JP3183866U - Vehicle height adjustment device - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a vehicle height adjusting device that is interposed between a suspension consisting of a shock absorber and a spring and a body and can adjust the vehicle height by a simple operation in the vehicle using a pressure of fluid or oil.
A piston member 6 is slidably attached to a cylinder member 4 in a state in which a cylinder chamber 8 is formed between both cylinders 4 and 6 and opens into the cylinder chamber 8 above the cylinder member 4 to allow fluid to flow. In the vehicle height adjusting device 2 provided with a fluid through hole 18 for supplying or discharging, and supplying the fluid to the cylinder chamber 8 to increase the distance between the piston member 6 and the cylinder member 4 to increase the vehicle height. The fluid pressure is applied in a well-balanced manner so that the piston member 6 does not tilt when the fluid is supplied from the fluid through hole 18 to the cylinder chamber 8, so that the malfunction of the vehicle height adjusting device 2 does not occur. Like that.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention is interposed between a suspension consisting of a shock absorber and a spring and the body, and the height of the vehicle can be increased by a simple operation in the vehicle using the pressure of a fluid such as air or oil. The present invention relates to a novel vehicle height adjustment device that can be adjusted.

The development of automobiles is remarkable not only in engines but also in various parts of automobiles, and in particular, the performance of suspensions is also markedly developed. This is because high stability (running stability) is strongly required as the engine performance improves and speeds up, and in order to meet this demand, it is required to improve the suspension performance.
In order to maintain high stability, the suspension is interposed between the tire directly in contact with the road surface and the body so that the impact received from the road surface by the tire can be absorbed by the suspension, and the shock is applied to the body side. This is because it is necessary to maintain the stability of the body while preventing transmission as much as possible, and it is necessary to improve the performance of the suspension as the performance of the engine is improved.

Therefore, each automobile manufacturer has improved the performance of the engine and the performance of the suspension, meeting the demand for high stability.
Many high-end automobiles called so-called super cars have a reduced vehicle height. This is because there are not a few people who like cars with low car heights [Monthly Trend Wagon TREND WAGON (Apollo Publishing Co., Ltd., December 2002)] to respond to such requests. This is because there are not a few automakers as a strategy.

In addition, the vehicle height (minimum ground clearance) is stipulated as 9 cm or more in the laws and regulations, and it is allowed to reduce the vehicle height to 9 cm, and luxury cars with such a low vehicle height are sold or imported. Yes.
In particular, many popular automobiles called foreign-made supercars have low vehicle heights.

By the way, when a car with such a low vehicle height is driven in Japan, it is likely that the vehicle body will rub against the road surface due to the condition of the road on which it runs, the condition of the parking lot, and the like.
This is because the car, originally called a supercar, is designed to perform on a flat course with no irregularities and no inclination like a car racing course, even if the vehicle height is low This is because, on a flat course, there is little risk of the car body rubbing on the road surface, but on ordinary ordinary roads and parking lots in Japan, the road surface is uneven and has a considerably large slope.

Therefore, it is cool to drive with a low vehicle height on a flat course with no unevenness and little inclination, but it is necessary to increase the vehicle height on general roads and parking lots. Therefore, it is necessary for the driver to arbitrarily adjust the vehicle height, and development of a vehicle height adjustment device capable of such vehicle height adjustment has been actively conducted.
The applicant of the present application has also developed a technique for adjusting the vehicle height by interposing a vehicle height adjusting device between a suspension comprising a shock absorber and a spring mounted on the automobile and the body. And the result of the development is proposed by Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-348106, and it is introduced by Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2004-181995.

Such a vehicle height adjusting device includes a cylinder member (body side member) attached to the body side and a piston that is slidably accommodated in the axial direction in a cylinder chamber in the cylinder member and receives the upper end of the spring of the suspension. A member (suspension side member) is provided, and the cylinder member supplies (positive pressure) or discharges (negative pressure) a fluid, for example, air, through the fluid passage opening in the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber. You can do that.
Then, for example, air is supplied into the cylinder chamber through a fluid passage hole to lower the position of the piston member relative to the cylinder member, thereby lowering the suspension spring and increasing the vehicle height. ing.

Therefore, according to such a vehicle height adjusting device, the cylinder member of the piston member of the vehicle height adjusting device can be provided by supplying fluid (for example, air) from the fluid through hole into the cylinder chamber against the weight on the body side. By lowering the relative position of the suspension, the position of the suspension relative to the body can be lowered relative to the lowered position, and the vehicle height can be increased accordingly.
If the supply of the fluid against the weight on the body side is stopped and the pressure in the cylinder chamber is maintained as it is, the vehicle height is maintained at the height when the supply is stopped.
Further, when negative pressure is applied, the fluid in the cylinder chamber is discharged to the outside through the fluid passage hole, and the relative position of the piston member with respect to the cylinder member increases, and as a result, the vehicle height can be lowered, i.e., low down. Can be in a state.

  In a normal low-down state, no fluid (for example, air or oil) is contained in the cylinder chamber, and no pressure due to the fluid is applied to the cylinder member and the piston member. Therefore, the deterioration that occurs in the sealing maintenance means (for example, rubber packing, O-ring, etc.) in the cylinder chamber by constantly receiving pressure can be extremely reduced as compared to air suspension type suspensions, etc., where pressure is normally applied. Can extend the life. Therefore, the deterioration is less than that of the air suspension type, and the life can be extended.

Furthermore, the supply of the fluid to the vehicle height adjusting device is merely performed with respect to the sealed space between the cylinder member and the piston member. It has no effect on the properties. Therefore, such a vehicle height adjusting device can be adapted to any type of suspension. And because of the low down, there is no risk of lowering the driving stability, it is not necessary to change the suspension characteristics and performance, and it is necessary to replace the related mechanism such as the suspension and tire mounting mechanism. This is also a factor that can reduce the cost of lowdown.
Thus, it can be said that the vehicle height adjusting device introduced by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-181995 has various advantages.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-348106 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-181995) JP 2004-181995 A

Monthly trend wagon TREND WAGON (Apollo Publishing Co., Ltd.) December 2002 issue

However, the conventional techniques described above have the following problems.
When the vehicle height is increased instantaneously by supplying fluid, for example air, against the weight on the body side from the fluid through hole into the sealed space of the cylinder chamber, the piston member in the cylinder chamber Since the pressure is received by the fluid from one point, an imbalance occurs in the pressure received by the piston member, and the direction of the piston member may be inclined with respect to the direction of the cylinder member.
Once the piston member, which is a movable member, is tilted, the piston member is caught on the cylinder chamber inner surface of the cylinder member, and cannot be moved normally.
For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to put the vehicle height adjusting device of Patent Document 1 into practical use.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and one object is to tilt the piston member when the fluid is supplied from the fluid passage hole of the cylinder member into the internal cylinder chamber. It is possible to pressurize in a well-balanced manner, and to eliminate the possibility that a tilting occurs in the direction and smooth peristalsis is hindered.
Another object of the present invention is to prevent the vehicle height adjusting device from narrowing the existing stroke of the suspension.

  A vehicle height adjusting device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes: a cylinder member having a cylinder chamber interposed between a suspension comprising a shock absorber and a spring; and a body, and a piston member housed in the cylinder chamber. The cylinder member has at least a fluid passage hole opened in a ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber through which a fluid for applying a negative pressure and a positive pressure is applied to the cylinder chamber from the outside, and the piston member performs the suspension. A spring receiving portion for receiving a spring constituting the cylinder chamber, wherein the cylinder chamber is slidably accommodated in an axial direction while maintaining airtightness of the cylinder chamber, and is interposed between a ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber and an upper surface of the piston member. By applying positive or negative pressure from the outside through the fluid passage hole, the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber and the upper surface of the piston member In the vehicle height adjustment device that can adjust the vehicle height by changing the interval, the fluid passage hole on the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber opens in at least one of the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber and the upper surface of the piston member. A ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess that overlaps with the portion is formed.

  The vehicle height adjusting device according to claim 2 is the vehicle height adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder member has a center hole penetrating in the axial direction at the center, and the cylinder chamber exists on the outer peripheral side thereof. The piston member is formed in a donut shape so as to be housed in the cylinder chamber formed in the donut shape.

According to the vehicle height adjusting device of the first aspect, when the fluid is supplied from the fluid passage hole of the cylinder member to the cylinder chamber, the piston member does not receive pressure from one point of the opening of the fluid passage hole, but is a ring-shaped member. Pressure is received in a well-balanced manner in the ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess by the fluid that instantly fills the pressure equalizing recess.
Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the piston member is inclined and caught on the cylinder chamber inner surface of the cylinder member and cannot be peristalted.
Therefore, the vehicle height can be adjusted smoothly.

According to the vehicle height adjusting device of the second aspect, since the cylinder member and the piston member have a donut shape having a center hole, the suspension shock absorber shaft can be directly attached to the body side without interposing a part of the cylinder member. Can be fixed directly to the tool.
Therefore, there is no possibility that the existing stroke of the suspension of the automobile or the like is narrowed by the vehicle height adjusting device.

That is, a conventional vehicle height adjusting device generally has a bottomed cylindrical shape in which a cylinder member is not a donut shape but is closed at the upper end, and a cylinder is interposed between a shock absorber shaft of a suspension and a body-side fixture. Because the ceiling portion of the cylindrical member is interposed, there is a problem that the original stroke of the shock absorber is reduced by the thickness of the ceiling portion.
However, according to the vehicle height adjusting device of the second aspect, the cylinder member and the piston member are formed in a donut shape so that the ceiling portion is not interposed between the shaft of the shock absorber and the body-side mounting tool. Therefore, it can be avoided that the existing stroke inherent in the shock absorber is reduced by the vehicle height adjusting device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the vehicle height is lowest when no fluid (air) is supplied into a cylinder chamber, showing a vehicle height adjusting device according to a first embodiment (first embodiment) of the present invention. . It is sectional drawing which shows the state where the fluid (air) is supplied in the cylinder chamber which shows the vehicle height adjustment apparatus of the said Example (: Example 1), and vehicle height is the highest. It is a side view which shows the use condition of the vehicle height adjustment apparatus of the said Example (: Example 1).

  In the present invention, basically, when a ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess is formed and fluid is supplied from the outside through the fluid passage hole, the ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess is instantaneously filled with fluid. The piston member is lowered in a well-balanced manner through the pressure equalizing recess, and the pressure equalizing recess may be formed on the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber of the cylinder member or on the upper surface of the piston member. good. Furthermore, you may form in both.

Further, when the cylinder member and the piston member are formed in a donut shape having a center hole, and the shaft of the shock absorber of the suspension is directly fixed to the body-side fixture without interposing a part of the cylinder member, There is no fear that the existing stroke of the shock absorber as described above is reduced by the thickness of the ceiling portion of the cylinder chamber, which is more preferable.
Further, it can be said that air is preferable for fluid because the mechanism for supplying and discharging the cylinder chamber to and from the cylinder chamber can be simpler and less expensive than oil.

Of course, the present invention is also applied to a vehicle height adjusting device other than the cylinder member and the piston member having a donut shape having a center hole, and the piston member is inclined and caught on the cylinder inner surface of the cylinder member. The effect that the fear of becoming impossible can be eliminated can be enjoyed.
Further, the vehicle height adjusting device of the present invention can be applied not only to automobiles such as four-wheeled vehicles but also to other types such as two-wheeled vehicles. That is, the present invention can be applied to all types in which a suspension consisting of a shock absorber and a spring is interposed between the axle and the vehicle body.

Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be described based on illustrated embodiments.
1, 2 and 3 show a vehicle height adjusting device according to a first embodiment (Example 1) of the vehicle height adjusting device of the present invention. FIG. 1 completely supplies fluid (air) into the cylinder chamber. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the vehicle height is the lowest, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the fluid (air) is supplied into the cylinder chamber and the vehicle height is the highest, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing a use state is there.
The vehicle height adjusting device 2 includes a donut-shaped cylinder member 4 as viewed from above and a donut-shaped piston member 6 accommodated in the cylinder member 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction. .

First, the cylinder member 4 will be described in detail.
The cylinder member 4 has a cylinder chamber 8 formed of a ring-shaped recess opening on the back surface. The donut-shaped piston member 6 is accommodated in the cylinder chamber 8 so as to be movable in the axial direction (vertical direction).
Reference numeral 10 denotes an outer peripheral part that partitions the cylinder chamber 8 from the outside of the cylinder member 4, 12 denotes an inner peripheral part that partitions the cylinder chamber 8 and the inner side thereof, and 14 denotes a center hole of the cylinder member 4. It is formed so as to penetrate the part in the axial direction (up and down).

Reference numeral 16 denotes an upper portion of the cylinder member 4, which is formed with a fluid passage hole 18 that opens to the outer peripheral surface, and a communication hole 20 that opens downward into the cylinder chamber 8 in the vicinity of the inner end of the fluid passage hole 18. The cylinder chamber 8 communicates with the outside through the communication hole 20 and the fluid hole 18. A thread groove is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer half of the fluid passage hole 18 so that the pipe connector 22 can be connected by screwing.
Further, in the upper portion 16 of the cylinder member 4, for example, three holes 24 (only one hole 24 appears in the drawing) penetrating radially from the inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface are formed. The hole 24 is formed with a thread groove on the inner peripheral surface of a substantially half portion on the inner side, and is fixed to the body side of the vehicle and fitted to the upper part of the center hole 14 and the cylinder member 4. In order to be able to fix with the screw 25 screwed into the screw groove.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess formed in the ceiling surface 9 of the cylinder chamber 8 of the cylinder member 4, and the formation position is set so that the communication hole 20 is opened.
The pressure equalizing recess 26 is smoothly swung without tilting the piston portion 6 by pressurizing the piston member 6 with a fluid from the outside in a ring-like region surrounding the center of the piston member 6 instead of at one point. It was formed to make it possible.
Reference numeral 28 denotes a ring-shaped O-ring mounting recess formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral portion 10, and an O-ring 30 is fitted in the O-ring mounting recess 28. The O-ring 30 functions as a stopper that is locked to a downward locking step (7) that is formed on the lower part of the outer peripheral surface of the piston member 6 to prevent the piston member 6 from descending further.

Next, the piston member 6 will be described.
Reference numeral 32 denotes a ring-shaped packing storage recess formed on the upper inner peripheral surface of the piston member 6; 34, a rubber elastic packing fitted into the packing storage recess 32; and 36, formed on the upper outer peripheral surface of the piston member 6. The ring-shaped packing storage recess 38 is a rubber-elastic packing fitted in the packing storage recess 36, and the piston portion 4 keeps the inside of the cylinder chamber 8 hermetically sealed by the packing 34, 38. In this state, it can swing up and down along the axial direction. A downward locking step 7 is provided at the lower part of the outer peripheral surface of the piston member 6.
The piston member 6 is movable between a position where the upper surface thereof is in contact with the upper surface 9 of the cylinder chamber 8 and a position where the downward locking step portion 7 is in contact with the O-ring 30.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes a downward notch recess formed in the lower inner peripheral portion of the piston portion 6, and a downward surface 42 of the recess 40 serves as a spring receiving surface that receives the upper end of the spring 48 of the suspension 46. Reference numeral 50 denotes a shock absorber of the suspension 46, and 52 denotes a hook-shaped portion that receives the lower end of the spring 48 of the shock absorber 50. Needless to say, the suspension 46 includes a shock absorber 50 and a spring 48 that is externally fitted to a portion above the hook-shaped portion 52.

Next, attachment of the vehicle height adjusting device 2 will be described.
The shock absorber 50 is attached to an axle-side member (not shown) at a lower end portion with the spring 48 fitted on a portion above the flange-shaped portion 52, and the upper end portion of the shaft 54 of the shock absorber 50 is a cylinder. The spring 48 is fixed between the spring receiving surface 42 of the piston portion 6 and the hook-shaped portion 52 of the shock absorber 50 at that time by being fixed to the fixture 44 by screwing through the center hole 14 of the portion 4. The vehicle height adjusting device 2 is interposed between the body 46 and the axle together with the suspension 46.

Next, the vehicle height adjustment function of the vehicle height adjustment device 2 will be described.
The cylinder chamber 8 can be supplied and exhausted with a fluid such as air through a pipe connected to the pipe connector 22.
In a state where the fluid in the cylinder chamber 8 is completely discharged, the piston portion 6 is positioned at the uppermost portion in the cylinder chamber 8 due to its own weight on the body side of the vehicle body, so that the vehicle height is the lowest. Kept.

  Next, when the fluid is supplied to the cylinder chamber 8 by the user's operation in the state where the vehicle height is the lowest, that is, when the positive pressure is applied, the piston portion 6 moves down against the body weight. In this case, the fluid is equally applied to the piston portion 6 from the fluid passage hole 18 and the communication hole 20 through the ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess portion 26, and the piston portion 6 remains in the axial direction, that is, tilts. Without downward pressure evenly, in that state, it descends smoothly. As a result, the vehicle height increases smoothly.

Thus, according to the present vehicle height adjusting device 2, since the pressure equalizing recess 26 is formed, it is possible to enjoy the effect that the vehicle height adjusting operation can be performed smoothly.
When the fluid supply is stopped in a state where the vehicle height desired by the user is reached, the vehicle height rise is stopped and the vehicle height is maintained.
Therefore, the user can adjust the vehicle height to an arbitrary height within the range of the stroke of the piston member 6.

By the way, when the piston portion 6 reaches a position where the locking step portion 7 is stopped by the O-ring 30 constituting the stopper, the vehicle height cannot be increased any further.
Incidentally, even if an abnormality occurs in which the piston portion is located below the lowest position in the normal stroke range due to inconvenience of the engagement state of the O-ring 30 or the like, According to the report, there is no risk of major accidents.

This is because even if such an abnormality occurs, if the piston portion 6 is removed from the cylinder chamber 8 downward, the cylinder chamber 8 is no longer airtight and the body weight of the body of the vehicle body further increases the piston portion. This is because 6 does not descend with respect to the cylinder portion 4. Therefore, safety is high.
Further, since the vehicle height adjusting device 2 has the center hole 14 and the shaft 54 of the shock absorber 50 can be directly fixed to the fixture 44 through the center hole 14, the members and parts of the device 2 are shock absorbers. Therefore, the existing stroke of the shock absorber is not likely to be shortened by the presence of the vehicle height adjusting device 2.

  In the embodiment described above, the ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess 26 is formed on the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber 8, but is not formed on the ceiling surface 9 of the cylinder chamber 8 but on the upper surface of the piston member 6. You may make it do. In this case, it is necessary to set the position so that the communication hole 10 is aligned with a part of the ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess 26.

  The present invention is interposed between the body of an automobile (including a two-wheeled vehicle, for example) and a suspension, and can be easily performed in a vehicle by using a pressure of a fluid such as air or oil. There is a wide industrial applicability to a new vehicle height adjustment device that can adjust the vehicle height with a simple operation.

2 ... Vehicle height adjusting device, 4 ... Cylinder member, 6 ... Piston member,
8 ... Cylinder chamber, 9 ... Ceiling surface, 10 ... Upper part,
18 ... Fluid passage hole, 20 ... Communication hole, 26 ... Pressure equalizing recess,
42 ... Spring receiving surface, 44 ... Fitting, 46 ... Suspension,
48... Spring, 50... Shock absorber, 52.
54 ... Shock absorber shaft.

Claims (2)

It is interposed between a suspension consisting of a shock absorber and a spring, and the body,
It consists of a cylinder member having a cylinder chamber opened on the lower side, and a piston member housed in the cylinder chamber,
The cylinder member has at least a fluid passage hole that opens to the ceiling surface of the cylinder cylinder chamber through which a fluid for applying a negative pressure and a positive pressure is applied to the cylinder chamber from the outside.
The piston member has a spring receiving portion that receives a spring constituting the suspension, and is accommodated in the cylinder chamber so as to be capable of swinging in an axial direction while maintaining airtightness thereof.
The space between the cylinder chamber ceiling surface and the upper surface of the piston member is changed by applying a positive pressure and a negative pressure by a fluid from the outside through the fluid passage hole between the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber and the upper surface of the piston member. In the vehicle height adjustment device that allows the vehicle height to be adjusted,
A ring-shaped pressure equalizing recess is formed on at least one of the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber and the upper surface of the piston member so as to overlap a portion of the ceiling surface of the cylinder chamber where the fluid passage hole opens. High adjustment device. The cylinder member has a center hole that penetrates it in the axial direction at the center, and is formed in a donut shape so that the cylinder chamber exists on the outer peripheral side thereof,
The vehicle height adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the piston member is formed in a donut shape so as to be housed in the cylinder chamber formed in the donut shape.

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