CA1304222C - Suspension alignment adjustment process and apparatus therefor - Google Patents
Suspension alignment adjustment process and apparatus thereforInfo
- Publication number
- CA1304222C CA1304222C CA000540773A CA540773A CA1304222C CA 1304222 C CA1304222 C CA 1304222C CA 000540773 A CA000540773 A CA 000540773A CA 540773 A CA540773 A CA 540773A CA 1304222 C CA1304222 C CA 1304222C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- assembly
- sub
- vehicle body
- suspension
- attaching
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
- B62D65/00—Designing, manufacturing, e.g. assembling, facilitating disassembly, or structurally modifying motor vehicles or trailers, not otherwise provided for
- B62D65/02—Joining sub-units or components to, or positioning sub-units or components with respect to, body shell or other sub-units or components
- B62D65/12—Joining sub-units or components to, or positioning sub-units or components with respect to, body shell or other sub-units or components the sub-units or components being suspensions, brakes or wheel units
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2202/00—Indexing codes relating to the type of spring, damper or actuator
- B60G2202/30—Spring/Damper and/or actuator Units
- B60G2202/31—Spring/Damper and/or actuator Units with the spring arranged around the damper, e.g. MacPherson strut
- B60G2202/312—The spring being a wound spring
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2206/00—Indexing codes related to the manufacturing of suspensions: constructional features, the materials used, procedures or tools
- B60G2206/01—Constructional features of suspension elements, e.g. arms, dampers, springs
- B60G2206/011—Modular constructions
- B60G2206/0114—Independent suspensions on subframes
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2206/00—Indexing codes related to the manufacturing of suspensions: constructional features, the materials used, procedures or tools
- B60G2206/01—Constructional features of suspension elements, e.g. arms, dampers, springs
- B60G2206/90—Maintenance
- B60G2206/91—Assembly procedures
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2206/00—Indexing codes related to the manufacturing of suspensions: constructional features, the materials used, procedures or tools
- B60G2206/01—Constructional features of suspension elements, e.g. arms, dampers, springs
- B60G2206/90—Maintenance
- B60G2206/92—Tools or equipment used for assembling
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2206/00—Indexing codes related to the manufacturing of suspensions: constructional features, the materials used, procedures or tools
- B60G2206/01—Constructional features of suspension elements, e.g. arms, dampers, springs
- B60G2206/90—Maintenance
- B60G2206/93—Tools used for adjustments
- B60G2206/931—McPherson strut positioning tool
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Transportation (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Automobile Manufacture Line, Endless Track Vehicle, Trailer (AREA)
- Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention provides a suspension alignment adjustment process in which before a suspension sub-assembly, which has a pair of left and right wheel attaching members attached to a subsidiary frame by component members of a suspen-sion, is assembled to a vehicle body, a sub-assembly attaching position of the vehicle body is measured and the deviation of the attaching position thereof from a reference position thereof is detected, and an alignment adjustment taking this deviation into account of the sub-assembly is carried out so that the resultant adjusted alignment has a predetermined value such that the sub-assembly is thereafter assembled to the vehicle body.
The present invention provides a suspension alignment adjustment process in which before a suspension sub-assembly, which has a pair of left and right wheel attaching members attached to a subsidiary frame by component members of a suspen-sion, is assembled to a vehicle body, a sub-assembly attaching position of the vehicle body is measured and the deviation of the attaching position thereof from a reference position thereof is detected, and an alignment adjustment taking this deviation into account of the sub-assembly is carried out so that the resultant adjusted alignment has a predetermined value such that the sub-assembly is thereafter assembled to the vehicle body.
Description
~3~
rrhi.s i.nventi.on ~elates to a process for the alignment ad~ stlllent of a wheel suspension of a motorcar, and an appara-tus l:llereror.
The assetllbly of a wheel suspension in a motor-vehicle bocly has usua:~ly been carried Ollt in such that, as disclosed in ~okcl.i. Pub:Licati.on Sho ~,o (19~5) - 71530 of Japane~e Utility Model l~eg;.stration, cornponen~ members for a wlleel suspension are ini-ti.ally attached -to a subsidi.ary frame with alignment thereof to a prede-termined value. The resul-tant suspension sub-assembly ls then assembled in a vehicle body on an assembly.
~ lowever, such a conventional procedure is inconvenient because some-times when the sub-assembly has been attached to the ]5 vehicle body there is a deviation ln the at-tached posltion of the sub-assembly from a reference positlon thereof, causing a dis-placement in the wheel alignment. Thus, it becomes necessary to make a wheel alignment ad~ustmen-t of the suspension on the ass-emb.l.ed car. SUCil wheel ad~us-tment has to be carried out ln a pit under bad working env.ironmental conditions, and a large burden imposed onto the worker. Further substantial skill and time are required hindering productivity of the cars.
The present invention provides a suspension alignment process which makes it unnecessary to make the alignment adjust-ment oE a suspension on the car, resulting in improved productiv-ity.
~ccordinc~ to ~le ;nvention ~304222 a process for adjusting alignment of a suspension sub-assembly having a pair of wheel mounting elements suspended from a subsidiary frame relative to a vehicle body which includes means thereon for attaching said sub-assembly thereto comprising the steps of: measuring the position of said means on sai.d vehicle body for attaching said sub-assembly to said vehicle body, detecting the extent to which said means for attaching said sub-assembly deviates from a reference position for said means for attaching said sub-assembly to said vehicle body, mounting sa:id suspension sub-assembly to apparatus adapted to hold said suspension sub-assembly with said wheel mounting elements oriented the same as though said suspension sub-assembly were attached to said vehicle body, and adjusting the orientation of said wheel mounting elements relative to said subsidiary frame to compensate for the extent to which said means for attaching said sub-assembly deviates from said reference position whereby the wheel mounting elements of the adjusted sub-assembly will have a predetermined orientation relative to the vehicle body when the sub-assembly is attached to said vehicle body.
-la-2~
Suitably said suspension component members are moved in relation to sai.d subsidiary frame in accordance with the said measured deviation and are set in the same posi-tions as ~hose obtained at -the time of actually assembling of the sub-assembl.y ln the vehicle body, and under such condition the align-ment adjustment is carried ou~. Desirably when -the sub-assembly lo is provided with a steeri.ng mechanism, a neutral position of the steering mechanism is detected, and with the steering mechanism kept at its neu-tral position, the ali.gnment ad~ustment lncluding that of toe is carried out.
The present invention also provides an alignment appa-ratus for carrying out an alignment adjus-tment before a suspen-sion sub-assembly, having a pair of left and right wheel attach-ing members at-tached to a subsidiary frame by suspenslon compo-nent members, is assembled to a vehicle body, comprising on a machine base, a clarnp means for clamping and setting the sub-sidiary frame in position, a simulation means whereby the suspen-sion component members may be set in position in rela-tion to the subsidiary frame at -the same positions as those obtained a-t the tlme of actuall.y assembling of the sub-assembly to the vehicle body, and a detecting means for alignment. Suitably the suspen-sion component members are those of a double wishbone type sus-pension having a pair of knuckle arms, and the simulation means comprising a pair of knuckle supporting means for pushing upwards and supporting the respective knuckle arms in relation to the subsidiary frame, at the same swung-movement posi-tions as those obtained at the time of actual assemblying thereof to the vehicle body, and a pair of knuckle positioning means each having a posi-tional adjustment engaging member for engaging a joint portion, which is to be attached -to the upper arm, attached to the vehicle body, of an upper end of the knuckle arm on each side, and the detecting means for alignment comprising a pair of first detect-~L3~22~
ing means for toe and camber facing the wheel attaching member on each side, and a pair of second detecting means for casters facing the respective knuckle arms. Desirably the apparatus lncludes on the machine base, a steering positioning means which comprises a socket for engaging a pinion shaft situated on an input side of the steering mechanism assembled to the sub-ass-embly, a motor for turning the socket in regular and reverse directions thereof, and a detecting device for detecting a turn-ing angle of the socket.
The present invention will be further illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. l is a top plan view of a suspension assembly line in accordance with the process according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspecklve view of a measuring means pro-v~ded at a measuring station;
Fig. 3 is a front view of an adjustment means provided at an alignment ad~ustment station;
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the same viewed from the line IV-IV in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a side view of the same viewed from the line V-V in Fig. 3;
30Fig. 6 is an enlarged front view of an important por-tion of the ad~ustment means;
Fig. 7 is a side view, partly in section, of the same viewed from the left thereof in Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged side view of a steering position-~3~ 2 ing means, Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one side portion of a front suspension;
Fig. 10 is a rear side view thereof;
Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one side portion of a rear suspension; and Fig. 12 is a rear side view thereof.
Referring to Fig. 1, a vehicle body 1 has a front sus-pension sub-assembly 2, and a rear suspension sub-assembly 3.
The veh~cle body 1 is conveyed into and posltioned at an assembly station 5 provided ln a vehicle body conveying line 4 comprising a hanger conveyer, and the front and rear sub-assemblies 2,3 are assembled thereto from below, by an assembling ~ig 6 disposed at the station 5.
' ~ _ 4 _ ~3~)42Z;2 However, as shown in Fig.s 9 and 10, a front suspension , is a double wishbone type one having a knuckle arm b supporting a ! disk rotor a, an upper arm c and a lower arm d disposed on upper and lower portions thereof, a cushion unlt e and a radius rod f.
i 5 The foregoing front side suspension sub-assembly 2 is so con-structed that a subsidiary frame 2a which is to be bolted to a front portion of the vehicle body 1 is provided thereon with an engine E, the foregoing suspension component members excluding the upper ~3~ 1L2~
arm c, which constitutes part of the vehicle body 1, a tie rod g connected to a steering mechanism comprising a steer-ing gear housed in a bag-shaped portion of a rear beam of the subsidiary frame 2a, and a driving shaft h.
Meanwhile, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, a rear suspen-sion is a double wishbone type one having a knuckle arm b supporting a disk rotor a7 an upper arm c and a pair of lower arm d1, d2 disposed on upper and lower portions thereof, a cushion unit e and a trailing arm i. The foregoing rear suspension sub-assembly 3 is so constructed that a subsidiary frame 3a which is to be bolted to a rear portion of the vehicle body 1 is provided thereon with the foregoing suspen-sion component members excluding the upper arm c, which constitutes part of the vehicle body.
These sub-assemblies 2 9 3 are conveyed into the fore-goin~ assembling jig 6 through respective suspension convey-ing passages 7, 8, and then these sub-assemblies 2j 3 are assembled to the vehicle body 1~ and under this condition the subsidiary frames 2a, 3a are bolted to the vehicle body 1 at predetermi.ned positions. In this case, each bolt inser-tion opening made in each of the subsidiary frames 2a, 3a is made comparatively so large in diameter as to have an allowance of displacement from a position of an attaching opening made in the vehicle body 1 so that each of these subsidiary frames 2a, 3a may be bolted to such a given attaching position of the vehicle body 1 that has been calculated from a reference opening of the vehicle body 1.
~ 3~22 The foregoing upper arm c is previously attached to the vehicle body 1. If the same is attached to such a posi tion that is deviated or dislocated from a reference posi-tion, even if each of the subsidiary frames 2a, 3a is attached to a reference position, there is resulted an error in wheel allgnment, when the sub-assembly is assembled to the vehicle body.
For preventing this/ in the illustrated example, a measuring station 9 is provided on the vehicle body convey-ing passage ~ so as to be located on this side of the assembl-ing station 5.
At this station 9, there are disposed a pair of right and left measuring means 10 for a front suspension, each of which is so constructed that, as shown in Fig. 2, pins~ lOb, lOb for inserting into subsidiary frame attaching openings of the vehicle body 1 and an engaging member lOc for engag-ing a knuckle joint portion of the upper arm c are so provid-ed on an elevating frame lOa as to be individually movable in the two directions crossing at right angles one with another. Similarly, there are disposed a pair of right and left measuring means (not illustrated) for a rear suspen-sion, each of which has the same construction as the measur-ing means for the front suspension so that respective moved amounts of these pins lOb, lOb and the engaging member lOc may be inputted to a ~omputer lOd for detecting respective deviations of the subsidiary frame attaching openings and the upper arm c from their respective reference positions.
L2~2 Additionally,alignlllent adjustment stations 11, 12 are provided in the midst of -the foregoing suspension convey-ing passages 7, 8 so that analignment adjustment of each sub-assembly may be carried out, basing on the deviation data, at each of these allgnment adjustment stations 11, 12.
At the allgnment adjustment station 11 on the front suspension conveying passage 7, khere is provided such an adjustment means 13 as shown in Figs. 3 - 5.
More in detail ! this apparatus 13 is so constructed that, on a machine base 14, there is provided a lifter 15 .
for lifting upwards the sub-assembly 2 conveyed thereinto, four clamp means 16 situated at the front, rear, left and right positions for holding in a predetermi.ned position -the subsidiary frame 2a of the lifted-up sub-assembly 2, a pair of left and right knuckle supporting means 17 for being brought into abutment with the respective lower arms d and serving to push upwards and support the respective knuckle arms b, in relation to the subsidiary frame 2a, at the same swung movement positions as those obtained at the time of actually assembling of the sub-assembly to tne vehicle body, and a pair of left and right knuckle positioning means 18, each having an engaging member 18a for being inserted from above into and in engagement with a joint portion which is an upper end of each knuckle arm b.
The engaging member 18a is so arranged as to be adjust-able in position in accordance with a position for attach-ing the upper arm attached to the vehicle body by means of ~ 3~4~;~2 a cross slider 18b, and thus, by the knuckle supporting means 17 and the knuckle positioning means 18, there is established such a simulation means that the knuckle arm b may be so held in relation to the subsidiary frame 2a as to have the same positions as those obtained at the time o~
actually assemblying o~ the sub-assembly to the vehicle body.
Additionally, there is provided, on the machine base ~4, a pair of first detecting means 19, 1~ for detecting toe and camber which are located to face the left and right disk rotors a, a, a pair of second detecting means 20, 20 for detecting caster which are located to face the left and right knuckle arms b, b, and a steering positioning means 21 for detecting a neutral position of the foregoing steer-ing mechanism and serving to ~eep the same at the neutral position.
This will be explained more in detail with reference to Figs. 6 and 7 as follows:-Namely, each of the clamp means 16 is so constructedthat a receiving seat 16b having a positioning pin 16a ~or the subsidiary frame 2a is so provided as to be movable to rise and fall by a cylinder 16c, and a clamp arm 16e arranged to be moved with a cylinder 16d is attached to the receiv- -ing seat 16b. So that the clamp means is operated in such a manner that, under the cohdi~ion that the sub-assembly 2 is lefted up by the lifter 15, the receiving seat 16b there-o~ is raised, and the lifter 15 is then lowered, so that the subsidiary ~rame 2a is received on the receiving seat _g_ ~3(~4~2 16b, and thereafter the clamp arm 16e is closed to hold the subsidiary frame 2a at the predetermined position~
The knuckle supporting means 17 on each side is so constructed that there is provided a guide block 17b which is movable upwards and downwards by a cylinder 17a and an abutment seat 17c which is brought into abutment with a lower surface of the lower arm d is so provided on the guide block 17b, through a bearing 17d, as to be movable freely in the front and rear directions.
Additionally, the foregoing ~nuckle positioning means 18 on each side is so constructed that a machine frame 14a vertically provided on the machine base 1~ is provided with a slider 18d which is movable downwards to a predetermind position by an operation of a toggle lever 18c, and the fore-going engaging member 18a is attached through the foregoing cross slider 18b, which comprises a first movable mernber 18bl movable for adjustment in the front and rear directions and a second movable member 18b2 movable for adjustment in the left and right directions, to a lower end of a rod 18e ex-tending vertically downwards from the slider 18d so that, by the corss slider 18b, the engaging rnember 18 may be adjustable in position in either of front, rear, left and right directions. Numeral 18f denotes a cylinder for upward-ly moving the slider 18d.
The foregoing first detecting means 19 on each side is so constructed that a detecting head l9c facing the disk rotor a is so supported as to be movable forwards and rearwards ~3~1~L222 on a slide base l9b which is movable to advance and retreat by a cylinder l9a in relation to the disk rotor a side9 and a centering pin l9d for mounting into an axle center of the disk rotor a, a pair of front and rear toe cletecting elements l9e, l9e~ each comprising a non-contact type distance sensor, and a pair of upper and lower camber detecting elements l9f, l9f, each comprising also a non-contact type distance sensor, are attached to the head l9c, so that under the condition that the head l9c is positioned in relation to the disk rotor _ by the centering pin l9d, the distance in rela-tion to a wheel attaching standard surface al of the rotor a may be measured by each element l9e, l9f, and thereby the toe may be calculated from the difference between the mesured values obtained by the pair of the detecting elements 19e, l9e, and the camber may be calculated from the difference between the measured values obtained by the pair of camber detecting elements 19f, l9f.
The second detecting means 20 on each side is so.
constructed that a caster detecting element 20d comprising a non-contact type distance sensor is attached to a detect-ing head 20c which is movable to advance and retreat to and from a position facing a caster measuring surface bl (shown in Fig. 9) on a front side of the knuckle arm b, by a cylinder 20a and a guide bar 20b so that the distance in relation to the measuring surface bl may be measured by the detecting element 20d, and the caster may be calculated from this measured value.
~, .
42;~:~
The foregoing steering positioning means 21 comprises, as shown clearly i.n Fig. 8, a socket 21a for engagi.ng a pinion shaft j which is situated on an input side of the steering shaft and projects from a rear beam of the subsidiary frame Za, a motor 21b for turning the socket 21a in regular and reverse directions, and a detecting device 21c for detect-ing a turning angle of the socket 21a.
More in detail, on the machine frame 14a there is provid-ed a swingable frame 21e which is swingably movable between its upper escaped position and its lower operative position by a cylinder 21d, and the motor 21b with a reduction gear is mounted on the swingable frame 21e, and a spline shaft 21g connected through a torque-limiter 21f to the motor 21b is extended downwards through a guide sleeve 21e' extending from the swingable frame 21e, and the socket 21a is so connected to a lower end of the shaft 21g as to be movable upwards and downwards, and a gear 21h having teeth which are equal in number to the serrations. of the pinion shaft j is attached to an upper end portion of the shaft 21g, and an approximation switch 21i is attached to such a position of the swingable frame 21e that faces a circumferential surface of the gear 21h so as to constitute the foregoing detecting device 21c so that the number of the teeth of the gear 21h passing across the front surface of the switch 21i may be counted by a counter connected to the switch 21i, and there-by the turning angle of the socket 21a may be detected.
Referring to the drawings, numeral 21j denotes each of " ~ 3~22~
lock rings which are so provided on the lower end portion of -the guide sleeve 21e' as to be in two upper and lower stages so that the socket 21a may be retained resiliently at its two upper and lower positions by these rings 21j, 21j, and thus the socket 21a may be brought into engagement with the pinion shaft j when moved downwards manually to its lower position.
Next, the adjustment procedures using the foregoing adjustment apparatus will be explained as follows:-Firstly, the subsidiary frame 2a of the sub-assembly 2 is lifted up by the lifter 15 and is held at its predeter-mined position in position by the respective clamp means 16. Thereafter, the knuckle arm b on each side is pushed upwards by each knùckle supporting means 17, to its swung position obtained at the time when the vehicle body weight is applied thereto~ that is, the same position thereof obtained when the sub-assembly is actually assembled to the vehicle body. Thereafter, khe engaging member 18a of each : knuckle positioning means 18 is lowered by operation of the toggle lever 18c, and is brought into engagement with the joint portion, which is to be ~ointed with the upper arm c, of the upper end of each knuckle arm b. At this stage, in accordance with such a deviation in any of front, rear, left and right directions, of the.attaching position of the upper arm c to the vehicle body ~rom a reference position, that has been previously detected by the measuring means 10, the first movable member 18bl and/or the second movable member ~,, ~.3~ 2 18b2 of the cross slider 18b are moved for adjus-tment, whereby the positional relation of the engaging member 18a with the subsidiary frame 2a is set to be equal to the positional relation of the knuckle joint portion of the upper :arm c actually attached to the motorcar with the subsidiary frame 2a.
By this way, the knuckle arm b constituting one of the suspension component members is held at the same position in relation to the subsidiary frame 2a, as that obtained at the time of actually assembling thereo~ to the vehicle body.
Thereafter, the neutral position of the steering mechanism is detected by the steering positioning...means 21~
and thereby the steering mechanism is set in this neutral position.
This detecting and keeping of the neutral position is carried out in such a manner as described below. Namely, the socket 21a is brought into engagement with the pinion shaft ;, and by operation of the motor 21b, the socket 21a ia turned to a lock position thereof on such one side that the shaft j is locked by movement of a rack of the steering mechanism moved in conjunction with the shaft j, to its stroke end on one side, and thereafter the socket 21a is turned to such a lock position thereof on such other side that the sha~t j is locked by movement of the rack to its other stroke end, and a turning angle q.of.the socket..2.1a between .the two.
lock positions is detected by the detecting device 21c, and then the socket 21a is turned in reverse by 9/2 from the ~14~
" ~L3~2~ -lock position on the other side by such a manner that the motor 21b is controlled by a control means (not illustrated).
When the phase of the serration of the pinion shaft j is detected from the position of the teeth o~ the gear 21h constituting the detecting device 21c, and when the socket 21a is turned in reverse by ~/2 as above, if the serration of the shaft j is not positioned at a predetermined phase which is connectable to the steering shaft with the handle being set in a straight running position, the socket 21a is further turned within the range of an angle of one pitch of the serration, and when the serration becomes the ~ore-going predetermined phase, the turning of the socket 21a is stopped, and this position is made the neutral position of the steering mechanism, Thereafter, the toe, the camber and the caster of the left and right wheels are detected by the first and second detecting means 19, 20, and the toe adjustment is carried out by expansion and contraction operations of the tie rods g so that the toes of the left and right wheels may be made equal one to another, and in.addition the adjustment of . the camber and that of the caster are carried out by opera-tions of the lower arm d and the radious rod f.
If the deviation of the subsidiary frame attaching open-ing of the vehicle body 1 from the reference position becomes so large that the opening cannot be met with the opening of the bolt insertion opening of the subsidiary frame 2a, the subsidiary frame 2a cannot be so attacched to the vehicle ~ 3~2;~
body at its reference position. In this case, the positiono~ the engaging member 18a and the aimed adjustment of the ~llgnment are calculated by the foregoing Dmputer lOd, while taking the deviation of the attaching position of the subsidiary frame 2a into account, and an adjustment opera-tion basing on the calculated resultant values is carried out.
The allignment adjustment at the ~lignment ad~ustment station 11 provided on the front suspension conveying passage 7 has been explained as above.
Almost the ad~ustment means which is the same as above, but does not need the steering positioning means is provided also at the alignmellt adjustment station 12 provided on the rear suspension conveying passage 8, and at the station 12 the knuckle arm b of the rear suspension is set in posi-tion in accordance with such a deviation of the attached position of the rear upper arm c to the vehicle body 7 from a reference position that has been measured at the measur-ing station 9, so that an alignment adjustment is performed.
The front side and rear side suspension sub-assemblie 2, 3 applied with the respective allignment adjustments as mentioned above are, then, conveyed into the assembling station 5 and are assembled to the vehicle body 1~ whereby there is resulted the alignrnent adjustment working at the stage of complete car becomes unnecessary. Additionally, if, under the condition that the steering mechanism is set ~ 3~22~
in its neutral position, the steering shaft, with its steer-ing handle being set in its straight running position, is connected to the pinion shaft j, the left and right steering angles of the handle become equal, and a steering angle adjustment at the stage of complete car becomes unnecessary, either.
With vehicle bodies manufactured by the same press lot, there takes place no change in a value of dispersion in attach-ing position of the upper arm c from the references position.
When7 however, the vehicle bodies are manufactured by a di~ferent press lot, there is caused varied dispersion in attaching position of the upper arm c. Therefore, it is newly necessary that measuring at the measuring station 9 and the alignrilent adjustments at the adjustment stations 11, 12 as mentioned above are carried out, and basing on this adjustment~values, the allgnmel~t adjustments of the subsequent sub-assemblies 2, 3 are carried out.
Thus, according to this invention, prior to attaching of the sub-assembly to the vehicle body the deviation of the suspension attaching position of the vehicle body from a reference position is measured, and suc.h ~ an alignr"ellt.adjustment of me suspension sub-assembly that takes this.deviation.into account is carried out, and thereafter the sub-assembly thus adjusted in wheel alignl~ent is assembled to the vehicle body, so that the wheel allgnillent. adjustment after the completion of a motor-car becomes unnecessary, to result in a large improvement in productivity of the vehicles.
rrhi.s i.nventi.on ~elates to a process for the alignment ad~ stlllent of a wheel suspension of a motorcar, and an appara-tus l:llereror.
The assetllbly of a wheel suspension in a motor-vehicle bocly has usua:~ly been carried Ollt in such that, as disclosed in ~okcl.i. Pub:Licati.on Sho ~,o (19~5) - 71530 of Japane~e Utility Model l~eg;.stration, cornponen~ members for a wlleel suspension are ini-ti.ally attached -to a subsidi.ary frame with alignment thereof to a prede-termined value. The resul-tant suspension sub-assembly ls then assembled in a vehicle body on an assembly.
~ lowever, such a conventional procedure is inconvenient because some-times when the sub-assembly has been attached to the ]5 vehicle body there is a deviation ln the at-tached posltion of the sub-assembly from a reference positlon thereof, causing a dis-placement in the wheel alignment. Thus, it becomes necessary to make a wheel alignment ad~ustmen-t of the suspension on the ass-emb.l.ed car. SUCil wheel ad~us-tment has to be carried out ln a pit under bad working env.ironmental conditions, and a large burden imposed onto the worker. Further substantial skill and time are required hindering productivity of the cars.
The present invention provides a suspension alignment process which makes it unnecessary to make the alignment adjust-ment oE a suspension on the car, resulting in improved productiv-ity.
~ccordinc~ to ~le ;nvention ~304222 a process for adjusting alignment of a suspension sub-assembly having a pair of wheel mounting elements suspended from a subsidiary frame relative to a vehicle body which includes means thereon for attaching said sub-assembly thereto comprising the steps of: measuring the position of said means on sai.d vehicle body for attaching said sub-assembly to said vehicle body, detecting the extent to which said means for attaching said sub-assembly deviates from a reference position for said means for attaching said sub-assembly to said vehicle body, mounting sa:id suspension sub-assembly to apparatus adapted to hold said suspension sub-assembly with said wheel mounting elements oriented the same as though said suspension sub-assembly were attached to said vehicle body, and adjusting the orientation of said wheel mounting elements relative to said subsidiary frame to compensate for the extent to which said means for attaching said sub-assembly deviates from said reference position whereby the wheel mounting elements of the adjusted sub-assembly will have a predetermined orientation relative to the vehicle body when the sub-assembly is attached to said vehicle body.
-la-2~
Suitably said suspension component members are moved in relation to sai.d subsidiary frame in accordance with the said measured deviation and are set in the same posi-tions as ~hose obtained at -the time of actually assembling of the sub-assembl.y ln the vehicle body, and under such condition the align-ment adjustment is carried ou~. Desirably when -the sub-assembly lo is provided with a steeri.ng mechanism, a neutral position of the steering mechanism is detected, and with the steering mechanism kept at its neu-tral position, the ali.gnment ad~ustment lncluding that of toe is carried out.
The present invention also provides an alignment appa-ratus for carrying out an alignment adjus-tment before a suspen-sion sub-assembly, having a pair of left and right wheel attach-ing members at-tached to a subsidiary frame by suspenslon compo-nent members, is assembled to a vehicle body, comprising on a machine base, a clarnp means for clamping and setting the sub-sidiary frame in position, a simulation means whereby the suspen-sion component members may be set in position in rela-tion to the subsidiary frame at -the same positions as those obtained a-t the tlme of actuall.y assembling of the sub-assembly to the vehicle body, and a detecting means for alignment. Suitably the suspen-sion component members are those of a double wishbone type sus-pension having a pair of knuckle arms, and the simulation means comprising a pair of knuckle supporting means for pushing upwards and supporting the respective knuckle arms in relation to the subsidiary frame, at the same swung-movement posi-tions as those obtained at the time of actual assemblying thereof to the vehicle body, and a pair of knuckle positioning means each having a posi-tional adjustment engaging member for engaging a joint portion, which is to be attached -to the upper arm, attached to the vehicle body, of an upper end of the knuckle arm on each side, and the detecting means for alignment comprising a pair of first detect-~L3~22~
ing means for toe and camber facing the wheel attaching member on each side, and a pair of second detecting means for casters facing the respective knuckle arms. Desirably the apparatus lncludes on the machine base, a steering positioning means which comprises a socket for engaging a pinion shaft situated on an input side of the steering mechanism assembled to the sub-ass-embly, a motor for turning the socket in regular and reverse directions thereof, and a detecting device for detecting a turn-ing angle of the socket.
The present invention will be further illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. l is a top plan view of a suspension assembly line in accordance with the process according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspecklve view of a measuring means pro-v~ded at a measuring station;
Fig. 3 is a front view of an adjustment means provided at an alignment ad~ustment station;
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the same viewed from the line IV-IV in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a side view of the same viewed from the line V-V in Fig. 3;
30Fig. 6 is an enlarged front view of an important por-tion of the ad~ustment means;
Fig. 7 is a side view, partly in section, of the same viewed from the left thereof in Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged side view of a steering position-~3~ 2 ing means, Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one side portion of a front suspension;
Fig. 10 is a rear side view thereof;
Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one side portion of a rear suspension; and Fig. 12 is a rear side view thereof.
Referring to Fig. 1, a vehicle body 1 has a front sus-pension sub-assembly 2, and a rear suspension sub-assembly 3.
The veh~cle body 1 is conveyed into and posltioned at an assembly station 5 provided ln a vehicle body conveying line 4 comprising a hanger conveyer, and the front and rear sub-assemblies 2,3 are assembled thereto from below, by an assembling ~ig 6 disposed at the station 5.
' ~ _ 4 _ ~3~)42Z;2 However, as shown in Fig.s 9 and 10, a front suspension , is a double wishbone type one having a knuckle arm b supporting a ! disk rotor a, an upper arm c and a lower arm d disposed on upper and lower portions thereof, a cushion unlt e and a radius rod f.
i 5 The foregoing front side suspension sub-assembly 2 is so con-structed that a subsidiary frame 2a which is to be bolted to a front portion of the vehicle body 1 is provided thereon with an engine E, the foregoing suspension component members excluding the upper ~3~ 1L2~
arm c, which constitutes part of the vehicle body 1, a tie rod g connected to a steering mechanism comprising a steer-ing gear housed in a bag-shaped portion of a rear beam of the subsidiary frame 2a, and a driving shaft h.
Meanwhile, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, a rear suspen-sion is a double wishbone type one having a knuckle arm b supporting a disk rotor a7 an upper arm c and a pair of lower arm d1, d2 disposed on upper and lower portions thereof, a cushion unit e and a trailing arm i. The foregoing rear suspension sub-assembly 3 is so constructed that a subsidiary frame 3a which is to be bolted to a rear portion of the vehicle body 1 is provided thereon with the foregoing suspen-sion component members excluding the upper arm c, which constitutes part of the vehicle body.
These sub-assemblies 2 9 3 are conveyed into the fore-goin~ assembling jig 6 through respective suspension convey-ing passages 7, 8, and then these sub-assemblies 2j 3 are assembled to the vehicle body 1~ and under this condition the subsidiary frames 2a, 3a are bolted to the vehicle body 1 at predetermi.ned positions. In this case, each bolt inser-tion opening made in each of the subsidiary frames 2a, 3a is made comparatively so large in diameter as to have an allowance of displacement from a position of an attaching opening made in the vehicle body 1 so that each of these subsidiary frames 2a, 3a may be bolted to such a given attaching position of the vehicle body 1 that has been calculated from a reference opening of the vehicle body 1.
~ 3~22 The foregoing upper arm c is previously attached to the vehicle body 1. If the same is attached to such a posi tion that is deviated or dislocated from a reference posi-tion, even if each of the subsidiary frames 2a, 3a is attached to a reference position, there is resulted an error in wheel allgnment, when the sub-assembly is assembled to the vehicle body.
For preventing this/ in the illustrated example, a measuring station 9 is provided on the vehicle body convey-ing passage ~ so as to be located on this side of the assembl-ing station 5.
At this station 9, there are disposed a pair of right and left measuring means 10 for a front suspension, each of which is so constructed that, as shown in Fig. 2, pins~ lOb, lOb for inserting into subsidiary frame attaching openings of the vehicle body 1 and an engaging member lOc for engag-ing a knuckle joint portion of the upper arm c are so provid-ed on an elevating frame lOa as to be individually movable in the two directions crossing at right angles one with another. Similarly, there are disposed a pair of right and left measuring means (not illustrated) for a rear suspen-sion, each of which has the same construction as the measur-ing means for the front suspension so that respective moved amounts of these pins lOb, lOb and the engaging member lOc may be inputted to a ~omputer lOd for detecting respective deviations of the subsidiary frame attaching openings and the upper arm c from their respective reference positions.
L2~2 Additionally,alignlllent adjustment stations 11, 12 are provided in the midst of -the foregoing suspension convey-ing passages 7, 8 so that analignment adjustment of each sub-assembly may be carried out, basing on the deviation data, at each of these allgnment adjustment stations 11, 12.
At the allgnment adjustment station 11 on the front suspension conveying passage 7, khere is provided such an adjustment means 13 as shown in Figs. 3 - 5.
More in detail ! this apparatus 13 is so constructed that, on a machine base 14, there is provided a lifter 15 .
for lifting upwards the sub-assembly 2 conveyed thereinto, four clamp means 16 situated at the front, rear, left and right positions for holding in a predetermi.ned position -the subsidiary frame 2a of the lifted-up sub-assembly 2, a pair of left and right knuckle supporting means 17 for being brought into abutment with the respective lower arms d and serving to push upwards and support the respective knuckle arms b, in relation to the subsidiary frame 2a, at the same swung movement positions as those obtained at the time of actually assembling of the sub-assembly to tne vehicle body, and a pair of left and right knuckle positioning means 18, each having an engaging member 18a for being inserted from above into and in engagement with a joint portion which is an upper end of each knuckle arm b.
The engaging member 18a is so arranged as to be adjust-able in position in accordance with a position for attach-ing the upper arm attached to the vehicle body by means of ~ 3~4~;~2 a cross slider 18b, and thus, by the knuckle supporting means 17 and the knuckle positioning means 18, there is established such a simulation means that the knuckle arm b may be so held in relation to the subsidiary frame 2a as to have the same positions as those obtained at the time o~
actually assemblying o~ the sub-assembly to the vehicle body.
Additionally, there is provided, on the machine base ~4, a pair of first detecting means 19, 1~ for detecting toe and camber which are located to face the left and right disk rotors a, a, a pair of second detecting means 20, 20 for detecting caster which are located to face the left and right knuckle arms b, b, and a steering positioning means 21 for detecting a neutral position of the foregoing steer-ing mechanism and serving to ~eep the same at the neutral position.
This will be explained more in detail with reference to Figs. 6 and 7 as follows:-Namely, each of the clamp means 16 is so constructedthat a receiving seat 16b having a positioning pin 16a ~or the subsidiary frame 2a is so provided as to be movable to rise and fall by a cylinder 16c, and a clamp arm 16e arranged to be moved with a cylinder 16d is attached to the receiv- -ing seat 16b. So that the clamp means is operated in such a manner that, under the cohdi~ion that the sub-assembly 2 is lefted up by the lifter 15, the receiving seat 16b there-o~ is raised, and the lifter 15 is then lowered, so that the subsidiary ~rame 2a is received on the receiving seat _g_ ~3(~4~2 16b, and thereafter the clamp arm 16e is closed to hold the subsidiary frame 2a at the predetermined position~
The knuckle supporting means 17 on each side is so constructed that there is provided a guide block 17b which is movable upwards and downwards by a cylinder 17a and an abutment seat 17c which is brought into abutment with a lower surface of the lower arm d is so provided on the guide block 17b, through a bearing 17d, as to be movable freely in the front and rear directions.
Additionally, the foregoing ~nuckle positioning means 18 on each side is so constructed that a machine frame 14a vertically provided on the machine base 1~ is provided with a slider 18d which is movable downwards to a predetermind position by an operation of a toggle lever 18c, and the fore-going engaging member 18a is attached through the foregoing cross slider 18b, which comprises a first movable mernber 18bl movable for adjustment in the front and rear directions and a second movable member 18b2 movable for adjustment in the left and right directions, to a lower end of a rod 18e ex-tending vertically downwards from the slider 18d so that, by the corss slider 18b, the engaging rnember 18 may be adjustable in position in either of front, rear, left and right directions. Numeral 18f denotes a cylinder for upward-ly moving the slider 18d.
The foregoing first detecting means 19 on each side is so constructed that a detecting head l9c facing the disk rotor a is so supported as to be movable forwards and rearwards ~3~1~L222 on a slide base l9b which is movable to advance and retreat by a cylinder l9a in relation to the disk rotor a side9 and a centering pin l9d for mounting into an axle center of the disk rotor a, a pair of front and rear toe cletecting elements l9e, l9e~ each comprising a non-contact type distance sensor, and a pair of upper and lower camber detecting elements l9f, l9f, each comprising also a non-contact type distance sensor, are attached to the head l9c, so that under the condition that the head l9c is positioned in relation to the disk rotor _ by the centering pin l9d, the distance in rela-tion to a wheel attaching standard surface al of the rotor a may be measured by each element l9e, l9f, and thereby the toe may be calculated from the difference between the mesured values obtained by the pair of the detecting elements 19e, l9e, and the camber may be calculated from the difference between the measured values obtained by the pair of camber detecting elements 19f, l9f.
The second detecting means 20 on each side is so.
constructed that a caster detecting element 20d comprising a non-contact type distance sensor is attached to a detect-ing head 20c which is movable to advance and retreat to and from a position facing a caster measuring surface bl (shown in Fig. 9) on a front side of the knuckle arm b, by a cylinder 20a and a guide bar 20b so that the distance in relation to the measuring surface bl may be measured by the detecting element 20d, and the caster may be calculated from this measured value.
~, .
42;~:~
The foregoing steering positioning means 21 comprises, as shown clearly i.n Fig. 8, a socket 21a for engagi.ng a pinion shaft j which is situated on an input side of the steering shaft and projects from a rear beam of the subsidiary frame Za, a motor 21b for turning the socket 21a in regular and reverse directions, and a detecting device 21c for detect-ing a turning angle of the socket 21a.
More in detail, on the machine frame 14a there is provid-ed a swingable frame 21e which is swingably movable between its upper escaped position and its lower operative position by a cylinder 21d, and the motor 21b with a reduction gear is mounted on the swingable frame 21e, and a spline shaft 21g connected through a torque-limiter 21f to the motor 21b is extended downwards through a guide sleeve 21e' extending from the swingable frame 21e, and the socket 21a is so connected to a lower end of the shaft 21g as to be movable upwards and downwards, and a gear 21h having teeth which are equal in number to the serrations. of the pinion shaft j is attached to an upper end portion of the shaft 21g, and an approximation switch 21i is attached to such a position of the swingable frame 21e that faces a circumferential surface of the gear 21h so as to constitute the foregoing detecting device 21c so that the number of the teeth of the gear 21h passing across the front surface of the switch 21i may be counted by a counter connected to the switch 21i, and there-by the turning angle of the socket 21a may be detected.
Referring to the drawings, numeral 21j denotes each of " ~ 3~22~
lock rings which are so provided on the lower end portion of -the guide sleeve 21e' as to be in two upper and lower stages so that the socket 21a may be retained resiliently at its two upper and lower positions by these rings 21j, 21j, and thus the socket 21a may be brought into engagement with the pinion shaft j when moved downwards manually to its lower position.
Next, the adjustment procedures using the foregoing adjustment apparatus will be explained as follows:-Firstly, the subsidiary frame 2a of the sub-assembly 2 is lifted up by the lifter 15 and is held at its predeter-mined position in position by the respective clamp means 16. Thereafter, the knuckle arm b on each side is pushed upwards by each knùckle supporting means 17, to its swung position obtained at the time when the vehicle body weight is applied thereto~ that is, the same position thereof obtained when the sub-assembly is actually assembled to the vehicle body. Thereafter, khe engaging member 18a of each : knuckle positioning means 18 is lowered by operation of the toggle lever 18c, and is brought into engagement with the joint portion, which is to be ~ointed with the upper arm c, of the upper end of each knuckle arm b. At this stage, in accordance with such a deviation in any of front, rear, left and right directions, of the.attaching position of the upper arm c to the vehicle body ~rom a reference position, that has been previously detected by the measuring means 10, the first movable member 18bl and/or the second movable member ~,, ~.3~ 2 18b2 of the cross slider 18b are moved for adjus-tment, whereby the positional relation of the engaging member 18a with the subsidiary frame 2a is set to be equal to the positional relation of the knuckle joint portion of the upper :arm c actually attached to the motorcar with the subsidiary frame 2a.
By this way, the knuckle arm b constituting one of the suspension component members is held at the same position in relation to the subsidiary frame 2a, as that obtained at the time of actually assembling thereo~ to the vehicle body.
Thereafter, the neutral position of the steering mechanism is detected by the steering positioning...means 21~
and thereby the steering mechanism is set in this neutral position.
This detecting and keeping of the neutral position is carried out in such a manner as described below. Namely, the socket 21a is brought into engagement with the pinion shaft ;, and by operation of the motor 21b, the socket 21a ia turned to a lock position thereof on such one side that the shaft j is locked by movement of a rack of the steering mechanism moved in conjunction with the shaft j, to its stroke end on one side, and thereafter the socket 21a is turned to such a lock position thereof on such other side that the sha~t j is locked by movement of the rack to its other stroke end, and a turning angle q.of.the socket..2.1a between .the two.
lock positions is detected by the detecting device 21c, and then the socket 21a is turned in reverse by 9/2 from the ~14~
" ~L3~2~ -lock position on the other side by such a manner that the motor 21b is controlled by a control means (not illustrated).
When the phase of the serration of the pinion shaft j is detected from the position of the teeth o~ the gear 21h constituting the detecting device 21c, and when the socket 21a is turned in reverse by ~/2 as above, if the serration of the shaft j is not positioned at a predetermined phase which is connectable to the steering shaft with the handle being set in a straight running position, the socket 21a is further turned within the range of an angle of one pitch of the serration, and when the serration becomes the ~ore-going predetermined phase, the turning of the socket 21a is stopped, and this position is made the neutral position of the steering mechanism, Thereafter, the toe, the camber and the caster of the left and right wheels are detected by the first and second detecting means 19, 20, and the toe adjustment is carried out by expansion and contraction operations of the tie rods g so that the toes of the left and right wheels may be made equal one to another, and in.addition the adjustment of . the camber and that of the caster are carried out by opera-tions of the lower arm d and the radious rod f.
If the deviation of the subsidiary frame attaching open-ing of the vehicle body 1 from the reference position becomes so large that the opening cannot be met with the opening of the bolt insertion opening of the subsidiary frame 2a, the subsidiary frame 2a cannot be so attacched to the vehicle ~ 3~2;~
body at its reference position. In this case, the positiono~ the engaging member 18a and the aimed adjustment of the ~llgnment are calculated by the foregoing Dmputer lOd, while taking the deviation of the attaching position of the subsidiary frame 2a into account, and an adjustment opera-tion basing on the calculated resultant values is carried out.
The allignment adjustment at the ~lignment ad~ustment station 11 provided on the front suspension conveying passage 7 has been explained as above.
Almost the ad~ustment means which is the same as above, but does not need the steering positioning means is provided also at the alignmellt adjustment station 12 provided on the rear suspension conveying passage 8, and at the station 12 the knuckle arm b of the rear suspension is set in posi-tion in accordance with such a deviation of the attached position of the rear upper arm c to the vehicle body 7 from a reference position that has been measured at the measur-ing station 9, so that an alignment adjustment is performed.
The front side and rear side suspension sub-assemblie 2, 3 applied with the respective allignment adjustments as mentioned above are, then, conveyed into the assembling station 5 and are assembled to the vehicle body 1~ whereby there is resulted the alignrnent adjustment working at the stage of complete car becomes unnecessary. Additionally, if, under the condition that the steering mechanism is set ~ 3~22~
in its neutral position, the steering shaft, with its steer-ing handle being set in its straight running position, is connected to the pinion shaft j, the left and right steering angles of the handle become equal, and a steering angle adjustment at the stage of complete car becomes unnecessary, either.
With vehicle bodies manufactured by the same press lot, there takes place no change in a value of dispersion in attach-ing position of the upper arm c from the references position.
When7 however, the vehicle bodies are manufactured by a di~ferent press lot, there is caused varied dispersion in attaching position of the upper arm c. Therefore, it is newly necessary that measuring at the measuring station 9 and the alignrilent adjustments at the adjustment stations 11, 12 as mentioned above are carried out, and basing on this adjustment~values, the allgnmel~t adjustments of the subsequent sub-assemblies 2, 3 are carried out.
Thus, according to this invention, prior to attaching of the sub-assembly to the vehicle body the deviation of the suspension attaching position of the vehicle body from a reference position is measured, and suc.h ~ an alignr"ellt.adjustment of me suspension sub-assembly that takes this.deviation.into account is carried out, and thereafter the sub-assembly thus adjusted in wheel alignl~ent is assembled to the vehicle body, so that the wheel allgnillent. adjustment after the completion of a motor-car becomes unnecessary, to result in a large improvement in productivity of the vehicles.
Claims (6)
1. A process for adjusting alignment of a suspension sub-assembly having a pair of wheel mounting elements suspended from a subsidiary frame relative to a vehicle body which includes means thereon for attaching said sub-assembly thereto comprising the steps of: measuring the position of said means on said vehicle body for attaching said sub-assembly to said vehicle body, detecting the extent to which said means for attaching said sub-assembly deviates from a reference position for said means for attaching said sub-assembly to said vehicle body, mounting said suspension sub-assembly to apparatus adapted to hold said suspension sub-assembly with said wheel mounting elements oriented the same as though said suspension sub-assembly were attached to said vehicle body, and adjusting the orientation of said wheel mounting elements relative to said subsidiary frame to compensate for the extent to which said means for attaching said sub-assembly deviates from said reference position whereby the wheel mounting elements of the adjusted sub-assembly will have a predetermined orientation relative to the vehicle body when the sub-assembly is attached to said vehicle body.
2. The process for adjusting alignment of a suspension subassembly as defined by claim 1 wherein said wheel mounting elements are suspended from said subsidiary frame by components permitting controlled resilient movement relative to said subsidiary frame and including adjusting the position of said components relative to said subsidiary frame to compensate for the extent to which said means for attaching said sub-assembly deviates from said reference position.
3. The process for adjusting alignment of a suspension subassembly as defined by claim 2 wherein said sub-assembly includes a steering mechanism and including detecting a neutral position of said steering mechanism and maintaining said steering mechanism at said neutral position during said adjusting of the position of said components relative to said subsidiary frame.
4. A jig apparatus for carrying out an alignment adjustment prior to assembly to a vehicle body of a suspension sub-assembly comprising laterally spaced apart wheel attaching members, one for each side of the vehicle body, attached to a subsidiary frame through suspension component members, said apparatus comprising clamp means on a machine base for clamping and setting the subsidiary frame in a holding position similar to that which it occupies when mounted on the vehicle body, detecting means for detecting the wheel alignment of the wheel attaching members on the suspension sub-assembly, and means for setting the suspension component members into their correct positions on the subsidiary frame so that when the subsidiary frame is mounted on the vehicle body the wheel attaching members will be properly aligned.
5. A jig apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the suspension component members are those of a double wishbone suspension having a pair of knuckle arms; wherein the simulation means comprises a pair of knuckle supporting means for pushing upwards and supporting respective knuckle arms in relation to the subsidiary frame, causing them to swing into the same positions as those obtained at the time of actual assembling thereof to the vehicle body, and a pair of knuckle positioning means each having a positional adjustment engaging member for engaging an upper portion of the knuckle arm on each side; and wherein the detecting means for alignment comprises first detecting means for detecting toe-in/toe-out and camber, sensing the wheel attaching member position on each side, and second detecting means for detecting caster, sensing the respective knuckle arm positions.
6. A jig apparatus as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein there is provided, on the machine base, a steering position means which comprises a socket for engaging an input pinion shaft of the steering mechanism assembled to the sub-assembly, a motor for turning the socket in regular and reverse directions thereof, and a detecting device for detecting a turning angle of the socket.
Applications Claiming Priority (6)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP61151736A JPS638082A (en) | 1986-06-30 | 1986-06-30 | Suspension assembling method |
| JP99034/1986 | 1986-06-30 | ||
| JP151736/1986 | 1986-06-30 | ||
| JP9903486U JPH0310127Y2 (en) | 1986-06-30 | 1986-06-30 | |
| JP61154213A JPH0659855B2 (en) | 1986-07-02 | 1986-07-02 | Wheel toe adjuster |
| JP154213/1986 | 1986-07-02 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1304222C true CA1304222C (en) | 1992-06-30 |
Family
ID=27308839
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000540773A Expired - Fee Related CA1304222C (en) | 1986-06-30 | 1987-06-29 | Suspension alignment adjustment process and apparatus therefor |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1304222C (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2193693B (en) |
Families Citing this family (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA2032182C (en) * | 1989-12-20 | 1996-05-14 | Katuo Kotake | Method of and apparatus for assembling exterior parts of a motorcar |
| DE19506413A1 (en) * | 1995-02-24 | 1996-08-29 | Opel Adam Ag | Rear axle for a motor vehicle |
| DE19608577C2 (en) | 1996-03-06 | 2000-11-30 | Daimler Chrysler Ag | Procedure for assembling wheel heads or wheel carriers |
| GB201421435D0 (en) * | 2014-12-02 | 2015-01-14 | Scott Warren | Motorised karts |
| CN108132033B (en) * | 2017-12-15 | 2024-01-05 | 上汽通用五菱汽车股份有限公司 | Automobile chassis rear suspension part assembly simulation detection tool and detection analysis method |
| CN107883906B (en) * | 2017-12-19 | 2023-09-15 | 上汽通用五菱汽车股份有限公司 | Automobile chassis simulation detection tool |
| CN113218270B (en) * | 2021-04-20 | 2023-05-23 | 重庆长安汽车股份有限公司 | Split type white automobile body front end module opening gauge |
-
1987
- 1987-06-29 CA CA000540773A patent/CA1304222C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1987-06-29 GB GB8715224A patent/GB2193693B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB8715224D0 (en) | 1987-08-05 |
| GB2193693B (en) | 1990-01-24 |
| GB2193693A (en) | 1988-02-17 |
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| MKLA | Lapsed |