Suspension structure components

Abstract

To provide a component of a suspension structure, which can achieve weight reduction while ensuring rigidity.SOLUTION: As a component of the suspension structure 1 for a vehicle 100, a lower arm 20 includes a body 21 made of metal. Reinforcing members 28A-28C that increase a rigidity of the body 21 are securely attached along edges (first to third edges) 20a-20c of the body 21. The reinforcing members are made of a resin material or a rubber material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to components constituting a suspension structure of a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, metal materials have been used for components constituting a suspension structure of a vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a lower arm that connects a wheel and a suspension member. The main body of the lower arm is made of metal, and a side wall rising from the peripheral edge is formed on the main body so as to surround the peripheral edge of the main body. In the internal space surrounded by the side walls, a rib-shaped resin insert is formed so as to cross the side walls.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in components such as the lower arm shown in Patent Document 1, a rib-shaped resin insert is inserted into the internal space surrounded by the side walls. Therefore, a space for arranging the insert is required inside the component, and it is difficult to ensure the rigidity of the component while making the component compact (weight reduction).

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such points, and an object thereof is to provide a component of a suspension structure that can achieve weight reduction while ensuring rigidity.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a component that constitutes a vehicle suspension structure, wherein the component has a metal body, and a reinforcing material made of a resin material or rubber material is fixed along the edge of the body to enhance the rigidity of the body.

[0007] According to the present invention, a reinforcing material is fixed to the edge of the main body to enhance its rigidity, thereby reinforcing the edges of the component parts that are prone to deformation. As a result, it is possible to efficiently ensure the rigidity of the component parts while reducing weight.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the main body has a groove formed along the edge, and the reinforcing material is fixed to the groove so as to fill the groove. In this embodiment, by providing a groove on the edge, the reinforcing material can be restrained in the groove. Furthermore, when a load is applied to the main body and the entire body attempts to deform, the groove attempts to deform in the width direction, but in this embodiment, since the reinforcing material is embedded (filled) in the groove, the deformation of the groove can be suppressed. In particular, in the part where the groove attempts to deform so as to narrow the groove width, compressive stress is applied to the reinforcing material, so such deformation of the groove can be effectively suppressed. By suppressing such deformation of the groove, the deformation of the main body can be suppressed.

[0009] In a more preferred embodiment, the component is a lower arm connecting a wheel and a suspension member, the body of the lower arm comprising a first connecting portion connected to the wheel via a ball joint, and second and third connecting portions attached to the suspension member via bushings at both ends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the body having edges formed thereon a first edge connecting the first and second connecting portions, a second edge connecting the second and third connecting portions, and a third edge connecting the third and first connecting portions, a first groove formed along the first edge, a second groove formed along the second edge, and a third groove formed along the third edge, and the reinforcing material fixed to the first groove, the second groove, and the third groove.

[0010] In this embodiment, during vehicle acceleration and deceleration, and during vehicle turning, the second and third connecting parts attached to the suspension member are considered as constrained parts, and a load acts on the first connecting part connected to the wheel. As a result, a bending moment acts on the entire lower arm. When the lower arm attempts to deform due to this bending moment, the first, second, and third grooves attempt to deform in the width direction, but since reinforcing material is embedded (filled) in these grooves, the deformation of the grooves can be suppressed. Therefore, the deformation of the lower arm can be suppressed.

[0011] In a more preferred embodiment, the main body is a press-formed body obtained by press-forming a metal plate, and the groove is formed on the other side of the main body by forming a raised ridge on one side of the main body.

[0012] According to this embodiment, when the main body of the component is formed by press molding, the thickness of the component can be reduced and the weight reduced compared to a cast component. On the other hand, since a raised ridge is formed on one side of the main body and a recessed groove is formed on the other side, the rigidity of the component can be effectively increased. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce weight while ensuring rigidity. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a schematic perspective view of the area around the right front wheel of a vehicle, including multiple components of the suspension structure according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the connection state of the lower arm, one of the multiple components of the suspension structure shown. [Figure 3] (a) is a schematic perspective view of the lower arm viewed from an upward oblique direction. (b) is a schematic perspective view of the lower arm viewed from a downward oblique direction. [Figure 4] Figure 3(b) is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the main body of the lower arm and the reinforcing material. [Figure 5] Figure 3(b) is a diagram illustrating the loads acting on the lower arm when viewed from above. [Figure 6] This shows the time difference between steering angle and yaw rate when using the lower arms according to the examples and comparative examples. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] The components of the vehicle's suspension structure are described below with reference to Figures 1 to 6. In Figures 1 to 5, the symbol "U" indicates the upward direction of the vehicle, and the symbol "D" indicates the downward direction of the vehicle. The symbol "F" indicates the front of the vehicle, and the symbol "B" indicates the rear of the vehicle. Furthermore, the symbol "R" indicates the right side of the vehicle, and the symbol "L" indicates the left side of the vehicle. The "vehicle width direction" described below refers to the direction along symbols R and L. The "vehicle length direction" described below refers to the direction along symbols F and B.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 100 such as an automobile is provided with a strut-type suspension structure 1. FIG. 1 shows the suspension structure 1 that supports a wheel 39 at the right front of the vehicle 100. The suspension structure 1 includes a shock absorber 47 composed of a damper and a coil spring (not shown), and a suspension member 10 that extends in the left-right direction of the vehicle 100 and is fixed to a vehicle body (not shown). Further, the suspension structure 1 includes a lower arm 20 connected to the suspension member 10 on the outside in the vehicle width direction of the suspension member 10.

[0017] The shock absorber 47 is fixed to the knuckle 31. The knuckle 31 supports the wheel 34 of the wheel 39 via a hub bearing 33 so that the wheel 39 can rotate freely. The hub bearing 33 supports a drive shaft (not shown). A brake device is attached to the hub bearing 33 via a hub 36 (see FIG. 2).

[0018] The suspension member 10 is disposed at the center in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 100, and includes center members 11 and 12 disposed so as to overlap in the vertical direction, and side members 13 and 14 disposed so as to overlap in the vertical direction on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the center members 11 and 12. The lower arm 20 is connected to the suspension member 10. The lower arm 20 supports a wheel (steering wheel) 39 that steers the vehicle 100 via a ball joint 32 attached to the knuckle 31.

[0019] A tie rod 46 extending from a steering device 42 mounted on a vehicle body (not shown) is connected to the knuckle 31, and is configured to be able to rotate the wheel 39. A stabilizer 41 extending along the vehicle width direction is attached to the suspension member 10. The end of the stabilizer 41 is connected to the shock absorber 47 via a stabilizer link 45.

[0020] The lower arm 20 will be described below as a component that constitutes the suspension structure 1 of the vehicle 100. The lower arm 20 has a metal main body 21, and reinforcing materials 28A to 28C for strengthening the rigidity of the main body 21 are fixed along the edge portions 20a to 20c of the main body 21. The reinforcing materials 28A to 28C are made of a resin material or a rubber material.

[0021] More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower arm 20 is a member that connects the wheel 39 (knuckle 31 attached to the wheel 34) and the suspension member 10. In the present embodiment, the main body 21 of the lower arm 20 is a press-formed product obtained by press-forming a metal plate such as a steel plate or an aluminum plate.

[0022] Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3(a), the lower arm 20 is an L-shaped member and includes first to third connection portions 23A to 23C. The first connection portion 23A is connected to a knuckle 31 attached to the wheel 34 of the wheel 39 via a ball joint 32. An attachment hole 26A is formed in the first connection portion 23A, and a bracket 51 is fixed to the lower arm 20 in a state where a fastener 61 such as a screw is inserted through the attachment hole 26A. The knuckle 31 and the bracket 51 are connected via the fastener 61.

[0023] The second connection portion 23B and the third connection portion 23C are attached to the suspension member 10 via a first bush 54 and a second bush 53 at both ends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 100, respectively. The second connection portion 23B is formed rearward B of the third connection portion 23C in the vehicle length direction of the vehicle 100. The third connection portion 23C is formed inside the first connection portion 23A in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 100.

[0024] The second connecting portion 23B has a mounting hole 26B into which the first bush 54 is inserted. The second connecting portion 23B is connected to the suspension member 10 by inserting a fastener (not shown) through a through hole formed in the first bush 54.

[0025] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the suspension member 10 has mounting members 17 and 18 fixed to the vehicle body via a second bush 53 made of rubber material, which will be described later. The third connecting portion 23C is a support claw 26C, and the cylindrical second bush 53 is sandwiched from both sides by fasteners 62 such as hexagonal bolts, with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 100 as its axis, and the third connecting portion 23C of the lower arm 20 is connected to the suspension member 10.

[0026] As shown in Figure 3(a), in this embodiment, the main body 21 of the lower arm 20 has edges formed thereon, specifically, a first edge 20a to a third edge 20c. Specifically, the first edge 20a is the edge that connects the first connecting portion 23A and the second connecting portion 23B. The second edge 20b is the edge that connects the second connecting portion 23B and the third connecting portion 23C. The third edge 20c is the edge that connects the third connecting portion 23C and the first connecting portion 23A. The first edge 20a has an edge that extends in the vehicle width direction (left-right direction of the vehicle 100) and a portion that extends in the vehicle length direction (front-rear direction of the vehicle 100). The first edge 20a is curved in an L-shape when viewed from above.

[0027] Of the first edge portion 20a, the edge portion formed along the vehicle length direction and the second edge portion 20b are formed so as to sandwich the flat plate portion 24 of the main body 21. Of the first edge portion 20a, the edge portion formed along the vehicle width direction and the third edge portion 20c are formed so as to sandwich the flat plate portion 24 of the main body 21.

[0028] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3(b), a first groove 25A is formed along the first edge 20a on the other side (back surface) 20r of the main body 21, a second groove 25B is formed along the second edge 20b, and a third groove 25C is formed along the third edge 20c. In this embodiment, the main body 21 is a press-formed body made by press-forming a metal plate, and as shown in Figure 3(a), first to third protrusions 22A to 22C are formed on one side 20f of the main body 21, thereby forming first to third grooves 25A to 25C on the other side 20r of the main body 21, corresponding to the first to third protrusions 22A to 22C, as shown in Figure 3(b).

[0029] The first to third protrusions 22A to 22C protrude in the thickness direction of the flat plate portion 24 from the surface of the flat plate portion 24 surrounded by the first to third edges 20a to 20c on one side 20f. The first to third recesses 25A to 25C are recessed in the thickness direction of the flat plate portion 24 from the surface of the flat plate portion 24 surrounded by the first to third edges 20a to 20c on the other side 20r.

[0030] As shown in Figure 4, the first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C are fixed to the first groove 25A, the second groove 25B, and the third groove 25C, respectively, so as to fill these grooves. The first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C are made of resin material or rubber material. The resin material or rubber material is not particularly limited as long as it can increase the rigidity of the body 21 of the lower arm 20. Examples of resin materials include epoxy resin and urethane resin, and examples of rubber materials include hard rubbers such as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), nitrile rubber (NR), chloroprene rubber (CR), urethane rubber, and acrylic rubber. The first to third reinforcing materials 28A to 28C are curing-type materials such as bake-curing type, two-component curing type, and moisture-curing type. They can be obtained by applying a paste-like coating material, which will be the base material for the first to third reinforcing materials 28A to 28C, to the first groove 25A, the second groove 25B, and the third groove 25C, and then curing it. Alternatively, foaming may be induced at the time the coating material is curing.

[0031] The first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C are fixed to the walls of the first to third grooves 25A to 25C of the main body 21, and the state of fixation is not particularly limited. Alternatively, a rust-preventive coating (not shown) may be formed on the main body 21, and the first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C may be fixed by hydrogen bonding at the molecular level between this coating and the first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C. In addition, the first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C may be fixed by applying a coupling agent between the walls of the first to third grooves 25A to 25C of the main body 21.

[0032] In this way, the first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C, which strengthen the rigidity of the main body 21, are fixed to the first to third edges 20a to 20c of the main body 21 of the lower arm 20, so that the easily deformable edges 20a to 20c of the lower arm 20 are reinforced. As a result, the rigidity of the lower arm 20 can be efficiently ensured while reducing weight. In particular, since the main body 21 of the lower arm 20 is a press-formed product, the wall thickness of the lower arm 20 can be reduced compared to a cast lower arm, so this effect can be exhibited even more effectively. Furthermore, since the first to third protrusions 22A to 22C are formed on one surface 20f of the main body 21, the rigidity of the lower arm 20 can be effectively increased.

[0033] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, when the vehicle 100 accelerates and decelerates, and when the vehicle 100 turns, the second and third connecting portions 23B and 23B become constrained to the suspension member 10 and the vehicle body, and a load acts on the first connecting portion 23A connected to the wheel 39. For example, as shown in Figure 5, when the vehicle 100 accelerates, a load F1 acts forward F at the position of the imaginary line L1 along the vehicle width direction passing through the first connecting portion 23A. On the other hand, when the vehicle 100 decelerates, a load F2 acts backward B at the position of the imaginary line L1. In both cases, these loads F1 and F2 act on the entire lower arm 20, creating a bending moment. When the lower arm 20 attempts to deform due to such a bending moment, the first groove 25A, the second groove 25B, and the third groove 25C attempt to deform in the groove width direction.

[0034] However, since the first to third grooves 25A to 25C are filled with the first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C, deformation of the first to third grooves 25A to 25C can be suppressed. Therefore, deformation of the lower arm 20 can be suppressed.

[0035] In particular, during acceleration, even if the lower arm 20 attempts to deform due to load F1 such that the groove width of the first groove 25A along the vehicle width direction narrows, this deformation can be suppressed by the portion of the first reinforcing member 28A along the vehicle width direction. During deceleration, even if the lower arm 20 attempts to deform due to load F2 such that the groove width of the second groove 25B narrows, this deformation can be suppressed by the second reinforcing member 28B. Similarly, when the vehicle 100 turns, even if the lower arm 20 attempts to deform such that the groove width of the first groove 25A along the vehicle length direction and the groove width of the third groove 25C change, this deformation can be suppressed by the portion of the first reinforcing member 28A along the vehicle length direction and the third reinforcing member 28C.

[0036] Here, the inventors prepared a lower arm 20 according to this embodiment as an example, and a lower arm consisting only of the main body 21 without the first to third reinforcing members 28 as a comparative example. As shown in Figure 6, the lower arms of the example and the comparative example were mounted on a vehicle, and the time difference between the steering angle and the yaw rate was measured. As a result, the time difference between the steering angle and the yaw rate was shorter for the lower arm of the example compared to that of the comparative example. This indicates that the vehicle 100 equipped with the lower arm 20 of the example has better steering wheel operability than that of the comparative example. This is thought to be because the rigidity of the lower arm 20 was increased by the first to third reinforcing members 28A to 28C.

[0037] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various design modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as described in the claims.

[0038] In this embodiment, the lower arm 20 of the suspension structure 1 is illustrated as a component of the present invention, but similar reinforcing members may be provided to components constituting the suspension member 10 (center members 11, 12, side members 13, 14), for example. Also, in this embodiment, a strut-type suspension structure 1 is illustrated, but for example, a double wishbone type suspension structure may also be used, in which case the same configuration as the lower arm of this embodiment may be applied not only to the lower arm but also to the upper arm. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the suspension structure 1 is illustrated for the front wheels, but it goes without saying that the same configuration may be applied to the suspension structure for the rear, for example. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 1: Suspension structure, 10: Suspension member, 20: Lower arm, 20a~20c: 1st~3rd edge (edge), 21: Main body, 22A~22C: 1st~3rd protrusion (protrusion), 23A~23C: 1st~3rd connecting part, 25A~25C: 1st~3rd groove, 28A~28C: 1st~3rd reinforcing material, 31: Knuckle, 32: Ball joint, 39: Wheel, 53: 2nd bush (bushing), 54: 1st bush (bushing), 100: Vehicle

Claims

1. A component that makes up the suspension structure of a vehicle, The aforementioned component is a lower arm that connects the wheel and the suspension member. The lower arm has a metal body, The aforementioned main body is A first connecting portion connected to the wheel via a ball joint, At both ends of the vehicle in the front-rear direction, a second connecting portion and a third connecting portion are attached to the suspension member via bushings, It is equipped with, The main body has a first edge portion connecting the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion, a second edge portion connecting the second connecting portion and the third connecting portion, and a third edge portion connecting the third connecting portion and the first connecting portion. By forming a first protrusion on one side of the main body along the first edge, a first recess is formed on the other side of the main body along the first edge. By forming a second protrusion on one side of the main body along the second edge, a second recess is formed on the other side of the main body along the second edge. By forming a third protrusion along the third edge, a third recessed groove is formed on the other side of the main body along the third edge. The main body has a flat plate portion, The first to third protrusions protrude in the thickness direction of the flat plate portion from the surface of the flat plate portion surrounded by the first to third edges on one side of the main body, and the first to third recesses are recessed in the thickness direction of the flat plate portion from the surface of the flat plate portion surrounded by the first to third edges on the other side. A component of a suspension structure, characterized in that the first groove, the second groove, and the third groove are filled with a reinforcing material made of resin or rubber material, which enhances the rigidity of the main body, and the component is fixed to the main body.

2. The main body is a press-formed body made by press-forming a metal plate, and is a component of the suspension structure according to claim 1.

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