JPH0569001B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a suspension system for a vehicle, and more particularly to a suspension system for rear wheels equipped with struts.

Prior Art This type of rear wheel suspension system includes, for example, the FF (front engine front drive )
There is a rear wheel suspension system for cars. As shown in FIG. 8, a spindle 1 as a wheel support member that rotatably supports a wheel is connected via a pair of front and rear parallel links 2, 3 as left and right members and a radius slot 4 as a front and rear member. The spindle 1 is connected to the outer vehicle body side so as to be able to swing up and down.
is further connected to the vehicle body via a strut 5 arranged in the vertical direction of the vehicle. This strut 5 includes an outer cylinder 5a whose lower end is fixed to the spindle 1, and a shock absorber (not shown) housed in the outer cylinder 5 and having a piston rod 5b slidably protruding from the upper end of the outer cylinder 5a. The piston rod 5b is equipped with a mounting insulator 6 which serves as an upper end mounting portion for mounting the piston rod 5b on the vehicle body.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a coil spring disposed surrounding the outer periphery of the strut 5, and this coil spring 7 includes a lower spring seat 8 fixedly attached to the outer cylinder 5a and an upper spring attached to the vehicle body side (not shown). It is designed to be compressed between the seat 8a and the seat 8a.

By the way, such a conventional rear wheel suspension system is
As shown in the figure, when viewed from the side of the vehicle, the outer cylinder 5a
The central axis _C1 of the strut 5 is arranged so as to pass through the center C of the wheel 9, and the central axis _C2 of the coil spring 7 also coincides with the central axis _C1 and passes through the wheel center C. It is located in
That is, since the center axis _C1 of the strut 5 passes through the wheel center C as seen from the side of the vehicle, it is possible to prevent a straining load from acting on the piston rod 5b during the vertical stroke of the wheel 9, and also to prevent the center axis C1 of the coil spring 7 from acting on the piston rod 5b. Since C ₂ passes through the wheel center C when viewed from the side of the vehicle, the load at the time of nine strokes of the wheel is efficiently applied to the coil spring 7.

Generally, a rear seat S is located above the rear wheel suspension system, as shown in FIG. 8, and the upper end of the strut 5 is located behind the seat back of the rear seat S. Therefore, the rear seat S position, that is, the rear space in the vehicle interior, is determined by the strut 5 position.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Therefore, in order to move the rear seat S rearward in order to expand the rear space as much as possible, the upper part of the strut 5 is It is conceivable to tilt it backwards. However, when the amount of inclination of the strut 5 is increased, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 10, the allowable stroke amount _l2 of the wheel 9 becomes smaller than the allowable stroke amount _l1 of the strut 5, which has a smaller amount of inclination, as shown by the solid line in the figure. As a result, ride comfort deteriorates significantly. Therefore, there is a problem in that the amount of inclination of the struts 5 cannot be made very large, making it impossible to further expand the interior space of the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a strut-type vehicle suspension system that can further expand the interior space of a vehicle while ensuring a sufficient wheel stroke allowance.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the strut type vehicle suspension system of the present invention includes an outer cylinder fixed to a wheel support member, and an outer cylinder housed within the outer cylinder. A shock absorber in which a piston rod protruding from an outer cylinder is elastically supported on the vehicle body side; and a coil spring that surrounds the outer periphery of the outer cylinder, has one end supported by the outer cylinder, and the other end supported by the vehicle body side. The central axis of the outer cylinder is arranged on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the center of the wheel, and the central axis of the coil spring is arranged so that the upper part of the vehicle is tilted rearward with respect to the central axis of the outer cylinder. It is composed of:

Effect With the above-described structure, in the strut type vehicle suspension system of the present invention, the central axis of the outer cylinder is disposed on the rear side of the vehicle from the wheel center, so that the strut itself can be moved to the rear of the vehicle. The rear seat can also be moved backwards. Further, when the rear seat is moved rearward in this way, the stroke capacity of the vehicle is not reduced because this is achieved by moving the struts backward without increasing the amount of inclination of the struts. Furthermore, by arranging the center axis of the coil spring so that the upper part of the vehicle is tilted backwards with respect to the center axis of the outer cylinder, the prying direction that acts on the piston rod during the wheel stroke due to the backward movement of the strut is reduced. A counteracting moment is generated in the coil spring, which prevents or significantly reduces twisting of the piston rod.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

That is, FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show a strut-type vehicle suspension system 10 showing one embodiment of the present invention.
11 is an axle case 12 as a wheel support member.
13 is a strut provided between the axle case 12 and the vehicle body 14 so as to be oriented in the vertical direction of the vehicle; 15 is a strut between the axle case 12 and the vehicle body member 16 that is oriented in the lateral direction of the vehicle; The oriented arm 17 is a stabilizer that functions as a radius rod that connects the axle case 12 to the front side of the vehicle. Note that the rear wheel 11 is connected to the drive shaft 1.
The drive shaft 18 and the rear wheel 11 are rotatably supported by the axle case 12.

The strut 13 is constructed by housing and fixing a shock absorber (not shown) in an outer cylinder 19, and a piston rod 20 of the shock absorber protrudes slidably from the upper end of the outer cylinder 19. The lower end of the outer cylinder 19 is fixed to the axle case 12 via a bracket 21 with bolts 22 and nuts 23, and is connected to the piston rod 2.
0 upper end portion is attached to the vehicle body 14 via a mount insulator 24. The mount insulator 24 is the small diameter portion 2 at the upper end of the piston rod 20.
Upper and lower rubbers 25 and 26 are inserted through the 0a, and these rubbers 25 and 26 have an intermediate plate 27 sandwiched between them, and a lower plate 28 that covers the bottom of the lower rubber 26 as well as a bolt 2 on the vehicle body 14 side.
9. It is supported by being fixed with a nut 30. The upper and lower rubbers 25 and 26 are fixed to the piston rod 20 by applying a preload in the compression direction by tightening a nut 31. An upper spring seat 32 is fixed to the lower side of the lower plate 28, and a lower spring seat 33 is fixed to the outer cylinder 19.
A coil spring 34 that surrounds the outer circumference of the outer cylinder 19 is installed between the coil springs 2 and 33, and the vehicle body 14 is suspended from the wheels 11 by the spring 34. Furthermore, a bumper rubber 35 is attached to the lower side of the upper spring seat 32, and the upper end of the outer cylinder 19 is brought into contact with the lower end of this bumper rubber 35, thereby preventing excessive bounce in a cushioning manner. ing. A dust cover 36 covers between the lower end of the bumper rubber 35 and the outer periphery of the upper end of the outer cylinder 19.

Incidentally, as shown in the side view of FIG. 1, the upper part of the strut 13 is inclined slightly toward the rear of the vehicle, and the center axis _C1 of the strut 13 is located a distance L from the center C of the rear wheel 11 when viewed from the side of the vehicle. It is arranged so as to pass through point P ₁ which is shifted backward. On the other hand, the center axis _C2 of the coil spring 34 is the center C of the rear wheel 11 or the center C2 when viewed from the side of the vehicle.
It is arranged so that it passes near the Therefore, the central axis C ₂ of the latter coil spring 34 is
The vehicle information is tilted backward with respect to the central axis _C1 of the strut 13 in the former case. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in the rear view of FIG.
3 has an upper end slightly inclined inward of the vehicle when viewed from the rear of the vehicle, and is arranged such that the downward extension of the center axis _C1 passes through a grounding point (not shown) of the rear wheel 11 or near this grounding point, The central axis _C1 intersects the central axis _C3 of the rear wheel 11 at a point _P2 when the vehicle is viewed from the rear. In addition, the central axis C ₂ of the coil spring 34
is a point P ₃ that has moved outward from the vehicle by L ₁ from the above P ₂ point.
The coil spring 34 is installed with a larger inclination than the strut 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, the arm 15 has an outer side of the vehicle body (lower side in the figure) sandwiching the center _C3 of the rear wheel 11.
It is formed into a crotch shape, and each tip of these two crotches has a pair of front,
It is connected to the axle case 12 via rear rubber bushes 40 and 41, and the base end of the arm 15, which is located inside the vehicle body, is also connected to the vehicle body member 16 via a base rubber bush 42. That is,
As is generally known, each of these rubber bushes 40, 41, 42 is composed of inner cylinders 40a, 41a, 42a, outer cylinders 40b, 41b, 42b, and rubber 40c, 41c, 42c loaded between them. The front and rear rubber bushes 40, 41
are arranged in the arm 15 having an inverted U-shaped cross section, and the respective outer cylinders 40b and 41b are fixed to the axle case 12, and the respective inner cylinders 40
a, 41a are supported on the arm 15 side via bolts 43, 44 and nuts 45, 46, which are passed through between the side walls of the arm 15. on the other hand,
The base rubber bush 42 is disposed within the vehicle body member 16, which has an inverted U-shape in cross section, and is connected to the outer cylinder 42b.
is fixed to the arm 15, and the inner cylinder 42
a is connected to the vehicle body member 1 via a bolt 47 and a nut 48 passed between the side walls of the vehicle body member 16.
It is supported on the 6th side. Note that the arm 15 is
As the rear wheel 11 bounces and rebounds, it swings up and down around a base rubber bushing 42. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, both ends of the vehicle body member 16 are inclined upwardly of the vehicle so as not to obstruct the swinging of the arm 15, and the ends are fixed to the vehicle body 14 via bolts 49. It is becoming more and more common. Incidentally, the rear rubber bush 41 is provided with an adjustment mechanism 52 for changing the relative position of the inner cylinder 41a and the arm 15 in the left-right direction of the vehicle.
is provided. That is, this adjustment mechanism 52 is
The arm 15 is connected to a pair of cam guides 53, 54 provided on the outside of both side walls, and the cam guides 53, 54 rotated integrally or integrally with the bolt 44.
It consists of a pair of cams 55 and 56 that are guided by the cams 55 and 56. As shown in FIG. 3, the cam guides 53 and 54 are formed of plates bent on both the left and right sides of the vehicle, and the cams 55 and 56 are closely fitted between the bent pieces. The cams 55 and 56 are eccentric with respect to the bolt 44, and the through holes 57 and 58 of the bolt 44 formed in the side wall are elongated holes extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle. , 56, the bolt 4
4 can move laterally within the through holes 57 and 58. Incidentally, the pair of cams 55, 56
are both eccentric with the same phase with respect to the bolt 44.

The stabilizer 17 is formed into a substantially inverted U-shape as a whole by an intermediate portion 17a oriented in the left-right direction of the vehicle and a bent portion 17b oriented in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and both ends of the intermediate portion 17a are used for supporting the vehicle body. It is rotatably attached to the vehicle body member 16 via a rubber bush 50, and the end of the bent portion 17b is attached to the axle case 12 via a wheel coupling rubber bush 51. Therefore, the intermediate portion 17a is twisted as the rear wheel 11 bounces and rebounds, improving the roll rigidity of the suspension, which is the original function of the stabilizer 17, and the bent portion 17b of the stabilizer 17 functions as a radius slot. , the movement of the suspension in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is restricted.

Reference numeral 60 denotes a differential gear, and the rear end of the differential gear 60 is supported by the vehicle body member 16 via a rubber bushing 61, and the front end of the vehicle is supported by the front member 62 with bolts 63 and nuts. It is fixedly installed via 64.
The front member 62 is supported by the vehicle body 14 at both ends via vertical rubber bushes 65 that are oriented in the vertical direction of the vehicle. by the way,
The rubber bush 61 at the rear end of the differential gear 60 has an inner cylinder 61a, an outer cylinder 61b, and a rubber (not shown) loaded between the inner cylinder 61a and the outer cylinder 61b, similar to the general rubber bush described above. The outer cylinder 61b is fixed to a bracket 67 that is fixed to the housing 60a of the differential gear 60 with bolts 66, and the inner cylinder 61a is connected to the vehicle body member 16.
In a planar U-shaped bracket 68 fixed to the
It can be attached via bolts 69 and nuts 70. By the way, a mass body 71 is attached to the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 61b on the side opposite to the mounting side of the bracket 67, and this mass body 71 allows the outer cylinder 61 to be
The vibration level of b is suppressed.

4, 5, and 6 show a strut-type vehicle suspension system 10a showing another embodiment, in which the same components as in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations will be omitted.

That is, in this embodiment, as in the previous embodiment, the upper part of the strut 13 is inclined slightly inward of the vehicle, as shown in the side view of FIG. 4, and the center axis _C1 of the strut 13 is aligned with the rear wheel center C. The vehicle is positioned so as to pass through point _P1 , which is moved by L to the rear of the vehicle. Further, the coil spring 34 is formed in a tapered shape whose diameter increases at the bottom.
The center axis _C1 is inclined relative to the rear wheel 11.
It is placed so that it passes through the center.

By the way, the mount insulator 24 that supports the upper end of the strut 13 on the vehicle body 14 is
The upper and lower rubbers 25a and 26a are integrally molded with a mounting plate 27a buried between them, and a covering plate 27 covers the upper side of the upper and lower rubbers 25a and 26a.
b, and a lower plate 28a supporting the bumper rubber 35 on the lower side of the lower rubber 26a.
are in contact with each other, and the lower plate 28a and the covering plate 2
Each peripheral edge portion of 7b is attached to the vehicle body 14 via bolts 29 and nuts 30.
The lower plate 28a also functions as an upper spring seat, and a coil spring 3 is attached to the lower peripheral edge of the lower plate 28a via a rubber 28b.
4 is pressure-welded.

Further, in this embodiment, the stabilizer 80 has an end connected to the arm 1 via a connecting rod 81.
5 to improve the original roll rigidity, and a dedicated radius slot 82 is used to support the suspension longitudinally. That is, the radius slot 82 is disposed facing in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the radius slot 82
The rear end of the radius rod 82 is connected to an axle case (not shown) via a rubber bushing 83, and the front end of the radius rod 82 is similarly connected to the vehicle body 14 via a rubber bushing 84.

Also in this embodiment, an adjustment mechanism 52 including cam guides 53, 54 and cams 55, 56 is provided on the rear rubber bush 41 that connects the arm 15 to the axle case. is cut and formed integrally from the side wall of the arm 15.

Further, the differential gear 60 is attached to the vehicle body member 16 and the front member 62 as in the previous embodiment, and the rear end of the differential gear 60 is attached to the outer cylinder 61 with the mass body 7. The vehicle body member 16 is connected to the vehicle body member 16 through a rubber bush 61 provided with
It is adapted to be attached to the bracket 68 of the. In this embodiment, both ends of the front member 62 are attached to the vehicle body 14 via rubber bushings 85 oriented in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

As explained above, in the strut-type vehicle suspension system 10, 10a of the present embodiment, the central axis _C1 of the strut 13 is arranged on the rear side of the vehicle from the rear wheel center C when viewed from the side of the vehicle. As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 7, the mounting position of the strut 13 can be moved to the rear of the vehicle compared to the conventional mounting position shown by the broken line in the figure. Therefore, the rear wheel 11
The rear seat S located above the strut 1
3 can be moved rearward in accordance with the distance L moved backward, and the rear space in the vehicle interior can be expanded.

By the way, when the strut 13 is moved rearward in this way, the load at the time of bounce acts on the straight line connecting the rear wheel center C and the mount insulator 24, so the strut 13 receives a moment M ₁ acting toward the rear of the vehicle. acts and this moment M ₁
As a result, the piston rod 20 is bent against the outer cylinder 19 in an inverted dogleg shape in the figure. However, the central axis of the coil spring 34
C ₂ is arranged so that the upper part of the vehicle is tilted rearward with respect to the central axis C ₁ of the strut 13, so that the compressive load acting on the coil spring 34 is equal to the moment M ₁ with respect to the strut 13. It acts as a moment M ₂ in the opposite direction. Therefore, the twisting acting on the piston rod 20 can be significantly reduced by the moment _M2 in the opposite direction, or the twisting can be prevented by canceling out _M1 and _M2 . Therefore, the strut 13 can operate smoothly without being significantly affected by twisting. In this embodiment, when the central axis C ₂ of the coil spring 34 is inclined with respect to the central axis C ₁ of the strut 13, the central axis C ₂ of the coil spring 34 is aligned with the center of the rear wheel when viewed from the side of the vehicle. Since it is set to pass through C, the bound load of the rear wheel 11 is efficiently input to the coil spring 34.

Furthermore, the rear wheel 11 has radius slots 17b, 82.
The rear wheel is bounced around the front connecting point Q of the vehicle (the rubber bushing 50 for supporting the vehicle body in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and the rubber bushing 84 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4). An intersection point Q ₁ between the straight line connecting the connection point Q and the mount insulator 24 and the locus of movement of the lower end of the strut 13,
Q ₂ and the vertical distance between the lower end of the strut 13, the stroke allowance l in this embodiment can be set to be equal to or greater than the conventional stroke allowance l ₀ , and the strut 1
The ride comfort is not deteriorated by moving 3 backward.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, in the strut-type vehicle suspension system of the present invention, the central axis of the outer cylinder is disposed on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the wheel center, so the strut can be moved to the rear of the vehicle, and this As the strut moves, the rear seat can be moved backwards, further expanding the rear space inside the vehicle. In addition, the moment in the direction of twisting the piston rod that occurs when the strut is moved rearward can be reduced by arranging the central axis of the coil spring so that the upper part of the vehicle is tilted rearward with respect to the central axis of the outer cylinder. Due to the applied load, a moment is generated in the strut that counteracts the moment in the twisting direction, and twisting of the piston rod can be significantly reduced or prevented. Further, even when the strut is moved rearward, the allowable stroke of the strut is not reduced, and various excellent effects such as being able to prevent the vehicle ride comfort from being deteriorated are achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1, 2, and 3 show an embodiment of the strut-type vehicle suspension system of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of the main part, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the main part, and FIG. 4, 5, and 6 show other embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a side view of the main part, FIG. 5 is a rear view of the main part, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main part. is a plan view of the main part;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional strut-type vehicle suspension system, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematic explanatory diagrams of a conventional strut-type vehicle suspension system. . 10, 10a...Strut type vehicle suspension system, 11...Rear wheel, 12...Axle case (wheel support member), 13...Strut, 14...Vehicle body, 15...Arm, 16...Vehicle body member, 17
...Stabilizer, 17b...Bending portion (radius slot), 19...Outer cylinder, 20...Piston rod, 24...Mount insulator, 34...
Coil spring, C...wheel center, _C1 ...outer cylinder (strut) center axis, _C2 ...coil spring center axis.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An outer cylinder fixed to the wheel support member, a shock absorber housed in the outer cylinder and having a piston rod protruding from the outer cylinder elastically supported on the vehicle body side, and a shock absorber that surrounds the outer periphery of the outer cylinder and has one end. a coil spring supported by the outer cylinder and whose other end is supported by the vehicle body, the central axis of the outer cylinder being disposed on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the wheel center, and the central axis of the coil spring A strut-type vehicle suspension system, characterized in that the upper part of the vehicle is inclined rearward with respect to the central axis of the outer cylinder.