JP2018069788A - Steering device of electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To resolve the sense of discomfort for a handle operation of a driver at the execution of automatic steering control of avoiding an obstacle.SOLUTION: A steering device 35 of an electric vehicle includes: a steering shaft 29 transmitting the operation force from an operation handle 32 to front wheels 12; and control means for executing automatic steering control of avoiding an obstacle at the detection of the obstacle by obstacle detection means. The steering shaft 29 includes: an upper steering shaft 29A connected to the operation handle side which is engaged and connected to a lower steering shaft 29B connected to the front wheel side by an engagement part 36; and an electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 which engages or disengages the upper and lower steering shafts. The control means releases engagement between the upper steering shaft and the lower steering shaft by the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism at the execution of automatic steering control, and steers the front wheels by rotating the lower steering shaft.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering device for an electric vehicle.

  In Patent Document 1, one operation mode is set from a plurality of operation modes according to the speed of the obstacle, and the electric motor is controlled by the set operation mode, so that the driving support according to the state of the obstacle is provided. A traveling support method for a small electric vehicle that performs control is disclosed. For small electric vehicles such as electric wheelchairs, there is known a driving support device that detects an obstacle with an in-vehicle camera, a laser, or the like, and supports driving so as to avoid the obstacle.

JP 2006-110207 A

  In the travel support device in the background art, as one of avoidance methods when an obstacle is detected, it is conceivable to use automatic steering control that travels while automatically steering in a direction in which the obstacle can be avoided. However, when the obstacle is detected and the automatic steering control is executed, the operation handle may rotate against the driver's intention, which may cause the driver to feel uncomfortable.

  The object of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and prevents the operation handle from rotating against the driver's intention when the automatic steering control for avoiding the obstacle is performed. An object of the present invention is to provide a steering device for an electric vehicle that can eliminate a sense of incongruity related to a steering operation by a person.

  The steering device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention includes a steering shaft to which an operation handle is connected to transmit an operation force from the operation handle to a steering wheel, an obstacle detection unit for detecting an obstacle, and the obstacle detection unit. And a control means for executing automatic steering control so as to avoid the obstacle when the obstacle is detected by the steering device, wherein the steering shaft is connected to the operation handle. The first shaft and the second shaft connected to the steered wheel side are coupled by being releasably fitted, and the first shaft is moved with respect to the second shaft. Thus, the moving means for fitting or releasing the fitting of the first shaft to or from the second shaft is provided, and the control means moves the moving means when executing the automatic steering control. Was released more fitting between the first shaft and the second shaft, it is characterized in that the second shaft is configured so as to steer the steering wheel by rotating.

  According to the present invention, the steering shaft is composed of the first shaft connected to the operation handle and the second shaft connected to the steered wheel side, and the second shaft rotates during the automatic steering control to rotate the steered wheel. The first shaft and the operation handle are not rotated. As a result, it is possible to prevent the operation handle from rotating against the driver's intention during execution of the automatic steering control that avoids the obstacle, and it is possible to eliminate the uncomfortable feeling related to the driver's handle operation.

The left view which shows the electric vehicle to which one Embodiment in the steering device of the electric vehicle which concerns on this invention was applied. The left view which shows the steering shaft periphery of FIG. The III arrow line view of FIG. IV arrow line view of FIG. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the state at the time of the normal steering of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism which is the A section of FIG. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the state at the time of the normal steering of the locking mechanism which is the B section of FIG. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the state at the time of normal steering of the fitting part which is the C section of FIG. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the state at the time of the automatic steering control of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism which is the A section of FIG. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the state at the time of the automatic steering control of the locking mechanism which is the B section of FIG. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the state at the time of the automatic steering control of the fitting part which is the C section of FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the steering apparatus mounted in FIG. 1. The flowchart which shows the procedure regarding the automatic steering control which the control means of FIG. 11 performs.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a left side view showing an electric vehicle to which an embodiment of a steering apparatus for an electric vehicle according to the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, in an electric vehicle 10 such as a handle-type electric wheelchair, a pair of left and right front wheels 12 and a rear wheel 13 are supported by a body frame 11 via a suspension (not shown). The body frame 11 is covered with a resin cover including a front cover 14, a leg shield 15, a floor panel 16, a rear cover 17 and the like except for a part thereof.

  The substantially box-shaped rear cover 17 at the rear of the vehicle body protrudes upward, and an electric motor 18 for driving the rear wheel 13 is driven inside the rear cover 17, and the output of the electric motor 18 for driving is an axle. A gear unit and a battery (both not shown) that transmit to 19 are accommodated. The traveling electric motor 18 applies driving force to the rear wheels 13 as drive wheels to cause the electric vehicle 10 to travel, and is controlled by the control means 20.

  A seat 22 on which the driver is seated is mounted above the rear cover 17 via a bracket (not shown) that rises from the vehicle body frame 11. The seat 22 includes a seat cushion 23 and a seat back (backrest) 24. Furthermore, armrests 26 are provided on both sides of the seat back 24, and each armrest 26 is supported so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum 27.

  The leg shield 15 is disposed in the vertical direction at the front part of the vehicle body and protects the driver's legs around the seat 22 from being exposed to wind or the like. A steering shaft 29 for steering the front wheels 12 is erected inside the leg shield 15, and a handle unit 30 is attached to the upper end of the steering shaft 29. During normal steering, the driver steers the front wheel 12 as a steered wheel from side to side by sitting on the seat 22 and rotating the handle unit 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the handle unit 30 has semicircular operation handles 32 attached to both the left and right sides of the main plate 31, and an accelerator lever 33 is rotatably provided on the main plate 31. The main plate 31 is accommodated in a switch box 34. The switch box 34 is provided with a power switch, a maximum speed setting switch, etc. (not shown).

  The accelerator lever 33 is bent in a crank shape on both sides from the rotation shaft portion 33A in the central portion in the axial direction and extends in the vehicle width direction, and operation portions 33B are provided at both tip portions. Based on the amount of depression when the driver of the electric vehicle 10 puts his palm on the grip portion 32A of the operation handle 32 and pushes down the operation portion 33B of the accelerator lever 33 with a finger, the control means 20 drives the electric motor 18 for traveling. To control the traveling speed of the electric vehicle 10.

  By the way, the electric vehicle 10 of this embodiment avoids an obstacle by automatically steering the front wheels 12 when the distance between the electric vehicle 10 and the obstacle such as a step or a groove reaches a dangerous distance. In addition to the normal steering in which the driver manually rotates the handle unit 30 as described above, the steering device 35 that performs automatic steering control is provided. 2 to 4, the steering device 35 includes a handle unit 30 having an operation handle 32, a steering shaft 29 having a fitting portion 36 as a connecting means, and an electromagnetic solenoid mechanism as a moving means. 37, a lock mechanism 38 as a fixing means, a steering electric motor 39, an obstacle detection means 40 (FIG. 1), a first rotation angle detection means 41 and a second rotation angle detection means 42, and a control means 20 (FIG. 1).

  2 and 4, the steering shaft 29 is fitted so that an upper steering shaft 29A as a first shaft and a lower steering shaft 29B as a second shaft can be released by a fitting portion 36 ( Spline coupling or serration coupling (in this embodiment, spline coupling). The upper portion of the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A is connected to the operation handle 32 attached to the main plate 31 by being connected to the main plate 31 of the handle unit 30 via the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37.

  A steering plate 44 is fixed to the lower portion of the lower steering shaft 29B, and the steering plate 44 is connected to a knuckle arm that pivotally supports the front wheel 12 via a tie rod (both not shown). Thus, the lower steering shaft 29B is connected to the front wheel 12 side. Accordingly, when the upper steering shaft 29A is fitted to the lower steering shaft 29B by the fitting portion 36, the operation force from the operation handle 32 of the handle unit 30 is transmitted to the front wheels 12.

  The above-mentioned fitting part 36 is demonstrated using FIG.7 and FIG.10. A bearing 45 is fixed near the lower end of the upper steering shaft 29A, for example, by press fitting. Further, an upper end plug 46 is fixed to the upper end of the lower steering shaft 29B, and an engaging portion 46A of the upper end plug 46 is engaged inside the bearing 45 so as to be relatively movable along the axial direction of the steering shaft 29. The Further, a spline 47 is formed at the lower end of the upper steering shaft 29A, and a spline 48 is formed at the body portion 46B of the upper end plug 46, and these splines 47 and 48 are coupled so as to be relatively movable along the axial direction of the steering shaft 29. The

  A relationship of A> B is established between the dimension A of the engaging portion 46A along the axial direction of the steering shaft 29 and the dimension B of the splines 47 and 48 along the axial direction of the steering shaft 29. When this relationship is established, the upper steering shaft 29A rises from the state shown in FIG. 7 to the state shown in FIG. 10 with respect to the lower steering shaft 29B, and the splines 47 and 48 are disconnected from each other. Even when the fitting by the fitting portion 36 with the lower steering shaft 29B is released, the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B are prevented from being detached.

  The electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 shown in FIG. 2 moves the upper steering shaft 29A in the axial direction of the steering shaft 29 with respect to the lower steering shaft 29B, so that the upper steering shaft 29A is The lower steering shaft 29B is fitted or released. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 includes a fixed iron core 49, a movable iron core 50, a copper wire (coil) 51, and a return spring 52. Be contained. The casing 53 is attached to the main plate 31 of the handle unit 30 using bolts 54 or the like.

  The fixed iron core 49 and the movable iron core 50 are arranged opposite to each other in the axial direction of the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A (steering shaft 29), and the fixed iron core 49 is fixed to the casing 53. The movable iron core 50 is screwed or pressed (screw-coupled in this embodiment) to an upper end plug 55 welded to the upper end of the upper steering shaft 29A. The copper wire 51 is installed around the fixed iron core 49 and the movable iron core 50, and the return spring 52 is interposed between the fixed iron core 49 and the movable iron core 50.

  When the energization of the copper wire 51 is stopped (during normal steering), the upper steering shaft 29A is maintained at the lowered position by the urging force of the return spring 52 as shown in FIG. At this time, in the fitting portion 36, as shown in FIG. 7, the spline 47 of the upper steering shaft 29A and the spline 48 of the upper end plug 46 of the lower steering shaft 29B are held in a coupled state. Accordingly, the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A and the lower steering shaft 29 </ b> B are fitted by the fitting portion 36 and are provided so as to be integrally rotatable around the axis of the steering shaft 29.

  When the copper wire 51 is energized (at the time of automatic steering control), as shown in FIG. 8, the movable iron core 50 is attracted to the fixed iron core 49 side against the urging force of the return spring 52. As a result, the upper steering shaft 29A rises toward the handle unit 30 with respect to the lower steering shaft 29B. At this time, in the fitting portion 36, as shown in FIG. 10, the coupling between the spline 47 of the upper steering shaft 29A and the spline 48 of the upper end plug 46 of the lower steering shaft 29B is released, and the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower side The fitting by the fitting portion 36 with the steering shaft 29B is released. Therefore, the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A and the lower steering shaft 29 </ b> B are provided so as to be rotatable separately around the steering shaft 29.

  The lock mechanism 38 shown in FIG. 2 includes a lock plate 58 attached to a brace 57 fixed to the vehicle body frame 11 side, and a disc plate 59 fixed to the upper steering shaft 29A, for example. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the lock claw 60 is provided on one of the lock plate 58 and the disc plate 59 (in this embodiment, the lock plate 58), and the other (the disc plate 59 in this embodiment). A plurality of lock holes 61 are formed in the circumferential direction of the lock plate 58 and the disc plate 59. When the lock claw 60 is engaged with the lock hole 61, the upper steering shaft 29A and the handle unit 30 are fixed (locked), and the upper steering shaft 29A is rotated by the operation force from the operation handle 32 of the handle unit 30. Is blocked.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the energization of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 to the copper wire 51 is stopped (during normal steering), the lock claw 60 and the lock hole 61 are in the lowered state. Therefore, it is in a disengaged state. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, since the upper steering shaft 29A is in a fitted state with the lower steering shaft 29B by the fitting portion 36, the operation handle 32 of the handle unit 30 is operated, The upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B rotate integrally around the axis of the steering shaft 29, and the front wheels 12 are steered.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, when the energization of the copper wire 51 of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 is performed (at the time of automatic steering control), the upper steering shaft 29A is in relation to the lower steering shaft 29B. As a result, the handle unit 30 is raised and the fitting portion 36 is released from the lower steering shaft 29B. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the lock claw 60 and the lock hole 61 engage with the upward movement of the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A for releasing the fitting. Thus, during the automatic steering control, the upper steering shaft 29A and the handle unit 30 (operation handle 32) are prevented from rotating.

  The steering electric motor 39 shown in FIG. 2 is attached to the frame bracket 63 fixed to the vehicle body frame 11 via the motor bracket 64. A pinion gear 65 is fixed to the motor shaft of the steering electric motor 39, and the pinion gear 65 meshes with a counter gear 66 fixed to the lower steering shaft 29B. Accordingly, by driving the steering electric motor 39, the lower steering shaft 29B rotates around the axis of the steering shaft 29 via the pinion gear 65 and the counter gear 66, and thereby the front wheels 12 are steered. The driving of the steering electric motor 39 is performed not only during automatic steering control but also when the rotation angle of the lower steering shaft 29B is made coincident with the rotation angle of the upper steering shaft 29A, as will be described later.

  The obstacle detection means 40 shown in FIGS. 1 and 11 are installed at the front and rear of the electric vehicle 10, that is, at the front end portion of the front cover 14 and the rear end portion of the rear cover 17, respectively. These obstacle detection means 40 are a camera, an optical (for example, laser type) distance sensor, an ultrasonic distance sensor, and the like, and detect an obstacle such as a step or a groove. Detect the distance. The detection signal detected by the obstacle detection means 40 is transmitted to the control means 20.

  The first rotation angle detection means 41 shown in FIGS. 2 and 11 includes a first gear plate 67 fixed to the upper steering shaft 29A and a first rotation angle sensor 68 installed on the brace 57. The When the first gear plate 67 is engaged with the detection portion of the first rotation angle sensor 68, the rotation angle (steering angle) of the upper steering shaft 29A is detected by the first rotation angle sensor 68. The second rotation angle detection means 42 includes a second gear plate 69 fixed to the lower steering shaft 29 </ b> B and a second rotation angle sensor 70 installed on the frame bracket 63. When the second gear plate 69 is engaged with the detection portion of the second rotation angle sensor 70, the rotation angle (steering angle) of the lower steering shaft 29B is detected by the second rotation angle sensor 70. The rotation angles detected by the first rotation angle detection unit 41 and the second rotation angle detection unit 42 are transmitted to the control unit 20.

  The control means 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 11 controls a traveling speed control function for controlling the traveling speed of the electric vehicle 10 by controlling the traveling electric motor 18 based on a pressing operation of the operation portion 33B of the accelerator lever 33, and a failure. An automatic steering control function for avoiding an obstacle when the obstacle is detected by the object detection means 40; Hereinafter, the latter automatic steering control function will be described.

  When the obstacle detecting means 40 detects an obstacle such as a step or a groove and the distance between the obstacle and the electric vehicle 10 is determined to be dangerous (at the time of automatic steering start determination), the control means 20 Further, by energizing the copper wire 51 of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37, the upper steering shaft 29A shown in FIG. 2 is raised with respect to the lower steering shaft 29B. As the upper steering shaft 29A rises, the fitting by the fitting portion 36 between the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B is released, and the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B become the axis of the steering shaft 29. Relative rotation is possible. At the same time, the lock claw 60 (FIG. 9) of the lock plate 58 attached to the brace 57 engages with the lock hole 61 of the disc plate 59 attached to the upper steering shaft 29A, so that the upper steering shaft 29A and the handle unit are engaged. 30 (operation handle 32) is fixed (locked) to prevent their rotation.

  Thereafter, the control means 20 drives the steering electric motor 39 to rotate the lower steering shaft 29B, and executes automatic steering control for steering the front wheels 12 to avoid an obstacle.

  Further, the control means 20 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 11 is used when the obstacle is avoided by the execution of the automatic steering control and no obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means 40 (at the time of automatic steering release determination). The rotation angle (steering angle) of the upper steering shaft 29A detected by the first rotation angle detection means 41 and the rotation angle (steering angle) of the lower steering shaft 29B detected by the second rotation angle detection means 42 match. Thus, the steering electric motor 39 is driven to rotate the lower steering shaft 29B around its axis. The steering electric motor 39 is stopped when the respective rotation angles detected by the first rotation angle detection means 41 and the second rotation angle detection means 42 coincide.

  In this state, the control means 20 stops energization of the copper wire 51 of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 to lower the upper steering shaft 29A shown in FIG. 2, and the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B are fitted. The joint portion 36 is fitted and connected to complete the automatic steering control. As a result, the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B can be integrally rotated around the axis of the steering shaft 29 to prepare for normal steering by the driver.

The above-described automatic steering control by the control means 20 will be further described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The control means 20 detects whether an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means 40, and determines whether or not the distance between the obstacle and the electric vehicle 10 has reached a distance determined to be dangerous (S1). In this step S1, when it is determined that the distance between the obstacle and the electric vehicle 10 has reached a distance determined to be dangerous, the control means 20 starts energizing the copper wire 51 of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37, The upper steering shaft 29A is raised relative to the lower steering shaft 29B, and the fitting by the fitting portion 36 between the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B is released (S2).

  After step S2, the control means 20 drives the steering electric motor 39 to execute automatic steering control, and steers the front wheels 12 (S3). The control means 20 determines whether or not an obstacle has been avoided by executing the automatic steering control in step S3 based on a detection signal from the obstacle detection means 40 (S4), and performs automatic steering control until the obstacle is avoided. continue.

  When the control unit 20 determines that the obstacle is avoided in step S4, the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B detected by the first rotation angle detection unit 41 and the second rotation angle detection unit 42, respectively. It is determined whether or not the rotation angles (steering angles) coincide with each other (S5). When the rotation angles of the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B do not coincide with each other, the control means 20 drives the steering electric motor 39 to rotate the lower steering shaft 29B. The rotation angle of the lower steering shaft 29B is matched with the rotation angle of the upper steering shaft 29A (S6).

  In step S5, when the rotation angles of the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B match each other, the control means 20 stops energization of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 to the copper wire 51, and the upper steering shaft. 29A is lowered, and the upper steering shaft 29A is fitted to the lower steering shaft 29B by the fitting portion 36 (S7). Execution of this step 7 completes the automatic steering control and prepares for normal steering by the driver (S8). If the obstacle is not detected in step S1, automatic steering control is not performed and normal steering by the driver is performed.

With the configuration as described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects (1) to (5) are obtained.
(1) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the steering shaft 29 includes an upper steering shaft 29A connected to a handle unit 30 including an operation handle 32, and a lower steering shaft 29B connected to the front wheel 12 side. Are coupled by being releasably fitted by the fitting portion 36. Then, when executing the automatic steering control, the control unit 20 releases the fitting by the fitting portion 36 between the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B by the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37, and the steering electric motor 39 is The front wheel 12 is steered by driving and rotating the lower steering shaft 29B.

  For this reason, when the automatic steering control is executed, the upper steering shaft 29A and the handle unit 30 (operation handle 32) are not rotated. As a result, it is possible to prevent the handle unit 30 (operation handle 32) from rotating against the intention of the driver holding the operation handle 32 of the handle unit 30 during execution of automatic steering control to avoid an obstacle, The driver can feel uncomfortable with the steering wheel operation.

  (2) As shown in FIGS. 2, 6, and 9, the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A and the handle unit 30 are fixed (locked) to the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A by engaging the lock claw 60 with the lock hole 61. Thus, a lock mechanism 38 is provided to prevent the rotation. Then, the engagement between the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B is released, and the upper steering shaft 29A is driven by the lock mechanism 38 during the automatic steering control in which the lower steering shaft 29B is rotated by the steering electric motor 39. And the rotation of the handle unit 30 is prevented.

  Therefore, inadvertent rotation of the upper steering shaft 29A during automatic steering control is prevented, and the driver can prevent the posture from becoming unstable by gripping the operation handle 32 of the handle unit 30. Therefore, the front wheels 12 can be steered at the maximum steering angle during automatic steering control.

  (3) As shown in FIGS. 2, 8 and 9, the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A is lifted by energization of the copper wire 51 of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37, and the fitting portion 36 is fitted to the lower steering shaft 29 </ b> B. When releasing the engagement, the lock mechanism 38 engages the lock claw 60 with the lock hole 61 in conjunction with the above-described rise of the upper steering shaft 29A, and fixes (locks) the upper steering shaft 29A and the handle unit 30. . In this manner, the operation (locking) of the lock mechanism 38 and the release of the fitting portion 36 can be performed by the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 that is the same drive source. As a result, the drive source of the lock mechanism 38 and the fitting portion 36 can be shared, and the system configuration of the steering device 35 can be simplified.

  (4) As shown in FIG. 2, at the end of automatic steering control, the rotation angle of the upper steering shaft 29A detected by the first rotation angle detection means 41 and the lower side detected by the second rotation angle detection means 42 When the rotation angle of the steering shaft 29B coincides, the energization of the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism 37 to the copper wire 51 is stopped and the upper steering shaft 29A is lowered, and the upper steering shaft 29A is moved downward by the fitting portion 36. The steering shaft 29B is configured to be fitted and connected. For this reason, in the normal steering by the driver after the end of the automatic steering control, the positional relationship between the operation handle 32 of the handle unit 30 and the front wheels 12 becomes appropriate, and this normal steering can be appropriately performed.

  (5) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the upper steering shaft 29 </ b> A and the lower steering shaft 29 </ b> B are removably fitted and connected by spline coupling or serration coupling of the fitting portion 36. For this reason, it is possible to reliably transmit the rotational force (operation force) between the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B, as compared with the case where the upper steering shaft 29A and the lower steering shaft 29B are connected using frictional force. . In addition, since the fitting portion 36 has a small number of parts, is lightweight, and is small, the operating force applied to the operation handle 32 by the driver can be reduced, and the steering electric motor 39 can be downsized. Furthermore, the degree of freedom of design around the steering shaft 29 can be expanded.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. This embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is included in the scope and gist of the invention, and is included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Front wheel (steering wheel), 20 ... Control means, 29 ... Steering shaft, 29A ... Upper steering shaft, 29B ... Lower steering shaft, 30 ... Handle unit, 32 ... Operation handle, 35 ... Steering device, 36 ... Fitting Part (connection means), 37 ... electromagnetic solenoid mechanism (moving means), 38 ... lock mechanism (fixing means), 39 ... electric motor for steering, 40 ... obstacle detection means, 41 ... first rotation angle detection means, 42 ... Second rotation angle detecting means 47, 48 ... spline, 58 ... lock plate, 59 ... disk plate, 60 ... lock claw, 61 ... lock hole, 67 ... first gear plate, 68 ... first rotation angle sensor, 69 ... second gear plate, 70 ... second rotation angle sensor.

Claims (5)

A steering shaft that is connected to the operation handle and transmits an operation force from the operation handle to the steered wheel, an obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle, and when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection unit, A control device for executing automatic steering control so as to avoid this obstacle, and a steering device for an electric vehicle,
The steering shaft is configured such that a first shaft connected to the operation handle and a second shaft connected to the steering wheel side are connected by being releasably fitted,
Moving means for moving the first shaft with respect to the second shaft to fit or release the first shaft with the second shaft;
The control means, when executing the automatic steering control, releases the fitting of the first shaft and the second shaft by the moving means and rotates the second shaft to steer the steered wheels. A steering apparatus for an electric vehicle, characterized by being configured to cause The first shaft is provided with a fixing means for preventing the first shaft from rotating by an operating force from an operation handle, and the control means performs the first operation by the fixing means when executing the automatic steering control. The steering apparatus for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the steering apparatus is configured to prevent rotation of the shaft. The fixing means is configured to prevent rotation of the first shaft in conjunction with movement of the first shaft so as to release the fitting with the second shaft by the moving means. The steering device for an electric vehicle according to claim 2. The said moving means is provided with the electromagnetic solenoid mechanism which moves so that a fitting with a 2nd shaft may be cancelled | released by electricity supply to a coil, The structure of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The steering device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1. The control means causes the moving means to fit the first shaft to the second shaft when the rotation angle of the first shaft becomes equal to the rotation angle of the second shaft at the end of the automatic steering control. The steering device for an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the steering device is connected to each other.

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