The invention relates to the technical field of bicycles, and particularly to a novel rapidly foldable electric vehicle.
With the rapid development of society and the constant improvement in people's living standards, electric bicycles have become necessities in the daily life of ordinary people, a large number of electric bicycles in many varieties are currently sold on the market, but the electric bicycles have the disadvantages of large volume, heavy weight, and inconvenience in storage and transport.
In 2013, Stigo Limited launched a conveniently foldable electric bicycle (visit the official website of Stigo: http://stigobike.com), wherein a video captured by using the product was immediately uploaded to Knewsmart and TencentVideo (the video link address in Knewsmart: http://knewsmart.com/news/5346/, the issue date: Sep. 24, 2013; and the video link address in TencentVideo: http://v.qq.com/boke/page/i/z/j/i0118mtpnzj.html, the upload date: Sep. 24, 2013), and another video captured by using the product was also uploaded to Youku on Sep. 27, 2013 (the video link address in Youku: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjEOMTYyMjcy.html). The above videos can also be seen by searching other websites in Google.
Stigo Limited submitted a patent application for an invention (application number: 14164491.4; title of the invention: foldable vehicle) to the European Patent Office on Apr. 11, 2014. Stigo Limited filed a Chinese invention patent (application number: 201410204459.3; title of the invention: foldable bicycle) on May 14, 2014 based on the application submitted to the European Patent Office as a priority document. Stigo Limited submitted a design patent (application number: CN201430069387; publication date: Oct. 1, 2014) of the product to the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on Mar. 28, 2014. A technician from Hubei Province submitted a utility model patent entitled “portable foldable electric bicycle” (application number: 201420169248.6; announcement date: Oct. 22, 2014) on Apr. 10, 2014. A company in Hangzhou submitted an invention patent entitled “foldable electric vehicle” (application number: 201410677404.4; publication date: Mar. 25, 2015; a utility model patent was filed for the patent, wherein the application number is 201420706209.5 and the authorization announcement number is CN204223100U) on Nov. 4, 2014.
The foldable electric vehicle disclosed by Stigo Limited has a novel concept and strong practicality, but also has significant defects; and a comprehensive analysis of its patent documents, product videos and real product can demonstrate that the mechanical connection relations and the folding and moving process described in the technical solution of Stigo are as shown at S1 to S4 in
1) Two towing wheels are arranged at a tail end of a vehicle body and far from the center of gravity of the vehicle body, and nearly the entire weight of the vehicle falls on the hands of a person who tows the vehicle based on physics knowledge, thus towing is performed with great effort.
2) Since the towing wheels are arranged at the tail end, it is a rear wheel rather than the towing wheels that actually function to support towing during towing (see the scene in the video of Stigo where a lady who tows the vehicle gets off the subway, showing that the rear wheel rotates when touching the ground). The towing wheels can only be provided with a supporting function by a person who is tall enough or by bending the arms of a user as much as possible to manually lift the rear wheel off the ground, but the action of bending arms for a long time necessarily increases the difficulty for the user, thus towing is performed with great effort (see the scene in the video of Stigo where a lady who tows the vehicle gets on the subway, wherein the lady needs to bend arms to allow the towing wheels to touch the ground).
In fact, Stigo had found the inconvenience brought by this design defect in 2016, and therefore submitted a patent application for an improved scheme of the design (application number: EP16155038; filling date: Feb. 10, 2016) to the European Patent Office in February, 2016, and submitted a Chinese patent application for the scheme (application number: CN2016203101954; publication date: Sep. 21, 2016; refer to the third paragraph (paragraph 0004) of the background section of the application) to the Chinese Patent Office on Apr. 13, 2016. According to the patent documents in which the design has been improved, particularly a detailed analysis of the real product, it is found that Stigo changes the towing wheels fixed at the tail end of the vehicle body as a fine adjustable (telescopic and fine-movable) structure, but the essence and technical effects of the technical solution are not changed, the improved scheme is undesirable and the structure is complex, thus increasing the production cost.
3) After being folded, the vehicle body easily tips over (see the scene at the end of the video of Stigo where the vehicle body tips and rolls over when passing through a security instrument in an airport).
4) When the vehicle body is folded, a saddle moves backward to occupy the rear space of the vehicle body such that the vehicle cannot be provided with a baggage rack (box).
The technical solutions proposed by the following two applicants (application number: 201420169248.6, 201410677404.4 and 201420706209.5) are exactly the same as the technical solution of the product disclosed by Stigo Limited, and therefore do not have substantive technical progress and significant inventiveness.
During the examination of the priority document (a PCT patent) of the present patent application, the examiner has drawn a conclusion that the present PCT patent application is inventive based on the Chinese Utility Model Patent Application No. 201420706209.5 to a company in Hangzhou as a reference document.
An objective of the invention is to provide a novel rapidly foldable electric vehicle, wherein the center of gravity of a vehicle body is positioned rearward, the vehicle body has less pressure on a human body and towing is performed with less effort when the vehicle is folded and towed, a saddle does not move backward and the rear space of the vehicle body can be saved after the vehicle is folded, and the vehicle body does not tip over easily when the vehicle is folded and laid flat.
To achieve this objective, the invention adopts the following technical solutions.
A novel rapidly foldable electric vehicle comprises a main beam, a rear wheel, a cross beam, a bracket, and a saddle which can move forward and backward and has a position locking device, wherein a pin (also known as a rotating supporting shaft) is arranged at a junction between a lower end of the bracket and the main beam, a supporting post is arranged at the lower end of the bracket, the bracket and the supporting post are rotatably arranged about the pin, an included angle of less than 180° is formed between the supporting post and the bracket, and a towing wheel is arranged at a lower end of the supporting post.
Preferably, the pin is positioned at about ⅓-¼ of the main beam near a rear end thereof.
Preferably, the pin is positioned at about ½-⅙ of the main beam near a rear end thereof.
Preferably, an included angle of 100°-130° is formed between the supporting post and the bracket, or an included angle of 150°-170° is formed between the supporting post and the bracket.
Preferably, the pin is positioned at about ⅓-¼ of the main beam near a rear end thereof, and an included angle of 150°-170° is formed between the supporting post and the bracket.
Preferably, an included angle of 100°, 105°, 110°, 115°, 120°, 125°, 1300, 1350, 1400, 1450, 150°, 155°, 1600, 1650, 170°, 1750 or 180° is formed between the supporting post and the bracket.
Preferably, the towing wheel is arranged at an inner side of the lower end of the supporting post; or a U-shaped opening is arranged at the lower end of the supporting post, and the towing wheel is arranged in the U-shaped opening at the lower end of the supporting post.
Preferably, the main beam is a double-tube main beam, the cross beam is a double-tube cross beam, the bracket is a double-tube bracket and a footrest is arranged at an outer side of the supporting post; and the rear wheel is a rear wheel with a drive motor.
Preferably, the electric vehicle further comprises a front fork, a front wheel and a handlebar straight fork, wherein the front fork is provided with an adaptor joint, a front end of the main beam can rotate leftward, rightward, upward and downward around the adaptor joint, the front wheel is positioned at a lower end of the front fork, and the handlebar straight fork is positioned at an upper end of the front fork.
Preferably, the electric vehicle further comprises a handlebar with a hand brake and a hand gripping portion for towing, wherein two handlebars are provided, the two handlebars are respectively positioned at left and right sides of an upper part of the handlebar straight fork, and the hand gripping portion for towing is arranged at the upper part of the handlebar straight fork; a cell phone holder is arranged at a middle part of the handlebar straight fork; and the front fork is provided with an adaptor joint, and a front end of the main beam can rotate leftward, rightward, upward and downward around the adaptor joint.
Preferably, a sound box is arranged at a front part of the main beam.
Preferably, the saddle can move forward and backward along the cross beam and has a position locking device; a front end of the cross beam is hinged with the front part of the main beam, and an upper part of the bracket is hinged with the saddle; and the supporting post and the bracket are arranged integrally and share the pin.
Preferably, the saddle can move forward and backward along the cross beam and has a position locking device, a front end of the cross beam is hinged with the front part of the main beam, the rear wheel is arranged at a rear end of the main beam, and an upper part of the bracket is hinged with the saddle; and the supporting post and the bracket are arranged in a split manner, share the pin and are connected by a connection mechanism.
Preferably, the distance between the pin and a distal point of the towing wheel is greater than the radius of the rear wheel.
Preferably, when the vehicle is folded, the saddle is unlocked such that the saddle slides forward from a rear part (a rear part or a rear end) of the cross beam and drives the bracket and the supporting post to rotate counterclockwise about the pin, the towing wheel moves downward and backward and gradually touches the ground, and after the towing wheel touches the ground, the saddle continues to slide forward and drives the bracket and the supporting post to continue to rotate about the pin, the rear wheel leaves the ground and the saddle moves to a front part of the cross beam to complete the folding action, thus the vehicle is in a towed or flat state; and
when the vehicle is unfolded, the saddle slides backward from the front part of the cross beam and drives the bracket and the supporting post to rotate clockwise about the pin, the rear wheel moves downward and gradually touches the ground, the towing wheel moves forward and upward and gradually leaves the ground, after the rear wheel touches the ground, the saddle continues to drive the bracket and the supporting post to rotate about the pin and the towing wheel leaves the ground by a certain height, and when the saddle moves to the rear part (or the rear end, a lockable position) of the cross beam, the saddle is locked to complete the unfolding action, thus the vehicle is in a riding state.
Preferably, a first sprocket and a drive member for driving the first sprocket to rotate are arranged at a lower part of the supporting post, a second sprocket is arranged at the pin, the axis of the second sprocket coincides with that of the pin, the rear wheel is provided with a third sprocket for driving the rear wheel, the first sprocket is connected with the second sprocket in a driving manner via a first chain, the second sprocket is connected with the third sprocket in a driving manner via a second chain, the second sprocket has a double-track sprocket structure, and the drive member can drive the rear wheel to rotate.
Preferably, the drive member comprises a left pedal, a right pedal, a left connecting bar and a right connecting bar, wherein the left connecting bar is connected to the left pedal and the first sprocket, and the right connecting bar is connected to the right pedal and the first sprocket.
Preferably, the left pedal and the right pedal are foldably arranged; when power-assisted riding, the left pedal is at an angle of 90° to the left connecting bar, the right pedal is at an angle of 90° to the right connecting bar, and the pedals are distributed at two sides of the first sprocket; and when the left pedal and the right pedal are not manually pedaled, the left pedal is at an angle of 0° to the left connecting bar, the right pedal is at an angle of 0° to the right connecting bar, the left pedal abuts the left connecting bar, and the right pedal abuts the right connecting bar.
Preferably, when power-assisted riding, the left connecting bar is at an angle of 180° to the right connecting bar; and in a non-riding state, the left connecting bar and the right connecting bar can be folded to overlap the supporting post.
The left connecting bar and the right connecting bar can be folded to overlap the supporting post, have a locking function, and meanwhile are folded at an upper half part of the first sprocket.
Preferably, the front wheel is a front wheel with a drive motor.
The invention has the following beneficial effects: a novel rapidly foldable electric vehicle comprises a main beam, a rear wheel, a cross beam, a bracket, and a saddle which can move forward and backward and has a position locking device, wherein a pin (also known as a rotating supporting shaft) is arranged at a junction between a lower end of the bracket and the main beam, a supporting post is arranged at the lower end of the bracket, the bracket and the supporting post are rotatably arranged about the pin, an included angle of less than 180° is formed between the supporting post and the bracket, and a towing wheel is arranged at a lower end of the supporting post. Compared with the background art, the invention differs in that the sliding direction of the saddle is opposite to that in the background art (refer to B1 to B4 of
The beneficial effects of the invention are specifically embodied in that: (1) the invention solves a series of defects caused by towing wheels fixedly arranged at a tail end of a vehicle body in the background art; (2) after the vehicle is folded and towed, the towing wheels serve as supporting points and the supporting points vertically or nearly coincide with the center of gravity of the vehicle body such that the weight of the vehicle body distributed to the arms of a person who tows the vehicle is nearly minimal, thus towing is performed with least effort; (3) in practical use of the product, it is found that, regardless of the height of a user, arms do not need to be bent during towing, and the towing process can be easily completed by naturally putting down the arms; (4) whether the vehicle body is not folded or in a folded and flat state, after the two towing wheels touch the ground, the vehicle body can be kept at the most stable state to avoid an undesirable phenomenon of tipping or rolling over leftward or rightward; and (5) a rear part of the vehicle body has the space necessary for a baggage rack.
The inventiveness of the invention lies in that, compared with the background art, the invention has obtained the technical effects that are unexpected in the background art and more beneficial, just by the mechanical connection relations and the change in the movement direction of the saddle without adding any mechanical component and increasing cost.
The beneficial effects of the invention are further as follows: a manual pedaling device is provided so that the vehicle can be manually driven for riding when its battery is depleted, thus providing more convenience in use.
The invention is to be further described below in detail with reference to the drawings and embodiments.
In the Figures:
1—main beam; 2—rear wheel; 3—cross beam; 4—bracket; 5—saddle; 6—baggage rack; 7—pin; 8—supporting post; 81—footrest; 9—towing wheel; 100—front fork; 200—front wheel; 300—handlebar straight fork; 400—handlebar; 1001—adaptor joint; 401—hand gripping portion for towing; 402—cell phone holder; 500—sound box; 10—first sprocket; 11—drive member; 111—left pedal; 112—right pedal; 113—left connecting bar; 114—right connecting bar; 12—second sprocket; 13—third sprocket; 14—first chain; 15—second chain.
The technical solutions of the invention are to be further described below with reference to
As shown in
In the embodiment, the pin 7 is positioned at about ⅓-¼ of the main beam near a rear end thereof.
In the embodiment, an included angle of 150°-170° is formed between the supporting post 8 and the bracket 4.
In the embodiment, an included angle of 160° is formed between the supporting post 8 and the bracket 4.
An included angle of 160±10° is formed between the supporting post 8 and the bracket 4 such that the center of gravity of a vehicle body falls between two towing wheels 9 and a front wheel 200, thus the vehicle is stably placed and a force is easily applied to fold the vehicle, but if the angle is too small, the center of gravity is closer to the vertical direction of the towing wheels 9, which may lead to the rising of the rear wheel 2 by itself and poor stability of the vehicle after folding. For example, if the angle is 125°, the vehicle body tends to be in a riding state from a folded state, and therefore is unstable after folding.
The bracket 4 and the supporting post 8 do not necessarily have to be straight and may have a certain radian.
As an alternative, an adaptor may be arranged at a junction between a lower end of the bracket 4 and the main beam 1, and a pin 7 is arranged on the adaptor, thus ensuring that the bracket 4 and the main beam 1 can rotate about the pin 7 without damaging the strength of the bracket 4 and the main beam 1.
In the embodiment, the towing wheel 9 is arranged at an inner side of the lower end of the supporting post 8; or a U-shaped opening is arranged at the lower end of the supporting post 8, and the towing wheel 9 is arranged in the U-shaped opening at the lower end of the supporting post 8.
In the embodiment, the electric vehicle further comprises a rear wheel 2 which is arranged at a rear end of the main beam 1, wherein the main beam 1 is a double-tube main beam 1, the cross beam 3 is a double-tube cross beam 3, the bracket 4 is a double-tube bracket 4, and a footrest 81 is arranged at an outer side of the supporting post 8; and the rear wheel 2 is a rear wheel 2 with a drive motor.
As an alternative, the main beam 1, the cross beam 3, the bracket 4 and the like may be flat-type, single-tubular, multi-tubular, etc.
In the embodiment, the electric vehicle further comprises a front fork 100, a front wheel 200 and a handlebar straight fork 300, wherein the front fork 100 is provided with an adaptor joint 1001, the front fork 100 rotates leftward, rightward, upward and downward around the main beam 1 via the adaptor joint 1001, the front wheel 200 is positioned at a lower end of the front fork 100, and the handlebar straight fork 300 is positioned at an upper end of the front fork 100.
In the embodiment, a baggage rack 6 is arranged at a rear end of the cross beam 3, which can be used to hold baggage and also allows the center of gravity of the vehicle body to shift backward, thus the center of gravity of the folded vehicle body is more conveniently adjusted to the towing wheel 9.
As shown in
In the embodiment, the hand gripping portion for towing 401 is rotatably arranged and has a position locking structure, and the height of hands during towing can be adjusted by rotating the angle of the hand gripping portion for towing 401 relative to the handlebar 400, thus facilitating towing by different persons.
In the embodiment, a cell phone holder 402 is arranged at a middle part of the handlebar straight fork 300, which can be used to hold a smart phone.
In the embodiment, a sound box 500 for playing music is arranged at a front part of the main beam 1.
As shown in
In the embodiment, the distance between the pin 7 and a distal point of the towing wheel 9 is greater than the radius of the rear wheel 2.
As shown in
As shown in
When the vehicle is unfolded, the saddle 5 slides backward from the front part of the cross beam 3 and drives the bracket 4 and the supporting post 8 to rotate clockwise about the pin 7, the rear wheel 2 moves downward and gradually touches the ground, the towing wheel 9 moves forward and upward and gradually leaves the ground, after the rear wheel 2 touches the ground, the saddle 5 continues to drive the bracket 4 and the supporting post 8 to rotate about the pin 7 and the towing wheel 9 leaves the ground by a certain height, and when the saddle 5 moves to the rear part (or the rear end) of the cross beam 3, the saddle 5 is locked to complete the unfolding action, thus the vehicle is in a riding state, as shown in
In the embodiment, an included angle of 100°-130° is formed between the supporting post 8 and the bracket 4.
In the embodiment, an included angle of 120° is formed between the supporting post 8 and the bracket 4.
As shown in
The first sprocket 10, the second sprocket 12 and the third sprocket 13 are arranged such that the foldable electric vehicle can function to assist in riding; and normal folding is not affected due to the reasonable arrangement of the position.
In the embodiment, the left pedal 111 and the right pedal 112 are foldably arranged; when pedaled for riding, the left pedal 111 is at an angle of 90° to the left connecting bar 113, the right pedal 112 is at an angle of 90° to the right connecting bar 114, and the pedals are distributed at two sides of the first sprocket 10, as shown in
In the embodiment, when the pedals are pedaled for riding, the left connecting bar 113 is at an angle of 180° to the right connecting bar 114, as shown in
In the embodiment, a drive motor for driving the front wheel 200 can be arranged at the front wheel 200, thus further simplifying the manufactured product structure.
As shown in
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It should be noted that the above particular embodiments only refer to the preferred embodiments of the invention and the technical principles adopted, and all changes or replacements readily contemplated by any one skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the invention shall be covered within the protection scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201510223282.6 | Apr 2015 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part of International Application PCT/CN2016/080847 filed 30 Apr. 2016, which claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No.: 201510223282.6 filed 30 Apr. 2015, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/CN2016/080847 | Apr 2016 | US |
Child | 15797044 | US |