JPH09168570A - Electric walker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the capacity of an electric walker consisting of a motor driven body with a handle bar standing for a user to use as a walking stick to go forward stably and to turn smoothly. SOLUTION: This electric walker consists of a motor driven body 3 which moves on a drive wheel at the center in front and swinging wheels 2 with caster angles attached at right/left sides of the rear part of the body, and a handle bar 4 standing to support a user. When the electric walker turns, one of the swinging wheels 2 follows the drive wheel in the direction of the turn while the other swinging wheel is in the condition of going straight ahead.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric walking auxiliary vehicle in which a steering wheel rod for supporting a pedestrian is erected on a machine body driven by a motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric walking assist vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-285127 filed by the present applicant.
A handle rod is erected from the machine running by a motor, and a pedestrian holds this handle rod and uses it as a cane. The aircraft has one drive wheel on the front side and idle wheels with caster angles on the left and right sides of the rear side, and the drive wheels rotate at walking speed,
When turning, by applying a force in the turning direction to the handle bar, the idler wheels are oriented in the turning direction.

[0003]

In an electric walking assist vehicle in which the left and right two wheels on the rear side are idler wheels with caster angles, when the vehicle travels on a road surface inclined in the left-right direction, the inclination of the road surface is lowered downward. There is a tendency to drive and it is difficult to go straight. Also, when turning, it may suddenly turn too much. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve straight running stability and to prevent excessive turning during turning.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A steering wheel rod 4 for supporting a pedestrian is mounted on a machine body 3 which is driven by a driving wheel 1 at the front left and right center driven by a motor and free wheels 2 and 2 with caster angles provided on the left and right rear sides. In an electric walking assist vehicle that is erected, one idle wheel 2 remains straight while the other idle wheel 2 follows the turning direction when turning.

[0005]

When the electric assisted walking vehicle turns, the pedestrian pushes the handle bar 4 in the turning direction. Then, one idler wheel 2 becomes a turning resistance in a straight traveling state, and the other idler wheel 2 follows the turning direction, so that too lightly turning is prevented and an appropriate turning resistance is given to the pedestrian. . At the time of going straight, since there is one free wheel 2 that maintains the straight running state, the straight running state is maintained regardless of the lateral inclination of the road surface. If the outer idler wheel 2 should follow the turning direction while the inner idler wheel 2 remains straight when turning, it is possible to turn around the inner idler wheel 2 when turning and to make a relatively small turn. become.

[0006]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The overall structure of the electric walking assistance vehicle is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
As shown in, a motor, a battery, a control board (not shown), etc. are mounted on a machine body 3 equipped with a traveling device including a drive wheel 1 provided at the front left and right center and a pair of rear left and right idler wheels 2 and 2. Then, it is covered with a cover 10, and a pair of left and right handle rods 4 are provided upright from the left and right side portions of the machine body 3 obliquely rearward and upward.

The handle rod 4 is provided with a base handle rod 11 whose front and rear standing angles can be changed on the machine body 3 and a base handle rod 11 which is put in and out to change the height of the grip portion 12 at the tip. It consists of the operating handle rod 13
A travel control box 14 is provided on the upper portion of the operation handle rod 13.
With the pedestrian holding the grip 12, the pedestrian controls the running / stopping of the drive wheel 1 by rotating the accelerator lever 15 protruding from the running control box 14 with a finger. Further, the traveling control box 14 is provided with a key switch, an indicator for displaying the charging state of the battery, and the like.

A recess for accommodating small items is formed in the upper part of the cover 10, and a soft seat 17 is mounted on a cover plate 16 that opens and closes the recess so that a pedestrian can sit and rest. The mounting portions of the idler wheels 2 provided on the left and right rear sides of the machine body 3 are as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A mounting bracket 19 of the idler wheel 2 is attached to a boss portion 18 protruding from a part of the machine body 3. At the lower part of the mounting bracket 19, a mounting fork 20 with a caster angle that pivotally supports the idler wheel 2 is pivotally supported so as to be horizontally rotatable. A spiral guide surface 21 is provided near the upper end of the mounting fork 20, and a stop pin 22 is in contact with the guide surface 21.

The stop pin 22 is fixed to a restricting member 24 which is externally fitted and supported by a pin 23 projecting from the machine body 3, and the restricting member 24 is a spring 25 so that the stop pin 22 abuts on the guide surface 21. I am biased. The projecting piece 26 limits the rotation range of the regulating member 24, and contacts the pin 27 projecting on the machine body 3 to prevent the stop pin 22 from coming off from the guide surface 21. Left and right mounting forks 2
The guide surfaces 21 provided at 0 are reversely wound,
The free wheel 2 on the left rear side in FIG. 4 is capable of counterclockwise rotation A. In the reverse rotation, the stop pin 22 comes into contact with the end face 26 to restrict horizontal rotation. The idler wheel 2 on the right rear side is adapted to rotate in the opposite B direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view showing a part of the embodiment in section.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged side view of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged plan sectional view of an example.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 drive wheel 2 idler wheel 3 airframe 4 handle rod

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pedestrian is supported by a vehicle body (3) which is driven by a motor and is driven by a central drive wheel (1) on the front left and right sides and idle wheels (2), (2) provided on the rear left and right sides with caster angles. In an electric walking assistance vehicle with a handle rod (4) installed upright,
An electric walking assist vehicle characterized in that, when turning, one idle wheel (2) remains straight while the other idle wheel (2) follows the turning direction. 2. The electric walking assist vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the outer idler wheel (2) is adapted to follow the turning direction while the inner idler wheel (2) remains straight when turning.