Abstract:
A rear suspension connecting structure located under the floor of a vehicle wherein one horizontal reinforcement member is employed at an inner side of the rear floor side member. A weld pipe, for receiving an entire shank of a bolt, is coupled to an upper side of the reinforcement, and the weld pipe is coupled to a vertical bulkhead coupled along the width of the reinforcement.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to the rear suspension of a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to the rear suspension connecting and support structure of a vehicle.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Conventional rear wheel assemblies of a vehicle include rear suspension components and hub and brake assemblies. Furthermore, knuckles attach the hub and brake assemblies to the vehicle and to a cross member. The cross member is typically mounted with the floor of the vehicle.  
           [0003]    The floor of the vehicle is typically configured with a rear floor side member that is coupled to a rear floor cross member. A reinforcement piece is coupled inside the rear floor side member and to the floor of the vehicle. A second reinforcement is coupled to the reinforcement piece. Nuts, welded to square brackets are used to hold the components together and the square brackets are then welded to the second reinforcing member. Furthermore, a third reinforcement is welded on top of the welded nuts. The rear floor cross member is also welded to a fourth and a fifth reinforcement for additional strength. Finally, bolts are inserted through the cross member and coupled with the nuts, thereby attaching the floor panel to the upper surface of the cross member.  
           [0004]    A drawback in the conventional structure is that there is such a plurality of components that the cost of manufacture is increased, excessive manufacture time is lost, excessive resources are expanded and the weight of the vehicle is increased.  
           [0005]    Another drawback is that the bolts, for coupling the cross member and the rear floor side member are mounted to relatively short welded nuts. The short nuts result in the shank of the bolts not being stably held. This enables the vibration from the engine and road to propagate into the driver&#39;s compartment.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention provides a rear suspension connecting structure for a vehicle adapted to reduce the number of parts required and the manufacturing and assembly cost of the vehicle. Furthermore, the present invention reduces the weight of the rear suspension connecting structure, while maintaining sufficient strength.  
           [0007]    The present invention further provides a rear suspension connecting structure that may be located under the floor of a vehicle and adapted to stably hold an entire shank of a mounting bolt. This improves the stability of a mounted cross member equipped with a rear suspension and a rear floor side member, thereby reducing the transmission of vibration.  
           [0008]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a rear suspension connecting structure of a vehicle wherein a rear floor cross member is welded to a lateral portion of a rear floor side member. The rear floor side member is strutted by a flange formed at an end of the rear floor cross member. A reinforcement, having a length corresponding to a width of the rear floor cross member, is welded to an inner floor surface of the rear floor side member. A weld pipe, formed with a female screw at a minor diameter, is welded to a position formed by a bolt hole of the reinforcement. The bolt hole is configured such that an entire shank of a bolt can be fastened. The weld pipe is encompassed by and welded at one side to a bent part of a vertical bulkhead traversing a crosswise direction of the rear floor cross member. The rear floor cross member is equipped with a reinforcement which is both welded to a lateral part of the rear floor side member and is centrally formed with a reinforced incline.  
           [0009]    In the present invention, the number of reinforcements is decreased, thereby reducing the cost of materials, assembly process, and weight of the vehicle. However, the strength of the system is maintained sufficiently secure by the vertical bulkhead. Furthermore, the mounting strength of the bolts is improved via a weld pipe holding the entire shank of the bolt, thereby securely connecting the rear floor side member to a cross member of the rear suspension and reducing vibration. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    For fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rear suspension of a vehicle;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a rear suspension connecting structure of a floor of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the assembled rear suspension connecting structure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    As shown in FIG. 1, a typical rear suspension connecting structure includes generally a cross member that interconnects the wheel attaching components, brake components, and the suspension.  
         [0015]    Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a rear suspension connecting structure that connects under the floor of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention includes a rear floor side member  10  that defines each end of the floor panel rear portion (not shown). A rear floor cross member  20  is included and connects to the rear floor side member  10 . A first reinforcement  30  is welded to an inner floor surface of the rear floor side member  10 . Weld pipe  40  is welded to the front and rear part of the reinforcement  30 . The weld pipe  40  also has female screw threads for receiving a bolt. A vertical bulkhead  50  is configured to encompass one side of the weld pipe  40  and positioned within the rear floor side member  10 . Also, a second reinforcement  60  is coupled to an inner surface of the rear floor cross member  20  and to the lateral surface of the rear floor side member  10 .  
         [0016]    The rear floor side member  10  has a U-shape in cross-section. The first reinforcement  30  also has a U-shape in cross-section, such that the rear floor side member  10  and the first reinforcement  30  fit together. Following placing the first reinforcement  30  within the floor side member  10 , they are jointly coupled to the floor surface. Furthermore, the first reinforcement  30  is coupled to the floor side member  10 , such that bolt holes in the first reinforcement  30  remain properly aligned with bolt holes in the floor side member  10 .  
         [0017]    The weld pipe  40  is coupled with an upper surface of the first reinforcement  30  so that the inner open diameter of the weld pipe  40 , which contains the female screw threads, corresponds with the bolt holes in the first reinforcement  30  and the floor side member  10 . The weld pipe  40  is configured to be tall enough to accommodate the portion of a bolt that is protruded above the upper side of the reinforcement  30  from under the vehicle. That is, the shank of the bolt that protrudes above the reinforcement  30 , is entirely received by the female screw threads of the weld pipe  40 .  
         [0018]    The vertical bulkhead  50  has flanges that couple to both the lateral surfaces and the base surface of the first reinforcement  30  held within the floor side member  10 . Furthermore, a center portion of the vertical surface is formed with semi-circled bend portion  51 . This semi-circular bend portion  51  receives and couples with the weld pipe  40 .  
         [0019]    In a preferred embodiment the floor cross member  20  is trapezoidal in shape near where it connects to the rear floor side member  10 . Furthermore, the floor cross member  20  is formed with a flange  21  that is coupled to the rear floor side member  10 .  
         [0020]    It is preferred that the trapezoid-shaped section of the rear floor cross member  20  is configured to receive a second reinforcement  60 . The second reinforcement  60  substantially matches the shape of the rear floor cross member  20 , such that it fits within said rear floor cross member  20  (FIG. 2). A floor surface and the vertical surfaces of the trapezoid-shaped second reinforcement  60  are coupled to the matching floor surface and vertical surfaces of the rear floor cross member  20 . In a preferred embodiment the rear floor cross member  20  and is configured with an incline surface  61  for coupling to the second reinforcement  60 .  
         [0021]    Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the present invention will be described.  
         [0022]    The vertical bulkhead  50  supports the weld pipe  40  to fully support bolts that connect the components to the vehicle body. Furthermore, the weld pipe  40  supports the bolts from vibration.  
         [0023]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the strength of the rear suspension connecting unit is sufficient by the particular placement of the reinforcement members. One horizontal reinforcement  30  and one vertical bulkhead  50  are used to secure the rear suspension connecting unit to the vehicle body. The flange formed underneath the vertical bulkhead  50  functions as a horizontal reinforcement and the vertical surfaces thereof function as another reinforcement. The mid-section of the vertical surface is strutted by the weld pipe  40  such that the vertical bulkhead  50  and the weld pipe  50  are mutually supported and therefore reinforce the strength of the unit.  
         [0024]    In a further preferred embodiment the strength of the end of the rear floor cross member mounted with the rear floor side member and rear suspension. In the present invention, the shank of the bolt is entirely grasped by the weld pipe  40  and the weld pipe  40  is supported by the vertical bulkhead  50 . This enables sufficient restraint of the bolts from movement in the left and right directions, as well as to forward and backward movement. The end of the rear floor cross member mounted with the rear floor side member and the rear suspension is coupled tightly. Therefore, forces are effectively dispersed and shocks and vibrations are effectively absorbed.  
         [0025]    The foregoing description of embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents