JP5217304B2 - Amphibious vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an amphibious vehicle.

Various amphibious vehicles have been developed. For example, the following Patent Document 1 aims to provide a powertrain structure for a lightweight and small amphibious vehicle with a simple configuration. An invention that achieves the above object by arranging the engine horizontally at the front and providing a transmission with a switching mechanism for selectively or simultaneously transmitting the engine power to the front wheel drive shaft or the screw drive shaft orthogonal thereto. It is disclosed.
As for amphibious vehicles, in addition to those disclosed in Patent Document 1, the following Patent Documents 2 to 7 disclose ones for various purposes.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-208605 JP 09-136519 A JP 05-008621 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-024420 JP 2000-071704 A JP 2004-306953 A JP 2002-211123 A

However, the above-mentioned various amphibious vehicles are not intended to improve the efficiency of the powertrain power (technical problem), and do not provide any solution for the technical problem of improving the powertrain efficiency.
Conventional amphibious vehicles are often used for leisure or military purposes, and the efficiency of powertrain power has not been an important theme for technological development. However, for example, in industrial applications, if you want to use an amphibious vehicle as a water transport vehicle for rivers, seas, etc. Efficiency is a very important development theme.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the situation mentioned above, and aims at providing the amphibious vehicle which can improve the efficiency of motive power than before.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, as a first solution, an engine, a motor / generator driven as a motor or a generator by the engine, and electric power generated by the motor / generator are charged. A battery to be discharged, and a power converter for converting electric power generated by the motor / generator into electric power for charging the battery, while converting electric power discharged from the battery into electric power for driving the motor / generator, and / or A wheel that is rotationally driven by a motor / generator, a thrust generator that generates thrust by driving a motor for water navigation by power supplied from a power converter or power supplied from a battery, and The land travel steering device for setting the traveling direction, the water navigation steering device for setting the navigation direction during surface navigation, and the battery terminal voltage While the case above the certain threshold for activating the engine, comprising a vehicle control unit that stops the engine when the terminal voltage falls below a predetermined threshold, employing the means of.
As a second solving means, a means is adopted in which, in the first means, the thrust generator is a pod (POD) propulsion device.
As a third solving means, in the second means, a means is adopted in which the pod propeller is a counter-rotating pod propeller.
As a fourth solution, in any one of the above first to third means, a means is adopted in which the motor for water navigation is deleted and the wheels and the thrust generator are driven by the motor / generator.
As a fifth solving means, in any one of the first to fourth means, a means is adopted in which the land traveling steering device and the water navigation steering device are alternatively operated by a common operation handle.
As a sixth solution, in any one of the first to fifth means, a clutch is provided between the engine and the motor / generator, and the vehicle control unit sets the clutch to an ON state when starting the engine. On the other hand, when the engine is to be stopped, the clutch is set to the OFF state.

  According to the present invention, when the battery terminal voltage exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the engine is stopped and the motor / generator or the water navigation motor is driven by the battery power, while the battery terminal voltage is predetermined. When the engine is below the threshold value, the engine is driven to charge the battery, and the wheel / water navigation motor is driven by the electric power of the motor / generator. The power efficiency can be improved as compared with the powertrain structure.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main functional configuration of an amphibious vehicle A according to the first embodiment.

  The amphibious vehicle A includes a vehicle main body A1, a pod propulsion device A2, and a turning mechanism A3 that pivotally fixes the pod propelling device A2 to the bottom of the vehicle main body A1, as shown in FIG. The vehicle main body A1 has a power generation function and a land running function as main functions, and includes a vehicle body 1, an engine 2, a motor / generator 3, clutches 4 and 5, a main body inverter / converter 6, a battery 7, a differential gear 8, A rear wheel 9, a handle 10, connection mechanisms 11 a and 11 b, a front wheel 12, and a vehicle control device 13 are provided. On the other hand, the pod propulsion device A2 is a functional unit for navigating on the water, and includes a POD casing 14, a POD inverter 15, a POD motor 16, and a propeller 17.

The vehicle body 1 is a basic support structure of the amphibious vehicle A. The other functional components, that is, the engine 2, the motor / generator 3, the clutches 4 and 5, the inverter / converter 6 for the main body, and the battery 7 are provided. The differential gear 8, the rear wheel 9, the handle 10, the coupling mechanisms 11a and 11b, the front wheel 12 and the vehicle control device 13 are supported.
The engine 2 is a power source that drives the motor / generator 3 under the control of the vehicle control device 13 and supplies power for rotating the rear wheels 9 (via the differential gear 8). In other words, the engine 2 is an internal combustion engine (for example, a gasoline engine or a diesel engine) included in a vehicle traveling on a road as a so-called “automobile”.

  The motor / generator 3 is driven by the engine 2 to generate AC power having a predetermined frequency as a generator, and outputs the AC power to the inverter / converter 6 for main body. The motor / generator 3 serves as an auxiliary power source that assists the power generated by the engine 2 with the driving power for land traveling supplied from the inverter / converter 6 for the main body as a motor.

  The clutch 4 is provided between the engine 2 and the motor / generator 3 and performs connection / disengagement between the two based on control by the vehicle control device 13. The clutch 5 is provided between the motor / generator 3 and the differential gear 8, and performs connection / disengagement between the two based on control by the vehicle control device 13. The inverter / converter 6 for the main body converts the DC power supplied from the battery 7 under the control of the vehicle control device 13 into AC driving power for land travel, and drives the motor / generator 3 with the driving power. Also, AC power supplied from the motor / generator 3 is converted into DC power and output to the battery 7 or the POD inverter 15.

  When the motor / generator 3 functions as a generator and the main body inverter / converter 6 functions as a converter, the battery 7 charges the DC power supplied from the main body inverter / converter 6, while the motor / When the generator 3 functions as a motor and the main body inverter / converter 6 functions as an inverter (that is, when the motor / generator 3 becomes a load) or when the POD inverter 15 becomes a load, the DC power To discharge. Such a battery 7 is, for example, a lead storage battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, or a lithium ion battery.

  The differential gear 8 is a power transmission mechanism (differential gear) configured by combining a plurality of gears, and individually transmits the power of the engine 2 and / or the power of the motor / generator 3 to the left and right rear wheels 9. . The rear wheel 9 is a pair of left and right drive wheels, and is rotated by power transmitted from the engine 2 and / or the motor / generator 3 via the differential gear 8. The steering wheel 10 is operated by the driver to set the land traveling direction and the water navigation direction of the amphibious vehicle A, and is connected to the front wheel 12 via the coupling mechanism 11a and the coupling mechanism 11b. To the turning mechanism A3.

  The coupling mechanism 11 a turns on / off the mechanical connection between the handle 10 and the front wheel 12 and is controlled by the vehicle control device 13. That is, when the amphibious vehicle A travels on land, the coupling mechanism 11a is set to an ON state, that is, a state in which the handle 10 and the front wheels 12 are mechanically connected, and the amphibious vehicle A sails on the water. In this case, the state is set to the OFF state, that is, the state in which the mechanical connection between the handle 10 and the front wheel 12 is separated.

  The connection mechanism 11b turns on / off the mechanical connection between the handle 10 and the turning mechanism A3, and is controlled by the vehicle control device 13 in the same manner as the connection mechanism 11a. That is, the coupling mechanism 11b is controlled in reverse to the coupling mechanism 11a, and when the amphibious vehicle A travels on land, it is in the OFF state, that is, the mechanical mechanism between the handle 10 and the turning mechanism A3. When the amphibious vehicle A sails on the water, it is set to an ON state, that is, a state in which the handle 10 and the turning mechanism A3 are mechanically connected.

The front wheel 12 is rotatably attached to the vehicle body 1 and its orientation relative to the vehicle body 1 is changed according to the operation of the handle 10.
The amphibious vehicle A employs a front engine / rear drive system (FR system), that is, the heavy engine 2 is disposed at the front of the vehicle body 1 and the rear wheel 9 is a driving wheel. It is comprised so that.

  Subsequently, the POD housing 14 has a shape that reduces the propulsion resistance of the pod propulsion device A2 located below the waterline as much as possible during water navigation, for example, a shape that is cylindrical and has a gradually reduced diameter at the front and rear ends. It is set and is removably attached to the bottom of the vehicle body 1 via the turning mechanism A3. Further, a propeller 17 is attached to the tip of the POD casing 14 as shown in the figure.

  Based on the operation of the handle 10, the turning mechanism A3 sets the central axis direction (propulsion direction) of the POD casing 14 in the direction of the pod propulsion unit A2 with respect to the vehicle body 1, that is, the direction orthogonal to the rotation surface of the propeller 17.

The POD inverter 15 converts the DC power supplied from the main body inverter / converter 6 or the DC power supplied from the battery 7 under the control of the vehicle control device 13 into AC water navigation driving power. This is a drive device for driving the POD motor 16 by the water navigation drive power.
The POD motor 16 is a water navigation electric motor that rotationally drives the propeller 17 with the water navigation drive power supplied from the POD inverter 15, and is, for example, a three-phase brushless DC motor. The propeller 17 generates thrust by rotation to propel the amphibious vehicle A on the water.

  The vehicle control device 13 controls the overall operation of the amphibious vehicle A. The amphibious vehicle A is used for, for example, coupling of the clutches 4 and 5, start-up control of the engine 2 based on the terminal voltage of the battery 7, switching control of the coupling mechanisms 11 a and 11 b based on the operation instruction of the operator, Based on the operation control of the main body inverter / converter 6 and the POD inverter 15, the pod propulsion device A2 is stored in the vehicle body 1 based on the operation instruction of the operator.

Next, the operation of the amphibious vehicle A thus configured will be described in detail.
When the amphibious vehicle A travels on land, the vehicle control device 13 stores the pod propulsion device A2 in the vehicle body 1, sets the coupling mechanism 11a to the ON state and the coupling mechanism 11b to the OFF state, Only the main body inverter / converter 6 is operated with the inverter 15 stopped. As a result, the amphibious vehicle A is in a state where the pod propulsion device A2 does not block the grounding of the rear wheels 9 and the front wheels 12 with respect to the ground, and the traveling direction is set by the operation of the steering wheel 10 by the driver. The power is transmitted.

  In such a state, when the terminal voltage of the battery 7 exceeds a predetermined threshold value (that is, when the battery 7 is sufficiently charged by the motor / generator 3), the vehicle control device 13 causes the engine 2 to The engine 2 is disconnected from the motor / generator 3 by stopping the clutch 4 and the DC power is supplied from the battery 7 to the inverter / converter 6 for the main body.

  The inverter / converter 6 for the main body converts the DC power supplied from the battery 7 in this way into AC driving power for land travel, and supplies the motor / generator 3 with the DC power. Drives as a motor to generate rotational power. Then, the rotational power of the motor / generator 3 is transmitted to the rear wheel 9 via the differential gear 8, whereby the rear wheel 9 is rotated. As a result, the amphibious vehicle A travels on land.

  On the other hand, when the terminal voltage of the battery 7 is lower than a predetermined threshold value (that is, when the battery 7 is not sufficiently charged by the motor / generator 3), the vehicle control device 13 starts the engine 2, The DC power is supplied (charged) from the inverter / converter 6 for the main body to the battery 7 by connecting the engine 2 to the motor / generator 3 by turning on the clutch 4 and driving the motor / generator 3 as a generator. ) In this case, the power of the engine 2 is transmitted to the rear wheel 9 via the differential gear 8, and the rear wheel 9 rotates.

  That is, when the battery 7 is sufficiently charged by the motor / generator 3, the amphibious vehicle A uses the electric power supplied from the battery 7 to the motor / generator 3 via the main body inverter / converter 6. On the other hand, when the battery 7 is not sufficiently charged by the motor / generator 3, the vehicle 7 travels on the ground based on the mechanical power of the engine 2.

  Moreover, since the efficiency of the engine 2 is low when the amphibious vehicle A starts or travels at a low speed, the vehicle control device 13 is not the power of the engine 2 when the battery 7 is sufficiently charged. The rear wheel 9 is driven using the power of the motor / generator 3 as much as possible. For example, since the efficiency of the engine 2 increases during high-speed traveling, the rear wheel 9 may be driven using either the engine 2 or the motor / generator 3 or both. The vehicle control device 13 selects the engine 2 or / and the motor / generator 3 as a power source so as to maximize efficiency as power, that is, to minimize fuel consumption.

  By the way, when the amphibious vehicle A sails on the water, the vehicle control device 13 causes the pod propulsion device A2 to protrude downward from the bottom of the vehicle body 1, and the coupling mechanism 11a is turned off and the coupling mechanism 11b is turned on. In addition, the main body inverter / converter 6 is stopped and only the POD inverter 15 is operated. As a result, the amphibious vehicle A is in a state in which it can sail on the water, the navigation direction is set by the operation of the steering wheel 10 by the driver, and the power is transmitted to the propeller 17.

  The vehicle control device 13 stops the engine 2 when the terminal voltage of the battery 7 exceeds a predetermined threshold value (that is, when the battery 7 is sufficiently charged by the motor / generator 3), The engine 4 is disconnected from the motor / generator 3 by turning off the clutch 4 and DC power is supplied from the battery 7 to the POD inverter 15. The POD inverter 15 converts the DC power supplied from the battery 7 in this way into AC land driving power and supplies it to the POD motor 16 to drive and rotate the POD motor 16. Generate power. Then, as the propeller 17 is rotated by the rotational power of the POD motor 16, the amphibious vehicle A sails on the water.

  On the other hand, the vehicle control device 13 starts the engine 2 when the terminal voltage of the battery 7 falls below a predetermined threshold value (that is, when the battery 7 is not sufficiently charged by the motor / generator 3). At the same time, the engine 2 is connected to the motor / generator 3 by turning on the clutch 4, and the motor / generator 3 and the differential gear 8 are separated from each other by turning off the clutch 5. By driving the generator 3 as a generator, DC power is supplied (charged) from the main body inverter / converter 6 to the battery 7 and DC power is supplied to the POD inverter 15. As a result, the POD motor 16 is driven by the driving power supplied from the POD inverter 15 to rotate the propeller 17.

  That is, the amphibious vehicle A sails on the water based on the DC power supplied from the battery 7 to the POD inverter 15 when the battery 7 is sufficiently charged by the motor / generator 3. When the battery 7 is not sufficiently charged by the motor / generator 3, the battery 7 sails on the water based on the electric power generated by the motor / generator 3.

According to the first embodiment, when the terminal voltage of the battery 7 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the engine 2 is stopped and the motor / generator 3 or the POD motor 16 is driven by the power of the battery 7. On the other hand, when the terminal voltage of the battery 7 falls below a predetermined threshold value, the engine 2 is driven to charge the battery 7 and the rear wheel 9 and the POD motor 16 are driven by the electric power of the motor / generator 3. Therefore, it is possible to improve the power efficiency as compared with the powertrain structure of the conventional amphibious vehicle that travels on the ground and sails on the water only by the power of the engine, thereby improving the fuel consumption.
Further, since the pod propulsion device A2 is adopted as the propulsion device, turning on the water is easy.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main functional configuration of an amphibious vehicle B according to the second embodiment.
The amphibious vehicle B is different from the amphibious vehicle A of the first embodiment in that it includes a counter-rotating pod propellant B2. Therefore, in this amphibious vehicle B, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the functional component same as the amphibious vehicle A of 1st Embodiment, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The vehicle body B1 of the amphibious vehicle B includes a vehicle body 1, an engine 2, a motor / generator 3, clutches 4 and 5, a main body inverter / converter 6, a battery 7, a differential gear 8, a rear wheel 9, a handle 10, and a connection. In addition to the mechanisms 11 a and 11 b, the front wheels 12 and the vehicle control device 13, a clutch 18 and a propeller 19 are provided.

  Among the additional components, the clutch 18 and the propeller 19, the clutch 18 is provided between the motor / generator 3 and the propeller 19, and performs connection / disengagement between the two based on control by the vehicle control device 13. The propeller 19 (main propeller) is provided in the bottom of the vehicle main body B1 so as to be in front of the propeller 17 (sub-propeller) and at the same rotational center, and is rotated by the rotational power of the main body motor / generator 3. To do.

  The pod propulsion device B2 of the amphibious vehicle B is a counter-rotating system constituted by a propeller 19 provided in the vehicle body B1 in addition to the POD casing 14, the POD inverter 15, the POD motor 16, and the propeller 17. The pair of propellers 17 and 19 arranged side by side so as to have the same center of rotation are rotationally driven so that their rotational directions are different from each other.

  That is, when the amphibious vehicle B travels on land, the vehicle control device 13 stores the pod propulsion device B2 in the vehicle body 1, sets the coupling mechanism 11a to the ON state and the coupling mechanism 11b to the OFF state, and sets the POD. Only the inverter / converter 6 for main body is operated with the inverter 15 in the stopped state, and the clutch 5 is in the connected state and the clutch 18 is in the disengaged state. As a result, in the amphibious vehicle B, the pod propulsion device B2 does not block the grounding of the rear wheels 9 and the front wheels 12 and the traveling direction is set by the operation of the handle 10 by the driver, and the pair of propellers 17 , 19 is in a state where power is not transmitted to only the rear wheel 9.

  On the other hand, when the amphibious vehicle B sails on the water, the vehicle control device 13 causes the pod propulsion device B2 and the propeller 19 to protrude downward from the bottom of the vehicle body 1, the coupling mechanism 11a is in the OFF state, and the coupling mechanism 11b is in the ON state. The POD inverter 15 is connected to the main body inverter / converter 6 and the battery 7, and the clutch 5 is disengaged and the clutch 18 is connected. As a result, the amphibious vehicle B is in a state where it is possible to sail on the water, the navigation direction is set by the operation of the steering wheel 10 by the driver, and the power is transmitted to the propellers 17 and 19.

  According to the amphibious vehicle B provided with such a counter-rotating pod propellant B2, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment described above, the counter-rotating pod propeller B2 is provided. Propulsion resistance can be reduced as compared with the amphibious vehicle A of the embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
Furthermore, a third embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main functional configuration of an amphibious vehicle C according to the third embodiment. As shown in this figure, the amphibious vehicle C removes the pod propulsion unit B2 from the amphibious vehicle B of the above-described second embodiment, but includes a propeller 19C instead of the propeller 19, and also includes a turning mechanism A3. Instead, the rudder 20 is connected to the coupling mechanism 11b.

  The propeller 19C is provided at the rear end of the vehicle body 1, and the rudder 20 is rotatably provided behind the propeller 19C. That is, the amphibious vehicle C sails on the water only by the thrust of the propeller 19C, and the navigation direction is set by the rudder 20.

  According to such an amphibious vehicle C, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment described above, the configuration is simple because the land traveling and the water navigation are performed only by the power generated by the motor / generator 3. Since the weight can be reduced, fuel consumption can be improved.

In addition, this invention is not limited to said each embodiment, For example, the following modifications can be considered.
(1) In each of the above embodiments, the front engine / rear drive system (FR system) is adopted, but a front engine / front drive system (FF system) may be employed instead.
(2) In each of the above embodiments, the propellers 17, 19, and 19C are configured to sail on the water by the thrust generated. However, the propellers 17, 19, and 19 may be replaced with a water jet propulsion unit.

(3) In each of the above embodiments, the battery 7 is used as a power supply device that stores or discharges the electric power generated by the motor / generator 3, but a large-capacity capacitor may be used instead of the battery 7.

(4) In the second embodiment, the propeller 19 (main propeller) constituting the counter-rotating pod propeller B2 is provided in the vehicle body 1. However, the main propeller is provided in the POD casing 14. The main propeller may be provided in the POD housing 14.
(5) In each of the above embodiments, the motor / generator 3 and the differential gear 8 are directly connected, but it is preferable to insert a transmission between them.
(6) In the above embodiments, the mechanical connection between the motor / generator 3 and the engine 2 is separated by the clutch 4 so that the engine 2 does not become a load when the motor / generator 3 functions as a motor. However, when the engine 2 can be ignored as a load, the clutch 4 may be omitted.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the amphibious vehicle concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the amphibious vehicle concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the amphibious vehicle concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  A, B, C ... Amphibious vehicle, A1, B1, C1 ... Vehicle body, A2, B2 ... Pod propellant, A3 ... Turning mechanism, 1 ... Car body, 2 ... Engine, 3 ... Motor / generator, 4, 5 , 18 ... clutch, 6 ... inverter / converter for main body, 7 ... battery, 8 ... differential gear, 9 ... rear wheel, 10 ... handle, 11a, 11b ... coupling mechanism, 12 ... front wheel, 13 ... vehicle control device, 14 ... POD housing, 15 ... POD inverter, 16 ... POD motor, 17, 19, 19C ... propeller, 20 ... rudder

Claims (3)

Engine,
A motor / generator driven as a motor or driven as a generator by an engine ;
A battery that charges and discharges the electric power generated by the motor / generator;
A power conversion device that converts electric power generated by the motor / generator into electric power for charging the battery, and converts electric power discharged by the battery into electric power for driving the motor / generator;
Wheels rotated by the engine or / and the motor / generator;
Driving the motor / generator with power from the engine or power supplied from the power converter generates thrust in the main propeller and power supplied from the power converter or power supplied from the battery. A counter-rotating pod propulsion device that drives a water navigation motor to generate thrust in the sub-propeller,
A land-use steering device that sets the travel direction during land travel;
A water navigation steering device for setting a navigation direction during water navigation;
A vehicle control unit that starts the engine when the terminal voltage of the battery is lower than a predetermined threshold value, and stops the engine when the terminal voltage exceeds a predetermined threshold value. An amphibious vehicle that features it. The amphibious vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the land driving steering device and the water navigation steering device are alternatively operated by a common operation handle . A clutch is provided between the engine and the motor / generator;
The said vehicle control part sets the said clutch to an ON state, when starting an engine, and sets the said clutch to an OFF state when stopping an engine, The land and water of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Dual-use car.

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