JPH01311966A - Elevating device for low slung small size vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a standard type wheelchair to transfer to a vehicle by operating a motor in the direction of lowering a car body when a parking brake is operated. CONSTITUTION:A rear wheel 30 is supported by an inverted-T shaped rear arm 82, and the rear end of a cylindrical buffer 86 formed by uniting a hydraulic attenuator and a coiled spring into a body is pivotally mounted on the top portion of the rear arm 82. The other end of the buffer 86 is fixed on a rotary shaft of a support lever 88. The support lever 88 is integrally fixed to a cylinder 90 supported on a frame 10. A fixing lever 92 is fixed to the cylinder 90, and the fixing lever 92 is oscillated forward and backward by an electric motor 98. By the rotation of the motor 98, a rod 102 is moved forward and backward. By the forward and backward movement of the rod 102, the fixing lever 92, the cylinder 90 and the support lever 88 are rotated in a body. Whereby the rear arm 82 is moved to the rear wheel lowering position and to a rear wheel rising position.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an elevating device for a small, low-floor vehicle that allows a disabled person or an elderly person with weak legs to get on and off the vehicle while sitting in a wheelchair. .

(Background of the Invention) The applicant has already proposed a small, low-floor vehicle as a vehicle that allows disabled and elderly people to freely get on and off the vehicle while sitting in a wheelchair (Japanese Patent Application No. 61-151424).
No. etc.). That is, by moving the pair of left and right rear wheels up and down, the rear edge of the floor surface is raised and lowered, and the rear edge of the floor surface is brought closer to the road surface, allowing the user to easily get on and off the wheelchair.

However, in a vehicle having such a lifting device, if a person touches an operating switch while driving and the vehicle body descends, there is a risk that the floor surface will tilt and luggage may fall. Furthermore, when getting on or off a wheelchair while the vehicle is in a stopped state with the vehicle body lowered, the problem arises that if the vehicle body is not securely fixed, the vehicle body tends to move and it is not possible to get on or off the wheelchair in a stable manner.

(Objective of the Invention) The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and even if the body accidentally touches a switch while driving, the vehicle body will descend and contact the road surface, or luggage will not be removed from the inclined floor. To provide an elevating device for a small, low-floor vehicle that allows stable boarding and alighting without fear of falling, and without moving the vehicle body when getting on and off a wheelchair.

(Structure of the Invention) According to the present invention, this object is provided with a body having a substantially flat floor surface that is open at the rear, and by raising a pair of left and right rear wheels, the rear part of the body is lowered and the rear part of the body is lowered from behind the floor surface. A small, low-floor vehicle that allows a wheelchair to get on and off has an electric motor that independently raises and lowers a pair of left and right rear wheels, an up/down switch that rotates the motor forward and reverse, and a parking brake switch that works with the parking brake. Achieved by a lifting device for a low-floor small vehicle, comprising: a circuit that allows the motor to operate in the direction of lowering the vehicle body on the condition that the parking brake switch detects activation of the parking brake. Ru.

(Example) Fig. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view,
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the frame, etc.;
Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the S1 lowering device at the top and bottom positions of the vehicle body, and Figures 6 and 7 are diagrams showing the arrangement and operation of the position switch that detects the top and bottom positions of the vehicle body. .

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a vehicle body frame having a pipe structure, and has a substantially rectangular shape that is long from front to back. This frame 10 has a pair of left and right lower tubes 12a, 1 passing in the front and rear direction.
2b, an outer edge tube 14 surrounding the lower outer periphery, and a pair of upper tubes 1 located substantially parallel above the lower tube 12.
6a, 16b, a middle tube 18 which is bent into a substantially U-shape, both ends of which are fixed to the middle of the upper tube 16, and the middle part of which is fixed to the front end of the upper tube 16, and an appropriate cross member 8 etc. that connect these. has been done.

In this figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a front steering wheel, and a front fork 22 that holds this front wheel 20 is held by a steering shaft cylinder 24 fixed to the frame IO so as to be rotatable left and right. A handle barrel 26 is arranged behind the steering shaft barrel 24, and a handle shaft (not shown) is held in the handle barrel 26. A handlebar 28 shown in FIG. 1.2 is fixed to the upper end of this handle shaft, and a brake lever 29 is attached thereto. This brake lever 29 can be locked in the pulled position, that is, the brake applied position, and when locked, it becomes a parking brake lever. A parking brake switch 216 is attached to this brake lever 29 to detect that it is locked. The lower end of the handle shaft is connected to the front fork 22 by a link (not shown), and the handlebar 28 is connected to the front fork 22 by a link (not shown).
0 rotates in conjunction.

Reference numerals 30a and 30b are a pair of left and right rear wheels, which can be moved up and down by a lifting device 80, which will be described later. 32 is a forced cooling type engine placed on the left side of the front wheel 20, and its rotation is transmitted to left and right drive sprockets 38a and 38b via a V-belt continuously variable transmission 34 and a differential gear 36. The rotation of the sprocket shafts 38a and 38b is controlled by the chain 4.
0a, 40b to each rear wheel 30. Exhaust gas from the engine 32 is guided to a muffler 44 located on the right side of the front wheel 20 by an exhaust pipe 42 passing in front of the front wheel 20, and further passes through the lower tube 12b on the right side and is discharged rearward. 4
6 is a fuel tank, 48 is a lubricating oil tank, 50 is a battery, and 52 is an air cleaner attached to the upper surface of the transmission 34.

In FIG. 1.2, 54 is a body integrally molded from synthetic resin, and includes a substantially flat floor surface 56 and this floor surface 5.
It has a front upright wall 58 and left and right upright walls 60a, 60b which are formed in a substantially box shape with a downwardly open cross section and continuously surround the front and right and left sides of the vehicle. The front wheel 20 and the engine 32
etc. are located within the front upright wall 58. The rear part of the floor surface 56 opens rearward from between the left and right standing walls 60a and 60b.

Reference numeral 62 denotes a U-shaped wheel stop that crosses the rear opening of the body 54 from side to side, and its both ends are rotatably attached to the frame 10. This car stop 62 is a lifting device 8 which will be described later.
0 and the emergency lever 70, and in the solid line position in Fig. 4, the movement of the wheelchair is restricted as shown in Fig. 1, and in the position shown in Fig. 5, it enters the four parts 64 formed on the floor surface 56 to prevent the wheelchair from getting on and off. enable. Further, a protector 66 made of resin is wrapped around the wheel stopper 62 at a position where the wheels of the wheelchair pass through.

Grip bars 68a and 68b are attached to the upper portions of the left and right upright walls 60 of the body 56, and allow the driver to sit on the wheelchair and grip it to get on and off the wheelchair. In Figure 1.2, 70 is an emergency lever protruding from the left standing wall 60a, 72 is a forward/reverse switching lever protruding from the right standing wall 60b, 74 is a headlamp, 76 is a pair of left and right direction indicator lights, and 78 is a tail light. It is.

Next, the elevating device 80 that raises and lowers the floor surface 56 by moving the rear wheels 30 up and down will be explained. Since this device 80 is made symmetrically except for 8-70, only the left side will be described. The rear wheel 30 is supported on both sides by an inverted T-shaped rear arm 82.

84 is a support shaft portion of this rear arm 82. The rear end of a cylindrical shock absorber 86, which integrates a hydraulic damper and a coil spring, is pivoted to the top of the rear arm 82. The other end of this shock absorber 86 is pivotally attached to the rotating end of a support lever 88. The support lever 88 is a cylindrical body 9 that is pivotally supported by the frame lO.
0 is integrally fixed. A fixed lever 9 is attached to the cylinder body 90.
2 is fixed, and this fixed lever 92 is swung back and forth by an electric motor 98 as shown in FIG. 4.5.

That is, the motor 98 rotates a feed screw cylinder 100 using a worm gear (not shown), and a rod 102 whose rotation is regulated is inserted into the feed screw cylinder 100. It is connected to a fixed lever 92. As a result, the rotation of the motor 98 causes the rod 102 to move back and forth, and by moving the rod 102 back and forth, the fixed lever 92, the cylinder body 90, the support lever 8
8 rotates together, moving the rear arm 82 between the rear wheel lowered position in Figure 4.6 (the lowest position of the vehicle body) and the rear wheel raised position (lowest position of the vehicle body) in Figure 5.7. It can be rotated with. Note that in the uppermost position of the vehicle body in FIG. 4, the support lever 88
comes into contact with the stopper/pa 106 fixed to the upper tube 16 from below.

The wheel stopper 62 is connected to this lifting device 8 by a link 108.
0, it becomes a horizontal position at the top position of the vehicle body to restrict the movement of the wheelchair (Fig. 4), and is stored in the recess 64 at the bottom position (Fig. 5).

Chain guides 110 and 112 are fixed to the rear arm 82, and these chain guides come into contact with the chain 40 in the lowered position of the rear wheel (FIG. 5) to prevent the chain 40 from becoming slack.

In addition, this elevating device 80 is designed so that in an emergency, by pulling the emergency lever 70 rearward, only the wheel stopper 62 is lowered (phantom line in Fig. 4), and the wheelchair can be lowered rearward while the floor surface is raised. .

Next, a circuit for controlling the motor of this lifting device 80 will be explained with reference to FIG. In this figure, 98a and 98b are left and right electric motors, 200 is a DC power supply, 202 is an up/down switch (hereinafter referred to as a UD switch), and 204 is a main switch having two contacts 204C1204b that are turned on alternately. This main switch 204 also turns and stops the engine 32. 206a and 206b are UD switch 2
These are up relays and down relays that have normally closed contacts that open in conjunction with 02.

Reference numerals 208a and 208b denote a pair of left and right uppermost position switches 210 for detecting the uppermost position of the vehicle body from the left and right rear wheel positions, that is, the rotational position of the support lever 88 as shown in FIG. 6.7.
A and 210b are a pair of left and right lowest position switches that detect the lowest position from the rotational position of the support lever 88. These position switches 208 and 210 have normally closed contacts that open at the top and bottom positions, and these allow
a, 212b and lowering relays 214a, 214b are turned on and off. These relays 212 and 214 are connected in series to the motors 98a and 98b, respectively, and the left and right series connection circuits are the up relay 206a and down relay 206b.
are connected in parallel. In the figure, 216 is a parking brake switch that closes when the parking brake is applied, and is connected between the down contact of the UD switch 202 and the excitation coil of the relay 214.

The vehicle body raising operation of this circuit is as follows.

■Turn on the main switch 204 and turn on the UD switch 20
2 up.

■Since the left and right top position switches 208a and 208b are conductive, current flows from the excitation coils of relays 212a and 212b through the top position switches 208a and 208b, and conducts the contacts of relays 212a and 212b to the a side, respectively. let

(■ The left and right motors 98 are connected to the relay 21 from the power supply 200.
Current flows through the a contacts of relays 2a and 212b and the b contacts of relays 214a and 214b, causing the floor surface 56 to rotate in a direction that raises it.

<4) When the floor surface 56 reaches the highest point, the highest position switch 2
08a and 208b become non-conductive and relays 212a and 21
To release the excitation of 2b L/-212a, 212
The b(7) contact returns the current from the a side to the b side.The current to the motor 98 is cut off, and the motor 98 stops. At this time, if the left side finishes climbing faster due to the difference in the distributed load on the floor, then
The left motor 98a stops first, and the right motor 98b also stops as soon as the upward movement is completed.

The vehicle body lowering operation is as follows.

■Turn off the main switch 204. (Contact 204b
Continuity) ■Activate the parking brake. (Parking brake switch 216 conducts) ■Turn the UD switch 202 to the down side.

■Since the left and right lowest position switches 210a and 210b are conductive, the current flows to the lowering relays 214a and 214b.
From the excitation coil to the left and right lowest position switches 210a, 2
10b, and conducts the contacts of L/-214a and 214b to the a side, respectively.

The relay 214a is connected to the motor 98 from the power supply 200.
, 214b and the B contacts of relays 212a and 212b, the current flows in the opposite direction to the direction when the floor is raised, lowering the floor.

■When the floor surface reaches the lowest point, the lowest position switch 210 becomes non-conductive and the relay 214 is de-energized, so the contacts of the relay 214 return from the a side to the b side, and the power to the motor 98 is turned off. The motor 98 is cut off and the motor 98 stops. At this time, if, for example, the left side completes its descent earlier due to the difference in the distributed load on the floor, the left motor 98a will stop first, and the right side will also stop as soon as it has finished its ascent.

Note that the diodes 218a-d in the circuit are connected to the relays 212.
214 for self-holding, and can continue raising and lowering the floor surface without continuously operating the UD switch 202. Relays 206a and 2.06b are also connected to the UD switch 206 when you want to stop raising or lowering midway.
It is activated by operating the button in the opposite direction, and is used to temporarily stop the ascending and descending movements.

As a result, the lifting device 80 is capable of driving the motor 98 in the direction of lowering the vehicle body only when the parking brake lever 29 is applied and its switch 216 is closed.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention is configured such that the motor can be operated in the direction of lowering the heavy body only when the parking brake is applied, and the vehicle cannot be lowered unless the parking brake is applied. The vehicle will not descend even if you accidentally operate the up/down switch, and since the parking brake is always applied when lowering the vehicle to get on or off the wheelchair, the vehicle will not move while getting on or off, making it stable. You can get on and off the train by doing so.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view,
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the frame, etc.;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the elevating device at the top and bottom positions of the vehicle body, FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams similarly showing the arrangement and operation of the position switch, and FIG. 8 is a control circuit diagram. 29... Brake lever, 30... Rear wheel, 32...
・Engine, 54...Hotel, 56...Floor, 80
... Lifting device, 98 ... Motor, 202 ... Up fist down switch Sochi, 216 ... Parking brake switch. Patent applicant Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A low-rise vehicle comprising a body with a substantially flat floor surface that is open at the rear, and by raising a pair of left and right rear wheels, the rear part of the body is lowered, making it possible for a wheelchair to get on and off from the rear of the floor surface. In a small vehicle, there is an electric motor that raises and lowers the left and right rear wheels independently, and an up/down switch that rotates the motor in the forward and reverse directions.
A parking brake switch that operates in conjunction with a parking brake, and a circuit that allows the motor to operate in the direction of lowering the vehicle body on the condition that the parking brake switch detects operation of the parking brake. Lifting device for floor small vehicles.