JP2014118094A - Suspension arm - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suspension arm capable of preventing damage of a chain even when a steering wheel to which the chain is attached is steered and the chain contacts the suspension arm.SOLUTION: In a lower arm 14 whose base end is supported so as to oscillate in a vertical direction to a front cross member 11 and whose tip end supports a steering wheel 17, and to whose outer peripheral edge downward flange processing has been performed, on a rear flange edge 33 facing an inner face 17a of the steering wheel 17 in a steering state, a folding part 33a formed by folding the lower end into inside of the flange edge 33, is formed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a suspension arm of a suspension device in which a base end is supported so as to be swingable in a vertical direction with respect to a vehicle body member and a steering wheel is supported at a tip end.

  Generally, a suspension device that supports wheels is mounted on a vehicle. This suspension device has the role of holding the wheel in the correct direction while reducing the impact transmitted from the road via the wheel, improving the ride comfort and ensuring the grounding property of the wheel during cornering.

  Specifically, the suspension apparatus includes a spring that reduces the impact from the road surface, a damper that absorbs vibration of the spring, a suspension arm that controls the position of the wheel, and the like. Among these, the suspension arm freely expands and contracts a spring interposed between the wheel and the vehicle body, and at the same time guides the wheel so that the wheel does not face in any direction.

  A conventional suspension arm as described above is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2012-158200 A

  When the wheel is steered, the inner surface of the wheel approaches the suspension arm as the steering angle (steering amount) increases. In particular, in a small vehicle, the smaller the vehicle, the smaller the wheel diameter. Therefore, when the wheel is steered, the approach distance of the wheel to the suspension arm is shorter than in a large vehicle. End up. At this time, if a chain is attached to the wheel, the chain may come into contact with the suspension arm.

  Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-described problem, and provides a suspension arm that can prevent damage even if the chain comes into contact when the steering wheel with the chain attached is steered. With the goal.

The suspension arm according to the first invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
In the suspension arm in which the base end is supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction with respect to the vehicle body member, the steering wheel is supported at the tip, and the downward peripheral flange processing is performed on the outer peripheral edge portion.
A bent portion is formed at the flange edge facing the inner side surface of the steered wheel in a steering state with its lower end bent toward the inside of the flange edge.

A suspension arm according to a second invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is as follows.
A rear flange edge that is arranged on the vehicle body rear side and curves toward the vehicle body front side as it goes from the base end side to the tip end side,
The bent portion is formed in the rear flange portion.

A suspension arm according to a third invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is as follows.
A support hole to which an end of a stabilizer attached to the vehicle body member is coupled;
The support hole is formed in a region facing the bent portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.

A suspension arm according to a fourth invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is as follows.
When the steering angle of the steered wheel is maximized, the inner surface and the bent portion face each other.

  Therefore, according to the suspension arm according to the present invention, the inner side surface of the steered steering wheel can be opposed to the bent portion by forming the bent portion at a part of the lower end of the flange edge portion. As a result, when a steered wheel with a chain attached is steered, even if the chain contacts the flange edge, a bent portion is formed at the lower end of the flange edge. Can prevent damage.

It is the figure which showed the assembly | attachment state of the lower arm which concerns on one Example of this invention. (A) is the perspective view which looked at the lower arm from the upper surface side, (b) is the perspective view which looked at the lower arm from the lower surface side. It is a top view of a lower arm. (A) is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG. 3, (b) is BB arrow sectional drawing of FIG. 3, (c) is CC arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is the figure which showed the mode when a steering wheel was steered.

  Hereinafter, a suspension arm according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment described below, the case where the suspension arm according to the present invention is applied to the lower arm is described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a hollow front cross member (vehicle body member) 11 is provided at the front portion of the vehicle body so as to extend in the vehicle width direction. The front cross member 11 is configured such that an upper plate 21 disposed at an upper portion and a lower plate 22 disposed at a lower portion face each other in the vertical direction.

  The upper plate 21 has a box shape opened downward, while the lower plate 22 is formed in a flat plate shape. Therefore, the hollow front cross member 11 is obtained by joining the front lower edge portion and the rear lower edge portion of the upper plate 21 to the front edge portion and the rear edge portion of the lower plate 22 by welding or bolts. be able to.

  Here, arm members 12 are provided at both ends in the vehicle width direction of the front cross member 11 so as to protrude outward in the vehicle width direction and upward. And the upper end of the arm member 12 is supported by the lower surface of the side member 13 provided in the vehicle width direction both sides.

  Note that attachment portions 11 a are formed on the rear side of both ends in the vehicle width direction of the front cross member 11. The front cross member 11 is supported by the side member 31 at four points on the upper end of the attachment portion 11 a and the arm member 12.

  Further, at both ends of the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22 in the vehicle width direction, the base ends of the lower arms (suspension arms) 14 constituting the suspension device are supported via a rubber bush 15 so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. ing. A knuckle (not shown) of a steered wheel (front wheel) 17 is supported at the tip of the lower arm 14 via a ball joint 16. Thus, by supporting the suspension device on the front cross member 11 attached to the side member 13, the support rigidity of the suspension device is improved.

  Further, a stabilizer 18 is supported on the upper surfaces of the upper plate 21 and the lower arm 14. The stabilizer 18 extends in the vehicle width direction so as to be along the upper surfaces of the upper plate 21 and the lower arm 14. In the lower arm 14, both ends of the stabilizer 18 in the vehicle width direction are connected via rubber bushes 19. Thus, by supporting the stabilizer 18 over the front cross member 11 and the lower arm 14, the roll rigidity of the vehicle is improved.

  Next, the configuration of the lower arm 14 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 show the lower arm 14 provided on the left side in the vehicle width direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the lower arm 14 is formed by pressing a sheet metal material, and is a single-plate arm member having a triangular shape in plan view. Then, when pressing the sheet metal material, downward flange processing is applied to the outer peripheral edge portion of the lower arm 14.

  That is, the outer peripheral edge portion of the lower arm 14 includes an inner flange edge portion 31 disposed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction, a front flange edge portion 32 disposed on the vehicle body front side, and a rear flange edge portion disposed on the vehicle body rear side. 33.

  The inner flange edge 31 extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and the front flange edge 32 extends in the vehicle width direction. The rear flange edge 33 extends and is arranged so as to curve in a concave shape toward the front side of the vehicle body from the vehicle width direction inner side (base end side) to the vehicle width direction outer side (tip end side). Yes.

  Further, a bent portion 33 a is formed on the rear flange edge portion 33. The bent portion 33a is formed by bending the lower end of the rear flange edge portion 33 toward the inside thereof. The bent portion 33a is positioned at the front side of the vehicle body from the rear end of the steering wheel 17 at the rear flange edge portion 33. It is formed in the part to be.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a bent portion 33a is formed at a portion of the rear flange edge 33 facing the inner surface 17a of the steering wheel 17 in a state where the steering angle α of the steering wheel 17 is maximized. The That is, when the steering angle α of the steering wheel 17 becomes maximum, the inner side surface 17a of the steering wheel 17 comes closest to the bent portion 33a.

  Further, the lower arm 14 is formed with mounting holes 41, 42, a wheel support hole 43, and a stabilizer support hole 44.

  The mounting hole 41 is a mounting hole on the vehicle body front side for supporting the base end of the lower arm 14 between the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22, and is formed by the inner flange edge portion 31 and the front flange edge portion 32. It is arrange | positioned at the front side base end corner part. On the other hand, the mounting hole 42 is a mounting hole on the rear side of the vehicle body for supporting the base end of the lower arm 14 between the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22, and includes an inner flange edge portion 31, a rear flange edge portion 33, and the like. It is arrange | positioned at the back side base end corner part formed by these. That is, the rubber bush 15 can be mounted in the mounting holes 41 and 42.

  The wheel support hole 43 is a support hole for supporting the steered wheel 17, and is disposed at a tip corner formed by the front flange edge portion 32 and the rear flange edge portion 33. That is, the ball joint 16 can be mounted in the wheel support hole 43.

  The stabilizer support hole 44 is a support hole for supporting the stabilizer 18, and is disposed in a region facing the bent portion 33 a in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. That is, the rubber bush 19 can be mounted in the stabilizer support hole 44.

  Therefore, according to the lower arm 14 according to the present invention, the inner side surface 17a of the steered steering wheel 17 is made to face the bent portion 33a by forming the bent portion 33a at the lower end of the rear flange edge portion 33. Can do. Thereby, when the steering angle α of the steering wheel 17 to which the chain is mounted becomes the maximum, even if the chain comes into contact with the rear flange edge 33, the bent portion 33a is formed. Can be suppressed. Therefore, damage to the lower arm 14 and the chain can be prevented.

  Further, as described above, in order to improve the roll rigidity of the vehicle, it is necessary to support the stabilizer 18 on the lower arm 14. When the stabilizer support hole 44 is opened in the lower arm 14, the rigidity of the lower arm 14 and the stabilizer are increased. There is a possibility that the support rigidity of 18 may be lowered. Therefore, in the lower arm 14, the region along the bent portion 33a is a region where the rigidity of the lower arm 14 is increased, so that the stabilizer support hole 44 is formed close to the bent portion 33a. Yes. Thereby, the fall of the rigidity of the lower arm 14 and the support rigidity of the stabilizer 18 can be prevented.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to a vehicle body structure for the purpose of improving wheel support rigidity by realizing high rigidity of a suspension arm.

11 Front Cross Member 12 Arm Member 13 Side Member 14 Lower Arm 17 Steering Wheel 17a Inner Side 18 Stabilizer 21 Upper Plate 22 Lower Plate 31 Inner Flange Edge 32 Front Flange Edge 33 Rear Flange Edge 33a Bending Part 41, 42 Mounting Hole 43 Wheel support hole 44 Stabilizer support hole

Claims (4)

In the suspension arm in which the base end is supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction with respect to the vehicle body member, the steering wheel is supported at the tip, and the downward peripheral flange processing is performed on the outer peripheral edge portion.
A suspension arm, wherein a bent portion is formed at a flange edge facing the inner surface of the steered wheel in a steered state with a lower end thereof bent toward the inside of the flange edge. The suspension arm according to claim 1,
A rear flange edge that is arranged on the vehicle body rear side and curves toward the vehicle body front side as it goes from the base end side to the tip end side,
The suspension arm, wherein the bent portion is formed on the rear flange portion. The suspension arm according to claim 1 or 2,
A support hole to which an end of a stabilizer attached to the vehicle body member is coupled;
The suspension arm is characterized in that the support hole is formed in a region facing the bent portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. The suspension arm according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The suspension arm, wherein the inner surface and the bent portion face each other when a steering angle of the steered wheel is maximized.

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