JP2010223411A - Strut damper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid running incapability of a vehicle when a resin bearing breaks in a strut damper. <P>SOLUTION: In the strut damper 10, the resin bearing 40 has bearing parts 51 disposed around a piston rod 12, and spring bearing parts 52 disposed around the bearing part 51 to support a suspension spring 13, and a bearing holding plate 32 is provided so as to cover an upper part of the resin bearing 40, and in the resin bearing 40, a projection 52A projecting to a side of the bearing holding plate 32 is provided on an upper face of the spring bearing part 52, and the projection 52A of the upper face of the spring bearing 52 separated away from the bearing part 51 due to breaking is abutted on a lower face of the bearing holding plate 32 to carry out supporting. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a strut damper suitable for use in a vehicle.

  As a strut damper, as described in Patent Document 1, a mount having a vehicle body side attachment portion is fixed to a piston rod of a damper, a bearing holding plate is provided on the lower surface of the mount, and a resin bearing is provided on the lower surface of the bearing holding plate. There is one that supports a suspension spring. The resin bearing is composed of a bearing body such as an upper case supported on the lower surface of the bearing holding plate, a lower case supporting the suspension spring, and a thrust plate interposed between the upper case and the lower case.

JP2004-293589

  In the strut damper described in Patent Document 1, the lower case of the resin bearing is arranged around the piston rod and the bearing part sandwiching the bearing body with the upper case, and the suspension spring is arranged around the bearing part. It has a spring receiving part to support. In order to reduce the weight, the entire lower case is a resin molded body.

  However, in the strut damper described in Patent Document 1, the spring receiving portion of the resin lower case in the resin bearing may break at a thin portion between the bearing portion and the like due to a suspension load, and may be separated from the bearing portion. When the spring bearing portion of the resin bearing breaks and separates from the bearing portion, the suspension spring falls off, causing the vehicle to be unable to travel.

  An object of the present invention is to avoid the inability to travel of a vehicle when a resin bearing is broken in a strut damper.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a mount having a vehicle body side mounting portion is fixed to a piston rod of a damper, a bearing holding plate is provided on the lower surface of the mount, and a suspension spring is supported on the lower surface of the bearing holding plate via a resin bearing. In the strut damper, the resin bearing has a bearing portion arranged around the piston rod, and a spring receiving portion arranged around the bearing portion to support the suspension spring, and the bearing holding plate is formed of the resin bearing. The resin bearing is provided so as to cover the upper part, and the protrusion that protrudes toward the bearing holding plate is provided on the upper surface of the spring receiving part, and the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving part that is separated from the bearing part by breakage is provided on the lower surface of the bearing holding plate. It is made to be able to be supported by abutting on.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the resin bearing further includes a fragile portion between the bearing portion and the spring receiving portion, and the spring receiving portion can be separated from the bearing portion by breaking the fragile portion. It is what I did.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the resin bearing is further provided with a metal body that can contact the lower surface of the bearing holding plate on the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the bearing holding plate further includes a guide portion that guides a protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion separated from the bearing portion of the resin bearing. Is.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the resin bearing is formed by seating a metal bearing body on a bearing portion.

(Claim 1)
(a) The bearing holding plate is provided so as to cover the upper part of the resin bearing, and the resin bearing is provided with a protrusion protruding toward the bearing holding plate on the upper surface of the spring receiving part, and is separated from the bearing part by breakage. The protrusions on the upper surface of the bearing are brought into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate so as to be supported. Therefore, when the spring bearing portion of the resin bearing breaks at a thin portion between the bearing portion and the like due to the suspension load and is separated from the bearing portion, the separated spring receiving portion has a projection on the upper surface thereof on the lower surface of the bearing holding plate. It is supported by contact and continues to support the suspension spring. The suspension spring does not drop off, avoiding the inability to travel of the vehicle, allowing the vehicle to travel at a low speed and safely traveling to a repair shop.

  (b) When the spring bearing part of the resin bearing is broken and separated from the bearing part, the vehicle height is lowered while the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring bearing part comes into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate. It is also possible to visually notify the user of abnormality due to breakage.

(Claim 2)
(c) The resin bearing has a weak portion between the bearing portion and the spring receiving portion, and the spring receiving portion can be separated from the bearing portion by breaking the weak portion. Therefore, when the resin bearing is damaged, a form in which the spring receiving part is always broken at the weak part between the bearing part is prepared, and the above-described (a) and (b) can be stably realized.

(Claim 3)
(d) A metal body is provided on the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion so that the resin bearing can come into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate. Therefore, when the turning of the resin bearing spring receiving portion is broken and the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion comes into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate, the metal body provided on the protrusion rubs the lower surface of the bearing holding plate and makes an abnormal noise. Is generated. Abnormality due to breakage of the resin bearing can be audibly notified to the user.

(Claim 4)
(e) The bearing holding plate includes a guide portion that guides the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion separated from the bearing portion of the resin bearing. Therefore, the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion that is broken and separated from the bearing portion of the resin bearing can be supported by reliably contacting the lower surface without detaching from the bearing holding plate.

(Claim 5)
(f) The resin bearing is not limited to the resin body as a whole including the bearing body, and the durability can be improved by making the bearing body metal.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a strut damper. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the mount assembly of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a broken state of the resin bearing. FIG. 5 shows a resin bearing, (A) is a cross-sectional view, (B) is a top view, and (C) is a bottom view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the strut damper 10 includes a damper tube 11, a piston rod 12, and a suspension spring 13. A lower spring seat 14 is attached to the outer periphery of the damper tube 11, and a mounting assembly is attached to the piston rod 12. The resin bearing 40 which is a component of 30 is attached, and the suspension spring 13 is supported between the spring receiving portion 52 of the lower case 42 of the resin bearing 40 and the lower spring seat 14 which will be described in detail later.

  The strut damper 10 includes a wheel side mounting portion 15 at a lower portion of the damper tube 11, and a vehicle body side mounting portion 16 on a mount 31 that is a component of the mount assembly 30 fixed to the piston rod 12. A mounting bolt 16 </ b> A is attached to 16. The strut damper 10 absorbs an impact from the road surface by the suspension spring 13 and suppresses the expansion and contraction vibration of the suspension spring 13 by the damping devices 17 and 18 incorporated in the damper tube 11.

  The strut damper 10 presses the bump rubber 21 around the piston rod 12 protruding from the damper tube 11, and fixes the bump stopper cap 22 around the shaft seal portion through which the piston rod 12 of the damper tube 11 passes. The cap 22 includes a contact plate 22A with which the bump rubber 21 abuts when the strut damper 10 is compressed most.

  2 and 3, the strut damper 10 fixes a mount 31 having a vehicle body side mounting portion 16 to the outer end portion of the piston rod 12, and a bearing holding plate 32 is provided on the lower surface of the mount 31 to hold the bearing. The resin bearing 40 is provided on the lower surface of the plate 32, and the suspension spring 13 is supported on the spring receiving portion 52 of the lower case 42 of the resin bearing 40. In the strut damper 10, since the damper tube 11 rotates via a tie rod (not shown) during steering, the suspension spring 13 is rotated by the lower spring seat 14 fixed to the damper tube 11 due to the presence of the resin bearing 40. In addition, the lower case 42 of the resin bearing 40 is rotated in a synchronized manner by smoothly following.

  The mount 31 incorporates the vehicle body side mounting portion 16 in the middle portion of the mount rubber 31A, inserts a cup-shaped upper surface plate 31B into the inner diameter portion of the mount rubber 31A, and holds a flat plate-like bearing attached to the lower portion of the mount rubber 31A. The plate 32 is welded to the bottom surface of the top plate 31B. The vehicle body attachment portion 16, the upper surface plate 31B of the mount 31, and the bearing holding plate 32 are made of a metal plate such as iron.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the resin bearing 40 includes an upper case 41 that is supported in contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate 32, a lower case 42 that supports the suspension spring 13, and an upper case 41 and a lower case 42. It is comprised by the bearing bodies 43, such as a thrust plate interposed. In the present embodiment, the upper case 41, the lower case 42, and the bearing body 43 are all made of resin, and a locking portion 42A provided on the upper surface of the lower case 42 by a claw 41A provided on the outer periphery of the upper case 41 The upper and lower parts are integrated by locking.

  The strut damper 10 has a mount 31 and a resin bearing 40 assembled in advance as a mount assembly 30. The mount assembly 30 is assembled by welding the bearing holding plate 32 to the bottom surface of the top plate 31B of the mount 31 and bonding the upper case 41 of the resin bearing 40 to the bottom surface of the bearing holding plate 32.

  However, the lower case 42 of the resin bearing 40 is arranged around the piston rod 12 to support the suspension spring 13 by being arranged around the bearing portion 51 and the annular bearing portion 51 provided with the upper case 41 and the bearing body 43. And an annular spring receiving portion 52.

  At this time, the bearing holding plate 32 of the mount assembly 30 is provided so as to cover the upper portions of the bearing portion 51 and the spring receiving portion 52 of the resin bearing 40 (the bearing holding plate 32 includes all of the bearing portion 51 and the spring receiving portion 52. Cover at least a portion). The resin bearing 40 is provided with a fragile portion 53 formed of an annular thin portion between the bearing portion 51 and the spring receiving portion 52, and protrudes toward the bearing holding plate 32 on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52. A protrusion 52A is provided between the lower surface of 32 and a predetermined clearance (for example, 10 mm). As shown in FIG. 4, the resin bearing 40 makes it possible to support the protrusion 52 </ b> A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52 separated from the bearing portion 51 by breaking the fragile portion 53 by contacting the lower surface of the bearing holding plate 32. The resin bearing 40 is provided with columnar protrusions 52A at a plurality of circumferential positions on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52, in this embodiment, at four positions, and the top surface of the columnar protrusion 52A is substantially hemispherical.

  In the resin bearing 40, a bar-shaped metal body 52B such as iron that can be brought into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate 32 is embedded in the center of the top surface of the protrusion 52A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52.

  The bearing holding plate 32 includes a guide portion 32 </ b> A that guides the protrusion 52 </ b> A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52 that is broken and separated from the bearing portion 51 of the resin bearing 40. The guide portion 32 </ b> A of the bearing holding plate 32 is formed of a curved flange portion that expands in an arc shape downward along the outer periphery of the bearing holding plate 32.

  The spring receiving portion 52 of the resin bearing 40 is provided with a spring receiving surface 52C that supports the suspension spring 13 on the lower surface on the outer peripheral side from the protrusion 52A.

According to the present embodiment, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(a) The bearing holding plate 32 is provided so as to cover the upper part of the resin bearing 40, and the resin bearing 40 is provided with a protrusion 52A projecting toward the bearing holding plate 32 on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52, and the bearing portion by breaking. The protrusion 52A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52 separated from 51 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate 32 so that it can be supported. Therefore, when the spring receiving portion 52 of the resin bearing 40 is broken at a thin portion between the bearing portion 51 and the like due to a suspension load and separated from the bearing portion 51, the separated spring receiving portion 52 has a projection 52A on the upper surface thereof. It is supported by contacting the lower surface of the bearing holding plate 32 and continues to support the suspension spring 13. The suspension spring 13 does not drop off, avoiding the inability to travel of the vehicle, allowing the vehicle to travel at a low speed and traveling safely to a repair shop.

  (b) When the spring receiving portion 52 of the resin bearing 40 is broken and separated from the bearing portion 51, the vehicle height is lowered while the protrusion 52A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52 comes into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate 32. Thus, it is possible to visually notify the user of an abnormality due to the damage of the resin bearing 40.

  (c) The resin bearing 40 is provided with a fragile portion 53 between the bearing portion 51 and the spring receiving portion 52 so that the spring receiving portion 52 can be separated from the bearing portion 51 when the fragile portion 53 is broken. Therefore, when the resin bearing 40 is damaged, a form is always prepared in which the spring receiving portion 52 is broken at the weakened portion 53 between the bearing portion 51 and the above-described (a) and (b) can be stably realized.

  (d) The metal body 52 </ b> B that allows the resin bearing 40 to come into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate 32 is provided on the protrusion 52 </ b> A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52. Accordingly, when the spring receiving portion 52 of the resin bearing 40 is broken and the protrusion 52A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52 comes into contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate 32, the metal body 52B provided on the protrusion 52A becomes the bearing holding plate. The lower surface of 32 is rubbed to generate abnormal noise. Abnormalities due to breakage of the resin bearing 40 can be audibly notified to the user.

  (e) The bearing holding plate 32 includes a guide portion 32A for guiding the protrusion 52A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52 separated from the bearing portion 51 of the resin bearing 40. Therefore, the protrusion 52A on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 52 that is broken and separated from the bearing portion 51 of the resin bearing 40 can be reliably brought into contact with and supported on the lower surface without detaching from the bearing holding plate 32.

  In the resin bearing 40, as a bearing body 43 seated on the bearing portion 51 of the lower case 42, for example, a metal bearing body as described in JP-A-2004-245413 (between upper and lower metal bearing races). Can accommodate metal balls). According to this, the resin bearing 40 is not limited to the resin including the entire bearing body 43, and the durability can be improved by making the bearing body 43 metal.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and even if there is a design change or the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is included in the present invention. For example, the resin bearing does not necessarily need to be divided into an upper case, a lower case, and a bearing body.

  The present invention provides a strut damper in which a resin bearing includes a bearing portion disposed around a piston rod and a spring receiving portion disposed around the bearing portion to support a suspension spring, and the bearing holding plate is a resin. The resin bearing is provided so as to cover the upper part of the bearing, and the resin bearing is provided with a protrusion projecting toward the bearing holding plate on the upper surface of the spring receiving part, and the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving part separated from the bearing part by breaking It can be supported by abutting on the lower surface of the plate. Therefore, in the strut damper, it is possible to avoid the inability to run the vehicle when the resin bearing is broken.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Strut damper 12 Piston rod 13 Suspension spring 16 Car body side attaching part 30 Mount 32 Bearing holding plate 32A Guide part 40 Resin bearing 41 Upper case 42 Lower case 43 Bearing body 51 Bearing part 52 Spring receiving part 52A Protrusion 52B Metal body 53 Fragile part

Claims (5)

In a strut damper in which a mount having a vehicle body side mounting portion is fixed to a piston rod of a damper, a bearing holding plate is provided on the lower surface of the mount, and a suspension spring is supported on the lower surface of the bearing holding plate via a resin bearing.
The resin bearing has a bearing portion arranged around the piston rod, and a spring receiving portion arranged around the bearing portion and supporting the suspension spring,
A bearing holding plate is provided to cover the top of the resin bearing,
Resin bearings can be supported by providing a protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving part that protrudes toward the bearing holding plate and bringing the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving part separated from the bearing part by contact with the lower surface of the bearing holding plate. Strut damper characterized by doing.   The strut damper according to claim 1, wherein the resin bearing has a weak portion between the bearing portion and the spring receiving portion, and the spring receiving portion can be separated from the bearing portion by breaking the weak portion.   The strut damper according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the resin bearing is provided with a metal body capable of contacting the lower surface of the bearing holding plate on the protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion.   The strut damper according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bearing holding plate includes a guide portion that guides a protrusion on the upper surface of the spring receiving portion separated from the bearing portion of the resin bearing.   The strut damper according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the resin bearing is formed by seating a metal bearing body on a bearing portion.

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