JP2009214779A - Rear wheel steering device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To support a rod connected with a rear wheel in a stable state and enables reduction in size and weight while maintaining high efficiency of conversion of rotation driving force to rear wheel steering force by a wave gear device. <P>SOLUTION: A rotation drive means (brushless motor 3), the wave gear device 4, and an electromagnetic clutch mechanism 6 are stored between two support points (bushes 1a, 1b) of the rod 2 in a housing 1. A circular spline 41 is fixed in the housing and a flexible spline 42 is fixed at the rod. A wave generator 43 is rotatably supported in a state for preventing the rod from moving in an axial direction by a cylinder member 46 integrated with the wave generator 43 and is movably supported in the axial direction in a state for preventing a hollow rotation shaft 5 from rotating. Rotation position and non-rotation position of a rotation member 62 fixed to the hollow rotation shaft are switched by the electromagnetic clutch mechanism to connect/disconnect transmission of drive force. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rear wheel steering device for a vehicle, and more particularly to a rear wheel steering device for steering a rear wheel by converting a rotational driving force by a rotational driving means into an axial driving force via a wave gear device.

  A vehicle rear wheel steering device is generally configured such that a rotational driving force by a rotational driving means such as an electric motor is converted into an axial driving force via a screw mechanism to steer the rear wheels. For example, the following Patent Document 1 includes a brushless electric motor, a trapezoidal female screw coupled to the brushless motor, and a trapezoidal male screw that is screwed to the operation shaft for steering a wheel. An apparatus is disclosed in which a rotational driving force is converted into an axial driving force via a screw mechanism composed of a male screw.

  Patent Document 2 below aims at “reducing the linear actuator in the axial direction and reducing the size of the entire linear actuator”, and “circular splines having a thread groove on the inner peripheral surface; Relative rotation of the circular spline and the flexspline, comprising a flexspline having a thread on the outer peripheral surface arranged inside the spline and a wave generator that flexes the flexspline into a non-circular shape and partially meshes with the circular spline Is coupled to one end of the circular spline and is connected to one end of the circular spline on the same axis as the wave gear device in which screw grooves and threads are formed so as to cause axial displacement of the circular spline. An output shaft that is slidably held in the axial direction. ” It is. In addition, the following Patent Document 3 discloses a connection structure for a wave gear device.

JP 7-47963 A JP 2007-154955 A JP 2007-192248 A

  The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses a general configuration in which a rotational driving force is converted into an axial driving force via a screw mechanism with respect to a rear wheel steering device. Is being used. However, since the trapezoidal screw has low conversion efficiency, an attempt to generate an output (thrust) equivalent to a device using a ball screw mechanism or the like will increase the size of the motor and increase the current consumption.

  On the other hand, in the linear motion actuator described in Patent Document 2, since the circular spline and the output shaft are coupled and both of them linearly move, it is necessary to arrange a bush on the outer periphery of the circular spline. The outer diameter increases. In addition, when the linear motion actuator described in Patent Document 2 is used as a rear wheel steering device, the output shaft is disposed only on one side with respect to the actuator body, and therefore is disposed on each of the left and right rear wheels. This increases the cost and mass, making it difficult to mount on a vehicle. Further, the wave gear device has reversibility, and the output shaft is driven by an external force from the wheel side. Therefore, the turning angle of the rear wheel cannot be maintained as it is, so that a clutch mechanism or the like is further provided. Necessary.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a rear wheel steering device for steering a rear wheel by converting a rotational driving force by a rotational driving means into an axial driving force through a wave gear device, and rear wheel steering from the rotational driving force by the wave gear device. It is an object of the present invention to support a rod connected to a rear wheel in a stable state while maintaining high efficiency in conversion to force, and to enable reduction in size and weight.

  To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, a rod that is supported so as to be axially movable at two points with respect to a housing and that has both ends connected to a rear wheel of a vehicle, A rotary drive unit that is housed in the housing together with a hollow rotary shaft that is housed, and that rotationally drives the hollow rotary shaft around the axis of the rod; and a rotational force of the hollow rotary shaft by the rotary drive unit A vehicle rear wheel steering apparatus including a wave gear device for converting to a directional driving force and steering the rear wheel via the wave gear device, the rotation drive means and the wave gear device together with the two points in the housing. An electromagnetic clutch mechanism that is housed in between and intermittently transmits the output of the rotation driving means to the hollow rotating shaft, the wave gear device is fixed in the housing, and a screw groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface. A circular spline, a flex spline formed on the outer peripheral surface of a screw thread that engages with a screw groove of the circular spline, and a wave generator that partially meshes the flex spline with the circular spline, The flex spline is fixed to the rod, and the wave generator is rotatably supported in a state of preventing axial movement with respect to the rod and in a state of preventing rotation with respect to the hollow rotating shaft. It is configured to be supported so as to be movable in the axial direction.

  In the rear wheel steering apparatus, as described in claim 2, the wave generator is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the wave plug, the wave plug that is spline-coupled with the outer peripheral surface of the hollow rotary shaft, and the outer periphery of the wave plug. A first bearing abutting against the flexspline; a cylindrical member disposed around the hollow rotary shaft and having one end joined to the wave plug; and the other end of the cylindrical member being prevented from axial movement relative to the rod And a second bearing that is rotatably supported in such a state.

  Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, the rotation driving means is constituted by a brushless motor supported in the housing and having the hollow rotation shaft as an output shaft, and the electromagnetic clutch mechanism is fixed to the hollow rotation shaft. The rotating member may be configured to include an electromagnetic coil that switches between a non-rotating position where rotation of the rotating member is prevented and a rotating position where the rotating member is in a free state.

  Since this invention is comprised as mentioned above, there exist the following effects. That is, in the rear wheel steering device according to claim 1, the rotational drive means, the wave gear device, and the electromagnetic clutch mechanism are accommodated between two rod support points in the housing, and the circular spline of the wave gear device is fixed in the housing. The flex spline is fixed to the rod, and the wave generator is supported so as to be able to rotate with respect to the rod while preventing the axial movement, and to move with respect to the hollow rotating shaft. Since it is supported in a possible manner, it can be made compact while maintaining high efficiency by the wave gear device for conversion from the rotational driving force of the rotational driving means to the rear wheel steering force. In particular, the rod is arranged in the hollow rotary shaft and is supported at two points with respect to the housing. Since the distance between the support points can be increased, the rod can be supported in a stable state. .

  In particular, if the wave generator is configured as described in claim 2, the wave plug is integrally supported with the cylindrical member, is rotatably supported in a state of preventing axial movement with respect to the rod, and is hollow. Since it is supported so as to be movable in the axial direction while preventing rotation with respect to the rotating shaft, the wave gear device portion can be reduced in size, and the entire device can be further reduced in size.

  Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the rotation driving means is composed of a brushless motor having a hollow rotating shaft as an output shaft, and the electromagnetic clutch mechanism is a rotating member fixed to the hollow rotating shaft, and its rotation. Since it is configured by an electromagnetic coil that switches between a non-rotating position that prevents rotation and a rotating position in which the rotating member is in a free state, it is possible to maintain a steering angle with respect to external force from the wheel side by a small capacity and small clutch mechanism. .

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a rear wheel steering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A plurality of cylindrical members are joined to form a housing 1 and supported by a vehicle body (not shown). Two split rods 2a and 2b are supported to the housing 1 so as to be movable in the axial direction, and ends of the rods 2a and 2b are connected to a rear wheel (not shown) of the vehicle. The rotational driving force of the brushless motor 3 serving as the rotational driving means is converted into the axial driving force of the rod 2 via the wave gear device 4 so that the rear wheels are steered. Further, the hollow rotary shaft 5 that is an output shaft of the brushless motor 3 is configured to be switched between a rotating state and a non-rotating (constrained) state by the electromagnetic clutch mechanism 6.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rod 2a and the rod 2b are combined together with a flexspline 42, which will be described later, and are supported by bushes 1a and 1b so as to be movable in the axial direction at two points with respect to the housing 1, respectively. . The left end of the rod 2a is connected to the left rear wheel (not shown), and the right end of the rod 2b is connected to the right rear wheel (not shown). Further, these rods 2 a and 2 b are splined to the housing 1 at the spline portion 1 c and are supported so as not to rotate with respect to the housing 1.

  The rod 2 a is accommodated in a hollow rotary shaft 5 that is an output shaft of the brushless motor 3, and these are supported coaxially with respect to the housing 1. Thus, the rod 2a is coaxially arranged in the hollow rotary shaft 5, and the rods 2a and 2b are supported at two points, the bush 1a on the right side of the wave gear device 4 and the bush 1b on the left side of the brushless motor 3 shown in FIG. Since the distance between the support points by the bushes 1a and 1b can be increased, the rods 2a and 2b can be supported in a stable state. Note that the structure of the brushless motor 3 is the same as that of the prior art, and is described in detail in, for example, Patent Document 1, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  On the other hand, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the wave gear device 4 is fixed in the housing 1 and has a circular spline 41 in which a screw groove 41a is formed on the inner peripheral surface, and a screw that is screwed into the screw groove 41a. A crest 42a is composed of a flex spline 42 formed on the outer peripheral surface, and a wave generator 43 that bends the flex spline 42 into a non-circular shape and partially meshes with the circular spline 41. As described above, the flex spline 42 is fixed between the rod 2a and the rod 2b. And the spline part 43a is formed in the internal peripheral surface of the wave generator 43, it engages with the spline part 5a formed in the right end part of the hollow rotating shaft 5, and it is comprised so that these may rotate integrally. Has been.

  The wave generator 43 has an elliptical wave plug 44 that is spline-coupled with the outer peripheral surface of the hollow rotating shaft 5 inside, and the same shape that fits the outer peripheral surface of the wave plug 44 and contacts the flex spline 42 ( The first bearing 45 has an elliptical shape. Further, a cylindrical member 46 disposed around the hollow rotary shaft 5 and having one end joined to the wave plug 44 (for example, by press fitting) is provided, and the other end is axially connected to the rod 2a via the second bearing 47. It is supported rotatably so as to prevent movement. As a result, the wave generator 43 is supported so as to be able to rotate with respect to the rod 2a in a state of preventing axial movement, and is supported to be able to move in the axial direction with respect to the hollow rotary shaft 5 while preventing rotation. .

  Since the wave gear device 4 is configured as described above, when the hollow rotary shaft 5 is rotationally driven by the brushless motor 3, the wave generator 43 rotates around the rod 2a, and the circular spline 41 and the flex spline 42 By screwing, the flex spline 42, the rod 2a and the rod 2b move in the axial direction, and the rear wheels are steered. At this time, the wave generator 43 moves in the axial direction along the spline portion 5a of the hollow rotary shaft 5 while rotating together with the hollow rotary shaft 5 that is splined. Thus, high efficiency of conversion from the rotational driving force of the brushless motor 3 to the rear wheel steering force by the wave gear device 4 is ensured.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, an electromagnetic clutch mechanism 6 that interrupts transmission of the output of the brushless motor 3 to the hollow rotary shaft 5 is housed in the housing 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the electromagnetic clutch mechanism 6 has an electromagnetic coil (armature) 61 arranged coaxially with the hollow rotary shaft 5 and fixed to the housing 1, and its rotary member (rotor) 62 is a hollow rotary shaft. 5 and is configured to rotate integrally with the hollow rotary shaft 5.

  Thus, by controlling the energization of the electromagnetic coil 61, the rotation position of the rotation member 62 is switched between the non-rotation position where the rotation of the rotation member 62 is prevented and the rotation position where the rotation member 62 is in the free state. Non-rotation can be switched. As a result, the hollow rotating shaft 5 is held in the non-rotating state at the non-rotating position of the rotating member 62, and the positions of the rods 2a and 2b are fixed. Therefore, the turning angle of the rear wheel (not shown) is set against the external force. Can be held. In this case, the torque after the external force from the wheel side is increased by the wave gear device 4 is held, and the torque acting on the electromagnetic clutch mechanism 6 is reduced, so that the clutch mechanism is connected to the conventional direct output shaft. The electromagnetic clutch mechanism 6 can be formed with a small capacity and a small size as compared with the case where the motor is disposed.

It is sectional drawing which shows the main structures of the rear-wheel steering apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the part centering on the rotational drive means, wave gear apparatus, and electromagnetic clutch mechanism of the rear-wheel steering apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 1a, 1b Bush 2a, 2b Rod 3 Brushless motor (rotation drive means)
4 Wave Gear 41 41 Circular Spline 42 Flex Spline 43 Wave Generator 44 Wave Plug 45 First Bearing 46 Cylindrical Member 47 Second Bearing 5 Hollow Rotating Shaft 6 Electromagnetic Clutch Mechanism 61 Electromagnetic Coil 62 Rotating Member

Claims (3)

  A rod that is supported so as to be axially movable at two points with respect to the housing and that is connected to the rear wheel of the vehicle, and a hollow rotary shaft that contains the rod, is housed in the housing, and the hollow rotary shaft is attached to the rod. A rotation driving means that rotates around an axis; and a wave gear device that converts a rotational force of the hollow rotation shaft by the rotation driving means into an axial driving force of the rod, and the rear through the wave gear device. In a rear wheel steering device for steering a wheel, the rotary drive unit and the wave gear device are housed between the two points in the housing, and the output of the rotary drive unit is intermittently transmitted to the hollow rotary shaft. A circular spline in which the wave gear device is fixed in the housing and has a screw groove formed on an inner peripheral surface thereof, and a screw of the circular spline A flex spline formed on the outer peripheral surface of a screw thread to be screwed with, and a wave generator that partially meshes the flex spline with the circular spline, and the flex spline is fixed to the rod, The wave generator is supported so as to be rotatable in a state of preventing axial movement with respect to the rod, and is supported to be movable in an axial direction of the hollow rotating shaft in a state of preventing rotation. The rear wheel steering device for the vehicle.   The wave generator includes a wave plug that is spline-coupled with the outer peripheral surface of the hollow rotary shaft, a first bearing that engages with the outer peripheral surface of the wave plug and contacts the flex spline, and the hollow rotary shaft A cylindrical member that is disposed around and has one end joined to the wave plug, and a second bearing that rotatably supports the other end of the cylindrical member with respect to the rod while preventing axial movement. The rear-wheel steering device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein   The rotation driving means is comprised of a brushless motor supported in the housing and having the hollow rotating shaft as an output shaft, and the electromagnetic clutch mechanism rotates a rotating member fixed to the hollow rotating shaft and the rotating member. 3. The vehicle rear wheel steering system according to claim 1, further comprising an electromagnetic coil that switches between a non-rotating position to be blocked and a rotating position in which the rotating member is in a free state.

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