JPH0733969Y2 - Vehicle steering device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a steering device for steering to arbitrarily change the traveling direction of a vehicle.

<Prior Art> In a steering device of an independent suspension type suspension, the left and right wheels individually move up and down, so the tie rod is divided into two parts. That is, tie rods are respectively connected to the knuckle arms of the left and right wheels, and these two tie rods are connected by a relay rod. Then, the turning motion of the steering wheel is transmitted to a relay arm via a steering gear, a pitman arm, etc., and the left and right front wheels are steered in the same direction by moving the relay arm in the axial direction.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> In the conventional steering device, since the tie rod, the relay rod, and the like are arranged between the left and right steering wheels, the space at the feet of the occupant sitting on the seat is reduced. This not only worsens the occupant's habitability, but this also increases the vehicle height and adversely affects the styling settings of the vehicle.

The present invention solves such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle steering system in which the vehicle interior space between the left and right steering wheels is enlarged to improve the habitability.

<Means for Solving the Problems> A vehicle steering system according to the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is arranged along a front-rear direction on a side portion of a vehicle and has a rear end pivotally attached to a vehicle body side. The steering wheel provided in the driver's seat disposed between the left and right suspension arms connected to the front knuckle of the front wheel at the front end, the steering gear box disposed behind the driver's seat, and the rotation of the steering wheel. An input transmission mechanism provided to transmit an operation to the steering gear box, and a rearward displacement of the vehicle in response to an output from the steering gear box, which is arranged behind the driver's seat along the left-right direction of the vehicle. Steering rod and a front end of the steering knuckle that is arranged along the suspension arm. And a bell crank pivotally attached to the rear portion of the suspension arm and having one end connected to the end portion of the steering rod and the other end connected to the rear end of the connection rod. It is characterized by that.

<Operation> By arranging the driver's seat between the left and right suspension arms arranged along the front-rear direction on the side of the vehicle, and arranging the steering gear box and the steering rod behind the driver's seat, In particular, a large space under the driver's seat is taken to improve the occupant comfort. The rear end of the connecting rod, which is connected to the knuckle arm and is arranged along the suspension arm, and the end of the steering rod are connected by a bell crank pivotally attached to the rear part of the suspension arm. Placed close to the suspension arm, the connecting rod can be placed with little loss of driver space.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of a vehicle steering system according to an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a top view of the steering system, FIG. 3 is an external view of a vehicle equipped with the steering system, and FIG. Is a plan view and FIG. 5 is a front view.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle of this embodiment is a so-called midship type in which an engine is mounted behind the driver's seat, and is a 4WD system that drives all four wheels.

A transmission 2 is provided at the front of the engine 1 installed at the rear of the vehicle.
The propeller shaft 3 penetrates and is connected to the transmission 2 along the left-right direction of the vehicle. Further, differentials 4 are connected to both ends of the propeller shaft 3, and the driving force is branched and transmitted to the front and rear drive wheels by the differentials 4. A viscous coupling 5 is interposed in the middle of the left propeller shaft 3 to adjust the transmission driving force to the left and right drive wheels.

Suspensions for supporting the front and rear wheels are arranged along the front-rear direction on both sides of the vehicle. The front and rear suspensions are symmetrical with respect to the differential 4 described above. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a connecting arm 6 is connected to the differential 4 on the side of the vehicle in a direction orthogonal to the propeller shaft 3, that is, in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. A pipe-shaped lower arm 7 is located at the tip of the connecting arm 6. Above the lower arm 7, an upper arm 8 having a bifurcated shape at one end is located parallel to the lower arm 7. Each end of the lower arm 7 and the upper arm 8 is connected by a front link 9 and two rear links 10. As a result, an arm mechanism 11 forming a parallel four-bar link as a suspension arm is configured. The upper end of each rear link 10 is fixed to the vehicle body. Therefore, in the arm mechanism 11, the arms 7 and 8 swing in parallel with the rear link 10 fixed to the vehicle body as a base end, so that the front link 9 at the tip can move up and down.

The lower arm 7 and the upper arm 8 are bent at right angles to the outside to support a steering knuckle 12 having an axle (not shown) rotatably by a vertical pivot 13. A wheel 14 is fixed to this axle, and a tire 15 is attached to this wheel 14.

The drive shaft 16 is installed inside the pipe-shaped lower arm 7.
Is inserted. One end of the drive shaft 16 is integrally rotatably connected to the above-mentioned connecting shaft 6 by a constant velocity joint, and the other end is connected to an axle via a bevel gear and a constant velocity joint (not shown). The lower arm 7 is filled with lubricating oil 17 for the drive shaft 16. Also, the lower arm 7
A bellows-shaped rubber boot 18 is attached to the bent portion of the base end.

Above the differential 4, a shock absorber 20 having a coil spring 19 mounted on the outer periphery as a damper is provided.
Are laterally installed, one end of which is connected to a bracket 21 of the vehicle body and the other end of which is connected to the lower arm 7 via a damper rod 22.

Thus, in this embodiment, the drive system including the suspension is H-shaped in plan view.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, knuckle arms 30 are fixed to the upper portions of the left and right steering knuckles 12 on the front wheel side. On the other hand, a bell crank 31 is pivotally supported at the rear of each of the left and right upper arms 8 of the front wheels, and one end of the bell crank 31 and the knuckle arm 30 are connected to each other above the upper arm 8 along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Connected by 32. Then, tie rods 33 as steering rods arranged along the left-right direction of the vehicle are connected to the other ends of the bell cranks 31, respectively, and the left and right tie rods 33 are connected via a relay arm (not shown). Therefore, as the relay arm moves in the axial direction, the left and right tie rods 33 are moved in the axial direction, and the bell crank 31
By rotating the knuckle arm 30 via the connecting arm 32, the direction of the front tire 15 as a steering wheel can be changed.

The relay rod penetrates the steering gear box 34, and a steering wheel having a circular steering wheel 38 is attached through a steering gear having a reduction gear mechanism (not shown) and an input transmission mechanism such as a connecting shaft 35 and bevel gears 36, 37. It is linked to column 39.

In such a vehicle steering apparatus, when the driver turns the steering wheel 38, the rotation amount is transmitted to the steering gear via the bevel gears 36, 37 and the connecting shaft 35. The rotation amount is decelerated by the steering gear to move the relay rod and the left and right tie rods 33 in the axial direction. Therefore, by rotating the knuckle arm 30 via the bell clamp 31 and the connecting arm 32, the left and right tires 15 change their directions in the same direction.

In this embodiment, the steering wheel 38 has a circular shape, and the tie rod 33 is moved by rotating the steering wheel 38. However, the gearbox 34 through which the relay rod penetrates the electric power steering system. The mechanism may be internally provided and the steering may be of a lever type, and the tie rod 33 may be moved correspondingly by electrically detecting the operation amount of the lever. Further, it is possible to provide a vehicle of the 4WS system by providing two of these lever type steerings and mounting the same steering device on the rear wheels as the above. By using the lever type steering in this way, the bevel gears 36, 37, the connecting shaft 35, and the like can be eliminated.

Further, although the vehicle of this embodiment is a 4WD type vehicle, it may be a 2WD type vehicle.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, according to the vehicle steering system of the present invention, the vehicle steering device is provided on the side of the vehicle in the driver's seat between the left and right suspension arms along the longitudinal direction. The steering gearbox located behind the driver's seat is connected to the steering wheel via the input transmission mechanism.The steering gearbox is installed behind the driver's seat along the left-right direction of the vehicle and receives the output of this steering gearbox. Since the steering rod that is displaced in the left and right direction and the connecting rod that is located along the suspension arm and whose front end is connected to the knuckle arm of the steering knuckle are connected by a bell crank, the vehicle interior space between the left and right wheels, especially the driver's seat The space at the feet of the passenger can be expanded to improve the occupant's habitability and the driver's seat space can be reduced. The connecting rods can be properly placed without sacrificing, and the vehicle height can be kept as low as possible, increasing the freedom of styling of the vehicle body.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of a vehicle steering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view of the steering apparatus, FIG. 3 is an external view of a vehicle equipped with the steering apparatus, and FIG. The figure is its plan view, and FIG. 5 is a front view. In the drawing, 12 is a steering knuckle, 15 is a tire, 30 is a knuckle arm, 31 is a bell crank, 32 is a connecting rod, 33 is a tie rod (steering rod), 34 is a steering gear box, and 38 is a steering wheel.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A left and right suspension arm, which is disposed along a front-rear direction on a side portion of a vehicle, has a rear end pivotally attached to a vehicle body side, and a front wheel steering knuckle connected to a front end. A steering wheel provided at a driver's seat, a steering gear box arranged at the rear of the driver's seat, an input transmission mechanism provided to transmit a rotational operation of the steering wheel to the steering gear box, the driver's seat A steering rod disposed rearward of the vehicle along the left-right direction of the vehicle and displaced in the left-right direction of the vehicle by receiving an output from the steering gear box; and a knuckle arm of the steering knuckle having a front end disposed along the suspension arm. And a connecting rod that is pivotally attached to the rear part of the suspension arm. The vehicle steering device being characterized in that a bell crank and the other end connected to the rear end of the connecting rod while being connected to an end of the steering rod.