JP2008230279A - Bearing for strut - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a running torque while keeping a bearing width of a strut bearing small. <P>SOLUTION: An inner ring 16 and an outer ring 17 of the strut bearing 101 mounted at an upper end of a strut shaft 2 of a strut type suspension 100 are formed in ring shapes as well as half-section L shapes. A holder 18 is arranged in a space V therebetween. A needle roller 31 for rolling on an upper surface 19b of a thrust side bent part 19 of the inner ring 16 and on a lower surface 22a of a thrust side bent part 22 of the outer ring 17 is held by a thrust side bent part 28 of the holder 18 so as to receive a thrust load, as well as an outer bush 32 and an inner bush 33 are wound on a radial side bent part 29 of the holder 18 so as to receive a radial load. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a strut bearing used for a strut suspension of a vehicle.

  A strut suspension used for a front wheel of a vehicle (for example, an automobile) is a strut assembly that is mounted on a support member and supports a part of a vehicle body and has a shock absorber built in a strut shaft. It is a form in which a coil spring that absorbs an impact is wound. And the bearing for struts is interposed between the stabilizer support attached to the front-end | tip part of a strut axis | shaft, and the coil spring sheet | seat which supports a coil spring. As a strut bearing, for example, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 exists.

  A vertical load (thrust load) and a lateral load (radial load) are applied from the stabilizer support 5 to the strut bearing by an input from the tire contact point. Here, in the strut bearing disclosed in Patent Document 1, the radial sliding bearing piece (4) is the same as the annular thrust sliding bearing piece (4) mounted between the lower case (2) and the upper case (3). 5), the thrust load and the radial load are received. The numbers in parentheses are the codes described in Patent Document 1.

When the above-described strut suspension is mounted on an automobile, it is necessary to make the thickness (bearing width) as small as possible in order to improve the compatibility. For this reason, as a bearing for struts, the bearing width is made thin by using a slide bearing like the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1. However, with a plain bearing, the torque at the time of start-up and rotation increases, and there is a risk that a strange feeling (especially a sense of resistance) may be felt when operating the handle.
JP 2004-225754 A

  In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to reduce the rotational torque while reducing the bearing width of the strut bearing.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a strut bearing for use in a strut suspension of a vehicle, which is fixed to an upper end portion of a strut shaft and extends in a radial direction to receive a thrust load. And a first bearing ring having a bent first raceway surface and a vehicle body side support portion of the vehicle so that a cylindrical radial bearing portion extending in the axial direction to receive a radial load is continuously formed. A second race ring that is fixed and is disposed opposite to the first raceway surface so as to continuously form the thrust bearing portion and the radial bearing portion, and has a bent second raceway surface; The thrust pressure receiving portion and the radial pressure receiving portion are continuously formed in a bent shape along the raceway surface between the raceway surface and the second raceway surface. A retainer capable of holding a roller in at least one of the pressure receiving portions, and at least one of the thrust load and the radial load is received by the roller held by the retainer. It is a feature.

  In the present invention, a cage is disposed between the raceway surface of the first raceway ring and the raceway surface of the second raceway ring fixed to the strut shaft, and the axial load (thrust load) of the strut shaft or At least one of the radial loads (radial loads) is received by the rollers held by the cage. That is, the thrust load is not received by the sliding bearing as in the conventional strut bearing, but is received by the rolling bearing, so that the rotational torque is reduced and there is no possibility of feeling uncomfortable when the handle is operated.

  Specifically, rollers are inserted and held in a radial direction in the thrust pressure receiving portion of the cage, and the rollers are connected to the first raceway surface of the thrust bearing portion of the first race ring and the second raceway. A thrust load is received by rolling on the second raceway surface of the thrust bearing portion of the bearing ring.

  In this invention, the roller is held by the thrust pressure receiving portion of the cage. In other words, the strut bearing according to the present invention receives a thrust load, which is generally a load larger than the radial load, by the rollers, so that it does not feel uncomfortable when the handle is operated. Further, for example, by using needle rollers, the bearing width of the strut bearing can be further reduced.

  And it is desirable for the radial pressure receiving part of the said retainer to form the slide bearing along the axial direction.

  In the present invention, since the radial load is received by the plain bearing of the cage, the uncomfortable feeling can be eliminated more reliably when the handle is operated.

  Furthermore, it is desirable that a lubricant holding portion is formed between the first raceway and the second raceway.

  In this invention, since the lubricant holding part is provided, the lubricant is reliably supplied to the inner and outer rings and the rollers.

  Examples of the present invention will be described. 1 is a perspective view of a strut suspension 100 for an automobile, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion P in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a bearing 101 for a strut of the first embodiment, and FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a strut suspension 100 for a vehicle includes a strut assembly mounted on a support member 1 to support a part of a vehicle body, and a strut assembly 2 in which a shock absorber 3 is internally mounted. A coil spring 4 that absorbs vibration and shock is wound. As shown in FIG. 2, a strut bearing 101 is interposed between a stabilizer support 5 attached to the distal end portion of the strut shaft 2 and a coil spring seat 6 that supports the coil spring 4. The strut suspension 100 has a role of supporting the entire vehicle body in a floating manner with respect to an axle or the like. Around the support member 1, an axle 7, a hub 8 fixed to the axle 7 and fitted with wheels (not shown), a brake disc 9 fixed to the hub 8, and a pressure contact with the brake disc 9 by hydraulic pressure. A caliper body 11 that accommodates a pad (not shown) is disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, at the upper part of the strut suspension 100, a coil spring seat 6 that holds the spring seat 12 of the coil spring 2, a strut bearing 101 that is held at the upper end of the strut shaft 2, and a strut A housing 13 (vehicle body side support portion) that holds the bearing 101 for use, and a stabilizer support 5 that holds the housing 13 so as to surround them are housed. The stabilizer support 5 includes a support main body portion 14 made of an elastic material and an outer cylinder portion 15 attached so as to cover the outer peripheral surface thereof, and is fixed to the housing 13.

  The strut bearing 101 of the first embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the strut bearing 101 of the first embodiment includes an inner ring 16 (first race ring) and an outer ring 17 (all of which are made of a polymer material and have a L-shaped half section. A second bearing ring) and a cage 18.

  First, the inner ring 16 and the outer ring 17 will be described. The inner ring 16 is connected to an annular thrust side bent portion 19 (thrust bearing portion) extending in the radial direction in order to receive a thrust load and an inner peripheral edge portion of the thrust side bent portion 19 in order to receive a radial load. And a cylindrical radial bent portion 21 (radial bearing portion) extending in the axial direction. Similarly, the outer ring 17 has an annular thrust side bent portion 22 (thrust bearing portion) extending in the radial direction to receive a thrust load, and an inner peripheral edge portion of the thrust side bent portion 19 to receive the radial load. A cylindrical radial bent portion 23 (radial bearing portion) that is continuously formed in a connected form and extends in the axial direction is provided. The lower surface 19a of the thrust side bent portion 19 of the inner ring 16 and the outer peripheral surface 21a of the radial side bent portion 21 are fitted and fixed to the coil spring seat 6, and the upper surface 22b of the thrust side bent portion 22 of the outer ring 17 and the radial side. The inner peripheral surface 23 b of the bent portion 23 is fitted and fixed to the housing 13. Further, the upper surface 19b of the thrust side bent portion 19 of the inner ring 16 and the inner peripheral surface 21b of the radial side bent portion 21 are opposed to the lower surface 22a of the thrust side bent portion 22 of the outer ring 17 and the outer peripheral surface 23a of the radial side bent portion 23. Are arranged. For this reason, in the strut bearing 101 of the first embodiment, the upper surface 19b of the thrust side bent portion 19 of the inner ring 16 and the inner peripheral surface 21b of the radial side bent portion 21 are track surfaces (first track surfaces). The lower surface 22a of the thrust side bent portion 22 of the outer ring 17 and the outer peripheral surface 23a of the radial side bent portion 23 form a raceway surface (second raceway surface).

  A seal 24 made of rubber is wound around the tip of the thrust side bent portion 21 of the inner ring 16. The distal end portion of the thrust side bent portion 22 of the outer ring 17 is further bent downward, and a seal receiving portion 25 is formed at the bent portion. A lip portion 24 a of the seal 24 wound around the inner ring is in contact with the seal receiving portion 25. This prevents foreign matter from entering the space V formed between the inner ring 16 and the outer ring 17. Further, the distal end portion of the radial side bent portion 21 of the inner ring 16 is further bent inward, and a groove forming portion 26 is formed in the bent portion. A protrusion 27 is formed at the tip end (lower end surface) of the radial side bent portion 23 of the outer ring 17. The protrusion 27 is inserted so that a labyrinth groove is formed between the protrusion 27 and a groove 26a provided in the groove forming portion 26 of the inner ring. Thereby, even if the protrusion 27 and the groove part 26a are in a non-contact state (in other words, without increasing the contact resistance between them), the space V between the outer ring 17 and the inner ring 16 is filled. Lubricant spillage is prevented.

  Next, the cage 18 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a cage 18 is arranged in a space V formed between the inner ring 16 and the outer ring 17. Similar to the inner ring 16 and the outer ring 17 described above, the cage 18 is continuously formed in a form connected to an annular thrust side bent portion 28 extending in the radial direction and an inner peripheral edge portion of the thrust side bent portion 28, and in the axial direction. And a cylindrical radial-side bent portion 29 extending in the direction. The thrust-side bent portion 28 rolls on the upper surface 19b (first track surface) of the thrust-side bent portion 19 of the inner ring 16 and the lower surface 22a (second track surface) of the thrust-side bent portion 22 of the outer ring 17. The present (48 in the case of a present Example) needle roller 31 is hold | maintained rotatably. Further, an outer bush 32 and an inner bush 33 made of bearing steel are wound around the outer peripheral surface portion and the inner peripheral surface portion of the radial-side bent portion 29 (radial pressure receiving portion) of the cage 18, respectively. The outer peripheral surface 32 a of the outer bush 32 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface 21 b (first raceway surface) of the radial-side bent portion 21 of the inner ring 16, and the inner peripheral surface 33 a of the inner bush 33 is the radial side of the outer ring 17. The outer peripheral surface 23a (second track surface) of the bent portion 23 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 23a. That is, a slide bearing is attached to the radial side bent portion 29 of the cage 18. Thereby, the axial load of the strut shaft 1 is received by the needle rollers 31 (rolling bearings), and the radial load is similarly received by the bushes 32 and 33 which are sliding bearings.

  Here, when receiving the load of the same magnitude | size, the rotational torque of a rolling bearing is smaller than the rotational torque of a slide bearing. Moreover, in general, a thrust load that is larger than the radial load is received by each needle roller 31, so the rotational torque is reduced, and the driver can operate the steering wheel smoothly. Further, since a relatively small radial load in the radial direction is received by the bushes 32 and 33 (slide bearings) of the cage 18, the thickness and height thereof can be reduced. The overall bearing width is reduced, and the overall shape of the strut bearing 101 can be made compact.

  In the strut bearing 101 of the first embodiment described above, each of the needle rollers 31 for receiving the thrust load is attached to the thrust side bent portion 28 of the cage 18, and the radial side bent portion 29 has a radial This is a case where the bushes 32 and 33 for receiving the load are attached. However, like the strut bearing 102 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the needle rollers 31 may be attached to both the bent portions 28 and 29 of the cage 18. That is, the strut bearing 102 of the second embodiment has a configuration in which both the thrust load and the radial load are received by the rolling bearing. In the case of the strut bearing 102 of this embodiment, there is an advantage that a larger radial load can be received.

  The strut bearing 101 according to the first embodiment is a case where the outer ring 17 is arranged so as to cover the inner ring 16 from the inside. However, like the strut bearing 103 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6A, the outer ring 17 may be disposed so as to cover the outer side of the inner ring 16.

  Further, like the strut bearing 104 of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 6B, the L-shaped bent portion of the inner ring 16 (the connecting portion between the thrust side bent portion 19 and the radial side bent portion 21). The inner portion and the outer portion of the L-shaped bent portion of the outer ring 17 (the connecting portion between the thrust side bent portion 22 and the radial side bent portion 23) may be arranged to face each other.

  The radial side bent portion 29 of the cage 18 of each embodiment described above is made of a polymer material and the bushes 32 and 33 are wound around. However, the cage 18 may be formed using a porous material impregnated with oil. For example, in the bearing 105 for a strut of the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. Further, the radial bending portion 29 of the cage 18 is press-fitted into the radial bending portion 21 of the inner ring 16. Then, the inner peripheral surface 29 b of the radial side bent portion 29 of the cage 18 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface 23 a of the radial side bent portion 23 of the outer ring 17. Thereby, each bush 32 and 33 can be omitted. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 34 denotes an oil groove.

  In the strut bearings 101 to 105 of the above-described embodiments, the radial side bent portions 21 and 23 of the inner and outer rings 16 and 17 and the radial side bent portion 29 of the cage 18 are parallel to the axial direction of the strut shaft 2. However, it may not be parallel (or diagonal).

1 is a perspective view of a strut suspension 100 for an automobile. It is an expanded sectional view of the P section of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of the bearing for struts 101 of 1st Example. 4 is a bottom view of the outer ring 17. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of the bearing 102 for struts of 2nd Example. (A) is sectional drawing of the principal part of the bearing 103 for struts of 3rd Example, (b) is sectional drawing of the principal part of the bearing 104 for struts of 4th Example. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of the bearing 105 for struts of 5th Example.

Explanation of symbols

100: Strut suspension 101-105: Bearings for struts
2: Strut shaft
16: Inner ring (first track ring)
17: Outer ring (second track ring)
18: Cage
19: Thrust side bend of inner ring (thrust bearing)
19b: Upper surface of the inner ring (first raceway surface)
21: Radial side bend of inner ring (radial bearing)
21b: Inner ring inner peripheral surface (first raceway surface)
22: Thrust side bend of outer ring (thrust bearing)
22a: lower surface of the outer ring (second raceway surface)
23: Radial side bend of outer ring (radial bearing)
23a: Outer ring outer peripheral surface (second raceway surface)
26a: groove part (lubricant holding part)
28: Thrust side bent portion of the cage (thrust pressure receiving portion)
29: Radial side bent portion of the cage (radial pressure receiving portion)
31: Needle roller
32: Outer bush (slide bearing)
33: Inside bush (slide bearing)

Claims (2)

A strut bearing used for a strut suspension of a vehicle,
An annular thrust bearing portion that is fixed to the upper end portion of the strut shaft and extends in the radial direction to receive the thrust load, and a cylindrical radial bearing portion that extends in the axial direction to receive the radial load are continuously formed. A first race ring having a bent first raceway surface;
The second bearing surface is fixed to the vehicle body side support portion of the vehicle, and is disposed opposite to the first raceway surface and has a bent second raceway surface so that the thrust bearing portion and the radial bearing portion are continuously formed. A bearing ring,
The thrust pressure receiving portion and the radial pressure receiving portion are continuously formed in a bent shape along the raceway surface between the first raceway surface and the second raceway surface, and the thrust pressure receiving portion and the radial A cage capable of holding the roller in at least one of the pressure receiving portion,
A strut bearing, wherein at least one of the thrust load and the radial load is received by the rollers held by the cage.   Rollers are inserted and held in the radial direction in the thrust pressure receiving portion of the cage, and the rollers are the first bearing surface of the thrust bearing portion of the first race ring and the thrust bearing of the second race ring. 2. The strut bearing according to claim 1, wherein the thrust load is received by rolling on the second raceway surface of the portion.

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