JP7709255B2 - Spare tire mounting aid - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a spare tire mounting assist device that assists in the task of mounting a spare tire from underneath a vehicle body.

Many spare tires are mounted on vehicles from above in the trunk of the vehicle, but some are mounted on the rear of the vehicle from below (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). In the latter case, as shown in FIG. 12, a carrier 133 (support means) for holding the spare tire is provided on the lower part of the vehicle body 110. The front end of the carrier 133 is rotatably attached to the frame 113 (cross member) of the vehicle body 110, and the rear end of the carrier 133 is movable up and down. After placing the spare tire 122 on the carrier 133, the carrier 133 is lifted and the spare tire 122 is pressed against the underside of the vehicle body 110 and the carrier 133. In this state, the other end of the carrier 133 is hooked onto a hook 136 and fixed, so that the spare tire 122 is mounted on the vehicle body 110.

JP 2000-72049 A

In the above case, the work of placing the spare tire 122 on the carrier 133 and lifting the spare tire 122 and carrier 133 is performed by a worker, but since such work requires heavy physical effort, there was a need to reduce the burden of the work.

Therefore, the present invention aims to reduce the burden of the task of mounting a spare tire from underneath the vehicle body.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle body having a frame and a carrier having one end rotatably attached to the frame and the other end movable up and down;
A device for assisting an operation of mounting a spare tire under a vehicle body by lifting the spare tire from below the vehicle body and supporting the spare tire from below with the carrier, comprising:
A spare tire mounting auxiliary device is provided, which has a tire holding section that is movable up and down relative to the vehicle body and holds the spare tire, a biasing means that biases the tire holding section upward, and a carrier support section that is movable up and down integrally with the tire holding section and lifts the carrier from below as the tire holding section rises.

As described above, by biasing the tire holding portion upward with the biasing means, the load on the tire holding portion holding the spare tire is reduced, and the burden of lifting the spare tire is reduced. In addition, when raising the tire holding portion holding the spare tire, the carrier support portion attached to the tire holding portion lifts the carrier from below, so that the spare tire and the carrier can be lifted simultaneously, improving workability.

As shown in FIG. 12, the task of placing the spare tire 122 on the carrier 133 with its rear end on the ground places a great burden on the worker. Therefore, after placing the spare tire close to the vehicle body, it is preferable to lift the spare tire as it is to the mounting position for the vehicle body without placing it on the carrier 133. At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, if the carrier C is rotated until it is approximately vertical, it becomes possible to position the spare tire W directly below the mounting position W' for the vehicle body B (see dotted line), and the spare tire W can be raised directly upward as shown by arrow D1 and positioned at the mounting position W'. However, in this case, a large space in the vertical direction is required below the vehicle body B to position the carrier C in the approximately vertical direction.

Therefore, it is preferable that the above-mentioned spare tire mounting auxiliary device has a guide mechanism that raises the tire holding portion diagonally upward from the other end side of the carrier C toward one end side. In this case, for example as shown in FIG. 10, the spare tire W and the tire holding portion (not shown) that holds it are positioned in front of the carrier C (e.g., toward the rear of the vehicle body) with the rear end lowered, and then the spare tire W and the tire holding portion are raised diagonally upward toward the front (see arrow D2 in FIG. 10). This allows the spare tire W to be raised to the mounting position W' on the vehicle body B while avoiding interference with the carrier C.

As described above, the present invention can reduce the burden of the task of mounting a spare tire from underneath the vehicle body.

1 is a plan view of a spare tire mounting assist device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view of the spare tire mounting assist device. FIG. 2 is a side view of the spare tire mounting assist device. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an assembly line having the above-mentioned spare tire mounting assist device. FIG. 2 is a side view of the assembly line. 1 is a side view of a state in which a spare tire held by the spare tire mounting auxiliary device is placed immediately adjacent to a carrier. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state in which a carrier support portion is inserted below the carrier. FIG. FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the spare tire is being lifted. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the spare tire has been raised to an upper end position. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which a spare tire is disposed under the vehicle body. FIG. 11 is a side view showing another example of a state in which a spare tire is disposed under the vehicle body. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional structure in which a spare tire is mounted from below a vehicle body.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention mainly comprises a base 2, a tire holding part 3 that is movable up and down relative to the base 2, and a carrier support part 4 attached to the tire holding part 3. In the following description, directions that are perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plane are referred to as the X direction and the Y direction, and the vertical direction is referred to as the Z direction.

The base 2 is arranged so that it can move in parallel in the horizontal direction (X direction and Y direction) and can rotate around a vertical rotation axis 2a. The horizontal movement and rotation of the base 2 can be performed by an operator or by a driving means such as a motor.

The tire holding section 3 has a pair of arms 3a extending in the X direction and a clamp section 3b provided on each arm 3a. The spare tire W is placed between the pair of arms 3a, and the outer peripheral surface of the spare tire W is clamped from both sides in the Y direction by the pair of clamp sections 3b, so that the spare tire W is held by the tire holding section 3.

The carrier support part 4 can be raised and lowered together with the tire holding part 3. In this embodiment, the carrier support part 4 is fixed to one arm 3a. The carrier support part 4 is formed of a long and narrow plate-like member extending in the front-rear direction. In the illustrated example, the carrier support part 4 has a horizontal part 4a extending in a substantially horizontal direction and an inclined part 4b extending diagonally upward and forward from the front end of the horizontal part 4a (see FIG. 3). The shape of the carrier support part 4 is not limited to the above, and may be any shape that allows the carrier C to be lifted from below when loading the spare tire W described below.

The tire holding unit 3 is attached to the base 2 so that it can rise and fall. In this embodiment, the tire holding unit 3 is attached to the base 2 via a support arm 16, a lifting bracket 13, a lifting frame 12, and a fixed frame 11. The fixed frame 11 is a columnar member extending in the Z direction, and its upper end is fixed to the base 2. The lifting frame 12 is a columnar member extending in the Z direction, and is attached to the fixed frame 11 so that it can rise and fall. The lifting bracket 13 is an L-shaped member when viewed from the side in FIG. 3, and is attached to the lifting frame 12 so that it can rise and fall. The support arm 16 is a beam-shaped member extending in the Y direction, and one end is attached to the lifting bracket 13 so that it can move in the X direction, and the tire holding unit 3 is attached to the other end.

The spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 has a first guide mechanism 5a that allows the tire holding part 3 to be raised and lowered vertically relative to the base part 2, and a second guide mechanism 5b that allows the tire holding part 3 to be raised and lowered in a direction inclined relative to the vertical.

The first guide mechanism 5a is composed of a rail 11a extending vertically and a guide 12a that moves along the rail 11a. In this embodiment, the rail 11a is provided on the side of the fixed frame 11, and the guide 12a is provided on the side of the lifting frame 12. The lifting frame 12, the lifting bracket 13, the support arm 16, and the tire holding part 3 can be raised and lowered together in the vertical direction along the rail 11a of the fixed frame 11.

The second guide mechanism 5a is composed of a rail 12b extending in the vertical direction, a guide 13a moving along the rail 12b, a rail 13b extending in the X direction, a guide (not shown) moving along the rail 13b, a guide pin 16a, and a guide member 17. In this embodiment, the vertical rail 12b is provided on the side of the lifting frame 12, and the guide 13a moving along it is provided on the side of the lifting bracket 13. The X-direction rail 13b is provided on the upper surface of the lifting bracket 13, and the guide moving along it is provided on the lower surface of the support arm 16. The guide pin 16a is provided at the end of the support arm 16, and the guide member 17 is fixed to the lifting frame 12. The guide member 17 has a guide groove 17a into which the guide pin 16a is inserted. The guide groove 17a has an inclined portion that is inclined in a direction displaced toward one side in the X direction (toward the front of the vehicle when a spare tire is mounted, which will be described later) as it goes upward.

When the lifting bracket 13 is raised or lowered relative to the lifting frame 12, the lifting bracket 13 rises or lowers vertically along the rail 12b of the lifting frame 12. At this time, the support arm 16 rises or lowers together with the lifting bracket 13, and moves in the X direction along the rail 13b on the lifting bracket 13 as the guide pin 16a is guided by the inclined portion of the guide groove 17a of the guide member 17. As a result, the support arm 16 and the tire holding part 3 rise or lower in a direction inclined relative to the vertical direction.

A first cylinder 14 is attached to the fixed frame 11 as a first biasing means for biasing the lifting frame 12 upward. A pin 14a of the first cylinder 14 is fixed to the lifting frame 12 via a bracket 14b. A second cylinder 15 is attached to the lifting frame 12 as a second biasing means for biasing the lifting bracket 13 upward. A pin 15a of the second cylinder 15 is fixed to the lifting bracket 13. The first cylinder 14 and the second cylinder 15 can be, for example, those using air, a spring, hydraulic pressure, etc.

The first cylinder 14 is capable of switching the biasing force in stages. In this embodiment, the biasing force of the first cylinder 14 can be switched in two stages (first biasing force and second biasing force). The first biasing force is a force that balances the load when the spare tire W is held by the tire holding portion 3, and is an upward biasing force that is approximately the same as the total weight of the lifting frame 12, the tire holding portion 3, and the members (support arm 16, etc.) provided between them, and the weight of the spare tire W. The second biasing force is a force that balances the load when the spare tire W is not held, and is an upward biasing force that is smaller than the first biasing force by the weight of the spare tire W.

In this embodiment, the spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 is provided with a "tire holding" switch. When an operator presses the "tire holding" switch, the pair of clamping parts 3b of the tire holding part 3 clamp the spare tire W, and the first cylinder 14 is set to a first biasing force. When an operator releases the "tire holding" switch, the pair of clamping parts 3b of the tire holding part 3 release the clamping of the spare tire W, and the first cylinder 14 is set to a second biasing force. In either state, the biasing force of the first cylinder 14 and the load applied to the pin 14a are balanced, so the operator can raise and lower the tire holding part 3 with a light force.

The second cylinder 15 biases the lift bracket 13 and the parts attached thereto (support arm 16, tire holding part 3, etc.) upward. The biasing force of the second cylinder 15 is greater than the downward load applied to the pin 15a when the tire holding part 3 holds the spare tire W. In this embodiment, the spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 is provided with an "up" switch and a "down" switch. When the worker presses the "up" switch, the second cylinder 15 is turned ON, and the tire holding part 3 and the spare tire W held therein rise obliquely relative to the lift frame 12 and stop at the upper end position. On the other hand, when the worker presses the "down" switch, the second cylinder 15 is turned OFF, and the tire holding part 3 and the like descend under their own weight and stop at the lower end position.

The following describes the procedure for mounting a spare tire W from below onto the vehicle body B using the above-mentioned spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1.

As shown by the arrow A1 in FIG. 4, the empty spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 not holding the spare tire W is moved horizontally to the tire supply device 20, and the spare tire W is placed between the pair of clamp parts 3b of the tire holding part 3. At this time, the "tire holding" switch of the spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 is released, and the first cylinder 14 is set to the second biasing force. As a result, the second biasing force of the first cylinder 14 and the weight of the tire holding part 3 without the spare tire W are balanced, so that the worker can place the tire holding part 3 at the same height as the spare tire W with a light force. After that, the worker presses the "tire holding" switch, and the pair of clamp parts 3b of the tire holding part 3 clamp the spare tire W, and the first cylinder 14 switches from the second biasing force to the first biasing force. As a result, the spare tire W is held by the tire holding part 3, and the second biasing force of the first cylinder 14 and the weight of the tire holding part 3 holding the spare tire W are balanced.

Next, as shown by the arrow A2, the spare tire loading auxiliary device 1 is moved horizontally away from the tire supply device 20, and as shown by the arrow A3, the spare tire loading auxiliary device 1 is rotated around the rotation axis 2a. As a result, the spare tire W held by the tire holding unit 3 is placed behind the vehicle body B on the vehicle body conveying line L. As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle body B is provided with a carrier C for fixing the spare tire W. The front end of the carrier C is attached to the frame of the vehicle body B so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis in the vehicle width direction, and the rear end of the carrier C is movable up and down. When loading the spare tire W, the rear end of the carrier C is lowered to tilt the entire carrier C diagonally downward toward the rear. In the illustrated example, the rear end of the carrier C is grounded on the floor surface. The carrier C may have any shape that can support the spare tire W from below, and may be, for example, an approximately C-shaped (see FIG. 7) or a cross-shaped.

Next, the tire holding section 3 and the spare tire W held therein are lowered to the bottom end position via the first guide mechanism 5a as shown by the arrow A4 in FIG. 5 (only the tire holding section 3 of the spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 is shown in FIG. 5). After that, as shown by the arrow A5, the spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 is moved forward, and the tire holding section 3 and the spare tire W held therein are inserted under the vehicle body B from the rear.

As shown in FIG. 6, the spare tire W held by the tire holding section 3 is about to come into contact with the carrier C of the vehicle body B, or when it comes into light contact with the carrier C, the forward movement of the spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 is stopped. In FIG. 6, only the lifting frame 12 and its downstream side (the tire holding section 3 side) of the spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 are shown, and the base 2, the fixed frame 11, the cylinders 14, 15, etc. are omitted (similar to FIGS. 8 and 9). At this time, the front end of the carrier support section 4 is disposed forward of the center of the spare tire W held by the tire holding section 3, and in the illustrated example, it is disposed forward of the front end of the spare tire W. Therefore, with the spare tire W disposed immediately behind the carrier C, the carrier support section 4 can be disposed below the carrier C. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, an inclined portion C1 is provided at both ends of the rear end of the carrier C in the vehicle width direction, and the carrier support section 4 is in a state of being submerged below the inclined portion C1.

Next, the tire holding part 3 and the spare tire W are raised. Specifically, the worker presses the "raise" switch provided on the spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 to drive the second cylinder 15, thereby raising the lifting bracket 13, support arm 16, tire holding part 3, carrier support part 4, and spare tire W. In this way, the spare tire W is raised by the force of the second cylinder 15, thereby reducing heavy physical labor.

When the spare tire W is raised in this manner, as shown in FIG. 8, the carrier support portion 4 lifts the carrier C from below, and the rear end of the carrier C rises. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when the lift bracket 13 reaches the upper end position, the lift of the lift bracket 13 stops. At this position, the spare tire W is positioned at the mounting position for the vehicle body B, i.e., at a position abutting the underside of the vehicle body B or slightly below that. Also, by being lifted by the carrier support portion 4, the carrier C is positioned directly below the spare tire W that is positioned at the mounting position for the vehicle body B.

In this way, by lifting the spare tire W and lifting the carrier C with the carrier support part 4 through this lifting action, these tasks can be performed in a single action, improving workability. In particular, in this embodiment, just before the lifting bracket 13 starts to rise, the carrier support part 4 is inserted below the carrier C, which is tilted diagonally downward toward the rear (see Figures 6 and 7). By lifting the tire holding part 3 and the carrier support part 4 from this state, the carrier C can be lifted from below with the carrier support part 4 and rotated, thereby raising the rear end of the carrier C.

In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the second guide mechanism 5b (guide pin 16a, guide member 17, etc.) causes the support arm 16, tire holding section 3, carrier support section 4, and spare tire W to rise diagonally upward toward the front. As shown in Fig. 10, when the spare tire W is inserted from the rear under the vehicle body B, it is necessary to position the spare tire W behind the carrier C. When lifting the spare tire W from this position, the spare tire W is raised diagonally upward toward the front as shown by arrow D2, so that the spare tire W can be positioned at the mounting position W' on the vehicle body B while avoiding interference with the carrier C. In particular, in this embodiment, the tire holding section 3 holds the spare tire W at the same angle (posture) as when it is attached to the vehicle body B. As a result, the spare tire W held by the tire holding section 3 can be moved in parallel without changing the angle to be positioned at the mounting position W' on the vehicle body B at the same angle (posture) as when it is attached.

Then, the worker hooks the rear end of the carrier C onto a hook provided on the vehicle body B, and the rear end of the carrier C is supported from below by the hook. The worker then releases the "tire holding" button, releasing the clamping of the spare tire W by the clamp part 3b of the tire holding part 3. This causes the spare tire W to be supported from below by the carrier C. The hook is then raised by the tightening force of the bolts, etc., to raise the rear end of the carrier C, and the spare tire W is pressed against the underside of the carrier C and the vehicle body B. This completes the installation of the spare tire W onto the vehicle body B.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but explanations of points similar to the above embodiment will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the tire holding part 3 holding the spare tire W is placed below the vehicle body B, and then is raised only by the biasing force of the second cylinder 15, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the worker may lift the tire holding part 3 and the spare tire W in a state where the load due to the weight of the spare tire W, etc. is reduced by the upward biasing force of the second cylinder 15. In this case, it is preferable to balance the biasing force of the second cylinder 15 with the weight of the spare tire W, etc.

In the above embodiment, the second guide mechanism 5b and the second cylinder 15 are provided to raise the spare tire W diagonally upward toward the front, but these may be omitted if not particularly necessary. In this case, for example, the spare tire W held by the tire holding part 3 may be raised directly upward relative to the base 2 via the first guide mechanism 5a while the entire spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 is moved forward, thereby raising the spare tire W diagonally upward toward the front. At this time, the biasing force of the first cylinder 14 and the load applied to the pin 14a are balanced, so the worker can raise the tire holding part 3 and the spare tire W with a light force.

In the above embodiment, the carrier C is lifted while the spare tire W is being raised, and then the spare tire W is supported from below by the carrier C. However, this is not limited to the above. For example, the spare tire W held by the tire holding unit 3 may first be placed on the carrier C, and then the carrier C may be lifted by the carrier support unit 4 while the spare tire W is being raised by the tire holding unit 3.

The spare tire mounting auxiliary device 1 of the present invention is not limited to cases where a spare tire W is mounted from the rear of the vehicle body B, but can also be applied, for example, to cases where a spare tire W is mounted from the side of the vehicle body B.

1 Spare tire mounting auxiliary device 2 Base 3 Tire holding portion 3a Arm 3b Clamp portion 4 Carrier support portion 5a First guide mechanism 5b Second guide mechanism 11 Fixed frame 12 Lifting frame 13 Lifting bracket 14 First cylinder (first biasing means)
15 Second cylinder (second biasing means)
16 Support arm 16a Guide pin 17 Guide member 17a Guide groove 20 Tire supply device B Vehicle body C Carrier L Vehicle body transport line W Spare tire W' Mounting position

Claims (2)

The vehicle body has a frame and a carrier having one end rotatably attached to the frame and the other end movable up and down;
A device for assisting an operation of mounting a spare tire under a vehicle body by lifting the spare tire from below the vehicle body and supporting the spare tire from below with the carrier, comprising:
a tire holding section that is vertically movable relative to the vehicle body and that holds the spare tire; a biasing means that biases the tire holding section upward until the spare tire held in the tire holding section is positioned in an installation position on the vehicle body ; and a carrier support section that is vertically movable integrally with the tire holding section and that lifts the carrier from below in association with the operation of raising the spare tire held in the tire holding section to an installation position on the vehicle body . The spare tire mounting auxiliary device according to claim 1, which has a guide mechanism that raises the tire holding portion obliquely upward from the other end side of the carrier to one end side.