Rear suspension device

Abstract

To provide a rear suspension device which can find a change of suspension geometry generated by external force from the outside.SOLUTION: A link mechanism 4 having a link 5 is interposed with a reference mounting position between a vehicle body 1 and a wheel 2. The link mechanism 4 has a relatively movable section 7 which is relatively moved from the reference mounting position when external force of a prescribed magnitude or more is applied to a position separated from a rear shaft center in a vehicle longitudinal direction in rear wheels 3L, 3R.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rear suspension device for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a side rod (link) that is connected to a hub carrier (axle housing) at a position away from the center of the rear axle in the vehicle front-rear direction (rearward). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-47824 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, if a large external force acts from the left-right (lateral) direction of the vehicle at a position away from the center of the rear axle in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, link mechanisms such as side rods that are fixed to the hub carrier at a position away from the center of the rear axle may become misaligned, causing a change in suspension geometry. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, in a rear suspension device in which a link mechanism having a link is interposed between a vehicle body and a wheel with a reference mounting position, the wheel is provided with a relatively movable portion that causes the link mechanism to be moved relatively from the reference mounting position when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or greater is applied to the wheel at a position away from the center of the rear axle in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or greater is applied to a position away from the center of the rear axle in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, the link mechanism is moved relatively from the standard mounting position, thereby making it possible to absorb the energy applied to the link mechanism by the external force. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a vehicle rear suspension device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional explanatory diagram of the rear suspension device of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is an assembly diagram showing the configuration of a relatively movable portion provided in the rear suspension device of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 4 is an explanatory diagram of an elongated hole and a restricting portion of the relatively movable portion of FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] 5 is a front view of the bracket in which the slot and the restriction portion in FIG. 4 are provided. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a three-view diagram of the fastening member of FIG. 3. [Figure 7] 4 is a plan view of the relatively movable portion of FIG. 3 in an assembled state. [Figure 8] 8 is an explanatory diagram of a link adjustment performed by a relatively movable portion in FIG. 7. FIG. [Figure 9] 8 is an explanatory diagram of a case where an external force acts on the relatively movable portion of FIG. 7. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a front view of FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a vehicle rear suspension device. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is an assembly diagram of a rear wheel steering actuator and a relatively movable portion in the rear suspension device of FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the actuator mount portion of FIG. 12. [Figure 14] 12 is an explanatory diagram of a case where an external force is applied to the relatively movable portion of FIG. 11. [Figure 15] 12 is an explanatory view showing another example of the relatively movable portion in FIG. 11 when an external force is applied. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that each drawing is a schematic view and may differ from the actual one. In addition, the embodiment of the present invention shown below is an example of an apparatus and a method for embodying the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and the technical idea of ​​the present invention does not specify the structure, arrangement, etc. of the components as described below. The technical idea of ​​the present invention can be modified in various ways within the technical scope defined by the claims described in the claims.

[0009] The rear suspension device for a vehicle of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is configured by interposing a link mechanism 4 between a hub carrier 2 to which rear wheels 3L, 3R are attached and a suspension member 1 which is a vehicle body, and the link mechanism 4 allows movement (stroke) of the rear wheels 3L, 3R mainly in the up and down direction. The link mechanism 4 has a front upper link 51, a rear upper link 52, a front lower link 53, a rear lower link 54, and a toe control link (rod) 5. The wheel side ends of these links are elastically connected to the hub carrier 2, similar to known rear suspension devices. The vehicle body side ends of the front upper link 51, the rear upper link 52, the front lower link 53, and the rear lower link 54 are also elastically connected to the suspension member 1, similar to known rear suspension devices. The rear suspension device also includes a rear wheel steering actuator 6 for actively steering the rear wheels 3L, 3R of the vehicle. The rear wheel steering actuator 6 of this embodiment is rigidly fixed to an actuator mount portion 55 formed in the center of the suspension member 1 in the vehicle left-right direction. This rear wheel steering actuator 6 has actuator rods 55 protruding on both sides in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and the vehicle body side ends of the toe control links 5 on both sides in the left-right direction of the vehicle are elastically connected to the protruding tips of these actuator rods 55. In this rear wheel steering actuator 6, the toe control links 5 on both sides in the left-right direction of the vehicle are moved simultaneously in the left-right direction of the vehicle, thereby changing the toe direction (toe angle) of the rear wheels 3L, 3R and steering the rear wheels 3L, 3R, as shown in FIG. 2. The operation of the rear wheel steering actuator 6 is electronically controlled by a control signal (drive signal) from a controller (not shown), but the control manner will be omitted. Also, the rear wheel steering actuator 6 may be one in which the actuator rods 55 on both sides in the left-right direction of the vehicle are operated independently, for example.

[0010] A toe angle adjustment mechanism 56 is provided at the connection portion between the toe control link 5 and the actuator rod 55 of the rear wheel steering actuator 6, which adjusts the toe angle of the rear wheels 3L, 3R by moving the toe control link 5 in the left-right direction of the vehicle. This toe angle adjustment mechanism 56 is for adjusting the error in the toe angle of the rear wheels 3L, 3R caused by, for example, the manufacturing tolerance of parts and the accumulation of assembly errors so that it falls within a specified range. In addition, this toe angle adjustment mechanism 56 constitutes a relatively movable part 7 that moves the toe control link 5 in the left-right direction of the vehicle when a large external force mainly in the left-right direction of the vehicle acts on a position away from the center of the rear axle (the axle of the rear wheels 3L, 3R) in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The components of the toe angle adjustment mechanism 56 (relatively movable part 7) will be described using the assembly diagram of FIG. 3. This toe angle adjustment mechanism 56 is composed of a bracket 21 fixed to the protruding tip of actuator rod 55 (on the left side of the vehicle) of the rear wheel steering actuator 6, a cam bolt 22 inserted from one outside of the bracket 21 into the vehicle body side end of the toe control link 5 inserted into the bracket 21, a cam washer 23 fitted over shaft portion 22b (threaded portion 22c) of the cam bolt 22 protruding from the other outside of the bracket 21 and rotated integrally with the cam bolt 22, and a nut 24 screwed onto the threaded portion 22c of the cam bolt 22.

[0011] The bracket 21 is a bifurcated metal plate member having a U-shaped cross section, with one end (end surface) of two opposing rectangular metallic opposing plate portions 21a connected to each other by a rectangular metallic connecting plate portion 21b, as shown on the left side of the vehicle in FIG. 4, and the outer surface of the connecting plate portion 21b is fixed to the tip of the actuator rod 55 of the rear wheel steering actuator 6. In addition, in the center of each of the two opposing plate portions 21a of the bracket 21, elongated holes 8 are formed so as to face each other in the left-right direction of the vehicle. In other words, the elongated holes 8 have openings larger than the shaft portion 22b in the left-right direction of the vehicle. On both sides of the elongated hole 8 in the left-right direction of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 4a, a regulating member 25 made of a trapezoidal metallic plate member is fixed to the opposing plate portion 21a by welding or the like, with the bases facing each other, thereby forming a regulating portion 9 as shown in FIG. 4b. The distance between the bases of the trapezoidal cross section of this regulating portion 9 is set to be equivalent to the diameter of the circular plate-shaped cam portion 22a of the cam bolt 22 (fastening part) (see FIG. 5). Therefore, this regulating portion 9 regulates the movement of the cam bolt 22 in the left-right direction of the vehicle. However, as will be described in detail later, since the regulating member 25 is fixed to the bracket 21 so as to break when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more acts in the left-right direction of the vehicle, it can also be said that the regulating portion 9 allows the cam bolt 22 to move in the left-right direction of the vehicle when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more acts in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

[0012] As can be seen from the three-sided view of FIG. 6, the cam bolt 22 is formed with a washer-shaped cam portion 22a made of a metal circular plate, and its center is offset from the center (axis) of the shaft portion 22b (threaded portion 22c) by a predetermined dimension. On the opposite side of the shaft portion 22b across the cam portion 22a of the cam bolt 22, a head portion 22d with a hexagonal cross section equivalent to that of a general hexagonal bolt is provided. Although the cam washer 23 is not shown alone, it has the same shape as the cam portion 22a of the cam bolt 22, and a hole portion for inserting the shaft portion 22b (threaded portion 22c) of the cam bolt 22 is formed at the same position as the axis of the shaft portion 22b of the cam bolt 22, and this hole portion and the shaft portion 22b (threaded portion 22c) of the cam bolt 22 are provided with a rotation prevention structure (for example, a key and key groove shape) to prevent the cam washer 23 from rotating in the circumferential direction. The nut 24 is equivalent to a general seat nut. When the cam bolt 22 is inserted in the elongated hole 8 of the bracket 21 on the left side of the vehicle shown in FIG. 5 in the state shown in FIG. 6 and the toe angle adjustment mechanism 56 is assembled, the result becomes as shown in the plan view of FIG. 7. FIG. 8b is a view of the cam bolt 22 in the state shown in FIG. 7 as seen from the front of the bracket 21. In this case, the shaft portion 22b (threaded portion 22c) of the cam bolt 22 is located at the center of the elongated hole 8 in the longitudinal direction. Here, the part of the outer circumferential surface of the cam portion 22a (the same applies to the cam washer 23) of the cam bolt 22 that is the furthest from the shaft portion 22b of the cam bolt 22 is defined as the cam lobe 22f. For example, when the head portion 22d of the cam bolt 22 is rotated clockwise from this state, the cam lobe 22f is also rotated clockwise, but since the movement of the cam portion 22a in the left-right direction of the vehicle is restricted by the restricting portion 9, the shaft portion 22b of the cam bolt 22 moves to the right of the figure within the elongated hole 8 as shown in FIG. 8a. Therefore, the toe control link 5 is also moved to the right in the figure, so that the left rear wheel 3L in Fig. 2 is toe-out and the right rear wheel 3R in Fig. 2 is toe-in. On the other hand, when the head 22d of the cam bolt 22 is rotated counterclockwise, the cam lobe 22f is also rotated counterclockwise, and accordingly, the shaft portion 22b of the cam bolt 22 moves to the left in the figure within the elongated hole 8, as shown in Fig. 8c. Therefore, the toe control link 5 is also moved to the left in the figure, so that the left rear wheel 3L in Fig. 2 is toe-in and the right rear wheel 3R in Fig. 2 is toe-out.After adjusting the toe angles of the rear wheels 3L, 3R in this manner, the cam bolt 22 and nut 24 are fastened with a specified fastening torque to fix them in place. Therefore, unless a large external force is applied, both the cam bolt 22 and the cam washer 23 are maintained in a fixed state and are not moved, particularly in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

[0013] For example, when the rear wheels 3L and 3R come into contact with a curb or the like as a result of the vehicle spinning, and an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more acts in the left-right direction of the vehicle at a position away from the center of the rear axle in the vehicle front-rear direction, the toe control link 5 is pushed in the left-right direction of the vehicle. As a result, the fixed portion of the regulating portion 9 with which the cam portion 22a of the cam bolt 22 comes into contact breaks, and the regulating member 25 peels off from the bracket 21. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the toe angle adjustment mechanism 56 including a part of the toe control link 5, that is, the relatively movable portion 7, and FIG. 10 is a front view of the relatively movable portion 7. For example, when FIG. 9b and FIG. 10b show the position of the cam bolt 22 in the normal state after the toe angle adjustment (same as FIG. 8b), if the toe control link 5 on the left side of the vehicle is pushed to the right side of the vehicle by an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more, the cam portion 22a of the cam bolt 22 presses the regulating portion 9 on the right side of the vehicle. As a result, as shown in Figs. 9a and 10a, the restricting portion 9 on the right side of the vehicle breaks, and the restricting member 25 constituting the restricting portion 9 is removed (the toe control link 5 also moves). On the other hand, when the toe control link 5 on the right side of the vehicle is pushed to the left of the vehicle by an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more, and the toe control link 5 on the right side of the vehicle is pushed to the left of the vehicle by an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more via the actuator rod 55 of the rear wheel steering actuator 6, the cam portion 22a of the cam bolt 22 presses the restricting portion 9 on the left side of the vehicle. As a result, as shown in Figs. 9c and 10c, the restricting portion 9 on the left side of the vehicle breaks, and the restricting member 25 constituting the restricting portion 9 is removed (the toe control link 5 also moves). In summary, when the mounting position of the toe control link 5 in a normal state after toe angle adjustment is set as the reference mounting position, when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more acts at a position away from the center of the rear axle in the vehicle longitudinal direction, the toe control link 5 is relatively moved in the vehicle lateral direction by the relatively movable portion 7. At this time, the restricting portion 9 fixed to the relatively movable portion 7 breaks, and the energy acting on the toe control link 5 and the link mechanism 4 as a whole due to an external force is absorbed.In addition, in reality, when the toe control link 5 is moved relatively from the reference mounting position, for example, the rear wheels 3L, 3R should not be steered when the vehicle is traveling straight, but the occupants will feel something strange compared to the vehicle behavior when the vehicle is traveling straight under normal circumstances, and will notice that some kind of change has occurred in the suspension geometry of the rear wheels 3L, 3R.

[0014] In this way, the rear suspension device of this embodiment includes the relatively movable portion 7 that moves the toe control link 5 relatively from the standard mounting position when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or greater is applied to a position away from the center of the rear axle in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Therefore, when a large external force acts in the vehicle lateral direction to move the toe control link 5, the energy acting on the link mechanism 4 can be absorbed. Furthermore, the relatively movable part 7 includes a cam bolt 22 for connecting the toe control link 5 to the suspension member 1, and an elongated hole 8 that is provided on the suspension member 1, through which the shaft portion 22b of the cam bolt 22 is inserted and has an opening larger than the shaft portion 22b in the left-right direction of the vehicle. Therefore, by fastening the restricting member 25 that restricts the movement of the cam bolt 22 in the left-right direction of the vehicle with a predetermined fastening force, it is possible to configure the relatively movable part 7 in which the toe control link 5 is relatively moved from the reference mounting position when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or greater is applied in the left-right direction of the vehicle. Further, the cam bolt 22 is fastened with the shaft portion 22b inserted into the long hole 8, and a restricting portion 9 is provided in at least one of the long hole 8 in the left-right direction of the vehicle, in contact with the cam bolt 22, restricting the movement of the cam bolt 22 in at least one of the left-right directions of the vehicle and capable of breaking when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more is applied in the left-right direction of the vehicle. This makes it possible to configure the relatively movable portion 7 with a simple structure that can reduce the energy of the external force acting on the link mechanism 4. Note that the restricting portion 9 may be provided, for example, in the vicinity of the cam bolt 22. In this case, "in the vicinity" means in the vicinity of a position where the fastening of the cam bolt 22 is determined when the fastening part, the cam bolt 22, is fastened.

[0015] Next, a second embodiment of a rear suspension device for a vehicle will be described. The rear suspension device for a vehicle of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 11 is substantially the same as the rear suspension device for a vehicle of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the same components are given the same reference numerals and their detailed description will be omitted. In this embodiment, a relatively movable portion 7 that allows the toe control link 5 to move in the left-right direction of the vehicle when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more in the left-right direction of the vehicle acts at a position away from the center of the rear axle in the vehicle longitudinal direction is provided between the rear wheel steering actuator 6 and the suspension member 1 which is the vehicle body. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the relatively movable portion 7 is constituted by an attachment structure 31 that attaches the rear wheel steering actuator 6 to an actuator mount portion 55 of the suspension member 1. As shown in FIG. 13, this actuator mount portion 55 is made of a metal plate member having a relatively large thickness and has a box-shaped structure, and a long hole 8 long in the left-right direction of the vehicle is provided in the plate member at the front and rear of the vehicle at the position where the connecting plate 32 of the rear wheel steering actuator 6 is attached. The elongated hole 8 is provided at three locations, one at both sides in the vehicle left-right direction at the top of the actuator mount portion 55 and one at the center in the vehicle left-right direction at the bottom, and a cylindrical member 10 that penetrates the box-shaped actuator mount portion 55 is fixed to each of the vehicle left-right direction centers by welding or the like (see FIG. 14). Specifically, the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical member 10 is fixed by welding to the inner circumferential surface of the elongated hole 8 and / or its vicinity. The fixed portion of the cylindrical member 10 in the elongated hole 8 is set to break when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more acts in the vehicle left-right direction. The cylindrical member 10 is fixed to the elongated hole 8 with its axis in the vehicle front-rear direction, and has an inner hole through which the shaft portion 33a (threaded portion 33b) of a connecting bolt 33 (fastening component) for attaching the rear wheel steering actuator 6 can be inserted, and its outer diameter is equal to or slightly smaller than the short-side dimension of the elongated hole 8. When the rear wheel steering actuator 6 is properly positioned relative to the actuator mount portion 55, the connecting plate 32 of the rear wheel steering actuator 6 is provided with a circular mounting hole 32a facing the inner hole of the cylindrical member 10, through which the shaft portion 33a (threaded portion 33b) of the connecting bolt 33 is inserted.

[0016] Then, the shaft portion 33a of the connecting bolt 33 is inserted into the inner hole of the cylindrical member 10 from the front of the vehicle, the shaft portion 33a (threaded portion 33b) of the connecting bolt 33 protruding from the cylindrical member 10 toward the rear of the vehicle is inserted into the mounting hole 32a of the connecting plate 32 of the rear wheel steering actuator 6, and a nut 34 is screwed onto the threaded portion 33b protruding from the connecting plate 32, thereby fixing the rear wheel steering actuator 6 to the suspension member 1. Note that a toe angle adjustment mechanism 56 for adjusting the toe angle of the rear wheels 3L, 3R is also provided in this embodiment, but does not function as the relatively movable portion 7 in this embodiment. Figure 14b shows a cross section of the elongated hole 8, the cylindrical member 10, and the connecting bolt 33 in a state where the cylindrical member 10 is normally fixed to the center of the elongated hole 8 in the longitudinal direction (= left-right direction of the vehicle), and the cross-hatched portion in the figure is the portion where the cylindrical member 10 is fixed to the elongated hole 8 by welding or the like. For example, when the rear wheels 3L, 3R hit a curb or the like as a result of the vehicle spinning, and an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more in the left-right direction of the vehicle acts at a position away from the center of the rear axle in the vehicle front-rear direction, the toe control link 5 is pushed in the left-right direction of the vehicle. As a result, when the rear wheel steering actuator 6 is moved in the left-right direction of the vehicle, the connecting bolt 33 connecting it to the suspension member 1 is pressed, and as a result, the fixing portion fixing the cylindrical member 10 to the oblong hole 8 breaks, and the cylindrical member 10 moves in the left-right direction of the vehicle within the oblong hole 8. For example, when the toe control link 5 on the left side of the vehicle is pushed to the right of the vehicle by an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more, it is pushed by the connecting bolt 33 and the fixing portion between the cylindrical member 10 and the oblong hole 8 breaks, and as a result, the connecting bolt 33 and the cylindrical member 10 move to the right of the vehicle within the oblong hole 8 as shown in FIG. 14a. On the other hand, when the toe control link 5 on the right side of the vehicle is pushed to the left of the vehicle with an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more, it is similarly pushed by connecting bolt 33 and breaks the fixed portion between cylindrical member 10 and oblong hole 8, with the result that connecting bolt 33 and cylindrical member 10 move to the left of the vehicle inside oblong hole 8 as shown in Figure 14c. In summary, if the mounting position of rear wheel steering actuator 6 with cylindrical member 10 fixed to oblong hole 8 is taken as the reference mounting position, when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more is applied to a position away from the centre of the rear axle in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, rear wheel steering actuator 6 is moved relatively in the left-right direction of the vehicle by relatively movable part 7.At this time, the fixed portion of cylindrical member 10 fixed to relatively movable section 7 breaks, absorbing the energy acting due to an external force on rear wheel steering actuator 6 and on link mechanism 4 as a whole. Furthermore, when rear wheel steering actuator 6, i.e., toe control link 5 connected thereto, is actually moved relatively from the reference mounting position, for example, the rear wheels 3L, 3R should not be steered when the vehicle is traveling straight, but the occupant will feel something strange compared to the vehicle behavior when the vehicle is traveling straight under normal circumstances, and will notice that some kind of change has occurred in the suspension geometry of the rear wheels 3L, 3R.

[0017] FIG. 15 shows a modified example of the second embodiment. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15b, the short-side dimension of the long hole 8 at both ends in the longitudinal direction is set to be smaller than the short-side dimension of the long hole 8 at the longitudinal center and smaller than the outer diameter of the cylindrical member 10. Therefore, when the toe control link 5 on the left side of the vehicle is pushed to the right of the vehicle by an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more, and the connecting bolt 33 and the cylindrical member 10 move to the right of the vehicle inside the long hole 8 as shown in FIG. 15a, or when the toe control link 5 on the right side of the vehicle is pushed to the left of the vehicle by an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more, and the connecting bolt 33 and the cylindrical member 10 move to the left of the vehicle inside the long hole 8 as shown in FIG. 15c, the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 10 widens (widens the diameter of) the inner peripheral surface of the long hole 8. This allows the energy of the external force that moves the toe control link 5 in the left-right direction of the vehicle to be further absorbed, making it possible to reduce damage to the vehicle caused by the external force.

[0018] Thus, in the rear suspension device of this embodiment, the link mechanism 4 has the rear wheel steering actuator 6 for steering the rear wheels 3L, 3R, and a relatively movable portion 7 is provided between the rear wheel steering actuator 6 and the suspension member 1. As a result, when a large external force is applied in the left-right direction of the vehicle, the toe control links 5 on both sides of the vehicle can be moved in the left-right direction of the vehicle simultaneously, resulting in a larger change in vehicle behavior than under normal conditions, making it possible for the occupants to quickly become aware of the change in suspension geometry. Moreover, the relatively movable part 7 comprises a connecting bolt 33 for connecting the rear wheel steering actuator 6 to the suspension member 1, an elongated hole 8 that is provided in the suspension member 1 and through which the shaft portion 33a of the connecting bolt 33 is inserted and that has an opening larger than the shaft portion 33a in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and a cylindrical member 10 that is interposed between the shaft portion 33a and the elongated hole 8, and is configured such that the cylindrical member 10 is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the elongated hole 8 and / or its vicinity so as to be breakable when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or greater is applied in the left-right direction of the vehicle. This makes it possible to configure the relatively movable part 7 that is simple in structure and is capable of mitigating the energy of an external force acting on the link mechanism 4. Furthermore, by setting the short-side dimension of the long hole 8 at both longitudinal ends of the long hole 8 to be smaller than the short-side dimension of the long hole 8 at the longitudinal center and smaller than the outer diameter of the cylindrical member 10, the energy of external forces acting in the left-right direction of the vehicle is further absorbed, making it possible to reduce damage caused to the vehicle.

[0019] Although the rear suspension device according to the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, only the relatively movable portion 7 in which the toe control link 5 moves in the left-right direction of the vehicle when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or more acts in the left-right direction of the vehicle is described, but it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which other links are moved, and further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which all links, that is, the link mechanism 4 interposed between the hub carrier 2 (wheel) and the suspension member 1 (vehicle body), are moved. Similarly, the rear wheel steering actuator 6 may be one that steers the rear wheels 3L, 3R via other links instead of one that steers the rear wheels 3L, 3R via the toe control link 5, and may also be one that steers the rear wheels 3L, 3R via the link mechanism 4. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 1...suspension member (vehicle body), 2...hub carrier, 3L, 3R...rear wheel, 4...link mechanism, 5...toe control link (link), 6...rear wheel steering actuator, 7...relatively movable portion, 8...slotted hole, 9...regulating portion, 10...cylindrical member

Claims

1. A rear suspension device in which a link mechanism having a link is interposed between a vehicle body and a wheel with a reference mounting position, a rear suspension device comprising: a relatively movable portion in which the link mechanism is moved relatively from the standard mounting position when an external force of a predetermined magnitude or greater is applied to the wheel at a position away from the center of the rear axle in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction.

2. 2. The rear suspension device according to claim 1, wherein the relatively movable portion includes a fastening part for connecting the link mechanism to the vehicle body side, and an elongated hole provided on the vehicle body side, through which a shaft portion of the fastening part is inserted, the elongated hole having an opening larger than the shaft portion in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

3. 3. The rear suspension device according to claim 2, wherein the fastening part is fastened with the shaft portion inserted into the elongated hole, and a restricting portion is provided on at least one side of the elongated hole in the left-right direction of the vehicle in contact with or adjacent to the fastening part, restricting movement of the fastening part in at least one side of the left-right direction of the vehicle and capable of breaking when an external force equal to or greater than the predetermined magnitude is applied thereto.

4. 4. The rear suspension device according to claim 1, wherein the link mechanism has a rear wheel steering actuator for steering the rear wheels, and the relatively movable portion is provided between the rear wheel steering actuator and the vehicle body.

5. The relatively movable portion includes a fastening component for connecting the rear wheel steering actuator to the vehicle body; an elongated hole provided on the vehicle body, into which the shaft portion of the fastening component is inserted and having an opening larger than the shaft portion in the left-right direction of the vehicle; a cylindrical member interposed between the shaft portion and the long hole; 5. The rear suspension device according to claim 4, wherein the cylindrical member is fixed to an inner circumferential surface of the elongated hole and / or its vicinity in such a manner that the cylindrical member can be broken when an external force of equal to or greater than the predetermined magnitude is applied thereto.

6. 5. The rear suspension device according to claim 4, wherein the short-side dimension of said long hole at both longitudinal ends is smaller than the short-side dimension of said long hole at a longitudinal center portion and is smaller than the outer diameter of said cylindrical member.

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