JP3094575B2 - Movable spats for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a movable spats for a vehicle which affects the air resistance of the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventionally known tire cover device, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-99173, a tire cover for adjusting airflow before and after a tire is mounted on a vehicle body so as to be able to move up and down. An actuator for raising the tire cover is attached, and a control circuit for operating the actuator in response to a signal from the sensor is connected to the actuator. However, the detailed mechanism of the tire cover device is not always clear, and
Its practicality was not clear at all.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the performance of a vehicle by disposing or removing spats immediately before the left and right wheels when the vehicle is running at high speed.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a movable spats for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a spat disposed in front of a front wheel of a vehicle, displacing the spats and positioning the spats immediately in front of the front wheel. A driving mechanism for removing the vehicle from a position, a turning sensor for detecting a turning degree of the vehicle, and a control device for the driving mechanism, wherein the control device operates the driving mechanism when the turning sensor detects a turning state of the vehicle. When the turning degree is large, the spats are located immediately before the front wheel on the same side as the turning direction, and when the turning degree is small, the spats are located immediately before the front wheel on the opposite side to the turning direction.

[0005]

That is, in the movable spats for a vehicle according to the present invention, when the turning sensor detects the turning state of the vehicle, the drive mechanism is operated by the control device. By locating the spats immediately before the front wheels, the pressure increase in front of the front wheels is suppressed and the lift on the front wheels side is reduced, so that an aerodynamic rolling moment directed inward in the turning direction is generated, and the tire contact force of the vehicle is reduced. Also, when the turning degree is small, the spats are located immediately before the front wheel on the opposite side to the turning direction, thereby suppressing an increase in pressure in front of the front wheel on the opposite side and reducing the resistance to the front wheel. Therefore, the generation of an aerodynamic yawing moment for turning the vehicle in the above turning direction is promoted, and the yawing control of the vehicle is performed. It can be.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be specifically described below. 1 and 2, flat spats 5 guided vertically by flat cylindrical guides 4 fixed to the vehicle body are provided behind a front bumper 2 of a vehicle 1 and in front of left and right front wheels 3. A geared wire 6 having a lower end fixed to the left and right upper ends of the spats 5 extends in an L-shape through a cylindrical guide (not shown), and engages with the upper and lower gears 8 driven by the motor 7, respectively. The spats 5 are retracted or pulled out according to the rotation direction of the gear 8, and the spats 5 are vertically displaced as shown by the arrow, and the spats 5 are removed from the position immediately before the front wheel 3 and stored, or the spats 5 are positioned just before the front wheel 3. By eliminating the airflow hitting the front wheels 3 when the vehicle is running, the front wheels 3
It is possible to suppress an increase in pressure in front, and reduce air resistance and lift on the vehicle. The spats 5 are held and guided by the guides 4, so that the spats 5 can withstand the wind pressure received during the traveling of the vehicle and maintain a predetermined vertical position. In this case, since the spats 5 are flat and only displaced up and down, the storage space may be small, and therefore, the installation of these devices is relatively easy.

Next, the operation control of the spats 5 by the motor 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First,
The control operation is started from step 10 in a state where the spats 5 are raised from the position immediately before the front wheel 3 and stored, and in the next step 11, the vehicle speed value detected by the vehicle speed sensor is larger than a certain speed V1, for example, 80 km / H. It is checked whether or not V1 has been reached, and the process returns to step 10, where the spats 5 are kept in the raised state and do not perform any aerodynamic action on the front wheels 3. When the vehicle speed is higher than V1, the process proceeds to step 12. When it is determined that the value of the left and right G of the vehicle body detected by the left and right G sensors does not reach the constant acceleration α1, and the vehicle is determined to be in a straight traveling state, the lift control routine is executed. It moves to step 13 of A.

In step 13, when the value of the vertical G of the vehicle detected by the vertical G sensor is larger than a predetermined acceleration β, it is determined that there is unevenness on the road surface, and the process returns to step 10.
Although the lift control is not performed, if the value of the upper and lower G does not reach β, it is determined that the road surface is good and the process proceeds to step 14, where the gear 8 is driven by the motor 7 and the geared wire 6 is driven.
And the spats 5 are lowered just before the front wheels 3 to reduce the air resistance and lift of the vehicle, so that the high-speed straight running performance of the vehicle is improved. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 15, and when the vehicle speed is lower than the speed V1, for example, higher than 50 km / H, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a high speed, and the process returns to step 13, but the vehicle speed does not reach the speed V2. The motor 8 drives the gear 8 in reverse, pulls in the geared wire 6, and the spats 5 immediately before the front wheels 3
And lift control is stopped.

In step 12, when it is determined that the value of the left and right G of the vehicle body is larger than the acceleration α1, and it is determined that the vehicle is in a turning state, the process proceeds to step 16, where the value of the left and right G of the vehicle body is a constant value larger than the acceleration α1. If the acceleration α2 has not been reached, it is determined that the vehicle is within the range of its turning performance, and the routine proceeds to step 17 of the yawing control routine B.

In step 17, the sign of the left and right G values is checked. If the result is positive, that is, if it is determined that the vehicle is turning right, the process proceeds to step 18, in which only the motor 7 on the left front wheel 3 operates the gear 8. When driven, the geared wire 6 is pulled out, the spats 5 descend immediately before the left front wheel 3, and the air resistance on the left side of the vehicle decreases from the right side of the vehicle. As a result, an aerodynamic yawing moment for turning the vehicle to the right is generated. The turning performance will be improved accordingly.

If it is determined in step 17 that the left and right G values are negative, that is, if the vehicle is turning left, the process proceeds to step 19, where only the motor 7 on the right front wheel 3 drives the gear 8 to pull out the geared wire 6. As a result, the spats 5 descend immediately before the right front wheel 3 and the air resistance on the right side of the vehicle decreases from that on the left side of the vehicle. As a result, an aerodynamic yawing moment that causes the vehicle to make a left turn is generated. Performance will be improved accordingly.

In the next step 20, the left and right G
Is smaller than the constant acceleration α3, which is smaller than the acceleration α1, it is determined that the vehicle has returned from the turning state to the straight traveling state, and the process returns to step S10. 6, the spats 5 immediately before the left or right front wheel 3 are raised, and the yawing control is stopped.

If it is determined in step 20 that the value of the left and right G is greater than the acceleration α3, the next step 2
If the vehicle speed has not decreased to the speed V2, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a high speed, and the routine proceeds to step 20.
However, if the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the speed V2, it is determined that the vehicle has deviated from the high-speed traveling, and the process returns to step 10, where the yawing control is stopped in the same manner as described above.

In step 16, when the value of the left and right G of the vehicle body is larger than the acceleration α2, it is determined that the vehicle has reached or exceeded the limit of the turning performance, and the process proceeds to step 22 of the rolling control routine C. .
In step 22, it is checked whether the value of the left and right G is positive, that is, when it is determined that the vehicle is turning right, the process proceeds to step 23, in which only the motor 7 on the right front wheel 3 drives the gear 8, and When the geared wire 6 is pulled out, the spats 5 are lowered immediately before the right front wheel 3 and the lift on the right side of the vehicle is reduced from that on the left side of the vehicle, and the lifting of the right side of the vehicle is suppressed. An aerodynamic rolling moment acting on the right side opposite to the rolling moment is generated, and the rolling of the vehicle is adjusted to increase the tire contact force, so that the driving performance of the vehicle can be improved accordingly.

If it is determined in step 22 that the value of the left and right G is negative, that is, if it is determined that the vehicle is turning left, the process proceeds to step 24, where only the motor 7 on the left front wheel 3 drives the gear 8 to pull out the geared wire 6. As a result, the spats 5 descend immediately before the left front wheel 3, and the lift on the left side of the vehicle is reduced from that on the right side of the vehicle.
An aerodynamic rolling moment acting on the left side is generated, and the driving performance of the vehicle with respect to rolling can be improved accordingly, as in the case described above.

In the next step 25, the left and right G
Is smaller than the constant acceleration α4 which is larger than the acceleration α1 and smaller than the constant acceleration α2, it is determined that the vehicle has returned from the turning state to the straight-ahead state, and the process returns to the step S10. 8 is driven in reverse, pulls in the geared wire 6, raises the spats 5 immediately before the left or right front wheel 3, and stops the rolling control, or returns to step 12 or step 16 by bypass, and performs the same control as described above. Will be

If it is determined in step 25 that the value of the left and right G is greater than the acceleration α4, the next step 26
If the vehicle speed does not decrease to the speed V2, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at high speed, and the process returns to step 25. If the vehicle speed is lower than the speed V2, the vehicle deviates from the high speed traveling. Then, the process returns to step 10, and the rolling control is stopped in the same manner as described above, or the process returns to step 12 or step 16 by bypassing.

As described above, the vehicle speed, the value of the left and right G of the vehicle body and the value of the up and down G of the vehicle body are detected, and the motor 8 on the right side, left side, or both sides of the vehicle is used in accordance with the magnitude of these.
Is appropriately driven to pull out or pull in the geared wire 6 to lower or raise the spats 5 immediately in front of the front wheels 3 on the right, left, or both sides of the vehicle, thereby improving the straight running performance and turning performance during high-speed running of the vehicle. be able to.

In the above embodiment, the distinction between the straight running and the turning running of the vehicle is made based on the magnitude of the left and right G of the vehicle body detected by the left and right G sensors. By appropriately adding a physical quantity such as a yaw rate as a signal, it is also easy to predict the turning direction, speed, size, etc., and to perform post-control more quickly and / or accurately. Needless to say, at the time of the above-mentioned lift control, it is also easy to prevent hunting from occurring in the determination of the road surface unevenness by appropriately providing hysteresis in the magnitude determination of the vertical G of the vehicle body detected by the vertical G sensor. Can be done.

The values of V1 and / or V2 or the values of α1 to α4 can be changed at any time according to the characteristics and / or characteristics of the vehicle equipped with these devices and the preference of the vehicle driver. You can do it. Further, the spats 5 are rotatably disposed on the front-rear axis in front of the front wheels of the vehicle, and are appropriately positioned immediately before one or both of the left and right front wheels by the drive of the motor 7, or are removed from the positions. Control similar to the above can also be performed.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the spats 5 shown in FIG. 1. The front edges of the spats 30 each having a wedge-shaped cross section are swingable to the vehicle body by hinges 31 in front of the left and right front wheels behind the front bumper of the vehicle. A geared wire 6 which is supported and has a lower end fixed to the rear end left and right of the spats 30 extends in an L-shape through a cylindrical guide (not shown), and engages with the upper and lower gears 8 driven by the motor 7, respectively. The spats 30 are pulled or pulled out according to the rotation direction of the gear 8, and the spats 30 are swung up and down as shown by the arrows to remove the spats 30 from the position immediately in front of the front wheel or to position the spats 30 in front of the front wheel. By eliminating the airflow that hits the front wheels when the vehicle is running, the pressure increase in front of the front wheels is suppressed, and the air resistance and lift on the vehicle are reduced. Door can be.

FIG. 5 shows a modified example of the driving mechanism of the spats 30 in FIG. 4. The lower end of the strut 32 is pivotally supported on the upper surface of the spats 30, and the gear 8 driven to rotate by the motor 7 is mounted on the rack of the strut 32. Meshing,
By moving the strut 32 up and down, the spats 30 can be swung up and down as shown by the arrows.

FIG. 6 shows another modification of the driving mechanism for the spats 30. The disk 3 is rotated by a motor 7.
The other ends of the link 34 whose one end is pivotally supported at 3 and the link 35 whose one end is connected to the rear upper end of the spats 30 are pivotally connected, and the discs 33 are rotated to rotate the spats 30 as shown by arrows. It can be swung up and down, and in any of the modified examples, the same control as described above can be performed, and the same effect can be obtained.

[0024]

In the movable spats for a vehicle according to the present invention, when the turning sensor detects the turning state of the vehicle, the drive mechanism is operated by the control device, and the same side as the turning direction or the turning direction according to the degree of turning. By positioning the spats immediately before the opposite front wheel, the magnitude of the lift and air resistance of the vehicle during turning of the vehicle can be controlled, and the posture holding and turning performance of the vehicle can be easily improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main part in still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part in still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Front Wheel 5 Spats 6 Geared Wire 7 Motor 8 Gear 30 Spats 31 Hinge 32 Strut 33 Disk 34 Link 35 Link

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-145180 (JP, A) JP-A-3-132482 (JP, A) JP-A-3-128779 (JP, A) 60183 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62D 37/02 B62D 35/00-35/02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. Spats arranged in front of a front wheel of a vehicle.
A drive mechanism for displacing the spats to be positioned immediately before the front wheel or removing the position from the front wheel, a turning sensor for detecting a turning degree of the vehicle, and a control device for the driving mechanism, wherein the turning sensor controls a turning state of the vehicle. When it is detected, the control device operates the drive mechanism, and when the turning degree is large, immediately before the front wheel on the same side as the turning direction, and when the turning degree is small, immediately before the front wheel on the opposite side to the turning direction. And a movable spat for a vehicle configured to position the above spats.