JPH10315740A - Double wishbone type suspension - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a large vertical stroke ratio of a shock absorber to the vertical stroke of a wheel. SOLUTION: A base end 36A of a supporting member 36 is accommodated in a fousing recessed part 34 formed at a knuckle 12, and the supporting member 36 is journalled to the knuckle 12 so as to be turnable around a shaft body 38 on a king pin axis K. The lower end of an absorber coil unit 42 is supported on the tip of the supporting member 36. When a wheel moves vertically in relation to a vehicle body, the knuckle 12 and supporting member 36 move vertically. The moving stroke of the lower end of a shock absorber 48 becomes almost the same as the vertical moving stroke of the wheel, and the shock absorber 48 is sufficiently moved in a vertical direction so as to effectively absorb vibrational energy of a compression coil spring 46.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a double wishbone type suspension for connecting wheels and a vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 4, in a conventional double wishbone suspension 110, a lower end of a shock absorber 114 for absorbing and attenuating the vibration of a compression coil spring 112 is supported by a lower arm 116 via a joint. ing. The lower arm 116 has a base end 116A pivotally supported by the vehicle body, and a distal end pivotally supports a lower portion of the knuckle 118. Then, the knuckle 118 rotates around the kingpin axis K1, and the wheels are steered.

Since a predetermined space for arranging wheels and the like is required on the distal end side of the lower arm 116, the lower end of the shock absorber 114 cannot be attached to the distal end side of the lower arm 116. For this reason, the lower end of the shock absorber 114 is supported at a position that is within a predetermined distance from the distal end of the lower arm 116 on the base end 16A side.

[0004] However, if the lower end of the shock absorber 114 is supported at this position, the vertical lower / lower stalk ratio of the lower end of the shock absorber 114 to the vertical stroke of the wheel is reduced. Specifically, the distance from the base end of the lower arm 116 to the distal end is D1, the distance from the base end of the lower arm 116 to the lower end of the shock absorber 114 is D2, the vertical stroke of the wheel is S1, the shock absorber 114 is
Assuming that the upper and lower slots of the lower end are S2, the following relationship holds: D1: D2 = S1: S2. As D2 becomes smaller with respect to D1, S2 also becomes smaller with respect to S1.

In order to avoid such a disadvantage, the lower end of the shock absorber 114 is connected to the knuckle 1 via a joint.
18 is conceivable. However, in this case, the lower end of the shock absorber 114 also rotates and largely swings in accordance with the turning of the wheels. For this reason,
High strength is required for the shock absorber 114 and the joint.

On the other hand, a suspension 130 shown in FIG. 5 has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-112708).

[0007] The suspension 130 has a stabilizer 132 for suppressing the inclination of the vehicle body during turning.
The upper end of the shock absorber 134 is attached to the vehicle body, and the lower end is attached to the side of the stabilizer 132. Since the stabilizer 132 moves up and down with substantially the same stroke as the wheels, the shock absorber 134
The upper and lower strokes of the lower end and the upper and lower strokes of the wheels are substantially the same. However, in this suspension 130,
Since the load caused by the operation of the shock absorber 134 directly acts on the stabilizer 132, the strength of the stabilizer 132 must be increased.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a double wishbone type suspension capable of increasing a shock absorber's up / down stroke ratio with respect to up / down stroke of a wheel.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a knuckle for rotatably supporting a wheel, an upper arm having a base end pivotally supported by the vehicle body and a distal end pivotally supporting an upper portion of the knuckle, A base end is pivotally supported by the vehicle body, a tip is a lower arm that pivotally supports a lower portion of the knuckle, an upper end is shock-absorbed by the vehicle body, and the knuckle is pivotally supported by the knuckle substantially around a kingpin axis. It has a support member for supporting the lower end of the shock absorber, and a stabilizer for restricting the rotation of the support member about the kingpin axis.

When the wheel moves up and down, the upper arm and the lower arm rotate around the base end, respectively, and the knuckle also moves up and down.

Since the support member is supported by the knuckle, it moves up and down by substantially the same amount as the up and down slot of the wheel. For this reason, the lower end of the shock absorber supported by the support member can also be moved up and down by substantially the same amount as the vertical slot of the wheel.

Further, the support member is pivotally supported by the knuckle so as to be pivotable about the kingpin axis, and the pivot is limited by the stabilizer. Therefore, when the wheel is steered, the knuckle and only the wheel are steered. . The turning center of the support member is desirably coincident with the kingpin axis. However, even if the center is slightly shifted, it is sufficient that the support member does not turn when the wheel is turned.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, an absorbing member that absorbs a relative displacement difference between the supporting member and the stabilizer in the vehicle width direction is interposed between the supporting member and the stabilizer. It is characterized by.

Therefore, even if a relative displacement difference in the vehicle width direction occurs between the support member and the stabilizer, the displacement difference is absorbed by the absorbing member.

[0015]

FIG. 1 shows a double wishbone type suspension 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
0 is shown. The double wishbone suspension 10 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged on the right front of the vehicle, and a double wishbone suspension symmetrically configured with the suspension is arranged on the left front of the vehicle. In FIG. 1, the arrow F indicates the front direction of the vehicle, and the arrow R indicates the rear direction of the vehicle.

The double wishbone type suspension 10 has a knuckle 12 for rotatably supporting wheels 70 (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIGS. 2 and 3), similarly to the conventional double wishbone type suspension. I have. That is, a substantially cylindrical hub 14 protrudes outwardly of the vehicle at a substantially middle portion in the vertical direction of the knuckle 12, and the wheel 70 is formed on a spindle (not shown) further protruding outwardly of the hub 14 from the hub 14. Wheels (not shown) are mounted.

At the lower part of the knuckle 12, a knuckle arm 16 protrudes rearward and diagonally downward of the vehicle. The tie rod 18 connected to the tip of the knuckle arm 16 moves in the longitudinal direction by a steering operation, and the knuckle 12 rotates around a kingpin axis K described later. Thereby, the wheel 7 supported by the knuckle 12
Zero is steered.

A substantially Λ-shaped upper arm 20 is attached to the upper end of the knuckle 12. Upper arm 2
At both ends of 0, a cylindrical tubular body 22 whose longitudinal direction is the vehicle longitudinal direction is formed. A protruding shaft (not shown) projecting from the vehicle body is inserted into the cylindrical body 22, and the upper arm 20 is rotatably supported by the vehicle body with its both ends as base ends 20A.

The intermediate portion of the upper arm 20 is the tip 2 of the rotation.
0B and is located on the kingpin axis K. The upper portion of the knuckle 12 is rotatably supported on the upper arm 20 by a joint 24 so as to be rotatable about a kingpin axis K.

On the other hand, a lower arm 26 having a substantially L shape is attached to the lower end of the knuckle 12. At the base end 26A of the lower arm 26, similarly to the upper arm 20, a cylindrical tubular body 28 whose axial direction is the vehicle longitudinal direction is formed. A protruding shaft (not shown) projecting from the vehicle body is inserted into the cylindrical body 28, and the lower arm 26 is rotatably supported by the vehicle body.

The distal end 26B of the lower arm 26 is supported by a support piece 3 projecting from the lower end of the knuckle 12 toward the inside of the vehicle.
2 and located on the kingpin axis K. The lower portion of the knuckle 12 is rotatably supported on the kingpin axis K by the joint 30 at the base end 26B. The joint 24 at the distal end 20B of the upper arm 20 and the joint 30 at the distal end 26B of the lower arm 26 constitute a kingpin axis K that is the center of rotation of the knuckle 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the kingpin axis K is inclined at a predetermined kingpin angle α with respect to the vertical line J, and the upper portion is inclined toward the inside of the vehicle (left side in FIG. 2). As described above, the upper portion is inclined rearward of the vehicle at a predetermined caster angle β with respect to the vertical line J.

An accommodation recess 34 is formed substantially at the center of the knuckle 12 on the inner surface of the vehicle body in the vertical direction. The accommodation recess 34 accommodates a base end 36 A of a support member 36.
The support member 36 is gradually thinned from a base end 36A formed in a substantially cylindrical shape to a front end 36B, and is formed in a wedge shape as a whole. A bearing (not shown) is embedded inside the base end 36A, and the upper end and the lower end of the shaft 38 rotatably supported by the bearing protrude above and below the support member 36. Then, the projecting portion of the shaft body 38 is formed by partially recessing the housing recess 34 further upward and downward.
Inside, it is arranged on the kingpin axis K and is fixed so as not to rotate. Therefore, the support member 36 is connected to the kingpin shaft K
It is pivotally supported by the knuckle 12 so as to be pivotable about the upper shaft body 38.

The lower end of the absorber coil unit 42 is supported at the tip of the support member 36.

The absorber / coil unit 42 is provided with a substantially disk-shaped upper support 44 attached to the vehicle body, a compression coil spring 46 having an upper end attached to the upper support 44, and an inside of the compression coil spring 46. The upper end of the upper cylinder is constituted by a shock absorber 48 attached to the upper support 44. A substantially annular lower support 50 is attached to the lower end of the compression coil spring 46, and the lower end of the compression coil spring 46 is fixed to the lower cylinder of the shock absorber 48 via the lower support 50. The shock absorber 48 attenuates the vibration caused by the expansion and contraction of the compression coil spring 46 due to the viscosity of the viscous fluid contained therein when the upper cylinder and the lower cylinder are relatively expanded and contracted, and quickly converges the vibration in a short time.

A substantially inverted U-shaped bracket 52 is attached to the lower end of the shock absorber 48. The distal end portion of the support member 36 is accommodated between opposed plate pieces of the bracket 52, and the shock absorber 48 is supported by a pin 54 whose longitudinal direction is the vehicle longitudinal direction.

A pair of mounting plates 56 project from a substantially intermediate portion of the support member 36 toward the vehicle front side and the vehicle rear side. The upper end of a substantially V-shaped support plate 58 is fixed to the mounting plate 56 on the vehicle front side and the vehicle rear side of the support member 36. Also,
The support plate 58 is formed of an elastically deformable metal (a leaf spring in the present embodiment) which is an elastic body as an absorbing member, and is curved as shown in FIG. Swing.

A joint 60 is attached to the lower end of the support plate 58 along the thickness direction (the width direction of the vehicle). One end of a stabilizer 62 is pivotally supported by the joint 60.

The stabilizer 62 is made of an elastically deformable rod-shaped metal, and the vicinity of both ends is bent at a substantially right angle toward the front side of the vehicle, and the portion between the bent portions is twisted. Torsion portion 64. The torsion portion 64 is inserted through a bush 66 formed in a cylindrical shape.
Is attached to the vehicle body. As a result, the stabilizer 62 is supported by the vehicle body. 3, both ends 63 of the stabilizer 62 move along an arc-shaped trajectory T centered on the axis 64A of the torsion part 64.

Each end of the stabilizer 62 is supported at the lower end of the left and right support plate 58 by a joint 60, whereby the left and right double wishbone suspensions are connected by the stabilizer 62. If there is a difference in the height (vertical position) of the left and right double wishbone suspensions, a difference in height (vertical position) occurs at both ends of the stabilizer 62. 64 is torsionally deformed, and both end portions 63 swing. Due to this elastic reaction force, the left and right double wishbone suspensions respectively move in a direction to eliminate the difference in height (that is, the double wishbone suspension that has moved relatively upward among the left and right double wishbone suspensions). The double wishbone suspension that has moved downwards is biased downwards.

Further, since the tip of the stabilizer 62 is supported by the joint 60 at the lower end of the left and right support members 36, the rotation of the support member 36 about the shaft 38 receives resistance, and the rotation angle is constant. Is limited to the range.

Next, the operation of the double wishbone type suspension 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

When an occupant operates a steering wheel (not shown), a tie rod 18 is driven via a steering device.
Moves in the longitudinal direction, and the knuckle 12 rotates about the kingpin axis K. Thus, the wheels 70 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) attached to the hub 14 of the knuckle 12 are steered. The left and right support members 36 are attached to the knuckle 12 so as to be pivotable about the kingpin axis K, and are connected by a stabilizer 62 via a support plate 58 protruding from a substantially intermediate portion of the support member 36. Therefore, even if the knuckle 12 rotates, the support member 36
Maintain a predetermined position without rotating relative to the vehicle body. The shock absorber 48 whose lower end is supported by the support member 36 also does not swing during steering, so that an unreasonable load does not act on the shock absorber 48 itself, the upper support 44 at the upper end thereof, etc., and the strength is increased more than necessary. It is not necessary.

When the wheels 70 move up and down with respect to the vehicle body due to the passage of unevenness on the road surface or the roll of the vehicle body, etc., FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the knuckle 12 and the support member 36 move up and down together with the wheel 70. Therefore, the vertical movement stroke S1 of the wheel 70 is substantially equal to the vertical movement stroke S2 of the support member 36. That is, the ratio of the vertical movement stroke S2 of the support member 36 to the vertical movement stroke S1 of the wheel 70 is substantially 1
become. Therefore, the movement stroke of the lower end of the shock absorber 48 supported by the support member 36 is also substantially the same as the movement stroke of the wheel 70 in the vertical direction. Thereby, the shock absorber 48 can be sufficiently moved up and down, and the vibration energy of the compression coil spring 46 can be effectively absorbed.

The kingpin axis K is set at a predetermined kingpin angle α, as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 2, and its upper side is inclined toward the inside of the vehicle. Then, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, with the upward movement (bound) of the wheel 70, the kingpin shaft K further moves upward while slightly tilting to the inside of the vehicle body. Therefore, the support member 36 moves upward along the kingpin axis K and also moves inside the vehicle. Support plate 58 attached to support member 36
The upper end of the vehicle also moves in the vehicle width direction (FIG.
(Left / right direction) (distance L1).

On the other hand, since the stabilizer 62 is directly attached to the vehicle body by the attachment 68 of the torsion portion 64, when the wheel 70 moves upward, the torsion portion 6
4 is twisted and the tip 63 is swung upward, and the tip of the stabilizer 62 moves upward as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. However, the tip of the stabilizer 62 hardly moves in the vehicle width direction (the horizontal direction in FIG. 2). For this reason,
The lower end of the support plate 58 on which the tip of the stabilizer 62 is pivotally supported also hardly moves in the vehicle width direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2) due to the upward movement of the wheel 70. Therefore, the relative displacement difference L1 between the upper end and the lower end of the support plate 58 depends on the position in the vehicle width direction.
Occurs. However, since the support plate 58 is formed of an elastically deformable metal, the support plate 58 is curved and its upper end moves toward the outside of the vehicle body (the right side in FIG. 2). Thereby, the displacement difference L1 in the vehicle width direction between the upper end and the lower end of the support plate 58 is absorbed, and the knuckle 12 smoothly moves upward.

Similarly, when the wheel 70 moves downward (rebound), the upper and lower ends of the support plate 58
Although a relative displacement difference occurs in the position in the vehicle width direction, the support plate 5
This displacement difference is absorbed by the bending of the knuckle 1 and the knuckle 1
2 moves smoothly downward.

The kingpin axis K is set at a predetermined caster angle β as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, and its upper side is inclined toward the vehicle rear side. Then, due to the bouncing, the kingpin axis K moves upward while slightly further tilting toward the rear side of the vehicle body. Therefore, as the wheel 70 moves upward, the angle between the kingpin axis K and the vertical line J gradually increases, and the support plate 58 moves upward. On the other hand, when the torsion portion 64 of the stabilizer 62 is twisted, the distal end of the stabilizer 62
It moves along an arc-shaped trajectory T whose rotation center is 4C (see FIG. 3). For this reason, the position of the lower end of the support plate 58,
A relative displacement difference L3 in the vehicle front-rear direction is generated between the position of the stabilizer 62 and the tip of the stabilizer 62. However, the support member 36
Is rotated about the shaft 38, the position of the support plate 58 moves in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the displacement difference L3 is absorbed.

In the above description, the absorber coil unit 42 in which the lower end of the compression coil spring 46 is supported by the shock absorber 48 has been described as an example, but the structure of the absorber coil unit 42 is not limited to this. I can't. For example, the lower end of the compression coil spring 46 may not be fixed to the shock absorber 48 but may be directly supported by the support member 36.

The supporting member is not limited to the above-mentioned one, but may be any member that can be supported by the knuckle 12 so as to be rotatable about the kingpin axis K and can support the shock absorber 48. For example, a bearing may be provided on the knuckle 12, and the bearing may support a shaft integrally formed with the support member. Similarly, the absorbing member only needs to be capable of absorbing a relative displacement difference between the support member and the stabilizer in the vehicle width direction, and may be an elastic body such as a spring or rubber.

In the above description, the double wishbone type suspension 1 arranged on the right front of the vehicle
Although 0 has been taken as an example, it should be understood that a double wishbone type suspension symmetrically configured is arranged at the left front of the vehicle. Further, the double wishbone suspension of the present invention may be arranged on the right rear and left rear of the vehicle. In particular, in a vehicle of a type in which the rear wheels are also steered, even if the knuckle 12 rotates about the kingpin axis K, the support member 36 does not swing.

[0042]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a knuckle that rotatably supports a wheel, an upper arm whose base end is pivotally supported by the vehicle body, and a distal end that pivotally supports the upper portion of the knuckle, and a base end that pivotally supports the vehicle body. A lower arm that is supported and has a tip that pivotally supports the lower portion of the knuckle, a shock absorber that has an upper end that is supported by the vehicle body, and a pivotally supported by the knuckle that is pivotable about the kingpin axis, and that supports the lower end of the shock absorber. And a stabilizer that limits the pivoting of the support member about the kingpin axis, so that the support member moves up and down by the same amount as the up and down slot of the wheel. For this reason, the lower end of the shock absorber supported by the support member can also move up and down by the same amount as the up and down slot of the wheel. In addition, the support member is pivotally supported on the knuckle around the kingpin axis, and this rotation is limited by the stabilizer. Therefore, when the wheel is steered, the support member does not turn, and only the knuckle and the wheel rotate.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the absorbing member which elastically deforms in the width direction of the vehicle body is interposed between the support member and the stabilizer, the vehicle width is provided between the support member and the stabilizer. Even if there is a relative displacement difference in the direction,
This displacement difference is absorbed by the absorbing member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a double wishbone suspension according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a double wishbone suspension according to one embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the rear side of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the double wishbone suspension according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the inside of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional double wishbone suspension.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a conventional double wishbone suspension.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Double wishbone suspension 12 Knuckle 20 Upper arm 26 Lower arm 36 Support member 48 Shock absorber 58 Support piece (absorbing member) 62 Stabilizer

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A knuckle for rotatably supporting a wheel, an upper arm having a base end pivotally supported by the vehicle body, a distal end pivotally supporting an upper portion of the knuckle, a base end pivotally supported by the vehicle body, and a distal end being the knuckle end. A lower arm pivotally supporting a lower portion of the shock absorber; an upper end supported by the vehicle body; a support member pivotally supported by the knuckle substantially around a kingpin axis to support a lower end of the shock absorber; A double wishbone suspension, comprising: a stabilizer for restricting rotation of the member about a kingpin axis. 2. An absorption member interposed between the support member and the stabilizer for absorbing a relative displacement difference between the support member and the stabilizer in a vehicle width direction. Double wishbone suspension described in 1.