JPH01269615A - Four-wheel drive vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To extend a drive shaft in equal length in the right and left parts by arranging an engine and a differential at the center in the width direction of a car body and connecting a propeller shaft supplied from a transfer with the differential, averting an oil pan. CONSTITUTION:The engine 4 of a power plant 3 is arranged in the longitudinally placed state so that the output shaft is set parallel to the longitudinal direction of a vehicle. Front and rear propeller shafts 8 and 9 are extended in the longitudinal direction from a transfer 6. In this case, the engine 4 is arranged at the center so that the center in the axial direction coincides with the center line C in the width direction of a car body 2. Further, a differential 11 for rear wheel is arranged, offset behind the car body from the rear edge part of the engine, in the lower part at the rear edge of the engine 4. Further, the rear propeller shaft 9 for connecting the transfer 6 and the differential 11 for rear wheel is arranged so as to avoid the interference with an oil pan 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a four-wheel drive vehicle that drives both front and rear wheels simultaneously.
In particular, it concerns the arrangement structure of the power plant and differential.

(Prior art) Conventionally, as an example of a four-wheel drive vehicle, the Jitsukai Showa B Low 11
985 [As shown in Publication No. 1, a power plant for a horizontally mounted front-wheel drive vehicle is placed between the front and rear axles near the rear axle, and the differential that is to be the front differential is used as a so-called center differential to connect each axle. A midship type (more specifically, a midship type) has been proposed in which the midship type is placed vertically so that it extends in the front-rear direction.

According to this product, by reusing a horizontally mounted power plant, it is possible to easily carry out midshipping without creating a new power plant, and by using the differential for the front differential as it is as a center differential, without requiring a special center differential. A type of 4-wheel drive vehicle can be configured.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) For example, in a four-wheel drive vehicle that is equipped with an adjustable vehicle height so that the vehicle height can be changed between on-road and off-road,
Making the length of the drive shaft from the front and rear differentials to each wheel as long as possible reduces the amount of shaft angular displacement in response to changes in vehicle height, and prevents changes in alignment such as camber. Benefits include less.

However, the layout of a four-wheel drive power plant as described above is complicated by various factors such as the arrangement of the power plant and differential, and the relationship with the cabin space. For example, if the differential is located to one side of the vehicle's width center due to reasons such as this, one of the drive shafts will be shortened, and for vehicles with a large amount of vehicle height displacement, the amount of shaft angular displacement will be reduced. This increases the load on the constant velocity joint, which causes problems with durability, causes vibration and noise, and causes uneven weight balance, which is disadvantageous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a four-wheel drive vehicle in which the drive shafts are formed to have the same length on the left and right sides and to be as long as possible due to the layout of the power plant and differential.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the four-wheel drive vehicle of the present invention has the engine of the power plant disposed vertically with respect to the vehicle body at approximately the center in the width direction of the vehicle body. One differential for the rear wheels or front wheels on the side closest to the engine is offset from the end of the engine to the end of the vehicle body and placed in the center of the vehicle width direction, and this one differential is located below the concave part of the oil pan of the engine. and a propeller shaft from the transfer is connected through the side.

(Function) In the above-mentioned four-wheel drive vehicle, the engine is placed vertically in the approximate center of the width of the car body, and one differential on the side closer to the engine is placed offset from the end of the engine toward the end of the car body. The propeller shaft is connected to one of the differentials from the transfer through the bottom and side of the recess of the oil pan, and the length of the drive shaft that connects the differential to the left and right wheels is They are formed to be symmetrical, have the same length, and are as long as possible to reduce the amount of axial angular displacement.

(Example) The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a planar arrangement structure of a power plant at the rear of a four-wheel drive vehicle according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 shows a rear arrangement structure thereof, and FIG. 3 shows a side arrangement structure thereof.

A power plant 3 is mounted on the rear part of a vehicle body 2 of a four-wheel drive vehicle 1 (the upper side in FIG. 1 is the front of the vehicle body).

This power plant 3 includes an engine 4, a transmission 5 that reduces the output of the engine 4, and a transfer 6 that has a center differential that divides the output between front wheels and rear wheels. This power plant 3 has the same configuration as a horizontally installed type of FF vehicle, and is arranged vertically.

That is, the engine 4 of the power plant 3 is arranged vertically so that its output shaft is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the transmission 5 is arranged vertically in the front of the engine 4. A transfer 6 is disposed on the side, and front and rear propeller shafts 8 and 9 are connected to joints 8a and 9a in the longitudinal direction from the transfer 6.
It is extended through. Further, the engine 4 is arranged approximately at the center so that its axial center coincides with the widthwise center line C of the vehicle body 2, and the rear propeller shaft 9 from the transfer 6 is connected at the bottom of the engine 4. This is a position shifted to the side at the height between the oil pan 10 and the road.

At the lower rear end of the engine 4, a rear wheel differential 11 is arranged at the center in the width direction of the vehicle body, similar to the engine 4, and the rear propeller shaft 9 from the transfer 6 is connected to the front end of the rear wheel differential 11. The rear end is connected.

The rear wheel differential 11 is connected to the rear wheels 13.14 on both sides from a position offset from the rear end of the engine toward the rear of the vehicle, and the left and right drive shafts 15.16 are connected to joints 15a.
, 16a. The centers of the rear wheels 13 and 14 are located forward of the output portion of the rear wheel differential 11 and above when the vehicle height is low (the state shown in the figure),
The left and right drive shafts 15, 16 connecting the two are obliquely inclined.

In addition, the transfer 6 and the rear wheel differential 1
The rear propeller shaft 9 connected to the engine 4
The oil pan 10 is arranged to avoid interference with the oil pan 10. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the oil pan 10 is formed into four parts 10a with a lower height on the rear end side of the engine 4, and the oil pan 10 has a lower height on the rear end side of the engine 4. The portion near the differential 11 passes through the four portions 10a of the oil pan 10, and the front end portion thereof on the transfer 6 side is shifted laterally, and the bottom side of the oil pan 10 is formed into an oblique concave portion 10b. It is arranged so that it passes along the side of the

Further, the front propeller shaft 8 extending forward from the transfer 6 has its front end connected to a front differential (not shown) disposed at the center in the width direction of the vehicle body, and has an equal length from the front differential to the front wheels on both sides. The driving force is transmitted through the drive shaft.

Although not specifically shown, the rear wheels are supported by a suspension so that they can move up and down, and the height of the rear wheels is adjusted by a vehicle height adjustment mechanism.

According to the embodiment described above, the rear propeller shaft 9 from the transfer 6 of the engine 4 arranged vertically is extended from the side of the oil pan 10 of the engine 4 downward and connected to the rear wheel differential 11. In this way, the rear wheel differential 11 can be offset from the rear end of the engine toward the rear of the vehicle body and placed at the center in the width direction of the vehicle body. .16 can be formed to the same length, and the length can be made long.

Therefore, by adopting the equal length drive shuttle, it is possible to prevent vibrations and noise from occurring due to rotation, it is possible to eliminate the constant velocity joint, and it is advantageous in manufacturing due to the use of common left and right parts.

Furthermore, the long drive shafts 15 and 16 make it possible to reduce changes in the shaft angle with respect to changes in vehicle height even in vehicles that require a large amount of vehicle height adjustment, resulting in less fluctuations in alignment such as camber, and stable driving performance.

Furthermore, the power plant 3 can be used as is for FF vehicles, and by placing the engine 4 in the center in the width direction, space for installing the suspension can be secured on both sides, and the weight balance can be equalized. It is.

Although the above embodiment shows an example in which the power plant 3 is disposed at the rear of the vehicle body, the present invention is also applicable to a case where the power plant 3 is vertically disposed at the front of the vehicle body, and in that case, A transmission 5 is placed at the rear of the engine 4, and a front wheel differential is placed at the lower center of the front.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention as described above, the engine is arranged vertically at approximately the center in the width direction of the vehicle body, and one of the differentials for the rear wheels or the front wheels on the side closer to the engine is connected from the end of the engine. By arranging it offset to the end of the vehicle body, it is located at the center in the width direction of the vehicle body, and by connecting the propeller shaft from the transfer to one differential through the bottom and side of the recess of the oil pan. The length of the drive shaft that connects the differential to the left and right wheels can be made symmetrical, equal length, and as long as possible, making it possible to construct a four-wheel drive vehicle with a large amount of vehicle height adjustment. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the planar arrangement structure of the power plant at the rear of the vehicle body of a four-wheel drive vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic rear view showing the rear arrangement structure thereof, and Fig. 3 is the same. A schematic side view showing the side arrangement structure.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the oil pan along line A. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the oil pan along line A-B. 1...Four wheel drive vehicle, 2...Vehicle body, 3.
...Power plant, 4...Engine,
5...Transmission, 6...Transfer, 8,9...Propeller shaft, 1
0... Oil pan, 11... Differential, 13.14... Wheels, 15.16.
·····Drive shaft. Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A power plant is configured with a transfer that has an engine, a transmission, and a center differential, and the engine of the power plant is placed vertically with respect to the vehicle body, and the rear wheel or In a four-wheel drive vehicle in which a propeller shaft extends from a differential for the front wheels, the engine is arranged approximately in the widthwise center of the vehicle body, and one for the rear wheels or one for the front wheels on the side closer to the engine is arranged. A differential was offset from the engine end toward the end of the vehicle and placed at the center in the width direction of the vehicle, and a propeller shaft from the transfer was connected to one of the differentials through the bottom and side of the recess in the oil pan of the engine. A four-wheel drive vehicle characterized by: