JP2001047830A - Rear suspension device of bus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve rigidity with respect to rolling and convergence of the rolling. SOLUTION: This suspension device of bus comprises each of bellows 24 as an air spring disposed just under each of side members 10a (one of components of a frame 10) formed into an approximately linear shape and having a rear axle housing 28 attached thereto, and shock absorbers 30 interposed between the rear axle housing 28 and each of the side members 10a for damping vibration of the bellows 24. In this device, each of the shock absorbers 30 is disposed at an outside of a vehicle with respect to the side members 10a. By this constitution, since each mounting interval between the shock absorbers 30 becomes large, and mounting intervals of the shock absorbers becomes approximately equal to each other in a front and rear suspension devices, a front and back balance, rolling rigidity, and rolling convergence are improved, whereby riding quality and steering stability are enhanced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rear suspension device for a bus, and more particularly to a technique for improving rigidity of a roll and convergence of the roll.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a bus suspension device, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
The air springs 2a and 2b are arranged directly below the air springs, and a shock absorber 3 for damping the vibrations of the air springs 2a and 2b is provided.
A configuration having both a and 3b is known.

In order to reduce the floor while securing the width of the bus passage, a structure is adopted in which the shock absorber 3a of the front suspension device is disposed outside the side member 1a. In view of the fact that the bus entrance is provided at the front and center of the vehicle and the differential gear 5 is attached to the rear axle housing 4, it is considered effective to reduce the floor by using a front suspension device. It was because it was done.

[0004]

However, as shown in FIG. 4, the shock absorber 3a of the front suspension device is located outside the side member 1a, and the shock absorber 3b of the rear suspension device is located on the side member 1a.
When arranged in a inner, shock absorber mounting distance between the front and rear L _1, L ₂ becomes different. Therefore, the rear suspension device short shock absorber mounting distance L ₂ is inferior to convergence of the stiffness and the roll against the roll as compared with the front suspension system, improve the riding comfort and steering stability over the current state is difficult there were.

Therefore, in the present invention, in consideration of the conventional problems as described above, by reviewing the shock absorber mounting structure of the rear suspension device, the rigidity with respect to the rolls and the convergence of the rolls are improved, and the riding comfort and the operability are improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rear suspension device for a bus in which the vehicle is improved.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air spring having a rear axle housing mounted at one end of a substantially straight frame, and a rear axle housing attached to the frame. To dampen the vibration of the air spring,
A shock absorber interposed between the rear axle housing and a frame, wherein the shock absorber is disposed outside the vehicle with respect to the frame. And

According to this structure, the air spring is disposed substantially below the substantially linear frame, so that the weight of the sprung can be efficiently received by the air spring.
In addition, since the shock absorbers are disposed outside the vehicle with respect to the frame, the mounting intervals of the shock absorbers are widened, and the mounting intervals of the shock absorbers in the front and rear suspension devices are substantially equal, so that the front-rear balance is improved. At the same time, the roll rigidity and the roll convergence are improved. Further, there is no interference between the upper end of the shock absorber and the floor surface between the left and right frames, and the floor can be further lowered.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the upper ends of the air spring and the shock absorber are fixed to a frame via a common bracket.
According to this configuration, the number of parts and the cost can be reduced by fixing the upper ends of the air spring and the shock absorber to the frame via the common bracket.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a bus rear suspension device according to the present invention.

A general ladder type frame 10 is attached to the lower part of the body of the bus. The frame 10 includes two side members 10a disposed in the vehicle front-rear direction and substantially parallel to each other, and a plurality of cross members 10b disposed in the vehicle width direction so as to connect the side members 10a. Be composed. The side member 10a has a substantially linear shape when viewed from above at least at a portion where the rear suspension device 20 is attached (see FIG. 1A), and has a shape that is offset upward when viewed from the side. (See FIG. 1B).

Below the side member 10a, an upper end portion of a bellows 24 as an air spring is mounted via upper brackets 22a and 22b having a substantially L-shape fixed to the side surface of the side member 10a by welding or the like. Bellows 24
A lower bracket 26 is attached to the lower end so as to connect between two bellows 24 arranged in the vehicle longitudinal direction. A rear axle housing 28 is mounted on the upper surface of the middle part of the lower bracket 26.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1A, the bellows 24 is attached so as to be located directly below the side member 10a in order to efficiently receive the sprung weight. Further, between the bellows 24 located at the rear of the vehicle body and the rear axle housing 28, the side member 10
A shock absorber 30 that attenuates the vibration of the bellows 24 is attached to the outside of “a”. That is, the upper bracket 22b as a common bracket located at the rear of the vehicle body is extended forward and upward of the vehicle body, and the upper end of the shock absorber 30 is attached to the lower surface of the extended portion. On the other hand, the lower end of the shock absorber 30 is attached to the lower bracket 26. The shock absorber 30
Are approximately the same as the mounting intervals of the shock absorber of the front suspension device (not shown).

If the upper ends of the bellows 24 and the shock absorber 30 are attached to the side member 10a via the upper bracket 22b, the number of parts and the cost can be reduced.

The link mechanism of the rear suspension device 20 includes a pair of left and right V-rods 34 for connecting a front portion of the differential gear 28a and a bracket 32 fixed to the side member 10a, and a lower bracket located below the V-rod 34. 26 and a pair of right and left straight rods 36 connecting the front part and the bracket 32. The V rod 34 and the straight rod 36 are respectively
It is attached so as to be substantially parallel to the side member 10a.

Further, at the rear of the lower bracket 26,
A leveling valve 38 that adjusts the air supplied to the bellows 24 is connected via a lever 40 so that the ground height of the vehicle body is substantially the same irrespective of the number of passengers, luggage weight, and the like.

Reference numeral 42 not described above denotes a rear tire mounted on both ends of the rear axle housing 28. Rear suspension device 2 having such a configuration
According to 0, the mounting interval of the shock absorber is increased, so that the rigidity with respect to the roll and the convergence of the roll are improved. In addition, since the mounting intervals of the shock absorbers of the front and rear suspension devices are substantially equal, the front-rear balance is improved, and together with the improvement of the roll rigidity and the roll convergence, the riding comfort and the operability can be improved. .

Further, since the shock absorber 30 is attached to the outside of the side member 10a, the floor of the bus can be further reduced. That is, at the rear of the bus, the floor 50 generally rises toward the rear of the vehicle body, as shown in FIG. 2, in view of the fact that the differential gear is attached to the rear axle housing. In the conventional configuration in which the shock absorber 30 is disposed between the side members 10a, the lower surface of the floor 50 and the upper end of the shock absorber 30 interfere with each other as shown in FIG. It was difficult to make the floor lower than it is now.

However, by disposing the shock absorber 30 outside the side member 10a as in the present invention, interference between the lower surface of the floor 50 and the upper end of the shock absorber 30 is avoided, and as shown in FIG. The floor can be lowered while securing the width. Therefore, by adopting the rear suspension device 20 of the present invention, the rigidity with respect to the rolls and the convergence of the rolls are improved, and the front-rear balance is improved. Flooring is also possible.

In the embodiment described above,
Although the description has been made on the premise that two bellows are provided on the left and right sides of the rear suspension device, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.
The present invention is also applicable to a rear suspension device having a configuration in which the rear suspension devices are arranged one by one.

[0020]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the front-rear balance of the front and rear suspension devices is improved, and the roll stiffness and roll convergence are improved. Drivability can be improved. Also, there is no interference between the upper end of the shock absorber and the floor between the left and right frames,
The floor can be further reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the number of parts and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a rear suspension device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a limit of a floor-lowering according to a conventional technique

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a floor-lowering effect according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a mounting position of a shock absorber in a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Frame 10a Side member 20 Rear suspension device 22b Upper bracket 24 Bellows 28 Rear axle housing 30 Shock absorber

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An air spring which is disposed substantially below a substantially linear frame and has a rear axle housing attached to one end thereof, and a rear axle housing and a frame for damping vibration of the air spring. And a shock absorber interposed between the rear suspension apparatus and the bus, wherein the shock absorber is disposed outside the vehicle with respect to the frame. apparatus. 2. The rear suspension device for a bus according to claim 1, wherein upper ends of the air spring and the shock absorber are fixed to a frame via a common bracket.