JP2000071710A - Wheel support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain high rigidity while preventing a decrease of ease in disassembly and assembly by having an axle and an axle hub formed integrally with a plurality of knuckle structural portions formed covering the outer periphery of the axle hub circumferentially, each in a different position. SOLUTION: This device 10 is applicable to a driving wheel provided with a drive shaft 23. In the device 10, a drive shaft outer race portion 4a and a central portion (axle) of a base portion 4c of an axle 4 which rotate together are integrally formed with a hub portion 4b and an outer peripheral portion (axle hub) of the base portion. Therefore, the rigidity of the device 10 is high since it is not necessary to connect them. The knuckle 30 is formed of two knuckle structural portions 30a, 30b which cover above and below the outer periphery of the base portion 4c of the axle 4. During disassembly, if the knuckles structural portions 30a, 30b are disconnected, the drive shaft 23 and the axle 4 are able to be removed from the vehicle body while still connected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheel supporting device for supporting wheels of a vehicle.

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-43110, an axle 21 rotating integrally with a wheel, and an axle hub connected to the axle by a fastening means 24 and attached to the wheel 2. Description of the Related Art A wheel supporting device including a wheel 26 and a knuckle 30 that rotatably supports the axle hub 26 via a bearing 29 is known.

[0002]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional wheel supporting device, the axle 21 and the axle hub 26 are formed separately, and the knuckle 30 is formed.
Consists of one member. That is, the fastening means 24 exists between the axle 21 which is a rotating part and the axle hub 26 which is also a rotating part, and there is a problem that it is difficult to increase the rigidity of the wheel supporting device. To solve this problem, when the axle 21 and the axle hub 26 are integrated to increase the rigidity of the wheel support device, the axle hub 26
The knuckle 30 that covers the wheel support device is made of one member, which causes a problem that the disassembly and assemblability of the wheel support device is reduced.

[0003] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object to be solved by the present invention is to increase the rigidity of a wheel supporting device by integrally forming an axle and an axle hub that rotate together. Another object of the present invention is to prevent a reduction in disassembly and assemblability of a wheel support device due to integration of an axle and an axle hub by configuring a knuckle with a plurality of parts.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 includes an axle that rotates integrally with a wheel, an axle hub connected to the axle and to which the wheel is attached, and an axle hub. A knuckle rotatably supported via a bearing, wherein the axle and the axle hub are integrally formed, and the knuckle covers an outer periphery of the axle hub at different positions in a circumferential direction from each other. The knuckle constituting section is characterized in that:

In the wheel supporting apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the axle and the axle hub which rotate together are formed integrally, there is no need to connect the both using conventional fastening means. Therefore, high rigidity of the wheel support device can be realized, and the knuckle is constituted by a plurality of knuckle components that cover the outer circumference of the axle hub at different positions in the circumferential direction, so that the axle and the axle hub are integrally formed. As a result, the disassembly and assemblability of the wheel support device does not decrease.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a wheel support device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. This wheel support device 10 in the present embodiment
Is applied to a drive wheel having a drive shaft 23. FIG. 2 shows the entire configuration of a one-wheel suspension employing the wheel support device 10.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an axle. The axle 4 includes a base 4c whose outer periphery is covered with a knuckle 30, and a drive shaft on the vehicle inner side of the base 4c, to which rotational force of a constant velocity joint 22 described later is transmitted. Outer race part 4a
And the disk rotor 2 on the outside of the vehicle with respect to the base 4c.
8, and a hub 4b to which the wheels 7 and the like are attached are integrally formed. When these parts are compared with the components of the conventional example shown in FIG. 5, a part (center part) of the drive shaft outer race part 4a and the base part 4c in the present embodiment is attached to the conventional axle 21.
The outer peripheral portion of the base portion 4c and the hub portion 4b form the axle hub 26. That is, in the present embodiment, the axle 21 and the axle hub 26 in the conventional example are integrally formed.

The upper half of the vehicle and the lower half of the vehicle around the outer periphery of the base 4c are covered by an upper knuckle forming part 30a and a lower knuckle forming part 30b via a bearing 29, respectively. The bearing 29 is composed of a plurality of balls 29a and a bearing outer race 29b for holding the balls between the base 4c, and the bearing outer race 29b passes through an insertion hole (not shown) provided in the axle axis L direction. The upper knuckle forming section 30a and the lower knuckle forming section 30b are fastened and fixed to four screw holes 50 (see FIG. 3) provided on the outer side of the vehicle by four bolts 32. Although not described in detail, the bearing outer race 29b is also formed by fastening constituent members divided into upper and lower portions of the vehicle in the same manner as the knuckle 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper knuckle forming part 30a and the lower knuckle forming part 30b are moved in a direction perpendicular to the axle axis L by two bolts 33 and 34 which are arranged apart from each other in the front and rear of the vehicle. Has been concluded. Reference numeral 50 denotes a screw hole for fixing the bearing outer race 29b. The upper knuckle forming section 30a and the lower knuckle forming section 30b constitute a "knuckle" in the claims. In addition, a tie rod (not shown) is connected to the socket 40 via a ball joint (not shown), and forms a part of a steering mechanism having a function of converting a driver's steering operation into steering of wheels. Also,
The socket 40 may be connected to a tie rod (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper knuckle forming portion 30a is connected to the shock absorber 12 via a connecting member 11 on the upper side.
Is connected to a vehicle body 14 via an upper mount insulator 13. A spring 15 is arranged coaxially with the shock absorber. The lower knuckle forming section 30b is connected to the lower arm 35 via a ball joint 37. However, the form of the suspension is not limited to this, and the present invention is applicable to various suspensions such as a double wishbone type.

The hub portion 4b is formed in a flange shape, and the disc rotor 28 of the disc brake is fixed to the hub portion 4b by a plurality of hub bolts 36. The wheel 7 is connected to the hub portion 4 by the hub bolt 36.
b and the disk rotor 28.

On the other hand, a constant velocity joint 2 is provided on a drive shaft outer race portion 4a on the vehicle inward side of the axle 4.
A drive shaft 23 is connected to the axle 4 via a drive shaft 23. The rotational force of the drive shaft 23 is converted by the constant velocity joint 22 into a rotational force coaxial with the axle axis L, transmitted to the base 4c of the axle 4, and further rotated. Force is hub part 4b
To the wheels 7 via Axle 4 is bearing 29
The ball 29a can rotate independently of the bearing outer race 29b of the bearing 29.
That is, the axle 4 is rotatably supported by the knuckle 30 via the bearing 29.

Next, the operation of the wheel support device 10 having the above configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, in the wheel support device 10 according to the present embodiment, the drive shaft outer race portion 4 a of the axle 4 that rotates together.
In addition, since the central portion (conventional axle) of the base portion 4c and the outer peripheral portions (conventional axle hub) of the hub portion 4b and the base portion 4c are integrally formed, it is necessary to connect them using conventional fastening means. The rigidity of the wheel support device 10 is high because there is no such a problem, that is, a fastening portion is not required in a portion related to the rotation of the wheel.

The knuckle 30 is composed of two knuckle components 30 which vertically cover the outer periphery of the base 4c of the axle 4.
a, 30b, for example, when disassembling the wheel supporting device 10, the knuckle components 30a, 30b
Is released, the drive shaft 23 and the axle 4 can be removed from the vehicle body in a connected state.

As an example, consider a case where a problem occurs on the engine side of the drive shaft 23 (left side in FIG. 1) and the drive shaft 23 needs to be removed from the vehicle body.
Generally, disassembly of a drive shaft and an axle is a complicated operation because it is necessary to remove the drive shaft from a constant velocity joint. If the knuckle is not divided vertically as in the present embodiment, the drive shaft 23 must be removed from the axle 4 and the disassembly workability is deteriorated. In this embodiment, the knuckle 30 is divided vertically. Therefore, if the knuckle 30 is released, the drive shaft 23 can be separated from the vehicle body without removing the knuckle 30 from the constant velocity joint 22, and a reduction in workability due to the integration of the axle and the axle hub can be avoided. The same applies to the assembly. That is, since the drive shaft outer race portion 4a, the base portion 4c, and the hub portion 4b are integrally formed, the disassembly and disassembly of the wheel support device 10 is performed.
The assemblability does not decrease.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the knuckle 30 and the bearing outer race 29b are provided.
The upper knuckle forming section 30a and the lower knuckle forming section 30b are provided with two fastening portions (screw holes 50). However, as shown in FIG.
a (or the lower knuckle forming section 30b) may be provided with all the fastening portions (screw holes 50). In this case, the offset of the upper and lower fastening portions in the axle axis L direction due to a processing error or the like is eliminated, and when the wheel supporting device is assembled,
Due to the offset described above, the intersecting tightening force of the fastening of the bearing outer race 29b parallel to the axle axis L and the knuckle component and the fastening of the upper and lower knuckle components perpendicular to the axle axis L causes the knuckle component 30a by the offset. 30b and the bearing outer race 29b do not become unreasonable loads.

Further, in the present embodiment, the bearing outer race 29b is configured to be fastened to the screw hole 50 on the outer side of the vehicle of the knuckle constituting portions 30a, 30b.
The bearing 29 may be press-fitted into the base 4c of the axle 4 and the knuckle 30 may cover the base 4c of the axle 4 from above. In this case, the bearing outer race 29b may not be divided as in the present embodiment, and may be formed integrally.

In this embodiment, the axle and the axle hub have been described as being completely integrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the invention can be applied to one that is substantially integrated by welding or the like. Also in this case, the bearing outer race 29b may not be divided as in the present embodiment.

Further, in the present embodiment, the knuckle constituting part is composed of two parts, upper and lower, but the direction of division is arbitrary such as division into left and right, and the present invention can be implemented with any number of divisions. .

The wheel supporting device of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, but may be used as a wheel supporting device for a driven wheel having no drive shaft. In this case, too, the fastening portion between the axle and the axle hub is used. Can be omitted, the rigidity of the wheel support device can be increased, and the disassembly and assemblability of the wheel support device, which may be caused by the integration, can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a wheel support device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a one-wheel suspension employing a wheel support device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a knuckle used in the wheel support device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a knuckle used in a wheel support device according to a modification of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a wheel support device according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 ... Axle 4a ... Drive shaft outer race part 4b ... Hub part 4c ... Base 7 ... Wheel 10 ... Wheel support device 11 ... Connection member 12 ... Shock absorber 13 ... upper mount insulator 14 ... body 15 ... spring 21 ... axle according to the conventional example 22 ... constant velocity joint 23 ... drive shaft 24 ... fastening means 26 ... axle hub 28 ... Disc rotor 29 ... Bearing 29a ... Ball 29b ... Bearing outer race 30 ... Knuckle 30a ... Upper knuckle component 30b ... Lower knuckle component 32,33,34 ...・ Bolt 35 ・ ・ ・ Lower arm 36 ・ ・ ・ Hub bolt 37 ・ ・ ・ Ball joint 40 ・ ・ ・ Socket 50 ・..Screw holes

Claims (1)

[Claims] An axle that rotates integrally with a wheel, an axle hub connected to the axle and to which the wheel is attached,
A knuckle that rotatably supports the axle hub via a bearing, wherein the axle and the axle hub are integrally formed, and the knuckle is provided at positions different from each other in a circumferential direction on an outer periphery of the axle hub. A wheel support device, comprising: a plurality of knuckle components covered by a knuckle.