JP2698333B2 - Device for connecting shock absorber to vehicle - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for connecting a shock absorber of a vehicle suspension to a vehicle, and more particularly, to a method of connecting a shock absorber provided between an upper end member of the suspension shock absorber and a vehicle body to the vehicle. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, such a connection device is applied to suspensions 21 and 22 at the front and rear of a vehicle as shown in FIG.
And the coil spring 2 is attached to the vehicle body 1. FIG. 7 shows a conventional connection device for connecting such a shock absorber to a vehicle. In this method, an upper bracket 4 having a spring seat 3 on which the upper end of a coil spring 2 of the suspension abuts is attached to the vehicle body 1 with bolts and nuts.
A through hole 7 through which a shaft 6 as an upper end member of a shock absorber (shock absorber) 5 penetrates, and concave portions 9 and 9 where insulator rubbers 8 and 8 are arranged with the spring seat interposed therebetween. And a stepped portion 10 provided at the tip of the shaft 6 of the shock absorber, and a nut 12 screwed into a male screw portion 11 at the tip of the shaft 6 of the shock absorber, and two insulator rubbers 8, 8 and a spring seat 3. Is fixed by being sandwiched between the washers 13, 13.

Therefore, when such a device for attaching a shock absorber to a vehicle body is usually used, it is not possible to change the mounting position of the vehicle body and the shock absorber, that is, the height of the vehicle body.

By the way, in a normal four-wheeled vehicle, by adjusting the vehicle height of each wheel, that is, the distance from the wheel contact surface to the mounting point of the shock absorber to the vehicle body,
The vehicle weight applied to each wheel can be changed. Generally, a wheel having a lower vehicle height has a smaller load applied to the wheel, and a wheel having a higher vehicle height has a larger load applied to the wheel.

[0005] In such adjustment of the vehicle height, it is desirable that the load of the wheels in the vehicle width direction is equalized, and the adjustment of the vehicle height in the front and rear directions is performed by adjusting the vehicle height. Because it affects the steering characteristics,
It has been adjusted to be appropriate during vehicle manufacture.

[0006]

However, in a situation where a special vehicle such as a race is used, it may be desired to adjust the vehicle height of each of the four wheels. This is because there is a demand to change the driving characteristics of the vehicle in accordance with the driver's preference and the characteristics of the circuit by adjusting the vehicle height with respect to the front and rear wheels.

In the conventional shock absorber mounting device, as shown in FIG. 8, when adjusting the vehicle height, the lower spring seat 14 on the lower side of the spring 2 mounted on the shock absorber 5 is used. Move up and down.

However, when the seat 14 below the spring is moved, for example, when the vehicle height is lowered, the stroke of the suspension changes as shown in FIGS. (A,
Further, the set load (repulsion force on the extension side of the spring) of the spring 2 when incorporated in the vehicle is also changed. For this reason, it was difficult to adjust only the vehicle height without affecting other suspension elements.

In response to such a demand, the mounting position of the upper member of the shock absorber is changed as a device for connecting the shock absorber to the vehicle which can change the vehicle height without changing the set load of the spring. In some cases, the load on the spring is adjusted by changing the mounting position of a spring lower seat in which the lower side of the spring is attached to a shock absorber.

However, even with such a device, the set load and the vehicle height can be adjusted independently. For example, when only the vehicle height is adjusted, only the upper mount needs to be adjusted. Although the adjustment of the vehicle height can be performed independently of the setting of the set load, when the set load is adjusted, the vehicle height changes at the same time due to its structure. There is a problem that needs to be done.

In addition, when adjusting the vehicle height and the set load, the vehicle must be jacked up and the tires must be removed, and even if the tires are not removed, the work must be performed under the vehicle so as to dive under the vehicle. And there is a problem that it is complicated.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle which can easily adjust the vehicle height and the set load independently without removing a tire or taking a posture of diving under the vehicle. It is intended to provide a device.

[0013]

In the present invention, the first means for solving the above-mentioned problems is as shown in FIG. 1, which comprises a shock absorber 31, a spring 32, a vehicle body 33 and a vehicle body 33 which constitute a vehicle suspension. Between the shock absorber 31
And a device for connecting the spring 32 to the vehicle body 33, a screw hole 34 having a female screw formed therein, and a flange portion 35 provided around the screw hole 34 for attachment to the vehicle body.
Height adjust sleeve 3 having an outer periphery formed with a male screw portion 37 which is cylindrical and is screwed into the screw hole 34 of the upper bracket 36.
9 and the male screw portion 3 of the height adjusting sleeve 39
7, a sleeve lock nut 40 that abuts on the upper bracket 36 and locks the height adjustment sleeve 39, a spherical portion 42 having a hole 41, and a holding portion that holds the spherical portion 42. Part 43, and the holding part 43 is the height adjusting sleeve 3.
9 and the spherical bearing 44
The inner threaded tube portion 46 fitted and fixed in the hole 41 of the inner threaded portion and having a female threaded portion 45 formed on the inner surface thereof, formed at the outside of the lower end portion of the inner threaded tube portion 46 and abutting on the upper end portion of the spring 32, Spring lower seat 4 attached to 31
And a spring upper seat 49 formed from a spring abutting portion 48 for holding the spring 32 between itself and the inner threaded tube portion 46 from above.
A preload adjusting bolt 51 connected to the upper end member 50 and a preload that is screwed into the preload adjusting bolt 51 and contacts the upper end of the inner threaded tube portion 46 of the spring upper seat 49 to lock the preload adjusting bolt. This is a device for connecting a shock absorber composed of an adjustment bolt lock nut 52 to a vehicle.

The device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle according to the present invention can be applied to a front wheel or a rear wheel of a vehicle, and further to both a front wheel and a rear wheel.

According to the connection device for connecting the shock absorber to the vehicle according to the present invention, the adjustment of the vehicle height and the adjustment of the set load of the spring can be performed independently. That is, to adjust the vehicle height, the distance d between the upper bracket 36 and the spring contact portion 48 of the spring upper seat 49 (FIG. 2)
Is performed by changing.

In this operation, the sleeve lock nut 40 is loosened, the height adjusting sleeve 39 is rotated, and the height adjusting sleeve 39 is moved up and down with respect to the upper bracket 36.

As a result, the spherical bearing 44, the preload adjusting bolt 51, the spring upper seat 49, and the shock absorber 3 located inside the height adjusting sleeve are provided.
1 (shown by hatching in FIG. 2) moves up and down with respect to the upper bracket 36. Thereby, the vehicle height can be adjusted. At this time, since the compression amount of the spring 32, that is, the dimension between the spring upper seat 49 and the spring lower seat does not change, the set load of the spring does not change at all.

On the other hand, the adjustment of the set load of the spring 32 is performed by changing the distance between the spring upper seat 49 and the spring lower seat 47 sandwiching the spring 32. In this operation, the preload adjustment bolt lock nut 52 is loosened, the preload adjustment bolt 51 is rotated with respect to the spring upper seat 49, and the upper end member 50 of the shock absorber 31 integrated with the preload adjustment bolt 51 is moved up and down. Let it.

As a result, the spring upper seat 49
The distance between the spring 32 and the spring lower seat 47 is changed, the degree of compression of the spring 32 is changed, and the set load can be adjusted. At this time, since the distance d between the upper bracket 36 and the spring upper seat 49 does not change, the vehicle height of the vehicle body does not change.

Therefore, the adjustment of the vehicle height and the set load can be performed independently, and these adjustments can be performed from above the vehicle, so that the tires are not removed or the vehicle does not fall under the vehicle. It can be done easily.

[0021]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an apparatus for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle according to the present invention. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of a device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view and a partial cross-sectional view of a connecting device used for a front wheel of a vehicle, FIGS. 2 and 3 show the operation of the connecting device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 (2) is an exploded perspective view of the upper bracket of the device used for the rear wheel of the vehicle.

These structures are appropriately changed depending on the type of vehicle used, but the basic structure is not changed. Also, since the connecting device for connecting the shock absorber used for the front wheel and the rear wheel to the vehicle has the same basic structure except for detailed design matters, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. I do.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the connecting device of the shock absorber to the vehicle is provided between the rod 50, which is the upper end member of the shock absorber 44, which is the shock absorber constituting the vehicle suspension, and the vehicle body 33. And the coil spring 32, which is a spring, is connected to the shock absorber 3
1 and is held in compression between a lower spring seat 47 provided on the lower side.

In this embodiment, the connection device includes an upper bracket 36, a height adjustment sleeve 39, a sleeve lock nut 40, a spherical bearing 44, a spring upper seat 49, and a preload adjustment bolt 5.
1 and a preload adjust bolt lock nut.

The upper bracket 36 has a screw hole 34 formed with a female screw at the center, and a screw hole 5 of a bolt 53 for attaching to the vehicle body 33 is formed around the screw hole 34.
Numeral 4 is a disk-shaped member on which the opened flange portion 35 is formed.

The height adjusting sleeve 36 is
The screw hole 3 of the upper bracket 36 has a cylindrical shape.
A male screw portion 37 to be screwed into 4 is formed on the outer periphery, and a groove 38 for tool engagement is formed on the shape surface. By rotating the height adjusting sleeve 36, the height adjusting sleeve 36 moves up and down with respect to the vehicle body 33.

The sleeve lock nut 40 is screwed into the male thread portion 37 of the height adjustment sleeve 39 from above, contacts the upper bracket 36, and locks the height adjustment sleeve 39.

Further, the spherical bearing 44 includes a spherical portion 42 having a hole 41 and a holding portion 4 for holding the spherical portion 42.
The holding portion 43 is fitted in the height adjustment sleeve 39 and fixed by a fixing ring 55.

The spring upper seat 49 is fitted into the hole 41 of the spherical bearing 44, is fixed by a fixing ring member 56, and has an internal thread portion 45 formed on an inner surface thereof.
6, a spring contact formed between the lower end of the inner threaded tube portion 46 and the upper end of the coil spring 32, and holding the spring 32 between the spring lower seat 47 attached to the shock absorber 31. It is formed from the contact portion 48.

Then, the preload adjustment bolt 51
Has a hexagonal neck 51a at the upper end,
And a female screw portion 51b into which the rod 50 as the upper end member of the shock absorber 31 is screwed.

The preload adjustment bolt lock nut 52 is screwed into the preload adjustment bolt 51 and contacts the upper end of the inner threaded tube portion 46 of the spring upper seat 49 to lock the preload adjustment bolt.

Next, the operation of the device for connecting the shock absorber to the vehicle according to this embodiment will be described. First, to change the height of the vehicle, the vehicle is jacked up and the sleeve lock nut 40 is loosened. And the height adjustment sleeve 39
Is rotated to raise and lower the height adjustment sleeve 39 with respect to the upper bracket 36.

Thus, the spherical bearing 44, the preload adjustment bolt 51, the spring upper seat 49, and the shock absorber 3 located inside the height adjustment sleeve are provided.
1 (shown by hatching in FIG. 2) moves up and down with respect to the upper bracket 36. Thereby, the vehicle height can be adjusted. At this time, since the compression amount of the spring 32, that is, the dimension between the spring upper seat 49 and the spring lower seat does not change, the set load of the spring does not change at all.

For this adjustment, as shown in FIG. 5, a shaft wrench 57 having three claw portions 57a formed on the end surface of the cylindrical member is used to adjust the claw portion 57a of the shaft wrench 57 to a height adjusting sleeve. The height adjustment sleeve 39 is rotated by engaging with the tool engagement groove 38 of the 39.

On the other hand, to adjust the set load of the spring 32, the distance between the spring upper seat 49 and the spring lower seat 47 sandwiching the coil spring 32 may be changed with the shock absorber 31 fully extended. . In the present embodiment, during the actual adjustment, the adjustment can be performed without extending the shock absorber 31.

This operation is performed by loosening the preload adjustment bolt lock nut 52, rotating the preload adjustment bolt 51 with respect to the spring upper seat 49,
This is performed by moving the rod 50, which is the upper end member of the shock absorber 31 integrated with the preload adjustment bolt 51, up and down. At this time, the preload adjustment bolt may be rotated with a commonly used wrench without using a special tool.

As a result, the spring upper sheet 49
The distance between the spring 32 and the spring lower seat 47 is changed, the degree of compression of the spring 32 is changed, and the set load can be adjusted. At this time, since the distance d between the upper bracket 36 and the spring upper seat 49 does not change, the vehicle height of the vehicle body does not change.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the adjustment of the vehicle height and the set load can be performed independently, and these adjustments can be made from above the vehicle, so that the tires can be removed or the vehicle can go under the vehicle. It can be easily performed without taking such a posture.

FIG. 4B is an exploded perspective view showing an upper bracket 61 of a device for connecting a shock absorber used for a rear wheel to a vehicle. In the present embodiment, the upper bracket 61 includes a disk-shaped flange portion 62 and a screw portion 63 having a female screw 71 formed therein.

The flange portion 62 has the screw portion 63 at the center.
A long slot 68 for mounting is provided, and two rows of long bolt insertion holes 69 for inserting a bolt 75 for mounting a screw portion are provided with the long hole 68 interposed therebetween. A bolt hole 70 for fixing to 33 is formed.

The female screw portion 63 includes a cylindrical portion 72 having a female screw 71 formed therein and mounting flanges 73 formed on both sides of the cylindrical portion 72. The mounting flange 73 is formed with four screw holes 74, respectively. The mounting position in the vehicle width direction of the spherical bearing 53 of the flange portion 62 fixed to the vehicle body can be adjusted, so that the camber amount of the suspension can be adjusted. It is the same as the connection device of the container to the vehicle.

[0042]

As described above, according to the device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle according to the present invention, the height of the vehicle can be adjusted by rotating the height adjusting sleeve without affecting the set load of the spring. It can be done independently, and the set load can be adjusted independently by changing the vehicle height by rotating the preload adjustment bolt, so that the vehicle height and the spring set load can be easily adjusted. Since these adjustments can be made from above the vehicle, there is an effect that the adjustment can be easily performed without removing the tires or taking a posture of dive under the vehicle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of a device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle according to the present invention, wherein (1) is a plan view and (2) is a partially sectional front view.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the operation of a device for connecting the shock absorber shown in FIG. 1 to a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the operation of a device for connecting the shock absorber shown in FIG. 1 to a vehicle.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein (1) shows an entire device used for front wheels, and (2) is used for rear wheels. 3 shows an upper bracket of the device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a connection device of the shock absorber to the vehicle and a shaft wrench for rotating the height adjustment sleeve according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a suspension of a vehicle in which the device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle according to the present invention is used.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a conventional device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a problem of a conventional device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 31 shock absorber (shock absorber) 32 spring (coil spring) 33 body 34 screw hole 35 flange 36 upper bracket 37 external thread 38 tool engagement groove 39 height adjust sleeve 40 sleeve lock nut 41 hole 42 ball section 43 holding section 44 Spherical bearing 45 Male screw part 46 Inner screw cylinder part 47 Spring lower seat 48 Spring contact part 49 Spring upper seat 50 Upper end member (rod) 51 Preload adjust bolt 52 Preload adjust bolt lock nut

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number in the agency FI Technical display location F16F 9/54 F16F 9/32 B

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A shock absorber (31) and a spring (32) constituting a suspension of a vehicle are provided between a vehicle body (33) and the shock absorber (31) and a spring (32) are connected to the vehicle body (33). A screw hole (34) in which a female screw is formed;
4) an upper bracket (36) provided on the periphery of the vehicle and provided with a flange portion (35) for attachment to a vehicle body; and a cylindrical shape, which is screwed into a screw hole (34) of the upper bracket (36). A height adjusting sleeve (39) having a male screw part (37) formed on the outer periphery; and a male screw part (3) of the height adjusting sleeve (39).
7) into the upper bracket (3).
6) and contact the height adjust sleeve (3
9) a sleeve lock nut (40) for locking, a spherical part (42) having a hole (41), and a holding part (43) for holding the spherical part (42), and the holding part (43) A spherical bearing (44) fitted and fixed to the height adjusting sleeve (39); a spherical bearing (44) fitted and fixed to a hole (41) of the spherical bearing (44);
An inner threaded cylinder (4) having a female thread (45) formed on the inner surface
6) Between the lower spring seat (47) attached to the shock absorber (31), which is formed outside the lower end of the inner threaded cylindrical portion (46), abuts on the upper end of the spring (32). A spring upper seat (49) formed from a spring contact portion (48) for holding a spring (32), and is screwed into the inner screw tube portion (46) from the upper side, and an upper end member of the shock absorber (31) A preload adjusting bolt (51) connected to the preload adjusting bolt (51);
The inner threaded cylinder (4) of the spring upper seat (49)
6) a preload adjust bolt lock nut (52) for contacting the upper end of the preload adjust bolt to lock the preload adjust bolt, and a shock absorber connecting device to the vehicle. 2. The connection device for connecting a shock absorber to a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the device for attaching the shock absorber to a vehicle is applied to a front wheel of the vehicle. 3. The connection device for a shock absorber to a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the device for mounting the shock absorber to a vehicle is applied to a rear wheel of the vehicle.