JP2012106523A - Electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a driver to control behavior of a vehicle at will, by separately driving, braking and steering each wheel of an electric vehicle, to achieve driving of what is called "one man-horse unit".SOLUTION: The electric vehicle includes: a pair of wheels 13 arranged in right and left, or front or rear; a motor 16 for driving the wheels 13; a braking device 18; a steering device 19; and a controller 21 of each device. The motor 16, the braking device 18, the steering device 19 and the controller 21 are separately provided for each wheel 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric vehicle provided with a driving device for each wheel, and can control driving, braking, steering and the like for each wheel.

  Conventionally, an electric vehicle provided with a driving device for each wheel is known (Patent Documents 1 and 2). The electric vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a motorcycle including a pair of wheels on the left and right, and includes a motor as a driving device for each wheel. In addition, a joystick, a gyro sensor, and a controller are provided as common devices for the vehicle body.

  This electric vehicle is configured to drive and steer each wheel by a controller based on an input signal from a joystick during normal traveling. If one of the wheels rides on a step on the road and the vehicle falls over a certain angle, the gyro sensor detects this. Based on the detection result, the wheel is turned by increasing the rotational torque of the motor that drives the other wheel. The centrifugal force generated by the turning prevents the fall and raises the limit of safety.

  The electric vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 2 is an automatic tricycle having one front wheel and two left and right rear wheels, and motors as drive devices are individually provided on the left and right rear wheels. As a common device of the vehicle body, a steering wheel for steering the front wheel, a steering angle detection sensor for the steering wheel, a rotation angle increasing mechanism for the steering wheel, and a controller are provided.

  In this electric vehicle, when the steering angle of the steering wheel becomes larger than a certain value, the rotation directions of the left and right rear wheels are reversed to each other, and a large rotation angle can be obtained with a small steering wheel angle by the steering wheel rotation angle increasing mechanism The vehicle's turning performance and steering wheel operation performance are improved.

JP 2007-261313 A JP 2009-248887 A

  As described above, in a conventional electric vehicle, a driving device is provided for each wheel, and a driving device for each wheel is commonly controlled by a steering device or a control device that is a common device that is usually provided on the vehicle body. . Only when the vehicle body is in a specific driving situation, the specific performance is improved by controlling each driving device individually.

  However, the control of the drive device provided individually for each wheel is such that the vehicle itself issues a command to the drive device according to a preset control algorithm, and the drive device is not operated by the driver's intention. Absent. Therefore, there is a frustration that lacks a high degree of freedom such as controlling the behavior of the vehicle at the driver's will.

  Therefore, the present invention takes full advantage of the arrangement of the drive device on each wheel, and can individually control driving, braking, steering, etc. of each wheel to control the behavior of the vehicle at the driver's will. An object of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle that can be operated in a so-called “human-horse integrated” manner.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an electric vehicle including a pair of wheels arranged on the left and right or front and rear, the wheel drive device, a brake device, a steering device, and a controller for each device. A device, a brake device, a steering device, and a controller are individually provided for each wheel.

  Preferably, a power unit for each wheel is configured by the driving device, the brake device, and the steering device for each wheel, and each device of the power unit is controlled by a controller for each wheel. .

  Furthermore, the said controller can take the structure provided with foot operation input means, such as manual operation input means, such as a joystick, as a input means.

  Since it is an electric vehicle equipped with a device that gives power to each wheel individually, such as driving, braking, and steering, and a controller that can operate each device, it is possible to control the behavior of the vehicle at the driver's will. it can.

  Since each wheel can control driving, braking, and steering independently, behaviors that cannot be realized with conventional vehicles such as turning in a fixed position, lateral running, and jumping are possible.

  Since the behavior of the vehicle can be controlled at the driver's will, it can also be used for applications such as dancing and ball games that contact other people. Moreover, since it is an electric vehicle, it can be used indoors without worrying about exhaust.

  The electric vehicle of the present invention has the above-described features, and particularly makes the most of the advantages of an electric vehicle that can control power independently of each wheel.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the electric vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged plan view of the above. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the electric vehicle according to the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the electric vehicle according to the third embodiment. FIG. 5 is a front view of the motor according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of the electric vehicle according to the sixth embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[Embodiment 1]

  As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 11 according to the first embodiment relates to an electric motorcycle represented by a wheelchair, and a pair of left and right wheels 13 and 13 are arranged on a vehicle body 12 so as to be offset left and right on the same rotating shaft 14. is doing.

  Each wheel 13 has a power unit 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the power unit 15 includes an in-wheel motor type motor 16, a brake device 18, and a steering device 19 as driving devices. In the steering device 19, the steering shaft is coupled to the base and casing of the motor 16, and turns the wheel 13 and the motor 16 integrated therewith.

  A controller 21 that controls the power unit 15 is provided in the passenger seat 22 of the vehicle body 12. The controller 21 includes a joystick 23 as manual operation input means and a foot pedal 24 as foot operation input means. Each device built in the power unit 15 is controlled by a drive-by-wire 17 by a CPU built in the controller 21.

  In the driver's seat 22, the joystick 23 and the foot pedal 24 of the controller 21 related to the left wheel 13 are installed near the driver's left hand and left foot, respectively, and are operated individually or simultaneously with the left hand and left foot. Thus, each device of the power unit 15 is controlled through the controller 21. Similarly, the joystick 23 and the foot pedal 24 for the right wheel 13 are installed near the right hand and the right foot, respectively, and are operated in the same manner as described above.

  For example, when the driver tilts the joystick 23 forward or backward, the motor 16 is driven, and the wheel 13 is rotated forward or reverse. Further, the speed is adjusted according to the size of the tilt angle. The steering device 19 is controlled by tilting the joystick 23 left or right, and the wheel 13 is steered left or right. The steering angle is adjusted according to the angle of the tilt angle.

  Further, when the left or right foot pedal 24 is depressed, the brake device 18 is controlled and the left or right wheel 13 is braked. Also in this case, the magnitude of braking is adjusted according to the amount of depression. In addition, a special behavior can be performed by simultaneously performing the forward or backward operation of the joystick 23 and the depression operation of the foot pedal 24.

  By combining the above operations, the driver can rotate the vehicle 11 around the locked wheel 13 by, for example, applying a strong brake to one of the wheels 13 to lock it and driving the other. Further, when one wheel 13 is rotated forward and the other wheel 13 is rotated reversely, the vehicle 11 turns on the spot.

  Further, by adjusting the steering angle, the toe angle of the wheel 13 can be freely changed according to the travel mode. For this reason, straight running stability at high speed and cornering stability are enhanced.

  The driver can perform various actions by appropriately combining these driving behaviors. For example, the driver can perform group sports, dance, etc. in addition to moving means such as ordinary vehicles, speed competitions, and off-road competitions. it can.

  In order to ensure the stability of the vehicle 11, a free-rotating auxiliary wheel 25 may be provided. The position of the auxiliary wheel 25 is set at a position where the ground point of these three wheels 13 and 25 is an equilateral triangle or an isosceles triangle in the middle between the left and right wheels 13.

The auxiliary wheel 25 is of a fixed type that is always grounded to support the vehicle body 12, and is usually stored in a non-grounded state by being bent or pulled up to the vehicle body 12 side, and is extended and retracted as required to be extended and grounded. There is a case. The point which can employ | adopt either the fixed type of the auxiliary | assistant wheel 25, or a taking in / out type is the same also in the case of the auxiliary | assistant wheel 25 of Embodiment 2 and 3 mentioned later.
[Embodiment 2]

  The second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 relates to an electric motorcycle represented by a motorcycle in which the rotation shafts 14a and 14b of the pair of wheels 13 are offset forward and backward and the wheels 13 are arranged on the center line A in the front and rear direction. is there. In this case, the configuration of the power unit 15 and the controller 21 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and the operation of the power unit 15 and the controller 21 can also be controlled by separately controlling the front and rear wheels. In particular, driving behavior such as jumping of the vehicle 11 is obtained on the vehicle body 12 due to a load movement of the driver.

Also in this case, in order to stabilize the vehicle 11, two free-rotating auxiliary wheels 25 may be provided. The two auxiliary wheels 25 are set at symmetrical positions on the center line A in the front-rear direction of the front and rear wheels 13.
[Embodiment 3]

  In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the rotation shafts 14a and 14b of the pair of wheels 13 are offset in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 12, and the wheels 13 are offset in the left-right direction. The arrangement form in this case is included in the concept of “a pair of wheels arranged on the left and right or front and rear” in the “Claims”.

  The configuration of the power unit 15 and the controller 21 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the operation of the power unit 15 and the controller 21 can be controlled in a similar manner, thereby allowing various driving behaviors. In particular, since the first and second embodiments are combined, it is possible to achieve both vehicle stability and high performance.

When the auxiliary wheel 25 is provided, the left auxiliary wheel 25 is disposed behind the left wheel 13 and the right auxiliary wheel 25 is disposed in front of the right wheel 13.
[Embodiment 4]

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the number and arrangement of the wheels 13, the configuration of the controller, and the input means are the same as those in the first to third embodiments as long as the driver can individually operate each wheel 13. It is not limited and can be selected according to the application.

  Similarly, regarding the function, the degree of freedom can be selected according to the application. For example, the motor 16 and the brake device 18 are independent for each wheel 13, but the steering device 19 performs a left / right common operation according to the travel mode.

The mechanism of the operation system is not limited to the drive-by-wire 17, and an optimal mechanism can be selected according to the application. The size and shape of the vehicle body 12 can be freely selected. Further, the presence / absence and form of the shock absorber function can be freely selected.
[Embodiment 5]

  The motor 16 mounted on the vehicle 11 is described as an in-wheel motor type in the first to fourth embodiments. In the motor 16 in this case, as shown in FIG. 5, a speed reduction portion 28 is interposed between the motor portion 26 and the wheel hub 27. However, a direct drive type including the motor unit 26 and the wheel hub 27 may be used.

As the speed reducing unit 28, a planetary gear speed reducer or a cycloid speed reducer can be used.
[Embodiment 6]

  As shown in FIG. 6, the motor 20 mounted on the vehicle 11 is installed on the vehicle body 12, and a power transmission unit 31 including a drive shaft 29 and a wheel hub 30 is provided to transmit torque to the wheel 13. May be. In order to realize a larger torque with a compact unit, the motor 20 may be provided with a speed reduction unit. Further, a constant velocity joint may be interposed in the drive shaft 29 in order to ensure constant velocity.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Vehicle 12 Car body 13 Wheels 14, 14a, 14b Rotating shaft 15 Power unit 16 Motor 17 Drive-by-wire 18 Brake device 19 Steering device 20 Motor 21 Controller 22 Driver's seat 23 Joystick 24 Foot pedal 25 Auxiliary wheel 26 Motor part 27 Wheel hub 28 Deceleration Part 29 drive shaft 30 wheel hub 31 power transmission part

Claims (12)

  In an electric vehicle including a pair of wheels arranged on the left and right or front and rear, a driving device for the wheel, a brake device, a steering device, and a controller for controlling the devices, the driving device, the brake device, the steering device, and the controller are wheels. An electric vehicle characterized by being provided individually for each.   The electric device according to claim 1, wherein a power unit for each wheel is configured by the driving device, the brake device, and the steering device for each wheel, and each device of the power unit is controlled by a controller for each wheel. vehicle.   The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller includes, as input means, manual operation input means such as a joystick and foot operation input means such as a foot pedal.   The electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each device of the power unit is controlled from the controller by drive-by-wire.   The electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the driving device is an in-wheel motor type.   The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driving device is a vehicle-mounted type.   The electric vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle-mounted drive device includes a motor unit, a drive shaft, and a wheel hub.   The electric vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the drive shaft includes a constant velocity joint. The electric vehicle according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a speed reduction portion is interposed between the motor portion and the wheel hub of the drive device.   The electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a pair of the wheels are provided in a left-right direction, a pair in the front-rear direction, or a pair in an oblique direction with a vehicle body center interposed therebetween.   The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein auxiliary wheels are provided on the vehicle body.   The electric vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the auxiliary wheel is either a fixed type or a withdrawal type.

Images