JP5846087B2 - vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle including left and right front wheels and one rear wheel.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-103535 (Patent Document 1) describes an example in which an engine, a motor / generator, and a transmission are appropriately arranged in a hybrid vehicle in order to easily balance the weight of the vehicle. .

JP 2006-103535 A

  In recent years, the value of small vehicles has been reconsidered for short-distance shopping and the like from the viewpoint of efficient energy consumption. There is a three-wheeled vehicle as such a small vehicle. A three-wheeled vehicle has a small vehicle size and a small storage space. Such tricycles are also used for hobbies.

  Similarly, hybrid vehicles equipped with an engine and a motor to improve fuel efficiency are also increasing from the viewpoint of improving energy consumption efficiency.

  However, a three-wheeled vehicle has a problem that traveling stability is lower than that of a four-wheeled vehicle. In particular, a small three-wheeled vehicle may impose restrictions on the overall length and width, and it is difficult to employ a structure that stabilizes traveling.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a three-wheeled vehicle with improved running stability.

  In summary, the present invention is a vehicle, which is a left front wheel and a right front wheel disposed on the front side in the vehicle traveling direction, and is disposed on the rear side in the vehicle traveling direction with respect to the left front wheel and the right front wheel. And one rear wheel wider than the other. The rear wheel includes two tires that rotate together.

  Preferably, the vehicle is a hybrid vehicle. The vehicle further includes a motor, an engine, an inverter that drives the motor, and a battery that supplies electric power to the inverter. In the vehicle plan view, the motor and the engine are arranged side by side in the vehicle left-right direction, and the motor is arranged closer to one side and the engine is arranged closer to the other side in the vehicle left-right direction with respect to the center of gravity of the vehicle. Further, in the vehicle plan view, the battery is disposed diagonally with the motor with respect to the center of gravity of the vehicle, and the inverter is disposed diagonally with the engine with respect to the center of gravity of the vehicle.

  According to the present invention, a three-wheeled vehicle with improved running stability can be realized.

It is a side view of the vehicle of this Embodiment. It is a top view of the vehicle of this Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing mounting positions of a battery, an inverter, a motor, and an engine of the vehicle 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing mounting positions of a battery, an inverter, a motor, and an engine of the vehicle 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the arrangement of elements in the plan view of FIG. 4 and the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle. It is a side view for demonstrating the position of the fuel tank in a vehicle. It is a top view for demonstrating the position of the fuel tank in a vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the position of the vehicle gravity center in the state in which the fuel quantity is more than half in a tank. It is a figure for demonstrating the position of the vehicle gravity center in the state in which a fuel quantity is less than half in a tank.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts, and description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a side view of the vehicle according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle 1 is disposed on the rear side with respect to the vehicle traveling direction with respect to the left front wheel 2L and the right front wheel 2R disposed on the front side in the vehicle traveling direction, and on the vehicle traveling direction with respect to the left front wheel 2L and the right front wheel 2R. And one rear wheel 4 that is wider than one of the left front wheel 2L and the right front wheel 2R. The rear wheel 4 includes two tires 4L and 4R that rotate integrally.

  The vehicle 1 is a three-wheeled vehicle. For example, it is preferable that the left front wheel 2L and the right front wheel 2R are steering wheels and the rear wheel 4 is a driving wheel.

  The vehicle 1 further includes an operation handle 6 for steering, a driver seat 8, a driver protection safety frame 10, and a body 12. In the case of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the region 14 is a driver space, and the region 16 is a drive unit space. In the case of a hybrid vehicle, the drive unit includes an engine and a motor.

  In the three-wheeled motor vehicle as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there are cases where restrictions are imposed on the total length W3 and the total width W4 depending on legal divisions. If the total length W3 and the total width W4 are not so limited, the stability can be increased by increasing the distance between the front wheels, the distance between the front and rear wheels, the size W1 of the front wheels, and the size W2 of the rear wheels.

  However, when restrictions are imposed on the total length W3 and the total width W4, it is necessary to devise in order to improve the running stability.

  FIG. 2 shows the center of gravity position G of the vehicle. The center-of-gravity position G moves due to acceleration / deceleration and turning. For example, the deviation of the fuel in the fuel tank and the change in the posture of the driver contribute to the movement of the gravity center position G.

  In FIG. 2, when a single tire having the same width as the front wheel 2L or 2R is used for the rear wheel 4, the allowable line for movement of the center of gravity is the line BS. If the center of gravity is inside the allowable line, the vehicle is stable. However, if the center of gravity moves outside the allowable line, the vehicle becomes unstable. In line BS, there is not much room for movement of the center of gravity. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a double tire is adopted in which two tires are joined to the rear wheel 4 to form a single wheel. By employing a double tire, the width of the rear wheel 4 can be made wider than the width of one of the front wheels 2L, 2R. If a double tire is used for the rear wheel 4, the allowable line for the movement of the center of gravity is the line BW. The line BW extends outward from the line BS in the left-right direction of the vehicle. That is, the allowable amount is increased for the movement of the center of gravity.

  By using a small-diameter tire, it becomes possible to satisfy the restriction on the overall length while securing a driver space and a drive unit mounting space. Furthermore, since the tire width is limited for small-diameter tires, the rear wheels are double tires. Thereby, it is possible to secure a margin in the width direction with respect to the movement of the center of gravity at the time of turning and make it difficult to fall over.

  In addition, by using a double tire to widen the width of the rear wheel, the same rear tire can be used as the front tire, which is convenient when a spare tire is prepared.

[Examination of layout of drive unit components]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing mounting positions of the battery, the inverter, the motor, and the engine of the vehicle 1. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the mounting positions of the battery, the inverter, the motor, and the engine of the vehicle 1.

  Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, vehicle 1 is a so-called hybrid vehicle. Vehicle 1 further includes a motor M, an engine E, an inverter INV that drives motor M, and a battery BAT that supplies electric power to inverter INV. In FIG. 3, an arrow D is shown as the traveling direction of the vehicle.

  In the vehicle plan view of FIG. 4, the motor M and the engine E are arranged side by side in the vehicle left-right direction (vehicle width direction). With respect to the center of gravity position G of the vehicle, the motor M is disposed closer to one side and the engine E is disposed closer to the other side in the lateral direction of the vehicle. Further, in the vehicle plan view, the battery BAT is disposed diagonally with the motor M with respect to the center of gravity G of the vehicle, and the inverter INV is disposed diagonally with the engine E with respect to the center of gravity G of the vehicle 1. .

  The motor M may be a single motor generator, but may include two motor generators, a motor generator that mainly functions as a motor and a motor generator that mainly functions as a generator. The battery BAT includes a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, or a lead battery. The battery BAT may include a storage element such as a capacitor instead of or in addition to these secondary batteries. The inverter INV may include a boost converter that boosts the voltage of the battery BAT and supplies the boosted voltage to the inverter in addition to the inverter for driving the motor M.

  When the weights of the motor M, battery BAT, engine E, and inverter INV are g (M), g (BAT), g (E), and g (INV), respectively, in a small vehicle, the following formula (1) or (2) In many cases, the relationship is as follows.

g (M)> g (BAT)> g (E)> g (INV) (1)
g (M)> g (E)> g (BAT)> g (INV) (2)
Since there is a difference in weight between the motor M and the engine E, the weight balance is likely to deteriorate in a small vehicle in which the weight of the drive unit occupies the total weight, which may lead to a decrease in exercise performance and stability. . For this reason, it is necessary to fully consider the arrangement of each element.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the arrangement of each element in the plan view of FIG. 4 and the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle. In FIG. 5, an axis X passing through the vehicle center of gravity position G along the left-right direction of the vehicle and an axis Y passing through the vehicle center-of-gravity position G and along the front-rear direction of the vehicle are described for reference.

  By the axes X and Y, the vehicle is divided into a region Q1 (first quadrant), a region Q2 (second quadrant), a region Q3 (third quadrant), and a region Q4 (fourth quadrant) in the vehicle plan view.

  In the vehicle plan view, the motor M and the engine E are arranged side by side in the vehicle left-right direction. With respect to the center of gravity position G of the vehicle, the motor M is arranged on the left side and the engine E is arranged on the right side in the left-right direction of the vehicle. Furthermore, in the vehicle plan view, the battery BAT is disposed in the region Q1, and the motor M is disposed in the region Q3 that is diagonal to the region Q1 and the center of gravity G of the vehicle. Inverter INV is disposed in region Q4, and engine E is disposed in region Q2 that is diagonal to region Q4 and center of gravity G.

  The motor M partially protrudes into the region Q2, but the center of gravity G3 of the motor M is in the region Q3. Therefore, the arrangement of the motor M may be shifted within a range where the position of the center of gravity G3 is within the region Q3. The same can be said for other elements. That is, the arrangement of the engine E may be shifted within a range where the center of gravity G2 is within the region Q2. Further, the arrangement of the battery BAT may be shifted within a range where the center of gravity G1 is within the region Q1. Furthermore, the arrangement of the inverter INV may be shifted within a range where the center of gravity G4 is within the region Q4.

  Note that the battery BAT, the engine E, the motor M, and the inverter INV may be arranged at positions that are line-symmetric (mirror images) with respect to the axis Y.

  As described above, the battery BAT is disposed at a diagonal position with respect to the motor M, which is heavy in the drive unit, with the vehicle gravity center (or vehicle center) interposed therebetween. Further, the inverter INV is arranged at a diagonal position with respect to the engine E across the vehicle center of gravity (or the vehicle center). By adopting such an arrangement, the weight balance of the front, rear, left and right vehicles approaches uniformly, and the stability of the vehicle is further improved.

[Examination of fuel tank position]
FIG. 6 is a side view for explaining the position of the fuel tank in the vehicle. FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining the position of the fuel tank in the vehicle. In a small three-wheeled vehicle having one rear wheel, two front wheels and a rear wheel drive, it is preferable to devise the position of the fuel tank in order to achieve both acceleration performance and vehicle stability.

  Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, vehicle 1 preferably further includes a fuel tank T. The fuel tank T is arranged such that the center of the fuel tank T is located in front of the center of gravity G of the vehicle in the vehicle plan view of FIG. 6 and the vehicle side view of FIG. Further, the fuel tank T is arranged so that the center of the fuel tank is positioned below the center of gravity position G of the vehicle in a side view of the vehicle in FIG. Note that the center-of-gravity position G shown in FIG. 6 is the vehicle center-of-gravity position when the amount of fuel in the tank is half.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle when the fuel amount is more than half of the tank. As shown in FIG. 8, the center of gravity position G1 in a state where the fuel amount is more than half as compared to the center of gravity position G when the fuel amount is half moves forward and downward in a side view of the vehicle.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle when the fuel amount is less than half of the tank. As shown in FIG. 9, the center of gravity position G2 in a state where the fuel amount is less than half compared to the center of gravity position G when the fuel amount is half moves forward and downward in a vehicle side view.

  Therefore, if the fuel tank T is arranged at the position shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, it can be used with a large amount of fuel (maintaining more than half) during normal running and long-distance running. The center of gravity becomes forward and low, and the running stability of the vehicle is improved.

  In addition, when acceleration driving is preferred (for example, racing), the center of gravity is moved backward while reducing the overall weight by using it with less fuel (less than half). Can do. Therefore, when reducing the overall weight, the load on the rear wheel, which is the drive wheel, is less likely to be reduced than that on the front wheel, so that idling of the drive wheel can be avoided.

  That is, if the position of the fuel tank T is devised, the user can use the vehicle in a state in which the fuel in the fuel tank is low during the race to improve the power performance by using the vehicle.

  Preferably, an indication such as a race suitable fuel range may be attached to a portion less than half of the meter indicating the fuel amount.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  1 vehicle, 2L left front wheel, 2R right front wheel, 4 rear wheel, 4L, 4R tire, 6 operation handle, 8 driver seat, 10 driver protection safety frame, 12 body, BAT battery, E engine, INV inverter, M motor , T Fuel tank.

Claims (1)

A hybrid vehicle,
A left front wheel and a right front wheel arranged on the front side in the vehicle traveling direction;
A rear wheel disposed on the rear side in the vehicle traveling direction with respect to the left front wheel and the right front wheel, and having a width wider than one of the left front wheel and the right front wheel;
The rear wheel is viewed including the two tires rotate integrally,
A motor,
Engine,
An inverter for driving the motor;
A battery for supplying power to the inverter;
In the vehicle plan view, the motor and the engine are arranged side by side in the vehicle left-right direction, and the motor is arranged closer to one side in the vehicle left-right direction with respect to the center of gravity of the vehicle, and the engine is closer to the other side. Arranged,
In the vehicle plan view, the battery is disposed diagonally with the motor with respect to the center of gravity of the vehicle, and the inverter is disposed diagonally with the engine with respect to the center of gravity of the vehicle.

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