JP2002144838A - Air suspension device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air suspension device compensating for the capacity of respective air springs without separately arranging new tank equipment. SOLUTION: In this air suspension device having a stabilizer bar 8 composed of a hollow shaft, an inside space of the stabilizer bar 8 is formed as a surge tank 15 compensating for the capacity of the respective air springs 5, and the surge tank 15 is connected to the respective air springs 5 so as to communicate with each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air suspension device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example of a rear suspension structure for a large vehicle such as a truck or a bus, which is provided below a pair of left and right frames 1 extending in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 3) of the vehicle body. An axle 3 extending in the vehicle width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 4) and supporting the wheel 2 at both ends thereof is disposed, and is integrally assembled to a lower surface near an end of the axle 3. An air spring 5 for absorbing vertical vibration is interposed between the front and rear ends of the support beam 4 and the lower surface of the frame 1.

[0003] An air spring 5 arranged on the front side is also provided.
A bracket 6 extending downward is attached to the frame 1 further forward of the vehicle, and a space between a lower end of the bracket 6 and an intermediate portion of the support beam 4 is tilted by a stabilizer 7 that increases roll rigidity of the vehicle body. They are freely connected.

That is, the stabilizer 7 shown in FIG.
Is generally referred to as a lower rod-integrated stabilizer, and includes a stabilizer bar 8 composed of a hollow pipe (hollow shaft) rotatably installed between lower end portions of left and right brackets 6, and a stabilizer bar 8. And an arm 9 connected to a bracket 10 provided at an intermediate portion of the support beam 4 via a rubber bush. When the left and right wheels 2 move up and down simultaneously, the stabilizer bar 8 rotates with respect to the bracket 6 and the stabilizer 7 does not particularly work. When the left and right wheels 2 move up and down differently, a torsional moment acts on the stabilizer bar 8 and the reaction force acts to return the left and right wheels 2 to the original position. It has become.

The arm 9 of the stabilizer 7
Also has a function of determining the position and angle of the axle 3 as a lower torque rod, so that it is not necessary to separately provide a lower torque rod.

[0006] Further, an intermediate portion of the support beam 4,
The upper frame 1 is connected to the frame 1 by a shock absorber 11 extending in the vertical direction. The shock absorber 11 suppresses the rebound of the vibration in the vertical direction so that the vibration is damped.

[0007] The upper surface of the central portion of the axle 3 and the inner surfaces of the left and right frames 1 are connected by a V rod 12 functioning as an upper torque rod. Branch ends 12a (front ends) of the rods 12 are connected to brackets 13 extending from inner surfaces of the left and right frames 1 via rubber bushes, and a bent end in the center of the V rod 12. 12b
The rear end is connected to a bracket 14 provided above the central portion of the axle 3 via a rubber bush.

In such an air suspension device, a considerably large air spring 5 is required to support a heavy vehicle body of a large vehicle, and such a large air spring 5 is provided between the frame 1 and the support beam 4. When it is difficult to install the air spring in a narrow space, a surge tank (not shown) for supplementing the capacity of each air spring 5 is separately provided, and the surge tank is connected to each air spring 5 to reduce the amount of working air. By increasing, the spring constant of each air spring 5 is reduced to improve the suspension performance.

[0009]

However, the addition and installation of a new tank facility as a surge tank leads to a drastic increase in cost, and also increases the number of new components to be mounted. There is also a problem that an increase in vehicle weight cannot be avoided.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an air suspension device capable of supplementing the capacity of each air spring without separately providing a new tank facility.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided an air suspension device having a stabilizer bar comprising a hollow shaft, wherein the internal space of the stabilizer bar is formed as a surge tank for supplementing the capacity of each air spring. Are connected to the respective air springs so as to communicate with each other.

Thus, by using the internal space of the stabilizer bar, which has not been used in the past, as a surge tank, the capacity of each air spring can be compensated and the spring constant can be reduced to a desired value. It is possible to lower the tank, and it is not necessary to add and install new tank equipment.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and the portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 3 and 4 represent the same components.

With respect to the air suspension device constructed substantially in the same manner as in FIGS. 3 and 4, in this embodiment,
As shown in FIG. 1, the internal space of the stabilizer bar 8 composed of a hollow shaft is formed as a surge tank 15 for supplementing the capacity of each air spring 5 (see FIG. 2).
5 are connected to the respective air springs 5 via communication lines 16 so that the air springs 5 communicate with each other.

That is, the system diagram of the working air in the air suspension device of this embodiment is as shown in FIG. 2, and the air tank 17 for storing the working air supplied from an air compressor (not shown) is used as an air supply source. Working air is supplied from 17 to each air spring 5 via a leveling valve 18, and a communication line 16 from the surge tank 15 branches to each air spring 5 on the downstream side of the leveling valve 18. It is connected to the previous air supply line 19.

Here, the leveling valve 18 in FIG.
The main body is attached to the vehicle body side, and the rod 18a mounted on the main body is attached to the axle side so as to operate mechanically according to the height of the vehicle, and when the load increases and the vehicle height decreases, By operating the rod 18a, working air is replenished from the air tank 17 to each air spring 5, so that the vehicle height is maintained and at the same time the air springs 5 are hardened so that the load can be firmly supported. When the vehicle height decreases and the vehicle height rises, the rod 18a is actuated to release air from each air spring 5, thereby softening each air spring 5 to improve ride comfort. .

Incidentally, in recent years, the leveling valve 1
Some vehicles have an air suspension control valve downstream of the control valve 8 so that the driver can arbitrarily change the vehicle height. In the case of such a vehicle, each air spring at the exit side of the control valve is provided. The connection line 16 from the surge tank 15 may be connected to the flow path portion before branching to 5.

According to this structure, the internal space of the stabilizer bar 8 which has not been used at all in the past can be used as the surge tank 15.
It is possible to reduce the spring constant to a desired value by compensating for the capacity of each air spring 5, and it is not necessary to add and install new tank equipment.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, the capacity of each air spring 5 can be supplemented by using the internal space of the stabilizer bar 8 as the surge tank 15 without separately providing a new tank facility. Suspension performance can be improved without causing a significant increase in cost or increase in vehicle weight.

Note that the air suspension device of the present invention
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0022]

According to the above-described air suspension device of the present invention, the capacity of each air spring can be supplemented by using the internal space of the stabilizer bar as a surge tank without providing a new tank facility. As a result, it is possible to achieve an excellent effect that the suspension performance can be improved without causing a significant increase in cost and an increase in vehicle weight.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an embodiment for implementing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of working air in the air suspension device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an example of a rear suspension structure in a large vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a plan view seen from the IV-IV direction in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Air spring 8 Stabilizer bar 15 Surge tank

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air suspension device having a stabilizer bar formed of a hollow shaft, wherein an inner space of the stabilizer bar is formed as a surge tank for supplementing the capacity of each air spring, and the surge tank is mutually connected to each of the air springs. An air suspension device, wherein the air suspension device is connected so as to communicate with each other.