JP4894405B2 - Suspension coupling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a suspension coupling device for coupling a suspension having a shock absorber to a vehicle body.

Each example of the suspension coupling device is described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below. Each of these coupling devices couples the piston rod of the shock absorber to the vehicle body while allowing relative movement in the axial direction of the piston rod with respect to the vehicle body, and (a) the coupling device body, and (b) the coupling device. A movable member that is movable relative to the main body in the axial direction; (c) a main body rubber portion that connects the connecting device main body and the movable member while allowing relative movement in the axial direction; and a corresponding stopper portion. It includes a coupling rubber including a first stopper rubber portion and a second stopper rubber portion that define a range of relative movement of the coupling device main body and the movable member in the axial direction by contact.
JP-A-8-285000 JP 2005-313838 A

However, since the main body rubber portion and the first and second stopper rubber portions of the connecting rubber are integrally formed in the suspension connecting device, the main body rubber portion, the first stopper rubber portion, and the second stopper rubber are formed. There is a problem that the degree of freedom in design with the part is limited. For example, the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion are disposed on both sides of the main body rubber portion in the axial direction, and are vulcanized and molded integrally with the main body rubber portion. It is necessary to make the outer diameter of the second stopper rubber part smaller than the outer diameter of the main rubber part. If you try to increase the outer diameter of the first and second stopper rubber parts, There is a problem that the entire connecting device becomes large in size. In addition, as will be described later, the relative position of the first and second stopper rubber portions with respect to the main body rubber portion is uniquely determined, so that there is a problem that the whole coupling device becomes large. Furthermore, since the first and second stopper rubber portions are vulcanized and molded integrally with the main body rubber portion, the materials of the first stopper rubber portion, the second stopper rubber portion and the main body rubber portion are necessarily the same, There is also a problem that a material suitable for this part cannot be used.
An object of the present invention is to obtain a suspension coupling device that is superior in design freedom or improved compared to the conventional one by solving at least one of these problems. It is.

The above-mentioned problem is that a connecting device that connects one of a cylinder and a piston rod of a shock absorber to a vehicle body in a state in which relative movement with respect to the one vehicle body is allowed, (a) a connecting device main body, and (b) the connecting device. A movable member that is movable relative to the main body in the axial direction; (c) a main body rubber portion that connects the connecting device main body and the movable member while allowing relative movement in the axial direction; and a corresponding stopper portion. The first stopper and the connecting rubber including a first stopper rubber portion and a second stopper rubber portion defining a range of relative movement of the connecting device body and the movable member in the axial direction by contact with each other. with the the rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion both the elastic body and the separate body, and the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion, pieces of the elastic body in the axial direction Disposed on, said coupling device body, a peripheral wall surrounding the outer periphery of the movable member, as well as to include an end wall provided on one axial end of the peripheral wall, the said first stopper rubber portion first The two stopper rubber parts are separated from each other and are arranged on both sides of the end wall in the axial direction, and the second stopper rubber part is connected to the connecting device main body and the movable member when the vehicle body and the wheel approach each other. The range of the relative movement in the axial direction with respect to the first stopper rubber portion is defined, and this is solved by forming the rubber with a lower hardness than the first stopper rubber portion .

The second stopper rubber portion functions as a bound stopper rubber portion, and the first stopper rubber portion functions as a rebound stopper rubber portion. If the first and second stopper rubber portions integrated in the conventional coupling device are separated from the main rubber portion, the degree of design freedom is improved. For example, it is possible to make the material of the separate stopper rubber portion different from that of the main rubber portion, and if it is actually so, materials suitable for each can be selected and used. Further, the first and second stopper rubber portions can be disposed on one side of the main rubber portion in the axial direction. For example, two spaces arranged in series in the axial direction with one plate interposed therebetween. If the first and second stopper rubber portions are provided in each, the axial dimension of the entire coupling device can be reduced. Furthermore, the outer diameter of the first and second stopper rubber portions can be determined without being restricted by the outer diameter of the main rubber portion. Furthermore, it becomes possible to improve riding comfort by lowering the hardness of the second stopper rubber portion that functions as a bound stopper portion.

Aspects of the Invention

  In the following, the invention that is claimed to be claimable in the present application (hereinafter referred to as “claimable invention”. The claimable invention is at least the “present invention” to the invention described in the claims. Some aspects of the present invention, including subordinate concept inventions of the present invention, superordinate concepts of the present invention, or inventions of different concepts) will be illustrated and described. As with the claims, each aspect is divided into sections, each section is numbered, and is described in a form that cites the numbers of other sections as necessary. This is for the purpose of facilitating the understanding of the claimable invention, and is not intended to limit the combinations of the constituent elements constituting the claimable invention to those described in the following sections. In other words, the claimable invention should be construed in consideration of the description accompanying each section, the description of the embodiments, etc., and as long as the interpretation is followed, another aspect is added to the form of each section. In addition, an aspect in which constituent elements are deleted from the aspect of each item can be an aspect of the claimable invention.

In the following items, the technical features described in the items (2) and (3) are added to the item (1), and the “first stopper rubber part and the second stopper rubber part are separated from each other. A technical feature that “the body is made” and a technical feature that “the second stopper rubber portion functions as a bound stopper and is made of rubber having a lower hardness than the first stopper rubber portion” are added. Further, the technical feature described in (4) is added to claim 1 in claim 2, the technical feature described in (5) is added to claim 2, and in claim 3, What added the technical feature of (6) to Claim 3 added to Claim 4, and added the technical feature of (7) to any of Claims 1 thru | or 4. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the technical feature according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. The features to which the features are added correspond to claim 6 respectively.

(1) A coupling device for coupling one of a cylinder and a piston rod of a shock absorber to a vehicle body in a state of allowing relative movement with respect to the one vehicle body,
A coupling device body;
A movable member that is movable relative to the coupling device body in the axial direction;
Relative to the axial direction of the coupling device main body and the movable member by contacting a main body rubber portion that couples the coupling device main body and the movable member while allowing relative movement in the axial direction and a corresponding stopper portion, respectively. A connecting rubber including a first stopper rubber portion and a second stopper rubber portion defining a range of movement, and at least one of the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion is the main rubber portion And a first stopper rubber portion and a second stopper rubber portion arranged on one side of the main rubber portion in the axial direction.
(2) The suspension coupling device according to (1), wherein the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion are both separated from the main rubber portion.
If both the first and second stopper rubber portions are separated from the main rubber portion, the degree of freedom in designing the coupling device is further improved.
(3) The coupling device main body includes a peripheral wall that surrounds the movable member on the outer peripheral side, and an end wall provided at one end in the axial direction of the peripheral wall, and the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion The suspension coupling device according to (1) or (2), wherein and are disposed on both sides of the end wall in the axial direction.
When the coupling device main body includes a peripheral wall surrounding the outer periphery of the movable member, it is desirable to dispose a main rubber portion between the peripheral wall and the movable member. The outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical body rubber part are respectively fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall and the outer peripheral surface of the movable member. They can be coupled while allowing relative movement in the axial direction between the shock absorber and the vehicle body side member by shear elastic deformation in which the outer peripheral surface is displaced in the axial direction.
Further, if the coupling device main body includes an end wall and the first and second stopper rubber portions are disposed on both sides in the axial direction of the end wall, the end wall is disposed between two spaces arranged in series in the axial direction. It can utilize as said plate located in.
(4) The movable member includes a first portion and a second portion that are provided on both sides of the end wall in the axial direction and move relative to the end wall in the axial direction integrally with each other, and the first stopper The suspension part according to (3), wherein a rubber part and the second stopper rubber part are disposed between the end wall and the first part and between the end wall and the second part, respectively. Connecting device.
In order to provide the movable member with the first part and the second part that satisfy the conditions described in this section, for example, the end wall has a through hole in the center, and the movable member passes through the hole to It is desirable to include a connecting part that connects the part and the second part.
According to the configuration of this section, the first part and the second part can be parts having surfaces defining the other ends of the two spaces with an end wall as the one plate interposed therebetween. . Each of them can be a portion that faces the end wall and has a surface that approaches and separates from the end wall as the movable member and the coupling device main body move in the axial direction. The first and second stopper rubber portions may be fixed to either the two surfaces or the end wall.
Even in the conventional coupling device, there was a space outside the outer surface of the end wall, but this space was not used effectively, whereas one of the stopper rubbers was placed in this space. In this case, the space occupied by the stopper rubber in the related art becomes unnecessary, and accordingly, the overall dimension of the coupling device in the axial direction can be reduced.
(5) The first stopper rubber part is fixed to one of the end wall, the first part and the second part, and the second stopper rubber part is the end wall, the first part and the second part. The suspension coupling device according to the item (4), which is fixed to any one of the remaining two.
According to this section, the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion are fixed to different members, and there is an advantage that they are not restrained in manufacturing.
(6) The first stopper rubber portion is fixed to an outer surface of the end wall, and the second stopper rubber portion is fixed to the second portion located inside the coupling device main body. Suspension coupling device.
The end wall that functions as a stopper portion for the second stopper rubber portion can be used as a member that holds the first stopper rubber portion.
(7) The suspension coupling device according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the first and second stopper rubber portions are formed of rubber harder than the main rubber portion.
(8) The suspension coupling device according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the device main body is coupled to the vehicle body side, and the movable member is coupled to a tip portion of the piston rod.
Although the present invention can be applied to a connecting device that connects the cylinder of the shock absorber to the vehicle body side member, it is often more convenient to apply it to a connecting device that connects the piston rod to the vehicle body side member. One example is that it is easy to adopt the configuration of the next item.
(9) The suspension connection according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein an air spring is disposed between the vehicle body and the cylinder, and the connection device is housed inside the air spring. apparatus.
(10) The one end portion of the air spring and the coupling device main body are coupled so as not to be relatively movable in the axial direction, and the other end portion of the air spring and the cylinder are coupled so as not to be relatively movable in the axial direction. The suspension coupling device according to 9).
(11) The suspension coupling device according to (10), wherein one end of the air spring and the coupling device main body are elastically coupled to the vehicle body by an upper mount.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the claimable invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition to the following examples, the claimable invention can be practiced in various modifications based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the aspects described in the above [Aspect of the Invention] section. .

  FIG. 1 shows a suspension coupling device as one embodiment together with a suspension device. The suspension device includes a shock absorber 10, an air spring 12, an upper coupling device 14, and a lower coupling device 16. The shock absorber 10 has a hollow cylindrical cylinder 20, a piston (not shown) slidably fitted therein, and extends from the piston to one side (upward in the illustrated example) and protrudes outside the cylinder 20. The piston rod 22 is provided with a throttle (which may be fixed or variable) and a pressure reducing valve that provide resistance while allowing the working fluid to flow between the liquid chambers on both sides of the piston.

  The air spring 12 includes a large-diameter outer cylinder 28 and a small-diameter inner cylinder 30 each having a bottomed cylindrical shape, and a telescopic diaphragm 32 that connects the outer cylinder 28 and the inner cylinder 30 with the contraction of the diaphragm 32. It can enter the inside of the outer cylinder 28. The air spring 12 is configured by filling the air chamber 34 surrounded by the outer cylinder 28, the inner cylinder 30 and the diaphragm 32 with compressed air. By supplying or discharging air, the length of the air spring 12 is changed, and the vehicle height is adjusted.

  The upper end portions of the shock absorber 10 and the air spring 12 are connected to a vehicle body side member (not shown) by the upper connecting device 14, the bearing 36 and the upper mount 38, while the lower end portion of the shock absorber 10 is not shown by the lower connecting device 16. It is connected to a side member (in this embodiment, a knuckle that rotatably holds the steering wheel). The bearing 36 is for enabling the shock absorber 10 and the air spring 12 to rotate relative to the vehicle body around the axis of the shock absorber 10, and is preferably a rolling bearing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upper connecting device 14 includes a connecting device main body 40 and a movable member 42, and an outer cylinder 28 is fixed to the connecting device main body 40, and the outer cylinder 28 is connected to an upper mount 38 via a bearing 36. Is bound to. The coupling device main body 40 includes a hollow cylindrical peripheral wall 44 that is open at both ends, and end walls 46 and 48 that close both openings of the peripheral wall 44. Through holes are formed in the center of both end walls 46 and 48, and the piston rod 22 extends through these through holes.

  The movable member 42 includes an inner tube 52 and stopper plates 54 and 56 and is fixed to the distal end portion of the piston rod 22. The spacer 58, the inner tube 52, the stopper plate 54, and the spacer 60 are fitted to the piston rod 22 in the order described, and are tightened by the nut 62. Further, the stopper plate 56 and the actuator bracket 64 are tightened by the nut 66. It is. As a result, the inner tube 52 and the stopper plates 54 and 56 and the like constitute an integral movable member 42 and can be moved relative to the coupling device body 40 in the axial direction. The actuator bracket 64 is a member for attaching to the piston rod 22 an actuator that drives the variable throttle (damping force control valve) of the shock absorber 10.

  A main rubber part 70 is disposed between the inner tube 52 and the peripheral wall 44 surrounding it on the outer peripheral side, a bound stopper rubber part 72 is fixed to the stopper plate 54, and a rebound stopper rubber part 74 is fixed to the end wall 48. Has been. The main rubber part 70 has a generally hollow cylindrical shape, and its outer peripheral surface is fixed to the peripheral wall 44, while its inner peripheral surface is fixed to the inner tube 52, so that the coupling device main body 40 and the movable member 42 are axially relative to each other. Shear elastic deformation is caused with the movement, and an elastic force that increases as the deformation amount increases is generated. Normally, an axial force acting on the piston rod 22 is transmitted to the coupling device main body 40 by this elastic force. However, if the axial force in the bound direction increases, the bound stopper rubber portion 72 contacts the end wall 48. Regulate the relative movement limit while mitigating the impact. Further, when the axial force in the rebound direction increases, the rebound stopper rubber portion 74 abuts against the stopper plate 56 to limit the relative movement limit while relaxing the impact.

In this embodiment, the main body rubber part 70, the bound stopper rubber part 72, and the rebound stopper rubber part 74, which are formed separately from each other, constitute the connecting rubber 76 of the upper connecting device 14. Further, two spaces 78 and 80 arranged in series in the axial direction are formed between the stopper plate 54, the end wall 48 and the stopper plate 56, and each of the two spaces 78 and 80 has a first, The bound stopper rubber portion 72 and the rebound stopper rubber portion 74 as the second stopper rubber portion are respectively disposed.
The clearance between the bound stopper rubber portion 72 and the end wall 48 is made larger than the clearance between the rebound stopper rubber portion 74 and the stopper plate 56, and the bound stopper rubber portion 72 is rebound stopper rubber portion 74. The dimensions (height in the example shown in the figure) are increased to increase the impact relaxation ability.

  In this embodiment, in the conventional upper coupling device shown in FIG. 3, the main body rubber part 90, the bound stopper rubber part 92, and the rebound stopper rubber part 94 are separated, and the rebound stopper rubber part 94 is used as the bound stopper rubber. Corresponding to the part 92 moved to the opposite side of the main body rubber part 90, the space 98 for the rebound stopper rubber part inside the connecting device main body 96 is omitted, and the connection that has not been used effectively in the past instead. This corresponds to a case where the space 100 outside the apparatus main body 96 is used as a space for the rebound stopper rubber part. Since the space 100 is a space necessary for allowing the relative movement in the axial direction between the actuator bracket 102 and the coupling device main body 96, if a rebound stopper rubber portion 94 is provided here, a part of the space 100 can be used effectively. Therefore, the dimension of the whole connecting device in the axial direction can be reduced accordingly.

  In addition, conventionally, the main body rubber portion 90, the bound stopper rubber portion 92, and the rebound stopper rubber portion 94 are integrally vulcanized and molded around the inner tube 104. While the outer diameters of the bound stopper rubber portion 92 and the rebound stopper rubber portion 94 must be smaller than the outer diameter of the main body rubber portion 90, in this embodiment, the bound stopper rubber portion 72 and the rebound stopper rubber portion 74 can be set to a sufficient size without being constrained by the outer diameter of the main rubber part 70 in manufacturing, and durability can be improved.

  Further, since the main rubber part 70, the bound stopper rubber part 72, and the rebound stopper rubber part 74 are fixed to the inner tube 52, the stopper plate 54, and the end wall 48, which are separate members, respectively, vulcanized individually. It is possible to mold, and it is possible to select and employ a material suitable for each, and to reduce the size or improve the durability. In the present embodiment, both the bound stopper rubber portion 72 and the rebound stopper rubber portion 74 are formed of rubber having higher hardness than the main body rubber portion 70. For example, the bound stopper rubber portion 72 and the rebound stopper rubber portion When the margin of durability differs between the portions 74, it is also effective to make the two materials different, and reducing the hardness of the bound stopper rubber portion 72 is particularly effective in improving the ride comfort.

In the present embodiment, the upper coupling device 14 is disposed in the air chamber 34 of the air spring 12, but it is not essential to be provided in the air spring 12. The present invention can also be applied to a suspension in which an air spring is not provided, or a suspension in which an air spring is provided in a lower portion of a shock absorber.
Further, although the bound stopper rubber portion 72 and the rebound stopper rubber portion 74 are disposed on the upper side of the main body rubber portion 70, conversely, both may be disposed on the lower side of the main body rubber portion 70. . Further, the piston rod 22 is connected to the vehicle body (strictly, the vehicle body side member), but when the shock absorber is of a type in which the piston rod extends downward, the cylinder is connected to the vehicle body. It is also possible to apply the present invention to an upper coupling device for the purpose.

It is front sectional drawing which shows the suspension containing the coupling device which is one Example of claimable invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged front cross-sectional view of the suspension coupling device of FIG. 1 and its periphery. It is front sectional drawing which shows an example of the conventional coupling device.

Explanation of symbols

  10: Shock absorber 12: Air spring 14: Upper coupling device 16: Lower coupling device 20: Cylinder 22: Piston rod 28: Outer cylinder 30: Inner cylinder 32: Diaphragm 34: Air chamber 40: Main body of coupling device 42: Movable member 44 : Peripheral wall 48: end wall 52: inner tube 54: stopper plate 56: stopper plate 70: body rubber part 72: bound stopper rubber part 74: rebound stopper rubber part 76: connecting rubber 78: space 80: space

Claims (6)

A coupling device for coupling one of a cylinder and a piston rod of a shock absorber to a vehicle body in a state allowing relative movement with respect to the one vehicle body,
A coupling device body;
A movable member that is movable relative to the coupling device body in the axial direction;
Relative to the axial direction of the coupling device main body and the movable member by contacting a main body rubber portion that couples the coupling device main body and the movable member while allowing relative movement in the axial direction and a corresponding stopper portion, respectively. A connecting rubber including a first stopper rubber portion and a second stopper rubber portion defining a range of movement, and the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion are both separated from the main rubber portion. And a suspension coupling device in which the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion are disposed on one side of the main rubber portion in the axial direction,
The coupling device main body includes a peripheral wall that surrounds the movable member on the outer peripheral side, and an end wall provided at one end in the axial direction of the peripheral wall;
The first stopper rubber part and the second stopper rubber part are separated from each other and disposed on both sides of the end wall in the axial direction.
The first stopper rubber portion defines a range of relative movement in the axial direction between the coupling device main body and the movable member when the vehicle body and the wheel approach each other, and has a hardness higher than that of the second stopper rubber portion . Suspension coupling device made of low rubber.   The movable member includes a first part and a second part that are provided on both sides of the end wall in the axial direction and move relative to the end wall in the axial direction integrally with each other; the first stopper rubber part; The suspension coupling device according to claim 1, wherein the second stopper rubber portion is disposed between the end wall and the first part and between the end wall and the second portion.   The first stopper rubber part is fixed to one of the end wall, the first part and the second part, and the second stopper rubber part is one of the end wall, the first part and the second part. The suspension coupling device according to claim 2, which is fixed to one of the remaining two. One of the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion is fixed to the outer surface of the end wall, and the other of the first stopper rubber portion and the second stopper rubber portion is the inner side of the coupling device main body. The suspension coupling device according to claim 3, wherein the suspension coupling device is fixed to the second portion located at the position.   The suspension coupling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first and second stopper rubber portions are formed of rubber harder than the main rubber portion. The suspension coupling device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an air spring is disposed between the vehicle body and the cylinder, and the coupling device is housed inside the air spring.

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