Air spring mounting structure

Abstract

To provide an air spring mounting structure that can easily mount an air spring on a vehicle and improve the riding comfort of the vehicle. [Solution] The air spring mounting structure 1 comprises a vehicle body frame 10, a leaf spring 60 made up of multiple long, thin leaf springs stacked on top of each other, a lower bracket 50 arranged on the upper surface of the leaf spring 60 and formed by bending both ends of a long, thin metal plate into a U-shape so that they are convex upwards, U-bolts 71 each attached to the lower bracket 50, a U-bolt fastening plate 72 arranged on the underside of the leaf spring 60 and having a hole through which the end of the U-bolt 71 passes, and a bolt for fastening the end of the U-bolt 71 that has passed through the U-bolt fastening plate 72, a fixing member that fixes the lower bracket 50 onto the leaf spring 60, and an air spring 40 whose underside is arranged in the convex portion of the lower bracket 50.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lower bracket and air spring mounting structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a mounting structure has been proposed in which only the upper part of the air spring is fixed and the lower part is left unfixed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The background art of Patent Document 1 describes a mounting structure in which the upper part of a diaphragm-type air spring is fixed to a side frame and the lower part of the air spring is seated on a hemispherical base.

[0003] In the above technology, a recess with an opening on the bottom that acts as a piston is disposed below the diaphragm, and a protrusion of a corresponding shape is provided on the base, making it possible to accurately set the mounting position without using bolts. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-21279 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, with the mounting structure described in Patent Document 1, the height of the air chamber inside the diaphragm is narrowed by the height of the protrusion on the base. As a result, compared to a cylindrical diaphragm of the same diameter, the air volume inside the air spring is reduced, making it difficult to improve ride comfort.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention was proposed in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and its object is to provide a lower bracket and air spring mounting structure that allows air springs to be easily attached to a vehicle and improves the ride comfort of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The air spring mounting structure of the present invention is an air spring mounting structure for mounting an air spring between a vehicle body frame and a leaf spring, and includes the vehicle body frame, the leaf spring made of multiple overlapping, long, thin leaf springs, a lower bracket arranged on the upper surface of the leaf spring and formed by bending both ends of a long, thin metal plate into a U-shape so that they are convex upward, a fixing member for fixing the lower bracket to the leaf spring using U-bolts that are respectively attached to the lower bracket, a U-bolt fastening plate arranged on the underside of the leaf spring and having holes through which the ends of the U-bolts pass, and bolts that fasten the ends of the U-bolts that have passed through the U-bolt fastening plate, and the air spring whose underside is arranged in the convex portion of the lower bracket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The present invention allows air springs to be easily installed in a vehicle, thereby improving the ride comfort of the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a front view of the left side of the air spring mounting structure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the left side of the air spring mounting structure. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining another embodiment of the air spring mounting structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below, with a focus on the left side of the vehicle.

[0011] 1 is a front view of the left side of a vehicle air spring mounting structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the left side of the vehicle air spring mounting structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Conventionally, a bump rubber 100, which is a genuine part of a vehicle, has been placed on the upper surface of the leaf spring 60 at the position where the leaf spring 60 and the shaft 80 intersect, and is fixed by a U-bolt 71, a U-bolt fastening plate 72, and a nut 73. When vertical vibrations occur in the vehicle via the tire and the shaft 80, the bump rubber 100 comes into contact with and separates from the bump rubber restricting member 20 fixed to the side of the body frame 10. This suppresses vertical vibrations of the vehicle.

[0013] In contrast, the air spring mounting structure 1 of the present invention suppresses vertical vibration of the vehicle by installing a non-original air spring 40 between the body frame 10 and the leaf spring 60. Specifically, the air spring mounting structure 1 includes an upper bracket 30 that secures the top surface of the air spring 40, and a lower bracket 50 that secures the bottom surface of the air spring 40.

[0014] The upper bracket 30 is not a genuine part of the vehicle, but a member for fixing the upper surface portion 41 of the air spring 40 to the body frame 10. The upper bracket 30 is a side surface of the body frame 10, and is fixed to both sides (front side and rear side) of the bumper rubber restricting member 20.

[0015] The air spring 40 is made up of an upper surface portion 41, an air spring body 42, and a lower surface portion 43. An air force joint junction 44a is provided in the center of the upper surface portion 41.

[0016] The upper surface 41 of the air spring 40 is disposed below the upper bracket 30. The air force joint connecting portion 44a passes through a hole in the upper bracket 30 and is exposed on the upper side of the upper bracket 30. In this state, a bolt 45 is fastened to the air force joint connecting portion 44a. This allows the upper surface 41 of the air spring 40 to be fixed to the upper bracket 30.

[0017] An air force joint (not shown) is attached to air force joint connection portion 44. An air force (not shown) is attached to the air force to introduce air into air spring body 42. A lower surface portion 43 is provided on the underside of air spring body 42. Lower surface portion 43 is fixed to lower bracket 50 by bolts 51 that pass through holes in the lower side of lower bracket 50.

[0018] The lower bracket 50 is not a genuine part of the vehicle, but a member for fixing the lower surface portion 43 of the air spring 40 to the leaf spring 60. The lower bracket 50 is a member in which both ends (front and rear) of a long, thin metal plate are bent into a U-shape, i.e., an upward convex shape.

[0019] The lower bracket 50 is placed on the upper surface of the leaf spring 60 so that both ends of the lower bracket 50 are convex upward. The center of the lower bracket 50 is located at the intersection of the leaf spring 60 and the shaft 80. The bump rubber 100 is placed on the upper surface of the center of the lower bracket 50. In other words, the lower bracket 50 is placed on top of the leaf spring 60, and the bump rubber 100 is placed on top of the lower bracket 50. The lower surface portions 43 of the two air springs 40 are placed on the convex portions 51 on both ends of the lower bracket 50.

[0020] The leaf spring 60 is made up of a plurality of (three in this embodiment) long, thin leaf springs stacked one on top of the other, and is curved downward. A plurality of adjustment plates 75 are interposed between the leaf spring 60 and the shaft 80.

[0021] U-bolts 71 are respectively hung on the curved portions at both ends of the bump rubber 100. Each end of the U-bolt 71 passes through a hole (not shown) from the top surface of the U-bolt fastening plate 72, is exposed from the bottom surface, and is fastened with a nut 73. As a result, the lower bracket 50, leaf spring 60, and shaft 80 are sandwiched between the bump rubber 100 and the U-bolt fastening plate 72 and fixed in place.

[0022] In this way, the lower bracket 50 is fixed onto the leaf spring 60 by the bumper rubber 100, the U-bolt 71, etc., which are genuine parts. In other words, the lower bracket 50 can be attached to the leaf spring 60 simply by using genuine parts, without requiring special parts such as a new mold.

[0023] With the above-described configuration, the air spring mounting structure 1 has the lowest leaf spring of the leaf spring 60 turned upside down and the air spring 40 mounted between the body frame 10 and the leaf spring 60, thereby better absorbing vibrations from the tire and shaft 80 and improving ride comfort compared to the original product.

[0024] The air spring mounting structure 1 described above can be applied to, for example, Camroad (registered trademark), but can also be applied to other vehicles having a similar structure.

[0025] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, the upper bracket 30 and the bump rubber 100 may be omitted.

[0026] In this case, it is sufficient that the upper surface portion 41 of the air spring 40 is at least positioned on the protrusions 51 on both ends of the lower bracket 50. Also, it is sufficient that the air force joint connecting portion 44a is exposed on the upper side of the air spring body 42 without passing through the hole in the upper bracket 30.

[0027] Furthermore, the U-bolts 71 may be hooked onto the lower brackets 50 instead of onto the curved portions at both ends of the bump rubber 100. In such a case, the U-bolts 71 may be hooked onto the regions between the protrusions 51 at both ends of the lower bracket 50. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1 Air spring mounting structure 10 Body frame 30 Upper bracket 40 air spring 50 Lower bracket 60 Leaf spring 71 U-bolt 72 U-bolt fastening plate 73 Nut 100 Bumper Rubber

Claims

[Claim 1] An air spring mounting structure for mounting an air spring between a vehicle body frame and a leaf spring, The vehicle body frame; The leaf spring is formed by stacking a plurality of long, thin leaf springs; a lower bracket disposed on an upper surface of the leaf spring, the lower bracket being formed by bending both ends of a long, thin metal plate into a U-shape so that the ends are convex upward; a fixing member for fixing the lower bracket onto the leaf spring using U-bolts that are respectively hung on the lower brackets, U-bolt fastening plates that are disposed on the underside of the leaf springs and have holes through which the ends of the U-bolts pass, and bolts that fasten the ends of the U-bolts that have passed through the U-bolt fastening plates; the air spring, the lower surface of which is disposed on the protruding portion of the lower bracket; An air spring mounting structure.

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