JP4518983B2 - Shock absorber elastic coupling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for elastically connecting a piston rod of a shock absorber in a vehicle suspension mechanism to a vehicle body.

Conventionally, in a vehicle, a piston rod of a shock absorber in a suspension mechanism and a vehicle body are elastically connected by a fitting through a cushion rubber, and vibration is generated between the piston rod and the body by the elastic action of the cushion rubber. Absorption is done.
Patent Document 1 below discloses an example of a connecting device that elastically connects the piston rod and the body via a cushion rubber.

FIG. 6 shows a specific example.
In the figure, 200 is a shock absorber, 202 is a cylinder, and 204 is a piston rod protruding from the cylinder 202.
The piston rod 204 is elastically attached and fixed to the body 208 of the vehicle via the upper support 210 with the attachment metal fitting 206.
Specifically, the lower cushion rubber 216 and the upper cushion rubber 218 of the upper support 210 are sandwiched between the mounting plate portion 212 and the plate-shaped fastening bracket 214 of the mounting bracket 206, and the piston is brought into a state in which they are elastically pressed against the body 208. The rod 204 is elastically connected to the body 208.
The piston rod 204 has an annular flange 220 projecting radially outward and a male threaded portion 222 at the tip, and a tightening nut 224 is screwed there, and the flange 220 and the tightening nut 224 are engaged. Thus, the mounting plate portion 212 and the fastening bracket 214 are sandwiched in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the mounting bracket 206 includes a first mounting plate 212 having the insertion hole 226 of the piston rod 204 at the center and a cylindrical peripheral wall 228 rising from the outer periphery. A holding portion 230 is provided, and a lower portion of the lower cushion rubber 216 is fitted and held therein.
The upper end portion of the peripheral wall portion 228 and the lower cushion rubber 216 are provided with flange portions 240 and 242 that contact each other vertically.
The mounting bracket 206 also has a second holding portion 234 having a mounting plate portion 212 and a cylindrical peripheral wall portion 232 that falls from the outer peripheral portion thereof, and an upper portion of the tubular bound stopper 236 is formed there. It is inserted and held.

The bound stopper 236 abuts against the cylinder 202 when bound and elastically restricts excessive contraction movement of the piston rod 204, and has an insertion space 238 for the piston rod 204 inside.
Reference numeral 244 denotes a dust cover (made of relatively hard resin here) that covers the piston rod 204 from the outside, and has a fitting assembly portion 246 at the upper end portion. The outer peripheral surface is assembled in a fitted state.

  By the way, in this elastic coupling device, the piston rod 204 is squeezed relative to the dust cover 244 when the vehicle travels on a rough road, turns, or the like. It has been found that there is a possibility that the lower end portion of the dust cover 244 hits the outer surface of the cylinder 202 due to a tilting movement with respect to the axial center, and that the lower end portion of the dust cover 244 may be deformed by repetition.

FIG. 8 specifically shows this.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the piston rod 204 sandwiches the lower cushion rubber 216 and the upper cushion rubber 218 of the upper support 210 in the vertical direction by the flange portion 220 and the tightening nut 224. Since the piston rod 204 is elastically connected to the body 208 via the upper cushion rubber 218, the piston rod 204 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8 (B), the lower end portion of the dust cover 244 hits the outer surface of the cylinder 202 when the relative twisting motion is generated.

As a means for solving this problem, it can be considered that the piston rod 204 and the mounting bracket 206 are firmly and integrally coupled.
FIG. 9 shows an example of this as a comparative example.
In the illustrated example, the mounting plate portion 212A of the mounting bracket 206A is vertically sandwiched between the flange portion 220 of the piston rod 204 and the fastening nut 248A, so that the mounting bracket 206A is firmly and integrally coupled to the piston rod 204. The mounting bracket 206 </ b> A is tilted together with the piston rod 204.
In addition, here, the independent upward cup-shaped metal fitting and the downward cup-shaped metal fitting are joined to each other at the lower bottom and the upper bottom to integrate them to constitute the attachment metal 206A. The plate portion 212A is constituted by a lower bottom portion and an upper bottom portion of each cup-shaped metal fitting.

  In the elastic coupling device shown in FIG. 9, the mounting bracket 206A tilts integrally with the piston rod 204, and accordingly, the cylindrical dust cover 244 assembled and held by the mounting bracket 206A is also the piston rod 204. Therefore, the lower end of the dust cover 244 does not hit the cylinder 202 even when the piston rod 204 is twisted, so that the lower end of the dust cover 244 due to the dust cover 244 hitting the cylinder 202 is not affected. The problem of deformation of the part can be solved.

  However, it has been found that when the mounting bracket 206A is firmly integrally joined to the piston rod 204 and the mounting bracket 206A is tilted integrally with the piston rod, another new problem occurs.

  That is, when the mounting bracket 206A is twisted together with the piston rod 204, that is, tilted, the outer periphery of the lower cushion rubber 216 is lifted from the mounting bracket 206A, specifically the first holding portion 230, and is caused by the lifting. Mud, water, and the like from the gap enter the interior of the mounting bracket 206A, specifically the first holding portion 230, and accumulate there, causing a problem of causing rust on the piston rod 204 and the mounting bracket 206A. found.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems.
In addition, although the point which provided the drain hole in the upper spring sheet | seat in a suspension mechanism is indicated by the following patent document 2, the subject disclosed by this patent document 2 cannot solve the subject of this invention.
Further, the following Patent Document 3 discloses that a bounce stopper is provided with an air bleeding groove, but the one disclosed in Patent Document 3 cannot solve the above problem.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-100088 Japanese Patent No. 2959350 JP 2000-88031 A

  The present invention, against the background of the above circumstances, satisfactorily solves the problem that water accumulates in the mounting bracket for mounting and fixing the shock absorber to the vehicle body and causes rust on the piston rod and mounting bracket. The present invention has been made for the purpose of providing an elastic coupling device for a shock absorber.

Accordingly, the first aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for elastically connecting a piston rod of a shock absorber in a suspension mechanism of a vehicle to a body of the vehicle, and (a) between the piston rod and the body. A cushion rubber which is interposed between the piston rod and the body and absorbs vibration between the piston rod and the body; (b) a cylindrical bound stopper which elastically restricts excessive contraction movement of the piston rod at the time of bouncing; and (c) A first holding portion that holds an upper cup shape in which a cylindrical peripheral wall portion rises from an outer peripheral portion of the mounting plate portion having an insertion hole for the piston rod in the center portion, and is fitted and held at the lower portion of the cushion rubber. And a second holding part for holding the upper part of the bound stopper below the mounting plate part, and the piston rod is moved in the state where the cushion rubber is interposed therebetween. Mounting brackets for mounting and fixing to the mounting plate, the mounting plate portion is provided with through water drain holes vertically, and the bound stopper has a position corresponding to the water drain holes, A drainage groove is provided that communicates with the drainage hole and drains the water from the drainage hole. The second holding part of the mounting bracket has a cylindrical peripheral wall part that rises from the outer peripheral part of the mounting plate part. The upper portion of the bound stopper is fitted and held in the second holding portion, and the drainage groove is continuous in the circumferential direction on the upper surface of the bound stopper. A circumferential groove that receives water falling from the hole, and extends radially from the inner circumferential edge of the bound stopper to the outer circumferential edge on the upper surface of the bound stopper, extending from the circumferential groove to the outer circumferential edge. Radial grooves for guiding water and the radial direction A vertical groove extending downward from the outer peripheral end of the groove along the outer peripheral surface of the bound stopper and along the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion of the second holding portion. The groove also serves as an air bleeding groove for allowing air to escape during the stopper action of the bound stopper .

Of those claims 2, Oite to claim 1, in the mounting bracket, wherein the upper end of the dust cover which covers the piston rod is held assembled.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first and second aspects, the piston rod includes a radially outward flange formed on the piston rod and a nut screwed into the male threaded portion of the piston rod. The mounting plate is fastened and fixed to the mounting plate so as to sandwich the mounting plate in the vertical direction.

Effects and effects of the invention

As described above, the present invention is provided with upper and lower penetrating holes in the mounting plate portion of the mounting bracket, and the lower bound stopper communicates with the drain hole at a position corresponding to the drain hole from the drain hole. According to the present invention, a drainage groove for draining water is provided. Even when water has entered the interior of the mounting bracket, specifically, the first holding portion having an upward cup shape, the water has entered. Water can be drained well through a drain hole provided in the mounting plate.
Further, the water drained downward from the drain hole can be received by the drain groove of the bound stopper and discharged well through the drain groove.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to solve the problem that the piston rod and the mounting bracket generate rust due to the water that has entered the mounting bracket.

In the present invention, the second holding portion of the mounting bracket is formed into an inverted cup shape having a cylindrical peripheral wall portion that falls from the outer peripheral portion of the mounting plate portion, and the upper portion of the bound stopper is fitted and held therein. The drainage groove is continuous in the circumferential direction on the upper surface of the bound stopper, receives the falling water from the drain hole, and the inner periphery of the bound stopper following the circumferential groove on the upper surface of the bound stopper. It extends in the radial direction from the end to the outer peripheral end, guides the water in the circumferential groove to the outside, and from the outer peripheral end of the radial groove along the outer peripheral surface of the bound stopper and on the peripheral wall portion of the second holding portion It is then Do shall have a longitudinal groove extending downwardly along the inner circumferential surface.

In this case, water from the drain hole of the mounting plate can be well received by the circumferential groove regardless of the assembly position of the bound stopper in the circumferential direction with respect to the mounting bracket, and the water from the drain hole of the mounting bracket can be received. Can be discharged to the outside regardless of their relative assembling positions.
Here, the circumferential groove can be formed in an annular shape around the axis of the piston rod .

As apparent from the above description, the present invention is effective when applied to an elastic coupling device in which the upper end portion of a dust cover covering the piston rod from the outside is assembled and held on a mounting bracket. 2 ).

In addition, the present invention fastens and fixes the mounting bracket to the piston rod so that the mounting plate portion is sandwiched vertically by the radially outward flange portion formed on the piston rod and the fastening nut screwed into the male screw portion of the piston rod. in which particularly large effect when applied to the elastic coupling device formed by (claim 3).

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, 10 is a shock absorber, 12 is a cylinder, and 14 is a piston rod protruding from the cylinder 12.
The piston rod 14 is elastically attached and fixed to the body 18 of the vehicle via an upper support 20 with a mounting bracket 16.
Specifically, the piston rod is brought into a state in which the lower cushion rubber 26 and the upper cushion rubber 28 of the upper support 20 are sandwiched between the mounting plate portion 22 and the plate-shaped fastening bracket 24 in the mounting bracket 16 and are elastically pressed against the body 18. 14 is elastically connected to the body 18.

The piston rod 14 has an annular flange 30 protruding outward in the radial direction and a male threaded portion 32 at the tip, and a tightening nut 34 is screwed into the annular flange 30, and the flange 30 and the tightening nut 34. Thus, the mounting plate portion 22 and the upper holding metal fitting 24 are sandwiched in the vertical direction.
In this embodiment, the mounting bracket 16 includes a first bracket having an upward cup shape and a reverse cup-shaped second bracket having a downward cup shape at the bottom of the first bracket and the upper bottom of the second bracket. The attachment plate portion 22 having the insertion hole 36 of the piston rod 14 in the central portion is constituted by the lower bottom portion and the upper bottom portion.

The mounting bracket 16 includes a first holding portion 40 having a mounting plate portion 22 and a cylindrical peripheral wall portion 38 that rises from the outer peripheral portion thereof, and a lower portion of the lower cushion rubber 26 in the upper support 20 is provided there. It is inserted and held.
The mounting bracket 16 also has a second holding portion 42 having a mounting plate portion 22 and a cylindrical peripheral wall portion 41 that falls from the outer peripheral portion thereof, and there is a bound stopper 44 shown in FIG. The upper part is fitted and held.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting bracket 16 has a sectional shape in which the falling peripheral wall portion 41 of the second holding portion 42 is bent in a square shape at the upper and lower intermediate portions, and its lower end. An annular locking portion 46 that protrudes radially outward is formed on the portion.
On the other hand, the rising peripheral wall portion 38 of the first holding portion 40 has a smaller overall diameter than the upper end of the peripheral wall portion 41 of the second holding portion 42, and the step portion 50 is between the upper end of the peripheral wall portion 41. Is forming.
The peripheral wall portion 38 of the first holding portion 40 has a straight shape with the same diameter and rising straight upward.
A flange portion 48 that protrudes annularly outward in the radial direction is provided at the upper end portion.

52 is a dust cover (made of resin in this case) that covers the piston rod 14 from the outside, and has a fitting assembly 54 at the upper end, and the fitting assembly 54 is an outer peripheral surface of the mounting bracket 16. Is assembled in a fitted state.
Here, the fitting assembly portion 54 has a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the mounting bracket 16.
Further, a flange portion 56 protruding annularly radially outward is provided at the upper end, and this flange portion 56 is brought into contact with the flange portion 48 of the mounting bracket 16 upward.
The dust cover 52 is also provided with a radially outward stepped portion 58, and the locking portion 46 of the mounting bracket 16 is locked to the stepped portion 58 from the inside.

  The bound stopper 44 abuts against the cylinder 12 of the shock absorber 10 at the time of bounding and restricts excessive contraction movement of the piston rod 14 and has a substantially cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. On the end surface, protrusions 60 that elastically contact the upper surface of the cylinder 12 are integrally formed at a plurality of locations at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

A plurality of concave grooves 62 extending annularly in the circumferential direction are formed on the outer peripheral surface at predetermined intervals in the axial direction, and an insertion space 64 through which the piston rod 14 is inserted is formed at the center.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a circular large-diameter fitting portion 66 is provided at the upper portion, and the bound stopper 44 is located inside the second holding portion 42 of the mounting bracket 16 at the fitting portion 66. Is fitted upward from below and held there in an elastically fitted state.

The lower cushion rubber 26 in the upper mount 20 also has a substantially cylindrical shape as shown in FIG.
The lower cushion rubber 26 has a lower-diameter fitting portion 68 at the lower portion and a large-diameter flange portion 70 at the upper portion, and the lower fitting portion 68 faces downward to the first holding portion 40 of the mounting bracket 16. It is fitted and elastically held there.

The fitting portion 68 is provided with projecting portions 71 projecting radially outward at a plurality of locations (here, four locations) along the circumferential direction.
The lower cushion rubber 26 is held in a fitted state in the first holding portion 40 in a state in which the protruding portions 71 are elastically pressed against the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion 38 of the first holding portion 40, and the upper flange portion 70 is held in the first holding state. The first holding portion 40 is assembled and held in a state of being brought into contact with the flange portion 48 at the upper end portion of the portion 40.

  The lower cushion rubber 26 is formed with an insertion hole 72 (see FIG. 1) of the piston rod 14 at the center, and an annular contact portion 74 that elastically contacts the lower surface of the body 18 on the upper surface thereof. It is formed in a protruding shape upward.

In the present embodiment, the piston rod 14 is provided with a male screw portion at a position directly above the mounting plate portion 22 of the mounting bracket 16, and a fastening nut 76 is screwed into the male screw portion. The mounting plate portion 22 is sandwiched from both the upper and lower sides, and the mounting bracket 16 is firmly and integrally fastened to the piston rod 14 by tightening the fastening nut 76.
As shown in FIG. 1, the lower cushion rubber 26 is formed with a recess 78 that accommodates the fastening nut 76.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting plate portion 22 of the mounting bracket 16 is provided with the mounting plate portion 22 vertically at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction near the outer periphery, in this case, at three locations separated by 120 °. A water drain hole 80 penetrating therethrough is formed.
Here, each drain hole 80 is provided at a position equidistant from the axial center of the piston rod 14, that is, the center of the insertion hole 36, that is, on the same circumference.

Correspondingly, an annular circumferential groove 82 is provided on the upper surface of the bound stopper 44 at a position corresponding to the drain hole 80 of the mounting bracket 16, that is, a position directly below the drain hole 80. A radial groove 84 extending in the radial direction across the circumferential groove 82 is provided.
The radial groove 84 extends from the inner peripheral end to the outer peripheral end on the upper surface of the bound stopper 44.

In the bound stopper 44, a longitudinal groove 86 extending downward from the outer peripheral end of the radial groove 84 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the second holding portion 42 on the outer peripheral surface thereof.
The vertical groove 86 is formed over the entire height of the large-diameter fitting portion 66.
The radial groove 84 and the vertical groove 86 also serve as an air bleeding groove for allowing air to escape when the bound stopper 44 acts as a stopper.

In the elastic coupling device of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the mounting bracket 16 is firmly fastened and integrated with the piston rod 14 by the flange 30 and the fastening nut 76. When the piston rod 14 tilts, the mounting bracket 16 and the dust cover 52 assembled and held by the mounting bracket 16 tilt together.
Therefore, the lower end of the dust cover 52 is prevented from hitting the cylinder 12 of the shock absorber 10 due to the tilting of the piston rod 14.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, as a result of the mounting bracket 16 being tilted together with the piston rod 14, the outer peripheral portion of the lower cushion rubber 26 in the upper support 20 is lifted from the mounting bracket 16, from which the mounting bracket 16 Specifically, there is a risk that mud or water may enter the first holding portion 40 having an upward cup shape.

  However, in this embodiment, the drain hole 80 is formed in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the mounting plate portion 22 of the mounting bracket 16, and the circumferential groove 82 and the radial groove 84 are also formed on the upper surface of the lower bound stopper 44. Therefore, the water that has entered the inside of the first holding portion 40 is drawn downward through the drain hole 80, and is further drained by the bouncing stopper 44, more specifically by the circumferential groove 82 and the radial groove 84. In addition, it is discharged to the outside by the longitudinal groove 86.

According to the present embodiment as described above, even when water enters the first holding 40 that forms the upward cup shape of the mounting bracket 16, It is possible to satisfactorily discharge outside through the hole 80, and further through the circumferential groove 82, the radial groove 84 and the longitudinal groove of the bound stopper 44.
Accordingly, it is possible to solve the problem that the piston rod 14 and the mounting bracket 16 are rusted by the water that has entered the mounting bracket 16.

  In the present embodiment, water from the drain hole 80 of the mounting plate portion 22 can be received by the circumferential groove 82 regardless of the circumferential assembly position of the bound stopper 44 with respect to the mounting bracket 16. Water from the 16 drain holes 80 can be discharged to the outside regardless of the relative assembly position.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, this is merely an example, and the present invention can be configured in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is sectional drawing which shows the elastic coupling device of the shock absorber which is one Embodiment of this invention in the attachment state to a vehicle. It is a partially cutaway perspective view which disassembles and shows the main part of the elastic coupling device of the same embodiment. It is a figure of the attachment metal fitting in the embodiment. It is a figure of the bound stopper in the embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the embodiment. It is a figure of the elastic connection apparatus of the conventional shock absorber. It is a figure of the attachment metal fitting of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the malfunction of the conventional elastic coupling device. It is explanatory drawing of the malfunction of the elastic coupling device as a comparative example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Shock absorber 14 Piston rod 16 Mounting bracket 18 Body 20 Upper support 22 Mounting bracket 26 Lower cushion rubber 28 Upper cushion rubber 30 Hook 32 Male thread part 34 Tightening nut 36 Insertion hole 38, 41 Perimeter wall part 40 First holding part 42 First 2 Holding part 44 Bound stopper 52 Dust cover 80 Drain hole 82 Circumferential groove 84 Radial groove 86 Vertical groove

Claims (3)

An apparatus for elastically connecting a piston rod of a shock absorber in a vehicle suspension mechanism to a body of the vehicle.
(a) a cushion rubber interposed between the piston rod and the body and absorbing vibration between the piston rod and the body;
(b) a cylindrical bounce stopper that elastically regulates excessive contraction movement of the piston rod during bounce;
(c) An upward cup shape in which a cylindrical peripheral wall portion rises from the outer peripheral portion of the mounting plate portion having the insertion hole for the piston rod at the center portion, and the lower portion of the cushion rubber is fitted and held. 1 holding portion and a second holding portion for holding the upper portion of the bound stopper below the mounting plate portion, and fixing and fixing the piston rod to the body with the cushion rubber interposed therebetween. The mounting plate portion is provided with vertically extending drain holes, and the bound stopper communicates with the drain hole at a position corresponding to the drain hole, A drainage channel for draining water from the drainage hole is provided ,
The second holding portion of the mounting bracket has an inverted cup shape in which a cylindrical peripheral wall portion falls from an outer peripheral portion of the mounting plate portion, and an upper portion of the bound stopper is formed on the second holding portion. Fitted and held,
The drainage groove is continuous in the circumferential direction on the upper surface of the bound stopper, receives a falling groove from the drain hole, and the inner periphery of the bound stopper following the circumferential groove on the upper surface of the bound stopper. A radial groove that extends in a radial direction from the end to the outer peripheral end and guides water from the circumferential groove, and extends from the outer peripheral end of the radial groove along the outer peripheral surface of the bound stopper and the second holding portion And a longitudinal groove extending downward along the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion,
The elastic coupling device for a shock absorber, wherein the radial groove and the vertical groove also serve as an air bleeding groove for allowing air to escape during the stopper action of the bound stopper . Oite to Claim 1, the said mounting member, an elastic coupling device of the shock absorber, characterized in that the upper end of the dust cover which covers the piston rod is held assembled. 3. The piston rod according to claim 1 , wherein the piston rod is moved up and down by a radially outward flange portion formed on the piston rod and a nut screwed into the male screw portion of the piston rod. An elastic coupling device for a shock absorber, wherein the elastic coupling device is fastened and fixed to the mounting plate in a sandwiched state.

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