JPH11278004A - Guide steering device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a guide steering device for a vehicle to relax a shock transmitted from a guide wheel to a vehicle even when a high rigidity guide wheel is used. SOLUTION: This guide steering device is provided with two guide wheels, serving as guide wheels rolling with the wheel making contact with a guide rail, one being a main guide wheel 7 to receive a force FA applied on the inner side of a vehicle from the guide rail and the other being a branch guide wheel 8 to receive a force FB applied on the outside of a vehicle from the guide rail. As a result of a force being exerted on the main guide wheel 7 and the branch guide wheel 8 by the guide rail, the guide arm 30 is oscillated and a vehicle is guided and steered. In a so formed guide steering device, elastic members 51 and 52 for buffering to absorb an impact transmitted from the guide wheels 7, 8 to the guide arm 30 are interposed between the bearing part 10 of the guide wheel and the guide arm 30, and both a force exerted on the inner side of the vehicle and a force exerted on the outside of the vehicle are absorbed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a guide and steering device for a vehicle that travels while guiding the vehicle along a traveling track by bringing guide wheels into contact with guide rails.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique similar to that described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 64-25959 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4A is a plan view of a vehicle equipped with a guide steering device, and FIG. 4B is a side view. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a running surface, and 21 denotes guide rails provided on both sides thereof (sometimes constituted by both side walls of a running track). A pair of axles 1 and 2 are provided at the rear and front portions of the vehicle M, respectively, with their axes extending in the left-right direction.

A rear axle 1 is a drive shaft, and a front axle 2 is a driven shaft. The drive shaft side will be described first. The axle 1, which is a drive shaft, is connected to a drive mechanism and is driven to rotate. At both ends of the axle 1, a knuckle portion (not shown) containing a universal joint is provided, and a king pin (not shown) is provided at the knuckle portion.
Thereby, a bearing (not shown) is rotatably supported in a horizontal plane, and the running wheel 3 is rotatably supported in a vertical plane on the bearing. A guide arm 5 having a U-shaped plan view is attached to the knuckle portion so as to surround the traveling wheel 3.
A main guide wheel 7 that is rotatable in a horizontal plane is attached to the tip of each guide arm 5. When the main guide wheel 7 comes into contact with the guide rail 21 and receives a force in the left-right direction, the guide arm 5, the bearing, and the traveling wheel 3 rotate integrally about the kingpin, and the vehicle M is guided and steered. It has become so.

[0006] As shown in FIG. 5, a branch guide wheel 8 is provided below the main guide wheel 7 at the tip of the guide arm 5. The main guide wheel 7 and the branch guide wheel 8 are attached to upper and lower ends of an integrated shaft 9 so as to rotate independently of each other,
The center of the shaft 9 is fixed by a split boss of the guide bearing 10. The branch guide wheel 8 guides the vehicle M to one of the tracks by being guided by a branch guide rail 21 installed inside the lower side of the guide rail 21 at a branch portion of the traveling track, and the guide rail 21 is a main guide. On the other hand, the branch guide rail 21 contacts the branch guide wheel 8 from the inside to generate a force FB (toward the outside of the vehicle) while contacting the wheel 7 from the outside to exert a force FA (force toward the inside of the vehicle). Force). The left and right guide arms 5 provided at both ends of the axle 1 are connected by tie rods 11. Reference numeral 12 denotes a neutral return rod for returning the guide arm 5 to the neutral position. Although the above description is on the drive shaft side, the driven shaft (axle 2)
The side mechanism has almost the same structure.

[0005] The operation of the guide steering apparatus will be described. When traveling on the straight portion of the track, the left and right guide wheels 7 roll while abutting on the left and right guide rails 21 to maintain the bearing portion and the traveling wheels 3 in a straight traveling state. In the curved portion of the track, only the guide wheel 7 outside the curve is guided by the guide rail 21.
The guide arm 5 rolls while contacting with the front and rear guide wheels 7.
Is moved by being pushed by the guide rails 21, and thus rotates about the kingpin. The other (inner) guide arm 5 also receives a force from the tie rod 11 with the rotation of the outer guide arm 5 and rotates about the kingpin, so that the bearing and the traveling wheel 3 rotate integrally. Move
The vehicle M is steered in a predetermined direction along the guide rail 21.

In this case, the main guide wheel 7 and the branch guide wheel 8
Is in contact with guide rails 21, 22 that are substantially perpendicular to the tip of the guide arm 5, and when the vehicle travels along the guide rails 21, 22, the guide rails 21, 2.
2 is transmitted to the traveling wheel 3 through the guide arm 5. Therefore, the movement from the guide rails 21 and 22 is directly transmitted to the vehicle through the traveling wheels 3 and the axles 1 and 2, and when the guide rails 21 and 22 have irregularities such as steps, or when the guide rails 21 and 22 When passing through a place where the alignment changes suddenly, the shock is transmitted to the vehicle.

[0007]

In this respect, in the conventional guide steering apparatus of this type, a small rigid pneumatic tire is used as the guide wheels 7 and 8, and a rigid rigid urethane rubber wheel. There were two types, one using import and the other.

However, when a pneumatic tire is used, the guide wheels have low rigidity, so that a sufficient cushioning function can be expected. It has been difficult to apply to a vehicle structure such as a new transportation system in which wheels must be mounted directly below.

On the other hand, when a urethane rubber wheel is used, it can be applied to the above-described vehicle structure because its diameter can be reduced. However, since the rigidity of the guide wheel increases, the impact due to irregularity of the guide rail or a step is sufficiently reduced. It could not be mitigated and the impact could have affected the vehicle through the guide arm.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a vehicle steering and steering apparatus capable of reducing shock transmitted from a guide wheel to a vehicle even when a highly rigid guide wheel is used. And

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a guide wheel which rolls in contact with guide rails provided on both sides of a running track, and guides the guide wheel rotatably via a bearing. A guide arm that is displaced by receiving a force in the lateral direction of the vehicle from the guide rail, and that guides and steers the vehicle by the displacement of the guide arm.
A cushioning elastic member for absorbing a shock transmitted from the guide wheel to the guide arm is interposed between the bearing of the guide wheel and the guide arm.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, as the guide wheels, a main guide wheel receiving a force from the guide rail toward the inside of the vehicle and a branch guide wheel receiving a force from the guide rail toward the outside of the vehicle. And the buffering elastic member is provided so as to be able to absorb both a force directed toward the inside of the vehicle and a force directed toward the outside of the vehicle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, an L-shaped lever is rotatably supported at the tip of the guide arm, and the main guide wheel and the branch guide wheel are provided at one end of the L-shaped lever. And are mounted via bearings to generate a rotational moment on the L-shaped lever when receiving a force from the guide rail,
The other end of the L-shaped lever is connected to the guide arm via the cushioning elastic member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, a guide wheel mounting arm is connected to a tip of the guide arm, and the main guide wheel and the branch guide wheel are connected to a tip of the guide wheel mounting arm. It is attached via a bearing, and the elastic member for buffering is interposed at a connecting portion between the guide wheel mounting arm and the guide arm.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part of a guide steering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 shows the overall structure
Here, only the main part will be described with reference to FIG. The portion shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to, for example, a portion I in FIG. 4, but the other portions have the same structure as FIG.

A U-shaped guide arm 30 (corresponding to the guide arm 5 in FIG. 4) as shown in the figure is supported at its intermediate portion so as to be swingable in a horizontal plane. A main guide wheel 7 and a branch guide wheel 8 are mounted via a bearing 10. The arrangement of the two guide wheels 7, 8 is the same as in the prior art. When the main guide wheel 7 or the branch guide wheel 8 receives a lateral force of the vehicle from the guide rail, the guide arm 30 swings, and the swing of the guide arm 30 causes the traveling wheel (not shown in the figure). ) Is steered.
Here, at the time of the guide steering, the main guide wheel 7 receives a force FA from the guide rail toward the inside of the vehicle, and the branch guide wheel 8 receives a force FB from the guide rail toward the outside of the vehicle.

In the case of the device of this embodiment, an L-shaped lever 35 is interposed between the bearing 10 and the distal end of the guide arm 30. Flanges 30a, 3
2, an L-shaped lever 35 is pivotally supported by a pin 33 on the bracket 31 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. One link 35a of the L-shaped lever 35 extends in the direction in which the tip of the guide arm 30 extends,
The other link 35b extends in a direction (here, the running wheel side) orthogonal to the extension direction of the tip of the guide arm 30. L
At the tip of one link 35a of the mold lever 35, a guide wheel mounting link 36 extending on the same side as the other link 35b is protrudingly provided. The guide wheel 7 and the branch guide wheel 8 are provided rotatably in a horizontal plane. Thus, when the main guide wheel 7 or the branch guide wheel 8 receives a force from the guide rail, a rotational moment in the direction of the arrow (a) or (b) is generated around the pin 33 with respect to the L-shaped lever 35. It has become.

The other link 35b of the L-shaped lever 35
Is connected to an extension 32a of the flange 32 of the bracket 31 via a guide shaft 39.
One end of the guide shaft 39 is rotatably connected to the link 35b by a pin 38, and the other end of the guide shaft 39 is formed by using a bolt 40, a washer 41, and cylindrical cushioning rubbers (buffer elastic members) 51, 52. 32 is connected to the extension 32a. In this case, the cylindrical cushion rubbers 51 and 52 are respectively provided on the front and back surfaces of the extension 32a of the flange 32 with rubber seats 43, 44 and 4 respectively.
It is arranged between 5, 46. And the guide shaft 3
The cushioning effect is exerted on the movement in both the arrow (c) direction and the arrow (d) direction 9. Note that a spring may be provided instead of the cushion rubbers 51 and 52.

Next, the operation will be described. When the main guide wheel 7 receives a force FA from the guide rail toward the inside of the vehicle, the L-shaped lever 35 tries to rotate around the pin 33 in the direction of the arrow (a). The movement is the movement of the guide rod 39 in the direction of the arrow (C), but the movement is absorbed by the deformation of the cushioning rubbers 51 and 52. Therefore, the shock received by the main guide wheel 7 is absorbed by the cushion rubbers 51 and 52 and is not transmitted to the guide arm 30 side. The large movement of the main guide wheel 7 is controlled by the L-shaped lever 35 to guide the arm 30.
, The vehicle is steered according to the movement of the main guide wheel 7.

Similarly, when the branch guide wheel 8 receives a force FB from the branch guide rail toward the outside of the vehicle, the L-shaped lever 35
Attempts to rotate around the pin 33 in the direction of the arrow (b). The movement is the movement of the guide rod 39 in the direction of the arrow (d), but the movement is absorbed by the deformation of the cushion rubbers 51 and 52. Therefore, the impact received by the branch guide wheel 8 is absorbed by the cushion rubbers 51 and 52,
It does not reach the guide arm 30 side. In addition, branch guide wheel 8
Is transmitted to the guide arm 30 via the L-shaped lever 35, so that the vehicle is steered according to the movement of the branch guide wheel 8.

As described above, the main guide wheel 7 and the branch guide wheel 8
Can be absorbed by the cushioning rubbers 51 and 52, so that the shock transmitted to the vehicle body via the guide arm 30 can be reduced. Therefore, even when a small rigid urethane rubber wheel is used as the main guide wheel 7 or the branch guide wheel 8, the vibration of the vehicle body can be reduced and the riding comfort can be improved. In addition, since the impact is absorbed at the position closest to the guide rail, the impact on the steering system is small, the durability of the steering system can be increased, and the impact load on the guide wheels 7 and 8 can be reduced. So, guide wheel 7,
8 can also be extended.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a guide steering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG.

A guide arm 30 (corresponding to the guide arm 5 in FIG. 4) having a U-shape in plan view is swingably supported in a horizontal plane at an intermediate portion thereof. The wheel 7 and the branch guide wheel 8 are mounted via a bearing 10. When the main guide wheel 7 or the branch guide wheel 8 receives a force in the left-right direction of the vehicle from the guide rail, the guide arm 30 swings, and the running wheel (not shown in the figure) is operated by the swing of the guide arm 30. When the vehicle is steered, the main guide wheel 7 receives a force FA from the guide rail toward the inside of the vehicle, and the branch guide wheel 8 receives a force FB from the guide rail toward the outside of the vehicle. The above points are the same as in the first embodiment.

The difference is that a guide wheel mounting arm 65 is interposed between the bearing 10 and the distal end of the guide arm 30, and the main guide wheel 7 and the branch guide wheel 8 are mounted at the distal end of the guide wheel mounting arm 65 with the bearing 10 and the shaft. 9 in that the cushioning rubber 70 as a cushioning elastic member is interposed at the connection between the guide wheel attachment arm 65 and the guide arm 30.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a rubber seat is provided between the distal end flange 30a of the guide arm 30 and the proximal end flange 66 of the guide wheel mounting arm 65 extending on the extension of the distal end of the guide arm 30. A cylindrical cushioning rubber 70 is disposed between the first and second cushions 71 and 72. Both rubber seats 71,
Reference numeral 72 denotes a guide cylinder 79 that is slidably assembled along a guide shaft 75 that is welded and fixed to the distal flange 30 a of the guide arm 30 and that is bolted to the proximal flange 66 of the guide wheel mounting arm 65. It is slidably fitted along the cylinder surface. In addition, a spacer 78 is inserted between the rubber seat 71 and the flange 66, and the rubber seat 72, the cushion rubber 70, and the rubber seat 71 are incorporated into the guide shaft 75 in this order.
At the tip, it is fixed by a washer 76 and a nut 77.
Note that a spring may be provided instead of the cushion rubber 70.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. When a force FA or FB acts on the main guide wheel 7 or the branch guide wheel 8 from the guide rail, the guide wheel mounting arm 65 is displaced horizontally along the guide shaft 75. When the force of the FA is applied, the rubber seat 71 is provided on the flange 66 via the spacer 78.
Slides along the guide shaft 75, which compresses the cushioning rubber 70 and reduces the impact. When the FB force is applied, the rubber seat 72 is slid along the guide shaft 75 by the hook of the tip of the guide cylinder 79 which is bolted to the flange 66, whereby the cushion rubber 70
Are compressed, and the impact is reduced. The large movement of the main guide wheel 7 or the branch guide wheel 8 is caused by the guide wheel mounting arm 65.
The vehicle is steered in accordance with the movement of the main guide wheel 7 or the branch guide wheel 8. As a result, an effect similar to that of the first embodiment is obtained.

In the above embodiment, the U-shaped guide arm 30 provided for each traveling wheel is provided with the guide wheels 7 and 8, but the linear guide arm extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle is described. The present invention can also be applied to a guide steering device of a type in which guide wheels are provided at both ends of a guide bar (generally called a guide bar), and the displacement of the guide arm in the left-right direction is transmitted as steering motion of the running wheels by interlocking means.

[0028]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the cushioning elastic member is inserted between the bearing of the guide wheel and the tip of the guide arm, the elastic member allows the guide wheel to pass through the guide rail. Can be buffered and absorbed, and the effect on the vehicle can be minimized. Therefore, it is possible to use urethane rubber wheels with high rigidity and small diameter as a guideway, and it can also be used as a standard specification in vehicle structures such as new transportation systems where branch guide wheels must be equipped directly under the side guide system. can do. Further, since disturbance can be absorbed at a position close to the guide rail, not only the influence on the steering system can be reduced, but also the impact load on the guide wheel itself can be reduced, and the life can be extended.

According to the second, third and fourth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the impact applied to both the main guide wheel and the branch guide wheel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

4A and 4B show the entire configuration of a conventional vehicle steering and steering device, wherein FIG. 4A is a plan view and FIG. 4B is a side view.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 7 main guide wheel 8 branch guide wheel 10 bearing 30 guide arm 35 L-shaped lever 51, 52, 70 cushion rubber (buffer elastic member) 65 guide wheel mounting arm

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A guide wheel that rolls in contact with guide rails provided on both sides of a running track, and the guide wheel is rotatably supported via a bearing, and the guide wheel exerts a force in the lateral direction of the vehicle from the guide rail. A guide arm that is displaced by receiving the guide arm, and guides and steers the vehicle according to the displacement of the guide arm. A steering and steering device for a vehicle, wherein a shock-absorbing elastic member for absorbing a shock transmitted to the vehicle is interposed. 2. The guide wheel includes a main guide wheel receiving a force from the guide rail toward the inside of the vehicle and a branch guide wheel receiving a force from the guide rail toward the outside of the vehicle. The vehicle guidance steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is provided so as to be able to absorb both a force toward the inside of the vehicle and a force toward the outside of the vehicle. 3. An L-shaped lever is rotatably supported at the tip of the guide arm, and the main guide wheel and the branch guide wheel receive a force from one of the guide rails at one end of the L-shaped lever. The L-shaped lever is mounted via a bearing so as to generate a rotational moment, and the other end of the L-shaped lever is connected to the guide arm via the cushioning elastic member. 3. The vehicle guidance and steering device according to 2. 4. A guide wheel mounting arm is connected to a distal end of the guide arm, and the main guide wheel and the branch guide wheel are mounted on a distal end of the guide wheel mounting arm via a bearing.
3. The cushioning elastic member is interposed at a connecting portion between the guide wheel mounting arm and the guide arm.
The vehicle guidance and steering device according to any one of the preceding claims.