JP2000211331A - Suspension device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a suspension device capable of significantly reducing a space for mounting a vehicle in a vertical direction and increasing a degree of freedom in vehicle design. A suspension device (1) includes a single-tube linear-motion damping damper (2), a damper body (3) formed substantially in an L-shape and fixed to a vehicle body (5), and a link member (4) formed in a substantially U-shape. And a lower arm 9 fixed to the link member 4. The damping damper 2 extends substantially coaxially along the axial direction of the lower arm 9, so that the space required for mounting the suspension device in the vehicle in the vertical direction can be significantly reduced, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in vehicle design. it can.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a suspension device mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in a vehicle such as an automobile, a suspension arm (or a suspension arm) extending between a vehicle body and an axle in a direction substantially horizontal to a road surface and swinging (turning) up and down with the up and down movement of the axle. An upper arm, a lower arm, etc.) and a damper that extends and contracts substantially perpendicular to the suspension arm as the axle moves up and down. The damping of the road surface by the damper improves ride comfort and steering stability.

[0003]

However, since the above-described suspension device requires a mounting space in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, there is a limit to mounting the suspension device on a sporty vehicle having a low front nose. Further, when designing the vehicle, it is necessary to consider the mounting space of the suspension device, which may hinder the degree of freedom of the vehicle design.

[0004] As described above, the conventional suspension device has a large space for mounting in the vertical direction, particularly in a vehicle, and thus it is desired to reduce the size of the suspension device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a suspension device capable of significantly reducing a vertical mounting space of a vehicle and increasing a degree of freedom in vehicle design. .

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to an arm which is pivotally supported at one end side on a vehicle body side and has wheels mounted on the other end side so as to be vertically rotatable. And an attachment portion integrally formed at one end of the arm, and a mounting portion that is vertically separated from a straight line connecting the rotation center of the arm and the wheel, and extends along an axial direction of the arm,
And a damper having one end rotatably connected to the mounting portion and the other end rotatably connected to the vehicle body.

As described above, since the damper is provided along the axial direction of the arm on the mounting portion formed integrally with the arm, the space for mounting the suspension device on the vehicle in the vertical direction can be reduced.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

The suspension device 1 is formed in a substantially U-shape with a single-cylinder linear-motion damping damper 2 (damper), a damper body 3 (car body side) formed substantially in an L shape and fixed to a vehicle body 5. Link member 4 (arm) and a lower arm 9 (arm).

The damper body 3 has a main body 3a having a body 5a.
Is fixed below by bolts 6, 6 to form a member on the vehicle body side. An eye 3b is formed on the right side of the main body 3a in the drawing, and a needle roller bearing 7 is provided on the eye 3b.
Is press-fitted and fixed. A hole 3c for connecting a mounting eye 21 provided on a cylinder 20 of the damping damper 2, which will be described later, is formed on the left side of the main body 3a in the drawing.

A link member 4 is rotatably connected (supported) to an eye 3b of the damper body 3 by a pin 8 penetrating a hole 4a formed in the link member 4 and a needle roller bearing 7. A hole 4b (mounting portion) for mounting a mounting eye 23 provided on a rod 22 of the damping damper 2, which will be described below, is provided below the link member 4 (on the distal end side).
Are drilled.

One end of a lower arm 9 is fixed to the link member 4 by welding or the like, and the link member 4 and the lower arm 9 constitute an arm that rotates vertically. The lower arm 9 is connected to the pin 8 via the link member 4.
Is pivoted up and down about the pivot point.

The hole 4b of the link member 4 is formed to be spaced downward from the straight line (not shown) connecting the pin 8, that is, the center of rotation of the lower arm 9 and a wheel 10 described later.

A wheel 10 is rotatably attached to the other end of the lower arm 9 via a spindle (not shown) or the like. A coil spring 12 is provided in a tire house 11 of the vehicle body 5, and the coil spring 12 is sandwiched between the vehicle body 5 and the lower arm 9.

A damping damper 2 is provided between the hole 3c of the damper body 3 and the hole 4b of the link member 4. The damping damper 2 extends substantially coaxially along the axial direction of the lower arm 9. As described above, since the damping damper 2 extends in the axial direction of the lower arm 9 and is mounted substantially horizontally on the vehicle, the vertical mounting space of the suspension device 1 on the vehicle can be significantly reduced.

The hole 3c, the hole 4a, and the hole 4b form a triangle with each apex as a vertex, and one side of the triangle formed by connecting the hole 4a and the hole 4b rotates to form a triangle.
The damping damper 2 provided between c and the hole 4b expands and contracts.

A needle roller bearing 13 is press-fitted and fixed to a mounting eye 21 provided on a cylinder 20 of the damping damper 2. The cylinder 20 side of the damping damper 2 has a hole 3 c through the needle roller bearing 13. It is rotatably connected to the vehicle body 5 side, that is, to the damper body 3 by a penetrating pin 14.

A needle roller bearing 15 is press-fitted and fixed to a mounting eye 23 provided on a rod 22 projecting from the damper 2 so as to extend and contract from the damper 2. Is rotatably connected to the link member 4 by a pin 16 passing through the hole 4b.

A piston 24 and a free piston 25 (partition wall) are slidably fitted inside the cylinder 20 of the damping damper 2. The piston 24 defines the inside of the cylinder 20 into an oil chamber A and an oil chamber B, and the free piston 25 defines the inside of the cylinder 20 into an oil chamber B and a gas chamber C.

The free piston 25 has a U-shaped cross section formed by press working or the like. The U-shaped opening is inserted into the cylinder 20 so as to face the right side (the piston 24 side) in the figure. An O-ring 26 for sealing between the oil chamber B and the gas chamber C is fitted on the outer periphery of the piston 25.

The piston 24 is provided with an extension side passage 24a (oil liquid passage) and a contraction side passage 24b (oil liquid passage) communicating between the oil chamber A and the oil chamber B. An extension damping valve 27 (a damping force generation mechanism) is provided on the oil chamber B side of the extension passage 24a, and the extension damping valve 27 moves the oil liquid from the oil chamber A to the oil chamber B during the extension stroke of the damping damper 2. Generates damping force when flowing. Further, a contraction-side damping valve 28 (damping force generating mechanism) is provided on the oil chamber A side of the contraction-side passage 24b, and the contraction-side damping valve 28 moves from the oil chamber B to the oil chamber A during the contraction stroke of the damping damper 2. A damping force is generated when the oil liquid flows.

A rod 22 is fixed to the piston 24 by a piston nut 29. The rod 22 extends outside the cylinder 20 via a rod guide 30 (guide). It should be noted that the free piston 25 moves with the extension and contraction of the rod 22 during the extension and contraction strokes of the damping damper 2.
Slides, and the gas sealed in the gas chamber C expands and contracts to compensate for a change in volume in the cylinder 20, and the gas chamber C is a reservoir chamber.

Here, since the damping damper 2 is a single-tube type linear motion damper in which the gas chamber C is defined by the free piston 25, there is no fear of gas being mixed into the oil liquid, and the mounting direction can be improved. Regardless of (vertical / horizontal), the degree of freedom of the mounting angle is increased.

The reference numeral 31 designates the oil in the oil chamber A
Numeral 32 denotes a dust seal for preventing leakage of dust and the like into the cylinder 20.

Here, since the damping damper 2 is provided at the center of rotation of the lower arm 9, the amount of expansion / contraction stroke of the damping damper 2 can be smaller than the amount of vertical movement stroke of the wheel 10, and the damping damper 2 Is small. Therefore, the damping force generated by the damping damper 2 is set to be larger than the damping force of a general damper mounted near the wheels of the vehicle.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

When the vehicle travels on an uneven road surface, the coil spring 12
When the wheel shrinks (when it passes through a convex part of the road surface), the wheel 1
0 approaches the vehicle body 5. Then, the suspension device 1
The link member 4 swings to the right side of the arrow in FIG. Along with this,
The damping damper 2 extends while slightly swinging upward in FIG. At this time, the oil liquid in the oil chamber A flows into the oil chamber B through the expansion-side passage 24a, opening the expansion-side damping valve 27. The reduced volume of the rod 22 protruding outside the cylinder 20 is compensated by expanding the gas chamber C.

When the vehicle runs on an uneven road surface and the coil spring 12 extends (when the vehicle passes through a concave portion of the road surface), the wheels 10 separate from the vehicle body 5. Then, the link member 4 swings about the pin 8 as a rotation center to the left side of the arrow in FIG. 2 via the lower arm 9 of the suspension device 1. Accordingly, the damping damper 2 contracts while slightly swinging downward in FIG. At this time, the oil liquid in the oil chamber B flows into the oil chamber A through the contraction-side passage 24b, opening the contraction-side damping valve 28. The increased volume of the rod 22 penetrating into the cylinder 20 is compensated by reducing the size of the gas chamber C.

As described above, when the vehicle travels on an uneven road, the link member 4 swings via the lower arm 9 following the up-and-down movement of the wheel 10, and accordingly, the damping damper 2 expands and contracts to dampen. Since a force is generated, vibration of the vehicle body 5 can be suppressed.

In the above embodiment, the damping damper 2
Used a single cylinder type linear motion damper in which the gas chamber C is defined by the free piston 25. However, the invention is not limited to this, and a double cylinder type annular reservoir chamber is provided. A linear motion damper in which a gas chamber is defined by a conductive film may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the suspension device 1 is provided in the vehicle provided with the coil spring 12 in the longitudinal direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. By providing the suspension device 1 in a vehicle having a leaf spring or the like, the space for mounting the suspension device 1 in the vehicle in the vertical direction can be further reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, since a large force acts on each connection portion of the damping damper 2, the damper body 3 and the link member 4, a high rigidity needle is used to reduce backlash and elastic deformation as much as possible. Roller bearings are used, but when applied to lightweight vehicles such as mini vehicles or vehicles where the swing angle of the damper can be smaller, replace the needle roller bearings with a relatively large hardness. An elastic bush may be used.

The mounting direction of the damping damper 2 to the suspension device 1 may be reversed, that is, the rod 22 may be connected to the damper body 3 and the cylinder 20 may be connected to the link member 4.

Further, in the above embodiment, the link member 4 is fixed (integrally formed) to the lower arm 9 as an arm. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The link member 4 may be fixed to a suspension arm as a swinging arm, for example, a swinging upper arm of a double wishbone.

In the above-described embodiment, the damper body 3 is fixed to the vehicle body 5 and the lower arm 9 and the damping damper 2 are rotatably connected to the damper body 3 as members on the vehicle body side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A mounting bracket may be formed in advance on the vehicle body, and the lower arm 9 and the damping damper 2 may be rotatably connected to the mounting bracket. In this case, the damper body 3 may be omitted. it can.

Further, if there is enough space inside the vehicle body 5 for mounting the suspension device 1 to the vehicle, the link member 4 is turned upside down and fixed to the lower arm 9 so that the hole 4b is inserted into the vehicle body 5. The damper 2 may be disposed such that one end of the damper 2 is connected to the hole 4 b and the other end is connected to the inside of the vehicle body 5. And the damping damper 2
It may be arranged on either the left or right side of the hole 4b according to the internal shape of the vehicle body 5. In this case, since the damping damper is provided inside the vehicle body, the damping damper can be protected from dust, stepping stones, and the like.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a four-wheeled vehicle is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is swingably connected to a body frame (body side) of a motorcycle. A link member may be integrally formed at a connection portion of a rear arm (arm) supporting the rear wheel, and a damper may be provided between the link member and the vehicle body frame.

[0038]

As described above in detail, the present invention relates to an arm which is rotatably supported by one end of which is supported on the vehicle body side and which has a wheel mounted on the other end thereof, and which is rotatable in the vertical direction. A mounting portion formed integrally with the arm and vertically separated from a straight line connecting the center of rotation of the arm and the wheel, and extending along the axial direction of the arm, one end of which pivots on the mounting portion. And a damper rotatably connected to the vehicle body at the other end so that the damper is provided along the axial direction of the arm at a mounting portion formed integrally with the arm. Therefore, the space for mounting the suspension device on the vehicle in the vertical direction can be significantly reduced, and the degree of freedom in vehicle design can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a drawing in which a suspension device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a vehicle body.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a suspension device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Suspension device 2 Damping damper (damper) 3 Damper body (body side) 4 Link member (arm) 4a hole (mounting part) 5 Body 9 Lower arm (arm)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An arm, one end of which is rotatably supported on the vehicle body side and the other end of which is provided with wheels, and which can be turned in the vertical direction.
A mounting portion integrally formed at one end of the arm and vertically separated from a straight line connecting the center of rotation of the arm and the wheel, and extending along the axial direction of the arm; And a damper rotatably connected to the vehicle body and the other end rotatably connected to the vehicle body.