JPH0143283Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The invention is applicable to automobile wheel alignment,
In particular, it relates to a camber and caster adjustment device.

[Prior art]

In general, wheel alignment of an automobile is a general term for the angular relationship between the wheels and the vehicle body or road surface, and this wheel alignment mainly consists of elements such as camber, caster, and toe-in. Canber refers to the angle at which the top of the wheel opens slightly outward when viewed from the front, and this is primarily to make steering operations easier.
Caster refers to the angle at which the center line of the kingpin is tilted slightly backwards when viewed from the side, and this is to improve straightness and restoring force when the steering wheel is turned. This means that the front side is narrower than the rear side when viewed from above, and this is to correct the outward rolling of the wheel due to the camber angle.

By the way, the above-mentioned camber angle etc. are all important elements in the running of a car, and therefore it is necessary to adjust them to accurate angles. Therefore, various types of wheel alignment adjustment devices have been devised in the past. As an example, conventionally,
There was one described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 12713/1983. This is a double-width bone type suspension system, in which shims are inserted between the vehicle body and the two connections in the longitudinal direction of the shaft of the shaft supported at the base of the upper arm, and fixed with two mounting bolts. The camber and caster were adjusted by appropriately changing the thickness or number of shims.

However, with the conventional device described above, there is a problem in that the shim tends to fall off due to the rotation of the mounting bolt when adjusting the wheel alignment. Bolts need to be tightened, so with this conventional device, wheel alignment adjustment work is complicated and work efficiency is low.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed in view of these conventional problems.It prevents the shim from falling off even when the mounting bolt rotates during wheel alignment adjustment, facilitates adjustment work, and improves work efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile wheel alignment adjustment device that can improve the alignment of automobiles.

[Structure of the idea]

The present invention is an automobile wheel alignment adjustment device in which a shaft supported between the bases of an A-type arm is attached to the vehicle body using two bolt members.
A first shim made of a band-shaped plate material is inserted between the shaft and the vehicle body, an opening recess that engages with the bolt member is formed at the front and rear ends of the first shim, and an opening recess of the first shim is further provided. A locking part that can be engaged with the engaging part of the second shim that independently engages each of the bolt members is provided above, so that even if the bolt member rotates during adjustment, the shim will not hold. This is to prevent it from falling off.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a wheel support member extending in the vertical direction, a spindle 2 is formed in the center of this,
A wheel 3 is rotatably supported by the spindle 2. The lower end portion 1a of the wheel support member 1 is provided with a tip portion 4 of the lower arm 4 on the outside of the vehicle body.
a is pivotally supported by ball joint 5,
A front end 6a of a torsion bar 6 is fixed to a base 4b of the lower arm 4 on the inside of the vehicle body, and although not shown, the base 4b of the lower arm 4 is swingably supported by the vehicle body via a front end 6a of the torsion bar 6. There is.

Further, at the upper end portion 1b of the wheel support member 1, a tip portion 7 of an A-type arm 7, which is an upper arm, is provided.
a is pivotally supported by ball joint 8,
The A-shaped arm 7 is approximately U-shaped in plan, and a shaft 9 is rotatably supported between its base portions 7b. The shaft 9 is a rod-shaped body extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and mounting seats 9a are formed near each base 7b of the shaft 9, and the mounting seats 9a are separated by a predetermined distance. is mounting hole 9
b is formed through.

Further, the mounting seat 9a is tightened and fixed near the center of a mounting bracket 11 by a mounting bolt 10 inserted into a mounting hole 9b, and the lower end of the mounting bracket 11 is fixed to the vehicle body frame 12. Further, the upper end of a shock absorber 17 is fixed to the upper end of the mounting bracket 11, and the lower end of the shock absorber 17 is swingably mounted near the tip 4a of the lower arm 4.

In this embodiment, a suspension system for suspending and supporting the wheel 3 is constituted by the vehicle body support member 1, the lower arm 4, the A-type arm 7, the shock absorber 17, etc. In this suspension system, the camber is This is the angle θ of the wheel center line A, which is perpendicular to the spindle 2 of the wheel 3, with respect to the vertical line B when viewed from the front of the vehicle body, and the caster is aligned with the king pin center line C connecting the centers of the upper and lower ball joints 8 and 5 of the vehicle body. This is the inclination with respect to the vertical line when viewed from the side.

A first shim 13 and a second shim 14 for adjusting the camber and caster are inserted between the mounting seat 9a of the shaft 9 and the mounting bracket 11.
5 and engaging portions 16 integrally formed at both ends of the connecting portion 15. Each of the engaging portions 16 has an opening recess 16a slightly wider than the diameter of the mounting bolt 10. A notch is formed by opening downwardly, and a locking portion 16b is formed by opening upwardly above the open recess 16a of each engaging portion 16, and the both opening recesses 16a and the locking portion 16b are notched. Part 1
The spacing between the mounting seats 9a of the shaft 9 is equal to the spacing between the mounting seats 9a of the shaft 9.

Further, the second shim 14 is connected to the first shim 13.
An opening recess 14a having substantially the same shape as the opening recess 16a of
and an engaging portion 14 formed above the recess 14a.
b, and an engaging piece 14c is bent and formed at the upper end of the engaging portion 14b, and the engaging piece 14c is formed by bending.
4c can be engaged with the locking portion 16b of the first shim 13.

Next, the effect will be explained.

First, in the adjusting device of this embodiment, in order to adjust the camber, the A-type arm 7 is moved outward or inward from the vehicle body, and for this purpose, the mounting bolt 10 is loosened, and the mounting seat 9a of the shaft 9 is attached to the mounting bolt 10. A first shim 13 of an appropriate thickness is inserted from above between the bracket 11 and the first shim 13 so that its engaging recess 16a engages the mounting bolt 10, and then the mounting bolt 10 is tightened. In this case, if a thick first shim 13 is inserted, the A-shaped arm 7 will move inward to the vehicle body and the camber angle θ will become smaller, whereas if a thinner one is inserted, the camber angle θ will become larger. Since the first shim 13 has two engaging parts 16 connected by a connecting part 15, the mounting bolt 10
Even if the bolt 10 rotates when tightening, it will not fall off.

Next, in order to adjust the caster, the tip 7a of the A-type arm 7 must be moved forward or backward of the vehicle body. To do this, loosen the mounting bolt 10 and attach the first shim 13 and mounting bracket 11. During this period, the second shim 14 of an appropriate thickness is engaged from above with its engagement recess 14a engaged with the mounting bolt 10, and its locking piece 14c is engaged with the locking portion 16b of the first shim 13.
and then insert the mounting bolt 10 so that it engages with the mounting bolt 10.
Tighten. In this case, there is a thick second wall on the front side of the car body.
By inserting the shim 14 and the thin second shim 14 on the rear side, the tip 7a of the A-type arm 7 moves forward, and the caster angle becomes smaller. If you insert something, the caster angle will increase. Since the locking piece 14c of the second shim 14 engages with the locking portion 16b of the first shim 13, the second shim 14 will not fall off due to rotation of the mounting bolt 10.

By the way, in the above explanation of the adjustment work, for convenience of explanation, the case was explained in which the camber and caster are adjusted separately, but if the caster is adjusted after the camber is adjusted, the camber angle will change due to this caster adjustment. It goes without saying that both of the above adjustments should not be carried out separately, but should be carried out simultaneously.

In this embodiment, the first shim 13 is composed of two engaging parts 16 and the connecting part 15 that connects them, and the second shim 14 has a locking piece 14c that engages with the first shim 13. So the first of these,
It is possible to prevent the second shims 13 and 14 from falling off due to the rotation of the mounting bolt 10 during wheel alignment adjustment work, and there is no need to hold the shims with one hand as in the past, making the adjustment work more efficient. It can be carried out.

In the above embodiment, shims of an appropriate thickness are inserted, but it is of course possible to insert an appropriate number of thin shims. Further, in the above embodiment, the first shim 13 is provided with a concave locking portion 16b.
Although the second shim 14 is provided with a convex locking piece 14c,
On the contrary, the first shim 13 has a convex part, and the second shim 1
Of course, a recess may be provided in 4 so that the two can be engaged with each other.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to the vehicle wheel alignment adjustment device according to the present invention, a first shim extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is inserted between the shaft supported by the A-type arm and the vehicle body, and the first shim is Two opening recesses are formed at both ends, and a locking part that engages with the engaging part of the second shim is formed above the opening recess of the first shim, so that the shim does not fall off due to rotation of the mounting bolt. This has the effect of greatly improving the efficiency of wheel alignment adjustment work.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an automobile wheel alignment adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, Fig. 3 is a front view of its first shim, and Fig. 4 is its second shim. FIG. 4a is a side view thereof, and FIG. 4b is a front view thereof. 1...Wheel support member, 3...Wheel, 7...
A-type arm, 7a... tip, 7b... base, 9
...Shaft, 9b...Mounting hole, 10...Bolt member, 12...Vehicle body, 13...First shim, 14...
...Second shim, 14a...Opening recess of second shim, 1
4b... Engaging portion of the second shim, 16a... Opening recessed portion of the first shim, 16b... Locking portion of the first shim.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] For adjusting wheel alignment in an automobile suspension system in which the tip of an A-type arm is pivotally supported on a wheel support member that supports a wheel, and the base of the A-type arm is swingably attached to the vehicle body. In the device, a shaft extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is rotatably supported between the bases of the A-type arm, and the shaft is attached to the vehicle body by a bolt member through a mounting hole provided in the shaft at a predetermined distance. A first shim made of a band-shaped plate extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is inserted between the shaft and the vehicle body, and the first shim has an opening recess at the front and rear ends that engages with each of the bolt members. A locking portion is formed facing downward and is provided above each opening recess of the first shim, and the locking portion is provided in the opening recess of the second shim that independently engages each of the bolt members. A wheel alignment adjustment device for an automobile, characterized in that the device is adapted to engage with an engaging portion formed above.