TWIST-BEAM AXLE FOR AN ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

The invention relates to a twist-beam axle for an electrically driven motor vehicle which is provided on the motor vehicle floor with at least one battery tray, having longitudinal links which are each assigned to a wheel carrier of the axle and which are connected to one another via a crossmember and at one end of which a respective wheel carrier is arranged, wherein the longitudinal links, at the end opposite to the respective wheel carrier, are connected by means of rubber bearings to the battery tray arranged on the motor vehicle floor, to a longitudinal member or crossmember in the floor region of the motor vehicle or to a frame of the motor vehicle.

Claims

1. A twist-beam axle for an electrically driven motor vehicle which is provided on the motor vehicle floor with at least one battery tray, comprising two longitudinal links which are each assigned to a wheel carrier of the axle and which are connected to one another via a crossmember and at one end of which a respective wheel carrier is arranged, wherein the longitudinal links, at the end opposite to the respective wheel carrier, are connected by means of rubber bearings to the at least one battery tray arranged on the motor vehicle floor, to a longitudinal member or crossmember in the floor region of the motor vehicle or to a frame of the motor vehicle.

2. The twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the longitudinal links between the respective wheel carrier and the respective rubber bearing are formed so as to be bent with respect to the motor vehicle longitudinal axis.

3. The twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the respective wheel carrier is coupled to the respective longitudinal link by means of a ball joint and a damper unit.

4. The twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the respective wheel carrier is coupled to the respective longitudinal link by means of two bearings or two joints.

5. The twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crossmembers are designed to be rotationally flexible and flexurally resistant as torsion profiles.

6. The twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the torsion profile is designed to be bent or curved, in particular upwardly curved.

7. The twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 1, wherein a steering gear is mounted or arranged on the crossmember.

8. The twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the steering gear is operatively connected to the wheel carriers by means of steering linkages and/or track levers.

9. The twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wheel carriers are operatively connected to at least one electric motor for driving the motor vehicle.

10. An electrically driven motor vehicle having at least one twist-beam axle as claimed in claim 1.

11. The electrically driven motor vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein two twist-beam axles are provided, these two twist-beam axles being arranged mirror-symmetrically to a central transverse plane of the motor vehicle, the motor vehicle itself preferably also being designed to be mirror-symmetrical to its central transverse plane.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In the drawings:

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a battery tray with exemplary embodiments of twist-beam axles or wheel suspensions according to the invention arranged thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The single FIGURE, FIG. 1, shows a plan view of a battery tray 1 of a motor vehicle 3 driven by an electric motor 16 and having twist-beam axles according to the invention arranged on said vehicle. Here, in the illustration of FIG. 1, only the left twist-beam axle has been provided with reference signs, since the right twist-beam axle corresponds in design to the left, only in a mirror-inverted manner.

[0027] The twist-beam axle here consists substantially of two longitudinal links 6 and 7 which are connected to one another via a crossmember 2. The crossmember 2 is designed here as a flexurally rigid and rotationally flexible torsion profile. The longitudinal links 6 and 7 are arranged on and connected to the battery tray 1 by means of rubber bearings 8 and 9. At their ends opposite to the rubber bearings 8 and 9, the longitudinal links 6 and 7 have wheel carriers 4 and 5 on each of which a wheel 17 and 18 can be mounted.

[0028] The longitudinal links 6 and 7 are formed so as to be bent toward a motor vehicle longitudinal axis 10 between their two ends at which, on the one hand, the wheel carriers 4 and 5 and, on the other hand, the rubber bearings 8 and 9 are arranged. In the present exemplary embodiment, this bent shape of the longitudinal links 6 and 7 is necessary in order for the wheel carriers 4 and 5 or the wheels 17 and 18 arranged thereon to have sufficient play to carry out a steering movement.

[0029] To ensure that a corresponding steering movement of the wheel carriers 4 and 5 or of the wheels 17 and 18 can be carried out, a steering gear 13 is arranged or mounted on the crossmember 2. Corresponding steering linkages 14 and 15 extend from this steering gear 13 to the wheel carriers 4 and 5, with the result that the steering movement initiated by the steering gear 13 can be transmitted to the wheel carriers 4 and 5 or the wheels 17 and 18. To ensure that the wheel carriers 4 and 5 or the wheels 17 and 18 are steerable at all, the wheel carriers 4 and 5 are connected to respective longitudinal links 6 or 7 via a ball joint 11. In order to increase the ride comfort of the motor vehicle 3 here, a damper unit 12 is also additionally provided here.

[0030] To drive the motor vehicle, the electric motor 16 is provided which is connected to the respective wheel carrier 4 and 5 via corresponding shafts 19 and 20 and thus drives the motor vehicle 3 or the respective wheel carriers 4 and 5.

[0031] The twist-beam axle arranged on the left side of FIG. 1, which is designed as a front axle with the motor vehicle 3, is a driven axle. By contrast thereto, the twist-beam axle illustrated on the right in FIG. 1, which has not been provided with reference signs, is designed as a rear axle. In this present exemplary embodiment, this rear axle is nondriven here. Nondriven and driven axles here have different kinematics which a person skilled in the art will take into consideration in the manufacture of the corresponding axles.

[0032] In the present exemplary embodiment, the two axles of the motor vehicle 3 are designed to be identical and steerable, and they are arranged mirror-symmetrically to a central transverse axis of the battery tray 1 that is perpendicular to the motor vehicle longitudinal axis 10. Such an arrangement of this exemplary embodiment of the twist-beam axles is particularly appropriate for so-called people movers in urban public transportation, in particular if they move autonomously. The two steerable axles make such people movers or motor vehicles particularly maneuverable and also allow them to be maneuvered particularly well in the tightest of spaces.

[0033] The application of the twist-beam axles in a people mover, in particular if the two twist-beam axles are designed mirror-symmetrically to the central transverse plane 21 of the motor vehicle 3, allows the motor vehicle 3 to move in both directions with identical driving behavior. This means that the vehicle strictly speaking would no longer have to turn around. That is because the two axles are of identical design and thus the driving behavior is not changed. A change of direction of travel is thus possible in a simple manner. This is particularly also supported if the entire motor vehicle 3 is designed to be mirror-symmetrical with respect to its central transverse plane 21.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0034] 1 Battery tray [0035] 2 Crossmember [0036] 3 Motor vehicle [0037] 4 Wheel carrier [0038] 5 Wheel carrier [0039] 6 Longitudinal link [0040] 7 Longitudinal link [0041] 8 Rubber bearing [0042] 9 Rubber bearing [0043] 10 Motor vehicle longitudinal axis [0044] 11 Ball joint [0045] 12 Damper unit [0046] 13 Steering gear [0047] 14 Steering linkage [0048] 15 Steering linkage [0049] 16 Electric motor [0050] 17 Wheel [0051] 18 Wheel [0052] 19 Shaft [0053] 20 Shaft [0054] 21 Central transverse axis