WO2019065778A1

WO2019065778A1 - Hub unit equipped with steering function, and vehicle provided with same

Info

Publication number: WO2019065778A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/035795
Authority: WO
Inventors: 大場　浩量; 佑介大畑
Original assignee: Ntn株式会社
Priority date: 2017-09-27
Filing date: 2018-09-26
Publication date: 2019-04-04
Also published as: JP2019059353A; JP6990078B2

Abstract

This hub unit (1) equipped with an auxiliary steering function is provided with: a knuckle (6); a case (6b); a hub unit main body (2) which is provided with a hub bearing (15) for supporting a wheel, and which is installed on the knuckle (6) via upper and lower rotation-permitting support components (4, 4) in two places, so as to be capable of rotating around an auxiliary steering axis (A) extending in the vertical direction; and an actuator main body (7) which is installed on the knuckle (6), and which rotationally drives the hub unit main body (2) around the auxiliary steering axis (A). The case (6b) covers a portion or all of the actuator main body (2), and is formed as a portion of the knuckle (6) so as to be integrated with another portion of the knuckle (6).

Description

Hub unit with steering function and vehicle equipped with the same

Related application

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-185695 filed on Sep. 27, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety as part of the present application.

The present invention relates to a hub unit with a steering function provided with a function to perform steering in addition to steering by a steering device or auxiliary steering such as rear wheel steering, and a vehicle provided with the same. Technology for improving stability and safety.

In a vehicle such as a general automobile, a steering wheel and a steering device are mechanically connected, and both ends of the steering device are connected to respective left and right wheels by tie rods. Therefore, the cut angle of the left and right wheels due to the movement of the steering wheel is determined by the initial setting.

In the geometry of the vehicle, (1) "parallel geometry" in which the turning angle of the left and right wheels are the same, (2) cut the turning inner wheel tire angle larger than the turning outer wheel tire angle in order to make the turning center one place. Ackerman geometry is known.

The geometry of the vehicle affects the stability and safety of the runnability.

Patent Documents

1 and 2, for example, have been proposed as to a mechanism in which the steering geometry is variable according to the traveling situation. In Patent Document 1, the steering geometry is changed by relatively changing the knuckle arm and the joint position. In Patent Document 2, two motors are used, and it is possible to incline both the toe angle and the camber angle to an arbitrary angle. Patent Document 3 proposes a four-wheel independent steering mechanism.

JP, 2009-226972, A German Patent Application Publication No. 102012206337 JP, 2014-061744, A

Ackerman geometry is the difference in steering angle between left and right wheels so that each wheel turns around a common point in order to make the wheels turn smoothly when turning at low speed where the centrifugal force acting on the vehicle can be ignored Is set. However, since it is desirable for the wheel to generate a cornering force in a direction that balances the centrifugal force, it is preferable to use a parallel geometry rather than an Ackerman geometry in turning in a high speed region where the centrifugal force can not be ignored.

As described above, since a general vehicle steering system is mechanically connected to the wheels, generally only a single fixed steering geometry can be taken, and the middle between Ackerman geometry and parallel geometry It is often set to a static geometry. However, in this case, the steering angle difference between the left and right wheels is insufficient in the low speed region, the steering angle of the outer ring becomes excessive, and the steering angle of the inner ring becomes excessive in the high speed region. As described above, unnecessary bias in the tire lateral force distribution of the inner and outer rings causes deterioration of the running resistance, resulting in deterioration of the fuel efficiency and early wear of the tires, and the inability to use the inner and outer rings efficiently. Problems such as loss of

According to the proposals of

Patent Documents

1 and 2, the steering geometry can be changed, but there are the following problems. In Patent Document 1, as described above, the steering geometry is changed by relatively changing the positions of the knuckle arm and the joint, but a motor actuator that obtains such a large force that changes the geometry of the vehicle is used. Providing is very difficult due to space constraints. In addition, the change in tire angle due to the change at this position is small, and in order to obtain a large effect, it is necessary to make a large change, that is, a large movement. In Patent Document 2, since two motors are used, the cost increases due to the increase in the number of motors, and the control becomes complicated.

Patent Document 3 can be applied only to a four-wheel independent steered vehicle, and the hub bearing is supported in a cantilever manner with respect to the steered shaft, so the rigidity is reduced, and the occurrence of excessive travel G causes the steering geometry to be reduced. It may change. Moreover, when a reduction gear is provided on the turning shaft, a large power is required. For this reason, although the motor is enlarged, if the motor is enlarged, it becomes difficult to arrange the whole on the inner peripheral portion of the wheel. In addition, when a reduction gear having a large reduction ratio is provided, the responsiveness deteriorates.

As described above, the mechanism having the conventional auxiliary steering function aims at arbitrarily changing the toe angle or the camber angle of the tire in the vehicle, and therefore, a complicated configuration is required, and the component Become more. For this reason, it becomes difficult to secure rigidity, and in order to secure rigidity, it is necessary to increase the size, resulting in an increase in weight.

Moreover, weight reduction may be achieved by generally alloying knuckles with aluminum. However, since it is necessary to secure rigidity and strength in order to make the knuckle aluminum alloy, it is necessary to increase the volume of the knuckle, and the weight reduction effect is small.

The object of the present invention is to perform auxiliary steering according to the traveling situation independently for the right and left wheels, improve the motion performance of the vehicle, and improve the stability and safety of traveling and the fuel consumption. Another object of the present invention is to provide a steerable hub unit having a simple structure and capable of enhancing rigidity, and a vehicle provided with the same.

The hub unit with steering function of the present invention is
Suspension knuckles,
With the case,
A hub unit body having a hub bearing for supporting a wheel, and rotatably installed around a steered shaft center extending in the vertical direction through the knuckle via two rotation support members at upper and lower positions;
An actuator main body installed in the knuckle to rotationally drive the hub unit main body about the turning axis;
The case covers a part or the whole of the actuator body, and is integrally formed with the other part of the knuckle as a part of the knuckle.
The term "integral" means that the case and the other part of the knuckle are formed of the same material by casting, forging, machining or the like.

According to this configuration, the hub unit body including the hub bearing supporting the wheel can be freely rotated about the turning axis by the drive of the actuator body. Therefore, steering can be performed independently for each wheel, and the toe angle of the tire can be arbitrarily changed according to the traveling condition of the vehicle. Therefore, the hub unit with a steering function of the present invention may be used as any of steered wheels such as front wheels and non-steered wheels such as rear wheels. When the hub unit with steering function is used as a steered wheel, it is installed on a member whose direction can be changed by the steering device, and in addition to steering by the driver's steering wheel operation, the left and right wheels individually or It becomes a mechanism to make a slight angle change of the tire interlocked with the left and right wheels.

Further, at the time of cornering, it is possible to change the steering angle difference between the left and right wheels in accordance with the traveling speed. For example, it is possible to change the steering geometry while traveling, such as parallel geometry in high speed range turning and Ackerman geometry in low speed range. As described above, since the tire angle can be arbitrarily changed during traveling, it is possible to improve the motion performance of the vehicle and to travel stably and safely. By appropriately changing the steering angles of the left and right steered wheels during turning, it is possible to reduce the turning radius of the vehicle and to improve the small turning performance. Furthermore, even during straight running, by adjusting the amount of toe angle according to each scene, it is possible to adjust running stability without lowering running resistance and deteriorating fuel consumption.

In particular, since the case covering a part or the whole of the actuator body is integrally formed with other parts of the knuckle as a part of the knuckle, the whole hub unit can be set compactly, and the case itself is a rib The stress concentration portion can be relieved by connecting the outer surface portion of the case and the base of the shock absorber attachment portion or the like projecting from the outer surface portion in an appropriate R shape. Therefore, the configuration of the steering hub unit can be simplified and the rigidity can be enhanced.

The knuckle has a shock absorber attachment portion and a steering device connection portion, and between the outer surface portion of the case and a base of the shock absorber attachment portion or the outer surface portion of the case and the steering device connection portion It may be connected in a defined R shape with the proximal end. The defined R shape is an R shape arbitrarily determined by design or the like, and is determined by obtaining an appropriate R shape by, for example, one or both of a test and a simulation. In this case, a stress concentration portion between the outer surface of the case and the root of the shock absorber attachment portion or between the outer surface of the case and the proximal end of the steering apparatus joint can be relaxed. Thus, the thickness of the case can be reduced without changing the rigidity of the entire knuckle.

The knuckles may consist of light materials having a lower density than iron. In this case, the weight of the case integrally formed with the knuckle can be reduced. For this reason, the unsprung load of the hub unit with a turning function can be reduced, and a decrease in the motion performance of the vehicle can be suppressed. The light material may be, for example, an aluminum alloy.

According to the vehicle of the present invention, one or both of the front wheels and the rear wheels are supported using the steerable hub unit having any of the above-described configurations according to the present invention. Therefore, each effect mentioned above is acquired about a hub unit with a steering function of this invention. The front wheels are generally steered wheels, but when the hub unit with a steering function of the present invention is applied to the steered wheels, it is effective for toe angle adjustment during traveling. Moreover, although a rear wheel is generally made into a non-steered wheel, when applied to a non-steered wheel, reduction of the minimum turning radius at the time of low speed travel can be aimed at by slight steering of a non-steered wheel.

Any combination of the at least two configurations disclosed in the claims and / or the description and / or the drawings is included in the present invention. In particular, any combination of two or more of the claims is included in the present invention.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments and the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals in multiple drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.
It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the hub unit with a steering function which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, and its periphery periphery. It is a horizontal sectional view which shows the hub unit with a steering function, and the structure of the periphery of it. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the hub unit with a steering function. It is a disassembled front view of the hub unit with a steering function. It is a disassembled perspective view of the hub unit with a steering function. It is a side view of the hub unit with the steering function. It is a top view of the hub unit with a steering function. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the knuckle with a case of the hub unit with a steering function. It is the perspective view which looked at the external appearance of the knuckle with a case from another angle. It is a front view of the same knuckle. It is a perspective view of a hub unit with a steering function concerning a 2nd embodiment of this invention, It is a disassembled front view of the hub unit with a steering function. It is a model top view of an example of vehicles to which a hub unit with a turning function of each embodiment is applied.

First Embodiment
A steerable hub unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11.

<Schematic structure of hub unit with steering function>
As shown in FIG. 1, the hub unit with steering function (hub unit with auxiliary steering function, hereinafter simply referred to as "hub unit") 1 includes a knuckle 6, a case 6b, and a hub unit main body 2, A unit support member 3, a rotation-allowable support component 4, and an auxiliary steering actuator 5 are provided. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an actuator main body 7 of the auxiliary steering actuator 5 is provided on the inboard side of the knuckle 6, and a hub unit main body 2 is provided on the outboard side of the knuckle 6.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hub unit body 2 and the actuator body 7 are connected only by the joint portion 8. Usually, a boot (not shown) is attached to the joint portion 8 for waterproofing and dustproofing. When the hub unit 1 is mounted on a vehicle, the outside in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle is referred to as the outboard side, and the center side in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle is referred to as the inboard side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hub unit body 2 is rotatably supported around the turning shaft center (auxiliary turning shaft center) A extending in the vertical direction via the rotation allowing

support parts

4, 4 at the upper and lower positions. It is supported by the unit support member 3 and the knuckle 6. The auxiliary turning axis A is an axis different from the rotation axis O of the wheel 9 and is also different from a kingpin axis that performs main steering. In a normal vehicle, the kingpin angle is set at 10 to 20 degrees for the purpose of improving the straight running stability of vehicle travel. The hub unit 1 of this embodiment has a turning axis at an angle (axis) different from the kingpin angle. The wheel 9 includes a wheel 9a and a tire 9b.

<Installation point of hub unit 1>
In this embodiment, the hub unit 1 is added to the steered wheels in this embodiment, specifically, steered by the steering device 11 of the front wheels 9 _F of the vehicle 10 as shown in FIG. It is a mechanism that steers ± 5 deg). The hub unit 1 is integrally provided on the knuckle 6 of the suspension device 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the steering device 11 is a device that steers the wheel 9 according to the operation of a steering wheel (not shown). FIG. 2 is a view of the periphery of the wheel 9 as viewed from above. A steering device 11 for a normal vehicle is connected to a steering coupling portion 6 d (described later) of the hub unit 1 through a tie rod 14 so that the wheel 9 can be steered by the driver's steering wheel operation. There is. In addition to this, the hub unit 1 may be used as a mechanism for steering the rear wheel 9 _R (FIG. 14) as an aid to front wheel steering. A strut type suspension mechanism, a multilink type suspension mechanism, or any other suspension mechanism is applied as the suspension system 12 (FIG. 14).

<About hub unit main body 2>
As shown in FIG. 1, the hub unit body 2 includes a hub bearing 15 for supporting the wheel 9, an outer ring 16, and an auxiliary turning force receiving portion 17 (see FIGS. 3 and 5) described later.
As shown in FIG. 8, the hub bearing 15 has an inner ring 18, an outer ring 19, and rolling elements 20 such as balls interposed between the inner and

outer rings

18 and 19, and the vehicle side members and the wheels 9 (see FIG. 1) are linked.

In the illustrated example, the hub bearing 15 is an angular ball bearing in which the outer ring 19 is a fixed ring, the inner ring 18 is a rotating ring, and the rolling elements 20 are in a double row. The inner ring 18 has a hub flange 18 aa and a hub annular portion 18 a that constitutes an outboard-side raceway surface, and an inner ring portion 18 b that constitutes an in-board raceway surface. As shown in FIG. 1, the wheel 9 a of the wheel 9 is bolted to the hub flange 18 aa so as to overlap the brake rotor 21 a. The inner ring 18 rotates around the rotation axis O.

As shown in FIG. 8, the outer ring 16 is provided with an annular portion 16 a fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 19, and a trunnion shaft-shaped attachment shaft portion provided projecting upward and downward from the outer periphery of the annular portion 16 a 16b and 16b. Each mounting shaft portion 16 b is provided coaxially with the auxiliary steering axis A.

As shown in FIG. 2, the brake 21 has a brake rotor 21 a and a brake caliper 21 b. The brake caliper 21b is attached to two upper and lower brake caliper attachment portions 22 (FIG. 6) which are integrally formed on the outer ring 19 so as to integrally project in an arm shape.

<Regarding Rotation Allowable Support Parts and Unit Support Member>
As shown in FIG. 8, each rotation allowing support component 4 comprises a rolling bearing. In this example, a tapered roller bearing is applied as a rolling bearing. The rolling bearing includes an inner ring 4a fitted to the outer periphery of the mounting shaft portion 16b, an outer ring 4b fitted to the unit support member 3 and the knuckle 6 as will be described later, and a plurality of

intermediate rings

4a and 4b. And a rolling element 4c. As shown in FIG. 5, a substantially ring-shaped unit support member 3 is detachably fixed to the outboard side end of the knuckle 6. Partial concave spherical fitting hole forming portions 3a are formed in upper and lower portions of the inboard side surface of the unit support member 3, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, partial concave spherical fitting hole forming portions 6a are formed at upper and lower portions of the outboard side end of the knuckle 6, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the unit support member 3 is fixed to the outboard side end of the knuckle 6, and the fitting

hole forming portions

3a and 6a (FIG. 7) are combined with each other for the upper and lower portions. The fitting hole which is connected to the is formed. In FIG. 3, the knuckle 6 and the unit support member 3 are indicated by an alternate long and short dash line. As shown in FIG. 8, the outer ring 4b is fitted in the fitting hole.

Each mounting shaft portion 16 b is formed with a female screw portion extending in the radial direction, and a bolt 23 screwed with the female screw portion is provided. A disc-like pressing member 24 is interposed on the end face of the inner ring 4a, and a pressing force is applied to the end face of the inner ring 4a by a bolt 23 screwed to the female screw portion, thereby prepressing each rotation tolerant support part 4 respectively. It is giving. Thereby, the rigidity of each rotation allowing support component 4 can be increased. The rolling bearings of the rotation allowing support component 4 may use angular ball bearings or four-point contact ball bearings instead of the tapered roller bearings. Also in this case, preload can be applied as described above.

As shown in FIG. 2, the auxiliary steering force receiving portion 17 is a portion serving as an action point for applying an auxiliary steering force to the outer ring 19 of the hub bearing 15. The auxiliary steering force receiving portion 17 is provided as an arm portion integrally projecting on a part of the outer periphery of the outer ring 19. The auxiliary steering force receiving portion 17 is rotatably coupled to a direct-acting output portion 25 a of the auxiliary steering actuator 5 described later via the joint portion 8. Thereby, the hub unit main body 2 is rotated around the auxiliary steering axis A (FIG. 1), that is, auxiliary steering is performed by the linear motion output unit 25a of the auxiliary steering actuator 5 advancing and retracting.

<Actuator 5 for auxiliary steering>
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the auxiliary steering actuator 5 has an actuator body 7 that rotationally drives the hub unit body 2 around the auxiliary steering axis A (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, the actuator body 7 converts the motor 26, the reduction gear 27 that decelerates the rotation of the motor 26, and the forward and reverse rotation output of the reduction gear 27 into the linear motion of the linear motion output unit 25 a. And a linear motion mechanism 25. The motor 26 is, for example, a permanent magnet synchronous motor, but may be a direct current motor or an induction motor.

As the reduction gear 27, a winding type transmission mechanism such as a belt transmission mechanism or a gear train can be used. In the example of FIG. 2, a belt transmission mechanism is used. The linear movement mechanism 25 can be a feed screw mechanism such as a slide screw or a ball screw, or a rack and pinion mechanism, and in this example, a feed screw mechanism using a slide screw of a trapezoidal screw is used. As shown in FIG. 5, the actuator body 7 provided with the motor 26, the reduction gear 27 and the linear motion mechanism 25 is assembled as a semi-assembled product and detachably attached to the case 6b by bolts or the like. A mechanism is also possible that transmits the driving force of the motor 26 directly to the linear motion mechanism 25 without the reduction gear.

The case 6 b covers a part (substantially the whole) of the actuator body 7 and is integrally formed with the other parts of the knuckle 6 as a part of the knuckle 6. The "integral" means that the case 6b and the other part of the knuckle 6 are integrally formed of the same material by casting, forging, machining or the like. The knuckle 6 with the case 6b is made of a light material having a density lower than that of iron.

As the light material, for example, an aluminum alloy, a magnesium alloy, a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (abbr. CFRP) or the like can be applied. However, it is not limited to these materials. Aluminum alloys include wrought alloy (1000 series to 7000 series) and casting alloy (AC material, ADC material), etc. The preferred material of knuckle 6 with case 6b is aluminum used for forging Examples include Alloy 5000 series and 6000 series, and aluminum alloys ADC12 and AC4A used in casting.

The case 6 b is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and is provided with a motor housing portion supporting the motor 26 and a linear motion mechanism housing portion supporting the linear motion mechanism 25. A fitting hole 6ba for supporting the motor 26 at a predetermined position in the case is formed in the motor housing portion. The linear motion mechanism accommodating portion includes a fitting hole 6bb for supporting the linear motion mechanism 25 at a predetermined position in the case, and a through hole 6bc (FIG. 9) which allows the linear motion output portion 25a to advance and retract as shown in FIG. Etc. are formed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the knuckle 6 with the case 6b has a shock absorber mounting portion 6c which is a mounting portion of a shock absorber, and a steering device coupling portion 6d which is a coupling portion of a steering device. The shock absorber mounting portion 6c and the steering device coupling portion 6d are also integrally formed with the case 6b. A shock absorber mounting portion 6c is formed to protrude at the upper portion of the outer surface portion of the case 6b. A steering device coupling portion 6d is formed to project from a side surface portion of the outer surface portion of the case 6b.

A connection 28 (FIG. 11) between the outer surface of the case 6b and the base 6ca of the shock absorber mounting portion 6c, and a connection between the outer surface of the case 6b and the proximal end 6da of the steering device connection 6d The parts 29 are connected in a defined R shape. In this case, the stress concentration portion of each of the connecting

portions

28 and 29 can be relaxed. Thus, the thickness of the case 6b can be reduced without changing the rigidity of the entire knuckle. The defined R shape is an R shape arbitrarily determined by design or the like, and is determined by obtaining an appropriate R shape by, for example, one or both of a test and a simulation.

<Action and effect>
According to the hub unit 1 described above, the hub unit main body 2 including the hub bearing 15 supporting the wheels 9 can be freely rotated around the auxiliary turning axis A by driving the actuator main body 7. That is, the hub unit main body 2 advances and retracts the direct acting output portion 25 a of the auxiliary steering actuator 5 by driving the motor 26, thereby via the auxiliary turning force receiving portion 17 connected to the direct acting output portion 25 a. It is rotated.

This rotation is performed as an auxiliary steering in addition to the steering by the driver's steering wheel operation, that is, in addition to the rotation of the knuckle 6 about the kingpin axis by the steering device 11, and also independent rotation of one wheel. You can steer. The toe angle between the left and

right wheels

9, 9 can be arbitrarily changed by making the auxiliary steering angles of the left and

right wheels

9, 9 different.

Therefore, the hub unit 1 may be used as any of steered wheels such as front wheels and non-steered wheels such as rear wheels. When it is used for turning wheels, it is installed on a member whose direction is changed by the steering device 11 so that it is added to turning by the driver's steering wheel operation, and the tires are linked to the left and right wheels individually or interlocked with the left and right wheels It becomes a mechanism to make a slight angle change of 9b. With regard to the angle of auxiliary steering, a slight angle is sufficient to improve the motion performance of the vehicle and the stability and safety of traveling, and it is sufficient even if the auxiliary steerable angle is ± 5 degrees or less. The angle of the auxiliary steering is controlled by the control of the auxiliary steering actuator 5.

Further, at the time of cornering, it is possible to change the steering angle difference between the left and right wheels in accordance with the traveling speed. For example, it is possible to change the steering geometry while traveling, such as parallel geometry in high speed range turning and Ackerman geometry in low speed range. As described above, since the tire angle can be arbitrarily changed during traveling, it is possible to improve the motion performance of the vehicle and to travel stably and safely. By appropriately changing the steering angles of the left and right steered wheels during turning, it is possible to reduce the turning radius of the vehicle and to improve the small turning performance.

Furthermore, even during straight running, by adjusting the amount of toe angle according to each scene, it is possible to adjust running stability without lowering running resistance and deteriorating fuel consumption. Further, even when an abnormality occurs in the function such as the power supply of the hub unit 1 of the present embodiment while the vehicle is traveling, the vehicle can be moved to a safe place by the steering wheel operation, and the safety is secured.

Since the case 6b which covers a part of the actuator body 7 is integrally formed with the other parts of the knuckle 6 as a part of the knuckle 6, the whole hub unit can be set compactly, and the case 6b itself is a rib Play the role of Further, the stress concentration portion is relieved by connecting the connecting portion 28 and the like between the outer surface portion of the case 6b and the base 6ca of the shock absorber mounting portion 6c and the like projecting from the outer surface portion in an appropriate R shape. Can. Therefore, the configuration of the hub unit 1 can be simplified and the rigidity can be enhanced.

If the knuckle and the case of the actuator are separate, bolting and waterproofing must be performed between these knuckles and the case, but in this embodiment, they are integrally formed as the knuckle 6 with the case 6b. Therefore, the bolt fastening operation and the waterproofing process can be omitted, and there is no possibility that problems such as loosening of the bolt and penetration of water or the like will occur.

Since the knuckle 6 is made of a light material having a density lower than that of iron, the weight of the case 6 b integrally formed with the knuckle 6 can be reduced. For this reason, the unsprung load of the hub unit 1 can be reduced, and a decrease in the motion performance of the vehicle can be suppressed.

<Other Embodiments>
In the following description, the portions corresponding to the items described in advance in each embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the redundant description will be omitted. When only a part of the configuration is described, the other parts of the configuration are the same as those described in the preceding embodiment unless otherwise stated. The same function and effect are exhibited from the same configuration. Not only the combination of the portions specifically described in the embodiments but also the embodiments may be partially combined if any problem does not occur in the combination.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, substantially the entire actuator body 7 is covered by the case 6b, but the invention is not limited to this example. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 as a second embodiment, for example, the motor 26 of the actuator body 7 is exposed from the case 6 b and attached to the outer surface of the case 6 b (so-called external structure) It may be. In this case, the motor 26 can be used as it is, and the motor 26 can be easily replaced and maintenance can be enhanced.

As mentioned above, although the form for implementing this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment, embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The scope of the present invention is indicated not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hub unit with auxiliary steering function 2 ... Hub unit main body 3 ... Unit support member 4 ... Rotation permissible support part 5 ... Actuator for auxiliary steering 6 ... Knuckle 6b ... Case 6c ... Shock absorber attachment part (other parts of knuckle )
6d ... Steering device joint (other part of knuckle)
7 Actuator body 10 Vehicle 12 Suspension device 15 Hub bearing

Claims

Suspension knuckles,
With the case,
A hub unit body having a hub bearing for supporting a wheel, and rotatably installed around a steered shaft center extending in the vertical direction through the knuckle via two rotation support members at upper and lower positions;
An actuator body installed in the knuckle to rotationally drive the hub unit body about the steered axis;
Equipped with
The hub unit with a steering function, wherein the case covers a part or the whole of the actuator body, and is integrally formed with another part of the knuckle as a part of the knuckle.
The hub unit with steering function according to claim 1, wherein the knuckle has a shock absorber mounting portion and a steering device coupling portion, and between the outer surface portion of the case and a root of the shock absorber mounting portion, or A hub unit with a steering function in which the outer surface portion of the case and the proximal end portion of the steering device coupling portion are connected in a defined R shape.
The hub unit with steering function according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the knuckle is made of a light material having a density lower than that of iron.
The hub unit with steering function according to claim 3, wherein the light material is an aluminum alloy.
A vehicle in which one or both of a front wheel and a rear wheel are supported by using the steerable hub unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4.