vehicle

Abstract

To reduce a space required for parking.SOLUTION: A vehicle 1 comprises: a vehicle body 11; a specific component (battery 14) mounted on the vehicle body 11; a grounding mechanism 20 for grounding the specific component (battery 14) in a state where the specific component (battery 14) protrudes at least partially in a direction crossing a vehicle vertical direction with respect to the vehicle body 11; and a turning mechanism 30 for turning, with respect to the specific component (battery 14), the vehicle body 11 in a state that the specific component (battery 14) is grounded.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, automatic parking technology has been proposed as a parking technology, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. By using such technology, driving assistance for the driver during parking is provided. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-127132 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As described above, parking-related technologies that assist the driver in parking have been proposed. However, there have been no sufficient proposals regarding the parking space that the vehicle occupies when parking. It is expected that parking in a limited narrow space will become easier by reducing the parking space.

[0005] In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle that can reduce the parking space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the vehicle of the present invention includes a vehicle body and During operation, Body When housed inside The specific part to be mounted and the specific part are arranged in a state in which at least a part of the specific part protrudes from the vehicle body in a direction intersecting the vehicle vertical direction. On the ground A grounding mechanism that grounds the vehicle and a specific part that grounds the vehicle Until the vehicle is placed on a specific part, centered on an axis that intersects the vertical direction of the vehicle.A rotation mechanism for rotating the specific component. , the specific part is a battery .

[0007] The grounding mechanism may ground the specific component in a state in which at least a portion of the specific component protrudes from the vehicle body in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

[0008] The rotation mechanism rotates the vehicle body relative to a specific part using power output from a drive source for driving the vehicle. Centered on the axis It may also be rotated. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the parking space. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a battery moves backward in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] 13 illustrates a state in which a battery moves downward in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a vehicle body rotates in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 5] 11 is a diagram showing a state after rotation of the vehicle body has been completed in the vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific values ​​shown in the embodiment are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid repeated explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0013] <Vehicle configuration> The configuration of a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle 1. In this specification, the direction along the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is referred to as the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the forward and backward directions refer to directions along the vehicle longitudinal direction. In addition, in this specification, the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction and parallel to the ground G when traveling is referred to as the vehicle lateral direction, and the left and right directions refer to directions along the vehicle lateral direction. In addition, in this specification, the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction and perpendicular to the ground G when traveling is referred to as the vehicle vertical direction, and the upward and downward directions refer to directions along the vehicle vertical direction.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a vehicle body 11, front wheels 12f, rear wheels 12r, a front wheel motor 13f, a rear wheel motor 13r, a battery 14, a control device 15, a ground attachment mechanism 20, and a rotation mechanism 30. The battery 14 corresponds to an example of a specific component according to the present invention. The vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle that uses the front wheel motor 13f and the rear wheel motor 13r as a driving source for traveling. However, the vehicle 1 is merely an example of the vehicle according to the present invention, and the vehicle according to the present invention may be, for example, a hybrid vehicle.

[0016] The vehicle body 11 is a portion of the vehicle 1 in which passengers (e.g., the driver) and luggage ride, and is a portion that forms the outer shape of the vehicle 1. Front wheels 12f and rear wheels 12r are provided on the lower portion of the vehicle body 11. The front wheels 12f are provided as a pair on the left and right at the front side of the lower portion of the vehicle body 11. The rear wheels 12r are provided as a pair on the left and right at the rear side of the lower portion of the vehicle body 11.

[0017] The front wheel motor 13f outputs power for driving the front wheels 12f. Note that one front wheel motor 13f may be provided for the two front wheels 12f, or a different front wheel motor 13f may be provided separately for each front wheel 12f. The rear wheel motor 13r outputs power for driving the rear wheels 12r. Note that one rear wheel motor 13r may be provided for the two rear wheels 12r, or a different rear wheel motor 13r may be provided separately for each rear wheel 12r.

[0018] The front wheel motor 13f and the rear wheel motor 13r are driven by power supplied from a battery 14. The front wheel motor 13f and the rear wheel motor 13r are, for example, three-phase AC motors, and are connected to the battery 14 via an inverter (not shown). As the battery 14, for example, a lithium ion battery, a lithium ion polymer battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, or a lead-acid battery is used, but other batteries may also be used.

[0019] The control device 15 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which is an arithmetic processing device, a ROM (Read Only Memory) which is a memory element that stores programs and arithmetic parameters used by the CPU, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) which is a memory element that temporarily stores parameters that change appropriately during CPU execution.

[0020] The control device 15 controls the operation of the front wheel motor 13f and the rear wheel motor 13r. For example, the control device 15 controls the operation of an inverter between the battery 14 and each motor, thereby controlling the supply of power between the battery 14 and each motor. This controls the operation of the front wheel motor 13f and the rear wheel motor 13r. Furthermore, the control device 15 also controls the operation of the ground contact mechanism 20.

[0021] The grounding mechanism 20 grounds a specific component mounted on the vehicle body 11. The specific component may be mounted in a state of being housed inside the vehicle body 11, or may be mounted in a state of being exposed to the outside of the vehicle body 11. In this embodiment, the battery 14 is used as the specific component, and the grounding mechanism 20 grounds the battery 14. However, as described later, the specific component may be a component other than the battery 14.

[0022] The ground contact mechanism 20 has a front-rear movement mechanism 21 and a vertical movement mechanism 22. The front-rear movement mechanism 21 is a mechanism that moves the battery 14 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The vertical movement mechanism 22 is a mechanism that moves the battery 14 in the vertical direction of the vehicle. The operations of the front-rear movement mechanism 21 and the vertical movement mechanism 22 are controlled by the control device 15.

[0023] Each of the movement mechanisms of the front-rear movement mechanism 21 and the up-down movement mechanism 22 includes, for example, a conveying member such as a belt or chain that conveys the battery 14 while holding it, and a drive device such as a motor that drives the conveying member. In this case, the conveying member is driven by the drive device, so that the battery 14 moves in each direction. However, each of the movement mechanisms of the front-rear movement mechanism 21 and the up-down movement mechanism 22 is not limited to the above example. For example, each of the movement mechanisms of the front-rear movement mechanism 21 and the up-down movement mechanism 22 may be a mechanism that utilizes various mechanical elements such as a ball screw.

[0024] Here, when the vehicle 1 is in operation, the battery 14 is mounted, for example, at a predetermined mounting position on the lower side of the vehicle body 11. As described later with reference to FIG. 2, the front-rear movement mechanism 21 can move the battery 14 backward from the mounting position to a protruding position (specifically, a position where the entire battery 14 protrudes backward from the vehicle body 11). Also, the up-down movement mechanism 22 can move the battery 14 downward from the protruding position to a grounding position (specifically, a position where the battery 14 touches the ground G) as described later with reference to FIG. 3. In this way, the grounding mechanism 20 can ground the battery 14 in a state where the entire battery 14 protrudes backward from the vehicle body 11.

[0025] The rotation mechanism 30 rotates the vehicle body 11 relative to the battery 14 with the battery 14 in a state where the battery 14 is grounded. The rotation mechanism 30 has a rear wheel motor 13r and a support shaft 31 (see FIG. 4) described later. The rotation mechanism 30 rotates the vehicle body 11 relative to the battery 14 using power output from the rear wheel motor 13r, which is a drive source for driving the vehicle 1. Details of the rotation mechanism 30 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0026] <Vehicle operation> The operation of the vehicle 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0027] As described above, in this embodiment, the grounding mechanism 20 grounds the battery 14 mounted on the vehicle body 11. Then, the rotation mechanism 30 rotates the vehicle body 11 relative to the battery 14 while the battery 14 is in the grounded state. For example, the control device 15 operates the grounding mechanism 20 and the rotation mechanism 30 as described above, triggered by a specific operation performed by a user (e.g., a driver) using an input device. The input device may be attached to the vehicle 1, or may be a device that performs wireless communication with the vehicle 1. The above operations by the grounding mechanism 20 and the rotation mechanism 30 are performed when the vehicle 1 is parked.

[0028] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the battery 14 moving backward in the vehicle 1. When parking the vehicle 1, first, as shown in Fig. 2, the front-rear movement mechanism 21 of the grounding mechanism 20 moves the battery 14 backward from the mounting position (i.e., in the direction of arrow A1 in Fig. 2). As a result, the entire battery 14 protrudes backward relative to the vehicle body 11. The position of the battery 14 shown by the solid line in Fig. 2 (i.e., the position after the movement of the battery 14 by the front-rear movement mechanism 21 is completed) is the protruding position described above.

[0029] Fig. 3 shows the battery 14 moving downward in the vehicle 1. After the movement of the battery 14 by the forward / rearward movement mechanism 21 is completed, as shown in Fig. 3, the vertical movement mechanism 22 of the ground contact mechanism 20 moves the battery 14 downward from the extended position (i.e., in the direction of the arrow A2 in Fig. 3). As a result, the battery 14 touches the ground G with the entire battery 14 extending rearward relative to the vehicle body 11. The position of the battery 14 shown by the solid line in Fig. 3 (i.e., the position after the movement of the battery 14 by the vertical movement mechanism 22 is completed) is the above-mentioned ground contact position.

[0030] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the rotation of the body 11 in the vehicle 1. After the vertical movement mechanism 22 has completed the movement of the battery 14, as shown in Fig. 4, the rotation mechanism 30 rotates the body 11 relative to the battery 14 with the battery 14 in a grounded state.

[0031] Here, the battery 14 is provided with a support shaft 31 that rotatably supports the vehicle body 11. The support shaft 31 extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The vehicle body 11 is rotatable about the support shaft 31 relative to the battery 14. In detail, the vehicle body 11 is supported by the support shaft 31 so that it can swing to some extent in a direction intersecting the left-right direction of the vehicle relative to the battery 14. The support shaft 31 is disposed, for example, at the front side of the vertically upper side of the battery 14. Note that the support shaft 31 may be attached to the vehicle body 11 and rotate integrally with the vehicle body 11.

[0032] When the body 11 rotates, the control device 15 rotates the rear wheel motor 13r in a direction to move the vehicle 1 backward. At this time, since the battery 14 is a relatively heavy part of the vehicle 1, it can maintain a grounded state without moving relative to the ground G. Therefore, the body 11 rotates relative to the battery 14 about the support shaft 31 in a direction in which the front part of the body 11 rises (i.e., in the direction of the arrow A3 in FIG. 4).

[0033] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a state after the rotation of the body 11 of the vehicle 1 is completed. After the rotation of the body 11 by the rotation mechanism 30, as shown in Fig. 5, the rear surface F1 of the body 11 in the vehicle front-rear direction is placed on the upper surface F2 of the battery 14 in the vertical direction, and the body 11 is in an upright state. This reduces the parking space for the vehicle 1.

[0034] 5, the area of ​​the rear surface F1 of the vehicle body 11 and the area of ​​the upper surface F2 of the battery 14 are approximately the same, but the area of ​​the rear surface F1 of the vehicle body 11 may be smaller or larger than the area of ​​the upper surface F2 of the battery 14. However, from the viewpoint of improving the stability of the posture of the vehicle 1 when the vehicle body 11 is upright, it is preferable that the opposing area between the rear surface F1 of the vehicle body 11 and the upper surface F2 of the battery 14 is large.

[0035] Also, in FIG. 5, after the body 11 has rotated, the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle coincides with the vertically upward direction, but the upright state of the body 11 also includes a state in which the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle is inclined with respect to the vertically upward direction.

[0036] Here, as shown in Fig. 5, a plurality of rollers 40 are rotatably provided on the lower part of the battery 14 in the vertical direction. The plurality of rollers 40 function as a moving mechanism for moving the vehicle 1 after the body 11 has rotated. For example, after the body 11 has rotated, the user U can push the upper part of the body 11 in the vehicle up-down direction with the hand H, thereby moving the vehicle 1 in a direction along the ground G (i.e., in the direction of the arrow A4 in Fig. 5) with the plurality of rollers 40 rotated. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can be moved along the ground G with the body 11 in an upright position.

[0037] Although the above describes an example in which the vehicle 1 is moved manually, the vehicle 1 may be moved automatically. For example, in a case in which a drive device for driving the rollers 40 to rotate is provided, the control device 15 can control the operation of the drive device to move the vehicle 1.

[0038] As described above, according to this embodiment, when parking the vehicle 1, the body 11 can be rotated to stand upright. This makes it possible to reduce the parking space occupied by the vehicle 1 when parking. Furthermore, the vehicle 1 can be moved along the ground G with the body 11 in an upright state. This makes it possible to reduce the parking space and easily move the vehicle 1 to a desired parking position. This makes it easier to park in a limited, narrow space.

[0039] In the above, an example has been described in which the specific part to be grounded by the grounding mechanism 20 is the battery 14. However, the specific part may be a part other than the battery 14. Here, in order to rotate the vehicle body 11 relative to the specific part in a state in which the specific part is grounded, it is preferable that the specific part is a relatively heavy part of the vehicle 1. For example, specific parts other than the battery 14 include various motors and the like.

[0040] In the above, an example has been described in which the grounding mechanism 20 has the front-rear movement mechanism 21 and the up-down movement mechanism 22. However, the configuration of the grounding mechanism 20 is not limited to the above example. For example, the movement path of the battery 14 by the grounding mechanism 20 is not limited to the above example. The movement path of the battery 14 by the grounding mechanism 20 may include, for example, a path in the left-right direction of the vehicle, or may include a path in a direction inclined in the up-down direction of the vehicle with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The configuration of the grounding mechanism 20 can be appropriately set according to the movement path of the battery 14 by the grounding mechanism 20.

[0041] In the above, an example has been described in which the grounding mechanism 20 grounds the battery 14 in a state in which the entire battery 14 protrudes rearward relative to the vehicle body 11. However, the grounding mechanism 20 may ground the battery 14 in a state in which only a part of the battery 14 protrudes rearward relative to the vehicle body 11. The direction in which the battery 14 protrudes relative to the vehicle body 11 may be any direction intersecting the vehicle up-down direction. For example, the direction in which the battery 14 protrudes relative to the vehicle body 11 may be forward. In this case, when the vehicle body 11 rotates, the vehicle body 11 rotates in a direction in which the rear part of the vehicle body 11 rises around an axis in the vehicle left-right direction. In addition, for example, the direction in which the battery 14 protrudes relative to the vehicle body 11 may be the vehicle left-right direction. In this case, when the vehicle body 11 rotates, the vehicle body 11 rotates in a direction in which the left part or the right part of the vehicle body 11 rises around an axis in the vehicle front-rear direction. In other words, the grounding mechanism 20 may be configured to ground the battery 14 in a state in which at least a portion of the battery 14 protrudes from the vehicle body 11 in a direction intersecting the vehicle up-down direction.

[0042] In the above, an example has been described in which the rotation mechanism 30 rotates the body 11 relative to the battery 14 using power output from a drive source for running the vehicle 1 (specifically, the rear wheel motor 13r). However, the rotation mechanism 30 may rotate the body 11 relative to the battery 14 using power output from a drive source other than the drive source for running the vehicle 1 (for example, a motor dedicated to rotating the body 11).

[0043] <Vehicle Effects> Next, effects of the vehicle 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0044] In the vehicle 1 according to this embodiment, the grounding mechanism 20 grounds the specific part (specifically, the battery 14) in a state where at least a part of the specific part is extended from the vehicle body 11 in a direction intersecting the vehicle vertical direction. In addition, the rotation mechanism 30 rotates the vehicle body 11 with the specific part (specifically, the battery 14) in a state where the specific part is grounded. Thereby, when parking the vehicle 1, the vehicle body 11 can be rotated to stand upright. Therefore, the parking space occupied by the vehicle 1 when parking can be reduced. In particular, after the rotation of the vehicle body 11, the vehicle body 11 can be placed on the specific part (specifically, the battery 14) in an upright state, so that the parking space can be effectively reduced. Therefore, it is possible to facilitate parking in a limited narrow space.

[0045] In addition, in the vehicle 1 according to this embodiment, it is preferable that the grounding mechanism 20 grounds the specific part (specifically, the battery 14) in a state in which at least a part of the specific part protrudes from the vehicle body 11 in the vehicle front-rear direction. Here, for example, when the specific part protrudes from the vehicle body 11 in the vehicle left-right direction, the vehicle body 11 rotates around an axis in the vehicle front-rear direction when the vehicle body 11 rotates. On the other hand, when the specific part protrudes from the vehicle body 11 in the vehicle front-rear direction when the vehicle body 11 rotates, the vehicle body 11 rotates around an axis in the vehicle left-right direction when the vehicle body 11 rotates. When the vehicle body 11 rotates around an axis in the vehicle left-right direction, the vertical projection area of ​​the vehicle 1 after the vehicle body 11 rotates is smaller than when the vehicle body 11 rotates around an axis in the vehicle front-rear direction. Therefore, the parking space can be effectively reduced.

[0046] Moreover, in the vehicle 1 according to this embodiment, it is preferable that the rotation mechanism 30 rotates the vehicle body 11 relative to the specific part using power output from a drive source (specifically, the rear wheel motor 13r) for running the vehicle 1. This makes it possible to rotate the vehicle body 11 relative to the specific part without providing a new drive source (for example, a motor dedicated to rotating the vehicle body 11).

[0047] Moreover, in the vehicle 1 according to this embodiment, the specific parts preferably include the battery 14. As described above, the battery 14 is a relatively heavy part of the vehicle 1. This allows the battery 14 to be appropriately maintained in a grounded state without moving relative to the ground G when the vehicle body 11 is rotated. This allows the vehicle body 11 to be appropriately rotated relative to the battery 14 with the battery 14 in a grounded state.

[0048] The above describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modified or altered examples within the scope of the claims also fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1 vehicle 11 Body 13r Rear wheel motor (power source for driving) 14 Battery (specific parts) 20 Earthing mechanism 30 Rotation mechanism

Claims

1. The car body and A specific part that is mounted in a state of being housed inside the vehicle body during driving; a grounding mechanism that grounds the specific component to the ground in a state in which at least a portion of the specific component protrudes from the vehicle body in a direction intersecting with a vehicle up-down direction; a rotation mechanism that rotates the vehicle body relative to the specific part about an axis that intersects with a vehicle up-down direction while the specific part is in contact with the ground, until the vehicle body is placed on the specific part; Equipped with The specific component is a battery. vehicle.

2. The grounding mechanism grounds the specific component in a state in which at least a portion of the specific component protrudes from the vehicle body in a vehicle front-rear direction.

2. The vehicle of claim 1.

3. the rotation mechanism rotates the vehicle body about the axis relative to the specific component by using power output from a drive source for driving the vehicle.

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2.

Images