JP5675281B2 - vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle that includes a vehicle body and a plurality of drive wheels, and each drive wheel is driven by an individual drive source, and more particularly, to a vehicle that includes a suspension device that is operated by a drive force.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle including a plurality of drive tires, in which a drive source is provided for each drive tire, is known. In such a vehicle, it is possible to rotate each drive tire independently.
Further, in the vehicle as described above, vibration from the road surface is absorbed by a suspension device (suspension device). As the suspension device, a passive suspension that passively absorbs vibration is generally used, but an active suspension device has been proposed as a mechanism that actively absorbs vibration (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-258628

  However, in order to actively absorb vibration with the suspension device, a drive source is required in addition to the drive device for driving the drive tire, and this is a factor that increases the cost of the vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle capable of operating each of a drive tire and a suspension using a single drive source.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.

The vehicle of the present invention includes a drive source, a drive wheel that can be rotated by a drive force output from the drive source, a suspension that is operated by a drive force output from the drive source, the drive source, and the drive wheel. Or a switching device that switches the connection with the suspension, the switching unit being provided on the drive source and the drive wheel and being connectable to the drive clutch plate. A suspension clutch plate provided on the suspension and connectable to the drive clutch plate is provided, and braking means capable of selectively braking each clutch plate is provided .

  In the present invention, it is possible to operate each of the drive wheels and the suspension using one drive source by switching the connection by the switching means as required.

  In the present invention, switching can be performed more smoothly by braking the drive clutch plate. Further, by braking the suspension clutch plate, semi-active control of vehicle body vibration can be performed.

  The vehicle of the present invention preferably includes a plurality of the traveling devices and a control unit that controls the switching means of each traveling device.

  In this invention, it becomes possible to perform control in which a plurality of traveling devices cooperate with each other using one control unit.

  In the vehicle of the present invention, it is preferable that the suspension is a crank mechanism including a rotating plate and a connecting rod that rotate in synchronization with the suspension clutch plate.

  In this invention, by connecting the drive source to the suspension clutch plate, the rotation of the suspension clutch plate can be converted in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the vertical movement of the vehicle can be transmitted to the drive source. It becomes.

  Moreover, in the vehicle of this invention, it is preferable that the said control part is controlled by the skyhook control based on the input signal of the acceleration sensor provided in the said vehicle.

  In this invention, it becomes possible to control the vibration of the vehicle more stably.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to operate each of the drive wheels and the suspension using one drive source.

1 is a side view of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of a traveling apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the motion of a switching means. 1 is a side view of an active suspension device for a vehicle. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system configuration of a vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of feedforward control. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the vehicle to which feedforward control is applied in order.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes six driving tires 3 (three driving tires 3 on one side are shown in FIG. 1) that can be controlled independently of the vehicle body 2. Each drive tire 3 is individually controlled by the traveling device 4 controlled by the control unit 21 shown in FIG. 5 and can be moved up and down independently. An acceleration sensor 5 is attached to the front end and top rear end of the vehicle body 2. The acceleration sensor 5 monitors the vertical vibration state of the vehicle body 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle body 2 is supported by the traveling device 4 and the drive tire 3 via a passive suspension device 6 and an active suspension device 7 (suspension). The active suspension device 7 cooperates with the control unit 21 (see FIG. 5) to reduce, for example, vibration of the vehicle body 2. The passive suspension device 6 is schematically shown by a spring and a damper, and any suspension system suspension device can be adopted.

The travel device 4 includes a motor 8 (drive source), a switching unit 23 including three clutch plates 10, 11, and 12, and a brake device 13 (braking unit) configured to be able to brake the clutch plates 10, 11, and 12. It consists of and. The clutch plates 10, 11, and 12 are a disc-shaped drive clutch plate 10 provided at the shaft end of the shaft 9 of the motor 8, and a disc-shaped tire clutch plate 11 provided so as to be connectable to the drive clutch plate 10. And the suspension clutch plate 12 of the disk-shaped active suspension device 7 provided so as to be connectable to the drive clutch plate 10. The motor 8 also has a function as a generator and includes an encoder 19 that can detect the rotational displacement amount of the shaft 9.
These components are attached to a chassis (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tire clutch plate 11 is provided at the shaft end of the tire shaft 15 of the drive tire 3 and is configured to drive the drive tire 3 by being connected to the drive clutch plate 10. Yes. The suspension clutch plate 12 is rotatably disposed between the motor 8 and the drive clutch plate 10, and the shaft 9 passes through the center thereof. The drive clutch plate 10 and the tire clutch plate 11 and the drive clutch plate 10 and the suspension clutch plate 12 are each configured as an electromagnetic clutch, for example.

  Specifically, of the drive clutch plate 10 and the tire clutch plate 11 constituting the traveling clutch portion 31, the tire clutch plate 11 is provided with an electromagnet 11a. The electromagnet 11a of the tire clutch plate 11 is fielded in accordance with the output from the traveling clutch control unit 32 shown in FIG. 5, thereby enabling the drive clutch 10 and the tire clutch plate 11 to be connected.

  Similarly, of the drive clutch plate 10 and the suspension clutch plate 12 constituting the suspension clutch portion 33, the suspension clutch plate 12 is provided with an electromagnet 12a. The electromagnet 12a of the suspension clutch plate 12 is fielded in accordance with the output from the suspension clutch control unit 34 shown in FIG. 5, thereby enabling the drive clutch 10 and the suspension clutch plate 12 to be connected.

  With the above configuration, the drive tire 3 can be driven by driving the motor 8 in a state where the drive clutch plate 10 is connected to the tire clutch plate 11. Further, the active suspension device 7 can be controlled by driving the motor 8 with the drive clutch plate 10 connected to the suspension clutch plate 12.

The brake device 13 is a drum type, a cylindrical drum 13a, a brake shoe 13b provided inside the drum 13a, and a position adjusting means 14 for adjusting the position of the drum 13a in the axial direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2). And a brake control unit 35 shown in FIG. The drum 13 a brakes the clutch plates 10, 11, and 12 by being pressed from the outside by, for example, a band (not shown) in accordance with the output from the brake control unit 35.
The position adjusting means 14 includes a slider 14a that supports the drum 13a so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and an actuator 14b (not shown) that can move the drum 13a along the slider 14a. The actuator 14b is a brake control unit. 35.
With the above configuration, the drive clutch plate 10, the tire clutch plate 11, and the suspension clutch plate 12 can be selectively braked by moving the drum 13a in the axial direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a connect pin 16 is provided near the outer periphery of the suspension clutch plate 12, and a connect pin 17 is also provided below the side surface of the vehicle body 2. The connecting pins 16 and 17 are connected by a connecting rod 18, and the suspension clutch plate 12 and the connecting rod 18 constitute a crank mechanism. As a result, the suspension clutch plate 12 rotates as the vehicle body 2 moves up and down. Alternatively, the distance between the vehicle body 2 and the suspension clutch plate 12, that is, the distance between the vehicle body 2 and the drive tire 3 can be changed by rotating the suspension clutch plate 12 by the motor 8.

Next, the system configuration of the control unit 21 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 21 is configured to be able to control a plurality of travel devices 4 (six travel devices 4 in the present embodiment). Each travel device 4 includes a motor control unit 30 that controls the motor 8, a travel clutch control unit 32 that controls the travel clutch unit 31, and a suspension clutch control unit 34 that controls the suspension clutch unit 33. And have.

The motor control unit 30 outputs a signal for rotating the motor 8, and can control the number of rotations of the motor 8 based on a signal from an encoder 19 provided in the motor 8. The signal of the encoder 19 is also output to the control unit 21 and can be used for other than the control of the motor 8.
The traveling clutch control unit 32 is a control unit that controls an output for fielding the electromagnet 11 a provided on the tire clutch plate 11, and the suspension clutch control unit 34 is an electromagnet provided on the suspension clutch plate 12. It is a control part which controls the output for fielding 12a.

The brake control unit 35 is a control unit that controls an output for operating the drum 13a and an output for operating the actuator 14b that moves the drum 13a in the axial direction.
Outputs of the acceleration sensors 5 and 5 provided in the vehicle body 2 are sent directly to the control 21. Each control unit is connected to a battery 22 for supplying power.

(Tire normal running)
According to the above embodiment, the driving tire 3 can be driven by connecting the driving clutch plate 10 to the tire clutch plate 11 in each traveling device 4 and transmitting the driving force of the motor 8 to the driving tire 3. Hereinafter, a state in which the traveling device 4 can drive the driving tire 3 is referred to as a tire driving state. Thereby, the vehicle 1 can be run. In the tire driving state, the vehicle body 2 is supported by a passive suspension device 6 provided corresponding to the traveling device 4. The brake device 13 is connected to the tire clutch plate 11, and the brake device 13 is operated in a state where the drum 13 a of the brake device 13 is in a position corresponding to the tire clutch plate 11, thereby braking the vehicle 1. Can do.
Further, the speed of the vehicle 1 can be calculated from the signal of the encoder 19 of the motor 8, and control such as keeping the speed of the vehicle 1 constant can be performed.

(Motor drive force switching)
According to the above-described embodiment, the single motor 8 enables the vehicle 1 to travel and the active suspension device 7 to operate.
Specifically, under the control of the control unit 21, the driving clutch plate 10 is connected to the tire clutch plate 11 by the traveling clutch control unit 32, whereby the driving force of the motor 8 is transmitted to the driving tire 3, The vehicle 1 obtains running power. In each traveling device 4, the active clutch device 7 can be operated by connecting the drive clutch plate 10 to the suspension clutch plate 12 by the suspension clutch control unit 34. Hereinafter, this state is referred to as an active suspension state.
Further, when the driving force of the motor 8 is switched, the brake control unit 35 uses the driving clutch plate 10 as the connection destination of the brake device 13 so that the rotational speed of the shaft 9 of the motor 8 becomes zero before the driving clutch. The plate 10 can be connected to the suspension clutch plate 12.

  For example, when the vehicle 1 starts, the driving clutch control unit 32 causes all the driving devices 4 to be in a tire driving state, thereby transmitting the driving force of the motor 8 to all the driving tires 3 and maximizing acceleration. You can gain power. When there is a margin in driving torque after starting, the suspension clutch control unit 34 causes the driving clutch of the motor 8 corresponding to the driving tire 3 having a margin in driving torque (for example, the driving tire 3 in the center in the front-rear direction). The plate 10 is connected to the suspension clutch plate 12, and the active suspension device 7 corresponding to the drive tire 3 can be operated. In addition, during inertia traveling such as traveling on a downhill road, the suspension clutch control unit 34 can operate the active suspension devices 7 corresponding to all the drive tires 3.

(Feed forward control)
According to the embodiment, when traveling on a road surface with a large protrusion, feedforward control as described below is particularly effective. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG.6 and FIG.7, the operation | movement of the vehicle at the time of feedforward control by this embodiment is demonstrated.
First, in the traveling vehicle 1, the encoder 19 of the foremost drive tire 3a is set in a monitoring state to monitor whether there is a large input to the vehicle body 1 (step S1). As shown in FIG. 7A, when the foremost driving tire 3 a in the active suspension state rides on the protrusion P, the driving tire 3 is pushed upward, and the suspension clutch plate 12 is driven by the crank mechanism of the actuator 15. Rotates. As a result, the encoder 19 is counted to detect the protrusion P. By transmitting this signal to the control unit 21, feedforward control is activated by the control unit 21 (step S2).

  Next, the control unit 21 calculates the time for the protrusion P to reach the subsequent drive tire 3 b from the traveling speed of the vehicle 1. The traveling speed can be calculated from the count of the encoder 19 of the traveling device 4 in the tire driving state (step S3).

  Next, the traveling device 4 corresponding to the driving tire 3b is switched from the driving state to the active suspension state. That is, the traveling clutch control unit 32 corresponding to the drive tire 3b stops the supply of electric power to the electromagnet 11a so that the magnetic force of the electromagnet 11a of the tire clutch plate 11 is zero. Next, the rotational speed of the drive clutch plate 10 is made zero. At this time, if the speed needs to be suddenly reduced to zero, the brake controller 35 operates the drum 13a and the actuator 14b of the position adjusting means 14. Next, the suspension clutch control unit 34 supplies power to the electromagnet 12a so as to field the electromagnet 12a of the suspension clutch plate 12, and connects the drive clutch plate 10 and the suspension clutch plate 12. As a result, the drive tire 3b is brought into the active suspension state (step S4).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the control unit 21 moves the drive tire 3b upward before the protrusion P reaches the drive tire 3b based on the arrival time calculated in step S2. Next, after passing through the protrusion P, the drive tire 3b is moved downward. Specifically, in the active suspension state, the drive tire 3b is moved by operating the active suspension device 7 by rotating the suspension clutch plate 12 by driving the motor 8 by the motor control unit 35 (step S5). .

Next, the traveling device 4 corresponding to the driving tire 3b is switched from the active suspension state to the driving state. Specifically, the suspension clutch control unit 34 corresponding to the drive tire 3b stops the supply of electric power to the electromagnet 12a so that the magnetic force of the electromagnet 12a of the suspension clutch plate 12 becomes zero. Next, the traveling clutch control unit 32 supplies electric power to the electromagnet 11 a so as to field the electromagnet 11 a of the tire clutch plate 11, and connects the drive clutch plate 10 and the tire clutch plate 11. When connecting the drive clutch plate 10 to the tire clutch plate 11, the rotational speed of the motor 8 is adjusted to a rotational speed corresponding to the traveling speed of the vehicle 1 (step S6).

Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 7C, control is performed so that the rearmost drive tire 3c gets over the protrusion P. Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (d), only the foremost drive tire 3 a is brought into an active suspension state and provided on the protrusion P.
By performing the control as described above, the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment can efficiently get over the protrusion P.

(Active control of body vibration)
The control law of the active suspension device 7 is based on the skyhook control theory. Specifically, the motor 8 is driven based on the signal from the acceleration sensor 5 to control the movement of the actuator 15. It is also possible to calculate the vertical stroke speed of the vehicle body 2 from the count of the encoder 19 of the traveling device 4 in the active suspension state, and to perform control based on this information. In the skyhook control, it is also possible to perform control (frequency shaping) through a filter so as to exert an effect only on a specific frequency (vehicle body specific value).

(Semi-active control of body vibration)
In addition, when the driving torque is not sufficient, for example, when traveling on rough terrain, the vehicle body vibration can be semi-actively controlled using the brake device 13. Specifically, in accordance with a command from the traveling clutch control unit 32, a frictional force that brakes the rotation of the suspension clutch plate 12 using the brake device 13 while the drive clutch plate 10 is connected to the tire clutch plate 11 is applied. Semi-active control is performed by controlling.

(Energy regeneration)
In the active suspension state, energy can be regenerated from the vibration of the vehicle body 2 to the battery 22 via the motor 8. Specifically, when vibration is generated in the vehicle body 2 as the driving tire 3 in the active suspension state passes through the unevenness, the suspension clutch plate 12 is rotated by the crank mechanism of the actuator 15. Electric power can be stored in the battery 22 by converting the kinetic energy generated by the rotation into electric energy and collecting it.
Further, in the tire driving state, it is possible to function as a so-called regenerative brake in which electric power is stored in the battery 22 by converting the thermal energy generated during braking using the brake device 13 into electric energy and collecting it. .

(Stabilization of vehicle body when stopped)
According to the present embodiment, when the vehicle 1 is stopped, for example, when a crane (hoist) is mounted on the upper surface of the vehicle 1 and an operation such as lifting is performed, all driving is performed according to a command from the suspension clutch control unit 34. The tire 3 is in an active suspension state. Thereby, the attitude | position of the vehicle 1 at the time of operation can be stabilized. Further, energy regeneration can be performed by rotating the actuator 15 by the movement of the vehicle body 1. Further, for example, for sudden swings caused by strong winds, the suspension clutch plate 12 is braked using the brake device 13 to reduce the change in posture.

In the present embodiment, the number of drive tires 3 of the vehicle 1 is six. However, the number is not limited to this, and the number of drive tires 3 can be changed according to the assumed road surface condition.
In the present embodiment, the active suspension device 7 is configured as a crank mechanism including the suspension clutch plate 12 and the connecting rod 18 connected to the suspension clutch plate 12, but is synchronized with the suspension clutch plate 12. A rotating plate that can be rotated is separately provided, and a connecting rod is connected to the rotating plate to form a crank mechanism.

In this embodiment, the control is performed based on the skyhook control theory. For example, various control theories such as modern control and robust control such as H∞ control are also included in the constraints of the hardware constituting the vehicle 1. Is applicable.
In the present embodiment, an electric motor is used as the driving device, but power such as an internal combustion engine can also be used. However, in this case, the energy regeneration function cannot be used.

1: Vehicle, 3: Drive tire (drive wheel), 4: Traveling device, 5: Acceleration sensor, 7: Active suspension device (suspension), 8: Motor (drive source), 10: Drive clutch plate, 11: Tire clutch Plate, 12: suspension clutch plate, 13: brake device (braking means), 18: connecting rod, 21: control unit, 23: switching means

Claims (4)

A driving source;
A drive wheel rotatable by a driving force output from the drive source;
A suspension that operates by driving force output from the driving source;
A travel device having the drive source and switching means for switching connection between the drive wheel or the suspension ;
The switching means is
A drive clutch plate provided in the drive source;
A tire clutch plate provided on the drive wheel and connectable to the drive clutch plate;
A suspension clutch plate provided on the suspension and connectable to the drive clutch plate;
A vehicle comprising braking means capable of selectively braking each clutch plate . The vehicle according to claim 1 ,
The vehicle, wherein the suspension is a crank mechanism including a rotating plate and a connecting rod that rotate in synchronization with the suspension clutch plate . The vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
With a plurality of the traveling devices,
A vehicle comprising a control unit that controls the switching means of each traveling device . The vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein
The vehicle, wherein the control unit is controlled by skyhook control based on an input signal of an acceleration sensor provided in the vehicle.

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