JP2007205548A - Air spring and suspension device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air spring hardly fixed to a piston member of an air sleeve firmly. <P>SOLUTION: This air spring comprises the cylindrical air sleeve 2, an upper mount 4 air-tightly covering one end opening of the air sleeve 2, and the piston member 6 air-tightly covering the other end opening of the air sleeve 2 and defining an air chamber with the air sleeve 2 and the upper mount 4. The neighborhood of the other end opening of the air sleeve 2 is folded toward one end opening and firmly fixed to the piston member 6, and at least one of a projection and a recessed portion kept into contact with at least the air sleeve 2 is formed on the outer peripheral face 6A of the piston member 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air spring and a suspension device, and more particularly to an air spring suitable for an automobile, and a suspension apparatus using the air spring and for an automobile.

In automobiles such as passenger cars, trucks, and buses, a diaphragm type air spring comprising a cylindrical diaphragm, an upper mount member that covers one end opening of the diaphragm, and a piston member that covers the other end opening of the diaphragm. Is widely used (Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-120745 A

  In the diaphragm type air spring, since the piston member is fixed to the other end opening of the diaphragm in a state of penetrating the inside of the diaphragm toward the upper mount member, the outer peripheral surface of the piston member is the surface of the diaphragm. In contact.

  Therefore, when the air spring is provided close to the engine, or when a vehicle having an air spring is used in a hot place, the piston member becomes hot due to the heat from the engine and the environmental temperature, and the diaphragm becomes the piston. It may adhere to the outer peripheral surface of the member.

  If the vehicle is cooled while left in this state, the diaphragm may adhere to the outer peripheral surface of the piston member. And if a vehicle starts driving | running | working in the state which the diaphragm adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the piston member, a diaphragm will peel from a piston member.

  As described above, when the diaphragm is repeatedly fixed and peeled off from the piston member, the durable life of the diaphragm is shortened and may be damaged in a short period of time.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air spring in which the diaphragm is not easily fixed to the piston member even under high and low temperature conditions.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a cylindrical diaphragm, an upper mount member that covers an end opening of the diaphragm in an airtight manner, an airtight cover at the other end opening of the diaphragm, and the diaphragm and the upper mount member And a piston member that forms an air chamber, the vicinity of the other end opening of the diaphragm is folded inward toward the one end opening, and the outer peripheral surface of the piston member has at least a portion in contact with the diaphragm. And an air spring characterized in that at least one of a protrusion and a recess is formed.

  Also in the air spring, since the piston member is fixed to the other end opening of the diaphragm in a state of penetrating inside the diaphragm toward the upper mount member, the outer peripheral surface of the piston member is in contact with the surface of the diaphragm. Is in a state.

  However, since at least one of the protrusion and the recessed portion is formed on the portion of the outer peripheral surface of the piston member that comes into contact with the diaphragm, an air layer is formed between the diaphragm and the piston member when the diaphragm is in contact with the piston member. It is formed. Therefore, since the diaphragm is prevented from sticking to the outer peripheral surface of the piston member, the diaphragm is shortened in the durable life and the air spring is damaged in a short period of time by repeating the sticking and peeling of the diaphragm to the piston member. Is prevented.

  Only the protrusion may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the piston member, or only the recessed portion may be formed.

  In the air spring in which only the protrusion is formed on the piston member, when the diaphragm comes into contact with the piston member, the air spring is more effectively formed between the diaphragm and the piston member because the diaphragm mainly contacts the protrusion. Therefore, the diaphragm is more effectively prevented from sticking to the outer peripheral surface of the piston member.

  On the other hand, even in an air spring in which only a recessed portion is formed in the piston member, even when the diaphragm comes into contact with the piston member, an air layer exists between the recessed portion and the diaphragm. It is prevented from sticking to. Further, the recessed portion can be easily machined on the outer peripheral surface of the piston member.

  The invention according to claim 2 relates to the air spring according to claim 2, wherein the projection formed on the outer peripheral surface of the piston member is hemispherical.

  A third aspect of the present invention relates to the air spring according to the fourth aspect, wherein the recessed portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the piston member is hemispherical.

  In these air springs, the protrusions or the recesses are hemispherical and thus easy to form. The diameter of the protrusion and the recessed portion is preferably about 3 to 10 mm and the height is about 0.2 to 1 mm, but can be appropriately determined according to the size of the piston member.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tubular diaphragm, an upper mount member that covers an end opening of the diaphragm in an airtight manner, an airtight cover of the other end opening of the diaphragm, and the diaphragm and the upper mount member And a piston member that forms an air chamber, and the diaphragm is folded inward toward the one end opening portion at the other end opening portion, and at least a portion that contacts the piston member on the outer surface is provided with a protrusion and a recessed portion. It is related with the air spring characterized by forming at least one of these.

  In the air spring, at least one of a protrusion and a recessed portion is formed on the surface of the diaphragm in contact with the piston member. Therefore, when the diaphragm contacts the outer peripheral surface of the piston member, the diaphragm and the piston An air layer is formed between the members. This prevents the diaphragm from sticking to the outer peripheral surface of the piston member.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tubular diaphragm, an upper mount member that covers an end opening of the diaphragm in an airtight manner, an airtight cover at the other end opening of the diaphragm, and the diaphragm and the upper mount member And a piston member that forms an air chamber, and the other end opening of the diaphragm is folded inward toward the one end opening, and the outer peripheral surface of the piston member has at least a portion in contact with the diaphragm. The present invention relates to an air spring characterized in that a non-adhesive surface that does not adhere to a diaphragm is formed.

  In the air spring, the non-adhesive surface is formed by applying non-adhesive resin processing such as fluorine resin processing, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene processing, silicone resin processing, etc., to the portion of the outer peripheral surface of the piston member that contacts the diaphragm. Yes.

  Therefore, even if a diaphragm contacts the outer peripheral surface of a piston member, it does not adhere to the said outer peripheral surface.

  The invention according to claim 6 relates to the air spring according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a shock absorber is inserted coaxially with the diaphragm between the upper mount member and the piston member. .

  Since the air spring is integrated with the shock absorber, an air chamber for imparting damping characteristics to the air spring is unnecessary. Therefore, if the suspension device is configured using the air spring, the suspension device can be configured compactly.

  Further, since the shock absorber is inserted concentrically with the diaphragm, the diaphragm is prevented from being deformed in a state where the diaphragm is misaligned.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention relates to a suspension device comprising the air spring according to any one of the first to sixth aspects.

  Since the air spring used in the suspension device has a long durability life, the cycle of replacing the air spring can be extended.

  As described above, according to the present invention, an air spring is provided in which the diaphragm is not easily fixed to the piston member even under conditions where high and low temperatures are repeated.

1. Embodiment 1
The air spring 100 according to the first embodiment is an air spring for a vehicle and is used for a strut-type suspension. As shown in FIG. 1, a bag-like air sleeve 2 having both ends opened, an upper mount 4 for airtightly covering one end opening of the air sleeve 2, and an airtight cover for the other end opening of the air sleeve 2 And a piston member 6 to be provided. The air sleeve 2 and the upper mount 4 correspond to the diaphragm and the upper mount member in the present invention, respectively. An air chamber 1 is formed by the upper mount 4, the air sleeve 2, and the piston member 6.

  The piston member 6 has a conical outer peripheral surface 6A and a bottom portion 6B that are reduced upward, and the upper surface is open. The air sleeve 2 has its lower end folded back inward toward the upper end. The piston member 6 is inserted into a portion that is folded back above the air sleeve 2, and is fixed to the air sleeve 2 by a fixing ring 12. Therefore, the outer surface of the air sleeve 2 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 6 </ b> A of the piston member 6 at the lower end.

  A cylinder-shaped main body 8A of the shock absorber 8 is concentrically fixed to the bottom 6B of the piston member 6, and an air hose 14 for supplying air to the air chamber 1 is also connected.

  The air spring 100 is fixed to the vehicle body of the automobile at the upper mount 4 and to the axle of the main body 8A of the shock absorber 8.

  A piston rod 8B protrudes upward from the main body 8A of the shock absorber 8. The piston rod 8B is inserted through the inside of the air sleeve 2 along the center line of the air sleeve, and is fixed to the upper mount 4 at the tip. A packing 10 is inserted between the piston rod 8B and the upper mount 4 so that air does not leak. A fixing tab 8C for fixing the shock absorber 8 to the axle side is provided at the lower end of the main body 8A.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the piston member 6 is formed with a protrusion 62 or a recessed portion 64 over the entire outer peripheral surface 6 </ b> A. Each of the protrusion 62 and the recessed portion 64 is spherical, has a diameter of about 3 to 10 mm, and a height of about 0.2 to 1 mm, but can be appropriately determined according to the size of the piston member. In addition, the shape of the protrusion and the recessed portion formed on the outer peripheral surface 6A of the piston member 6 is not limited to a spherical shape, and may be a pyramid shape, for example. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a ridge-like protrusion 66 may be formed along the bus bar of the outer peripheral surface 6A, or a groove 68 along the bus bar of the bus bar outer peripheral surface 6A may be formed as shown in FIG. Good. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, concentric irregularities 69 along the circumferential direction may be formed.

  Further, instead of providing the protrusion 62 or the recessed portion 64 on the outer peripheral surface 6A of the piston member 6, a non-adhesive resin such as fluorine resin processing, high molecular weight polyethylene processing, or silicone resin processing is applied to the portion of the outer peripheral surface 6A where the diaphragm 2 contacts. Processing may be performed to form a non-adhesive surface.

  Further, instead of providing the protrusion 62 or the recessed portion 64 on the outer peripheral surface 6A of the piston member 6 or forming a non-adhesive surface, a protrusion or a recessed portion is formed on the portion of the lower end portion of the diaphragm 2 that contacts the piston member 6. It may be formed.

  In a state in which a load is applied to the axle of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 1, in the air spring 100, the piston member 6 is in a state of penetrating into the air chamber 1. The air sleeve 2 is in contact with the outer surface at the lower end.

  However, since the protrusion 62, the recessed portion 64, the ridged protrusion 66, the groove 68, or the unevenness 69 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 6A of the piston member 6, in the state where the air sleeve 2 is in contact with the piston member 6, An air layer is formed between the air sleeve 2 and the outer peripheral surface 6A.

  Therefore, since the air sleeve 2 is prevented from adhering to the outer peripheral surface 6A, the durability of the air sleeve 2 can be shortened by repeating the adhering and peeling of the air sleeve 2 to the piston member 6 even in a high temperature state. In addition, the air spring 100 can be prevented from being damaged in a short period.

  Further, since the air spring 100 is provided with a shock absorber 8 inside the air chamber, the air spring 100 is integrated with the shock absorber 8. Therefore, the vibration due to the deformation of the air sleeve 2 is attenuated by the shock absorber, so that an air chamber for imparting damping characteristics to the air spring 100 is unnecessary.

  Therefore, if a strut type suspension device is configured using the air spring 100, it can be configured as compact as a strut type suspension device using a normal coil spring.

  Further, since the shock absorber 8 is provided concentrically with the air sleeve 2, it is possible to prevent the air sleeve 2 from being shortened in its durability life by being deformed when the air sleeve 2 is misaligned.

  The air spring of the present invention is effectively used for vibration prevention of machine tools and the like as well as automobiles such as passenger cars, trucks and buses.

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the overall configuration of the air spring according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a piston member provided in the air spring according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating another example of the piston member provided in the air spring according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing still another example of the piston member provided in the air spring according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing still another example of the piston member provided in the air spring according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing still another example of the piston member provided in the air spring according to the first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

2 Air sleeve 4 Upper mount 6 Piston member 6A Outer peripheral surface 6B Bottom 8 Shock absorber 8A Body 8B Piston rod 8C Fixing tab 10 Packing 12 Fixing ring 14 Air hose 62 Protrusion 64 Recessed portion 66 Ridge projection 68 Groove 69 Unevenness 100 Air spring

Claims (7)

A cylindrical diaphragm,
An upper mount member that hermetically covers one end opening of the diaphragm;
A piston member that hermetically covers the other end opening of the diaphragm and forms an air chamber together with the diaphragm and the upper mount member;
The other end opening of the diaphragm is folded inward toward the one end opening,
An air spring characterized in that at least one of a protrusion and a recessed portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the piston member at least in a portion in contact with the diaphragm.   The air spring according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the piston member is hemispherical.   The air spring according to claim 1, wherein the recessed portion formed in the outer peripheral surface of the piston member is hemispherical. A cylindrical diaphragm,
An upper mount member that hermetically covers one end opening of the diaphragm;
A piston member that hermetically covers the other end opening of the diaphragm and forms an air chamber together with the diaphragm and the upper mount member;
The diaphragm is folded inward toward the one end opening at the other end opening, and at least one of a protrusion and a recessed portion is formed at least on a portion of the outer surface that contacts the piston member. Air spring to do. A cylindrical diaphragm,
An upper mount member that hermetically covers one end opening of the diaphragm;
A piston member that hermetically covers the other end opening of the diaphragm and forms an air chamber together with the diaphragm and the upper mount member;
The other end opening of the diaphragm is folded inward toward the one end opening,
The air spring according to claim 1, wherein a non-adhesive surface that does not adhere to the diaphragm is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the piston member at least in a portion in contact with the diaphragm.   The air spring according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a shock absorber is inserted coaxially with the diaphragm between the upper mount member and the piston member.   A suspension device comprising the air spring according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

Images