FR2519589A1 - ELASTIC SUPPORT FOR VEHICLE FRONT SUSPENSION SHOCK - Google Patents

Abstract

ELASTIC SUPPORT 18 FOR FRONT SUSPENSION SHOCK 1 OF VEHICLE, IN WHICH A BEARING 22 CONSISTS OF ROLLING ELEMENTS AND DIRECTLY CONNECTS TO THE ROD 5 OF THE SHOCK ABSORBER IS MOUNTED IN AN ELASTICALLY DEFORMABLE CUSHION 23 WITH AN EXTERNAL SLEEVE 24 WHICH CAN AND AT THE BODY 6 OF THE VEHICLE, AN INNER SLEEVE 6 AND AN ELASTIC INTERMEDIATE SLEEVE 30 WHICH IS RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE INNER SLEEVES 27 AND EXTERIOR 24, THE INNER SLEEVE 27 ALSO CONSTITUTING A ROLLING CAGE 22 AND INCLUDING A RACE 40 FOR THE ROLLING BODY 36 BEARING 22.

Description

The present invention relates to a support

  elastic for vehicle front suspension shock absorber

  cule, more particularly, of suspension allowing

  the direction of the vehicle wheels.

  We know that the suspensions of the direct wheels

  vehicles pose special problems.

  In fact, the shock absorber of the suspension, which is re-

  linked by its opposite ends respectively to the wheel hub and the vehicle body, must be capable

  to rotate relative to the body, so as to accompany

  hinder the rotation of the hub following a change of direction of the wheel In addition, in its vertical displacement due to irregularities in the ground, a shock absorber must be able to change its inclination by several l Sdegrees relative to the ground, because the displacement of the wheel occurs in an arc and not parallel to itself Such conditions are satisfied by a

  elastic support incorporating a bearing composed of

  rolling elements whose support is mounted at the upper end of the shock absorber and serves to fix it on the body The elastic support comprises an elastically deforming pad which consists of two sleeves

  rigid, respectively an inner sleeve and a

  outer cap, and a deformed intermediate sleeve

  vulcanized wheat and glued to surfaces facing

  inner and outer sleeves, and a rolling

  placed rolling elements whose outer cage is keyed to the inner sleeve and the inner cage can be mounted on the upper end of the shock absorber rod The outer sleeve is fixed to the body by bolts In this way, the rolling

  allows the shock absorber to rotate and the sleeve deforms

  able to move both laterally and axially.

  The elastic supports mentioned above do not

  are not entirely free from drawbacks

  particular, the presence of two separate sets (sewn

  elastic sinet and bearing) which are generally fa-

  made by two different manufacturers, then assembled

  injured by a third company raise issues

  assembly times and increase their duration In addition, due to the different working tolerances, there may be various clearances and / or imperfections

  between the bearing and the elastic bearing.

  The object of the present invention is an elastic support for suspension shock absorber before

  vehicle which is free from the above-mentioned drawbacks.

  The object is achieved in the present invention.

  tion with a vehicle shock absorber holder which can be mounted on the upper end of the shock absorber

  so as to allow its attachment to the vehicle body

  hicule, comprising a bearing composed of red elements

  lants which allows a low friction rotation of the a-

  mortiser around its own axis and a pad

  resiliently formable which includes two sleeves

  gides, respectively an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve, rigidly connected together by a sleeve

  elastic in elastomeric material which is interposed in

  be an inner surface of the outer sleeve and a

  outer surface of the inner sleeve and fixed rigid-

  directly to the two sleeves, the bearing

  allowing the shock absorber to execute relative movements

  tifs in relation to the body, characterized in that the

  inner sleeve also constitutes a first ca-

  bearing age composed of rolling elements which includes a second cage which can be rigidly mounted on

  the shock absorber rod and a plurality of rolling elements

  lants that can roll between paths facing for-

  placed on the second cage and on an inner surface of the

inner sleeve.

  The present invention will be well understood when

  of the following description made in conjunction with the

sins attached in which:

  Figure 1 partially shows a suspension

  front zion of vehicle in which an elastic support is used according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a view, on a large scale, of the upper part of the suspension of Figure 1, partly in section; Figure 3 is a sectional view of an elastic support constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

  Figures 4 and 6 show two variations

  your different from the support of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a partly sectional view

  of the upper part of the front suspension similar to

  re to that of Figure 1, on which is mounted the

elastic support of figure 6.

  In connection with FIGS. 1 and 2, we have shown

  presented in outline by the reference 1 a suspension for front steering wheel 2 of a vehicle

  (not shown), for example of a motor vehicle.

  Suspension 1 is of the Mac Pherson type and comprises,

  this is known to me, a support 3, a shock absorber 4 comprises

  both a rod 5 which is connected to the body 6 of the vehicle and a body 7 which is connected to a fixing system 8

  of the support 3, and a helical spring 9 mounted externally

  the shock absorber 4 The wheel 2 is driven through

  firing of a joint 10 at constant speed and directed in low

  sant turn its support 3 by a link (not shown

  which is connected to a fixing system 11 of the support 3 The latter is also provided with a spherical seal 12 to which is fixed a support bar 13

  connected in a known manner and not shown to the case

  se 6 and a torsion bar (not shown).

  The shock absorber 4 has two caps in re-

  gard 14 and 15, respectively fixed to the rod 5 and to the body 7, and between which is mounted the spring 9 Au

  cap 1.4 is fixed a sleeve 16 for protecting the

  ge 5 The cap 14 can transfer to the body 6 the stresses acting on the suspension 1 and vice versa, via an elastic support 18 fixed to the rod 5 by a nut 19, which is screwed onto a threaded part 20 of the rod 5 itself, and fixed to the body 6

by bolts 21.

  The support 18, which is shown in section in

  FIG. 3 comprises a bearing 22 composed of rolling elements

  lants which allows the shock absorber to rotate relative to the body 6 with low friction, and an elastically deformable pad 23 which allows the shock absorber

  2 to execute movements relative to the body 6.

  The pad 23 includes an outer sleeve

  rigid 24 made of sheet metal and having a flange 25 for fixing

  tion to the body 6 and a side wall substantially

  conical 26, and a rigid and sensitive inner sleeve-

  cylindrical 27 The sleeves 24 and 27 are connected to each other by a deformable intermediate sleeve made of elastomeric material, for example rubber, which is interposed between them and rigidly connected to them More

  in particular, the sleeve 30 is substantially interpolated

  dried between a substantially conical interior surface 31.

  of the sleeve 24, and a substantially cy-

  the indrique 32 of the inner sleeve 27 opposite the over-

  face 31 The sleeve 30 is fixed directly and rigidly to the surfaces 31 and 32 in any convenient manner. Preferably, the sleeve 30 is produced by rubber injection molding directly between the sleeves 24 and 27, molding which is followed by a vulcanization of the rubber so that it is intimately bonded to surfaces 31 and 32 A treatment of

this nature is well known.

  However in the example shown in fig-

  re 3, the sleeve 30 has been produced so as to enclose the side wall 26 to facilitate extraction of the

  bearing 23 during the injection molding operations

  jection and vulcanization The profile of the sleeve 30 depends on the type of stresses to which it will be subjected and will therefore be designed differently depending on

  the rigidity which it is desired to impart to the pad 23.

  The rim 25 has holes 34 for housing the

bolts 21.

  The bearing 22 is of the radial stop type

  comprising a ring of balls The bearing 22 comprises

  a substantially cylindrical inner cage 35 which can be fixed to one end 28 of the rod 5 and a plurality of rolling bodies 36, made up of balls, which are interposed between the outer surface 37 of the cage 35 and an inner surface 38 facing the surface 37 of the inner sleeve 27 of the bearing 23, which consequently also constitutes the outer cage of the bearing 22 The balls 36 roll between a pair of annular races whose shape in section is that of an arc of circumference, 39 and 40, which are produced in facing and coaxial positions, respectively on the surfaces 37 and 38 The sleeve 27 further comprises a tubular projection 41 which extends in the direction

  axial with respect to the cage 35 and above it

  ci, so as to increase the anchoring surface of the sleeve

  30 and to constitute the housing for a cap 29 of neck

  circle. In use (Figure 2), the elastic support 18 is rigidly fixed to the body 6 by means of the rim. The inner cage 35 is mounted on the end 28 against the cap 14, which rests on a formed shoulder.

  on the rod 5 The nut 19, screwed on the section 20, lock

  that both the cage 35 and the cap 14, which is thus rigidly secured to the rod 5 When the wheel 2 and consequently the support 3 are steered (FIG. 1), the damper 4 rotates relative to the body 6, rotating the caps 14 and 15, and therefore

  the cage 35, which is released from the box 6 by the bil-

  the 36 also rotate The load which is imposed on the body 6 can always be transferred to the support 3 and to the associated wheel 2, in the sense that this load is transmitted by the sleeves 24, 30 and 27, the balls 36 and the cage 35 and from there is transmitted to the cap 14 and via the spring 9 to the body 7 of the shock absorber 4 fixed to the

  support 3 The possible relative movements of the

  weaver 4 are allowed and absorbed by the deformed sleeve

  burn 30 which elastically deforms while continuing

  to transmit the loads between the body 6 and the amor-

  weaver 4 and vice versa The transmission of loads by the balls 36 is permitted by the fact that the races 39 and 40 have a shape such that they allow rolling

  22 to also support the axial thrust For improvement

  With this characteristic, the bearing 22 can also be of the "four-contact" type, that is to say have grooves having a profile in the point of turning back instead of having that of an arc of a circle so that the

  balls 36 touch the contour of the races 39 and 40 exac-

  at four different points, from which it follows that

  more axial loads can be transmitted

bearing.

  In Figure 4, there is shown in section a sup-

  port 42 similar to support 18 All components that

  are the same or are similar to the components already de-

  crits have the same reference The support 42 differs from the support 18 only in a few details The sleeve 24 has the shape of a cup and has, as well as the flange 25 and the conical side wall 26, a bottom wall 43

  in which a central hole is made 44 The man-

  inner chon 27 has a projection 41 having a sur-

  substantially conical outer face 45, the narrow end of which faces the same direction as the surface

  inner 31 of the outer sleeve 24 so as to

  re vary, along with the different profile of the man-

  chon 30, the elastic characteristic of the pad 23.

  relative to that of the support 18 of FIG. 3 In or

  tre, the presence of two opposite conical surfaces 31 and 45 having similar angles for the c 6 does not allow the elastic sleeve 30 to work especially in compression

  under the effect of axial loads instead of being here

  salience as would occur in the case of surfa-

  these cylindrical This improves the performance-

  these of the support 42 compared to those of the support 18 of

Figure 3.

  In operation, the support 42 can be mounted in the suspension 1 in place of the support 18 and functions in a similar manner except however that it will transmit the axial loads especially by compression rather than

  by shearing In an embodiment not shown

  felt, the outer surface 32 of the inner sleeve 27 is entirely conical so as to further improve it

  load transmission by compression.

  In Figures 5 and 6, there is shown, respectively-

  ment, the upper part of a suspension 47 similar to the suspension 1 and an elastic support 48 similar to the supports 18 and 42 already described The components which are the same or are similar to those already described have the

same reference number.

  In connection with FIG. 5, the suspension 47 is entirely identical to the suspension 1 with the exception that in the upper part, on the rod 5, in correspondence with the end 28 is mounted a cap 49 which is substantially conical and in the form of a cup, an edge 50 of which being in contact with the spring 9 On the cap 49 is on the other hand rigidly connected a cover

  protection 16 of the rod 5 The rod 5 is mounted rigidly

  dement on an elastic support 48 which is in turn rigid

  xed to the body 6 by bolts 21. The support 48 (Figure 6) includes a socket

  elastically deformable 51 and an axial thrust bearing

  le 52 The bearing 51 includes an outer sleeve 53

  cup-shaped, an inner sleeve 54 which also

  shaped like a cup, and an intermediate sleeve

  formable 30 fixed by glue and / or injection and vulcanization

  directly to the facing surfaces, respectively, the surface

  inner face 31 of the sleeve 53 and the outer surface of the sleeve 54, surfaces which are substantially conical, the taper being in the same direction The sleeve 53 has, in the example shown, a flange 25 and a side wall 55 comprising a conical part 26 on which

  is arranged the surface 31 However, in a

  not shown, the sleeve 53 may have a part

  lateral king 55 which is entirely conical, of which the

  inner side is formed by the surface 31 The rou-

  Lement 52 includes a lower cage or ball bearing

  substantially flat tee 57 in which a hole is made

  58 thanks to which it can be keyed to the rod 5, a greater

  ball reality 36, which in an embodiment not shown can be replaced by a plurality of cylindrical rollers, and an upper cage or stop bearing constituted by a substantially flat bottom wall 59 of the sleeve 54 The latter comprises the wall 59 and a substantially conical side wall 60 delimited externally by the conical surface 45 On a part 61 of the internal surface 62 of the sleeve 54, an annular race 63 is formed for the balls 36, which roll between the race 63 and an annular race 64

  opposite race 63 and formed on a flat surface

  te 65 of the cage 57 opposite the part 61 In the lower wall 59 is also made a hole 66 in

  which is accommodated, with a certain play, a ring with

  lerent 67 mounted against the surface 65 of the cage 57.

  During operation, the support 48 (FIG. 5) is mounted on one end of a suspension 47 to fix it to the body 6 The sleeve 53 is fixed to the body 6 by the flange 25, while the cage 57 is mounted on the end

  28 against the cap 49, which is blocked below con-

  be a shoulder formed on the rod 5 The cage 57 is on the other hand blocked by a nut 19 screwed from the

  above on a threaded section 20 so as to be

  met against the shoulder ring 67 The operation of the

  support 48 is similar to that of support 18 already

  crit, except that the bearing 52 only supports push-

axial axles.

  According to the preceding description, the advantages

  ges of the present invention will appear In particular the fact that the inner sleeve of the deformable pad also assumes the function of rolling cage allows

  quick and easy installation and eliminates the risk of

  damage to the bearing itself due to incorrect mounting On the other hand, as the operation and mounting of all the components of the elastic support are

  executed by the same manufacturer, errors and imperfections

  due to differences in tolerances are found

avoided.

  The present invention is not limited to

  examples of embodiments which have just been described, el-

  on the contrary is subject to modifications and

  laughing who will appear to those skilled in the art.

Claims (6)

  1 elastic support (18,42,48) for cushioning   sor (4) of front suspension (1) of vehicle, which can be mounted on the upper end of the shock absorber (4) of maple to allow fixing on the body   (6) of the vehicle, comprising a bearing composed of elements   rolling elements (22,52) to allow the shock absorber (4) to rotate with low friction around its axis,   and an elastically deformable pad (23,51) comprising   both two rigid sleeves, respectively one sleeve   inner (27,54) and an outer sleeve (24,53) assu-   rigidly thrown to each other by an elastic sleeve   that (30) of elastometer material interposed between a sur-   inner face (31) of the outer sleeve (24,53) and an outer surface ('32, 45) of the inner sleeve (27,54) and fixed rigidly and directly to the two sleeves, the   bearing (23,51) allowing the shock absorber (4) to operate   kill movements in relation to the body (6), character-   laughed in that the inner sleeve (27,54) also constitutes   Lement a first bearing cage composed of rolling elements (22,52), which comprises a second cage (35,57)   can be rigidly mounted on the rod (5) of the shock absorber   weaver (4) and a plurality of rollable bodies (36)   between opposite races (39,40,63,64) formed respectively   on the second cage ((35,57) and on a surface   inner (38,62) of the inner sleeve (27,54).   2 Elastic support (18) according to the claim   tion 1, characterized in that the outer sleeve (24) comprises a flange (23) for fixing to the body (6) and a conical side wall (26).   3 Elastic support (18) according to the claim   tion 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the inner surface (31) of the outer sleeve (24) is   substantially conical, the outer surface (32) of the man-   inner cap (27) being substantially cylindrical.   4 Elastic support (42,48) as claimed   cation 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the inner surface (31) of the outer sleeve (24,53) is substantially conical, the outer surface (32,45) of the inner sleeve (27,54) being substantially conical   and having its cone directed in the same direction as the surface   this inner (31) of the outer sleeve (24,53). Elastic support (18, 42,43) according to one   any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that   that the elastic sleeve (30) is made of rubber, which has been molded directly and fixed by vulcanization on the outer sleeve (24,53) and the inner sleeve (27, 54).   6 Elastic support (18,42) according to one which   conch of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that   the bearing (22) composed of rolling elements is a   Lement radial which can also support an axial thrust. 7 Integrated elastic support (48) according to one   any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that   that the bearing composed of rolling elements (52) is a axial thrust bearing.   8 Elastic support (18) according to any one   as in claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the   inner sleeve (27) has a projection (41) directed axially relative to the second cage (35) of the bearing (22), serving to increase the contact surface of the elastic sleeve (30) and constituting the housing a cover cap (29).