Wheel module

A wheel module for a vehicle including at least two independently steered wheels to be steered independently, the wheel module comprising:

• a tire having a side wall defined as a side surface and a tread face defined as a front surface facing frontward of the vehicle;
• a steering unit configured to output a steering force for the tire;
• an arm connecting the steering unit and the tire, wherein a steering force output by the steering unit is transmitted to the tire via the arm;
• a driving unit configured to output a driving force for the tire;
• a braking unit configured to output a braking force for the tire;
• and
• a suspension mechanism supported by an upper end fulcrum and a lower end fulcrum so as to reduce vibration or impact transmitted from a road surface, wherein
• the suspension mechanism includes a rod-shaped damper and a coil-shaped spring in which the rod-shaped damper is inserted,
• an imaginary straight line extending along a vertical direction and passing through a center of the tire in a radial direction and in a width direction of the tire is defined as a tire central axis,
• the lower end fulcrum of the suspension mechanism is positioned away from the tire central axis when viewed from a side surface of the tire,
• the arm has an upper arm adjacent to the steering unit and a rocker arm adjacent to the tire,
• the upper arm and the rocker arm are connected to each other so as to be rotatable about an arm coupling axis extending in a horizontal direction,
• the arm coupling axis is separated from the tire central axis and located opposite to the lower end fulcrum of the suspension mechanism with respect to the tire central axis when viewed from a side surface of the tire, and is located lower than the center of the tire in the radial direction,
• the upper end fulcrum of the suspension mechanism is rotatably supported by the upper arm, and the lower end fulcrum is rotatably supported by the rocker arm, and
• the lower end fulcrum of the suspension mechanism is rotatable about the arm coupling axis in a plane parallel to a side surface of the tire.