JPH0659768B2 - Double link type suspension device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a double-link suspension device, and particularly to a shock absorber installed between two suspension arms, an upper and a lower suspension, and a vehicle body side and a wheel side. The present invention relates to a double wishbone suspension device equipped with.

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional double-link type suspension device, for example, a device described in JP-A-59-96007 (first prior art example) or a device described in JP-A-60-135314 (second prior art example). ). That is, in the suspension device of the first conventional example, the upper portion of the knuckle is extended to above the wheels, the upper arm is interposed between the upper end of the knuckle and the vehicle body, and the lower arm is interposed between the lower portion of the knuckle and the vehicle body. It is configured to let. The second
The suspension device of the conventional example has a configuration in which the upper arm is elongated and the kingpin axis is set regardless of the upper arm.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

By the way, the upper arm of the double-link type suspension is the same as the lower arm, but in order to appropriately set the suspension geometry, it cannot be made too short and it is necessary to secure a predetermined length.

Therefore, considering the above-mentioned conventional technique, in the case of the first conventional example, the inner end of the upper arm is supported by the vehicle body and the upper end of the knuckle is connected to the outer end, and therefore the upper arm cannot be shortened for the above reason. Therefore, the wheel house extends to the engine room side according to the length. A shock absorber is arranged inside the knuckle so that the upper part of the knuckle extends above the tire and is parallel to the upper part of the tire. For these two reasons
In the technique of the first conventional example, there is a problem that the width of the wheel house becomes large, and as a result, the width of the engine room becomes small. Particularly, in the first conventional example, the upper part of the knuckle and the shock absorber are arranged so as to be parallel to each other. However, since one of the knuckles turns together with the wheels during steering, it should not interfere with the shock absorber during this turning. In addition, a sufficient gap is required between the two. Therefore, in this conventional example, the width of the wheel house becomes particularly large. Further, in the case of the first conventional example, since the knuckle turns with the wheels during steering, the upper end of the knuckle and the upper arm are connected by a ball joint having a large height. There is also a problem that the height of the house must be increased.

Further, in the second conventional example, since the distance between the upper arm and the lower arm is small, the change in the camber angle or the caster angle due to the assembly error of the suspension constituent members is large, and the camber angle or the caster angle is large in both arms. There is a problem in that the steering stability is not sufficient because it changes greatly even with vertical swing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and by separating the elements of the setting of the kingpin axis and the setting of the camber angle, the degree of freedom in setting the outer end position of the upper arm. The width and height of the wheel house can be made as small as possible while the wheel alignment is appropriately set, and the width of the engine room and the like inside the wheel house can be expanded.

[Means for solving problems]

According to the present invention, a lower arm of a knuckle supporting a wheel and a vehicle body side are swingably coupled to each other by a lower arm, and an extension member extending upward is provided with a line passing through the coupling portion between the knuckle and the lower arm as a rotation center. The upper part of the knuckle is rotatably connected, and the upper part of the extension member and the vehicle body side are connected by an upper arm, and a shock absorber is installed between the vehicle body side and the wheel side along the extension member. The extension member has an open cross section that opens to the shock absorber side, and is arranged so as to cover at least part of the outer circumference of the shock absorber by this open cross section.

[Action]

The kingpin shaft is a line that passes through both the joints of the knuckle and the extension member and the joints of the knuckle and the lower arm, and the kingpin shaft is free from the upper arm, and the member that pivots with the wheel during steering is the same as those described above. It is limited to the part between the joints that is close to the axle. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the interference between the members that occurs during steering, particularly the interference between the extension member and the shock absorber. In this way, since the extension member does not turn by steering, it is possible to bring the extension member as close as possible to the shock absorber. Therefore, the extension member has an open cross section that opens to the shock absorber side.
Due to this open cross section, it is possible to arrange the shock absorber in close proximity so as to cover at least a part of the outer circumference thereof. As a result, the space required between the shock absorber and the wheels is extremely small and sufficient, so that the width of the wheel house can be made narrower and the width of the engine room can be expanded.

Further, it is possible to prevent the shock absorber and the coil spring from being damaged by flying stones. Further, the change of the camber angle due to the vertical movement of the wheel is determined by both the upper and lower arms, but the upper arm can be made longer because it is not related to the setting of the kingpin axis as described above, and it can be extended by the extension member. Since the distance between the lower arm and the lower arm can be increased, the change in the camber angle due to the vertical movement of the wheel can be suppressed to a small level, and the wheel alignment can be set appropriately.

〔Example〕

 FIG. 1 is an embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment is a wishbone type front suspension device, 1 is a wheel, 2 is a brake disc, and 3 is a knuckle. The knuckle 3 rotatably supports the wheel 1, the lower portion 3b thereof is connected to the lower link 7 via the ball joint 6, and the inner end of the lower arm 7 is connected to the bracket of the vehicle body 9 via the rubber bush 8. It

The upper portion 3a of the knuckle arm 3 is pivotally coupled to the lower end of the extension member 4, and the upper end of the extension member 4 is pivotally coupled to the upper arm 5. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the connecting portion 10 between the upper portion 3a of the knuckle 3 and the extension member 4 includes a connecting bracket 10a fixed to the lower end of the extending member 4, and the connecting bracket 10a and the upper portion of the knuckle 3. The extension member 4 includes a bolt 10b penetrating the hole 3c of the bolt 3a, a sleeve 10c fitted on the bolt 10b, and two rolling bearings 10d vertically interposed between the upper portion 3a and the sleeve 10c. The knuckle 3 is externally fitted relative to the lower end of the rotatably. Therefore, this knuckle arm 3
Of the upper part 3a of the shaft and the extension member 4 (two bearings 10
d, 10d) and a joint between the lower part 3b of the knuckle 3 and the lower arm 7 (center of rotation of the ball joint 6), the joint can rotate about an axis (ie, the kingpin axis 11) passing through both joints. Become.

Since the connecting bracket 10a, the bolt 10b, the sleeve 10c, the bearing 10d, and the like are bearings that connect the upper portion 3a of the knuckle 3 to the extension member 4 so as to rotate about the kingpin shaft 11, rolling. Bearing 1
It is also possible to employ a plain bearing instead of 0d, or to employ other means such as coupling the knuckle 3 to the extension member 4 with the center of rotation aligned with the kingpin shaft 11.

The extension member 4 is curved to the outside of the vehicle body so as to bypass the upper portion of the wheel 1 as it extends upward, and the upper end thereof is located above the wheel 1 and is located at the outer end of the upper arm 5 via the rubber bush 12. It is swingably connected. An inner end of the upper arm 5 is swingably connected to a bracket of the vehicle body 9 via a rubber bush 13. The upper arm 5 and the extension member 4 are connected to each other because the extension member 4 moves only with respect to the upper arm 5 by rocking.
It is enough to combine with.

In particular, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the rubber bushes 12 are fitted on the upper ends of the extension members 4 at both ends of a shaft 4a penetrating in a horizontal plane, and the tip ends of the upper arms 5 are the rubber bushes 12 respectively. When the rubber 12a forming the rubber bush 12 is twisted, the upper arm 5 and the extension member 4 are relatively swung.

Further, between the vehicle body 9 and the lower portion of the extension member 4, a shock absorber 14b is vertically installed so as to be substantially parallel to the extension member 4. The shock absorber 14b is connected via a rubber bush 14d to the lower end of this tube and the lower end of an extension member 4 to which the upper portion 3a of the knuckle 3 is rotatably connected, and the upper end of the piston rod protruding from the tube is connected to the vehicle body. 9 through the mount rubber 14a.
A coil spring 14c is coaxially arranged on the outer circumference of the shock absorber 14.

The extension member 4 covers the outside of the tube of the shock absorber 14b and the outside of the lower half of the coil spring 14c.
That is, the extension member 4 is made of a press-molded plate material, has an open cross-section as shown in FIG. 5, and holds the above-mentioned portion such as the shock absorber 14b therein, and the extension member 4 is shocked. It covers almost half around the absorber 14b and the coil spring 14c.
The cross-sectional shape of the extension member 4 ensures the strength of the extension member 4 itself, and also the shock absorber 14b and the wheel 1
It is possible to reduce the space that they occupy in the wheel house by narrowing the space between them.

Reference numeral 16 is a drive shaft, which is connected to an axle 18 via a constant velocity joint 17. 1 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a knuckle arm that is integral with the knuckle 3, and is connected to a steering linkage (not shown) so that the steering force is transmitted to the knuckle 3. Thus, in this embodiment, a front suspension of an automobile having a drive type of, for example, FF (front engine / front drive) or 4WD (four-wheel drive) in which drive force is transmitted to the front wheels which are the wheels 1 is shown. Be done.

Thus, in this embodiment, the center line 19 in the width direction of the wheel 1 and the kingpin shaft 11 intersect above the ground contact surface 20 of the wheel 1, and the intersection of the ground contact surface 20 and the kingpin shaft 11 is set to the wheel 1. The negative scrub is located on the vehicle outer side from the center line 19 in the width direction, but the king pin shaft 11 is set by the connecting portion 10 between the knuckle 3 and the extension member 4 (specifically, the center line of the bolt 10b). The joint between the knuckle 3 and the lower arm 7 (ball joint 6
The upper arm 5 has nothing to do with setting the scrub to negative, positive, or zero, since it is made by the positions of both joints (rotation center of). Therefore, the rubber bush 12 that connects the upper arm 5 and the extension member 4 can be arranged without being constrained by the kingpin shaft 11, so that the rubber bush 1 is used in this embodiment.
By arranging 2 on the upper side of the wheel 1 and moving them to the outside of the vehicle so as to overlap them in the vehicle width direction, the upper arm 5 capable of obtaining optimum wheel alignment.
The vehicle body side connection point of the upper arm 5 is also positioned near the outside in the width direction of the vehicle while ensuring the length. This is one reason why the width of the wheel house can be narrowed and the width of the engine room and the like inside the wheel house can be expanded.

Thus, the length of the upper arm 5 can be ensured, and the optimum wheel alignment can be obtained by reducing the difference in length with the lower arm 7, and the vertical spacing between both arms 5, 7 can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to reduce changes in the camber angle and the caster angle due to the assembly error of the suspension constituent members, and to reduce the wheel 1
The camber angle is less likely to change when the arm moves up and down, and both arms 5, 7 respond to this change in camber angle.
Since the rigidity of s becomes large in proportion to the square of these intervals, the rigidity of s becomes large and the limit performance of the camber angle change is improved.

Further, the weight of the vehicle body is the mount rubber 14a, the coil spring 14c, the tube of the shock absorber 14b,
It is supported by the wheel 1 via the lower part of the extension member 4 and the upper part 3a of the knuckle 3, and the vertical movement of the wheel 1 is damped by the expansion and contraction of the shock absorber 14b, and is absorbed by the bending of the coil spring 14c.

Here, when the wheel 1 moves up and down, the knuckle 3 and the extension member 4 move up and down integrally with the wheel 1, and the lower arm 7 and the upper arm 5 swing up and down, and along with this, the shock absorber 14b and the shock absorber 14b. Although the coil spring 14c expands and contracts, since both of them move in the vertical direction, the upper portion 3a of the knuckle 3 and the extension member 4, and the shock absorber 1
4b and the coil spring 14c do not interfere with each other.

Further, when a steering force is applied to the knuckle 3 from a steering linkage (not shown) via the knuckle arm 19, the knuckle 3 is rotated about the kingpin shaft 11 and the wheel 1 is meandered. At this time, it is the knuckle 3, the wheel 1, and the axle 18 that rotate around the kingpin shaft 11, and the knuckle 3 is the bolt 1 that is a part of the connecting portion 10.
Since it is rotatable about 0b, the extension member 4 does not rotate. As a result, only the vertical movement integral with the wheel 1 is generated in the extension member 4, and the relative motion with the upper arm 5 is only rocking. Therefore, a ball joint is used to connect the extension member 4 and the upper arm 5. It is not necessary to use it, and the rubber bush 12 is sufficient. The height of the rubber bush 12 is smaller than that of the ball joint (the rubber bush is about 40 mm smaller than that of the ball joint and the rubber bush normally used for the arm of the double wishbone suspension). Can be made smaller. This also allows the engine room hood to be lowered.

In addition, the fact that the extension member 4 does not rotate during the meandering means that the extension member 4 and the shock absorber 14 are caused by the meandering.
Since there is no relative movement between b and the coil spring 14c, there is no risk of interference during this time. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the extension member 4 is an open cross-section as described above, and the portion such as the shock absorber 14b is held inside the extension member 4, and the extension member 4 covers approximately half of the periphery of the shock absorber 14b. The distance between the shock absorber 14b and the wheel 1 can be extremely narrowed. Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently reduce the width of the wheel house and widen the engine room, together with the increased degree of freedom in the arrangement of the upper arm 5.

In this case, since the tube of the shock absorber 14b and the lower part of the coil spring 14c are covered with the extension member 4, there is no fear that the shock absorber 14b and the coil spring 14c are damaged by flying stones or the like.

Furthermore, the relative moving force in the front-rear direction generated between the vehicle body and the wheel 1 at the time of starting and braking of the vehicle is input to the upper arm 5 at a point P in the middle of the upper arm 5, which is on the extension line of the kingpin shaft 11. Since this input is closer to the vehicle body than when the input is the tip of the upper arm 5, the load on the vehicle body mounting portion of the upper arm 5 due to the input is reduced. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the weight of the vehicle body mounting portion, downsize the rubber bush 13, and make it soft. The fact that the rubber bush 13 can be made soft means that the absorption force for the vibration input from the wheel 1 side is increased, and as a result, the vibration of the vehicle body and the muffled noise caused thereby can be reduced. .

In this embodiment, the extension member is rotatably connected to the upper part of the knuckle, and the lower end of the shock absorber is connected to the extension member, and the lower arm 7 does not support the weight of the vehicle body. Therefore, the lower arm 7
And the rigidity of the rubber bush 8 can be reduced,
The space around the drive shaft 16 can be increased, but in some cases the shock absorber 14b
It is also possible to support the lower end of the lower arm 7 on the lower arm 7. However, even in this case, it goes without saying that the portion of the shock absorber 14b parallel to the extension member 4 is covered with the extension member 4 as described above.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the kingpin shaft is used as a line passing through both the joints of the knuckle and the extension member rotatably coupled thereto and the joints of the knuckle and the lower arm. The shaft is free from the upper arm, and the member that turns together with the wheel during steering is limited to a portion between the two connecting portions that is close to the axle. For this reason,
It is possible to suppress interference between members that occurs during steering as much as possible. The change in camber angle due to the vertical movement of the wheels is determined by both the upper and lower arms.
As described above, the upper arm is unrelated to the setting of the kingpin axis, so it can be lengthened as much as necessary and the vertical interval with the lower arm can be expanded by the extension member, so that the camber angle due to the vertical movement of the wheel can be reduced. There is an effect that it is possible to appropriately set the wheel alignment, for example, the change can be suppressed small.

Further, since the extension member and the shock absorber do not move relative to each other during turning, it is possible to narrow the space between them, so that it is possible to narrow the wheel house and expand the width of the engine room. In particular, since the extension member has an open cross-section and is thereby covered so as to wrap the shock absorber, it is possible to extremely narrow the distance between the shock absorber and the wheel, and it is possible to remarkably increase the width of the engine room. It has the effect of contributing. Further, the extension member prevents the shock absorber tube and the coil spring from being damaged by flying stones or the like.

As shown in FIG. 6, the present invention has both the effect produced by the first conventional example and the effect produced by the second conventional example, and since the upper arm is unrelated to the setting of the kingpin axis, the vehicle body of the upper arm It is possible to set the attachment position to the outside in the width direction of the vehicle body and freely set the tip position. For this reason as well, there is the unique effect that the width of the engine room can be increased and the length of the upper arm can be suitably determined in the setting of the wheel alignment, because of the fact that it is dusty.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
The figure is a perspective view excluding the wheels of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is the A- of FIG.
A line sectional enlarged view, FIG. 4 is a BB line sectional enlarged view of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a CC line sectional enlarged view of FIG. 2, and FIG. It is a list shown in comparison with the effect of the second conventional example. 1 ... wheel, 3 ... knuckle, 3a ... upper part, 3b ...
Lower part, 4 ... Extension member, 5 ... Upper arm, 6 ... Ball joint, 7 ... Lower arm, 8, 12, 13 ...
... rubber bush, 9 ... car body, 10 ... connecting part, 10b
...... Bolt, 11 ...... Kingpin shaft, 14b ...... Shock absorber, 14c ...... Coil spring, 16 ......
Drive shaft

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A lower arm of a knuckle for supporting a wheel and a vehicle body side are swingably coupled to each other by a lower arm, and an extension member extending upward is provided with a line passing through the coupling portion between the knuckle and the lower arm as a rotation center. Rotatably connected to the upper part of the knuckle, the upper part of the extension member and the vehicle body side are connected by an upper arm, and a shock absorber is installed along the extension member between the vehicle body side and the wheel side. The extension member has an open cross section that opens to the shock absorber side, and the extension member is arranged so as to cover at least part of the outer circumference of the shock absorber. 2. A double-link type suspension device according to claim 1, wherein an extension member is rotatably connected to an upper portion of the knuckle, and a lower end portion of the shock absorber is connected to the extension member.