Patent Description:
Recently, a trend in tuning an engine or vehicle is to gradually increase "hard" properties of the vehicle so as to replicate handling performance of high-end European vehicles. In addition, the vehicle should have a reduced weight in order to conform with environmental regulations, e.g., to improve fuel efficiency.

In order to implement the vehicle having the hard property, rigidity (i.e., a wheel rate) that is generated when a tire receives a vertical load needs to be high, and rigidity of a spring connecting a suspension arm and a vehicle body member needs to be increased to increase the wheel rate.

Further, when a load of the vehicle is decreased, a force for compressing the spring is decreased, and as a result, a compression amount of the spring is decreased.

The compression amount of the spring is further decreased when the tire receives the vertical load in a case in which the load of the vehicle is decreased to satisfy the environmental regulations in a state in which the rigidity of the spring is increased to satisfy the hard property of the vehicle as described above. For this reason, there is a drawback in that the spring connecting the suspension arm and the vehicle body member is withdrawn in a case in which a rebound situation additionally occurs in a full-rebound situation while the vehicle travels (a situation in which the spring deviates from a range in which the spring can be extended, or a situation in which the spring deviates from a free height of the spring, that is, a situation in which the tire passes a deep puddle). As a result, there is a problem in that an accident such as a rollover of the vehicle may occur.

A wheel stroke of the vehicle needs to be decreased in order to prevent the withdrawal of the spring. However, because the wheel stroke of the vehicle is a main factor that affects performance and marketability of the vehicle, it is not easy to change the wheel stroke.

From <CIT>a suspension system for a vehicle according to the preamble of claim <NUM> is known. Further suspension systems are known from <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>.

The object of the present disclosure is providing a suspension system for a vehicle, which has a configuration capable of preventing withdrawal of a spring connecting a suspension arm and a vehicle body member even in a case in which a rebound situation additionally occurs in a full-rebound situation while the vehicle travels, that is, even in a situation in which the spring deviates from a range (a free height of the spring) in which the spring can be extended, thereby improving stability of the vehicle. This object is solved by a suspension system for a vehicle according to claim <NUM>. Further embodiments are subject of the dependent claims.

The present disclosure provides a suspension system for a vehicle, the suspension system including: a spring pad coupled to a spring and configured to support the spring connecting a suspension arm and a vehicle body member of the vehicle, in which the spring pad includes: a seat part coupled to an end of the spring; a guide part configured to guide upward and downward movements of the seat part; and an elastic part configured to connect the seat part and the guide part and having a length that varies when the seat part moves.

The elastic part has an external shape formed in a bellows shape.

A spring coupling groove may be formed along an outer circumference of the seat part, and the spring may be inserted and fixed into the spring coupling groove.

The seat part may be made of a rubber material to absorb impact and prevent noise.

The seat part may be made of a rubber material, and an inner steel member made of a steel material may be coupled in the seat part to maintain a shape of the seat part.

An outer circumferential surface of the guide part may be provided as an inclined surface to prevent interference with the seat part when the seat part moves.

The guide part may be made of any one of engineered plastic or steel to maintain strength.

The elastic part may be compressed by an elastic force of the spring coupled to the seat part in an empty vehicle state or in the event of a bump, and in a normal full-rebound situation in which the spring does not deviate from a free height of the spring or when an additional rebound further occurs in the full-rebound situation, the elastic part may be decompressed and elastically deformed so that the length thereof increases, such that the spring is prevented from being withdrawn from the spring pad.

The elastic part may be made of any one of a polyurethane material or a highly compressive polymer material.

The guide part of the spring pad may be fixed to the vehicle body member positioned above the suspension arm, and an upper end of the spring may be coupled to the seat part of the spring pad.

The guide part of the spring pad may be fixed to the suspension arm, and a lower end of the spring may be coupled to the seat part of the spring pad.

The spring pad can be provided in a pair, wherein the guide parts of the spring pads may be fixed to the suspension arm and the vehicle body member positioned above the suspension arm, respectively, an upper end of the spring may be coupled to the seat part of the spring pad fixed to the vehicle body member, and a lower end of the spring may be coupled to the seat part of the spring pad fixed to the suspension arm.

According to the suspension system according to the present disclosure, the spring is consistently supported by being coupled to the seat part of the spring pad even in the situation in which the additional rebound further occurs in the full-rebound situation and the spring deviates from the range (the free height of the spring) in which the spring can be extended. As a result, the spring pad may prevent the withdrawal of the spring connecting the suspension arm and the vehicle body member, thereby preventing occurrence of a safety accident such as a rollover of the vehicle, and thus improving marketability by improving stability of the vehicle.

In addition, the embodiment according to the present disclosure is configured to prevent the withdrawal of the rear wheel spring in the event of the full-rebound of the vehicle having a high wheel rate like a tuned and high-performance vehicle of which the handling is preferentially considered. As a result, it is possible to ensure an additional rebound stroke, and in particular, it is possible to ensure excellent ride quality by improving impact shock even in the case of the high-performance vehicle.

In addition, the present disclosure provides the configuration in which the lower end of the spring is physically supported by the spring pad at a point in time at which the vehicle reaches the full rebound, such that the withdrawal of the spring may be prevented. As a result, the structure does not affect rigidity of the spring while the vehicle travels, and thus the structure may be applied without heterogeneity.

It is understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms "unit", "-er", "-or", and "module" described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.

Further, the control logic of the present disclosure may be embodied as non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller or the like. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion, e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).

Specific structural or functional descriptions of embodiments of the present disclosure disclosed in this specification or application are exemplified only for the purpose of explaining the embodiments according to the present disclosure, the embodiments according to the present disclosure may be carried out in various forms, and it should not be interpreted that the present disclosure is limited to the embodiments described in this specification or application.

Because the embodiments according to the present disclosure may be variously changed and may have various forms, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings, namely <FIG>, and described in detail in the present specification or application. However, the descriptions of the specific embodiments are not intended to limit embodiments according to the concept of the present disclosure to the specific embodiments, but it should be understood that the present disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the technical scope of the appended claims.

The terms such as "first" and/or "second" may be used to describe various constituent elements, but these constituent elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one constituent element from other constituent elements. For example, without departing from the scope according to the concept of the present disclosure, the first constituent element may be referred to as the second constituent element, and similarly, the second constituent element may also be referred to as the first constituent element.

When one constituent element is described as being "coupled" or "connected" to another constituent element, it should be understood that one constituent element can be coupled or connected directly to another constituent element, and an intervening constituent element can also be present between the constituent elements. When one constituent element is described as being "coupled directly to" or "connected directly to" another constituent element, it should be understood that no intervening constituent element is present between the constituent elements. Other expressions, that is, "between" and "just between" or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to", for explaining a relationship between constituent elements, should be interpreted in a similar manner.

The terms used in the present specification are used only for the purpose of describing particular exemplary embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless clearly described as different meanings in the context.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. The terms such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with meanings in the context of related technologies and should not be interpreted as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in the present specification.

A control unit (controller) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented by a nonvolatile memory (not illustrated) configured to algorithm for controlling operations of various constituent elements in a vehicle or store data related to software commands for executing the algorithm, and by a processor (not illustrated) configured to perform the following operations by using the data stored in the corresponding memory. In this case, the memory and the processor may be implemented as separate chips. Alternatively, the memory and the processor may be implemented as a single chip in which the memory and the processor are integrated. The processor may be configured in the form of one or more processors.

Hereinafter, a suspension system for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> illustrate a multi-link type rear wheel suspension system for explaining the present disclosure with <FIG> showing embodiments of the present disclosure.

The suspension system for a vehicle according to the present disclosure is configured such that one end of a suspension arm <NUM> is connected to a vehicle body frame <NUM>, and the other end of the suspension arm <NUM> is connected to a knuckle <NUM> of a tire <NUM>.

The suspension arm <NUM> preferably is a rear wheel lower arm, and the vehicle body frame <NUM> preferably is a rear wheel cross member.

A suspension arm bushing is coupled to one end of the suspension arm <NUM>, and a bolt <NUM> penetrates the suspension arm bushing and the vehicle body frame <NUM> and is fastened to a nut, such that one end of the suspension arm <NUM> is coupled to the vehicle body frame <NUM>.

The other end of the suspension arm <NUM> is coupled to the knuckle <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, an exemplary suspension system provided to further the understanding of the present disclosure includes: a spring pad <NUM> fixedly coupled to a vehicle body member <NUM> positioned above the suspension arm <NUM>; and a spring <NUM> having a lower end supported on the suspension arm <NUM>, and an upper end coupled to and supported on the spring pad <NUM> fixed to the vehicle body member <NUM>.

The vehicle body member <NUM> is a side member, and the spring <NUM> is a coil spring that connects the suspension arm <NUM> and the vehicle body member <NUM> through the spring pad <NUM>.

The spring pad <NUM> according to the present disclosure includes a seat part <NUM> coupled to an end of the spring <NUM>, a guide part <NUM> configured to guide upward and downward movements of the seat part <NUM>, and an elastic part <NUM> configured to connect the seat part <NUM> and the guide part <NUM> and having a length that varies when the seat part <NUM> moves in an upward/downward direction.

A spring coupling groove 71a is formed along an outer circumference of the seat part <NUM>, and the upper end of the spring <NUM> is inserted and fixed into the spring coupling groove 71a by being wound around the spring coupling groove 71a.

The seat part <NUM> may be made of a rubber material or an elastic material in order to prevent impact, noise, and chipping that occur due to contact between steel members, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

An inner steel member <NUM> made of a steel material for maintaining a shape of the seat part <NUM> is coupled in the seat part <NUM> made of rubber.

An outer circumferential surface of the guide part <NUM> is provided as an inclined surface 72a in order to prevent interference with the seat part <NUM> when the seat part <NUM> moves in the upward/downward direction.

The spring <NUM> is compressed and extended in the event of a bump and a rebound, and the seat part <NUM> coupled to the spring <NUM> needs to smoothly move upward and downward along the guide part <NUM> when the spring <NUM> is compressed and extended.

To this end, the inclined surface 72a is provided along an outer periphery of the guide part <NUM> on which the seat part <NUM> is installed, such that it is possible to prevent jamming caused by interference with the seat part <NUM> when the seat part <NUM> moves, thereby enabling smooth bump and rebound operations.

The exemplary suspension system provides the structure in which the guide part <NUM> of the spring pad <NUM> is fixedly coupled to the vehicle body member <NUM> positioned above the suspension arm <NUM>, and the upper end of the spring <NUM> is coupled to the seat part <NUM> of the spring pad <NUM>. Therefore, the guide part <NUM> may be made of any one of engineered plastic or steel in order to ensure and maintain strength, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The guide part <NUM> may be formed in a truncated conical shape having the inclined surface 72a formed along the outer circumference thereof.

The spring <NUM> is compressed and extended in the event of a bump and a rebound, the seat part <NUM> coupled to the spring <NUM> moves upward and downward along the guide part <NUM> when the spring <NUM> is compressed and extended, and the elastic part <NUM> needs to always connect the seat part <NUM> and the guide part <NUM> even when the seat part <NUM> moves upward and downward. To this end, the length of the elastic part <NUM> needs to vary in the upward/downward direction in the event of a bump and a rebound.

The elastic part <NUM> may be made of any one of a polyurethane material or a highly compressive polymer material having elasticity so that the length of the elastic part <NUM> may vary, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

According to the present disclosure, the elastic part <NUM> is formed to have an external shape formed in a bellows shape as illustrated in <FIG>, wherein all features and aspects of the exemplary suspension system except those concerning or related to the external apply or can be applied to the embodiment shown in <FIG>. A spring constant and a length variable in the upward/downward direction may be tuned by changing a cross-sectional area and a shape.

<FIG> illustrates an empty vehicle state, and <FIG> and <FIG> illustrate states of the spring pad <NUM> in the empty vehicle state.

In the empty vehicle state, the spring <NUM> is in a normal state without deviating from a free height of the spring, such that the elastic part <NUM> of the spring pad <NUM> is kept compressed by an elastic force of the spring <NUM> coupled to the seat part <NUM>. In this case, the upper end of the spring <NUM> is kept supported by the seat part <NUM> by being coupled to the seat part <NUM>.

When a bump occurs in the empty vehicle state illustrated in <FIG>, the suspension arm <NUM> rotates about the bolt <NUM> counterclockwise in the illustrated state, the tire <NUM> moves upward, and the spring <NUM> is further compressed than in the state illustrated in <FIG>.

Therefore, even in a normal full-bump situation in which the spring does not deviate from the free height of the spring, the upper end of the spring <NUM> is kept supported by the seat part <NUM> by being coupled to the seat part <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a full-rebound state, and <FIG> and <FIG> illustrate states of the spring pad <NUM> in the full-rebound situation.

In the event of a full-rebound in the empty vehicle state illustrated in <FIG>, the suspension arm <NUM> rotates about the bolt <NUM> clockwise in the state illustrated in <FIG> and thus is positioned as illustrated in <FIG>, the tire <NUM> moves downward, and the spring <NUM> is further extended than in the state illustrated in <FIG>.

When the spring <NUM> is extended, the seat part <NUM> coupled to the spring <NUM> moves downward along the guide part <NUM>, and a length L2 of the elastic part <NUM> connecting the seat part <NUM> and the guide part <NUM> is changed by the movement of the seat part <NUM> so as to be longer than a length L1 in the empty vehicle state illustrated in <FIG>.

In the full-rebound situation, the spring <NUM> is in the normal state in which the spring <NUM> does not deviate from the free height of the spring, and the upper end of the spring <NUM> is kept supported by the seat part <NUM> by being coupled to the seat part <NUM> even in the normal full-rebound situation.

<FIG> illustrates a state in which an additional rebound occurs in the full-rebound situation, and <FIG> illustrates a state of the spring pad <NUM> when the additional rebound occurs.

When the additional rebound further occurs in the full-rebound situation illustrated in <FIG>, the suspension arm <NUM> further rotates about the bolt <NUM> clockwise in the state illustrated in <FIG> such that the amount of downward movement is further increased as illustrated in <FIG>, the tire <NUM> further moves downward, and the spring <NUM> is further extended than in the state illustrated in <FIG>.

The spring <NUM> is further extended than in the state illustrated in <FIG> and thus is positioned as illustrated in <FIG>. In the case of a typical suspension system, the spring deviates from the free height of the spring, and the spring <NUM> is withdrawn and separated.

However, a length L3 of the elastic part <NUM> connecting the seat part <NUM> and the guide part <NUM> is changed to be longer than the length L2 in the full-rebound situation illustrated in <FIG> by the downward movement of the seat part <NUM> even though the additional rebound occurs in the full-rebound situation as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>. As a result, the upper end of the spring <NUM> is continuously kept supported by the seat part <NUM> by being coupled to the seat part <NUM>, thereby preventing the withdrawal of the spring <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a second embodiment according to the present disclosure may provide a structure in which the guide part <NUM> of the spring pad <NUM> is fixedly coupled to the suspension arm <NUM>, the lower end of the spring <NUM> is coupled to the seat part <NUM> of the spring pad <NUM> fixed to the suspension arm <NUM>, and the upper end of the spring <NUM> is supported by the vehicle body member <NUM> positioned above the suspension arm <NUM>.

In addition, as illustrated in <FIG>, a third embodiment according to the present disclosure may provide a structure in which the guide parts <NUM> of the spring pads <NUM> are fixedly coupled to the suspension arm <NUM> and the vehicle body member <NUM> positioned above the suspension arm <NUM>, respectively, the upper end of the spring <NUM> is coupled to the seat part <NUM> of the spring pad <NUM> fixed to the vehicle body member <NUM>, and the lower end of the spring <NUM> is coupled to and supported by the seat part <NUM> of the spring pad <NUM> fixed to the suspension arm <NUM>.

In the embodiments according to the present disclosure as described above, the spring <NUM> is consistently supported by being coupled to the seat part <NUM> of the spring pad <NUM> even in the situation in which the additional rebound further occurs in the full-rebound situation and the spring <NUM> deviates from the range (the free height of the spring) in which the spring <NUM> can be extended. As a result, the spring pad <NUM> may prevent the withdrawal of the spring <NUM> connecting the suspension arm <NUM> and the vehicle body member <NUM>, thereby preventing occurrence of an accident such as a rollover of the vehicle, and thus improving marketability by improving stability of the vehicle.

In addition, the present disclosure provides the configuration in which the lower end of the spring <NUM> is physically supported by the spring pad <NUM> at a point in time at which the vehicle reaches the full rebound, such that the withdrawal of the spring <NUM> may be prevented. As a result, the structure does not affect rigidity of the spring while the vehicle travels, and thus the structure may be applied without heterogeneity.

Claim 1:
A suspension system for a vehicle, the suspension system comprising:
a spring pad (<NUM>) coupled to a spring (<NUM>) and configured to support the spring (<NUM>) connecting a suspension arm (<NUM>) and a vehicle body member (<NUM>) of the vehicle,
wherein the spring pad (<NUM>) comprises:
a seat part (<NUM>) coupled to an end of the spring (<NUM>);
a guide part (<NUM>) configured to guide upward and downward movements of the seat part (<NUM>); and
an elastic part (<NUM>) configured to connect the seat part (<NUM>) and the guide part (<NUM>) and having a length that varies when the seat part (<NUM>) moves,
characterized in that
the elastic part (<NUM>) has an external shape formed in a bellows shape.