JP2018020605A - Suspension device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suspension device capable of simplifying a structure.SOLUTION: A suspension device includes: a pair of links disposed while separated apart in a vehicle vertical direction and having one end side connected on a vehicle body side and the other side connected on an axle side; and an elastic body disposed between the pair of links and formed of an elastomer subjected to shearing force in a link extension direction generated by rotation of the pair of links.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a suspension device, and more particularly, to a suspension device that enables a simplified structure.

  Conventionally, in a suspension device in a vehicle, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a trailing link system in which a rotation axis of a link connecting a vehicle body and a wheel is set in a width direction of the vehicle body, As disclosed in Document 3, a double wishbone system in which the rotation axis of a link is set in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is known. In each of these suspension systems, the torsional force of a metal spring such as a coil spring or a torsion bar or the compression force of the coil spring is applied to the link to support the vehicle body, and the vibration of the vehicle body is attenuated. It is comprised so that it may attenuate by.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-176309 JP-A-7-101216 JP 2014-227147 A

However, in the suspension system as described above, the structure such as the arrangement of the metal springs and the arrangement of the attenuators with respect to the link is complicated, the weight of the apparatus itself increases, and the space occupied by the suspension apparatus in the vehicle tends to increase. There is a problem.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a suspension device capable of simplifying the structure and reducing the weight of the device itself and the occupied space.

As a configuration of the suspension device for solving the above-described problem, a pair of links that are spaced apart in the vertical direction of the vehicle body, one end side is connected to the vehicle body side, and the other end side is connected to the axle side, and between the pair of links And an elastic body made of an elastomer that receives a shearing force in the extension direction of the link generated by the rotation of the pair of links.
According to this configuration, the structure can be simplified, and the weight of the device itself and the occupied space in the vehicle can be reduced.

It is the external view and exploded perspective view of the suspension apparatus which concern on this embodiment. It is a block diagram of a suspension spring. It is a figure which shows a steering operation. It is a figure showing buffer operation.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included in the invention. It is not necessarily essential to the solution, but includes a configuration that is selectively adopted.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a suspension device 1. In the example shown in the figure, a case where the Dubonnet type suspension device 1 is applied to the left front wheel of the vehicle is shown. As shown in FIG. 1, the suspension device 1 includes, for example, a knuckle 2, a pair of links 3; 3, a buffer body 5, and an axle portion 6, and a suspension member 8 that extends from the vehicle body in the vehicle body width direction. It is attached. The suspension member 8 has a through hole 8A extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle body at the end, and the knuckle 2 is attached through the through hole 8A.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the knuckle 2 includes a vehicle body attachment portion 20, a steering mechanism connection portion 22, and a link attachment portion 23. The vehicle body attachment portion 20 is provided as a pair of extension portions 21; 21 that extend in parallel in the same direction while being separated from each other in the vertical direction. A hole 21 </ b> A penetrating in the vertical direction is formed coaxially on the distal end side of each extension portion 21. The extension portions 21; 21 that are spaced apart from each other sandwich the suspension member 8. Specifically, the knuckle 2 is rotated at the end of the suspension member 8 by inserting the shaft 7 with the through hole 8A of the suspension member 8 and the holes 21A; It is supported freely. The shaft 7 is prevented from dropping from the knuckle 2 by a holding means (not shown).

  The steering mechanism connecting portion 22 is provided as a plate-like projecting piece that is located a predetermined distance from the hole 21 </ b> A constituting the vehicle body mounting portion 20 and located in front of the vehicle body and protrudes toward the vehicle body side. The steering mechanism connecting portion 22 has a hole 22A that penetrates in the vertical direction of the vehicle body. A shaft 9j of a ball joint (not shown) provided at the tip of the tie rod 9 constituting the steering mechanism of the vehicle passes through the hole 22A, and the shaft 9j is fastened by a nut 9n. In this manner, the knuckle 2 is attached to the suspension member 8 and the tie rod 9 via the vehicle body attachment portion 20 and the steering mechanism connection portion 22, respectively, so that the shaft 7 is set as the rotation center by the operation of the steering wheel by the driver. Rotational control in the left-right direction of the vehicle body is possible.

  The link attachment portion 23 is provided as a screw hole 23N; 23N formed on the surface opposite to the surface from which the steering mechanism coupling portion 22 projects. The screw holes 23N; 23N are formed at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction, and the axis of the screw holes 23N; 23N is a position where the knuckle 2 is neutral with respect to the vehicle body. It is formed so as to coincide with the vehicle body width direction (see FIG. 3B).

  The links 3; 3 are parts having the same shape and arranged separately in the vertical direction. The vehicle body side mounting portion 31 provided on the front end side in the front-rear direction and the axle side mounting portion provided on the rear end side. 32 and a shock absorber mounting portion 33 provided at a substantially intermediate position in the front-rear direction. In addition, about the shape of the upper and lower links 3; 3, it can change suitably, For example, length and a shape may mutually differ.

  The vehicle body side attachment portion 31 and the axle side attachment portion 32 are formed in a cylindrical shape in which the respective axis lines extend in the same direction at the end portions. The vehicle body side mounting portion 31 and the axle side mounting portion 32 are each provided with a cylindrical rubber bush (not shown), and a cylindrical metal collar is provided on the inner periphery of the rubber bush, and the through hole 31A extends in the same direction; 32A is formed.

  The shock absorber mounting portion 33 is provided as a through-hole 33A that penetrates in the direction orthogonal to the axis of the vehicle body side mounting portion 31 (axle side mounting portion 32). In the present embodiment, the through holes 33 </ b> A are provided at two positions in each link 3 and separated by a predetermined distance along the front-rear direction of the links 3. Further, the buffer mounting part 33 of the link 3 positioned on the upper side is provided so as to be positioned on the front side of the vehicle body with respect to the buffer mounting part 33 of the link 3 positioned on the lower side (see FIG. 2).

  The links 3; 3 are attached to the knuckle by bolts 12; 12, respectively. Specifically, the bolts 12; 12 are passed through the vehicle body side mounting portions 31; 31, respectively, and the ends are fastened to the screw holes 23N; 23N formed in the knuckle 2, whereby the links 3; 3 are respectively knuckle. 2 is attached so as to be rotatable about a bolt 12; Further, when the knuckle 2 is attached to the knuckle 2 and is neutral with respect to the vehicle body, the links 3; 3 extend in parallel to each other in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The axle part 6 is attached to the axle side attachment part 32 of each of the links 3;

  The axle portion 6 includes an axle 61 and a hub 62. The axle 61 is composed of a link connecting part 63 and a shaft part 64. The link connecting portion 63 is configured by screw holes 63N; 63N that are separated in the vertical direction. The pitch distance between the screw holes 63N; 63N is set to be the same as the pitch distance between the two screw holes 23N; 23N formed in the knuckle 2 as the link attachment portion 23. The axle 61 is attached to the link 3; 3 by means of bolts 13; Specifically, the bolts 13; 13 are respectively passed through the axle-side mounting portions 32; 32, and the ends are fastened to screw holes 63N; 63N formed in the axle 61, whereby the links 3; 61 is rotatable about a bolt 13; 13 as an axis. In this way, the double-trailing suspension device 1 is configured by connecting the knuckle 2 and the axle portion 6 via the pair of links 3; 3.

  The shaft portion 64 extends from the surface opposite to the surface on which the link connecting portion 63 is formed in the same direction as the axis of the vehicle body side mounting portion 31 and the axle side mounting portion 32 of the link 3. In a state where the axle portion 6 is attached to the link 3; 3, the hub 62 is rotatably attached to the shaft portion 64 via a bearing (not shown). The hub 62 is provided with a plurality of hub bolts 65 for attaching the tire T in parallel with the extending direction of the shaft portion 64.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the buffer body 5. As shown in FIG. 2, a buffer 5 is provided between a pair of links 3; The buffer body 5 has an elastic body 50 made of an elastomer such as rubber or silicon, and a pair of mounting brackets 51; The elastic body 50 is formed into a parallelepiped shape in which the vertical cross section in the front-rear direction is a parallelogram shape in an unloaded natural state.

  The mounting bracket 51; 51 is a rectangular plate, for example, and is made of a highly rigid member made of metal such as iron or aluminum alloy. On one surface of the mounting bracket 51; 51, screw holes 51N; 51N that are concave in the thickness direction are provided corresponding to the positions of the through holes 33A; 33A provided in the links 3; The mounting brackets 51; 51 are arranged corresponding to the upper surface 50a and the lower surface 50b of the elastic body 50, respectively. Specifically, the surface 51a opposite to the surface on which the screw hole 51N is provided is integrated with a fixing method such as adhesion in a state where the surface 51a faces the upper surface 50a and the lower surface 50b.

  The buffer body 5 having the above-described configuration is fixed between 3 and 3 by passing the bolts 14 through the through holes 33A and 33A provided in the links 3 and 3 and fastening the ends to the screw holes 51N. As shown in FIG. 2A, the thickness H of the shock absorber 5 including the mounting brackets 51; 51 is the distance L of the perpendicular line connecting the links 3; 3, that is, the extending direction (front-rear direction) of the links 3. Is set equal to the length dimension orthogonal to

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the suspension device 1. The operation of the suspension device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, in order to distinguish the upper and lower links 3; 3, the lower link 3 will be described as the lower link 3A, and the upper link 3 will be described as the upper link 3B. FIG. 4A shows a state when the shock absorber 5 is assembled, for example, a state where the vehicle is lifted and the tire T is not in contact with the road surface. At this time, the elastic body 50 of the buffer body 5 is in a natural state in which no force is applied from the links 3A; 3B.

FIG. 4B shows a so-called 1G state in which the tire T is grounded in a stationary state.
In this state, the lower link 3 </ b> A and the upper link 3 </ b> B rotate downward on the vehicle body side attachment portion 31; 31 side with the axle 61 side as an axis due to the vehicle weight. Then, due to the rotation of the lower link 3A and the upper link 3B, the mounting bracket 51 fixed to the lower link 3A moves to the front of the vehicle body, and the mounting bracket 51 fixed to the upper link 3B moves to the rear of the vehicle body. At this time, on the upper surface 50a and the lower surface 50b, which are the bonding surfaces of the elastic body 50 with the mounting brackets 51; 51, as shown by the arrows in the enlarged view of FIG. A reverse force F1;
That is, a force in the shear direction along the extending direction of the links 3A; 3B is generated in the elastic body 50. The elastic body 50 is deformed so that the force in the shear direction is balanced with the vehicle weight, thereby supporting the vehicle body. At this time, the lower link 3A and the upper link 3B extend substantially parallel to the road surface.

FIG. 4C shows the operation of the suspension device 1 when there is an input such as exceeding a step during traveling. Due to the input from the step, the lower link 3A and the upper link 3B further rotate downward on the vehicle body side attachment portion 31; 31 side from the state shown in FIG. 4 (b).
Due to the rotation of the lower link 3A and the upper link 3B, the mounting bracket 51 fixed to the lower link 3A that is in a substantially horizontal state parallel to the road surface moves further forward of the vehicle body, and the mounting bracket 51 fixed to the upper link 3B is Move to the rear of the car.
At this time, the upper surface 50a and the lower surface 50b, which are the bonding surfaces of the elastic body 50 with the mounting bracket 51; 51, are larger than the force F1; F2, as indicated by the arrows in the enlarged view of FIG. A reverse force F3; F4 along the extending direction of the links 3A; 3B acts.
That is, a greater shearing force is generated in the elastic body 50 along the extending direction of the links 3A; 3B. The elastic body 50 is deformed so that the force in the shear direction is balanced with the input from the road surface, thereby supporting the vehicle body.
In this way, by applying a force in the opposite shear direction to the elastic body 50 made of an elastomer, the non-linearity peculiar to the deformation of the elastomer is suppressed and the elastic body 50 functions as a buffer member such as a metal spring. Can do.
For example, consider a case in which a rubber spring made of an elastomer is applied instead of a metal coil spring. The rubber spring has a characteristic that the nonlinearity is strong as a spring characteristic, and the strength of the nonlinearity changes depending on the deformation direction of the rubber. On the other hand, since the coil spring basically has no nonlinearity, it is necessary to weaken the nonlinearity specific to the rubber spring. In the present invention, since the force in the shearing direction in which the nonlinearity is weakened is used as the rubber spring, the nonlinearity can be weakened as compared with a conventional rubber spring such as a Knighthard type.

As described above, the suspension device 1 includes the pair of links 3; 3 that are arranged apart from each other in the vertical direction of the vehicle body and connect the knuckle 2 and the axle portion 6 on the vehicle body side, and the pair of links 3; 3 The buffer body 5 having the elastic body 50 made of an elastomer is interposed between them. The elastic body 50 is configured to support the vehicle body by applying a shearing force in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body caused by the rotation of the link 3; 3 by the input to the tire T.
Therefore, a heavy metal coil spring or torsion bar is not necessary, and the elastic body 50 made of elastomer has a viscous force at the time of deformation, so that the attenuator can be omitted. That is, according to the suspension device 1 according to this embodiment, the weight of the device itself and the number of parts can be significantly reduced, and the occupied space in the vehicle can be reduced.

  The shape of the elastic body 50 is not limited to a parallelepiped, but can be changed as appropriate, such as a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a vertical cross section in the front-rear direction is a trapezoidal shape, and a cross-sectional shape along the extension direction of the link 3 is a circle or a polygon more than a triangle. It is.

  Moreover, the elastomer which comprises the elastic body 50 may be comprised with one raw material, and may be comprised combining several raw materials. For example, it is good also as an elastic body which laminated | stacked the elastomer from which a rigidity differs between a pair of links 3; 3.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the elastic body 50 which comprises the buffer 5 was demonstrated as what interposes between the links 3; 3 via the attachment metal fittings 51; 51, the elastic body 50 is set with respect to the links 3; 3. May be directly bonded.

  In the above-described embodiment, the suspension device 1 is described as being configured by the double trailing method. However, the suspension device 1 may be applied to a double reading method or a double wishbone method in which the rotation shaft of the link extends in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Can do.

1 suspension device, 3 links, 5 shock absorbers, 31 vehicle body side mounting part,
32 Axle side mounting part, 50 elastic body.

Claims (1)

A pair of links that are spaced apart in the vertical direction of the vehicle body, one end side is connected to the vehicle body side, and the other end side is connected to the axle side;
An elastic body that is disposed between the pair of links and is made of an elastomer that receives a shearing force in an extension direction of the links generated by rotation of the pair of links;
Suspension device with

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