JPH06171517A - Steering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a steering device which presents a wide degree of freedom for installation. CONSTITUTION:A steering device is equipped with a left and a right strut 41, 42 which are mounted rotatably relative to the car body and support a left and a right steering car wheel 61, 62, respectively, a left and a right rotation transmitting mechanism 20, 30 which transmit the rotation of the steering shafts 15, 16, 17 to the upper parts of the struts 41, 42 in the form of rotary motions, and non-circular gear couples G1, G2 interposed in these rotation transmitting mechanisms 20, 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering device used in an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional steering device is, for example, an actual engine shovel 62-.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 80757, a pair of left and right knuckle arms that are integrally provided at the lower ends of a pair of left and right struts that respectively support a pair of left and right steered wheels, a relay rod that connects these knuckle arms, and a left and right It is composed of a pair of tie rods and a drive mechanism that moves the relay rod left and right according to the rotation of the steering shaft.

[0003]

In the above conventional steering system, the positions of the relay rods and the tie rods and the positions of the engine and the transmission are substantially at the same level, and the predetermined positions can be obtained without interfering with the engine and the transmission. The relay rod and each tie rod must be arranged at positions where the Ackermann ratio can be secured, and it is very difficult to secure the positions where these are arranged. The present invention has been made to address the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a steering device having a high degree of freedom in arrangement.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the present invention, a pair of left and right steering devices are rotatably assembled to a vehicle body and respectively support a pair of left and right steered wheels. The strut, a pair of left and right rotation transmission mechanisms that transmit the rotation of the steering shaft to the upper portion of each strut as rotational movement, and a non-circular gear pair interposed in each rotation transmission mechanism.

[0005]

In the steering apparatus according to the present invention, a pair of left and right rotation transmission mechanisms and a pair of non-circular gears interposed in each rotation transmission mechanism are provided in the vicinity of the upper portion of the strut and the engine room where there is space. It can be placed in the space above, and by setting each gear shape of the non-circular gear pair appropriately, a predetermined Ackermann rate can be secured, and it can be placed only by securing a space that allows rotation of each component, The degree of freedom is high, and it can be easily arranged even in the engine room of recent years when the number of accessories has increased.

[0006]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a steering apparatus according to the present invention, which comprises a small gear 12 rotated by a steering wheel 11 and rotation of the small gear 12 on each strut. A pair of left and right rotation transmission mechanisms 20 and 30 for transmitting the rotation motion to the upper portions of 41 and 42. Each rotation transmission mechanism 20 and 30 has a non-circular gear pair set to obtain a predetermined Ackermann ratio. G1 and G2 are respectively interposed. The rotation of the steering wheel 11 is made by connecting the first shaft 1 using a pair of universal joints 13 and 14.
5, and is transmitted to the small gear 12 via the second shaft 16 and the third shaft 17.

The rotation transmitting mechanism 20 on the left side of FIG. 1 includes a large gear 21 that meshes with the small gear 12 to reduce the speed, and a vehicle body 50 (see FIG. 2).
A short shaft 23 that is rotatably supported by the small gear 22 and transmits the rotation of the large gear 21 to the small gear 22;
A fan-shaped gear 24 that is rotatably supported by the small gear 22 to reduce the speed, a non-circular gear 25 integrally formed with the fan-shaped gear 24, and a non-rotatably mounted upper end of the strut 41 that is integrally rotatable. The non-circular gear 26 meshes with the circular gear 25 to form a non-circular gear pair G1, and the inclination angle of the shaft 23 with respect to the axis of the small gear 12 is θ.

On the other hand, the rotation transmission mechanism 30 on the right side has a large gear 31 which meshes with the small gear 12 to reduce the speed, and a long shaft which is rotatably supported by the vehicle body 50 and transmits the rotation of the large gear 31 to the small gear 32. 33, a fan-shaped gear 34 that is rotatably supported by the vehicle body 50 and meshes with the small gear 32 to reduce the speed, a non-circular gear 35 integrally formed with the fan-shaped gear 34, and an upper end of the strut 42 that are integrally rotatable. The non-circular gear 36 is assembled and meshes with the non-circular gear 35 to form a non-circular gear pair G2.
The inclination angle of the shaft 33 with respect to the axis of 2 is θ. When the inclination angle of the shaft 33 is set to a value other than θ (set to an inclination angle different from the inclination angle of the shaft 23), a small gear is provided on the third shaft 17 in addition to the small gear 12, and a large gear is provided. It is necessary to mesh the gear 31.

As well known, each strut 41, 42 rotatably supports the steered wheels 61, 62 at the lower end through a knuckle spindle (not shown), and the vehicle body 50 at the upper end. The unsprung member is vertically movable with respect to the sprung member, and links 43 and 44 are provided so as to rotate integrally with each other.

In this embodiment constructed as described above, when the steering wheel 11 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the fan-shaped gears 24 and 34 and the non-circular gears 25 and 3 are rotated.
5, each non-circular gear 26, 36 and each strut 41, 42
Rotate in the arrow direction to steer the steered wheels 61 and 62 in the arrow direction, and when the steering wheel 11 rotates in the opposite direction, the steered wheels 61 and 62 are steered in the opposite direction.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the steering device according to the present invention, which comprises a small gear 12 rotated by a steering wheel 11.
A pair of left and right rotation transmission mechanisms 12 for transmitting the rotation of the small gear 12 to the upper portions of the struts 41, 42 as rotational movement.
0, 130, each rotation transmission mechanism 1
Non-circular gear pairs G1 and G2, which are set so as to obtain a predetermined Ackermann rate, are respectively interposed in 20 and 130. The rotation of the steering wheel 11 is transmitted to the small gear 12 via a single shaft 18.

The rotation transmission mechanism 120 on the left side of FIG. 3 includes a small gear 121 which meshes with the small gear 12, and a short shaft 123 which is rotatably supported by the vehicle body 50 and transmits the rotation of the small gear 121 to the small gear 122. , A small gear 125 meshing with the small gear 122 and transmitting rotation to the input shaft 124a of the reduction gear device 124, and the output shaft 12 of the reduction gear device 124.
A small gear 127 that transmits the rotation of 4b to the fan gear 126,
Non-circular gear 128 integrally formed with the fan-shaped gear 126
And a non-circular gear 129 that is integrally rotatably assembled to the upper end of the strut 41 and meshes with the non-circular gear 128 to form a non-circular gear pair G1.

On the other hand, the rotation transmission mechanism 130 on the right side includes a small gear 131 which meshes with the small gear 12, and a long shaft 133 which is rotatably supported by the vehicle body 50 and transmits the rotation of the small gear 131 to the small gear 132. The small gear 135 that meshes with the small gear 132 and transmits the rotation to the input shaft 134a of the reduction gear device 134, and the output shaft 13 of the reduction gear device 134.
A small gear 137 for transmitting the rotation of 4b to the fan gear 136,
Non-circular gear 138 integrally formed with the fan-shaped gear 136
And a non-circular gear 139 that is integrally rotatably assembled to the upper end of the strut 42 and meshes with the non-circular gear 138 to form a non-circular gear pair G2.

The structure of the second embodiment other than the above is the same as the structure of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.
The operation of the second embodiment is substantially the same as the operation of the first embodiment and is apparent from FIG. 3, so the description thereof will be omitted. Note that the reduction gear units 124 and 134 may be integrated and installed in the shaft 18. Further, the non-circular gear pairs G1 and G2 are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments as long as they are located in the respective rotation transmission mechanisms.

By the way, in the steering apparatus of each of the above embodiments, the pair of left and right rotation transmission mechanisms 20, 30 or 12 is used.
0, 130 and the non-circular gear pair G1, G2 interposed in each rotation transmission mechanism are installed in the strut 4 with a sufficient space.
1, 42 can be arranged near the upper part of the engine room and in the upper space of the engine room, and a predetermined Ackermann rate can be secured by appropriately setting the gear shapes of the non-circular gear pair G1, G2, and the rotation of each component is allowed. Since it can be placed simply by securing the space to be used, the degree of freedom of placement is high,
It can be easily arranged even in a recent engine room where the number of accessories is increasing. Also, by appropriately setting the respective gear shapes of the non-circular gear pair G1 and G2, the Ackermann rate is set to 0% at a small steering angle to achieve a high response, and the Ackermann rate is set to 100% at a large steering angle to prevent tire squealing. In the vicinity of full lock, it is possible to reduce the Ackermann rate and reduce the minimum turning radius of the vehicle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a steering device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the steering device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

15, 16, 17 ... Steering shaft, 20, 30
... a pair of left and right rotation transmission mechanisms, 41, 42 ... a pair of left and right struts, 50 ... vehicle body, 61, 62 ... a pair of left and right steered wheels, G1, G2 ... a non-circular gear pair.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of left and right struts that are rotatably assembled to a vehicle body and respectively support a pair of left and right steered wheels, and a pair of left and right struts that transmits the rotation of a steering shaft to the upper portion of each strut as rotational movement. A steering device including a rotation transmission mechanism and a pair of non-circular gears interposed in each of the rotation transmission mechanisms.