JPH09269721A - Driving simulator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To spuriously realize running characteristics with a simple structure by providing a hydraulic cylinder rotating and driving a turntable where a car body is placed left and right and a pair of left and right hydraulic cylinders supporting the car body at the front wheel position of the car body. SOLUTION: A first hydraulic cylinder is horizontally disposed between the turntable 3 and a base 1 so as to rotate the turntable 3 left and right from a neutral position. Second and third hydraulic cylinders 13 are disposed between the car body 8 and left and right front wheels 6 so as to drive the car body 8 in an up-and-down direction on the turntable 3. For instance, when a handle 20 is operated and a turning movement is performed, a control unit calculates a rolling state, and the stroke difference of the left and right hydraulic cylinders 13 is made so as to incline the car body 8 on the outside of turning. Also, yawing angle is calculated, and the first hydraulic cylinder 11 is stretched or shrunk in accordance with it, and the turntable 3 is rotated right or left, so that yawing is bodily felt.

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 driving simulator that simulates the running condition of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a pseudo reproduction of a running posture of a vehicle, which fluctuates variously as a steering wheel of a vehicle is operated,
Driving simulators are known.

This is to support a vehicle body of a simulated experience vehicle imitating an automobile by a plurality of hydraulic cylinders, and to control the expansion and contraction of these hydraulic cylinders in response to a steering wheel operation or the like, for example, rolling the vehicle body to the left or right, front and rear. You can experience pitching to shake or yawing to swing the tail from side to side.

[0004]

However, in such a driving simulator, a large number of hydraulic cylinders are required to realize the above-mentioned control. For example, front and rear wheels of the vehicle body for rolling and pitching. According to the position, at least four and at least two on both sides of the car body for yawing are required. Since these hydraulic cylinders are controlled synchronously while interlocking with each other, the hydraulic control system becomes very complicated. There was a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide a driving simulator having a simple structure and capable of quasi-realizing a running characteristic closer to a running operation state of an actual vehicle.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a turntable on which a vehicle body is mounted, a first hydraulic cylinder for rotating the turntable left and right over a predetermined angle range, and a front wheel position of the vehicle body. A pair of left and right second and third hydraulic cylinders are provided to support the vehicle body, and means for controlling expansion and contraction of these hydraulic cylinders according to a pseudo driving operation.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the center of rotation of the turntable is arranged substantially at the center connecting the left and right front wheels.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the turntable includes a vertical axis arranged at the center of rotation with respect to the base, and a guide rail arranged on a predetermined circumference centered on the vertical axis. , Freely supported.

In a fourth aspect based on the second or third aspect, one end of the first hydraulic cylinder is connected to a position eccentrically located from the center of rotation of the turntable, and the other end is connected to a part of the base.

In a fifth aspect based on the first to fourth aspects, a monitor for displaying an image is arranged in front of the driver's seat of the vehicle body.

[0011]

In the first aspect of the present invention, the control means actuates the first hydraulic cylinder to rotate the turntable left and right over a predetermined angle range, thereby causing a pseudo yawing of the vehicle body. Alternate expansion and contraction of the second and third hydraulic cylinders causes rolling of the vehicle body, and simultaneous expansion and contraction causes pitching.

In the second aspect of the invention, since the center of rotation of the turntable is near the center of the front wheels of the vehicle body, the yawing motion can be caused more accurately.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the turntable smoothly rotates around the vertical axis along the guide rails.
Reduce the driving force of the hydraulic cylinder.

In the fourth aspect of the invention, the turntable rotates in one direction by extending the first hydraulic cylinder and in the opposite direction by contracting the first hydraulic cylinder, which simplifies the control of the hydraulic cylinder required to cause yawing.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by displaying the front view of the vehicle while traveling on a monitor, it is possible to experience a simulated traveling operation in a state close to actual vehicle traveling.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a turntable 3 which rotates about a vertical shaft 2 is provided above the base 1. A part of the turntable 3 is slidably supported by a guide rail 4 arranged on the base 1. The guide rails 4 are arranged in an arc shape on the same circumference centered on the vertical axis 2 over a predetermined angle range, and the turntable 3 is smoothly rotated through a sliding portion (not shown) arranged on the lower surface of the turntable 3. ..

A simulated experience vehicle 5 imitating an automobile is placed on the turn table 3, and a vehicle body 8 is supported at positions of a front wheel 6 and a rear wheel 7. The front wheel 6 and the rear wheel 7 are attached to the turntable 3. On the turntable 3 in front of the driver's seat of the simulated experience vehicle 5, a monitor 9 showing a view according to the driving condition is installed so that it can be seen from the driver's seat.

In order to rotate the turntable 3 from the neutral position to the left and right, a first hydraulic cylinder 11 is horizontally interposed between the turntable 3 and the base 1 as shown in FIGS. . The hydraulic cylinder 11 is arranged parallel to the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 8, one end thereof is connected to the pedestal 12 of the base 1, and the other end thereof is connected to a position eccentrically located from the rotation center (vertical axis 2) of the turntable 3. Hydraulic cylinder 1
The turntable 3 is rotationally driven in different directions about the vertical axis 2 in different directions depending on whether the neutral position 1 is moved to the extension side or the contracted side.

Further, in order to drive the vehicle body 8 in the vertical direction on the turn table 3, at each position of the left and right front wheels 6,
Second and third hydraulic cylinders 13 and 14 are interposed between the vehicle body 8 and the left and right front wheels (axles) 6 with a slight inclination from the vertical direction.

In the vicinity of the middle connecting the left and right rear wheels 7,
A bearing 15 is provided that supports the vehicle body 8 rotatably vertically and horizontally with respect to the turntable 3.

Therefore, the hydraulic cylinders 13 and 14 are
When both are extended at the same time, the front of the vehicle body 8 rises, and when it is contracted, the front sinks. When the hydraulic cylinders 13 and 14 are alternately expanded and contracted, the vehicle body 8 leans left and right.

Each of these hydraulic cylinders 11, 13 and 14
Is supplied with hydraulic pressure via each hydraulic pipe group 17, and the supply of this hydraulic pressure is controlled by a hydraulic control valve 18 provided in the base 1. However, the illustration of the hydraulic pressure source is omitted.

In the simulated experience vehicle 5, outside the steering wheel 20,
Accelerators, brakes, shift levers for shifting, etc., which are not shown, are provided in the same manner as in an actual automobile. Sensors (not shown) detect these operations and output them to a control unit (not shown),
The operation of the hydraulic control valve 18 is controlled by a signal from the control unit to realize a motion close to an actual traveling operation state. At the same time, on the monitor 9 in front of the driver's seat, the scenery and the like that change as the vehicle travels is displayed.

The configuration is as described above. Next, the operation will be described.

A control unit (not shown) calculates the vehicle speed based on the accelerator operated by the driver on the simulated vehicle 5 and the position of the shift lever of the transmission.
The vibration from the road surface is calculated according to this vehicle speed, and the second and third vibrations are obtained.
The hydraulic cylinders 13 and 13 are synchronously expanded and contracted with a predetermined frequency and a minute stroke. As a result, it is possible to feel the road vibrations that accompany the running in a simulated manner. At the same time, the monitor 9 in front of the driver's seat displays a front view that changes variously while driving, enhancing the sense of presence.

Further, when the steering wheel 20 is operated from this state to perform a turning motion, the rolling state associated with this is calculated, and the stroke difference between the left and right hydraulic cylinders 13 and 14 is calculated so that the vehicle body 8 leans toward the turning outside. I will In this case, the higher the vehicle speed is and the larger the steering wheel operating angle is, the stronger the simulated rolling is.

At this time, the yaw angle is also calculated, and by extending or contracting the first hydraulic cylinder 11 accordingly, the turntable 3 rotates to the right or left, so that yawing can be experienced.

On the other hand, at the time of starting acceleration by suddenly depressing the accelerator, or at the time of braking by operating the brake during traveling, the left and right hydraulic cylinders 13 and 14 are synchronously extended or contracted to thereby front side of the vehicle body. It is possible to experience the pitching that is caused by the floating of the vehicle, or the sinking of the front side of the vehicle body. In this case, the pitching increases as the operation speed (amount) of the accelerator or the brake increases.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the rolling, pitching, and yawing, which are close to the actual running state of the vehicle, can be experienced by the expansion and contraction operation of the three hydraulic cylinders. With such a structure and control mechanism, it is possible to realize a high-performance pseudo traveling operation.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the center of rotation of the turntable is near the center of the front wheels of the vehicle body, the yawing motion can be caused more accurately.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the turntable is supported by the vertical shaft and the guide rail, and can be smoothly rotated by a slight driving force.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the left and right rotation of the turntable can be realized by the expansion and contraction of one hydraulic cylinder, and the control of the hydraulic cylinder required to cause yawing becomes simple.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by displaying the front view of the vehicle at the time of traveling on the monitor according to the driving operation of the driver, it is possible to experience a pseudo traveling operation in a state close to actual vehicle traveling.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a side view mainly showing a hydraulic system.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the hydraulic system in the base with a part omitted.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the vehicle body seen from the rear.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Base 2 Vertical Axis 3 Turntable 4 Guide Rail 5 Simulated Experience Vehicle 6 Front Wheel 7 Rear Wheel 8 Body 9 Monitor 11 Hydraulic Cylinder 13 Hydraulic Cylinder 14 Hydraulic Cylinder 15 Bearing

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Masafumi Ohira 2-4-1, Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo World Trade Center Building Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Kuni Fujimoto 2-4-1, Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. World Trade Center Building Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A turntable on which a vehicle body is mounted, a first hydraulic cylinder that rotationally drives the turntable left and right over a predetermined angle range, and a pair of left and right wheels disposed at front wheel positions of the vehicle body to support the vehicle body. A driving simulator comprising second and third hydraulic cylinders, and means for controlling expansion and contraction of each of these hydraulic cylinders in accordance with a pseudo driving operation. 2. The driving simulator according to claim 1, wherein the center of rotation of the turntable is disposed substantially at the center connecting the left and right front wheels. 3. The turntable is rotatably supported by a vertical axis arranged at the center of rotation with respect to the base and a guide rail arranged on a predetermined circumference centered on the vertical axis. The driving simulator according to 2. 4. The driving simulator according to claim 2, wherein one end of the first hydraulic cylinder is eccentrically located from the center of rotation of the turntable, and the other end is connected to a part of the base. 5. The driving simulator according to claim 1, wherein a monitor for displaying an image is arranged in front of a driver's seat of the vehicle body.