阅读说明：本技术 基于超磁致伸缩的转向机构间隙调节装置及其方法 (Steering mechanism clearance adjusting device and method based on giant magnetostriction ) 是由 刘宇澄 孙定凯 董正奇 于 2020-04-02 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种基于超磁致伸缩的转向机构间隙调节装置及其方法,装置包括转向器壳体、齿轮齿条组件以及支撑轭,转向器壳体设有与齿条对应的间隙调节腔,支撑轭活动安装于间隙调节腔并抵靠齿条背面,转向机构间隙调节装置还包括磁致伸缩激励器总成以及弹性预载组件,磁致伸缩激励器总成包括激励线圈、磁致伸缩棒,间隙调节腔的下口部安装有调节螺塞,弹性预载组件对磁致伸缩棒施加预载力。本发明根据路面和车体振动情况,改变激励线圈内通入的电流,从而改变磁场强度,利用超磁致伸缩材料在不同强度磁场下伸长长度不同的特性,实现了弹性体预载力与齿轮齿条间隙的实时调整。(The invention discloses a steering mechanism gap adjusting device and a method thereof based on giant magnetostriction, the device comprises a steering gear shell, a gear rack component and a supporting yoke, wherein the steering gear shell is provided with a gap adjusting cavity corresponding to a rack, the supporting yoke is movably arranged in the gap adjusting cavity and abuts against the back of the rack, the steering mechanism gap adjusting device further comprises a magnetostrictive actuator assembly and an elastic preloading component, the magnetostrictive actuator assembly comprises an exciting coil and a magnetostrictive rod, an adjusting screw plug is arranged at the lower opening part of the gap adjusting cavity, and the elastic preloading component applies preloading force to the magnetostrictive rod. According to the vibration condition of the road surface and the vehicle body, the current introduced into the exciting coil is changed, so that the magnetic field intensity is changed, and the real-time adjustment of the elastomer preloading force and the gear rack gap is realized by utilizing the characteristic that the super magnetostrictive material has different extension lengths under magnetic fields with different intensities.)

1. Steering mechanism clearance adjustment device based on giant magnetostriction, including steering gear casing, rack and pinion subassembly and support yoke, the rack that rack and pinion assembly includes the gear and meshes, the steering gear casing is equipped with the clearance adjustment chamber that corresponds with the rack, support yoke movable mounting supports in the clearance adjustment chamber and supports and lean on the rack back, its characterized in that: the steering mechanism clearance adjustment device further comprises a magnetostrictive actuator assembly and an elastic preloading component, wherein the magnetostrictive actuator assembly comprises an actuator shell, an excitation coil positioned in the actuator shell, and a magnetostrictive rod sleeved in the excitation coil, the upper end of the magnetostrictive rod is abutted with the supporting yoke, the lower end of the magnetostrictive rod is abutted with the bottom of the actuator shell, an adjusting screw plug is installed at the lower opening of the clearance adjusting cavity, the upper end of the elastic preloading component is abutted with the actuator shell, the lower end of the elastic preloading component is abutted with the adjusting screw plug, and the elastic preloading component applies preloading force to the magnetostrictive rod through the actuator shell.

2. The giant magnetostrictive-based steering mechanism clearance adjustment device according to claim 1, characterized in that: the support yoke is provided with an arc-shaped groove corresponding to the arc-shaped part on the back of the rack, and the surface of the arc-shaped groove is provided with an anti-friction cushioning layer.

3. The giant magnetostrictive-based steering mechanism clearance adjustment device according to claim 2, characterized in that: and the lower part of the support yoke is provided with a support groove, and the upper end of the magnetostrictive rod extends into the support groove and is abutted against the top wall of the support groove.

4. The giant magnetostrictive-based steering mechanism clearance adjustment device according to claim 1, characterized in that: and at least one sealing ring matched with the inner wall of the clearance adjusting cavity is arranged on the outer cylindrical surface of the supporting yoke.

5. The giant magnetostrictive-based steering mechanism clearance adjustment device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: the elastic preloading component is a disc spring component.

6. The giant magnetostrictive-based steering mechanism clearance adjustment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: the disc spring assembly comprises two groups of disc springs, each group of disc springs is composed of two disc springs which are overlapped and connected in parallel, and the two groups of disc springs are connected in a closing and series connection mode.

7. The giant magnetostrictive-based steering mechanism clearance adjustment apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: the magnetostrictive actuator assembly further comprises an actuator top cover for sealing an opening of the actuator shell and a coil framework movably nested outside the magnetostrictive rod, and the actuator coil is wound on the coil framework, assembled inside the actuator shell and pressed by the actuator top cover.

8. The super-magnetostrictive-based steering mechanism clearance adjustment device according to claim 7, characterized in that: the bottom of the exciter shell is provided with a convex column, the adjusting screw plug is provided with a sliding hole, an inner hole of the disc spring assembly is nested in the convex column, and the convex column stretches into the sliding hole in a sliding mode.

9. The super-magnetostrictive-based steering mechanism clearance adjustment device according to claim 7, characterized in that: at least one sealing ring is arranged on the outer cylindrical surface of the exciter shell.

10. The active adjusting method for the steering mechanism gap based on giant magnetostriction is characterized by comprising the following steps: active adjustment using the giant magnetostrictive based steering mechanism clearance adjustment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising the steps of:

1) when the vehicle runs into a bumpy road surface, current is introduced into the exciting coil;

2) the current introduced by the exciting coil generates a magnetic field at the axial position of the exciter assembly;

3) the magnetostrictive rod generates magnetostriction under the action of a magnetic field, and the length is increased;

4) the elongated magnetostrictive rod presses the elastic preloading component through the exciter shell, the deformation of the elastic preloading component is increased, and larger preloading force is generated;

5) the preload force increased by the elastic preload component is transmitted through the exciter assembly and the support yoke, so that the rack is further pressed, and the clearance between the rack and the gear is reduced;

6) according to the vibration conditions of the road surface and the vehicle body, the magnitude of current introduced into the exciting coil is changed, so that the real-time adjustment of the magnitude of the preloading force of the elastic preloading component and the gap between the gear and the rack is realized;

7) and (3) after the vehicle is driven away from the bumpy road surface, current in the direction opposite to the direction in the step 1) is introduced into the exciting coil to eliminate residual magnetism inside the magnetostrictive rod, so that the magnetostrictive rod recovers the initial length.

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of automobile parts, and particularly relates to a steering mechanism.

Background

The steering gear is a speed reduction transmission device in a steering system and generally comprises a 1-2 stage speed reduction transmission pair; according to different structural forms of a transmission pair, the steering gear can be divided into a plurality of types, and the steering gear is widely used in automobiles at present and comprises a rack and pinion type, a circulating ball-rack toothed sector type, a circulating ball-crank finger pin type and the like. Among them, rack and pinion steering is the most common type of steering; a steering gear as a driving sub-driving member of the rack and pinion steering gear is mounted in a housing to be engaged with a steering rack arranged horizontally. The spring presses the rack against the steering gear by means of a pressure piece to ensure a play-free engagement. When the steering rack works, the middle part of the steering rack is connected with the steering pull rod bracket, and the steering left and right tie rods are connected with the steering knuckle arm. When the steering wheel is rotated, the steering gear is transferred to make the steering rack engaged with the steering gear move along the axial direction, so that the left and right tie rods drive the left and right steering knuckles to transfer, the steering wheel is deflected, and the steering of the automobile is realized.

The gap eliminating device adopted by the existing gear rack steering gear is mainly used for eliminating the gap generated after the gear and the rack are abraded, and the basic principle is that the rack is pressed by the preload force of a spring, so that the constant gap between the gear and the rack is ensured. The spring pressing device effectively solves the problem that the gap is increased after the gear and the rack are worn; however, the road surface condition of the vehicle is complex when the vehicle actually runs, the spring preload force generated by the current anti-backlash mechanism cannot be adjusted in real time in the running process of the vehicle, and the larger preload force can accelerate the abrasion of a steering system and cause heavy steering; a lower preload force in turn can lead to problems of abnormal noise when the vehicle is driven over rough road surfaces. With the increasing noise control requirements of vehicles, current steering mechanism clearance adjustment devices have been unable to meet the requirements.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the technical problem of providing a steering mechanism clearance adjusting device based on giant magnetostriction, which can effectively compensate the clearance caused by normal working abrasion of a gear and a rack and can adjust the preload in real time in the running process of a vehicle.

In order to solve the technical problems, the invention adopts the following technical scheme: a steering mechanism clearance adjusting device based on giant magnetostriction comprises a steering gear shell, a gear rack component and a supporting yoke, wherein the gear rack component comprises a gear and a rack meshed with the gear, a clearance adjusting cavity corresponding to the rack is arranged on the steering gear shell, the supporting yoke is movably mounted in the clearance adjusting cavity and abuts against the back surface of the rack, the steering mechanism clearance adjusting device further comprises a magnetostrictive actuator assembly and an elastic preloading component, the magnetostrictive actuator assembly comprises an actuator shell, an exciting coil positioned in the actuator shell and a magnetostrictive rod sleeved in the exciting coil, the upper end of the magnetostrictive rod abuts against the supporting yoke, the lower end of the magnetostrictive rod abuts against the bottom of the actuator shell, an adjusting screw plug is mounted at the lower opening of the clearance adjusting cavity, the upper end of the elastic preloading component abuts against the actuator shell, and the lower end of the elastic preloading component abuts against the adjusting screw plug, the elastic preload assembly applies a preload force to the magnetostrictive rod through the actuator housing.

Preferably, the support yoke is provided with an arc-shaped groove corresponding to the arc-shaped part on the back of the rack, and the surface of the arc-shaped groove is provided with an anti-friction cushioning layer.

Preferably, the lower part of the support yoke is provided with a support groove, and the upper end of the magnetostrictive rod extends into the support groove and abuts against the top wall of the support groove.

Preferably, at least one sealing ring matched with the inner wall of the clearance adjusting cavity is arranged on the outer cylindrical surface of the supporting yoke.

Preferably, the elastic preload assembly is a disc spring assembly.

Preferably, the disc spring assembly comprises two groups of disc springs, each group of disc springs is composed of two disc springs which are overlapped and connected in parallel, and the two groups of disc springs are connected in an involutive series connection mode.

Preferably, the magnetostrictive actuator assembly further comprises an actuator top cover for closing the opening of the actuator shell and a coil bobbin movably nested outside the magnetostrictive rod, and the actuator coil is wound around the coil bobbin, assembled inside the actuator shell and pressed by the actuator top cover.

Preferably, the bottom of the exciter shell is provided with a convex column, the adjusting screw plug is provided with a sliding hole, an inner hole of the disc spring assembly is nested in the convex column, and the convex column extends into the sliding hole in a sliding mode.

Preferably, at least one sealing ring is mounted on the outer cylindrical surface of the actuator housing.

The invention also provides a steering mechanism clearance active adjustment method based on giant magnetostriction, which adopts the steering mechanism clearance adjustment device based on giant magnetostriction to carry out active adjustment and comprises the following steps:

1) when the vehicle runs into a bumpy road surface, current is introduced into the exciting coil;

2) the current introduced by the exciting coil generates a magnetic field at the axial position of the exciter assembly;

3) the magnetostrictive rod generates magnetostriction under the action of a magnetic field, and the length is increased;

4) the elongated magnetostrictive rod presses the elastic preloading component through the exciter shell, the deformation of the elastic preloading component is increased, and larger preloading force is generated;

5) the preload force increased by the elastic preload component is transmitted through the exciter assembly and the support yoke, so that the rack is further pressed, and the clearance between the rack and the gear is reduced;

6) according to the vibration conditions of the road surface and the vehicle body, the magnitude of current introduced into the exciting coil is changed, so that the real-time adjustment of the magnitude of the preloading force of the elastic preloading component and the gap between the gear and the rack is realized;

7) and (3) after the vehicle is driven away from the bumpy road surface, current in the direction opposite to the direction in the step 1) is introduced into the exciting coil to eliminate residual magnetism inside the magnetostrictive rod, so that the magnetostrictive rod recovers the initial length.

The technical scheme adopted by the invention has the following beneficial effects:

the length of the magnetostrictive rod is increased through magnetostriction, the elastic preloading component is extruded by the exciter shell, the deformation of the elastic preloading component is increased, larger preloading force is generated, the preloading force increased by the elastic preloading component is transmitted through the exciter assembly and the support yoke, the rack is further pressed, the gap between the rack and the gear is reduced, and the gap caused by normal working abrasion of the gear and the rack can be effectively compensated.

Because the steering hand feeling of a driver can be changed due to overlarge preload force, and the abnormal sound problem cannot be avoided due to the overlong preload force, the current introduced into the exciting coil is changed according to the vibration conditions of the road surface and the vehicle body, so that the magnetic field intensity is changed, the real-time adjustment of the elastomer preload force and the gap between the gear and the rack is realized by utilizing the characteristic that the giant magnetostrictive material has different extension lengths under magnetic fields with different intensities, and the abnormal sound problem of the steering mechanism on the bumpy road surface is avoided on the basis of ensuring the flexible steering of the vehicle when the vehicle runs on a good pavement road surface.

Because the dish spring group is formed by two sets of dish springs which are overlapped and connected in parallel, the contact surfaces between the dish springs generate relative displacement and rub against each other, and energy is dissipated and vibration is attenuated through friction damping.

Because the first sealing ring and the second sealing ring of the supporting yoke, and the first sealing ring and the second sealing ring of the exciter are installed in a tight fit mode, friction force opposite to the movement direction of the supporting yoke is generated, energy is dissipated through friction damping, and vibration is attenuated.

The following detailed description of the present invention will be provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and the detailed description below:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a steering mechanism gap adjusting device based on giant magnetostriction;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of the support yoke assembly;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the actuator assembly.

In the figure: the steering gear comprises a steering gear shell 1, a gear shaft 2, a rack 3, a support yoke assembly 4, a magnetostrictive actuator assembly 5, a connector 6, a fixing nut 7, an adjusting screw plug 8, a disc spring assembly 9, a first support bearing 10, a second support bearing 11, a support yoke 401, an anti-friction shock absorption layer 402, an air vent 403, a support groove 404, a first support yoke seal ring 405, a second support yoke seal ring 406, an actuator top cover 501, an actuator shell 502, a convex column 5021, a positioning groove 5022, an excitation coil 503, a coil framework 504, an outlet wire hole 505, a magnetostrictive rod 506, a first actuator seal ring 507 and a second actuator seal ring 508.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Such terms as "upper", "lower", and the like, indicating an orientation or positional relationship, are based only on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings and are merely for convenience in describing the present invention and simplifying the description, but do not indicate or imply that the referenced devices/elements must have a particular orientation or be constructed and operated in a particular orientation and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that features from the examples and embodiments described below may be combined with each other without conflict.