JPS6214430B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in steering knuckles for driving wheels of vehicles, particularly front wheels in front-wheel drive vehicles.

Conventionally, the structure of the front wheel of a FF vehicle includes a bearing that rotatably supports the wheel shaft that drives the wheel.
The skeleton part is a nut that is integrated with this bearing part and becomes a connecting member of the shock absorber between the vehicle body and a connecting member of the steering arm.
There is a disk (or drum) on the wheel axle that serves as the wheel attachment member and also constitutes a part of the brake device.
It is constructed by assembling a hub that serves as a support for the. The nuticle, which forms the framework, has a complex structure as mentioned above, and because it needs to have sufficient strength, it has traditionally been made of cast or forged products. It was common to have them firmly fastened to the

Incidentally, a recent improvement issue in vehicles that has been attracting attention is the problem of reducing vehicle weight from the perspective of improving energy efficiency, etc. From this perspective, the present invention aims to simplify the device structure and improve assembly. The aim was to make the work easier and to reduce the weight.By using a sheet metal material that is advantageous in terms of weight reduction, the weight of the Natsukuru itself was reduced, and the support for the brake device was made using this Natsukuru sheet metal material. By using this, it is possible to create an integrated structure and reduce the number of conventional support fastening members.

That is, the present invention provides a frame structure that supports a vehicle drive wheel, which includes a main body that is integrated with a cylindrical body that forms a bearing that rotatably supports a wheel shaft passing through it, and a body that bends and extends in the radial direction from the main body. An inner plate made of a single sheet metal material having a connecting arm of the extended shock absorber and a connecting arm of the lower arm, a main body integrated with the cylindrical body forming the bearing, and a diameter larger than the main body. It is equipped with an outer plate made of a single sheet metal material having a support part for supporting the brake device bent and extended in the direction, and an arm for connecting the lower arm. This is a sheet metal nut for a vehicle drive wheel, characterized by having arms that are overlapped and fixed together.

The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a nutacle made of sheet metal, which is formed by a combination of two sheet metal materials, an inner plate 2 and an outer plate 3, and a cylindrical body 4 forming a bearing. Said inner plate 2
is integrated with the outer periphery of the cylindrical body 4 by welding and fixing at the inner edge of the central opening 2b of the main body part 2a, and two curved extension parts are formed from this main body part 2a to face each other in the radial direction. One of them is a connecting arm 2c of the shock absorber that supports the lower end of the shock absorber interposed between the vehicle body, and the half-cylindrical portion formed at the tip thereof is bolted together with the half-cylindrical portion of the knuckle arm 5. As a result, the lower end of the strut 6 of the shock absorber is fastened and supported. 7 is a fastening bolt, and 5a is a connecting hole for a steering arm (not shown) formed in the knuckle arm 5. The other bent extension is a connecting arm 2d of a lower arm (not shown), and a ball joint (not shown) is assembled into a tapered hole 2e formed corresponding to the outer plate 3 described below. It is pivotally supported by the lower arm via the lower arm.

Like the inner plate 2, the outer plate 3 is integrated with the outer periphery of the cylindrical body 4 at the inner edge of the central opening 3b of the main body part 3a by welding. Two bent extensions are formed. One of them is a connecting arm 3d of a lower arm having substantially the same shape as the inner plate 2, and has a tapered hole 3e formed therein. The other bent extension part is a support part 3f, 3 for supporting a brake device.
In this example, the support parts 3f, 3f are formed in a bifurcated shape and extend to the vicinity of the edge of the disk 8, and the through holes 3g, 3g formed at the tip thereof.
The disc brake caliper (not shown) is configured to support a disc brake caliper (not shown) via a sliding coupling device (not shown) assembled to the disc brake.

The inner plate 2 and the outer plate 3 have substantially the same shape at the main body portions 2a, 3a and the connecting arms 2d, 3d of the lower arm, and are overlapped and integrated at these portions.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a wheel shaft that is rotatably driven, and is rotatably supported through bearing mechanisms 10, 10 through the inside of the cylindrical body 4.

According to the above configuration, the main body parts 2a, 3a including the cylindrical body 4 that rotatably supports the wheel shaft 9, and the connecting arms 2d, 3d of the lower arm are both inner and outer plates 2 made of sheet metal material. ，
3 are stacked on top of each other, and these two sheet metal materials are used to form the coupling arm 2c of the shock absorber and the support part 3f for supporting the brake device.
As the support part 3f is integrated, the weight of the nutacle 1 is significantly reduced, and the number of parts and assembly man-hours are reduced due to the integration of the support part 3f. The profits are huge.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a front view of the knuckle, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the knuckle. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Natsukuru, 2...Inner plate, 3...Outer plate, 2a, 3a...Main body part, 2b, 3
b... central opening, 2c... shock absorber connection arm,
2d, 3d... lower arm connection arm, 2
e, 3e...Tapered hole, 3f...Support part, 3g
...Through hole, 4...Cylindrical body, 5...Knuckle arm, 5
a... Steering arm connection hole, 6... Strut, 7... Bolt, 8... Disc, 9... Wheel axle, 1
0...Bearing device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 In a skeletal structure that supports a vehicle drive wheel, a main body integrated with a cylindrical body forming a bearing that rotatably supports a wheel shaft to be penetrated, and a main body that bends and extends in the radial direction from the main body, respectively. An inner plate made of a single sheet metal material having a connecting arm of the shock absorber and a connecting arm of the lower arm, a main body integrated with the cylindrical body forming the bearing, and each bent in the radial direction from the main body. It is equipped with an outer plate made of a single sheet metal material having a support part for supporting the extended brake device and an arm for connecting the lower arm, and the corresponding main body parts of both the inner and outer plates and the arm for connecting the lower arm are overlapped. A sheet metal nut for a vehicle drive wheel, which is characterized by being assembled and fixed together.