CHASSIS COMPONENT FOR A WHEEL SUSPENSION AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A CHASSIS COMPONENT

Abstract

A chassis component for a wheel suspension which has a strut arrangement with at least one strut which is in the form of a profile component with an open cross-section. The at least one strut has a profile base and two wall sections that extend away from the profile base. An articulation point is provided, at least at one end of the strut, for receiving two joint components movably connected to one another, namely, a first joint component having a spherical joint body and a second joint component that rotatably and/or pivotably holds the joint body. In the area of the at least one articulation point, the wall sections have first and second joint accommodation apertures arranged opposite one another. A cylindrical sleeve is pressed in between the first joint accommodation aperture and the second joint accommodation aperture and keeps the opposite wall sections apart from one another.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A chassis component (1) for a wheel suspension, the chassis component comprising: a strut arrangement having at least one strut (2), which is in a form of a profile component with an open cross-section, the at least one strut (2) having a profile base (3) and two wall sections (4) extending away therefrom, an articulation point (5) being provided, at least at one end of the strut (2), for receiving first and second joint components (15, 24, 25) that are movably connected to one another, the first joint component (15, 27) having a spherical joint body (16, 28) and the second joint component (24) at least one of rotatably and pivotably holding the joint body (16, 28), the two wall sections (4), in an area of the at least one articulation point (5), having a first joint accommodation aperture (6) and a second joint accommodation aperture (7), respectively, arranged opposite one another, a cylindrical sleeve (12) being pressed in between the first joint accommodation aperture (6) and the second joint accommodation aperture (7), and the sleeve keeping the oppositely arranged two wall sections (4) apart from one another.

17. The chassis component (1) according to claim 16, wherein at least one sensor element (21, 33) and the joint body (16, 28) are inserted into the sleeve (12), and the sleeve (12), the sensor element (21, 33) and the joint body (16, 28) inserted therein are integrated in a joint housing (25) produced by overmolding, and the housing forms the second joint component (24).

18. The chassis component (1) according to claim 17, wherein an outer surface (13) of the sleeve (12) has an opening (14) which extends, at least in sections, in a circumferential direction, and the opening facilitates insertion of the at least one sensor element (21, 33).

19. The chassis component (1) according to claim 17, wherein the at least one sensor element (21, 33) is designed to determine positions of the first and the second joint components (15, 24, 27) relative to one another.

20. The chassis component (1) according to claim 17, wherein the at least one sensor element (21, 33) is inserted directly to a surface of the joint body (16, 28).

21. The chassis component (1) according to claim 17, wherein the at least one sensor element (21) is in a form of a magneto-resistive sensor.

22. The chassis component (1) according to claim 21, wherein a position magnet (20), associated with the sensor element (21), is set into a recess (19) in a surface of the joint body (16).

23. The chassis component (1) according to claim 22, wherein the sensor element (21) is designed to seal the recess (19) and the position magnet (20) arranged therein.

24. The chassis component (1) according to claim 17, wherein the sensor element (33) is in a form of an incremental transducer.

25. The chassis component (1) according to claim 24, wherein the sensor element (33), in the form of the incremental transducer, is designed for photoelectric scanning or for magnetic scanning.

26. The chassis component (1) according to claim 24, wherein a measurement standard (32), in a circumferential direction, is provided on a surface of the joint body (28).

27. The chassis component (1) according to claim 26, wherein the measurement standard (32) is in a form of one of a magnetic strip or a barcode.

28. The chassis component (1) according to claim 16, wherein the first joint component (15, 27) and the second joint component (24) are parts of a ball sleeve joint, and the chassis component (1) is a transverse control arm.

29. A method of producing a chassis component (1) for a wheel suspension, the chassis component having a strut arrangement with at least one strut (2), which is in a form of a profile component with an open cross-section, the at least one strut (2) has a profile base (3) and two wall sections (4) extending away from the profile base, an articulation point (5) is provided, at least at one end of the strut (2), for receiving first and second joint components (15, 24, 25) movably connected to one another, the first joint component (15, 27) has a spherical joint body (16, 28) and the second joint component (24) at least one of rotatably and pivotably holds the joint body (16, 28), the two wall sections (4) have, in an area of the at least one articulation point (5), a first joint accommodation aperture (6) and a second joint accommodation aperture (7) arranged opposite one another, the method comprising; pressing a cylindrical sleeve (12) in between the first joint accommodation aperture (6) and the second joint accommodation aperture (7), and using the sleeve to keep the oppositely arranged two wall sections (4) apart from one another.

30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising inserting at least one sensor element (21, 33) and the joint body (16, 28) into the sleeve (12), and integrating the sleeve (12), the at least one sensor element (21, 33) and the joint body (16, 18) in a joint housing (25) produced by overmolding, which housing forms the second joint component (24).

31. A chassis component (1) for a wheel suspension, the chassis comprising: a strut arrangement having at least one strut (2), the strut having a profile with an open cross-section, the strut comprising a profile base and first and second wall sections that extend away from the profile base, at least one end of the strut (2) has an articulation point (5) which receives first and second joint components that are movably connected to one another, the first joint component (15, 27) has a spherical joint body (16, 28), and the second joint component (24) retains the joint body (16, 28) such that the joint body is at least one of rotatable and pivotable relative to the second joint component, in an area of the at least one articulation point (5), the first wall section has a first joint accommodation aperture (6) and the second wall section has a second joint accommodation aperture (7), and the first and the second joint accommodation apertures are arranged opposite one another, a cylindrical sleeve (12) is pressed in between the first and the second joint accommodation apertures (6, 7) such that the sleeve maintains separation of the first and the second wall sections (4) at a set distance from one another.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Advantageous embodiments of the invention, which will be explained below, are illustrated in the drawings, which show:

[0029] FIG. 1: A partial perspective view of a profiled chassis component;

[0030] FIG. 2: A partial perspective view as in FIG. 1, with a sleeve that is to be inserted into the profiled chassis component;

[0031] FIG. 3: A partial perspective view of the chassis component as in FIG. 2, with the sleeve pressed in and a first joint component that is to be inserted;

[0032] FIG. 4: A partial perspective view of the chassis component as in FIG. 3, with the first joint component and a sensor element inserted in the sleeve;

[0033] FIG. 5: A partial perspective view of the chassis component as in FIG. 4, with a second joint component made by overmolding;

[0034] FIG. 6: A perspective view of a first joint component according to a further embodiment;

[0035] FIG. 7: A perspective view of the first joint component as in FIG. 6, with a measurement standard arranged on it;

[0036] FIG. 8: A perspective view of the first joint component as in FIG. 7, with a sensor element associated therewith.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a partial perspective view of a profiled chassis component 1. In the example embodiment shown the chassis component 1 is in the form of a two-point link or a transverse control arm. The chassis component 1 comprises a strut arrangement with at least one strut 2, which is in the form of a profile component with an open cross-section. The profile component is a shaped sheet part that can be produced from a sheet semifabricate obtained in a previous cutting step, in particular by stamping. The at least one strut 2 has a profile base 3 and two wall sections 4 that extend away therefrom. At least in sections the profile component can have an essentially U-shaped cross-section. At least at one end of the strut 2, an articulation point 5 is provided for receiving two joint components connected movably to one another.

[0038] At the articulation point 5, the strut 2 has a first joint accommodation aperture 6 and a second joint accommodation aperture 7. A longitudinal axis L is associated with the articulation point 5. A direction extending transversely to the longitudinal axis L or transversely to the axial direction 11 is in particular called a radial direction. Preferably, the joint accommodation apertures 6 and 7 are in each case in the form of through-going openings 8 and 9 in the sheet of the two wall sections 4. In this case the free edges of the through-going openings 8 and 9 of the wall sections 4 of the chassis component 1 are directed inward toward the inside of the profile. As viewed in the circumferential direction the openings 8, 9 of the first joint accommodation aperture 6 and the second joint accommodation aperture 7 have an almost closed outer surface. The openings 8, 9 are in each case interrupted at one point by an axial cut-out 10; in the illustration of FIG. 1, due to the perspective representation only the cut-out 10 in the opening 9 of second joint accommodation aperture 7 can be seen. The cut-out 10 in the opening 8 of the first joint accommodation aperture 6 is made symmetrically thereto.

[0039] FIG. 2 shows a partial perspective view like that of FIG. 1 with a sleeve 12 which is to be inserted into the profile chassis component 1. The sleeve 12 is cylindrical with an essentially circular cross-section, and has an outer surface 13. In the outer surface 13 of the sleeve 12 at least one cylindrical opening 14 is arranged. The opening 14 extends in sections in the circumferential direction of the sleeve 12. The contour of the opening 14 in the circumferential direction of the sleeve 12 corresponds essentially to the respective contours of the recesses in the openings 8, 9. The sleeve 12 is inserted in the axial direction 11 into the articulation point 5 and pressed in between the wall sections 4. In that way, the tolerance-affected profile component is brought to the correct size in relation to the axial distance between the first and second joint accommodation apertures 6, 7. In addition the rigidity of the profile component in the area of the articulation point 5 is increased. The sleeve 12 is preferably made of metal.

[0040] FIG. 3 shows a partial perspective view of the chassis component 1 shown in FIG. 2 with the sleeve 12 pressed in and a first joint component 15 that is to be inserted into the sleeve 12. The first joint component 15 has a spherical joint body 16, at each end of which a cylindrical protrusion 17 is arranged, these extending coaxially with respect to the longitudinal axis L. The joint body 16 and the protrusions 17 have a through-going bore 18 also coaxial with the longitudinal axis L. On the surface of the joint body 16 a circular-cylindrical recess 19 is provided, in which a position magnet 20 is set. The first joint component 15 is inserted into the sleeve 12 in the axial direction 11. During this the joint component 15 is positioned in such manner that the recess 19 and the position magnet 20 are essentially under the opening 14 in the sleeve 12, so that they are freely accessible in the radial direction. The first joint component 15 is preferably made of metal.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows a partial perspective view of the chassis component 1 according to FIG. 3, with the first joint component 15 and a sensor element 21 inserted into the sleeve 12. The sensor element 21 is in the form of a magneto-resistive sensor which is associated with the position magnet 20. The sensor element 21 is inserted from the outside through the cut-out 10 in the through-going openings and the correspondingly formed opening 14 in the sleeve 12, as far as the surface of the joint body 16. The sensor element 21 is directed perpendicularly to the position magnet 20. At its free end the sensor element 21 has a connector 22 for connection to a signal line 26. At the opposite end of the sensor element 21 a cover element 23 is arranged. The cover element 23 is positioned over the recess 19 in the joint body 16, so that it covers the recess 19 completely. The radial distance between the sensor head of the sensor element 21 and the position magnet 20 is determined by the material thickness of the cover element 23 in this area. In particular, the radial distance is less than 1 mm and particularly preferably the radial distance can be approximately 0.5 mm.

[0042] FIG. 5 shows a partial perspective view of the chassis component 1 as in FIG. 4, with a second joint component 24 made by overmolding. The second joint component 24 is in the form of a joint housing 25 in which the joint body 16 is directly fitted. The at least sectional overmolding of the first joint component 15, the sensor element 21 and the sleeve 12 between and on the outsides of the wall sections 4 at the articulation point 5 takes place by an assembly injection molding process. Separating of the wall sections 4 in the area of the at least one articulation point 5 during the overmolding to produce the joint housing 25 is prevented by the sleeve 12. By way of the cover element 23, the imperfect area, the recess 19, in the surface of the joint body 16 is sealed against the penetration of material during the injection molding process. This enables the prior arrangement of a ball socket on the joint body 16 to be omitted, which socket usually covers the imperfection and serves to mount the joint body in the joint housing. The signal line 26 is connected to the connector 22 of the sensor element 21, by way of which line the signals produced by the sensor element 21 can be sent to a superordinated control device of a vehicle in which the chassis component 1 is fitted.

[0043] The illustration in FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a first joint component 27 according to an alternative embodiment. This first joint component 27 has two protrusions 29 and a spherical joint body 28 between them. The first joint component 27 is made of metal. Instead of a recess for receiving a position magnet the joint body 28 has an annual groove 31 on its surface, in which a measurement standard is arranged.

[0044] FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the first joint component 27 according to FIG. 6 with a measurement standard 32 arranged on it. The measurement standard 32 is set into the groove 31. As can be seen in the drawing, the annular groove 31 in the joint body 28 can be filled by the measurement standard 32 in such manner that virtually no imperfections occur on the surface of the joint body 28.

[0045] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the first joint component 27 according to FIG. 7 with the at least one sensor element 33 positioned relative to the joint body 28 and the measurement standard 32. At its free end the sensor element 33 has a connector 34 for connection to a signal line. The sensor element 33 can be positioned a minimal distance away from the surface of the joint body 28, before at least the joint body 28 of the first joint component 27 and the sensor element 33 are integrated in the joint housing 25 produced by overmolding. In this case the arrangement of the joint body 28 in the sleeve 12 before the overmolding is independent of any specific positioning of the surface of the joint body 28 relative to the sensor element 33, as is the case when the sensor element 21 is in the form of a magneto-resistive sensor.

[0046] In this embodiment the at least one sensor element 33, which is integrated in the joint housing 25 by overmolding, is in the form of an incremental transducer. For this, the at least one sensor element 33 in the form of an incremental transducer can be designed for magnetic scanning or for photoelectric scanning. The measurement standard 32 necessary for this can be a magnet wheel, a magnetic strip or a barcode. In the example embodiment shown, the measurement standard 32 is arranged in the annular groove 31 on the surface of the joint body 28. The groove extends coaxially with the longitudinal axis L in the area of the largest outer diameter of the joint body 28. Compared with the recess 19 for the position magnet 20 in the joint body 16 according to the first embodiment, the depth of the groove 31 is much smaller, so that the joint body 28 is weakened less.

[0047] A design of the measurement standard 32 as a barcode can be produced on the surface of the joint body 28 by knurling, engraving or laser etching. Likewise, a barcode can be formed in the groove 31. In the simplest case, a barcode can be bonded onto the joint body 28. In this design of the measurement standard 32 too, the effect on the surface contour of the joint body 28 is only minimal.

INDEXES

[0048] 1 Chassis component

2 Strut

[0049] 3 Profile base
4 Wall section
5 Articulation point
6 Joint accommodation aperture
7 Joint accommodation aperture

8 Opening

9 Opening

10 Cut-out

[0050] 11 Axial direction

12 Sleeve

[0051] 13 Outer surface of 12

14 Opening

[0052] 15 First joint component
16 Joint body

17 Protrusion

[0053] 18 Through-going bore

19 Recess

[0054] 20 Position magnet
21 Sensor element

22 Connector

[0055] 23 Cover element
24 Second joint component
25 Joint housing
26 Signal line
27 First joint component
28 Joint body

29 Protrusion

[0056] 30 Through-going bore

31 Groove

[0057] 32 Measurement standard
33 Sensor element

34 Connector

[0058] L Longitudinal axis