Suspension member structure

Abstract

To provide suspension member structure that allows a space for a cross member to be ensured in a state in which a load transfer efficiency against lateral force from side rails is secured.SOLUTION: A cross member 16 includes crush portions 28 at both ends in a longitudinal direction. The crush portions 28 are coupled to upper surfaces 14A of side rails 14. Brackets 20 are joined to the cross member 16 and the side rails 14, including the crush portions 28. Using a pipe material for the cross member 16 makes it more resistant to buckling than a plate material, and directly coupling the cross member 16 and the side rails 14 improves a load transmission efficiency against lateral force from the side rails 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a suspension member structure. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technology related to a suspension member fixed to a rear side member via a bracket. In this prior art, the rear suspension member is generally shaped like a lattice, and the cross member extending in the vehicle width direction and the side rails extending in the vehicle front-rear direction are integrally formed and are at the same height in the vehicle vertical direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-010129 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On the other hand, there is a demand for extending the battery in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to improve the driving range. In this case, there is a concern about securing space for the cross member while ensuring the suspension member's load transmission efficiency against the lateral force from the side rail.

[0005] Taking the above facts into consideration, the present invention aims to provide a suspension member structure that can secure space for a cross member while ensuring load transmission efficiency against lateral forces from the side rails. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The suspension member structure of the present invention described in claim 1 comprises: a side rail that forms part of the suspension member and extends in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle; a cross member that forms another part of the suspension member, is made of pipe material, extends in the width direction of the vehicle, and has crushed portions at both longitudinal ends that are crushed upward and downward and connected to the upper surfaces of the side rails; and a bracket that includes the crushed portions and is connected to the cross member and the side rails.

[0007] In the suspension member structure of the present invention as recited in claim 1, the suspension member includes side rails, a cross member, and a bracket. The side rails form a part of the suspension member and extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The cross member forms another part of the suspension member and is made of a pipe material and extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle. At both longitudinal ends of the cross member, crushed portions are provided by crushing the cross member vertically, and these crushed portions are joined to the upper surfaces of the side rails. The brackets are joined to the cross member and the side rails, including the crushed portions.

[0008] In the present invention, by using pipe material as the cross member, it is more resistant to buckling than plate material, and by directly connecting the cross member to the side rail, it is possible to improve the load transmission efficiency against lateral forces from the side rail.

[0009] Because the crushed portion of the cross member is connected to the upper surface of the side rail, the cross member is offset upward relative to the side rail. This allows the cross member to occupy less space than if it were mounted flush with the side rail. Furthermore, by using a cylindrical pipe for the cross member, the cross section of the cross member can be made smaller than a rectangular one, allowing the cross member itself to occupy less space.

[0010] The suspension member structure of the present invention described in claim 2 is the suspension member structure of the present invention described in claim 1, wherein the bracket includes a cover portion that covers the crushed portion from above and is joined to the surface of the cross member, and flange portions that protrude from the front and rear ends of the cover portion and are joined to the upper surfaces of the side rails, respectively.

[0011] In the suspension member structure of the present invention described in claim 2, the bracket is configured to include a cover portion and a flange portion. The cover portion covers the crushed portion of the cross member from above and is joined to the surface of the cross member. The flange portions protrude from the front and rear ends of the cover portion and are joined to the upper surfaces of the side rails.

[0012] In the present invention, by joining the flange portions projecting from the front and rear ends of the bracket to the upper surfaces of the side rails, it is possible to suppress swinging of the side rails in the vehicle width direction.

[0013] The suspension member structure of the present invention as described in claim 3 is the suspension member structure of the present invention as described in claim 2, wherein the cover portion is configured to include a pair of front and rear vertical wall portions that stand up along the vertical direction of the vehicle and face each other, and an upper wall portion that connects the upper ends of the pair of vertical wall portions and forms a ridge line between the pair of vertical wall portions and toward a joining portion that is joined to the surface of the cross member.

[0014] In the suspension member structure of the present invention described in claim 3, the cover portion includes a pair of vertical wall portions and an upper wall portion. The pair of vertical wall portions are arranged at the front and rear of the vehicle, standing upright in the vehicle up-down direction and facing each other, and the upper wall portion connects the upper ends of the pair of vertical wall portions. The upper wall portion forms a ridgeline between the pair of vertical wall portions and the upper wall portion that leads to a joining portion that is joined to the surface of the cross member.

[0015] In this way, by forming a ridge line, the rigidity of the bracket itself is improved and it is possible to more effectively transmit the load to the cross member side via the ridge line in response to a lateral force input to the bracket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] As described above, the suspension member structure of the present invention has the excellent effect of being able to ensure space for a cross member while ensuring the efficiency of load transmission against lateral forces from the side rails. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a main portion of a suspension member to which the suspension member structure according to the present embodiment is applied. [Figure 2] 1 is a plan view showing a main portion of a suspension member to which the suspension member structure according to the present embodiment is applied. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] A suspension member structure according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In these drawings, the arrow FR indicates the front side of the vehicle, the arrow UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and the arrow RH indicates the right side in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, when the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions are used in the following description, they refer to front-rear in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, up-down in the up-down direction of the vehicle, and left-right in the left-right direction (width direction) of the vehicle, respectively.

[0019] (Suspension member structure) Generally, although not shown, a suspension member is configured to include a pair of left and right side rails extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, a front cross member extending in the vehicle width direction relative to the pair of left and right side rails and positioned in front of the suspension member, and a rear cross member extending in the vehicle width direction relative to the pair of left and right side rails and positioned rearward of the suspension member. Suspension arms connected to the wheels are connected to the side rails to respond to changes in road surface.

[0020] 1 shows an enlarged perspective view of a main portion of a suspension member 12 to which a suspension member structure 10 according to this embodiment is applied. Although not shown, the vehicle to which this suspension member structure is applied is an electric vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, or the like that runs on power generated by a power unit.

[0021] In this embodiment, a cross member 16 extends along the vehicle width direction above side rails 14 that extend along the vehicle front-rear direction and constitute the suspension member 12. A bracket 20 is provided above a joint 30 (described later) between the side rails 14 and the cross member 16.

[0022] In this embodiment, the side rail 14 is composed of an upper portion 22 that is open at the bottom and has a generally inverted U-shape, and a lower portion 24 that is open at the top and has a generally U-shape, and the lower end of the upper portion 22 is joined to the upper end of the lower portion 24 by welding or the like via a joining portion 25 in a state where the lower end of the upper portion 22 overlaps the outer side of the lower portion 24 in the vehicle width direction. When the upper portion 22 and the lower portion 24 are joined together, they form a generally rectangular closed cross-sectional portion 26.

[0023] The cross member 16 is formed from a cylindrical pipe material. At both longitudinal ends of the cross member 16, crushed portions 28 are formed by crushing the cross member 16 vertically, and the crushed portions 28 are joined to the upper surfaces 22A of the upper portions 22 of the side rails 14 via joining portions 30 by welding or the like.

[0024] The bracket 20 is formed, for example, by pressing a metal plate, has an open lower side and is generally hat-shaped when viewed from the side of the vehicle, and includes a cover portion 32 and a flange portion 34. As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the cover portion 32 includes a pair of vertical walls: a front wall portion 36, a rear wall portion 38, and an upper wall portion 40.

[0025] The front wall portion 36 and the rear wall portion 38 are disposed at the front and rear of the vehicle, stand upright in the vertical direction of the vehicle, face each other, and are each capable of abutting against the upper surface 22A of the upper portion 22 of the side rail 14. A front flange portion 34A protrudes from the lower end of the front wall portion 36 toward the front side of the vehicle, and a rear flange portion 34B protrudes from the lower end of the rear wall portion 38 toward the rear side of the vehicle.

[0026] The front flange portion 34A and the rear flange portion 34B are respectively joined to the top surface 22A of the upper portion 22 of the side rail 14 via joining portions 44, 46 by welding or the like, with the joining portion 30 therebetween. For this reason, it is desirable that the top surface 22A of the upper portion 22 be made substantially flat along the vehicle width direction.

[0027] In addition, one end 42A of a suspension arm 42 is attached to the outside of the front wall portion 36 and the rear wall portion 38 in the vehicle width direction, and via this one end 42A, the suspension arm 42 can follow the road surface and move in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0028] On the other hand, the upper wall portion 40 connects the upper end of the front wall portion 36 and the upper end of the rear wall portion 38. An inner end 40A of the upper wall portion 40, which is located on the inside in the vehicle width direction, is connected to the inner ends 36A, 38A of the front wall portion 36 and the rear wall portion 38, which are located on the inside in the vehicle width direction, so as to follow the shape of the cross member 16, and is formed in an arc shape. The arc portion 48 thus formed in an arc shape is joined to the cross member 16 via a joining portion 50 by welding or the like.

[0029] In this embodiment, as described above, one end 42A of the suspension arm 42 is attached to the outer side of the front wall portion 36 and the rear wall portion 38 of the bracket 20 in the vehicle width direction. Meanwhile, the inner end 40A of the upper wall portion 40 is joined to the cross member 16. For this reason, the upper wall portion 40 is formed so as to incline downward toward the vehicle as it moves inward in the vehicle width direction.

[0030] That is, the heights of the front wall portion 36 and the rear wall portion 38 decrease from the outer side to the inner side in the vehicle width direction. The inner end 40A of the upper wall portion 40 is connected to the inner end 36A of the front wall portion 36 and the inner end 38A of the rear wall portion 38 and is formed in an arc shape, so that the ridgelines P and Q formed at the boundaries between the upper wall portion 40 and the front wall portion 36 and the rear wall portion 38 are curved so as to approach each other toward the inner end side.

[0031] (Action and effect of suspension member structure) Next, the operation and effects of the suspension member structure 10 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0032] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the suspension member 12 includes a side rail 14, a cross member 16, and a bracket 20.

[0033] The side rail 14 constitutes a part of the suspension member 12 and extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The cross member 16 constitutes another part of the suspension member 12 and is formed from a cylindrical pipe material and extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle. The cross member 16 has crushed portions 28 at both longitudinal ends thereof, and these crushed portions 28 are joined to the upper surfaces 14A of the side rails 14. The bracket 20 is joined to the cross member 16 and the side rails 14, including the crushed portions 28.

[0034] As described above, in this embodiment, by using pipe material as the cross member 16, it is more resistant to buckling than plate material, and by directly connecting the cross member 16 to the side rail 14, it is possible to improve the load transmission efficiency against lateral forces from the side rail 14.

[0035] In this embodiment, the crushed portion 28 on the cross member 16 is connected to the upper surface 22A of the side rail 14, so the cross member 16 is offset upward relative to the side rail 14. As a result, in this embodiment, the cross member 16 can occupy a smaller space than if it were mounted on approximately the same plane as the side rail 14, although this is not shown in the figures.

[0036] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by using a cylindrical pipe material as the cross member 16, the cross-sectional shape of the cross member 16 can be made smaller than a rectangular shape, and the cross member 16 itself can be made to take up less space.

[0037] As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the space required for the cross member 16 while ensuring the efficiency of load transmission to the suspension member 12.

[0038] However, when a cylindrical pipe material is used as the cross member 16, it is difficult to connect the cross member 16 to the side rail 14, which is disposed approximately perpendicular to the cross member 16. In this embodiment, by providing the cross member 16 with a crushed portion 28, it becomes possible to easily connect the cross member 16 to the upper surface 22A of the side rail 14 via the crushed portion 28.

[0039] That is, in this embodiment, by providing the crushed portion 28 in the cross member 16, it is possible to position the cross member 16 in a state where it is offset in the vertical direction relative to the side rail 14. This makes it possible to avoid interference with components around a drive motor (not shown) mounted on the suspension member 12, for example.

[0040] In other words, in this embodiment, the cross member 16 can be disposed in a state where it is offset in the vertical direction relative to the side rail 14, and the degree of freedom in designing the suspension member 12 is improved.

[0041] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by connecting the bracket 20, to which one end 42A of the suspension arm 42 is attached, to the side rail 14 and the cross member 16, it is possible to improve the connection strength between the side rail 14, the cross member 16, and the bracket 20. This makes it possible to more reliably transmit the lateral force from the side rail 14 to the cross member 16 via the bracket 20.

[0042] In this embodiment, the bracket 20 is configured to include a cover portion 32 and a flange portion 34 (a front flange portion 34A and a rear flange portion 34B). The cover portion 32 covers the crushed portion 28 of the cross member 16 from above and is joined to the surface of the cross member 16. The front flange portion 34A and the rear flange portion 34B protrude from the front and rear ends of the cover portion 32, respectively, and are joined to the upper surface 14A of the side rail 14.

[0043] In this manner, in this embodiment, the front flange portion 34A and the rear flange portion 34B that protrude from the front end and rear end of the bracket 20, respectively, are each joined to the upper surface 14A of the side rail 14. As a result, in this embodiment, the cross member 16 is sandwiched between the front and rear sides of the cross member 16, which are fixed (joined) to the bracket 20 fixed to the cross member 16, making it possible to suppress swinging of the side rail 14 along the vehicle width direction.

[0044] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cover portion 32 is configured to include a front wall portion 36, a rear wall portion 38, and an upper wall portion 40, and the upper wall portion 40 forms ridges P, Q between the front wall portion 36 and the rear wall portion 38 and toward a joining portion 50 that is joined to the surface of the cross member 16.

[0045] In this way, by forming the ridge lines P and Q, the rigidity of the bracket 20 itself is improved and it becomes possible to more effectively transmit the load to the cross member 16 side via the ridge lines P and Q in response to the lateral force input to the bracket 20.

[0046] The above describes one example of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various modified forms within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0047] (Addendum) The vehicle frame member according to the present invention may be formed by appropriately combining the following configurations.

[0048] (Configuration 1) In the suspension member structure, the suspension member comprises a side rail that forms part of the suspension member and extends along the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, a cross member that forms another part of the suspension member, is made of pipe material, extends along the width direction of the vehicle, and has both longitudinal ends crushed with the crushed portions joined to the upper surfaces of the side rails, and a bracket that includes the crushed portions and is joined to the cross member and the side rails.

[0049] (Configuration 2) The bracket is configured to include a cover portion that covers the crushed portion from above and is joined to the surface of the cross member, and flange portions that extend from the front and rear ends of the cover portion located at the front and rear of the vehicle and are joined to the upper surfaces of the side rails, respectively.

[0050] (Configuration 3) The cover portion is composed of a pair of vertical wall portions arranged at the front and rear of the vehicle, standing upright in the vertical direction of the vehicle and facing each other, and an upper wall portion connecting the upper ends of the pair of vertical wall portions and forming a ridge line between one of the vertical wall portions and the other vertical wall portion leading to a joining portion that is joined to the surface of the cross member. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 10 Suspension member structure 12 Suspension member 14 Side rail 16 Cross member 20 Bracket 28 Crushed part 30 Joint 32 Cover part (bracket) 34 Flange part (bracket) 34A Front flange (flange) 34B Rear flange (flange) 36 Front wall (vertical wall, cover) 38 Rear wall (vertical wall, cover) 40 Upper wall (upper wall, cover) P ridgeline Q Ridgeline

Claims

1. a side rail that forms part of the suspension member and extends along the front-rear direction of the vehicle; a cross member that constitutes another part of the suspension member, that is made of a pipe material, that extends along the vehicle width direction, that has crushed portions at both ends in the longitudinal direction that are crushed vertically and that are joined to the upper surfaces of the side rails; a bracket including the crushed portion and coupled to the cross member and the side rail; A suspension member structure comprising:

2. The bracket is a cover portion that covers the crushed portion from above and is joined to a surface of the cross member; flange portions each extending from a front end and a rear end of the cover portion and coupled to an upper surface of the side rail; 2. The suspension member structure according to claim 1, comprising:

3. The cover portion is a pair of front and rear vertical wall portions that stand upright along the vehicle up-down direction and face each other; an upper wall portion connecting upper ends of the pair of vertical wall portions and forming a ridge line between the pair of vertical wall portions and extending toward a joint portion that is joined to a surface of the cross member; 3. The suspension member structure according to claim 2, comprising:

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