JP7592937B2 - Liftable two-level bicycle parking device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lift-up, two-level bicycle parking device.

Conventionally, elevator-type two-tier bicycle parking devices have been used, which allow bicycles to be stored in two tiers, an upper rack and a lower rack, and these elevator-type two-tier bicycle parking devices are ideal for use in apartment complexes, train station bicycle parking lots, etc., because they can store a large number of bicycles in a small space.

In a lift-up two-tier bicycle parking device, the tire rail (bicycle stand) that makes up the upper rack is located at a relatively high position, so bicycles cannot be placed on the tire rail as is. Therefore, when loading (storing) bicycles, the lower rack is divided to either side, and then the handle of the upper rack, which is raised toward the support pillar, is grasped and pulled toward the front, and then lowered to the lower level. After the bicycle is placed on the tire rail that has been lowered to the lower level, the upper rack is raised to a specified high position by the traction means provided in the lift-up two-tier bicycle parking device.

Here, Patent Document 1 proposes a lifting and lowering two-level bicycle parking device that includes a lifting body that can be raised and lowered along a support pole, a traction means that applies an upward pulling force to the lifting body, a bicycle stand whose front end is attached to the lifting body, and a lifting and lowering gripping control mechanism that is attached to the front end of the bicycle stand and the lifting and lowering body. In this lifting and lowering two-level bicycle parking device, the lifting and lowering gripping control mechanism includes a gripping part that grips the wheel of the bicycle when the bicycle is placed on the bicycle stand, a lifting and lowering control part that includes a locking mechanism that can release the lock between the lifting body and the support pole when the bicycle is placed on the bicycle stand, and a transmission means that transmits the bicycle loading force. When the loading force is transmitted from the transmission means, the gripping part grips the wheel of the bicycle, and the lifting and lowering control part releases the lock between the lifting body and the support pole, allowing the lifting and lowering body to rise and fall. The lift control unit is connected to the transmission means and has a movable shaft that moves in the width direction of the bicycle stand due to the loading force transmitted from the transmission means, a locking mechanism that can release the locked state between the lift body and the support pole by moving the movable shaft, and a biasing means that guides the horizontal movement of the movable shaft in the width direction.

Patent No. 6544794

The lift-type two-level bicycle parking device described in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to simultaneously perform two actions when a bicycle is placed on the tire rail: unlocking the lift body and the pole, and gripping the bicycle, improving operability for the user.

However, when a bicycle is removed from the tire rail that constitutes the upper rack, the tire rail remains in the lower level while maintaining the horizontal position in which the bicycle was placed. Because the tire rail of the upper rack remains in the lower level, it becomes difficult to place the bicycle on the tire rail of the lower rack. Therefore, in the past, after removing a bicycle from the tire rail of the upper rack, users or bicycle parking lot managers would grasp the handle of the tire rail of the upper rack and rotate the tire rail toward the support pillar to raise it upright, which placed a burden on users and others.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a liftable two-tier bicycle parking device that eliminates the burden required to raise the tire rails that make up the upper rack, and is easy to operate.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the lift-up and lower-level two-level bicycle parking device according to the present invention is as follows:
A lift-up/down two-tier bicycle parking device having an upper rack that moves up and down along a support pole and a lower rack,
The upper rack is
A folding tire rail that moves up and down along the support with a bicycle placed on it and can rotate freely at an intermediate position around a rotating part;
A pull-back biasing means for constantly applying a pull-back force in the direction of the support to the tire rail, the tire rail being capable of freely changing its position between a lying-down position and an upright position when pulled back toward the support;
The tire rail is characterized by having an extendable stay equipped with a locking mechanism that holds the tire rail in the lying-down position so that a bicycle can be placed on it, and a lock release mechanism that releases the lying-down position held by the locking mechanism when the bicycle is placed on it.

According to this aspect, the upper rack is provided with a pull-back biasing means that constantly applies a pull-back force to the tire rail constituting the upper rack, pulling it back toward the support pillar, and an extendable stay. The extendable stay has a locking mechanism that holds the tire rail in a lying position so that a bicycle can be placed on it, and an unlocking mechanism that releases the lock provided by the locking mechanism when the bicycle is placed on it. When the bicycle is removed from the tire rail, the tire rail is automatically pulled back toward the support pillar and assumes an upright position, eliminating the burden required to raise the tire rail constituting the upper rack. In this way, the mechanism that automatically pulls the tire rail back toward the support pillar and assumes an upright position can also be called an auto-return mechanism.

Here, "lying down" means that the tire rail is in a horizontal or nearly horizontal position. "Upright position" means that the tire rail is pulled back toward the support pillar while rotating around the pivot point. When the tire rail of the upper rack is not in use, the tire rail is pulled back toward the support pillar and stands upright in this manner, so that the tire rail of the upper rack does not get in the way when placing bicycles on the tire rail of the lower rack.

If there is only a pull-back biasing means that constitutes the auto-return mechanism, for example, when trying to pull down the tire rail of the upper rack to place a bicycle on the tire rail, if the user releases his/her hand from the tire rail, the tire rail will automatically be pulled back toward the support, requiring the user to place the bicycle while maintaining the tire rail in a horizontal position, which creates a burden when placing the bicycle. According to this embodiment, when the tire rail of the upper rack that has been pulled back toward the support and raised is pulled down to the lower level, the locking mechanism with the telescopic stays maintains the tire rail in a horizontal position that allows the bicycle to be placed on it, allowing the user to place the bicycle on the tire rail without any burden.

After the bicycle is placed on the tire rail of the upper rack, the upper rack is raised along the support pole to a predetermined high position. The lifting and lowering type two-level bicycle parking device of this embodiment is preferably equipped with a lifting and lowering gripping control mechanism and a towing means similar to those described in Patent Document 1, for example. This lifting and lowering gripping control mechanism has a gripping part that grips the wheel of the bicycle when the bicycle is placed on the tire rail, a lifting and lowering control part equipped with a locking mechanism that can release the locked state between the slider and the support pole, and a transmission means that transmits loads such as the weight of the bicycle and the pushing force of the user. When the locked state between the slider and the support pole is released, the tire rail on which the bicycle is placed is raised by the towing means to a predetermined high position on the support pole.

In another aspect of the lifting type two-level bicycle parking device according to the present invention, the upper rack further includes a slider that moves up and down along the support pole,
The slider is provided with the pull-back biasing means and a pivot point for changing the position of the tire rail,
The telescopic stay is characterized in that one end of the telescopic stay is rotatably fixed to the slider, and the other end of the telescopic stay is rotatably fixed to a part of the tire rail.

According to this aspect, the upper rack further includes a slider, the tire rail is attached to the slider via a pivot point that serves as the center of rotation when changing position, and a pull-back biasing means is further attached to pull the tire rail back toward the support pillar to form an upright position, thereby enabling the upper rack to move up and down smoothly along the support pillar.

In another aspect of the lift-up and lowering type two-level bicycle parking device according to the present invention, the tire rail has a front wheel rail and a rear wheel rail that are rotatably connected to each other via the rotating part,
The telescopic stay has a hollow sheath and a shaft that is slidably accommodated inside the sheath and extends from one end of the sheath,
When the tire rail, which has been pulled back toward the support by the pull-back biasing means and is in the upright position, is rotated about the rotation fulcrum to be in the laid-down position, the shaft body is engaged with the sheath body,
In the process of placing the bicycle on the tire rail, the front wheel rail and the rear wheel rail rotate relatively via the rotating part, and the locking of the shaft body to the sheath body is released,
The slider is raised along the support pole with the bicycle placed on the tire rail.

According to this aspect, the telescopic stay is a simple component having a hollow sheath and an axle that is slidably housed inside the sheath and moves in and out from one end of the sheath, making it possible to lock the tire rail in a lying position in which a bicycle can be placed, and to automatically pull the tire rail back toward the support post when the bicycle is lowered after the lock is released (auto-return), without complicating the configuration of the lift-up two-level bicycle parking device.

In another aspect of the lifting type two-level bicycle parking device according to the present invention, a push-in piece is fixed inside the sheath,
A locking piece is rotatably attached to the shaft at a portion of the shaft housed inside the sheath,
An opening is provided on one side surface of the sheath, and a part of the locking piece can freely enter and exit through the opening when the locking piece rotates.
In the process of changing the position of the tire rail from the upright position to the laying position, the shaft body slides relative to the sheath body, and the locking piece is pushed in by the pushing piece, whereby the locking piece rotates and a part of the locking piece projects outward from the opening and is locked in the opening, thereby forming the locking mechanism, and the laying position of the tire rail is maintained by the locking mechanism.
In the process of placing the bicycle on the tire rail, the front wheel rail and the rear wheel rail rotate relatively via the rotating part, and at this time, the shaft slides relative to the sheath and the locking piece is pushed in by the pushing piece, causing the locking piece to rotate and forming the lock release mechanism, which releases the lock of the shaft from the sheath, and creates a storage preparation state in which the entirety of the locking piece is housed inside the opening.
When the bicycle is removed from the tire rail, the tire rail is automatically changed in position from the lying down position to the standing up position by the pull-back biasing means, and during the position change process, the entirety of the locking piece is accommodated inside the opening.

According to this aspect, when the shaft body slides relative to the sheath body, the locking piece rotates as it is pushed in by the push-in piece, and a part of it is engaged in the opening to form a locking mechanism, and when the shaft body further slides relative to the sheath body, the locking piece rotates as it is pushed in by the push-in piece to form an unlocking mechanism, so that the formation of the locking mechanism that holds the tire rail in a lying position and the formation of the unlocking mechanism can be achieved simply by sliding the shaft body relative to the sheath body.

When a bicycle is placed on the tire rail, an unlocking mechanism is formed, so the tire rail is held in a lying position by the weight of the bicycle. Therefore, after the user places (parks) the bicycle on the upper rack for a desired period of time, when the user pulls the upper rack down to the lower level and removes the bicycle from the tire rail, the tire rail, which already has an unlocking mechanism formed (the lock from the lying position is released), is automatically pulled back toward the support by the retraction force applied by the retraction biasing means, and is placed in an upright position.

For example, when the tire rail is pulled back toward the support pillar and is in an upright position, the handle is gripped and the tire rail is pulled down to the lower stage, the shaft slides relative to the sheath, the locking piece is pushed in by the pushing piece and rotates, and part of the rotated locking piece protrudes outward from the opening and engages with the opening, forming a locking mechanism. At this time, the tire rail held by the locking mechanism is in a lying position, for example, bent in the middle with the rotating part connecting the front wheel rail and the rear wheel rail protruding slightly upward.

When a bicycle is placed on the tire rail that is in this bent-over state and protruding upward, the weight of the bicycle releases the bent front and rear wheel rails, allowing them to assume a horizontal position relative to each other. In the process of forming this horizontal position, the shaft slides again relative to the sheath, and the locking piece is pushed in by the pushing piece and rotates again, releasing the locking piece from the opening of the sheath, forming an unlocking mechanism.

As can be understood from the above explanation, the lift-up, two-level bicycle parking device of the present invention can eliminate the burden required to raise the tire rail that constitutes the upper rack, and can provide a lift-up, two-level bicycle parking device that is easy to operate.

FIG. 11 is a side view of an example of a lift-up type two-level bicycle parking device according to an embodiment, showing the tire rail in an upright position, the tire rail in a lying position, a position in which a bicycle is placed on the tire rail, and a position in which the tire rail is in a high position. FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow II in FIG. 1, showing the support column and the slider and the extendable stay that constitute the upper rack. FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing the slider, the periphery of the pivot point of the tire rail, and the expansion stay. 4 is a view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3. This is a view taken along the line VV in Figure 3. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the expansion stay when the tire rail is being pulled down. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a locking mechanism for the telescopic stay is formed and the tire rail is maintained in a lying position. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the telescopic stay lock release mechanism is formed and the tire rail on which the bicycle is placed is raised along the support pole. 1A to 1E are diagrams illustrating, in order, the sliding of the shaft body relative to the sheath body that constitutes the telescopic stay, and the locking mechanism and the unlocking mechanism that are formed in response to the sliding of the shaft body.

Below, an example of a lift-up/down two-level bicycle parking device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Note that in this specification and the drawings, substantially identical components may be designated by the same reference numerals to avoid redundant description.

[Embodiment of the invention: a vertically adjustable two-level bicycle parking device]
An example of a lift-up type two-level bicycle parking device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 9. Fig. 1 is a side view of an example of a lift-up type two-level bicycle parking device according to an embodiment, showing the tire rail in an upright position, the tire rail in a horizontal position, a position in which a bicycle is placed on the tire rail, and a position in which the tire rail is in a high position. Fig. 2 is a view in the direction of the arrow II in Fig. 1, showing the support column, and the slider and telescopic stay that constitute the upper rack. Fig. 3 is a side view showing an enlarged view of the slider, the periphery of the pivot point of the tire rail, and the telescopic stay, and Figs. 4 and 5 are views in the direction of the arrows IV-IV and V-V in Fig. 3, respectively.

The lift-up two-level bicycle parking device 80 is a bicycle parking device that has an upper rack 60 that rises and falls along the support 70, and a lower rack. However, since the upper rack 60 is unique, the illustration and detailed description of the lower rack will be omitted in the following description. To give an overview of the lower rack, it is a rack that is installed near the floor surface of the lower level of the lift-up two-level bicycle parking device 80, has a tire rail equipped with a mechanism for locking the bicycle wheels, and is configured to slide freely horizontally in the lower level. When placing (storing) bicycles on the upper rack 60, for example, the lower rack is slid sideways to distribute and secure space to store bicycles on the upper level, and then the upper rack 60, which has been pulled back toward the support 70 and is in an upright position, is pulled down toward the front, and then the bicycle is placed on the upper rack 60 and the upper rack 60 is raised along the support 70 to a specified high position, completing the storage of the bicycles on the upper rack 60.

In Figures 1 and 2, the direction in which the tire rail 10 is attached to the support 70 is the rear, and the opposite direction in which the bicycle is stored on the tire rail 10 is the front. In addition, the left and right sides of the support 70 when viewed from behind are the left and right directions, respectively, and the direction in which the support 70 stands is the upward direction.

The upper rack 60 has a slider 30 that moves up and down along a support 70, a folding tire rail 10 that is rotatably attached to the slider 30, a retraction biasing means 20 that constantly applies a retraction force to the tire rail 10 in the direction of the support 70, and an extendable stay 40.

The support pillar 70 is a hollow, rectangular tubular steel member with a rectangular (rectangular or square) cross section perpendicular to its longitudinal direction. Of the four sides of the support pillar 70, the rear side and the front side are provided with a rear slit 71 and a front slit 72, respectively, which extend to the vicinity of the upper and lower ends of the support pillar 70.

A storage box 73 is attached to both the left and right side surfaces near the head of the support 70, and a winding core 75 is rotatably stored in the storage box 73. A strip-shaped plate 76 extending from the winding core 75 is attached to the slider 30 through the hollow of the support 70. The winding core 75 and the strip-shaped plate 76 form the traction means 74.

The slider 30 is constantly subjected to a traction force from the traction means 74 in the upward direction of the support post 70. In FIG. 1, the tire rail 10A is in an upright position, with no bicycle placed on it, as shown by the solid lines, and the slider 30 is positioned and locked at the bottom end of the support post 70. This keeps the slider 30 at the bottom end of the support post 70 even when a traction force is applied by the traction means 74.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tire rail 10 has a front wheel rail 11 and a rear wheel rail 12 that are connected to each other via a rotating part 13 so that they can rotate freely in the X5 direction, and a bracket 14 is attached to one end of the front wheel rail 11.

The tire rail 10A in the upright position shown by the solid line is pulled back in the X0 direction, which is the direction of the support 70, by the pull-back biasing means 20 attached to the front side of the slider 30, with the slider 30 locked to the lower end of the support 70. In this way, the upper rack 60 in the illustrated example is a rack equipped with an auto-return mechanism that automatically pulls the tire rail 10 back toward the support 70. In the upright tire rail 10A, the rotating part 13 protrudes upward, and the front wheel rail 11 and the rear wheel rail 12 are in a bent state via the rotating part 13.

On the other hand, by grasping the handle 12a of the tire rail 10A in an upright position and pulling the tire rail 10 downward in the X1 direction, the front wheel rail 11 and the rear wheel rail 12 rotate relatively via the rotating part 13, and the bent state of the tire rail 10 becomes slightly flat, resulting in the tire rail 10B in a lying position as shown by the dotted line in Figure 1.

When the user releases the handle 12a of the tire rail 10B in a lying down position, the tire rail 10 is generally pulled back toward the support 70 by the pull-back biasing means 20, but in the upper rack 60, the tire rail 10 is maintained in a lying down position by the locking mechanism 51 of the telescopic stay 40 (see Figures 7 and 9 (c)). The configuration of the telescopic stay 40 and the locking mechanism 51 are described in detail below.

When a bicycle (not shown) is placed on the tire rail 10B in a lying-down position, which is maintained by the telescopic stay 40, the weight of the bicycle causes the front wheel rail 11 and the rear wheel rail 12 to rotate relatively in the X2 direction via the rotating part 13, and the bent state of the tire rail 10 is eliminated, and the tire rail 10 becomes horizontal (or flat), resulting in the tire rail 10C with the bicycle placed thereon, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 1. In the upper rack 60, the tire rail 10 is released from its lying-down position by the lock release mechanism 52 of the telescopic stay 40 (see Figures 8 and 9(d)), and when the bicycle is lowered and its weight is eliminated, the tire rail 10 is automatically pulled back toward the support 70 by the pulling force of the pulling-back biasing means 20. The configuration of the telescopic stay 40 and the lock release mechanism 52 will be described in detail below.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the connection area between the front wheel rail 11 and the slider 30 is provided with a gripping portion 17 that grips the front wheel of the bicycle, a lifting/lowering control portion 18, and a transmission means 19. When the bicycle is placed on the flapper material (not shown) of the tire rail 10, the transmission means 19 is pushed downward by the flapper material, and has the function of transmitting the weight of the bicycle to the lifting/lowering control portion 18 and the gripping portion 17.

On the other hand, the lifting control unit 18 has the function of releasing the locked state between the slider 30 and the support 70 and raising the tire rail 10 when the weight of the bicycle is transmitted from the transmission means 19. In addition, the gripping unit 17 has the function of gripping the wheel of the bicycle when the weight of the bicycle is transmitted from the transmission means 19.

Therefore, when a bicycle is placed on the tire rail 10, the front wheel is gripped by the gripping portion 17, and the locked state between the slider 30 and the support 70 is released, and as shown in FIG. 1, the tire rail 10 with the bicycle placed on it is raised in the X3 direction along the support 70 to a predetermined high position by the traction force of the traction means 74, and becomes the tire rail 10D at a high position.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pull-back biasing means 20 is formed by a cylinder unit, and the piston rod 22 that constitutes the cylinder unit is fixed to the underside of the slider 30, and a cylinder 21 through which the piston rod 22 moves in and out in the X7 direction is disposed above. A connecting bracket 23 is attached to the upper end of the cylinder 21, and the bracket 14 fixed to the front wheel rail 11 and the connecting bracket 23 are attached so as to be freely rotatable via a pivot 15.

The front wheel rail 11 and rear wheel rail 12 are both formed of upper and lower twin shaft members, and the front wheel rail 11 is rotatably attached to the slider 30 via two pivot points 15, 16. A bracket 14 is fixed to the upper shaft member of the front wheel rail 11, and this bracket 14 is attached above the slider 30 so as to be rotatable in the X6 direction relative to one of the pivot points 15. Meanwhile, one end of the lower shaft member of the front wheel rail 11 extends inside the slider 30, and one end of the lower shaft member is attached below the slider 30 so as to be rotatable in the X6 direction relative to the other pivot point 16.

In the tire rail 10A in the upright position shown in Figure 1, the piston rod 22 fixed to the underside of the slider 30 is housed in the cylinder 21, and therefore the piston rod 22 does not protrude significantly from the cylinder 21 as shown in Figure 3. When no external tensile force is acting on the cylinder 21, the piston rod 22 is housed in the cylinder 21 by a pulling force.

In contrast, in the state shown in FIG. 3, in the tire rail 10C when a bicycle is placed as shown in FIG. 1, and in the tire rail 10D at a high position, the piston rod 22 is in a state of protruding largely from the cylinder 21. In these states, the tire rail 10 pulls the cylinder 21 against the retraction force of the retraction biasing means 20, causing the cylinder 21 to slide upward relative to the piston rod 22 fixed to the slider 30, resulting in the piston rod 22 protruding from the cylinder 21.

Next, the telescopic stay 40 and the lock mechanism 51 and unlock mechanism 52 of the telescopic stay 40 will be described with reference mainly to FIG. 3 and FIG. 6 to FIG. 9. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the telescopic stay when the tire rail is being pulled down. FIG. 7 is a view showing the state in which the lock mechanism of the telescopic stay is formed and the tire rail is held in a lying position. FIG. 8 is a view showing the state in which the lock mechanism of the telescopic stay is formed and the tire rail on which the bicycle is placed is raised along the support. Furthermore, FIG. 9(a) to (e) are views explaining the sliding of the shaft body relative to the sheath body that constitutes the telescopic stay, and the lock mechanism and unlock mechanism that are formed in response to the sliding of the shaft body.

As shown in FIG. 3, the telescopic stay 40 has a sheath body 41 with a hollow 41c, and a shaft body 42 that is slidably housed inside the sheath body 41 and moves in and out in the Y1 direction from one end 41a of the sheath body 41. Rotatable mounting pieces 47, 48 are attached to the other end 41b of the sheath body 41 and the other end 42b of the shaft body 42, respectively, and the telescopic stay 40 is rotatably attached to the slider 30 and a part of the front wheel rail 11 via the rotating mounting pieces 47, 48.

A push-in piece 44 is fixed to the inside of the sheath body 41 at one end 41a. On the other hand, a locking piece 45 is attached to the shaft body 42 at a portion housed inside the sheath body 41 (at one end 42a of the shaft body 42) via a rotation axis 46 so as to be rotatable in the Z1 direction. The locking piece 45 has a roughly rectangular shape when viewed from the side, and a locking groove 45a having a tapered or curved linear shape is provided in the center of a pair of opposing short sides.

As shown in Figures 6 to 8, an opening 43 is provided on one side of the sheath body 41 (the top surface in each figure), and when the shaft body 42 slides inside the sheath body 41 and the locking piece 45 rotates, a part of the locking piece 45 can freely move in and out through the opening 43.

Figure 6 shows the telescopic stay 40 when the tire rail 10 is changed from an upright position (tire rail 10A in an upright position shown in Figure 1) to a horizontally laid position (tire rail 10B in a horizontally laid position shown in Figure 1). During this position change, the shaft body 42 slides in the Y5 direction inside the sheath body 41, but the locking piece 45 does not yet protrude from the opening 43 of the sheath body 41.

The movement of each component of the telescopic stay 40 when the position is changed can be clearly understood from Figures 9(a) and (b). That is, when the tire rail 10 is in the process of changing its position from the upright position, as shown in Figure 9(a), the shaft body 42 slides inside the sheath body 41, but the locking piece 45 does not protrude from the opening 43 of the sheath body 41.

As shown in FIG. 9(b), when the shaft body 42 slides further in the Y5 direction relative to the sheath body 41, the locking piece 45 passes under the opening 43, and a part of the locking piece 45 abuts against the push-in piece 44 near the opening 43. The locking piece 45 abutting against the push-in piece 44 rotates in the Z2 direction around the rotation axis 46, and a part of the rotated locking piece 45 protrudes outward from the opening 43.

When the telescopic stay 40 is in the state shown in FIG. 9(b), the tire rail 10 is not in a completely lying position. When the user pulls the tire rail 10 further down, the front wheel rail 11 and the rear wheel rail 12 rotate via the rotating part 13 until both are nearly horizontal (flat).

In this way, after the front wheel rail 11 and the rear wheel rail 12 are pulled down to a nearly horizontal state, when the user releases the downward pressure applied when pulling them down (the user releases the handle 12a), the front wheel rail 11 and the rear wheel rail 12 that have been pulled down to a nearly horizontal state are returned to a slightly bent state via the rotating part 13, resulting in the tire rail 10B in a lying down position as shown in Figure 7.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 9(c), the shaft body 42 slides back in the Y6 direction, which is opposite to the sliding direction (Y5 direction) of the shaft body 42 in FIG. 9(b). During this sliding process of the shaft body 42, one of the locking grooves 45a of the locking piece 45, which had a part protruding outward from the opening 43, is locked onto a part of the edge of the opening 43.

In this way, the locking groove 45a of the locking piece 45 of the shaft body 42 is engaged with a part of the edge of the opening 43 of the sheath body 41, forming a locking mechanism 51. The formed locking mechanism 51 prevents the shaft body 42 from moving relative to the sheath body 41, and keeps the overall length of the telescopic stay 40 constant, thereby maintaining the tire rail 10 in a lying position as shown in FIG. 7.

Next, when a bicycle is placed on the tire rail 10B in a lying position as shown in Figure 7, the weight of the bicycle causes the front wheel rail 11 and rear wheel rail 12 in a bent-over state to be horizontal. At this time, the shaft body 42 slides in the Y7 direction relative to the sheath body 41 from the state shown in Figure 9(c) to the state shown in Figure 9(d), and the locking piece 45 that was engaged with a part of the edge of the opening 43 is pushed in by the pushing piece 44, and as a result of this pushing, the locking piece 45 rotates in the Z3 direction opposite the edge of the opening 43 where it was engaged.

This rotation of the locking piece 45 releases the locking of the locking piece 45 from the edge of the opening 43, forming the lock release mechanism 52. . As the locking piece 45 rotates further in the Z3 direction, the locking piece 45 protrudes further outward from the opening 43, and one long side of the locking piece 45 abuts against the push-in piece 44.

In other words, when a bicycle is placed on the tire rail 10 (tire rail 10C with a bicycle placed on it as shown in Figure 1), the lock release mechanism 52 is formed, and the lift control unit 18, which receives the weight of the bicycle, releases the locked state between the slider 30 and the support 70.

Figure 8 shows the tire rail 10 on which a bicycle is mounted (part of the bicycle's front wheel T is shown) rising along the support 70, together with the telescopic stay 40 on which the unlocking mechanism 52 is formed. The tire rail 10 on which the bicycle is mounted is raised in the X3 direction along the support 70 by the traction means 74. In the telescopic stay 40 on which the unlocking mechanism 52 is formed, the locking piece 45 is in a storage preparation state in which it is completely housed inside the sheath body 41 through the opening 43 of the sheath body 41.

The tire rail 10 stops at a predetermined high position on the support 70, and is held at this high position for a certain period of time with the bicycle placed on it (tire rail 10D in high position in Figure 1). When the user wants to retrieve the bicycle, they grasp the handle 12a of the tire rail 10 and pull down the upper rack 60 on which the bicycle is placed, locking the slider 30 at the lower end position of the support 70.

When the user removes the bicycle from the tire rail 10 after the slider 30 is locked at the lower end of the support 70, the tire rail 10 is no longer held in a lying position. Therefore, the tire rail 10, which no longer has the weight of the bicycle, is automatically pulled back toward the support 70 by the pulling force of the pulling force means 20 (auto-return mechanism) and is placed in an upright position (tire rail 10A in an upright position in Figure 1).

At this time, as shown in FIG. 9(e), the telescopic stay 40 slides in the Y8 direction so that the shaft 42 enters the sheath 41, and the locking piece 45 that protrudes outward from the opening 43 is pushed by the edge of the opening 43 and rotates in the Z4 direction while being accommodated inside the sheath 41.

The upper rack 60 that constitutes the lift-up two-tier bicycle parking device 80 has a retraction biasing means 20 that forms an auto-return mechanism that automatically retracts the tire rail 10 toward the support 70, and an extendable stay 40. The extendable stay 40 has a locking mechanism 51 that holds the tire rail 10 in a lying position where a bicycle can be placed, and an unlocking mechanism 52 that releases the locking mechanism 51 from the lying position when the bicycle is placed, thereby eliminating the burden required to raise the tire rail 10 that constitutes the upper rack 60.

Note that the configurations described in the above embodiments may be combined with other components, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations shown here. In this regard, changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and can be determined appropriately according to the application form.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10: Tire rail 10A: Tire rail in upright position 10B: Tire rail in lying position 10C: Tire rail when bicycle is placed on it 10D: Tire rail in high position 11: Front wheel rail 12: Rear wheel rail 12a: Handle 13: Rotating part 14: Bracket 15, 16: Rotation fulcrum 17: Grip part 18: Lifting control part 19: Transmission means 20: Pull-back biasing means (cylinder unit)
Description of the invention 21: Cylinder 22: Piston rod 23: Connecting bracket 30: Slider 40: Telescopic stay 41: Sheath body 41a: One end 41b: Other end 41c: Hollow 42: Shaft body 42a: One end 42b: Other end 43: Opening 44: Push-in piece 45: Locking piece 45a: Locking groove 46: Rotating shaft core 47, 48: Rotating mounting piece 51: Locking mechanism 52: Lock release mechanism 60: Upper rack 70: Support 71: Rear slit 72: Front slit 73: Storage box 74: Towing means 75: Winding core 76: Strip plate 80: Lift-type upper and lower two-tier bicycle parking device T: Front wheel of bicycle

Claims (4)

A lift-up/down two-tier bicycle parking device having an upper rack that moves up and down along a support pole and a lower rack,
The upper rack is
A folding tire rail that moves up and down along the support with a bicycle placed on it and can rotate freely at an intermediate position around a rotating part;
A pull-back biasing means for constantly applying a pull-back force in the direction of the support to the tire rail, the tire rail being capable of freely changing its position between a lying-down position and an upright position when the tire rail is pulled back toward the support;
This lift-up type two-level bicycle parking device has a hollow sheath, and a shaft that is slidably housed inside the sheath and moves in and out from one end of the sheath, and is characterized by having an extendable stay that includes a locking mechanism that holds the tire rail in the lying-down position so that a bicycle can be placed on it, and a lock release mechanism that releases the lying-down position held by the locking mechanism when the bicycle is placed on it. The upper rack further includes a slider that moves up and down along the support column,
The slider is provided with the pull-back biasing means and a pivot point for changing the position of the tire rail,
2. The lift-up and lower-type two-level bicycle parking device according to claim 1, wherein one end of the extendable stay is rotatably fixed to the slider, and the other end is rotatably fixed to a part of the tire rail. The tire rail includes a front wheel rail and a rear wheel rail that are rotatably connected to each other via the rotating portion,
When the tire rail, which has been pulled back toward the support by the pull-back biasing means and is in the upright position, is rotated about the rotation fulcrum to be in the laid-down position, the shaft body is engaged with the sheath body,
In the process of placing the bicycle on the tire rail, the front wheel rail and the rear wheel rail rotate relatively via the rotating part, and the locking of the shaft body to the sheath body is released,
3. The lifting type two-level bicycle parking device according to claim 2, wherein the slider is raised along the support pole with the bicycle placed on the tire rail. A pusher piece is fixed inside the sheath,
A locking piece is rotatably attached to the shaft at a portion of the shaft housed inside the sheath,
An opening is provided on one side surface of the sheath, and a part of the locking piece can freely enter and exit through the opening when the locking piece rotates.
In the process of changing the position of the tire rail from the upright position to the laying position, the shaft body slides relative to the sheath body, and the locking piece is pushed in by the pushing piece, whereby the locking piece rotates and a part of the locking piece projects outward from the opening and is locked in the opening, thereby forming the locking mechanism, and the laying position of the tire rail is maintained by the locking mechanism.
In the process of placing the bicycle on the tire rail, the front wheel rail and the rear wheel rail rotate relatively via the rotating part, and at this time, the shaft slides relative to the sheath and the locking piece is pushed in by the pushing piece, causing the locking piece to rotate and forming the lock release mechanism, which releases the lock of the shaft from the sheath, and creates a storage preparation state in which the entirety of the locking piece is housed inside the opening.
4. The lift-up type two-level bicycle parking device according to claim 3, characterized in that, when a bicycle is removed from the tire rail, the tire rail is automatically changed in position from the lying down position to the upright position by the pull-back biasing means, and during the position change process, the entirety of the locking piece is accommodated inside the opening.

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