JP2012232713A - Compact vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact vehicle, such as a commuter car, that enables safe pivot turn and lateral move.SOLUTION: In the compact vehicle, a steering actuator 17 is provided in each of wheels 13, 14, the drive wheel 14 is provided with an in-wheel motor 15, and the steering actuator 17 and the in-wheel motor 15 are controlled according to a program of a controller 16 mounted on the vehicle body 12. The vehicle body 12 is provided with a vehicle inclination sensor. The program includes control means for pivot turn and lateral move. The program for any of the control means includes a determination means that determines whether to permit move on the basis of inclination angle information obtained by the vehicle body inclination sensor.

Description

  The present invention relates to a small vehicle, for example, a one- or two-seater near / medium distance moving vehicle generally called a commuter.

  Commuters are required to enter narrow spaces and to improve the turning ability. Moreover, in a commuter equipped with an in-wheel motor, in-situ rotation and lateral movement are possible by independently controlling the four wheels (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 2713581

  Since the body weight of light vehicles and ordinary vehicles is generally 900 kg or more, the proportion of the weight of the occupant to the weight of the entire vehicle is relatively small. On the other hand, in the case of a commuter, the body weight is 500 kg or less, and the proportion of the occupant's body weight relative to the total weight of the commuter is relatively large. growing. Further, the commuter may have a narrow tread or wheelbase, and may fall over depending on the slope of the road surface when rotating or moving in place.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable safe on-site rotation and lateral movement in a small vehicle such as a commuter.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a steering actuator provided on all wheels, a drive motor provided on a drive wheel thereof, and the steering actuator according to a program of a controller mounted on a vehicle body. In a small vehicle such as a commuter in which drive motors are controlled independently, a vehicle body inclination sensor is provided on the vehicle body, and the program includes on-site rotation or lateral movement control means. The program for executing the above is also configured to include determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle can be driven based on the inclination angle information obtained by the vehicle body inclination sensor.

The small vehicle having the above-described configuration automatically determines that there is a possibility of overturning when the inclination angle of the vehicle body is greater than or equal to a certain level, and stops the in-situ rotation and lateral movement control.
Further, in the program for executing the control of the in-situ rotation, the control means for feedback-controlling each of the turning actuators based on the value detected by the turning angle sensor, with the in-situ rotation turning angle input from the outside as a target value. May be provided. Further, in the program for executing the control of the in-situ rotation, there may be provided a control unit that feedback-controls each drive motor based on a value detected by the rotation angle sensor with the in-situ rotation angle input from the outside as a target value. is there.

  By these controls, steering and driving in the case of in-situ rotation can be automatically performed.

  In the program for executing the lateral movement control, the lateral movement turning angle input from the outside is set as a target value, and control means for performing feedback control of each turning actuator based on a detection value by the turning angle sensor is provided. There is a case. Further, the program for executing the lateral movement control may include a control unit that uses the lateral movement amount input from the outside as a target value and feedback-controls each drive motor based on a detection value by the lateral movement amount sensor. .

  By these controls, steering and driving in the case of lateral movement can be performed automatically.

  As described above, the small vehicle of the present invention has an effect that it can be safely rotated on the spot and moved laterally.

FIG. 1 is a schematic transverse plan view of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control relationship described above. FIG. 3 is a schematic transverse plan view in the case of the in-situ rotation. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view in the case of the lateral movement described above. FIG. 5 is a flowchart in the case of the in-situ rotation. FIG. 6 is a flowchart in the case of the horizontal movement as described above.

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

  As shown in FIG. 1, the commuter 11 according to the first embodiment is a small vehicle having a cylindrical outer periphery of a vehicle body 12 and includes four wheels, a left and right front wheels 13 and a left and right rear wheels 14. The rear wheel 14 is a driving wheel, and includes an in-wheel motor 15 as a driving motor. Each rear wheel 14 can be driven independently from the controller 16 by each wheel.

  In addition, a steering actuator 17 is provided for each of the wheels 13 and 14 so that the wheels 13 and 14 can be independently steered from the controller 16 by a steer-by-wire system. As the steering actuator 17, a mechanism combining a ball screw and an angle sensor, a mechanism combining a worm gear and an angle sensor, or the like is used.

  In the driver's seat of the vehicle body 12, an accelerator pedal 18 (see FIG. 2), a brake pedal 19, a steering device 20, a handle 21, an in-situ rotation command switch 22, an in-situ rotation steering switch 23, a lateral movement command switch 24, a lateral movement rolling A rudder switch 25 and a rotation angle setting switch 26 are provided.

  A reaction force actuator 27 and a vehicle body tilt sensor 28 are provided at appropriate positions on the vehicle body 12. As the vehicle body tilt sensor 28, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or a combination of both can be used. Further, a load sensor 29 is attached to each wheel 13, 14 to a wheel hub. Objective sensors 31 are provided at four locations on the outer peripheral surface of the vehicle body 12, and cameras 32 for grasping the outer periphery of the vehicle body are mounted at four locations on the outer peripheral surface.

  The reaction force actuator 27 is used to give a steering feeling to the operator when the handle 21 is operated.

  Further, a steering angle detection sensor 33, a rotation angle detection sensor 34, a lateral movement amount detection sensor 35, and a movement amount setting switch 30 for feedback control are provided, and predetermined signals are input to the controller 16, respectively. Yes.

  A control program for “spot rotation” built in the controller 16 of the commuter 11 is shown by the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, and a control program for “lateral movement” is shown by the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The flowchart of the in-situ rotation shown in FIG. 5 is as follows. That is, when the operator operates the spot rotation command switch 22, the spot rotation control starts. In step 1 (hereinafter referred to as S1. The same applies to others), the inclination of the vehicle body 12 and the obstacle presence / absence information are acquired by signals from the vehicle body inclination sensor 28 and the objective sensor 31. Next, it is determined whether or not the spot rotation is possible (S2).

  If the vehicle body 12 is tilted more than a certain level, there is a risk of falling due to the centrifugal force during rotation, and if there is an obstacle, it will be judged as impossible to rotate to avoid contact and collision with it. (NO), a signal is sent to the display device to perform in-situ non-rotatable display (S3), and the program ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the spot can be rotated (YES), a signal is sent to the display device to perform the spot rotatable display (S4). On the basis of the display, the operator operates the spot turn steering switch 23 (S5).

  A predetermined turning angle is input by the above operation, and the turning actuators 17 of the wheels 13 and 14 are driven (S6). Whether or not each has reached a predetermined turning angle is detected by the turning angle detection sensor 33, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined turning angle has been reached by comparing the detected turning value with the previously input turning angle. (S7). If not reached (NO), the process returns to S6, and the steering actuator 17 is continuously driven by feedback control. If it is determined in S7 that the predetermined steering angle has been reached (YES), a steering completion display is performed (S8). The wheels 13 and 14 are respectively steered in a predetermined direction (see FIG. 3). An arrow A in FIG. 3 indicates the rotation direction of the vehicle body 12.

  When the steering completion display is performed (S8), the operator operates the rotation angle setting switch 26 of the vehicle body 12 (S9). As a result, a predetermined rotation angle is input, the in-wheel motor 15 is driven (S10), and the vehicle body 12 rotates (S11).

  The rotation angle of the vehicle body 12 is detected by the rotation angle detection sensor 34, and the detection value is compared with a predetermined rotation angle input in advance. It is determined whether or not a predetermined rotation angle has been reached (S12). If not reached (NO), the process returns to S10 and the in-wheel motor 15 is continuously driven by feedback control. If it is determined in S12 that the predetermined rotation angle has been reached (YES), the in-wheel motor 15 is stopped (S13), and the program is terminated.

  In addition, when performing steering operation of each wheel 13 and 14 manually, operation of the spot rotation steering switch 23 is abbreviate | omitted in S5, and a driver operates the steering wheel 21 and performs steering. When the rotation operation of the vehicle body 12 is performed manually, the operation of the rotation angle setting switch 26 is omitted, and the operator operates the accelerator pedal 18 and the brake pedal 19 and rotates them by an arbitrary angle by visual observation. At this time, the state of the outer periphery of the vehicle body 12 is confirmed by visual observation of information from the camera 32.

  Next, the flowchart for the lateral movement shown in FIG. 6 is as follows. That is, when the operator operates the lateral movement command switch 24, the lateral movement control starts. In S <b> 1, the inclination of the vehicle body 12 and the obstacle presence / absence information are acquired by signals from the vehicle body inclination sensor 28 and the objective sensor 31.

  Next, it is determined whether or not lateral movement is possible (S2). If the vehicle body 12 is tilted more than a certain level, there is a risk of falling due to the influence of inertial force when starting and stopping, and if there is an obstacle, contact with and collision with this is avoided. It is determined that it is possible (NO), a signal is sent to the display device to display that the lateral movement is impossible (S3), and the program is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that horizontal movement is possible (YES), a signal is sent to the display device to perform horizontal movement display (S4). Based on the display, the driver operates the lateral movement turning switch 25 (S5).

  The lateral movement turning angle is input by the above operation, and the turning actuators 17 of the wheels 13 and 14 are driven (S6). Whether or not each has reached a predetermined turning angle is determined by comparing the detected value of the turning angle detection sensor 33 with the previously inputted turning angle (S7).

  If not reached (NO), the process returns to S6 and the steering actuator 17 is continuously driven by feedback control. When it is determined in S7 that the predetermined steering angle has been reached (YES), a steering completion display is performed (S8). The wheels 13 and 14 are respectively steered in a predetermined direction (see FIG. 4). An arrow B in FIG. 4 indicates the lateral movement direction of the vehicle body 12.

  When the steering completion display is performed (S8), the operator operates the lateral movement amount setting switch 30 of the vehicle body 12 (S9). As a result, the in-wheel motor 15 is driven (S10), and the vehicle body 12 moves laterally (S11).

  Whether or not the lateral movement amount of the vehicle body 12 has reached a predetermined set amount is determined by comparing the detection value of the horizontal movement amount detection sensor 35 with the predetermined input value previously input (S12). If not reached (NO), the process returns to S10 and continues to drive the in-wheel motor 15 by feedback control. If it is determined in S12 that the predetermined set amount has been reached (YES), the in-wheel motor 15 is stopped (S13), and the program is terminated.

  In addition, when performing steering operation of each wheel 13 and 14 manually, operation of the lateral movement steering switch 25 is abbreviate | omitted in S5, and a pilot operates the steering wheel 21 and performs steering. Further, when the vehicle body 12 is manually moved laterally, the operation of the lateral movement amount setting switch 30 is omitted in S9, and the driver operates the accelerator pedal 18 and the brake pedal 19 to visually move the vehicle by an arbitrary amount. Let Also in this case, the information on the outer periphery of the vehicle body 12 is confirmed visually by the information from the camera 32.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Commuter 12 Car body 13 Front wheel 14 Rear wheel 15 In-wheel motor 16 Controller 17 Steering actuator 18 Accelerator pedal 19 Brake pedal 20 Steering device 21 Handle 22 In-situ rotation command switch 23 In-situ rotation steering switch 24 Lateral movement command switch 25 Horizontal Movement steering switch 26 Rotation angle setting switch 27 Reaction force actuator 28 Car body tilt sensor 29 Load sensor 30 Lateral movement amount setting switch 31 Objective sensor 32 Camera 33 Steering angle detection sensor 34 Rotation angle detection sensor 35 Lateral movement amount detection sensor

Claims (12)

  Steering actuators are provided on all wheels, and driving motors are provided on the driving wheels, and the steering actuators and the driving motors are controlled independently according to the program of the controller mounted on the vehicle body. In a small vehicle such as a commuter, a vehicle body tilt sensor is provided on the vehicle body, and the program includes control means for in-situ rotation or lateral movement, and the program for executing any of the control means can be obtained by the vehicle body tilt sensor. A small vehicle comprising a judging means for judging whether or not driving is possible based on the tilt angle information.   In the program that includes objective sensors at four or more locations on the outer peripheral surface of the vehicle body and executes either the in-situ rotation or lateral movement control means, the obstacle presence / absence information obtained by the objective sensor and the inclination angle The small vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether or not driving is possible based on both of the information.   2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein a camera for confirming the outer periphery is installed at an appropriate position on the outer peripheral surface of the vehicle body, and a driver performs a required manual operation while visually confirming a state of the outer periphery of the vehicle body. Small vehicle.   The program for controlling the in-situ rotation includes a control unit that feedback-controls each of the turning actuators based on a value detected by the turning angle sensor, with an in-situ rotation turning angle input from outside as a target value. The small vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein   The small vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the steering actuator is controlled by a steering wheel operation by a driver in the program for controlling the in-situ rotation.   The program for controlling the in-situ rotation includes a control unit that controls an in-situ rotation angle input from the outside as a target value and feedback-controls each drive motor based on a value detected by the rotation angle sensor. A small vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   In the program for executing the lateral movement control, the lateral movement turning angle input from the outside is set as a target value, and control means for performing feedback control of each turning actuator based on a detection value by the turning angle detection sensor is provided. A small vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The small vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein in the program for executing the lateral movement control, the steering actuator is controlled by a steering wheel operation by a driver.   The program for executing the lateral movement control includes a control unit that feedback-controls each drive motor based on a detection value obtained by the lateral movement amount detection sensor using a lateral movement amount input from the outside as a target value. A small vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 8.   The small vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the steering actuator is controlled by a steer-by-wire system.   The small vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral shape of the vehicle body is a cylindrical shape. The small vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the drive motor is an in-wheel motor.

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