Lifting device

Abstract

To provide a low-cost lifting device having no flapper failure risk and not needing complex harness laying.SOLUTION: This lifting device comprises: a drive mechanism for lifting a platform; a flapper rotatable against the platform; and a deployment lock member. The deployment lock member is engaged with the flapper of a standing attitude to be movable between a lock position for inhibiting rotation of the flapper in a deploying direction and an unlock position for permitting the rotation. The deployment lock member moves from the lock position to the unlock position by means of resistance from the ground when the platform descends, and the flapper can rotate in the deploying direction by dead weight.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lifting device for raising and lowering a platform, and more particularly to a lifting device capable of controlling the deployment / raising operation of a flapper when raising and lowering a platform. [Background technology]

[0002] The lifting device has a flapper at the rear end of the platform. When the platform is raised or lowered, the flapper in an upright position prevents the cargo from falling, and when the platform is lowered, the flapper in an extended position makes it easy to unload the cargo. Techniques for controlling the rotation of the flapper include a technique in which the flapper is guided by a hole provided in the ground contact member and deployed / raised in conjunction with the operation of the ground contact member (Patent Document 1), and a technique in which the power of an actuator is transmitted to the flapper via a gear to deploy / raise the flapper (Patent Document 2). When storing the flapper in the vehicle cabin, the flapper is manually rotated in the opposite direction to the deployment direction to be approximately parallel to the platform, thereby reducing the storage dimensions, ensuring the space in the vehicle cabin, and preventing protrusions into the vehicle cabin.

[0003] In the structure described in Patent Document 1, there is no problem if the ground on which the flapper is lowered is generally horizontal, but if there is a convex part on the ground (stone, protrusion, etc.), even though the convex part applies a force to the flapper in the upright direction, the ground contact member operates and a force acts to forcibly rotate the flapper in the deployment direction, so there is a risk of failure such as deformation or damage to the operating part of the ground contact member. In addition, in the structure described in Patent Document 2, an electric actuator is used, so a harness is routed to the actuator, but since the harness passes through the lifting mechanism and the moving parts of the platform, there is a risk of failure due to disconnection, etc. In addition, the labor required to route the harness and the cost of purchasing the electric actuator are required, resulting in high costs. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-25896 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-40123 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost lifting device that can reduce the risk of failure and does not require complicated harness arrangements. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] This application discloses the following invention. <Configuration 1> A drive mechanism for raising and lowering the platform; a flapper rotatable relative to the platform; A deployment locking member; A lifting device having the deployment lock member is movable between a locked position where the deployment lock member engages with the flapper in an upright position to prohibit rotation of the flapper in the deployment direction and an unlocked position where the deployment lock member allows the rotation, A lifting device characterized in that the deployment lock member moves from the locked position to the unlocked position due to resistance from the ground when the platform is lowered, and the flapper becomes rotatable in the deployment direction by its own weight. <Configuration 2> The deployment member further includes a locking pin. The lifting device is a ground contact member having a ground contact gear and contacting the ground when the platform is lowered and rotating in a normal direction relative to the platform; an actuation member having an actuation gear and an actuation pin meshing with the ground gear and rotatable relative to the platform; a link member having an elongated hole at one end into which the actuating pin is loosely inserted and a connecting hole at the other end into which the lock pin is rotatably inserted; and 2. The lifting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, as a result of forward rotation of the grounding member causing rotation of the operating member, the operating pin reaches an end of the long hole and drives the deployment lock member via the link member, thereby moving the deployment lock member from the locked position to the unlocked position. <Configuration 3> The gear further includes a biasing means for biasing the ground contact member to rotate in a reverse direction. The flapper has a rising protrusion, The actuating member has an actuating protrusion that comes into contact with the standing protrusion during rotation, The lifting device described in configuration 2, characterized in that when the platform separates from the ground, the ground contact member rotates in the reverse direction to rotate the actuating member, and the actuating protrusion abuts against the standing protrusion to rotate the flapper in the standing direction. <Configuration 4> 3. The lifting device of claim 2, wherein the actuating member is rotatable about the same axis of rotation as the flapper. <Component 5> the deployment lock member is biased to move from the unlocked position to the locked position; The lifting device according to configuration 1, wherein the flapper in the upright position is prevented from rotating in the deployment direction by engaging with the deployment lock member in the lock position. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 2 shows the lifting and lowering operation of the lifting device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] A side view of the platform 2 and the flapper 10 is shown. [Diagram 3] The main parts of the platform 2 and the flapper 10 are shown in plan view. [Figure 4] 1 shows a main part of a flapper 10, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is a side view. [Diagram 5] 1 shows the grounding member 20, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. [Figure 6]1 shows the actuating member 30. (a) is a front view, and (b) is a side view. [Figure 7] 1 shows the deployment lock member 40. (a) is a front view in the locked position, (b) is a front view in the unlocked position, and (c) is a side view of (a). [Figure 8] The link member 50 is shown. [Figure 9] The deployment of the ground engaging member 20 and the actuating member 30 is shown. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 shows the deployment operation of the flapper 10. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 shows the rising action of the flapper 10. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] FIG. 1 shows a lifting device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the lifting device 1 has a platform 2 and a drive mechanism 3. The lifting device 1 is fixed to the passenger compartment or a loading platform at the rear of a vehicle by a well-known method. The drive mechanism 3 raises and lowers the platform 2 on which luggage such as wheelchairs are loaded. The drive mechanism 3 can be configured, for example, with a four-bar link structure or a cylinder. The platform 2 has a flapper 10 at its rear end that is rotatable relative to the platform 2.

[0009] Before the platform 2 descends, the flapper 10 at the rear end of the platform 2 is in a folded parallel position (approximately parallel to the platform 2) (FIG. 1(a)). When the platform descends, for example, the flapper 10 is manually moved to an upright position (FIG. 1(b)). Thereafter, the platform 2 descends due to the operation of the drive mechanism 3, and as the platform 2 approaches the ground, the flapper 10 automatically unfolds to the unfolded position (FIG. 1(c)→(d)).

[0010] When the platform 2 is raised, the above operations are performed in reverse. As the platform 2 is raised by the operation of the drive mechanism 3 and moves away from the ground, the flapper 10 automatically assumes an upright position (Fig. 1(d) -> (c)), and when it reaches the state of Fig. 1(b), the ascent ends. After that, the flapper 10 is returned to a parallel position, for example, manually (Fig. 1(a)). Putting the flapper 10 in the parallel position is convenient when storing the lifting device 1 in the vehicle, etc.

[0011] Fig. 2 shows a side view of the platform 2 and the flapper 10, and Fig. 3 shows a main part of the plan view of the platform 2 and the flapper 10. As shown in the figure, the platform 2 has a ground contact member 20, an actuating member 30, a deployment lock member 40, a link member 50, and a gas spring 60.

[0012] 4 shows a main part of the flapper 10. As shown in the figure, the flapper 10 has a standing protrusion 11 and a contact portion 12 on its side, and is rotatable around a flapper rotation axis 13.

[0013] 5 shows the ground contact member 20. As shown in the figure, the ground contact member 20 has a ground contact roller 21 and a ground contact gear 22. The ground contact member 20 is rotatable relative to the platform 2 around the ground contact member rotation axis 23a. The ground contact roller 21 is located at the lower end of the ground contact member 20, and facilitates the forward rotation (counterclockwise rotation in the figure) and reverse rotation (clockwise rotation in the figure) of the ground contact member 20 due to contact with the ground. The opposite end of the ground contact roller 21 of the ground contact member 20 is connected to a biasing means such as a gas spring 60 via a gas spring connection axis 23b, and the ground contact member 20 receives a biasing force in the reverse rotation direction (clockwise rotation in the figure).

[0014] Fig. 6 shows the actuating member 30. As shown in the figure, the actuating member 30 has an actuating gear 31 that meshes with the ground contact gear 22, and rotates relative to the platform 2 as the ground contact member 20 rotates. The rotation axis of the actuating member 30 is preferably the same as the flapper rotation axis 13. The actuating member 30 has an actuating pin 32 and an actuating protrusion 33 that rotate together with the actuating member 30. The actuating protrusion 33 can come into contact with the standing protrusion 11 of the flapper 10 during the course of rotation in the counterclockwise direction.

[0015] The deployment lock member 40 is shown in Fig. 7. As shown in the figure, the deployment lock member 40 has a latch 41, a deployment lock member rotation shaft 42, a lock pin 43, and a manual lever 44. The deployment lock member 40 is rotatable relative to the platform 2 around the deployment lock member rotation shaft 42. The deployment lock member 40 is urged counterclockwise toward the rotation position shown in Fig. 7(a) (locked position / rotation position substantially parallel to the platform 2) by an urging member such as a coil spring (not shown), and can be rotated to the rotation position shown in Fig. 7(b) (unlocked position) against the urging force of the coil spring by applying an external force to the lock pin 43 or the manual lever 44.

[0016] 8 shows the link member 50. The link member 50 is a member that connects the operating pin 32 and the lock pin 43. As shown in the figure, the link member 50 has an elongated hole 51 and a connecting hole 52. The operating pin 32 is loosely inserted into the elongated hole 51. The lock pin 43 is rotatably inserted into the connecting hole 52.

[0017] FIG. 9 shows the operation of the ground contact member 20 and the actuation member 30. When the platform 2 descends due to the operation of the drive mechanism 3 and the ground contact roller 21 comes into contact with the ground, the ground contact member 20 rotates forward (in the direction of the arrow A) due to the resistance from the ground. As described above, since the actuation gear 31 is meshed with the ground contact gear 22, the actuation member 30 rotates clockwise due to the forward rotation of the ground contact member 20, and the actuation pin 32 and the actuation protrusion 33 also rotate clockwise (FIG. 9(a)→(b)→(c)→(d)). As the platform 2 rises due to the operation of the drive mechanism 3, the resistance from the ground becomes smaller, and the ground contact member 20 rotates in the reverse direction (in the direction of the arrow B) due to the biasing force of the gas spring 60. As a result, the actuation member 30 rotates counterclockwise, and the actuation pin 32 and the actuation protrusion 33 also rotate counterclockwise (FIG. 9(d)→(c)→(b)→(a)).

[0018] Figure 10 shows the unfolding operation of the flapper 10. Figures 9(a) to (d) correspond to Figures 10(a) to (d), respectively. In Figure 10(a), the flapper 10 (contact portion 12) in an upright position is engaged with the locking member 40 (latch 41) in the locked position, and the flapper 10 is in an unfolding-locked state (a state in which rotation in the unfolding direction is prohibited).

[0019] When the platform 2 is lowered by the operation of the drive mechanism 3 and the ground contact roller 21 comes into contact with the ground, the ground contact roller 21 receives a resistance from the ground, and the ground contact member 20 rotates forward (Fig. 9(a)→(b)). As a result, the operating gear 31 meshing with the ground contact gear 22 rotates clockwise, and the operating pin 32 moves to the end of the long hole 51 (Fig. 10(a)→(b)). At this time, the operating protrusion 33 moves away from the standing protrusion 11, but since the flapper 10 is deployed and locked by the locking member 40 (the abutment portion 12 is engaged with the latch 41), the flapper 10 maintains the standing posture.

[0020] When the ground contact member 20 further rotates forward (Fig. 9(b)→(c)), the biasing force of the operating pin 32 is transmitted to the lock pin 43 via the link member 50, and the deployment lock member 40 moves to the unlock position (Fig. 10(b)→(c)), disengaging the latch 41 from the abutment portion 12 and releasing the deployment lock (Fig. 10(c)). This allows the flapper 10 to rotate. Therefore, the flapper 10 can rotate in the deployment direction by its own weight (Fig. 10(d)).

[0021] Figure 11 shows the raising operation of the flapper 10. Figure 11(a) shows the unlocked state, which corresponds to Figure 10(d). When the platform 2 rises due to the operation of the drive mechanism 3, the ground contact member 20 rotates in the reverse direction due to the biasing force of the gas spring 60, and the operating gear 31 rotates counterclockwise (Figure 9(d)→(c)→(b)→(a)). In the process, the operating protrusion 33 comes into contact with the raising protrusion 11 (Figure 11(b)).

[0022] When the ground contact member 20 further rotates in the reverse direction, the actuation projection 33 pushes the actuation pin 11, causing the flapper 10 to rotate in the upright direction (Fig. 11(b) -> (c)). At this time, the latch 41 is pushed by the abutment portion 12, causing the deployment lock member 40 to rotate in the clockwise direction. When the flapper 10 further rotates and the latch 41 and the abutment portion 12 come out of contact (Fig. 11(c)), the urging force of the coil spring moves the deployment lock member 40 to the lock position, and the abutment portion 12 engages with the latch 41 (Fig. 11(d)). As a result, the flapper 10 is locked in the upright position.

[0023] During rotation of the flapper 10 from the deployed position to the standing position and / or during rotation of the flapper 10 from the standing position to the parallel position, the operating pin 32 floats in the elongated hole 51 and does not affect the operation of other members (the flapper 10, the ground contact member 20, the locking member 40, etc.). The left and right end positions (FIG. 8) of the elongated hole 51 should be set so that the operating pin 32 does not come into contact with the right end of the elongated hole 51 during the process of rotation of the flapper 10 from the deployed position to the standing position or further to the parallel position.

[0024] In the above-mentioned lifting device 1, the deployment lock member 40 moves from the locked position to the unlocked position due to the resistance from the ground when the platform 2 descends, and this allows the flapper 10 to rotate in the deployment direction due to its own weight. Therefore, an electric actuator is not required, and design and manufacturing costs and the risk of failure such as disconnection of the harness are reduced. In addition, since there is no restriction on the movement of the flapper 10 in the upright direction (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 10) as in the case of a structure in which the flapper is deployed / upright in conjunction with the operation of the ground contact member 20 by a guide of a hole, the risk of failure such as deformation or damage of the flapper 10 due to the unevenness of the ground is reduced. Furthermore, by adopting a structure in which the flapper 10 is uprighted by the biasing force of the actuating protrusion 33 of the actuating member 30 which rotates in conjunction with the reverse rotation of the ground contact member 20 when the platform 10 rises, it is possible to raise the flapper 10 in conjunction with the rise of the platform 10 without restricting the movement of the flapper 10 in the upright direction and without using an electric actuator or the like.

[0025] Furthermore, since the deployment lock member is driven by an operating pin loosely inserted in the elongated hole, it is possible to ensure that the deployment lock member moves to the unlocked position only when there is sufficient contact between the ground contact member 20 and the ground.

[0026] The dimensions, shapes, arrangements, numbers, materials, etc. of the lifting device 1 and its elements in the above embodiment are merely examples, and other embodiments are possible. In the above embodiment, only the ground contact member 20, the operating member 30, the deployment lock member 40, the link member 50, the gas spring 60, etc. on the left side of the vehicle are described, but all or some of these may be provided on both sides of the vehicle or only on the right side. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1. Lifting device 2. Platform 3. Drive mechanism 10. Flapper 11...Protrusion for standing up 12...Abutting part 13 Flapper rotation shaft 20. Grounding member 21. Ground roller 22. Ground gear 23a: Grounding member rotation shaft 23b Gas spring connecting shaft 30....Operating member 31... Operating gear 32....Operating pin 33....Operating protrusion 40... Deployment lock member 41...Latch 42...Deployment lock member rotation axis 43 Lock pin 44 Manual lever 50 Link member 51...Slotted hole 52 Connection hole 60···Gas spring

Claims

1. A drive mechanism for raising and lowering the platform; a flapper rotatable relative to the platform; A deployment locking member; A lifting device having the deployment lock member is movable between a locked position where the deployment lock member engages with the flapper in an upright position to prevent the flapper from rotating in the deployment direction and an unlocked position where the deployment lock member allows the flapper to rotate, A lifting device characterized in that the deployment lock member moves from the locked position to the unlocked position due to resistance from the ground when the platform is lowered, and the flapper becomes rotatable in the deployment direction by its own weight.

2. The deployment lock member further includes a lock pin. The lifting device is a ground contact member having a ground contact gear and contacting the ground when the platform is lowered and rotating in a normal direction relative to the platform; an actuation member having an actuation gear and an actuation pin meshing with the ground gear and rotatable relative to the platform; a link member having an elongated hole at one end into which the actuating pin is loosely inserted and a connecting hole at the other end into which the lock pin is rotatably inserted; and 2. The lifting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the operating member is rotated in the forward direction by the grounding member, the operating pin that has reached the end of the long hole drives the deployment lock member via the link member, thereby moving the deployment lock member from the locked position to the unlocked position.

3. The gear further includes a biasing means for biasing the ground contact member to rotate in a reverse direction. The flapper has a rising protrusion, The actuating member has an actuating protrusion that comes into contact with the standing protrusion during rotation, The lifting device according to claim 2, characterized in that, during the rotation of the operating member due to the reverse rotation of the ground contact member when the platform separates from the ground, the operating protrusion abuts against the standing protrusion to rotate the flapper in the standing direction.

4. 3. The lifting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the actuating member is rotatable about the same axis of rotation as the flapper.

5. the deployment lock member is biased to move from the unlocked position to the locked position; 2. The lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the flapper in the upright position is prevented from rotating in the deployment direction by engaging with the deployment lock member in the lock position.

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