JP2007050786A - Suspension device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a suspension device by a simple construction. <P>SOLUTION: This suspension device 1 is provided with a wheel supporting part 3 for rotatably supporting wheels, a pair of sliding shafts 7 connected to the wheel supporting part 3, extended in the vehicle vertical direction and formed into a substantially reversed truncated chevron shape, and a slide part 9 having both ends slidably connected to the pair of sliding shafts 7 in the vehicle vertical direction and connected to a vehicle main body. The slide part 9 has an elastic member 9e extendable in the vehicle longitudinal direction and a damping member 9b for damping vibration of the elastic member 9e. It is desirable that the elastic member 9e and the damping member 9b are coaxially arranged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension apparatus that absorbs vibration transmitted from a wheel to a vehicle body, and more particularly to a suspension apparatus that is reduced in size with a simple configuration.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an in-wheel suspension that absorbs a stroke in a vehicle vertical direction of a slide mechanism coupled to a wheel by a spring arranged in the vehicle vertical direction is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, an in-wheel suspension that absorbs vibration by a spring of an electromechanical device while sliding a carrier supporting a wheel along a bar arranged in the vehicle vertical direction is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2). ). The bar is offset with respect to the carrier.

  Furthermore, a suspension device is known that includes a link member that converts a vertical motion of a wheel support member that supports a wheel into a substantially horizontal motion (for example, see Patent Document 3).

A suspension device is known that includes a transmission member that converts a swing of a link member that supports a wheel in a vertical direction into a vehicle front-rear direction and transmits it to a suspension unit (see, for example, Patent Document 4).
JP-A-10-338809 JP 2000-233619 A JP-A 64-1612 JP-A-6-199122

  However, in the above prior art, it is necessary to set the spring constant of the suspension in accordance with the stroke amount (amplitude) of the wheel in the vertical direction, and there is a possibility that the spring becomes large. On the other hand, since the spring constant is set low when the spring is downsized, a conversion mechanism that reduces the stroke amount in the vertical direction of the wheel is required, which may further complicate the structure.

  The present invention is intended to solve such problems, and has as its main object to reduce the size of the suspension device with a simple configuration.

The object is as described in claim 1.
A wheel support for rotatably supporting the wheel;
A pair of sliding shafts connected to the wheel support portion, extending in the vehicle vertical direction, and having a substantially inverted C shape;
A slide portion connected at both ends to the pair of sliding shafts so as to be slidable in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and connected to the vehicle body;
The slide part is achieved by a suspension device including an elastic member that can be expanded and contracted in the vehicle front-rear direction and a damping member that attenuates vibration of the elastic member.

  In the present invention, the vibration in the vehicle vertical direction inputted from the wheel is changed to the vibration in the vehicle longitudinal direction and then absorbed by the elastic member and the damping member. For this reason, by changing the inclination angle of the sliding shaft and the distance between the pair of sliding shafts, adjusting the stroke conversion ratio when changing the vehicle vertical vibration to the vehicle longitudinal vibration, The spring can be easily downsized. That is, the suspension device can be downsized with a simple configuration.

In this case, as described in claim 2, the wheel support device according to claim 1,
The elastic member and the damping member are preferably arranged on the same axis. Thereby, since the elastic member and the damping member are efficiently laid out without creating a useless space, the suspension device can be easily downsized.

  According to the present invention, the suspension device can be downsized with a simple configuration.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The basic concept, main hardware configuration, operating principle, basic control method, and the like of the suspension device are known to those skilled in the art, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a suspension device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the suspension device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction A (the vehicle inner side).

  The suspension device 1 according to this embodiment includes a wheel support portion 3 that rotatably supports a wheel. The wheel support portion 3 includes an upper and lower member 3a extending in the vehicle vertical direction, and a pair of link members 3b connected to both ends of the upper and lower member 3a and formed in a square shape. A flange portion 3c is formed at a substantially central portion of the upper and lower members 3a, and a substantially cylindrical knuckle 5 is connected to the flange portion 3c. The flange portion 3c and the knuckle 5 of the upper and lower members 3a are connected by four sets of bolts and nuts, but the number of sets of bolts and nuts may be arbitrary.

  A pair of sliding shafts 7 extending in the vehicle up-down direction and having a substantially reverse letter C are connected to both ends of each link member 3b. Here, one sliding shaft 7 is inclined at an inclination angle θ1 with respect to the vehicle vertical direction axis, and the other sliding shaft 7 is inclined at an inclination angle θ2 with respect to the vehicle vertical direction axis. (Figure 3). Both ends of a slide portion 9 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction are coupled to the pair of slide shafts 7 so as to be slidable in the vehicle vertical direction. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the suspension device 1 shown in FIG.

  In addition, the pair of sliding shafts 7 has a substantially reverse letter C. For example, one sliding shaft 7 faces the vertical direction and the other sliding shaft 7 tilts, and one sliding shaft 7 tilts and the other The sliding shaft 7 is oriented in the vertical direction, or both the sliding shafts 7 are inclined. That is, the pair of sliding shafts 7 can be arbitrarily arranged as long as the distance between the pair of sliding shafts 7 decreases as the vehicle moves downward.

  The slide portion 9 has a pair of sliding members 9a slidably coupled to the pair of sliding shafts 7, and a damping member 9b such as a shock absorber connected to the pair of sliding members 9a. . The shock absorber 9b has a cylinder part filled with a liquid such as an oil liquid and a piston part that slides in the cylinder part in the vehicle front-rear direction. One end of the cylinder part is connected to one sliding member 9a, and the tip of the rod of the piston part is connected to the other sliding member 9a. An oil passage through which the oil liquid flows is formed in the cylinder portion and the piston portion. This flow of the oil becomes resistance to the reciprocating motion of the piston portion, and damps vibration of a coil spring 9e described later.

  An extension portion 9c extending in the outer diameter direction of the cylinder is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder portion. A dish-shaped dish portion 9d is connected to the other sliding member 9a and the tip of the rod. An elastic member 9e such as a coil spring is provided between the cylinder extension portion 9c and the plate portion 9d so as to be sandwiched therebetween. As described above, the shock absorber 9b and the coil spring 9e are arranged coaxially so as to have an efficient layout, whereby the suspension device 1 can be reduced in size. The spring constant of the coil spring 9e is set by changing the material, size, shape, etc. of the coil spring 9e.

  A beam member 11 connected to the vehicle body and extending in the vehicle width direction is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder.

  By the way, when a downward force of the vehicle acts on the beam member 11 from the vehicle body, this force is transmitted to the slide portion 9 and the sliding member 9a moves relative to the sliding shaft 7 in the downward direction of the vehicle. At this time, since the pair of sliding shafts 7 are arranged so as to form a substantially reverse letter C, the distance between the pair of sliding members 9a decreases (FIG. 3). For this reason, the coil spring 9e contracts and increases the force in the direction of pushing and expanding between the pair of sliding members 9a. The force in the direction of pushing the space between the pair of sliding members 9a acts as a force acting upward of the vehicle along the sliding shaft 7, and the slide portion 9 tries to return to the original position.

  On the other hand, when a vehicle upward force is applied to the beam member 11 from the vehicle body, this force is transmitted to the slide portion 9, and the sliding member 9 a moves relative to the sliding shaft 7 in the vehicle upward direction. At this time, since the pair of sliding shafts 7 are arranged so as to form a substantially reverse letter C, the distance between the pair of sliding members 9a increases. For this reason, the coil spring 9e is extended, and the force is increased in a direction in which the space between the pair of sliding members 9a is reduced. The force in the direction in which the space between the pair of sliding members 9a is contracted acts as a force acting downward of the vehicle along the sliding shaft 7, and the slide portion 9 attempts to return to the original position.

  Further, as described above, the coil spring 9e vibrates by repeatedly contracting and expanding, but this vibration is attenuated by the shock absorber 9b connected to the pair of sliding members 9a.

  As described above, the vibration in the vehicle vertical direction is converted into the vibration in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Thereby, by changing the inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the sliding shaft 7 and the distance between the pair of sliding shafts 7, the vibration in the vehicle vertical direction (stroke) is converted into the vibration in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The stroke conversion ratio can be easily changed. For example, if the inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the sliding shaft 7 are increased, the stroke conversion ratio increases.

  Conventionally, vibration absorption is adjusted by changing the spring constant of the coil spring. On the other hand, in the suspension device 1 according to the present embodiment, the vibration absorption can be adjusted by changing the stroke conversion ratio in addition to the spring constant of the coil spring 9e. Therefore, the degree of freedom in design is greatly expanded, and for example, the coil spring 9e can be downsized by setting the spring constant of the coil spring 9e low. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the suspension device 1 can be easily arranged within the diameter of the wheel 19.

  FIG. 4 is a view of the suspension device 1 shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the direction B (above the vehicle), and is a partial cross-sectional view showing cross sections of the hub 13, the disk rotor 17, and the wheel 19.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bearing 11 is fitted to the inner circumference of the knuckle 5, and the shaft portion of the hub 13 is fitted to the inner circumference of the bearing 11. A hat portion of the disk rotor 17 is assembled to the hub flange portion of the hub 13 from the outside of the vehicle. Further, a wheel 19 is assembled to the hat portion of the disk rotor 17 from the outside of the vehicle. With this configuration, the wheel support unit 3 rotatably supports the hub 13, the disk rotor 17, and the wheel 19 via the knuckle 5 and the bearing 11. Air is sealed inside the rim portion of the wheel 19 and a tire 21 made of a rubber material or the like is attached.

  Five hub bolt holes are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction in the hub flange portion of the hub 13, and hub bolts 13a are fitted into the hub bolt holes. The fitted hub bolts 13a are inserted through bolt holes formed in the disc rotor 17 and the wheel 19 from the vehicle inner side in this order. Further, the five nuts 13b are screwed with the five hub bolts 13a inserted through the disk rotor 17 and the wheel 19, respectively. The five nuts 13b are screwed into the five hub bolts 13a inserted through the disc rotor 17 and the wheel 19, respectively, but a female screw is cut in the hub flange portion of the hub 13, and the five bolts are connected to the wheel from the outside of the vehicle. 19 and the disc rotor 17 may be inserted and screwed into female threads of the hub flange portion. The disk rotor 17 is made of, for example, cast iron or ceramic, and the hub bolt 13a and the nut 13b are made of, for example, steel or cast steel. In the present embodiment, as an example, the wheel 19, the hub 13, and the disc rotor 17 are connected by five sets of hub bolts 13a and nuts 13b. Good.

  Next, the operation of the suspension device according to this embodiment will be described.

  When the tire 21 rolls on the road surface, vibration is input to the wheel 19 through the tire 21 due to unevenness of the road surface. The vibration input to the wheel 19 is input to the wheel support portion 3 via the hub 13, the knuckle 5, and the bearing 11. For example, the slide portion 9 moves relative to the wheel support portion 3 in the vehicle vertical direction by vibration in the vehicle vertical direction. The relative movement of the slide portion 9 in the vehicle vertical direction is changed and absorbed by the coil spring 9e and the shock absorber 9b in the vehicle longitudinal direction between the pair of sliding shafts 7.

  1 to 4, the suspension device 1 related to the left rear wheel of the vehicle is described. However, the suspension device 1 related to the right rear wheel is also substantially the same in configuration and operation as the suspension device 1 related to the left rear wheel. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  As described above, in the suspension device 1 according to the present embodiment, the pair of sliding shafts 7 extending in the vehicle vertical direction and having a substantially inverted C shape are connected to the wheel support portion 3. Further, both ends of the slide portion 9 are connected to a pair of slide shafts 7 so as to be slidable in the vehicle vertical direction, and the slide portion 9 dampens vibrations of the coil spring 9e that can extend and contract in the vehicle longitudinal direction and the coil spring 9e. A shock absorber 9b. Thereby, the vibration in the vehicle vertical direction input from the wheels is changed to the vibration in the vehicle front-rear direction and then absorbed by the coil spring 9e and the shock absorber 9b. Therefore, by changing the inclination angles θ1 and θ2 of the sliding shaft 7 and the distance between the pair of sliding shafts 7, the stroke conversion ratio when changing the vibration in the vehicle vertical direction to the vibration in the vehicle longitudinal direction is changed. Can be adjusted easily. Conventionally, vibration absorption is adjusted by changing the spring constant of the coil spring. On the other hand, in the suspension device 1 according to the present embodiment, the vibration absorption can be adjusted by changing the stroke conversion ratio in addition to the spring constant of the coil spring 9e. Therefore, the degree of freedom in design is greatly expanded, and the coil spring 9e can be easily downsized. That is, the suspension device 1 can be reduced in size with a simple configuration.

  Further, in the slide portion 9 of the suspension device 1 according to the present embodiment, the coil spring 9e and the shock absorber 9b are arranged coaxially. Thereby, the coil spring 9e and the shock absorber 9b are laid out efficiently without creating a useless space. Therefore, the suspension device 1 can be easily downsized.

  As mentioned above, although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described using one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such one embodiment, and within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention, Various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiment.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the coil spring 9e is used as the elastic member 9e. However, an air spring (so-called air suspension) in which the repulsive force of the contained air is used as a spring may be used. Thus, the spring constant can be changed to an arbitrary value by changing the pressure of the enclosed air.

  In the above embodiment, the damping force of the shock absorber 9b may be varied according to the traveling state of the vehicle. For example, the damping force may be increased or decreased according to the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor, the acceleration of the vehicle from the acceleration sensor, or the like. Thereby, the running stability of the vehicle is improved.

  In the above embodiment, the coil spring 9e and the shock absorber 9b are arranged coaxially, but may be arranged in parallel in the vehicle vertical direction or the vehicle width direction.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the rear wheel and the driven wheel of the vehicle.

  The present invention can be used for a suspension device for a vehicle. The appearance, weight, size, running performance, etc. of the vehicle to be mounted are not limited.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the suspension apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is the side view which looked at the suspension apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from the A direction (vehicle inside). FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the suspension device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a view of the suspension device 1 shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the direction B (above the vehicle), and is a partial cross-sectional view showing cross sections of a hub, a disc rotor, and a wheel.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Suspension apparatus 3 Wheel support part 7 Sliding shaft 9 Slide part 9b Shock absorber (attenuation part)
9e Coil spring (elastic part)

Claims (2)

A wheel support for rotatably supporting the wheel;
A pair of sliding shafts connected to the wheel support portion, extending in the vehicle vertical direction, and having a substantially inverted C shape;
A slide portion connected at both ends to the pair of sliding shafts so as to be slidable in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and connected to the vehicle body;
The suspension device includes an elastic member that can be expanded and contracted in a vehicle front-rear direction, and a damping member that attenuates vibration of the elastic member. The wheel support device according to claim 1,
The suspension device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member and the damping member are arranged coaxially.

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