JPH08258774A - Small motor-driven vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a small motor-driven vehicle which is so constituted as to simplify switching of the vehicle into a state wherein a passenger operates and a state wherein an assistant operates as the longitudinal length of a single one is maintained at a low value. CONSTITUTION: A small motor-driven vehicle is formed in such a manner that a rear car body 5B having a drive wheel 4 driven by an electric motor and a front car body 5A having a steering wheel 21 linked in a steering manner to a steering handle 1 are tandem arranged, and a seat 6 for a passenger is arranged above a rear car body 5B. A front car body 5A and a rear car body 5B are removably arranged, and an operation handle 1 is formed in such a manner that a mounting attitude to the front car body 5A is turned over in a longitudinal direction and the passenger seat 6 is formed in such a manner that a mounting attitude to the rear car body 5B is turned over in a longitudinal direction. Further, with the attitude of the operation handle 1 toward a rear, the front car body 5A is constituted to approach the rear car body 5B and coupled thereto.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small electric vehicle that can be operated by a person with difficulty walking, such as an elderly person or a physically handicapped person, and more particularly, a drive wheel driven by an electric motor. The present invention relates to a small electric vehicle in which a rear vehicle body having the same and a front vehicle body having steering wheels operably linked to a steering wheel are connected to each other and a passenger seat is provided on the rear vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a small electric vehicle of this type, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-100611, a steering wheel or the like is provided in front of a passenger seat so that a passenger can control the vehicle. The structure of the installed structure is well known, and a separate steering handle for the caregiver is provided after the boarding seat so that the caregiver can push the small electric car while walking, separately from the one operated by the passenger. Those having a different structure are also well known.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, since the dedicated steering handle for operating the caregiver is arranged behind the seat, the front-rear length of the vehicle body becomes large. At the same time, when the occupant is maneuvering, he / she operates without being aware that the caregiver's control handle is behind, so there is a risk that the caregiver's control handle may come into contact with other objects during steering. It was It is also possible that the user prepares a small electric vehicle that cannot be operated by a passenger but can be operated by a caregiver and a small electric vehicle that can only be operated by the operator so that they can use them appropriately. However, the user has to prepare two small electric vehicles, which is uneconomical. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to easily switch between a state in which an occupant can operate and a state in which a caregiver can operate while maintaining the front-rear length to be small. The purpose is to provide a small electric vehicle that can be used.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a small electric vehicle according to claim 1 of the present invention is capable of steering with a rear vehicle body having drive wheels driven by an electric motor, a steering wheel and a steering wheel. In a small electric vehicle in which a front vehicle body having steering wheels linked to the vehicle body is continuously provided and a passenger seat is provided on the rear vehicle body, the front vehicle body and the rear vehicle body are configured to be detachable. The steering handle is configured so that the mounting posture with respect to the front vehicle body can be reversed in the front-rear direction, and the riding seat can be configured so that the mounting posture with respect to the rear vehicle body can be reversed in the front-back direction. The front vehicle body is configured to be connected to the rear vehicle body in a state where the vehicle body is turned rearward.

A compact electric vehicle according to claim 2 of the present invention is
The small electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the front vehicle body and the rear vehicle body are configured such that a step portion for placing a foot of a seated person sitting on the passenger seat can be connected between the front vehicle body and the rear vehicle body, and the step portion is formed. It is characterized in that the front vehicle body and the rear vehicle body can be directly connected to each other in a detached state.

A compact electric vehicle according to claim 3 of the present invention is
The small electric vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising limit vehicle speed switching means for setting a limit maximum vehicle speed when the steering handle is facing rearward lower than a limit maximum vehicle speed when the steering handle is facing forward. This is a characteristic configuration. The operation and effect of this characteristic configuration are as follows.

[0007]

That is, according to the structure of claim 1, the front vehicle body and the rear vehicle body are configured to be detachable, and the steering handle is configured to be capable of reversing the mounting posture with respect to the front vehicle body in the front-rear direction. The passenger seat is configured so that the mounting posture with respect to the rear vehicle body can be reversed in the front-back direction, and further, the front vehicle body can be brought into close proximity to the rear vehicle body with the steering handle facing rearward, so that the passenger can board the vehicle. When operating by a person, the steering handle and the passenger seat should be facing forward so that the passenger sitting on the steering handle located in front of the passenger seat can control the vehicle. By changing the passenger seat to the rear and connecting the front car body with the steering handle in the state of being close to the rear car body, the caregiver will operate by shortening the front and rear length of the car body.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, when the passenger sits on the passenger seat and operates the steering wheel, he / she stands on the step and is stable. When the caregiver can operate the vehicle in a comfortable posture, the caregiver removes the step and operates the front vehicle body and the rear vehicle body in close proximity to each other.

Further, according to the structure of claim 3, in addition to the operation of claim 1, when the passenger operates the vehicle,
The traveling speed of the small electric vehicle can be made relatively high without worrying about the caregiver's walking speed, etc., while when the caregiver operates, it is limited to the traveling speed that matches the caregiver's walking speed. The maximum limit speed is automatically set so that the electric vehicle can be driven.

[0010]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily switch the single small electric vehicle between the state where the passenger can operate and the state where the caregiver can operate. You don't have to do the uneconomical thing of buying separate electric cars that can be used to control
In addition, the front-rear length of the vehicle body is kept short, resulting in a compact vehicle body structure and eliminating the need for a separate steering wheel for caregivers, which is difficult for the operator to check. Even when maneuvering, it has become possible to solve the problem that such a steering wheel is brought into contact with another object without knowing it.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the front-rear length of the vehicle body can be shortened by the number of steps to be removed when the caregiver operates the front-rear length of the vehicle body. Therefore, it is easy to operate.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, when the caregiver operates while walking, the small electric motor is operated only at a speed corresponding to the walking speed of the caregiver. Since the maximum speed limit is changed and set so that the car can travel, it does not run unreasonably high speed when the caregiver operates, and it can be made easy for the caregiver to operate, and the setting is done artificially. The annoyance has been eliminated.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show an example of a small electric vehicle according to the present invention. This small electric vehicle includes a single front wheel 2 as a steering wheel that is steered by a steering wheel 1.
A vehicle body frame 5 supported by a pair of left and right rear wheels 4 and 4 as driving wheels driven by an electric motor 3 is equipped with a riding seat 6, a battery 7, a control device 8 and the like.

The vehicle body frame 5 is a front frame 5A as a front vehicle body that supports the steering wheel 1 and the front wheels 2.
And a rear frame 5B as a rear vehicle body equipped with the rear wheels 4, 4, the electric motor 3, the passenger seat 6, the battery 7, the control device 8 and the like, and between the front frame 5A and the rear frame 5B. And an intermediate portion frame 5C connected to the frames 5A and 5B in a state of being disposed in the above. The respective frames 5A, 5B and 5C are configured to be integrally connected and separable from each other. The intermediate frame 5C is provided with a step portion 9 for allowing an occupant seated on the passenger seat 6 to rest his / her feet. The front and rear ends of the front-back pipe frame forming the middle frame 5C are fitted to the rear end of the pipe frame forming the front frame 5A and the front end of the pipe frame forming the rear frame 5B. The set bolts 16 and 16 are coupled so as to prevent them from coming off and being fixed in the fitted state. or,
As shown in FIG. 4, the rear end portion of the pipe frame of the front frame 5A and the front end portion of the pipe frame of the rear frame 5B can be directly fitted and connected without interposing the intermediate frame 5C. The size of the joint is set. Then, the front frame 5A and the rear frame 5B are directly connected to each other, and are set and fixed by the set bolts 16 and 16. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the rear end of the pipe frame of the intermediate frame 5C is
The rear frame 5B is constructed so that it can be fitted to the rear end of the pipe frame and can be fixed by the set bolt 16 in the fitted state, and the pipe frame of the rear frame 5B is arranged around the horizontal axis. The intermediate frame 5C is swingable so that the intermediate frame 5C can be placed horizontally on the step portion 9 and the intermediate frame 5C.
The posture can be maintained in the stored state in which C cannot be placed on the feet.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, of the steering handlebar 1, the steering box 1 installed on the upper end of the handle shaft 1A directly supported by the front frame 5A.
A pair of left and right handle grip rods 10, 10 are connected to B, and the handle grip rods 10,
Accelerator lever 1 that can be gripped together with 10 grips
1 is swingably supported on the control box 1B. A potentiometer for detecting the amount of swing of the accelerator lever 11 is provided in the control box 1B, and an electric wiring for transmitting a detection signal of the potentiometer to the control device 8 is wired from the control box 1B to the control device 8. There is. As described above, since the electric wiring can be divided into the front frame 5A, the rear frame 5B, and the intermediate frame 5C, the control box 1B is connected to the center wiring with the connector so that the wiring can be interrupted in the middle of the wiring. The control device 8 is connected to the wire. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the control box 1B is in a state of facing the front side with respect to the handle shaft 1A, and as shown in FIG.
It is provided so that the posture can be switched so that it is turned over and turned to the rear side. That is, the control box 1B fitted onto the upper end of the handle shaft 1A can be fixed to the handle shaft 1A with the set bolt 17 in each of the forward facing state and the backward facing state. further,
At the upper end of the handle shaft 1A, the control box 1B
A detection limit switch 12 capable of detecting whether the vehicle is in a forward posture or a backward posture is provided, and a detection signal of the limit switch 12 is input to the control device 8. That is, the control box 1B
Is forward, since it is separated from the switching operation protrusion (not shown) of the handle shaft 1A, the limit switch 12 does not perform a switching operation and outputs an OFF signal. On the other hand, when the control box 1B is facing rearward, the switching operation protrusion contacts the switch operating portion of the limit switch 12, so that the limit switch is switched and outputs an ON signal. When the OFF signal is input from the limit switch 12, the control device 8 performs the traveling control in which the maximum speed during forward movement corresponding to the forward rotation of the electric motor 3 is set to 6 km / h. When the ON signal is input from the limit switch 12, traveling control is performed in which the maximum speed during forward movement corresponding to the reverse rotation of the electric motor 3 is set to 2 kilometers per hour. Here, the limit switch 12 and the control device 8 are the limit vehicle speed switching means 15
Is composed. The maximum speed can be set to any value.

Further, the passenger seat 6 also has a forward posture as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 with respect to the seat support frame 13 erected on the rear frame 5B, and as shown in FIG.
It is mounted so as to be switchable to a rearward posture which is 180 degrees inverted with respect to the posture, and can be fixed by the lock tool 14 in a state in which the posture is changed to each of the forward and backward directions.

According to the above configuration, in the case of the usage mode in which the passenger operates, the steering handlebar 1 is set to face forward, that is, the steering box 1B is set to face forward, and the passenger seat 6 is placed.
Is also set to face forward, and the intermediate frame 5C is interposed between the front frame 5A and the rear frame 5B, and the operator seated on the seat 6 moves to the step 9 of the intermediate frame 5C. Be prepared to rest your feet. On the other hand, when the walking caregiver operates this small electric vehicle without the passenger operating the vehicle, the steering handle 1 is set rearward, that is, the control box 1B is set rearward, and the passenger seat 6
Also set backward, and remove the intermediate frame 5C from between the front frame 5A and the rear frame 5B,
The front frame 5A and the rear frame 5B are directly connected to each other, and the intermediate frame 5C is continuously provided on the rear part of the rear frame 5B as described above. As a result, when the caregiver operates in a push-push condition, the passenger seated in the passenger seat 6 simply sits with the foot resting on the step portion 9, and the carer operates the control box 1B. The operator operates the vehicle while swinging the accelerator lever 11.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiments, the intermediate frame provided with the step portion is configured to be detachable from the front frame and the rear frame, but the intermediate frame is used as the front frame and the rear frame. One of the frames is detachable, and the other one is switchable to a standing posture. The front frame and the rear frame are brought close to each other when the middle frame is in a standing posture. It may be configured to be directly connected in the state.

When the steering wheel 1 is configured to be extendable and retractable back and forth and is extended and used rearward in a caregiver operating state, the steering wheel 2 is easily moved away from the feet.

It should be noted that reference numerals are added to the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the accompanying drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing a small electric vehicle with a removable step part.

FIG. 2 is an overall side view showing a small electric vehicle in a boarding operation state.

FIG. 3 is an overall plan view showing a small electric vehicle in a boarding operation state

FIG. 4 is an overall side view showing a small electric vehicle under control of a caregiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Steering Handle 2 Steering Wheel 3 Electric Motor 4 Driving Wheel 5A Front Vehicle Body 5B Rear Vehicle Body 6 Riding Seat 9 Step Section 15 Limit Vehicle Speed Switching Means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rear vehicle body (5B) comprising drive wheels (4) driven by an electric motor (3) and a front portion comprising steering wheels (2) operably associated with a steering wheel (1). A small electric vehicle having a vehicle body (5A) connected thereto and a passenger seat (6) mounted on the rear vehicle body (5B), the front vehicle body (5A) and the rear vehicle body (5B). Is detachable, the steering handle (1) is reversible with respect to the front vehicle body (5A) in a front-back direction, and the passenger seat (6) is attached to the rear vehicle body (5B). ), The front vehicle body (5A) is placed in the rear vehicle body (5B) with the steering handle (1) facing rearward.
A small electric vehicle that can be connected close to the vehicle. 2. The front vehicle body (5A) and the rear vehicle body (5B) can be connected through a step portion (9) for placing a foot of a seated person seated on the passenger seat (6). The small electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the front vehicle body (5A) and the rear vehicle body (5B) can be directly connected to each other while the step portion (9) is removed. 3. A limit vehicle speed switching means (15) for setting a maximum limit vehicle speed when the steering handle (1) is facing rearward lower than a maximum limit vehicle speed when the steering handle (1) is facing forward. ) The small electric vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: