JPH10213168A - Spring seat rubber for vehicle suspension device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve durability of spring seat rubber by preventing a phenomenon of generating a crack caused by the contact of the end part of a coil spring with the spring seat rubber. SOLUTION: This spring seat rubber 10 is interposed between an upper seat bracket 12 and the upper end part of a coil spring. A recessed groove 24 recessed onto the anti-coil-spring side is formed at a flat seat face 18 in contact with the upper end part of the coil spring. This recessed groove is formed in such a size that the coil end of the coil spring does not come in contact with the spring seat rubber 10 even in case of the spring seat rubber 10 being elastically deformed by the pressing force of the coil spring.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rubber spring seat rubber for supporting an upper end or a lower end of a coil spring in a vehicle suspension system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many suspension systems for vehicles such as automobiles have a structure in which a shock absorber and a coil spring are combined. The upper end of the coil spring is supported on the vehicle body, and the lower end is supported on the wheel side. It is supported by a member. A rubber spring seat rubber is interposed between each end of the coil spring and the vehicle-side member or the wheel-side support member in order to cut off high-frequency vibration.

As an example, FIG. 5 shows a full trailing arm type suspension device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-2726, in which reference numeral 1 denotes a pair of trailing arms as wheel-side support members, and reference numeral 2 denotes A rubber bush provided at two bifurcated ends of the trailing arm 1 and rotatably engaged with a cross member (not shown) on the vehicle body side in a vertical direction. Reference numeral 3 denotes a wheel mounted via a bolt 3a. The hub. A shock absorber 4 and a coil spring 5 are provided between a vehicle-side member (not shown) and the trailing arm 1. When the wheel side vibrates up and down, the shock absorber 4 reduces the vibration input. In addition, the coil spring 5 performs a buffering action due to the torsion of each part of the coil, and suppresses transmission of vibration on the wheel side to the vehicle body side.

The lower end of the coil spring 5 is fitted into a circular groove 1a formed in the trailing arm 1, and the upper end thereof is a rubber spring seat rubber (upper spring seat rubber) 6 for vibration isolation. Is supported by the vehicle body. The groove 1a is provided with a bound stopper 7, and when an extremely large external force pushes up the wheel side, the bound stopper 7 comes into contact with the vehicle body side member through the inner periphery of the coil spring 5 and the impact is generated. It is designed to absorb.

As shown in detail in FIG. 6, the spring seat rubber 6 has a cylindrical portion 8 formed in a truncated cone shape having a tapered distal end, and an annular flange extending from the base of the cylindrical portion 8 to the outer peripheral side. , And are integrally formed of rubber having an appropriate spring constant. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the cylindrical portion 8 is fitted in the inner periphery of the upper end portion 5a of the coil spring, whereby the coil spring 5 is positioned in the radial direction, and the flange portion 9 is connected to the upper end portion 5a of the coil spring. By being clamped between an upper seat bracket (not shown) provided on the vehicle body side, vibration input to the vehicle body side is cut off. A plurality of grooves 6a are radially formed on the back surface of the flange 9 in order to adjust the spring constant.

[0006]

As shown in FIG. 7, when the spring seat rubber 6 is mounted on the vehicle, the upper end 5a of the coil spring 5 is strongly pressed against the flat seating surface 6b of the spring seat rubber 6. The spring rubber 6 is elastically deformed in accordance with the spiral shape of the coil spring upper end 5a. At this time, since stress concentrates on a portion where the coil end 5b of the coil spring 5 contacts the seating surface 6b, there is a problem that a local crack K is generated in this portion. In particular, as shown in FIG.
When burrs are present at the edge of the coil terminal 5b,
The crack K is easily generated. And once such a crack K
Occurs, the stress is concentrated in this portion, so that the crack K is preferentially expanded, and the spring seat rubber may be broken at an early stage.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems.

[0008] That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spring seat rubber interposed between a vehicle body-side member or a wheel-side support member of a vehicle suspension and an end of a coil spring. It is characterized in that a concave groove recessed toward the side opposite to the coil spring is formed on the proper seating surface so that the coil end of the coil spring does not come into contact with the coil spring.

Further, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a projection is provided on the seat surface so as to protrude toward the coil spring along the concave groove so as to face the coil end.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cylindrical portion inserted into an inner periphery of an end portion of the coil spring, and a wheel-side support member and an end portion of the coil spring formed integrally with a base portion of the cylindrical portion. And a flange portion sandwiched between the flange portions, and a groove for adjusting a spring constant is radially formed on a side opposite to the bearing surface of the flange portion.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the concave groove provided on the seat surface in contact with the end of the coil spring and the coil end of the coil spring are arranged to face each other.
The coil terminal is kept in a non-contact state. For this reason,
Stress concentration and cracks generated at the contact portion with the coil end are prevented, and the durability of the spring seat rubber is improved.

Further, as in the second aspect of the present invention,
If the projection that projects to the coil spring side along the concave groove is provided, when attaching the spring seat rubber to the end of the coil spring, the spring seat rubber and the coil spring will rotate around until the coil end hits the projection. By relative rotation in the direction, the coil end is positioned at a position facing the groove. In other words, relative positioning of the two in the circumferential direction can be easily performed,
The workability is improved.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a spring seat rubber of a vehicle suspension system according to the present invention, particularly an upper spring seat rubber provided at an upper end portion of a coil spring. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the spring seat rubber 10 is mounted between the upper end 5a of the coil spring 5 shown in FIG. 5 and an upper seat bracket 12 as a vehicle body-side member. The configurations of the trailing arm 1, the rubber bush 2, the hub 3, the shock absorber 4, the coil spring 5, the bound stopper 7, and the like as wheel supporting members are the same as those in the above-described conventional example.

The upper seat bracket 12 is formed by press-molding a relatively thick metal plate, and has an annular shape as a whole, and a convex portion 12a having a truncated cone shape at the center.
Is formed, and an outer peripheral flange 12 b is formed on the outer peripheral portion so as to cover the spring seat rubber 10. The upper seat bracket 12 is fixed to the vehicle body panel in advance by bolts, nuts or welding (not shown).

The spring seat rubber 10 mounted on the lower surface of the upper seat bracket 12 is formed in an annular shape as a whole, and includes a cylindrical portion 14 fitted to the convex portion 12a and a cylindrical portion 14 And a flange portion 16 extending from the base portion to the outer peripheral side, and the whole is integrally formed of rubber having an appropriate spring constant.

The cylindrical portion 14 is so formed that its outer peripheral surface 14a can be inserted relatively densely into the inner periphery of the coil spring 5.
Its outer diameter is set. The inner peripheral surface 14b of the cylindrical portion 14 has a loosely tapered surface corresponding to the convex portion 12a of the upper seat bracket 12 at the base end portion, and a parallel cylindrical surface at the distal end portion. This cylindrical part 14
Thus, the contact between the coil spring 5 and the protrusion 12a is prevented, and the spring seat rubber 10 is positioned relative to the coil spring 5 in the radial direction.

The flange 16 is formed to have a slightly larger diameter than the outer diameter of the coil spring 5 so as to reliably receive the coil spring 5. The surface of the flange portion 16 on the coil spring 5 side, that is, the seating surface 18
Has a flat plane orthogonal to the axis of the coil spring 5, and strongly presses against the upper end 5a of the coil spring 5 at the time of mounting. Further, a base end surface 20 of the flange portion 16 on the upper seat bracket 12 side, that is, on the side opposite to the seating surface 18.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of grooves 2 for adjusting a spring constant are provided.
2 are formed radially, and these grooves 22 reduce the substantial dynamic spring constant of the flange portion 16.

In this embodiment, one concave groove 24 is formed on the seating surface 18 side and is recessed toward the side opposite to the coil spring 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the concave groove 24 is formed to extend radially so as to cross the seating surface 18 with a predetermined uniform width and depth.
When the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle, as shown in FIG.
The coil end 5b of the coil spring 5 is disposed in the opening 4. The grooves 22 and 24 are formed so as to be offset from each other in the radial direction in order to secure the thickness of the flange portion 16 at the portion where the concave groove 24 and the spring constant adjusting groove 22 are formed.

First, the spring seat rubber 10 constructed as described above is mounted on the trailing arm 1 shown in FIG.
Is mounted on the upper end 5a of the coil spring 5 which engages with the groove 1a. At this time, the relative position between the spring seat rubber 10 and the coil spring 5 is set so that the coil end 5b is located at the opening of the concave groove 24. Positioning in the circumferential direction is performed. Specifically, the cylindrical portion 1 of the spring seat rubber 10 is so positioned that the coil end 5b is located at the opening of the concave groove 24.
When inserting the coil spring 4 into the upper end 5a of the coil spring 5, the two members 10, 5 are roughly positioned in the circumferential direction. Make adjustments. Next, the upper seat bracket 12 descending integrally with the vehicle body and the spring seat rubber 10 are fitted.

In this mounted state, the flange portion 16 is strongly pressed upward (in the direction of arrow P) by the coil spring 5, and the spring seat rubber 10 is moved upward along the shape of the spirally formed coil spring upper end portion 5a. It is elastically deformed toward the seat bracket 12 side.

In this embodiment, since the coil end 5b of the coil spring 5 is located at the opening of the groove 24, the coil end 5b and the seating surface 18 are kept in a non-contact state. That is, the depth and width of the concave groove 24 are set such that the coil end 5b does not come into contact with the spring seat rubber 10 even when the spring seat rubber 10 is elastically deformed when the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the coil end 5b of the coil spring 5 and the spring seat rubber 10 are kept in a non-contact state when the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle, the portion where the coil end 5b contacts the spring seat rubber 10 is formed. Stress concentration and generation of cracks are prevented, so that early breakage of the spring seat rubber 10 is prevented, and the durability of the spring seat rubber 10 is improved.

FIG. 4 shows a spring seat rubber 30 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the spring seat rubber 30, a projection 32 is formed on the seat surface 18 so as to protrude toward the coil spring 5 along the groove 24. More specifically, the protrusion 32 has a side wall 32a facing the coil terminal 5b, which is flush with one inner wall of the groove 24, and has a predetermined uniform width and height, and is seated along the groove 24. It is formed to extend radially across the surface 18. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

When the spring seat rubber 30 is mounted on the upper end portion 5a of the coil spring 5, the spring seat rubber 30 is moved relative to the coil spring 5 until the projection 32 abuts or approaches the coil end 5b of the coil spring 5. By rotating the coil spring 5 in the direction opposite to the winding direction of the coil (the direction indicated by the arrow Q in FIG. 4), the coil end 5b of the coil spring 5 is disposed at a position facing the groove 24 formed immediately before the projection 32. You.

As described above, in the second embodiment, since the projections 32 function as positioning stoppers, the circumferential positioning of the spring seat rubber 30 and the coil spring 5 can be performed easily and accurately. The performance is improved.

Further, even if the coil spring 5 attempts to move in the coil winding direction with respect to the spring seat rubber 30 with the progress of use, the movement is prevented by the coil end 5b abutting against the projection 32. Thus, the relative positional relationship between the coil spring 5 and the spring seat rubber 30 can be maintained in a state where the coil end 5b and the concave groove 24 are arranged to face each other.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the present invention is applied to the upper spring seat rubber which receives the upper end of the coil spring on the vehicle body side. However, the present invention receives the lower end of the coil spring on the wheel side support member. The same can be applied to the lower spring seat rubber.

Further, the spring seat rubber according to the present invention can be used not only for the trailing arm type vehicle suspension device as in the above embodiment but also for other types of vehicle suspension devices such as a wishbone type.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2 showing a spring seat rubber according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the spring seat rubber of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state in which the spring seat rubber of FIG. 1 is mounted between an upper seat bracket and a coil spring.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state in which a spring seat rubber according to a second embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a coil spring.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a vehicle suspension device to which a spring seat rubber is applied.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a conventional spring seat rubber.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the mounted state of the spring seat rubber of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Coil spring 5a ... Top part 5b ... Coil end 10 ... Spring seat rubber 12 ... Upper seat bracket (body side member) 18 ... Seat surface 22 ... Spring constant adjustment groove 24 ... Concave groove

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A spring seat rubber interposed between a vehicle body-side member or a wheel-side support member of a vehicle suspension device and an end of a coil spring, wherein a flat seating surface in contact with the end of the coil spring has A spring seat rubber for a vehicle suspension device, wherein a recessed groove is formed on the side opposite to the coil spring so that a coil terminal of the coil spring does not come into contact with the coil spring. 2. The vehicle suspension according to claim 1, wherein a projection protruding toward the coil spring along the concave groove is provided on the seat surface so as to face the coil terminal. Spring seat rubber. 3. A cylindrical portion inserted into an inner periphery of an end of the coil spring, and a base formed integrally with the cylindrical portion,
A flange portion sandwiched between the wheel-side support member and an end portion of the coil spring, wherein a groove for adjusting a spring constant is formed radially on a side opposite to the seating surface of the flange portion. The spring seat rubber of the vehicle suspension according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: