JPH0249938B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic gate opening/closing device for a gate lifter applied to vehicles such as rental cars.

Generally, in rental cars, cargo is loaded and unloaded between the ground and the vehicle's cargo bed by vertically raising and lowering a gate member held horizontally at the rear of the cargo bed, and when not in use. It is known that a gate lifter is installed in which a gate member stands up almost vertically and uses the gate member as a tailgate, thereby saving labor and speeding up cargo handling operations.

However, the problem with gate lifters installed on large vehicles is that the weight of the gate member becomes large, making it difficult to raise and lower the gate manually.

Therefore, as a way to improve this,
An automatic opening/closing mechanism as shown in Japanese Patent No. 22977 has been proposed, but this mechanism has the following problems.

When opening a gate plate that is closed vertically,
Theoretically, the gate plate should start to open as it descends due to the engagement between the hook and the gate opening/closing rod, but the gate plate may remain vertically held due to its large weight, and in this case, the hook and gate There is a concern that the opening/closing rod may be damaged.

Since the hook is in a natural hanging state, on slopes or boardwalks, the longitudinal direction of the guide support, that is, the movement trajectory of the gate plate and gate plate opening/closing rod, and the engaging part of the hook will be misaligned, and the automatic closing action will not occur. . Furthermore, if there is vibration when the gate plate starts to rise, the hook will vibrate and the hook will not engage and the automatic closing action will not take place.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above, and its main purpose is to provide an automatic gate opening/closing device for a gate lifter, which has a simple structure but can reliably and safely raise and lower a gate member. It is.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a gate lifter, and a pair of guide columns 3 are installed on the left and right sides of the rear of the loading platform of a vehicle 2 along the sides of the loading platform, and a runner 4 is raised and lowered within the guide columns 3. It is freely provided at the lower end of the runner 4 via brackets 5 and 6.
A gate member 7, which is substantially horizontal in the open state, is pivotably mounted 7a. 8 is a wire whose one end is fixed to the upper end of the runner 4, and the other end is attached to a cross member 1 which is fixed laterally to the lower ends of both guide columns 3 via an upper pulley 9 and a lower pulley 10.
It is linked to a hydraulic cylinder (not shown) disposed inside the cylinder. The gate member 7 is raised and lowered by the operation of this hydraulic cylinder.

Further, an upper roller 12, a middle roller 13, and a lower roller 14 are each rotatably pivotally attached to the runner 4, and are configured to assist the vertical movement of the runner 4. The lower roller 14 prevents the runner 4 from being pressed against the guide column 3 due to the backward force generated on the runner 4 when the gate member 7 is automatically raised, and also prevents the runner 4 from being pressed against the guide column 3 due to an overload applied to the front side.
It also acts as an auxiliary roller when the roller is bent.

Next, the automatic gate erecting device will be specifically explained. In addition, in FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, illustration of the automatic gate erecting device is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a bar member 15 is disposed on the port side of the gate member 7 so that it can be pulled out from the gate member 7, and its tip can be engaged with and detached from an arm member 19, which will be described later. An engaging portion 15a is formed. Further, a torsion bar 16 is disposed on the starboard side of the gate member 7 and has one end fixed therein, and the other end of the torsion bar 16 is supported by a holding member 17 fixed to the bracket 6 described above. When the torsion bar 16 rotates around the pivot portion 7a from the open state of the gate member 7 to the state where it stands up along the support column 3, the holding member 1
Since it is twisted with 7 as a stationary part, it is configured so that a twisting force is generated to return it to the open state.

On the other hand, a support member 18 is fixed to the side of the guide column 3 on the port side and below the cross member 11, and an arm member 19 that is normally biased to a hanging state by a spring 20 is attached to the support member 18. is rotatably supported between a substantially vertical position and a substantially vertical position. The arm member 19 is forcibly held hanging in a direction substantially parallel to the guide column 3, that is, in the direction in which the runner 4 moves up and down, by the bias of the spring 20. An engagement pin 19 is provided at the tip of this arm member 19.
a is fixed, and the engaging portion 15a of the bar member 15 described above can be freely engaged and detached.

With the above structure, in order to carry out cargo handling operations with the gate member 7 substantially horizontal, the bar member 15 may be held in a state housed within the gate member 7 as shown in FIG. In this state, arm member 1
This is because there is no risk that the bar member 9 will engage with the bar member 15.

Therefore, in order to automatically raise the gate member 7 after cargo handling work is completed, first pull out the bar member 15, and when the gate member 7 is raised in this state, the engaging portion 15a of the bar member 15 is forced to hang down. It is engaged with an engagement pin 19a at the lower end of the held arm member 19 (see the chain line in FIG. 3). Further, when the gate member is raised, the arm member 19 is rotated upward about the pivot portion against the bias of the spring 20, and the engaging portion 15a of the bar member 15 also moves on the same trajectory. , the gate member 7 is automatically raised. In this state, the torsion bar 16 generates a twisting force around the pivot portion 7a, and is attempting to return the gate member 7 to the open state.

Further, when the gate member 7 is placed in a horizontal state, if the gate member 7 is lowered, the bar member 15 is pulled by the arm member 19 (spring 20) and the torsion bar 16 causes the gate member 7 to fall backward and automatically become horizontal.

As described above, according to the automatic gate opening/closing device of the present invention, there are guide columns installed substantially vertically on the left and right sides of the rear of the vehicle's loading platform, runners provided in each of the guide columns so as to be able to rise and fall, and a pivot point attached to the runners. In the gate lifter, a torsion bar is provided with one end fixed to the gate member side and the other end fixed to the runner side and biased in the opening direction. In addition, a bar member is provided on the gate member so that it can be pulled out from the gate member, and an arm member is rotatably supported on the vehicle side between a substantially vertical position and a substantially horizontal position. , and the arm member is normally biased so as to be held in a forced hanging state in a direction substantially parallel to the guide column, and the forced hanging holding is performed by raising the gate member in an open state when the bar member is pulled out. The bar member is engaged with the arm member in the state, and as it rises, the arm member is rotated and the gate member is erected. Therefore, when the gate member is automatically opened, an opening force is generated reliably, and it can be used even on uneven ground. It can be used reliably even when automatically closing the vehicle or when the vehicle is vibrating.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings illustrate embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a side view of the gate lifter, and FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the gate member in an upright state, with some parts omitted.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a left side view of the gate member in a horizontal state. 3... Guide post, 4... Runner, 7... Gate member, 8... Wire, 15... Bar member, 16...
...Torsion bar, 19...Arm member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A guide column installed approximately vertically on the left and right sides of the rear of a vehicle's loading platform, a runner provided in each guide column so as to be able to rise and fall freely, and a gate member pivotally attached to the runner, which is substantially horizontal in an open state. In the gate lifter, a torsion bar is disposed with one end fixed to the gate member side and the other end fixed to the runner side and biased in the opening direction, and the bar member is attached to the gate member. On the other hand, on the vehicle side, an arm member is rotatably supported between a substantially vertical position and a substantially horizontal position, and the arm member is normally arranged substantially parallel to the guide column. When the bar member is pulled out, the bar member is engaged with the arm member in the forced hanging state by raising the gate member in the open state, An automatic gate opening/closing device for a gate lifter, characterized in that an arm member is rotated as the gate member rises to erect the gate member.