JPH0755604A - Torque measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a lightweight torque measuring device sufficiently resistant to the centrifugal force accompanying rotation and easy to maintain in which the axial protruding amount is significantly minimized to allow a precise torque measurement without having an influence on traveling performance. CONSTITUTION:First and second straining plates 7, 8 mounted on the disc 4 of a wheel 3 through a mounting adaptor 5 convert the torque acting on the wheel into an electric quantity by strain gauges laid on their own straining pieces, and output the output current to a transmitter 62 in a telemeter case 59. The opening part on the front surface of the telemeter case 59 is blocked by a lid 64 consisting of an insulating plate fixed by a small screw 65. A ring antenna 64 consisting of a plate is fixed onto the lid 64 by a small screw 66, and the antenna 66 is electrically connected to the transmitter 62 through a cable 68. The radio wave transmitted from the transmitter 62 through the antenna 66 is received by a receiver set on vehicle side to measure the torque.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a torque measuring device, and more particularly to a torque of a telemeter system for converting a torque acting on a wheel into an electric quantity and converting the electric quantity into a radio wave by a transmitter for transmission. The present invention relates to a measuring device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a torque measuring device for measuring a torque acting on a wheel of a vehicle such as an automobile, for example, a large number of holes are formed on a virtual circumference having a predetermined radius of a strain plate having a disk shape. Spoke-shaped strain-flexing pieces extending in the radial direction of these holes are formed, strain gauges are attached to these strain-deflecting pieces, and the strain-flexing plate fixed so as to be orthogonal to the axis of the drive shaft is applied to the wheel. With the Wheatstone bridge fixed to a disk and configured with the strain gauge, some torque measuring devices that convert the torque acting on the wheel into an electric quantity and measure it have already been put to practical use. As an improvement, the present applicant has previously proposed it in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 63-78162 (JP-A-1-253623).

Here, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 63-78162.
The torque measuring device proposed in the specification will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the entire structure of the torque measuring device with a part thereof broken away, and FIG. 4 is a part of the structure shown in FIG. It is a side view showing the external configuration.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, 1 is a drive shaft as a rotating shaft for driving the wheels, 2 is a caliper composed of a brake drum and the like, 3 is the above wheel (however, the tire portion is omitted), 3a is the wheel 3 thereof. Rim 4 is this rim 3a
Disc of wheel 3 integrated by welding with, 2 in FIG.
Although described in detail later, 4a indicated by a dotted chain line is a cutting portion which does not exist because the disk 4 has already been cut out into a large circular shape in this example.

Reference numeral 5 is an annular mounting adapter, 6 is a welded portion formed by firmly fixing the mounting adapter 5 and the disk 4 together, and 7 and 8 are first and second raised members each of which is substantially disk-shaped. The strain plates 9, 10, 11 and 12 are provided on the first strain plate 7 and the second strain plate 8 respectively, and a strain gauge attachment surface (hereinafter referred to as “strain gauge attachment scheduled surface” to which a strain gauge (not shown) is attached). It is said to be the surface to be attached ”).

Reference numeral 13 is an annular space having a rectangular cross section formed by combining annular grooves formed in the first and second flexure plates 7 and 8, and 14 and 14a are second flexure plates 8 respectively.
Communication holes 15 and 15a formed in the drive shaft 1 communicate with the communication hole 14, and a counterbore hole and a screw insertion hole for a hub bolt for fixing the first strain-flexing plate 7 to the drive shaft 1; It is a hole for avoiding the protrusion on the end surface of the.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a terminal chamber which communicates with the communication hole 14a and accommodates a terminal plate 18, and 18 denotes the terminal plate, which is 18a.
Is a terminal of which one out of four is planted in the terminal plate 18, as a representative, 18b is a screw for fixing the terminal plate 18 to the terminal chamber 17 of the first flexure plate 7, and 19 is the annular shape. The space 13, the communication hole 14, and the terminal chamber 17
A wiring groove communicating with the second strain-flexing plate 8, a connecting portion formed in the central portion of the second flexure plate 8, a concentrating space formed in the central portion of the connecting portion 20, and a concentrating space 21 and the above-mentioned concentrating space 21. It is a wiring oblique hole that communicates with the terminal chamber 17 and the counterbore 15.

Reference numeral 23 is a disk-shaped outer cover, 23a is an insertion hole communicating with the communication hole 14, and 24 is a mounting adapter 5.
Is a disc-shaped inner cover loosely fitted to the outer cover 23, and the outer cover 23, the first and second strain-flexing plates 7 and 8 are concentrically integrally connected to the mounting adapter 5 to form a detector 26. Bolts 27 and 27a for connecting both the first and second flexure plates 7 and 8, 28 denotes the axis of the drive shaft 1, and 29 denotes the center of the wheel 3 in the axial direction. Show. 29a is a regular wheel position (offset)
Indicates.

Reference numeral 30 is the detector 26, more specifically, the second detector.
Is fixed concentrically with the connecting portion 20 of the strain plate 8 and detects the speed, 31 is the rotational speed of the gear 30, that is, a magnetic sensor that detects the rotational speed of the wheel 3, and 32 is the detector 26. Slip ring device to extract the signal from 3
Reference numeral 3 denotes a rotating portion concentrically and rotatably connected to the gear 30, and 33a denotes a slip ring provided on the outer periphery of the rotating portion 33.

Reference numeral 34 denotes an input / output terminal composed of a waterproof type connector for taking out the above-mentioned signal in a portion immovable with respect to the rotation, and reference numeral 35 denotes a female screw portion for mounting a support member (not shown) for preventing the rotation of the slip ring device 32 itself. Is. still,
In the following drawings, the same members as those shown in FIGS. 3 to 4 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a duplicate description will be omitted.

5 and 6 are diagrams showing the construction of the first strain-flexing plate 7 in detail. FIG. 5 is a front view, and FIG. 6 is A- of FIG.
It is a sectional view taken along the arrow A '.

In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, 36 is planted in the peripheral portion of the first flexure plate 7 in order to accurately align the positions of the first flexure plate 7 and the second flexure plate 8. The two locating pins 37 and 37 are drilled on the same radius, and the bolt 2 of FIG.
Sixteen insertion holes through which 5 is inserted, and 38 and 39 are annular grooves having a concave cross-section formed in the circumferential direction at a radial position slightly inside the insertion hole 37.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a wiring groove having a concave cross section which communicates from the annular groove 38 to the terminal chamber 17, and 40 denotes the annular grooves 38 and 39.
32 strain-flexing piece forming holes as a large number of holes evenly arranged inward of the strain-reducing piece forming hole 41, 41 having a minimum width S between adjacent holes of the strain-flexing piece forming hole 40, A spoke-shaped strain piece formed with a thickness t between the grooves 38 and 39, having a minimum width S.
The thickness t is larger than that of Four
Reference numeral 2 is a torque strain piece selected every other one of the strain pieces 41 in the circumferential direction, and reference numeral 43 is a side force strain piece similarly selected every three pieces.

Each strain piece 41 has a surface visible in the clockwise direction and a surface visible in the counterclockwise direction. In this example, the former is the first planned attachment surface and the latter is the second planned attachment surface. I will call it. Therefore, the planned attachment surfaces 9 and 10 shown in FIG.
The surface 10 will be attached.

.., A16 are torque gauge strain gauges attached to the first attachment surface of each torque strain piece 42, and B1, B2, B3 ,. The strain gauges for torque detection E1 and F1 attached to the second attachment surface of the torque strain piece 42 are:
It is a strain gauge for side force detection, which is attached orthogonally to the first surface to be attached of the strain piece 43 for side force.

Similarly, E2 and F2 are side force detecting strain gauges attached to the second attachment surface, and similarly, strain gauges having an odd number next to the English letters are the first attachment surface. In addition, the even strain gauges have 45 ° and 135 ° with respect to the radial axis so that the strain gauges with the English letters E and F can detect the shear strain generated when the side force is applied on the second scheduled surface. They are paired so as to be orthogonal to each other, and are attached up to E16 and F16.

44 and 45 are annular grooves 38 and 3, respectively.
With 16 screw holes that are equally distributed on the outside and inside with a predetermined diameter on both sides of 9, and female threads are screwed on the inside,
The bolts 27 and 27a in FIG. 3 are configured to be screwed together. Reference numeral 46 denotes a screw hole which is provided at the bottom of the terminal chamber 17 and is screwed with a screw 18b for mounting the terminal plate 18 shown in FIG.

7 and 8 are drawings showing the structure of the second strain-flexing plate 8 in more detail. FIG. 7 is a front view and FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line BB 'in FIG. . In FIGS. 7 and 8, 47 is a pin hole into which the positioning pin 36 is fitted, 48 is a position corresponding to the insertion hole 37 of the first strain-flexing plate 7, and the bolt 25 is inserted through the same as above. It is the insertion hole.

Reference numerals 49 and 50 are annular grooves formed in substantially the same manner as the first strain plate 7, and 51 is also a strain piece formed in substantially the same manner as the strain piece forming hole 40 in the first strain plate 7. The forming holes, 52, 53, and 54 are also a strain generating piece, a torque strain generating piece, and a side force strain generating piece, which are formed in substantially the same manner as the first strain generating plate 7.

C1, C2, C3, ..., C16 and D
Similarly, 1, D2, D3, ..., D16 are torque gauge strain gauges G1 and H attached to the first and second attachment surfaces of the torque strain piece 53, respectively.
1, G2 and H2, ..., G16 and H16 are also first
The strain gauge is attached in the same manner as the strain gauges of the letters E and F of the strain plate 7 of FIG.

55 and 56 are counterbored holes 55a, respectively.
And 56a, and the screw hole 44 of the first flexure plate 7
And mounting holes through which the bolts 27 and 27a are inserted, respectively, and 57 is a mounting hole through which the bolt 30a connecting the second strain-flexing plate 8 and the gear 30 of FIG. 3 is inserted. is there.

Although not shown, the strain gauges A1 to
A16, B1-B16, C1-C16 and D1-D1
6 constitutes a Wheatstone bridge for torque detection, and strain gauges E1 to E16, F1 to F16,
G1 to G16 and H1 to H16 form a Wheatstone bridge for side force detection.

The input end and the output terminal of the Wheatstone bridge for torque detection and side force detection are connected to the slip ring device 32, respectively.

The torque measuring device constructed as described above is
A deformation mode of each of the flexure pieces of the flexure plates 7 and 8, that is, a torque acting on a wheel is converted into an electric quantity by a strain gauge, and an output current thereof can be obtained and obtained from a slip ring from an output terminal. It is configured.

[0025]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The torque measuring device described above has a simple structure, but an acting force other than torque,
In particular, the influence of side force and wheel load is not substantially received, and the total thickness of the strain-flexing plate can be made significantly thinner than the conventional one, and the weight can be reduced accordingly.
There is an advantage that the measurement accuracy can be improved and a regular offset can be held.

On the other hand, however, since the slip ring device 32 is projected from the end face of the connecting portion 20 of the detector 26 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 1, the slip ring device 32 is obstructed during traveling of the vehicle. For example, there is a problem in that, for example, when the vehicle travels on a snowy road, it is easily damaged by coming into contact with the accumulated snow.

Further, in the slip ring system, it is difficult to accurately measure the torque due to noise generated from the sliding contact portion between the fixed portion and the movable portion, and the sliding contact portion is easily worn, so that frequent replacement of parts is required. , Maintenance is awkward. Further, the long projection of the slip ring device 32 affects the running performance because the air resistance received by the slip ring device increases when the running speed of the vehicle increases. further,
Since the slip ring device itself is heavy, it has been difficult to reduce the weight of the torque measuring device.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to eliminate the slip ring system which projects from the end face of the detector for a long time and adopt a telemeter system. With this, it is possible to measure torque with high accuracy without significantly affecting the running performance by significantly reducing the amount of protrusion in the axial direction, aiming at weight reduction and withstanding the centrifugal force due to rotation sufficiently. Moreover, it is to provide a torque measuring device that is easy to maintain.

[0029]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, a torque measuring device according to the present invention is a torque measuring device for converting torque acting on a wheel into an electric quantity to measure the central portion of a disk. A wheel with a large circular hole formed in it, a mounting adapter that is fitted into the circular hole of this wheel, and is firmly fixed to the wheel while maintaining the same offset as the regular wheel; Present, and is concentrically overlapped with the mounting adapter, a plurality of holes are formed on the circumference of a predetermined radius to form spoke-shaped strain elements extending radially between adjacent holes, And a strain-flexing plate removably attached to the drive shaft of the vehicle with a mounting bolt, and a pair of the first strain-fixing plate sandwiching the strain-flexing plate, the first attachment face on one side and the first attachment face on the other side. 2 Attached to each surface to be attached A strain gauge for torque detection that constitutes a Wheatstone bridge, and a battery and a transmitter connected to the Wheatstone bridge, respectively, and housed in a telemeter case bolted to the outer surface of the strain plate. And a circular antenna for transmission mounted via an insulating plate that also serves as a lid that closes the front opening of the telemeter case.

[0030]

The torque measuring device configured as described above converts the amount of deformation of the strain-flexing piece, that is, the torque acting on the wheels as the vehicle travels into an electric amount by a strain gauge,
The output signal can be converted into radio waves by a transmitter, transmitted from an antenna, and received by a receiving device separately installed in the vehicle to measure torque.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a torque measuring device according to the present invention with its essential parts broken away, in which the wheels, discs, mounting adapters and detectors denoted by reference numerals 3, 4, 5 and 26 are: Since the configuration is the same as that described as the prior invention of FIG. 3, only an outline is shown and duplicate description is omitted.

Reference numeral 59 denotes a bolt 60 on the end face of the connecting portion 20 at the central portion of the second strain plate 8 which constitutes a part of the detector 26.
A telemeter case having a bottom portion joined by the above, and an O-ring 61 is sealed between the telemeter case and the connecting portion 20.

A partition wall 59 is provided inside the telemeter case 59.
It is divided into two storage chambers by a, and a transmitter (telemeter) 62 is stored in one of the storage chambers. The transmitter 62 has an output terminal of a Wheatstone bridge composed of strain gauges not shown in FIG. Are connected. The transmitter 62 and the battery 63 that serves as a power source for the Wheatstone bridge are housed in the other storage chamber.

The front opening of the telemeter case 59 has a lid 6 made of an insulating plate such as glass epoxy or Delrin.
It is closed at 4, and is fixed to the case 59 with screws 65. An annular antenna 66 made of a plate material is fixed on the lid 64 with screws 67. 68 is a cable that electrically connects the transmitter 62 and the antenna 66.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 69 is a switch device of the transmitter 62, which is attached by hollowing out the outer cover 23 at an intermediate angular position of the communication hole 14 (or the counterbore hole 15 for the hub bolt) adjacent to each other in the detector 26. , 70 are calibration value setting switches provided at positions symmetrical to the switch device 69.

The torque measuring device constructed as described above is
The torque (and side force) acting on the wheels as the vehicle travels is detected as the amount of deformation of the strain-flexing piece, and an output signal converted into an electric signal by a strain gauge attached to the strain-flexing piece is used as the transmitter 62. Antenna 6 as radio waves from
6 (above is the rotating side), the above signal is received by a receiving device (not shown) installed on the side of the vehicle concerned (below is the fixed side), and torque can be measured.

According to the above-described embodiment, the torque output (and the side force output) converted into the electric signal by the strain gauge is used without using the slip ring device.
Since the transmission and reception are performed by the telemeter, the structure can be greatly simplified and the weight can be reduced, and particularly, the protrusion amount in the axle direction can be significantly shortened. Therefore, the torque measuring device itself, the amount of protrusion to the side of the wheel can be suppressed to less than half of that of the slip ring method.
The risk of contact with obstacles can also be reduced or avoided.

Further, in the case of the slip ring method, it was difficult to accurately measure the torque due to the generation of noise in the sliding contact portion. However, by adopting the telemeter method, there is no obstacle due to the noise, and accurate torque measurement is possible. Become.

Further, in the telemeter system, the projection length from the wheel is greatly shortened as in the slip ring system, so that the air resistance received by the telemeter system is also small and therefore the running performance of the vehicle is affected. Nothing.

The telemeter system according to the present invention is
The receiving antenna does not require so-called detent means and is installed at a free position, for example, in the vehicle, because it is configured to convert the electric signal corresponding to the torque from the strain gauge or the side force into an electric wave and transmit it from the antenna of the transmitter. However, like the photoelectric telemeter method, the light emitting unit is provided on the axle side, the light receiving unit is provided on the fixed side, and the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit have to be arranged close to each other. It is necessary to use the above-mentioned anti-rotation means for fixing the light-receiving part side by the arm protruding from the side of the vehicle, especially when measuring the torque of the wheel on the steering shaft side, the axle tilts in the front-back direction, so The structure of the stopping means becomes complicated.

Further, since the antenna 66 of the transmitter 62 is attached to the telemeter case 59 via the lid 64 made of an insulating plate, the radio wave from the antenna 66 is shielded by the insulating plate and can be emitted in a fixed direction. At the same time, since the single lid 64 has both the insulating function and the case lid function, it is possible to simplify the configuration, reduce the weight, and reduce the cost.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, the storage positions of the transmitter and the battery are
Instead of being arranged on the outer end surface of the central portion of the detector 26 as in the embodiment, it may be built in the space between the hub bolts for fixing the wheels. With this configuration, the amount of protrusion from the wheel end surface can be further reduced. At this time, the positions of the transmitter and the battery are preferably in places where they are not unbalanced with respect to the rotating wheels.

Further, although the antenna 66 is shown as a flat plate annular shape, it may be a ring shape having a circular cross section. Further, the hole for forming the strain-flexing piece is not limited to the circular hole as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, and the shape of the hole may be arbitrary and at least the radial direction between adjacent holes. It suffices that a spoke-shaped strain-flexing piece extending in the direction is formed.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, the slip ring system which projects outward from the end face of the detector mounted on the wheel is abolished, and the telemeter system using radio waves is adopted. This eliminates the need for a detent means and greatly reduces the amount of protrusion of the wheel in the axial direction, so there is almost no chance of contact with an obstacle and damage.
In addition, the air resistance during running of the vehicle is small, it does not affect the running performance, and the noise seen in the slip ring method does not occur, so accurate torque measurement is possible, and it is also compact and lightweight. It is possible to provide a torque measuring device that can be manufactured easily, can be manufactured at low cost, has no upper sliding contact portion, and can be simply replaced with a battery.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a torque measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention with its main part broken away.

2 is a front view of the wheel of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of the overall configuration of the torque measuring device previously filed by the present applicant.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a part of FIG. 3 in a simplified manner.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing in detail the configuration of a first flexure plate.

6 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing in detail the configuration of a second flexure plate.

8 is a sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 drive shaft 2 caliper 3 wheel 3a rim 4 disk 5 mounting adapter 7 first strain plate 8 second strain plate 14, 14a communication hole 15 countersunk hole 20 connecting part 23 outer cover 26 detector 41-43, 52 to 53 strain piece 59 telemeter case 60 bolt 61 O-ring 62 transmitter 63 battery 64 lid 65, 67 screw 66 antenna 68 cable 69 switch device 70 calibration value setting switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A torque measuring device for measuring a torque acting on a wheel by converting it into an electric quantity, and a wheel having a large circular hole formed in a central portion of a disk, and the wheel being fitted into the circular hole of the wheel. And a mounting adapter that is firmly fixed to the wheel while maintaining the same offset as the regular wheel, and has a substantially disc shape, is concentrically overlapped with the mounting adapter, and a large number of circles are formed on the circumference of a predetermined radius. By forming the holes, spoke-shaped strain-flexing pieces extending in the radial direction are formed between the holes adjacent to each other, and the strain-flexing plate detachably attached to the drive shaft of the vehicle with the attachment bolts, A strain gauge for torque detection, which is attached to the first scheduled attachment surface on one side of the hole and the second scheduled attachment surface on the other side to form a pair by sandwiching each strain piece of the plate to form a Wheatstone bridge; , Up The batteries and transmitters, which are housed in telemeter cases bolted to the outer surface of the strain plate and respectively connected to the Wheatstone bridge, and an insulating plate that also functions as a lid that closes the front opening of the telemeter case A torque measuring device comprising: a circular antenna for transmission, which is attached to the antenna.