阅读说明：本技术 具有液压倾斜系统和倾斜阻止系统的三轮或更多轮的倾斜车辆 (Three or more wheeled tilting vehicle with hydraulic tilting system and tilting prevention system ) 是由 马尔科·莫洛尼 米开朗基罗·利古里 于 2020-10-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：摆动系统包括成对的液压缸(10a,10b)、将液压缸(10a,10b)各自的工作室彼此连接的连接导管(12)及沿连接导管(12)布置并可在打开位置和关闭位置间切换的锁定阀(14),其中,在打开位置上,锁定阀(14)允许工作流体通过连接导管(12)在液压缸(10a,10b)之间流动,由此允许车辆倾斜；在关闭位置上,锁定阀(14)阻止工作流体在液压缸(10a,10b)之间流动,由此防止车辆摆动。该摆动系统还包括机动致动装置,其具有可操作地连接至锁定阀(14)以命令其在打开位置和关闭位置间切换的电动机(16)、适于根据预定控制逻辑驱动电动机(16)的电子控制单元(ECU)及可由驾驶者操作以向电子控制单元(ECU)提供指示驾驶者要阻止或解除阻止车辆摆动的意愿的控制信号。(The swing system includes a pair of hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b), a connecting conduit (12) connecting respective working chambers of the hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b) to each other, and a lock valve (14) disposed along the connecting conduit (12) and switchable between an open position and a closed position, wherein in the open position, the lock valve (14) allows a working fluid to flow between the hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b) through the connecting conduit (12), thereby allowing the vehicle to tilt; in the closed position, the lock valve (14) prevents the flow of working fluid between the hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b), thereby preventing the vehicle from swinging. The swing system further comprises a motorized actuation device having an electric motor (16) operatively connected to the locking valve (14) to command switching thereof between the open position and the closed position, an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) adapted to drive the electric motor (16) according to a predetermined control logic, and a control signal operable by the driver to provide the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) with an indication of the driver's intention to prevent or release the prevention of the swing of the vehicle.)

1. A hydraulic tilting system for a tilting vehicle having three or more wheels, comprising:

a pair of hydraulic cylinders (10a,10 b);

a connecting conduit (12) that connects the respective working chambers of the pair of hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b) to each other; and

a three-way locking valve (14) arranged along said connecting duct (12) and switchable between an open position in which it allows the flow of working fluid between said working chambers of said hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b) through said connecting duct (12), thereby allowing the vehicle to tilt, and a closed position; in the closed position, it blocks the flow of working fluid between the working chambers of the hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b), thereby preventing the vehicle from tilting; the lock valve (14) is further configured to divert all or part of the flow of working fluid from one of the hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b) to an auxiliary tank (15);

the hydraulic tilting system further comprises a motorized actuation device for controlling the switching of the locking valve (14) between the open position and the closed position, the motorized actuation device comprising:

a motor (16) operatively connected to the lockout valve (14) to control the lockout valve (14) to switch between the open position and the closed position;

an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) arranged to drive the electric motor (16) according to predetermined control logic; and

a control member (20) operable by a driver to send a control signal to the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) indicating the driver's intention to allow or prevent the vehicle from tilting.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is further configured to: checking predetermined operating parameters of the vehicle upon receiving a control signal provided by the driver through said control member (20); and based on the checking, driving the motor (16) to move the lockout valve (14) from the open position to the closed position, or from the closed position to the open position.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is configured to: when the speed (v) of the vehicle is greater than a given first threshold value while the vehicle is running, the locking valve (14) is prevented from moving from the open position to the closed position.

4. A system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is arranged to: when the vehicle starts moving from an initial stationary state, the locking valve (14) is moved from the closed position to the open position as soon as the speed (v) of the vehicle is above a given second threshold value.

5. A system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is arranged to: when the vehicle starts moving from an initial stationary state, the lock valve (14) is moved from the closed position to the open position upon overcoming a given accelerator opening (a).

6. A system according to any of claims 2-5, wherein the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is arranged to prevent the locking valve (14) from moving from the closed position to the open position when a parking brake of the vehicle is in an activated state.

7. The system according to any preceding claim, wherein the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) is configured to command the locking valve (14) to switch in such a way that working fluid flows (partially or fully) from the hydraulic cylinders (10a,10b) to the auxiliary tank (15).

8. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the motorized actuation means further comprises a pair of control cables (18), the electric motor (16) acting on the closure of the locking valve (14) via the control cables (18) to switch the locking valve (14) between the open and closed positions.

9. The system according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the motor (16) is directly coupled to a closure member of the latching valve (14) to transition the latching valve (14) between the open position and the closed position, wherein no control cable is interposed between the motor (16) and the closure member.

10. A system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said motorised actuating means further comprise sensor means (22,24) arranged to detect whether said locking valve (14) is in said open position or said closed position and to send a corresponding signal to said Electronic Control Unit (ECU); the sensor means (22,24) comprise in particular a cam (24) and a pair of microswitches (22), wherein each microswitch (22) is associated with a respective one of the open and closed positions of the locking valve (14); the cam (24) is coupled with the closure member of the locking valve (14) and cooperates with the microswitch (22) to switch each time the respective microswitch (22) when the locking valve (14) is in the open position or in the closed position, thus causing a respective signal to be sent to the Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

11. A leaning vehicle having three or more wheels comprising a leaning system according to any of the preceding claims.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a tilting vehicle with three or more wheels, i.e. a vehicle comprising pairs of wheels arranged side by side at the front and possibly further pairs of wheels arranged side by side at the rear, and to a tilting system designed to allow the vehicle to tilt in a manner similar to a conventional motorcycle, in particular when cornering.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a tilting vehicle with three or more wheels having a hydraulic tilting system; and more precisely to a tilting system comprising, for each pair of oscillating wheels, a pair of hydraulic cylinders, each associated with a respective wheel, the respective working chambers of each pair of hydraulic cylinders being connected by means of respective connecting conduits to allow the passage of a working fluid (generally oil) from one working chamber to the other. For a three-wheeled tilting vehicle (two front wheels and one rear wheel), only one pair of hydraulic cylinders associated with the two front wheels will be provided, which are connected to each other by means of a connecting conduit; whereas for a four-wheeled tilting vehicle (two front wheels and two rear wheels) two pairs of hydraulic cylinders will be provided, one pair being located at the front of the vehicle and the other pair being located at the rear of the vehicle, and the hydraulic cylinders of each pair will be connected to each other by respective connecting conduits.

Vehicles of this type are for example the four-wheeled vehicle Qooder and the three-wheeled vehicle QV3 marketed by the applicant.

Background

In tilting vehicles equipped with a hydraulic tilting system or three or more wheels of the above-specified type, it is known to use a locking system that can be activated by the driver when parking the vehicle to prevent the vehicle from tilting, thereby allowing the vehicle to remain in a stable parking position without the need to use a classic stand like a motorcycle.

This known locking system comprises a locking valve which is arranged along a connecting conduit connecting the hydraulic cylinders to each other and which is switchable between an open position in which it allows a flow of working fluid between one hydraulic cylinder and the other through the connecting conduit and a closed position; in the closed position, it prevents the flow of the working fluid through the connecting duct; the locking system further comprises a control member by means of which the driver can manually move the locking valve from the open position to the closed position or from the closed position to the open position.

Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings show an example of such a locking system, which shows a free-tilt condition and a locked-tilt condition, respectively. In these two figures, 10a and 10b represent the two hydraulic cylinders of the hydraulic tilting system of the tilting vehicle, which are located on the right and left, respectively; 12 denotes a connecting conduit that fluidly communicates the respective working chambers (upper working chambers in this example) of the two hydraulic cylinders 10a and 10b with each other; 14 denotes a blocking valve arranged along the connecting duct 12 to allow or prevent the flow of the working fluid along the duct.

In this example, the control member, indicated with 16, is formed by a lever which controls the movement of the locking valve 14 between the aforesaid open and closed positions through a pair of control cables 18. In particular, when the lever 16 is in the raised position (as shown in fig. 1), the locking valve 14 is in the open position, in which it allows the flow of working fluid along the connecting duct 12, thus allowing the vehicle to tilt; when the operating lever 16 is in the lowered position (as shown in fig. 2), the lock valve 14 is in the closed position in which it blocks the flow of the working fluid along the connecting duct 12, thereby preventing the vehicle from tilting. When the driver wants to park, all he/she has to do is to move the joystick 16 to the lowered position to prevent the vehicle from swinging, thereby keeping the vehicle firmly in the parking position.

However, a disadvantage of this known locking system is that it can only be used for long-term parking, not for short-term parking, for example, at traffic lights, where the driver has to put his feet on the ground to keep the vehicle stable.

Another example of a vehicle tilt control system is known from EP 3434570 a 1. The system also comprises pairs of hydraulic cylinders connected by conduits and on which there are provided locking valves which can be switched between an open position in which fluid is allowed to flow between the two cylinders (to allow the vehicle to tilt) and a closed position; in the closed position, fluid communication between the two cylinders is prevented (to prevent the vehicle from tilting).

However, in this structure, the tilt lock system is present independently of the vehicle pitch system (vehicle pitching system), and therefore a separate system is also required.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a locking system for locking the tilting motion of a three-or four-wheeled tilting vehicle equipped with a hydraulic tilting system. The locking system is simple, safe and economical and can be activated easily and quickly by the driver, whereby the inclination of the vehicle can be locked even in the case of a short stop (e.g. at a traffic light).

It is another object of the present invention to provide an efficient system for controlling the tilting and pitching movements of a vehicle.

The above and other objects of the invention are fully achieved by a hydraulic tilting system as defined in the appended independent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims, the content of which is to be understood as an integral part of the following.

In summary, the concept of the invention is based on the use of a three-way latching valve and a motorized actuation device, wherein the three-way latching valve is designed to transfer a flow of fluid from one hydraulic cylinder to a second hydraulic cylinder (to regulate the tilting motion of the vehicle) and/or an auxiliary reservoir (to regulate the suspension motion of the vehicle)); the motorized actuation device includes:

a motor operatively connected to the latching valve to control switching thereof between an open position and a closed position;

an electronic control unit adapted to drive the electric motor according to a predetermined control logic; and

a control member operable by a driver to provide a control signal to the electronic control unit indicating that the driver wants to block or release the intention to block the vehicle inclination.

The electronic control unit is advantageously arranged to: upon receiving a command signal provided by the driver through the control means, predetermined operating parameters of the vehicle (e.g. vehicle speed, accelerator opening, etc.) are checked to determine whether conditions exist to safely lock or unlock the vehicle's inclination, and, if so, the engine is driven to command the locking valve to switch from the open position to the closed position, or vice versa. The electronic control unit is also advantageously arranged to command the locking valve to switch the flow of working fluid from the hydraulic cylinder (partially or totally) to an auxiliary tank hydraulically connected to the connecting conduit.

By means of this actuating device, the drive can command locking and unlocking of the vehicle inclination in a very simple and rapid manner, whereby the vehicle inclination can be prevented even in the case of a brief stop (for example at a traffic light).

Furthermore, this actuation device allows to automatically control the release of the tilt, i.e. the movement of the locking valve from the closed position to the open position, each time the vehicle is restarted, on the basis of information relating to the throttle opening, for example, whereby the driver is not required to send a command signal via the control member (for example, by pressing a specific button).

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, given purely by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a hydraulic tilting system in a free-tilt state and a locked-tilt state, respectively, of a prior art three-or-more-wheeled tilting vehicle;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hydraulic swing system for a three or more wheeled leaning vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

fig. 4 is a perspective view of a hydraulic swing system of a tilting vehicle with three or more wheels in another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Referring first to fig. 3, in which the same parts and elements as those of fig. 1 and 2 are indicated with the same reference numerals, a hydraulic tilting system for tilting or rolling vehicles for three or more wheels comprises, in a manner known per se, a pair of hydraulic cylinders 10a and 10b (respectively on the right and left), each interposed between a respective front wheel of the vehicle and the body of the vehicle, or preferably between a suspension arm of the respective front wheel of the vehicle and the body of the vehicle.

Fig. 3 does not show either the body of the vehicle or the front wheels with the associated mechanical suspension members, since these components of the vehicle are known per se.

Furthermore, although fig. 3 only shows hydraulic cylinders associated with two front wheels of the vehicle, it will be appreciated that in the case of a four-wheeled vehicle, the hydraulic tilting system comprises a further pair of hydraulic cylinders associated with the rear wheels of the vehicle, and all that is described and illustrated herein with reference to the hydraulic cylinders associated with the front wheels of the vehicle applies equally to the hydraulic cylinders associated with the rear wheels of the vehicle.

Referring again to fig. 3, the working chambers (in this case, the upper working chambers) of the respective two hydraulic cylinders 10a and 10b are connected to each other by a connecting conduit 12, and a working fluid (for example, oil) contained in these working chambers can flow from one working chamber to the other working chamber through this conduit 12 to enable the vehicle to swing (swing). Along the connecting duct 12 there is arranged a locking valve 14 (which is provided as a three-way ball valve), which locking valve 14 is switchable between an open position and a closed position, wherein in the open position the locking valve 14 allows the working fluid to flow through the connecting duct 12; in the closed position, the lockout valve 14 prevents the flow of working fluid through the connecting conduit 12. Lockout valve 14 is also configured to divert all or a portion of the flow of working fluid from one of cylinders 10a and 10b to auxiliary tank 15, but not the other of cylinders 10a and 10 b. In this way, a single valve can be used to regulate roll and pitch motions of the vehicle. Furthermore, according to an embodiment, the auxiliary tank 15 may be pressurized.

The switching of the latching valve 14 between the open position and the closed position is controlled by a motorized actuating device, which according to this embodiment comprises an electric motor 16 (or preferably an electric motor and reduction unit) and a pair of control cables 18, wherein the electric motor 16 acts on the latching valve 14 via the control cables 18. by controlling the electric motor 16 in one direction or the other, the latching valve 14 can be switched from the open position to the closed position or, vice versa, from the closed position to the open position via the control cables 18.

The electric motor 16 is guided by an electronic control unit ECU which receives at its input command signals from a control member 20 (shown schematically in fig. 3), wherein the control member 20 is operable by the driver. The ECU also receives at its input information relating to certain operating parameters of the vehicle (e.g. vehicle speed v, throttle opening a, etc.) and determines whether these conditions are in place, based on this information, to safely lock or unlock the roll of the vehicle.

Therefore, if the electronic control unit ECU determines that the swing of the vehicle can be safely locked or unlocked after receiving the command signal from the control member 20, the electronic control unit ECU drives the motor 16 to switch the lock valve 14 from the open position to the closed position or from the closed position to the open position.

The electronic control unit ECU may advantageously also be arranged to command the locking valve 14 to switch in such a way that the working fluid flows (partially or totally) from the hydraulic cylinders 10a,10b to the auxiliary tank 15, which is hydraulically connected to the connecting conduit 12.

For example, the control member 20 may be a button located on the handlebar or another easily accessible location on the vehicle for the driver, in which case the system is configured to: when the lock valve 14 is in the closed position (i.e., when vehicle roll is prevented), pressing the button commands the lock valve 14 to move to the open position, thereby unlocking the vehicle roll; while when the lock valve 14 is in the open position (i.e., when vehicle roll is permitted), pressing the button commands the lock valve 14 to move to the closed position, thereby locking the vehicle roll.

Alternatively, the control member 20 may be a switch that is switchable between two operating positions corresponding to a locked state of the vehicle inclination and an unlocked state of the vehicle inclination, respectively.

In any case, the actuation of the control member 20 does not automatically determine the switching of the lock valve 14, but the electronic control unit ECU determines whether the lock valve 14 can be switched, and if so, drives the electric motor 16 appropriately. For example, if the driver operates the control member 20 to stop the roll of the vehicle while the vehicle is traveling above a given first threshold value, the electronic control unit ECU does not allow the lock valve 14 to switch to the closed position. Further, when the parking brake (park brake) of the vehicle is in the activated state, the electronic control unit ECU prohibits the lock valve 14 from being switched from the closed position to the open position to prevent the unlocked vehicle from rolling.

Furthermore, the electronic control unit ECU is preferably configured to automatically unlock the vehicle roll each time the vehicle is restarted, independently of the driver's actuation of the control member 20. Thus, if the vehicle is restarted, for example starting from a traffic light stop condition, the electronic control unit ECU commands the locking valve 14 to switch to the open position to allow the vehicle to oscillate, as soon as the vehicle speed exceeds a given second threshold value (which may be equal to or different from the aforementioned first threshold value).

Of course, other and/or different operating logic may be implemented in the electronic control unit ECU.

Preferably, sensor means adapted to detect the open or closed position of said valve and to send a corresponding signal to the electronic control unit ECU are associated with the locking valve 14. For example, such sensor means may comprise a pair of microswitches 22 operable by a cam 24, the cam 24 being connected in rotation integrally with a rotary shutter (ball) of the latching valve 14, so that when the latching valve 14 is in the closed position, the cam 24 switches the microswitch 22 associated with this position, causing a corresponding valve closing signal to be sent to the electronic control unit ECU; when the latch valve 14 is in the open position, the cam 24 switches the microswitch 22 associated with this position, so that a corresponding opening valve signal is sent to the electronic control unit ECU.

In fig. 4, the same or corresponding parts and elements as those in fig. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and fig. 4 shows an oscillating system (oscillating system) of the present invention in another embodiment.

This further embodiment differs from the embodiment described above with reference to fig. 3 in that: the motor 16 acts directly on the latching valve 14, not via the control cable 18, since the shaft of the motor is connected to the shutter (shutter) of the latching valve via a joint. Preferably, in this case, the cam 24 is integrated in the connection joint.

For the rest, what is described above with reference to the embodiment shown in fig. 3 applies.

Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the embodiments and the construction details may be varied widely with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely by way of non-limiting example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.