JPH0365417A - Danping force variation type suspension equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a wiring space, and to improve mounting workability for a dumping force variation type suspension equipment for automobile by providing a sensor that detects a physical factor related to automobile movement on an actuator for damping force variation. CONSTITUTION:On the upper side of a main case 31a of an actuator unit 3, a sub-case 32a is fixed with a screw 31b, and an acceleration sensor 32c on the rear surface of the sub-case 32a. The acceleration sensor 32c is connected to a control means through a harness 16 for input. By mounting the sensor and the actuator within the same space, mounting space can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in setting the mounting space can be improved. Mounting workability can thus be improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a variable damping force suspension unit applied to a vehicle.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as a variable damping force type suspension unit, for example, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 181908/1983 is known.

This unit includes a hydraulic shock absorber interposed between the vehicle body and the axle, a variable orifice provided in the piston rod of the hydraulic shock absorber, and an actuator that operates the variable orifice. was.

Further, the drive of the actuator is controlled by a control means such as an on-vehicle microcomputer, and this control means detects the behavior of the vehicle based on the vertical acceleration obtained by an acceleration sensor installed in the vehicle body. Correspondingly, the hydraulic shock absorber was controlled to obtain the optimum damping force.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a conventional variable damping force suspension unit, since the sensor and the actuator are separately attached, there are problems listed below.

■ Installation space for each sensor and actuator is required.

(2) A mounting member is required for each of the sensor and actuator, and mounting work is required for each, which increases costs and has poor mounting workability.

(2) It is necessary to separately route an input harness and a drive harness for connecting each sensor and actuator with a control means, and it takes time and effort to secure a space for the wiring and to perform the wiring work.

The present invention was made by focusing on such problems,
The installation space for sensors and actuators can be reduced, and the wiring space for harnesses can be reduced, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a variable damping force suspension unit that can improve the workability of installing sensors and actuators, improve the workability of wiring harnesses, and reduce costs.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the variable damping force suspension unit of the present invention has a variable damping force suspension unit that is interposed between the vehicle body and the axle,
a shock absorber having a damping force changing means; an actuator for actuating the damping force changing means; and a sensor attached to the actuator for detecting physical factors related to vehicle behavior for the means for controlling drive of the actuator. has been established.

(Function) In the present invention, the sensor is attached to the actuator in advance.

Therefore, when the actuator is installed, the sensor is also installed at the same time.

Furthermore, since the sensor is attached to the actuator in this way, when connecting the sensor and actuator to a control means such as an on-board microcomputer using a harness, it is possible to route both harnesses together. There is no need to secure a separate space for wiring, and the wiring only needs to be done once.

In the suspension unit of the present invention installed in a vehicle in this way, information based on physical factors indicating the vehicle body behavior detected by the sensor is sent to the control means, and the control means uses this information to determine the optimum damping force. is calculated, and based on the calculation result, the actuator is driven and the damping force changing means is operated to control the damping force to the optimum damping force.

(Example) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 2 is an overall view showing a variable damping force system to which a suspension unit S according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is constituted by control means C.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the main parts of a suspension unit S according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in the figure, this suspension unit S has a hydraulic shock absorber 1, a spring 2, and an actuator unit 3. .

The hydraulic shock absorber 1 has a cylinder tube 4 and a piston rod 5, the lower end of the cylinder tube 4 is connected to the axle side, and the upper end of the piston rod 5 is connected to a thrust bearing 6 and a mount insulator 7. It is attached to the vehicle body B via. That is, the upper end of the piston rod 5 is fastened to the inner bracket 7a of the mount insulator 7, while the outer bracket 7b of the mount insulator 7 is fixed to the vehicle body.

The hydraulic shock absorber 1 is of a variable damping force type,
It has an adjuster 8 as a damping force changing means inside.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a piston 11 is provided at the tip of the piston rod 5 so as to divide the inside of the cylinder tube 4 into an upper chamber 9 and a lower chamber 10. As shown in FIG. The piston 11 includes a compression side communication passage 11a and a compression side communication passage 11b.
are formed, and a compression side damping valve 11c and a rebound side damping valve lld which open and close the dual-speed passages 11a and llb.
is provided.

Further, the piston rod 5 has a dual-speed passage 11a.

A bypass passage 5a is formed in parallel with 11b to communicate the upper and lower chambers 9, 10.

The regulator 8 is formed in a cylindrical shape and has an orifice hole 8a formed in the radial direction, and rotates with respect to the piston rod 5 to enable or block the bypass passage 5a. , orifice hole 8a and communication path 5b
At the position where they match, the bypass flow path 5a is in a flowable state and set to a low damping force range, while the orifice hole 8a is in a low damping force range.
At a position where the communication path 5b does not match the bypass flow path 5a, the bypass flow path 5a is shut off to establish a high damping force range.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 12 denotes an outer tube that forms a reservoir chamber 13 on the outer periphery of the cylinder tube 4. As shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the spring 2 has its lower end seated on a spring seat 12a attached to the outer periphery of the outer tube 12 of the hydraulic shock absorber 1.
The upper end side is seated on a spring seat (not shown) attached to the upper part of the piston rod 5.

Further, the actuator unit 3 is fixed with a screw 20 to a mounting bracket 19 fastened with a nut 18 at an upper position of a nut 17 that fastens the piston rod 5 to the inner bracket 7a.

Next, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the actuator unit 3. As shown in this figure, the actuator unit 3 is provided with an actuator section 31 and a sensor section 32.

The actuator section 31 is provided in a main case 31a, and includes an output shaft 31b connected to the regulator 8 via a control rod 14, a movable piece 31c provided on the outer periphery of the output shaft 31b, It is composed of a pot bin 31d provided opposite to the upper end surface of the movable piece 31c,
When the pobbin 31d is energized, the movable piece 31c and the output shaft 31
It has a rotating structure. The detailed structure and operation of this actuator section 31 are described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 63
See Publication No.-135625. In addition, the bobbin 3
1d is connected to the control means C via the drive harness 15.

In addition, a secondary case 32a is attached to the upper side of the main case 31a with screws 3.
2b, and an acceleration sensor 32c is fixed to the back surface of this sub case 32a. This acceleration sensor 32c is connected to the control means C via the input harness 16. In addition, 31e in the figure is a grommet.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the control means C receives the signal from the acceleration sensor 32c, detects the behavior of the vehicle based on the vertical acceleration at the upper end position of the piston rod 5, and detects the behavior of the vehicle. Accordingly, control is performed so that the damping force range of the hydraulic shock absorber 1 is in an optimal state. Incidentally, since such control is disclosed in, for example, the publications presented in the prior art, detailed explanation will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be explained.

(a) At the time of assembly In this embodiment, after the actuator part 31 of the actuator unit 3 is attached to the upper end of the piston rod 5, the sub case 32a, in which the acceleration sensor 32c is assembled, is attached to the main case 31a by screws 32b. Fix it with
Complete suspension unit S.

Therefore, when this suspension unit S is assembled to the vehicle body mill, the hydraulic shock absorber 1, the actuator (actuator section 31), and the acceleration sensor 32c (sensor section 32)
can be assembled at the same time, and is characterized by extremely high installation workability.

Further, an input harness 16 connecting the acceleration sensor 32c and the control means C, and a bobbin 3 of the actuator section 31 are provided.
Since the driving harness 15 that connects the drive harness 1d and the control means C is routed together, this wiring work can be done at one time, and is characterized by good workability.

(B) When driving In the suspension unit S attached to the vehicle in this way, when the piston rod 5 moves vertically due to input from the road surface or changes in the posture of the vehicle body, the acceleration in the vertical direction becomes acceleration. It is detected by the sensor 32c and inputted to the control means C.

Based on this input information, the control means C determines the optimum damping force range of the suspension unit S by calculation or determination, and energizes or de-energizes the pobbin 31d of the actuator section 31 based on the result. to change the damping force range.

In this way, in the case of this embodiment, since the acceleration sensor 32c is disposed at the upper end of the piston rod 5, input from the road surface (under the spring) can be detected without going through the mount insulator 7. It is possible to detect the component of the input from the unsprung area before it is attenuated by the mount insulator 7, and has the feature that the unsprung force can be accurately detected.

Incidentally, conventionally, since the acceleration sensor is provided closer to the vehicle body B than the mount insulator 7, input from the unsprung area is inputted via the mount insulator 7. Therefore, when detecting this input, a time delay occurs, and the detected value becomes a value that changes due to the attenuation characteristics of the mount insulator 7, resulting in low accuracy.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment. However, this actuator unit may be attached to the vehicle body, and the actuator 1 and the control rod may be connected by a flexible output shaft that allows relative displacement.

Additionally, the sensors attached to the actuator are not limited to sensors that detect acceleration in the vertical direction, but also sensors that detect horizontal acceleration, sensors that detect speed, and other sensors that detect physical factors related to the behavior of the vehicle body. Other sensors may be used, if any.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the variable damping force suspension unit of the present invention, since the sensor is attached to the actuator, the following effects can be obtained at the same time.

■ Since the sensor and actuator can be installed in the same space, the installation space can be reduced and the degree of freedom in setting the installation space can be improved.

■ When the actuator is installed, the sensor is also installed at the same time, improving the installation work efficiency.

■ Since it is possible to route the two harnesses that connect the sensor, actuator, and control means together, there is no need to secure separate wiring space, and the wiring space can be reduced. Since the wiring work can be completed in one go, the efficiency of the wiring work is improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall diagram showing a variable damping force suspension unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing a variable damping force system having a suspension unit according to an embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a suspension unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the main parts of the hydraulic shock absorber of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the actuator unit of the suspension unit of the embodiment. 1... Hydraulic shock absorber 8... Adjuster (damping force changing means) 31... Actuator section (actuator) 32c
...Acceleration sensor S...Suspension unit

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A shock absorber interposed between the vehicle body and the axle and having a damping force changing means, an actuator for operating the damping force changing means, and a shock absorber attached to the actuator for driving control of the actuator. A variable damping force suspension unit comprising: a sensor for detecting physical factors related to vehicle behavior;