JP3438707B2 - Vehicle suspension device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, strut type and double wishbone type suspension devices have been known as front wheel suspension devices for vehicles.

The strut type suspension device described above is
Since it has a small number of parts, is lightweight and inexpensive, and has an excellent layout property, it is widely used especially as a front wheel suspension device for FF type vehicles. However, in the strut-type suspension device, the virtual kingpin axis that is the steering rotation axis of the wheel is a straight line that connects the connection point between the upper end of the damper device and the vehicle body and the connection point between the lower arm and the wheel support member. It is not desirable in terms of performance. In other words, in terms of vehicle performance, the virtual kingpin axis passes slightly inside the vehicle body from the wheel width centerline on the wheel rotation centerline, and has a slight negative kingpin offset on the wheel contact surface. It is ideal that the wheel passes slightly outside the center line in the width direction of the wheel, but the virtual kingpin axis of the strut suspension device is inclined toward the inside of the vehicle body with respect to the ideal virtual kingpin axis. .

On the other hand, in the double wishbone suspension system, the virtual kingpin axis is a straight line connecting the connecting point between the upper arm and the wheel supporting member and the connecting point between the lower arm and the wheel supporting member, It is possible to approach the ideal kingpin axis by setting both connecting points appropriately. However, in the case of the double wishbone type suspension device, two connecting points with the vehicle body of the upper arm and the lower arm are required to counter the horizontal load acting on the wheels.
The arrangement of other parts is restricted accordingly. Especially, when this double wishbone type suspension device is used as a front wheel suspension device in an FF type vehicle in which an engine is mounted horizontally, this layout restriction becomes an important issue.

Therefore, in order to combine the advantages of the conventional strut type and the double wishbone type and to eliminate the drawbacks, many suspension devices have been proposed.

[0006] For example, in the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 220220/1990, the upper arm is composed of one link member, and the lower end of the damper device is connected to the lower arm so that the load acting on the wheel is applied to the damper device. I also support it. According to this structure, since there is only one connection point between the upper arm and the vehicle body, the degree of freedom in layout can be increased accordingly.

Further, in the one disclosed in JP-A-1-136804, an intermediate member is provided between the wheel supporting member and the upper arm, and the lower end of the damper member is supported by the intermediate member. Further, the wheel support member is pivotally attached to the intermediate member via a ball joint, and the upper arm is pivotally attached so as to be only vertically swingable.

[0008]

However, such a suspension device also has the following drawbacks.
That is, in the one disclosed in JP-A-2-220904, since the lower end of the damper device is connected to the middle portion of the lower arm in the vehicle width direction, a vertical external force acting on the wheel during bump rebound of the wheel is applied. The force (damping force) generated by the damper device must be increased by the amount corresponding to the lever ratio. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the size of the damper device and the lower arm connected to the damper device, resulting in an increase in weight. Further, in the case of an FF type vehicle, the drive shaft is arranged so as to extend in the vehicle width direction on the rotation center line of the wheels, but in order to avoid interference between this drive shaft and the damper device formed on the lower arm, a damper device is provided. It is necessary to provide a bifurcated connecting member for passing the drive shaft between the lower end of the and the lower arm. Since this connecting member receives all the force generated by the damper device, it has to have a large rigidity and becomes large in size. From this, too
There is a drawback that causes an increase in weight.

Further, in the one described in JP-A-1-136804, since the wheel support member and the intermediate member are connected by the ball joint, the horizontal load (lateral force, longitudinal force) acting on the wheel is applied to the damper device. Therefore, two connecting points of the upper arm and the vehicle body are required as in the double wishbone type suspension device, and there is a problem that the degree of freedom in layout cannot be increased.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention aims to improve the performance by bringing the virtual kingpin axis closer to an ideal one, and at the same time, it is possible to make the suspension apparatus compact and lightweight and improve the degree of freedom in layout. The purpose is to provide.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following as a first structure thereof. That is, as described in claim 1 in the claims, a wheel support member that rotatably supports a wheel,
A lower arm having one end connected to the lower end of the wheel support member and the other end connected to the vehicle body, and an upper joint connected to the upper end of the wheel support member so as to be rotatable only around the vertical axis with respect to the wheel support member. A damper device having an upper end connected to the vehicle body and a lower end connected to the upper joint so as to be rotatable only around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint, and one end on the front-rear axis or on the upper joint. On the other hand, an upper arm that is supported so as to be rotatable only around the front-rear axis and has the other end connected to the vehicle body at a single point is provided, and the lower end of the damper device is independently provided on both sides in the front-rear direction of the upper joint. A pair of front and rear arms that extend in parallel with each other is formed, and the lower end of the damper device connects the pair of arms to the front and rear shafts. Ri are as are connected as rotatable only around longitudinal axis relative to the upper joint.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has the following second construction. That is, as described in claim 5 in the claims, a wheel support member that rotatably supports a wheel, and a lower arm having one end connected to a lower end of the wheel support member and the other end connected to a vehicle body. An upper joint connected to an upper end of the wheel support member so as to be rotatable only around a vertical axis with respect to the wheel support member, an upper end connected to a vehicle body, and a lower end only around a front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint. A damper device connected to the upper joint so as to be rotatable, and one end of which is supported so as to be rotatable only on the front-rear axis or around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint, and the other end is a single point on the vehicle body. A point on the vehicle body of the upper joint, the damper device, and the upper arm in the vehicle width direction. A connecting portion of, are to be set so as to be positioned substantially collinear, as.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following third construction. That is, as described in claim 7 in the claims, a wheel support member that rotatably supports a wheel, and a lower arm having one end connected to a lower end of the wheel support member and the other end connected to a vehicle body. An upper joint connected to an upper end of the wheel support member so as to be rotatable only around a vertical axis with respect to the wheel support member, an upper end connected to a vehicle body, and a lower end only around a front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint. A damper device connected to the upper joint so as to be rotatable, and one end of which is supported so as to be rotatable only on the front-rear axis or around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint, and the other end is a single point on the vehicle body. And an upper arm connected by, on the vehicle width direction line passing through the upper joint,
It is so arranged that the connecting portion of the upper arm at one point with respect to the vehicle body is positioned.

[0014]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the lower end of the damper device is connected to the upper end of the wheel supporting member through the upper joint, and does not extend downward to the vicinity of the wheel rotation center line. Therefore, even in the case of the FF type vehicle, the damper device and the drive shaft do not interfere with each other, and it is not necessary to adopt a special structure for avoiding the interference. In addition, since the vertical load acting on the wheels is input to the damper device at a ratio of approximately 1 for the lever,
Since it is not necessary to increase the size of the damper device or the like, the size and weight of the device can be reduced. Moreover, since the connecting point of the upper arm with the vehicle body is only one, the degree of freedom in layout can be increased accordingly.

Furthermore, since the camber change characteristic can be set to the same level as that of the double wishbone type suspension device, the suspension performance can be improved.

Further, since the lower end of the damper device is connected to the front-rear shaft via a pair of front-rear arms arranged so as to sandwich the upper joint in the front-rear direction, the front-rear direction force input to the wheel support member. This is preferable in that the damper device is firmly received by the damper device and that the vertical movement of the wheel support member is efficiently input as the expansion and contraction motion of the damper device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the tilt force acting on the vertical axis of the upper joint, that is, the force in the falling direction is preferably reduced as much as possible.
The size of the upper joint can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the vertical load input from the upper joint to the damper device is transmitted to the damper device as smoothly as possible, which is preferable for effectively obtaining the damping action of the damper device. Will be things.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the same effect as that of claim 3 can be obtained.

According to the invention described in claim 5, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1 except that the arm is concerned. Further, it is preferable to effectively receive the lateral force by the upper arm and prevent the undesired external force such as twisting from acting on the connecting portion at one point on the vehicle body as much as possible when the upper arm vertically swings. Becomes In addition, it is preferable for effectively transmitting the vertical movement via the upper joint to the damper device.

According to the invention described in claim 6, it is possible to obtain the effect of the arm portion in claim 1 together. In particular, the pair of front and rear arms are positioned in the front-rear direction with respect to the straight line connecting the upper joint, the damper device, and the connecting portion of the upper arm at one point to the vehicle body. This is preferable in terms of effective transmission to the damper device via the arm portion.

According to the invention described in claim 7, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1 except that the arm is concerned. Further, it is preferable to effectively receive the lateral force by the upper arm and prevent the undesired external force such as twisting from acting on the connecting portion at one point on the vehicle body as much as possible when the upper arm vertically swings. Becomes

According to the invention described in claim 8, the vertical movement from the upper joint can be effectively transmitted to the damper device. Further, it is possible to avoid the interference between the upper arm and the damper device.

[0024]

1 to 4 show a front wheel suspension device for an FF type vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein 1 is a knuckle member as a wheel supporting member for rotatably supporting a wheel (front wheel) 2. An insertion hole 3 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) for inserting a drive shaft (not shown) is formed in the center of the knuckle member 1. 4 is a knuckle member 1
Is a lower arm for connecting the lower end of the knuckle member 1 to the vehicle body side, 5 is an upper arm for connecting the upper end of the knuckle member 1 to the vehicle body side, and 6 is a damper device including a shock absorber for buffering the vertical movement of the wheel 2.

The lower arm 4 is composed of two front and rear link members 11 and 12, and the front link member 11 extends substantially linearly in the vehicle width direction. One end of the link member 11 is pivotally attached to the lower end of the knuckle member 1 via a ball joint 13, and the other end of the link member 11 is
The cross member 14 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), which is a vehicle body strength member, is vertically swingably connected via a rubber bush 15 extending in the vehicle body front-rear direction. Also,
The rear link member 12 has a curved shape, and one end of the link member 12 is located at a position close to the rear of the pivot point (center of the ball joint 13) of the link member 11 at the lower end of the knuckle member 1. The other end of the link member 12 is pivotally attached via a ball joint 16 and the other end of the link member 1
1 is connected to the cross member 14 via a rubber bush 17 so as to be vertically swingable at a position far away from 1. Therefore, the axes of the link members 11 and 12 intersect with each other at the vehicle outer side O1 than the pivot points (centers of the ball joints 13 and 16) with the knuckle members 1 (see FIG. 3).

An arm portion 1a extending rearward from the vicinity of the drive shaft insertion opening 3 is integrally formed on the knuckle member 1 (see FIGS. 1 and 4), and a tie rod 20 of a steering device is provided at the tip of the arm portion 1a. It is connected. An upper joint 21 is mounted on the upper end of the knuckle member 1, and the upper arm 21 and the lower end of the damper device 6 are connected to the upper joint 21.

As shown in FIG. 5, the upper joint 21 has a cylindrical first boss portion 21 having an axis in the vertical direction.
An inner cylinder 24 having a shaft hole 24d is coaxially and rotatably provided in the first boss portion 21a via a sliding bush 25 made of resin. On the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 24, a cylindrical surface 24a and an upper conical surface 2 that is continuous with the upper end of the cylindrical surface 24a and gradually increases in diameter as it goes upward.
4b and a lower conical surface 24c which is continuous with the lower end of the cylindrical surface 24a and whose diameter gradually increases as it goes downward. In addition, the inner cylinder 2 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the first boss portion 21a.
A cylindrical surface 21b, an upper conical surface 21c, and a lower conical surface 21d that face the cylindrical surface 24a, the upper conical surface 24b, and the lower conical surface 24c of the No. 4 via the sliding bush 25 are formed. And the knuckle member 1
Since the vertical shaft 23 attached to the upper end of the upper shaft and extending in the vertical direction is inserted into the shaft hole 24d of the inner cylinder 24, and the inner cylinder 24 is fixed to the vertical shaft 23, the upper joint 21 becomes a knuckle member. Vertical axis 2 with respect to the upper end of 1
The surface resistance between the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 24 and the inner peripheral surface of the first boss portion 21a is set so as to be rotatable only around the axis 3 and is rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the vertical axis 23. To resist more.

Further, one end of the upper arm 5 (inner end of the vehicle body) swings up and down with respect to a bracket 31 (see FIG. 2) mounted on the cross member 14 via a rubber bush 32 whose axis extends in the front and rear direction of the vehicle body. While being movably connected, the other end of the upper arm 5 (outer end of the vehicle body)
Is formed with a pair of bifurcated portions 5a, 5a which are bifurcated so as to sandwich the lower end of the damper device 6 from both front and rear sides (see FIGS. 1 and 3), and the tip end of each bifurcated portion 5a has an axis line. The upper joint 21 is swingably connected to the upper joint 21 via a rubber bush 33 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction.

Further, the upper end of the damper device 6 is connected to the vehicle body 7
On the other hand, the coil spring 37 is elastically supported through the rubber mount 36 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and the coil spring 37 is disposed on the outer periphery of the upper portion of the damper device 6. On the other hand, a bracket 38 is pivotally attached to the lower end of the damper device 6,
The bracket 38 has a pair of arm portions 38 a, 38 a extending bifurcated from a fitting portion to the damper device 6, and both arm portions 38 a, 38 a are both branch portions 5 of the upper arm 5.
It is located inside a and 5a and is connected to the upper joint 21 so as to be vertically swingable around the same axis as the branch parts 5a and 5a.

The structure of the connecting portion between the upper arm 5 (branch portion 5a) and the lower end of the damper device 6 (specifically, the arm portion 38a of the bracket 38) to the upper joint 21 is shown in detail in FIGS.

As is clear from FIGS. 6 and 7, the upper joint 21 has a cylindrical second boss portion 21e having an axis in the front-rear direction, and the shaft hole 40d is provided in the second boss portion 21e. An inner cylinder 40 provided with is provided coaxially and rotatably via a slide bush 41. On the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 40, a cylindrical surface 40a, a front conical surface 40b that is continuous with the front end of the cylindrical surface 40a and gradually increases in diameter toward the front, and is continuous with the rear end of the cylindrical surface 40a. A rear conical surface 40c is formed which gradually increases in diameter as it goes rearward. Further, on the inner peripheral surface of the second boss portion 21e,
A cylindrical surface 21f, a front conical surface 21g, and a rear conical surface 21h that face the cylindrical surface 40a, the front conical surface 40b, and the rear conical surface 40c of the inner cylinder 40 via the sliding bush 41 are formed. .

Further, at the front end and the rear end of the shaft hole 40d of the inner cylinder 40, there are coaxially formed recesses 40e, 40e having a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the shaft hole 40d by a predetermined dimension.
The tip ends of cylindrical portions 42a of the sleeves 42, 42, which will be described later, are fitted in the recesses 40e, 40e, respectively. The sleeve 42 includes a cylindrical portion 42a having an inner diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the shaft hole 40d of the inner cylinder 40, and a flange portion 42b formed at one end of the cylindrical portion 42a.
The tip of each arm portion 38a of the bracket 38 attached to the lower end of the damper device 6 is fitted around the outer circumference of 2a, and the tip of the cylindrical portion 42a of the sleeve 42 is fitted into the inner cylinder 40 of the upper joint 21. Accordingly, the front and rear end surfaces of the arm portion 38a are in close contact with the end surface of the flange portion 42b of the sleeve 42 and the side end surface of the inner cylinder 40, respectively.
As a result, the arm portion 38a and the inner cylinder 40 are separated from each other by the sleeve 4
It is in a state of being rigidly connected via 2.

A single bolt-shaped front-and-rear shaft 39 penetrates through the shaft hole 40d of the inner cylinder 40 and the sleeves 42, 42 fitted to the front and rear ends thereof.
The inner cylinder 33a of the rubber bush 33 attached to the tips of both branch portions 5a, 5a of the upper arm 5 is inserted so as to contact the outer end surface of the flange portion 42b of each sleeve 42. 33b is a rubber bush 33.
The outer cylinder 33c is a rubber filled between the inner cylinder 33a and the outer cylinder 33b.

As described above, the nut 43 is attached to one end of the front-rear shaft 39 which is attached by penetrating the inner cylinder 33a of the two rubber bushes 33, the two sleeves 42, and the inner cylinder 40 of the upper joint 21. Is fastened, which allows
The upper joint 21, the lower end of the damper device 6, and the upper arm 5 are connected to each other so as to be relatively rotatable (upward and downward swingable) only around the front-rear shaft 39.

The configuration of this embodiment has been described above. Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

When the wheel 2 receives the steering force from the tie rod 20 through the knuckle member 1 and is steered to the left or right, the lower end side of the knuckle member 1, that is, the instantaneous rotation center point of the lower arm 4 constitutes the lower arm 4. Book link member 1
It is an intersection O1 between the axes of 1 and 12 (see FIG. 3). Further, the instantaneous rotation center point on the upper end side of the knuckle member 1 rotates around the vertical axis 23 that is the connecting axis of the knuckle member 1 with the upper joint 21, and the damper device 6,
A straight line L1 (which connects the vehicle body connection point (center point of the rubber mount 36) of the damper device 6 and the vehicle body connection point (center point of the rubber bush 32) of the upper arm 5 to the structure including the upper joint 21 and the upper arm 5] (See FIG. 2) Since it is rotationally displaced, it becomes an intersection O2 of the axis extension line L2 of the vertical shaft 23 and the straight line L1. Therefore, the virtual kingpin axis is the intersection of the two points O1 and O2.
This is a straight line L3 passing through, but this virtual kingpin axis L3
On the rotation center line L5 of the wheel 2 passes slightly inside the vehicle body from the center line L4 in the width direction of the wheel 2, and on the ground contact surface of the wheel 2, the width of the wheel 2 becomes slightly negative kingpin offset (-Δ). Since it approaches the ideal one passing slightly outside the vehicle body from the direction center L4, the suspension performance can be improved.

Further, since the lower end of the damper device 6 is connected to the upper end of the knuckle member 1 via the upper joint 21 and does not extend downward near the rotation center line L5 of the wheel 2, the damper device 6 and the drive shaft are not connected. And do not interfere. Therefore, it is not necessary to adopt a special structure for avoiding this interference, and it is possible to simplify the structure and reduce the size and weight of the device. Further, since the vertical load acting on the wheel 2 is input to the damper device 6 at a ratio of approximately 1 of the lever ratio, the damper device 6 can be used in view of generating a damping force corresponding to the vertical load. It is not particularly necessary to increase the size, and it is possible to further reduce the size and weight.

Furthermore, since the connecting point of the upper arm 5 to the vehicle body is only one, the degree of freedom in layout can be increased accordingly.

In addition to this, the arm portion 38a of the bracket 38 fixed to the lower end of the damper device 6 and the front-rear shaft 39
The sleeve 42 is interposed between the arm portion 38a and
Is not directly pivotally attached to the front-rear shaft 39, but each arm portion 38a and the inner cylinder 40 of the upper joint 21 are rigidly connected via a sleeve 42, and the front-rear shaft 39 is attached to the sleeve 42 and the inner cylinder 40. Since it has the inserted structure, the arm portion 38 with respect to the upper joint 21 is
There is no rattling or slippage in the connecting part of a, and the arm part 3
Since the vibration due to the swing of 8a is not directly transmitted to the front-rear shaft 39, the nut 43 fastened to the front-rear shaft 39 does not become loose due to the vibration.

Further, before attaching the rubber bush 33 and the front-rear shaft 39, the sub-assembly is performed only by attaching the arm portion 38a at the lower end of the damper device 6 to the inner cylinder 40 of the upper joint 21 via the sleeve 42. Therefore, there is also an advantage that the assembling property of the suspension device is improved.

A supplementary description will be given of the embodiment. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the vertical shaft 23 of the upper joint 21 is provided so as to project upward from the upper end of the wheel support member 1, but the second boss portion 21e for supporting the front-rear shaft 39 is not provided. The lower joint of the upper and lower shafts 23 protruding upward from the wheel supporting member 1, that is, the position that is set as close as possible to the wheel supporting member 1 as shown in FIG. The damper device 6 (the second boss portion 21e serving as a support portion for the damper device 6) and the rubber bush 32 serving as a connecting portion of the upper arm 5 to the vehicle body at one point are located on substantially the same straight line in the vehicle width direction. . Further, the pair of front and rear arm portions 38 a are connected to the front and rear shafts 39 at substantially equidistant positions in the front and rear direction with respect to the upper joint 21.
Furthermore, in order to avoid interference with the damper device 6, the upper arm 5 has a shape that bypasses the damper device 6 in the front-rear direction, and the shape of this bypass portion is set as a bifurcated shape in the embodiment.

Next, when the vertical shaft 23 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction (vertical direction) and the front-rear shaft 39 is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction or the vehicle longitudinal direction, the wheel 2 is aligned with the wheel alignment. Figure 8 ~
This will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8 (a), when the vertical shaft 23 is inclined rearward with respect to the vertical direction when viewed from the side of the vehicle body, the upper end side of the wheel 2 is vertically moved when the wheel 2 is steered. Two
Since it rotates about 3, the caster angle of the wheel 2 increases (see FIG. 8B). Further, the camber angle of the wheel 2 changes in the negative direction as the caster angle increases.

As shown in FIG. 9 (a), when the vertical shaft 23 is inclined forward with respect to the vertical direction when viewed from the side of the vehicle body, the upper end side of the wheel 2 is at the upper and lower shafts 2 when steering the wheel 2.
By rotating around 3, the caster angle of the wheel 2 is reduced (see FIG. 9 (b)). Further, the camber angle of the wheel 2 changes in the positive direction as the caster angle decreases.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the vertical shaft 23 is tilted toward the inside of the vehicle body when viewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, when the wheel 2 is steered, the same change as in FIG. Caster angle increases.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the vertical shaft 23 is tilted to the outside of the vehicle body when viewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, when the wheel 2 is steered, the same change as in FIG. Caster angle decreases.

As shown in FIG. 12A, when the front-rear shaft 39 is inclined forward and upward with respect to the horizontal direction when viewed from the side of the vehicle body, when the wheel 2 is bumped, the upper end side of the wheel 2 is the front-rear shaft. Since it rotates around 39, the caster angle of the wheel 2 decreases (see FIG. 12 (b)). Further, the caster angle of the wheel 2 also decreases when the wheel 2 rebounds.

As shown in FIG. 13 (a), when the front and rear shaft 39 is inclined forward and downward with respect to the horizontal direction when viewed from the side of the vehicle body, when the wheel 2 is bumped, the upper end side of the wheel 2 is the front and rear shaft. Since it rotates around 39, the caster angle of the wheel 2 increases (see FIG. 13B). Further, the caster angle of the wheel 2 also increases when the wheel 2 rebounds.

As shown in FIG. 14 (a), when the front-rear shaft 39 is inclined forward inward with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle when viewed from above the vehicle, when the wheel 2 is bumped, the upper end side of the wheel 2 moves forward and backward. By rotating around the shaft 39, the caster angle of the wheel 2 decreases (see FIG. 14B). Also, the wheel 2
The caster angle of the wheel 2 also decreases when the vehicle rebounds.

As shown in FIG. 15 (a), when the front-rear shaft 39 is inclined forward and outward with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle when viewed from above the vehicle, when the wheel 2 is bumped, the upper end side of the wheel 2 moves forward and backward. By rotating around the shaft 39, the caster angle of the wheel 2 increases (see FIG. 15B). Also, the wheel 2
The caster angle of the wheel 2 also increases when the vehicle rebounds.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the upper joint 21, the upper arm 5 and the damper device 6 are provided.
Is connected around a front-rear shaft 39 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The upper joint 21 is connected to the lower end of the damper device 6 so as to be vertically swingable around the front-rear shaft, and the upper arm 5 is also connected. May be pivotally mounted so as to be vertically swingable around a connecting shaft that is different from the front-rear shaft that connects the upper joint 21 and the damper device 6.

Furthermore, the present embodiment is a case where the present invention is applied to the front wheel suspension device of an FF type vehicle, but needless to say, the present invention can be applied to various vehicle suspension devices.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a suspension device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a part of the vehicle body viewed from the front, which is a cross section.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection structure between a knuckle member and an upper joint.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a connecting structure of an upper joint, an upper arm, and a damper device.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged main part of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the influence of the inclination of the vertical axis on the wheel alignment of the wheels.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the same.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the same.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the same.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the influence of the inclination of the front-rear axis on the wheel alignment of the wheels.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the same.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the same.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Knuckle member (wheel support member) 2: Wheel (front wheel) 4: Lower arm 5: Upper arm 6: Damper device 11, 12: Link member 21: Upper joint 21e: Second boss part (front and rear shaft support part) 23 : Vertical shaft 32: Rubber bush (connecting part of upper arm to vehicle body at one point) 38a: Pair of front and rear arms 39: Front and rear shaft

Front page continuation (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60G 3/18-3/28

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A wheel supporting member for rotatably supporting a wheel, a lower arm having one end connected to a lower end of the wheel supporting member and the other end connected to a vehicle body, and the wheel supporting member at an upper end of the wheel supporting member. An upper joint that is rotatably connected to the member only about the vertical axis, and an upper end that is connected to the vehicle body, and a lower end that is connected to the upper joint so that it can rotate only around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint. And a damper device, one end of which is supported so as to be rotatable only on the front-rear axis or around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint,
The other end includes an upper arm connected to the vehicle body at a single point, and a lower end of the damper device is formed with a pair of front and rear arm parts independently extending on both side parts in the front-rear direction of the upper joint. A vehicle suspension device, wherein a lower end is connected to the upper joint so as to be rotatable only around the front-rear axis by connecting the pair of arm portions to the front-rear axis. 2. The vertical axis extending vertically in the upper joint is set so as to extend upward from an upper end of the wheel support member, and the vertical axis of the upper joint extends inward in a vehicle width direction. A support portion for the front-rear shaft is formed, and a vertical position of the support portion is a position close to an upper end of the wheel support member at a lower portion of a protruding portion of the vertical shaft protruding from an upper end of the wheel support member. The vehicle suspension device is characterized in that: 3. The support portion for the front and rear shafts is formed on an inner side in the vehicle width direction of the upper joint, and the upper joint, the support portion, and the support portion are formed in the vehicle width direction when viewed in a plan view. A suspension device for a vehicle, wherein the damper device and the damper device are set so as to be located substantially on the same straight line. 4. The support portion for the front-rear shaft is formed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the upper joint, and the pair of front and rear arm portions are substantially equal to the front-rear direction with respect to the support portion. Connected to the front-rear shaft so as to be spaced apart,
A vehicle suspension device characterized by the above. 5. A wheel supporting member for rotatably supporting a wheel, a lower arm having one end connected to a lower end of the wheel supporting member and the other end connected to a vehicle body, and the wheel supporting member at an upper end of the wheel supporting member. An upper joint that is rotatably connected to the member only about the vertical axis, and an upper end that is connected to the vehicle body, and a lower end that is connected to the upper joint so that it can rotate only around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint. And a damper device, one end of which is supported so as to be rotatable only on the front-rear axis or around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint,
The other end is provided with an upper arm connected to the vehicle body at one point, and when viewed in a plan view, the upper joint, the damper device, and a connecting portion of the upper arm at one point with respect to the vehicle body are substantially on the same straight line in the vehicle width direction. The vehicle suspension device is characterized in that it is set to be located at. 6. The support portion for the front-rear shaft is formed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the upper joint, and the front-rear pair is sandwiched at the lower end of the damper device from the front-rear direction. An arm part is formed, and the lower end of the damper device is connected to the upper joint so as to be rotatable only around the front-rear axis by connecting the pair of arm parts to the front-rear axis. A vehicle suspension device characterized by: 7. A wheel supporting member for rotatably supporting a wheel, a lower arm having one end connected to a lower end of the wheel supporting member and the other end connected to a vehicle body, and the wheel supporting member at an upper end of the wheel supporting member. An upper joint that is rotatably connected to the member only about the vertical axis, and an upper end that is connected to the vehicle body, and a lower end that is connected to the upper joint so that it can rotate only around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint. And a damper device, one end of which is supported so as to be rotatable only on the front-rear axis or around the front-rear axis with respect to the upper joint,
The other end is provided with an upper arm connected to the vehicle body at one point, and is set so that the connecting portion at one point to the vehicle body of the upper arm is located on the vehicle width direction line passing through the upper joint when seen in a plan view. A vehicle suspension device characterized by the following. 8. The damper device according to claim 7, when viewed in a plan view, the damper device is located on the vehicle width direction inner side of the upper joint and on the vehicle width direction line passing through the upper joint, and the upper arm is A suspension device for a vehicle, wherein the suspension device is formed so as to bypass the damper device in the front-rear direction so as not to interfere with the damper device.