Patent ID: 7931281

Claim:
A variable stiffness stabilizer device comprising: a stabilizer bar through which the left and right wheel supporting members are joined to each other in order to restrain a vehicle body from rolling; and a pair of actuators, the stabilizer bar comprising: a torsion bar which is supported by the vehicle body and which extends in a lateral direction of the vehicle; and a pair of arms which are respectively connected to a pair of ends of the torsion bar through corresponding bend portions and which are bendingly deformed respectively according to displacements of corresponding wheel supporting members, each of the arms comprising: a variable bending stiffness part which is rotatable around an axis of a corresponding arm and which is capable of changing bending stiffness of the corresponding arm according to a rotational position of the variable bending stiffness part, a respective support section for rotatably supporting a first end of the corresponding variable bending stiffness part through a pair of bearings; the variable bending stiffness part being spherically supported at a second end by a spherical joint which is linked to a corresponding wheel supporting member; and the variable bending stiffness part being meshed at the first end with a rotatable driven gear rotatable with the first end, and configured and arranged to rotate the variable bending stiffness part, the rotatable driven gear being disposed between the pair of bearings; wherein: each of the actuators comprises an electric motor and a transmission mechanism for transmitting torque to the variable bending stiffness part with a number of rotations of the electric motor reduced, wherein the transmission mechanism comprises a driving gear and the driven gear which is meshed therewith and which is rotatable together with the variable bending stiffness part, wherein: each of the actuators is configured and arranged to rotationally drive the variable bending stiffness part of the corresponding arm around the axis thereof, thus enabling the rotational position of the variable bending stiffness part of the corresponding arm to be adjusted.