JP2002274134A - Spacer for wheel alignment adjustment of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spacer for wheel alignment adjustment that can inexpensively adjust a camber angle and a toe-in angle of a wheel of a vehicle. SOLUTION: The spacers 11 and 12 with thicknesses changing in opposite directions are placed on opposite sides of a bracket 2 of a suspension member 1. The spacer 11 changes the mounting angle of an axle hub 6 bolted to the bracket 2 to change the camber angle and toe-in angle of the wheel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spacer used for adjusting wheel alignment of a vehicle (vehicle).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Cars provide a straight running property, reduce a steering force, provide a restoring property to wheels after steering, prevent uneven wear of tires, and reduce a load and an impact applied to a suspension mechanism. In addition, it is necessary to keep the mounting angle of the wheels and the angle of the turning center at appropriate values, and this relationship is called wheel alignment.

There are four representative elements of the wheel alignment: caster, camber, toe, and kingpin angle.

When the caster angle is increased, the return of the steering wheel is improved, but the steering becomes heavy.

[0005] The camber angle makes the steering wheel operation easier, but the rolling direction of the wheel is shifted from the actual traveling direction of the vehicle.

The toe corrects the deviation. In the four-wheeled vehicle, the front and rear wheels are set to toe-in (so-called inner thigh state) in order to maintain running stability.

Further, the kingpin angle makes the return of the steering wheel easy and accurate. However, if this angle is too strong, the steering holding force during turning becomes large and the steering feeling becomes heavy.

Thus, casters, cambers, toes,
The kingpin angle has a close relationship in terms of vehicle maneuverability and steering stability. Therefore, these settings and adjustments are made by the car maker.

[0009]

Not all users are satisfied with the wheel alignment set by the manufacturer. Each person has different tastes for the operation feeling of the steering wheel.

[0010] In recent cars, the steering wheel can be operated with a light force due to the spread of power steering. However, if the steering force is to be further reduced, the basic setting angle of the caster cannot be changed due to its structure. Set camber angle (generally less than 1 °, normal cars have positive camber, sports cars have negative camber)
In order to increase steering, and conversely, to increase the steering and reduce uneven wear of the tire, it is necessary to reduce the camber angle.

It is necessary to correct the toe-in angle depending on the increase or decrease of the camber angle.

In response to this demand, there is a car in which both the camber and the toe or only the toe can be adjusted. For example, a car that uses a double wishbone type independent suspension suspension can adjust the camber and toe with a ball joint at the end of the lower arm and a pillow ball at the end of the upper arm, and a car that uses a strut type independent suspension. There is one that adjusts the toe of the front wheel (for FR vehicles) with a tie rod at the tip of the lower arm.

However, some commercial vehicles do not have a camber or toe adjustment mechanism and directly fix an axle hub to a bracket provided on a suspension member with bolts.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to adjust a camber and a toe of a vehicle not having the adjustment mechanism.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a pair of spacers which are applied to both surfaces of an axle hub mounting bracket provided on a suspension member. The two spacers used as a pair have thicknesses that vary in the same axial direction and in the opposite direction with the same inclination angle. The axle hub is fixed to the bracket with bolts penetrating the two spacers and the bracket. The mounting attitude of the axle hub is changed by one of the spacers interposed therebetween to adjust the toe or camber angle of the wheel.

It is also conceivable that the spacer has the thickness of two spacers forming a pair changed in the biaxial direction and in opposite directions at the same inclination angle.

[0017]

According to the spacer of the present invention, when the spacer whose thickness is changed in the vertical direction (up and down direction) is used, the camber angle of the wheel is changed, and when the spacer is changed in the horizontal direction (the front and rear direction of the car), the wheel is used. Changes the toe-in angle.

Further, when the thickness is changed in the vertical and horizontal directions, both the camber and the toe change. Therefore, the camber and the toe can be adjusted.

Further, according to the present invention, since two spacers whose thickness changes in opposite directions are used as a pair, the deviation of the axis between the mounting bolt and the bolt screwing screw hole provided in the axle hub is absorbed. , The axle hub fixing is stable,
Bolts to which unnecessary bending loads are applied are also prevented.

Also, the use of the spacer causes the mounting position of the wheel to be shifted toward the outer side by an amount corresponding to the thickness of one spacer interposed between the bracket and the axle hub. The adjustment range can be made larger than those that can be adjusted with a joint, pillow ball, or tie rod.

In addition, there is an advantage that the spacer is inexpensive and the adjustment (tuning) cost of the wheel alignment is low.

[0022]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a spacer according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a rear suspension. In the following description, adjustment of camber and toe of a rear wheel of a vehicle having such a suspension will be described as an example.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a suspension member 1. Brackets 2 are provided on both sides of the member 1 symmetrically. Reference numeral 3 denotes a coil spring, 4 denotes a shock absorber, 7 denotes an axle shaft, 8 denotes a brake drum fixed to the axle hub 6, and these are omitted from those for the right rear wheel.

The axle hub 6, as shown in FIG.
A bearing assembly 10 is incorporated and rotatably supports the axle shaft 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, a spacer 11 having a thickness changed in one direction is provided between the axle hub 6 and the bracket 2. The spacer 11 has a hole 11a through which the axle shaft 7 passes, and a bolt hole 11b corresponding to the bolt hole of the flange of the axle hub 6.

A spacer 12 is also applied to the other surface of the bracket 2, and the two spacers 11, 12, the bracket 2, and the flange at one end of the axle hub 6 are tightened with bolts 13 as shown in FIG. Fixed. The spacer 12 is obtained by turning the spacer 11 upside down, and the thickness of the spacer 12 changes in a direction directly opposite to that of the spacer 11.
In FIG. 2, 14 is a bearing outer retainer, 15 is a brake shoe, and 16 is a wheel for mounting a tire.

When the spacer 11 is interposed between the bracket 2 and the axle hub 6, as shown in FIG. 4, the axis C of the axle hub 6 is inclined with respect to the original axis C 'by the thickness change of the spacer 11, and the spacer 11 If the thickness of the rear wheel changes in the vertical direction, the camber angle of the rear wheel changes, and if the thickness changes in the horizontal direction, the toe-in angle of the rear wheel changes.

Normally, the camber angle is set to be positive for ordinary Japanese cars and negative for sports cars. However, if a spacer is used, the camber angles of the positive camber and the negative camber can be increased or decreased, or the positive camber can be adjusted. It is possible to change a negative camber to a negative camber or vice versa.

When the camber angle is increased or decreased, the deviation of the rolling direction of the wheel from the actual traveling direction of the vehicle also increases or decreases. Therefore, when changing the camber angle, it is desirable to also adjust the toe-in angle.

When changing both the camber angle and the toe-in angle, the thickness is changed in the vertical and horizontal directions.
Are used in combination with a spacer 21 as shown in FIG.

As described above, when two spacers whose thickness changes in opposite directions are used in combination, the inclination of the bolt seating surface due to the use of the spacer 11 is corrected by the spacer 12, and the fixing of the axle hub 6 by the bolt 13 is stabilized. Therefore, unnecessary bending does not act on the bolt 13.

When the spacer of the present invention is used, the reference mounting surface of the wheel moves to the outer side by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the spacer 11, thereby increasing the camber angle and the toe-in angle with respect to the wheel house. It is difficult for the wheels to come into contact with each other, and the adjustable range is widened. However, depending on the thickness of the spacer, a negative scrub or a zero scrub may change to a small scrub. Therefore, it is necessary to set the spacer thickness in consideration of this. As for the thickness of the spacer, when the thickness of the maximum part is set to about 3 to 5 mm, the thickness of the minimum part is secured at least about 2 mm, and even aluminum spacers can have sufficient strength.

Further, the adjustment of the camber angle and the toe-in angle by the spacer of the present invention is performed within a range where the vehicle inspection can be passed and the running safety of the vehicle is not impaired.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the mounting angle of the axle hub with respect to the suspension member is changed by using the spacer whose thickness is changed in the uniaxial or biaxial direction, a mechanism for adjusting the wheel alignment is provided. Even for a car that does not have a camber angle or a toe-in angle, the steering feeling or the like can be made to suit the driver's preference by increasing or decreasing the camber angle or toe-in angle.

Further, since it is only necessary to add a pair of two spacers, tuning costs can be reduced.

Further, the two spacers whose thickness changes are reversed are combined to correct the axial deviation of the bolt holes due to the use of the spacers, so that the stability of fixing the axle hub is not impaired, and unnecessary bending of the axle hub mounting bolt is performed. The application of force is also prevented.

In addition, since the mounting position of the axle hub is shifted to the outer side due to the use of the spacer, contact of the wheel with the wheel house hardly occurs, and the adjustable range is widened as compared with the conventional adjusting mechanism.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of use of a spacer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a spacer mounting portion.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a spacer.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a change in inclination of an axle hub due to spacer installation.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of a spacer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Suspension member 2 Bracket 6 Axle hub 7 Axle shaft 11, 12, 21 Spacer 11a Axle shaft insertion hole 11b Bolt hole 13 Bolt

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A spacer comprising a pair of two spacers applied to both surfaces of an axle hub mounting bracket provided on a suspension member, wherein the thickness of each spacer varies in the uniaxial direction and the opposite direction at the same inclination angle, The axle hub was fixed to the bracket with the two spacers and bolts penetrating the bracket, and the mounting attitude of the axle hub was changed with one spacer sandwiched between the bracket and the axle hub to adjust the toe or camber angle of the wheel. Spacer for adjusting the wheel alignment of the car. 2. A spacer comprising a pair of two spacers applied to both surfaces of an axle hub mounting bracket provided on a suspension member, wherein the thickness of each spacer changes in the biaxial direction and in the opposite direction at the same inclination angle. The axle hub is fixed to the bracket with the two spacers and bolts penetrating the bracket, and the mounting posture of the axle hub is changed by one spacer sandwiched between the bracket and the axle hub to adjust the toe and camber angles of the wheel. Spacer for adjusting the wheel alignment of a car.