JPH0471982A - Snowmobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a small sized, lightweight, and cheap snowmobile by fitting a pair of ski plates longer than the snowmobile main body in the running direction on both sides of the main body having caterpillar for running on snow, and supporting load on the main body from both side with the long ski plates. CONSTITUTION:A snowmobile is provided with a vehicle main body 2 having caterpillar 1 for running on snow, and a pair of ski plates 3, 3 which are arranged on both sides of the main body 2 and operated with legs of crew (skiers), and respective ski plates 3 are fitted to ski plate fixtures 4, 4 provided on both side parts of the main body 2. In the ski plate fixture 4, an elevatable rod 12 is elevatably inserted in a cylinder 11 fixedly secured on each side of the main body 2, the elevatable rod 12 is always downward energizated with a spring 13 in the cylinder 11, a suction cup 15 to stick to the upper face of the ski plate 3 is provided on the underside of the elevatable rod 12 through a universal joint 14, and a projection 16 for preventing slip-out is provided on the upper end of the elevatable rod 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a snow vehicle for driving on snowy surfaces such as snowy mountains.

(Prior art) Conventionally, as this type of traveling vehicle, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-150
There are some proposals in Publication No. 74 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 136677/1983.

The above-mentioned conventional technology is one in which caterpillars are provided at the front and rear parts of the vehicle body, and both of the caterpillars are rotationally driven, and the front caterpillar is operated by a handle to run on snow, or The vehicle is equipped with caterpillars at the rear of the vehicle body and a ski-like rudder at the front of the vehicle.The caterpillar is rotatably driven, and the ski-like rudder is operated by a handle to drive on snow. It has become.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The above-mentioned snow vehicles are large, heavy, and expensive because they are used for stacked physical transportation and high-speed purposes, and are mainly used for patrolling ski resorts and for recreational purposes. Furthermore, in larger snow vehicles, the load on the vehicle body is supported only by the caterpillars, so in the case of soft snow such as deep snow, the caterpillars may dig into the snow surface more than necessary. There is a risk that the vehicle will become unable to run, and in order to avoid this, it is necessary to increase the length of the vehicle body as much as possible to increase the contact area (snow) of the caterpillars, which makes it impossible to downsize the vehicle. Ta.

Even small snow vehicles such as snowmobiles have similar drawbacks because the load on the vehicle body is supported by caterpillars, and the rudder and handle for steering and the two are linked and connected to the front of the vehicle body. Since the vehicle body is provided with a non-removable mechanism, the length of the vehicle body is inevitably long, and it has been impossible to store and transport the vehicle in the trunk of a passenger car, for example.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, it is an object of the present invention to provide a snow vehicle that is small, lightweight, and inexpensive.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 3 corresponding to the embodiments. A configuration is adopted in which a pair of skis 3, which are longer in the running direction than the vehicle body 2, are attached to both sides of the vehicle body 2 having a diameter I.

A second aspect of the present invention is that the pair of skis 3 are connected to the vehicle main body 2.
It adopts a structure in which it is removably attached to ski mounts 4 provided on both sides of the ski.

A third aspect of the present invention employs a configuration in which the pair of skis 3 are attached to the ski mount 4 so as to be movable up and down.

A fourth aspect of the present invention employs a configuration in which the pair of skis 3 are attached to the ski mount 4 so as to be tiltable back and forth and left and right.

(Function) According to the first aspect of the present invention, the load applied to the vehicle body 2 is supported from both sides by the skis 3, which are longer than the length of the vehicle body 2 in the traveling direction. Even in the case of snowy conditions, there is no risk of the vehicle body 2 sinking excessively into the snow, and even on steep slopes of about 30
It supports me and I don't fall down.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the skis Fi3 can be removed from the ski mounting device 4 of the vehicle body 2, it is possible to transport the vehicle body 2 and the skis 3 separately.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the attachment position of the ski moves up and down depending on the hardness and softness of the snow quality, and the degree of contact of the ski with respect to the snow surface can be self-adjusted.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the skis 3 are attached to the mounting fixture 4 so as to be tiltable back and forth and left and right, the skis 3 can be freely moved by the legs of an occupant riding on the vehicle body 2. can be operated.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 3 show a snow vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It has a pair of skis 3, 3 which are arranged on both sides of the vehicle body 2 and are operated by the legs of an occupant (skier) riding on the vehicle body 2. Ski mounting tool provided 4
．． It is attached to 4.

The traveling vehicle main body 2 moves on snow at a desired speed (
For example, the vehicle runs at a low speed of 4-per-hour), and has a seat 5 for a passenger at the rear of the top surface, and a starter 6, an accelerator 7, and a clutch 8 for the prime mover are installed in the operation section at the front of the top surface. It is provided. For example, the above-mentioned prime mover has a maximum shaft torque of 0.38 kgm, and a heavy! It is conceivable to use an 8.5 kg commercially available gasoline engine with gear reduction. Alternatively, an electric motor may be used.

The skis 3 are longer in the running direction than the vehicle body 2 (for example, about 1.8 m), and commercially available skis for alpine skis or Nordex skis can be used as they are, and there is a ski in the approximately central part of the skis. A fastener 10 is provided for securing the occupant's ski boots.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ski mount 4 has a lifting rod 1 attached to a cylinder 1 fixed to both sides of the vehicle body 2.
2 is fitted in such a way that it can be raised and lowered freely, and the lifting rod 12 is always urged downward by a spring 13 built into the cylinder 1). A suction cup 15 for adsorption is provided, and the
A retaining protrusion 16 is provided on the upper end of the rod 2 to prevent the front part of the ski 3 from sinking into the snow even on steep slopes of 10 degrees or more or in deep snow. It is preferable to incline the board mount 4 slightly and to incline the ski 3 forward and upward by about 10°.

In the above configuration, when an occupant rides on the vehicle body 2, the spring 13 is appropriately compressed by the load of the vehicle body 2 and the weight of the occupant, and the load on the vehicle body 2 is transferred to the skis other than the caterpillar 1. Since it is also supported by the plate 3, the ground (snow) surface area of the caterpillar 1 can be reduced, and the vehicle main body 2 can be made smaller accordingly. Further, even in soft snow such as deep snow, there is no fear that the vehicle body 2 sinks excessively into the snow, and the vehicle can travel easily. Furthermore, during the run, the compression and repulsion force of the spring 13 allows the ski Fi3 to reliably follow changes in the snow surface, and the amount that the caterpillar 1 digs into the snow surface can be reduced.

Further, since the ski 3 is swingably supported by the universal joint 14, the ski 3 can be freely tilted in the left-right direction as shown by the phantom line in FIG. The skis 3 can be tilted freely in the front and rear directions as shown in Figure 6, or can be turned horizontally as shown in the imaginary line in Figure 6. can be operated freely.

As the universal joint 14, a joint fitting such as a ball joint may be used, but as shown in the figure, it is preferable to use an elastic member made of rubber or the like. As a result, the tilted ski 3 can be quickly returned to the neutral position by the tensile reaction force specific to the elastic member.

A well-known manual suction device 16 is attached to the suction cup 15. After bringing the upper surface of the ski 3 into contact with the suction cup 15, simply pulling up the lever 16a of the suction device 16 creates a negative pressure inside the suction cup 15. state, and the suction cup 15 is attached to the ski 3
(4th solid line state). Conversely, by simply pulling down the lever 16a, the suction state of the suction cup 15 is released, and the ski 3 can be easily removed.

In place of the above suction cup 15, a mounting bracket 1 as shown in Part 7
8 may be used. This consists of a metal fitting body 18a fixed to the lower surface of the universal joint 14, and a pair of ski gripping pieces 18b, 18b arranged on both sides of the metal fitting body 18a. Natsu 19
By integrally connecting them, the ski 3 is held from both sides. Note that 20 is a spacer made of rubber or the like.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 22 denotes an arcuate snow retaining plate provided in front of the caterpillar 1, and the tips of a pair of support rods 23 and 23 protruding from the center of the inner surface of the plate are connected to the vehicle body. 2 into the engagement hole 24 formed on the front surface of the support rod 2.
It is attached to the front part of the traveling vehicle main body 2 by a fixing bolt 25 that presses against the track 3, and compacts snow during traveling to prevent the caterpillar 1 from spinning idly. When transporting the skis 3 and the vehicle body 2 separately, the snow retaining plate 22 is also removed from the vehicle body 2, thereby making transportation easier.

To explain the driving direction of a snow vehicle, as shown in FIG. 6 to rotate the caterpillar 1. This allows the snowmobile to travel on the snow, and while the snowmobile is traveling, the rider can freely maneuver the skis 3 using the legs using the universal joint 14 as a fulcrum, not only on a flat snow surface but also on a 30° It can reliably climb up and down slopes, and can adapt to any type of snow, including deep snow, powder snow, wet snow, rough snow, and icy snow.

As mentioned above, it can be operated freely by the legs of the occupant, and if necessary, as shown in FIG.
Since the snowmobile can also be operated at the same time, there is no need for a steering rudder, a steering wheel, or a mechanism for interlocking the two, which are provided in conventional snowmobile-type snow-traveling vehicles, and the snowmobile is therefore smaller and lighter. For example, the vehicle body 2
The length of the vehicle body is 70 cm, the width is 40 cm, and the height from the top surface of the traveling vehicle body 2 to the bottom surface of the caterpillar 1 is 5 cm.
It can be set to about 0c++1 and its weight can be set to about 20 to 30 kg. Therefore, trunk crew 7 of general passenger cars
-L can be stored sufficiently.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, after climbing a snowy mountain with the snowmobile, the skis 3 are removed from the vehicle body 2,
The occupant can also ski downhill using only the skis 3. In this case, the traveling vehicle body 2 left on the mountaintop may be recovered by a large snowmobile, or the traveling vehicle body 2 may be equipped with a radio control device with approximately 4 or 5 channels and returned by remote control. Furthermore, since the traveling vehicle main body 2 is small and lightweight, it may be carried downhill by a passenger on his or her back.

Next, to specifically explain the results of the experiment, the traveling vehicle body 2
A vehicle with a body length of 70 cm, a width of 40 cm, and a height of 50 ci+ was used, a commercially available gasoline engine with a maximum shaft torque of 0.38 kg was used as the prime mover, and skis 3 with a length of 1.8 m were used. The following results were obtained when a passenger weighing 70 kg boarded and operated a snow vehicle with a total weight of 30 kg.

■ If the slope angle of the snow surface is in the range of 0 to 30 degrees, and the snow quality is deep snow, powder snow, wet snow, rough snow, or icy snow, it can stably move along the slope at a speed of 4km/h+. I was able to drive.

■ Tilt both skis 3 to the left or right on deep snow, powder snow, wet snow, rough snow, or ice slopes with an inclination of 0 to 30° to the left or right, and adjust the left or right edge accordingly. When he took full advantage of it, he was able to stably pitch diagonally at a speed of 4 to 1) per hour.

■ Under the same conditions as in ■ above, when the left or right edge of the left or right ski 3 is applied depending on the left or right slope, the ski 3 stably rotates to the left or right at the speed of 1) in 3 per hour. I was able to pitch.

■ The tilt angle is 10 without skis 3 attached.
When I pitched along the slope direction on a wet snow slope of 1m,
As I moved forward, I fell down.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the first aspect of the present invention, the load on the vehicle body is supported not only by the caterpillars but also by temporary skis that are longer than the vehicle body, so that the ground contact (snow) area of the caterpillars is reduced. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the vehicle itself and to safely climb steep slopes without tipping over during travel.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the skis and the vehicle body can be separated separately, there is an advantage that it is easy to transport.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the degree of contact of the skis with the snow surface can be adjusted automatically according to the hardness and softness of the snow quality, it is possible to run smoothly regardless of the snow quality. .

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the skis can be operated freely on the snow by operating the skis using the legs of the occupant, the rudder for steering, the handle, and the mechanism for interlocking and connecting the two, which were provided in the prior art, are eliminated. Since this is not necessary, the length of the vehicle body can be shortened by that much, the vehicle body can be made smaller and lighter, and it can be manufactured at a lower cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a snow vehicle which is an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the same with a notch cut away, Fig. 3 is a front view of the same partially cut away, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the same main part. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of the same main part, FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the main part, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a usage method. 1... Caterpillar, 2... Running vehicle body, 3... Ski board, 4... Ski board mounting tool. Applicant Jaxtron Co., Ltd. Figure Figure

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A snow vehicle, which includes a pair of skis that are longer in the traveling direction than the vehicle body and attached to both sides of the vehicle body that has caterpillars for traveling on snow. (2) The snow vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the pair of skis are removably attached to ski attachments provided on both sides of the vehicle body. (3) Claim (1) or (2) wherein the pair of skis is attached to the ski mounting tool so as to be movable up and down.
). (4) The pair of skis is attached to the ski mounting tool so as to be tiltable forward, backward, left and right.
) or the snow vehicle described in (3).