JP6286910B2 - Vehicle suspension system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension device used in a vehicle such as an automobile.

  Among the suspension devices for vehicles, the strut type suspension device is configured such that a housing (knuckle) that rotatably supports a wheel is coupled to a lower end portion of a strut extending in a vertical direction, and the housing is connected to a vehicle body side via a lower arm. It is connected to the member.

  As a housing used for such a strut type suspension device, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a knuckle portion for fastening and fixing a hub bearing that rotatably supports a hub and a strut are fastened and fixed. In the knuckle portion, a housing that is divided into two in the vehicle width direction is known.

JP 2009-78692 A

  When the suspension device having the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 is employed in a front suspension device of an automobile, the strut is interfered with the fastening portion at a substantially same height as the hub bearing fastening portion of the housing, that is, the hub mounting portion. Without being fastened to the housing.

  Accordingly, it is possible to enlarge the front view of the front seat of the vehicle by lowering the strut height above the ground and lowering the hood height at the front of the vehicle body.

  However, in the case where the housing has a plurality of divided structures as described above, in addition to the increase in the number of parts, the number of assembling steps increases, so it cannot be denied that the cost becomes disadvantageous.

  In addition, since the housing is divided into multiple parts in the vehicle width direction, the amount of offset of the struts in the vehicle width direction with respect to the housing increases, so the bending moment is large, and the swing of the housing and front wheel during turning is large. The layout becomes worse.

  Therefore, the present invention is capable of fastening the strut to the housing while avoiding interference with the fastening portion of the hub bearing without significantly changing the structure of the housing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle suspension device that can expand the front view of the front seat.

  The vehicle suspension apparatus according to the present invention has a structure in which a hub bearing is fastened and fixed to one side of a housing and a strut is fastened and fixed to the other side of the housing.

On the side surface of the housing on the side where the strut is fastened, a projection is set inside the mounting pitch circle for fastening the hub bearing and spaced from the fastening member for fixing the hub bearing.

  The main feature is that the struts are fastened and fixed by using the protrusions as seats.

  According to the present invention, the protrusion of the housing for fastening and fixing the strut is located on the inner side of the mounting pitch circle of the hub bearing and is set at a position separated from the fastening member of the hub bearing. Fastening can be performed at the same height as the hub without interfering with the fastening member.

  Thereby, when applied to the front suspension of an automobile, the ground clearance above the strut can be lowered and the hood height can be lowered, so that the front view of the front seat of the vehicle can be enlarged.

  In addition, the simple structure in which the protrusion is formed at a predetermined position on one side of the housing does not involve a significant structural change of the housing, and thus can be advantageously obtained in terms of design and cost.

The perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the front suspension to which this invention is applied. The perspective view which shows the assembly | attachment state of a housing, a strut, and a hub. The front view which looked at the assembly state of Drawing 2 from the vehicles front. The exploded perspective view of a housing and a hub. The side view which looked at the housing from the vehicle width direction inner side. The front view which looked at the housing from the vehicle front. The front view similar to FIG. 3 which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings by taking a front suspension of an automobile as an example.

  The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 shows the arrangement of the front suspension 1 on the left side of the automobile.

  A front suspension 1 that supports a front wheel 2 of an automobile with respect to a vehicle body includes a strut 10, a housing (knuckle) 20, a lower arm 30, a stabilizer 40, and the like.

  The strut 10 extends in the vertical direction, and includes a shock absorber 11 and a coil spring 12 disposed outside the upper portion thereof. In the illustrated example, the coil spring 12 is shown as being covered with a protective cover 13.

  The housing 20 rotatably supports the hub 3 to which the front wheel 2 is attached via a hub bearing described later, and is fastened and fixed to the lower end portion of the shock absorber 11 via a bracket 14.

  The lower arm 30 is provided on the suspension member 8, which is a strength skeleton member on the vehicle body side, so as to protrude outward in the vehicle width direction. Is pivotably connected.

  The free end of the lower arm 30 is connected to the lower end of the housing 20 via a ball joint 31.

  The strut 10 is attached to a vehicle body side strut housing via an upper mount portion 15 provided at the upper end of the shock absorber 11 so as to be rotatable about the axis of the shock absorber 11.

  The strut 10 is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the lower end so that the upper end is on the inner side in the vehicle width direction and on the rear side of the vehicle.

  Thus, the required kingpin inclination angle and caster angle can be obtained on the kingpin shaft connecting the connection point of the upper mount portion 15 to the strut housing and the connection point of the housing 20 and the lower arm 30 by the ball joint 31. Yes.

  The stabilizer 40 generates torsional torque against the behavior of the opposite phases of the left and right front suspensions 1 to maintain roll stability, and includes a stabilizer bar 41 and a stabilizer link 42 connected to the terminal. ing.

  The stabilizer bar 41 is also called an anti-roll bar and extends in the vehicle width direction, and both end portions thereof are rotatably supported by bearing portions 9 provided on the upper surfaces of the left and right side portions of the suspension member 8. On the other hand, the stabilizer link 42 is connected to a bracket 32 provided on the lower arm 30.

  A steering force generated by a rotating operation of a steering wheel (not shown) is transmitted to the housing 20 through a tie rod 50 of a steering system.

  The suspension member 8 is provided with a steering rack mechanism 60 having a gear box 61.

  The rack mechanism 60 extends in the vehicle width direction, and both end portions thereof are mounted on the suspension member 8 via vibration-proof bushings 62.

  The tie rod 50 is connected to the end of the rack mechanism 60 via a ball joint (not shown), and extends in the vehicle width direction in the vicinity of the front side of the lower end of the strut 10 on the substantial extension of the rack mechanism 60. .

  A knuckle arm 21 projecting forward of the vehicle is provided at a position above the connection point (ball joint 31) of the housing 20 with the lower arm 30, and the end of the tie rod 50 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction is the knuckle arm. 21 via a ball joint 51.

  The tie rod 50 and the lower arm 30 constitute a parallel link mechanism having nodes at the connection points of the respective end portions in the vehicle width direction.

  As a result, the rotational operation force of the steering wheel (not shown) is converted into a linear motion of the rack mechanism 60 by the gear box 61, and this is transmitted as a steering force to the housing 20 via the tie rod 50 and the knuckle arm 21.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the front wheel 2 is turned to the left to the maximum.

  FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the coupling state of the strut 10 and the housing 20 described above. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the strut 10 is shown with the coil spring 12 removed, and a lower spring seat 16 that receives the lower end of the coil spring 12 is joined to the shock absorber 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing 20 has a clamp-type connecting arm 23 projecting inward in the vehicle width direction at the center of the lower end in addition to the knuckle arm 21 described above. The upper end of the ball joint 31 disposed at the free end of the lower arm 30 is clamped and connected.

  Further, a pair of upper and lower caliper fixing arms 24 for coupling a brake caliper (not shown) is provided at the periphery of the housing 20 opposite to the side where the knuckle arm 21 is provided (the rear edge in the example shown in FIG. 4). It protrudes toward

  On the other hand, the above-described hub 3 that fastens and fixes the front wheel 2 via a plurality of hub bolts 3a is rotatably supported by the hub bearing 4 as shown in FIG. The hub bearing 4 is fastened and fixed to the outer side surface of the housing 20 in the vehicle width direction through the outer flange side mounting flange 5 as described later.

  The mounting flange 5 of the hub bearing 4 is provided with a plurality of screw holes 6 concentrically with the center of rotation.

  On the other hand, the housing 20 is provided with a plurality of bolt insertion holes 25 at positions corresponding to the screw holes 6 of the mounting flange 5.

  Then, the bolt 7 as a fastening member is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 25 from the inside in the vehicle width direction of the housing 20, and this is screwed into the screw hole 6 of the mounting flange 5, whereby the hub bearing 4 is attached to the housing 20. Fastened and fixed.

  In this embodiment, the hub bearing 4 is fastened and fixed by the bolt 7, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper center point of the mounting pitch circle A that sets the screw hole 6 and the bolt insertion hole 25 described above, and the lower front As a three-point stop structure with two rear points, a stable bond strength balance is obtained.

  As described above, the housing 20 is fastened and fixed to the lower end portion of the strut 10 via the bracket 14. The bracket 14 is joined and fixed to the shock absorber 11. The projection 26 is provided as a seat portion, and the bracket 14 is fastened and fixed to the projection 26 by bolts and nuts 17.

  The projecting portion 26 projects integrally from the mounting pitch circle A of the housing 20 at a position spaced in the surface direction from the head of the bolt 7 to which the hub bearing 4 is fastened and fixed.

  In the present embodiment, the hub bearing 4 is fastened and fixed by a three-point stop structure with one point at the upper center of the mounting pitch circle A and two points at the lower side. It protrudes in the lower position of the head of the bolt 7 which becomes.

Further, in the present embodiment, separately from the above-described protrusions 26, another protrusion 27 is integrally protruded outside the mounting pitch circle A and above the head of the bolt 7 at the upper center, The struts 10 are fastened and secured across the heads of the bolts 7 in the vertical direction using these two protrusions 26 and 27 as seats.

  Specifically, the bracket 14 has a length dimension extending over the upper and lower protrusions 26 and 27, and has a clamp type structure in which the protrusions 26 and 27 are sandwiched in the vehicle front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the protrusions 26 and 27 are sandwiched from the vehicle front-rear direction and fastened and fixed by bolts and nuts 17 in the same direction.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a slope θ is set on the upper surface of the protruding portion 26 set inside the mounting pitch circle A so as to incline downward at a required angle toward the tip side as shown in FIG.

According to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the protrusion 26 of the housing 20 that fastens and fixes the bracket 14 of the strut 10 is located on the inner side of the mounting pitch circle A of the hub bearing 4. It is set at a position away from the head of the fixed bolt 7.

  Accordingly, the strut 10 can be fastened without interfering with the head portion of the bolt 7 at the same height as the fastening portion of the hub bearing 4 by the bolt 7 of the housing 20, that is, the attachment portion of the hub 3.

  As a result, the ground clearance of the struts 10 can be lowered, the hood height at the front of the vehicle body can be lowered, and the front view of the front seat of the vehicle can be enlarged.

  In addition, as a simple structure in which the projecting portion 26 is provided at a required position on the inner side surface of the housing 20 in the vehicle width direction, the housing 20 is not significantly changed in structure, which is advantageous in terms of design and cost. In particular, unlike the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the offset amount in the vehicle width direction between the strut 10 and the housing 20 does not increase, so that the layout around the front wheel 2 is not hindered.

Here, in this embodiment, the fastening fixation of the hub bearing 4 to the housing 20 is a three-point stop structure having the fastening fixing portion by the bolt 7 at the upper center of the mounting pitch circle A as a vertex.
The fastening structure has a good strength balance by minimizing the number of fixing points.

In addition to the protrusion 26 set inside the mounting pitch circle A, another protrusion 27 is protruded outside the mounting pitch circle A and above the head of the bolt 7. Thus, the strut 10 is fastened and fixed by the bracket 14 with the two projecting portions 26 and 27 as seat portions and straddling the bolt head portion in the vertical direction.

  As a result, when the strut 10 is fastened and fixed at substantially the same height as the fastening portion of the hub bearing 4 in the housing 20, the strut 10 can be advantageously coupled with strength, and the hub bearing 4 and the strut 10 with respect to the housing 20 can be coupled. The fastening layout can be advantageously performed in terms of design.

In addition, since a slope θ that is inclined downward at a required angle toward the tip side is set on the upper surface of the protrusion 26 on the inner side of the mounting pitch circle A, muddy water is formed between the upper and lower protrusions 26 and 27. Even if the intrusion occurs, it is possible to improve drainage and prevent foreign matter from accumulating around the head of the bolt 7.

  FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the protrusions 26 and 27 in the first embodiment straddle between the side surfaces on both sides in the vehicle front-rear direction. A partition wall 28 surrounding the head of the bolt 7 is integrally provided.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained, and the shielding effect around the head of the bolt 7 between the projections 26 and 27 can be obtained by the partition wall 28, such as muddy water. The effect of preventing intrusion and accompanying foreign matter accumulation can be enhanced.

1. Front suspension (suspension)
2 ... Front wheel 3 ... Hub 4 ... Hub bearing 7 ... Bolt (fastening member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Strut 11 ... Shock absorber 12 ... Coil spring 14 ... Bracket 20 ... Housing 21 ... Knuckle arm 25 ... Bolt penetration hole 26 on the installation pitch circle A ... Projection part 27 inside the installation pitch circle A ... Outer protrusion 28 ... Partition 30 between the sides of the protrusions 26 and 27 ... Lower arm 40 ... Stabilizer 50 ... Tie rod 60 ... Rack mechanism θ ... Gradient of the upper surface of the protrusion 26

Claims (3)

A hub bearing is fastened and fixed to one side of the housing, and a strut is fastened and fixed to the other side of the housing,
A projection is set on the side surface of the housing on the side of the strut fastening side, located entirely inside the mounting pitch circle for fastening the hub bearing, and spaced apart from the fastening member for fixing the hub bearing. A suspension apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that the strut is fastened and fixed by using a seat as a seat portion. While the fastening of the hub bearing is a three-point stop structure with one point on the upper center of the mounting pitch circle and two points on the lower side,
Separately from the projection set inside the mounting pitch circle, another projection is set outside the mounting pitch circle and above the fastening center at the upper center, and these two projections The suspension device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the strut is fastened and fixed across the fastening center point of the upper center in the vertical direction with the seat as a seat portion.   3. The vehicle suspension according to claim 1, wherein a slope that is inclined downward at a required angle toward the tip side is set on an upper surface of the protrusion set inside the mounting pitch circle. 4. apparatus.

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