JP2008155759A - Vehicle suspension system - Google Patents

Abstract

A suspension system for a vehicle capable of efficiently saving space is provided.
A vehicle suspension apparatus according to the present invention is a link mechanism that connects a vehicle body side member 12 and a wheel side member 16 so that the relative positional relationship between them can be changed. At least two or more sets of link mechanisms (20, 30, 40, 50) including two or more connected links (22, 24) are provided, and each of the three or more nodes (26, 27, 28) of the link mechanism. ), Actuators (M1, M2) for rotating the links (22, 24) in at least two nodes, and a control device for controlling the operation of the actuators ( 60, 600).
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention includes at least two or more sets of link mechanisms including three or more links connected at three or more nodes, and the vehicle body side member and the wheel side member are connected to each other so as to be capable of relative displacement via these link mechanisms. The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension system.

Conventionally, a wheel carrier that rotatably supports the wheel; a camber adjusting means that is arranged at the vehicle body side end of the control arm and adjusts the camber angle by pushing or pulling the control arm toward the wheel side; Caster adjusting means for adjusting the caster angle by moving the control arm to the front and rear surfaces of the vehicle body disposed on the side end; toe adjusting means for adjusting the tow connected to the wheel carrier; Steerable wheel vehicle suspension systems are known that include a sensor for sensing; and an electronic control unit that receives signals from the sensor to control camber adjustment means, caster adjustment means, and tow adjustment means (eg, patents) Reference 1).
JP-T 09-507816

  By the way, in general, in order to make the suspension move substantially linearly, a certain length of the link is required. Further, in order to constrain the five degrees of freedom of the suspension, it is necessary to use five links or struts. Further, in order to ensure the necessary performance of the suspension, a spring and an absorber are necessary. These requirements are a great limitation on the space saving of the suspension.

  In this respect, in the invention described in Patent Document 1 described above, the control arm and the piston rod of the actuator are connected via a hinge plate hinged to the vehicle body. The movable range is limited, and it is necessary to lengthen the length of the control arm and the piston rod of the actuator to some extent. In the invention described in Patent Document 1 described above, since a mechanism for controlling the displacement of the suspension in the stroke direction is not provided, a spring or an absorber is required. Therefore, the invention described in Patent Document 1 has an insufficient aspect from the viewpoint of space saving of the suspension.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle suspension device that can efficiently save space.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle suspension apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a link mechanism that connects a vehicle body side member and a wheel side member so that their relative positional relationship can be changed. Comprising at least two sets of link mechanisms including two or more links connected by nodes or more,
An actuator that is provided in at least two of the three or more nodes of the link mechanism, and rotates the link in the at least two nodes;
And a control device for controlling the operation of the actuator.

A second invention is the vehicle suspension apparatus according to the first invention,
The link mechanism is configured such that the relative positional relationship between the vehicle body side member and the wheel side member in the vehicle vertical direction can be changed.

A third invention is the vehicle suspension device according to the first invention,
The link mechanism is configured such that the camber angle can be changed,
The control device includes a camber angle increase control unit that controls the operation of the actuator so that the camber angle is increased in a positive direction when a predetermined condition is satisfied in a vehicle stop state.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the suspension apparatus for vehicles which can aim at space saving efficiently is obtained.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicle suspension apparatus 10 according to the present invention. Although FIG. 1 shows the vehicle suspension device 10 at one wheel of the vehicle, similar vehicle suspension devices 10 may be set at other wheels. In this case, the vehicle suspension device 10 may be set on the front wheel side or the rear wheel side. The vehicle suspension device 10 can be applied regardless of the function and type of wheels such as steered wheels, non-steered wheels, drive wheels, and driven wheels.

  The vehicle suspension apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes four sets of link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, and 50. The link mechanisms 20, 30, 40 and 50 are connected between the vehicle body side member 12 and the wheel side member 16, respectively. As will be described in detail below, the link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, 50 cooperate with each other to appropriately restrain the freedom of movement of the wheel side member 16 relative to the vehicle body side member 12 (translation in the stroke direction of the suspension). 5 degrees of freedom other than movement are constrained). In the illustrated example, the vehicle body side member 12 is a bracket that constitutes a part of the suspension member, and the wheel side member 16 is constituted by a carrier that holds the hub assembly 14.

  The link mechanism 20 includes a first link 22 and a second link 24.

  The vehicle body side end portion of the first link 22 is connected to the vehicle body side member 12 via the first node 26. The first node 26 constitutes a rotation axis X1 substantially parallel to the vehicle front-rear direction, and allows the first link 22 to rotate about the rotation axis X1. The first node 26 incorporates a servo motor M1. The servo motor M1 is, for example, an outer rotor type motor that can rotate forward and backward. In this case, the vehicle body side end portion of the first link 22 may be directly connected to the rotor of the servo motor M1, or the rotor may be integrally formed. When the servo motor M1 is driven, the first link 22 is rotated about the first node 26 (the rotation axis X1) as a fulcrum.

  The wheel side end portion of the first link 22 is connected to the vehicle body side end portion of the second link 24 via the second node 27. The second node 27 constitutes a rotation axis X2 that is substantially parallel to the vehicle longitudinal direction, and allows relative rotation between the first link 22 and the second link 24 with respect to the rotation axis X2. . The rotation axes X1 and X2 are set parallel to each other. Note that the second node 27 is not restrained with respect to the vehicle body side member 12 and the wheel side member 16 by elements other than the first link 22 and the second link 24. A servo motor M2 is built in the second node 27. The servo motor M2 is, for example, an inner rotor type motor that can rotate forward and backward. In this case, the U-shaped end portion of the second link 24 may be coupled to the front and rear end portions of the rotating shaft (rotor) of the servo motor M2. When the servo motor M2 is driven, the second link 24 is rotated about the second node 26 (rotation axis X2) as a fulcrum. In the illustrated example, the second link 24 is configured to be rotated with respect to the first link 22, but conversely, the first link 22 is rotated with respect to the second link 24. May be configured.

  The wheel side end portion of the second link 24 is connected to the wheel side member 16 via the third node 28. The third node 28 constitutes a rotation fulcrum of the wheel side end of the second link 24 and supports the wheel side end of the second link 24 (only the position of the wheel side end of the second link 24). ). The third node 28 may be constituted by, for example, a ball joint or a bush (rubber bush).

  As described above, the link mechanism 20 includes the two links 22 and 24 connected by the three nodes 26, 27, and 28. The same applies to the other link mechanisms 30, 40, and 50. Each of the link mechanisms is composed of two links similarly connected in three sections, and two of the three sections (two sections at both ends of the first link) include Built-in servo motor. The rotation axes X1, X2 of the link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, 50 may be made parallel to each other. In the following, two servo motors related to the link mechanism 30 are indicated by reference numerals M3 and M4, two servo motors related to the link mechanism 40 are indicated by reference numerals M5 and M6, and the link mechanism 50 is related. Two servo motors are indicated by reference numerals M7 and M8.

  A spring and an absorber may be provided between the vehicle body side member 12 and the wheel side member 16. In this case, the spring may be of any type such as a spring coil or an air spring, and the absorber also has a damping action on the rotational input in addition to the hydraulic absorber that gives a damping action on the vertical input. A rotating electromagnetic absorber to be applied may be used.

  In the vehicle suspension apparatus 10 configured as described above, by controlling the operation of the servo motors M1 to M8 and adjusting the rotation state of the links in the link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, and 50, The position of the wheel side member 16 with respect to the vehicle body side member 12 can be freely changed within a predetermined region. For example, the rebound state shown in FIG. 2A can be formed by rotating the servo motors M1 to M8 by a predetermined angle in the clockwise direction in the drawing from the nominal state shown in FIG. That is, the position of the wheel side member 16 with respect to the vehicle body side member 12 can be changed along the stroke direction of the suspension.

  Further, in the vehicle suspension apparatus 10 configured as described above, the functions of the springs and the absorber in the normal suspension can be exhibited by controlling the operations of the servo motors M1 to M8. For example, by controlling the rotation angle of each servo motor M1 to M8 and changing the position of the wheel side member 16 in the stroke direction relative to the vehicle body side member 12 as described above, the rotation torque of each servo motor M1 to M8 is changed. By controlling and generating a reaction force according to the amount of movement of the wheel side member 16 relative to the vehicle body side member 12, the elastic function can be exhibited. Similarly, the rotation angles of the servo motors M1 to M8 are controlled to change the position of the wheel side member 16 with respect to the vehicle body side member 12 in the stroke direction as described above, and the servo motors M1 to M8 are controlled. By controlling the rotational torque and generating a reaction force corresponding to the moving speed of the wheel side member 16 relative to the vehicle body side member 12 in the stroke direction, the damping function can be exhibited. In other words, a stroke mode (target stroke position in time series) with a desired elasticity / damping characteristic corresponding to an input load (vertical load) from the wheel is determined, and the vehicle body side member 12 is determined according to the determined stroke mode. By changing the position (stroke) of the wheel side member 16, desired elasticity and damping characteristics can be exhibited.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vehicle suspension apparatus 10. The vehicle suspension device 10 includes a control device 60. The control device 60 may be configured as an ECU (electronic control unit), and is configured as a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like connected to each other via a bus (not shown).

  The above-described servo motors M1 to M8 are connected to the control device 60 as a control target. The vehicle sensor 70 is connected to the control device 60 via an appropriate communication network such as a CAN (controller area network). The vehicle sensor 70 is a sensor that acquires various types of information and data necessary for controlling the vehicle suspension device 10, and may include, for example, a vehicle height sensor, a G sensor, a wheel speed sensor, a steering sensor, and the like.

  The control device 60 controls the damping characteristics and the elastic characteristics of the vehicle suspension device 10 by controlling the operations of the servo motors M1 to M8 based on the information from the vehicle sensor 70. This type of control, for example, by adjusting the damping force according to the vehicle speed based on the information of the wheel speed sensor, the vehicle speed sensitive control that aims to achieve both low-speed riding comfort and high-speed maneuverability / stability. Anti-dive / anti-squat control, roll attitude control, tilt control based on information from G sensor (H∞ control), unsprung vibration suppression control based on information from vehicle sensor 70, stable vehicle behavior This may include cooperative control with the control (VSC) to be activated.

  Moreover, the control apparatus 60 may perform alignment adjustment by controlling the operation | movement of each servomotor M1-M8 based on the information from the vehicle sensor 70 as needed. For example, the control device 60 may adjust the camber angle, the toe angle, or the like, or may adjust the vehicle height based on information from the vehicle height sensor.

  According to the vehicle suspension apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment described above, the following excellent effects can be achieved.

  First, as described above, the link mechanism, which has conventionally been composed of five links, is configured by the foldable link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, 50 having three nodes as described above, thereby saving space. Can be achieved.

  Further, by executing the control in the stroke direction using each of the servo motors M1 to M8, it is possible to reduce a load of a spring and an absorber (not shown). Thereby, a spring and an absorber can be reduced in size. Ultimately, it becomes possible to eliminate the spring and the absorber. Thereby, space saving can further be achieved.

  Accordingly, since the vehicle suspension device 10 can realize such a space saving, it can also be embodied as a wheel-in suspension. That is, the entire or most of the link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, 50 can be accommodated in a cylindrical space in the wheel.

  Further, as described above, the alignment change can be arbitrarily set by adjusting the rotation angle of each of the servo motors M1 to M8, and the alignment can be adjusted based on the information from the vehicle sensor 70. .

  In the vehicle suspension device 10 according to the first embodiment described above, the following modifications can be considered.

  For example, in the vehicle suspension apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment described above, the vehicle body side member 12 and the wheel side member 16 are connected via the four sets of link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, 50. It is good also as connecting by the group or 5 or more sets of similar link mechanisms.

  Alternatively, in the vehicle suspension device 10 according to the first embodiment described above, the vehicle body side member 12 and the wheel side member 16 are connected via the four sets of link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, 50. It is good also as connecting with the same link mechanism of a set. In this case, in each of the two sets of link mechanisms, the third node (the node on the wheel side member 16 side of the second link) is allowed to rotate only around the rotation axis parallel to the rotation axes X1 and X2. By configuring it as a knot, 5 degrees of freedom can be constrained. For example, in this case, the third node may be realized by using a pin constituting a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axes X1 and X2. Alternatively, for example, five degrees of freedom may be constrained by a combination of two sets of link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, and 50 and ordinary links (including struts) or arms.

  The vehicle suspension device 100 according to the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in terms of hardware configuration (including various structures and control systems such as mechanisms), but the control device 600 performs camber angle increase control. The main difference is that it has parts. In the following, the configuration peculiar to the second embodiment will be described with emphasis, and the configuration that may be the same as that of the first embodiment is denoted by the same reference numeral, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In the vehicle suspension apparatus 100, the vehicle body side member 12 and the wheel side member 16 are connected via four sets of link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, and 50 as in the first embodiment. The link mechanisms 20, 30, 40, 50 are provided with servo motors M1 to M8 as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vehicle suspension apparatus 100. The vehicle suspension device 100 includes a control device 600. The control device 600 includes a camber angle increase control unit 610.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of main processing realized by the camber angle increase control unit 610.

  In step 700, camber angle increase control unit 610 determines whether or not the vehicle is in a stopped state. In this determination, for example, when the shift lever is in the parking position (P range), it may be determined that the vehicle is stopped. Alternatively, it may be determined that the vehicle is in a stopped state when the vehicle speed becomes 0 using a wheel speed sensor, a history of GPS positioning results, or the like. If the vehicle is in a stopped state, the process proceeds to step 710; otherwise, the current processing routine ends.

  In step 710, the camber angle increase control unit 610 determines whether or not the user intends to access the roof of the vehicle. As a case where the user accesses the roof, there are a case where the roof is cleaned at the time of car washing, a case where loading / unloading of the roof box is performed, and the like. This determination may use, for example, an image recognition result of a camera that captures the outside of the vehicle, or may be realized based on an instruction from the user. The instruction from the user may be a switch operation on a predetermined switch, or may be realized by uttering a predetermined phrase to the voice recognition apparatus. If the user's intention to access the roof is detected, the process proceeds to step 720. Otherwise, the current processing routine ends.

  In step 720, the camber angle increase control unit 610 controls the servo motors M1 to M8 to increase the camber angle in the plus direction as shown in FIG. Specifically, the camber angle increase control unit 610 rotates the servo motors M1 to M8 by a predetermined angle from the nominal state shown in FIG. 7A, thereby linking the link mechanism 20 as shown in FIG. 7B. , 30, 40, 50 are formed. The increase amount of the camber angle is set to a value that allows the user to use the upper surface of the tire as a stepping platform in a state where the camber angle is increased. For example, the increase amount of the camber angle may be in the range of 20 ° to 30 °.

  According to the vehicle suspension apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment described above, the following excellent effects are achieved.

  When the user (operator) accesses the roof, the camber angle is increased in the positive direction, so that the user can easily access the roof using the upper surface of the tire as a stepping platform and has a stable working posture. Can be taken. That is, since the camber angle is increased, the upper surface of the tire protrudes from the vehicle body to the outside of the vehicle (because it protrudes), so that it is easy to work in a stable working posture standing on the upper surface of the tire. In addition, by increasing the camber angle instead of increasing the tread, the drag between the tire and the ground that occurs when increasing the tread is prevented, so that wear of the tire can be prevented and the link mechanisms 20, 30 can be prevented. , 40, 50, etc., an excessive load can be prevented.

  The vehicle suspension apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment is particularly suitable for tall vehicles such as minivans and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). This is because it is often difficult to access or work on the roof of a tall vehicle.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Can be added.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vehicle suspension device 10 according to the present invention. FIGS. 2A and 2B show the vehicle suspension device 10 in a rear view of the vehicle, FIG. 2A shows the vehicle suspension device 10 in a nominal state (normal state), and FIG. 2B shows the vehicle suspension device in a rebound state. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vehicle suspension apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vehicle suspension apparatus 100. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of main processing realized by a control device 600 in the vehicle suspension apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of camber angle increase control, and is a vehicle back view which shows the state which the camber angle increased from the substantially zero state to the plus direction roughly. FIGS. 7A and 7B show the vehicle suspension device 100 in a rear view of the vehicle, FIG. 7A shows the vehicle suspension device 100 in a nominal state (normal state), and FIG. 7B shows the vehicle in a camber angle increasing state. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10, 100 Vehicle suspension 20, 30, 40, 50 Link mechanism 26 First section 27 Second section 28 Third section M1-M8 Servo motor 60, 600 Control apparatus 70 Vehicle sensor

Claims (3)

A link mechanism that connects a vehicle body side member and a wheel side member so that their relative positional relationship can be changed, and includes at least two sets of link mechanisms including two or more links connected at three or more nodes. With the above,
An actuator that is provided in at least two of the three or more nodes of the link mechanism and rotates the link in the at least two nodes;
A vehicle suspension device, further comprising a control device that controls the operation of the actuator.   The vehicle suspension device according to claim 1, wherein the link mechanism is configured such that a relative positional relationship between a vehicle body side member and a wheel side member in a vehicle vertical direction can be changed. The link mechanism is configured such that the camber angle can be changed,
2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device includes a camber angle increase control unit that controls the operation of the actuator so that a camber angle increases in a positive direction when a predetermined condition is satisfied in a vehicle stop state. Suspension system.

Images