JPH1118212A - Device for supplying electric power across above and below-spring members of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely supply electric power across the above and blow-spring members of a vehicle, even when the vehicle is used for a long period under a harsh condition. SOLUTION: A device for supplying electric power is provided with a coil 16, fixed to a bar body 40 installed to a suspension member as the above-spring member of a vehicle and a coil 18 fixed to a lower arm which is the below- spring member of the vehicle and supplies AC power across the abovend below- spring members, through the electromagnetic induction between the coils 16 and 18. The coils 16 and 18 are separated from each other in the radial direction so that the coil 16 is put in the coil 18 substantially coaxially with the coil 18 and maintains the relation without causing physical interference, even if a low arm 34 pivots around the axial line of the bar body 40 due to the bounding and rebounding of the wheel. At the same time, the one coil 16 or 18 has a sufficiently long longitudinal length than the other coil.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power supply device for a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly to a power supply device for supplying power between a sprung portion and a unsprung portion of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One example of an electric drive device provided under a spring of a vehicle such as an automobile is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-63-266.
There is an ultrasonic motor for an electric brake device as described in JP-A-228. In an electric brake device, a movable member such as a brake pad or a brake shoe is driven by an ultrasonic motor, and the ultrasonic motor is controlled in accordance with a depression amount of a brake pedal, and a brake rotor or a brake drum that rotates together with wheels. When the friction material of the movable member is pressed against the rotating member as described above, a braking friction force is generated.

[0003]

In the conventional electric brake device as described above, since the ultrasonic motor is provided on the unsprung member, a power supply provided on the vehicle body as a sprung member is used to drive the ultrasonic motor. In order to supply electric power, a power supply cable must be provided between a sprung member and an unsprung member which are displaced relative to each other during traveling of the vehicle, and the vehicle is used for a long time under severe conditions. Then, there is a possibility that power supply may not be performed properly due to fatigue of the power supply cable.

[0004] Such a problem is not limited to the case where the electric drive device provided on the unsprung member is an ultrasonic motor of an electric brake device. For example, an electric vehicle in which wheels are rotationally driven by an electric motor provided on wheels. In the case where power is supplied to the electric motors of the wheels from the power supply provided in the vehicle body during traveling of the vehicle, or when the power is supplied to the power supply of the vehicle bodies from the electric motors of the wheels as regenerative braking during braking of the vehicle As such, it exists in all vehicles that need to supply power between sprung and unsprung.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem in a vehicle in which electric power is supplied between a sprung portion and an unsprung portion of a vehicle. Instead of using a power supply cable disposed between the member and the unsprung member, power is supplied using electromagnetic induction between a pair of coils provided on the sprung member and the unsprung member. Thus, even when the vehicle is used under severe conditions for a long period of time, it is possible to prevent the power from being supplied improperly.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a motor vehicle comprising: a first coil provided on a sprung member of a vehicle and an unsprung member of the vehicle; A second coil provided, and supplying AC power between a sprung portion and a unsprung portion by electromagnetic induction between the first coil and the second coil. Achieved by the feeding device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, electric power is supplied by utilizing electromagnetic induction between a pair of coils provided on the sprung member and the unsprung member, and the power is supplied to the sprung member and the unsprung member. Since there is no need to arrange power supply cables between them,
It is possible to reliably prevent the power supply from being improperly supplied due to the fatigue of the power supply cable.

[0008]

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the above-mentioned structure, the first and second coils are arranged such that at least the unsprung wheel is in a substantially neutral position. Sometimes it is configured to fit substantially coaxially (preferred embodiment 1).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration of the preferred embodiment 1, the first and second coils are configured such that the sprung member and the unsprung member have a full-bound position and a full-rebound position of the wheel. (The preferred embodiment 2).

According to one preferred aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the preferred embodiment 2, the inner coil of the first and second coils has a longer axial length than the outer coil. (Preferred embodiment 3).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration of the preferred embodiment 2, the sprung member and the unsprung member relatively pivot around a pivot axis with the bounding and rebounding of the wheel. The first and second coils are configured to extend substantially tangentially to an arc line about the pivot axis when the wheel is in a substantially neutral position (preferred embodiment 4).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration of the preferred embodiment 2, the sprung member and the unsprung member move substantially linearly relative to each other as the wheels bounce and rebound, and The second coil is configured to extend substantially in the direction of the relative linear movement (preferred embodiment 5).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration of the preferred embodiment 2, the sprung member and the unsprung member relatively rotate around the rotation axis with the bounce and rebound of the wheel. And the second coil is configured to extend substantially along the axis of rotation (Preferred Embodiment 6).

According to one preferred aspect of the present invention, in the structure of the first aspect, the sprung member and the unsprung member relatively rotate around the rotation axis with the bounce and rebound of the wheel. And the second coil is configured to extend substantially along the axis of rotation and to be spaced apart from each other along the axis of rotation (preferred embodiment 7).

According to one preferred aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the first and second coils are a primary coil and a secondary coil, respectively, and a sprung source has a DC power supply. The first coil is connected to a DC power supply via an inverter, and the second coil is connected to an electric drive device (Preferred Embodiment 8).

According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the configuration of the preferred embodiment 8, the ratio of the effective number of turns of the first and second coils is required for the power supply voltage of the DC power supply and the electric drive device. The power supply voltage is set in relation to a predetermined voltage, whereby the power supply voltage is transformed to the predetermined voltage (preferred mode 9).

According to one preferred aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of claim 1, the first and second coils are a secondary coil and a primary coil, respectively, and a sprung source battery is provided. , The first coil is connected to a power supply battery via a rectifier, and the second coil is connected to a generator driven by wheels (preferred embodiment 1).
0).

[0018]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which several preferred embodiments are shown.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a power supply device according to the present invention, which is configured to supply AC power from a sprung portion to a unsprung portion.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a vehicle body, 12 denotes a sprung member such as a suspension member, and 14 denotes a unsprung member such as a suspension arm.
The sprung member 12 and the unsprung member 14 are each a coil 1
6 and 18, these coils are capable of transmitting AC power to each other by electromagnetic induction, and the sprung member and the unsprung member which are not shown in FIG. They are separated from each other so that they do not physically interfere with each other even when the relative displacement occurs.

The vehicle body 10 has a battery 20 as a DC power supply.
And an inverter 2 for converting DC to AC of a predetermined frequency
2 are provided. Battery 20 is connected to wires 24A and 24A.
4B is connected to the inverter 22.
Are connected to the coil 16 by wires 26A and 26B. On the other hand, the coil 18 is connected to an electric drive device 30 provided on the unsprung member 14 by conducting wires 28A and 28B. The electric drive 30 may be any device that requires power, for example, an electric motor such as an ultrasonic motor of an electric brake device. When the electric drive device 30 is a device driven by a direct current, a rectifier is provided in the middle of the conductors 28A and 28B.

According to this configuration, the coils 16 and 18 function as a primary coil and a secondary coil, respectively, and an induced electromotive force is generated in the coil 18 by the alternating magnetic field generated by the coil 16, whereby the spring is moved from the sprung portion. AC power is supplied downward. The ratio of the effective number of turns of the coils 16 and 18 is determined by the power supply voltage of the battery 20 and the electric drive
The power supply voltage is set in relation to a predetermined voltage required for the power supply.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a first specific embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention in a neutral position of wheels.
FIG. 3 is a partial view showing the main part of the first specific embodiment with respect to the full-bound position and the full-rebound position of the wheel.

In these figures, 32 indicates a suspension member, and 34 indicates a lower arm. A bracket 36 is fixed to the suspension member 32, and the bracket 36 supports an inner end of the lower arm 34 via a rubber bush device 38 so as to be pivotable about an axis 40. Although not shown, the lower arm 34
Is pivotally attached to a wheel support member that rotatably supports the wheel.

A rod 42 is fixed to the lower surface of the outer end of the suspension member 32 in the lateral direction of the vehicle, and the rod 42 extends substantially vertically through a hole 44 provided in the lower arm 34. doing. In particular, in the illustrated embodiment, the rod 42 has an axis 46, and when the wheel is in the neutral position, an arc 48 about the axis 40 with the radius between the axis 46 and the axis 40 as the radius. An axial line 46 is provided to extend substantially tangentially. Rod 42
Is fixed to the coil 16 extending along the axis 46,
The coil 18 extending along the axis is fixed to the hole 44. As shown in FIG. 2, coils 16 and 18 are arranged to fit substantially coaxially with each other as an inner coil and an outer coil when the wheel is in a neutral position.

The rod 42 is preferably formed of a soft magnetic material so as to function as a core of the coil 16, and at least the rod 4 of the suspension member 32 is formed.
The portion close to 2 and the portion of the lower arm 34 near the coil 18 are preferably made of a paramagnetic material or a non-magnetic material so as to reduce the leakage magnetic flux. Further, although not shown in the drawing, the surfaces of the coils 16 and 18 are preferably protected by a cover made of a nonmagnetic material having elasticity such as rubber or resin.

As shown by the arrow 50 in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower arm 34 is positioned between the full-bound position 34A and the full-rebound position 34B of the wheel.
The two coils are radially spaced from each other so that the coils 16 and 18 remain in a mated position without physically interfering with each other when pivoted relative to the suspension member 32 about zero. At the same time, the inner coil 16 has a substantially longer axial length than the outer coil 18.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a second specific embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention at a neutral position of wheels.
FIG. 5 is a partial view showing the main part of the second specific embodiment for the full-bound position and the full-rebound position of the wheel.

In this embodiment, the rod 42 is fixed to the upper surface of the lower arm 34, and the hole 44 is provided at the outer end of the suspension member 32 in the vehicle lateral direction.
Is fixed to the hole 44 as an outer coil, the coil 18 is fixed to the rod 42 as an inner coil, and the inner coil 18 has an axial length sufficiently longer than the outer coil 16. . In other respects, this embodiment is configured similarly to the above-described first embodiment.

According to the first and second embodiments, the suspension member 32 as the sprung member and the lower arm 34 as the unsprung member are relatively pivoted around the axis 40 as the wheels bounce and rebound. Works, but coil 1
6 and 18 maintain a mated state without physically interfering with each other, so that electromagnetic induction between the two coils can reliably supply power between the sprung and unsprung portions for a long period of time. it can.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are longitudinal sectional views showing third and fourth specific embodiments of the power supply device according to the present invention, respectively.

The third embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is applied to a shock absorber. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 52 denotes a shock absorber extending along an axis 54. The shock absorber 52 is elastically connected to the vehicle body 10 via an upper mount 58 at the upper end of a rod portion of a piston 56. , At the lower end of the cylinder 60 are pivotally connected to a suspension arm, not shown. Upper sheet 62 supported on the upper end of the rod portion of piston 56
A suspension spring 66 is elastically mounted between the lower seat 64 fixed to the cylinder 60.

A bound stopper 68 made of an elastic material such as rubber is fixed to the lower surface of the upper sheet 62 so as to surround the rod portion of the piston 56, and is loosely fitted to the cylinder 60 near the lower end of the bound stopper 68. A dust boot 70 is provided integrally therewith and extending along the same. In the lower part of the dust boot 70, there is a coil 1
6 are arranged as outer coils. On the other hand, the coil 18 is fixed around the upper end of the cylinder 60 as an inner coil, and is protected by a cover 72. Preferably, the piston 56, the cylinder 60, and the cover 72 are made of a paramagnetic material or a non-magnetic material.

The fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is also applied to a shock absorber. In FIG. 7, a rod portion 56A of a piston 56 is formed hollow, and a coil 16 is fixed as an inner coil at a position close to a piston body 56B of the rod portion 56A. On the other hand, the coil 18 is fixed around the upper end of the cylinder 60 as an outer coil, and is protected by a cover 72. Also in this embodiment, the piston 56, the cylinder 60 and the cover 72 are preferably formed of a paramagnetic material or a non-magnetic material, and the piston 56 is also formed of a paramagnetic material or a non-magnetic material. preferable.

According to the third and fourth embodiments, the sprung members (the dust boot 70, the dust boot 70, the reciprocating linear movement) substantially along the axis 54 as the wheels bounce and rebound. Piston rod 56A)
And provided on the unsprung member (cylinder 60), the two coils always maintain a substantially coaxial fit, thus providing better power than in the first and second embodiments. Can be supplied.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a fifth specific embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

The fifth embodiment is applied to a pivot portion of the lower arm 34 on the vehicle body side. 8 and 9, a bracket 74 having a substantially V-shape is fixed to one side surface of the end of the lower arm 34 on the vehicle body side by welding or the like, and the bracket 74 is aligned with the axis 40. The shaft 76 that extends is fixed. The coil 18 is fixed to the shaft 76 as an inner coil.

The bracket 36 pivotally supporting the lower arm 34 is fixed to the bracket 8 by bolts 78 and nuts 80.
2 are connected and fixed, and the bracket 82 has an axis 40
A cylindrical body 84 extending in alignment with is fixed by welding or the like. The coil 16 is fixed inside the cylindrical body 84 as an outer coil, and is fitted to the coil 18 while being slightly concentrically spaced apart from the coil 18 in the radial direction.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the lower arm 34 pivots relatively around the axis 40 with respect to the suspension member 32 as the wheel bounces and rebounds, but the bracket as a sprung member for supporting the coil 16 is provided. Since the bracket 82 and the shaft 76 as an unsprung member supporting the cylindrical body 84 and the coil 18 and the shaft 76 rotate relative to each other around the axis 40 and do not substantially pivot or reciprocate linearly, the two coils are The coaxial fitting state is always maintained, so that the power can be supplied even better than in the first to fourth embodiments.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to a specific embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various other embodiments are included within the scope of the present invention. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that is possible.

For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, AC power is supplied from below the sprung portion to below the sprung portion. However, the power supply device of the present invention supplies AC power from the unsprung portion to the sprung portion. As shown in FIG. 10, the unsprung member 14 has a power generator driven by wheels so that the coils 16 and 18 function as a secondary coil and a primary coil, respectively. A rectifier 88 is provided on the vehicle body instead of the inverter 22 shown in FIG.

In the first to third embodiments described above, the axial length of the inner coil is set longer than the axial length of the outer coil, and therefore, is longer than the reverse case. The length of the conductor required to form one coil may be short, but as in the case of the fourth embodiment, if necessary, the axial length of the outer coil is longer than the axial length of the inner coil. It may be set.

In the third embodiment, the outer coil 16 is supported by the dust boot 70. However, the outer coil 16 may be supported by the suspension spring 64. It may be configured to function as.

In the above-described fifth embodiment, the outer coil (16) is supported by the sprung member and the inner coil (18) is supported by the unsprung member. May be supported by the unsprung member, and the inner coil may be supported by the sprung member. Further, the coils 16 and 18 may not be arranged in a fitted state with each other, but may be arranged in a state of being spaced apart from each other along the axis 40, and may be further incorporated in the rubber bush device 38.

[0045]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the structure of the present invention, the electric power is reliably applied between the sprung portion and the unsprung portion by utilizing the electromagnetic induction between the first and second coils. Not only can be supplied, but there is no need to arrange a power supply cable between the sprung member and the unsprung member,
It is possible to reliably prevent the power supply from being improperly performed due to the fatigue of the power supply cable. Therefore, even when the vehicle is used for a long time under severe conditions, the power supply is not properly performed. This can be reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a power supply device according to the present invention configured to supply AC power from sprung to unsprung.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a first specific embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention at a neutral position of wheels.

FIG. 3 is a partial view showing a main part of a first specific embodiment for a full bound position and a full rebound position of a wheel.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a second specific embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention at a neutral position of wheels.

FIG. 5 is a partial view showing a main part of a second specific embodiment regarding a full bound position and a full rebound position of a wheel.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a third specific embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a fourth specific embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a fifth specific embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of a power supply device according to the present invention configured to supply AC power from unsprung to sprung.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 vehicle body 12 sprung member 14 unsprung member 16, 18 coil 20 battery 22 inverter 30 electric drive 32 suspension member 34 lower arm 52 shock absorber 56 piston 60 cylinder 70 dust boots

Claims (1)

[Claims] A first coil provided on an unsprung member of the vehicle, and a second coil provided on an unsprung member of the vehicle, wherein the first coil and the second coil A power supply device for supplying AC power between a sprung portion and an unsprung portion by electromagnetic induction between the two.