A large-angle electric steering axle device and a traveling device

Abstract

The present invention provides a large-angle electric steering axle device and a running device, wherein the electric steering axle device comprises a steering mechanism and a supporting mechanism, the steering mechanism comprises an electric drive device, a rocker arm and at least one tie rod, the electric drive device is drivingly connected to the rocker arm; the supporting mechanism comprises a steering axle body and at least one steering knuckle for rotationally connecting to a wheel hub, the electric drive device is mounted on the steering axle body; the steering knuckle is hinged to the steering axle body; and the two ends of the tie rod are respectively hinged to the rocker arm and the corresponding steering knuckle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a steering axle device of a transport vehicle, in particular to a large-angle electric steering axle device and a traveling device. Background Art

[0002] Forklifts are mainly used for loading and unloading in cargo yards and warehouses or short-distance transportation. The work area is small, the steering is frequent, and it is often necessary to turn on the spot. Therefore, forklifts have higher steering requirements than other vehicles. The steering requires lightness and flexibility, a small turning radius, and good maneuverability. At present, domestic and foreign forklift manufacturers generally use transverse cylinder steering axles. The transverse cylinder steering axle adopts a crank slider mechanism. The pressure oil pushes the steering cylinder piston rod, and the connecting rod drives the steering knuckle to turn, so that the steering wheel deflects, thereby achieving steering. However, the transverse cylinder steering axle has the following disadvantages:

[0003] 1. The hydraulic system has a complex structure and requires oil pumps, oil tanks, valve blocks, hydraulic pipelines, oil cylinders and other parts, which is costly.

[0004] 2. The hydraulic pipelines are complex and have the risk of leakage, and the maintenance workload is large.

[0005] 3. The wire control of the electronically controlled hydraulic system is difficult, especially when used in unmanned driving scenarios, which require high-precision steering control. Summary of the invention

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a large-angle electric steering bridge device, including a steering mechanism and a supporting mechanism, wherein the steering mechanism includes an electric drive device, a rocker arm and at least one tie rod, wherein the electric drive device is drivingly connected to the rocker arm, and the electric drive device can drive the rocker arm to rotate;

[0007] The supporting mechanism comprises a steering axle body and at least one steering knuckle for rotationally connecting with a wheel hub, the electric drive device is mounted on the steering axle body; the steering knuckle is hinged with the steering axle body; the two ends of the tie rod are respectively hinged with the rocker arm and the corresponding steering knuckle.

[0008] Preferably, the electric drive device is fixedly mounted on the steering axle body via a mounting bracket.

[0009] Preferably, the electric drive device is an electric recirculating ball steering gear.

[0010] Preferably, the steering knuckle comprises a fixedly connected steering knuckle body, an axle diameter and a connecting arm, the axle diameter is used for rotational connection with the wheel hub, the steering knuckle body is hinged to the steering axle body, and the connecting arm is hinged to the corresponding tie rod.

[0011] Preferably, the steering knuckle is axially connected to the steering axle body via a king pin.

[0012] Preferably, the steering axle body is provided with a kingpin connection portion, the kingpin connection portion comprises two pin seats spaced apart from each other, and both the pin seats are provided with pin holes;

[0013] The steering knuckle body is provided with a cylindrical hole, the cylindrical hole is connected between the two pin holes, the main pin passes through the two pin holes and the cylindrical hole, the two pin holes are provided with bearings, and the upper and lower ends of the main pin are rotatably connected to the steering axle body through the bearings respectively;

[0014] The steering knuckle is fixedly connected to the kingpin by inserting a conical pin.

[0015] Preferably, rod end joint bearings are respectively provided at both ends of the tie rod, and the two ends of the tie rod are respectively hinged to the rocker arm and the connecting arm through the rod end joint bearings and threaded fasteners.

[0016] Preferably, the rod end joint bearing comprises a rod end and a joint bearing, the rod end is fixedly connected to the outer ring of the joint bearing, and the rod end is threadedly connected to the end of the tie rod.

[0017] Preferably, the threaded fastener comprises a bolt, at least one side surface of the bolt head is a plane, the rocker arm is provided with a limiting groove adapted to the shape of the bolt head, and the bolt head is limited in the limiting groove.

[0018] Preferably, a limiting arm is provided on the steering knuckle, and a limiting bolt for limiting the movement of the limiting arm is threadedly connected to the steering bridge body.

[0019] Preferably, the steering mechanism includes at least two tie rods, and the supporting mechanism includes at least two steering knuckles, and the two steering knuckles are respectively hinged on both sides of the steering bridge body; one end of the two tie rods is hinged to the rocker arm, and the other end of the two tie rods is respectively hinged to one of the steering knuckles.

[0020] The present invention also provides a walking device, comprising at least two wheels and at least one of the above-mentioned steering axle devices, wherein the wheel hubs of the wheels are respectively rotatably connected to a corresponding one of the steering knuckles.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following technical effects:

[0022] 1. The present invention replaces the hydraulic steering system in the prior art with an electric steering system, which has a simple structure and low maintenance cost.

[0023] 2. The present invention adopts an electrically driven steering system with high wire control accuracy.

[0024] Of course, any product implementing the present invention does not necessarily need to achieve all of the advantages described above at the same time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0026] Figure 1 The invention provides a large-angle electric steering axle device. Figure 1 ;

[0027] Figure 2 The invention provides a large-angle electric steering axle device. Figure 2 ;

[0028] Figure 3 is an exploded view of a large-angle electric steering axle device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the rocker arm and the tie rod provided by one embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the connection structure at the rod end joint bearing of the tie rod provided by one embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of a limiting mechanism on a steering axle body provided in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] The technical solution of the present invention is described in detail with specific embodiments below. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described in detail in some embodiments.

[0034] Before discussing the specific solution, the relationship between the large-angle electric steering axle device and the running device involved in the following embodiments is briefly described:

[0035] One of the functions of the large-angle electric steering axle device is to realize the steering of the wheels of the traveling device. Therefore, the traveling device is an application scenario of the large-angle electric steering axle device. The large-angle electric steering axle device is integrated with the wheels of the traveling device to realize the steering of the wheels.

[0036] Please refer to Figures 1 to 6 A large-angle electric steering bridge device 1 includes a steering mechanism and a supporting mechanism, wherein the steering mechanism includes an electric drive device 109, a rocker arm 114 and at least one tie rod 115, and the electric drive device 109 is drivingly connected to the rocker arm 114;

[0037] The supporting mechanism includes a steering bridge body 110 and at least one steering knuckle 101, and the electric drive device 109 is installed on the steering bridge body 110; the steering knuckle 101 is hinged to the steering bridge body 110; and the two ends of the tie rod 115 are respectively hinged to the rocker arm 114 and the corresponding steering knuckle 101.

[0038] The present invention does not limit the number of tie rods 115 and steering knuckles 101, and the number of tie rods 115 and steering knuckles 101 is equal to the number of wheels. This embodiment takes the steering axle device 1 controlling the steering of two wheels at the same time as an example to explain the large-angle electric steering axle device 1 in detail.

[0039] In this embodiment, a large-angle electric steering bridge device 1 includes a steering mechanism and a supporting mechanism, wherein the steering mechanism includes an electric drive device 109, a rocker arm 114 and two tie rods 115, and the electric drive device 109 is drivingly connected to the rocker arm 114. The present invention does not limit the specific type of the electric drive device 109, such as a steering motor or an electric recirculating ball steering gear, as long as the electric drive device 109 can drive the rocker arm 114 to rotate. In this embodiment, the electric drive device 109 drives the rocker arm 114 to rotate around a vertical axis.

[0040] The support mechanism includes a steering bridge body 110 and two steering knuckles 101, and the electric drive device 109 is fixedly mounted on the steering bridge body 110 via a mounting bracket 108. The rocker arm 114 is fixedly connected to the output end of the electric drive device 109, such as by bolts, nuts and spring washers.

[0041] The two tie rods 115 are rotatably connected to the rocker arm 114 respectively. For example, two connecting parts are provided on the rocker arm 114. The two connecting parts are hinged to the two tie rods 115 respectively. The connecting parts and the tie rods 115 are in a one-to-one correspondence, that is, one tie rod 115 is hinged to one connecting part.

[0042] The two steering knuckles 101 are respectively hinged on both sides of the steering axle body 110, and the two sides of the steering axle body 110 are respectively connected to the wheel hubs of the wheels on both sides thereof through a steering knuckle 101. Specifically, the steering knuckle 101 includes a fixedly connected steering knuckle body 1013, an axle diameter 1011 and a connecting arm 1012, the axle diameter 1011 is rotatably connected to the wheel hub, the steering knuckle body 1013 is hinged to the steering axle body 110, and the connecting arm 1012 is hinged to a corresponding tie rod 115, that is, the steering knuckle 101 is connected to the rocker arm 114 through the tie rod 115.

[0043] The wheel 2 includes a wheel body 205 and a wheel hub 207. The wheel body 205 is mounted on the wheel hub 207 and does not rotate relative to the wheel hub 207. A wheel hub bearing 206 is installed in the wheel hub 207. The wheel hub bearing 206 is mounted on the shaft diameter 1011 of the steering knuckle 101, that is, the wheel hub 207 is rotatably connected to the shaft diameter 1011 of the steering knuckle 101 through the wheel hub bearing 206, and the axial direction of the shaft diameter 1011 of the steering knuckle 101 is horizontal. The large end cover 209 and the small end cover 203 are respectively fixed to the two ends of the wheel hub 207 by threaded fasteners. A wheel hub oil seal 204 and a large gasket 208 are also provided between the large end cover 209 and the wheel hub 207, and a wheel hub oil seal 204 and a small gasket 202 are also provided between the small end cover 203 and the wheel hub 207. The bearing spacer 201 is mounted on the shaft diameter 1011 and fixed with a round nut with a locking washer 210 and a round nut 211. The bearing spacer 201 is located outside the small end cover 203. The hub cover 212 is fixed to the outermost end of the hub 207 by threaded fasteners.

[0044] In this embodiment, the steering knuckle 101 is axially connected to the steering axle body 110 through a kingpin 102. A kingpin connecting portion is provided on the steering axle body 110. The kingpin 102 is rotatably connected to the kingpin connecting portion through a kingpin bearing. The kingpin 102 and the steering knuckle 101 are fixedly connected.

[0045] The present invention does not limit the specific type and style of the kingpin bearing. This embodiment takes the kingpin 102 as an example of using two kingpin bearings. The types of the two kingpin bearings can be the same or different. In this embodiment, the kingpin connecting portion includes two pin seats 1101 spaced apart from each other. Pin holes are provided on the two pin seats 1101, and the axial direction of the pin holes is the vertical direction.

[0046] The steering knuckle body 1013 is provided with a cylindrical hole 10131, and the axial direction of the cylindrical hole 10131 is in the vertical direction. The cylindrical hole 10131 is connected between the two pin holes, and the kingpin 102 penetrates the two pin holes and the cylindrical hole 10131. The two pin holes are provided with pin hole bearings. The present invention does not limit the type of pin hole bearings, as long as the kingpin 102 can rotate on the steering axle body 110, such as a needle bearing 107 is provided in the upper pin hole, and a thrust ball bearing 112 is provided in the lower pin hole, and the upper and lower ends of the kingpin 102 are respectively connected to the steering axle body 110 through the two pin hole bearings.

[0047] The steering knuckle body 1013 is fixedly connected to the kingpin 102. The present invention does not limit the fixing method of the steering knuckle body 1013 and the kingpin 102. It can be fastened by fasteners or fixed by penetrating the conical pin 113 into the steering knuckle body 101 and the kingpin 102. The purpose is to prevent relative rotation and axial displacement between the steering knuckle body 101 and the kingpin 102. A dust ring 111 and an adjustment ring are also provided between the steering knuckle body 1013 and the two pin seats 1101.

[0048] The outer ends of the two pin holes are both installed with bearing end covers 104 and gaskets 105. The upper end of the upper pin seat is provided with an upper bearing end cover and an upper gasket, and the lower end of the lower pin seat is provided with a lower bearing end cover and a lower gasket. The bearing end cover 104 is fastened to the pin seat 1101 by threaded fasteners to prevent the axial movement of the pin hole bearing. A felt oil seal 106 is also provided in the bearing end cover 104 to prevent foreign objects from invading the pin hole bearing and to avoid the lubricant of the pin hole bearing from leaking out. The main pin 102 is also provided with an oil nozzle 103 to inject lubricant into the pin hole and the cylindrical hole 10131 to reduce the wear of the parts.

[0049] The two ends of the tie rod 115 are respectively provided with rod end joint bearings 117, and the two ends of the tie rod 115 are respectively hinged to the rocker arm 114 and the connecting arm 1012 through the rod end joint bearings 117 and threaded fasteners. As another embodiment, the rod end joint bearings 117 can be replaced with a ball pin structure.

[0050] This embodiment takes the rod end joint bearing 117 as an example, the rod end joint bearing 117 includes a rod end and a joint bearing, the rod end is fixedly connected to the outer ring of the joint bearing, the rod end is threadedly connected to the end of the transverse rod 115, and the distance between the joint bearing and the end of the transverse rod 115 is adjusted by adjusting the length of the rod end screwed into the transverse rod 115. After adjustment, the rod end and the transverse rod 115 are locked by the locking nut 116.

[0051] The inner rings of the rod end spherical bearings 117 at both ends of the tie rod 115 are respectively fastened to the connecting arm 1012 of the steering knuckle 101 and the connecting part of the rocker arm 114 through threaded fasteners. In this embodiment, the threaded fasteners include bolts 118 and nuts 120. The nut 120 is a slotted nut. After the nut 120 is tightened, the cotter pin 119 is inserted into the slot of the nut 120 and the tail hole of the bolt 118 to prevent the nut 120 and the bolt 118 from rotating relative to each other. The purpose is to prevent the threaded connection from loosening. The connecting part of the rocker arm 114 is provided with a mounting hole for the bolt 118 to pass through. During installation, the bolt 118 passes through the mounting hole and the spherical bearing in turn, and then is locked with the nut 120. In order to prevent relative rotation between the bolt 118 and the rocker arm 114, reduce friction and wear between parts, and make disassembly and assembly more convenient, therefore, please refer to Figure 4 , at least one side of the head 1181 of the bolt 118 is a plane, such as milling the head 1181 of the bolt 118 flat; the head 1181 of the bolt 118 can also have multiple sides that are planes, and a polygon is selected (this embodiment does not limit the specific polygon, such as a pentagon, hexagon, etc., that is, a pentagonal head bolt, a hexagonal head bolt, etc.), and the end of the mounting hole is provided with a limiting groove 11401 that matches the shape of the head 1181 of the bolt 118, that is, at least one side of the groove wall of the limiting groove 11401 is a plane, the purpose is to make the head 1181 of the bolt 118 abut against the limiting groove 11401. The head 1181 of the bolt 118 is embedded in the rocker arm 114, which also reduces the structural height and improves the space utilization.

[0052] A limit mechanism is provided on the steering bridge body 110 to limit the maximum steering angle of the wheels. Figure 6 In this embodiment, the steering knuckle 101 is provided with a limit arm 1014, and the limit arm 1014, the shaft diameter 1011 and the connecting arm 1012 are all fixed to the outside of the steering knuckle body 1013. The steering axle body 110 is threadedly connected with a limit bolt 121 for limiting the movement of the limit arm 1014, and the maximum angle of wheel steering is limited by adjusting the length of the limit bolt 121 screwed into the steering axle body 110.

[0053] In this embodiment, when the electric drive device 109 is working, it drives the rocker arm 114 to rotate, and the rocker arm 114 drives the steering knuckle 101 to rotate through the tie rod 115, and the steering knuckle 101 drives the wheel to rotate, thereby achieving the steering of the wheel.

[0054] The embodiment of the present invention provides a walking device, and the present invention does not specifically limit the specific type of the walking device, such as a forklift. Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, rather than to limit it; although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, ordinary technicians in this field should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the above embodiments, or replace part or all of the technical features therein by equivalent; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solution deviate from the scope of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A large-angle electric steering axle device, characterized in that: It includes a steering mechanism and a supporting mechanism, wherein the steering mechanism includes an electric drive device, a rocker arm and two tie rods, the electric drive device is drivingly connected to the rocker arm, and the electric drive device can drive the rocker arm to rotate; The support mechanism comprises a steering axle body and two steering knuckles, the electric drive device is mounted on the steering axle body; the two steering knuckles are respectively hinged on both sides of the steering axle body, and the two sides of the steering axle body are respectively connected to the wheel hubs of the wheels on both sides thereof through one of the steering knuckles; the two ends of the tie rod are respectively hinged to the rocker arm and the corresponding steering knuckle; The steering knuckle includes a fixedly connected steering knuckle body, an axle diameter, a connecting arm and a limit arm, the axle diameter is used for rotationally connecting with the wheel hub shaft, the steering knuckle body is hinged to the steering axle body, the connecting arm is hinged to the corresponding tie rod, the limit arm, axle diameter and connecting arm are all fixed to the outside of the steering knuckle body; a limit bolt for limiting the movement of the limit arm is threadedly connected to the steering axle body, and the maximum angle of wheel steering is limited by adjusting the length of the limit bolt screwed into the steering axle body.

2. A large-angle electric steering axle device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric drive device is fixedly mounted on the steering axle body via a mounting bracket.

3. The large-angle electric steering axle device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric drive device is an electric circulating ball steering gear.

4. The large-angle electric steering axle device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steering knuckle is axially connected to the steering axle body through a king pin.

5. A large-angle electric steering axle device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The steering axle body is provided with a kingpin connection part, and the kingpin connection part includes two pin seats spaced apart from each other, and pin holes are provided on both the pin seats; The steering knuckle body is provided with a cylindrical hole, the cylindrical hole is connected between the two pin holes, the main pin passes through the two pin holes and the cylindrical hole, the two pin holes are provided with bearings, and the upper and lower ends of the main pin are rotatably connected to the steering axle body through the bearings respectively; The steering knuckle is fixedly connected to the kingpin by inserting a conical pin.

6. The large-angle electric steering axle device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Rod end joint bearings are respectively arranged at both ends of the tie rod, and the two ends of the tie rod are respectively hinged to the rocker arm and the connecting arm through the rod end joint bearings and threaded fasteners.

7. A large-angle electric steering axle device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The rod end joint bearing comprises a rod end and a joint bearing, wherein the rod end is fixedly connected to the outer ring of the joint bearing, and the rod end is threadedly connected to the end of the tie rod.

8. The large-angle electric steering axle device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The threaded fastener comprises a bolt, at least one side surface of the bolt head is a plane, and the rocker arm is provided with a limiting groove adapted to the shape of the bolt head, and the bolt head is limited in the limiting groove.

9. A walking device, characterized in that: The invention comprises at least two wheels and at least one steering axle device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the wheel hubs are rotatably connected to a corresponding steering knuckle.

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