JP2003034103A - Wheel with built-in suspension - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To lower the body floor of a vehicle and increase the space inside the vehicle. SOLUTION: The hub 1 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and connects a wheel shaft A, and a rim 2 which is positioned on the outer peripheral side of the hub 1 and has a tire T interposed therebetween. An elastic body 3 that contracts when an external force is applied between the rim 2 and the inner periphery of the rim 2 and expands when the external force is eliminated, and a cylindrical damper that is arranged in parallel with the elastic body 3 and absorbs energy when the elastic body 3 extends. And 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheel incorporating a suspension.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A suspension in a vehicle absorbs vibrations from a traveling road surface while supporting a vehicle body. However, the suspension is arranged so that the vehicle height can be lowered as much as possible. I am trying.

However, even if the damper forming the suspension is formed in the rotary type instead of the cylindrical type, as long as it is arranged below the floor of the vehicle body,
The floor of the car body cannot be lowered as a whole.

That is, for example, in a vehicle in which a person with a wheelchair gets on and off, the floor of the vehicle body should be as low as possible, and the space inside the vehicle should be as wide as possible. Even if the suspension is a rotary type and is made compact, it is preferable that the suspension is not disposed below the floor of the vehicle body.

The present invention was devised from the above viewpoint, and its object is to make the floor of a vehicle body as low as possible and to make the vehicle interior space as wide as possible. It is to provide wheels with built-in suspension that are optimal for doing so.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a wheel with a built-in suspension according to the present invention has a hub, which is basically formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and connects wheel shafts, and the hub. Is a wheel having a rim positioned on the outer peripheral side of the rim for interposing a tire, the elastic being deformed between the outer periphery of the hub and the inner periphery of the rim when an external force is applied and restored when the external force is canceled. It is assumed to have a body and a cylindrical damper arranged in parallel with the elastic body to absorb energy when the elastic body is deformed and restored.

In the above structure, more specifically, it is assumed that the elastic body is made of rubber and has a wall thickness capable of preventing relative displacement in the lateral direction between the hub and the rim.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. A suspension built-in wheel according to the present invention is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. Hub 1 for connecting the
2 which is positioned on the outer peripheral side of the tire and through which the tire T is interposed
And have.

At this time, the hub 1 corresponds to a portion called a disc in a conventional wheel, which is not shown, but this disc is integrated with the rim 2, but in the present invention. The rim 2 is separated.

By the way, the rim 2 is formed in the same manner as in the existing wheel in the manner in which the tire T is interposed.

By the way, in the suspension built-in wheel according to the present invention having the hub 1 and the rim 2 as described above, as shown in FIG. 2, an external force acts between the outer circumference of the hub 1 and the inner circumference of the rim 2. It is assumed to have an elastic body 3 which is sometimes deformed and restores its original shape when the external force is eliminated, and a cylindrical damper 4 which is juxtaposed with the elastic body 3 and absorbs energy when the elastic body 3 is deformed and restored. There is.

Incidentally, in FIG. 1, the damper 4 is shown by a principle diagram for the convenience of drawing.

The elastic body 3 is made of a rubber material and is also included in the hub 1.
The rim 2 has a wall thickness that can prevent relative displacement in the lateral direction.

At this time, although the elastic body 3 is shown as a plurality of independent ones in the figure, its inner peripheral end is connected to the outer periphery of the hub 1 although not shown in view of its function. At the same time, the outer peripheral end may be formed into a single annular shape that is continuously provided on the inner periphery of the rim 2.

In the case where the single ring is formed, when the wall thickness is set to the same value, the gap between the hub 1 and the rim 2 is larger than that in the case where a plurality of independent plates are shown. 1, there is an advantage that the relative displacement in the lateral direction, which is the left-right direction in FIG. 1, can be prevented more effectively.

The damper 4 has a cylinder body 4a and a rod body 4b which is inserted into and retractable from the cylinder body 4a as shown in the drawing. Although not shown in detail, the rod body 4b is a cylinder body. It is set so as to mainly absorb energy when protruding from the inside of 4a, that is, at the time of extension operation.

As shown in the figure, the damper 4 is arranged so that the elastic body 3 is sandwiched between the two sides, so that when the wheel with built-in suspension is viewed as a single body, so-called balance is taken into consideration. There is.

Therefore, considering the case where the wheels with a built-in suspension are used as a pair on the left and right,
Although not shown, the damper 4 may be provided only on one side of the elastic body 3.

From the viewpoint of its function, the damper 4 is best arranged so that its expansion / contraction direction is the radial direction of the wheel with a built-in suspension.

However, as shown in the drawings, when mounting the damper 4, the brackets 5 and 6 are used, and the brackets 5 and 6 are connected to the hub 1 and the rim 2. It is the normal state.

In view of this, as shown in the figure, since the damper 4 has a certain length, in this suspension built-in wheel, a so-called oblique direction inclined with respect to the radial direction of the suspension built-in wheel. Will be distributed to.

By the way, even if they are arranged obliquely with respect to the radial direction, they are not arranged along the tangential direction of this suspension built-in wheel.

Therefore, in the wheel with a built-in suspension according to the present invention formed as described above, the elastic body 3 and the damper 4 constituting the suspension are not provided outside.

Therefore, in the vehicle, since the elastic body 3 and the damper 4 are not distributed outside, the vehicle floor can be set low and the vehicle interior space can be set wide.

That is, in a vehicle using a conventional wheel, since an elastic body and a damper, which are suspensions, are arranged between the wheel shaft and the vehicle body, the vehicle floor is equivalent to the elastic body and the damper. Will be higher and the space inside the vehicle will be smaller.

From this, in the vehicle using the wheel with the suspension according to the present invention, more effective setting can be made, for example, when the setting is made so that each wheelchair can get on and off. There are advantages.

On the other hand, regarding the operating condition of the wheel with a built-in suspension according to the present invention, the weight of the vehicle body depends on the wheel axle A.
Hub 1 unless it is acting on hub 1 via
It rotates around a so-called shaft center which is the center of the elastic body 3, and at this time, the elastic body 3 does not deform and the damper 4 does not expand or contract.

On the other hand, when the tire T is mounted on the rim 2 and the wheel shaft A of the vehicle is used by being linked to the hub 1, the weight of the vehicle body is measured via the wheel shaft A. And acts on the hub 1.

As a result, the elastic body 3 located below the hub 1 is deformed so as to be contracted, and the damper 4 is contracted.
On the contrary, the elastic body 3 located above the hub 1 is deformed so as to extend and the damper 4 extends.

When the wheel with built-in suspension rotates around the above-mentioned axis as the vehicle travels, the elastic body 3 repeats deformation and restoration according to the rotation speed of the wheel with built-in suspension, and the damper 4 moves. Expansion and contraction will be repeated.

That is, in the conventional vehicle using the wheel, the elastic body and the damper, which are suspensions, are arranged between the wheel shaft and the vehicle body, so that when the road surface vibration is input to the vehicle, the elastic body is elastic. The body will be deformed and the damper will expand and contract.

On the other hand, when the wheel with a built-in suspension according to the present invention is used, as long as the vehicle is running, that is, the wheel with a built-in suspension is rotating, the suspension can be used even if there is no input of road surface vibration. The barrel 4 is deformed and the damper 4 is expanded and contracted.

When road surface vibration is input to the running vehicle, the amount of deformation of the elastic body 3 increases, and the increased amount of shock is alleviated, and the expansion and contraction stroke of the damper 4 increases. The increased amount of energy absorption will be realized.

From the above, in the case of using the conventional wheel, the elastic body and the damper can absorb the shock and the energy can be absorbed only when the road surface vibration is input. This means that it is impossible to prevent the occurrence of shock when starting operation.

On the other hand, in the case of the wheel with a built-in suspension of the present invention, the elastic body 3 is deformed and the damper 4 expands and contracts, so to speak, following the normal operation, so that the above-mentioned shock may occur. This is advantageous in that the riding comfort of the vehicle is improved.

Although the elastic body 3 is made of rubber having a sufficient thickness to prevent the lateral relative displacement between the hub 1 and the rim 2 in the above description, the elastic body 3 is impacted. It is needless to say that the elastic member 3 may be made of a coil spring or a leaf spring, instead of being made of rubber, only in view of exerting the relaxation function.

When the elastic body 3 is a coil spring, the damper 4 can be arranged inside the coil spring.

[0038]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the vehicle floor can be set lower because the elastic body and the damper constituting the suspension are not distributed outside, and
It will be possible to set a wide interior space.

At this time, since the damper is cylindrical,
It is advantageous in that existing ones can be diverted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the rolling of the wheel portion while obtaining a predetermined shock absorbing function.

As a result, according to the wheel with a built-in suspension of the present invention, when the vehicle is set so as to be able to get in and out of each wheelchair, for example, it is easy to get in and out of each wheelchair, and the wheelchair in the vehicle is equipped. Each has the advantage of improving habitability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a wheel with a suspension according to the present invention in a partial schematic view.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the wheel with built-in suspension according to the present invention as viewed from the left side in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 hub 2 rims 3 elastic body 4 damper 4a Cylinder body 4b rod body 5,6 bracket A wheel axle T tire

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A wheel having a hub formed into a substantially cylindrical shape for connecting wheel shafts, and a rim positioned on the outer peripheral side of the hub for interposing a tire, the outer circumference of the hub being An elastic body that is deformed when an external force is applied to the inner circumference of the rim and is restored when the external force is canceled, and a cylindrical damper that is juxtaposed with the elastic body and absorbs energy when the elastic body is deformed and restored. Suspension built-in wheel characterized by having 2. The wheel with a built-in suspension according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is made of rubber and has a wall thickness capable of preventing relative displacement in the lateral direction between the hub and the rim.