Master pin steering mechanism and steering angle module formed by same
By using a ball cage universal joint to connect the master pin and the motor shaft in the master pin steering mechanism, the adjustment of the master pin inclination angle is achieved, which solves the problems of steering flexibility and handling stability in the prior art, and improves the maneuverability and adaptability of the vehicle.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510473211.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-04-16
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-13
- Estimated Expiration
- 2045-04-16
AI Technical Summary
When the prior art improves the control freedom and steering flexibility of the linear chassis, it is difficult to take into account the handling stability of the chassis linear driving, and the mechanical constraints of the independent steering module are strong, limiting the adjustable range of the angle module configuration and the flexibility of the chassis.
The ball cage universal joint is used to connect the master pin and the motor shaft to achieve adjustable inclination angle of the master pin while retaining the freedom of the master pin, enhancing the flexibility and adaptability of the steering mechanism.
It achieves a large angle capability of ±65° or above, improves the vehicle's maneuverability and adaptability, while maintaining the maneuverability of the chassis when driving in a straight line.
Smart Images

Figure CN119975522A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of automobiles, in particular to a kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module constituted by the same. Background Art
[0002] The chassis is the foundation of automobile movement and determines the driving performance of the vehicle. The rapid development of automobile electrification has brought revolutionary impacts on the chassis structure. The actuators of the automobile are concentrated on the chassis, and a high degree of mechanical decoupling is achieved between the actuators. They are connected and interacted in an electrical way instead, and the traditional chassis has developed into a wire-controlled chassis. The wire-controlled chassis is modular and scalable, and has many controllable degrees of freedom. It can achieve more flexible steering, improve the vehicle's climbing, maneuvering steering and movement capabilities under extreme conditions, and help to comprehensively improve vehicle performance.
[0003] In the existing technical solutions, in order to improve the control freedom of the wire-controlled chassis and realize the independent steering of a single wheel, some technical solutions (such as publication number CN 108995711 A, publication number CN 117962508 A, and publication number CN 112278070 A) divide the tie rod into two, which are controlled by independent steering mechanisms, thereby realizing the mutual decoupling of the steering of each wheel. However, this technical solution still retains the steering trapezoidal connecting rod structure of the traditional chassis steering, and the decoupling of the mechanical constraints is not complete. The executable turning angle of each wheel is still small, and a large-angle steering action cannot be completed. In order to improve the flexibility of steering of the controlled-by-wire chassis, there are some technical solutions (such as publication number CN118928526 A, publication number CN 116279770 A, publication number CN 113752818 A, and publication number CN109229235 A) that rigidly fix the kingpin to the chassis, place all components of the suspension system under the kingpin, and use the steering motor to drive the entire independent suspension system to rotate around the kingpin to achieve steering, which can achieve a large turning angle of ±65°. However, in order to ensure the flexibility of steering, such technical solutions usually use a vertical kingpin, cancel the kingpin's inclination angle, and reduce the chassis's handling stability when driving in a straight line.
[0004] In order to take into account both the flexibility of chassis steering and the operational stability of straight-line driving, some existing technical solutions (publication number CN 118306475 A, publication number CN 118769778 A, publication number CN 118254865 A, publication number CN117901945 A, publication number CN 115703506 A) retain the basic structure of the double wishbone suspension, cancel the traditional connecting rod driven steering mechanism, integrate the steering motor at the upper end or lower end of the steering arm, and realize independent steering of a single wheel through the rigid connection between the upper swing arm kingpin or the lower swing arm kingpin and the motor shaft. While retaining the kingpin inclination angle, it still has the ability to steer at a large angle. However, this type of solution replaces the ball joint of the upper or lower swing arm with a flat hinge connected to the motor, and the motor is rigidly connected to the steering arm through a rotating shaft. Compared with the direct connection of the ball joint to the steering arm, this solution reduces the original degree of freedom of the swing arm kingpin, strengthens the mechanical constraint, limits the adjustable range of the angle module configuration, weakens the flexibility and reconfigurability of the wire-controlled chassis, and reduces the chassis' adaptability to diverse scenarios. In addition, the technical solution of the independent steering module usually adopts a single steering device, which is difficult to apply to the reconfigurable suspension space, and no sensor is set to feedback the angle signal, which is not conducive to the high-precision control of the independent steering mechanism. Summary of the invention
[0005] The present invention proposes a kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed of the same, which overcomes the defect that the traditional ball-jointed kingpin is replaced by a motor shaft fixedly connected to the kingpin in the kingpin steering system, thereby reducing the freedom of the kingpin. The present invention adopts a ball cage universal joint to connect the kingpin and the motor shaft, which can achieve the same steering ability as the steering mechanism in which the motor shaft and the kingpin are fixedly connected, while retaining the freedom of the kingpin, and can change the inclination angle of the kingpin according to the working requirements of different scenarios, thereby improving the adaptability of the vehicle.
[0006] The present invention adopts the following technical solutions.
[0007] A kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed thereof, wherein the steering angle module of the kingpin steering structure comprises a drive system, a brake system, a suspension system and a steering system; the steering mechanism of the steering system comprises a steering arm (7), a steering motor (5), a steering motor controller and a kingpin arranged at a swing arm, the motor shaft of the steering motor is connected to the kingpin via a ball cage universal joint (6) so that the kingpin inclination angle can be adjusted and the degree of freedom of the steering mechanism is maintained; When the steering angle module is used in a wire-controlled chassis, it is an independent steering angle module connected to the wheel, and the angle module frame of the steering angle module is formed by a profile; The corner module frames (2) of the two steering angle modules are spliced at the end faces away from the wheels, and a connection module for adjusting the wheelbase can be inserted into the middle of the splicing area, thereby forming a single-axis drive module.
[0008] When two corner module frames are spliced, right-angle connectors are used to connect adjacent profiles in parallel for horizontal splicing.
[0009] The wire-controlled chassis adjusts the wheelbase by changing the axial size of the connection module in the single-axis drive module.
[0010] The wire-controlled chassis achieves adjustment of the wheelbase by combining single-axis drive modules of different specifications and connection modules of different specifications.
[0011] The suspension system comprises a swing arm and a shock absorbing spring (11) connected to the corner module frame; the swing arm comprises an upper swing arm (4) connected to the corner module frame and a lower swing arm (10) connected to the shock absorbing spring; The drive system comprises a tire, a wheel hub, a wheel hub motor (8) at the wheel, and also comprises a wheel hub motor controller (12); The brake system comprises a brake disc (9) arranged at the wheel, a brake caliper (3) adjacent to the brake disc, and a brake caliper controller (13); a battery (1) is arranged at the corner module frame.
[0012] The wheel hub motor controller, brake caliper controller and battery are fixed to the slide groove of the bottom plate profile of the steering angle module with T-bolts.
[0013] A method for using a kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed thereof, wherein the kingpin steering mechanism is located in a drive-by-wire chassis, and the dynamic performance of the drive-by-wire chassis is reconstructed by adjusting the kingpin inclination angle of the kingpin steering mechanism; The kingpin inclination angle is adjusted by fixing the swing arm and the shock absorbing spring with a lifting lug, and the lifting lug is connected to the slide groove of the corner module frame profile with a T-shaped fastener; The lifting lug slides along the front-to-back direction of the chassis along the front-to-back direction slide slot, thereby changing the relative position of the upper swing arm and the lower swing arm, and then adjusting the caster angle of the kingpin; The upper crossbeam of the angle module frame to which the upper swing arm is fixed is fixed to the entire angle module frame through right-angle pieces and T-shaped fasteners, so that the upper crossbeam can slide along the left and right directions of the chassis along the left and right directions of the slide grooves of the fixed profile, thereby changing the position of the upper swing arm relative to the lower swing arm, and further adjusting the inclination angle of the kingpin; By adjusting the number or length of the profiles of the corner module frame, or sliding the T-shaped fasteners that fix the upper and lower beams along the profile slide grooves, the relative axial position of the beams to which the upper and lower swing arms are fixed can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the inclination angle of the kingpin.
[0014] In the described wire-controlled chassis, the steering system matches a plurality of steering motors of different lateral and longitudinal sizes to adapt to the suspension space of the reconfigurable suspension system. The method is as follows: a steering motor with a planetary gear transmission mechanism is used to make the lateral structure of the steering system compact to match the suspension space of the wire-controlled chassis with a large longitudinal dimension margin; a steering motor with a worm gear transmission mechanism is used to make the longitudinal structure of the steering system compact to match the suspension space of the wire-controlled chassis with a large lateral dimension margin; a bevel gear transmission mechanism is used to reversely transform the wire-controlled chassis drive chain; and a variable high-power density steering mechanism is used to adapt to the reconfigurable wire-controlled chassis suspension space, so as to provide a larger steering power while reducing the volume and mass of the steering device, and still have good maneuverability in complex steering conditions.
[0015] In the steering system, an angle sensor is integrated at the lower end of the steering motor output shaft. Its outer ring is fixedly connected to the steering motor housing, and the inner ring cooperates with the motor shaft and is connected to the motor shaft through the keyway on the motor shaft. When the vehicle's wire-controlled chassis steers, the angle sensor feeds back the measured angle signal to the steering motor controller in real time. The controller processes the received angle feedback signal and performs high-precision closed-loop control of the steering motor based on the angle feedback signal.
[0016] In the steering angle module, the range of rotation of a single wheel around the kingpin is a large rotation angle range of more than ±65° around the kingpin. When the steering angle module drives the vehicle's wire-controlled chassis, the vehicle has an operating mode of turning on the spot and crab walking.
[0017] The scheme described in the present invention proposes an adjustable kingpin independent steering system in which the steering motor is fixedly connected to the upper swing arm for an independent steering angle module. The steering system adopts a kingpin steering type steering mechanism, the motor is fixedly connected to the upper swing arm by bolts, and the motor shaft and the kingpin are connected by a ball cage universal joint, which can achieve a large turning angle of more than ±65° around the kingpin for a single wheel, so that the vehicle can achieve various operating modes such as turning on the spot and crab walking, and has high maneuverability. More importantly, the steering mechanism overcomes the defect of the kingpin steering system in which the traditional ball joint kingpin is replaced by a motor shaft and the kingpin are fixedly connected, thereby reducing the freedom of the kingpin. The kingpin and the motor shaft are connected by a ball cage universal joint, which can achieve the same steering ability as the steering mechanism in which the motor shaft and the kingpin are fixedly connected, while retaining the freedom of the kingpin. The inclination angle of the kingpin can be changed according to the working requirements of different scenes, thereby improving the adaptability of the vehicle.
[0018] The independent steering angle module proposed in the present invention is a basic functional module of the control-by-wire chassis. Two independent steering angle modules can be spliced into a single-axis drive module with independent movement capabilities. The specific implementation method is to splice the end faces of the two independent steering angle module frames away from the wheels together, and use right-angle connectors to connect adjacent profiles in parallel for horizontal splicing. When two independent steering angle modules are spliced into a single-axis drive module, a connection module can be inserted in the middle. By changing the axial size of the connection module, the wheelbase can be adjusted to a certain extent. Different single-axis drive modules and different intermediate connection modules can realize the adjustment of the wheelbase. Combined with the change of the kingpin inclination angle, the dynamic performance of the control-by-wire chassis can be reconstructed. Multiple single-axis drive modules can be spliced continuously, or they can be combined with intermediate connection modules of different horizontal and longitudinal sizes to form a rich chassis configuration.
[0019] The present invention proposes a high-power-density interchangeable steering mechanism. In the steering system, a plurality of steering motors with different lateral and longitudinal dimensions are matched with the same fixed connection method to adapt to the reconfigurable suspension space. The steering motor with a planetary gear transmission mechanism has a compact lateral structure and is suitable for suspension spaces with large longitudinal dimension margins. The steering motor with a worm gear transmission mechanism has a compact longitudinal structure and is suitable for suspension spaces with large lateral dimension margins. A bevel gear transmission mechanism can also be used to change the transmission direction of the transmission chain to achieve a richer steering mechanism configuration. The variable high-power-density steering mechanism can better adapt to the reconfigurable suspension space and provide greater steering power while reducing the volume and mass of the steering device. It still has good maneuverability in complex steering conditions.
[0020] The uniqueness of the present invention in structure also has the following advantages: (1) The present invention realizes an independent steering system with adjustable kingpin in which the steering motor is fixedly connected to the upper swing arm. In this steering system, the steering motor is fixedly connected to the upper swing arm, and the ball cage universal joint connects the upper swing arm kingpin and the motor shaft. The motor drives the steering arm to rotate through the kingpin connected to the ball cage universal joint, which can achieve a large steering angle of ±65°. The ball cage universal joint is a constant velocity universal joint. This steering system has the same steering performance as the steering system in which the kingpin is rigidly connected to the motor shaft, and overcomes the reduction in the freedom of the upper and lower swing arm kingpins caused by the rigid connection between the motor shaft and the swing arm kingpin. The inclination angle of the kingpin can be changed according to the needs of different usage scenarios, thereby realizing the reconstruction of the chassis dynamics performance.
[0021] (2) The present invention realizes a reconfigurable independent steering wire-controlled chassis corner module. The corner module contains a complete drive system, brake system, suspension system and steering system, and each component is fixed to the corner module frame using the slide groove provided by the profile and T-bolts. The steering system in the corner module adopts a kingpin steering system based on a ball cage universal joint. The wire-controlled chassis composed of this module has an all-wheel independent steering function, which can achieve large-angle steering, high flexibility and strong maneuverability. By changing the relative installation position of the upper and lower swing arms to adjust the kingpin inclination, the module's dynamic performance can be reconstructed. As the smallest basic module of a variable configuration wire-controlled chassis, this module can be spliced into a single-axis drive module with independent movement capabilities. Each corner module is independent of each other, highly decoupled, has multiple controllable degrees of freedom, and is highly scalable. Multiple single-axis drive modules can be combined with intermediate connection modules of different specifications to form a rich chassis configuration to adapt to a variety of application scenarios.
[0022] (3) The present invention realizes a kingpin inclination adjustment mechanism. The frame of the reconfigurable independent steering angle module is constructed using profiles. The upper and lower swing arms are connected to the profile frame using lifting ears and T-bolts. The T-bolts can slide along the profile frame to adjust the position of the swing arms. The crossbeams that fix the upper and lower swing arms are fixed to the other parts of the profile frame by right-angle pieces and T-bolts. The relative positions of the upper and lower crossbeams connecting the swing arms can be adjusted in the same way. By fine-tuning the installation position of the swing arm along the slide groove, or changing the model or number of the profiles, the spatial relative position of the upper and lower swing arms can be fine-tuned, and then the inclination of the kingpin can be adjusted to achieve reconstruction of the driving, steering, and handling stability performance of the diagonal module.
[0023] (4) The present invention realizes a high-power density variable steering mechanism. The steering motor in the steering system adopts a high-power transmission mechanism, and different transmission mechanisms can be changed according to different suspension space characteristics. The suspension area has a small space and many components, requiring a compact layout of the components. For suspension designs with large longitudinal space size margins, a steering motor with a planetary gear transmission mechanism can be used. For suspension designs with large lateral space size margins, a steering motor with a worm gear transmission mechanism can be used. The steering motor with a transverse planetary gear transmission mechanism can also be placed horizontally, and a bevel gear transmission mechanism can be used to change the direction of the transmission link. The high-power density variable steering mechanism can better adapt to the compact layout of the various mechanisms of the independent steering system. The small-sized transmission component can transmit large torque within a large speed range. With the large-angle rotation function, it can still maintain good maneuverability in complex steering conditions.
[0024] (5) The present invention realizes an independent steering control system with an integrated angle sensor. An angle sensor is arranged at the bottom of the steering motor, the outer ring of which is fixedly connected to the steering motor housing, and the inner ring cooperates with the motor shaft through a keyway structure, so that the angle signal can be fed back to the controller in real time. The controller processes the angle feedback signal to realize closed-loop control of the steering motor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] The present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments: Attached Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a reconfigurable independent steer-by-wire chassis corner module of the present invention; Attached Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the independent steering angle modules assembled into a single-axis drive module in the present invention; Attached Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of an adjustable kingpin independent steering system formed by a steering motor fixedly connected to an upper swing arm in the present invention; Attached Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the present invention, in which the upper swing arm and the lower swing arm and their fixing beam can be adjusted along the profile slide groove, thereby adjusting the kingpin inclination angle; Attached Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the chassis executing the in-situ steering mode when the present invention is used for the wire-controlled chassis; Attached Figure 6 It is another schematic diagram of the chassis executing the in-situ steering mode when the present invention is used for the wire-controlled chassis; Attached Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the chassis executing the crab crawling mode when the present invention is used for the wire-controlled chassis; Attached Figure 8 It is another schematic diagram of the chassis executing the crab crawling mode when the present invention is used for the wire-controlled chassis; In the figure: 1-battery; 2-corner module frame; 3-brake caliper; 4-upper swing arm; 5-steering motor; 6-ball cage universal joint; 7-steering arm; 8-wheel hub motor; 9-brake disc; 10-lower swing arm; 11-shock absorber spring; 12-wheel hub motor controller; 13-brake caliper controller. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] As shown in the figure, a kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module thereof are provided. The steering angle module of the kingpin steering structure includes a drive system, a brake system, a suspension system and a steering system; the steering mechanism of the steering system includes a steering arm 7, a steering motor 5, a steering motor controller and a kingpin arranged at the swing arm, and the motor shaft of the steering motor is connected to the kingpin through a ball cage universal joint 6, so that the kingpin inclination angle can be adjusted and the degree of freedom of the steering mechanism is maintained; When the steering angle module is used in a wire-controlled chassis, it is an independent steering angle module connected to the wheel, and the angle module frame of the steering angle module is formed by a profile; The corner module frames 2 of the two steering angle modules are spliced at the end faces away from the wheels, and a connecting module for adjusting the wheelbase can be inserted into the middle of the splicing area to form a single-axis drive module.
[0027] When two corner module frames are spliced, right-angle connectors are used to connect adjacent profiles in parallel for horizontal splicing.
[0028] The wire-controlled chassis adjusts the wheelbase by changing the axial size of the connection module in the single-axis drive module.
[0029] The wire-controlled chassis achieves adjustment of the wheelbase by combining single-axis drive modules of different specifications and connection modules of different specifications.
[0030] The suspension system includes a swing arm and a shock absorbing spring 11 connected to the corner module frame; the swing arm includes an upper swing arm 4 connected to the corner module frame and a lower swing arm 10 connected to the shock absorbing spring; The drive system includes a tire, a wheel hub, a wheel hub motor 8 at the wheel, and also includes a wheel hub motor controller 12; The braking system includes a brake disc 9 arranged at the wheel, a brake caliper 3 adjacent to the brake disc, and a brake caliper controller 13; a battery 1 is arranged at the corner module frame.
[0031] The wheel hub motor controller, brake caliper controller and battery are fixed to the slide groove of the bottom plate profile of the steering angle module with T-bolts.
[0032] A method for using a kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed thereof, wherein the kingpin steering mechanism is located in a drive-by-wire chassis, and the dynamic performance of the drive-by-wire chassis is reconstructed by adjusting the kingpin inclination angle of the kingpin steering mechanism; The kingpin inclination angle is adjusted by fixing the swing arm and the shock absorbing spring with a lifting lug, and the lifting lug is connected to the slide groove of the corner module frame profile with a T-shaped fastener; The lifting lug slides along the front-to-back direction of the chassis along the front-to-back direction slide slot, thereby changing the relative position of the upper swing arm and the lower swing arm, and then adjusting the caster angle of the kingpin; The upper crossbeam of the angle module frame to which the upper swing arm is fixed is fixed to the entire angle module frame through right-angle pieces and T-shaped fasteners, so that the upper crossbeam can slide along the left and right directions of the chassis along the left and right directions of the slide grooves of the fixed profile, thereby changing the position of the upper swing arm relative to the lower swing arm, and further adjusting the inclination angle of the kingpin; By adjusting the number or length of the profiles of the corner module frame, or sliding the T-shaped fasteners that fix the upper and lower beams along the profile slide grooves, the relative axial position of the beams to which the upper and lower swing arms are fixed can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the inclination angle of the kingpin.
[0033] In the described wire-controlled chassis, the steering system matches a plurality of steering motors of different lateral and longitudinal sizes to adapt to the suspension space of the reconfigurable suspension system. The method is as follows: a steering motor with a planetary gear transmission mechanism is used to make the lateral structure of the steering system compact to match the suspension space of the wire-controlled chassis with a large longitudinal dimension margin; a steering motor with a worm gear transmission mechanism is used to make the longitudinal structure of the steering system compact to match the suspension space of the wire-controlled chassis with a large lateral dimension margin; a bevel gear transmission mechanism is used to reversely transform the wire-controlled chassis drive chain; and a variable high-power density steering mechanism is used to adapt to the reconfigurable wire-controlled chassis suspension space, so as to provide a larger steering power while reducing the volume and mass of the steering device, and still have good maneuverability in complex steering conditions.
[0034] In the steering system, an angle sensor is integrated at the lower end of the steering motor output shaft. Its outer ring is fixedly connected to the steering motor housing, and the inner ring cooperates with the motor shaft and is connected to the motor shaft through the keyway on the motor shaft. When the vehicle's wire-controlled chassis steers, the angle sensor feeds back the measured angle signal to the steering motor controller in real time. The controller processes the received angle feedback signal and performs high-precision closed-loop control of the steering motor based on the angle feedback signal.
[0035] In the steering angle module, the range of rotation of a single wheel around the kingpin is a large rotation angle range of more than ±65° around the kingpin. When the steering angle module drives the vehicle's wire-controlled chassis, the vehicle has an operating mode of turning on the spot and crab walking.
[0036] Example: In this example, the lifting ear connected to the swing arm is fixed in the slide groove with a T-bolt, and can slide along the front-to-back direction of the chassis along the slide groove in the front-to-back direction, thereby changing the relative position of the upper and lower swing arms, and then adjusting the caster angle of the kingpin; the upper crossbeam to which the upper swing arm is fixed is fixed to the entire frame by a right-angle piece and a T-bolt, and the upper crossbeam can slide along the left-right direction of the chassis along the left-right direction of the slide groove of the fixed profile, thereby changing the position of the upper swing arm relative to the lower swing arm, and then adjusting the inclination angle of the kingpin.
[0037] In this example, the specific method for adjusting the kingpin inclination angle is to adjust the relative position of the upper swing arm and the lower swing arm. The swing arm of the independent steering angle module is connected to the profile frame through a lifting lug, and the lifting lug is fixed to the beam on the side of the profile frame through a T-bolt; the crossbeam connecting the upper and lower swing arms is fixed to the other parts of the angle module frame through a right-angle connector and a T-bolt. By adjusting the number or length of the profiles of the angle module frame, or sliding the T-bolts that fix the upper and lower crossbeams along the profile slide groove, the relative axial position of the crossbeams that fix the upper and lower swing arms can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the inclination angle of the kingpin. By adjusting the horizontal position of the T-bolt that fixes the above-mentioned lifting lug in the slide groove of the profile, the relative position of the upper and lower swing arms in the longitudinal direction can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the castor angle of the kingpin. In this way, the comprehensive adjustment of the kingpin inclination angle can be achieved.
[0038] This example proposes a high-power density interchangeable steering mechanism. In this steering system, a variety of steering motors with different lateral and longitudinal dimensions are matched with the same fixed connection method to adapt to the reconfigurable suspension space. The steering motor with a planetary gear transmission mechanism has a compact lateral structure and is suitable for suspension spaces with large longitudinal margins. The steering motor with a worm gear transmission mechanism has a compact longitudinal structure and is suitable for suspension spaces with large lateral margins. The bevel gear transmission mechanism can also be used to change the transmission direction of the transmission chain to achieve a richer steering mechanism configuration. The variable high-power density steering mechanism can better adapt to the reconfigurable suspension space and provide greater steering power while reducing the volume and mass of the steering equipment. It still has good maneuverability in complex steering conditions.
[0039] In this example, an angle sensor is integrated at the lower end of the steering motor output shaft. Its outer ring is fixedly connected to the steering motor housing, and its inner ring cooperates with the motor shaft and is connected to the motor shaft through the keyway on the motor shaft. The angle sensor will feed back the angle signal to the steering motor controller in real time. The controller processes the received angle feedback signal to achieve high-precision closed-loop control of the steering motor.
Claims
1. A kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed thereof, characterized in that: The steering angle module of the kingpin steering frame comprises a drive system, a brake system, a suspension system and a steering system; the steering mechanism of the steering system comprises a steering arm (7), a steering motor (5), a steering motor controller and a kingpin arranged at the swing arm, and the motor shaft of the steering motor is connected to the kingpin via a ball cage universal joint (6) so that the kingpin inclination angle can be adjusted and the degree of freedom of the steering mechanism is maintained; When the steering angle module is used in a wire-controlled chassis, it is an independent steering angle module connected to the wheel, and the angle module frame of the steering angle module is formed by a profile; The corner module frames (2) of the two steering angle modules are spliced at the end faces away from the wheels, and a connection module for adjusting the wheelbase can be inserted into the middle of the splicing area, thereby forming a single-axis drive module.
2. A kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed thereof according to claim 1, characterized in that: When two corner module frames are spliced, right-angle connectors are used to connect adjacent profiles in parallel for horizontal splicing.
3. A kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed thereof according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wire-controlled chassis adjusts the wheelbase by changing the axial size of the connection module in the single-axis drive module.
4. A kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed thereof according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wire-controlled chassis achieves adjustment of the wheelbase by combining single-axis drive modules of different specifications and connection modules of different specifications.
5. The kingpin steering mechanism and the steering angle module composed thereof according to claim 1, characterized in that: The suspension system comprises a swing arm and a shock absorbing spring connected to the corner module frame; the swing arm comprises an upper swing arm (4) connected to the corner module frame and a lower swing arm (10) connected to the shock absorbing spring; The drive system comprises a tire, a wheel hub, a wheel hub motor (8) at the wheel, and also comprises a wheel hub motor controller (12); The brake system comprises a brake disc (9) arranged at the wheel, a brake caliper (3) adjacent to the brake disc, and a brake caliper controller; a battery (1) is arranged at the corner module frame.
6. A kingpin steering mechanism and a steering angle module composed thereof according to claim 5, characterized in that: The wheel hub motor controller, brake caliper controller and battery are fixed to the slide groove of the bottom plate profile of the steering angle module with T-bolts.
7. The kingpin steering mechanism and the method for using the steering angle module constituted by the same are characterized by: The wire-controlled chassis where the kingpin steering mechanism is located is configured to reconstruct the dynamic performance of the wire-controlled chassis by adjusting the kingpin inclination angle of the kingpin steering mechanism; The kingpin inclination angle is adjusted by fixing the swing arm and the shock absorbing spring with a lifting lug, and the lifting lug is connected to the slide groove of the corner module frame profile with a T-shaped fastener; The lifting lug slides along the front-to-back direction of the chassis along the front-to-back direction slide slot, thereby changing the relative position of the upper swing arm and the lower swing arm, and then adjusting the caster angle of the kingpin; The upper crossbeam of the angle module frame to which the upper swing arm is fixed is fixed to the entire angle module frame through right-angle pieces and T-shaped fasteners, so that the upper crossbeam can slide along the left and right directions of the chassis along the left and right directions of the slide grooves of the fixed profile, thereby changing the position of the upper swing arm relative to the lower swing arm, and further adjusting the inclination angle of the kingpin; By adjusting the number or length of the profiles of the corner module frame, or sliding the T-shaped fasteners that fix the upper and lower beams along the profile slide grooves, the relative axial position of the beams to which the upper and lower swing arms are fixed can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the inclination angle of the kingpin.
8. The method for using the kingpin steering mechanism and the steering angle module constituted by the kingpin steering mechanism according to claim 7 is characterized in that: In the described wire-controlled chassis, the steering system matches a plurality of steering motors of different lateral and longitudinal sizes to adapt to the suspension space of the reconfigurable suspension system. The method is as follows: a steering motor with a planetary gear transmission mechanism is used to make the lateral structure of the steering system compact to match the suspension space of the wire-controlled chassis with a large longitudinal dimension margin; a steering motor with a worm gear transmission mechanism is used to make the longitudinal structure of the steering system compact to match the suspension space of the wire-controlled chassis with a large lateral dimension margin; a bevel gear transmission mechanism is used to reversely transform the wire-controlled chassis drive chain; and a variable high-power density steering mechanism is used to adapt to the reconfigurable wire-controlled chassis suspension space, so as to provide a larger steering power while reducing the volume and mass of the steering device, and still have good maneuverability in complex steering conditions.
9. The method for using the kingpin steering mechanism and the steering angle module constituted by the kingpin steering mechanism according to claim 7 is characterized in that: In the steering system, an angle sensor is integrated at the lower end of the steering motor output shaft. Its outer ring is fixedly connected to the steering motor housing, and the inner ring cooperates with the motor shaft and is connected to the motor shaft through the keyway on the motor shaft. When the vehicle's wire-controlled chassis steers, the angle sensor feeds back the measured steering angle signal to the steering motor controller in real time. The controller processes the received steering angle feedback signal and performs high-precision closed-loop control of the steering motor based on the steering angle feedback signal.
10. The method for using the kingpin steering mechanism and the steering angle module constituted by the kingpin steering mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that: In the steering angle module, the range of rotation of a single wheel around the kingpin is a large rotation angle range of more than ±65° around the kingpin. When the steering angle module drives the vehicle's wire-controlled chassis, the vehicle has an operating mode of turning on the spot and crab walking.
Citation Information
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