JP4760310B2 - Vehicle suspension system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension apparatus, and more particularly, to a double wishbone type and multilink type vehicle suspension apparatus including a lower arm and an upper arm.

As one of this type of vehicle suspension device, there is provided a support body that rotatably supports a wheel, and a wheel support member that integrally has an arm below and above the support body, A lower arm whose outer end is connected to the lower arm of the wheel support member and the inner end is connected to the vehicle body, and an outer end is connected to the upper arm of the wheel support member and the inner end is connected to the vehicle body via a bracket. And an absorber assembly interposed between the lower arm and the vehicle body, which is described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.
Utility Model Registration No. 2576093

  In the vehicle suspension apparatus described in Patent Document 1 above, the upper arm is composed of two I-shaped arms arranged at different heights, and the upper arm arranged above the outer end (front end). ) And is connected to the suspension tower housing (wheel apron) via the bracket at the inner end (rear end) thereof. The bracket is attached to the upper wall of the suspension tower housing (including the upper frame that reinforces the upper wall) at the upper end, and to the sidewall of the suspension tower housing (including the side frame that reinforces the sidewall) at the lower end. It is attached and bridged between the upper wall and the side wall, and an inner end support part of the upper arm is provided in the middle part.

  In this vehicle suspension device, as described above, the inner end of the upper arm is coupled to the intermediate portion of the bracket. For this reason, it is necessary to secure a space for accommodating the intermediate portion from the upper end of the bracket bridged above the inner end of the upper arm, and at least the upper wall mounting height needs to be set high for this space. is there. If the height of the upper wall is set high, the gap between the upper wall and the hood becomes smaller, and the space that allows deformation of the hood in the event of a collision (the space that can absorb shock softly) becomes smaller. For example, it is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of protecting pedestrians.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle suspension apparatus in which the mounting height of the upper wall of the suspension tower housing can be set low in order to cope with the above problem.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, there is provided a wheel support member having a support body that rotatably supports a wheel, and an arm integrally formed below and above the support body. A lower arm whose outer end is connected to the lower arm of the wheel support member and the inner end is connected to the vehicle body, and an outer end is connected to the upper arm of the wheel support member and the inner end is connected to the vehicle body via a bracket. In the vehicle suspension apparatus including the upper arm that is formed and the absorber assembly interposed between the lower arm and the vehicle body, the vehicle body includes a side member that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and a lower side than the side member. A suspension member having an inner end supporting portion of the lower arm and an absorber assembly assembled above the side member. Upper wall having an upper end supporting portion of the Li, and includes a suspension tower housing made integrally includes a sidewall, the side members, the longitudinal direction of the vehicle have been installed apart a predetermined amount in the vehicle width direction An inner wall and an outer wall extending to the inner wall, the side wall is assembled to the inner wall, and a lower end mounting portion of the bracket is provided at an upper end of the outer wall, and the bracket is provided at the upper end of the suspension tower housing. It is attached to a wall extending in the vehicle width direction of the side wall, is attached to the lower end attachment portion of the side member at the lower end thereof, and includes an inner end support portion of the upper arm at an intermediate portion thereof . It is characterized in that it is installed in an inclined posture so that the upper part is located inward in the vehicle width direction from the lower part . In this case, the suspension tower housing is fixed to the inner wall of the sidewall at the inner edge in addition to the sidewall and the upper wall, and is fixed to the upper wall at the upper edge so as to extend in the vehicle width direction. An extension reinforcement wall may be provided, and an upper end of the bracket may be attached to the reinforcement wall.

In this vehicle suspension device, the side member is assembled with the side wall at the inner wall thereof, and includes a lower end mounting portion of the bracket at the upper end of the outer wall. For this reason, by directly attaching the bracket to the side member, it is possible to arrange the bracket by effectively utilizing the space in the suspension tower housing above the side member while ensuring good attachment rigidity of the bracket.
Further, bracket, mounting et is a wall that extends in the vehicle width direction of the side wall in the suspension tower housing at its upper end, attached to the lower attaching portion provided in the side members at its lower end, at an intermediate portion An inner arm support portion of the upper arm is provided. Further, the bracket is installed in an inclined posture so that the upper part thereof is positioned inward in the vehicle width direction from the lower part thereof. For this reason, it is not necessary to secure a space for accommodating the bracket between the upper wall and the side wall of the suspension tower housing, and it is possible to set the mounting height of the upper wall low. Thereby, the clearance gap between an upper wall and a hood can be set largely, and the space which accept | permits deformation | transformation of a hood at the time of a collision becomes large, and it is advantageous from a viewpoint of protecting a pedestrian, for example.

  In carrying out the present invention, the upper arm may be composed of, for example, a pair of front and rear I-shaped arms, and the connection position between the upper arms and the wheel support member may be set on the side of the tire on the wheel. is there.

  In this case, the upper arm is constituted by a pair of front and rear I-shaped arms. For this reason, even if the arm length of the upper arm is set short, the virtual kingpin inclination angle can be set so as not to be excessive, and the upper arm can be accommodated in the suspension tower housing in a compact manner.

  Moreover, the connection position of both upper arms and the wheel support member is set beside the tire in the wheel. For this reason, since the space | interval between a lower arm and an upper arm can be enlarged enough, it is possible to ensure the precision of alignment favorable.

  By the way, in order to ensure better alignment accuracy, it is desirable to set the connection position of both upper arms and the wheel support member above the tire on the wheel. In this case, priority is given to setting the mounting height of the upper wall of the suspension tower housing low, and if the mounting height of the upper wall is set on the basis of the upper limit of the upward movement of the wheel, the outer end of the upper arm and the upper wall are set. Therefore, at least the upper wall mounting height needs to be set high for the amount of upward movement of the upper end of the upper arm. However, if the connection position is set to the side of the tire on the wheel, interference between the outer end of the upper arm and the upper wall can be avoided even if the upper wall mounting height is set based on the upper limit of the upper movement of the wheel. be able to. For this reason, by setting the connection position on the side of the tire on the wheel, the mounting height of the upper wall is made lower than when the connection position is set above the tire while ensuring good alignment accuracy. It is possible to set.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 schematically show a right front wheel side in an embodiment of a vehicle suspension apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a knuckle 10 as a wheel support member and a pair of front and rear I-shaped lower arms are shown. 21 and 22, an absorber assembly 30, and a pair of front and rear I-shaped upper arms 41 and 42. Since the left front wheel side of the vehicle suspension apparatus is configured in the same manner as the right front wheel side, the right front wheel side will be described as a representative here, and the description of the left front wheel side will be omitted.

  The knuckle 10 is integrally provided with a support body 10a and arms 10b and 10c. The support body 10a rotatably supports the right front wheel WFR via a hub (not shown). The arms 10b and 10c extend from the support body 10a toward the vehicle lower side and the vehicle upper side, respectively, below and above the support body 10a. A tie rod 12 is connected to the front end of the arm 10b via a ball joint 11. Thereby, the support main body 10a also supports the right front wheel WFR so as to be steerable as the rack shaft (not shown) moves in the vehicle width direction.

  A pair of front and rear I-shaped lower arms 21 and 22 are connected to the vehicle body BD via rubber bushes 23 and 24 at their inner ends so as to be swingable in the vertical direction around the central axis of the rubber bushings 23 and 24. Are connected to an intermediate portion of the arm 10b in the knuckle 10 through ball joints 25 and 26.

  The absorber assembly 30 is interposed between the lower arm 22 and the vehicle body BD, and includes a shock absorber 31, a suspension spring 32, and an upper support 33. The shock absorber 31 is connected at its lower end to the outer end of the lower arm 22 so as to be swingable in the vehicle width direction, and is attached to the vehicle body BD via the upper support 33 at its upper end. The suspension spring 32 is supported at the lower end thereof by a lower seat 31 a fixed to the outer cylinder of the shock absorber 31, and elastically supports the vehicle body BD through the upper support 33 at the upper end thereof.

  The pair of front and rear I-shaped upper arms 41 and 42 are formed in a curved shape so as to bypass the absorber assembly 30, and are attached to the vehicle body BD via rubber bushes 43 and 44 and brackets 51 and 52 at the respective inner ends. The rubber bushes 43 and 44 are coupled to be swingable in the vertical direction around the central axis of the rubber bushes 43 and 44, and are coupled to the upper ends of the arms 10 c of the knuckle 10 through ball joints 45 and 46 at the respective outer ends. In this state, the connecting position of the pair of front and rear I-shaped upper arms 41 and 42 and the arm 10c of the knuckle 10 (the rotation center of the ball joints 45 and 46) is positioned beside the shoulder portion of the tire on the right front wheel WFR. (See FIG. 2).

  The vehicle body BD includes a side member 60, a suspension member 70, and a suspension tower housing 80. The side member 60 extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, is formed in a hollow shape with a rectangular cross section, and includes an inner wall 60a and an outer wall 60b that are set apart by a predetermined amount in the vehicle width direction. The upper end of the outer wall 60b is an inclined wall 60c, and integrally has nuts 60c1 and 60c2 as bracket lower end mounting portions at positions facing the lower ends of the brackets 51 and 52, respectively.

  The suspension member 70 is assembled below the side member 60, is formed in a substantially “well” shape in plan view, and supports the rubber bushes 23 and 24 (inner ends of the lower arms 21 and 22). A bracket 70a is provided as an inner end support portion of the lower arm having a support hole.

  The suspension tower housing 80 is assembled above the side member 60, is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape having an opening at the bottom, and includes a side wall 81 that is a vertical wall and an upper wall 82 that is a horizontal wall. . The suspension tower housing 80 accommodates the upper portion of the absorber assembly 30 and a pair of front and rear I-shaped upper arms 41 and 42.

The sidewall 81 includes an inner wall 81a and an outer wall 81b that are arranged in parallel to each other in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and a front wall 81c and a rear wall that are arranged in parallel to each other in the vehicle width direction and extend in the vehicle width direction. 81d is integrally provided. The inner wall 81a is assembled to the inner wall 60a of the side member 60, and is erected upward along the inner wall 60a. The upper wall 82 is formed integrally with the side wall 81, and includes a support hole 82a as an upper end support portion of the absorber assembly at a position facing each bolt erected on the upper end of the upper support 33. Yes.

The suspension tower housing 80 includes reinforcement walls 83 and 84 in addition to the sidewall 81 and the upper wall 82. Reinforcement walls 83 and 84 are formed of vertical walls that are set apart by a predetermined amount in the vehicle front-rear direction, arranged parallel to each other in the vehicle width direction, and extended in the vehicle width direction. The inner end edge is fixed to the inner wall 81a of the sidewall 81, and each upper end edge is fixed to the upper wall 82.

  By the way, in this embodiment, the brackets 51 and 52 are attached to the sidewall 81 at each upper end and attached to the side member 60 at each lower end. That is, the bracket 51 is a container-like shape, with the opening directed outward in the vehicle width direction, the bolt 53A and the nut 53B at the upper end of the front and rear walls thereof, and the bolt at the intermediate portion of the front and rear walls. The front wall 81c of the sidewall 81 and the reinforcement wall 83 are attached to predetermined portions by 54A and nuts 54B, respectively.

  The bracket 51 is attached to the nut 60c1 of the inclined wall 60c of the side member 60 by a bolt 55 at the lower end of the inner wall thereof. In this state, the bracket 51 is installed in an inclined posture so that the upper side is positioned directly inward in the vehicle width direction from the lower side immediately above the side member 60. The bracket 51 includes a support hole 51a as an inner end support portion of the upper arm that supports the rubber bush 43 (the inner end of the upper arm 41) at an intermediate portion between the bolt 53A and the bolt 54A on the front and rear walls thereof. .

  Similarly to the bracket 51, the bracket 52 is also in the shape of a container, and the rear wall of the side wall 81 is secured by bolts 56A and nuts 56B at the upper ends of the front and rear walls with the opening directed outward in the vehicle width direction. 81d and the reinforcement wall 84 are attached to predetermined portions. The bracket 52 is attached to the nut 60c2 of the inclined wall 60c of the side member 60 by a bolt 57 at the lower end of the inner wall thereof. In this state, like the bracket 51, the bracket 52 is installed in an inclined posture so that the upper side is positioned inward in the vehicle width direction from the lower side immediately above the side member 60. The bracket 52 includes a support hole 52a as an inner end support portion of the upper arm that supports the rubber bush 44 (the inner end of the upper arm 42) at the lower portion of the bolt 56A on the front and rear walls.

  In the present embodiment configured as described above, the upper ends of the brackets 51 and 52 are respectively attached to the front wall 81 c and the rear wall 81 d on the inner wall 81 a side of the sidewall 81 in the suspension tower housing 80. Thereby, it is not necessary to secure a space for accommodating the brackets 51 and 52 between the upper wall 82 of the suspension tower housing 80 and the inner wall 81a of the side wall 81, and the mounting height of the upper wall 82 is set low. be able to. As a result, the gap between the upper wall 82 and the hood (not shown) can be set large, and the space for allowing deformation of the hood at the time of a collision becomes large, which is advantageous from the viewpoint of protecting pedestrians, for example. .

  Further, in this embodiment, the side member 60 is assembled with the inner wall 81a of the side wall 81 at the inner wall 60a, and the nut 60c1, serving as the lower end mounting portion of the bracket, at the inclined wall 60c that is the upper end of the outer wall 60b. 60c2. As a result, the brackets 51 and 52 are directly attached to the side member 60, and the bracket 51 and 52 are secured to the bracket 51 by effectively utilizing the space in the suspension tower housing 80 above the side member 60 while ensuring good attachment rigidity. 51, 52 can be arranged.

  In this embodiment, the brackets 51 and 52 are attached in an inclined state so that the upper part is positioned inward in the vehicle width direction from below. Thereby, the workability | operativity at the time of attaching the brackets 51 and 52 to the side member 60 improves.

  Further, in this embodiment, the upper arms 41 and 42 are constituted by a pair of front and rear I-shaped arms. Thereby, even if the arm lengths of the upper arms 41 and 42 are set short, the virtual kingpin tilt angle can be set so as not to be excessive, and the upper arms 41 and 42 can be accommodated in the suspension tower housing 80 in a compact manner.

  In this embodiment, the center of rotation of the ball joints 45 and 46, which is the connecting position between the upper arms 41 and 42 and the knuckle 10, is set beside the shoulder portion of the tire in the right front wheel WFR. Thereby, since the space | interval between the lower arms 21 and 22 and the upper arms 41 and 42 can fully be enlarged, the precision of alignment can be ensured favorable.

  In this case, interference between the outer ends of the upper arms 41 and 42 and the upper wall 82 is avoided even if the mounting height of the upper wall 82 is set based on the upper limit of the upper limit of the right front wheel WFR. . Accordingly, the mounting height of the upper wall 82 can be set lower than when the rotation center of the ball joints 45 and 46 is set above the tire while ensuring good alignment accuracy.

  In the above-described embodiment, the pair of front and rear I-shaped lower arms 21 and 22 are used as the lower arm. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an A-shaped arm may be used as the lower arm. Further, the pair of front and rear I-shaped upper arms 41 and 42 is used as the upper arm. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to use an A-shaped arm as the upper arm.

It is the top view which showed the right front wheel side in one Embodiment of the suspension apparatus for vehicles by this invention. It is a rear view of FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of an inner end and a bracket of the upper arm shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the inside of the vehicle.

Explanation of symbols

BD ... Car body, WFR ... Right front wheel, 10 ... Knuckle (wheel support member), 10a ... Support body, 10b, 10c ... Arm, 12 ... Tie rod, 21,22 ... A pair of front and rear I-shaped lower arms, 23,24 ... Rubber bush , 25, 26 ... ball joint, 30 ... absorber assembly, 31 ... shock absorber, 32 ... suspension spring, 33 ... upper support, 41, 42 ... pair of front and rear I-shaped upper arms, 43, 44 ... rubber bush, 45, 46 ... Ball joint, 51, 52 ... bracket, 51a, 52a ... support hole (inner end support part of upper arm), 53A, 54A, 55, 56A, 57 ... bolt, 53B, 54B, 56B ... nut, 60 ... side member, 60a ... Inner wall, 60b ... Outer wall, 60c ... Inclined wall, 60c1, 60c2 ... Nut 70 ... suspension member, 70a ... bracket (inner end support portion of lower arm), 80 ... suspension tower housing, 81 ... side wall, 81a ... inner wall, 81b ... outer wall, 81c ... front wall, 81d ... rear Wall, 82 ... Upper wall, 82a ... Support hole (upper end support portion of absorber assembly), 83,84 ... Reinforcement wall

Claims (3)

A support body for rotatably supporting the wheel, a wheel support member integrally having an arm below and above the support body, and an outer end connected to the arm below the wheel support member A lower arm having an inner end coupled to the vehicle body, an upper arm having an outer end coupled to the upper arm of the wheel support member and an inner end coupled to the vehicle body via a bracket, and an intermediate between the lower arm and the vehicle body. In a vehicle suspension device comprising a mounted absorber assembly,
The vehicle body includes a side member extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, a suspension member assembled below the side member and having an inner end support portion of the lower arm, and assembled above the side member to form the absorber. An upper wall having an upper end support part of the assembly, and a suspension tower housing integrally having a sidewall,
The side member includes an inner wall and an outer wall that are installed at a predetermined distance in the vehicle width direction and extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The side wall is assembled to the inner wall, and the bracket is formed at the upper end of the outer wall. The lower end mounting part of
The bracket is attached at its upper end to a wall extending in the vehicle width direction of the sidewall in the suspension tower housing, and is attached to the lower end attachment portion of the side member at its lower end, at its intermediate portion The vehicle suspension apparatus, comprising an inner end support portion of the upper arm, wherein the upper arm is installed in an inclined posture so that an upper portion thereof is positioned inward in a vehicle width direction from a lower portion thereof . In the vehicle suspension apparatus according to claim 1,
The suspension tower housing is fixed to the inner wall of the sidewall at the inner edge in addition to the sidewall and the upper wall, and is fixed to the upper wall at the upper edge to extend in the vehicle width direction. It has a reinforcement wall,
A suspension device for a vehicle, wherein an upper end of the bracket is also attached to the reinforcement wall. 3. The vehicle suspension apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the upper arm is composed of a pair of front and rear I-shaped arms, and a connection position between both the upper arms and the wheel support member is set beside a tire on a wheel. A vehicle suspension device characterized by the above.

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