JP2017114274A - Wheel support structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology which suppresses the accumulation of foreign matters at a knuckle while suppressing the movement of the foreign matters toward a hub bearing from the knuckle side.SOLUTION: A wheel support structure 1 comprises: a hub bearing 12 for rotatably supporting wheels; a knuckle 10 having an axial hole to which a part of the hub bearing 12 is inserted, and a first mating face 44 which is formed around the axial hole; and a plate 16 which is sandwiched between the hub bearing 12 and the knuckle 10, and abuts on the first mating face 44. The first mating face 44 has an upper edge 44a which extends to a vehicle fore-and-aft direction at an upper part rather than the axial hole. The plate 16 hangs out to an upper part rather than the upper edge 44a, and the upper edge 44a is formed while continuously downwardly inclining from an upper end point located at an uppermost part in a vehicle attachment state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a wheel support structure for supporting a wheel.

  The vehicle is provided with a hub bearing that rotatably supports the wheel and a knuckle that connects the hub bearing to the vehicle body side. Patent Document 1 includes a hub unit provided on a wheel, a knuckle for fixing the hub unit to the vehicle body side, and a dust cover held between the hub unit and the knuckle.

  The hub unit of Patent Literature 1 includes an outer ring member that is fixed to the vehicle body via a knuckle, an inner ring member that is fixed to the wheel side and is rotatably inserted into the outer ring member, and an outer ring member and an inner ring member. It has a rolling element provided therebetween, and a seal member that seals a gap between the outer ring member and the inner ring member. The dust cover projects outward in the radial direction while being sandwiched between the outer ring member and the knuckle of the hub unit, and suppresses foreign matters from moving from the wheel side to the vehicle body side or from the vehicle body side to the wheel side.

JP 2015-113037 A

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, foreign matter such as muddy water that falls along the knuckle is blocked by the dust cover, but there is a possibility that the foreign matter is collected while being blocked.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for suppressing foreign matter from accumulating in the knuckle while suppressing foreign matter from moving from the knuckle side toward the hub bearing. It is in.

  In order to solve the above problems, a wheel support structure according to an aspect of the present invention includes a hub bearing for rotatably supporting a wheel, a shaft hole into which a part of the hub bearing is inserted, and a shaft hole around the shaft hole. A knuckle having a mating surface to be formed; and a plate that is sandwiched between the hub bearing and the knuckle and contacts the mating surface. The mating surface has an upper edge portion extending in the vehicle front-rear direction above the shaft hole. The plate projects above the upper edge. The upper edge portion is formed so as to continuously incline downward from the uppermost point located at the uppermost position in the vehicle mounting state.

  According to this aspect, the foreign matter falling along the knuckle from the knuckle side toward the hub bearing can be stopped by the plate, and the stopped foreign matter can be discharged along the upper edge portion.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which suppresses that a foreign material accumulates in a knuckle can be provided, suppressing a foreign material moving toward a hub bearing from a knuckle side.

It is a figure for demonstrating the wheel support structure of an Example. It is a figure for demonstrating the wheel support structure of the state attached to the vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating a plate. It is a figure for demonstrating the knuckle of a comparison technique. It is a figure for demonstrating the knuckle of a modification.

  Drawing 1 is a figure for explaining wheel support structure 1 of an example. FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of the knuckle 10 and the hub bearing 12, and FIG. 1B shows a perspective view of the wheel support structure 1. In the following description, the wheel support structure 1 will be described in a state where it is attached to the vehicle, and the description will be made using the vehicle longitudinal direction, the axle direction, the vertical direction, and the horizontal direction. The axle direction is orthogonal to the vehicle longitudinal direction and the vertical direction.

  The wheel support structure 1 includes a knuckle 10, a hub bearing 12, a dust cover 14, and a plate 16. The knuckle 10 connects the hub bearing 12 and each arm connected to the vehicle body. The hub bearing 12 supports the wheel rotatably.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the dust cover 14 is fixed to the knuckle 10 and is located between the knuckle 10 and the wheel, and suppresses mud, pebbles and the like from flying from the wheel side to the vehicle body side when the vehicle travels. The dust cover 14 is formed in an arc shape, and is located on the radially outer side from the fastening portion of the knuckle 10 and the hub bearing 12. Thereby, the dust cover 14 can be made lightweight and inexpensive.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, foreign matters such as muddy water attached to the knuckle 10 move downward along the surface of the knuckle 10 and head toward the hub bearing 12. Therefore, in the wheel support structure 1 of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the plate 16 is provided between the knuckle 10 and the hub bearing 12, and foreign matter moves from the knuckle 10 toward the hub bearing 12. The foreign matter is prevented from entering the hub bearing 12. Each member of the wheel support structure 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the wheel support structure 1 attached to the vehicle. FIG. 2 shows a cross section along the axle direction, and the hub bearing 12 is fixed to the wheel 18.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, the knuckle 10 includes a main body portion 30, a neck portion 32, an upper arm attachment portion 34, a link attachment portion 36, a caliper attachment portion 38, a cover attachment portion 40, an inclined surface 42, It has one mating surface 44, a mounting hole 45 and a shaft hole 46.

  The main body 30 has a shaft hole 46 penetrating in the axle direction, and a part of the hub bearing 12 is inserted into the shaft hole 46. The neck portion 32 extends upward from the main body portion 30 and supports the upper arm attachment portion 34. As shown in FIG. 2, the neck portion 32 is inclined inwardly in the vehicle width direction upward to avoid a wheel.

  The link attachment portion 36 is formed to extend from the main body portion 30 to the front side of the vehicle in an arm shape, and is attached to one end of a link member connected to the vehicle body side. The caliper mounting portion 38 is formed on a side portion of the main body portion 30 for mounting a brake caliper. A plurality of cover attachment portions 40 are formed on the main body portion 30 in order to attach the dust cover 14.

  The first mating surface 44 is formed to fasten the hub bearing 12 as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2 and is formed flat so as to be orthogonal to the axle direction and the horizontal direction. The first mating surface 44 is formed so as to protrude outward in the axle direction at the knuckle 10 by the inclined surface 42 that continues to the upper edge portion 44 a of the first mating surface 44. The first mating surface 44 is formed in an annular shape around the shaft hole 46. A plurality of mounting holes 45 into which the first bolts 22 can be inserted are formed in the first mating surface 44.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the hub bearing 12 includes a first member 50 fixed to the knuckle 10 and a second member 54 fixed to the wheel 18, and the first member 50 and the second member 54 are relative to each other. It can be rotated. A rolling element is provided inside the hub bearing 12. A seal member 59 is provided in the gap between the first member 50 and the second member 54 so that foreign matter does not enter the inside of the hub bearing 12.

  The first member 50 is fastened to the knuckle 10 by the first bolt 22. That is, the first member 50 and the knuckle 10 are fastened by inserting the first bolt 22 into the mounting hole 45 and the fastening hole 52a. In a state where the first mating surface 44 of the knuckle 10 and the second mating surface 56 of the first member 50 are mated with the plate 16, that is, in a state where the plate 16 is sandwiched between the first mating surface 44 and the second mating surface 56, The first member 50 is fastened to the knuckle 10. The first mating surface 44 and the second mating surface 56 abut against the plate 16.

  A plurality of fastening holes 52a of the first member 50 are formed in the flange portion 52, for example, four. The flange portion 52 is formed to project outward in the radial direction from the shaft hole 58 of the hub bearing 12. The upper edge portion of the first member 50 is formed to be recessed downward.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second member 54 is fastened to the wheel 18 by the second bolt 24. The disk rotor 20 is sandwiched between the second member 54 and the wheel 18 and fastened together.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the dust cover 14 is formed with a plurality of knuckle attachment holes 60 for attachment to the knuckle 10. The dust cover 14 is fixed to the knuckle 10 by screwing screws or the like into the cover mounting portion 40 of the knuckle 10 and the knuckle mounting hole 60 of the dust cover 14.

  The plate 16 is provided at a position overlapping the disk rotor 20 in the radial direction as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1B and 2, the plate 16 projects upward from the first mating surface 44 of the knuckle 10 and the first member 50. Accordingly, when muddy water or the like falls downward along the neck portion 32 of the knuckle 10, it can be prevented from being dammed by the plate 16 and entering the inside of the hub bearing 12.

  FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the plate 16. FIG. 3A is a plan view of the plate 16, and FIG. 3B is a view for explaining a state in which the plate 16 is aligned with the first member 50.

  The plate 16 is formed by cutting a metal plate material. The plate 16 is formed with a shaft hole 66 and a plurality of through holes 64. The through-holes 64 are formed around the shaft hole 66 and are located two above and two below. The first bolt 22 shown in FIG. 2 is inserted through the through hole 64.

  The upper edge portion 62 of the plate 16 is above the upper end of the shaft hole 58, above the pair of upper through holes 64, above the upper edge portion 44a of the first mating surface 44, as shown in FIG. It is located above the first member 50. The upper edge portion 44 a of the first mating surface 44 is the upper side of the first mating surface 44, and extends in the vehicle front-rear direction across the pair of upper flange portions 52.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the upper edge portion 50 a of the first member 50 is formed so as to be recessed between the upper pair of flange portions 52, thereby reducing the weight of the first member 50. On the other hand, the upper edge portion 44a of the first mating surface 44 of the knuckle 10 is not recessed but is formed in a substantially linear shape, and is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction in the vehicle mounting state. The upper edge portion 44a is formed by continuously inclining downward from an upper end point 44b positioned at the uppermost position in the vehicle mounting state, and smoothly inclines. Due to the inclination of the upper edge portion 44a, the muddy water that has fallen from the inclined surface 42 toward the upper edge portion 44a can be moved along the inclination and drained from the first member 50 to the front of the vehicle.

  The inclined surface 42 is inclined along the upper edge portion 44a and functions as a foreign matter discharge path. That is, the inclined surface 42 is formed so as to be continuously inclined downward from the uppermost point located at the uppermost position in the vehicle mounting state. The inclined surface 42 is located below the cover mounting portion 40 and continues to the upper edge portion 44 a of the first mating surface 44.

  FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the knuckle 100 of the comparative technique. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the hub bearing 12 is attached to the knuckle 100. The knuckle 100 of the comparative technique is different from the knuckle 10 shown in FIG. 1A in that the recess 70 is continuously provided on the upper side of the first mating surface 144. The recess 70 is formed according to the upper edge portion 50a of the first member 50 that is recessed between the pair of flange portions 52. The upper edge portion 144a of the first mating surface 144 is recessed by the recess portion 70.

  In the knuckle 100 of the comparative technique, when muddy water or the like falls along the neck portion 32, the knuckle 100 may accumulate in the recess 70. Further, since the central portion of the upper edge portion 144a of the first mating surface 144 is recessed, muddy water is not drained in the vehicle front-rear direction and flows into the gap with the first member 50.

  In the wheel support structure 1 of the embodiment, the muddy water is prevented from flowing into the gap between the first member 50 and the knuckle 10 by the plate 16, and the upper edge portion 44a of the first mating surface 44 is inclined so as not to be recessed. Can be drained. Thereby, possibility that the knuckle 10 will rust by muddy water collecting over a long period of time can be reduced.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a knuckle 200 according to a modification. FIG. 2 is a front view of the knuckle 200 as viewed from the outside in the axle direction. The knuckle 200 of the modified example is different in shape of the first mating surface 244 from the knuckle 10 shown in FIG. 1, and the upper edge portion 244a of the first mating surface 244 is formed in a mountain shape. Both ends 244b of the upper edge portion 244a are positioned in front of or behind the vehicle from the shaft hole 46.

  The upper edge portion 244a of the first mating surface 244 is formed in a mountain shape between the pair of upper mounting holes 45, and continuously inclines downward from the uppermost end point 244c located in the uppermost position in the vehicle mounting state. The muddy water that is formed and falls along the neck portion 32 can be drained to both sides.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and various modifications such as design changes can be added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. The configuration shown in each drawing is for explaining an example, and can be appropriately changed as long as the configuration can achieve the same function.

  In the embodiment, a mode in which the dust cover 14 and the plate 16 are provided is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this mode. For example, the dust cover and the plate may be integrally formed. Even in this modified example, by tilting the upper edge portion 44a, foreign matter can be discharged along the upper edge portion 44a and foreign matter can be prevented from accumulating.

  1 wheel support structure, 10 knuckle, 12 hub bearing, 14 dust cover, 16 plate, 18 wheel, 20 disk rotor, 22 first bolt, 24 second bolt, 30 body part, 32 neck part, 34 upper arm attachment part, 36 Link mounting portion, 38 caliper mounting portion, 40 cover mounting portion, 42 inclined surface, 44 first mating surface, 44a upper edge portion, 45 mounting hole, 46 shaft hole, 50 first member, 52 flange portion, 52a fastening hole, 54 second member, 56 second mating surface, 58 shaft hole, 59 seal member, 60 knuckle mounting hole, 64 through hole, 66 shaft hole, 70 recess.

Claims (1)

A hub bearing for rotatably supporting the wheel;
A knuckle having a shaft hole into which a part of the hub bearing is inserted, and a mating surface formed around the shaft hole;
A plate that is sandwiched between the hub bearing and the knuckle and contacts the mating surface,
The mating surface has an upper edge extending in the vehicle front-rear direction above the shaft hole,
The plate projects above the upper edge,
The wheel support structure according to claim 1, wherein the upper edge portion is formed by continuously inclining downward from an uppermost point located at the uppermost position in a vehicle mounting state.

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