WHEEL SUPPORTER AND SHAFT FOR A GOLF CART

SUPPORT DE ROUES ET ARBRE DE CHARIOT DE GOLF

English Abstract

A wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart includes a wheel shaft having an end portion protruding out of a wheel. The protruding end portion is formed with two opposite recesses respectively provided with a curved projection. The wheel supporter has a shaft hole for the wheel shaft to fit therein, and an eccentric push member is pivotally connected under a bottom wall of the shaft hole. The eccentric push member has two round projections to protrude in the shaft hole to engage a space between each recess and each curved projection so that the wheel supporter may be locked with the wheel shaft in a stabilized condition with easy handling.

French Abstract

Support et arbre de roue pour chariot de golf, dont une extrémité de l'arbre de roue dépasse la roue. L'extrémité qui dépasse est formée de deux cavités opposées respectivement fournies avec une saillie courbée. Le support est doté d'un trou pour intégrer la roue, et un élément de pression excentrique est raccordé de manière pivotante au fond du trou d'arbre. L'élément de pression excentrique a deux saillies rondes qui peuvent être insérées dans le trou d'arbre pour occuper l'espace entre chaque cavité et chaque saillie courbée de sorte que le support de roue puisse être verrouillé avec l'arbre de roue en état stable et être manipulé facilement.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart comprising:
a wheel supporter and a wheel shaft, said wheel shaft having one end
portion protruding out of a wheel, said protruding end portion is formed with
two
recesses therein, each said recess having a curved projection, said wheel
supporter having a shaft hole to receive said wheel shaft, an eccentric push
member is located under a bottom wall of said shaft hole, said eccentric push
member having two round projections that protruded in said shaft hole, each
said round projection engages a space between a respective one of said
recesses and a respective one of said curved projections so that said wheel
supporter is locked with said wheel shaft, the eccentric push member being
swingingly pushable down to force the two round projections into a
disengagement from the recesses and the curved projections while the wheel
shaft is pulled out of the shaft hole, the wheel supporter being then
disengaged
from the wheel shaft.

2. The wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said protruding end portion of said wheel shaft and said shaft hole of
said wheel supporter are both rectangular in cross section.

3. The wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said protruding end portion of said wheel shaft and said shaft hole of
said wheel supporter are both tapered from an outer end to an inner end.

4. The wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said eccentric push member has two projection ears formed in a first
end, one of the round projections extends from the inner surfaces of the
projecting ears and a curved push means is formed in a second end of said
eccentric push member.

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Description

CA 02313591 2006-03-20

TITLE: WHEEL SUPPORTER AND SHAFT FOR A GOLF CART
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a wheel supporter and a shaft for a golf cart,
particularly to one having a simple structure for easy assemblage and
collapsing.

Conventional golf carts are generally made collapsible, with a wheel
supporter and shaft capable to be collapsed and assembled by a user, so as
to be easily carried with a small dimensions or stored in a car trunk after
collapsed.

Nowadays, there are two kinds of conventional wheel supporters
and shafts for a golf cart.

A first kind of conventional wheel supporter and shaft is shown in
Figs. 1 and 2, including a wheel supporter 1 consisting of a metal plate unit
11. The metal plate unit 11 has a pin 35 to pivotally connect a recover

spring 34 and a push member 3, a shaft hole 111 for a shaft 21 of a wheel 2
to insert therein. The push member 3 has a projecting pointed member 31 in
an intermediate portion, a groove 32 under the pointed member 31, and an
engage plate portion 33 formed in an upper portion. The recover spring 34

has one end hooked on the metal plate unit 11, and the other end hooked at
a middle point of the push member 3, controlling engagement and
disengagement of the groove 32 of the push member 3 and an annular
groove 211 of the shaft 21.

This conventional wheel supporter and shaft is convenient in
handling, but its structure is a little complicated for assembly or
collapsing.
The second kind of conventional wheel supporter and shaft is shown

in Figs. 3 and 4, including a wheel supporter 10, which has a rectangular
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opening 14 and an insert hole 12, a coil spring 13 contained in the opening
14, and an engage block 5 elastically urged by the coil spring 13 and
normally located in the opening 14 to be able to be half pushed out of the
opening 14. The engage block 5 has a protruding hook 51 in a left

longitudinal side of an outer block portion engaging an inner wall of the
opening 14, and an L-shaped position hook 52 with a sloped surface
extending inward from the outer block portion. A wheel shaft 4 has one
end firmly connected to a wheel 20 and the other end portion 41 formed
with a distal square end 43 facing the sloped surface of the L-shaped

position hook 52 of the engage block 5 located in the wheel supporter 10,
and an intermediate groove portion 42 to engage the L-shaped position
hook 52.

In handling the second conventional wheel supporter and shaft, the
wheel shaft 4 is inserted in the insert hole 12 of the wheel supporter 10,
with the other end portion of the wheel shaft 4 engaging the L-shaped

position hook 52 of the engage block 5, finishing assemblage of the wheel
supporter 10 with the wheel shaft 4. On the contrary, if the wheel shaft 4 is
to be pulled out of the wheel supporter 10, the push block 5 is pushed up (in
Fig. 4, or inward) to compress the coil spring 13, forcing the L-shaped

position hook 52 disengage from the other end portion 41 of the wheel shaft
4 to free the wheel shaft 4 from the wheel supporter 10.

However, the second conventional wheel supporter and shaft is also
handy to handle, but its structure is also complicated for assembly and
collapsing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the invention is to offer a wheel supporter and shaft
for a golf cart, having a simpler structure than the conventional ones for
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easy assemblage and collapsing.
According to the present invention, there is provided a wheel supporter
and shaft for a golf cart comprising:
a wheel supporter and a wheel shaft, said wheel shaft having one end
portion protruding out of a wheel, said protruding end portion is formed with
two
recesses therein, each said recess having a curved projection, said wheel
supporter having a shaft hole to receive said wheel shaft, an eccentric push
member is located under a bottom wall of said shaft hole, said eccentric push
member having two round projections that protruded in said shaft hole, each
said round projection engages a space between a respective one of said
recesses and a respective one of said curved projections so that said wheel
supporter is locked with said wheel shaft, the eccentric push member being
swingingly pushable down to force the two round projections into a
disengagement from the recesses and the curved projections while the wheel
shaft is pulled out of the shaft hole, the wheel supporter being then
disengaged
from the wheel shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

This invention will be better understood by referring to the
accompanying drawings, wherein

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first conventional wheel
supporter and shaft for a golf cart;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first conventional
wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart;

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a second conventional
wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart;

Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the second conventional
wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart, showing the wheel shaft
disengaged from the wheel supporter;

Figure 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the second conventional
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wheel supporter and shaft for a golf cart, showing the wheel shaft engaged
with the wheel supporter;

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of a wheel supporter and
shaft for a golf cart in the present invention;

Figiu-e 7 is a cross-sectional view of the wheel supporter disengaged
from the wheel shaft in the present invention;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the wheel supporter engaged with
the wheel shaft in the present invention;

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the wheel supporter engaged
with the wheel shaft in the present invention; and,

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of A-A line in Fig. 9.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A preferred embodiment of a wheel supporter and shaft for a golf
cart in the present invention, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, includes a wheel
shaft60 having a round end to fix firnily with a wheel 6 and the other end

protruding out of a wheel 6 and shaped rectangular and having two opposite
recesses 61 of smaller size than the rest portion and a curved projection 62
formed in each recess 61. A wheel supporter 7 has a rectangular shaft hole
71 formed in a lower end for the wheel shaft 60 to fit therein, a pivotal base
72 formed in a bottom wall defining the shaft hole 71, a groove 73 for-med

respectively at two sides of the pivotal base 72 for pivotally connecting an
eccentric push member 8 with a pin shaft 74. The eccentric push member 8
has two projecting ears 81 formed in an upper portion, and a round
projection 82 respectively formed on an inner side of each ear 81 to pass
through the grooves 73 and extend in the shaft hole 71, and a cuived push
means 83 formed in the other end portion.

In assembling the wheel supporter 7 with the wheel shaft 60, firstly
insert the wheel shaft 60 together with the wheel 6 in the shaft hole 71 of
the wheel supporter 7, with the two opposite recesses 61 just facing the
grooves 73. Then pull backward the eccentric push member 8 as shown

with an arrow head in Fig. 7, forcing the two round projections 82 extend in
the recesses 61, slide over the curved projections 62 and engage the space
between each projection 62 and the each recess 61, securing the wheel
supporter 7 with the wheel shaft 60, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

On the contrary, if the wheel supporter 7 is to be disengaged from
the wheel shaft 60, only push swingingly down the eccentric push member
8, forcing the two round projections 82 disengage from the recesses 61 and
the projections 62, with the wheel shaft 60 pulled out of the shaft hole 71,
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as shown in Figs. 7.

It has to be noted that the protrucling end portion of the wheel shaft
60 protruding out the wheel 6 may gradually enlarged to the rear portion in
corresponding to the hole 71 also gradually enlarged to the rear portion so

that the wheel shaft 60 may easily fit in the shaft hole 71, as shown in Fig.
7.

As can be understood from the aforesaid description, the wheel
supporter 7 may be disengaged from the wheel shaft 60 only by pulling or
pushing the eccentric push member 8, which is a very simple structure for
handling.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described
above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may
be made therein and the appended clairns are intended to cover all such
modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

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Representative Drawing