JPH0658301B2 - Wheel adjustment method - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method of adjusting a toe of a wheel of an automobile, and more specifically to adjusting a toe of a wheel before mounting a suspension subassembly having a steering gear box on a vehicle body. Regarding how to do so.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, after the vehicle is completed, the toe adjustment is performed in the inspection station by the following procedure.

First, the toe of the left and right wheels is measured by a toe measuring device as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 57-4704, the handles are turned so that the toes of both wheels are equal, and the wheels are restrained in this state to tighten the tie rod. By rotating the input shaft of the box through the steering mechanism in the steering gear box, and the steering shaft and the steering shaft that engage the input shaft with serration fitting at the socket at the tip end of the steering wheel to the straight position. Then, the toes of the left and right wheels are made equal at the straight-ahead position of the steering wheel.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above method, when the steering wheel is moved straight by adjusting the tie rod, the input shaft of the steering gear box is largely displaced from the neutral position where the left and right turning angles are equalized, and The deviation of the cutting angle may exceed the allowable value.

As another method, it is possible to put the tire of the wheel on the turntable, hold the handle in the straight traveling position, and adjust the toe of the wheel by adjusting the tie rod, but this requires a turntable. There is a problem that equipment costs increase.

Furthermore, in any case, it is necessary for an operator to enter the pit provided in the inspection station to adjust the tie rods of the completed vehicle, which puts a heavy burden on the operator and poses a problem in improving productivity.

According to the present invention, in order to solve such a problem, when the steering assembly is retrofitted in the adjustment stage before the suspension subassembly is attached to the vehicle body, the left and right toes are equal and the left and right turning angles are substantially equal at the straight-ahead position of the steering wheel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of performing toe adjustment as described above.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a steering shaft, a steering joint, and a steering shaft, which has a socket at a tip end that is serration-fitted to an input shaft of a steering gear box mounted on a suspension subassembly. The steering shaft is connected to the steering shaft to assemble the steering assembly, the phase of the socket is measured in advance when the steering handle is in the straight-ahead position, and the measurement result is obtained before the suspension sub-assembly is assembled to the vehicle body. On the basis of the above, the input shaft is rotated within an angular range of one pitch of serration about a neutral position where the left and right cutting angles are equalized, and the input shaft is inserted into a socket at the measured phase. Adjust the phase so that serrations can be fitted, and in this state, The feature is that the toe adjustment is performed so that the toes of the reels are equal.

(Operation) Steering assembly was actually assembled, the phase of the socket was measured when the steering wheel was in the straight-ahead position, and the input shaft of the steering gearbox was phase-adjusted so that serration could be fitted to the socket existing in this phase. In order to adjust the toe by operating the tie rods so that the left and right wheels have the same toe in this state, after assembling the suspension sub-assembly to the vehicle body, set the handle straight in the steering assembly mounting process and set the socket above. If the input shaft that exists in the phase is fitted with serrations, the toes of the left and right wheels become equal at the straight position of the steering wheel.

Further, since the phase adjustment of the input shaft is performed within the angle range of one pitch of the serration centered on the neutral position, the deviation of the left and right cutting angles is an angle of 1/2 pitch of the serration at the maximum.

Even when the steering wheel is mounted at the stage of completed vehicle, if the steering shaft is rotated so that the toes of the left and right wheels are equal, the phase of the serration portion for steering wheel mounting on the steering shaft is set to the straight-ahead position. The serration can be fitted, and the toes of the left and right wheels are equal at the straight position of the steering wheel.

(Embodiment) The drawings show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the toe adjustment of a front wheel suspended by a double wishbone suspension, in which the suspension is a disc rotor a to which the front wheel is mounted as shown in FIG. A knuckle arm b for axially supporting, an upper arm c and a lower arm d connected to the upper and lower sides of the knuckle arm b, a cushion unit e and a radius rod f, and as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. The lower arm d and the radius rod f are connected to the frame h, the drive shaft i is connected to the knee rotor a, and the tie rod connected to the steering gear box j as shown in FIG. 7 is mounted on the knuckle arm b in the bag-like portion of the rear beam of the frame h. Subassembly A is constructed by connecting k and Bolt it to the vehicle body at the frame h,
Further, an upper arm c previously attached to the vehicle body at a joint portion at the upper end of the knuckle arm b and the cushion unit e.
The upper end of the assembly A is connected to the vehicle body so that the assembly A is assembled to the vehicle body.

Then, an adjusting station is provided in the middle of the conveying path for conveying the assembly A to the vehicle body assembling station, and the adjusting device as shown in FIGS. I made adjustments. The device is a lifter for lifting up a sub-assembly A carried on a machine base (1).
(2), a clamp means (3) for positioning and holding the lifted up sub-assembly A at a fixed position in the sub-frame h, and a knuckle arm b by contacting the lower arm d.
Knuckle supporting means (4) for pushing up and supporting the knuckle arm to a swinging position when weight is applied to the subframe h, and an engaging element (5a which is inserted and engaged from above into the upper arm joint portion of the upper end of the knuckle arm b. Knuckle positioning means (5) having a knuckle support means (4) and the knuckle support means (4) and the knuckle support means (4) can be adjusted by the cross slider (5b) according to the upper arm mounting position of the vehicle body. The knuckle positioning means (5) constitutes a simulating means for holding the knuckle arm b in the same mechanical position relative to the subframe h as when mounted on the vehicle body.
(1) A pair of first detecting means (6) and (6) for detecting the toe and the camber by facing the left and right disk rotors a and a.
And a pair of second detecting means (7) (7) for detecting the casters by facing the left and right knuckle arms b, b, and the steering gear box j consisting of a pinion shaft protruding above the rear beam of the subframe h. The steering shaft positioning means (8) for adjusting the phase of the input shaft 1 is provided.

The first detecting means (6) is a pair of upper and lower toe detecting elements (6b) (6b) consisting of a non-contact type distance sensor on a detecting head (a) which can move back and forth toward the disk rotor a. The camber detecting elements (6c) and (6c) are attached, and the toe of each of the left and right wheels is determined from the deviation of the distance between the toe detecting elements (6b) and (6b) with respect to the wheel mounting reference surface a ₁ of the disc rotor a. The camber of each wheel is detected from the deviation of the distance between the camber detection elements (6c) and (6c) with respect to the reference plane a ₁ .

The second detection means (7) is a caster element consisting of a non-contact type distance sensor on a detection head (7b) which is movable back and forth to a position facing the caster measurement surface b ₁ on the front side of the knuckle arm b by the cylinder (7a). The element (7c) was attached.

The steering positioning means (8) detects a socket (8a) that engages with the input shaft 1, a motor (8b) that rotates the socket (8a) forward and backward, and a rotation angle of the socket (8a). The detector (8c) is provided with a detector (8c), which will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. A swingable swinging frame (8e) is provided at a lower operating position, and a motor (8b) with a speed reducer is mounted on the swinging frame (8e), and the motor (8b)
A spline shaft (8g) connected to the shaft via a torque limiter (8f) extends downward through a guide sleeve (8e ') that is suspended from the swing frame (8e), and a socket is provided at the lower end of the shaft (8g). (8a) is vertically movably connected, and a gear (8h) having the same number of teeth as the serration of the input shaft 1 is attached to the upper end of the shaft (8g), and the swing frame (8e) is The proximity switch (8i) is attached to a position facing the peripheral surface of the gear (8h) to form the detector (8c), and the number of teeth of the gear (8h) passing through the front surface of the switch (8i) is set to The rotation angle of the socket (8a) is detected by counting with a counter connected to the switch (8i).

In the drawings, (8j) and (8j) show lock rings provided at the lower end of the guide sleeve (8h) in upper and lower two stages, and the socket (8a) is elastically engaged in the upper and lower two positions by the respective rings (8j). The socket (8a) is manually moved downward to engage with the input shaft l.

Further, referring to FIG. 7, B indicates a steering assembly, which is a steering joint n having a socket m at the tip for serration-fitting to the input shaft l, and a steering shaft o connected thereto. And a handle p connected to the shaft o and a handle column g, which is the same as the vehicle body to which the sub-assembly A is assembled before the suspension sub-assembly A is put into an adjusting device and alignment adjustment is performed. The steering assembly B to be assembled to the vehicle body was assembled, and this was set in the phase measuring device (9) shown in FIG. 5 so that the phase of the socket m when the steering wheel p was in the straight traveling position was measured in advance. .

To explain this in more detail, the input shaft 1 is added to the measuring device (9).
A probe (9a) having the same serration as that of (1) and an encoder (9b) for detecting the rotation angle of the probe (9a) are provided, and the socket m is fitted to the probe (9a) by serration. The handle p is set in the straight-ahead position, and the phase of the socket m at this time is set as a reference phase when the root of the serration matches the reference line x shown in FIG. The measurement was made according to (9b).

Next, in order to explain the adjustment work procedure by the adjustment device, first, the subframe h of the subassembly A is lifted.
After being lifted up by (2) and positioned and held in a fixed position by the clamp means (3), the knuckle arm b, which is a suspension constituent member, is sub-mounted by a simulator means composed of a knuckle support means (4) and a knuckle positioning means (5). The frame h is mechanically held in the same positional relationship as when it is mounted on the vehicle body, and then the phase of the input shaft 1 is adjusted by the steering phase determining means (8).

In this phase adjustment, the socket (8a) is engaged with the input shaft 1 and the motor (8b) is actuated to move the socket (8a) to one of the racks in the steering gear box j interlocking with the input shaft l. After the input shaft 1 is rotated by the movement to the stroke end to one lock position, the socket (8a) is moved to the other stroke end of the rack and the other input shaft 1 is locked. Rotate to the lock position,
A rotation angle θ between the both lock positions is detected by a detector (8c), and then a motor (8b) is controlled by a control device (not shown) to move the socket (8a) from the other lock position to θ / 2.
The input shaft 1 is indexed to the neutral position by only reversing it, and the phase of the input shaft 1 at this time is taken as the reference phase when the crest of the serration matches the reference line corresponding to the reference line x. By detecting the deviation angle and rotating the input shaft 1 from the neutral position in the forward or reverse direction by the phase difference represented by the difference between the deviation angle and the deviation angle α measured by the measuring device (9). To do.

According to this, the phase of the input shaft 1 becomes a phase in which the tooth crests coincide with the roots of the socket m existing in the phase when the handle p is in the straight-ahead position and can be serrated and fitted therein. The phase difference is within the angle range of one pitch of the serration centered on the neutral position of the input shaft l, and therefore the rotation angle from the neutral position of the input shaft l becomes the maximum angle of 1/2 pitch of the serration. The deviation of the left and right cutting angles is also within 1/2 pitch.

The phase adjustment of the input shaft 1 is automatically performed by inputting a signal from the encoder (9b) of the measuring device (9) to the control device of the motor (8b).

Then, the toe, camber, and caster of the left and right wheels are detected by the first and second detecting means (6) and (7), and the toe of the left and right wheels is adjusted to be equal to each other by adjusting the expansion and contraction of the tie rod k. In addition, the camber and casters are adjusted.

Then, after this alignment adjustment, the suspension subassembly A is assembled to the vehicle body, then the steering assembly B is assembled to the vehicle body, and the socket m is fitted to the input shaft 1 by serration.

Generally, in the process of assembling the steering assembly B to the vehicle body, the handle p is removed and the handle p is attached to the steering shaft o at the completion stage. At the time of attaching the handle, the handle p is temporarily attached to the steering shaft o. After assembling and turning the handle p so that the toes of the left and right wheels are equal, the handle p is attached to the steering shaft o again in the straight traveling position. here,
The state where the toes of the left and right wheels are equal is the same state as when the alignment is adjusted by the adjusting device, and the input shaft 1 is in a phase in which the handle p can be moved straight and the socket m can be serrated. Therefore, the steering wheel p can be securely fitted to the steering wheel mounting serration portion of the steering shaft o with the steering wheel p in the straight-ahead position.

Thus, the toe of the left and right wheels becomes equal at the straight position of the steering wheel p, and the deviation of the left and right cutting angles is equal to or less than 1/2 pitch of the serration, and no toe adjustment or cutting angle adjustment is required after the vehicle is completed. Becomes

As described above, according to the present invention, the phase of the input shaft of the steering gear box is adjusted according to the phase of the socket at the steering wheel straight position measured by assembling the steering assembly before mounting the suspension sub-assembly on the vehicle body. When the suspension sub-assembly and the steering assembly are assembled to the vehicle body, the toe of the left and right wheels is equal and the toe of the left and right wheels is cut when the suspension sub-assembly and the steering assembly are assembled to the vehicle body. The angle deviation becomes almost zero, and there is no need for toe adjustment or cutting angle adjustment after the vehicle is completed, which has the effect of improving productivity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an example of an adjusting device used for carrying out the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view seen from the line II-II of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a side view seen from the line III-III, FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of the steering positioning means for adjusting the phase of the input shaft, and FIG. 5 is a phase measuring device for measuring the phase of the socket of the steering assembly. FIG. 7 is a side view, FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a suspension subassembly and a steering assembly in which a subframe is omitted. A: Suspension sub-assembly B ... Steering assembly j ... Steering gear box l ... Input shaft m ... Socket n ... Steering joint o ... Steering shaft p ... Steering wheel (8) ... Steering positioning means (9) ) …… Phase measurement device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Nagatoshi Murata 1-10-1, Shin-Sayama, Sayama-shi, Saitama Prefecture Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Ino, Maruyama 1-10-1, Shin-Sayama, Sayama-shi Within Honda Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering assembly is assembled by connecting a steering shaft and a steering shaft to a steering joint having a socket at the front end for serration-fitting to an input shaft of a steering gear box mounted on a suspension sub-assembly. Before the suspension subassembly is assembled to the vehicle body, the phase of the socket when the steering wheel is in the straight-ahead position is measured in advance, and based on this measurement result, the input shaft is neutralized so that the left and right cutting angles are equal. Is rotated within the angle range of one pitch of the serration, and the input shaft is phase-adjusted so that the input shaft can be fitted to the socket at the measured phase so that the serration fits. A special feature is to make toe adjustments so that the toes of the wheels are equal. Toe method of adjusting the wheel to be.