JP2584968Y2 - Vehicle suspension system - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension device, in particular,
The present invention relates to improvement of an initialization means of an electric motor for controlling damping characteristics.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vehicle suspension device for initializing (originating the origin) an electric motor for driving a damping characteristic changing means, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 64-407.
No. 12 is known.

That is, in the conventional vehicle suspension system, when the vibration convergence determining means determines that the vehicle is in the vibration convergence state, the initialization command means for performing an initialization command (originating the origin) of the rotation position of the electric motor. Therefore, a stopper is provided on the side of the electric motor or on the side of the damping characteristic changing unit which is rotationally driven by the electric motor via a rod.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional vehicle suspension system, as described above, when the electric motors are initialized, the four electric motors are simultaneously fed in multiple steps or the stopper means is provided. When the vehicle is initialized with the ignition turned on before the engine is started, the background noise is low. Therefore, the vehicle interior sound and the vertical acceleration data of the electric motor shown in FIG. As shown, there is a problem that noise at the time of initialization is conspicuous and gives a feeling of strangeness to the passenger. FIG. 16 shows the vehicle interior sound and the vertical acceleration data of the electric motor based on the driving of the electric motor during the normal damping characteristic control.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle suspension device which can eliminate a sense of discomfort given to a passenger based on noise at the time of initialization. It is an object.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle suspension of the present invention is interposed between a vehicle body and wheels as shown in the claim correspondence diagram of FIG.
A shock absorber b whose damping characteristic can be arbitrarily changed by a damping characteristic changing means a, an electric motor c for rotating and driving the damping characteristic changing means a, a stopper means d for regulating a rotation range of the electric motor c, and a vehicle. Control means g having a vehicle behavior detecting means e for detecting a factor relating to the behavior, and a damping characteristic control unit f for optimally controlling the damping characteristic of the damping characteristic changing means a based on an input from the vehicle behavior detecting means e.
A cell motor drive detecting means h for detecting the drive of the cell motor; and a control section g provided in the control section g, and a condition for rotating the electric motor c to a stop position by the stopper means d on condition that the start of driving of the cell motor and a stop position thereof. An initialization processing unit j for performing origin search as a base point is provided.

[0007]

In the vehicle suspension system of the present invention, on the condition that the start of the start of the starter motor, the initialization processing section starts its operation, and the starting position is determined based on the positioning for rotating the electric motor to the stop position by the stopper means and the stop position. Initialization processing for performing origin search is performed.

As described above, since the initialization process is performed after the start of the driving of the cell motor, the noise caused by the initialization is canceled by the driving sound of the cell motor and the noise at the time of starting the engine. Can give the passenger a sense of discomfort.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of the embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 30 includes an interface circuit 30a and a CPU.
30b, a drive circuit 30c. The interface circuit 30a includes a vertical acceleration sensor 31, a steering sensor 32, a vehicle speed sensor 33, a brake sensor 34 as a vehicle behavior detecting means, and a cell motor drive sensor 22 for detecting driving of a cell motor. Output signal is input,
A drive signal is output from the drive circuit 30c to the step motor 35, and the damping characteristic of each shock absorber SA is changed by the step rotation of the step motor 35.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the structure of the shock absorber SA.
Comprises a cylinder 1, a piston 2 defined in an upper chamber A and a lower chamber B inside the cylinder 1, an outer cylinder 36 having a reservoir chamber D formed on the outer periphery of the cylinder 1, a lower chamber B and a reservoir chamber D. A defined base 37, a guide member 38 for guiding the sliding of the piston rod 17 connected to the piston 2,
The vehicle includes a suspension spring 39 interposed between the outer cylinder 36 and the vehicle body, and a step motor 35.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the piston 2 portion. As shown in FIG. 4, the piston 2 is attached to a small-diameter portion 3a at the tip of a stud 3. The stud 3 is screwed and attached to an outer thread 18a of a rebound stopper 18 which is screwed and attached to a tip screw 17a of the piston rod 17.

That is, the tip small diameter portion 3a of the stud 3
In addition, the pressure side check body 7, the pressure side check valve 8, the washer 5a, the collar 4a, the washer 5b, the pressure side damping valve 6, the piston 2, the extension side damping valve 9, the washer 5c,
The extension side check body 10, the extension side check valve 11, the washer 5d, and the collar 4b are sequentially mounted.
6 is concluded.

The stud 3 has a through hole 3b formed in the axial center thereof, and a first port 3c, a second port 3d, and a second port 3d, which are diametrically penetrated through the peripheral wall. A third port 3e, a fourth port 3f, and a fifth port 3g are provided. The second port 3d and the third port 3e are formed at the same position in the axial direction. Although only the second port 3d and the fourth port 3f are formed at the same position in the circumferential direction, the other first, third, and fifth ports 3c, 3e, and 3g are respectively shifted in phase in the circumferential direction. (See FIGS. 7, 8, and 9).

Further, an adjuster 12 as a damping characteristic changing means is rotatably provided in the through hole 3b of the stud 3 between the annular upper bush 13 and the lower bush 14. .

The adjuster 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a hollow portion 12a whose lower end communicates with the lower chamber B at an axial center thereof, and has a first port 3c formed on a peripheral wall thereof.
A first horizontal hole 12b that communicates with the hollow portion 12a, a vertical groove 12c that communicates with the second port 3d, the fourth port 3f, and the fifth port 3g, and a third port 3e that communicates with the hollow portion 12a. A second horizontal hole 12d is formed.

In the shock absorber SA of this embodiment, there are four flow paths as shown as flow paths through which the fluid can flow during the extension stroke. That is, the expansion-side first flow path D that opens the inside and the outer peripheral portion of the expansion-side damping valve 9 from the position of the expansion-side inner groove 2f to the lower chamber B, the second port 3d, and the fourth port 3f.
From the position of the extension side outer groove 2g via the extension side damping valve 9
An extension side second flow path E that opens the outer peripheral portion of
The extension side check valve 11 is opened via the second port 3d and the fifth port 3g, and the extension side third flow path F which reaches the lower chamber B, and the lower side via the third port 3e and the hollow portion 12a. And a bypass flow path G leading to the chamber B.

On the other hand, there are three flow paths as shown as paths through which the fluid can flow in the pressure stroke. That is, the compression side damping valve 6
The first pressure passage H on the pressure side leading to the upper chamber A by opening the
The pressure side check valve 8 is opened via the second port 3a and the first port 3c to open the pressure side second flow path J to the upper chamber A, and the pressure side second passage J reaching the upper chamber A via the hollow portion 12a and the third port 3e. And a bypass flow path G.

The upper end of the stud 3 has a through hole 3
The upper bush 13 and the stopper plate 19 are provided between the annular bottom portion of the large diameter hole 3h and the annular lower end surface of the rebound stopper 18 in order from the top in a sandwiched state. Have been. The upper bush 13 accommodates a thrust washer 20 and a steel plate thrust washer 21 made of a low-friction material on a lower end surface facing the upper end surface of the adjuster 12, and the upper end of the adjuster 12 can be rotatably inserted. A large-diameter hole 13a is formed.

The stopper plate 19 serves to regulate the rotation range of the adjuster 12 for positioning the step motor 35 and finding the origin. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. Is formed in an annular shape having a central hole 19a rotatably inserted through the upper end of
A pair of semicircular protrusions 1 are provided on the outer peripheral portion so
9b is formed so as to protrude, and a pair of stopper portions 19c is formed so as to protrude from the inner peripheral portion so as to face in the radial direction. On the inner peripheral wall surface of the large-diameter hole 3h, semicircular positioning vertical grooves 3j, on which both semicircular projections 19b can be mounted and locked, are provided.
3j is formed by drilling.

On the other hand, the upper end of the adjuster 12 inserted into the through hole 19a is formed into a flat plate having a pair of parallel flat portions 12e by cutting both side surfaces. The rotation range is restricted by contacting the two flat portions with the stopper portion 19c. That is, the stopper portion 19c of the stopper plate 9
The stopper means is constituted by the flat part 12 e of the adjuster 12.

The rotation of the adjuster 12 is performed by a control rod 15, which extends through the through hole 17b of the piston rod 17 and extends to the upper end. Step rotation is performed by a step motor 35 provided at the vehicle body mounting portion 17.

The adjuster 12 can switch the damping characteristic position to an arbitrary position within a range of three positions shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 based on its rotation.

First, the first position shown in FIG.
), The first to fifth ports 3c,
3d, 3e, 3f, and 3g are all open, and all four flow paths D, E, F, and G in the extension stroke, and all three flow paths H, J, and G in the compression stroke can flow. Therefore, in this position, as shown in FIG. 12, both the extension side and the compression side have low attenuation characteristics (hereinafter, referred to as soft).

The second position shown in FIG. 7 (FIG. 10)
), Only the first port 3c is opened, and the other second to fifth ports 3d, 3e, 3f, 3
g is closed, and the expansion-side first flow path D, the compression-side first flow path H, and the compression-side second flow path J can be circulated. Therefore, in this position, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the extension side has a high damping characteristic (hereinafter, referred to as "hard"), and the compression side is soft.

The third position shown in FIG. 9 (FIG. 10)
, The second port 3c, the fourth port 3f, and the fifth port 3g are opened, and the first port 3c is opened.
And the third port 3e is closed, and the extension side first to third
The flow paths D, E, F and the first pressure-side flow path H can be circulated. Therefore, in this position, as shown in FIG. 13, the pressure side is hard and the expansion side is soft.

When the adjuster 12 is rotated counterclockwise to switch from the first position shown in FIG. 8 to the second position shown in FIG. 7, the opening degrees of the second to fifth ports are increased. The bypass flow path G and the extension-side second flow path E
And the direction of decreasing the flow path cross-sectional area of the extension-side third flow path F, and thereby, as shown in FIG.
The compression side can be changed from soft to hard while only the extension side is kept soft.

Also, from the first position shown in FIG.
Adjuster 12 to switch to the third position direction shown in FIG.
Is rotated clockwise, the opening degree of the first port and the third port is reduced, and the cross-sectional area of the bypass flow path G, the pressure-side second flow path J, and the extension-side third flow path F Can be changed in the direction of decreasing, and as shown in FIG. 10, only the compression side can be changed from soft to hard while the extension side remains soft.

Returning to FIG. 2, the control unit 3
Numeral 0 denotes a control means, and a vertical acceleration sensor 31, a steering sensor 32,
Based on input signals from the vehicle speed sensor 33 and the brake sensor 34, in addition to an attenuation characteristic control unit that outputs a drive signal to the step motor 35 in order to control the shock absorber SA to an optimal attenuation characteristic, an input from the cell motor drive sensor 22 is provided. An initialization processing unit for positioning the step motor 35 and finding the origin based on the signal is included.

That is, in this embodiment, when the starter motor is driven, the origin search (initialization) of the step motor 35 is started based on an input signal from the starter motor drive sensor 22 for detecting the start of the drive. The origin of the step motor 35 is determined by the fact that the step motor 35 itself can be rotated by 360 degrees and there is no basic zero point. This step is performed to rotationally drive the step motor 35. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
By rotating in one direction to a position where 2e abuts against the stopper portions 19c of the stopper member 19,
After the mechanical positioning by the stopper means is performed, the origin of the step motor 35 is determined by rotating the step motor 35 from the position in the reverse direction by a predetermined number of steps.

The adjuster 12 can be switched to a predetermined position by rotating the step motor 35 in a predetermined direction from the origin position by a predetermined number of steps.

Next, the control operation of the initialization processing section in the control unit 30 will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. In this time chart, (a) indicates the driving ON / OFF state of the starter motor,
(B) is the output state of the drive signal, (C) is the ON / OFF state of the current signal applied to the step motor 35, (D)
The rotation positions of the step motor 35 with respect to the stopper position S of the adjuster 12 by the stopper means are respectively shown.

That is, as shown in (a) of the time chart of FIG. 14, the driving of the starter motor is started (ON).
Then, based on the control operation of the initialization processing unit, first, a drive signal for positioning and origin search is output from the drive circuit 30c to the step motor 35. As shown in FIG. 2B, this drive signal indicates the total number of drive steps of the step motor 35 capable of rotationally driving the entire rotation range of the adjuster 12 regulated by the stopper portions 19c, 19c. 5 so that it gradually decreases
It is output intermittently in a divided state.

After the drive signal of each stage is output and before the next drive signal is output,
First, as shown in FIG. (B), after only is held (HOLD) a predetermined time H ₁ to the rotational position of the position of the step motor 35 by stopping the output of the drive signal, in FIG. (C) as shown, the input itself predetermined time H ₂ OFF state of the applied current signal to the step motor 35 (the state of zero torque).

When the drive control of the step motor 35 is performed as described above, first, as shown in FIG.
When the step motor 35 is step-driven by the step drive signal and the adjuster 12 is rotationally driven via the control rod 15, and the rotation of the adjuster 12 is restricted by the stopper means, the control rod 15 is twisted by an amount corresponding to the twist. Only the step motor 35 rotates while overlapping the stopper position S. Then, after that, the drive signal is set to H
_By stopping the rotation, the step motor 35 is held at the rotational position during that time, so that the vibration of the step motor 35 is stopped by the reaction force due to the torsion. Then, when the OFF input itself of the applied current signal to the step motor 35 for a predetermined time period H _2, the torque of the step motor 35 becomes zero, the twist-reacting force of the control rod 15, the step motor 35 side opposite directions To stop at a position where the stopper position S slightly overlaps.

By repeating the above operation at each stage, the overlap amount gradually decreases due to the decrease in the number of steps of the drive signal, and when the current signal is turned off at the final stage, the step motor 35 is moved to the stopper position S. Can be stopped.

The origin of the step motor 35 is determined by outputting a drive signal in the reverse direction to the step motor 35 for a predetermined number of steps.

The above-mentioned initialization processing is performed in the following manner.
It takes about 6 seconds and the noise generated during that time is
The driving noise of the cell motor overlaps and is canceled out.

As described above, the vehicle suspension system of this embodiment has a feature that the uncomfortable feeling due to the noise at the time of initialization can be eliminated by performing the initialization when the starter motor is driven. ing.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and there are design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. Is also included in the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment, the total number of drive steps of the step motor capable of rotating and driving the entire rotation range of the adjuster is output intermittently in a state of being divided into a plurality of stages. It is also possible. Also,
In the case of intermittent output as described above,
The number of steps in each stage can be the same.

Although the embodiment has been described with reference to the case where the stopper means is provided on the adjuster side, the invention can also be applied to a means provided on the pulse motor side.

In the embodiment, when the one stroke side is controlled to the hard side, a shock absorber having a structure in which the reverse stroke side is soft is used, but the damping characteristics of the extension stroke and the pressure stroke are simultaneously and the same. It is also possible to use a shock absorber having a structure that changes in the direction.

[0043]

As described above, in the vehicle suspension system of the present invention, the initialization process of the electric motor is started on condition that the start of the start of the starter motor, so that the noise at the time of initialization is given to the passenger. Giving a sense of incongruity can be advantageously eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view corresponding to a claim showing the vehicle suspension device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system block diagram illustrating a vehicle suspension device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view along a line P-P in FIG. 5) showing a shock absorber applied to the apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing a piston portion of the shock absorber.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an adjuster portion.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views showing a second position, wherein FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line KK of FIG. 4, FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line LL and MM of FIG. It is NN sectional drawing of.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a first position position, (A) is a sectional view taken along line KK of FIG. 4, (B) is a sectional view taken along line LL and MM of FIG. 4, and (C) is a sectional view of FIG. It is NN sectional drawing of.

9 is a cross-sectional view showing a third position, (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line KK of FIG. 4, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line LL and MM of FIG. 4, and (c) is a cross-sectional view of FIG. It is NN sectional drawing of.

FIG. 10 is a damping characteristic diagram corresponding to a step position of a step motor in the shock absorber.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a damping characteristic with respect to a piston speed in a second position.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing a damping characteristic with respect to a piston speed in a first position.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing a damping characteristic with respect to a piston speed at a third position.

FIG. 14 is a time chart showing the operation of the initialization processing unit.

FIG. 15 is a time chart showing vehicle interior sound and vertical acceleration data of the electric motor at the time of initialization.

FIG. 16 is a time chart showing vehicle interior sound and vertical acceleration data of the electric motor during normal driving of the electric motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 a damping characteristic changing means b shock absorber c electric motor d stopper means e vehicle behavior detecting means f damping characteristic control part g control means h cell motor drive detecting means j initialization processing part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60G 17/00-17/08

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A shock absorber interposed between a vehicle body and wheels and capable of arbitrarily changing damping characteristics by damping characteristics changing means, an electric motor for rotating the damping characteristics changing means, and rotation of the electric motor Stopper means for restricting the vehicle at a predetermined position, vehicle behavior detecting means for detecting a factor relating to vehicle behavior, and damping characteristic control for optimally controlling the damping characteristic of the damping characteristic changing means based on an input from the vehicle behavior detecting means. Control means having a portion; a self-motor drive detection means for detecting driving of the self-motor; positioning provided in the control means for rotationally driving the electric motor to a stop position by the stopper means on condition that driving of the self-motor is started; A vehicle suspension device, comprising: an initialization processing unit that performs origin search based on a position.