JPH09109638A - Suspension arm - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suspension arm able to secure the specified sectional form even if there is a restriction on the relationship to a peripheral part or on forming, having the good yield, the light weight, low cost, and mechanical strength. SOLUTION: A main body part 10, a first arm part 11, and a second arm part 12 of a suspension arm are constituted of respective independent plate materials P, the first arm part 11 and the second arm part 12 are so pressed that the axial perpendicular section may be a U shape, the pressed objects are so arranged as to face the releasing side end part 11a or the back part, and both arm parts 11, 12 and the main body part 10 are joined to one another by welding.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved suspension arm structure used for a vehicle suspension.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A suspension for an automobile connects a wheel side and a vehicle body side and is composed of various links, levers, etc.
Collectively referred to as suspension arms.

Some suspension arms are acted on by a simple compressive force or tensile force, and others are acted on by a combined force such as torsion or bending moment in addition to such force. The suspension arm on which such a combined force acts must be designed so as to be able to resist each force.

For example, as a suspension arm on which such a composite force acts, there is an upper arm used for a double wishbone type front suspension.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing a double wishbone front suspension, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional upper arm.

This suspension has a constant velocity joint 2
Has a steering knuckle 4 (a member constituting the wheel W side) attached to a drive shaft 1 having a bearing 3 and the like.
The upper arm 5 is attached via a ball joint 6, and the lower link 8 is attached to the lower portion via a ball joint 7. Usually, the upper arm 5 is
The lower link 8 is directly rotatably connected to the vehicle body B side,
It is rotatably connected to the suspension member 9.

As shown in FIG. 6, the upper arm 5 has a V-shape as a whole, and has a body portion 10 connected to the wheel W side, and a body portion 10 protruding from the body portion 10 and connected to the vehicle body B side. The first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are formed.

A through hole 13 for mounting the ball joint 6 is provided in the main body portion 10, and the tips of the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are separated by a predetermined distance in the vehicle front-rear direction, and are passed through the respective holes. The holes 14 and 15 are opened, and bolts (not shown) are inserted into the through holes 14 and 15 so that the vehicle body B
It is adapted to be rotatably connected to the side.

Therefore, the upper arm 5 is connected to the wheel W.
Not only the force, moment, etc. in the up, down, left, right, front, and rear directions act from the side, but also the combined force that receives the force from the vehicle body B side acts.

The upper arm 5 on which such a composite force acts needs to have a higher mechanical strength in order to ensure safety, but the conventional upper arm 5 is formed by pressing one steel plate for that purpose. The cross-sectional shape of each part of the main body part 10, the first arm part 11, and the second arm part 12 is as shown in FIGS.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the central portions of both arm portions 11 and 12 are formed by forming a large flange b on the upper portion of a side wall a and projecting a small flange c on the lower portion in the opposite direction. , The main body 10 is, as shown in FIG.
The through hole 13 is formed in the center of the substrate d, and the burring portion e is formed on the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 13. As shown in FIG. 9, a small flange f and a burring portion e are formed on the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 14 or 15 at the tips of both arm portions 11 and 12.

[0012]

However, in such a conventional upper arm 5, since a V-shaped arm is formed by press working, the material shape before press molding becomes complicated and the product shape is completed. However, there is a problem that a large amount of scrap is generated, the yield of materials is low, and the product cost is high.

That is, in order to form the upper arm 5, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, first, a boomerang-shaped plate material must be punched out from the coil material (see FIG. 10a). If such a shape is continuously punched out, waste of material is likely to occur and the yield of the material is deteriorated.

Next, in order to form a three-dimensional arm from this one flat plate material, draw molding is performed (see FIG. 10b), the side wall a, the flange b and the flange c are formed, and then the FIG. 10b is formed. The outer periphery or the inner peripheral edge portion, which is a hatched portion, is trimmed (see FIG. 10c) and pressed again, so that the main body portion 10, the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 have a flange b of a predetermined width. (See FIG. 10d). Then, the through holes 13 for attaching the ball joint 6 are opened by piercing processing, and the side through holes 14, 15 are opened by the cam piercing (see FIG. 10e), and these through holes 13, 14, 15 are formed.
After burring, the flanges f at the tip portions of the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are removed by the cam notches. It should be noted that in FIG. 10e, the symbol “h” indicates the portion deleted by the cam notch.

As described above, the conventional upper arm 5 requires a large number of steps such as draw forming, re-pressing, piercing, and the like, and since a three-dimensional object is formed from a single flat plate material, each step is performed in each step. At the time of molding, the size of each part such as the side wall and the flange is also restricted, and as a result, the main body part 10, the first arm part 11, and the second arm part 1 are formed.
The shape of the cross section of No. 2 is also restricted, and it becomes difficult to set the cross sectional shape that efficiently secures the strength that the upper arm originally has.

In particular, a suspension arm for a steering wheel such as an upper arm used for a front suspension has an unnecessarily large cross section because various members such as a shock absorber and other links are provided around the suspension arm. However, if it is difficult to secure a large cross section due to molding restrictions as described above, it may be difficult to reduce the weight depending on the vehicle. There is also a risk of having to use the arm.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to secure a predetermined cross-sectional shape even if there is a restriction on the peripheral members or restrictions on molding, and at the same time, the yield is good, the weight is light and the price is low. Another object of the present invention is to provide a suspension arm having high mechanical strength.

[0018]

The present invention for achieving the above object is constructed as follows for each claim. The invention according to claim 1 has a main body portion connected to the wheel side, and a first arm portion and a second arm portion that are respectively projected from the main body portion and are rotatably connected to the vehicle body side. In the suspension arm having a V-shape as a whole shape, in which the first arm portion and the second arm portion are attached at a predetermined distance in the vehicle front-rear direction, the main body portion and the first arm portion and the second arm portion are , The first arm portion and the second arm portion are formed by press-molding different plate materials so that the cross section perpendicular to the axis has a U-shape, but the open side end or back part faces each other. It is characterized in that the base end portions of both arm portions and the main body portion are integrally joined by welding.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the first arm portion and the second arm portion are composed of parts having substantially the same shape, and the U-shaped cross section is vertically symmetrical. It is characterized by

[0020]

According to the invention described in claim 1, in forming the suspension arm, a main body portion connected to the wheel side,
Since the first arm portion and the second arm portion that are rotatably connected to the vehicle body side are formed by pressing different plate materials, for example, a rectangular plate material having a high material yield is used. Can be molded.

In this case, since individual parts are press-molded, even if there are restrictions on the relationship with peripheral members or manufacturing restrictions, these restrictions can be easily absorbed, and those having a desired cross section can be secured. Moreover, since it is press-molded, the weight can be reduced. Further, since the first arm portion and the second arm portion have a U-shaped cross section, there are flanges on the upper and lower sides, and they have mechanical strength. You can compete.

If the main body portion, the first arm portion and the second arm portion, which are the pressed products, are integrally joined by welding, the length of the welded portion can be sufficiently removed and the strength of the welded portion can be increased. improves.

Therefore, this suspension arm can secure a predetermined cross-sectional shape even if there is a restriction in relation to peripheral members or restrictions in manufacturing, and it has a good yield, is lightweight, is inexpensive, and has mechanical strength. Further, in some cases, since the strength is improved, the desired strength can be maintained even if a material having a low strength, that is, an inexpensive material is used, and thus, the manufacturing cost can be further reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the first arm portion and the second arm portion are composed of parts having substantially the same shape, and the U-shaped cross section is vertically symmetrical. Therefore, the same parts can be shared between the left and right suspension arms, the number of kinds of parts can be reduced accordingly, and the mass production effect is further advantageous in terms of cost.

[0025]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an upper arm according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main body of the upper arm, and FIGS. It is a figure which shows the manufacturing process of an arm part. In addition, in these drawings, members common to the members shown in FIGS. 5 to 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The suspension arm of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is an upper arm of a double wishbone type front suspension.

The upper arm 20 has a V-shape as a whole, and a body portion 10 connected to the wheel W side via a ball joint 6 is provided at a tip end of the body portion B. Side arm portion 1 rotatably connected to the side
Although the first and second arm portions 12 are projected, this first
The front ends of the arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are provided at positions separated by a predetermined distance in the vehicle front-rear direction.

A through hole 13 to which the ball joint 6 is attached is opened in the main body portion 10, and the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are freely rotatable by a vehicle body side and a bolt (not shown). Through holes 14 and 15 for connecting to the.

In particular, the upper arm 20 of this embodiment
Is a main body portion 10, a first arm portion 11, and a second arm portion 1.
2 and 2 are press-molded by using different plate materials P (see FIG. 3), and then press-molded so that the cross section perpendicular to the axis is U-shaped. The open sides of the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 In the state where the end portions 11a and 12a are arranged so as to face each other, they are integrally joined to the main body portion 10 by welding.

In forming the main body portion 10, one rectangular plate material is used, and this is used for the first arm portion 1 which will be described later.
The shape of covering the end portions of the first and second arm portions 12, that is, the shape as shown in FIG. 2, is press-formed, and a through hole 13 to which the ball joint 6 is attached is opened at substantially the center. Burring is applied to the inner peripheral edge of the.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3a, the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are made of a single rectangular plate material P having two through holes 14 and 15 formed at substantially the center. 3b
As shown in (3), the side piece near the central portion is cut at the same time as bending so as to slightly incline from the central portion to the end portion. Then, as shown in FIG. 3c, the flanges b and g are formed by bending the side ends, and the overall shape is adjusted.

In this way, both arm portions 1 are attached to one plate P.
After forming 1 and 12 in a lump, the inner peripheral edge portions of the through holes 14 and 15 are subjected to burring, and the central portion is cut as shown in FIG. 3d.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the main body 10 which is a pressed product and the open side end portions 11a and 12a.
And the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion arranged so as to face each other.
The upper arm 20 is formed by welding the arm portion 12 and integrally joining them.

As described above, the main body portion 10 and the first arm portion 1
If the first and second arm portions 12 are separately formed by using a rectangular plate material by press working, it is possible to take a material with a good yield of material, which affects the product cost and reduces the cost. Can be planned. In particular, since the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are composed of parts having substantially the same shape, and the U-shaped cross section is vertically symmetrical, the left and right suspensions are formed. Since the same parts can be shared between the arms, the types of parts can be reduced accordingly, and the effectiveness in manufacturing work becomes remarkable when mass-producing, which is further advantageous in terms of cost.

Since the main body portion 10, the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are to be press-molded as individual parts, even if there are restrictions on the peripheral members or manufacturing restrictions, this The constraint can be easily absorbed, a product having a desired cross section can be secured, and since the press molding is performed, the weight can be reduced.

Particularly, since the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 have a U-shaped cross section, two large flanges b and g are present so as to face each other.
The mechanical strength is improved, and even if a composite force acts on it, it can be sufficiently counteracted. Moreover, if both arms are molded together into one plate P at the time of molding, the molding process Not only is it simplified, but the waste of material removal and the handling work are simplified, which is more cost effective.

Moreover, when the main body 10 and the first arm 11 and the second arm 12 are welded, since the arms 11 and 12 have a U-shaped cross section, they and the main body 12 are welded. The length of the welded portion with 10 can be sufficiently removed, and the strength of the welded portion is also improved. When the length of the welded portion is further increased, the first arm portion 1
The flanges b and g at the base end portions of the first and second arm portions 12 may be wide.

Further, since the shapes of the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are relatively simple, mainly by bending, a high tensile steel plate is used for each without consideration of press formability. It is possible to reduce the weight.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is a partially broken perspective view of an upper arm according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, in which members common to those shown in FIGS. ,
Description is omitted.

Upper arm 2 according to the second embodiment
Reference numeral 0a indicates that the back portions 11b and 12b of the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are arranged so as to face each other and are integrally joined to the main body portion 10.

In particular, in this embodiment, when the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are joined to the main body portion 10,
A flange 10 having an L-shaped cross section on a side portion of the main body portion 10.
If a and 10a are provided in a protruding manner and the flanges 10a and 10a are welded while the base ends of the first arm portion 11 and the second arm portion 12 are in contact with each other, the arm portions 11 and 12 and the main body portion 10 can be welded.
The length of the welded portion with and can be further removed, and the strength of the welded portion is further improved.

The flanges 10a, 10a may be L-shaped in cross section as described above, but more preferably, the arm portions 11 are provided at the side ends of the L-shaped flanges 10a, 10a. , 12 backs 11b, 12b and /
Alternatively, a contact plate (not shown) provided in contact with the open end may be used to increase the contact area. By doing so, the flanges 10a, 10a and the arm portion 1 are
The joining length with 1, 12 is further increased, and the welding strength is further improved.

Like the first embodiment, the upper arm formed in this manner can ensure a predetermined cross-sectional shape even when there is a relationship with peripheral members or restrictions on molding, and the weight is high and the yield is high. Thus, it is possible to obtain an inexpensive upper arm 20a having mechanical strength.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be variously modified within the scope of the claims. For example, although the arm portion of the above-described first and second embodiments has a U-shaped cross-section, this cross-sectional shape is not strictly limited to the U-shaped cross section, and a similar shape is obtained. It may be U-shaped or a polygonal shape with one end open.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper arm among the suspension arms has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied not only to this but also to other similar arms. .

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained for each claim. In the invention according to claim 1, since the main body portion and the first arm portion and the second arm portion are separately formed by press working,
Since it is possible to mold using a rectangular plate material with a good material yield and press-mold individual parts, even if there are restrictions on the relationship with peripheral members or manufacturing restrictions, this restriction can be easily absorbed and the desired Those having a cross section can be secured. Moreover, since it is press molding, the weight can be reduced.

Since the main body portion, the first arm portion and the second arm portion are integrally joined by welding,
When welding, the length of the welded portion can be sufficiently removed, and the strength of the welded portion is also improved.

Furthermore, since the first arm portion and the second arm portion have a U-shaped cross section, they have mechanical strength, and even if a composite force acts on them, they can sufficiently oppose them. In the invention according to claim 2, since the first arm portion and the second arm portion are configured by parts having substantially the same shape, and the U-shaped cross section is vertically symmetrical,
The same parts can be shared between the left and right suspension arms, the number of kinds of parts can be reduced accordingly, and the mass production effect is further advantageous in terms of cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main body of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a manufacturing process of the arm part according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view showing a double wishbone front suspension.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional upper arm.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 6;

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG.

9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional upper arm forming process.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Main body part, 11 ... First arm part, 1
2 ... 2nd arm part, 11a, 12a ... Open side end part, 11b, 12b ... Back part, B ... Car body, P ... Plate material, W ... Wheel.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A body portion (10) connected to a wheel (W) side,
A first arm portion (11) and a second arm portion (1) that are respectively projected from the main body portion (10) and are rotatably connected to the vehicle body (B) side.
2) and having the first arm portion (11) and the second arm portion (12)
In a suspension arm having a V shape as a whole, which is attached at a predetermined distance in the vehicle front-rear direction, the main body portion (10), the first arm portion (11), and the second arm portion (12) are The first arm portion (11) and the second arm portion are formed by press-molding different plate materials (P).
(12) is press-molded so that the cross section perpendicular to the axis has a U-shape, but is arranged so that the open side ends (11a, 12a) or the back (11b, 12b) face each other, and both arm parts ( A suspension arm, characterized in that the base end portion of (11, 12) and the main body portion (10) are integrally joined by welding. 2. The first arm portion (11) and the second arm portion
The suspension arm according to claim 1, wherein the (12) is composed of parts having substantially the same shape, and the U-shaped cross section is vertically symmetrical.