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DE-102018202307-B4 - Handlebars for a wheel suspension

DE102018202307B4DE 102018202307 B4DE102018202307 B4DE 102018202307B4DE-102018202307-B4

Abstract

A control arm (1) for a wheel suspension, comprising at least one body mounting point (5, 6) for a vehicle body and at least one wheel carrier mounting point (7) for a wheel carrier, which are arranged on a control arm body (2) extending along a control arm plane, which has a base body (3) formed from discontinuously reinforced plastic, which is a fiber-reinforced plastic with fiber pieces of a maximum length of 50 mm, and a reinforcement (4) containing continuous fibers bonded thereto, characterized in that the reinforcement (4) is limited to a first region of the control arm body (2) with respect to the control arm plane, while the base body (3) extends into a second region, wherein the first region with respect to the control arm plane is formed as an edge region (2.1) of the control arm body (2) and the second region is formed as an inner region (2.2) of the control arm body bounded thereby, wherein the edge region (2.1) the outer edges or sides of the handlebar body (2) with respect to the XY plane.

Inventors

  • Daniel MAINZ
  • Rainer Souschek
  • Pascal Brandt

Assignees

  • FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20180215

Claims (10)

  1. A control arm (1) for a wheel suspension, comprising at least one body mounting point (5, 6) for a vehicle body and at least one wheel carrier mounting point (7) for a wheel carrier, which are arranged on a control arm body (2) extending along a control arm plane, which has a base body (3) formed from discontinuously reinforced plastic, which is a fiber-reinforced plastic with fiber pieces of a maximum length of 50 mm, and a reinforcement (4) containing continuous fibers bonded thereto, characterized in that the reinforcement (4) is limited to a first region of the control arm body (2) with respect to the control arm plane, while the base body (3) extends into a second region, wherein the first region with respect to the control arm plane is formed as an edge region (2.1) of the control arm body (2) and the second region is formed as an inner region (2.2) of the control arm body bounded thereby, wherein the edge region (2.1) are external edges or corners or side faces of the handlebar body (2) with respect to the XY plane.
  2. Handlebars after Claim 1 , characterized in that the fiber pieces are short fibers with a length of up to 1 mm, and/or long fibers with a length between 1 mm and 50 mm.
  3. Handlebar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at at least one connection point (5, 6, 7) a separately manufactured bearing element (8, 9, 10) is positively connected and/or materially connected to the base body (3).
  4. Handlebar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one bearing element (8, 9, 10) has a bearing section (8.1, 10.1) and at least one extension (8.2, 10.2) extending therefrom, which is materially bonded to the base body (3).
  5. Handlebar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the second area at least one separately manufactured insert part (11) is materially bonded to the base body (3), which insert part (11) is designed for connecting a suspension component to the handlebar (1).
  6. Handlebar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reinforcement (4) extends continuously from each wheel carrier connection point (7) to at least one superstructure connection point (5, 6).
  7. Handlebar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base body (3) has a surface section (3.1) extending along the plane of the handlebar and a plurality of reinforcing ribs (3.4, 3.5, 3.6) formed thereon.
  8. Handlebar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one flange (3.2, 3.3) extending perpendicularly to the handlebar plane is formed in the edge region (2.1) on the surface section (3.1), which has the reinforcement (4).
  9. Handlebar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one reinforcing rib (3.4, 3.5, 3.6) extends from an insert part (11) to the edge area (2.1).
  10. Handlebar according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one reinforcing rib (3.4, 3.5, 3.6) opens on both sides into at least one flange (3.2, 3.3).

Description

The invention relates to a steering linkage for a wheel suspension according to the preamble of claim 1. The DE 10 2011 003 971 A1 The document, which can be considered a generic prior art, discloses a steering element comprising at least two end regions, each with a bearing section, and at least one strut region connecting the end regions. The end regions and strut region are formed by a profile carrier, essentially deep-drawn in a box shape from a sheet-like plastic semi-finished product with continuous fiber reinforcement. A filler element made of an injection-molded plastic is arranged in the interior of this profile carrier, the filler element connecting the inner surfaces of the profile carrier in a shear-resistant manner. Optionally, the filler element can consist of a short-fiber-reinforced or long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material. The DE 10 2016 203 853 A1 Disclosing a suspension control arm for a vehicle, comprising a control arm body made of fiber-reinforced plastic, which includes several joint mounts spaced apart from one another. The control arm body is designed as a core composite with fiber-reinforced thermoplastic outer layers and at least one thermoplastic foam core arranged between these layers. Optionally, the control arm body can be partially reinforced with unidirectional fiber tapes. The DE 20 2015 103 764 U1 Disclosing a wheel suspension for a motor vehicle, comprising a steering unit which includes a steering link section made at least partially of fiber-reinforced plastic, having a wheel mounting point for a wheel carrier and at least one body mounting point for a vehicle body, for pivoting about a pivot axis. The steering unit includes an inherently elastic spring section made at least partially of fiber-reinforced plastic, rigidly connected to the steering link section, which has a spring mounting point spaced from the pivot axis for connection to the vehicle body. The US 2007 / 0 264 470 A1 This generally concerns composite materials and processes for manufacturing composite materials. In particular, it concerns the composite material of... US 2007 / 0 264 470 A1 Combinations of continuous fibers in the form of loops, short fibers, woven fibers and foams are used. In modern motor vehicles, all wheels are connected to the vehicle body, i.e., the chassis, via a wheel suspension. Such a suspension fulfills two main tasks: firstly, guiding the wheel carrier and the wheel itself, and secondly, providing its suspension. The guidance of the wheel carrier is primarily ensured by more or less horizontally running control arms (e.g., lateral or longitudinal control arms) through which the wheel carrier is connected to the vehicle body, usually the chassis. One or more lateral control arms connect the wheel carrier to body-side components, such as a longitudinal member, a subframe, or similar structures. The main function of the lateral control arm, together with other suspension components, is to absorb horizontal forces (i.e., forces lying in the X-Y plane). Typically, such a lateral control arm has two body-side attachment points and one or two wheel-side attachment points, although there may also be only one of each. The mounting points on the body side, which provide a pivot connection (e.g., via metal-rubber composite bearings), define a pivot axis through their arrangement relative to each other. In the installed state, this axis normally corresponds to the X-axis (i.e., the longitudinal axis) of the vehicle or is arranged at an angle to it in the X-Y plane. When the wheel's suspension compresses, the control arm pivots around this axis relative to the chassis. The wheel-side mounting point(s) allow the wheel carrier to pivot relative to the control arm. Besides forged control arms, especially transverse control arms, which are usually made of light metal or steel, control arms manufactured as single- or double-shell sheet metal forming parts are also known in the prior art. To give such a control arm the necessary strength, the sheet metal is provided with a profile through a suitable forming process (e.g., drawing) that gives it a shell-like structure. Furthermore, control arms are also known that consist at least partially of fiber-reinforced plastic. A key advantage of metal handlebars is the isotropic property of the material, meaning it can withstand stresses equally in all directions. This is often desirable, as handlebars are subjected to stresses along various directions. However, metal parts are relatively heavy, and steel parts in particular are susceptible to corrosion, necessitating additional corrosion protection and/or limiting the component's lifespan. Corrosion is usually negligible with aluminum components, but... These components are usually cast or forged, which leads to high tooling costs, especially in mass production. Components made of fiber-reinforced plastic are lightweight, highly resilient, damping, and have a long service life. However, they are g