CA2248823A1

CA2248823A1 - Rubber/metal bearing for coupling a stabilizer bar to an automotive body

Info

Publication number: CA2248823A1
Application number: CA002248823A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Jorg Peter Tepel
Original assignee: Vorwerk and Sohn GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Vorwerk and Sohn GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1997-10-21
Filing date: 1998-10-15
Publication date: 1999-04-21
Also published as: JP4160178B2; DE19746357C1; KR19990037068A; JPH11192828A; EP0911195B1; DE59806035D1; EP0911195A2; EP0911195A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a rubber/metal bearing (1) for coupling a stabilizer bar (2) to an automotive body. The basic structure of this rubber/metal bearing (1) has a rubber body (5) which surrounds the stabilizer bar (2) and a sleeve (6) which can be attached to the automotive body for the purpose of accommodating the rubber body (5) and the stabilizer bar (2) which is guided therein. The rubber body (5) essentially comprises a stop member (5a) which is fastened in the sleeve (6) and a closure member (5b) which is pivotably connected to the sleeve (6), it being possible, with the closure member (5b) pivoted down, for the stabilizer bar (2) to be introduced into the sleeve (6) and placed against the stop member (5a), and it being possible to connect the stabilizer bar (2) in a rotationally fixed manner to the rubber body (5) by frictional engagement by means of the closure member (5b), which can be pivoted up during installation, so as to produce stressing of the rubber body (5). The bearing of the invention is easier to install, can be manufactured at lower cost and essentially prevents the emission of squeaking noises.

Description

CA 02248823 1998-10-1~

RUBBER/METAL BEARING FOR COUPLING A STABILIZER
BAR TO AN AUTOMOTIVE BODY

Description The invention relates to a rubber/metal bearing for coupling a stabilizer bar to an automotive body, having a rubber body which surrounds the stabilizer bar and having a sleeve which can be attached to the automotive body for the purpose of accommodating the rubber body and the stabilizer bar which is guided therein. In the context of the invention, automotive body encompasses in particular the entire body structure, including underbody and floor pan.
A rubber/metal bearing of this type is known in practice. It is regularly used to guide and hold or couple the stabilizer bar to a floor pan of the automotive body.
A stabilizer bar is known to be a so-called bar spring, usually made from rod steel bent into the shape of a U, in order to strengthen the suspension during compression and rebounding on one side. For this purpose, stabilizer bars connect the two wheels of an axle to reduce the inclination of the automotive body, for example when ~raveling round a bend, since the compressed wheel in each case causes torsion of the stabilizer bar and corresponding restoring forces which counteract inclination of the automotive body. Consequently, when the spring travels of the two wheels of an axle are equal the stabilizer bar remains inactive. At any rate, it is necessary that such rubber/metal bearings absorb, in particular, rotational movements of the stabilizer bar caused by torsion in order to couple and hold a stabilizer bar on an automotive body.
According to the prior art, two different lines of development are in principle being pursued in order to realize rubber/metal bearings of this nature. In the first of these, the rubber body and the sleeve are separate parts which are only combined during installation. On the one hand, this entails installation problems, and on the CA 02248823 1998-10-1~

.

other hand it means that it is necessary to accept that the stabilizer bar will slip through the rubber body. To this end, low friction coatings, for example, TeflonTM
coatings, which reduce the coefficient of friction are inserted between rubber body and stabilizer bar. As a result, not only is the installation and manufacturing cost increased, but also there is the risk in particular that the known bearings will emit squeaking noises when traveling around bends. This adverse effect is particularly noticeable during temperature fluctuations (summer and winter operation), with the associated change in elasticity of the rubber body (soft-hard). Moisture, salt and similar environmental influences also have an adverse effect on the noise emitted by the known rubber/metal bearings.
The second of these known developments involves vulcanizing the rubber body directly on to the stabilizer bar. Although in this embodiment rotational movements of the stabilizer bar are directly absorbed in the rubber body, production is extremely expensive, since small rubber bodies have to be vulcanized on to the protruding stabilizer bars. Moreover, wear to the known rubber/metal bearings entails the replacement of the entire stabilizer bar with the molded-on rubber body. In addition, the position of the rubber body with respect to the stabilizer bar cannot be made flexible, owing to the fixed connection.
Independently of the above, German patent 28 38 391 has disclosed a rubber/metal bearing for supporting a wheel control link, which bearing has an elastic rubber body which is arranged between an outer and an inner metal sleeve and is vulcanized on to said sleeves. In this case, in order to achieve a radial displacement of the two metal sleeves, the lateral surfaces, which face the rubber body, of the inner and outer metal sleeves are designed so as to run at least partially at an angle to the axis of the rubber/metal -CA 02248823 1998-10-1~

bearing.
Furthermore, German patent 40 06 922 has disclosed a rear axle bearing for a twist-beam rear axle for motor vehicles which has a rubber/metal sleeve comprising a metal inner sleeve, a metal outer sleeve and a hollow rubber body which is vulcanized in between inner sleeve and outer sleeve. This rear axle bearing has per se proven itself, but does not contribute further to solving the problems listed at the outset.
The invention is based on the object of providing a rubber/metal bearing of the general type described above which is more simply and economically produced and is easy to install, and which in particular works without emitting high levels of noise.
To achieve this object, the invention proposes, in the case of a rubber/metal bearing of the generic type for coupling a stabilizer bar to an automotive body, that the rubber body essentially comprises a stop member which is fastened in the sleeve and a closure member which is pivotably connected to the sleeve, it being possible, with the closure member pivoted down, for the stabilizer bar to be introduced into the sleeve and placed against the stop member, and it being possible to connect the stabilizer bar in a rotationally fixed manner to the rubber body by frictional engagement by means of the closure member, which can be pivoted up during installation, so as to produce stressing of the rubber body. As a result, in particular squeaking or noise generation by the rubber/metal bearing is avoided, specifically as a result of the rotationally fixed connection between, on the one hand, rubber body and, on the other hand, stabilizer bar, while simultaneously ensuring simple installation and manufacturing. According to a preferred embodiment, the stop member is vulcanized into the sleeve. The closure member may be pivotably connected to the sleeve by means of an integral rubber hinge which is vulcanized on to the sleeve and the closure member. According to a preferred CA 02248823 1998 -10 -1 j .

embodiment, which is assigned independent importance, it is provided for the closure member to have a body stop which, on the vehicle side, is vulcanized on and, when the rubber/metal bearing has been installed, bears against the automotive body. Furthermore, in a further, particularly preferred embodiment, it is provided for the stop member and the closure member to each be designed as rubber half shells, on the one hand as a closure half shell and on the other hand as a stop half shell, the stop half shell having, above the integral rubber hinge, a drawn-down lug so as to form a recess for a web of the closure half shell, which web engages in this recess in the manner of a hinge during installation of the rubber/metal bearing.
Moreover, the rubber body which, in the installed position, is connected by frictional engagement to the stabilizer bar, may be of resilient design and, by means of intramolecular spring forces, is able to absorb torsion angles of the stabilizer bar which lie in the range from approximately 10~to 60~ preferably 15~to 35~
Generally, the sleeve is designed as a metal strip made from an aluminum alloy, the cross section of the metal strip approximating to the shape of an omega (Q)with a sleeve eyelet for accommodating the rubber body and attachment limbs on both sides. The body stop which is vulcanized on to the closure member is generally also made from an aluminum alloy. The sleeve eyelet mainly has, on the inside, a latching lug which faces toward the closure member, lies opposite the integral hinge and over which, for the purpose of prefitting the rubber/metal bearing on the stabilizer bar, an edge of the closure member passes with a latching action. One attachment limb of the sleeve is regularly designed as a lug limb which engages beneath a cutout in the vehicle body and the other attachment limb is designed as a screw-on limb which can be connected to the vehicle body. Furthermore, it is preferably provided for the lug limb and the screw-on limb to extend essentially in planes which are parallel to one another CA 02248823 1998-10-1~
.

and spaced apart from one another, the distance between the planes generally depending on the thickness of a vehicle body floor pan beneath which the lug limb engages and on the stressing of the rubber body which can be prescribed during installation, the top side of the lug limb bearing against an inner surface of the floor pan and the underside of the screw-on limb bearing against an outer surface of the floor pan. Consequently, it is possible, inter alia by means of the distance between the planes, to adjust the stressing of the rubber body.
However, the distance between the above-mentioned planes generally corresponds to the thickness of the floor pan beneath which the lug limb engages, in which case the underside of the closure member projecting beyond the underside of the screw-on limb by a specific dimension which determines the level of stressing of the rubber body.
These inventive measures firstly provide a rubber/metal bearing which is simple and economical to produce for coupling a stabilizer bar to an automotive body, because production is limited to fastening or vulcanizing the stop body or the stop half shell in the sleeve and attaching or vulcanizing the closure member to the sleeve. This is achieved by means of the integral rubber hinge, which as a rule connects the body stop to the sleeve. This means that stop body or stop half shell and sleeve or sleeve eyelet, and also body stop and closure member or closure half shell can in each case be produced in an upstream step, for example by sheet metal forming (deep drawing) and vulcanization. Then, the closure body together with the body stop which, on the vehicle side, is vulcanized on can be connected to the sleeve via the integral rubber hinge. The sleeve as such can also be produced easily and without problems from a metal strip (deep drawn and, if appropriate, provided with holes) made from an aluminum alloy. At the same time, a product which is overall inexpensive is provided.

CA 02248823 1998-10-1~
.

Moreover, installation is simplified and associated with cost benefits if the rubber/metal bearing according to the invention is overall a one-part structure. It is no longer necessary to join together various components, as is required according to the prior art. Moreover, it is possible to do away with the expensive and time-consuming process of vulcanizing the rubber body on to the stabilizer bar. As a result of the latching lug which is provided according to a preferred embodiment, it is possible, furthermore, to connect one or more rubber/metal bearings according to the invention to a stabilizer bar during prefitting. This means that the rubber/metal bearings which have been prefitted in such a way can be supplied for final installation as a prefitted assembly complete with the stabilizer bar. Moreover, this final installation is facilitated if the stabilizer bar is fixed in the rubber/metal bearing while the sleeve is being attached to the automotive body, and consequently cannot rock back and forth. Consequently, at the same time potential risks of injury during final installation are avoided.
Moreover, it is particularly important for rotational movements of the stabilizer bar to be absorbed, in particular regularly, as a result of intramolecular spring forces in the rubber body, in that torsion angles of the stabilizer bar through the range from approximately 10~to 60~ preferably 15~to 35~, lead to a corresponding torsion of the rubber body. This means that slipping of the stabilizer bar in the rubber body - as always occurs in the prior art - is deliberately avoided. Consequently, squeaking noises are reliably prevented, precisely because of the fact that there is frictional engagement between rubber body and stabilizer bar, and accordingly the rubber body follows torsional movements of the stabilizer bar. In this case, the invention is based on the recognition that in the present case, as a rule, coefficients of friction of approx. 0.5 (rubber on metal) can be reached, which . .., . ~ .

CA 02248823 1998-10-1~

coefficients, owing to the stressing of the rubber body, lead to a perfect connection between the stabilizer bar and the rubber body with frictional engagement.
Consequently - in contrast to the prior art - high coefficients of friction can be deliberately set, in order knowingly to bring about torsion of the rubber body.
In the prior art, such torsional movements of the rubber body have hitherto only been achievable by vulcanizing this rubber body directly on to the stabilizer bar in a complicated and expensive manufacturing step. In contrast to this, the invention not only provides a rubber/metal bearing which is simple and inexpensive to produce, but also, in addition, in particular installation is considerably simplified. This also applies with regard to the flexibility of positioning of the rubber/metal bearing with respect to the stabilizer bar which is achieved by means of the invention. These represent the essential advantages.
Further features which are essential to the invention are listed below. Thus, as a rule, the rubber body is made from a rubber-based or polymer-based elastomer. This elastomer is preferably natural rubber (NR) which has an application temperature range of approx.
-50~C to +90~C, a Shore A hardness of approx. 20 to 100, preferably 60, an elongation at break of 100~ to 800~, preferably more than 400~, and a density of approximately 1.2 g/cm3. Finally, the rubber body may have, on the stabilizer bar side, one or more bearing shells with or without a vulcanized-on rubber coating. Naturally, the bearing shells may be vulcanized on to or into the rubber body.
The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing, which illustrates only one exemplary embodiment. In the drawing:
~ig. 1 shows a vehicle axle having the essential components, including stabilizer bar, CA 02248823 1998-10-1~
.

Fig. 2a shows the rubber/metal bearing according to the invention in the pivoted-open position, Fig. 2b shows the bearing in accordance with Fig. 2a in the installed position, and Fig. 3 shows a view, partially in section, of the bearing in accordance with Fig. 2a and 2b.

The figures illustrate a rubber/metal bearing 1 for coupling a stabilizer bar 2 to an automotive body (not shown). According to Fig. 1, the stabilizer bar 2 connects the two wheels 3 of an axle of a motor vehicle and leads to reinforcement of the suspension during compression and rebounding of the wheels 3 on one side. Consequently, when traveling around a bend, the stabilizer bar 2 counteracts the inclination of the automotive body (not shown). In Fig. 2b, all that is diagrammatically shown of the automotive body is part of a floor pan 4. In accordance with Fig. 2a, 2b and 3, the basic structure of the rubber/metal bearing 1 comprises a rubber body 5 which surrounds the stabilizer bar 2 and a sleeve 6 which can be attached to the automotive body or to the floor pan 4, for the purpose of accommodating the rubber body 5 and the stabilizer bar 2 which is guided therein. The rubber body 5 essentially comprises a stop member 5a which is fastened in the sleeve 6 and a closure member 5b which is pivotably connected to the sleeve 6. With the closure member pivoted down (cf. Fig. 2a), the stabilizer bar 2 can be introduced into the sleeve 6 and placed against the stop member 5a, it being possible to connect the stabilizer bar 2 in a rotationally fixed manner to the rubber body 5 by frictional engagement by means of the closure member 5b, which can be pivoted up during installation, so as to produce stressing of the rubber body 5. This means that in the situation of the installed rubber/metal bearing 1 which is illustrated in Fig. 2b (solid lines), the stabilizer bar 2 is fixedly connected to the rubber body 5 by frictional engagement, so that the rubber body 5 is CA 02248823 1998-10-1~

able to resiliently absorb rotational movements of the stabilizer bar 2 as a result of intramolecular spring forces.
In detail, the stop member 5a is vulcanized into the sleeve 6. The closure member 5b is pivotably connected to the sleeve 6 by means of an integral rubber hinge 7 which is vulcanized on to the sleeve 6 and the closure member 5b. In addition, the closure member 5b has a body stop 8 which, on the vehicle side, is vulcanized on and, when the rubber/metal bearing 1 has been installed, bears against the automotive body or floor pan (4) (cf. Fig.
2b). This body stop 8, like the sleeve 6, is made from an aluminum alloy. According to the exemplary embodiment, it has a planar underside 9 which, when the rubber/metal bearing 1 has been installed, bears flat against the floor pan 4 or automotive body. The rubber body 5 which, in the installed position (cf. Fig. 2b), is connected by frictional engagement to the stabilizer bar 2 is of resilient design and, by means of intramolecular spring forces, absorbs torsion angles of the stabilizer bar 2 which lie in the range from approximately 10~ to 60~, preferably 15~ to 35~.
This means that, in the course of its crosslinking and as a result of the selection of material, the rubber body 5 is designed in such a way that the above-mentioned torsion angles can be absorbed elastically, i.e. without damage to or tearing of the rubber body 5, with perfect restoration. For this purpose, the rubber body 5 is made from a rubber-based or polymer-based elastomer. According to the exemplary embodiment, this elastomer is natural rubber (NR) which has an application temperature range of from approx. -50~C to +90~C, a Shore A hardness of approx.
20 to 100, preferably 60, an elongation at break of 100 to 800~, preferably more than 400~, and a density of approximately 1.2 g/cm3. Consequently, the rubber body 5 is predestined for use in a motor vehicle, especially since ageing effects play only a subordinate role.

Moreover, according to the invention it is possible, owing to the fixed connection between stabilizer bar 2 and rubber body 5 as a result of the frictional engagement, to dispense with holding rings, which are obligatory according to the prior art. Holding rings of this nature are regularly used to prevent the stabilizer bar 2 from moving back and forth in the longitudinal direction inside the rubber/metal bearing 1 (cf. also the holding rings which are merely indicated by dashed lines in Fig. 3). According to the invention, it is possible to do without these holding rings, or else such holding rings can be designed in such a way that, in the context of the invention, they merely have a sealing function.
The stop member 5a and the closure member 5b are each designed as rubber half shells, on the one hand as a closure half shell 5b and on the other hand as a stop half shell 5a. Above the integral rubber hinge 7, the stop half shell 5a has a drawn-down lug 10 so as to form a recess 11 for a web 12 of the closure half shell 5b, which web engages in this recess in the manner of a hinge during installation of the rubber/metal bearing 1. According to the exemplary embodiment, the sleeve 6 is designed as a metal strip made from an aluminum alloy, the cross section of the metal strip approximating to the shape of an omega (Q) with a sleeve eyelet 6a for accommodating the rubber body 5 and attachment limbs 6b, 6c on both sides.
One attachment limb 6b, 6c is designed as a lug limb 6b which engages beneath a cutout 13 in the vehicle body or floor pan 4 and the other attachment limb 6b, 6c is designed as a screw-on limb 6c which can be connected to the vehicle body or floor pan 4. With the aid of this screw-on limb 6c, the sleeve 6 is attached to the floor pan 4 after the lug 6b has been introduced into the cutout 13 and has engaged beneath the floor pan 4. For this purpose, the screw-on limb 6c has a bore for a screw (not shown) in order to be attached to the floor pan 4.
The lug limb 6b and the screw-on limb 6c extend essentially parallel to one another, specifically in planes A and B which are spaced apart from one another.
The distance S between these planes A and B is illustrated in particular in Fig. 2a. According to the exemplary embodiment, it is approx. 5 mm. This distance S between the planes A and B depends on the thickness W of the vehicle body floor pan 4 beneath which the lug limb 6b engages and on the stressing ~ of the rubber body 5, which can be prescribed during installation. This means that the distance S is made up as follows:

S = W + ~.

According to the exemplary embodiment, ~= O, i.e.
the distance S between the planes A and B corresponds to the thickness W of the floor pan 4 beneath which the lug limb 6b engages. In this case, the upper side of the lug limb 6b bears against an inner surface of the floor pan 4 and the underside of the screw-on limb 6c bears against an outer surface of the floor pan 4. For its part, the underside 9 of the closure member 5b or the closure half shell 5b projects beyond the underside of the screw-on limb 6c by a specific dimension M which determines the level of stressing of the rubber body 5.
Depending on the magnitude of this dimension M, the closure member or the closure half shell 5b, during installation of the rubber/metal bearing 1, is pressed to a greater or lesser extent on to the stop member or the stop half shell 5a. The uninstalled position is illustrated in dashed lines in Fig. 2b, while the installed, stressed position of the rubber body 5 is shown in solid lines in Fig. 2b. At any rate, it is possible in this way to set the stressing of the rubber body 5.
Naturally, this can also be achieved by means of the dimension ~, but this is not illustrated in the exemplary embodiment and ultimately leads to lug limb 6b and screw-on limb 6c, or the corresponding planes A and B, including an (obtuse) angle.
Finally, on the inside the sleeve eyelet 6a has a latching lug 14 which faces toward the closure member 5b, lies opposite the integral hinge 7 and over which, for the purpose of prefitting the rubber/metal bearing 1 on the stabilizer bar 2, an edge 15 of the closure member 5b passes with a latching action. As a result, the illustrated rubber/metal bearing 1 according to the invention can, as it were, be prefitted on the stabilizer bar 2, in that the edge 15 latches over the latching lug 14. In this way, the stabilizer bar 2, together with the prefitted rubber/metal bearings 1, of which there are generally two, can be supplied as a finished unit for final installation.
Overall, a particularly compact structure of the rubber/metal bearing 1 with a relatively low rubber content or a relatively small size of the rubber body 5 is achieved. As a result of the frictionally locking connection between stabilizer bar 2 and rubber body 5, rotational movements of the stabilizer bar 2, which in any case only move in the range up to a torsion angle of approx. 30~, are absorbed without problems in an intramolecular manner, i.e. by the crosslinked molecules or molecule chains in the rubber body 5. In the end, this is achieved by the fact that the relatively high coefficient of friction of 0.5 (rubber on steel) is deliberately not reduced so as to decrease the coefficient of friction (as in the prior art), but rather ensures the frictional engagement described above. Finally, the rubber body 5 may, on the stabilizer bar side, have one or more bearing shells 16 with or without a vulcanized-on rubber coating 17. If a rubber coating 17 is not provided, measures will be taken to increase the coefficient of friction, such as for example by roughening the inside of the bearing shell 16 or the like. At any rate, in this case too, a frictionally locking connection between rubber body 5 and stabilizer bar 2 is ensured in operation.

, .. . . ..... .... ~

Naturally, during final installation - and only at this time - it is possible, by overcoming the static friction, to cause the stabilizer bar 2 to slip through the rubber body 5 in a controlled manner. The production of the rubber/metal bearing 1, in particular the vulcanization, is carried out in a standard manner, such as for example as described in DE-C 40 25 100.

Claims

1. A rubber/metal bearing for coupling a stabilizer bar to an automotive body, comprising a rubber body which surrounds the stabilizer bar and having a sleeve for attachment to the automotive body for the purpose of accommodating the rubber body and the stabilizer bar which is guided therein, wherein the rubber body essentially includes a stop member which is fastened in the sleeve and a closure member which is pivotably connected to the sleeve, for allowing, when the closure member is pivoted down, introducing the stabilizer bar into the sleeve and placement against the stop member, the stabilizer bar being connectable in a rotationally fixed manner to the rubber body by frictional engagement by pivoting up the closure member during installation, so as to produce stressing of the rubber body.

2. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stop member is vulcanized into the sleeve.

3. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the closure member is pivotably connected to the sleeve (6) by means of an integral rubber hinge which is vulcanized on to the sleeve and the closure member.

4. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the closure member has a body stop which, on the vehicle side, is vulcanized on and, when the rubber/metal bearing has been installed, bears against the automotive body.

5. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the stop member and the closure member are each designed as rubber half shells, on the one hand as a closure half shell and on the other hand as a stop half shell, the stop half shell having, above the integral rubber hinge, a drawn- down lug so as to form a recess for a web of the closure half shell, which web engages in this recess in the manner of a hinge during installation of the rubber/metal bearing.

6. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rubber body which, in the installed position, is connected by frictional engagement to the stabilizer bar, is of resilient design and, by means of intramolecular spring forces, absorbs torsion angles of the stabilizer bar which lie in the range from approximately 10° to 60°.

7. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rubber body is made from a rubber-based or polymer-based elastomer.

8. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the rubber body is made of natural rubber (NR) which has an application temperature range of approx. -50°C to +90°C, a Shore A hardness of approx. 20 to 100, elongation at break of 100% to 800%, and a density of approximately 1.2 g/cm3.

9. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sleeve is designed as a metal strip made from an aluminum alloy, the cross section of the metal strip approximating to the shape of an omega (Q) with a sleeve eyelet for accommodating the rubber body and attachment limbs on both sides.

10. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the sleeve eyelet has, on the inside, a latching lug which faces toward the closure member, lies opposite the integral hinge and over which, for the purpose of prefitting the rubber/metal bearing on the stabilizer bar, an edge of the closure member passes with a latching action.

11. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 10, wherein one attachment limb is designed as a lug limb which engages beneath a cutout in the vehicle body and the other attachment limb is designed as a screw-on limb which can be connected to the vehicle body.

12. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the lug limb and the screw-on limb extend essentially in planes (A, B) which are parallel to one another and spaced apart from one another, a distance (S) between the planes (A, B) depending on a thickness (W) of a vehicle body floor pan beneath which the lug limb engages and on the stressing of the rubber body which can be prescribed during installation.

13. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in claim 12, wherein the distance (S) between the planes (A, B) corresponds to the thickness (W) of the floor pan beneath which the lug limb engages, the upper side of the lug limb bearing against an inner surface of the floor pan and the underside of the screw-on limb bearing against an outer surface of the floor pan and wherein the underside of the closure member projecting beyond the underside of the screw-on limb by a specific dimension (M) which determines the level of stressing of the rubber body.

14. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the rubber body has, on the stabilizer bar side, at least one bearing shell.

15. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in claim 14, wherein the bearing shell is provided with a vulcanized-on rubber coating.

16. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in claim 6,

17 wherein the torsion angles lie in the range of 15° to 35°.

17. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in claim 8, wherein the natural rubber used has a Shore A harness of 60.

18. The rubber/metal bearing as claimed in claim 8, wherein the natural rubber used has an elongation at break of 400%.