JPS6114930Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to an improvement of a vehicle body having a cross member to which a steering gear box is attached.

Conventionally, in order to ensure the rigidity of the engine room side of a vehicle body, two side members extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and two cross members mounted between them are often used. In such a vehicle body, the engine, front axle, front suspension, steering, etc. are supported by highly rigid side members and cross members to perform predetermined operations. For example, as shown in FIG.
The cross member 2, which is joined to the cross member 2, supports a steering gear box (hereinafter simply referred to as gear box) 4 through its central portion 3, and supports a lower arm 6 on the front suspension side through both end portions 5.
Such a cross member 2 has its central portion 3 and both end portions 5 of each toe board side surface directly connected to the toe board 1.
This strengthens the rigidity of the toe board 1 and cross member 2. However, the gear box 4 attached to the center part 3 of the cross member accommodates a rack and pinion (not shown) therein, and supports a yoke plug 7 for preload adjustment toward the toe board to adjust the meshing state of the gear box 4. (See Figure 2). For this reason, the preload adjustment of the gearbox 4 cannot be performed while it is attached to the vehicle body. To perform this kind of work, first move gearbox 4 to cross member 2.
Then, remove the universal joint 8, and then remove the tie rod 9 from the knuckle arm (not shown).
Prior to this, it may also be necessary to remove the shift control rod, exhaust pipe, etc. connected to the transmission, which is disadvantageous in that it takes a great deal of time.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a vehicle body that is easy to maintain.

In this idea, one of the cross members connecting two side members is formed by a central part and connecting parts at both ends, and the central part is arranged with an adjustment gap between the two side members, and the central part is placed above the central part. The gearbox is attached, a portion of each connecting portion is connected to a downward protrusion extending from the side member, and the other portion is connected to the side member using a stay extending in the vertical direction.

According to this invention, the gearbox mounted on the cross member can be sufficiently separated from the toe board, and the adjustment operation can be performed by fitting a tool through the adjustment gap into the yoke plug for adjusting the preload of the gearbox. Moreover, since the stay can be easily attached and detached, the work of removing the gearbox from the vehicle body is also facilitated.

This invention will be explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 3 shows a car body 1 as an embodiment of this invention.
The main parts of 0 are shown. This vehicle body 1 has two side members 11 extending in the longitudinal direction A of the vehicle body arranged in parallel (one not shown), and these are connected by a plurality of cross members B to maintain the rigidity of the vehicle body. . The engine compartment 12 of this vehicle body 10 is 2
Book side member 11 and front cross member 1
3 and the rear cross member 14 to maintain rigidity. A wheel house 151 and a spring house 152 are welded to each side member 11, and a radiator support (not shown) and a toe board 17 are welded to the front and rear ends of these. These members and panel materials further strengthen the rigidity of the front vehicle body 10. The rear cross member 14 has a horizontal column-shaped central portion 14 having a closed cross section.
1 and connecting portions 142 (one not shown) extending from both ends thereof. A gear box 18 is supported on the upper side surface 143 of the central portion 141 and is operated by receiving the rotational force of the steering shaft 161 via the universal joint 16. This gear box 1
8 is fixed on the upper side surface 143 by a bracket 19, and is configured to transmit steering operation force to the wheels W by connecting tie rods 20 (one not shown) extending from side to side to a wheel-side knuckle arm (not shown). Such a central portion 141 is arranged with respect to the toe board 17 with an adjustment gap t in between (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the yoke plug 21 for preload adjustment, which is disposed on the surface of the gear box 18 facing the toe board, is supported at a position sufficiently apart from the toe board 17. As shown in FIG. 5, the connecting portions 142 extending from both ends of the central portion 41 are formed to have a wider width than the central portion. This connecting part 142
A lower arm 22 is pin-coupled to the lower surface of the rear cross member 14 (see FIG. 3), and the load from the wheel W is transmitted to the rear cross member 14 via this lower arm 22.
On the other hand, on the upper surface side of the connecting portion 142, the rear region a and the front region b are opposed to separate members in the width direction, that is, in the longitudinal direction A of the vehicle body. That is, the rear region a faces the downward protrusion 112 extending from the lower wall 111 of the side member 11, and both are bolted together. A protruding piece 143 is fixed to the front region b, and the lower end of the stay 23, which extends vertically and has a closed cross section, is fitted onto the peripheral surface of the protruding piece 143. The upper end of this stay 23 is connected to the lower wall 1 of the side member 11.
11, and both are bolted together. In addition,
The stay 23 and the protruding piece 143 include a plurality of bolts 2
Fixed by 4. In this way, the connecting portion 142
is arranged below the lower wall 111 of the side member across the gap c, and in this state, the side member 11
and the rear cross member 14 are connected. Moreover, the lower wall 111 of the side member and the connecting portion 142 are connected at two points using the downward protrusion 112 and the stay 23, and the connected state of both is rigid and highly reliable. becomes.

In order to adjust the preload of the gearbox 18 mounted on the vehicle body 10 shown in FIG. 3, a maintenance tool T shown by a dashed line in FIG. 4 is inserted into the vehicle body 10 from below. In this case, the tool T passes through the adjustment gap t and is fitted into the yoke plug 21 on the surface of the gearbox 18 facing the toe board. After this tool T
The desired adjustment operation can be performed using the adjustment gap t, and the preload of the gearbox 18 can be easily adjusted. As described above, the vehicle body 10 shown in FIG. 3 has the advantage that there is no need to remove other attachments attached to the vehicle body 10 when adjusting the preload of the gearbox 18. Furthermore, when removing the gearbox 18 from the vehicle body 10, first remove the bracket 19, universal joint 16, stay 23, and tie rod 20 connected to the knuckle arm on the wheel side (not shown) of the gearbox 18. Thereby, the entire gearbox 8 can be easily removed from the vehicle body 10.
In this case, the bolts 24 fixing the lower end of the stay 23 to the protruding piece 143 and the bolts (not shown) fixing the upper end of the stay 23 to the lower wall 111 are placed in positions that ensure sufficient work space. These devices can be easily attached and detached.
Moreover, even if the stay 23 is removed from the vehicle body, the side members 11 and the rear cross member 14 are kept connected by the downward protrusion 112, and the stay 23 is removed without displacement of other members, and the stay 23 is removed again.
3 can be easily attached to the vehicle body.

In the above description, the stay 23 was fixed to the vehicle body at its upper and lower ends by tightening bolts, but the stay 23 only needs to be detachably fixed to the vehicle body, and other connecting means such as thumb screws, screws, or Alternatively, a pin or the like may be used.

As mentioned above, the vehicle body to which this invention is applied can connect the rear cross member to the side members reliably and with rigidity ensured, and it is also possible to adjust the preload of the gear box on the rear cross member.
Another advantage is that it makes it easier to attach and detach the gearbox.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of a conventional car body, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line X-X of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the main parts of a car body as an embodiment of this invention, and Fig. 4 3 is a sectional view taken along the Y-Y line in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main part of the rear cross member used in the same vehicle body. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Vehicle body, 11...Side member, 111...Lower wall, 112...Downward protrusion, 12...Engine room, 14...Rear cross member, 17...Toe board, 18...Gear box, 22...Tee, A...Anteroposterior direction of vehicle body , B...Cross member, t...Adjustment gap.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Two side members extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and at least two side members connecting these side members.
In a car body that maintains the rigidity of the engine room with cross members, one of the cross members has a central part that supports the steering gear box,
The center part is formed with connecting parts extending from both ends of the central part, and the central part is arranged with a predetermined adjustment gap between the toe board facing the engine room, and a part of each of the connecting parts is positioned below the side member. A vehicle body characterized in that one side member is connected to a downward protrusion extending from one side, and the other side member is connected to a side member using a stay that is arranged in parallel with the downward protrusion and extends in the vertical direction.