JPH0576961U - Front suspension device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Correction) [Purpose] To provide a front suspension device having a stopper mechanism that is excellent in durability and does not generate a sliding noise even when a relative displacement with a stopper receiving portion is large. A stopper bolt 7 that regulates a maximum steering angle is adjustably attached to a front end portion of a knuckle member that rotatably supports a steered wheel. The swing arm that swingably supports the knuckle member in the front-rear direction is provided with a stopper receiving portion 9 that contacts the stopper bolt 7 during maximum steering. A rotatable ball is attached to the head of the stopper bolt 7 to prevent friction with the stopper receiving portion 9.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a front suspension device, and more particularly to a stopper mechanism for restricting the maximum steering angle of steered wheels.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of automobile front suspension devices have been proposed which are provided with a stopper mechanism for controlling the maximum steering angle of steered wheels (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 53-1 48423, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-1607). (See Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-170309). That is, a stopper bolt is attached to the front end of a knuckle member that rotatably supports the steered wheels, and the head of this bolt is set as a swing arm (particularly a lower arm) that supports the knuckle member so as to swing in the front-rear direction. The maximum steering angle is regulated by hitting the receiving part. The maximum steering angle can be changed by adjusting the amount of protrusion of the stopper bolt.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the case of the above stopper mechanism, when the steering wheel is steered by the maximum angle, that is, when the head of the stopper bolt hits the stopper receiving portion and travels on an uneven road surface, the front wheel moves up and down, and There is a problem that the head portion of the stopper bolt and the stopper receiving portion, which are made of the same, rub against each other to generate an unpleasant sound. In order to solve such a problem, it has been proposed to cover the head of the stopper bolt with a resin film, or cover the head of the stopper bolt with a metal plate via an elastic material such as rubber so as to be displaceable. There is. However, in the former case, there is a drawback that the resin film wears early, and in the latter case, if the relative displacement between the stopper bolt and the stopper receiving part becomes large, it becomes impossible to deal with the deformation of the elastic material. There was a drawback that sliding noise was generated. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a front suspension device having a stopper mechanism that is excellent in durability and does not generate a sliding noise even when the relative displacement with the stopper receiving portion is large.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention rotatably supports the steered wheels, and a knuckle member having an adjustable stopper bolt for restricting the maximum steering angle and a knuckle member swingable in the front-rear direction. In a front suspension device equipped with a swing arm having a stopper receiving portion that supports and abuts against the stopper bolt at the time of maximum steering, the head of the stopper bolt moves vertically in a state of being in contact with the stopper receiving portion. It is equipped with a rotating body that can roll freely.

[0005]

[Action]

 At maximum steering, the stopper bolt provided on the knuckle member hits the stopper receiving portion of the swing arm, but the head of the stopper bolt has a rotating body that can be rolled in the vertical direction. Even if moves up and down, the rotating body rolls against the stopper receiving part, and no sliding noise is generated. The rotating body may be a ball that can roll in any direction or a roller that can rotate only in one direction. However, when a roller is used, it must be rotatable in the vertical direction, in other words, the rotation axis of the roller must be horizontal.

[0006]

【Example】

 FIG. 1 shows an example of a right front suspension device to which the present invention is applied. The knuckle member 2 that rotatably supports the steered wheels 1 is supported by two swing arms 3, 4 of an upper and a lower so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction. The swing arms 3 and 4 are supported by the vehicle body so as to be swingable in the vertical direction with shafts 3a and 4a as fulcrums. In addition, 5 is a shock absorber and 6 is a stabilizer. An arm piece 2a protruding forward is integrally formed with the knuckle member 2, and a stopper bolt 7 is screwed into the arm piece 2a and is prevented from loosening by a lock nut 8. On the other hand, on the front side of the lower arm 4, a stopper receiving portion 9 that receives the stopper bolt 7 when the steered wheels 1 are steered to the maximum steering angle is fixed by welding or the like. The stopper receiving portion 9 is formed to be long in the vertical direction so that the contact with the stopper bolt 7 does not come off even if the steering wheel 1 moves up and down while the stopper bolt 7 is in contact.

As shown in FIG. 2, a hemispherical concave seat surface 7b is formed on the head portion 7a of the stopper bolt 7, and an oil sump 7c is formed at the back of the seat surface 7b. A ball 10 is rotatably supported on the seat surface 7b, and grease is enclosed in the oil sump 7c. The rim of the seat surface 7b is swaged inward to prevent the ball 10 from coming off. In addition, in order to prevent the grease filled in the oil sump 7c from leaking out, a seal ring may be attached to the inside of the rim.

In the stopper mechanism having the above structure, when the steered wheels 1 are steered to the maximum steering angle, the ball 10 attached to the tip of the stopper bolt 7 hits the stopper receiving portion 9 and the steering angle can be regulated. When the steered wheels 1 move in the vertical direction while steering to this maximum steering angle, the stopper bolt 7 and the stopper receiving portion 9 move relative to each other and rub against each other. However, since the ball 10 attached to the tip of the stopper bolt 7 rolls with respect to the stopper receiving portion 9, no sliding noise is generated. Further, even if the ball 10 comes into contact with the stopper receiving portion 9 many times, it is not worn or deformed, so that it has excellent durability.

In the above embodiment, the ball 10 can rotate in any direction regardless of the orientation of the stopper bolt 7, so it is not necessary to control the orientation of the stopper bolt 7 when adjusting the maximum steering angle. If smooth rotation of the ball 10 is ensured, it is not always necessary to fill the grease.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the head portion 20a of the stopper bolt 20 has a bifurcated shape, and the roller 21 is rotatably attached by a pin 22 between the head portion 20a. In this case, the direction of the stopper bolt 20 is set so that the direction of the pin 22 becomes horizontal.

Also in this case, when the roller 21 hits the stopper receiving portion 9 at the time of maximum steering and the steered wheel 1 moves up and down in this state, the stopper bolt 20 and the stopper receiving portion 9 are relatively displaced up and down. Accordingly, the roller 21 rolls on the stopper receiving portion 9, so that no unpleasant sliding noise is generated. Further, since the roller 21 is rotatably supported by the pin 22, even if the roller 21 and the stopper receiving portion 9 are in strong pressure contact, the roller 21 can rotate smoothly, and a lubricant such as grease in the first embodiment is not necessary. Is.

It is needless to say that the suspension device to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the structure shown in FIG.

[0013]

[Effect of the device]

 As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the head of the stopper bolt provided on the knuckle member is provided with the rotating body which is vertically rotatable with respect to the stopper receiving portion. Even if the steered wheels move up and down with the stopper hitting the stopper receiving part, the rotating body rolls smoothly on the stopper receiving part and no sliding noise is generated. Further, since no friction is generated between the stopper bolt and the stopper receiving portion, the suspension characteristics are not adversely affected, there is no problem of wear, and the durability is excellent.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of a front suspension device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a stopper portion in FIG.

3A is a partially enlarged view of a second embodiment of a stopper portion, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 3A.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Steering Wheel 2 Knuckle Member 4 Swing Arm 7 Stopper Bolt 9 Stopper Receptor 10 Ball (Rotating Body) 20 Stopper Bolt 21 Roller (Rotating Body)

Front page continuation (72) Kozo Ohara 2-1-1 Taoyuan, Ikeda-shi, Osaka Daihatsu Industry Co., Ltd. (72) 2-1-1 Taoyuan, Ikeda, Osaka Daiwa Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A knuckle member that rotatably supports a steered wheel and has a stopper bolt that adjustably controls a maximum steering angle, and a knuckle member that is swingably supported in the front-rear direction. In a front suspension device including a stopper bolt and a swinging arm having a stopper receiving portion that comes into contact with the stopper bolt, a rotating body that is vertically rotatable in a state of being in contact with the stopper receiving portion is attached to a head portion of the stopper bolt. A front suspension device characterized by