Folding joint

Abstract

The folding connector comprises a first connector body and a second connector body, one side of the first connector body is hinged to one side of the second connector body, the folding connector further comprises a sliding buckle, an elastic piece and a lock cylinder, a sliding groove and a lock cylinder hole are formed in the first connector body, the sliding buckle is arranged in the sliding groove, the lock cylinder is arranged in the lock cylinder hole, and the elastic piece is arranged in the lock cylinder hole. The second connector is provided with a locking hole, the locking hole is opposite to the lock cylinder hole, the elastic piece is used for enabling the lock cylinder to move towards the locking hole, and the sliding buckle can enable the lock cylinder to move out of the locking hole. According to the folding connector, locking or unlocking of the folding connector can be achieved without a handle, and the folding connector is simple in structure and convenient to operate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of bicycles and scooters, in particular to a folding joint used for bicycles and scooters. Background Art

[0002] Folding joints are important components of folding bicycles, electric bicycles and scooters. They are generally used on the vertical tubes of scooters, as well as the vertical tubes and main beam tubes of bicycles and electric bicycles. Folding joints can be used to quickly fold or unfold bicycles, electric bicycles and scooters, reduce their size, and facilitate storage or transportation.

[0003] All existing folding joints on the market include handles, which protrude from the vertical tube or the main beam tube, not only affecting the appearance, but also causing the handle to easily interfere with the vertical tube or the main beam tube after folding, and requiring the handle to be turned first, making the operation more cumbersome. Chinese patent document CN102381412A discloses a handleless automatic locking folding joint, comprising a first joint and a second joint connected to the first section and the second section of the pipe respectively, the first joint and the second joint being hinged at one side by a hinge, the first joint comprising a locking block located in the first joint housing, a locking block swinging mechanism enabling the locking block to swing around a rotating shaft perpendicular to the axis of the pipe, and a locking block swinging actuating mechanism enabling the swing of the locking block to be controlled by elastic force, wherein the top of the locking block comprises a convex edge extending in the swinging direction of the locking block, in the locking block swinging actuating mechanism, a screw is mounted on the locking block, the axis of the screw is perpendicular to both the axis of the pipe and the rotating shaft, one end of the screw is connected to a button exposed to the outside, and a compression spring is sleeved on the end of the screw away from the button; the second joint comprises an opening at a position corresponding to the position of the locking block in the first joint, the opening comprises a structure for allowing the top of the locking block to pass through and the convex edge to be stuck to the outside of the opening after passing through. The structure is relatively complex. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a folding joint which does not require a handle to achieve locking or opening of the folding joint and has a simple structure and is easy to operate.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the folding joint disclosed in the present invention is:

[0006] A folding joint comprises a first joint and a second joint, one side of the first joint is hingedly connected to one side of the second joint, and further comprises a slide buckle, an elastic member and a lock core, wherein a slide groove and a lock core hole are provided on one joint, the slide buckle is arranged in the slide groove, the lock core is arranged in the lock core hole, and a locking hole is provided on the other joint, the locking hole is opposite to the lock core hole, the elastic member is used to move the lock core toward the locking hole, and the slide buckle can move the lock core out of the locking hole.

[0007] As a preferred solution, the slide buckle is fixedly connected to the lock core.

[0008] As a preferred solution, the elastic member is arranged in the slide groove, one end of the elastic member abuts against the joint provided with the slide groove, and the other end abuts against the slide buckle.

[0009] As a preferred solution, the elastic member is arranged in the lock core hole, one end of the elastic member abuts against the joint provided with the lock core hole, and the other end abuts against the lock core.

[0010] As a preferred solution, it also includes a lock ring, which is arranged in the locking hole. The lock ring is provided with a receiving hole, which corresponds to the lock core and is slightly larger than the outer contour size of the lock core.

[0011] As a preferred solution, it also includes an inner locking nut, the lower end of the locking hole is provided with a step, the inner locking nut is arranged at the step of the locking hole, and the locking ring is arranged on the inner locking nut.

[0012] As a preferred solution, the joint provided with the inner locking nut is provided with a narrow slot and a locking hole, the locking hole crosses the narrow slot, a locking bolt is provided in the locking hole, and the locking bolt is used to tighten the inner locking nut.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment, the first joint is provided with a boss, the lock core hole is provided on the boss, the second joint is provided with a notch, the notch is provided on one side of the locking hole, the boss is provided at the locking hole and the notch, and one side of the boss is hingedly connected to the second joint.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment, a first hinge hole is provided on one side of the first boss, a second hinge hole is provided on the second joint, the second hinge hole is located on the side wall of the second joint notch, and the first joint and the second joint are hingedly connected by a hinge axis passing through the first hinge hole and the second hinge hole.

[0015] As a preferred solution, a chamfered surface is provided on one side of the boss where the first hinge hole is provided.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the folding joint disclosed in the present invention are as follows: the elastic member is used to move the lock core toward the locking hole, and when the lock core is inserted into the locking hole, the side wall of the joint provided with the locking hole limits the lock core, and the two joints cannot rotate relative to each other, thereby realizing the locking of the first joint and the second joint, and when the first joint and the second joint need to be loosened, the elastic force of the elastic member is overcome by the sliding buckle to move the lock core out of the locking hole, and at this time, the side wall of the joint provided with the locking hole cannot limit the lock core, and the first joint and the second joint can rotate relative to each other, thereby opening the first joint and the second joint. No handle is required, and the locking and opening of the joint are realized by moving the sliding buckle, and the structure is simple and the operation is convenient. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a folding joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 It is an exploded schematic diagram of a folding joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 It is a front view schematic diagram of a folding joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 4 It is a side view of a folding joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 Schematic cross-sectional view of .

[0022] Figure 6 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a folding joint according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 7 It is an exploded schematic diagram of the folding joint according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 8 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a folding joint according to the second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention will be further described and illustrated below in conjunction with specific embodiments and accompanying drawings:

[0026] Embodiment 1

[0027] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 A folding joint includes a first joint 10, a sliding buckle 30, an elastic member 40, a lock core 50, a locking ring 60, an inner locking nut 70 and a second joint 20.

[0028] The present embodiment is applied to a vertical tube, and a first joint 10 is fixed on a handlebar. A boss 11 is provided at one end of the first joint 10, and a lock core hole 13 is provided on the end face of the boss 11. A first hinge hole 17 is provided on one side of the boss 11. A first screw hole 15 is also provided on the boss 11, and the first screw hole 15 passes through the first hinge hole 17. A first screw 16 is provided in the first screw 15. A chamfered surface 14 is provided on one side of the boss 17 where the first hinge hole 17 is provided. A slide groove 12 is provided on the side of the first joint 10. In the present embodiment, the slide buckle 30 and the elastic member 40 are provided in the slide groove 12, and a portion of the slide buckle 30 is exposed outside the slide groove 12. One end of the elastic member 40 abuts against the first joint 10, and the other end abuts against the slide buckle 30. Since a small portion of the slide buckle 30 protrudes out of the slide groove 12, it is not easy for the outside world to interfere with the slide buckle 30. In order to increase the difficulty of the outside world interfering with the slide buckle 30, in the present embodiment, a concave surface 18 is provided on the side of the first joint 10. See Figure 2 , without affecting the sliding of the slider 30, try to avoid external or unintentional pushing of the slider 30.

[0029] The lock core 50 is disposed in the lock core hole 13. In this embodiment, the slide groove 12 is connected to the lock core hole 13. A screw hole 51 is disposed at one end of the lock core 50, and a wedge-shaped groove 52 is disposed at the other end. The slide buckle 30 and the lock core 50 are fixedly connected by a screw 90 passing through the slide buckle 30 and the screw hole 51. The elastic member 40 pushes the slide buckle 30 to move the lock core 50 out of the lock core hole 13, and pushes the slide buckle 30 to overcome the elastic force of the elastic member 40 to drive the lock core 50 to retract into the lock core hole 13.

[0030] Please refer to Figures 2 to 5 The second joint 20 is provided with a locking hole 21, see Figure 5 The locking hole 21 is opposite to the lock core hole 13, a notch 22 is provided at one end of the second joint 20, the notch 22 is provided at one side of the locking hole 21, a second hinge hole 23 is provided on the side wall of the notch 22 of the second joint 20, the boss 11 is provided at the locking hole 21 and the notch 22, the end face of the boss 11 extends into the locking hole 21, the end face of the second joint 20 abuts against the bottom face of the boss 11, so that the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 cooperate, the hinge shaft 100 passes through the first hinge hole 17 on the first joint 10 and the second hinge hole 23 on the second joint 20 to hinge the first joint 10 and the second joint 20, and the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 can rotate relative to the hinge shaft 100. The first machine screw 16 on the first joint 10 abuts against the hinge shaft 100 through the first machine screw hole 15, which can prevent the hinge shaft 100 from moving laterally and improve the hinge reliability of the first joint 10 and the second joint 20.

[0031] The other end of the second joint 20 is provided with a slot 24 and a locking hole 25, see Figure 3 The locking hole 25 crosses the narrow slot 24 , and a locking bolt is arranged in the locking hole 25 . The locking bolt is used to tighten the narrow slot 24 to reduce the width of the narrow slot 24 .

[0032] The locking ring 60 and the inner locking nut 70 are arranged in the locking hole 21. The locking ring 60 is provided with a receiving hole, which corresponds to the lock core 50 and is slightly larger than the outer contour size of the lock core 50. The lower end of the locking hole 21 is provided with a step, and the inner locking nut 70 is arranged at the step of the locking hole 21. When the locking bolt tightens the narrow slot 24, the inner locking nut 70 abuts against the step of the locking hole 21. The vertical pipe 80 extends from the bottom into the locking hole 21 and is threadedly connected with the inner locking nut 70, so that the vertical pipe 80 is fixedly connected with the second joint 20. The locking ring 60 is arranged on the inner locking nut 70, and the lock core 50 is accommodated by the receiving hole. When the lock core 50 is inserted into the receiving hole of the locking ring 60, since the receiving hole is slightly larger than the outer contour size of the lock core 50, the receiving hole limits the lock core, so that the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 cannot rotate, and the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 are locked. The side of the second joint 20 is also provided with a second screw hole 26, which is connected to the locking hole 21, and a second screw 27 is provided in the second screw hole 26, and the lock ring 60 is pressed by the second screw 27 to prevent the lock ring 60 from moving and rotating in the locking hole 21. In other embodiments, the lock ring 60 can be fixedly installed in the locking hole 21 by interference fit, and the second screw can be omitted to simplify the structure. Since the chamfered surface 14 is provided on one side of the boss 11 where the first hinge hole is provided, the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 can be easily rotated relative to each other.

[0033] When the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 are locked, the slider 30 is slid to overcome the elastic force of the elastic member 40, drive the lock core 50 to retract, rotate the first joint 10, align the lock core 50 on the first joint 10 with the receiving hole of the lock ring 60, release the slider 30, and under the action of the elastic member 40, the lock core 50 is inserted into the receiving hole. Since the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 can only rotate relative to each other, and since the receiving hole is slightly larger than the outer contour size of the lock core 50, the receiving hole limits the lock core, so that the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 cannot rotate, and the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 are locked. When the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 need to be folded, the slider 30 is slid to overcome the elastic force of the elastic member 40, drive the lock core 50 to retract, rotate the first joint 10, make the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 rotate relative to each other, and the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 are folded. The other end of the lock core 50 is provided with a wedge-shaped groove 52. When locking is required, the first joint 10 is directly rotated. When the wedge-shaped groove 52 of the lock core 50 abuts against the second joint 20, the second joint 20 overcomes the elastic force of the elastic member 40 with the lock core 50 until the lock core 50 is inserted into the receiving hole of the lock ring 60 for locking. However, the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 cannot be opened and folded by rotating the first joint 10, thereby improving the convenience during locking. Since the lock core 50 and the lock ring 60 are easily worn due to collision with each other, the lock core 50 and the lock ring 60 are arranged to facilitate replacement and improve the service life of the folding joint. If the service life is not considered, the lock ring can be omitted, so that the size of the locking hole is slightly larger than the size of the lock core, and the first joint 10 and the second joint 20 are hingedly connected through the hinge ear.

[0034] In other embodiments, the elastic member 40 may also be arranged in the lock core hole 13, one end of the elastic member 40 abuts against the first joint 10, and the other end abuts against the lock core 50, and the slide buckle and the lock core may also be connected by other fixed connection methods, so that the elastic member can move the lock core toward the locking hole, and the slide buckle can move the lock core out of the locking hole.

[0035] Embodiment 2

[0036] Please refer to Figures 6 to 8 A folding joint includes a first joint 10', a sliding buckle 30', an elastic member 40', a lock core 50', a fastening sleeve 60', an inner locking nut 70' and a second joint 20'.

[0037] This embodiment is applied to the vertical pipe, the first joint 10' is fixed on the handlebar, a boss 11' is provided at one end of the first joint 10', a locking hole 12' is provided on the end face of the boss 11', and a first hinge hole is provided on one side of the boss 11'.

[0038] A sliding groove 21' is provided on the side of the second joint 20', a lock core hole 22' is provided at one end of the second joint 20', the lock core hole 22' is opposite to the locking hole 12', a notch 23' is provided at this end of the second joint 20, the notch 23' is provided on one side of the lock core hole 22', a second hinge hole is provided on the side wall of the notch 23' of the second joint 20, a narrow slot and a locking hole are provided at the other end of the second joint 20', the locking hole crosses the narrow slot, a locking bolt is provided in the locking hole, The locking bolt is used to tighten the narrow slot to reduce the width of the narrow slot. Please refer to the first embodiment. The lock core 50', the fastening sleeve 60' and the inner lock nut 70' are arranged in the lock core hole 22'. The bottom of the lock core hole 22' is provided with a step. The inner lock nut 70' is arranged at the step of the lock core hole 22' and is threadedly connected with the vertical pipe 80' to fix the vertical pipe 80' with the second joint 20'. The fastening sleeve 60' is fixed in the lock core hole 22'. The fastening sleeve 60' is provided with a guide groove 61'. The slide buckle 30' and the elastic member 40' are arranged in the slide groove 21' on the side of the second joint 20'. One end of the elastic member 40' abuts against the end surface of the slide groove 21', and the other end abuts against the slide buckle 30'. When the slide buckle 30' is fixed to the lock core 50' by the screw 90', the guide groove 61' on the fastening sleeve 60' is used to guide the slide buckle 30' to slide. The first joint 10' is rotated, and the boss 11' at one end of the first joint 10' squeezes the lock core 50', and the lock core 50' overcomes the elastic force of the elastic member 40' and moves. When the lock core 50' moves on the boss 11' and slides into the locking hole 12' on the boss 11', under the action of the elastic member 40', the slider 30' drives the lock core 50' to slide toward the locking hole 12' on the first joint 10', so as to lock the first joint 10' and the second joint 20'. When the slider 30' is pushed to overcome the elastic member 40' and drive the lock core 50' to withdraw from the locking hole 12', the first joint 10' and the second joint 20' can be folded up.

[0039] In this embodiment, the fastening sleeve 60' is used to better stabilize the lock core 50' on the second joint 20'. If the lock core hole 22' and the lock core 50' have high precision, that is, the lock core 50' has little shaking margin in the lock core hole 22', the fastening sleeve 60' can be omitted.

[0040] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, rather than to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solution of the present invention can be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the essence and scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A folding joint, comprising a first joint and a second joint, wherein one side of the first joint is hingedly connected to one side of the second joint, characterized in that: It also includes a slide buckle, an elastic member and a lock core, wherein a slide groove and a lock core hole are provided on one joint, the slide buckle is arranged in the slide groove, the lock core is arranged in the lock core hole, and a locking hole is provided on the other joint, the locking hole is opposite to the lock core hole, the elastic member is used to move the lock core toward the locking hole, and the slide buckle can move the lock core out of the locking hole.

2. The folding joint according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slide buckle is fixedly connected to the lock core.

3. The folding joint according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elastic member is arranged in the slide groove, one end of the elastic member abuts against the joint provided with the slide groove, and the other end abuts against the slide buckle.

4. The folding joint according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elastic member is arranged in the lock core hole, one end of the elastic member abuts against the joint provided with the lock core hole, and the other end abuts against the lock core.

5. The folding joint according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a lock ring, which is arranged in the locking hole. The lock ring is provided with a receiving hole, the receiving hole corresponds to the lock core, and the receiving hole is slightly larger than the outer contour size of the lock core.

6. The folding joint according to claim 5, characterized in that: It also includes an inner locking nut, a step is provided at the lower end of the locking hole, the inner locking nut is arranged at the step of the locking hole, and the locking ring is arranged on the inner locking nut.

7. The folding joint according to claim 6, characterized in that: The joint provided with the inner locking nut is provided with a narrow slot and a locking hole, the locking hole crosses the narrow slot, a locking bolt is provided in the locking hole, and the locking bolt is used to tighten the inner locking nut.

8. The folding joint according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first joint is provided with a boss, the lock core hole is provided on the boss, the second joint is provided with a notch, the notch is provided on one side of the locking hole, the boss is provided at the locking hole and the notch, and one side of the boss is hingedly connected to the second joint.

9. The folding joint according to claim 8, characterized in that: A first hinge hole is provided on one side of the first boss, a second hinge hole is provided on the second joint, the second hinge hole is located on the side wall of the second joint notch, and the first joint and the second joint are hingedly connected via a hinge axis passing through the first hinge hole and the second hinge hole.

10. The folding joint according to claim 9, characterized in that: A chamfered surface is provided on one side of the boss where the first hinge hole is provided.

Images