JPH0460842B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a hollow stabilizer used in a suspension mechanism of an automobile.

[Prior Art] Stabilizers are used as a means to increase the roll rigidity of automobiles. There are also stabilizers that have the function of a tension rod in addition to their original function as a stabilizer. FIG. 1 shows an example of a stabilizer that also functions as a tension rod. In this case, in addition to bending and twisting, tension acts on the arm portion of the stabilizer body 1. In the figure, 2 indicates a threaded portion connected to the suspension device side.

Incidentally, recently there has been a trend to make stabilizers hollow in order to reduce the weight of vehicles or save resources, but in the case of the stabilizer that also functions as a tension rod as mentioned above, hollow ones have not been put into practical use. do not have. The reason behind this is that even if the stress conditions were within the range that allowed the use of hollow space, an effective and reliable connection method between the stabilizer body and the terminal attachment member provided at the end of the stabilizer body had not been established. Can be mentioned. For example, Utsukai Showa 55-
The prior art shown in No. 153207 discloses that a mounting member made of a solid material is inserted and fixed to the end of a hollow stabilizer body, but there is a problem with the strength of the connection part, and it is not reliable. It's hard to say.

As a means of firmly connecting the stabilizer body made of a hollow material and the terminal attachment member made of a solid material, a groove is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal attachment member, and this terminal attachment member is inserted into the open end of the stabilizer body. It has also been considered to crush the stabilizer body from the outside using a press, and allow part of the meat of the stabilizer body to enter the terminal attachment member through plastic flow.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when fixing the terminal mounting member to the open end of the stabilizer main body made of a hollow material using a press, it is difficult to accurately position the terminal mounting member in the circumferential direction with respect to the stabilizer main body. It is surprisingly difficult to press in a state where the terminal is regulated as such, and the terminal attachment member may be fixed to the stabilizer main body in an incorrect position. Moreover, the meat of the stabilizer main body may not be able to sufficiently enter the groove of the end attachment member by simply pressing, and there is room for improvement in the connection strength in the circumferential direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a hollow stabilizer that can firmly fix the terminal attachment member attached to the open end of the hollow stabilizer main body in an accurate position.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The hollow stabilizer of the present invention developed to achieve the above object includes a stabilizer main body made of an electric resistance welded tube having a welded bead portion along the axial direction on the inner surface, and an end of the stabilizer main body. The terminal mounting member is provided with a solid rod portion that is inserted into the end portion of the stabilizer body, and a rod portion is provided on the outer periphery of the rod portion along the circumferential direction of the rod portion. A first groove and a second groove extending along the axial direction of the rod part and extending over the entire length of the insertion part of the rod part into the stabilizer body are formed in advance, and the weld bead part of the stabilizer body is aligned with the second groove of the rod part. The rod portion is inserted into the end of the stabilizer main body so as to fit into the groove, and the end attachment member is fixed to the stabilizer main body by crushing it from the outside with a press.

[Function] In the hollow stabilizer having the above configuration, the circumferential position of the mounting member relative to the stabilizer body is determined by inserting the weld bead portion of the stabilizer main body into the second groove of the end mounting member before pressing. By pressing the stabilizer body from the outside in this state, a part of the stabilizer body meat enters the first groove due to plastic flow, and the stabilizer body including the weld bead portion is inserted into the second groove. A portion of the meat is filled, and the connection between the two parts can be made effective and reliable.

In addition, by adjusting the relative position of the stabilizer body and the terminal mounting member in the axial direction before the above-mentioned press processing, it is possible to adjust the span in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, which is extremely effective especially in stabilizers that can also be used as tension rods. becomes. However, the present invention can also be applied to ordinary stabilizers that do not have a tension rod function.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a stabilizer main body made by bending a hollow metal material made of an electric resistance welded tube. This stabilizer main body 1 has a base 1a attached to the vehicle body side, similar to that shown in FIG.
and arm portions 1 located on both sides of this base portion 1a.
Consisting of b and 1b. And each arm part 1b, 1b
, a terminal mounting member 10 made of solid material such as steel,
10 is fixed. On the inner surface of the stabilizer main body 1 made of an electric resistance welded pipe, there is a weld bead along the axial direction that is generated during pipe production.

Since the mounting members 10, 10 have the same configuration, one will be explained as a representative. The terminal attachment member 10 includes a rod portion 11 inserted into the opening of the end portion 1c of the stabilizer body, and the rod portion 11.
The external shaft 12 is integrally formed as an extension of the external shaft 12, and the flange 13 is located between the rod section 11 and the external shaft 12. A threaded portion 2 is formed at the distal end portion of the external shaft 12 . This threaded portion 2 is connected to a suspension device (not shown).

A locking groove 16 is formed in advance on the outer periphery of the rod portion 11 by, for example, rolling. This locking groove 16
A plurality of first grooves 16a along the circumferential direction of the rod portion 11, and a second groove along the axial direction of the rod portion 11.
groove 16b. As shown in FIG. 2 or 7, the second groove 16b is provided over the entire length of the insertion portion of the rod portion 11 into the stabilizer body 1. As shown in FIG. The cross-sectional shapes of the first groove 16a and the second groove 16b are shallow V-shaped, as shown in FIG.

Then, the rod portion 11 is inserted into the end portion 1c of the stabilizer body 1 so that the weld bead portion of the stabilizer body 1 enters the second groove 16b, and the weld bead portion and the groove 16b fit together to form the stabilizer body. With the terminal attachment member 10 positioned relative to the terminal attachment member 1 in the circumferential direction, the diameter is reduced by crushing it in the radial direction from the outer circumferential side using molds 20, 21, etc., as illustrated in FIG. In this way, the terminal attachment member 10 is fixed to the stabilizer main body 1.

Thus, according to the above configuration, part of the meat of the stabilizer body 1 enters the first groove 16a due to plastic flow, and part of the meat of the stabilizer body 1 including the weld bead part enters the second groove 16b in the axial direction. The area will be filled. and the first groove 1
6a allows sufficient axial fastening force to be exerted, and the second groove 16b provides a rotation prevention function.

When the prototype according to this example was tested, the axial tensile breaking load was 10850 Kgf, and the axial cyclic tensile test was ±320 Kgf.
It was undamaged after 1 million cycles and 500,000 cycles at ±3000Kgf. In addition, the rotational torsional breaking load was 45Kgfm, which is sufficient for practical use as a tension rod and stabilizer.

In this way, the strength of the connection between the stabilizer main body 1 and the terminal attachment member 10 is extremely high, and no looseness occurs in the connection. Therefore, moisture such as muddy water splashed up from the road surface while the vehicle is running may enter the inside of the stabilizer body 1 through the connection between the stabilizer body 1 and the terminal mounting member 10 due to capillary action and cause rust. No problems will occur.

Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the length of the grooved portion of the rod portion 11 is set long in advance as shown in FIG. By adjusting the relative position, the span L in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle can be adjusted. Therefore, heat treatment distortion of the stabilizer body 1 can be easily dealt with.

Moreover, the terminal mounting member 10 and the stabilizer body 1
Since these can be molded separately, the threaded portion 2 at the end can be processed by rolling, and processing costs can be reduced.

Moreover, there is also the advantage that the rust prevention treatment on the threaded portion 2 can be carried out in a circular manner. That is, in the case of a conventional solid stabilizer, even if this portion is subjected to anti-rust treatment in advance, it will peel off during the subsequent heat treatment process. However, according to this embodiment, the stabilizer main body 1 and the terminal attachment member 10 can be heat-treated separately, so that it is possible to perform anti-rust treatment such as plating the threaded portion 2.

And by making the stabilizer body 1 hollow,
The weight can be significantly reduced compared to conventional solid stabilizers.

Further, an electric resistance welded tube is used for the stabilizer main body 1, and in a state where the weld bead portion along the axial direction existing on the inner surface of the tube is fitted into the second groove 16b,
Since the end portion 1c is crushed by pressing from the outer circumferential side, the circumferential position of the terminal attachment member 10 with respect to the stabilizer body 1 can be accurately regulated, and a part of the meat of the stabilizer body 1 is formed into the second groove 1.
6b, and the rotation prevention effect of the terminal attachment member 10 can be enhanced.

It should be noted that the present invention can of course be applied to ordinary stabilizers that do not have the function of a tension rod. FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example thereof. 8th
The mounting member 10 shown in the figure has bifurcated connecting portions 30, 30.
It is connected to the suspension system side through holes 31, 31 formed in the. Terminal mounting member 10 shown in FIG.
has a cylindrical connecting portion 32, and is connected to the suspension system via this connecting portion 32. Other basic configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, and the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be achieved.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the weld bead portion present on the inner surface of the hollow stabilizer main body made of an electric resistance welded tube is made to enter the groove of the terminal attachment member.
Even if the weld bead that was created during pipe making of the stabilizer body remains on the inner surface of the stabilizer body, the weld bead will not get in the way when inserting the terminal mounting member into the open end of the stabilizer body, and the stabilizer The circumferential position of the terminal attachment member relative to the main body can be easily and accurately regulated. In addition, a part of the meat of the stabilizer body, including the weld bead, can be sufficiently dug into the groove of the terminal mounting member by pressing, which has a great effect on firmly fixing the terminal mounting member in an accurate position. There is.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a stabilizer that also functions as a tension rod, FIGS. 2 to 7 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a partially sectional view of the end of the stabilizer, and FIG. Plan view of the rod part,
Fig. 4 is a front view of the terminal mounting member, Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the shape of the groove, Fig. 6 is a front view showing an example of the mold, and Fig. 7 shows the case where the position of the terminal mounting member is changed. A partially sectional front view, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are respectively partially sectional front views of other examples of the terminal attachment member. 1...Stabilizer main body, 1c...End part, 2...
...Threaded part, 10... Terminal mounting member, 11... Rod part, 16... Locking groove, 16a... First groove, 1
6b...Second groove.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The stabilizer main body is made of an electric resistance welded tube having a welded bead portion along the axial direction on the inner surface, and a terminal mounting member provided at the end of the stabilizer main body. A first groove is provided on the outer periphery of the rod portion along the circumferential direction of the rod portion, and a second groove is provided along the axial direction of the rod portion and extends over the entire length of the insertion portion of the rod portion into the stabilizer body. A groove is formed in advance, and the rod part is inserted into the end of the stabilizer body so that the weld bead part of the stabilizer body enters the second groove of the rod part, and the rod part is crushed by pressing from the outside. A hollow stabilizer characterized in that the terminal mounting member is fixed to the stabilizer main body.