JP2019177775A - Suspension cover - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a suspension cover capable of preventing a stone from colliding with an actuator when the stone positioned on a road surface is bumped up by wheels during traveling, in view of the fact that a shock absorber includes the actuator provided in the outer peripheral surface of a cylinder and adjusting damping force.SOLUTION: A suspension cover comprises: a suspension arm having a front side arm part and a rear side arm part with tips connected to a carrier, and extending in a vehicle width direction; a shock absorber positioned in a space formed between the front side arm part and the rear side arm part, and having a cylinder connected to the suspension arm and a rod connected to a vehicle body; an undercover part positioned below the suspension arm and fixed to a bottom face of the suspension arm; and a front cover part extending from a front end part of the undercover part to the upper side of the upper end of an actuator, and positioned immediately before the front side arm part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a suspension cover mounted on a suspension having a shock absorber capable of adjusting a damping force.

  One example of a vehicle suspension includes a suspension arm (lower arm) having a front arm portion and a rear arm portion whose front ends are both connected to a carrier. In this suspension, a part of the cylinder of the shock absorber is located in a space formed between the front arm part and the rear arm part, and a part of the cylinder is connected to the suspension arm so as to be relatively rotatable. The

  Further, a shock absorber capable of adjusting the damping force is known (for example, Patent Document 1). This type of shock absorber includes an actuator that is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder and adjusts the damping force. The shock absorber further includes a metal cover that covers the periphery of the actuator and is fixed to the cylinder. For this reason, for example, when a stone located on the road surface is flipped up by wheels while the vehicle is running, the cover prevents the stone from colliding with the actuator.

  When this type of shock absorber is applied to the suspension, a part of a cylinder, an actuator, and a cover are arranged in the space.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-20701

  When the suspension operates when the vehicle travels, the front arm portion, the rear arm portion, and the shock absorber (cylinder) move relative to each other. In other words, the size of the gap formed between the cylinder and the actuator and the front arm portion and the rear arm portion changes.

  Therefore, if the shock absorber is provided with a cover when the gap is small, the cover may interfere with the front arm portion and / or the rear arm portion when the suspension operates. Therefore, when providing a cover on the shock absorber, it is necessary to set the shapes of the cylinder, the actuator, the front arm portion, and the rear arm portion so that the gap is increased.

  However, for example, due to vehicle specifications, the shapes of the cylinder, the actuator, the front arm portion, and the rear arm portion may not be set so that the gap becomes large.

  The present invention has been made to address the above-described problems. That is, one of the objects of the present invention is that it can be attached to the suspension arm even when the gap formed between the cylinder and the actuator and the front arm portion and the rear arm portion of the suspension arm is small and the front side. An object of the present invention is to provide a suspension cover that can prevent a flying object flying from the vehicle from colliding with an actuator.

The suspension cover (30) of the present invention comprises:
A suspension arm (11) having a front arm part (12) and a rear arm part (13) both of which are connected to the carrier (15) at the tip part and extending in the vehicle width direction;
A cylinder (23) located in a space formed between the front arm portion and the rear arm portion and connected to the suspension arm, and a rod (24) extending upward from the cylinder and connected to the vehicle body A shock absorber (22) having:
With
In the suspension cover (30) attached to the suspension (10) having the actuator (25) that is fixed to the cylinder and adjusts the damping force of the shock absorber in a mode in which the shock absorber is located in the space,
An under cover portion (31) located below the suspension arm and fixed to the suspension arm;
A front cover portion (32) extending from the front end portion of the under cover portion to above the upper end of the actuator and positioned immediately before the front arm portion;
Is integrally provided.

  The suspension cover of the present invention includes a front cover portion that extends from the front end portion of the under cover portion to above the upper end of the actuator and is positioned immediately before the front arm portion. That is, the suspension cover is located in a space formed between the front arm portion and the rear arm portion (in other words, a gap formed between the cylinder and the actuator and the front arm portion and the rear arm portion). It is located in front of the actuator without.

  Therefore, the suspension cover of the present invention can be attached to the suspension arm even when the space (gap) is small.

  And, for example, when a stone located in front of the front cover part is flipped up by a wheel and flies backward while the vehicle is running, the front of the stone (flying object) collides with the actuator. The cover part prevents it.

  Furthermore, since the suspension cover is integrally provided with the under cover portion and the front cover portion, the number of parts and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the under cover portion and the front cover portion are separate.

  In the above description, in order to help understanding of the present invention, names and / or symbols used in the embodiment are attached to the configuration of the invention corresponding to the embodiment described later in parentheses. However, each component of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment defined by the reference numerals.

It is the perspective view seen from the front which shows the suspension, right rear wheel, and cover which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of a suspension and a cover. It is the perspective view seen from the upper part of a lower arm, a shock absorber, and a cover. It is a top view of a lower arm, a shock absorber, and a cover.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the suspension 10 to which the cover 30 described later is mounted will be described.

  The suspension 10 is an independent suspension type rear suspension, and each drawing shows the suspension 10 for the right rear wheel. In the following description, the right rear wheel suspension 10 will be described. A description of the left rear wheel suspension symmetrical to the right rear wheel suspension 10 is omitted.

  The suspension 10 has a lower arm 11 (suspension arm) extending in the width direction of the vehicle. The lower arm 11 includes a front arm portion 12 and a rear arm portion 13 that extend toward the vehicle outer side. The lower surfaces of the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13 are located on the same plane. As shown in FIG. 2, the front end portions (vehicle outer end portions) of the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13 are rotatably connected to the carrier 15. The base end portion (the vehicle inner end portion) of the lower arm 11 is connected to a suspension member (not shown) supported by the vehicle body. The right rear wheel 16 is rotatably supported on the carrier 15.

  The suspension 10 includes an upper arm (not shown, suspension arm) that is located above the lower arm 11 and extends in the vehicle width direction. The base end portion of the upper arm is connected to the suspension member, and the tip end portion of the upper arm is rotatably connected to the carrier 15. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the trailing end of the trailing arm 20 is connected to the carrier 15.

  In a space formed between the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13 of the lower arm 11, a lower portion of a shock absorber 22 extending in a substantially vertical direction is located. The shock absorber 22 includes a cylinder 23 and a rod 24 (see FIG. 4) that is slidable with respect to the cylinder 23 and whose upper portion protrudes upward from the cylinder 23. Further, an actuator 25 (a damping force adjusting mechanism) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 23. The actuator 25 is a known one that incorporates a solenoid or the like. That is, the shock absorber 22 can adjust the damping force by the action of the actuator 25. A shock absorber capable of adjusting the damping force is well known as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-020701 (Patent Document 1). Therefore, in this embodiment, the details of the shock absorber 22 (actuator 25) are described. Description is omitted. The actuator 25 is connected to one end of a harness 26 that supplies electric power to a solenoid from a control device (ECU) provided in the vehicle.

  In the present embodiment, the lower end portion of the cylinder 23 and the lower portion of the actuator 25 are located in a space formed between the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper portion of the actuator 25 is located above the upper surfaces of the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13. Further, the lower end portion of the cylinder 23 is connected to the lower arm 11 via a rubber member so as to be relatively rotatable, and the upper end portion of the rod 24 is connected to a frame of the vehicle body via the rubber member so as to be relatively rotatable.

  A cover 30 that is an integrally molded product made of resin is detachably fixed to the lower surface of the front arm portion 12. The cover 30 is integrally provided with an under cover portion 31 and a front cover portion 32.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the under cover portion 31 is located immediately below the front arm portion 12 and is fixed to the lower surface of the front arm portion 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, two female screw holes 12 a are formed in the lower surface of the front arm portion 12, and two through holes (not shown) extending in the vertical direction are formed in the under cover portion 31. Is formed. And the under cover part 31 is being fixed to the lower surface of the front arm part 12 by screwing the screw (not shown) inserted in each through-hole from the lower part of the under cover part 31 to each female screw hole 12a. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, the front end portion of the under cover portion 31 is located in front of the front surface of the front arm portion 12 in plan view. Furthermore, the lower surface of the under cover part 31 is processed so as to have a special shape. In other words, the lower surface of the under cover portion 31 is the air resistance generated between the air flow flowing between the road surface of the road and the lower part of the vehicle body and the vehicle when the vehicle carrying the suspension 10 travels on the road. It becomes the shape which makes small. That is, the under cover portion 31 has a function as an aerodynamic cover in addition to the function of covering the bottom surface of the front arm portion 12.

  The front cover portion 32 extends upward from the front end portion of the under cover portion 31. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of the front cover portion 32 is the upper surface of the front arm portion 12 (and the rear arm portion 13) and the actuator 25. Located above the top surface. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the front cover portion 32 is located at the top of the actuator 25 and immediately before the front arm portion 12.

  When a vehicle including the suspension 10 and the cover 30 of the present embodiment travels on a road, for example, a stone located on the road may be jumped up by a front wheel of the vehicle and fly backward. However, for example, even if the stone flies toward the upper side of the actuator 25, the front cover portion 32 of the cover 30 prevents the stone from colliding with the upper portion of the actuator 25. Further, when the stone flies toward the front arm portion 12, the front cover portion 32 prevents the stone from colliding with the front arm portion 12.

  Further, the cover 30 is not positioned in a gap (space) formed between the lower end portion of the cylinder 23 and the lower portion of the actuator 25 and the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13. Therefore, the cover 30 can be attached to the lower arm 11 even when the gap is small.

Furthermore, since the cover 30 is integrally provided with the under cover portion 31 and the front cover portion 32, the number of parts and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the under cover portion 31 and the front cover portion 32 are separate.
Furthermore, since the cover 30 is made of resin, it is lighter than a metal cover.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the said embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible unless it deviates from the objective of this invention.

  For example, the cover 30 may be integrally formed of a material different from the resin.

  When the upper arm (suspension arm) of the suspension 10 includes the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13, a part of the cylinder 23 and the actuator 25 are disposed in the space between the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13. The cover 30 may be attached to the front arm portion 12 at least a part of the front arm portion 12.

  The under cover portion 31 may be fixed to the front arm portion 12 by a fixing means different from the screw and the female screw hole 12a.

  The entire actuator 25 may be positioned in a space between the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13 of the suspension arm to which the cover 30 is attached.

  The present invention may be applied to the suspension arm (lower arm or upper arm) of the front suspension. In this case, for example, when another vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle to which the present invention is applied jumps up a stone on the road to the rear, this stone acts as an actuator 25 or a suspension arm of the shock absorber 22 of the front suspension. Is prevented by the cover 30 attached to the front arm portion of the suspension arm of the front suspension.

  Further, the present invention is applicable to any type of suspension as long as the suspension arm extending in the width direction of the vehicle has portions corresponding to the front arm portion 12 and the rear arm portion 13.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Suspension, 11 ... Lower arm (suspension arm), 12 ... Front side arm part, 12a ... Female screw hole, 13 ... Rear side arm part, 15 ... Carrier, 16 ... Rear wheel, 22 ... Shock absorber, 23 ... Cylinder, 24 ... Rod, 25 ... Actuator (damping force adjusting mechanism), 30 ... Cover, 31 ... Under cover part, 32 ... Front cover.

Claims (1)

A suspension arm having a front arm portion and a rear arm portion whose front end portions are both connected to the carrier and extending in the vehicle width direction;
A shock absorber having a cylinder located in a space formed between the front arm portion and the rear arm portion and connected to the suspension arm and a rod extending upward from the cylinder and connected to the vehicle body;
With
In the suspension cover that is mounted on a suspension having an actuator that is fixed to the cylinder and adjusts the damping force of the shock absorber in a mode in which the shock absorber is positioned in the space,
An under cover portion positioned below the suspension arm and fixed to the suspension arm;
A front cover portion that extends from the front end portion of the under cover portion to above the upper end of the actuator and is located immediately before the front arm portion;
Integrally with
Suspension cover.

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