JP4662251B2 - Suspension member - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a suspension member. More specifically, the present invention relates to a suspension member used in front or rear of a vehicle body, and supports the vehicle body side of a suspension arm.

  In general, the suspension member is composed of a pair of side members extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and a cross member connected to both side members, and the side member has a support portion for pivotally mounting the vehicle body side of the suspension arm. An engine and a transmission are mounted on a part of the cross member.

  Also, for this type of suspension structure, a cast product made of an aluminum alloy is used from the viewpoint of weight reduction.

Conventionally, an aluminum alloy suspension member is provided with an arm support portion comprising a pair of brackets facing the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, with a suspension arm inserted between the brackets of the arm support portion, a bolt is passed through, and a nut Is known, and a suspension arm is attached to a suspension member (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-6-340274 (Claims, FIG. 1)

  However, in the structure described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-340274, the support portion of the suspension arm needs to have rigidity in the bracket in order to have sufficient rigidity against an external force.

  However, if the bracket is rigid, a gap is required to allow the suspension arm to be inserted between the brackets. Therefore, even if the bolt and nut are tightened, they cannot be firmly tightened. There was a problem such as.

  In particular, when an aluminum alloy is used for weight reduction, the thickness of the bracket must be increased in order to give the support portion rigidity compared to a press-formed product of a steel plate. However, on the other hand, in order to attach the suspension arm and the bracket without any gap, it is necessary to give the bracket flexibility, so that there is a problem of trade-off between rigidity.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a suspension member that can easily and firmly attach a support portion of a suspension arm and can achieve rigidity of the support portion.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a pair of side member main bodies extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and a cross member connecting the two side member main bodies are integrally formed, and the side member is formed. A suspension member having a support portion for pivotally attaching a suspension arm to a main body, wherein the side member main body has a surface portion and a side wall extending vertically on the outer side in the vehicle body width direction, and the support portions are respectively the side members. A pair of front side brackets and rear side brackets that are integrally formed at the front end of the vehicle body on the front side of the body and face each other in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, through holes provided in these brackets, and suspension arms inserted between the brackets a bolt passing through the arm pieces, is composed of a nut fastened to the bolt, the both bracket, the same length While being vertically in the same direction as the side wall than surface, the vehicle width direction outside portion respectively is connected integrally with the side wall, and the height of the side wall between the two bracket toward the rear of the vehicle body on the front side By forming the cut portion so as to gradually become smaller , the vehicle body front side bracket is formed to be able to bend and deform when the arm piece is fastened between the brackets.

  By constituting in this way, the required rigidity can be obtained without increasing the thickness of the bracket by integrating the outer side portions in the vehicle body width direction of both brackets with the side wall of the side member main body, By forming the height of the side wall between the brackets gradually smaller toward the vehicle front side, the vehicle body front bracket of the pair of brackets formed integrally with the side member main body can be made flexible. Therefore, when the arm piece of the suspension arm is inserted between both brackets and the bolt and nut are fastened, the front body bracket can be flexibly deformed to attach the arm piece, and the suspension arm and the front The bracket on the rear side of the vehicle body can be given rigidity against the force from the vehicle.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the suspension member according to the first aspect, a reinforcing rib extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is formed at least on the rear side of the bracket on the rear side of the vehicle body. It is characterized by.

  By configuring in this way, it is possible to further reinforce the vehicle body rear side bracket that requires the most strength in both brackets constituting the support portion of the suspension arm and to provide rigidity.

The invention of claim 3, wherein in the suspension member according to claim 1, wherein the height of the connecting portion between the vehicle body width direction outer wall and the front bracket of the additional side members, the vehicle width direction outer side wall of the additional side members Is formed smaller than the height of the connecting portion with the rear side surface of the rear side bracket of the vehicle body laterally outer wall of the side member body by forming a cut portion from the front toward the front side bracket side. It is characterized by.

  With this configuration, the front side of the vehicle body front side bracket can be appropriately reinforced with the additional side member portion, and the vehicle body front side can be prepared in the case where an external force directed in the forward direction is input to the suspension arm. It becomes possible to reinforce the front side of the side bracket.

  In addition, the additional side member can be used to form a fixing portion for the vehicle body and a fixing portion for components such as a stabilizer on the front side of the suspension arm support portion.

Further, the height of the outer side wall in the vehicle body width direction of the additional side member is made smaller than the height of the connecting portion of the side wall body outer side wall of the side member body with the rear side surface of the rear side bracket, thereby improving the rigidity of the front and rear brackets. Can be changed not only by the height of the front and rear brackets and the change of the plate thickness but also by the change of the height of the outer wall in the vehicle width direction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the suspension member according to the third aspect, on the rear side of the vehicle body rear side bracket, it extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and is connected to the lower surface of the surface portion of the side member body. A reinforcing rib is formed, and a reinforcing rib extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and connected to the lower surface of the surface of the additional side member is formed on the front side of the vehicle body front side bracket. Is formed smaller than the reinforcing rib on the rear side of the vehicle body .

By configuring in this way, the front bracket can be given some flexibility, and the rear bracket can be given rigidity .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the suspension member according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, at least one of the front side bracket and the rear side bracket is continuously attached to the inner side in the vehicle width direction for mounting the parts. A boss for forming a hole is formed.

  In this way, the boss formed continuously on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the bracket is formed, so that the rigidity of the bracket in the vehicle width direction is improved, and an external force toward the width direction of the vehicle body is input to the suspension arm. When this is done, the strength against this can be maintained.

  In addition, the invention according to claim 6 is the suspension member according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the material of the suspension member is an aluminum alloy.

  Thus, the weight reduction of the whole can be advanced by making the material of a suspension member into an aluminum alloy.

  According to this invention, since it is configured as described above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

  (1) According to the invention described in claim 1, since the rigidity on the front side is lower than the rigidity on the rear side bracket, the front side bracket can be bent and deformed, and the suspension arm can be easily fixed. Further, since this is realized by changing the height of the side wall of the side member on the outer side in the vehicle body width direction, the design is facilitated because the adjustment is not performed only by the thickness difference of the bracket.

  (2) According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the above (1), the rear side of the rear bracket is reinforced by the reinforcing rib, so that the rigidity of the support portion of the suspension arm can be further increased.

  (3) According to the invention described in claim 3, it is possible to appropriately reinforce the front side of the vehicle body front side bracket with the additional side member portion, and when an external force directed in the forward direction is input to the suspension arm. In addition, the front side of the vehicle body front side bracket can be reinforced.

  Furthermore, a fixed part for the vehicle body and a fixed part for parts such as a stabilizer can be formed on the front side of the suspension arm support part using the additional side member.

According to the invention described in claim 3, the rigidity of the front bracket in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body can be lowered by adjusting the height of the side wall of the additional side member , and the attachment of the arm piece of the suspension arm is facilitated. Can do.

(4) According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the above (3), the front bracket can be given some flexibility, and the rear bracket can be given rigidity .

  (5) According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the above (1) to (4), the rigidity in the vehicle width direction of the front bracket or the rear bracket is increased and the vehicle is applied in the width direction of the vehicle body applied to the suspension arm. Strength against component force is increased.

  (6) According to the invention described in claim 6, in addition to the above (1) to (5), the suspension member is reduced in weight.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a plan view of an aluminum alloy suspension member according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a bottom view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a support of a lower arm of a suspension arm according to the present invention. It is a side view which shows a part of part in a cross section.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the suspension member 1 includes a pair of side members 11 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, a center cross member 12 that connects intermediate portions of both side members 11, and both side members 11. A suspension member main body 10 formed of an aluminum alloy casting integrally formed with a rear cross member 13 that connects the rear end side of the vehicle and a front end portion of the side members 11 on the front side of the vehicle body. An auxiliary side member 15 made of an aluminum alloy that extends in the front-rear direction and a first cross member 14 that is installed at the tip of the auxiliary side member 15 are mainly configured. In this case, the side member 11 includes a side member main body 11A and an additional side member 11B.

  In the suspension member main body 10, the connecting portions of the side member 11, the center cross member 12, and the rear cross member 13 are formed in an arc shape so as to avoid stress concentration.

  The side member 11 has connecting portions 16 and 17 (hereinafter referred to as a rear end connecting portion 16 and an intermediate connecting portion 17) to the side frame 2 of the vehicle body, slightly on the front end side portion from the rear end portion and the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. Called). Further, the rear end connecting portion 16 includes a support portion 21 (hereinafter referred to as a first support portion) of the rear end side arm piece 3a of the lower arm 3 that constitutes a suspension arm at a front side of the vehicle body from the rear end connecting portion 16. 21) and a fracture inducing portion 20 is provided so that stress concentration occurs when an impact force from the front is received. Further, a support portion 22 (hereinafter, referred to as a second support portion 22 or simply a support portion 22) of the front end side arm piece 3b of the lower arm 3 is provided at the front end portion of the side member main body 11A on the vehicle body front side. The additional side member 11B is formed on the front side of the support portion 22 so as to be continuous with the side member 11A.

  Further, the side member main body 11A and the additional side member 11B constituting the side member 11 are substantially reverse U-shaped in cross section in which a side wall 11b and an inner side wall 11c on the outer side in the vehicle body width direction are vertically provided on the sides of the surface portion 11a. The reinforcing ribs 30 are appropriately formed on the back surface of the front surface portion 11a in the front-rear direction including at least the region of the fracture inducing portion 20. As shown in FIG. 3, reinforcing ribs 30 are also provided on the bosses 16b and 17b having the connecting holes 16a and 17a constituting the rear end connecting part 16 and the intermediate connecting part 17, respectively, to reinforce the strength. It is illustrated. In addition, reinforcing ribs 30 are also provided on the two bosses 21b having the mounting holes 21a constituting the first support portion 21 to reinforce the strength (see FIG. 3).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the side member 11 includes a side member main body 11A and an additional side member 11B. The side member 11 is formed in a substantially crank shape in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body so that the rear side of the vehicle body is at a low position. The rear end connecting portion 16 and the fracture inducing portion 20 are provided on the position side. In this case, the crank-shaped step portion 11d of the side member 11 is formed in a curved shape, and is provided so as to be inclined in a direction in which the rear end sides of the side member 11 are close to each other in plan view, and from the rear end portion. A rear end connecting portion 16 that bulges in a direction away from each other protrudes horizontally (see FIGS. 1 and 3). The rear end connecting portion 16 is connected to the side frame 2 by a fixing member (not shown) such as a bolt and a nut that passes through the connecting hole 16a. Further, a mounting hole 21a of the first support portion 21 is provided at a position in the vicinity of the front side of the rear end connecting portion 16, and the breakage inducing portion is interposed between the rear end connecting portion 16 and the first support portion 21. 20 is formed. In this case, the breakage inducing portion 20 is formed by a stepped portion, a notch or the like provided at the front end portion of the reinforcing rib 30 provided from the crank portion of the side member 11 to the rear end connecting portion 16.

  On the other hand, the second support portion 22 is formed at the front end portion of the side member body 11A on the front side of the vehicle body, and includes a vehicle body front side bracket 22a (hereinafter referred to as a front side bracket 22a) provided with through holes 27 facing the front and rear direction of the vehicle body. And a vehicle body rear side bracket 22b (hereinafter referred to as a rear side bracket 22b).

An additional side member 11B is formed integrally with the front bracket 22a on the front side of the vehicle body so as to be continuous with the side member main body 11A and extend forward of the vehicle body. Further, on the rear side of the rear bracket 22b and the front side of the front bracket 22a, a reinforcing rib 23b connected to the lower surface of the surface portion 11a of the side member main body 11A, and the lower surface of the surface portion 11a of the additional side member 11B, respectively. Reinforcing ribs 23a connected to each other are connected (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 5).

  In this case, the outer side surfaces in the vehicle body width direction of both brackets 22a and 22b are formed integrally with the side wall 11b on the outer side in the vehicle body width direction of the side member main body 11A, and the side wall 11b between the brackets 22a and 22b is The cut part 26 is given so that height may become small gradually toward back from the back.

  Further, the outer side surface in the vehicle width direction of the front bracket 22a is connected to the side wall 11b on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the additional side member 11B. The side wall 11b of the additional side member 11B has a cut portion 26a formed from the front toward the front bracket side, and the cut portions 26 of the side member main body 11A and the side wall 11b of the additional side member 11B before and after the front side bracket 22a are substantially the same. It is cut to a height and formed lower than the height of the connecting portion of the side wall 11b connected to the rear bracket (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the rear bracket 22b is formed in a narrow taper shape toward the tip, that is, the lower end, and includes a through hole 27 on the surface facing the front bracket 22a. Is formed with a flat surface 28 connected to one side end of the rear side bracket 22b, that is, a side end into which the front end side arm piece 3b is inserted. Thus, by forming the flat surface 28 connected to one side end of the rear bracket 22b on the rear bracket 22b, the front end arm piece 3b can be inserted between the front bracket 22a and the rear bracket 22b. While being able to make it easy, the clearance gap between both can be reduced as much as possible.

  Further, two reinforcing ribs 23b are provided continuously to the rear bracket 22b, and one of them is connected to the upper part of the periphery of the through hole 27 in the rear bracket 22b, which is the place that requires the most strength. Thus, the rigidity of the rear bracket 22b is ensured. Two reinforcing ribs 23a connected to the front bracket 22a are also formed, and the height thereof is connected to the reinforcing rib 23b connected to the upper periphery of the through hole 27 and the other rear bracket 22b. The reinforcing rib 23b is also formed at a small height.

  By configuring as described above, the front bracket 22a can have some flexibility, and the rear bracket 22b can have rigidity. That is, when attaching the front end side arm piece 3b of the lower arm 3 to the second support portion 22, the front end side arm piece 3b fitted with the synthetic rubber bush 3d is inserted between both the brackets 22a and 22b, and both the brackets 22a and 22b are inserted. When the nut 25 is screwed or fastened to the bolt 24 that passes through the through hole 27 provided in the through hole and the through hole 3c provided in the front end side arm piece 3b, the front side bracket 22a is bent and the front end side arm piece 3b is strengthened. Can be concluded.

  Further, the rear bracket 22b can ensure rigidity against the backward force input from the lower arm 3.

The center cross member 12 is inserted into the center cross member main body 7a formed by casting integrally with the side member main body 11A and the component mounting holes 51a and 51b of the side member main body 11A so as to connect the front end portions of the side member main body 11A. And a stiffening plate 7b fixed by a bolt 51c.

The component mounting holes 51a and 52a are formed in bosses 51 and 52 that are continuously formed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the front bracket 22a and the rear bracket 22b (see FIG. 7).

Thus, the bosses 51 and 52 are continuously formed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the front bracket 22a or the rear bracket 22b, so that the rigidity in the vehicle width direction of the front bracket 22a or the rear bracket 22b is increased. The strength against the component force in the width direction of the vehicle body applied to the suspension arm is enhanced.

As described above, the suspension arm can be easily fixed to the suspension member, and a rearward input in which a large force acting via the suspension arm acts can be reliably received by the rear bracket 22b. The front or rear brackets 22a and 22b can receive a force from the bosses 51 and 52 in response to an input in the width direction, and the external force acting forward is a relatively small force, but the front bracket 22a. Is supported by the side wall 11b or the reinforcing rib 23a of the additional side member 11B.

  In addition, the rear end side arm piece 3a of the lower arm 3 is held by a presser fitting 21c having a substantially hat-shaped cross section having mounting holes (not shown) that match the two mounting holes 21a of the first support portion 21. Thus, bolts and nuts (not shown) are fastened and attached (see FIG. 1).

  Mounting holes 12a for fixing the engine 4 are provided on both the left and right sides of the center cross member 12, and the engine 4 is connected via fastening members (not shown) such as mounting bolts that pass through the mounting holes 12a. The rear end is fixed. The front side of the engine 4 is fixed to the side frame 2.

  A bracket 19 for attaching the stabilizer 6 protrudes from the opposing inner surface of the additional side member 11B on the tip side. Further, a steering part (not shown) is mounted on the suspension member 1 by using the center bar 8 having one end attached to the rear cross member 13 and the other end attached to the center cross member 12 via the stiffening plate 7b. Can be assembled to.

  The auxiliary side member 15 is formed of an extruded material having a substantially hollow rectangular cross section made of an aluminum alloy, and the suspension member body 10 is added via a collar (not shown) inserted into a hollow portion on the connection side. It is inserted into the tip of the side member 11B and is connected by an angled mounting bracket (not shown), a mounting bolt 41, and a nut 42, respectively. A first cross member 14 is connected between the tip portions of both auxiliary side members 15. Further, a distal end connecting portion 18 to the side frame 2 of the vehicle body is provided at the distal end portion of the auxiliary side member 15.

  The suspension member 1 configured as described above is fixed to the side frame 2 of the vehicle body with bolts and nuts (not shown) at the front end connecting portion 18, the intermediate connecting portion 17 and the rear end connecting portion 16. The rear end side arm piece 3 a and the front end side arm piece 3 b of the lower arm 3 of the suspension arm are supported by the support portion 21 and the second support portion 22.

  According to the suspension member 1, when an impact force is received from the front due to a collision or the like, first, the auxiliary side member 15 having a lower rigidity than the suspension member body 10 is buckled and deformed to absorb the impact energy, and further the impact force. Is applied, a downward bending moment acts on the side member 11 with the rear end connecting portion 16 as a fulcrum, and stress concentration occurs in the fracture inducing portion 20, that is, the stepped portion 20A. When the crack is generated in the breakage inducing portion 20 and a force is further applied, the breakage inducing portion 20 is broken and the side member 11, the lower arm 3 and the engine 4 are displaced downward. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an impact force from the front due to a collision or the like from being transmitted into the vehicle via the suspension member.

  Although the suspension arm support structure in the front suspension member has been described in the above embodiment, the suspension arm can be easily and firmly attached to the support structure of the rear suspension arm by adopting the same structure as in the above embodiment. Can be.

It is a top view which shows the suspension member made from an aluminum alloy which concerns on this invention. It is a side view of the said suspension member. It is a bottom view of the suspension member. It is a side view which shows a part of support part of the lower arm in this invention in a cross section. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the lower arm, bracket, volt | bolt, and nut in this invention. It is a side view which shows the vehicle body front side bracket and vehicle body rear side bracket in this invention. FIG. 7 is a bottom view of FIG. 6.

1 Suspension member 3 Lower arm (suspension arm)
3b Front end side arm piece 3c Through hole 10 Suspension member main body 11 Side member 11A Side member main body 11B Additional side member 11b Side wall 12 on the outer side in the vehicle body width direction Center cross member 13 Rear cross member 22 Second support portion 22a Front bracket 22b Rear Side bracket 23a, 23b Reinforcing rib 24 Bolt 25 Nut 26, 26a Cut part 27 Through hole 28 Flat surface 51, 52 Boss 51a, 51b Mounting hole

Claims (6)

A suspension member comprising a pair of side member main bodies extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and a cross member for connecting the side member main bodies, and a support member for pivotally attaching a suspension arm to the side member main body. There,
In the side member body, a side wall is vertically suspended from the surface portion and the vehicle body width direction outer side portion,
The support portion is formed integrally with the front end portion of the side member body on the front side of the vehicle body, and a pair of front and rear brackets facing each other in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and through holes provided in the brackets, respectively. And a bolt penetrating the arm piece of the suspension arm inserted between the brackets and a nut fastened to the bolt,
The both brackets, the same length while being vertically in the same direction as the side wall from said surface portion, the vehicle width direction outside portion respectively is connected integrally with the side wall, and the side wall between the two brackets high By forming the cut portion so that the length gradually decreases from the rear to the front side of the vehicle body, when the arm piece is fastened between the brackets, the vehicle body front side bracket is formed to be deformable. A suspension member characterized by that. The suspension member according to claim 1,
A suspension member, wherein a reinforcement rib extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is formed on at least the rear side of the bracket on the vehicle body rear side of the both brackets. The suspension member according to claim 1 ,
The vehicle body front side of the vehicle front side bracket additional side member that extends forward continuously to the side member main body is integrally formed, the additional side members, the side wall surface portion and its vehicle width direction outer side portion and vertically and the vehicle width direction outer side portion of the front side bracket is integrally connected to the side wall of the additional side members,
The height of the connecting portion between the vehicle body width direction outer side wall of the additional side member and the front side bracket is such that the vehicle body width direction outer side wall of the additional side member forms a cut portion from the front toward the front side bracket side. Thus , the suspension member is characterized in that it is formed to be smaller than the height of the connecting portion between the side member main body laterally outer wall and the rear side surface of the rear bracket . The suspension member according to claim 3,
A reinforcing rib extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and connected to the lower surface of the surface portion of the side member main body is formed on the rear side of the vehicle body rear side bracket, and on the front side of the vehicle body front side bracket, A reinforcing rib extending in the front-rear direction and connected to the lower surface of the surface of the additional side member is formed, and the height of the reinforcing rib on the front side of the vehicle body is made smaller than that on the rear side of the vehicle body. Suspension member characterized by that. The suspension member according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A suspension member, wherein a boss is formed in at least one of the front bracket and the rear bracket so as to form a mounting hole for component mounting continuously on the inner side in the vehicle width direction. The suspension member according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A suspension member, wherein the suspension member is made of an aluminum alloy.

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