JPH06298096A - Steering angle regulator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a steering angle regulator which is capable of regulating both a roll of a vehicle and the angle of steering at the time of a wheel-stroke without producing an abnormal noise and which eliminate the need for a spe cially strong member. CONSTITUTION:This regulator is installed in a steering apparatus, which changes the direction of wheels via both a steering rack, which moves in the lateral direction of a vehicle, and a tie-rod 5, which is installed in between one end of the steering rack and a wheel supporting part 3. The regulator is provided with a steering stopper 11 having a piston structure, which freely moves within an allowable stroke in the lateral direction of the vehicle. The stopper 11 is arrange in pairs (right and left) inside the wheel to be steered: its inner end is pivotally supported to a fixed part 6, which does not move at the time of steering, via a rotary shaft 12, while its outer end is pivotally supported to a movable part 5, which moves in the lateral direction of the vehicle at the time of steering via a rotary shaft 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a steering angle control device in a vehicle steering system, and more particularly, to effective noise of a steering stopper for controlling a turning amount when a wheel and a vehicle body move up and down relatively. It is what was prevented.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional steering angle regulating device for a vehicle steering system, for example, one shown in FIG. 6 is known. This is a knuckle arm 22 of a wheel 21 which is a steered wheel.
A stopper bolt 23 is attached to the suspension bolt 24, and an interference member 25 having an inclined surface 25a protruding toward the stopper bolt 23 is attached to the suspension link 24 at a position slightly higher than the head of the stopper bolt 23. It is a thing.

In a normal flat running state where the vehicle is not rolling or wheel strokes, the head of the stopper bolt 23 remains even if the steering amount is set large and the angle of the knuckle arm 22 is largely deflected to the front side in the figure. Since it does not interfere with the interference member 25, the minimum turning radius of the vehicle can be made small and the maneuverability of the vehicle is improved. On the other hand, when the vehicle is steered under the condition that the vertical difference between the vehicle body and the wheels is reduced due to the roll or the wheel stroke, the head of the stopper bolt 23 hits the middle of the inclined surface 25 a of the interference member 25 or the top thereof to interfere with each other. As a result, the deflection angle of the knuckle arm 22 is restricted, and the steering amount beyond that cannot be obtained.
In this way, by controlling the turning amount during roll and wheel stroke, various problems such as interference between wheels and vehicle body parts and bending angle of drive shaft are solved.

[0004]

However, it has been found that the following problems occur in the above-described conventional steering angle regulation technology for a vehicle steering system. That is, in the conventional example, the knuckle arm 22 and the suspension
The steering amount is regulated by hitting the link 24. For example, depending on the size of the wheel stroke, the stopper bolt 2
3 and the inclined surface 25a of the interference member 25 are changed so that the steering amount becomes smaller as the vertical movement becomes larger. Therefore, when the wheel vertically strokes while the knuckle arm 22 (the stopper bolt 23 of the knuckle arm) and the suspension link 24 (the interference member 25 of the suspension link) are in contact with each other in the fully steered state, the wheels rub against each other at the contact point and a large difference occurs. Sound is generated.

Further, in this case, since the driver tries to fix the steering wheel at the steering restriction position while the vertical stroke continues, the knuckle arm 22 receives a reaction force (force to push back the knuckle arm 22) from the suspension link 24. ) Against the force of trying to maintain the amount of steering. As a result, a large load is applied to the stopper bolt 23 of the knuckle arm 22 and the interference member 25 of the suspension link 24 in the bending and compression directions, and it is necessary to provide a strong steering angle control device that can withstand this.

Therefore, the present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is possible to control a turning amount when a wheel and a vehicle body move up and down relatively without generating abnormal noise.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rudder angle regulating device capable of effectively regulating the turning amount without requiring a particularly strong member.

[0007]

According to the present invention, which achieves the above object, a steering rack that moves in the width direction of a vehicle and is swingably mounted between an end portion of the steering rack and a wheel support portion. A steering angle regulation device that is mounted on a steering device of a vehicle that changes the direction of wheels via a tie rod and regulates the steering angle, and has a piston structure that is expandable / contractible within the allowable stroke range in the vehicle width direction. The pair of left and right wheels are arranged inside the steered wheels, the inner ends are pivotally supported by a fixed part that does not move during steering via a rotating shaft, and the outer ends move in the vehicle width direction during steering. It is characterized in that a movable portion is provided with a steering stopper that is pivotally supported via a rotating shaft.

The steering stopper may also serve as a steering damper. In addition, the fixed portion on which the inner end portions of the pair of steering stoppers are axially supported may be a rack housing having a steering rack built therein. Alternatively, the fixed portion may be the vehicle body.

Further, the movable portion on which the outer end portion of the steering stopper is pivotally supported may be a tie rod. Alternatively, the movable part may be a knuckle arm.

[0010]

The rudder angle regulating device of the present invention is provided with a steering stopper having a piston structure capable of expanding and contracting in the range of the allowable stroke in the width direction of the vehicle, and one end of which is pivotally supported to a fixed portion such as a rack housing or a vehicle body. The other end is rotatably supported by a movable member such as a tie rod or a knuckle arm that moves in the width direction of the vehicle. During normal flat traveling where there is no need to regulate the amount of steering, when steering, the steering rack and tie rods respond with a stroke equivalent to the amount of movement in the vehicle width direction.

On the other hand, it is necessary to regulate the steering amount in order to prevent interference between the wheel and vehicle body parts during steering in a state where there is relative movement of the wheel and vehicle body in the vertical direction, that is, during roll or wheel stroke. If there is any, the steering stopper responds to the vertical direction in accordance with the relative amount of vertical movement, and strokes in accordance with the movement of the steering rack and tie rod in the vehicle width direction due to steering. The length of the steering stopper at the time of the wheel stroke is different from the length at the time of flat traveling, and is short at the time of bouncing of the vehicle and long at the time of rebound.

The turning amount is determined by the difference between the total length of the steering stopper when traveling straight ahead and the length when the steering stopper is in the most contracted state. However, since the total length of the steering stopper when the vehicle bounces is shorter than when the vehicle does not bounce, the steering amount at the time of bounce becomes smaller. In addition, since the steering stopper does not extend beyond a predetermined length when rebounding, the steering stopper is longer when the vehicle rebounds than when there is no wheel stroke when going straight. Get smaller. Thus, it is possible to regulate steering beyond the limit during roll or wheel stroke.

Even if the wheel strokes while the steering angle is regulated, the steering stopper only makes a rotational movement about the rotation axis as a fulcrum, the stopper members do not rub against each other, and no abnormal noise is generated. Further, only a compressive or tensile force acts on the steering stopper, and a large bending load does not act on it.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention.
First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a suspension portion of front wheels, which are steered wheels. Each inner end of a pair of left and right suspension rigs 1 is axially supported by a front suspension member 2 extending in the vehicle width direction. Each outer end is connected to the left and right axle housings 3 that are wheel supporting members. The lower ends of the left and right shock absorbers 4 are directly pivotally connected to their respective axle housings 3.

A tie rod 5 which constitutes a steering device is divided into two parts, and a steering rack 7 (FIG. 1) is internally movably mounted in a steering rack housing 6 which is a fixing member on each inner end side through a tie rod inner 5a. Two
(See reference) are engaged with the left and right ends. Further, the outer ends are respectively engaged with the left and right knuckle arms via the knuckle balls 5b. Then, it is attached so as to be swingable in the vehicle width direction together with a steering rack that moves in the vehicle width direction according to steering.

The steering rack 7 meshes with a pinion gear at the tip of a handle shaft (not shown), and converts the rotation of the steering wheel into a linear movement in the vehicle width direction via the pinion and the rack, so that the tie rod 5 is used. The axle housing 3 is deflected to steer the steered wheels in a predetermined direction. The steering stoppers 11 constituting the steering angle regulation device of this embodiment have a retractable piston structure, and are mounted in a pair of left and right inside the steered wheels along the tie rods 5 of the steering device. That is, the steering stopper 11 includes a cylinder 11a and a piston rod 11b slidably fitted in the cylinder 11a, and the inner end of the cylinder 11a is a fixed member that does not move during steering. It is pivotally supported on the upper surface of the housing 6 via a rotary shaft 12. On the other hand, the tip end portion of the piston rod 11b, which is the outer end, is pivotally supported via the rotating shaft 13 on the upper surface of the tie rod 5 that is a movable portion that moves in the vehicle width direction during steering. As a result, the piston rod 11b of the steering stopper 11 can be expanded and contracted substantially in the vehicle width direction to make a stroke. The stroke length is set in a predetermined range that regulates the amount of steering during roll or wheel stroke, as described later.

Next, the operation of the steering stopper 11 will be described with reference to the explanatory views schematically shown in FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the tie rod 5 of the steering device, and the steering stopper 11 attached to the steering rack housing 6, FIG. 3 is a front view when the wheels make a vertical wheel stroke (bound / rebound), and FIG. 4 is a left tie rod 5 FIG. 7 is a front view of the case where steering is performed so that the vehicle is pulled inside the vehicle body.

First, when the wheel bounces and rebounds while the vehicle is in a straight traveling state, as shown in FIG. 3, the knuckle ball 5b at the tip of the tie rod 5 also moves vertically in accordance with the vertical movement of the wheel. At this time, since the steering wheel is held in a straight traveling state (non-rotating state) by the driver, the tie rod inner 5a connected to the steering rack does not move to the left and right in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the movement of the tie rod 5 is a vertical turning movement around the tie rod inner 5a. Along with the turning movement of the tie rod 5, the turning shaft 13 at the outer end of the steering stopper 11 connected to the tie rod 5 also moves.
Performs a vertical rotating motion around a. On the other hand, the rotating shaft 12 at the inner end of the steering stopper 11 is attached to the steering rack housing 6 which is a fixed member and does not move. Therefore, the steering stopper 1
The whole 1 rotates up and down around a rotating shaft 12. The steering stopper 11 and the tie rod 5 have different centers of rotation, and the distance L between the two rotation shafts 12 and 13 of the steering stopper 11 changes from L _{1 to} L ₂ due to bound and rebound. In that case, since the length of the cylinder 11a of the steering stopper does not change, the piston rod 11b expands and contracts and the steering stopper 11 extends.
Will change the total length of. In FIG. 3, the total length of the steering stopper 11 is shortened to L ₁ when bounding, and is increased to L ₂ when rebounded.

Next, the operation when steering is performed at the time of bouncing will be described. In the bound state of FIG. 4, when the driver operates the steering wheel in order to steer the left tie rod 5 toward the inside of the vehicle body (moves to the left in the figure), the steering rack 7 is in the vehicle width direction. While linearly moving to the left in the figure, the tie rod inner 5a connected thereto moves linearly to the left. Along with this, the tie rod 5 linearly moves leftward together with the knuckle ball 5b, but the rotary shaft 13 at the outer end of the steering stopper 11 linearly moves leftward in conjunction with the movement of the tie rod 5. For this reason, the steering stopper 11 makes a slight rotational movement and a large contraction movement at the same time, and the distance between the two rotary shafts 12 and 13 becomes L ₃ . This is the limit of the allowable stroke of the steering stopper 11 on the contracted side, and since the piston rod 11b does not move further, the tie rod 5 is also prevented from moving to the left. That is, even if the driver attempts to steer the steering wheel further, the steering wheel cannot be steered, and the amount of wheel pull-in is fixed in this state.

As is clear from the above description, the limit turning amount when the vehicle is retracted is the distance L between the two rotation shafts 12 and 13 of the steering stopper 11 when the vehicle is straight ahead, and the steering stopper 11 is contracted most. Both rotating shafts 12 in the state,
The difference (L−L ₃ ) from the distance L ₃ between 13 is determined. Therefore, as compared with the steering amount when the vehicle does not bounce, the steering amount is regulated and small when the vehicle is bounding because the total length of the steering stopper 11 in the straight traveling state is shortened (L-L ₁ in FIG. 3). Become.

In the rebound state, when the driver turns the steering wheel to steer the tie rod 5 on the left side so as to push the tie rod 5 to the outside of the vehicle body (moves to the right in the figure), the steering operation is performed in the opposite manner. The rack 7 linearly moves to the right in the figure which is the vehicle width direction,
The tie rod inner 5a connected to this linearly moves to the right. Hereinafter, the movement proceeds in the opposite direction to the above, and the steering stopper 11 makes a large extension motion, but the length of the steering stopper 11 is not equal to the piston rod 11b.
The extension stroke cannot be longer than the limit. That is, even if the driver tries to steer the steering wheel further, the steering wheel cannot be steered, and the pushing amount of the wheel is fixed in this state. The limit turning amount at the time of pushing out is the distance L between the two rotating shafts 12 and 13 of the steering stopper 11 when the vehicle goes straight and the steering stopper 1
It is possible to make a difference with the distance between the two rotary shafts 12 and 13 in the state where 1 is most extended. Therefore, the total length of the steering stopper 11 in the straight traveling state becomes longer during the rebound as compared with the steering amount when the rebound does not occur (L in FIG. 3).
_2- L), the steering amount is regulated and becomes smaller.

In the above steering angle regulation, one of the pair of left and right steering stoppers 11 regulates only one of the inner and outer wheels at the time of bouncing and rebounding, but the left and right wheels are steering racks. Since it is connected via 7, the steering angle of the other wheel is also regulated at the same time. For example, if the outer wheel of the left wheel is regulated, the inner wheel of the right wheel is also regulated. For this reason, if two steering stoppers 11 are arranged in a pair on the left and right,
It is possible to regulate the steering angle for both the inner and outer wheels of the left and right wheels.

According to this steering angle regulation, even if the steering stopper 11 hits the steering wheel 11 at full steering, that is, even if the wheel strokes at the stroke limit, the steering stopper 11 only rotates about the rotating shafts 12 and 13 as a fulcrum. Therefore, unlike the conventional example, the stopper members do not rub against each other. Therefore, no abnormal noise is generated. Further, since only the compressing or pulling force acts on the steering stopper 11 and a large bending load does not act on it, it is also advantageous in terms of strength.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment. In this embodiment, the end rotating shaft 12 of the cylinder 11a, which is the inner end of the steering stopper 11, is attached to the lower surface side of the steering rack housing 6, and the rotating shaft 1 is different from the above embodiment.
The position of 2 is lowered. In this case, the length L ₁₁ of the steering stopper 11 when bound is longer than the length L ₁ of FIG. On the other hand, the length L ₁₂ of the steering stopper 11 at the time of rebound becomes shorter than the length L ₂ in the case of FIG.

Further, as the turning shaft 13 which is the outer end of the steering stopper 11 is mounted closer to the knuckle ball 5b of the tie rod 5 and the inner turning shaft 12 is placed inside the vehicle body, the wheel stroke is not made. bound. Steering stopper 11 when rebounding
It is clear that the difference in length between the two becomes large. As described above, depending on the mounting position of the rotating shafts 12 and 13 of the steering stopper 11, when the wheel is not stroked and when the wheel bounces. By utilizing the fact that the difference in the length of the steering stopper 11 at the time of rebounding changes, the steering stopper 11 can be set at an appropriate position to freely set the steering angle regulation range. .

Although the steering angle must be regulated within a range where the contact between the wheel and the vehicle body equipment and the bending angle of the drive shaft are permitted, according to the above-mentioned various embodiments, the joint portion of the steering stopper 11, that is, the rotary shaft 12 is provided. , 13 can be arbitrarily determined by changing the positions as described above, which is extremely effective in practice. In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the fixed portion on which the rotary shaft 12 that is the inner end portion of the steering stopper is supported is the steering rack housing 6, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the fixed portion is not limited to this. You may use the car body.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the movable portion on which the rotary shaft 13, which is the outer end portion of the steering stopper, is rotatably supported is the tie rod 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. A knuckle arm can also be used as. Furthermore, the same effect can be obtained even if the steering stopper 11 in each of the above-described embodiments is also used as a steering damper mounted on a vehicle.

[0028]

As described above, the rudder angle regulating device of the present invention has a pair of left and right wheels arranged inside the steered wheels as a piston structure which is expandable and contractible in the range of the allowable stroke in the width direction of the vehicle. The inner end is rotatably supported by a fixed part that does not move during steering through a rotating shaft, and the outer end is rotatably supported by a movable part that moves in the vehicle width direction during steering through a rotating shaft. I decided to wear it. As a result, even if a wheel stroke is made while the steering angle is being fully steered and the rudder angle regulating device reaches the regulation point, the rudder angle regulating device only makes a rotational movement about the pivot axis as a fulcrum, and as in the conventional example, Since the members do not rub against each other, no abnormal noise is generated. Further, since only the compressive or tensile force acts on the rudder angle regulating device, and a large bending load does not act, it is advantageous in terms of strength.
As a result, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a steering angle regulation device for a vehicle steering system that can prevent abnormal noise and realize effective steering amount regulation without requiring a particularly strong member.

In addition to the above-mentioned effects, by properly adjusting the mounting position of the rotary shaft of the rudder angle restricting device, a unique effect that the rudder angle restricting range can be freely determined can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a suspension portion showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view schematically showing an attachment mode of the steering angle regulation device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view for explaining the operation of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional steering angle regulating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Wheel Support Part (Axle Housing) 5 Movable Part (Tie Rod) 6 Fixed Part (Steering Rack Housing) 7 Steering Rack 11 Steering Angle Control Device (Steering Stopper) 12 Rotating Shaft 13 Rotating Shaft

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A steering apparatus for a vehicle, which changes the direction of a wheel through a steering rack that moves in the width direction of the vehicle and a tie rod that is swingably mounted between an end portion of the steering rack and a wheel support portion. A steering angle restricting device mounted on the vehicle for restricting the steering angle, which has a piston structure that is expandable and contractible in the range of the allowable stroke in the width direction of the vehicle, and is arranged in a pair of left and right inside the steered wheels, A steering in which an inner end is pivotally supported by a fixed part that does not move during steering through a turning shaft, and an outer end is pivotally supported by a movable part that moves in the vehicle width direction during steering through a turning shaft. A rudder angle control device comprising a stopper. 2. The steering angle regulating device according to claim 1, wherein the steering stopper also serves as a steering damper. 3. The rudder angle according to claim 1, wherein the fixed portion on which the inner ends of the pair of steering stoppers are axially supported is a rack housing having the steering rack built therein. Regulatory device. 4. The rudder angle regulating device according to claim 1, wherein the fixed portion on which inner ends of the pair of steering stoppers are axially supported is a vehicle body. 5. The steering angle regulation device according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion axially supported by the outer end portion of the steering stopper is a tie rod. 6. The rudder angle regulating device according to claim 1, wherein the movable portion axially supported by the outer end of the steering stopper is a knuckle arm.