Modular kinematic steering device

Abstract

A modular kinematic steering device (1) that can be installed on at least a first module and a second module (2', 2'') of a modular vehicle system (10), each module (2', 2'') having at least two axes (3), for each axis (3), a kinematic steering mechanism (4) adapted to move a wheel (31) connected to said axis (3), a rudder (41) arranged transversely to said axes (3) and for controlling said kinematic steering mechanism (4), said rudder (41) being capable of being constrained to said mechanism (4) so ​​as to be able to transmit a movement from said rudder (41) to said wheel (31) by means of said mechanism (4), said rudder (41) being connected to each of said axes (3). and a locking device (42) for the mechanism (4) adapted to make one of the axes (3) a fulcrum for rotation of the rudder (41) by rigidly connecting the mechanism (4) to the rudder (41), thereby defining a variable steering ratio for each of the axes (3), wherein the first module (2') has a first rudder (41') including at least first and second distal end portions (41 a', 41 b)', and the second module (2'') has a second rudder (41'') including at least first and second distal end portions (41 a'', 41 b''), the distal end portions (41 a', 41 b'' and / or 41 b' and 41 a'') being reciprocal and / or reciprocal in shape to be rigidly connected to each other.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a modular kinematic steering device of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, the types of steering present in vehicles are known.

[0003] In particular, vehicles having trailers, towing, or the like need to transmit steering commands to all the steering wheels of the vehicle. For example, when the vehicle is not of a considerable size, such as a vehicle having only two axles, steering systems for the wheels of the front axle and / or the rear axle are known.

[0004] For example, considering the mechanical ladder steering between articulated vehicles similar to airport transporter vehicles, in the case of articulated vehicles, the steering system moves the entire steering axis, and the vehicle has an articulated connection between the parts of the vehicle train.

[0005] Furthermore, as an example of the prior art, a hydraulic or electro-hydraulic steering system having tie rods between axles, where there is no mechanical connection between the axles of the coupled vehicles and instead it is electronically and hydraulically controlled, can be considered as an example of the prior art.

[0006] The described prior art has several important drawbacks.

[0007] In particular, in the case of vehicles having a large number of axles and a complex steering system, in the event of a hydraulic system failure, there is no mechanical safety backup compliant with ECE79 regulations for the steering system of road vehicles.

[0008] Furthermore, usually, for example, in a large vehicle having a number of axles, the steering system is fully hydraulic and driven by a combustion engine, which is very costly both from an economic point of view and from the point of view of energy consumption.

[0009] In addition, usually, for example, in a large vehicle having a number of axles, the steering system does not have a geometry that can be adapted to a road vehicle having a conventional suspension and steering geometry, such as a double wishbone type and a MacPherson type.

[0010] Finally, in a prior art steering system, in a vehicle composed of several modules or generally by connecting several elements, when two modules are coupled to each other, there is no mechanical connection between the axles of the steering system of the coupled vehicle, and instead they are driven only electronically and hydraulically, which affects the functional safety of the system and increases the production and maintenance costs.

[0011] In this situation, the technical problem underlying the present invention is to devise a modular kinematic steering device that can substantially eliminate at least some of the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0012] Within the scope of the technical problem, an important object of the present invention is to obtain a device that transmits a steering command to all the axles of a vehicle in a completely mechanical manner.

[0013] Another important object of the present invention is to provide a steering device that can be adapted to a general suspension and steering system such as a double wishbone type and a MacPherson type.

[0014] Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a steering device that can control the kinematic steering of the wheels of different axles by its geometry without electronic correction.

[0015] The technical problem and the specified goal are achieved by the modular kinematic steering device claimed in appended claim 1.

[0016] Preferred technical solutions are emphasized in the dependent claims.

[0017] The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent hereinafter from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] In this document, measured values, values, shapes, and geometric references (e.g., perpendicularity and parallelism) should be considered to exclude measurement errors or inaccuracies due to production and / or manufacturing errors when associated with words such as "about" or other similar terms such as "approximately" or "substantially", and in particular to exclude minor deviations from the associated values, measured values, shapes, or geometric references. For example, when associated with a value, these terms preferably indicate a deviation of 10% or less of the value.

[0020] Also, when used, terms such as "first", "second", "higher", "lower", "primary", and "secondary" do not necessarily identify order, priority of relationship, or relative position, and may be used simply to clearly distinguish between different components thereof.

[0021] Unless otherwise noted, as a result in the following description, terms such as "processing", "calculating", "determining", "computing", or similar terms refer to the action and / or process of a computer or similar electronic computing device that operates on and / or transforms data represented as a physical quantity, such as an electronic quantity in a register and / or memory of a computer system, into other data represented as a physical quantity in a computer system, register, or other storage, transmission, or information display device.

[0022] The measured values and data reported in this text should be considered as having been performed in the International Standard Atmosphere ICAO (ISO 2533:1975) unless otherwise noted.

[0023] Referring to the drawings, the device according to the present invention is generally designated by the number 1.

[0024] The device 1 described herein is a kinematic steering device adapted to be installed in a vehicle 2. The kinematic steering in this document means a steering in which wheels connected to at least one axis of a vehicle have different steering ratios and / or steering angles from each other, for example, a steering that enables the angles of two wheels on a single steering axis to be different from each other.

[0025] The vehicle 2 is a vehicle having at least two axes 3. The vehicle 2 is preferably a non-articulated vehicle.

[0026] The axle 3 of the vehicle 2 according to the invention is equipped with a kinematic steering mechanism 4 adapted to move the wheel 31 connected to the axle 3. According to the invention, both the mechanism 4 and the axle 3 are connected to the wheel 31 as shown in FIG. 1 and are arranged substantially parallel to each other. The axle 3 comprises a hub and any means known in the art that can enable rotation in more than one plane of the wheel 31, for example rotation in a plane perpendicular to the movement and in a plane horizontal to the steering.

[0027] The mechanism 4 can be composed, for example, of a kinematic mechanism connected to the wheel 31. FIG. 1 shows an example of a preferred kinematic mechanism, and the mechanism 4 comprises a plurality of parts suitable for realizing a connecting parallelogram suitable for ensuring kinematic steering with respect to the wheel 31. Further, the mechanism 4 has a fixed rod 4a, two cranks and / or rocker arms 4b, and a connecting rod 4c, and the connecting rod is preferably connected at both ends to a steering tie rod 4d connected to the wheel.

[0028] The steering mechanism 4 is preferably placed corresponding to each of the axles 3.

[0029] The device 1 preferably comprises a ladder 41 for controlling the kinematic steering mechanism 4. The ladder 41 is arranged transversely to the axle 3 and thus can rest on each of the axles as shown in FIG. 1 and be connected to the mechanism 4.

[0030] The ladder 41 means a strong mechanical element capable of transmitting movement, that is, a command caused, for example, at one end of the same ladder 41.

[0031] The shape and material of the ladder 41 can be further adapted, for example, as will become apparent in the preferred embodiments of the invention hereinafter, to provide structural rigidity.

[0032] Furthermore, the connection between the ladder 41 and the mechanism 4 is preferably such that it enables the transfer of movement from the ladder 41 to the wheels 31 using the mechanism 4. The transfer of movement can also occur in the opposite direction from the mechanism 4 to the ladder 41, as will become apparent in the following document.

[0033] The ladder 41 is preferably capable of being constrained by the mechanism 4 corresponding to each of the shafts 3.

[0034] The device 1 preferably includes a locking device 42 for the mechanism 4 that can operate on each shaft 3. The locking device 42 can integrate the ladder 41 with the mechanism 4 and the wheels 31 by interfering with its movement, thus preventing the ladder 41 from moving laterally with respect to the shaft 3 and, therefore, preventing the transmission of a steering command from the shaft 3 to the wheels 31. Thus, the locking device 42 is adapted such that by firmly connecting the mechanism 4 to the ladder 41, the shaft 3 on which the locking device 42 operates becomes the pivot point of the rotation of the ladder 41. When the locking mechanism 42 is operating, therefore, the lateral movement of the ladder 41 is obstructed by using the steering mechanism 4, for example, by directly or indirectly interfering with the movement of the connecting rod 4c, preventing the transmission of steering control from the ladder 41 to the wheels 31. The locking device 42 preferably stops the ladder 41 at a substantially central position with respect to the two wheels 31 connected to the shaft 3 on which the locking device 42 operates.

[0035] Therefore, the device 1 according to the present invention realizes a variable steering ratio on each of the wheels 31 of the shaft 3 of the vehicle 2 through the drawbar 41.

[0036] Furthermore, the vehicle preferably has a front shaft 3a and a rear shaft 3b. The vehicle can generally include a plurality of shafts that define the front shaft 3a and the rear shaft 3b in the same manner.

[0037] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the front axle 3a of the vehicle 2 includes connection means 43 to control means 5 present in the vehicle 2 and accessible to the user. The connection means 43 can simply consist of mechanical, pneumatic, and / or electro - assist connection means 43. In a preferred embodiment, the connection means 43 is simply mechanical and suitable for transmitting commands to the ladder 41. The connection means 43 can connect the kinematic steering mechanism 4, which enables its movement when firmly connected to the ladder 41.

[0038] Accordingly, the ladder 41 is adapted to issue different kinematic steering commands for each axle 3, and the commands are achieved through the geometric characteristics of the ladder 41 and / or according to the position of the locking device 42 with respect to the axle 3. Accordingly, different kinematic steerings between different axles are implemented according to quantities proportional to the angle and / or distance of the ladder 41 with respect to the axle 3, from the steering or vertical direction. The kinematic steering of the wheels 31 of the same axle 3, which provides that two wheels 31 of the same axle 3 have different steering angles and thus the wheels 31 receive a single command from the ladder 41, is achieved using the steering mechanism 4 and thus according to the kinematic mechanism used to transmit commands from the ladder 41 to the wheels 31.

[0039] In FIG. 3, an example of what has been described is shown through a kinematic diagram, where the device 1 uses a ladder 41 locked using a device 42 on the rear axle 3b. Accordingly, the ladder 41 gives a steering angle that substantially increases as the distance of the axle 3 from the rear axle 3b where the locking device 42 is present increases, according to the distance from the vertical direction.

[0040] Furthermore, when the locking 42 is actuated on an axle 3 that is not, for example, the rear axle 3b of the vehicle 2, the ladder 41 transmits a counter - steering command to the wheel 31 positioned on the axle 3 downstream of the locking 42. An example of this configuration is schematically shown in FIG. 4.

[0041] The present invention also relates to a modular kinematic steering device 1 adapted to be installed in a system 10 of a modular vehicle.

[0042] The modular vehicle, or rather the module of the system, means the vehicle 2 described above.

[0043] The modular vehicle system 10 has at least a first module 2' and a second module 2''. When the modules are connected so as to form the system 10, they preferably form a system 10 similar to a non-articulated vehicle, as will become apparent from the description of the connection between the modules.

[0044] Each module 2', 2'' comprises a modular kinematic steering device 1.

[0045] The modular kinematic steering device 1 is the kinematic steering device 1 described above in this document, and more preferably comprises a ladder 41 in which a first distal end 41a and a second distal end 41b are opposite and / or of opposite shape so as to be firmly connectable to each other. The firm connection in this document means a connection that enables the transmission of a steering command through the combination of two or more ladders 41 of two or more modular vehicles 2', 2''. [[ID='18']]

[0046] The modular vehicle system 10 comprises at least a first module 2' and a second module 2'', the first module 2' having a first ladder 41' including at least a first and a second distal end 41a', 41b', the second module 2'' having a second ladder 41'' including at least a first and a second distal end 41a'', 41b'', and the distal ends 41a', 41b'' and / or 41b' and 41a'' are preferably opposite and / or of opposite shape so as to be firmly connectable to each other.

[0047] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the first module 2' comprises a distal end portion 41b' adapted to firmly connect the distal end portion 41a'' of the second module 2'' corresponding to the rear axle 3b. The end portions 41a, 41b can be oriented in any manner with respect to the axles 3 of the modular vehicles 2', 2''.

[0048] Thus, the joining of several modular vehicles 2', 2'' is effected through the realization of a ladder 41 between the vehicles having the same characteristics as already described with respect to the ladder 4 described above.

[0049] Furthermore, it is preferable that the ladders 41' and 41'' each comprise a first distal end portion 41a and a second distal end portion 41b adapted to be connected using a connection system 44.

[0050] The connection system 44 is more preferably present on each distal end portion 41a, 41b. Furthermore, the parts that cooperate to form the connection system 44 may be present partly on one end and partly on the end connecting to the latter.

[0051] Furthermore, the connection system 44 is preferably a non-articulated connection system. In fact, as is clear from the description, the connection system 44 transmits the steering command in a non-articulated manner, for example, without generating the relative rotation angle between the two ladders 41', 41'' of the two vehicles 2', 2'' connected to obtain a ladder between the vehicles, and without generating the relative rotation angle between the same vehicles 2', 2'' connected to form the system 10, to connect a plurality of ladders 41.

[0052] Furthermore, the connection system 44 is preferably adapted to actuate and / or stop the locking device 42 of the kinematic steering mechanism 4 of the axle 3 by mechanical interference.

[0053] Alternatively, or in combination with what has been described, the locking device 42 is electric.

[0054] The operation of the device 1 described previously from a structural point of view is as follows.

[0055] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, therefore, there is a device 1 applied to a two-axle vehicle, in which case the rear axle 3b necessarily becomes the fulcrum of the ladder 41, so the choice of the axis on which the locking device 42 of the ladder operates is limited. When the ladder 41 pivots on the axis 3b, the ladder 41 receives steering control using control means 5 connected to a kinematic steering mechanism 4 housed in the vicinity of the front axle 3a. The control then rotates and / or moves integrally the mechanism 4, the wheels 31 and the ladder 41, the latter rotating around the fulcrum located using the device 42 on the rear axle 3b. Due to a single vehicle geometry, the rear axle remains unsteered while the ladder pivots on the rear axle, while standard front axle steering, preferably of the kinematic type, is provided. This results in a drivability characteristic of road vehicles with a short wheelbase such as small cars.

[0056] Generally, the steering angles on the axles of various vehicles are completely mechanically determined based on the amount of steering applied to the leading axle; the steering command is transmitted via the inter-vehicle ladder connected between the steering axles. If two or more vehicles are connected to each other, each ladder is firmly and integrally connected to effectively produce a long inter-vehicle ladder having an operation similar to that described for a system having only two axles.

[0057] When the system is equipped with two or more axles, it can be further implemented by using a locking device 42 that prevents the steering of the axles other than the first and the last to ensure a lower steering radius. The axle fixed through such a locking system functions as the pivot point of rotation of the inter-vehicle ladder, and as a result, the axle behind the pivot point will counter-steer.

[0058] The device 1 according to the invention achieves important advantages.

[0059] In fact, compared to known steering systems applied to vehicles with several axles and large dimensions, the device 1 described here represents a very economical alternative to implement.

[0060] The shown device 1 can furthermore be hydraulically and electronically servo-assisted, but in the event of a failure of the steering servo-assisted system, there is an advantage compared to prior art systems in that, thanks to the mechanical connection, the system complies with the ECE79 directive and guarantees a high level of functional safety. The device 1 according to the invention represents an alternative with a high level of safety in case of failure.

[0061] Furthermore, thanks to the device 1 according to the invention, the steering ratios between the various axles are automatically adjusted by the geometry of the system without the need for electronic correction.

[0062] The invention is capable of variations that fall within the scope of the inventive concept defined by the claims. In this context, all details can be replaced by equivalent elements and the materials, shapes, and dimensions can be arbitrary.

Claims

**Claim 1** A modular kinematic steering device that can be installed on at least a first module and a second module of a modular vehicle system, wherein each of the first module and the second module has at least two axes, and the modular kinematic steering device includes For each axis, a kinematic steering mechanism capable of moving a wheel connected to the axis A ladder disposed laterally with respect to the axis for controlling the kinematic steering mechanism, the ladder being capable of being constrained by the kinematic steering mechanism to transmit movement from the ladder to the wheel using the kinematic steering mechanism, and the ladder defining a variable steering ratio for each of the axes A locking device of the kinematic steering mechanism that can make one of the axes a fulcrum of rotation of the ladder by firmly connecting the kinematic steering mechanism to the ladder Comprising The first module has at least a first ladder including a first distal end and a second distal end, the second module has at least a second ladder including a first distal end and a second distal end, and the first distal ends and the second distal ends of the first module and the second module are of a shape that matches in contour and / or a paired shape for being firmly connected to each other. An apparatus **Claim 2** The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ladder has a first distal end and a second distal end that can be firmly connected to each other to transmit a steering command through a hooking system **Claim 3** The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the hooking system present on each distal end is capable of activating and / or stopping a device for locking the kinematic steering mechanism of the axis by mechanical interference **Claim 4** The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the locking device is of an electric type **Claim 5** The apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the hooking system is a non-connected hooking system **Claim 6** Each of the first module and the second module has at least one front axle and a rear axle, and the front axle of the first module and the second module includes connection means for a control means present in the vehicle and accessible by a user. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The kinematic steering mechanism has a fixed rod, two cranks and / or rocker arms, and a connecting rod, and the connecting rod is connected at both ends to a steering tie rod connected to the wheel. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The locking device of the kinematic steering mechanism can operate on each axis, and it is possible to make the axis on which the locking device operates the fulcrum of the rotation of the ladder. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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