JP2013006457A - Power-assisted cart - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To travel at a suitable speed in delivery and deliver to a destination within a building or the like, without relocating deliveries to another cart.SOLUTION: A power-assisted cart 10 includes: a rear wheel 32 that is a human-powered drive wheel driven by man power; a front wheel 20 that is a motor drive wheel driven by an assist motor 22 for making up for the shortage of man power; a platform portion 12 to which the front wheel 20 that is the motor drive wheel is mounted; a monocycle portion 30 which is connected to the platform portion 12, to which a pedal 36 for driving the rear wheel 32 that is the human-powered drive wheel and a saddle 34 for a person who pedals the pedal 36 are provided, and which can be folded to one of a rear part, and a right or left side part of the platform portion 12 when a person does not ride on the saddle 34; a control unit 24 for controlling the output power of the assist motor 22; and a storage battery 26 for feeding electrical power to the assist motor 22.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric assist cart, and more particularly, to an electric assist cart that can move a cart while assisting human power with a motor.

  A delivery truck or the like is used to deliver the delivery item. When the delivery destination is a tenant inside the building or each house in the apartment house building, the delivery is transferred from the delivery truck to the hand cart, and the delivery destination is reached by the cart.

  In the case of small-lot delivery, a bicycle with a loading platform or a bicycle with a cart may be used instead of a delivery truck. A motorcycle called a motorcycle may be used instead of a bicycle.

  According to road traffic laws and regulations, electric bicycles that can run on their own without foot heels and bicycles that use prime movers to supplement human power are formerly motorized bicycles called mopeds and the latter are electrically assisted bicycles. Differentiated. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an electrically assisted bicycle. Bicycles and motorbikes are distinguished by whether they are required to wear helmets or have automobile liability insurance. Electric assist bicycles are treated as bicycles. In addition, in order to be treated as a power-assisted bicycle, there are limitations on dimensions and the like. For example, the total length needs to be 1900 mm or less.

  As a technique related to the present invention, Patent Document 2 discloses a cooling delivery cart. Here, a moving wheel, a handle for pushing, a heat insulating box having a storage chamber for storing a delivery article, a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a storage battery, and a control device constituting a refrigeration cycle A configuration comprising

JP 2010-264977 A JP 2010-236818 A

  If a bicycle with a loading platform or a bicycle with a cart is used, in the case of a house with an entrance facing the road, it can be conveniently moved to the front of the entrance of the delivery destination using a car. However, if the delivery destination is a tenant inside the building, or if it is a house in an apartment building, it cannot be transferred to a cart. Will reach.

  As described above, since the delivery person enters the building while the bicycle with a loading platform is left outside the building, there is a concern that an accident may occur with other delivery items left on the bicycle with the loading platform. When you go to the destination by bicycle or motorcycle without using a luggage bag, etc., and then put the bicycle etc. outside the building and go to the delivery destination with the delivery bag , There will be no accidents with deliveries. However, the delivery items are limited to small ones, and the delivery items that need to be transported using the carriage cannot be delivered.

  It is an object of the present invention to travel at an appropriate speed that can be treated as an electrically assisted bicycle when delivering a delivery, and to deliver the delivery to a building or a delivery destination in a building without having to transfer it to a carriage. It is to provide an electric assist cart that can be delivered.

  An electric assist cart according to the present invention is connected to a manpower drive wheel driven by human power, a motor drive wheel driven by an assist motor for supplementing human power, a cart portion provided with the motor drive wheel, and the cart portion. A unicycle part provided with a pedal for driving a manpower drive wheel and a saddle for a person who pedals the pedal, and when the person does not get on the saddle, any one of the rear part and the left and right side parts of the carriage part A unicycle unit that can be folded, a control unit that controls the output of the assist motor, and a storage battery that supplies power to the assist motor.

  According to the above configuration, the electric assist cart is driven by a human-powered wheel and a motor-driven wheel while supplementing human power with a motor, and in a building or building, the unicycle part is folded and pushed or pulled by hand. Can be used as As a result, the delivery can be delivered to the building or a delivery destination in the building without being transferred to the carriage while being handled as an electric assist bicycle.

It is a block diagram which shows the state of the driving mode which carries the delivery thing by the electrically assisted trolley | bogie of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the state of the folding mode which mounted the delivery thing by the electrically assisted trolley | bogie of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure showing the whole electric assist cart composition of an embodiment concerning the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the element regarding electric assist in the electric assist cart of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the other trolley | bogie part in the electrically assisted trolley | bogie of embodiment which concerns on this invention. FIG. 6 is a bottom view of FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the structure of another trolley | bogie part in the electrically assisted trolley | bogie of embodiment which concerns on this invention. FIG. 8 is a bottom view of FIG. 7. It is a figure which shows the example which mounts cold-storage delivery equipment in the electrically assisted trolley | bogie of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the steering rotation radius in the electrically assisted trolley | bogie of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is an operation explanatory view of the electric assist cart of an embodiment concerning the present invention, and is a figure showing that a delivery thing is carried and it can run by electric assist. It is an operation explanatory view of an electric assisted trolley of an embodiment concerning the present invention, and is a figure showing that a unicycle part can be folded and a trolley part carrying a delivery thing can be pushed or guided. In another example of composition, it is a lineblock diagram showing the state of run mode. FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a state of a folding mode in the configuration example of FIG. 13.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the structure of the carriage part will be described with respect to a flat base plate provided with a pipe frame and a chair-like thing on which a car can be placed. The general configuration can be changed as appropriate. Although the description will be made assuming that a delivery item is placed on the carriage unit, if legally possible, an infant or a care recipient may be placed.

  In the following, an example of using two arms that intersect at the center of rotation and an example of using an arm that can be folded in two steps will be described as the folding mechanism of the unicycle, but if it can be folded by a simple operation, other mechanisms can be used. It may be used. The dimensions and the like described below are examples for explanation, and can be appropriately changed according to the specifications and the like of the electric assist cart.

  Below, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element in all the drawings, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted. In the description in the text, the symbols described before are used as necessary.

  1 and 2 are configuration diagrams of the electric assist cart 10. In these drawings, although not a component of the electric assist cart 10, a delivery product 8 is shown. The electric assist cart 10 has two modes in order to deliver a delivery quickly and accurately. One is a traveling mode shown in FIG. 1, in which the unicycle part 30 is deployed in order to travel to a destination by driving a pedal and supplementing the shortage with the assist motor 22. The other is the folding mode shown in FIG. 2, when the destination delivery destination is in a building or building, in order to move to the delivery destination by manually pushing or pulling the carriage unit 12. The unicycle part 30 is folded. In FIG. 2, the folding direction of the unicycle 30 is indicated by a white arrow.

  The electric assist cart 10 includes two front wheels 20 and includes a cart portion 12 on which a delivery item 8 can be mounted, and a unicycle portion 30 having one rear wheel 32, a saddle 34, and a pedal 36.

  The trolley | bogie part 12 is provided with the pipe frame which forms the division which can mount a delivery thing on the flat base plate. Of the pipe frame, the pull handle 14 provided at the front portion of the carriage unit 12 is used when a delivery person pulls the carriage unit 12 by hand. Further, the steering handle 16 provided at the rear part of the cart unit 12 is a handle operated by a delivery person in order to change the traveling direction of the cart unit 12 with respect to the unicycle unit 30. The pulling handle 14 is bent at an appropriate bending angle from the front part of the carriage unit 12 to the front side of the pipe rising from the carriage part 12 so that the delivery person can easily grasp the pulling handle 14 with his / her rear hand. The front end side of the pipe that rises from the carriage unit 12 is arranged on the carriage unit 12 so that a delivery person sitting on the saddle 34 can easily steer in the traveling mode and is easily pushed by hand in the folding mode. It is bent at an appropriate bending angle from the rear to the rear.

  At the rear part of the carriage unit 12, the steering handle 16 is provided across the left and right sides of the carriage unit 12. That is, both ends of the pipe provided on the left and right sides at the upper part of the carriage part 12 fall toward the carriage part 12 and become left and right leg parts. The central pipe 18 provided between the left and right leg portions corresponds to the steering central axis of the carriage unit 12 when the steering handle 16 is operated. In that sense, the central pipe 18 can be called a steering shaft of the electric assist cart 10.

  The front wheel 20 provided in the cart unit 12 is a rolling wheel when the cart unit 12 is moved. The front wheels 20 are provided on both the left and right sides on the front side of the carriage unit 12. The two front wheels 20 on the left and right sides are attached to the left and right ends of the axle supported in the width direction of the carriage unit 12. The axle is rotatably supported with respect to the carriage unit 12. The assist motor 22 provided in each of the two front wheels 20 is a DC direct motor whose output shaft is directly attached to the front wheel 20 and is driven by DC power. Such an assist motor 22 is generally called a hub motor or a wheel motor. Since the front wheel 20 includes the assist motor 22, it can be called an assist drive wheel. The assist motor 22 may be provided on one side without being provided on both the left and right front wheels 20. Alternatively, the left and right front wheels 20 may be connected by one drive shaft, and one assist motor 20 may be provided on the drive shaft.

  The control unit 24 provided under the floor of the carriage unit 12 has a function of controlling the output of the assist motor 22 using the DC power of the storage battery 26. Specific functions of the control unit 24 will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The unicycle 30 has a single rear wheel 32, a saddle 34, and a pedal 36, and functions as a unicycle that enables a delivery person sitting on the saddle 34 to rotate the rear wheel 32 by driving the pedal 36. Have When this function is used, the unicycle unit 30 is configured to be developed as shown in FIG. In addition, the unicycle part 30 can be used by the courier for the delivery of the rear wheel 32, so that the courier can get off the saddle 34 and use the rear wheel 32 as a single rolling wheel. Can be folded. When this function is used, the unicycle 30 is in the folded form of FIG.

  In the unicycle 30, the rear wheel support shaft 40 has a rear wheel 32 attached to one end side and an upper attachment portion 50 provided to the other end. The upper mounting portion 50 is a member that is slidably supported on the upper side of the central pipe 18 that is a steering shaft. Specifically, the upper mounting portion 50 has a through hole that can slide on the outer peripheral portion of the central pipe 18. The upper mounting portion 50 is provided with a rotation center shaft corresponding to a rotation hole provided at the other end of the rear wheel support shaft 40. Instead, a rotation hole may be provided in the upper mounting portion 50 and a rotation center shaft may be provided at the other end of the rear wheel support shaft 40.

  With this configuration, the other end of the rear wheel support shaft 40 can move along the axial direction of the central pipe 18 and can swing at the upper mounting portion 50 to change the angle of the central pipe 18 with respect to the axial direction. Is possible. By restricting the range of movement of the upper mounting portion 50 along the axial direction of the central pipe 18 with an appropriate stopper, the angle of the rear wheel support shaft 40 and the central pipe 18 with respect to the axial direction can be restricted. That is, in the traveling mode, the axial direction of the rear wheel support shaft 40 with respect to the axial direction of the central pipe 18 is set to a predetermined angle, and in the folding mode, the axial direction of the rear wheel support shaft 40 is set to the central pipe 18. It can be made substantially parallel to the axial direction.

  In the unicycle 30, the saddle support shaft 42 has a saddle 34 attached to one end side, and a lower attaching portion 52 provided on the other end side. The lower attachment portion 52 is attached to the lower end of the central pipe 18 that is a steering shaft. The lower mounting portion 52 is provided with a rotation center shaft corresponding to a rotation hole provided at the other end of the saddle support shaft 42. Instead of this, a rotation hole may be provided in the lower mounting portion 52, and a rotation center axis may be provided at the other end of the saddle support shaft 42.

  With this configuration, the other end of the saddle support shaft 42 can be swung at the lower mounting portion 52 without moving along the axial direction of the central pipe 18, and the angle of the central pipe 18 with respect to the axial direction can be changed. It becomes. That is, in the traveling mode, the axial direction of the saddle support shaft 42 with respect to the axial direction of the central pipe 18 is set to a predetermined angle, and in the folding mode, the axial direction of the saddle support shaft 42 is substantially parallel to the axial direction of the central pipe 18. It can be.

  In this way, the unicycle 30 is rotatably attached to the central pipe 18 that is the steering shaft of the carriage 12 by the upper mounting portion 50 of the rear wheel support shaft 40 and the lower mounting portion 52 of the saddle support shaft 42. Here, the rear wheel support shaft 40 and the saddle support shaft 42 cross each other and can rotate relative to each other at the rotation center 44 so that the unicycle part 30 can be developed and folded. The That is, the rear wheel support shaft 40 and the saddle support shaft 42 are arranged in an X shape with the rotation center 44 as the center.

  As described above, the saddle support shaft 42 is fixed to the lower portion of the central pipe 18 by the lower mounting portion 52. Therefore, when the saddle 34 at one end of the saddle support shaft 42 is moved to the steering handle 16 side, the saddle support shaft 42 rotates. The rear wheel support shaft 40 also rotates about the center 44, and the rear wheel 32 on one end side of the rear wheel support shaft 40 also moves to the cart unit 12 side. Thereby, the unicycle part 30 can change a form between the form to expand | deploy and the form to be folded.

  On one end side of the rear wheel support shaft 40, a pedal conversion unit 54, a conversion shaft unit 46, and a tip drive unit 56 are provided, and the rear wheel 32 is attached to the tip drive unit 56. The pedal conversion unit 54 is a part including a mechanism that converts the rotational driving force around the rotation axis of the pedal 36 generated by the delivery person stroking the pedal 36 into the rotational driving force around the axis of the conversion shaft portion 46. The conversion shaft portion 46 includes a conversion shaft therein, and has a function as a driving force transmission shaft that transmits a rotational driving force around the axis of the conversion shaft to the tip driving portion 56. The tip drive unit 56 includes a mechanism that converts a rotational driving force around the axis of the conversion shaft into a rotational driving force around the central axis of the rear wheel 32, and has a function of rotationally driving the rear wheel 32.

  Thus, the delivery person sits on the saddle 34 and the pedal 36 is pedaled with both feet, so that the rear wheel 32 is rotationally driven. Therefore, the rear wheel 32 can be referred to as a manpower driven wheel.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1, but is an overall configuration diagram of the electric assist cart 10 on which the delivery item 8 is not mounted. In FIG. 3, although the form which the unicycle part 30 is expand | deployed is shown, the mode of a movement of each element when moving to the form folded is shown by the white arrow.

  That is, when it is desired to move from the form in which the unicycle part 30 is deployed to the form in which it is folded, the delivery person holds the saddle 34 and moves it to the steering handle 16 side. As a result, the saddle support shaft 42 rotates in the direction of the white arrow with the lower mounting portion 52 as the center of rotation. At that time, since the rear wheel support shaft 40 and the saddle support shaft 42 are connected to intersect at the rotation center 44, the upper mounting portion 50 of the rear wheel support shaft 40 extends in the direction of the white arrow along the central pipe 18. To slide. Then, the rear wheel 32 moves to the cart unit 12 side as indicated by the white arrow. In this way, when the delivery person performs a simple operation to move the saddle 34 to the cart unit 12 side, the unicycle unit 30 is moved from the deployed configuration to the folded configuration.

FIG. 3 shows the total length of the electric assist cart 10 as L _T when the unicycle part 30 is deployed, and L _C when it is folded. As an example, the total length L _T of when deployed, the electric assist cart 10 can be within the dimensions permitted regulations on the power-assisted bicycle. Specifically, the following 1900mm to L _T. The total length L _C when folded is preferably set to a size that allows the electric assist cart 10 to enter the elevator. Although the opening width of the elevator door is not uniform depending on the elevator model, for example, it is preferable to set L _C to 900 mm or less. The width W of the carriage unit 12 is smaller than L _C , and can be about 600 mm, for example.

  The hood portion 80 shown in FIG. 3 is a cover that covers the upper portion of the cart portion 12 when it is raining or under hot weather, for example. The hood 80 can be extended to the top of the saddle 34 to cover the delivery person's head or the like sitting on the saddle 34. An appropriate sheet can be used as the hood 80. The hood hanging portions 82 and 84 are attached to the pull handle 14 and the steering handle 16 and are support portions for hanging the hood portion 80. As the hood hanging portions 82 and 84, a pipe material or a bar material having an attachment portion that can be attached to and detached from the pull handle 14 and the steering handle 16 at one end and an attachment portion to the hood portion 80 at the other end is used. Can do.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram in which constituent elements relating to the manual driving and the electric assist of the electric assist cart 10 are extracted. Here, an assist motor 22 provided on the front wheel 20, a control unit 24 provided below the floor of the carriage unit 12, a storage battery 26, and the rear wheel 32 are shown.

  Among the components around the rear wheel 32, the pedal conversion unit 54 includes a pedal bevel gear 60 that is rotated by the rotation of the pedal 36, a conversion shaft bevel gear 64 that meshes with the pedal bevel gear 60, and a rotation shaft of the pedal bevel gear 60. A torque sensor 72 connected to 62 is provided. The rotation shaft 62 of the pedal bevel gear 60 and the rotation shaft 66 of the conversion shaft bevel gear 64 are set in directions orthogonal to each other, so that the rotational driving force around the rotation shaft of the pedal 36 is around the shaft of the conversion shaft portion 46. It is converted into the rotational driving force. A rotation shaft 66 of a conversion shaft bevel gear 64 is disposed inside the conversion shaft portion 46.

  The tip drive unit 56 includes a slide bearing 68 and a drive conversion mechanism 70. When the unicycle part 30 is deployed, the slide bearing 68 transmits the rotational driving force of the rotary shaft 66 of the conversion shaft bevel gear 64 to the drive conversion mechanism 70 as it is, and the unicycle part 30 is folded. Has a function of not transmitting the rotational driving force of the rotation shaft 66 of the conversion shaft bevel gear 64 to the drive conversion mechanism 70 by pulling the rotation shaft 66 of the conversion shaft bevel gear 64 upward in the axial direction. Specifically, a convex portion extending along the axial direction is provided on the rotating shaft 66, and a groove that engages with the convex portion is provided along the axial direction as the slide bearing 68, and the meshing length of the convex portion and the groove is appropriately set. The set one can be used.

  As described above, when the unicycle 30 is folded, the power transmission between the pedal 36 and the rear wheel 32 is disconnected by the function of the slide bearing 68 of the tip drive unit 56. As a result, the rear wheel 32 can freely rotate regardless of the state of the pedal 36.

  The drive conversion mechanism 70 of the tip drive unit 56 has a function of converting the rotational drive force around the rotational shaft 66 into the rotational drive force around the rotational shaft of the rear wheel 32. The drive conversion mechanism 70 can use a mechanism such as a set of bevel gears whose rotation axes are orthogonal to each other.

  Returning to the pedal conversion unit 54 again, the torque sensor 72 is a torque detecting means for detecting the torque of the rotating shaft 62 of the pedal bevel gear 60. Since the product of the torque and the rotational speed is power, when the rotational speed of the rotary shaft 62 and the rotational speed of the rear wheel 32 are the same, it is assumed that there is no power loss from the pedal 36 to the rear wheel 32 and the torque sensor 72. The detected torque becomes an input torque to the rear wheel 32 which is a manpower driven wheel. That is, the torque sensor 72 is means for detecting the input torque to the rear wheel 32.

The control unit 24 has a function of controlling the output level of the assist motor 22 based on the speed of the electric assist cart 10 and the input torque to the rear wheel 32 detected by the torque sensor 72. Specifically, the ratio of the power input to the rear wheel 32 and the power input to the front wheel 20 is set in advance according to the speed of the electric assist cart 10, and is input to the front wheel 20 based on the setting. Power, that is, the output of the assist motor 22 is determined.

  An example of the assist ratio, which is the ratio of the motor power input to the front wheels 20 to the human power input to the rear wheels 32, shows the maximum assist ratio when the speed of the electric assist cart 10 is 10 km / h or less. Assist ratio = 2. That is, the assist motor 22 can output up to twice the power of human power. This assist ratio gradually decreases from 2 from 10 km / h to 24 km / h, and the assist ratio becomes 0 when the speed of the electric assist cart 10 is 24 km / h. When the diameter of the front wheel 20 and the diameter of the rear wheel 32 are different, the power ratio and the torque ratio are not the same. When the diameter of the front wheel 20 is twice that of the rear wheel 32, the power of the front wheel 20 is twice that of the rear wheel 32 even with the same torque. Therefore, in this example, the power assist ratio = 2 is the torque assist ratio = 1.

  In this way, the control unit 24 changes the assist ratio according to the speed of the electric assist cart 10 and determines the power of the assist motor 22 relative to the human power input by the pedal 36. When the power is determined, necessary power is supplied to the assist motor 22 using the DC power of the storage battery 26.

  The storage battery 26 is a chargeable / dischargeable secondary battery. As the storage battery 26, a lithium ion battery or the like can be used. The storage battery 26 can be charged by removing the storage battery 26 from the bottom of the carriage unit 12 and connecting it to an appropriate external charging device. Or it is good also as what shall provide a non-contact-type charge connection part and charge by wireless power transmission. The non-contact type charging connection unit can be configured by a power receiving unit that receives AC power and a power converter that converts the received AC power into DC power.

  In the above description, the two front wheels 20 are provided on the carriage unit 12. However, the front wheel 20 may be a main wheel, and a caster wheel may be provided on the carriage unit 12. The caster wheel has a function in which the traveling direction of the wheel is rotatable with respect to the carriage unit 12. Since the traveling direction of the main wheel is fixed with respect to the carriage part 12, the steerability of the carriage part 12 is improved by providing the caster wheel. Although the number of caster wheels may be one for the cart unit 12, the loadable load of the cart unit 12 can be increased by providing two caster wheels.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the front wheel 20 described in FIG. 1 is used as a main wheel and disposed on the rear side of the carriage unit 12 and a pair of left and right caster wheels 28 is provided on the front side of the carriage unit 12. The front wheel 20 is provided with an assist motor 22 as in the case of FIG. FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the configuration of FIG. As shown here, the front wheel 20 which is the main wheel has a traveling direction as a wheel fixed to the carriage unit 12, but the caster wheel 28 can rotate with respect to the carriage unit 12 as a wheel. is there. Here, the two caster wheels 28 are independently rotatable.

  In addition, although the rear wheel 32 travels as a wheel in a fixed direction with respect to the rear wheel support shaft 40, the rear wheel support shaft 40 can rotate with respect to the carriage unit 12, so the rear wheel 32 travels as a wheel. The direction is rotatable with respect to the carriage unit 12. In FIG. 6, the rotation direction of the rear wheel 32 is indicated by an arrow in that sense.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the front wheel 20 described in FIG. 1 is used as a main wheel and is arranged as it is on the front side of the carriage unit 12 and a pair of left and right caster wheels 28 are provided on the rear side of the carriage unit 12. The front wheel 20 is provided with an assist motor 22 as in the case of FIG. FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the configuration of FIG. As shown here, the rear wheel 32 is the same as in FIG. The front wheel 20 that is the main wheel has a traveling direction as a wheel that is fixed with respect to the carriage unit 12, but the caster wheel 28 can rotate with respect to the carriage unit 12 in the traveling direction as a wheel. Again, the two caster wheels 28 can rotate independently of each other.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the cold storage and delivery facility 90 is mounted on the cart unit 12. FIG. 9 shows a state where the upper lid of the cold insulation delivery facility 90 is removed. The cold insulation delivery facility 90 includes a cold insulation housing 92, a cooling unit 94 including a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator that form a refrigeration cycle, and a storage battery 96 that drives the cooling unit 94. This storage battery 96 is different from the storage battery 26 for the assist motor 22. In some cases, the storage battery 96 and the storage battery 26 may be integrated when the cold insulation delivery facility 90 is fixedly attached to the carriage unit 12.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the steering performance of the electric assist cart 10. Here, the two modes of the electric assist cart 10 are distinguished from each other. That is, in FIG. 10, the electric assist cart 100 is of a folding mode in which the unicycle part 30 is folded. Further, the electric assist cart 104 is of a travel mode in which the unicycle part 30 is developed.

In the case of the electric assist cart 100, since the unicycle 30 is folded, the delivery person operates the steering handle 16 to change the direction of the cart 12. In this case, the minimum turning radius _RC is a distance from the center of the line connecting the two front wheels 20 to the steering handle 16 at the center of rotation. In the above example, when L _C = 900 mm, R _C is slightly larger than L _C. FIG. 10 shows a state of the electric assist cart 102 when the steering wheel is rotated with the minimum rotation radius _RC .

In the case of the electric assist cart 104, since the unicycle 30 is deployed, the delivery person sits on the saddle 34 and operates the steering handle 16. The saddle 34 is supported by a saddle support shaft 42 and rotates around the central pipe 18 which is a steering shaft. In FIG. 10, the saddle 35 is shown rotated around the central pipe 18. If the area of the triangle connecting the position of the saddle 35 and the position of the two front wheels 20 becomes too large, the traveling stability of the electric assist cart 10 is lowered. Therefore, there is a limit on the rotation of the saddle 35, and therefore, there is a limit on the minimum turning radius _RT of the steering. In the above example, when W = 600 mm and L _T = 1900 mm, R _T is a value slightly larger than this L _T. FIG. 10 shows a state of the electric assist cart 106 when the steering is rotated with the minimum rotation radius _RT .

  The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 shows a traveling mode in which the unicycle part 30 is developed in the electric assist cart 10, and the delivery person 6 sits on the saddle 34 and pedals 36 with both feet. In the traveling mode, assistance from the assist motor 22 is received according to the traveling speed of the electric assist cart 10. Therefore, when the delivery item 8 is large in mass, the pedal 36 is heavy and the traveling speed does not increase, the output of the assist motor 22 is increased, and the traveling can be performed smoothly. In this way, delivery items can be transported more easily than traveling by bicycle.

  In this way, when the delivery item arrives at the delivery destination, the delivery person 6 descends from the saddle 34 and brings the saddle 34 toward the cart unit 12 side. As described above, when the saddle 34 is brought closer to the carriage unit 12 side, the rear wheel 32 is also brought closer to the carriage unit 12 side. Thus, the unicycle part 30 becomes a folded form.

FIG. 12 shows a state in which the delivery person 6 is pushing the steering handle 16 by hand using the folding mode in which the unicycle part 30 is folded in the electric assist cart 10. For example, when the delivery destination is a building or the inside of a building, in the travel mode of FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, the electric assist cart 10 is moved in a building or the like by hand in the folding mode. The total length L _C of the electric assist cart 10 in the folding mode is shorter than the total length L _{T in} the traveling mode of FIG. 11 and is dimensioned to be able to get into the elevator.

  In FIG. 12, instead of hand pushing, the state where the delivery person 6 is pulling with the pull handle 14 is shown as a reference. Thus, the electric assist cart 10 can be pushed by hand or pulled depending on the state of delivery.

  Note that the assist motor 22 does not operate when the unicycle 30 is in the folding mode. Here, a special assist switch may be provided to operate the assist motor 22 within a limited range. The range limited in advance can be set to a level that can appropriately ensure the walking speed of the delivery person 6 when manually pushing or pulling. For example, the assist motor 22 can be operated at a maximum traveling speed of 6 km / h. 6 km / h is an example, and different conditions may be used.

  In the above description, it has been described that the rear wheel 32 is brought close to the rear portion of the carriage unit 12 when the unicycle unit 30 is folded. Instead of this, the rear wheel 32 may be folded with respect to one of the left and right sides of the carriage unit 12. In this case, the lower mounting portion 52 of the saddle support shaft 42 is rotatable around the axis of the central pipe 18. Note that the upper mounting portion 50 of the rear wheel support shaft 40 is slidable in the axial direction of the central pipe 18, so that it can rotate around the axis of the central pipe 18. Therefore, the rear wheel 32 can be brought closer to the left side or the right side of the carriage unit 12 by rotating the unicycle unit 30 around the axis of the central pipe 18 while folding the unicycle unit 30.

  In the above description, the configuration of the unicycle 30 is configured such that the rear wheel support shaft 40 and the saddle support shaft 42 intersect with each other in a rotatable state at the rotation center 44, so that the unfolded form and the folded form are possible. FIGS. 13 and 14 show other configuration examples for enabling the unicycle portion to take a developed form and a folded form.

  The electric assist cart 120 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is configured such that a shopping basket 9 can be placed on a chair-shaped cart portion 122. Here, a left and right arm 126 and an intermediate shaft 132 that support the two front wheels 20 are rotatably attached to a transition shaft 124 provided in the carriage unit 122. The left and right arms 126 and the intermediate shaft 132 integrally rotate at the same angle with respect to the transition shaft 124. A rear wheel support shaft 134 is rotatably attached to the tip of the intermediate shaft 132. The rotation of the rear wheel support shaft 134 is limited to a preset rotation angle by a stopper means or the like. The set rotation angle is the travel mode in which the unicycle part 130 is deployed. FIG. 13 shows the electric assist cart 120 in the travel mode.

  The saddle support shaft 136 is rotatably supported by the rear wheel support shaft 134. A pedal converter 138 to which the pedal 36 is attached is also provided on the rear wheel support shaft 134. The pedal converter 138 is a gear connected to the rear wheel 32 and the chain 140. That is, the electric assist cart 120 is connected to the gear wheel rotated by the pedal 36 and the rear wheel 32 by the chain 140 like an ordinary bicycle. The assist motor 22 is provided on the front wheel 20.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a folding mode in which the electric assist cart 120 is folded. Here, when the rear wheel support shaft 134 is moved toward the carriage portion 122, the left and right arms 126 and the intermediate shaft 132 rotate integrally with respect to the transition shaft 124, and approach the rear wheel support shaft 134 side. Accordingly, the height position of the carriage unit 122 is slightly higher than that in the case of FIG. In this case, since the pedal 36 and the rear wheel 32 are connected by the gear 140 with the pedal converter 138 and the chain 140, a complicated mechanism such as the tip drive unit 56 described in FIG. The rear wheel 32 can freely rotate regardless of the state of the pedal 36. In this way, the unicycle part 130 is folded.

  The electric assist cart according to the present invention can be used as a vehicle means that travels at an appropriate speed and delivers a delivery.

  6 Delivery person, 8 Delivery item, 10, 100, 102, 104, 106, 120 Electric assist cart, 12, 122 cart section, 14 pull handle, 16 steering handle, 18 center pipe (steering shaft), 20 front wheel (motor drive) Wheel), 22 assist motor, 24 control unit, 26, 96 storage battery, 28 caster wheel, 30, 130 unicycle part, 32 rear wheel (man-powered drive wheel), 34, 35 saddle, 36 pedal, 40, 134 rear wheel support shaft 42, 136 Saddle support shaft, 44 center of rotation, 46 conversion shaft, 50 upper mounting portion, 52 lower mounting portion, 54 pedal conversion portion, 56 tip drive portion, 60 pedal bevel gear, 62, 66 rotation shaft, 64 conversion Shaft bevel gear, 68 slide bearing, 70 drive conversion mechanism, 72 torque sensor, 80 hood, 82,84 hood hook, 90 cold insulation Transmission facilities, 92 cold housing section, 94 cooling unit, 124 over shaft 126 left and right arms, 132 intermediate shaft 138 pedal conversion unit, 140 chain.

Claims (7)

Human-powered wheels driven by human power;
Motor-driven wheels driven by an assist motor to supplement the human power;
A carriage unit provided with the motor drive wheel;
A unicycle part connected to the carriage part and provided with a pedal for driving the human-powered wheels and a saddle for a person who rides the pedal, the rear part of the carriage part when the person does not get on the saddle and A unicycle that can be folded against either one of the left and right sides;
A control unit for controlling the output of the assist motor;
A storage battery for supplying power to the assist motor;
Electric trolley equipped with. In the electric assist cart according to claim 1,
The unicycle part is
The electric assist cart, which is rotatably attached to a steering shaft provided at the rear portion of the cart portion. In the electric assist cart according to claim 1,
The unicycle part is
The electric assist cart according to claim 1, wherein when being folded to the rear portion of the cart portion, power transmission between the manpower driven wheels and the pedal is cut off and the free wheel can be freely rotated. In the electric assist cart according to claim 1,
An electrically assisted trolley comprising a pull handle provided at the front portion of the trolley for manually pulling the trolley. In the electric assist cart according to claim 1,
The cart section is
A pair of left and right motor drive wheels in which the traveling direction of the wheels is fixed to the carriage unit;
A caster wheel in which the traveling direction of the wheel is rotatable with respect to the carriage unit;
An electrically assisted cart comprising: In the electric assist cart according to claim 1,
An electric assist cart comprising a top cover for covering a top of the cart portion. In the electric assist cart according to claim 1,
An electrically assisted cart comprising a non-contact type charging connection for charging the storage battery.

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