JP2012131340A - Vehicle suspension system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle suspension system that not only suppresses vibration transmitted to a vehicle body from a ball joint but also prevents the ball joint from being slipped out of a socket.SOLUTION: A connecting member 7 includes: a cylindrical socket 18 disposed on an outer end 6b of a lower arm 6; and the ball joint 20 which is fixed to a knuckle 3 and which is pivoted by the cylindrical socket 18. A mass member 25 is mounted to the ball joint 20 so as to be is disposed on the axis C of the ball joint 20 to be removable therefrom. Further, the mass member 25 is disposed at a position lower than a lower surface 18' of the cylindrical socket 18 and is larger than the external shape of the cylindrical socket 18.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension apparatus that absorbs a thrust load from a road surface transmitted through wheels.

  2. Description of the Related Art A suspension device for an automobile generally has a structure in which a knuckle that rotatably supports a wheel and a lower arm that is supported by a vehicle body so as to swing up and down are connected via a ball joint (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). reference). The ball joint is bolted to the knuckle and pivotally supported by a socket provided on the lower arm with a resin sheet interposed therebetween.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-196817 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-35405

  By the way, in the conventional structure, there is a problem that vibration using a tire, a brake, or the like during running as a vibration source is easily transmitted to the vehicle body via the knuckle, the ball joint, and the lower arm. That is, the ball joint is pivotally supported by the socket with the seat interposed therebetween, and is disposed near the wheel that is the vibration source, so that it is easy to transmit the vibration.

  In the conventional structure, for example, when an excessive load is applied from the wheel to the lower arm during a vehicle collision, the ball joint may fall out of the socket.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional situation, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle suspension device that can suppress vibration transmitted from the ball joint to the vehicle body and prevent the ball joint from coming off from the socket. .

  The present invention relates to a knuckle that rotatably supports a wheel, a lower arm whose inner end in the vehicle width direction is supported by a vehicle body so as to be swingable up and down, and a connecting member that connects an outer end of the lower arm and the knuckle. The connecting member includes a cylindrical socket provided at an outer end portion of the lower arm, and a ball joint fixed to the knuckle and pivotally supported by the socket. And a mass member is detachably attached to the ball joint so as to be positioned on the axis of the ball joint, the mass member being located lower than the lower surface of the socket, and the socket It is characterized by having a shape larger than the outer shape.

  According to the suspension device of the present invention, since the mass member is detachably attached on the axis of the ball joint, the mass member is located near the wheel serving as the vibration source, so that the mass from the wheel transmitted to the ball joint can be reduced. Vibration will be suppressed, and vibration transmitted to the vehicle body can be suppressed accordingly.

  Further, since the mass member is detachable, the mass size can be appropriately changed according to the vibration frequency, for example, and tuning can be easily performed.

  In the present invention, the mass member is positioned lower than the lower surface of the socket and formed larger than the outer shape of the socket. Therefore, an excessive load is applied to the lower arm at the time of a vehicle collision, etc. When this occurs, the mass member comes into contact with the socket, and the ball joint can be reliably prevented from coming off.

  In addition, since the lower portion of the socket can be covered with the mass member, it is possible to prevent the spring stone or the splashing water from running on the socket or to enter the socket, thereby suppressing the deterioration of the connecting member.

1 is a front view of an automobile suspension device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. It is a front view of the suspension device. It is an expanded sectional view of the connecting member of the suspension device. It is a bottom view of the mass member of the connecting member.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 4 are diagrams for explaining a vehicle suspension apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an automobile suspension device. This suspension device 1 is of a left and right independent suspension type, and includes a knuckle 3 that rotatably supports a wheel 2 and a suspension member (vehicle body) 4 that extends in the vehicle width direction via a rubber bush 5 to the vehicle width. A lower arm 6 having a direction inner end 6a supported so as to be swingable up and down, and a connecting member 7 for connecting the outer end 6b of the lower arm 6 and the knuckle 3 are provided.

  The knuckle 3 includes a knuckle main body 3a having a boss hole 3b formed in the shaft core, an upper bracket portion 3c formed to extend upward in the knuckle main body 3a, and a slanting inner side in the vehicle width direction on the knuckle main body 3a. And a lower bracket portion 3d formed to extend.

  A lower end portion of a shock absorber 11 including an oil damper 11 a and a coil spring 11 b is bolted and fixed to the upper bracket portion 3 c of the knuckle 3, and an upper end portion is bolted and fixed to the suspension tower 10.

  A steering device (not shown) is connected to the knuckle 3, and is supported by the steering device so as to be steerable left and right.

  An axle 14 is rotatably mounted in the boss hole 3b of the knuckle 3 via a bearing 15, and the wheel 2 is fixed to the axle 14 by bolting. A drive shaft 13 is connected to the axle 14 via a universal joint (not shown), and engine power is transmitted to the drive shaft 13. Reference numeral 16 denotes a dust boot attached to the universal joint.

  The connecting member 7 includes a cylindrical socket 18 connected and fixed to the outer end 6b of the lower arm 6 by welding or the like, and a ball joint 20 pivotally supported by the socket 18.

  The ball joint 20 includes a ball portion 20a inserted into the socket 18 and a tapered stud portion 20b formed integrally with the ball portion 20a.

  The stud portion 20b is inserted from below into a tapered hole 3e formed in the lower bracket portion 3d of the knuckle 3, and is fastened and fixed to the lower bracket portion 3d by a nut 21.

  In the socket 18, a resin sheet 22 is disposed as a buffer material. The seat 22 is formed so as to enclose the ball portion 20 a of the ball joint 20, and the ball portion 20 a is in sliding contact with the seat 22.

  In addition, grease (not shown) for improving the smoothness of the ball portion 20a is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the seat 22 where the ball portion 20a is in sliding contact.

  At the upper opening edge of the socket 18, a retaining rib portion 18a that engages with the ball portion 20a of the ball joint 20 is formed. A lid plate 23 that closes the bottom opening of the socket 18 is disposed at the bottom of the socket 18.

  A mass member 25 is detachably attached to the ball joint 20 so as to be positioned on the axis C thereof. Therefore, the axis C of the ball joint 20 and the axis of the mass member 25 coincide.

  The mass member 25 includes a mass body 25a having a predetermined weight and a bolt portion 25b extending upward along the axis C following the mass body 25a. The mass body 25a is set to a weight corresponding to the vibration frequency from the road surface transmitted through the wheels 2 during normal traveling.

  The bolt portion 25b is formed with a smaller diameter than the ball joint 20 and passes through an insertion hole 23a formed in the cover plate 23 from below the socket 18 and is formed on the lower surface of the ball portion 20a of the ball joint 20 It is screwed into the hole 20c. Thereby, the mass member 25 is detachably fixed to the ball joint 20. The bolt portion 25b is formed with a flange portion 25c that regulates the screwing amount.

  An upper rubber boot 26 is mounted between the socket 18 and the lower surface of the lower bracket portion 3d, and a lower rubber boot 27 is mounted between the bolt portion 25b of the mass member 25 and the socket 18. .

  The mass body 25 a has a hexagonal shape, is positioned lower than the lower surface 18 ′ of the socket 18, and has a shape larger than the outer diameter of the socket 18. When the mass body 25a is viewed from below in the direction of the axis C, the socket 18 is located within the projection surface of the mass body 25a (see FIG. 4).

  According to the present embodiment, since the mass member 25 is detachably attached to the ball portion 20a on the axis C of the ball joint 20, the mass member 25 is attached to the ball joint 20 disposed near the wheel 2 serving as the vibration source. Since the vibration from the wheel 2 transmitted to the ball joint 20 is suppressed, the vibration transmitted to the vehicle compartment via the suspension member 4 can be suppressed accordingly. In other words, the ball joint 20 is pivotally supported by the resin seal 22 through the socket 18 and is in a floating state due to the grease applied to the seal 22, so that it easily vibrates.

  Further, since the mass member 25 is detachable, the mass size, mass and the like can be appropriately changed according to the vibration frequency, and tuning can be easily performed. Furthermore, since the mass member 25 can be retrofitted, it is possible to correspond to each vehicle type.

  In the present embodiment, the mass body 25a of the mass member 25 is positioned lower than the lower surface 18 'of the socket 18 and larger than the outer diameter of the socket 18. Therefore, the mass of the lower arm 6 is excessive when a vehicle collision occurs. When a force in the pulling direction is applied to the ball joint 20 by applying a load, the mass body 25a comes into contact with the lower surface 18 'of the socket 18, and the ball joint 20 can be reliably prevented from coming off. As a result, the wheel 2 can be prevented from falling off.

  Further, since the lower portion of the socket 18 can be covered with the mass body 25a, it is possible to prevent the rocks and the splash water from running on the socket 18 from entering the socket 18 and the sheet 22, grease, etc. Can be prevented.

  In addition, since the mass body 25a of the mass member 25 has a hexagonal shape, a tool can be easily put on and the attachment / detachment operation can be easily performed. The mass body 25a may be a polygon other than a hexagon or a circle.

1 Suspension device 2 Wheel 3 Knuckle 4 Suspension member (vehicle body)
6 Lower arm 6a Inner end 6b Outer end 7 Connecting member 18 Socket 18 'Lower surface 20 Ball joint 25 Mass member

Claims (1)

A knuckle that rotatably supports the wheel,
A lower arm supported on the vehicle body so that its inner end in the vehicle width direction can swing up and down;
A vehicle suspension apparatus comprising a connecting member that connects an outer end of the lower arm and the knuckle,
The connecting member includes a cylindrical socket provided at an outer end of the lower arm, and a ball joint fixed to the knuckle and pivotally supported by the socket.
A mass member is detachably attached to the ball joint so as to be positioned on the axis of the ball joint,
The mass suspension member is positioned lower than the lower surface of the socket and has a shape larger than the outer shape of the socket.

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