Suspension components of vehicles

Abstract

The invention relates to a suspension element (1, 100) for a vehicle, comprising a helical spring (4, 104) and a support part (3, 103) provided with a main stop (9, 109), the spring (4, 104) being mounted on the support part (3, 103) such that a first end (10, 110) of the spring (4, 104) bears against the main stop (9, 109). According to the invention, the bearing part (103) comprises a secondary stop (120) placed in front of the main stop (109), and during the execution of the method for assembling the suspension element (100), the first end (110) of the spring (104) bears against the secondary stop, and during the step of correcting the spring, after the spring (104) has been pivoted about its axis of rotation, the secondary stop (120) can be moved away under the action of the pressure exerted by the spring (104) on the secondary stop (120) during the step of compressing the spring (104), so that the second end (111) of the spring (104) interacts with the centering element (105) so as to bear against the main stop (109).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to suspension elements for vehicles. Background Art

[0002] Such a suspension element, which can be formed by a strut, for example, broadly comprises a suspension coil spring, a support part provided with a stop, and a centering part. The spring is arranged in the suspension element in such a way that a first end of the spring bears against a stop of the support part and in such a way that a second end of the spring supports the centering part.

[0003] In other words, a method for assembling such a suspension element generally comprises the following stages:

[0004] - a stage of positioning the spring on the bearing member so that the first end of the spring bears against the stop,

[0005] - a stage involving straightening the spring while maintaining it in contact with the support member in order to mount the centering member on the second end of said spring,

[0006] -Phase where components are compressed.

[0007] Broadly speaking, the phases involving the straightening of a spring are based on pivoting of said spring, enabling it to move from an inclined position relative to its operating axis to an aligned position on said operating axis.

[0008] In this assembly method, the helical spring must maintain its angular position. However, in terms of design problems, it is common that during the phases involving the straightening of the spring, the spring pivots slightly about its axis of rotation, so that during the compression phase the first end of the spring no longer bears against the stop, but on top of the stop. The spring is then incorrectly positioned relative to the support part, since the stop no longer effectively performs its angular blocking function for the spring. This results in such an assembly being unsatisfactory, since it can lead to the spring being deflected outside the support part, or even to the spring breaking. Summary of the invention

[0009] The suspension element according to the invention is designed to allow good positioning of the spring in the bearing part during the compression phase, despite a slight pivoting movement of said spring about its axis of rotation in the preceding phase which involves the straightening of the spring.

[0010] In order to correctly assess the scope of the present invention, it is assumed that the suspension element comprises a spring, a support component and a centering component.

[0011] An object of the invention is a suspension element for a vehicle comprising a helical spring and a support part provided with a main stop, the spring being mounted on the support part in such a way that a first end of said spring bears against the main stop.

[0012] According to the invention, the bearing means comprises a secondary stop placed in front of the primary stop, the first end of the spring bearing against the secondary stop during the method for assembling the suspension element, the secondary stop being able to be moved away under the effect of the pressure exerted by the spring on the secondary stop during a phase of compressing the spring, after the spring has been pivoted about its axis of rotation, so that the second end of the spring interacts with the centering element so as to bear against the primary stop.

[0013] In other words, in the method for assembling the suspension element, the secondary stop at least temporarily replaces the primary stop. In fact, during the method for assembling the suspension element, the first end of the spring bears against the secondary stop. During this method, in the phase involving the correcting spring, if the spring does not rotate, its first end will bear against the secondary stop again during the compression phase. This is a general everyday configuration. In contrast, if the spring accidentally pivots during this phase involving the correcting spring, the spring will bear against the secondary stop, which will then move away to allow the first end of the spring to bear against the primary stop. Therefore, no matter which situation is envisaged, the spring will always be well positioned because its first end will always bear against the primary stop or the secondary stop. Therefore, this first end will never regain its freedom of movement, as is the case with the current method for assembling such a suspension element. The term "moving away" means that the secondary stop does not maintain its initial position, or is deformed or disconnected. The pivoting movement of the spring is advantageously carried out around its axis of rotation. The secondary stop is preferably made of an elastomer.

[0014] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the secondary stop is a thin flexible strip on a plane parallel to the face of the primary stop, against which the first end of the spring can bear. In this way, the secondary stop is oriented in the same way as the primary stop, but slightly offset relative to it. With this configuration, the secondary stop will bend under the effect of the pressure exerted on it by the first end of the spring, so that said secondary stop cannot prevent said first end from bearing against the primary stop.

[0015] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the thickness of the strip is between 1 mm and 3 mm. This thickness is preferably equal to 2 mm.

[0016] According to a possible feature of the present invention, the main stop and the secondary stop are separated by a free space. This is because the main stop must not prevent the secondary stop from moving away, and the presence of this space allows the secondary stop to deform or break without being hindered by the main stop.

[0017] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the length of the space separating the primary stop from the secondary stop is between 3 mm and 10 mm. This length is preferably equal to 5 mm.

[0018] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the bottom of the space is at a lower level than the height of the portion of the support member located behind the secondary stop relative to the primary stop, a recess defined by the face of the secondary stop being formed in said portion, at the foot of the secondary stop, so that the bottom of said recess is at the same level as the bottom of said space. The presence of the recess on the other side of the secondary stop relative to the primary stop facilitates deformation of the secondary stop when the first end of the spring exerts pressure on said secondary stop.

[0019] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the depth of the recess is between 1 mm and 3 mm relative to the height of the portion of the support member situated behind the secondary stop. The depth of the recess is preferably equal to 2 mm.

[0020] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the strip can be bent in the space so that it is parallel to the bottom of said space when the first end of the spring bears against the secondary stop. In this way, since the secondary stop is thin, it does not prevent the first end of the spring from bearing against the main stop once it is parallel to the bottom of the recess at the bottom of said recess.

[0021] According to a possible feature of the invention, the support member is placed in a holder. This holder may be, for example, a shock absorber holder.

[0022] Another object of the invention is a method for assembling a suspension element according to the invention.

[0023] According to the invention, the method comprises the following stages:

[0024] - a stage of positioning the spring on the bearing member so that the first end of the spring bears against the secondary stop,

[0025] - a phase involving straightening the spring while maintaining it in contact with the support member so as to allow the centering element to interact with the second end of said spring,

[0026] - if the spring has pivoted during the phase involving the straightening spring, a phase of flattening the secondary stop by the spring is carried out to allow the first end of said spring to bear against the primary stop,

[0027] -Phase where components are compressed.

[0028] The principle of this method is to allow the first end of the spring to always bear against the stop of the bearing part, regardless of whether the spring has pivoted during the phase involving the correcting spring. If the spring does not pivot, no primary stop is involved in the method for assembling the suspension element, since the first end of the spring will bear against the secondary stop during the compression phase. On the other hand, if the spring accidentally pivots, the first end of the spring will flatten the secondary stop before bearing against the primary stop. Advantageously, the pivoting of the spring during the phase involving the correcting spring takes place about its axis of rotation.

[0029] The suspension element according to the invention has the advantage of allowing the spring to be always well positioned relative to the support member, without requiring any structural changes to the depth of the support member due to its proper layout. Moreover, it has the advantage of constant overall dimensions relative to known suspension elements, while providing additional functionality through the presence of the secondary stop. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] A detailed description of preferred embodiments of the suspension element according to the present invention is provided below with reference to the following drawings:

[0031] [ Figure 1 ] is a side view of a suspension element according to the prior art, showing a stage in which one end of the spring bears against a stop of the supporting member,

[0032] [ Figure 2 ]yes Figure 1 Side view of the suspension element in FIG. 1 showing the spring lifting stage for assembling the centering components,

[0033] [ Figure 3 ]yes Figure 1 , showing the compression phase of the spring when the spring is not pivoted,

[0034] [ Figure 4 ]yes Figure 1 , showing the compression phase of the spring when the spring has pivoted,

[0035] [ Figure 5 ] is a side view of a suspension element according to the invention, illustrating the stage when one end of the spring bears against a secondary stop of the support member,

[0036] [ Figure 6 ]yes Figure 5 Side view of the suspension element in FIG. 1 showing the spring lifting stage for assembling the centering components,

[0037] [ Figure 7 ]yes Figure 5 , showing the compression phase of the spring when the spring is not pivoted,

[0038] [ Figure 8 ]yes Figure 5 , showing the compression phase of the spring when the spring has pivoted,

[0039] [ Fig. 9 ] is a side view of one end of a support member of a suspension element according to the invention, said end comprising a primary stop and a secondary stop,

[0040] [ Fig.10 ] is a perspective view of a support component and a shock absorber holder of a suspension element according to the present invention,

[0041] [ Fig.11 ] is a perspective view of a suspension element according to the invention showing the compression phase of fixing the nut on the shock absorber rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The detailed description focuses on a particular suspension element represented by the strut.

[0043] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 According to the prior art, a strut 1 broadly comprises a damper holder 2 , a support component 3 , a coil spring 4 and a centering component 5 .

[0044] Reference Fig.10 , the shock absorber holder is a thin circular part with an annular groove 6. The support part 3 is an open annular part with two ends 7, 8 and covers an angular sector greater than 180°. This support part 3 is inserted into the annular groove 6 of the shock absorber holder 2.

[0045] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the support part 3 of the strut 1 according to the prior art comprises a main stop 9 against which the first end 10 of the spring 4 is intended to bear.

[0046] The method for assembling a pillar 1 according to the prior art comprises the following stages:

[0047] - a stage of assembling the support part 3 into the shock absorber holder 2,

[0048] - a stage of positioning the spring 4 on the support member 3 so that the first end 10 of the spring bears against the main stop 9, as Figure 1 As shown,

[0049] - a phase involving straightening the spring 4 while maintaining it in contact with the support member 3 in order to mount the centering member 5 on the second end 11 of said spring 4, such as Figure 2 As shown,

[0050] - Phase of compressing the spring 4 in order to fix the nut 12 of the shock absorber rod 13, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As displayed.

[0051] If, during the phase involving the correction spring 4, said spring has not accidentally pivoted about its axis of rotation, its first end 10 will return to bearing against the main stop 9 of the bearing part 3 during the compression phase, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As displayed.

[0052] If, on the other hand, during the phase involving the correction spring, said spring has unfortunately pivoted about its axis of rotation, its first end 10 will no longer return to bearing against the main stop 9 of the support part 3 during the compression phase, but will bear on the top of said stop 9, as Figure 4 This causes the first end 10 of the spring 4 to no longer be wedged against the main stop 9 of the support part 3. Now, this approximate positioning of the spring 4 may lead to a displacement of the spring 4 relative to the damper holder 2 and the support part 3, and / or noise and / or disconnection of the spring 4.

[0053] Reference Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 and Fig.11 In order to prevent such a bad assembly from occurring, the support column 100 according to the present invention comprises a support member 103 provided with a secondary stop 120 as an addition to the primary stop 109 .

[0054] Reference Fig. 9 , the secondary stop 120 consists of a flexible strip placed in front of the primary stop 109 at a distance between 3 mm and 10 mm, preferably equal to 5 mm. This strip 120 is thin and, in a plane parallel to the plane 121 of the primary stop 109, against which the first end 110 of the spring 104 is intended to bear. Advantageously, the thickness of the strip 120 is between 1 mm and 3 mm, preferably equal to 2 mm. The bottom 122 of the space 123 separating the primary stop 109 from the secondary stop 120 is at a lower height than the bottom 124 of the support member 103 placed on the other side of the flexible strip 120 relative to the primary stop 109. In the bottom 124 of the support part 103, a recess 125 is formed at the foot of the flexible strip 120 in such a way that the recess 125 is delimited by a face 126 of said flexible strip 12 and that the bottom 127 of said recess 125 is at the same height as the bottom 122 of the space 123 separating the two stops 109, 120. This recess 125 is provided to allow the flexible strip 120 to bend when the spring 104 bears on it.

[0055] The main stages of the method for assembling a support column 100 according to the invention are as follows:

[0056] - a stage of assembling the support part 103 into the shock absorber holder 102,

[0057] - a stage of positioning the spring 104 on the support member 103 so that the first end 110 of the spring bears against the secondary stop 120, such as Figure 5 As shown,

[0058] - a phase involving straightening the spring 104 while maintaining it in contact with the support member 103 in order to mount the centering member 105 on the second end 111 of said spring 104, such as Figure 6 As shown,

[0059] - a stage of compressing the spring 104 in order to fix the nut 12 of the shock absorber rod 13, such as Figure 7 and Figure 8 As displayed.

[0060] If, during the phase involving the correction spring 104, said spring has not accidentally pivoted about its axis of rotation, its first end 110 will return to bearing against the secondary stop 120 of the bearing member 103 during the compression phase, as shown in FIG. Figure 7 For this configuration, the secondary stop 120 completely replaces the primary stop 109 of the pillar 1 in the prior art.

[0061] If, on the other hand, during the phase involving the correction spring 104, said spring has unfortunately pivoted about its axis of rotation, its first end 110 will no longer return to bearing against the secondary stop 120 of the support member 103 during the compression phase, but will bear on top of said secondary stop 120, as Figure 8 The secondary stop 120, constituted by a flexible strip, will then bend under the effect of the pressure exerted by the first end 110 of the spring 104. By bending in this way, the secondary stop 120 moves away, thus enabling the first end 110 of the spring 104 to bear against the primary stop 109, as in the case of the pillar 1 of the prior art.

[0062] At the same time the flexible strip has dimensions such as to act as a stop for the first end 110 of the spring 104 and, when said first end 110 reaches above this strip 120 , bends it by exerting pressure on said strip 120 .

Claims

1. A suspension element for a vehicle, comprising a coil spring and a support member provided with a main stop, the spring being mounted on the support member in such a way that a first end of the spring bears against the main stop, characterized in that The bearing part (103) comprises a secondary stop (120) placed in front of the main stop (109), against which the first end (110) of the spring (104) bears during the method for assembling the suspension element (100), and during the phase involving the correction of the spring, after the spring (104) has been pivoted about its axis of rotation, the secondary stop (120) can be moved away under the effect of the pressure exerted on the secondary stop (120) by the spring (104) during the phase of compressing the spring (104), so that the second end (111) of the spring (104) interacts with the centering element (105) so as to bear against the main stop (109), The secondary stop (120) is a thin flexible strip on a plane parallel to the surface (121) of the primary stop (109), and the first end (110) of the spring (104) can bear against the thin flexible strip. The primary stop (109) and the secondary stop (120) are separated by a free space (123), The bottom (122) of the space (123) is at a height lower than the height of a portion (124) of the support member (103) located behind the secondary stop (120) relative to the primary stop (109), and a recess (125) defined by a surface (126) of the secondary stop (120) is formed in the portion (124) at the foot of the secondary stop (120) so that the bottom (127) of the recess (125) is at the same height as the bottom (122) of the space (123).

2. The suspension element according to claim 1, characterized in that The thickness of the secondary stopper (120) is between 1 mm and 3 mm.

3. A suspension element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The length of the space (123) separating the primary stop (109) from the secondary stop (120) is between 3 mm and 10 mm.

4. The suspension element according to claim 1, characterized in that The depth of the recess (125) relative to the height of the portion of the support member (103) located behind the secondary stop (120) is between 1 mm and 3 mm.

5. The suspension element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The secondary stop (120) is able to bend in the space (123) so that when the first end (110) of the spring (104) bears on the secondary stop (120), the strip is parallel to the bottom (122) of the space (123).

6. A suspension element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The support member (103) is placed in the holder (102).

7. A method for assembling a suspension element (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The Method The following phases are included: a stage of positioning the spring (104) on the support member (103) so that the first end (110) of the spring bears against the secondary stop (120), - a phase involving correcting the spring (104) while maintaining it in contact with the support member (103) so as to allow the centering element (105) to interact with the second end (111) of said spring (104), - if the spring (104) has pivoted during the phase involving straightening the spring (104), a phase of flattening the secondary stop (120) by the spring (104) to allow the first end (110) of the spring (104) to bear against the primary stop (109), -Phase where components are compressed.

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