Strut bearing

Abstract

To provide a strut bearing that is used for a suspension strut and enables an overall height of a vehicle to be reduced when the strut bearing is mounted to the vehicle.SOLUTION: The strut bearing comprises an upper housing, a lower housing, and a rolling bearing disposed between the upper housing and the lower housing. The rolling bearing includes an inner ring, an outer ring, and a rolling element disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring. One of the inner ring and the outer ring is mounted to the upper housing, and the other of the inner ring and the outer ring is mounted to the lower housing. An insert and an isolator are mounted to the lower housing. The insert is mounted to the lower housing at a first surface. An attachment surface of the isolator is mounted to the second surface of the insert. Thus, the isolator is at least partially directly mounted to the insert.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to strut bearings, in particular of the McPherson type ("McPherson Strut Bearing Unit" or MSBU), used in suspension struts mounted on vehicles. The field of the invention is that of suspension systems, in particular automotive suspension systems. [Background technology]

[0002] An automobile suspension system includes suspension struts that support the axles and wheels. The strut bearing is located on the top of the suspension strut opposite the wheel and the ground, between the suspension spring and an upper support block attached to the vehicle chassis.

[0003] The suspension strut bearing assembly includes at least one bearing, for example a rolling bearing, with an upper housing and a lower housing that rotate relative to each other about a main axis.

[0004] A conventional strut bearing is shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the conventional strut bearing 900 includes an upper housing 921 and a lower housing 922. A rolling bearing 910 is provided between the upper housing 921 and the lower housing 922. The rolling bearing 910 includes an inner ring (inner race) 911 attached to the upper housing 921 and an outer ring (outer race) 912 attached to the lower housing 922. Balls serving as rolling elements 913 are disposed between the inner ring 911 and the outer ring 912. Furthermore, if the rolling bearing 910 is an angular type, a cage 914 is provided to hold the rolling elements 913. The upper housing 921 and the lower housing 922 are capable of rotating relative to each other through the rolling bearing 910 and the damper rod 902 which serves as the main shaft.

[0005] The lower housing 922 is provided with an insert (metal insert) 930 to increase rigidity. Also, an isolator 940 made of an elastic material is attached to the lower housing 922 at the portion where the spring 901 comes into contact.

[0006] The insert 930 is integrally formed with the lower housing 922 by injection molding. Therefore, the insert 930 is embedded in the lower housing 922.

[0007] The isolator 940 is overmolded onto the lower housing 922 .

[0008] The insert 930 is provided in the lower housing 922. Therefore, when the isolator 940 is overmolded onto the lower housing 922, the mounting wall 923, which is part of the lower housing 922, is interposed between the isolator 940 and the insert 930, as shown in FIG. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 11,491,839 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent No. 10,753,389 [Patent Document 3] U.S. Patent No. 11,370,260 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] In recent years, there has been a demand for lower vehicle profiles, leading to a demand for lower vehicle hood heights. When mounting a suspension strut on a vehicle, it is necessary to ensure a certain width between the top of the suspension strut and the surface of the vehicle's hood from the standpoint of safety. For this reason, suspension struts can become a barrier to achieving a low vehicle profile.

[0011] In order to achieve a low vehicle profile while maintaining a certain width between the top of the suspension strut and the surface of the vehicle's hood, it is possible to simply design the height of the strut bearing to be lower. However, if the strut bearing were simply designed to be lower in height while maintaining the conventional configuration, the housing 920 used in the strut bearing would be manufactured by injection molding, and there is a possibility that the injection molding material would not reach the thin-walled parts sufficiently, which is not realistic.

[0012] Furthermore, the inserts used in strut bearings are necessary to ensure the strength of the housing when the vehicle weight increases, and it is difficult to design a structure without using inserts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The present invention provides a strut bearing that can achieve a low vehicle profile while ensuring a constant width between the top of the suspension strut and the surface of the vehicle's hood.

[0014] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a strut bearing for use in a vehicle suspension strut comprises an upper housing, a lower housing, and a rolling bearing arranged between the upper housing and the lower housing. The rolling bearing comprises an inner ring, an outer ring, and rolling elements arranged between the inner ring and the outer ring. One of the inner ring and the outer ring is attached to the upper housing, and the other between the inner ring and the outer ring is attached to the lower housing. An insert and an isolator are attached to the lower housing. The insert is attached to the lower housing at a first surface. The isolator has a mounting surface attached to a second surface of the insert. Thus, the isolator is at least partially directly attached to the insert.

[0015] The insert may include a secondary joint.

[0016] The insert is provided with a through hole; The auxiliary joint may be formed by joining a part of the isolator that passes through the through hole to the lower housing.

[0017] A plurality of the auxiliary joints may be provided in the circumferential direction of the lower housing.

[0018] The plurality of auxiliary joints may be provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the lower housing.

[0019] The through hole may have a circular cross section.

[0020] The through hole may have a polygonal cross section.

[0021] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the lower housing according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a radial portion and an axial portion. The second surface of the insert is provided only on the radial portion. The mounting surface of the isolator is attached to the second surface provided on the radial portion.

[0022] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a strut bearing includes the steps of: a first injection molding step of injection molding the lower housing onto the first surface of the insert; a second injection molding step of injection molding the isolator onto the second surface of the insert; Equipped with. [Effects of the Invention]

[0023] According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve a low vehicle profile while ensuring a certain width between the upper part of the suspension strut and the surface of the vehicle hood. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art strut bearing. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing a strut bearing according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 3] 3A and 3B are views showing auxiliary joints provided on a strut ring according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 3 is a diagram showing the arrangement of auxiliary joints provided in the strut bearing according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 6 is a view showing a strut bearing according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing a method for manufacturing a strut bearing according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] [First embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. A strut bearing 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the strut bearing 100 according to the present invention comprises an upper housing 121 and a lower housing 122. A rolling bearing 110 is provided between the upper housing 121 and the lower housing 122.

[0026] The upper housing 121 and the lower housing 122 are made of a hard plastic material.

[0027] The rolling bearing 110 is composed of an inner ring (inner ring, inner race) 112, an outer ring (outer ring, outer race) 111, and balls as rolling elements 113 arranged between the outer ring 111 and the inner ring 112. In the example shown in the figure, the inner ring 112 is attached to an upper housing 121, and the outer ring 111 is attached to a lower housing 122. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this configuration. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which the outer ring 111 is attached to the upper housing 121, and the inner ring 112 is attached to the lower housing 122. In addition, because the rolling bearing 110 according to this embodiment is an angular type, it is provided with a cage 114 for holding the rolling elements 113.

[0028] The rolling bearing 110 allows the upper housing 121 and the lower housing 122 to rotate relatively around the main shaft.

[0029] The lower housing 122 is provided with an insert (metal insert) 130 to increase rigidity. As shown in FIG. 1, the insert 130 according to the present invention is not configured to be embedded in the lower housing 122.

[0030] Specifically, the insert 130 has a first surface 131 and a second surface 132. In this embodiment, the first surface 131 of the insert 130 is attached to the surface of the attachment wall portion 123 of the lower housing 122.

[0031] Furthermore, an isolator 140 made of an elastic material is attached to the lower housing 122 at a portion where the spring 101 comes into contact.

[0032] The isolator 140 comprises a rubbery thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), particularly a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a melt-processable elastomer (MPE), or an elastomeric cellular foam.

[0033] In this embodiment, the isolator 140 is attached at its mounting surface 141 to the second surface 132 of the insert 130 rather than to the lower housing 122 .

[0034] Furthermore, in the strut bearing 100 according to this embodiment, an auxiliary joint 142 is provided between the isolator 140 and the lower housing 122 .

[0035] The configuration of the auxiliary joint 142 is shown in Figure 3. When the auxiliary joint 142 is provided, a through hole 133 is provided in the insert 130. When the isolator 140 is injection molded onto the insert 130, a portion of the isolator 140 passes through the through hole 133 and is directly joined to the lower housing 122. This part of the isolator that passes through the through-hole 130 and is directly joined to the lower housing 122 serves as an auxiliary joint 142 .

[0036] 4, the auxiliary joints 142 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the lower housing 122. In this embodiment, the intervals between adjacent auxiliary joints 142 are uniform. However, the intervals between adjacent auxiliary joints 142 may be unequal. 4, through-hole 133 has a circular cross-sectional shape. However, the shape of through-hole 133 is not limited to this, and for example, a polygonal through-hole may be provided.

[0037] The auxiliary joint 142 can be provided to prevent relative rotation between the insert 130 and the isolator 140 . This allows the reliability of the strut bearing to be maintained even if the isolator 140 is mounted directly to a metal insert attached to the surface of the lower housing 122 rather than being overmolded onto the lower housing.

[0038] As described above, in this embodiment, the first surface 131 of the insert 130 is attached to the surface of the mounting wall portion 123 of the lower housing 122, and the mounting surface 141 of the isolator 140 is attached to the second surface of the insert 130, so that the isolator 140 is directly attached to the insert 130.

[0039] Furthermore, the provision of the auxiliary joint 142 makes it possible to prevent relative rotation between the insert 130 and the isolator 140 .

[0040] The above-described configuration makes it possible to eliminate the mounting wall portion that was previously interposed between the isolator and the insert in conventional technology, without compromising the reliability of the strut bearing, thereby making it possible to reduce the overall height of the strut bearing. This makes it possible to achieve a low vehicle profile while ensuring a certain width between the top of the suspension strut and the surface of the vehicle's hood.

[0041] [Second embodiment] A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the second embodiment described below, the same components as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0042] In the strut bearing 100 of the first embodiment, the entirety of one surface of the insert 130 becomes the first surface 131 and is attached to the lower housing 122. Therefore, the entirety of the other surface of the insert 130 becomes the second surface 132, and this second surface 132 is attached to the mounting surface 141 of the isolator 140. However, in the strut bearing 200 according to the second embodiment, the first surface 231 is configured to be a part of one surface of the insert 130, rather than the entire surface.

[0043] 5, the strut bearing 200 of the second embodiment includes a lower housing 222. The lower housing 222 includes a radial portion 224 and an axial portion 225.

[0044] 5, a portion of the insert (metal insert) 230 according to the second embodiment is embedded in the axial portion 225. A portion of the insert 230 along the radial portion 224 is configured so that a first surface 231 is attached to the surface of the lower housing 222. As shown in FIG. 5, the surface opposite to the first surface 231 constitutes a second surface 232 that serves as a mounting surface for the isolator 240 .

[0045] The isolator 240 has a mounting surface 241 attached to the second surface 232 of the insert 230 .

[0046] Therefore, in the strut bearing 200 according to the second embodiment, although there is a mounting wall in the radial direction as in the prior art, there is no mounting wall in the axial direction, and the isolator 240 is directly attached to the insert 230.

[0047] Even with this configuration, it is possible to omit the mounting wall portion that was previously required in the height direction of strut bearing 200. Therefore, as with the first embodiment, it is possible to achieve a low vehicle profile while ensuring a certain width between the top of the suspension strut and the surface of the vehicle hood.

[0048] [Manufacturing method] A method for manufacturing a strut bearing according to the present invention is shown in FIG.

[0049] Conventional strut bearings have a metal insert embedded in the lower housing, which is manufactured by injection molding a hard plastic lower housing around the metal insert and then overmolding an isolator onto the lower housing.

[0050] In the strut bearing of the present invention, the isolator is attached directly to the insert. For this reason, as shown in step S1 in FIG. 6, first, a first injection molding step is performed on the insert to injection mold the lower housing.

[0051] After the first injection molding step is completed, the second injection molding step is performed to injection mold the isolator onto the insert as shown in S2.

[0052] By carrying out the above steps, it is possible to realize a configuration in which an insert is attached to the surface of the lower housing and an isolator is directly attached to this insert. [Industrial Applicability]

[0053] According to the strut bearing of the present invention, when a strut suspension is mounted on a vehicle using the strut bearing, the overall height of the vehicle can be kept low. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 100, 200 strut bearings 101 Spring 110 Rolling bearings 111 Outer ring (outer race) 112 Inner ring (inner race) 113 Rolling elements (balls) 114 Cage 121, 221 upper housing 122, 222 Lower Housing 130, 230 insert (metal insert) 131, 231 1st page 132, 232 2nd page 133 Through hole 140, 240 isolator 141, 241 mounting surface 142 Auxiliary joint 224 Radial section 225 Axial section

Claims

1. 1. A strut bearing for use in a suspension strut of a vehicle, comprising: An upper housing; Lower housing and a rolling bearing disposed between the upper housing and the lower housing; Equipped with The rolling bearing includes an inner ring, an outer ring, and rolling elements disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring. one of the inner ring and the outer ring is attached to the upper housing, and the other of the inner ring and the outer ring is attached to the lower housing; The lower housing includes: The insert and An isolator, is attached, the insert is attached to the lower housing at a first surface; The isolator has a mounting surface attached to the second surface of the insert, Thus, the isolator is at least partially attached directly to the insert. Strut bearing.

2. The insert has an auxiliary joint.

2. The strut bearing of claim 1.

3. The insert is provided with a through hole; The part of the isolator that passes through the through hole is joined to the lower housing to form the auxiliary joint.

3. The strut bearing of claim 2.

4. A plurality of the auxiliary joints are provided in the circumferential direction of the lower housing.

4. A strut bearing according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The plurality of auxiliary joints are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the lower housing.

5. The strut bearing of claim 4.

6. The through hole has a circular cross-sectional shape.

6. A strut bearing according to any one of claims 3 to 5.

7. The through hole has a polygonal cross-sectional shape.

6. A strut bearing according to any one of claims 3 to 5.

8. The lower housing includes: The radial part and An axial portion; Equipped with the second surface of the insert is provided only on the radial portion, The mounting surface of the isolator is attached to the second surface provided on the radial portion. A strut bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. 9. A method for manufacturing a strut bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the steps of: a first injection molding step of injection molding the lower housing onto the first surface of the insert; a second injection molding step of injection molding the isolator onto the second surface of the insert; A method comprising:

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