MOUNTING STRUCTURE FOR LOWER ARM BRACKET

DISPOSITIF DE MONTAGE DE BRAS DE SUSPENSION INFERIEUR

English Abstract

The present invention relates to a lower arm bracket
mounting structure, wherein when the lower arm bracket of
the suspension is fixed on the lower surface of the
vehicle body member by means of bolts, a stem portion is
provided at the base portion of said bolt and a hole is
defined through said vehicle member, said hole being
engaging with the stem portion of said bolt, whereas a
threaded hole into which said bolt is threadably inserted
is defined in the tip end of the hole.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A structure for fixing a lower suspension arm bracket,
comprising: a sleeve with upper and lower ends, said sleeve upper
and lower ends being joined with a gusset plate and a lower side
member by welds, said sleeve defining a fixing hole including a
female threaded portion, a tapered intermediate portion and a non-
threaded hole portion; a bolt engaging said fixing hole and
engaging said lower arm suspension bracket to fix said lower arm
suspension bracket to said lower side member, said bolt including
a male threaded portion, an intermediate tapered portion and a
stem portion, said male threaded portion being dimensioned to
engage said female threaded portion of said fixing hole, said
tapered portion being dimensioned to engage said fixing hole
intermediate tapered portion and said stem portion having a
diameter which is substantially the same as a diameter of said
fixing hole such that said stem portion engages said fixing hole.
2. A structure for fixing a lower suspension arm bracket,
comprising: a sleeve having upper and lower ends joined with a
gusset plate and a lower side member by welds; and connection
means including a fixing hole formed in said sleeve and a bolt
engaging said sleeve and said fixing hole and engaging the lower
suspension arm bracket to fix said lower suspension arm bracket to
said lower side member, said fixing hole being formed in said
sleeve to define a female threaded portion, a tapered portion and
a non-tapered hole portion, said bolt including a male threaded

a non-tapered hole portion, said bolt including a male threaded
portion dimensioned for engaging said female threaded portion, a
tapered portion dimensioned to engage said fixing hole tapered
portion and a stem portion having a diameter substantially the
same as a diameter of said non-threaded portion such that a
surface of said stem portion engages a surface of said non-
threaded portion for preventing sagging of said bolt relative to
said fixing hole to prevent a change in alignment of said lower
suspension arm bracket.

Description

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SPECIFICATION
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
MOUNTING STRUCTURE FOR LOr~ER ARM BRACKET
2. FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The present invention relates to a mounting structure
for mounting the lower arm bracket of the suspension to a
vehicle body in the suspension to be used in the motor
vehicles etc.
There are known prior mounting structures of the type
wherein a sleeve nut c is secured by means of welding and
the like at its opposite ends to a lower side member a and a
gusset plate b, as shown in Fig. 3, and a bolt d is
threadably inserted into the sleeve-nut c to fix the lower
arm bracket e in position between the bolt d and the
lower side member a.
Also known is of such type as wherein a sleeve f is
interposed between the lower side member a and a gusset
plate b as shown in Fig. 4, and a nut g is secured in
place on anupper surface of the gusset plate b by means of
welding etc., and while a bolt d is threadably inserted
into a lower side member a through a lower arm bracket e
and a sleeve f which abut with the lower side member a,
and the tip end of the bolt d is threadably inserted into
the nut g fcr securement.
Meanwhile, a clearance h is created at the threaded
portion between a bolt d and a sleeve nut c (or a nut g)
as shown in Eig. 5. Therefore~ there was a problem that
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21326-154
when an external force larger than a frictional force to be
created at the threaded portion is imposed at the lower arm
bracket e, the bolt d is caused to move by a distance h equal with
this clearance, and thereby altering the alignment of the
suspension.
3. OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is
provided a structure for fixing a lower suspension arm bracket,
comprising: a sleeve with upper and lower ends, said sleeve upper
and lower ends being joined with a gusset plate and a lower side
member by welds, said sleeve defining a fixing hole including a
female threaded portion, a tapered intermediate portion and a non-
threaded hole portion; a bolt engaging said fixing hole and
engaging said lower arm suspension bracket to fix said lower arm
suspension bracket to said lower side member, said bolt including
a male threaded portion, an intermediate tapered portion and a
stem portion, said male threaded portion being dimensioned to
engage said female threaded portion of said fixing hole, said
tapered portion being dimensioned to engage said fixing hole
intermediate tapered portion and said stem portion having a
diameter which is substantially the same as a diameter of said
fixing hole such that said stem portion engages said fixing hole.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention,
there is provided a structure for fixing a lower suspension arm
bracket, comprising: a sleeve having upper and lower ends joined
with a gusset plate and a lower side member by welds; and
connection means including a fixing hole formed in said sleeve and

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21326-154
a bolt engaging said sleeve and said fixing hole and engaging the
lower suspension arm bracket to fix said lower suspension arm
bracket to said lower side member, said fixing hole being formed
in said sleeve to define a female threaded portion, a tapered
portion and a non-tapered hole portion, said bolt including a male
threaded portion dimensioned for engaging said female threaded
portion, a tapered portion dimensioned to engage said fixing hole
tapered portion and a stem portion having a diameter substantially
the same as a diameter of said non-threaded portion such that a
surface of said stem portion engages a surface of said non-
threaded portion for preventing sagging of said bolt relative to
said fixing hole to prevent a change in alignment of said lower
suspension arm bracket.
4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 and Figure 2 show one embodiment of the
mounting structure of the lower arm bracket in accordance with the
present invention, wherein
Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view
illustrating the essential portion thereof;
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the lower arm in
Figure 1 removed from the vehicle body;
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Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are vertical cross-sectional views
showing a prior art embodiment which correponds with the
embodiment in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a enlarged cross-sectional view showing the
threaded portion between the bot and the nut.
5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
One embodiment of the present invention will be
described hereinbelow, with reference to accompanying
drawings.
In Fig.1, there are illustrated a lower side member
1, a gusset plate 2, and a side member barrier 3. The
lower side member 1 and the gusset plate 2 are connected
each other through welding at their opposide ends
respectively, as shown. A hole 4a in the sleeve 4 is
aligned with a hole 1a defined in the lower side member 1,
or the hole 1a is made slightly larger in diameter A
tapered portion 4b is formed at the central
circumferential wall of the sleeve 4's hole 4a. A female
threaded hole 4c is formed at a upper position above the
tapered portion 4b. A bolt 5 is provided, having a stem
portion 5a and a male threaded portion 5c with a tapered
portion 5b therebetween.
In Fig. 2, a lower arm 6 is illustrated as installed
in a front suspension, having a mounting hole 7a defined
in the bracket 7 of the lower arm 6. The stem portion 5a
of the bolt 5 is inserted into the mounting hole 7a, and
the lower arm bracket 7 is fixed in position on the lower
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side member 1 by threadably inserting the make threaded
portion 5c into the female threaded portion 4c in the
sleeve 4. Meanwhile, the hole 4a in the sleeve and the
mounting hole 7a in the lower arm bracket 7 are placed in
an engaging relationship with the stem portion 5a of the
bolt 5 by making their diameters substantially equal. A
clearance to be created between their engaging faces is
made smaller in diameter than that to be created when the
threaded portion is inserted (see Fig. 5, h).
This embodiment is constituted as above-described,
and therefore the bolt 5 is restricted from moving
further as the stem 5a of the bolt 5 is in abutment
against the inner surface of the hole 4a of ther sleeve 4,
even when external forces larger than a frictional force
to be created at the threaded portion is imposed on the
lower arm bracket 7.
In this embodiment, a sleeve 4 is interposed between
the lower side member 1 and the gusset plate 2, but it may
also be possible for the hole 4a and the female threaded
hole 4c to be formed dlrectly in the lower side member 1,
if the vehicle body member comprises a thick portion which
is substantially close to the height dimension of the
Because the hole in the vehicle body is formed in an
engaing relationship with the stem portion of the bolt by
making their diameters substantially equal, the suspension
may not alter its alignment as the movement of the bolt is
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restricted by the vehicle member even when external forces
larger than a frictional force to be created at the
threaded portion is imposed on the lower arm bracket.
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Representative Drawing