IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0702788
(2011-06-09)
|
등록번호 |
US-8701801
(2014-04-22)
|
우선권정보 |
JP-2010-132016 (2010-06-09); JP-2011-124043 (2011-06-02) |
국제출원번호 |
PCT/JP2011/063236
(2011-06-09)
|
§371/§102 date |
20121207
(20121207)
|
국제공개번호 |
WO2011/155558
(2011-12-15)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Itou, Chinami
- Itakura, Yoshinori
- Suzuki, Minoru
- Bando, Hiromichi
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
7 인용 특허 :
6 |
초록
▼
An electric vehicle which includes in-wheel motor driving devices and an independent-steering apparatus and is capable of making pivot turns within a minimum-required parking space, having a structure without a chassis and a part of the body protruding out of a minimum-required circular space necess
An electric vehicle which includes in-wheel motor driving devices and an independent-steering apparatus and is capable of making pivot turns within a minimum-required parking space, having a structure without a chassis and a part of the body protruding out of a minimum-required circular space necessary for the wheels to make pivot turning. In a case where the electric vehicle has four wheels including left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels, an in-wheel motor driving device is incorporated only in the left and right front wheels, only in the left and right rear wheels, or in all of the wheels. An independent-steering apparatus serves for all of the wheels. A kingpin axis in each of the wheels makes an intersection with a road surface on a circle inboard of a vehicle chassis.
대표청구항
▼
1. An electric vehicle comprising: four wheels including a left front wheel, a right front wheel, a left rear wheel, and a right rear wheel, wherein a kingpin axis in each wheel intersects with a road surface on a circle inboard of a vehicle body;an in-wheel motor driving device incorporated only in
1. An electric vehicle comprising: four wheels including a left front wheel, a right front wheel, a left rear wheel, and a right rear wheel, wherein a kingpin axis in each wheel intersects with a road surface on a circle inboard of a vehicle body;an in-wheel motor driving device incorporated only in each of the left and the right front wheels, only in each of the left and the right rear wheels, or in all of the wheels; andan independent-steering apparatus for steering all of the wheels,wherein the independent-steering apparatus is a steering-by-wire system including: a handlebar operation-amount sensor; a steering angle control unit for arithmetic control of a steering angle of each wheel based on a handlebar operation-amount signal detected by the handlebar operation-amount sensor; steering actuators controlled by the steering angle control unit; and knuckle arms each connected to one of the steering actuators; wherein each knuckle arm is connected to a knuckle on the wheel side. 2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein all of the wheels is are steerable to a degree that is not smaller than 90 degrees with respect to a reference line in a fore-aft direction. 3. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, comprising a chassis including a cabin having a generally cylindrical external shape. 4. The electric vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the cabin of the chassis has a front part provided with a platform. 5. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the steering actuator includes a motor and a linear motion mechanism driven by the motor, the linear motion mechanism moving an end portion of an L-shaped knuckle arm in a fore-aft direction of the vehicle while moving another end portion of the knuckle arm in a widthwise direction of the vehicle. 6. The electric vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the linear motion mechanism includes a nut which is rotated by the motor at a fixed position, and a threaded rod threaded through the nut and connected to the knuckle arm. 7. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a small-radius turn switch provided at a driver's seat in the vehicle body for input of a small-radius turn signal to the steering angle control unit, for the steering angle control unit to control each steering actuator based on the small-radius turn signal thereby setting the left and the right rear wheels to steering angles given by flipping respective steering angles of the corresponding left and the right front wheels. 8. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a pivot turn switch provided at the driver's seat in the vehicle body for input of a pivot turn signal to the steering angle control unit and the motor control unit, for the steering angle control unit to control each steering actuator based on the pivot turn signal thereby setting each wheel to such an angle which brings the wheel in the radial direction of a circle defined inboard of the vehicle body; and for the motor control unit to control each in-wheel motor driving device based on the pivot turn signal thereby setting, if the vehicle is a two-wheel drive vehicle, the drive wheels to rotate in opposite directions from each other, and if the vehicle is a four-wheel drive vehicle, the left wheels and the right wheels to rotate in opposite directions from each other in both of the front and the rear pairs of wheels, and both of the left wheels to rotate in an identical direction with each other, with both of the right wheels to rotate in an identical direction with each other. 9. An electric vehicle comprising: three wheels including a front wheel, a left rear wheel, and a right rear wheel, or a left front wheel, a right front wheel, and a rear wheel, wherein a kingpin axis in each wheel intersects with a road surface on a circle inboard of a vehicle body;an in-wheel motor driving device incorporated only in the front wheels, only in the rear wheels, or in all of the wheels; andan independent-steering apparatus for all of the wheels,wherein the independent-steering apparatus is a steering-by-wire system including: a handlebar operation-amount sensor; a steering angle control unit for arithmetic control of a steering angle of each wheel based on a handlebar operation-amount signal detected by the handlebar operation-amount sensor; steering actuators controlled by the steering angle control unit; and knuckle arms each connected to one of the steering actuators; wherein each knuckle arm is connected to a knuckle on the wheel side. 10. The electric vehicle according to claim 9, wherein all of the wheels are steerable to a degree that is not smaller than 90 degrees with respect to a reference line in a fore-aft direction. 11. The electric vehicle according to claim 9, comprising a chassis including a cabin having a generally cylindrical external shape. 12. The electric vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the cabin of the chassis has a front part provided with a platform. 13. The electric vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the steering actuator includes a motor and a linear motion mechanism driven by the motor, the linear motion mechanism moving an end portion of an L-shaped knuckle arm in a fore-aft direction of the vehicle while moving another end portion of the knuckle arm in a widthwise direction of the vehicle. 14. The electric vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the linear motion mechanism includes a nut which is rotated by the motor at a fixed position, and a threaded rod threaded through the nut and connected to the knuckle arm. 15. The electric vehicle according to claim 9, further comprising a small-radius turn switch provided at a driver's seat in the vehicle body for input of a small-radius turn signal to the steering angle control unit, for the steering angle control unit to control each steering actuator based on the small-radius turn signal thereby setting the left and the right rear wheels to steering angles given by flipping respective steering angles of the corresponding left and the right front wheels. 16. The electric vehicle according to claim 9, further comprising a pivot turn switch provided at the driver's seat in the vehicle body for input of a pivot turn signal to the steering angle control unit and the motor control unit, for the steering angle control unit to control each steering actuator based on the pivot turn signal thereby setting each wheel to such an angle which brings the wheel in the radial direction of a circle defined inboard of the vehicle body; and for the motor control unit to control each in-wheel motor driving device based on the pivot turn signal thereby setting, if the vehicle is a two-wheel drive vehicle, the drive wheels to rotate in opposite directions from each other, and if the vehicle is a four-wheel drive vehicle, the left wheels and the right wheels to rotate in opposite directions from each other in both of the front and the rear pairs of wheels, and both of the left wheels to rotate in an identical direction with each other, with both of the right wheels to rotate in an identical direction with each other.
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