JPH0699871A - Portable bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a front wheel driving type portable bicycle simple in structure with accelerating mechanism and constituted in such a way that a front wheel and a rear wheel can be rotated to be enclosed in a body. CONSTITUTION:An internal-tooth large diameter gear 17 provided with a pedal 18 is rotatably fitted to a front wheel fork 13. A small diameter gear 16 is engaged with the large diameter gear 17, and this small diameter gear 16 is connected to a front wheel 15. At the time of folding a bicycle, the front wheel 15 is rotated counterclockwise around a pin 11 so as to be enclosed inside of a hollow body 1, in its curved recessed part 3a. A rear wheel 21 is rotated counterclockwise around a pin 20 so as to be enclosed inside of the hollow body 1. The upper shaft 6b of a handle shaft 6 is enclosed in a hollow lower shaft 6a. A handle 9 is folded at a point P, and the pedal 18 is also folded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable bicycle,
Particularly, the present invention relates to a portable bicycle having front wheels and rear wheels that can be folded inside the main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, bicycles have been widely used for outdoor sports, and along with this, they are often carried and used at remote places such as travel destinations. Therefore, various bicycles having excellent portability have been proposed and are commercially available. The folding bicycle disclosed in JP-A-57-107971 rotates the handle by 180 ° to fold the front wheel to the rear while folding the handle, and pushes down the handle to push the saddle into the accommodation space of the vehicle body. It hangs.

However, this Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-107971
The foldable bicycle disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication has a problem in that the distance between the front wheel and the rear wheel during folding is almost the same as the distance during use, and the folding bicycle is not so compact when folded and has poor portability. The folding bicycle disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-205284 solves the above-mentioned problem. The front wheel hawk and the rear wheel hawk are rotated to turn the front wheel and the rear wheel into a case-shaped main body. In addition to being accommodated, the handle and the saddle can also be accommodated in the case-shaped main body. In this foldable bicycle, both the front wheels and the rear wheels are rotated to be housed in the case-shaped main body, and therefore, the foldable bicycle is very compact when folded and has excellent portability.

[0004]

However, JP-A-57 / 57
The folding bicycle disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 205284 is
Since it is a rear-wheel drive type using a chain, there is a problem that the structure becomes very complicated due to the processing of the chain when folded. Further, there is a problem that the running speed cannot be increased because the rear wheels are small. A front wheel drive type bicycle is also known as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-48396, but this bicycle is not a foldable type and lacks portability. Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to
An object of the present invention is to provide a front-wheel-drive type portable bicycle having a very simple structure, capable of rotating front wheels and rear wheels to be housed in a main body, and having a speed increasing mechanism.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, a portable bicycle according to the present invention comprises a pair of body plates spaced apart from each other and a connecting portion for connecting a part of these body plates. A hollow main body having a U-shaped cross section, a saddle provided on the upper part of the main body, a lower shaft rotatably supported by the main body, and an upper shaft attached to the upper end of the lower shaft and having a handle on the upper part. A handle shaft composed of a lower shaft, a stay receiver fixed to the lower end of the lower shaft, and a use position and a folding position where the stay receiver is fitted in a plane substantially parallel to the body plate. As possible, a stay attached to the stay receiver, a front wheel hawk fixed to the stay, a large diameter front wheel rotatably attached to the front wheel hawk via a front wheel axle, and both sides of the front wheel axle. At the above A pair of small gears coaxially connected to each other, a pair of internal gears rotatably attached to the front wheel hawk so as to mesh with the small gears, and the large gears to rotate the large gears. A pair of foldable pedals attached to, and a rear wheel fork attached to the rear portion of the body so as to be rotatable between a use position and a folding position in a plane substantially parallel to the body plate, A rear wheel rotatably attached to the rear wheel hawk, the rear wheel having a diameter smaller than that of the front wheel, and the front wheel and the rear wheel when the stay and the rear wheel hawk are respectively rotated to the folding positions. Is stored in a space between the pair of body plates.

In this structure, the stay rotates toward the rear wheel when rotating from the use position to the folding position, and the rear wheel hawk folds from the use position to the folding position. When turning to the position, it is desirable to turn toward a direction away from the front wheel in the above-mentioned use position. Further, the main body and the saddle are integrally molded products of fiber reinforced plastic, the lower shaft of the handle shaft is a hollow shaft, the upper shaft can be housed in the hollow inside of the lower shaft, the handle is It is preferably foldable.

[0007]

In operation, the large gear having the inner teeth is rotated by the driving force from the pedal, and this rotation causes the front wheel to rotate via the small gear. Since the large gear and the small gear constitute a speed increasing mechanism and the front wheels have a large diameter, the bicycle can run at high speed. In the folding, the front wheel and the rear wheel are respectively stored in the spaces between the pair of main body plates by rotating the stay and the rear wheel hawk to the respective folding positions. Since both the front wheels and the rear wheels are rotated and stored between the body plates, they can be folded very compactly.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of a portable bicycle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG.
The main body 1 of the bicycle is a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) in which a saddle 2 is integrally formed on a part of the upper portion thereof.
It is an integrally molded product. The main body 1 has a U-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 2, and a pair of flat plate-like main body plates 3 and 3 which are separated from each other and a connection for connecting a part of these main body plates 3 and 3. And a space 4 for accommodating wheels therein. The body plates 3 and 3 are hook-shaped and have a curved recess 3a at the bottom. The handle shaft 6 includes a hollow lower shaft 6a rotatably supported by bearings 7 and 8 in the main body 1, and an upper shaft 6 attached to an upper end of the lower shaft 6a.
b. The upper shaft 6b can be housed in the lower shaft 6a. A handle 9 is attached to the upper end of the upper shaft 6b, and the handle 9 is foldable at a point P.

A stay receiver 10 is fixed to the lower end of the lower shaft 6a, and a stay 12 is rotatably attached to one end of the stay receiver 10 by a pin 11. The stay 12 rotates between a use position (the position shown in FIG. 1, the two-dot chain line position in FIG. 4) and a folding position (the solid line position in FIG. 4) in a plane substantially parallel to the body plate 3. , In this use position, the stay receiver 10 is fitted and, in this state, the stay receiver 1
It is locked at the other end of 0. This locking is performed by an automatic locking device (not shown) such as a ratchet type latch.

A front wheel hawk 13 is fixed to the stay 12, and a large diameter front wheel 15 is rotatably attached to the front wheel hawk 13 via a front wheel axle 14. Front wheel axle 1
A pair of small gears 16, 16 are coaxially attached to the front wheel 15 on both sides of 4.
Are attached, and these pinions 16, 16 are connected to the front wheel 15. A pair of internal gear large gears 17, 17 are engaged with the small gears 16, 16, respectively.
Reference numeral 17 has a lid shape, and is rotatably attached to the front wheel hawk 13. A protrusion is formed on the outer periphery of the large gears 17, 17, and a foldable pedal 18,
18 is attached.

A rear wheel fork 19 is rotatably attached by a pin 20 to the rear end of the main body 1. The rear wheel hawk 19 is located in a plane substantially parallel to the body plate 3 (see FIG. 1).
The position shown in FIG. 4, the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4) and the folding position (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 4) are rotated. Rear Wheel Hawk 19
Is fixed to the main body 1 by an automatic locking device (not shown) in the use position shown in FIG. Rear Wheel Hawk 19
A rear wheel 21 having a diameter smaller than that of the front wheel 15 is rotatably attached to the. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a carrying handle 22 is attached near the saddle 2 of the main body 1,
The handle 22 is housed at a position substantially at the same height as the saddle 2, and can be pulled out upward when carrying a bicycle.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 1
In the state of use of the bicycle shown in (1), the large gears 17, 17 are rotated by the driving force from the pedals 18, 18, and this rotation is accelerated by the small gears 16, 16 to rotate the front wheels 15. The folding operation of this bicycle is as follows. That is, the automatic lock device of the stay 12 is released, and the stay 1
Rotate 2 around the pin 11 counterclockwise to move it to the folded position. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the stay 12 contacts the rear lower end 1a of the main body 1 and is rotated to a position until the curved concave portion 3a of the main body 1 is closed. With this rotation, the front wheel 15 turns in the direction of arrow A and is housed in the space 5 of the main body 1. At this time, part of the front wheel 15 is the main body 1
Is exposed in the curved concave portion 3a.

Then, the rear wheel hawk 19 is unlocked, and the rear wheel hawk 19 is rotated counterclockwise around the pin 20 and moved to the folding position. As a result, the rear wheel 21
Is rotated in the direction of arrow B as shown in FIG. 4, and is accommodated in the space 5 of the main body 1. After this, the upper shaft 6b of the handle shaft 6 is housed in the hollow lower shaft 6a, and the handle 9
Is folded in the direction of arrow C as shown in FIG. After that, the pedals 18 and 18 are folded. This puts the entire bicycle into a folded state that is convenient for carrying. In this embodiment, the front wheel 15 is rotated toward the rear wheel 21 into the space 5 and the curved concave portion 3a of the main body 1, and the rear wheel 21 is rotated toward the direction away from the front wheel 15 of the main body 1. Since the front wheels 15 and the rear wheels 21 are respectively housed in the space 5, the front wheels 15 and the rear wheels 21 are efficiently arranged in the space 5 in the main body 1 without leaving a large dead space, resulting in a very compact folded state.

In this state, the handle 22 is pulled out of the main body 1 as shown in FIG. 4 and used for transportation. Of course, in each folded position, the respective members are automatically locked by a known locking mechanism. One numerical example is given below to illustrate the compactness when folded.
As shown in FIG. 1, the center of the front wheel 15 and the rear wheel 21 when in use
The distance D1 from the center of the main body 1 is 720 mm, the height H1 of the uppermost part of the main body 1 is 670 mm, and the diameter of the front wheel 15 is 400 mm,
The diameter of the rear wheel 21 is 200 mm. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the width W1 is 180 mm when folded.
As shown in FIG. 4, the lateral length D2 is 700 mm, the height H2 is about 550 mm, and the width W2 is about 130 mm as shown in FIG.

In the above embodiment, the small gear 16 and the large gear 17 are used as the speed increasing transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the pedal 18 to the front wheel 15. However, the present invention is not limited to the gear transmission mechanism as such a speed-up transmission mechanism, and a transmission system utilizing friction such as a rubber ring may be used.

[0016]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, both the front wheel and the rear wheel are rotated and stored in the space between the body plates, so that they can be folded very compactly. At the same time, since the front wheel drive system is entirely supported by the front wheel hawk, the drive wheel, that is, the front wheel folding mechanism also has a very simple structure. Further, the folding operation is easy and the speed increasing mechanism is provided, so that a sufficient traveling speed can be obtained, and the appearance when folded is good.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view and a partial side view schematically showing an embodiment of a portable bicycle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the main body of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a folded state of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a folded state of the above embodiment.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SS of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 main body 2 saddle 3 main body plate 4 connection part 5 space 6 handle shaft 6a lower shaft 6b upper shaft 9 handle 10 stay receiver 12 stay 13 front wheel hawk 14 front wheel axle 15 front wheel 16 small gear 17 large gear 18 pedal 19 rear wheel hawk 21 rear ring

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hollow main body having a U-shaped cross section, which comprises a pair of main body plates separated from each other and a connecting portion for connecting a part of these main body plates, and a saddle provided on the upper portion of the main body. A handle shaft composed of a lower shaft rotatably supported by the main body, an upper shaft attached to the upper end of the lower shaft and having a handle in the upper portion, and a stay receiver fixed to the lower end of the lower shaft. A stay attached to the stay receiver and a front wheel fixed to the stay so that the stay can be rotated in a plane substantially parallel to the body plate between a use position fitted to the stay receiver and a folding position. A hawk, a large-diameter front wheel rotatably attached to the front wheel hawk via a front wheel axle, a pair of small gears coaxially connected to the front wheel on both sides of the front wheel axle, and the small gear As above front wheel ho A pair of internal gear large gears rotatably attached to the gear, a pair of foldable pedals attached to the large gears to rotate the large gears, and a space between the use position and the folding position. A rear wheel hawk attached to the rear portion of the main body so as to be rotatable in a plane substantially parallel to the main body plate, and a rear wheel having a smaller diameter than the front wheel rotatably attached to the rear wheel hawk. A portable bicycle, wherein the front wheel and the rear wheel are stored in a space between the pair of body plates when the stay and the rear wheel hawk are respectively rotated to the folding positions. 2. The stay pivots toward the rear wheel when pivoting from the use position to the folding position,
The portable bicycle according to claim 1, wherein when the rear wheel hawk rotates from the use position to the folding position, the rear wheel hawk rotates in a direction away from the front wheel in the use position. 3. The main body and the saddle are integrally molded of fiber reinforced plastic, the lower shaft of the handle shaft is a hollow shaft, and the upper shaft can be housed in the hollow interior of the lower shaft. The portable bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the handle is foldable.