JPH02293269A - Rear-wheel steering gear for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the assembleability of a steering gear to a car body by constituting it to support a countershaft, transmitting a front-wheel steering value to a rear-wheel steering mechanism, on a frame member connecting a power plant mounted in front of the car body to a rear-wheel differential. CONSTITUTION:A power plant frame 16 is set up in extending from a power plant 10 to a rear-wheel differential 4, while both front and rear ends of this frame 16 is locked to respective housings 10a, 4a of the power plant 10 and the rear-wheel differential 4 with bolt and nut 17, 18, and rigidity in a four-wheel driving system including those of power plant 10, four-wheel differential 4 and propeller shaft 7 is enhanced. In addition, a four-wheel steering gear has a front-wheel steering mechanism 19 and a rear-wheel steering mechanism 20, and both these mechanisms 19, 20 are connected to each other through a contershaft 21 transmitting a front-wheel steering value to the mechanism 20, while this shaft 21 is supported by the frame 16 via a bracket 33 in a lower part of the frame 16. Consequently, both four-wheel steering and driving systems are structurally connected to each other, so that these systems can be attached to a car body at the same time.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides the following features: When the front wheels are steered by steering the steering wheel,
Regarding the rear wheel steering device of a vehicle that steers the rear wheels in conjunction with front wheel steering, in more detail, an engine is mounted in the front of the vehicle body, and the rear wheels are mounted in the rear of the vehicle body and drive the rear wheels with the output of this engine. The present invention relates to a rear wheel steering device for a vehicle equipped with a differential device.

(Prior Art) For example, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-214465, a front-wheel drive type vehicle is equipped with a four-wheel steering device that steers the rear wheels in response to steering of the front wheels by steering the steering wheel. It is shown. This four-wheel steering device consists of a front wheel steering mechanism that steers the front wheels in response to steering wheel steering, a rear wheel steering mechanism that steers the rear wheels, and an intermediate shaft that connects both mechanisms. The signal is configured to be input to the rear wheel steering mechanism via a shaft to steer the rear wheels.

In addition to the front-wheel-drive vehicle described in the above-mentioned publication, such a four-wheel steering system is also applicable to rear-wheel-drive vehicles that drive the rear wheels using the output of an engine mounted at the front of the vehicle body, or It is also being considered to be installed in four-wheel drive vehicles that drive all wheels.

On the other hand, in rear-wheel drive vehicles and four-wheel drive vehicles, the power plant at the front of the vehicle body and the rear wheel differential at the rear of the vehicle body are connected by a rear wheel drive system including a propeller shaft, and the engine on the power plant side is connected to the rear wheel differential device at the rear of the vehicle body. It is configured to transmit the output to the rear wheel differential, but in this case, in order to ensure the rigidity of the entire drive system including the power plant, rear wheel differential, and rear wheel drive system, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-28053 There is also a system in which a power plant and a rear wheel differential are connected by a frame member, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. b).

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, when a four-wheel steering device is to be mounted on a rear-wheel drive vehicle or a four-wheel drive vehicle as described above, the intermediate shaft that constitutes this four-wheel steering device and the rear wheel differential The propeller shaft, which transmits engine power to the engine, must be installed at the bottom of the car body, facing in the longitudinal direction of the car body, but if these parts are attached to the car body separately, the problem of poor assembly to the car body will occur. .

The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems in rear wheel steering devices of rear wheel drive vehicles and four wheel drive vehicles. The purpose is to improve the ease of assembly to the vehicle body by installing them at the same time.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized by the following configuration.

That is, in a vehicle that is equipped with a rear wheel steering mechanism that steers the rear wheels in accordance with the steering of the front wheels, and a rear wheel differential that drives the rear wheels with the output of the engine, the front wheel A frame member that connects the power plant mounted on the vehicle and the rear wheel differential device supports an intermediate shaft that transmits the amount of steering of the front wheels to the rear wheel steering mechanism.

(Function) According to the above configuration, since the intermediate shaft of the rear wheel steering device is supported on the frame member that connects the power plant and the rear wheel differential device, the drive system consisting of the power plant and the rear wheel differential device is supported. The rear wheel steering system, including the intermediate shaft and the rear wheel steering mechanism, is connected to the rear wheel steering system, making it possible to handle both as an integrated unit. They can be installed at the same time. Furthermore, since the frame member of the drive system is used to support the intermediate shaft as described above, there is no need for a separate member for the support. (Example) Examples of the present invention will be described below. ○First Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a four-wheel drive device and a four-wheel steering device.

The four-wheel drive device supports left and right front wheels 3, 3 on a front wheel drive shaft 2 driven by an engine 1, and supports left and right rear wheels 6, 6 on a rear wheel drive shaft 5 driven by a rear wheel differential device 4. The engine 1 and rear wheel differential device 4 are connected by a rear wheel drive system including a propeller shaft 7.

The engine 1 described above is integrated with a transmission 8, a front wheel differential 9, etc. to form a power plant 10, and a torque tube 12 is led out from a power distribution device 11 of the power plant 10 to the rear of the vehicle body. , to which the front end of the blower shaft 7 is connected via a universal joint 13. Also, the rear end of the propeller shaft 7 is connected to the universal joint 1.
4 is connected to the rear wheel differential device 4 described above.

Further, an exhaust pipe 15 is led out from the power plant 10 toward the rear of the vehicle body.

A power plant frame 16 is disposed over the power plant 10 and the rear wheel differential device 4, passing above the torque tube 12 and the propeller shaft 7. By fixing the device 4 to the housings 10a and 4a using bolts and nuts 17 and 18, respectively, the power plant 10 and the rear wheel differential device 4 are connected by the power plant frame 16, whereby the power plant 10 The rigidity of the four-wheel drive system including the rear wheel differential device 4 and propeller shaft 7 is increased.

The power plant frame 16 has a downward U-shaped cross section.

The four-wheel steering device includes a front wheel steering mechanism 19 that steers the front wheels by steering wheel loss, and a rear wheel steering mechanism 20 that steers the rear wheels in accordance with the steering of the front wheels. is an intermediate shaft 2 that transmits the front wheel steering amount to the rear wheel steering mechanism 20.
It is connected by 1.

In the front wheel steering device ellipse 19, a front wheel steering rod 22 arranged in the vehicle width direction is housed in a casing 23 so as to be freely slidable, and when the steering wheel is turned, the rod 22 is moved in the axial direction by a well-known rack and binion mechanism. The movement of this rod 22 causes the tie rods 2 at both left and right ends of the rod to slide.
4 to the front wheels 3, 3. The front end of the intermediate shaft 21 is inserted into the casing 23, and is connected to the front wheel steering rod 22 by a well-known gear mechanism consisting of a worm gear and a worm wheel, so that when the front wheel steering rod 22 slides, The amount of slide is inputted to the intermediate shaft 21 as the amount of rotation. In the rear wheel steering mechanism 20, a rear wheel steering rod 27 is slidably housed in a casing 26 extending from the housing 25 to the left and right, and the housing 25 is provided with a movement force in the left and right direction relative to the rear wheel steering rod 27. A power cylinder (not shown) that acts on the power cylinder, a control valve (also not shown) that controls the supply and discharge of pressure oil to the power cylinder, etc. are built in. The above control valve is controlled to operate the power cylinder, and the rear wheel steering rod 2
By sliding 7 to either the left or right direction,
This movement of the rear wheel steering rod 27 is transmitted to the rear wheels 6, 6 via tie rods 28 at both left and right ends of the rod.

The intermediate shaft 21 is disposed vertically passing through a power plant frame 16 that connects the power plant 10 and the rear wheel differential 4.

That is, the front wheel steering mechanism 1 located above the frame
At section 9, two openings are provided on the upper surface of the power plant frame 16 in the vicinity thereof, and the intermediate shaft 21 whose front end is connected to the front wheel steering mechanism 19 passes through these openings 29, and the power plant The power plant frame 1 is drawn into the underside of the frame 16 and extends over the torque tube 12 and the propeller shaft 7.
It is pulled out to a lateral lateral position below 6. Further, the rear end of the intermediate shaft 21 is connected to an input section 30 of the rear wheel steering mechanism 20, avoiding the rear wheel differential device 4. Therefore, the intermediate shaft 21 has a plurality of shaft bodies 2 due to such a bending configuration.
1a to 21d are connected via universal joints 31a to 31c. Further, the intermediate shaft 21 is connected to the power plant frame l.
It is supported by the frame 16 below the propeller shaft 6 and at a position across the propeller shaft 7.

This support is achieved by fixing a bearing 32 in a proper position on the intermediate shaft 21, as shown in FIG.

The bearing 32 has an inner ring 32a fixed to the intermediate shaft 21, and a U-shaped bracket 33 fixed to the outer periphery of the outer ring 32b. It is fixed with a fixing means such as a nut 35.

As a result, the intermediate shaft 21 is supported by the power plant frame 16 in a freely rotatable state. still,
As is clear from FIG. 3, the propeller shaft 7, exhaust pipe 15, power plant frame 16, and intermediate shaft 21 are passed through a tunnel portion 37 provided in a floor panel 36 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. According to the above configuration, since the intermediate shaft 21 is supported by the power plant frame 16 of the four-wheel drive device, the four-wheel steering system and the four-wheel drive system are structurally connected and can be integrated into one unit. Therefore, both can be attached to the vehicle body at the same time. Therefore, the four-wheel steering system and the four-wheel drive system can be easily integrated into the vehicle body.

Further, although the intermediate shaft 21 is supported by the power plant frame 16, a separate support member for the intermediate shaft is not required.

OSecond Embodiment FIGS. 4 to 6 show a second embodiment, and the difference from the first embodiment is that the first embodiment has a power plant frame 16.
is disposed directly above the torque tube 12 and the propeller shaft 7, whereas in the second embodiment, the power plant frame 40 is disposed on the lateral outer side of the torque tube 12 and the propeller shaft 7, and an intermediate shaft is disposed thereon. 41
The point is that it supported the

That is, the front and rear edges of the power plant frame 40 are fixed to the housings 10a, 4a of the engine unit 10 and the rear wheel differential 4, respectively, by bolts and nuts 42, 43, and the cross section thereof faces the propeller shaft 7 side. It has a horizontal U-shape that opens toward the side. The frame 40 also has an intermediate shaft 41 connected to the front wheel steering mechanism 19.
It is placed on the opposite side from the side where it is connected. Intermediate shaft 41 traverses above torque tube 12 and propeller shaft 7 to form power plant frame 40 .
It enters between the upper side 40a and the lower side 40b, passes between the frame 40 and the propeller shaft 7, and is guided to the rear of the vehicle body. An opening 44 is formed at the lower side 40 b of the rear end of the power plant frame 40 , and after the intermediate shaft 41 is pulled out below the frame through this opening 44 , it is input to the rear wheel steering mechanism 20 . Part 3
Connected to 0. Therefore, the intermediate shaft 41
As in the embodiment, a plurality of shaft bodies 41a to 41e and universal joints 45a to 45d are used to provide a bent arrangement.

Further, the intermediate shaft 41 is supported inside the power plant frame 40 by the vertical side portion 40C of the frame. This support structure is as shown in FIG. 6, and is supported using a bearing 32 and a U-shaped bracket 33 fixed to the bearing 32, as in the first embodiment.

According to the configuration of the second embodiment, a four-wheel drive system and a four-wheel steering system can be attached to the vehicle body at the same time, and in addition to eliminating the need for a separate member to support the intermediate shaft 41, Since the shaft 41 is disposed inside the power plant frame 40 and guided toward the rear of the vehicle body, the shaft 41 is hidden by the power plant frame 40, so that the shaft 41 can be protected from other objects.

Furthermore, by arranging the power plant frame 40 next to the propeller shaft 7, these frames 40
, the height of the tunnel portion 37 provided in the floor panel 36 can be reduced in order to pass the shaft 7 and the intermediate shaft 41 therethrough.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, in the vehicle rear wheel steering device according to the present invention, the rear wheel steering mechanism and the intermediate shaft in the rear wheel steering device are connected to the vehicle body at the same time as the wheel drive system. By attaching it to the intermediate shaft, ease of assembly can be improved and the support structure for the intermediate shaft can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of a rear wheel steering device for a vehicle according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view of a four-wheel drive device and a vehicle equipped with the four-wheel steering device, and FIG. is a side view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the intermediate shaft support portion. 4 to 6 show the second embodiment, FIG. 4 is a plan view of a vehicle equipped with a four-wheel drive device and a four-wheel steering device, FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 4, and FIG. is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the intermediate shaft support part. 1... Engine, 3... Front wheel, 4... Rear wheel differential, 6... Rear wheel, 10... Power plant, 16.
40... Frame member, 2o... Rear wheel steering mechanism, 2
1.41...Intermediate shaft.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a vehicle that is equipped with a rear wheel steering mechanism that steers the rear wheels in accordance with the steering of the front wheels, and a rear wheel differential that drives the rear wheels with the output of the engine, the front A rear wheel of a vehicle characterized in that a frame member that connects a power plant mounted on the rear wheel steering mechanism and the rear wheel differential device supports an intermediate shaft that transmits the amount of steering of the front wheels to the rear wheel steering mechanism. Wheel steering device.