Nissan Motor Company Limited

Yorozu Corporation

Yoshihiro Kawabe

Takuya Murakami

Kenji Kawagoe

Tamiyoshi Kasahara

Kazuo Kondo

Moritsune Nakata

Hiroshi Tonomura

Reo Koide

Keiichi Nakajima

Kenji Sagara

Masahiko Nishida

Isao Watanabe

Takao Kuno

Yusuke Kageyama

Shinji Kawano

Michihito Hirahara

Yoshiteru Minagawa

Masaki Ohta

Masaya Kunitomo

A suspension structure includes lower front and rear links arranged to connect a wheel support member to support a wheel and a vehicle body member swingably, and an upper link located above the lower front link and arranged to connect the wheel support member and the vehicle body swingably. There is further provided a connect bush arranged to connect the lower front link and the lower rear link with each other. The connect bush is located below a connection point between the lower front link and the wheel support member.

Suspension structure and link arranging method

A bush is adapted to connect a suspension link with a link support member which is one of a wheel support member and a vehicle body member. The bush includes an inner cylinder which extends in a front and rear direction and which is connected with one of the suspension link and the link support member, an outer cylinder which includes an inside circumferential surface confronting an outside circumferential surface of the inner cylinder and which is connected with the other of the suspension link and the link support member, and an elastic member interposed radially between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder. The inner cylinder is formed with a bulge portion which projects radially outwards from the outside circumferential surface of the inner cylinder at a middle portion of the inner cylinder in an axial direction of the inner cylinder of the link bush.

Suspension structure, bush structure and suspension characteristic adjusting method

A suspension device includes a wheel supporting member configured to rotatably support a wheel. Two links respectively link the wheel supporting member and a vehicle-body side member and are disposed substantially in parallel in a vehicle width direction. At least one projecting portion extends from at least one of the two links towards the other link, and an elastic linking portion links the projecting portion of one of the links to at least one of the other link and the projecting portion of the other link. A toe angle adjusting device is configured to input a force in a direction oriented backward in the vehicle forward-backward direction to the wheel supporting member to adjust a toe-in angle of the wheel.

Suspension device and method for supporting a wheel

A wheel suspension device for a vehicle includes a wheel supporting member rotatably supporting a wheel. The wheel supporting member is linked to a vehicle-body side by a first link and a second link, with the second link arranged substantially parallel to the first link in a vehicle width direction. The first link has a projecting portion, and at least one elastic linking portion links the projecting portion to the second link.

Multi-link suspension device and method for suspending wheels

A vehicle steering system is configured to avoid contact between wheels and wheel housings when the wheels are steered and to enlarge the maximum steering angle. The vehicle steering system has a steering knuckle that supports a wheel for rotation about a wheel axis and a pivotal movement about a steering axis. The steering knuckle is coupled to a first end part of an extension link. A second end part of the extension link is connected to an arm through a control rod. The extension link is pivotally sustained around a steering axis. The arm is connected to a front end of a knuckle arm through a tie rod. When the arm turns, the second end part of the extension link is pulled inside through the control rod, and the steering knuckle situated on rear end of the control rod is pushed outwardly. At the same time, the arm steers the steering knuckle through the tie rod.

Vehicle steering system

A vehicle height adjusting apparatus includes a suspension spring supporting a sprung weight of a vehicle, a pivotal unsprung member carrying a road wheel and connected to a lower end of the suspension spring so as to pivot in response to deformation of the suspension spring, and a drive mechanism adapted so as to be free from the sprung weight and capable of moving the unsprung member so as to cause the suspension spring to increase or decrease in length and thereby adjusting a vehicle height at the road wheel.

Vehicle height adjusting apparatus

A variable-ratio steering system includes a steering shaft connected to a manually-operated handle, a ball nut engaging with the steering shaft and a ball-bearing-screw mechanism converting rotary motion of the steering shaft into axial displacement of the ball nut in the axial direction of the steering shaft. Also provided is a second motion converter which generates a rotational displacement of the ball nut about the axis of the steering shaft with the axial displacement of the ball nut. A steering pinion gear block is connected to the ball nut by means of serrations to rotate together with the ball nut. A rack is engaged with the pinion gear block and connected at both ends via knuckle mechanisms to steered wheels for varying a steer angle at the steered wheels depending on the displacement of the rack. The second motion converter having a variable steering ratio mechanism which varies a ratio of a rotational displacement of the ball nut about the axis of the steering shaft to the axial displacement of the ball nut to vary a steering ratio of steering wheel rotation angle to road-wheel steer angle.

Variable steering ratio steering system

A front suspension for an automotive vehicle includes a wheel supporting member for rotatably supporting a road wheel of the vehicle. A lower link has a first end section rotatably connected to a lower section of the wheel supporting member, and a second end section connected to a vehicle body-side member so as to be swingable generally in a vertical direction of the vehicle. A connection member is rotatably installed to an upper section of the wheel supporting member so as to be rotatable around a first axis which passes through the wheel supporting member and extends generally in the vertical direction of the vehicle. A shock absorber has an upper end section pivotally connected to the vehicle body-side member, and a lower end section swingably connected to the connection member to be rotatable around a second axis which extends generally in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. A spring is supported by the shock absorber and has a third axis. The extension of the third axis is separate from an extension of the first axis on a horizontal plane extending in a horizontal direction of the vehicle. The third axis inclines relative to the first axis on a vertical plane extending in a vertical direction of the vehicle. An upper link has a first end section swingably connected to the connection member, and a second end section swingably connected to the vehicle body-side member. The upper link has a fourth axis which connects a first connecting point at which the first end section is connected to the connection member and a second connecting point at which the second end section is connected to the vehicle body-side member. The fourth axis crosses the first axis on the vertical plane and on the horizontal plane. Additionally, a tie rod is provided to turn the wheel supporting member upon its movement in the width direction of the vehicle in accordance with a steering operation for the vehicle.

Front suspension

A steering knuckle has an upper portion and a lower portion. A lower link has an outer end pivotally supporting the lower portion of the steering knuckle and an inner end swingably supported by a vehicle body. A connecting member is mounted to the upper portion of the knuckle and rotatable about a first axis relative to the upper portion. A shock absorber has an upper end pivotally connected to the vehicle body at a first point and a lower portion connected to the connecting member. An upper link is pivotally connected to the connecting member at a second point and pivotally connected to the vehicle body at a third point. A tie rod is connected to the supporting member to rotate the same about the first axis. The first axis intersects a second axis passing through the second and third points and passes through a limited area containing the first point.

Front suspension of motor vehicle

A steering knuckle has an upper portion and a lower portion. A lower link has an outside end rotatably connected to the lower portion of the steering knuckle and an inside end swingably supported by a vehicle body. A connecting member is rotatably mounted to the upper portion of the steering knuckle. A first axis (Lk) is defined about which the connecting member rotates relative to the upper portion of the steering knuckle. A shock absorber has an upper end pivotally connected to the vehicle body and a lower end connected to the connecting member. An upper link has an inside end pivotally connected to the vehicle body and an outside end pivotally connected to the connecting member. A second axis (Lu) is defined which passes through both the pivoted inside end of the upper link and the pivoted outside end of the same. A tie rod is connected to the steering knuckle to pivot the same about the first axis. The lower link and the upper link are arranged to exhibit a negative camber characteristics upon bounding, and the shock absorber is supported by the connecting member in a manner to pivot about a third axis (Ls). The third axis (Ls) is inclined with respect to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle in such a manner that a lateral distance of the third axis from the longitudinal axis increases as the third axis extends rearward.

According to a front suspension system, an upper control arm or link is pivoted at an inner end to a suspension member that is connected to a side rail. The upper link extends below the side rail and is connected at an outer end to a rotary joint receiving an upper edge portion of a knuckle. A lower control arm or link is pivotally mounted at two split distance inner ends to the suspension member and extends below the upper link, At an outer end portion, the lower link pivotally supports a lower edge portion of the knuckle. The rotary joint pivotally supports a bracket that holds a lower end portion of a shock absorber of a strut. The rotary joint has a joint axis that has an extension passing through a portion at which the lower edge portion pivots on the lower link. The upper link has a link axis that intersects the joint axis and an intermediate portion spaced along a longitudinal axis of the vehicle from the link axis. The upper link is normally held, with a predetermined rigidity, in a predetermined positional relationship with the link axis.

Front suspension system for automotive vehicle

A front wheel suspension for motor vehicles is constructed such that an upper link is so connected at one single end thereof to a connecting member as to provide an arrangement wherein loading a wheel support member in the lateral direction with respect to the normal forward driving direction of the motor vehicle induces a reaction force along a link axis of the upper link without inducing any substantial amount of moment about a king pin axis.

Front suspension device

The instantaneous centers of rotation of the front and the rear suspensions of a vehicle are defined by an intersection of lines drawn parallel to the axes of the inboard ends of the respective upper and lower links and passing through the ball joints provided at the outboard ends of the respective upper and lower links. The instantaneous centers of rotation of the front and the rear suspensions are located at approximately the same height and distance on either side of the center of gravity of the vehicle.

Vehicle suspension system

A bell crank is pivotally mounted on a suspension link. One end of the bell crank is connected with an essentially horizontal shock absorber while the other is connected with a pull rod. As the road wheel undergoes vertical displacement the bell crank rotates while also undergoing vertical displacement along with the link it is mounted on. The lever ratio established between the shock absorber and the link thus changes.

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Kamakura, Japan

Yoshihiro Kawabe