JPS6322083Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a vehicle height switching device that maintains the vehicle height a predetermined height lower than the normal vehicle height when the vehicle is running, especially when the engine is stopped, making it easier to get on and off the vehicle and load and unload luggage. The present invention also relates to a vehicle height switching device that can maintain a normal vehicle height when the vehicle is running when the engine is running.

There are various types of vehicles based on the shape of the vehicle body, but some of these vehicles have the driver's seat, passenger seat, etc. located at a considerably higher position than the ground, and in such vehicles, it is difficult to get in and out of the vehicle. You may feel inconvenienced when loading and unloading your luggage. For example, in a cab-over type vehicle, a driver's seat and a passenger's seat are provided above the engine due to its structure, and the front wheels are arranged on the side of the engine. For this reason, getting on and off the driver's seat, passenger seat, etc., and loading and unloading luggage must be done through the front tire house, which is very inconvenient. In this case, steps and handles are provided for getting on and off the vehicle, but these are not necessarily effective means.

Therefore, in such cab-over type vehicles and other vehicles in which the driver's seat, passenger seat, etc. are installed at a position considerably higher than the ground, when the vehicle is stopped, the vehicle height must be set to a predetermined height higher than the normal vehicle height when the vehicle is running. It is desirable to keep the height low to facilitate getting on and off, loading and unloading luggage, and to maintain a normal vehicle height when the vehicle is running. However, such a vehicle has not yet been devised.

The present invention was developed based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its main purpose is to maintain the vehicle height lower than the normal height when the vehicle is running when the engine is stopped, and to maintain the height of the vehicle when the engine is running. To provide a vehicle height switching device capable of maintaining a normal vehicle height during traveling, and to facilitate boarding and alighting, loading and unloading of luggage, etc. in a vehicle in which a driver's seat, a passenger's seat, etc. are provided at a high position.

In order to achieve this objective, the present invention provides a height changing device which comprises a torsion spring having one end fixed to a suspension arm which is pivotally attached to one side of the vehicle body so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, an anchor arm having its base end fixed to the other end of the torsion spring, and an actuator attached to the swinging end of the anchor arm which operates by pressurized fluid generated in response to the engine being driven, thereby swinging the anchor arm in a predetermined direction, and which is characterized in that when the engine is driven, the actuator acts to increase the torsion amount of the torsion spring by a predetermined amount, thereby swinging the suspension arm downward.

As a result, in the present invention, if the initial setting value of the torsion amount of the torsion spring is set so that the vehicle height when the vehicle is stopped is maintained a predetermined height lower than the normal vehicle height when the vehicle is running, the engine The torsion amount of the torsion spring is increased by a predetermined amount by the action of the actuator during driving, so that the vehicle height can be automatically raised to a normal height during running and maintained at this height while the engine is driving. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to extremely easily get on and off the vehicle, load and unload luggage, etc. in a vehicle in which the driver's seat, passenger seat, etc. are provided at a high position.

In addition, in this invention, the suspension arm, torsion spring, anchor arm, etc. that make up the suspension mechanism used in conventional vehicles can be used as is, so the conventional suspension mechanism can be configured without major changes. This is extremely advantageous.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a vehicle height switching device according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows a configuration of the vehicle height switching device. A pressure fluid supply mechanism to the actuator is shown. This vehicle height switching device includes a torsion bar spring 11, an anchor arm 12, a hydraulic cylinder 13 as an actuator, and a hydraulic pressure supply mechanism 20 as a pressure fluid supply mechanism.

The torsion bar spring 11 has one end serrated connected to a lower arm 31 that constitutes a suspension mechanism 30 of the vehicle. Also,
This lower arm 31 is pivotally attached to one side of a vehicle body frame 32 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. In addition, in the suspension mechanism 30, the reference numeral 33 indicates an upper arm, and the reference numeral 34 indicates a steering knuckle. On the other hand, a base end portion of an anchor arm 12 is connected to the other end of the torsion bar spring 11 by serration. Further, a hydraulic cylinder 13 is connected to the swinging end of the anchor arm 12.
The hydraulic cylinder 13 includes a cylinder 13a and a piston 13 slidably inserted into the cylinder 13a.
b, and the cylinder 13 is connected to the piston 13b.
The piston rod 13c protrudes liquid-tightly and slidably from the bottom of the piston a. This hydraulic cylinder 13 is attached to a part of the vehicle body at the upper end of the cylinder 13a, and connected to the swinging end of the anchor arm 12 at the lower end of the piston rod 13c, and has a lower oil chamber of the cylinder 13a. When hydraulic pressure is applied to R1, the piston 13b and the piston rod 13c integrated therewith move upward, and when the application of hydraulic pressure to the lower oil chamber R1 is stopped, the piston 13b and the piston rod 13c integrated therewith move downward. is configured to run.

The hydraulic pressure supply mechanism 20 applies hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic cylinder 13 in response to the drive of the engine E.
Air-oil converter 20a with boost mechanism and electromagnetic switching valve 20
b is the main component.

The air-oil converter 20a includes a cylinder body 21, a casing 22 fixed to an opening at one end of the cylinder body 21, and a reservoir 23 provided above the middle part of the cylinder body 21 and containing hydraulic oil,
A piston 24 having a piston cup and a compression spring 25 are housed in the inner bore of the cylinder body 21, and a diaphragm piston 26 and a compression spring 27 are housed in the casing 22. piston 24
has a first chamber R2 and a second chamber R3 formed in the inner hole of the cylinder body 21, and returns to the original position shown in the figure by the biasing force of a compression spring 25 housed in the first chamber R2. The first chamber R2 is communicated with the reservoir 23 through the oil relief hole 21a, and the second chamber R3 is communicated with the reservoir 23 through the oil supply hole 21b. A hydraulic pipe line 20c connected to the lower oil chamber R1 of the hydraulic cylinder 13 is connected to the first chamber R2, and the first chamber R2 and the lower oil chamber R
1 is in communication. diaphragm piston 26
diaphragm 26a and piston rod 26b
The main component is the diaphragm 26.
The outer circumferential edge of the piston rod a is hermetically fixed to the inner circumferential wall of the casing 22, and the piston rod 26b is hermetically and slidably fitted into the cylindrical portion 22a of the casing 22, with its head attached to the rear of the piston 24. engaged at the end. As a result, the diaphragm piston 26 divides the inside of the casing 22 into a constant pressure chamber R4 and a variable pressure chamber R5, and returns to the original position shown in the figure by the biasing force of the compression spring 27 housed in the variable pressure chamber R5. There is. Both chambers R4,
Of R5, constant pressure chamber R4 communicates with the atmosphere and is always maintained at atmospheric pressure. Further, an air pressure pipe 20d connected to the intake manifold of the engine E is connected to the variable pressure chamber R5.
5 is an electromagnetic switching valve 20 installed in the pneumatic pipe 20d.
selectively communicates between the intake manifold and the atmosphere through b.

The electromagnetic switching valve 20b is a 3-port, 2-position switching valve that is operated by the ignition switch S. When the ignition switch S is open, the electromagnetic switching valve 20b communicates the transformation chamber R5 with the atmosphere and also starts the engine E. When the ignition switch S is closed, a switching operation is performed to communicate the transformation chamber R5 with the intake manifold.

Thereby, in this oil pressure supply mechanism 20, when the engine E is stopped, the variable pressure chamber R5 of the air-oil converter 20a has the same atmospheric pressure as the constant pressure chamber R4.
Therefore, the air-oil converter 20a is in a non-operating state and no oil pressure is applied to the lower oil chamber R1 of the hydraulic cylinder 13. Further, when the engine E is driven, negative pressure is applied to the variable pressure chamber R5 of the air-oil converter 20a, creating a pressure difference between the constant pressure chamber R4 and the variable pressure chamber R5, and this differential pressure causes the diaphragm piston 26 to actuate and the piston 24 is slid against the compression spring 25. As a result, the cylinder body 21
A high oil pressure is generated in the first chamber R2, and this oil pressure is applied to the lower oil chamber R1 of the hydraulic cylinder 13 through the throttle portion 28.

In the vehicle height switching device configured in this way,
The initial setting of the amount of torsion of the torsion bar spring 11 is set so that the vehicle height when the vehicle is stopped is maintained a predetermined height lower than the normal vehicle height when the vehicle is running. For this reason, in a vehicle equipped with such a vehicle height switching device, when the vehicle is stopped, the driver's seat, passenger seat, etc. are located at a lower position than when the vehicle is running, making it easy to get on and off the driver's seat, passenger seat, etc., and to load and unload luggage. It is.

By the way, in the vehicle, when the ignition switch S is closed to start the engine E,
The electromagnetic switching valve 20b switches and the air-oil converter 20
Variable pressure chamber R5 of a communicates with the intake manifold. Therefore, when the engine E is started, negative pressure is applied to the variable pressure chamber R5, and the constant pressure chamber R4 and the variable pressure chamber R5
A pressure difference is created between the two, and this pressure difference causes the diaphragm piston 26 and the piston 24 to operate, thereby generating high oil pressure in the first chamber R2. This oil pressure is applied to the lower oil chamber R1 of the hydraulic cylinder 13 through the constriction part 28 of the hydraulic pipe line 20c, and the oil pressure is applied to the lower oil chamber R1 of the hydraulic cylinder 13.
The piston 13b of No. 3 and the piston rod 13c integral therewith are moved upward. As a result, the swinging end of the anchor arm 12 swings upward, increasing the torsion amount of the torsion bar spring 11 by a predetermined amount. As a result, in the vehicle concerned, the engine E
Torsion bar spring 11 in response to the drive of
The amount of twist of the suspension arm always increases by a predetermined amount, and this increase in the amount of twist causes the suspension arm to rotate downward and raise the vehicle height to the normal vehicle height when driving, and the vehicle height remains at the normal vehicle height while engine E is running. is maintained.

Further, in the vehicle, when the ignition switch S is opened to stop the engine E, the electromagnetic switching valve 20b is operated to return to normal operation, and the pressure conversion chamber R5 is communicated with the atmosphere. Therefore, when the engine E is stopped, the pressure difference between the constant pressure chamber R4 and the variable pressure chamber R5 is eliminated, and the diaphragm piston 26 and the piston 24 are returned to their original positions by the action of both compression springs 25 and 27, and the oil pressure in the first chamber R2 is decreases. As a result, the oil pressure in the lower oil chamber R1 of the hydraulic cylinder 13 decreases, and the piston 13b and the piston rod 13c integrated therewith move downward, causing the anchor arm 1 to move downward.
2 swings downward to reduce the amount of twist of the torsion bar spring 11 by a predetermined amount, and return the amount of twist to the initial setting position. As a result, in response to the stoppage of the engine E, the vehicle height of the vehicle is lowered by a predetermined height than the normal height when the vehicle is running, and is maintained at this low vehicle height while the engine E is stopped. Therefore, it becomes easy to get in and out of the driver's seat, passenger seat, etc., and to load and unload luggage.

Note that in this embodiment, the hydraulic cylinder 13
An example has been shown in which the lower end of the piston rod 13c is connected to the swinging end of the anchor arm 12 so that the swinging end of the anchor arm 12 can be pulled up from above.
The anchor arm 12 may be configured and arranged upside down so that the swinging end of the anchor arm 12 is pushed up from below. Further, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which the hydraulic pressure supply mechanism 20 having the air-oil converter 20a and the electromagnetic switching valve 20b as main components is adopted as the hydraulic pressure supply mechanism. Instead, an appropriate pressure fluid supply mechanism capable of supplying hydraulic pressure from an oil pump driven by the engine, other hydraulic pressure, air pressure, etc. can be adopted, and instead of the hydraulic cylinder 13, it can be operated by each of the above-mentioned pressure fluids. Any suitable actuator can be employed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of a vehicle height switching device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a hydraulic pressure supply mechanism for hydraulic cylinders constituting the device. Explanation of symbols, 11...Torsion bar spring, 12...Anchor arm, 13...Hydraulic cylinder, 20...Hydraulic pressure supply mechanism, 20a...Air-oil converter, 20b...Solenoid switching valve, 20c...Hydraulic pressure Pipe line, 20d...Pneumatic pipe line, 30...Suspension mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A torsion spring has one end fixed to a suspension arm pivotably mounted on one side of the vehicle so as to be able to rotate vertically; an anchor arm has its base end fixed to the other end of the torsion spring; An actuator is attached to the swinging end and is actuated by pressure fluid generated in response to the engine when the engine is running to swing the anchor arm in a predetermined direction. A vehicle height switching device configured to rotate the suspension arm downward by increasing the amount of twisting of the suspension arm by a predetermined amount.