JPH03271002A - Automatic direction setting follower wheel and automobile using same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce force in automatic direction setting and to prevent deflection by horizontally movably supporting a horizontal rotary shaft, having a rotary wheel rotatably, across both sides in the horizontal direction of a vertical rotary shaft at the lower end of the vertical rotary shaft. CONSTITUTION:A horizontally elongated hole 55 is formed on a pair of opposing vertical walls of a supporting member 54 fixed to the lower end of a vertical rotary shaft 52. A horizontal rotary shaft 56 rotatably supporting a rotary wheel 58 is horizontally movably installed on the elongated hole 55 in the direction orthogonal thereto. In this case, the elongated hole 55 is formed in such a way that the horizontal rotary shaft 56 is movable with even strokes across both sides in the horizontal direction in regard to a vertical rotation axis 52a. According to this constitution, in case of an abrupt direction change, the wheel shaft is not rotated around the vertical rotary axis but moved inside the elongated hole 55 in the horizontal direction, and can be therefore moved by small force, thus preventing vibration generation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatically direction-setting driven wheel and a two-wheel drive vehicle using the same as an auxiliary wheel.

[Prior art and problems to be solved by the invention] Conventionally,
Wheels are used as means for movably supporting various devices. As the wheels, automatic direction setting driven wheels are widely used as driven wheels other than the driving wheels for transmitting the driving force for the movement. In this conventional automatic direction setting driven wheel, a horizontal rotation shaft is supported by a support member that is rotatable around a vertical rotation center, and the horizontal rotation shaft is on one side of the vertical rotation center in the horizontal direction. The rotary wheel is arranged eccentrically, and a rotary ring rotatable around the center of rotation is attached to the horizontal rotary shaft. According to this, the direction of the wheels is automatically set to the moving direction of the device.

However, when the direction of movement changes suddenly (for example, when the angle changes by about 180 degrees), a large force is required to automatically set the direction, and the device shakes due to the automatic direction setting operation. There is a drawback.

On the other hand, conventionally, an automobile is steered by mechanically changing the direction of the rotation axis of the front or rear wheels using a steering wheel, whereby the automobile rotates at a desired radius as the vehicle moves forward.

Therefore, this system requires a considerable amount of force to operate the steering wheel, and a separate power steering device is attached to reduce the operating force, but this results in increased costs. Furthermore, as the turning radius becomes smaller, the efficiency of driving the vehicle decreases, and in practice there is a limit to the minimum turning radius.

In addition, when the above automatic direction setting driven wheels are used as the driven wheels (auxiliary wheels) of a car, especially when the car changes direction from forward to reverse or vice versa, There is a drawback that the setting operation causes the vehicle body to shake and the ride comfort to deteriorate.

Therefore, in view of the problems of the prior art described above, the present invention aims to provide an automatic direction setting driven wheel that does not require a large force when automatically setting the direction and does not cause vibration in the device. In addition, it is a new type of vehicle that has good operability, reduces equipment costs, and has an extremely small minimum turning radius, and does not cause body shake when changing the direction of travel between forward and backward. The purpose of this invention is to provide an automobile using automatically oriented driven wheels.

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the horizontal rotation axis of a supporting member rotatable around a vertical rotation center is horizontally perpendicular to the vertical rotation center. It is movably supported, the range of horizontal movement extends across both sides of the vertical rotation center in the horizontal direction, and a rotating ring rotatable around the rotation center is attached to the horizontal rotation shaft. A self-direction driven wheel is provided, characterized in that:

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the above object is achieved in an automobile having two lateral drive wheels on the l-axis and an auxiliary wheel that is variable in the direction of the rotational axis off the axis.
a differential device that distributes the signals to the two driving wheels, a brake attached to each driving wheel or its rotating shaft, a means for detecting the steering angle of the steering wheel, and a means for detecting the steering angle detected by the detecting means. There is also provided an automobile, characterized in that the vehicle has a means for operating one of the two brakes, and uses the automatic direction setting driven wheel according to claim 1 as the auxiliary wheel, In an automobile having two driving wheels and an auxiliary wheel whose rotational axis direction is variable off the axis, a clutch and a brake attached to each driving wheel or its rotational shaft, means for detecting the steering angle of a steering wheel, and means for actuating a clutch and a brake on one side of the two drive wheels according to the steering angle detected by the detection means, and the automatic direction setting driven wheel according to claim 1 as the auxiliary wheel. An automobile is provided, characterized in that it uses wheels.

In the present invention, there is an embodiment in which the brake is hydraulically operated or electrically operated.

[Example] Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an automatic direction setting driven wheel according to the present invention.

In the figure, 52 is a vertical rotation shaft, which is rotatably attached to a device (not shown) around a rotation center 52a. A support member 54 is provided at the lower end of the vertical rotation shaft.
are fixed, and horizontal elongated holes 55 are formed at corresponding positions in a pair of opposing vertical walls of the support member. The elongated hole has a horizontal rotating shaft 56 in a direction perpendicular to the elongated hole.
are engaged, and 56a is the center of rotation. A rotation shaft 58 is attached to the horizontal rotation shaft 56 so as to be rotatable around the rotation center 56a.

The horizontal rotation shaft 56 can reciprocate within the elongated hole 55 in the direction of the elongated hole. The range of the round trip is
The elongated hole 55 is arranged so as to span both sides in the horizontal direction with respect to the vertical rotation center 52a, and to have an equal stroke on both sides.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view for explaining the operation of the direction automatically setting driven wheel of the above embodiment.

FIG. 2(a) shows a case where a device (not shown) movably supported using driven wheels moves rightward. In this case, the horizontal rotation axis 56 is located at the left end within the elongated hole 55.

FIG. 2(b) shows a case where a device (not shown) movably supported using driven wheels moves leftward. In this case, the horizontal rotation axis 56 is located at the right end within the elongated hole 55.

In both cases of FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) above, when there is a gradual change in the direction of movement, the horizontal rotation axis 56 does not move within the elongated hole 55, and the entire vertical rotation center 52
The automatic direction setting operation is performed by appropriately rotating around a.

Then, the direction of movement is, for example, from right to left at an angle of 1
When changing rapidly by 80 degrees, the horizontal rotation shaft 56 moves from the left end to the right end within the elongated hole 55 without the support 54 rotating around the vertical rotation center 52a. A transition is made from the state shown in FIG. 2(a) to the state shown in FIG. 2(b).

Therefore, even during this sudden change in the direction of movement, no large force is required and the device does not shake.

The movement of the horizontal rotating shaft 56 within the elongated hole 55 occurs depending on the degree of abruptness of the change in the moving direction and the magnitude of the frictional force between the rotating shaft 58 and the ground. This may occur if there is a sudden change in direction of movement.

In any case, the horizontal rotation axis 56 within this elongated hole 55
This movement reduces the force required to change direction and also reduces the occurrence of runout of the device.

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic perspective view showing the first embodiment of the automobile according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control system thereof. This embodiment is an example applied to a forklift.

In the figure, 2 is an engine, and 4 is a gear attached to its output shaft.

The gear 4 meshes with the ring gear of the differential gear bag @lO, and the two side gears of the differential gear are each connected to a drive rotation shaft 16.1 via a hydraulic brake 12.14.
8 are connected. Drive wheels 20 and 22 are attached to the tips of these drive rotation shafts 16 and 18, respectively.

Rotational speed detectors 242 are mounted on the rotating shafts 16 and 18, respectively.
6 is installed.

30 is a steering handle, and a steering angle detector 32 is attached to the shaft of the steering wheel.

34 is a hydraulic control device, and the above-mentioned hydraulic brake 12.1
4 are controlled via hydraulic pipes 12a and 14a, respectively.

36 is a control unit, to which a detection signal from the steering angle detector 32 is manually input via wiring 32a. The control unit 36 then instructs the hydraulic control device 34 to appropriately operate the hydraulic brakes 12, 14 in accordance with the steering angle detection signal. The steering angle detector 32 may not only electrically input a detection signal directly to the control unit 36 via the wiring 4932a, but also input the detection signal to the hydraulic piping 32 as hydraulic information.
It is also possible to use a system in which the electric detection signal is transmitted to the hydraulic control device 34 via the hydraulic control device b, and the electrical detection signal is inputted from the hydraulic control device to the control unit 32.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 36 receives, in addition to the detection signals R, , R from the rotation speed detectors 24 and 26 and the detection signal A from the steering angle detector 32. , information signals regarding the drive and movement of various parts of the automobile, such as a vehicle speed signal and an engine rotation speed signal from a detector (not shown), are input.

Reference numeral 40 denotes an auxiliary wheel disposed at a position other than on the drive rotation shaft 16, 18, and the auxiliary wheel is the direction automatically setting driven wheel shown in FIG. 1 above. Further, 42 is a fork.

The operation control of the hydraulic brakes 12 and 14 by the control unit 36 is performed as follows.

That is, when the handle 30 is rotated clockwise from the reference position by an angle a, the right brake 12 is turned on.
When the handle is rotated counterclockwise from the reference position by an angle a, the left brake 14 is turned on.

This brake operation is performed intermittently (as shown in Fig. 5).
pulsating). Then, assuming that the period of continuous pulses is D and the pulse width is d, the D value and the d value are set to preset values according to the magnitude of the angle a. The above value is, for example, about 0.05 to 0.2 seconds, and the above d value is, for example, about 0.01 to 0.1 seconds. The smaller the angle a, the thicker the D value and the smaller the d value. However, the ratio (r, /r2) is calculated from the rotation speeds rl and r2 detected by the rotation speed detectors 24 and 26, respectively, and the D value and /or the d value can be changed sequentially. In this way, control is performed such that the continuously changing steering angle a always achieves the desired value corresponding to the steering angle a.

As a special case, by setting D=d, the rotation of one of the drive wheels will be stopped, and in this case, the rotation radius will be O, and it will be possible to turn sufficiently even in a narrow place.

Further, in the above embodiment, since the direction of the rotation axis of the drive wheel is not mechanically changed by operating the handle, the operation can be performed with extremely small force, and also has a power steering effect.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a state change when a sudden change in the traveling direction occurs in this embodiment.

FIG. 6(a) shows a state in which the automobile is moving forward (backward) in six directions. In this case, the horizontal rotation center 56a of the auxiliary wheel 40 is located behind the vertical rotation center 52a in the six directions.

FIG. 6(b) shows a state in which the automobile is moving (forward) in direction B. In this case, the horizontal rotation center 56a of the auxiliary wheel 40 is located behind the vertical rotation center 52a in the B direction.

When the vehicle changes from backward to forward, the horizontal rotating shaft and rotating wheels move in the direction S with respect to the support, as shown in FIG. 6(a), so that the vehicle body The state shown in FIG. 6(b) can be easily shifted to the state shown in FIG. 6(b) without occurrence of runout.

Conversely, when the car changes from forward to reverse, the sixth
As shown in Figure (b), by moving the horizontal rotating shaft and rotating wheel in the S2 direction relative to the support, the vehicle body can easily return to the state shown in Figure 6 (a) without shaking. can be migrated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state change when a conventional direction automatically setting driven wheel 40' is used instead of the direction automatically setting driven wheel 40 of the present invention when there is a sudden change in the direction of travel.

In this case, when the state changes from FIG. 7(a) to FIG. 7(b), as shown in FIG. 7(a), the support body, horizontal rotating shaft, and rotating wheel are is the vertical rotation center 52a
Rotate in the R1 direction around the In addition, when the state changes from Fig. 7(b) to Fig. 7(a), the support body, horizontal rotating shaft, and rotating ring move up and down as shown in Fig. 7(b). It rotates in the R2 direction around the direction rotation center 52a.

As described above, when using the conventional automatic direction setting driven wheels of 40 degrees, lateral vibration of the vehicle body corresponding to the distance between the vertical rotation center and the horizontal rotation center occurs, and the friction between the rotating wheels and the ground increases. However, since the automatic direction setting driven wheels 40 of the present invention are used in the embodiment of the present invention, lateral vibration of the vehicle body does not occur and a large drive force is not required. .

FIG. 8 is a partial schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of an automobile according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing its control system. In these figures, the same members as in FIGS. 3 and 4 are given the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, between the two drive rotation shafts 16.18,
An intermediate rotating shaft 6 is arranged coaxially with these, and hydraulic clutches 13, 15 are interposed between each end of the intermediate rotating shaft and the hydraulic brakes 12, 14, respectively.

A gear 8 is fixed to the intermediate shaft 6 and meshes with the output shaft gear 5 of the engine 2.

A hydraulic control device 34 controls the operations of the hydraulic clutches 13 and 15 via hydraulic pipes 13a and 15a, respectively. In this embodiment, when the handle 30 is rotated clockwise from the reference position, the brake 12 on the right side is turned ON and the clutch 13 is turned OFF, and the handle is rotated counterclockwise from the reference position. In this case, the left brake 14 is turned on and the clutch 15 is turned off.

However, if the control unit 36 determines that a force for pulling the vehicle body is being applied by the drive wheels based on detection signals from various detectors, the brakes 12 and 14 remain at 0FFL and the clutch 13 .1
5 can be turned off. In this case, the vehicle will be towed by only one drive wheel, so clutch OF
The rotational speed of the F-side drive wheel decreases, and the vehicle turns toward this side. According to this, loss of driving force is reduced.

Ru.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the automatic direction setting driven wheel of the present invention, no large force is required and almost no vibration occurs when the direction of movement changes suddenly.

Further, according to the automobile of the present invention, by detecting the steering angle of the steering wheel and varying the rotational speed of the two drive wheels according to the steering angle, a power steering effect can be achieved and the device can be operated with a small force. The configuration is simple, the equipment cost can be reduced, and an extremely small minimum turning radius is possible. In particular, even when there is a sudden change in the direction of travel from forward to backward or from backward to forward, a large driving force is not required and the vibration that occurs in the vehicle body is sufficiently small.

In the above embodiments, a hydraulically operated brake is used, but other brakes such as an electromagnetic brake may also be used. The same goes for the clutch.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an automatic direction setting driven wheel according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view for explaining the operation of the direction automatically setting driven wheel of the above embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partial schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of an automobile according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing its control system. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operating state of the brake. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a state change when a sudden change in the traveling direction occurs in this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state change when there is a sudden change in the traveling direction when a conventional direction automatically setting driven wheel is used. FIG. 8 is a partial schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of an automobile according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing its control system. 16゜20゜24゜30: 32: 36: 40: 52: 2a 54: 56: 6a 58: 18: Drive rotation shaft. 22: Drive shaft, 26: Rotation speed detector, steering handle, steering angle detector, 34: Hydraulic control device, control unit, auxiliary wheel, vertical rotation axis, two vertical rotation centers, support member, 55: long hole , horizontal axis of rotation. : Horizontal rotation center, rotation axis. 2: Engine, 4, 5, 8: Gear, 6: Intermediate rotating shaft, 10: Differential gear device, 12.14: Hydraulic brake, 13.15: Hydraulic clutch, In Fig. 1, 52a Fig. 1 Figure 2 (0) (b) (0) (0) Figure Figure (b) (b) Figure

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A horizontal rotation axis is supported so as to be movable in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the supporting member which is rotatable around the vertical rotation center, and the range of horizontal movement is the vertical rotation center. An automatically direction-setting driven wheel, characterized in that the wheel extends over both sides of the horizontal axis in the horizontal direction and is rotatable around the center of rotation of the horizontal rotating shaft. (2) A differential device that distributes the driving force from the engine to the two driving wheels and a differential device for distributing the driving force from the engine to the two driving wheels in a vehicle that has one shaft and two horizontal driving wheels and an auxiliary wheel that is variable in the direction of the rotational axis off the axis. It has a brake attached to the wheel or its rotating shaft, means for detecting the steering angle of the steering wheel, and means for operating one of the two brakes in accordance with the steering angle detected by the detecting means. , characterized in that the automatic direction setting driven wheel according to claim 1 is used as the auxiliary wheel,
car. (3) In a vehicle that has one drive wheel with two horizontal wheels and an auxiliary wheel that is variable in the direction of the rotation axis off the axis, the clutch and brake attached to each drive wheel or its rotation axis, and the steering angle of the steering wheel. and a means for actuating a clutch and a brake on one side of the two drive wheels according to the steering angle detected by the detection means, and as the auxiliary wheel according to claim 1. An automobile characterized in that it uses the automatic direction setting driven wheels as described above. (4) The motor vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the brake is hydraulically or electrically operated.