JP4828350B2 - Connector construction for vehicle damper - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector mounting structure for a vehicle damper in which a power supply connector is attached to the vehicle damper.

As a vehicle damper, one that can variably control a generated damping force caused by a fluid is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this vehicle damper, a cylinder tube is filled with an electrorheological fluid, and an electrode for controlling the viscosity of the electrorheological fluid is disposed in a throttle passage through which the electrorheological fluid passes.

  In this type of damper that requires power supply, an electrical contact of a built-in device is provided at the protruding end of the damper rod, and an electrical wiring connector is attached so as to connect the electrode to the electrical contact.

As the connector mounting structure, a structure in which a mounting base member is fixed to a protruding end of a damper rod with a double nut and the connector is screwed to the mounting base member is used. Specifically, in the case of this screw fastening, the mounting base member is provided with a flange portion that projects radially outward, and a screw that penetrates the connector in the axial direction is tightened into this flange portion. .
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-178047

However, in the case of this conventional connector mounting structure, the mounting base member mounted in advance on the damper rod is provided with a flange portion projecting radially outward, so that the mounting base member is mounted in the damper rod in advance. The protruding end of the damper rod cannot be attached to the vehicle body side. That is, since the outer diameter of the mounting base member is increased, the mounting base member cannot be inserted into the mounting hole on the vehicle body side. For this reason, after inserting the protruding end of the damper rod into the mounting hole on the vehicle body side, the mounting base portion must be mounted on the protruding end, which deteriorates the vehicle body assembling property.
Moreover, in the conventional connector mounting structure, since the outer shape of the mounting base member and the connector is large, it tends to be a cause of restricting the layout of the vehicle.

  Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide a connector mounting structure for a vehicle damper that can reduce the size of the entire connector mounting portion and improve the assembly of the vehicle body and the flexibility of the vehicle body layout. is there.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a damper rod (for example, described later) in which a pair of electrical contacts (for example, electrical contacts 5 and 6 in the embodiments described later) are provided at the projecting ends. A connector (for example, a connector 3 in an embodiment described later) such that an electrode corresponding to an electrical contact of the damper rod (for example, electrodes 21 and 22 in an embodiment described later) is contact-connected to the damper rod 2) in the embodiment. In the connector mounting structure for a vehicle damper to be mounted , one electrical contact is provided on the shaft core portion of the end of the damper rod, and the other electrical contact is separated from the one electrical contact on the end surface of the damper rod. The connector is provided with one electrode on the shaft core portion so as to correspond to the one electrical contact and the other electrical contact, and another on the outer peripheral side thereof. The electrode is provided, the male screw on the outer circumference (e.g., the external thread 15 in the embodiment) cylindrical mounting base member is provided (e.g., mounting base member 14 in the embodiment), the outer peripheral surface of the damper rod A tightening nut (for example, a tightening nut 26 in an embodiment described later) that is engaged with the male screw of the mounting base member can be rotated to the connector. A stopper portion (for example, a stopper surface 24 and an inward flange 27 in an embodiment described later) is provided between the tightening nut and the connector, and the damper rod is provided on the damper rod. A fastening nut on the connector side is screwed onto the locked mounting base member, and the connector is then tightened by tightening the fastening nut. It was so attached to Paroddo.
As a result, the cylindrical mounting base member is locked to the tip end portion of the damper rod in a state where rotational displacement and axial displacement are restricted, and the tightening nut on the connector side is tightened to the external thread on the outer periphery of the mounting base member. And the connector engaged with the tightening nut via the stopper is displaced in the direction approaching the damper rod, so that the electrode on the connector side and the electrode on the outer periphery are securely connected to the electrical contact on the damper rod side. Contact comes to be connected.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the mounting base member to be locked to the damper rod is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the tightening nut is tightened to the male screw on the outer periphery of the mounting base member, so that the connector is the damper rod. Since the connector is easily pulled in the direction, the connector connection work is facilitated, and the entire connector connection portion is reduced in size. In addition, in the state where only the mounting base member is mounted on the damper rod, the protruding width of the mounting base member in the radial direction is reduced, so that the protruding end of the damper rod remains with the mounting base member mounted on the protruding end of the damper rod. Can be easily inserted into the mounting hole on the vehicle body side.
Therefore, according to the present invention, the assembly property of the vehicle body is improved and the space occupied by the connector mounting portion is reduced, so that the degree of freedom of the vehicle body layout is also improved.

In the present invention, since the direction of the connector can be freely changed until the tightening nut is completely tightened to the mounting base member, the mounting operation of the connector is facilitated and the wiring is freely routed. There is an advantage that the degree increases.
Furthermore, in the present invention, by tightening the tightening nut onto the outer peripheral surface of the mounting base member, the connector can be pressed into contact with the end surface of the damper rod with a uniform force, so that fretting wear can be prevented in advance. In addition, the contact contact of the electrode portion can be stabilized.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise described, the side facing vertically upward when attached to a vehicle is referred to as the “upper” side, and the side facing vertically downward is referred to as the “lower” side. .

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the upper side (vehicle body mounting side) of a vehicle damper 1 that employs the connector mounting structure according to the present invention. In the figure, 2 is a damper rod protruding from a cylinder tube (not shown) of the vehicle damper 1, and 3 is a power supply connector connected to the protruding end of the damper rod 2.

The vehicular damper 1 of this embodiment has a damping force in which a cylinder tube (not shown) is filled with an electrorheological fluid, and a viscosity control electrode (not shown) is arranged in a throttle passage (not shown). This is a variable hydraulic damper, and an internal wiring 4 for supplying electric power to the viscosity control electrode is disposed on the shaft core portion of the damper rod 2. A positive-side electrical contact 5 having a columnar shape is provided at the end of the internal wiring 4, and this electrical contact 5 protrudes into a concave portion 17 provided on the end face of the damper rod 2. The end surface of the damper rod 2 is an electrode contact 6 on the ground side.
Reference numerals 7A and 7B in FIG. 1 denote locking flanges for attaching a rubber bush (not shown) for mounting the vehicle body to the damper rod 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an annular seal groove 9 to which the seal ring 8 is attached is formed on the outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the upper end portion of the damper rod 2, and slightly below the seal groove 9. An annular locking groove 11 to be engaged with a tapered circlip 10 described later is formed at the position. Further, a hemispherical locking hole 13 into which a stopper ball 12 described later is engaged is formed at a position further below the annular locking groove 11 in the outer periphery of the damper rod 2.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a cylindrical mounting base member 14 is mounted on the outer periphery on the upper side of the damper rod 2. The mounting base member 14 has a male screw 15 formed on the outer peripheral surface, and a locking groove 16 extending from one end in the axial direction to a substantially intermediate position in the axial direction on the inner peripheral surface.

  The mounting base member 14 is fitted to the outer periphery of the damper rod 2 so that the position of the locking groove 16 matches the position of the stopper ball 12 in a state where the stopper ball 12 is engaged with the locking hole 13 of the damper rod 2. The At this time, the mounting base member 14 is rotationally displaced with respect to the damper rod 2 because the stopper ball 12 is locked across the locking hole 13 on the damper rod 2 side and the locking groove 16 on the mounting base member 14 side. Be regulated. Thereafter, the mounting base member 14 is fitted into the damper rod 2 until the stopper ball 12 in the locking hole 13 abuts against the bottom of the locking groove 16 of the mounting base member 14, and in this state, the annular locking of the damper rod 2 is performed. A tapered circlip 10 is mounted in the groove 11. Thereby, the mounting base member 14 is restricted from axial displacement with respect to the damper rod 2.

  On the other hand, the connector 3 is provided with a boss 18 that can be inserted into the concave portion 17 on the damper rod 2 side on the front surface of the tip, and an annular recess 19 is formed so as to surround the boss 18. ing. At the center of the front surface of the boss portion 18, an insertion hole 20 into which the tip of the electrical contact 5 on the damper rod 2 side is inserted is formed, and a plus-side electrode 21 is disposed at the bottom of the insertion hole 20. ing. A negative electrode 22 is disposed on the bottom surface of the annular recess 19.

A substantially cylindrical guide tube 23 is welded or pressed to the outer peripheral wall of the annular recess 19. The guide tube 23 has a distal end projecting forward from the boss portion 18, a distal end portion having a stepped diameter and a stopper surface 24 facing the front surface of the connector 3. An outer peripheral surface between the front end surfaces 3a of the connector 3 is a guide surface 25 described later.
The inner peripheral surface of the guide tube 23 can be fitted to the upper end portion of the damper rod 2, and the seal ring 9 in the seal groove 9 comes into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the guide tube 23 during the fitting. ing.

  A substantially cylindrical tightening nut 26 is engaged with the guide surface 25 of the guide tube 23 so as to be capable of rotational displacement and axial displacement. The tightening nut 26 is formed with a female screw (reference numeral omitted) that is screwed to the outer peripheral surface of the mounting base member 14 on the inner peripheral surface on one end side, and extends radially inward to the other end portion. An orientation flange 27 is formed. The inner circumferential surface of the inward flange 27 is slidably engaged with the guide surface 25, and the inner circumferential edge can abut against the stopper surface 24 of the guide tube 23 and the front end surface 3 a of the connector 3. It has become. That is, the axial displacement of the tightening nut 26 is restricted by the inward flange 27 coming into contact with the stopper surface 24 and the front end surface 3a.

  After the mounting base member 14 is mounted on the damper rod 2 as described above, the connector 3 is inserted into the concave portion 17 on the end surface of the damper rod 2 as shown in FIG. The upper end portion of the rod 2 is covered, and in this state, the tightening nut 26 is screwed onto the outer peripheral surface of the mounting base member 14. Thus, when the tightening nut 26 is tightened into the mounting base member 14, the inward flange 27 of the tightening nut 26 presses the stopper surface 24 of the guide cylinder 23, thereby causing the connector 3 to move toward the damper rod 2. When the tightening nut 26 is completely tightened into the mounting base member 14, the electrodes 21 and 22 of the connector 3 are pressed against the electrical contacts 5 and 6 on the damper rod 2 side.

As described above, in this connector mounting structure, the mounting base member 14 is mounted on the damper rod 2 using the stopper ball 12 and the tapered circlip 10, and the tightening nut 26 is tightened on the outer peripheral surface of the mounting base member 14. Thus, the connector 3 can be pulled in the direction of the damper rod 2 and fixed in a contact connection state, so that the connector 3 can be easily and reliably connected to the damper 3 while having a small structure with a small amount of protrusion outward in the radial direction. It can be attached to the rod 2. Therefore, when this connector mounting structure is adopted, the assembling property of the connector 3 is improved and the vehicle body layout can be widened because the connector mounting portion is small.
In particular, in this embodiment, the tightening nut 26 can be displaced in the axial direction with respect to the guide tube 23, so that the tightening nut 26 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the mounting base member 14 when the connector 3 is mounted. Can be easily screwed together.

  In the case of this connector mounting structure, the mounting base member 14 has a cylindrical shape with a male screw 15 on the outer periphery, so that the amount of protrusion outward in the radial direction when the mounting base member 14 is mounted on the damper rod 2 is small. Become. Therefore, when the upper end portion of the damper rod 2 is attached to the vehicle body, the upper end portion of the damper rod 2 is easily inserted into an attachment hole (not shown) on the vehicle body side in a state where the attachment base member 14 is attached to the damper rod 2. can do. Therefore, when this mounting structure is adopted, the mounting work efficiency of the damper is improved.

  Further, in this connector mounting structure, since the direction of the connector 3 can be freely changed until the tightening nut 26 is completely tightened to the mounting base member 14, the mounting operation of the connector 3 is easily performed. In addition, the wiring routing can be flexibly changed according to the vehicle body structure.

  Further, in this connector mounting structure, the connector 3 can be pressed against the end surface of the damper rod 2 with a uniform force by tightening the tightening nut 26 into the mounting base member 14, so that the wiring pulling, vehicle body vibration, etc. There is no fear of the connector 3 swinging due to stress applied from the outside, and fretting wear of the contact portion and instability of contact contact can be prevented in advance.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various design change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

The sectional view of the bumper for vehicles in the state where one embodiment of this invention was shown and the connector was attached. Sectional drawing which shows the attachment process of the connector of the embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows another attachment process of the connector of the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle damper 2 ... Damper rod 3 ... Connector 5, 6 ... Electrical contact 14 ... Mounting base member 15 ... Male screw 21, 22 ... Electrode 24 ... Stopper surface (stopper part)
26 ... Tightening nut 27 ... Inward flange

Claims (1)

In the connector mounting structure of the vehicle damper, the connector is attached so that the electrode corresponding to the electrical contact of the damper rod is contact-connected to the damper rod provided with a pair of electrical contacts at the protruding end.
One electrical contact is provided on the axial core portion of the end of the damper rod, and the other electrical contact is provided on the end surface of the damper rod so as to be separated from the one electrical contact,
In the connector, one electrode is provided on the shaft core portion so as to correspond to the one electrical contact and the other electrical contact, and the other electrode is provided on the outer peripheral side thereof,
A cylindrical mounting base member provided with a male screw on the outer periphery is locked in a state where rotational displacement and axial displacement are restricted on the outer peripheral surface of the damper rod,
A tightening nut screwed into the male screw of the mounting base member is rotatably supported by the connector, and a stopper portion is provided between the tightening nut and the connector to restrict axial displacement of both.
Connector mounting of a vehicle damper, wherein a fastening nut on the connector side is screwed to a mounting base member locked to the damper rod, and the connector is attached to the damper rod by tightening the fastening nut. Construction.

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