JP6843389B2 - Retractable auxiliary step for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle arranged between a vehicle step already installed in a vehicle such as a passenger car, a one-box car, or a bus and the ground surface.

In the retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1, the base ends of a drive arm and a driven arm having the same turning radius are pivotally attached to the lower portion of the vehicle step, and the tips of the drive arm and the driven arm are attached to the bottom of the tread plate. The drive arm is pivotally attached to a driven gear on its base end shaft, and the driven gear is meshed with the driven gear connected to the drive source.

Then, by rotating the drive gear in the forward and reverse directions by the operation of the drive source, the arm is rotated in the forward and reverse directions via the driven gear, and the tread plate is moved from the storage position at the lower part of the vehicle step to the overhang position in front of the lower part of the vehicle step. It can be reciprocated on the same horizontal plane.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-359067

Since the auxiliary step of the above configuration has a tread plate attached to the outside of the vehicle at the bottom of the vehicle step, the step plate may be overcome while the vehicle is running, or the tread plate may be extended when the vehicle is parked or stopped. If the tread plate is suddenly brought into contact with the stepped portion or the edge of the sidewalk by pulling the sidewalk to the sidewalk, the drive gear or the driven gear tooth may be damaged and the tread plate may be maintained in an overhanging state or a retracted state. It could not be done and had to be repaired. In this case, the drive source provided with the drive gear and the drive arm provided with the driven gear had to be replaced, which was a difficult task and the repair cost could not be reduced.

Further, even if the tread plate comes into contact with the stepped portion or the like and breaks down, if the tread plate can be extended, the passenger does not notice the abnormality in the overhanging state of the tread plate, but a passenger gets on and off the tread plate in such a state. When stepping on, there is a danger that the treads will sway and the passengers will fall over, and there is also a danger that the treads will overhang from the stowed position due to vibration during running even if the treads are not extended.

Therefore, in the present invention, even if an external force acts on the overhanging and retracted treads, the external force is not transmitted to the drive side to avoid a failure on the drive side, and the overhanging state of the treads is not normal due to the external force. It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle so that the driver can detect it and notify the driver, or the tread plate can maintain the retracted state even if the drive side should break down.

In view of the above problems, in the retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle of the present invention, the base ends of the drive arm and the driven arm having the same turning radius are pivotally attached to the lower part of the vehicle step, and the tips of the drive arm and the driven arm are attached to the tread plate. It is pivotally attached to the bottom, and the tread plate is provided so as to be reciprocally movable on the same horizontal plane between the storage position of the lower part of the vehicle step and the overhanging position in front of the lower part of the vehicle step, and the drive arm is connected to the drive source via a transmission means. Then, the transmission means is one end of a rack that meshes with the tip of a projecting piece projecting from the base end of the drive arm in the opposite direction of the drive arm and the drive gear provided in the drive source to advance and retreat in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. It is characterized in that it is pivotally connected via a curved link.
Further, it is characterized by including a detecting means for detecting the deformation of the link and a notifying means for notifying that the detecting means has detected the deformation of the link.
The detection means consists of a limit switch that turns on the switch lever at the appropriate position of the tread plate, drive arm or driven arm in the normal overhang state of the tread plate, and is positioned at a position corresponding to the normal overhang state of the tread plate by deformation of the link. It is characterized in that the notification means is set to operate when the switch lever is not turned on at the appropriate place where the position is not located.
Further, the rack and the link pivots are set so as to be located beyond the dead center on the orbit of the racks and links with the treads arranged at the retracted positions.
Further, a stopper that elastically contacts one or both of the driving and driven arms immediately before being placed in the retracting position and suppresses the rotation of the tread in the retracting direction when the pivot is displaced to a position beyond the dead center. The stopper is provided with a reaction force receiving means for receiving a reaction force acting on the pivot in the retracting direction only when the pivot is located at the dead center.
The reaction force receiving means is characterized by including a roller rotatably mounted on the pivot axis and a track arranged in parallel along the advance / retreat direction of the rack so that the roller travels.

In short, in the present invention, the base ends of the drive arm and the driven arm having the same turning radius are pivotally attached to the lower part of the vehicle step, and the tips of the drive arm and the driven arm are pivotally attached to the bottom of the tread plate, and the tread plate is pivotally attached to the bottom of the tread plate. The lower storage position and the overhanging position in front of the lower part of the vehicle step are provided so as to be reciprocally movable on the same horizontal plane, and the drive arm is connected to the drive source via a transmission means, and the transmission means is the base of the drive arm. The tip of the projecting piece projecting in the opposite direction of the drive arm at the end and one end of the rack that meshes with the drive gear provided in the drive source and advances and retreats in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are connected via a curved link. Since it is pivotally connected, the drive gear that rotates forward and reverse by the operation of the drive source advances and retreats the rack that meshes with the drive gear in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the advance and retreat causes the drive arm to rotate via the link. The tread can be reciprocated between the retracted position and the overhanging position.
Then, even if an external force acts on one of the side edges of the tread plate corresponding to the vehicle front-rear direction in the retracted and overhanged state of the tread plate and the drive arm swings by the external force, the external force causes the drive arm and the rack. It is only transmitted to the link connected in a curved shape and only deforms the link, and it is not directly transmitted to the rack and the drive gear, and the tooth of the rack and the drive gear is not damaged or the drive source is not damaged. ..
Therefore, even if an external force acts on the tread plate in the retracted and overhanged state, the external force is not transmitted to the drive side such as the rack or the drive source, and even if the failure on the drive side is avoided and repaired, the deformed link is replaced. Only the replacement work is required, and the replacement work is easier than the conventional replacement of the drive side, so the repair cost can be reduced.

A detection means for detecting the deformation of the link and a notification means for notifying that the detection means has detected the deformation of the link are provided, and the detection means is an appropriate position of the tread plate, the drive arm or the driven arm in the normal overhanging state of the tread plate. Consists of a limit switch that turns on the switch lever, and is set to operate the notification means when the switch lever is not turned on at the appropriate place that is not located at the position corresponding to the normal overhanging state of the tread due to the deformation of the link. , It is possible to recognize an abnormality in the overhanging state of the tread plate due to the deformation of the link without visually recognizing the tread plate.

Since the rack and link pivots are set to be located beyond the dead center on the orbit of the racks and links with the treads placed in the retracted position, the drive gears and rack teeth may be missing on the drive side. Even if the drive source breaks down, the tread plate does not protrude by itself due to an external force such as vibration when the vehicle is running, so that the vehicle can be run normally and safety during running can be ensured.

A stopper is provided to prevent the tread plate from rotating in the retracting direction when the pivot is displaced to a position beyond the dead center by elastically contacting one or both of the driving and driven arms immediately before being placed in the retracting position. Therefore, the link and the rack connected to the drive arm can be kept in a fixed position in the retracted state of the tread plate without one rotation of the drive and driven arms, and the retracted state of the tread plate at the lower part of the vehicle step can be firmly and reliably held.
Then, the roller mounted rotatably on the pivot and the rack so that the roller travels so as to receive the reaction force acting on the pivot in the retracting direction only when the pivot is positioned at the dead point by the stopper. Since the reaction force receiving means composed of the trajectories arranged in parallel along the advancing / retreating direction is provided, it is possible to prevent the reaction force from acting on the rack via the pivot and trying to bend the rack in the retracting direction. Its practical effect is enormous, such as being able to prevent obstacles to the operation of the tread due to bending and deformation of the rack.

It is a perspective view which shows the overhanging state of the retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle which concerns on this invention. It is a partially cutaway plan view of the same as above. It is the front view which omitted the tread plate of the same as above. It is a perspective view which shows the stored state as above. It is a partially cutaway plan view of the same as above. It is a partially broken plan view which shows the overhang state at the time of link deformation of the same as above. It is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the overhanging state of the modified example of the retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The vehicle retractable auxiliary step according to the present invention is between the storage position X on the left side (front of the vehicle) of the lower part of the vehicle step S and the overhang position Y in front of the lower part of the vehicle step S, which are already installed at the rear entrance / exit of the vehicle (not shown). A tread plate 1 that can be reciprocated on the same horizontal plane is provided.

The tread plate 1 is formed in a horizontally long rectangular shape (long in the front-rear direction A of the vehicle) in a plan view, and a drive arm 2 and a driven arm 3 (hereinafter, simply arms 2 and 3) having the same turning radius are formed in the lower part of the vehicle step S. The base end of (also referred to as) is pivotally attached to the left and right sides of the lower surface (corresponding to the front-rear direction A of the vehicle) of the rectangular base 4 in a plan view provided at the lower part of the vehicle step S, and the tips of the drive arm 2 and the driven arm 3 are attached. It is pivotally attached to the left and right sides of the bottom of the tread plate 1 so that the tread plate 1 is translated between the storage position X and the overhanging position Y.

The base ends of the arms 2 and 3 are horizontally attached to the lower ends of the sleeves 2a and 3a rotatably fitted to the support shaft suspended from the lower surface of the base 4.

A drive unit 5 of the tread plate 1 is installed between the arms 2 and 3 on the lower surface of the base 4.
The drive unit 5 is connected to a drive source 6 including an electric motor via a transmission means 7 to a drive arm 2.

The transmission means 7 includes a tip 8a of a projecting piece 8 projecting from the upper end of a sleeve 2a at the end of two drive arms in the opposite direction of the drive arm 2, and a drive gear axially attached to a drive shaft that can rotate forward and backward of the drive source 6. One end (right end) 9a of the rack 9 that meshes with 6a and moves forward and backward in the front-rear direction A of the vehicle is pivotally connected via a curved link 10.

As a result, the drive gear 6a that rotates forward and reverse by the operation of the drive source 6 advances and retreats the rack 9 that meshes with the drive gear 6a in the front-rear direction A of the vehicle, and the drive arm 2 is rotated via the link 10 by the advancement and retreat. By moving the tread plate 1 is reciprocated between the storage position X and the overhang position Y.

Then, in a state where the tread plate 1 is arranged at the storage position X (hereinafter, referred to as a retracted state) or a state where the tread plate 1 is arranged at an overhang position Y (hereinafter, referred to as an overhang state), the tread plate 1 is placed in the front-rear direction A of the vehicle. When an external force acts on any of the left and right side edges corresponding to the above, the external force is concentrated on the curved portion of the link 10 connecting the drive arm 2 and the rack 9, and the tread plate 1 is affected by the external force. Even if the drive arm 2 swings freely via the drive arm 2, the external force is only transmitted to the link 10 that connects the drive arm 2 and the rack 9 in a curved shape, and only deforms the link 10, and the rack 9 and the rack 9 It is not directly transmitted to the drive gear 6a.

The drive source 6 is fixed to the front of the rack 9 (on the tread plate overhang side) on the lower surface of the base 4, and the teeth of the rack 9 that mesh with the drive gear 6a are long in the advancing / retreating direction A. It is engraved in the right place.

The rack 9 is formed with an elongated hole 9b from the left end to the right over a predetermined length, and a pair of left and right trochanters 11 and 11a hanging at appropriate positions on the lower surface of the base 4 are formed in the elongated hole 9b with respect to the elongated hole 9b. The trochanters 11 and 11a are slidably arranged, and a flange for slidingly supporting the rack 9 is projected outward from the lower end of the support shafts of the trochanters 11 and 11a.

Then, in the retracted state of the tread plate 1, when the projecting piece 8 and the pivot 12 of the link 10 and the rack 9 and the pivot 13 of the link 10 are aligned on a straight line corresponding to the front-rear (vehicle width) direction B, the pivot 13 is the pivot. It is set to be located beyond the dead center D located on the orbit (see FIG. 5).

Further, immediately before the tread plate 1 is arranged at the storage position X, one or both of the arms 2 and 3 (in the illustrated example, the protrusion 3b protruding from the tip of the driven arm 3) is elastically contacted and the pivot 13 is killed. When the tread plate 1 is displaced to a position beyond the point D, a stopper 14 whose tip is made of synthetic rubber to prevent the tread plate 1 from rotating in the retracting direction is provided at an appropriate position on the bottom of the tread plate 1, whereby the arms 2 and 3 rotate once. Instead, the link 10 and the rack 9 connected to the drive arm 2 are fixed at the fixed position X in the retracted state of the tread plate 1, and the retracted state of the tread plate 1 at the lower part of the vehicle step S is firmly and securely held.

Then, the transmission means 7 receives the reaction force acting on the pivot axis 13 in the retracting direction (rearward) only when the pivot axis 13 is located at the dead center D by the stopper 14 while the tread plate 1 is retracted, and the reaction force is the pivot axis. A reaction force receiving means 15 is provided to prevent the rack 9 from bending in the retracting direction by acting on the rack 9 via the 13.

The reaction force receiving means 15 includes a roller 16 rotatably mounted on the pivot 13 and a hanging wall arranged on the trailing edge of the base 4 in parallel along the advancing / retreating direction of the rack 9 so that the roller 16 travels. (Orbit) Consists of 4a.

Further, immediately before the tread plate 1 is arranged at the overhanging position Y, it elastically contacts one or both of the arms 2 and 3 (the left edge of the tip of the drive arm 2 in the illustrated example) and moves in the overhanging direction of the tread plate 1. A stopper 17 whose tip is made of synthetic rubber to prevent rotation is provided at an appropriate position on the bottom of the tread plate 1.

Even if the tread plate 1 is positioned at the overhanging position Y by the stopper 17, the arms 2 and 3 do not rotate once, and the link 10 and the rack 9 connected to the drive arm 2 are placed at the fixed position Y in the overhanging state of the tread plate 1. The overhanging state of the tread plate 1 in front of the lower part of the vehicle step S is firmly held firmly.

Further, the retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle according to the present invention is provided with an alarm device for causing the driver to recognize that the link 10 has been deformed as described above.

This alarm device includes a detection means 18 that detects an abnormality in the overhanging state of the tread plate 1 due to deformation of the link 10, and a warning light, a warning buzzer, or the like that notifies that the detection means 18 has detected the deformation of the link 10. It consists of means (not shown).

The detection means 18 formed a bulge in a plan view on the left side of the base end of the projecting piece 8 at an appropriate position of the tread plate 1, the drive arm 2 or the driven arm 3 in the normal overhanging state of the tread plate 1. The cam) 8b consists of a limit switch that turns on the switch lever 18a, and the limit switch 18 is installed on the lower surface of the base 4 on the left side (front of the vehicle) of the sleeve 2a of the drive arm 2, and is as shown in FIGS. The notification means is activated when the appropriate position (cam) 8b, which is not located at the position corresponding to the normal overhanging state of the tread plate 1 (indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 6 and 7) due to the deformation of the link 10, does not turn on the switch lever 18a. It is set to let you.

Further, FIG. 8 shows a long type tread plate 1 that can be extended to the lower front of the vehicle step S already installed at the rear entrance / exit of the vehicle and the vehicle step (not shown) already installed at the passenger seat entrance / exit. The retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle using.
Since this vehicle retractable auxiliary step has the same configuration as the above except that the tread plate 1 is formed horizontally longer than the above and two driven arms 3 supporting the left side and the center thereof are used, the description thereof will be omitted. ..

In the retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle configured as described above, in the retracted state of the tread plate 1, the front end edge of the auxiliary step 1 is parallel to the outer edge of the vehicle step S on the left side of the lower part of the vehicle step S. It is arranged forward like this.

In this retracted state, the drive gear 6a meshes with the rack 9 where the left end of the elongated hole 9b is in contact with the trochanter 11 on the left side, and the drive source 6 is stopped, so that the state is firmly maintained. The tread plate 1 is horizontally arranged at the storage position X at the lower part of the vehicle step S.

Further, since the protrusion 3b of the driven arm 3 is stopped by the stopper 14, the arms 2 and 3 are prevented from further rotating in the retracting direction, and the rack 9 and the pivot 13 of the link 10 are in their orbits. By being located at a position beyond the upper dead center D, the arms 2, 3 (link 10) are prevented from inadvertently rotating in the overhanging direction, whereby the retracted state of the tread plate 1 is stably maintained. (See FIGS. 4 and 5).

Then, when the rack 9 is moved to the left side via the drive gear 6a by the operation of the drive source 6, the drive arm 2 rotates in the overhanging direction together with the driven arm 3 via the link 10, and the tread plate 1 is in its horizontal state. The right end of the elongated hole 9b of the rack 9 is close to the trochanter 11a on the right side, and the stopper 17 is fixed to the left edge of the tip of the drive arm 2 by moving in parallel while holding the above. This completes the extension of the tread plate 1, and the overhanging tread plate 1 can be used by passengers as a foot joint to the vehicle step S (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

The tread plate 1 in the overhanging state can be stored by operating the drive source 6 and moving the tread plate 1 to the storage position X in the reverse procedure of the above.

During the movement between the storage position X and the overhang position Y of the tread plate 1, the roller 16 travels on the hanging wall (track) 4a of the base 4 arranged in parallel behind the rack 9 as the rack 9 moves forward and backward. To do.

Further, only when the rack 9 and the pivot 13 of the link 10 are positioned at the dead center D by the stopper 14 that elastically contacts the protrusion 3b at the tip of the driven arm 3 from immediately before the storage position X during the storage movement of the tread plate 1. The reaction force acting on the pivot 13 in the retracting direction (rearward) is received by the roller 16 rotatably mounted on the pivot 13 in contact with the hanging wall 4a, so that the reaction force is received by the rack 9 via the pivot 13. It prevents the rack 9 from bending in the retracting direction, and prevents the tread plate 1 from being hindered by the bending deformation of the rack 9.

In addition, while the vehicle is running, the stepped portion on the road or parking lot may be overcome, or when the vehicle is parked or stopped, the tread plate may be extended to the sidewalk having the stepped road and the tread plate may be moved to the sidewalk having the stepped portion or the edge of the sidewalk. If the tread plate 1 is suddenly brought into contact with the vehicle, an external force acts on either of the left and right side edges of the tread plate 1.

Even if the drive arm 2 swings freely via the tread plate 1 due to this external force, the external force is transmitted to the link 10 connecting the drive arm 2 and the rack 9 in a curved shape and is concentrated on the curved portion. The link 10 is only deformed (see FIGS. 6 and 7), and is not directly transmitted to the rack 9 and the drive gear 6a, and is deformed without missing teeth of the rack 9 and the drive gear 6a or damaging the drive source 6. It can be easily repaired by simply replacing the link 10.

When the link 10 is deformed as described above, the cam 8b, which should be turned on by pressing the switch lever 18a in the normal overhanging state, is deformed even if the driver or the like does not notice the deformation. Because it is not located in the normal position corresponding to the normal overhanging state of the tread plate 1 (indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 6 and 7) and cannot be turned on by pressing the switch lever 18a, a warning light or warning is given. A notification means such as a buzzer is activated, and the driver can be notified of an abnormality in the overhanging state of the tread plate 1.

Further, even if the rack 9 and the drive gear 6a are missing or the drive source 6 fails and the tread plate 1 cannot be extended, the tread plate 1 is linked to the rack 9 as described above in the retracted state. Since the pivot 13 of 10 is positioned beyond the dead center D on its orbit (see FIG. 5), it is possible to prevent the arms 2 and 3 from inadvertently rotating in the overhanging direction during traveling. It is possible to prevent the tread plate 1 from protruding without permission, and the vehicle can be safely driven.

1 tread plate 2 drive arm 3 driven arm
4a orbit 6 drive source
6a Drive gear 7 Transmission means 8 Projection
8a tip
8b in place (cam)
9 racks
10 links
14 Stopper
15 Reaction force receiving means
16 rollers
18 Detection means (limit switch)
18a Switch lever A Front-back direction D Dead center S Vehicle step X Storage position Y Overhang position

Claims (6)

The base ends of the drive arm and the driven arm having the same turning radius are pivotally attached to the lower part of the vehicle step, and the tips of the drive arm and the driven arm are pivotally attached to the bottom of the tread plate, and the tread plate is used as the storage position of the lower part of the vehicle step. A reciprocating movement is provided between the overhanging position in front of the lower part of the vehicle step on the same horizontal plane, the drive arm is connected to the drive source via a transmission means, and the transmission means is connected to the drive arm at the base end of the drive arm. The tip of the projecting piece projecting in the opposite direction of the above and one end of the rack that meshes with the drive gear provided in the drive source and advances and retreats in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are pivotally connected via a curved link. Retractable auxiliary step for vehicles characterized by being made up. The retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a detecting means for detecting the deformation of the link and a notifying means for notifying that the detecting means has detected the deformation of the link. The detection means consists of a limit switch that turns on the switch lever at the appropriate position of the tread plate, drive arm or driven arm in the normal extension state of the tread plate, and is not located at the position corresponding to the normal extension state of the tread plate due to the deformation of the link. The retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the notification means is set to operate when the switch lever is not turned on at the appropriate place. The vehicle retractable type according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the rack and link pivots are set to be located beyond the dead center on the track of the rack and the link with the treads arranged at the retractable position. Auxiliary step. A stopper is provided to prevent the tread plate from rotating in the retracting direction when the pivot is displaced to a position beyond the dead center by elastically contacting one or both of the driving and driven arms immediately before being placed in the retracting position. The retractable auxiliary step for a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the stopper provides a reaction force receiving means for receiving a reaction force acting on the pivot in the retracting direction only when the pivot is located at a dead center. The fifth aspect of claim 5, wherein the reaction force receiving means includes a roller rotatably mounted on the pivot axis and a track arranged in parallel along the advancing / retreating direction of the rack so that the roller travels. Retractable auxiliary step for vehicles.

Images