JP2003343648A - Electromagnetic buffer, and mounting structure of it on vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a failure of an outer electromagnetic force generating source and to secure a stroke of an electromagnetic buffer required for a vehicle, by preventing direct hitting of rain, dirt, a stone, or the like to the electromagnetic force generating source of the electromagnetic buffer mounted on the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The electromagnetic buffer comprises an electromagnetic buffer body D having a ball screw nut 2 and a screw shaft 3 rotatably screwed into the ball screw nut 2, and a motor 1 connecting to the screw shaft 3 via a power transmitting means. A linear motion of the ball screw nut 2 is converted to a rotation of the screw shaft 3 via the ball screw nut 2, the rotation is transmitted to a shaft 1a of the motor 1 via the power transmitting means to generate an electromagnetic force in the motor 1, and torque against the rotation of the shaft 1a caused by the electromagnetic force is used as a damping force for suppressing the linear motion of the ball screw nut 2. A vehicle mounting part is disposed between the motor 1 and the electromagnetic buffer body D, and the electromagnetic force generating source of the electromagnetic buffer body is disposed in the inside of the car body partitioned in the car body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is suitable for use as a suspension of a vehicle and attenuates vibration energy from the road surface to improve the riding comfort of the vehicle or suppresses changes in the vehicle body to maintain a constant vehicle height. The invention relates to an electromagnetic shock absorber for a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a suspension is known in which a hydraulic shock absorber is interposed between a vehicle body and an axle of a vehicle in parallel with a suspension spring. The suspension suspends the vehicle body and inputs vibrations and the like from the road surface. To improve the riding comfort and maneuverability of the vehicle, or suppress the displacement of the vehicle body to keep the vehicle height constant.

On the other hand, an electromagnetic shock absorber installed together with a hydraulic shock absorber and the like is incorporated in a part of the suspension, and when the vehicle body changes, an electric current is passed through the motor to generate an electromagnetic force. A vehicle suspension to be used is also known as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 44758/1993.

However, in the suspension using the above hydraulic shock absorber, a high damping force can be obtained, but on the other hand, oil is required, and a seal mechanism and a complicated valve mechanism for preventing the oil from leaking are required.

Similarly, a suspension using an electromagnetic shock absorber requires a power source, a controller, etc., which complicates the structure and is disadvantageous in terms of cost.

Therefore, recently, a new electromagnetic shock absorber which does not require oil, air, power source, etc. has been studied, and its paper has been published.

The basic structure of this electromagnetic shock absorber is, for example, as shown in the model of FIG. 2, a ball screw nut 2, a flange 34 for holding the ball screw nut 2, and a flange to which an eye-shaped bracket 38 is fixed. 37, a guide rod 36 that connects the flanges 34, 37, a screw shaft 3 that is rotatably screwed into the ball screw nut 2, and is coupled to the upper end of the screw shaft 3 via a coupling 5 and a shaft 1a. The motor 1 and the

When the electromagnetic shock absorber is used as a suspension by interposing it between the vehicle body and the axle, for example, a bracket whose upper end is fixed to a flange 28 provided on the motor 1 is used. 40 and the lower end of the electromagnetic shock absorber is connected to the vehicle body side through the eye-shaped bracket 3
Connect to the axle side via 8.

In this case, the motor 1 has a flange 3 at the lower end.
Connected to the flange 32 via 0 and the connecting rod 31,
The ball bearing 6 is fixed to the inner circumference of the flange 32, and the upper portion of the screw shaft 3 is rotatably inserted into the ball bearing 6.

Further, the flange 32 is connected to the flange 35 by a connecting rod 33, and the guide rod 36 is slidably inserted into a hole provided in the flange 35 to linearly move the ball screw nut 2. Only that is acceptable.

According to the concept of the suspension using the electromagnetic shock absorber, for example, when the ball screw nut 2 linearly moves in the direction of arrow a by the vibration input from the road surface, the screw shaft 3 in the ball screw nut 2 is rotated by the ball. The balls in the screw nut 2 and the screw groove 3a on the outer periphery of the screw shaft 3 are guided to be converted into a rotational movement.

Therefore, the rotational movement of the screw shaft 3 is transmitted as the rotational movement of the shaft 1a in the direction of the arrow b through the coupling 5 attached to the upper end of the screw shaft 3, whereby the induced electromotive force is generated in the motor 1. Although not shown in particular, if each electrode of the motor 1 is short-circuited without a power source or connected to a control circuit so as to obtain a desired electromagnetic force,
A current resulting from the induced electromotive force flows through the solenoid in the motor 1, and the motor 1 generates an electromagnetic force.

At this time, if each electrode of the motor 1 is short-circuited or connected to a control circuit so that an electromagnetic force is generated in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the shaft 1a, the rotation caused by the electromagnetic force is generated. A torque against the torque is generated, and the rotation of the shaft 1a of the motor 1 is suppressed.

Then, since suppressing the rotation of the shaft 1a means suppressing the rotation of the screw shaft 3,
The torque acts as a damping force that suppresses the linear movement of the ball screw nut 2.

[0015]

When the electromagnetic shock absorber is actually applied to a vehicle, the shock absorber is usually arranged between the vehicle body and the axle. However, various problems described below are encountered. There is a point.

That is, in the structure of the electromagnetic shock absorber described above, the motor 1, the screw shaft 3, and the ball screw nut 2 are in a bare state, and therefore, against splashes of rain, mud, stones, etc. from the outside of the vehicle body. , Which is not isolated at all, for example, rainwater or muddy water enters the motor 1 to damage and damage the motor 1, or the motor 1, the screw shaft 3 and the ball screw nut 2 are hit by a stone or the like to be deformed, There is a possibility that the functions of the motor 1 and the like may be impaired due to damage or the like.

For this reason, an outer cylinder as a cover for covering the motor 1, the screw shaft 3, and the ball screw nut 2 is inevitably required over the entire electromagnetic shock absorber, resulting in high cost and heavy weight.

Further, in the electromagnetic shock absorber, since the damping force is generated by the motor, the failure of the motor means that the function as the shock absorber is lost, so that the importance of protection of the motor is great. Is extremely large.

Further, since the electromagnetic shock absorber uses a motor which is not provided in the hydraulic shock absorber or the like, if the necessary and sufficient stroke is secured in the applicable vehicle equivalent to the hydraulic shock absorber or the like, the hydraulic pressure is reduced by the length of the motor. It is clear that the electromagnetic shock absorber is structurally longer than the shock absorber or the like.

Therefore, when the electromagnetic shock absorber is provided between the lower surface of the vehicle body and the axle, the space between the lower surface of the vehicle body and the axle is limited depending on the vehicle type, and the electromagnetic shock absorber is inevitably used. When applied to a vehicle, it is necessary to shorten the stroke by the length of the motor as compared with a hydraulic shock absorber or the like.

Then, there is a fear that a stroke required for the applicable vehicle cannot be secured.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to eliminate the need to provide a cover on the outer circumference of the motor, prevent rainwater, muddy water, etc. from entering the motor and prevent hitting stones, thereby preventing the failure of the motor. At the same time, the length of the electromagnetic shock absorber body can ensure a sufficient stroke required for the vehicle to which the electromagnetic shock absorber is applied.

[0023]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electromagnetic shock absorber body having a ball screw nut and a screw shaft rotatably screwed into the ball screw nut, and the screw shaft. And a motor coupled to the motor through a power transmission means. The linear movement of the ball screw nut is converted into the rotational movement of the screw shaft through the ball screw nut, and the rotational movement is performed by the motor through the power transmission means. In the electromagnetic shock absorber, the electromagnetic force is transmitted to the shaft of the motor to generate an electromagnetic force, and the torque against the rotation of the shaft caused by the electromagnetic force is used as a damping force for suppressing the linear movement of the ball screw nut. A vehicle mounting portion is provided between the motor and the electromagnetic shock absorber body.

More specifically, the vehicle mounting portion is a bracket mounted above the electromagnetic shock absorber body while permitting rotation of the power transmission means.

Further, a mounting portion for the vehicle is provided between the motor and the main body of the electromagnetic shock absorber, and while the mounting portion is coupled to the vehicle body, the motor is arranged inside the vehicle body partitioned into the vehicle body. It is characterized by a structure for mounting an electromagnetic shock absorber on a vehicle.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The basic form of an electromagnetic shock absorber for a vehicle according to the present invention is an electromagnetic shock absorber body D and an electromagnetic shock absorber body D.
A torsion bar 13 serving as a power transmission means coupled to the upper end of the screw shaft 3 inside, and a coupling 5 coupled to the upper end of the torsion bar 13, and a motor 1 having the shaft 1a of the motor 1 coupled to the other end of the coupling 5. , The torsion bar 13 is rotatably inserted, and the electromagnetic shock absorber body D
And a cap 12 for connecting the motor 1 to the motor 1, and the cap 1
A pair of upper and lower mounts 14 and 15 inserted in the outer periphery of 2,
The bracket 16 is sandwiched between the mounts 14 and 15. The motor 1 is arranged inside the vehicle body which is the upper side of the vehicle body B, and the bracket 16 is coupled to the vehicle body B through the bolts BT of the vehicle body B. I am letting you.

A more detailed structure will be described below.

The electromagnetic shock absorber main body D includes a hollow rod 4 connected to the axle side via an eye-shaped bracket 10 and a ball screw nut 2 connected to an upper end portion of the hollow rod 4 via a ball screw nut bracket 27. Ball screw nut 2
It is configured with a screw shaft 3 which is rotatably screwed inside.

A piston type guide 19 is connected to the upper end of the hollow rod 4, the ball screw nut 2 is connected to the inner periphery of the guide 19 via a ball screw nut bracket 27, and a bush 23 is attached to the outer periphery of the guide 19. It is provided.

The guide 19 has a bush 23.
The hollow rod 4 is slidably inserted into the outer cylinder 7 through the above-mentioned structure. It is vertically slidably inserted through a seal S that prevents dust and rainwater from entering into the main body D, and the lower end of the hollow rod 4 is coupled to an axle via an eye-shaped bracket 10.

Although the outer cylinder 7 can be used without the outer cylinder 7, it is preferable to provide the outer cylinder 7 in order to prevent flying stones, rainwater and the like from the road surface from directly hitting the ball screw nut 2 and the screw shaft 3.

Similarly, the guide 19 and the rod guide 20 are
Although it can be used without it, it is preferable to provide the hollow rod 4 to prevent buckling of the hollow rod 4 and smoothly guide the linear motion.

Although the structure of the ball screw nut 2 is not particularly shown here, for example, a spiral ball holding portion is provided on the inner circumference of the ball screw nut so as to match the spiral screw groove of the screw shaft. A large number of balls are arranged in the holding portion, and a passage is provided inside the ball screw nut to connect both ends of the spiral holding portion so that the balls can circulate. When the screw shaft is screwed into the ball screw nut, the ball of the ball screw nut fits into the spiral screw groove of the screw shaft, and the ball itself moves with the rotational movement of the screw shaft. Since it rotates due to the frictional force with the screw groove, a smoother operation is possible as compared with a mechanism such as a rack and pinion.

As described above, the ball screw nut 2 is rotatably mounted on the screw shaft 3 along the screw groove, and when the ball screw nut 2 makes a linear movement in the vertical direction, the balls of the ball screw nut 2 are moved. It moves up and down, but at this time,
Since the ball moves along the spiral screw groove of the screw shaft 3, the screw shaft 3 is forcibly driven to rotate.

That is, the ball screw nut 2 is constructed by the above mechanism.
The linear motion of the screw shaft 3 is converted into the rotational motion of the screw shaft 3, and the linear motion of the hollow rod 4 is converted into the screw shaft 3 by the above configuration.
Will be converted into the rotational movement of.

The above-mentioned mechanism is preferable as a mechanism for converting the linear motion of the hollow rod 4 into a rotary motion, but a ball screw nut 2 and a screw shaft 3 may be used as long as they have the same effect.
It does not need to depend on the combination of.

A first cushion member 11 made of rubber or the like is inserted into the lower end portion of the screw shaft 3, and the first cushion member 11 is supported by a support plate 25 held by a nut 9.

Therefore, when the ball screw nut 2 has stroked to the maximum lowered position, which is the lower end of the screw shaft 3, the first cushion member 11 prevents the impact due to a sudden collision with the ball screw nut 2 and further It is used as a stopper that regulates the downward stroke of the ball screw nut 2.

Similarly, a second cushion member 18 made of rubber or the like is inserted in the upper inner circumference of the outer cylinder 7, and when the ball screw nut 2 is stroked to the maximum raised position, the second cushion member 18 will be It is used as a stopper that prevents the impact caused by a sudden collision with the screw nut 2 and restricts a further upward stroke of the ball screw nut 2.

Further, a hollow cap 1 is provided on the upper end of the outer cylinder 7.
Two thick base end portions 12a are connected to each other, and the cap 12 includes a base end portion 12, a hollow main body 12b standing upright from the base end portion 12a, and a main body 12b standing upright from the main body 12b. The pipe portion 12c has a smaller diameter than that of the pipe portion 12c.

A ball bearing 6 is inserted into the base end portion 12a of the cap 12 via bearing holding portions 21 and 22, and the upper end portion of the screw shaft 3 is rotatably attached to the inner circumference of the ball bearing 6. Since the screw shaft 3 is inserted and is rotatably supported by the ball bearing 6 and the ball screw nut 2, the screw shaft 3 can smoothly rotate.

Further, a pair of upper and lower mounts 14 and 15 made of rubber or the like are provided on the outer periphery of the pipe portion 12c of the cap 12.
And the plate-shaped bracket 16 is inserted, and the bracket 16
Is connected to the lower surface of the vehicle body B via bolts BT while being sandwiched by the upper and lower mounts, and forms a vehicle body mounting portion by this configuration.

Next, the power transmission means will be described.

In the present embodiment, the power transmission means comprises the torsion bar 13 and the coupling 5.

The torsion bar 13 is the cap 12 described above.
The torsion bar 13 is rotatably inserted therein, and the lower end of the torsion bar 13 is connected to the upper end of the screw shaft 3 so that the rotational movement of the screw shaft 3 is transmitted to the torsion bar 13 in conjunction with the screw shaft 3. It has become.

On the other hand, the upper portion of the torsion bar 13 is inserted into a motor bracket 17 having an inverted U-shaped cross section, and the bottom portion of the motor bracket 17 has a nut 26 and the mount 1.
4 and is screwed to the pipe portion 12c of the cap 12.

The motor bracket 17 has a clamp 17
The motor 1 is coupled via a and 17b, and the upper end portion of the torsion bar 13 has the motor bracket 17
The coupling 5 is rotatably inserted therein and is connected to one end of the coupling 5. Further, the other end of the coupling 5 is connected to the shaft 1a of the motor 1.

Therefore, the rotational movement of the screw shaft 3 is transmitted to the shaft 1a of the motor 1 via the torsion bar 13 and the coupling 5.

The power transmission means is the torsion bar 13
Other conventional means other than the coupling 5 may be used.

Here, the motor 1 as the electromagnetic force generation source is used.
Is not particularly shown, but if a DC motor is taken as an example, it is not particularly shown, but if it is a DC brush motor,
The motor 1 includes a plurality of permanent magnets for generating a magnetic field, a solenoid, an armature, a yoke, a commutator, a frame, and a shaft. The shaft is provided with an armature, and a conductive wire is wound to form a solenoid. Then, when the shaft rotates, the solenoid crosses the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnet to generate an induced electromotive force.

In addition to the DC brush motor, a brushless motor, an AC motor, an induction motor, or the like can be used as the motor type.

The motor 1 is connected to a control circuit or the like (not shown), or the electrodes (not shown) of the motor 1 are directly connected to each other to form a closed circuit, and the shaft caused by electromagnetic force is generated. It is necessary to generate an electromagnetic force in the motor 1 by generating a torque that resists the rotation of the motor 1a, and to adjust it so as to obtain a desired damping force.

Subsequently, the operation will be described.

Push-up input from the road surface while the vehicle is running,
When a shock such as vibration acts on the hollow rod 4, the hollow rod 4 linearly moves along the outer cylinder 7 in the expansion / contraction direction of the electromagnetic shock absorber. This linear movement is performed by the ball screw nut 2 and the screw shaft 3
The ball screw mechanism converts the rotational movement of the screw shaft 3.

Then, the rotational movement of the screw shaft 3 is transmitted to the shaft 1a of the motor 1 via the torsion bar 13 and the coupling 5.

When the shaft 1a of the motor 1 exhibits a rotational movement, the solenoid in the motor 1 crosses the magnetic field of the magnet, an induced electromotive force is generated, and each electrode of the motor 1 is short-circuited as described above. Moreover, since the current flows through the solenoid so as to generate the torque that resists the rotation of the shaft 1a caused by the electromagnetic force of the motor 1, the torque resisting the rotation of the shaft 1a causes the rotational movement of the shaft 1a. Will be suppressed.

The function of suppressing the rotational movement of the shaft 1a is that the shaft 1a is connected to the screw shaft 3 via the torsion bar 13 and the coupling 5, so that the screw shaft 3
It works to suppress the rotational movement of.

Then, the torque against the shaft 1a caused by the electromagnetic force of the motor 1 suppresses the rotational movement of the screw shaft 3, so that the expansion and contraction direction of the electromagnetic shock absorber along the outer cylinder 7 of the hollow rod 4 is reduced. It acts as a damping force that suppresses linear motion, absorbs and relaxes impact energy from the road surface, improves the riding comfort of the vehicle, and improves maneuverability.

As described above, the function as an electromagnetic shock absorber can be exhibited by a series of operations.

[0060]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the mounting portion for the vehicle is provided between the motor and the electromagnetic shock absorber body, and the motor is disposed inside the vehicle body divided into the vehicle body. By being present, it is possible to prevent the motor from being directly hit by rain, mud, stones, etc. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the failure of the motor caused by them.

Further, with the above construction, it is not necessary to consider the length of the motor in the electromagnetic shock absorber main body, so that there is an effect that a necessary and sufficient stroke can be secured in the applied vehicle.

According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the vehicle mounting portion is a bracket mounted above the electromagnetic shock absorber body while permitting rotation of the power transmission means. , Because the bracket is connected to the vehicle body while accommodating the motor inside the vehicle body,
It becomes easy to mount on the vehicle.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the vehicle body is constructed such that a mounting portion for the vehicle is provided between the motor and the electromagnetic shock absorber body, and the motor is partitioned into the vehicle body while the mounting portion is coupled to the vehicle body. Since the electromagnetic damper disposed inside is mounted on the vehicle, the same effect as that of the first aspect of the invention can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a state in which an electromagnetic shock absorber is attached to a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a conventional electromagnetic shock absorber.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 motor 1a shaft 2 ball screw nut 3 screw shaft 4 hollow rod 5 coupling 7 outer cylinder 12 caps 13 torsion bar 16 brackets 17 Motor bracket D shock absorber body B vehicle body

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takuhiro Kondo             2-4-1, Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo World Trade             Yasu Center Building Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hide Watanabe             2-4-1, Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo World Trade             Yasu Center Building Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3D001 AA18 DA09                 3J048 AA06 AC08 BE09 DA03 EA16

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electromagnetic shock absorber main body having a ball screw nut and a screw shaft rotatably screwed into the ball screw nut, and a motor coupled to the screw shaft via a power transmission means. , The linear motion of the ball screw nut is converted into the rotary motion of the screw shaft through the ball screw nut, and this rotary motion is transmitted to the shaft of the motor through the power transmission means to generate electromagnetic force in the motor. In an electromagnetic shock absorber that uses a torque against the rotation of the shaft due to an electromagnetic force as a damping force that suppresses the linear movement of the ball screw nut, a mounting portion to the vehicle is provided between the motor and the electromagnetic shock absorber body. An electromagnetic shock absorber characterized by being provided. 2. The electromagnetic shock absorber according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle mounting portion is a bracket mounted above the electromagnetic shock absorber main body while allowing rotation of the power transmission means. 3. An electromagnetic shock absorber main body having a ball screw nut and a screw shaft rotatably screwed into the ball screw nut, and a motor coupled to the screw shaft via a power transmission means. , The linear motion of the ball screw nut is converted into the rotary motion of the screw shaft through the ball screw nut, and this rotary motion is transmitted to the shaft of the motor through the power transmission means to generate electromagnetic force in the motor. In an electromagnetic shock absorber that uses a torque against the rotation of the shaft due to an electromagnetic force as a damping force that suppresses the linear movement of the ball screw nut, a mounting portion to the vehicle is provided between the motor and the electromagnetic shock absorber body. A structure for mounting an electromagnetic shock absorber on a vehicle, wherein the motor is provided inside the vehicle body divided into the vehicle body while the mounting portion is connected to the vehicle body.