twisting the body and rotating the entire body, such as a wheelbarrow, and it is easy to ride more easily than a wheelbarrow.

Further, in the bicycle 10, the wheelbase W1 (FIG. 2) is greatly shortened by arranging the free wheel 18 below the pipe 124. Thereby, in addition to the fact that there is no handle, the small body structure is further realized, and it is more suitable for carrying and carrying.

<Second Embodiment> In the bicycle 10 of the first embodiment, the frame body 12 having the head pipe 126 fixed to the hanging pipe 124 is used. However, the bicycle 50 of the second embodiment is used as shown in FIG. The head pipe 526 is connected to the frame body 52 of the front side of the pipe 524 at intervals in front and rear.

The bicycle 50 of the second embodiment basically has the same configuration as the bicycle 10 of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the frame body 52 is different. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the same components as those of the bicycle 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be referred to as needed. Hereinafter, the description will be focused on the different portions.

The frame body 52 has a riser 521. A pair of right and left upper forks 522 are respectively connected to the upper ends of the risers 521. The lower end portion of the riser 521 is fixed to a pair of left and right rear lower forks 523 disposed on both sides with the lower end portion interposed therebetween. The front ends of the pair of rear lower forks 523 are respectively connected to the hanging pipe 524. The hanging pipe 524 is fixed to the front side portion of the lower peripheral portion of the riser 521 by the outer peripheral portion of the rear middle portion thereof in a posture in which the axial center C4 is horizontal.

The head pipe 526 is disposed on the front side of the pipe 524 at intervals in front and rear. The head pipe 526 is connected to the riser 521 via the upper pipe 527 in a posture in which the axis C5 is positioned in the orthogonal direction with respect to the axis C4 of the pipe 524, and is also coupled to the pipe 524 via the lower pipe 528.

Here, in the bicycle 50, the free wheel 18 is disposed in front of the bicycle 10 in such a manner that the head pipe 526 is disposed on the front side of the hanging pipe 524. As a result, the wheelbase W2 of the bicycle 50 is longer than the wheelbase W1 of the bicycle 10 (Fig. 2). Therefore, the bicycle 50 has a configuration in which the range of overlap with the drive sprocket 24 (not shown in FIG. 3) in at least a part of the head tube 526 is based on the concept of a small vehicle body suitable for carrying and transporting. The head tube 526 is disposed inside.

<Third Embodiment> The bicycles 10 and 50 of the above-described embodiments have basically the same configuration except for the configuration of the frame bodies 12 and 52. However, the bicycle 60 of the third embodiment is not limited to the frame body 62 as shown in Fig. 4 . Further, the free wheel 68 also has a configuration different from that of the bicycles 10 and 50 of the above embodiment.

The bicycle 60 of the third embodiment basically has the same configuration as the bicycles 10 and 50 of the above-described embodiment except that the respective configurations of the frame body 62 and the free wheel 68 are different. Therefore, in FIG. 4, substantially the same components as those of the bicycles 10 and 50 will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the following description will be mainly focused on different parts.

The frame body 62 has a riser 621. The pair of left and right rear upper forks 622 are branched from the rear side of the upper end portion of the riser 621 so as to extend obliquely downward. The pair of right and left rear forks 623 are branched from the rear side of the lower end of the riser 621 into two horizontal extensions. The rear ends 622 and the rear lower forks 623 are respectively connected to the rear hooks 625 after being located on the same side in the left and right.

The upper tube 627 extends obliquely downward from the front side of the upper end portion of the riser 621. A hanging pipe 624 is disposed at a front end portion of the upper pipe 627. The hanging pipe 624 is attached to the front end portion of the upper pipe 627 at a position on the outer peripheral portion of the upper rear side portion thereof in a posture in which the axial center C6 is horizontal. The lower tube 628 extends forward from the front side of the lower end portion of the riser 621 in a posture inclined slightly upward with respect to the horizontal direction.

A head pipe 626 is disposed on each of the front sides of the suspension pipe 624 and the lower pipe 628. The head pipe 626 is fixed to each of the outer peripheral portion of the front middle portion and the front end portion of the down tube 628 with the axial center C7 positioned in the orthogonal direction with respect to the axial center C6 of the hanging tube 624.

In the frame body 62 having the above configuration, when the bicycle 60 is erected on the flat floor P in a usable state, the angle (head pipe angle) θ formed by the center line P of the head pipe 626, that is, the axis C7 of the head pipe 626 is set to Roughly right angle. Here, "substantially right angle" does not need to include 90°, and means that the head tube angle θ is allowed to be set even in the range of about 90° ± 2°, but of course, the head tube angle θ can also be 90° ± 2°. Angle setting outside the range.

Below the hanging pipe 624 constituting the frame body 62, a free wheel 68 is provided in the same manner as the free wheel 18 described above. That is, the free wheel 68 includes a smaller front wheel 681 than the rear wheel 16. The wheel axle 682 of the front wheel 681 is supported by a fork portion 683 disposed on both sides with the front wheel 681 interposed therebetween. A rod portion 684 is provided on the upper side of the fork portion 683. The rod portion 684 is rotatably attached to the head pipe 626 via a rolling bearing (not shown) provided in the head pipe 626. Thereby, the free wheel 68 is configured to be swingable in a swingable manner with respect to the axis C7 of the head pipe 626 which is orthogonal to the axis C6 of the pipe 624.

The free wheel 68 further has a balance adjustment portion 685. The balance adjustment unit 685 includes an adjustment weight 686. The adjustment weight 686 is attached to the front end portion of the bracket 687 extending forward from the upper portion of the fork portion 683. By having the balance adjusting portion 685, the free wheel 68 is adjusted to be suitable for the weight balance of the running travel of the bicycle 60. That is, the free wheel 68 has a configuration in which the axis C8 of the wheel axle 682 of the front wheel 681 is located further rearward than the axis C7 (rotational axis) of the head pipe 626, but the center of gravity G is located at the axis of the head pipe 626. Heart C7 (slewing axis) is more front side.

A pin 70 is provided on the upper tube 627 of the frame body 62, and a pin 72 is provided on the stem portion 684 of the free wheel 68. A tension coil spring 74 is attached to each of the pins 70, 72. When the front wheel 681 of the freewheel 68 before the running is swung from the initial position toward the straight forward direction, the tension coil spring 74 is brought into tension with the rotation of the rod portion 684. When the front wheel 681 of the free wheel 68 is slightly floated from the ground P in this state, the direction of the front wheel 681 is restored to the initial position by the restoring force of the tension coil spring 74.

According to the bicycle 60 including the above-described configuration, the balance adjustment unit 685 adjusts the weight balance of the free wheel 68. Therefore, the responsiveness (followability) of the front wheel 681 is optimized as the vehicle body is tilted to the left and right during traveling. As a result, not only the operation of changing the traveling direction of the bicycle 60 but also the straight-forward stability at the time of high-speed traveling is improved.

Although the bicycle of the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment, the present invention is of course not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be embodied, for example, in the following manner.

<Various Example> (1) In the second embodiment, the frame body 52 having the head pipe 526 connected to the front side of the hanging pipe 524 at intervals in the front and rear is used, but it is of course the same as in the first embodiment. The head pipe 526 is directly fixed to the front side of the pipe 524.

(2) In the above embodiment, the free wheels 18 and 68 are attached via the rolling bearings provided in the head pipes 126, 526, and 626, but the rolling bearings may be provided outside the head pipes 126, 526, and 626. Further, a thrust bearing may be incorporated in the main body like a caster. In this case, the mounting portion of the caster may be a plate type in which a mounting hole is formed, or may be a bolt type. In short, as long as the front wheel is a wheel that changes direction following the inclination of the frame body.

Further, the wheel axle of the wheel constituting the caster is generally located closer to the rear side in the traveling direction than the pivot axis of the caster, but may be configured to provide a balance adjusting portion such that the caster is provided similarly to the free wheel 68 described above. The center of gravity is located on the front side of the above-mentioned rotary axis.

(3) In the third embodiment, the member that adjusts the weight 686 is attached to the front end portion of the bracket 687 as the balance adjusting portion 685. However, if the center of gravity of the free wheel can be set to the front side of the rotating shaft center, The configuration of the balance adjustment unit is not particularly limited. For example, the weight balance of the free wheel can also be adjusted by the shape or material of the component.

The present invention can also be carried out in various modifications, modifications, or variations based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, it is also possible to implement a method in which certain invention-specific matters are replaced with other technologies within the scope of the same effect or effect.

10‧‧‧Bicycle

12‧‧‧ frame body

14‧‧‧Drum nut

16‧‧‧ Rear wheel

18‧‧‧Free wheel

20‧‧‧ Gear crank

22‧‧‧ crank

24‧‧‧Drive sprocket

26‧‧‧ driven sprocket

28‧‧‧Chapter

30‧‧‧ seatpost

32‧‧‧ saddle

34‧‧‧ grip lever

36‧‧‧Brake handle

50‧‧‧Bicycle

52‧‧‧ frame body

60‧‧‧Bicycle

62‧‧‧ frame body

68‧‧‧Free wheel

70‧‧ ‧ sales

72‧‧ ‧ sales

74‧‧‧ Stretching coil spring

121‧‧‧Riser

122‧‧‧Back fork

123‧‧‧ rear fork

124‧‧‧ hanging pipe

125‧‧‧ rear claws

126‧‧‧ head tube

127‧‧‧Connected tube

181‧‧‧ front wheel

182‧‧‧ wheel axle

183‧‧‧Fork

521‧‧‧Rich

522‧‧‧Back fork

523‧‧‧ rear fork

524‧‧‧ hanging pipe

526‧‧‧ head tube

527‧‧‧Upper tube

528‧‧‧Under the tube

621‧‧‧Riser

622‧‧‧Back fork

623‧‧‧ rear fork

624‧‧‧ hanging pipe

625‧‧‧ rear claws

626‧‧‧ head tube

627‧‧‧Upper tube

628‧‧‧Under the tube

681‧‧‧ front wheel

682‧‧‧ wheel axle

683‧‧‧Fork

684‧‧‧ Rod

685‧‧‧ Balance Adjustment Department

686‧‧‧Adjust weight

687‧‧‧ bracket

C1‧‧‧ Axis

C2‧‧‧ Axis

C3‧‧‧Axis

C4‧‧‧ Axis

C5‧‧‧ Axis

C6‧‧‧Axis

C7‧‧‧ Axis

C8‧‧‧Axis

P‧‧‧ Ground

W1‧‧‧ wheelbase

W2‧‧‧ wheelbase

Θ‧‧‧ head angle

Fig. 1 is a side view of the bicycle of the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a frame portion constituting the above bicycle. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a frame portion of a bicycle constituting the second embodiment. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a frame portion and a free wheel of the bicycle constituting the third embodiment.

Claims (2)

A bicycle characterized in that: the rear wheel is supported by a frame body having a hanging pipe, and a free wheel having a smaller diameter than the rear wheel is provided below the hanging pipe, the free wheel is opposite to the hanging pipe The direction orthogonal to the axis is the rotation axis, and the axis of the free wheel axle is located on the rear side of the rotation axis, and the center of gravity is located on the front side of the rotation axis. The bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the frame body has a head pipe fixed to the hanging pipe, and the free wheel has an axis of the head pipe as the rotation axis.