JP2011011624A - Vehicle wheel load adjustment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle wheel load adjustment apparatus for accurately measuring tire and vehicle performances in a driving performance test of tires.SOLUTION: The vehicle wheel load adjustment apparatus includes an air supply device (compressor 3) for supplying air into the tires; a plurality of wheel load measurement devices (load gauges 4) for individually measuring the wheel load of each of the tires of the vehicle; air supply passages 51 which are respectively disposed in the tires of the vehicle, and supply the air from the air supply device to the tires; supply control valves 5 for opening and closing the air supply passages; air exhaust passages 52 which are disposed corresponding to the tires of the vehicle, and exhaust the air from the tires to atmosphere; exhaust control valves 6 for opening and closing the air exhaust passages; a first pump 91 for sending and receiving air between the front left and right wheel tires or between the front and rear left wheel tires; a second pump 92 for sending and receiving air between the rear left and right wheel tires or between the front and rear right wheel tires; and a controller (ECU 2) for controlling the supply control valves, the exhaust control valves, and the first and second pumps.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle wheel load adjusting device for enabling accurate measurement of tire and vehicle performance in a vehicle running performance test.

2. Description of the Related Art Devices that control the ground contact load of each tire of a vehicle during traveling (for example, see Patent Document 1) and devices that adjust the air pressure of each tire of a vehicle (for example, see Patent Document 2) are known. .
Since these devices are devices that adjust the contact load and air pressure of each tire during actual driving of the vehicle, the wheel load (load applied to the wheel) for each tire of the vehicle is appropriate before the tire running performance test. It is not a device to adjust to.
In general, the air pressure of each tire of the vehicle is determined to be an appropriate value, and if the air pressure of each tire is adjusted to an appropriate value, the wheel load for each tire of the vehicle will be appropriate and the vehicle will be balanced It is thought that there is.

JP 2004-66996 A JP 2008-174165 A

The vehicle is designed so that the left and right load balance is 50:50. However, in reality, the vehicle weight varies from vehicle to vehicle, and the left and right load balance may be disrupted due to the layout of vehicle parts. For example, there are many cases where the left-right load balance is not 50:50, such as 49:51. The suspension springs that support the vehicle are said to have the same left and right spring constants, but the left and right load balance becomes unbalanced due to variations in spring manufacturing and assembly when the suspension is assembled. As a result, the wheel load balance of the vehicle has collapsed. Therefore, in the running performance test in such a state where the balance of the vehicle is lost, there is a problem that the performance of the tires and the vehicle cannot be measured accurately.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a vehicle wheel load adjusting device for enabling accurate measurement of tire and vehicle performance in a tire running performance test.

A vehicle wheel load adjusting device according to the present invention includes an air supply device that supplies air into a tire, a plurality of wheel load measuring devices that individually measure a wheel load for each tire of the vehicle, and each tire of a vehicle. Correspondingly provided air supply path for supplying air from the air supply device to the tire, a supply control valve for opening and closing the air supply path, and provided for each tire of the vehicle for supplying air from the tire An air discharge path that discharges to the atmosphere, a discharge control valve that opens and closes the air discharge path, a first pump that transmits and receives air between the left and right front wheel tires or between the front and rear left tires, and between the left and right rear wheel tires Alternatively, the vehicle includes a second pump that transmits and receives air between the front and rear right wheel tires, and a control device that controls the supply control valve, the discharge control valve, the first pump, and the second pump. The wheel load balance of It becomes possible to accurately measure the performance of the tires and vehicles in and.
Another vehicle wheel load adjusting device according to the present invention includes a plurality of wheel load measuring devices that individually measure a wheel load for each tire of a vehicle, and air transmission / reception between left and right front wheel tires or between front and rear left wheel tires. A first pump that performs the operation, a second pump that transmits and receives air between the left and right rear tires or the front and rear right tires, and a control device that controls the first pump and the second pump Therefore, it is possible to provide a simple vehicle wheel load adjusting device that can adjust the wheel load balance of the vehicle and accurately measure the performance of the tire and the vehicle in the tire running performance test.
The control device determines the difference between the total wheel load value of one diagonal wheel calculated based on the wheel load value of each tire input from the wheel load measuring device and the total wheel load value of the other diagonal wheel. Therefore, the right and left wheel load balance of the vehicle can be properly balanced, and the tire and vehicle performance can be accurately measured in the tire running performance test.

The top view which shows the vehicle wheel load adjustment apparatus provided with the 1st apparatus and the 2nd apparatus (Embodiment 1). The top view which shows the vehicle wheel load adjustment apparatus as 1st apparatus (Embodiment 1). The figure which shows the vehicle wheel load adjustment apparatus as a vehicle and a 1st apparatus (Embodiment 1). The figure which shows the installation place of a switching valve (embodiment 1). The top view which shows the vehicle wheel load adjustment apparatus comprised by the 2nd apparatus (Embodiment 2).

Embodiment 1. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is a vehicle wheel load adjusting device including a first device and a second device. That is, the first device constitutes a basic vehicle wheel load adjustment device 1, and the second device constitutes an in-tire air utilization device 90 for transmitting and receiving air between a pair of tires.
A vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1 as a first device includes an ECU (electronic control device) 2 as a control device, a compressor 3 as an air supply device that supplies air into the tire 10, and each tire 10 of the vehicle. A load meter 4 as a wheel load measuring device for individually measuring the wheel load, a supply control valve 5, a discharge control valve 6, and an air flow pipe 7 are provided.
The in-tire air utilization device 90 as the second device includes the ECU 2, and a first pump 91 and a second pump 92 that are controlled by the ECU 2. The first pump 91 and the second pump 92 are forward / reverse pumps.
The vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100 is not mounted on a vehicle.
Hereinafter, in describing the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100, first, the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1 as the first device will be described in detail. That is, after explaining that the effect of being able to accurately measure the performance of the tire and the vehicle in the tire running performance test can be achieved with the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1 alone, and further, when the tire air utilization device 90 is added, In order to clarify that further effects can be obtained, first, the configuration and operational effects of the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1 alone will be described based on FIGS. 2 and 3, and then the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1 will be described based on FIG. 1. The configuration and operational effects of the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100 to which the in-tire air utilization device 90 is added will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the air flow pipe 7 of the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1 is a flexible hose made of synthetic resin, for example, and includes a tire side pipe 8 and a compressor side pipe 9. . The tire side tube 8 includes a supply / discharge tube 11 and a discharge tube 12. One end of the supply / discharge tube 11 and the tire air inlet 13 are connected so as to communicate with each other, and the other end of the supply / discharge tube 11 and one end connection portion 14 of the supply control valve 5 are connected so as to communicate with each other. One end of the discharge pipe 12 and the middle part 16 of the supply / discharge pipe 11 are connected so as to communicate with each other, and the other end of the discharge pipe 12 and one end connection part 17 of the discharge control valve 6 are connected so as to communicate with each other. The other end connection portion of the discharge control valve 6 is opened to the atmosphere. The other end of the compressor side pipe 9 is connected to the compressor 3, and one end of the compressor side pipe 9 and the other end connection portion 19 of the supply control valve 5 are connected.

That is, an air supply path 51 that is provided corresponding to each tire 10 of the vehicle 50 and supplies air from the compressor 3 to the tire 10 is formed by the compressor side pipe 9 and the supply / discharge combined pipe 11, and supply control is performed. The valve 5 is provided in the middle of the air supply path 51 to open and close the air supply path 51.
In addition, an air discharge path 52 that is provided corresponding to each tire 10 of the vehicle 50 and discharges air from the tire 10 to the atmosphere is formed by the supply / discharge pipe 11 and the discharge pipe 12, and the discharge control valve 6. Is provided at the other end of the discharge pipe 12 to open and close the air discharge path 52.

In order to transmit the wheel load data measured by the load meter 4 to the ECU 2, the load meter 4 and the ECU 2 are connected by a wheel load data signal line 24.
In order to control the supply control valve 5, the supply control valve 5 and the ECU 2 are connected by a supply control signal line 25.
In order to control the discharge control valve 6, the discharge control valve 6 and the ECU 2 are connected by a discharge control signal line 26.

The control set 30 including the air flow pipe 7, the supply control valve 5, the discharge control valve 6, the load meter 4, the wheel load data signal line 24, the supply control signal line 25, and the discharge control signal line 26 is provided for one tire. One set is provided.
For example, four branch outlets 32 for branching the air outlet 31 of the compressor 3 into four are provided, and the other ends of the four compressor side pipes 9 are individually connected to the four outlets of the four branch outlet 32. Connected to.
One control set 30, the compressor 3, and the ECU 2 constitute an air supply control system and an air discharge control system for each tire 10.
In the air supply control system, after the ECU 2 closes the discharge control valve 6 by sending a close signal to the discharge control valve 6 via the discharge control signal line 26, the ECU 2 supplies the supply control valve 5 via the supply control signal line 25. An air supply path 51 from the compressor 3 to the tire 10 is formed by adjusting the opening degree of the supply control valve 5 by sending an opening degree signal.
In the air discharge control system, after the ECU 2 closes the supply control valve 5 by sending a close signal to the supply control valve 5 via the supply control signal line 25, the ECU 2 sends the discharge control valve 6 via the discharge control signal line 26. By adjusting the opening of the discharge control valve 6 by sending an opening signal to the air, an air discharge path 52 from the tire 10 to the atmosphere is formed.

Next, a vehicle wheel load adjustment method using the vehicle wheel load adjustment device 1 will be described.
First, the air pressure of each tire is set to an ideal value (catalog value) in a state where no person is in the vehicle 50. Next, each tire 10 of the vehicle 50 is placed on the load meter 4. The ECU 2 inputs the wheel load value for each tire 10 from the four load meters 4 and, as shown in FIG. 2, the total value A of the wheel load values of one diagonal wheel 10a; 10a and the other diagonal wheel 10b; The difference C from the total value B of the wheel load values of 10b is calculated. In this case, if the balance is lost, there is a difference C between the total wheel load value A of one diagonal wheel 10a; 10a and the total wheel load value B of the other diagonal wheel 10b; 10b. The ECU 2 displays the difference C and the wheel load value of each tire 10 input from the four load meters 4 on a display device such as an image display device or a sound display device (not shown). In addition, the ECU 2 receives a command from a control operation unit (not shown) for inputting an opening / closing command and an opening command to each of the supply control valve 5 and the discharge control valve 6, and then the supply control valve 5 and the discharge control valve 6 is controlled and the opening is controlled. When supplying air to the tire 10, the ECU 2 drives the compressor 3 and opens the supply control valve 5. Accordingly, the operator confirms the difference C displayed on the display device, and operates the control operation unit so that the difference C becomes “0”, thereby causing the ECU 2 to supply the supply control valve 5 and the discharge control valve. It is possible to control the opening / closing and opening degree of 6. That is, the ECU 2 can change the wheel pressure by changing the air pressure in the tire 10 by controlling the opening and closing and the opening degree of the supply control valve 5 and the discharge control valve 6, so that the difference C can be set to “0”. Therefore, the vehicle 50 can be balanced.

  That is, in the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1, the total value A of the wheel load values of one diagonal wheel 10 a; 10 a calculated based on the wheel load value of each tire 10 input from each load meter 4 and the other pair. The wheel load value of each tire 10 inputted from each load meter 4 is displayed and the supply control valve 5 is eliminated so as to eliminate the difference C. And an ECU 2 (control device) for controlling the discharge control valve 6.

  Specifically, since the wheel load value of each tire 10 input from the four load meters 4 and the difference C are displayed on the display device, the operator first selects the air pressure of the tire 10 having a large wheel load value. Then, the control operation unit is operated so that the wheel load value of each tire 10 is confirmed, and then the control operation unit is operated. Thereby, the ECU 2 controls the compressor 3, the supply control valve 5, and the discharge control valve 6 until the difference C becomes “0”.

In the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1, the balance of the vehicle 50 can be adjusted while a person is in the vehicle 50, and the running performance test can be performed while the vehicle 50 is balanced. This makes it possible to accurately measure the performance of tires and vehicles in a running performance test.
Since the supply control valve 5 is provided in the air supply passage 51 and the discharge control valve 6 is provided in the air discharge passage 52, the air supply amount and the air discharge amount are finely adjusted by controlling the opening degree of the control valves 5; It is easy to adjust the difference C to be “0”.

By causing the ECU 2 to process the wheel load adjustment program, the ECU 2 can function as a wheel load adjustment control device.
That is, based on the wheel load of each tire 10 input from the load meter 4, the total wheel load value A of one diagonal wheel 10a; 10a and the total wheel load value of the other diagonal wheel 10b; 10b The vehicle wheel load adjustment device 1 may be provided with an ECU 2 (electronic control device) that functions as a wheel load adjustment control device that controls the supply control valve and the discharge control valve so as to eliminate the difference C from B.

For example, based on the desired wheel load input to the ECU 2, the wheel load value of each tire 10 input from the four load meters 4, and the difference C, the ECU 2 has the highest wheel load value among the tires 10. Supply air by supplying a supply control signal to the supply control valve 5 or a discharge control signal to the discharge control valve 6 so that the air pressure of one of the diagonal wheels 10a including the large tire 10 becomes a target wheel load. Exhaust.
Thereafter, the supply control signal to the supply control valve 5 or the discharge control signal to the discharge control valve 6 is set so that the wheel load of the diagonal wheel 10a becomes the total value A of the wheel loads of the diagonal wheel 10a; To adjust the air pressure.
Next, the supply control signal to the supply control valve 5 or the discharge control signal to the discharge control valve 6 so that the air pressure of the tire 10b having a large wheel load value among the other diagonal wheels 10b; To supply or exhaust air.
Thereafter, a supply control signal is supplied to the supply control valve 5 or a discharge control signal is supplied to the discharge control valve 6 so that the air pressure of the diagonal wheel 10b becomes the total value B of the wheel load values of the diagonal wheels 10b; What is necessary is just to make ECU2 run the wheel load adjustment program which outputs and adjusts an air pressure.

In the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1, the ECU 2 automatically controls the opening / closing and opening of the supply control valve 5 and the discharge control valve 6 based on the difference C, so that a person is in the vehicle 50. Since the vehicle 50 can be balanced and the vehicle performance can be tested while the vehicle 50 is balanced, the tire and vehicle performance can be accurately measured.
In the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1, automatic control by the ECU 2 is performed, and the operator does not have to operate the control operation unit, so that the labor of the operator can be saved.
Further, since the ECU 2 automatically controls, the wheel load value and the difference C of each tire 10 input from the four load meters 4 may be displayed or may not be displayed.

  In addition, if the relation between wheel load and air pressure is incorporated in the wheel load adjustment program as a data map in advance, the wheel load output from the load meter 4 can be matched with the data map to automatically adjust the four wheels simultaneously. Can do.

Next, the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100 according to the first embodiment including the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1 and the in-tire air utilization device 90 described above will be described with reference to FIG.
As described above, the in-tire air utilization device 90 includes the ECU 2 and the first pump 91 and the second pump 92 that are controlled by the ECU 2.
The first pump 91 is a pump that sends and receives air between the left and right front wheel tires 10; 10. The first pump 91 is a supply / discharge port provided in one supply / discharge port 91 a and the supply / discharge tube 11 for the left front wheel tire 10. 91 b is connected by a communication pipe 93, and the other supply / discharge port 91 c is connected by a communication pipe 93 to a supply / discharge port 91 d provided in the supply / discharge joint pipe 11 for the right front wheel tire 10.
The second pump 92 is a pump that transmits and receives air between the left and right rear wheel tires 10; 10. The second pump 92 is a supply / discharge pipe 11 provided to one of the supply / discharge ports 92 a and the left rear wheel tire 10. The discharge port 92 b is connected by a communication pipe 93, and the other supply / discharge port 92 c and the supply / discharge port 92 d provided in the supply / discharge tube 11 for the right rear wheel tire 10 are connected by a communication pipe 93.
As the communication pipe 93, for example, a flexible hose made of synthetic resin is used.
The ECU 2 and the first pump 91 are connected by a control signal line 94, and the ECU 2 and the second pump 92 are connected by a control signal line 95.

Next, a vehicle wheel load adjustment method using the vehicle wheel load adjustment device 100 according to the first embodiment will be described.
As described above, each tire 10 of the vehicle 50 is placed on the load cell 4. The ECU 2 inputs the wheel load value for each tire 10 from the four load meters 4, and the total load value A of the wheel wheels 10a; 10a and the wheel load of the other diagonal wheel 10b; 10b. The difference C from the total value B is calculated, and the supply control valve 5, the discharge control valve 6, the first pump 91, and the second pump 92 are controlled so that the difference C becomes “0”.
That is, the ECU 2 controls the first pump 91 and the second pump 92 so that air flows from the tire 10 having a large wheel load into the tire 10 having a small wheel load.

  For example, when the ECU 2 is a sum of the wheel load value of the right front wheel 10 and the wheel load value of the left rear wheel 10> the sum of the wheel load value of the left front wheel 10 and the wheel load value of the right rear wheel 10, First, all the discharge control valves 6 are closed and the first pump 91 is operated so that air flows from the right front wheel 10 to the left front wheel 10 so that the difference C of the total values becomes “0”, and the left rear wheel The left pump 10 and the right rear wheel are operated so that air flows from the compressor 10 to the right rear wheel 10 and air is supplied only from the compressor 3 to the left front wheel 10 and the right rear wheel 10. By opening the supply control valve 5; 5 of the vehicle 10 and closing the supply control valves 5; 5 of the right front wheel 10 and the left rear wheel 10 to operate the compressor 3, the vehicle wheel load balance is properly balanced. Tires and cars in driving performance tests Performance becomes possible accurately measurement of.

  According to the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100 according to the first embodiment, air is sent and received between the route (air circulation pipe 7) for supplying air from the compressor 3 to each tire 10 and the pair of left and right front wheel tires 10; A route (communication pipe 93 and first pump 91) to be performed and a route (communication pipe 93 and second pump 92) to send and receive air between the pair of left and right rear tires 10; 10 are separately provided. Therefore, since it is possible to supply air to the tire 10 to be supplied with air via two routes, the above-described vehicle wheel load adjusting device that supplies air to the tire 10 only by the compressor 3. Compared with the configuration of only one, the time required for adjustment can be shortened.

  Further, according to the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100 according to the first embodiment, the adjustment with the same adjustment time as the adjustment time for adjustment in the configuration of only the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1 is the configuration of only the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1. This is possible by using a compressor 3 having a smaller capacity than the compressor 3 in the case. Therefore, since the vehicle wheel load adjusting device having the same adjustment time can be realized by using the compressor 3 having a capacity smaller than that of the compressor 3 of the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 1, the vehicle wheel load adjusting device in which the compressor 3 is easily transported. 100 can be obtained.

  Further, according to the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100 according to the first embodiment, even when the compressor 3 fails, the adjustment can be performed by the first; second pump 91; 92 of the tire air utilization device 90.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, one switching valve 61 may be provided at a branch portion 60 between the supply / discharge tube 11 and the discharge tube 12. Even in this case, by controlling the opening and closing of the switching valve 61, the opening and closing of the air supply path 51 and the opening and closing of the air discharge path 52 can be controlled, so that the air pressure in the tire 10 can be adjusted. That is, by controlling the switching valve 61, the air pressure in the tire 10 can be changed and the wheel load can be changed, so that the difference C can be set to “0”.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of load cells 4 (wheel load measuring devices) for individually measuring the wheel load for each tire 10 of the vehicle, a first pump 91, a second pump 92, and the first The vehicle wheel load adjustment device 101 may include an ECU 2A that controls the first pump 91 and the second pump 92. In other words, the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 101 is configured only by the in-tire air utilization device 90 as the second device of the first embodiment.
In this case, in the first pump 91, one supply / exhaust port 91a and the air injection port 13 of the left front wheel tire 10 are connected by a communication pipe 93, and the other supply / discharge port 91c and the air injection port of the right front wheel tire 10 are connected. 13 is connected with a communication pipe. In the second pump 92, one supply / exhaust port 92 a and the air inlet 13 of the left rear wheel tire 10 are connected by a communication pipe 93, and the other supply / exhaust port 92 c and the air inlet 13 of the right rear wheel tire 10 are connected. Are connected by a communication pipe 93.

  The ECU 2A inputs the wheel load value for each tire 10 from the four load meters 4, and the total load value A of the one diagonal wheel 10a; 10a and the wheel load of the other diagonal wheel 10b; 10b. By calculating the difference C from the total value B of the values and controlling the first pump 91 and the second pump 92 so that the difference C becomes “0”, the wheel load balance of the vehicle is the correct balance. The tire and vehicle performance can be accurately measured in the driving performance test.

  According to the second embodiment, it is possible to obtain the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 101 that can accurately measure the performance of the tire and the vehicle in the running performance test, and to eliminate the need for a compressor. And a simple vehicle wheel load adjusting device 101 can be provided.

  In the first and second embodiments, a first pump that transmits and receives air between the front and rear left-wheel tires and a second pump that transmits and receives air between the front and rear right-wheel tires may be provided. Good.

  In Embodiments 1 and 2, an open / close valve for opening and closing the air flow between the pump and the tire may be provided in the middle of each communication pipe 93.

In addition, although demonstrated above as what improves the balance of a vehicle, according to the said structure, the state which lost the balance of the vehicle can also be reproduced. That is, by setting a value other than “0” in the difference C to change the left / right balance of the vehicle and performing a tire running test, the tire performance can be known from the uneven wear or the like that occurs in the tire.
That is, according to the vehicle wheel load adjusting device 100; 101 of the present invention, it is possible to accurately measure the performance of the tire and the vehicle when the vehicle is out of balance.

1; 100; 101 Vehicle wheel load adjusting device, 2; 2A ECU (electronic control device),
3 compressor (air supply device), 4 load meter (wheel load measuring device),
5 Supply control valve, 6 Discharge control valve, 51 Air supply path, 52 Air discharge path,
91 First pump, 92 Second pump.

Claims (3)

  An air supply device that supplies air into the tire, a plurality of wheel load measurement devices that individually measure the wheel load of each tire of the vehicle, and a corresponding one provided for each tire of the vehicle from the air supply device An air supply path for supplying air to the tire; a supply control valve for opening and closing the air supply path; an air discharge path provided for each tire of the vehicle to discharge air from the tire to the atmosphere; and air discharge A discharge control valve that opens and closes the road, a first pump that sends and receives air between the left and right front tires or the front and rear left tires, and an air flow between the left and right rear tires or the front and rear right tires A vehicle wheel load adjusting device comprising: a second pump that performs transmission and reception; a control device that controls a supply control valve, a discharge control valve, a first pump, and a second pump.   A plurality of wheel load measuring devices that individually measure the wheel load of each tire of the vehicle, a first pump that sends and receives air between the left and right front wheel tires or between the front and rear left wheel tires, and the left and right rear wheel tires A vehicle wheel load adjusting device comprising: a second pump that transmits and receives air between the front and rear right wheel tires; and a control device that controls the first pump and the second pump. .   The control device determines the difference between the total wheel load value of one diagonal wheel calculated based on the wheel load value of each tire input from the wheel load measuring device and the total wheel load value of the other diagonal wheel. The vehicle wheel load adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle wheel load adjusting device is controlled so as to eliminate the noise.

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