JPH0238115A - Suspension device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the twist of a trailing arm axially connected to a body at the side of the body during the change of a wheel toe angle by keeping an axial line for rotatably connecting the rear end of the trailing arm and a wheel support member in line with the phantom king pin axial line of a wheel. CONSTITUTION:A suspension device is equipped with a wheel support member 2 for so supporting a wheel 1 as to be freely rotatable, two lateral links 3 and 4 extended in a widthwise direction and a trailing arm 8 extended in the lengthwise direction of a body. When steering power is transmitted from a tie rod 12, the wheel 1 is steered about a phantom kind pin axial line L1 connecting each connection point 7 of each of lateral links 3 and 4, and the wheel support member 2. In this case, the rear end of the trailing arm 8 and the wheel support member 2 are connected to each other at two upper and lower positions via each ball joint 15. Furthermore, an axial line L2 connecting th center points of each ball joint 15 are made to agree to the phantom king pin axial line L1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a suspension device for an automobile.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-53408, suspension devices for automobiles have conventionally included a wheel support member that rotatably supports a vehicle body, and a wheel support member that extends in the vehicle width direction and extends outwardly. A wheel comprising: a plurality of lateral links whose ends are connected to the wheel support member; and a trailing arm extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, whose front end is pivotally connected to the vehicle body, and whose rear end is connected to the wheel support member. It is known that the changes in the toe angle and camber angle during bump rebound can be set appropriately.

The connection between the rear end of the trailing arm and the wheel support member is usually rigid in order to resist the moment load acting on the wheel during braking or the like.

In this case, in order to allow changes in the toe angle of the wheel when the wheel bumps and rebounds, the trailing arm is made of a thin plate so that it can flex and deform in the vehicle width direction, or the trailing arm is placed on the vehicle body side. Although it has been attempted to provide a bushing that can be deformed in the vehicle width direction at the pivot joint, these methods have the problem of considerable resistance to changes in the toe angle, etc.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 61-59107, the connecting portion between the rear end of the trailing arm and the wheel support member is rotated around the vertical axis. By having a structure that is rotatable and rigid in that direction, the trailing arm supports the moment load that acts on the wheel during braking, etc., while also resisting changes in the toe angle etc. when the wheel bamboo rebounds. A method has been proposed that allows this to occur without causing it.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, a change in the toe angle of a wheel usually occurs when the wheel rotates around a virtual kingpin axis defined by a connection point between the wheel support member and the lateral link. Therefore, if the rear end of the trailing arm and the wheel support member are simply connected rotatably around the vertical axis as in the above proposal, when the toe angle of the wheel changes, this axis and the virtual kingpin axis Due to the gap, the pivot portion of the trailing arm on the vehicle body side may be strained, and there is a risk of damage to the bushings, etc. at that location. There is also the problem that the twisting of the trailing arm at the pivot point on the vehicle body side adversely affects changes in the toe angle.

The present invention has been developed in view of these points, and its purpose is to further improve the structure for rotatably connecting the rear end of the trailing arm and the wheel support member as proposed above. This is to prevent the vehicle body side pivot portion of the trailing arm from being twisted when the toe angle of the wheel changes.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the solving means of the present invention is a suspension device for a vehicle, and includes a wheel support member that rotatably supports a wheel, and a wheel support member that extends in the vehicle width direction and has an outer end. is provided with a plurality of lateral links connected to the wheel support member, and a trailing arm extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, whose front end is pivotally connected to the vehicle body, and whose rear end is connected to the wheel support member. shall be. The rear end of the trailing arm and the wheel support member are rotatably connected to each other about an axis extending downward on the road, and the axis is approximately aligned on a virtual kingpin axis defined by the connection point between the lateral link and the wheel support member. The configuration is such that they are arranged in alignment.

(Function) With the above configuration, in the present invention, when the rear end of the trailing arm and the wheel support member are rotatably connected around the axis extending in the downward direction on the road, the axis is connected to the lateral link and the wheel support member. By aligning the axis approximately with the virtual kingpin axis determined by the connection point of the axis, the pivot point on the vehicle body side of the trailing arm is prevented from being twisted due to the gap between the axis and the virtual kingpin axis when the toe angle of the wheel changes. This means that this can be prevented.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention applied to a rear suspension device of a four-wheel steering vehicle,
1 is a wheel (rear wheel); 2 is a wheel support member that rotatably supports the wheel 1; 3 and 4 are two lateral links each extending in the vehicle width direction;
The inner end portions of each are connected to the cross frame 5, which is a strength member of the vehicle body, via rubber bushes 6 so as to be able to swing up and down, while the outer end portions are rotatable to the wheel support member 2 via a ball joint 7. is connected to.

Further, 8 is a trailing arm extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and the trailing arm 8 is made up of two thin plates 8a,
8b is polymerized.

The front end of the trailing arm 8 is connected to a frame 9, which is a strength member of the vehicle body, through a rubber bush 10 so as to be able to swing vertically, while the rear end is connected to the wheel support member 2.

Further, 11 is a shock absorber for damping vertical vibration of the wheel 1, and 12 is a tie rod extending in the vehicle width direction for transmitting steering force to the wheel 1.
The outer end of the wheel support member 2 is connected to the wheel support member 2 via the ball shield 13.
is connected to.

When the steering force is transmitted to the wheel support member 2 via this tie rod 11, the wheel support member 2 and the wheel 1 are connected to the connection point (ball joint) between the two lateral links 3, 4 and the wheel support member 2. 7) It is designed to be steered left and right around a virtual kingpin axis L1 that connects the two.

The rear end of the trailing arm 8 and the wheel support member 2 are connected by ball joints 15 and 15 at two locations, upper and lower.
has been made through. In the connection structure using this ball joint 15, as shown in detail in FIG.
A joint member 17 having a spherical surface portion 17a is inserted through the joint member 17, and its spherical surface portion 17a is rotatably held via a ball receiver 18, and thin plates 8a and 8b of a trailing arm 8 are fixed to both ends of the joint member 17, respectively. There is. With such a connection structure using the two upper and lower ball joints 15.15, the trailing arm can be rotated around the axis L2 connecting the center points of the two ball joints 15.15 and rigidly in the direction of the axis L2. 8 and the wheel support member 2 are connected, and the axis L2 is
It is arranged to substantially coincide with the virtual kingpin axis Ll.

Next, to explain the effects of the above embodiment, when the steering force is transmitted from the tie rod 12 to the wheel support member 2, the wheel support member 2 and the wheel 1 are connected to each lateral link 3.4 and the wheel support member 2. The toe angle changes as appropriate by rotating around the virtual kingpin axis L1 connecting the connection points (ball joints 7) with the two.

At this time, since the rear end of the trailing arm 8 is rotatably provided relative to the wheel support member 2 about the axis L2 in the downward direction on the road, the toe angle change is regulated by the trailing arm 9. There isn't. Moreover, the above axis L
2 is arranged substantially on the virtual kingpin axis Ll, which is the steering center axis of the wheel 1, so that the toe angle change of the wheel 1 (
This prevents twisting from acting on the trailing arm 8 during steering, and prevents damage to the rubber bushing 10, which is the pivot point at the front end of the trailing arm 8, on the vehicle body side.

On the other hand, when a moment load is applied to the wheel 1 around its rotational center axis, such as during braking of a vehicle, the connecting portion between the trailing arm 8 and the wheel support member 2 is rigidly connected in the vertical axial direction. Therefore, the trailing arm 9 serves as a supporting member and resists the above moment load.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but includes various other modifications.

For example, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the case where the wheel 1 is steered by the steering force from the tie rod 12 and its toe angle changes, but instead of this steering force,
Depending on the mounting position of multiple lateral links, wheel 1
The present invention can also be applied to a case where the toe angle of the wheel is changed at the time of bump rebound.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the vehicle suspension device of the present invention, by making the axis that rotatably connects the trailing arm rear end and the wheel support member coincide with the virtual kingpin axis of the wheel, It is possible to reliably prevent the vehicle body side pivot portion of the trailing arm from being twisted when the toe angle of the wheel changes, and it is possible to prevent damage to the rubber bushings and the like at that portion and to prevent adverse effects on the toe angle change.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view of the suspension device, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the suspension device as seen from the rear of the vehicle, FIG. 3 is a side view of the same, and FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line A-A of DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Wheel, 2... Wheel support member, 3, 4... Lateral link, 8... Trailing arm, Ll...
・Virtual kingpin axis, L2...axis line. [Figure] Figure A) School

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A wheel support member that rotatably supports a wheel, a plurality of lateral links each extending in the vehicle width direction and whose outer ends are connected to the wheel support member, and a plurality of lateral links extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and having front ends connected to the vehicle body. A suspension device for a vehicle comprising a trailing arm that is pivotally mounted and whose rear end is connected to the wheel support member, wherein the rear end of the trailing arm and the wheel support member are rotatable around an axis extending downward on the road. A suspension device for a vehicle, wherein the axis line is arranged to substantially coincide with a virtual kingpin axis defined by a connection point between the lateral link and the wheel support member.