Front wheel suspension with a sheet metal shell as a coupling element for lower control arm joints and motor vehicle equipped with it

Abstract

Front wheel suspension (100) for a motor vehicle, comprising a wheel carrier (110) to which a front wheel can be attached, and several control arms with which the wheel carrier (110) can be movably attached to the vehicle body or an axle subframe, characterized in that two lower control arms (120, 130) are provided, which are connected directly to the wheel carrier (110) by a front control arm joint (140) and a rear control arm joint (150), wherein these two control arm joints (140, 150) are connected by an additional coupling element (190) designed as a sheet metal shell, which transmits the crash forces occurring in a frontal crash between the control arm joints (140, 150), so that when a defined crash load is exceeded, both lower control arms (120, 130) are detached from the wheel carrier at the control arm joints (140, 150). (110) be separated.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a front wheel suspension for a motor vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a motor vehicle with a front wheel suspension.

[0002] A front wheel suspension is a wheel suspension for a front wheel of a two-track motor vehicle, i.e. a road vehicle powered by an engine.

[0003] The closest DE 10 2017 112 050 A1 describes a wheel suspension for the front wheel of a two-track vehicle, with a wheel carrier carrying the front wheel. Several control arms, which guide the front wheel, are pivoted on the wheel carrier. The control arms are attached to the vehicle body via control arm bearings. The control arms are fixed to the wheel carrier by means of a console. The console is attached to the wheel carrier by means of screw bolts and screw nuts. The forces acting on the control arms in the event of a frontal crash can act on the console or the screw bolts supporting the console in such a way that they are sheared off in an extreme, defined load case, thereby preventing the front wheel from penetrating the vehicle interior. The defined loosening or destruction of the pivot point of the console can also be brought about or caused by this.at least be supported by the fact that the screw bolts and / or the console are provided with additional predetermined breaking points to support the breaking behavior and the handlebar release in the event of a crash.

[0004] Regarding the state of the art, reference is also made to DE 10 2017 220 290 A1, CN 107264626 A, JP H05-319048 A, US 2010 / 0181740 A1 and CN 204548223 U.

[0005] It is an object of the invention to provide a front wheel suspension which, in particular in the case of a so-called small overlap crash (see corresponding explanations in DE 10 2017 112 050 A1), has improved crash behavior and thus offers greater safety.

[0006] This object is achieved by the front wheel suspension according to the invention in patent claim 1. With the independent patent claim, the invention further extends to a motor vehicle, in particular a two-track motor vehicle such as a passenger car (PC) or a light commercial vehicle (LT), whose two front wheel suspensions are designed according to the invention. Preferred developments and refinements of the invention are analogously evident for both subject matters of the invention from the dependent patent claims, the following description of the invention, and also from the drawings.

[0007] The front wheel suspension according to the invention comprises a wheel carrier (in the case of steered wheels also referred to as a pivot bearing), to which a front wheel can be or is fastened, and a plurality of control arms (axle arms) with which the wheel carrier can be or is movably fastened to the vehicle body, an axle subframe or the like. According to the invention, (at least) two lower control arms are provided, which are connected directly (i.e. not by means of a console or the like) to the wheel carrier by means of a front (lower) control arm joint or control arm bearing and a rear (lower) control arm joint or control arm bearing. According to the invention, it is further provided that these two (lower) control arm joints are connected by an additional sheet metal shell orare connected to a coupling element designed as a shell-like component, which transfers the crash forces occurring between the control arm joints in a frontal crash, in particular from the front control arm joint to the rear control arm joint, thereby ensuring that, when a (structurally) defined crash load is exceeded, both lower control arms are separated from the wheel carrier at the (wheel carrier-side lower) control arm joints (front and rear control arm joints), in particular by tearing out. Preferably, both lower control arm joints are designed with ball joints.

[0008] The joint separation of the control arms from the wheel carrier in a crash is particularly important for the lower control arms (supporting arms), as these, along with the associated control arm joints (supporting joints), are usually larger and more stable than the upper control arms (guide arms) and control arm joints (guide joints). The front wheel, which is largely free to move after both lower control arms are separated from the wheel carrier, can, for example, be deflected sideways or fold away or turn sideways, significantly reducing the risk of penetration into the vehicle interior.

[0009] The coupling element is preferably manufactured in one piece from a high-strength sheet steel material, which in particular has a tensile strength of > 1000 MPa, wherein the high-strength sheet steel material has a preferred sheet thickness of at least 2 mm. The coupling element is preferably a formed sheet metal part, which is preferably U-profile shaped, wherein it is provided in particular that the (opposing) U-legs (of the U-profile) are formed with aligned bores through which the pivot pins of the control arm joints, i.e. the front control arm joint and the rear control arm joint, penetrate. As a result, tensile and compressive forces can be transmitted between the pivot pins of the front control arm joint and the rear control arm joint in the event of a crash.

[0010] Preferably, the coupling element, particularly in the region of the rear link joint, has (at least) one lever piece or lever element, and (at least) one corresponding stop or counter surface for this lever piece is provided on the wheel carrier. The lever piece and the stop surface are designed and arranged such that, in the event of a crash, a force-enhancing leverage effect occurs on the coupling element, which promotes the separation or tearing out of one link, particularly the rear link, or both links (as explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing). The lever piece is preferably designed as a molded-on lever arm.

[0011] A step or height offset can be formed between the front and rear steering joints, meaning that the two steering joints are not at the same level. The coupling element is then preferably designed accordingly and adapted to this step between the front and rear steering joints, in particular such that the coupling element follows the step.

[0012] Furthermore, two upper control arms can be provided, which are connected directly to the wheel carrier via a front (upper) control arm joint and a rear (upper) control arm joint. These two (upper) control arm joints can also be connected by an additional coupling element designed as a sheet metal shell, analogous to the previous explanations. This coupling element transmits the crash forces occurring in a frontal crash between the control arm joints, so that if a defined crash load is exceeded, both (upper) control arms are also separated from the wheel carrier at the (upper) control arm joints.

[0013] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. Fig. 1 shows the lower control arm plane of a front wheel suspension according to the invention for a left front wheel. Fig. 2 shows analogous to Fig. 1 shows another embodiment of a front wheel suspension according to the invention.

[0014] The Fig. The left front wheel suspension 100 shown in Figure 1 comprises a wheel carrier 110 formed as a cast part and several control arms, of which only the wheel carrier-side ends of the two lower control arms 120 and 130 are shown. These two lower control arms 120, 130 are referred to as the front control arm 120 and the rear control arm 130 with respect to the direction of travel FR. The control arms 120, 130 are formed, for example, as forged parts. The opposite right front wheel suspension is essentially mirror-symmetrical.

[0015] The two control arms 120, 130 are connected to a front control arm joint 140 and a rear control arm joint 150 directly on the wheel carrier 110. For this purpose, the wheel carrier is formed with two joint or bearing eyes (through holes) through which pivot pins 160, 170 extend, the upper ends of which are connected to the control arms 120, 130, in particular by ball joints, which are thus components of the control arm joints 140, 150. Due to space constraints, the front control arm joint 140 is positioned slightly higher than the rear control arm joint 150, so that a step exists between the two control arm joints 140, 150.

[0016] According to the invention, the two lower control arm joints 140, 150 are connected by an additional coupling element 190 designed as a sheet metal shell. The coupling element 190 is a U-shaped sheet metal formed part, which is manufactured in one piece from a high-strength sheet steel material, the tensile strength of which is significantly higher than the tensile strength of the wheel carrier cast material. The U-shaped legs of the coupling element 190 overlap the joint eyes of the wheel carrier 110 at the top and bottom and are formed with aligned bores (see also Fig. 2), through which the pivot pins 160, 170 extend, thereby securing the coupling element 190. The coupling element 190 extends along the surface of the wheel carrier 110, following the contour and is also adapted to the step between the two control arm joints 140, 150.

[0017] The coupling element 190 serves solely as a crash function. In the event of a crash, tensile and compressive forces can be transmitted between the pivot pins 160, 170 via the coupling element 190. In a frontal crash, particularly in a so-called small-overlap crash, when a defined crash load predetermined by design measures is exceeded, the front control arm 120 is typically first separated from the wheel carrier 110 by the pivot pin 160 being torn out at the front control arm joint 140. The coupling element 190 then causes the pivot pin 170 at the rear control arm joint 150 to also be torn out, thereby separating the rear control arm 130 from the wheel carrier 110. (The pivot pins 160, 170 are designed so that they are not sheared off or torn off.) The coupling element 190 is also effective if the rear control arm 130 is separated first.The coupling element 190 thus ensures that in the event of a crash, when a defined crash load is exceeded, both lower control arms 120, 130 are reliably separated from the wheel carrier 110, thereby significantly reducing the risk of the front wheel penetrating the vehicle interior.

[0018] Fig.2 shows a possible embodiment in which the coupling element 190 has a lever piece 195 designed as a lever arm, and a corresponding stop surface 115 for the lever piece 195 is provided on the wheel carrier 110. (The control arms 120, 130 are not shown.) In a frontal crash, the coupling element 190 can pivot about the axis 151 of the rear control arm joint 150 (as illustrated by the pivot arrow S) after the front control arm 120 has been severed. During this pivoting movement S, the lever piece 195 presses against the stop surface 115, resulting in a force-enhancing leverage effect, so that the pivot pin 170 of the rear control arm joint 150 is virtually levered out, i.e., torn out with great force.

Claims

[1] Front wheel suspension (100) for a motor vehicle, comprising a wheel carrier (110) to which a front wheel can be fastened, and a plurality of links with which the wheel carrier (110) can be movably fastened to the vehicle body or an axle subframe, characterized by that two lower control arms (120, 130) are provided which are connected directly to the wheel carrier (110) by means of a front control arm joint (140) and a rear control arm joint (150), wherein these two control arm joints (140, 150) are connected by an additional coupling element (190) designed as a sheet metal shell, which transmits the crash forces occurring in the event of a frontal crash between the control arm joints (140, 150), so that when a defined crash load is exceeded, both lower control arms (120, 130) are separated from the wheel carrier (110) at the control arm joints (140, 150). [2] Front wheel suspension (100) according to claim 1, characterized by that both steering joints (140, 150) are designed with ball joints. [3] Front wheel suspension (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the coupling element (190) is made in one piece from a high-strength sheet steel material. [4] Front wheel suspension (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the coupling element (190) is U-profile-shaped, wherein the U-legs are formed with aligned bores through which pivot pins (160, 170) of the link joints (140, 150) extend. [5] Front wheel suspension (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the coupling element (190) has a lever piece (195) and a corresponding stop surface (115) for this lever piece (195) is provided on the wheel carrier (110), which stop surface is designed and arranged in such a way that a force-enhancing lever effect occurs on the coupling element (190) in the event of a crash. [6] Front wheel suspension (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the coupling element (190) is adapted to a step between the front handlebar joint (140) and the rear handlebar joint (150) and follows this step. [7] Front wheel suspension (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that furthermore two upper control arms are provided which are connected directly to the wheel carrier (110) by means of a front control arm joint and a rear control arm joint, wherein these two control arm joints are also connected by an additional coupling element designed as a sheet metal shell. [8] Motor vehicle, the front wheel suspensions (100) of which are designed according to one of the preceding claims. [9] Motor vehicle according to claim 8, which is a passenger car.

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