JP2003095142A - Suspension rod supporting structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suspension rod supporting structure for an automobile, improving the supporting rigidity of a suspension rod in the cross direction of vehicle without increasing the weight and the number of part items. SOLUTION: The suspension rod supporting structure for the suspension rod 3 comprises side members 1 extending to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, arranged on the vehicle inside of left and right rocker panels 9 extending to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a pair of downward extending brackets 12, 13 joined to left and right side walls 1a, 1b of the side members 1 in the cross direction of the vehicle, the suspension rod 3 having a supporting shaft 8 supported between lower ends 12a, 13a of the brackets 12, 13. The rocker panels 9 and the bracket 12 on the vehicle outside are connected via a reinforcing member 15 having a horizontal wall 15a located on the approximately axial line of the supporting shaft 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a suspension rod support structure for swingably supporting a rear wheel of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a rear suspension device for an automobile has a rocker panel (see FIG. 5) 9 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and a side member 1 extending in the front-rear direction joined to the inside of the vehicle. The side member 1 swingably supports a front end portion 3a of a suspension rod 3 via a suspension bracket 2, and a rear end portion b of the suspension rod 3 is pivotally supported on an axle 5 of a rear wheel 4 and There is a general structure in which a shock absorber 6 is installed between the wheel 4 and the side member 2.

As a supporting structure for the suspension rod, as shown in FIG. 5, conventionally, a pair of bracket plates 2a and 2b extending downward are joined to the left and right side walls 1a and 1b of the side member 1, and the bracket plates 2a and 2b are joined together. The elastic bush 7 coupled to the front end 3a of the suspension rod 3 may be clamped and fixed by the support shaft 8 between the lower ends of the suspension rods 2a and 2b. However, in the above conventional support structure, there is a concern that the support rigidity of the suspension rod with respect to the input in the vehicle width direction is low.

From the viewpoint of enhancing the support rigidity of such a suspension rod, conventionally, the bottom wall of the support bracket and the rocker panel are connected by a connecting bracket (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-43806) or a bracket on the outside of the vehicle. In some cases, the rocker panel and the rocker panel are connected by a pair of front and rear reinforcing plates (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 164846/1995).
Issue).

[0005]

However, in the case of the structure in which the bottom wall of the conventional support bracket and the rocker panel are connected, the plate thickness of the support bracket is increased in order to increase the rigidity of the support shaft in the axial direction. It is necessary to increase the strength by doing so and the weight may increase.

Further, in the case of the conventional structure in which a pair of front and rear reinforcing plates are connected, there is a problem that the weight and the number of parts are increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and is capable of increasing the supporting rigidity of the suspension rod in the vehicle width direction without increasing the weight and the number of parts. It is intended to provide a support structure.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, side members extending in the vehicle front-rear direction are arranged inside the left and right rocker panels extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the side members extend in the vehicle width direction. A suspension rod support structure for an automobile, in which a pair of downwardly extending brackets are coupled to the left and right walls, and a suspension rod support shaft is supported between lower ends of the brackets. It is characterized in that the bracket and the bracket are connected by a reinforcing member having a horizontal wall located substantially on the axis of the support shaft.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a semi-conical lower bead portion surrounding the lower half portion of the support shaft is recessed in the reinforcing member, and the rocker panel has the lower support rod of the support shaft. A semi-conical upper bead portion that surrounds the upper half portion is recessed, and a conical bead that surrounds a support point of the support shaft and that is substantially co-axial with the support shaft is formed by the upper and lower bead portions. It is characterized by

[0010]

According to the suspension rod support structure of the invention of claim 1, the suspension rod support structure is connected by a reinforcing member having a horizontal wall located substantially on the axis of the support shaft, so that the suspension rod support shaft is acted on. The input in the width direction will be directly received by the rocker panel through the horizontal wall,
Therefore, the supporting rigidity in the vehicle width direction can be increased.

Further, according to the present invention, since the rocker panel and the bracket are connected by the reinforcing member arranged on the support axis, the input acting on the support shaft can be received by the minimum member, and the conventional plate can be used. The weight and the number of parts can be suppressed as compared with the case of increasing the thickness or connecting with a plurality of reinforcing plates, which is advantageous in cost.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the supporting point of the support shaft is surrounded by the lower bead portion recessed in the reinforcing member and the upper bead portion recessed in the rocker panel, and substantially the same axis line as the support shaft is provided. Since the conical beads formed are formed, it is possible to further increase the support rigidity with respect to the input in the vehicle width direction that acts on the support shaft.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 are views for explaining a suspension rod supporting structure for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a suspension rod supporting portion (a sectional view taken along the line I--I in FIG. 2). FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member in an exploded state.

In the rear suspension device for a vehicle according to the present embodiment, a side member 1 which also extends in the front-rear direction is joined to the inside of a rocker panel 9 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the side member 1 suspends the suspension member 2 via a suspension bracket 2. It has a schematic structure in which the front end portion 3a of the rod 3 is swingably supported, and the basic structure is substantially the same as the above-mentioned rear suspension device.

The side member 1 has a hat-shaped cross section that opens upward, and the lower ends of the left and right side walls 1a and 1b are integrally connected to each other by a bottom wall 1c. It has a structure in which the flange portions 1d and 1e are bent outward at the upper edge of 1b.

The rocker panel 9 has a structure in which a rocker outer 10 forming a lower edge of a door opening and a rocker inner 11 having a hat-shaped cross section are joined to form a closed cross section.

A floor panel (not shown) is disposed on the upper surface of the side member 1 between the left and right rocker panels 9, and the floor panel together with the outer flange portion 1d of the side member 1 is an upper wall of the rocker inner 11. It is welded to 11a.

Left and right side walls 1a, 1 of the side member 1
A rectangular plate-shaped left and right brackets 1 extending downwardly in b
2 and 13 are welded to each other, and the left side bracket 12
Are sandwiched between the left side wall 1a of the side member 1 and the vertical wall 11b of the rocker inner 11 and are joined together in three layers.

An elastic bush 7 is arranged between the lower ends 12a and 13a of the left and right brackets 12 and 13, respectively. The elastic bush 7 is provided on the left and right brackets 1 described above.
A structure in which a support shaft 8 whose axial center is oriented in the vehicle width direction is fastened between 2 and 13 and an outer cylinder 7a is fixed to the support shaft 8 with an elastic body (not shown) such as rubber interposed therebetween. The suspension rod 3 is fixed to the outer cylinder 7a.

The lower flange portion 11c of the rocker inner 11 and the lower end portion 12a of the left bracket 12 are connected by a reinforcing member 15. The reinforcing member 15 is made of sheet metal, and has joining walls 15b and 15c extending downwardly at the left and right edges of a rectangular flat plate-shaped horizontal wall 15a located on the same plane as the axis of the support shaft 8. It has an integrally formed structure. The left and right joint walls 15b and 15c are the lower flange portion 11c and the left bracket 12 respectively.
Is welded to the lower end 12a of the.

On the horizontal wall 15a of the reinforcing member 15, a lower bead portion 15d having a semi-conical shape surrounding the lower half portion of the support shaft 8 is recessed downward. On the lower wall 11d of the rocker inner 11, a semi-conical upper bead portion 11e surrounding the upper half of the support shaft 8 is recessed upward. The upper bead portion 11e and the lower bead portion 15d form the support shaft 8
A conical bead 16 is formed that surrounds the support point of and has the same axis as the support shaft 8.

Next, the function and effect of this embodiment will be described.

According to the suspension rod support structure of this embodiment, the lower flange portion 11c of the rocker inner 11 and the lower end portion 12a of the left bracket 12 are connected by the reinforcing member 15, and the horizontal wall 15a of the reinforcing member 15 is supported by the supporting shaft. Since it is located on the same plane as the axis of the horizontal rod 8, the input in the vehicle width direction acting on the support shaft 8 of the suspension rod 3 is applied to the horizontal wall 15.
It can be directly received by the rocker panel 9 via a, so that the support rigidity of the support shaft 8 in the vehicle width direction can be increased.

Further, since the rocker panel 9 and the bracket 12 are connected by the reinforcing member 15, it is possible to receive an input acting on the support shaft 8 with a minimum member, which makes it possible to increase the thickness of the conventional plate or to provide a plurality of members. The weight and the number of parts can be suppressed and the cost can be reduced as compared with the case of connecting with a reinforcing plate.

In this embodiment, a semi-conical lower bead portion 15d surrounding the lower half portion of the support shaft 8 is provided in the horizontal wall 15a of the reinforcing member 15, and the lower wall 11d of the rocker inner 11 is recessed.
A semi-conical upper bead portion 1 surrounding the upper half of the support shaft 8
1e is provided as a recess, and the upper and lower bead portions 11e and 15d surround the support point of the support shaft 8 and a conical bead 16 is formed which has the same axis as the support shaft 8, so that the support shaft 8 is supported. The rigidity can be further increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 2) of a suspension rod support portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a reinforcing member of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member in an exploded state.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a general rear suspension device.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional suspension rod support structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 side member 1a, 1b Left and right side walls 3 suspension rod 8 Support shaft 9 Rocker panel 11 Rockinna 11e Upper bead part 12,13 bracket 12a, 13a lower end 15 Reinforcement member 15a horizontal wall 15d Lower bead part 16 conical beads

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pair of brackets having left and right rocker panels extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, side members extending in the vehicle front-rear direction disposed inside the vehicle, and extending downward on left and right side walls of the side members in the vehicle width direction. A suspension rod support structure for an automobile, in which the support shaft of the suspension rod is supported between the lower ends of the brackets,
A suspension rod support structure for an automobile, characterized in that the rocker panel and the vehicle outer bracket are connected by a reinforcing member having a horizontal wall located substantially on the axis of the support shaft. 2. The lower bead portion having a semi-conical shape surrounding the lower half portion of the support shaft is recessed in the reinforcing member, and the rocker panel surrounds the upper half portion of the support shaft. A semi-conical upper bead portion is recessed, and a conical bead is formed which surrounds a support point of the support shaft by the upper and lower bead portions and which is substantially co-axial with the support shaft. Car suspension rod support structure.