JP2009126243A - Suspension device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suspension device which can downsize an arm of a knuckle while retaining the position of a tie rod and ensuring vibration reduction. <P>SOLUTION: The suspension device 40 is provided with the knuckle 43 at a lower part of which there is disposed a bearing fitting part 43a for receiving an axle 61, and a tie rod linkage 91 which links the tie rod 82 for applying a steering force to the vicinity of the bearing fitting part 43a. The tie rod linkage 91 is provided with the arm (the knuckle arm) 43e extended to the bearing fitting part 43a, and a stud 83, one end 92 of which is connected to the arm 43e and the other end 83b is linked to the tie rod 82. The stud 83 is inclined so that the one end 92 is closer to the knuckle 43 than the other end 83b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a suspension device, in particular, a connection with a steering device.

In the suspension device, a tip end portion of a tie rod of a steering device operated by a driver is connected to a knuckle that supports an axle. Generally, between the tip portion and the knuckle, the tip portion is joined to an arm portion integrated with the knuckle with a rod-shaped stud. The arm portion also contributes to vibration suppression in the vehicle left-right direction by being connected to the tie rod (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-178410 (5th page, FIG. 2)

  However, in the suspension device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the distance from the knuckle to the tie rod connecting portion is increased, the space between the tie rod connecting portion and the arm portion including the tie rod connecting portion needs to be enlarged. When connecting tie rods, there is a problem of large size and increased weight.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a suspension device that can reduce the size of an arm portion of a knuckle while maintaining the position of a tie rod and ensuring suppression of vibration.

  The invention according to claim 1 includes a knuckle in which a bearing fitting portion that receives an axle is provided at a lower portion, and a tie rod coupling mechanism that couples a tie rod that applies a steering force in the vicinity of the bearing fitting portion. In the suspension device, the tie rod coupling mechanism includes an arm portion protruding from the bearing fitting portion, and a stud having one end joined to the arm portion and the other end coupled to the tie rod. One end is inclined so as to be close to the knuckle.

  In the invention according to claim 1, the tie rod coupling mechanism includes an arm portion protruding from the bearing fitting portion, and a stud having one end joined to the arm portion and the other end coupled to the tie rod. Since one end is inclined closer to the knuckle than the other end, the distance from the knuckle to one end can be reduced compared to the case where the stud is arranged vertically with respect to the other end, and the arm portion is thickened. This eliminates the need to increase rigidity (section modulus). That is, there is an advantage that the arm portion of the knuckle can be reduced in size while maintaining the position of the tie rod and ensuring suppression of vibration.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the suspension device of the present invention.
The suspension device 40 is employed at the front of the vehicle 10. Details will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body 11 in the vehicle 10 includes a vehicle body frame 20 and a subframe 30 attached to the front portion of the vehicle body frame 20 via an anti-vibration elastic bush (not shown). The vehicle body frame 20 includes a left and right front upper frame 21 (only the left side is shown) extending above and behind the vehicle body above the sub frame 30 and left and right wheel houses (not shown) joined to each front upper frame 21. And have.

  The subframe 30 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and the left and right vertical members 31 and 31 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 11 and the left and right directions of the vehicle body 11 to be spanned between the front ends of the vertical members 31 and 31. And a rear horizontal member 33 extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle body 11 so as to span between the rear ends of the left and right vertical members 31, 31.

  Mounted on the subframe 30 are left and right vehicle suspension devices 40 (only the left side is shown) and a vehicle steering device 80. Since the left and right suspension devices 40 have the same configuration, only the left side will be described and the right side will be omitted.

  The suspension device 40 includes an upper arm 41 on the upper side, a lower arm 42 on the lower side, a knuckle 43, a damper 44, and a stabilizer 45. Suspension. This suspension device 40 is employed as a front suspension.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the knuckle used in the suspension device of the present invention, as viewed from the outside of the vehicle. This will be described in combination with FIG.
The knuckle 43 is a member that rotatably supports the wheel, and the upper and lower portions are connected to the upper arm 41 and the lower arm 42.
More specifically, the knuckle 43 includes a knuckle body 43a that rotatably supports a wheel via an axle 61, an upper extension 43b that extends upward from the upper end of the knuckle body 43a, and an upper end of the upper extension 43b. An upper connecting portion 43c formed at the bottom, a lower connecting portion 43d formed at the lower end of the knuckle body portion 43a, and a knuckle arm 43e which is a substantially horizontal arm portion extending rearward from the vicinity of the upper end of the knuckle body portion 43a. It is an integrally molded product consisting of

  The knuckle arm 43e has a tie rod connecting portion 43f at the tip portion. The tie rod connecting portion 43f is offset upward by a height Hi from the center CL (center of the axle 61) of the knuckle body portion 43a.

  The upper connecting portion 43c (the upper end portion 43c of the knuckle 43) is swingably connected to the swing tip portion of the upper arm 41 by a ball joint 62. The lower connecting portion 43d (the lower end portion 43d of the knuckle 43) is swingably connected to the knuckle connecting portion 42a (swing tip portion 42a) of the lower arm 42 by a ball joint 63.

  In the knuckle 43, a straight line KL passing through the upper connecting portion 43c and the lower connecting portion 43d is referred to as a kingpin axis KL. The knuckle 43 can rotate left and right about the kingpin axis KL. As a result, the wheel attached to the knuckle 43 can be steered around the kingpin axis KL.

  Thus, the suspension device 40 has a configuration in which the upper extension portion 43b is extended upward from the knuckle body portion 43a, and the upper connection portion 43c formed at the upper end portion of the upper extension portion 43b is connected to the vehicle body 11 by the upper arm 41. It is said to be a high mount double wishbone suspension.

  The steering device 80 is composed of, for example, a hydraulic power steering device, and includes a steering gear box 81 that is long in the vehicle width direction. The steering gear box 81 is a member that houses a gear mechanism (for example, a power steering gear mechanism) for converting a steering force of a steering wheel (not shown) into a lateral steering force of the vehicle body 11 and taking it out from the tie rod 82. . The steering gear box 81 is attached to the sub frame 30.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tip end portion 82 a of the tie rod 82 is connected to the tie rod connecting portion 43 f of the knuckle arm 43 e by a ball joint 83. By the way, the attachment shaft 83a (stat shaft 83a) in the ball joint 83 is attached to the lower surface of the arm portion (knuckle arm) 43e from below. For this reason, the front-end | tip part 82a of the tie rod 82 and the ball | bowl 83b in the ball joint 83 are located below the arm part (knuckle arm) 43e.

  When the tie rod 82 is moved left and right by steering the steering wheel, the tie rod 82 pushes and pulls the arm portion (knuckle arm) 43e. As a result, the knuckle 43 rotates to the left and right around the kingpin axis KL to steer the wheels.

Here, the tie rod coupling mechanism 91 will be mainly described.
The tie rod coupling mechanism 91 joins an arm part (knuckle arm) 43e protruding from a bearing fitting part (knuckle body part) 43a and a joining shaft part 92 at one end to the arm part (knuckle arm) 43e. And a stud (ball joint) 83 that connects the ball portion (ball) 83b, which is the other end, to the tip end portion 82a of the tie rod 82, specifically, the spherical joint portion 93.

The arm portion (knuckle arm) 43e is formed with a quadrangular pyramid-shaped projecting body portion 95 from the upper rear side portion 94 of the bearing fitting portion (knuckle body portion) 43a, and the tie rod connecting portion 43f is connected to the projecting body portion 95. It is formed.
A tie rod attachment point P2 is provided at the center of the thickness (hole length) in the side view of FIG.

The overhanging main body 95 is formed such that a lower portion 97 facing the ground is orthogonal to the stud (ball joint) 83. By forming the lower portion 97 so as to be orthogonal to the stud (ball joint) 83, it is only necessary to form the orthogonal receiving surface 98 for fixing the stud (ball joint) 83 in parallel with the lower portion 97. Is easy to form.
Further, since the lower portion 97 is formed so as to be orthogonal to the stud (ball joint) 83, it is possible to prevent interference with the spherical joint portion 93 joined to the tip portion 82a of the tie rod 82.

  The stud 83 is inclined from the other end 83 b so that one end 92 is close to the knuckle 43. Specifically, in the vehicle side view of FIG. 2, the distance from the knuckle 43 to one end 92 of the stud (ball joint) 83 is L2, and the distance from the knuckle 43 to the other end 83b of the stud (ball joint) 83 is L1. Yes, the distance L2 is smaller than the distance L1. Then, it is inclined with respect to the knuckle 43 by an angle θ.

  More specifically, in the vehicle side view of FIG. 2, the distance L2 from the kingpin axis KL to the tie rod attachment point P2 is smaller than the distance L1 from the kingpin axis KL to the ball portion 83b of the stud (ball joint) 83.

  In other words, in the vehicle side view of FIG. 2, the stud (ball joint) 83 has an axis Cs of the stud (ball joint) 83 extended from the other end 83 b of the stud (ball joint) 83 with respect to the kingpin axis KL. Are arranged so as to intersect at an angle θ.

Next, the operation of the suspension device of the present invention will be described.
In the suspension device 40, by tilting the stud (ball joint) 83 for attaching the tie rod 82 to the knuckle 43 toward the knuckle 43 side, the distance from the arm portion (knuckle arm) 43e to the tie rod connecting portion 43f can be shortened. It is possible to shorten the arm portion (knuckle arm) 43e without maintaining or changing the position of the tie rod 82.

  Specifically, inclining the stud 83 toward the knuckle 43 is a direction in which the tie rod connecting portion 43f (tie rod attachment point P2) is directed toward the knuckle 43 as compared to the case where the stud 83 is erected vertically with respect to the tie rod 82 ( It can be offset by a distance L3 in the direction of arrow a2, and the force (stress) applied to the arm portion (knuckle arm) 43e can be reduced. Therefore, the arm portion (knuckle arm) 43e can be reduced in size while maintaining the position of the tie rod 82 and ensuring suppression of vibration.

In the tie rod coupling mechanism 91, it is not necessary to lengthen the stud (ball joint) 83, the existing stud can be used, and the manufacture of the stud (ball joint) 83 is easy.
It is not necessary to lengthen the stud (ball joint) 83, and the existing stud can be used, and an increase in the weight of the stud (ball joint) 83 can be suppressed.

  Although the suspension device of the present invention is used in the front suspension device in the embodiment, it can be applied to other than the front of the vehicle.

  The suspension device of the present invention is suitable for a suspension device at the front of a vehicle.

It is a perspective view of the suspension device of the present invention. It is a side view of the knuckle used for the suspension apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  40 ... Suspension device, 43 ... Knuckle, 43a ... Bearing fitting part (knuckle body part), 43e ... Arm part (knuckle arm), 61 ... Axle, 82 ... Tie rod, 83 ... Stud (ball joint), 83b ... Other end 91 ... Tie rod coupling mechanism, 92 ... One end.

Claims (1)

In a suspension apparatus comprising a knuckle having a bearing fitting portion for receiving an axle provided at a lower portion, and a tie rod coupling mechanism for coupling a tie rod for applying a steering force in the vicinity of the bearing fitting portion,
The tie rod coupling mechanism includes: an arm portion projecting from the bearing fitting portion; and a stud that joins one end to the arm portion and couples the other end to the tie rod; A suspension device, wherein one end is inclined so as to be closer to the knuckle.

Images