Upper mount and method for assembling the upper mount

Abstract

To provide an upper mount capable of avoiding interference between a caulking part of a cylindrical part of a lower metal fitting and an anti-vibration member under operation, to suppress cracks and the like from occurring on the anti-vibration member.SOLUTION: An upper mount comprises: an outer member 3 that is arranged at an upper end of a shock absorber 1, and has an upper metal fitting 7 and a lower metal fitting 8 fixed to a vehicle body side; an inner member 5 that is housed inside the outer member, and fixed to an upper end part 2a of a piston rod 2 of the shock absorber; a vibration control member 6 made of a rubber material that is interposed between the outer member and the inner member; a rod insertion hole 9 that is formed through the lower metal fitting of the outer member, and into which the upper end part of the piston rod is inserted; and a cylindrical holding fitting 10 that is caulked and fixed to a hole edge of the rod insertion hole. A cylindrical part 11 for caulking extending downward is provided on the hole edge of the rod insertion hole. The cylindrical part is caulked in a state where a hole edge part 10e of a through hole 10c provided at an upper end part of the holding fitting is fitted from below the cylindrical part 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an upper mount for a strut-type suspension of an automobile and a method for assembling the upper mount. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A known example of a conventional upper mount for a strut-type suspension for a vehicle is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.

[0003] FIG. 1 is a plan view of an upper mount to which the present invention and the prior art are applied, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1 showing a conventional upper mount, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1 showing an assembly procedure for the conventional upper mount, showing a state in which a retaining metal fitting has been preliminarily fixed to a lower metal fitting by crimping.

[0004] As shown in Figures 1 and 6, this conventional upper mount has an outer member 3 arranged on the upper end 2a of a piston rod 2 of a shock absorber 1, an inner member 5 housed inside this outer member 3 and fixed to the upper end 2a of the piston rod 2 with a nut 4, and a vibration-proof member 6 made of rubber interposed between the outer member 3 and the inner member 5.

[0005] The outer member 3 has an upper metal fitting 7 and a lower metal fitting 8 arranged in an overlapping state below the upper metal fitting 7. The upper metal fitting 7 has a cup-shaped main body 7a and a diamond-shaped flange-like fixing portion 7b provided integrally on the outer periphery of the lower end of the main body 7a.

[0006] The lower fitting 8 is formed in a diamond-shaped flat plate in a plan view, and has a rod insertion hole 9 formed through it in the center, into which the upper end portion 2a of the piston rod 2 is inserted.

[0007] A retaining metal fitting 10 that holds the upper end of a coil spring (not shown) is disposed below the lower metal fitting 8. The retaining metal fitting 10 is made of a thin metal plate and is formed in a cylindrical shape that expands in a stepped shape from an upper end 10a to a lower end 10b, and a through hole 10c through which the upper end 2a of the piston rod 2 passes is formed in the upper end 10a.

[0008] The inner member 5 is made of a metal material and formed into an approximately T-shaped cross section. It has a cylindrical portion 5a and a disk-shaped flange portion 5b integrally formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the cylindrical portion 5a. An insertion hole 5c is formed therethrough, and the upper end 2a of the piston rod 2 is inserted into the inner axial direction.

[0009] The vibration-proof member 6 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, with its inner periphery being vulcanization-bonded to the flange portion 5b of the inner member 5 and its outer periphery being held by fitting against the inner periphery of the main body 7a of the upper metal fitting 7. The lower end portion 6a of the vibration-proof member 6 is disposed in contact with the upper surface of the lower metal fitting 8.

[0010] 6 and 7, the upper end 10a of the retaining fitting 10 is connected and fixed to the hole edge of the rod insertion hole 9 of the lower fitting 8 by crimping. That is, as shown in Fig. 7, the cylindrical upper end 10a of the retaining fitting 10 is inserted from below to above the rod insertion hole 9 of the lower fitting 8, and then the upper end 10a is bent outward along the hole edge of the rod insertion hole 9 and crimped, thereby connecting and fixing the retaining fitting 10 to the lower fitting 8.

[0011] Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 6, the upper metal fitting 7, with the inner member 5 and vibration-proof member 6 previously housed and fixed therein, is placed on the top surface of the lower metal fitting 8, and the lower metal fitting 8 is connected and fixed at predetermined positions radially outwardly away from the main body 7a of the fixing portion 7b of the upper metal fitting 7 by welding multiple locations X, for example, by projection welding. When projection welding is performed, embossed portions 8b are formed in advance at the welding locations of the lower metal fitting 8, as shown in Fig. 7. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0012] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-210062 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0013] However, in the conventional upper mount, to connect and fix the retaining fitting 10 to the edge of the rod insertion hole 9 in the lower fitting 8, the upper end 10a of the retaining fitting 10 is inserted from below into the rod insertion hole 9 in the lower fitting 8 and bent radially outward and crimped, as described above. For this reason, when the upper fitting 7 is placed on the lower fitting 8 and fixed by welding, the tip 10d of the upper end 10a of the retaining fitting 10 comes into contact with the lower end 6a of the vibration-proof member 6.

[0014] For this reason, when shock absorber 1 operates in response to vehicle vibrations and vibration-proof member 6 is flexed and deformed, lower end 6a of said vibration-proof member 6 interferes with tip 10d of upper end 10a of retaining metal fitting 10, and over the long term, cracks may develop from the interfering portion of lower end 6a of vibration-proof member 6. As a result, the deformation characteristics of vibration-proof member 6 become more susceptible to change, and the durability of the upper mount decreases.

[0015] The present invention was devised in consideration of the technical problems with the conventional upper mounts described above, and aims to provide an upper mount that can avoid interference between the crimped portion of the lower metal fitting and the vibration-damping member during operation, thereby suppressing the occurrence of cracks, etc. in the vibration-damping member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0016] The invention according to claim 1 of the present application comprises an outer member that is disposed at an upper end of a shock absorber and has an upper metal fitting that is fixed to a vehicle body side and a lower metal fitting that is disposed below the upper metal fitting; an inner member that is housed within the outer member and fixed to an upper end of a piston rod of the shock absorber; a vibration-isolating member made of a rubber material interposed between the outer member and the inner member; a rod insertion hole formed through a lower metal fitting of the outer member and into which an upper end portion of the piston rod is inserted; a cylindrical retaining metal fitting that is fixed to an edge of the rod insertion hole by crimping; Equipped with The rod insertion hole has an edge provided with a cylindrical portion for crimping that extends downward, and the edge of the fixing hole at the upper end of the retaining fixture is fitted into the cylindrical portion from below and crimped and fixed by the cylindrical portion. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, interference between the crimped portion of the lower metal fitting and the vibration-damping member during operation can be avoided, suppressing the occurrence of cracks in the vibration-damping member, and as a result, the durability of the upper mount can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of an upper mount to which the present invention and the prior art are applied. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, showing the upper mount according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1 , showing an assembly procedure for the upper mount according to the present embodiment, with an upper metal fitting, a lower metal fitting, and a retaining metal fitting disassembled. [Figure 4] 1 , showing a procedure for assembling the upper mount according to the present embodiment and illustrating a state in which a retaining metal fitting is disposed from below the connected upper metal fitting and lower metal fitting. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB, showing a state in which a holding metal fitting is fixed by crimping to a lower metal fitting in this embodiment. [Figure 6] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1, showing a conventional upper mount. [Figure 7]2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1, illustrating a procedure for assembling a conventional upper mount, showing a state in which a retaining metal fitting is preliminarily fixed to a lower metal fitting by crimping. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a vehicle upper mount and an assembly method for the upper mount according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0020] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, showing an upper mount according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1, showing an upper metal fitting, a lower metal fitting, and a retaining metal fitting disassembled, illustrating the assembly procedure for the upper mount according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1, showing the state in which a retaining metal fitting is positioned from below the connected upper metal fittings and lower metal fittings. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB, showing the state in which the retaining metal fitting has been crimped and fixed to the lower metal fitting in this embodiment.

[0021] The upper mount is used to connect the upper end of a shock absorber used in a strut-type suspension of a vehicle to the vehicle body. In this embodiment, the upper side in Fig. 2 corresponds to the upper direction of the vehicle body, and the lower side corresponds to the lower direction of the vehicle body.

[0022] Incidentally, the basic structure of the upper mount is the same as that of the conventional technology shown in FIG. 6, so common components will be described with the same reference numbers.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the shock absorber 1 has a cylinder (not shown) and a piston rod 2 extending upward from the upper end of the cylinder, and an upper end 2a of the piston rod 2 is connected to a suspension member 01 of the vehicle body by an upper mount serving as a vibration-absorbing member. The upper mount has an outer member 3 arranged on the upper end 2a of the piston rod 2 of the shock absorber 1, an inner member 5 made of a ferrous metal that is housed inside the outer member 3 and fixed to the upper end 2a of the piston rod 2 with a nut 4, and a vibration-proof member 6 made of a rubber material that is interposed between the outer member 3 and the inner member 5.

[0024] The outer member 3 has an upper metal fitting 7 and a lower metal fitting 8 arranged to overlap the lower part of the upper metal fitting 7. The upper metal fitting 7 is integrally formed from an iron-based metal material and has a cup-shaped main body 7a and a diamond-shaped flange-like fixing portion 7b provided integrally on the outer periphery of the lower end of the main body 7a.

[0025] A pair of bolt insertion holes 7c, 7c through which a pair of connecting bolts 20, 20 for fixing to a suspension member 01 on the vehicle body side are inserted are formed at both ends of the fixing portion 7b.

[0026] The lower fitting 8 is made of an iron-based metal material and is formed in the shape of a diamond-shaped flat plate in a plan view, with a rod insertion hole 9 formed through it in the center, into which the upper end 2a of the piston rod 2 is inserted, and lower bolt insertion holes 8a, 8a through which the connecting bolts 20, 20 are inserted, formed through it at both ends. The fixing portion 7b of the upper fitting 7 and the lower fitting 8 are fastened and fixed to the suspension member 01 by connecting bolts 20, 20 inserted through the bolt insertion holes 7c, 7c, 8a, 8a and nuts 21, 21.

[0027] 1, 3 and 4, a cylindrical portion 11 for crimping is provided extending downward from the hole edge of the rod insertion hole 9. The outer circumferential surface of this cylindrical portion 11 is fitted with a hole edge portion 10e of the upper end portion 10a of the retaining metal fitting 10 during crimping, which will be described later, and is bent radially outward from below for crimping.

[0028] In addition, a retaining metal fitting 10 that retains the upper end of a bound stopper made of elastic material (not shown) is disposed below the lower metal fitting 8. The bound stopper is designed to abut against the cylinder when the shock absorber moves excessively in an expanding or contracting manner, thereby suppressing the excessive expanding or contracting movement of the shock absorber.

[0029] The retaining fitting 10 is made of a thin metal plate and is formed into a cylindrical shape that widens in a stepped shape from the upper end 10a to the lower end 10b, and the upper end 10a is formed with a through hole 10c that is a fixing hole through which the upper end 2a of the piston rod 2 is inserted. The upper end 10a of the retaining fitting 10 is formed in a substantially disk shape that can abut from below around the rod insertion hole 9 on the lower surface of the lower fitting 8, and the hole edge 10e that constitutes the through hole 10c is formed in a flat annular shape.

[0030] The inner member 5 has a structure slightly different from that of the conventional one. It is made of an iron-based metal material and has a generally T-shaped cross section. It has a short cylindrical portion 5a in the axial direction and a flange portion 5b integrally provided on the outer periphery of the upper end portion of the cylindrical portion 5a. An insertion hole 5c is formed therethrough in the internal axial direction, and the upper end portion 2a of the piston rod 2 is inserted therein.

[0031] The vibration-proof member 6 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, with its inner periphery being vulcanization-bonded to the tubular portion 5a and flange portion 5b of the inner member 5, and its outer periphery being fitted and held against the inner periphery of the main body 7a of the upper metal fitting 7. The lower end portion 6a of the vibration-proof member 6 is disposed in contact with the upper surface of the lower metal fitting 8.

[0032] The fixing portion 7b of the upper metal fitting 7 and the lower metal fitting 8 are welded and fixed by projection welding. As shown in Fig. 1, the welding positions P are set at six locations around the outer circumferential surface of the main body 7a of the fixing portion 7b, and are set at the maximum outer diameter position in the radial direction of the holding metal fitting 10, that is, inside the outer diameter of the lower end portion 10b. [Method of assembling the upper mount according to this embodiment] Hereinafter, a method of assembling the upper metal fitting 7, the lower metal fitting 8, and the retaining metal fitting 10 of the outer member 3 in the upper mount will be described with reference to Figs.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 3, the upper metal fitting 7, the lower metal fitting 8, and the retaining metal fitting 10 are disassembled in the vertical direction, and then, as shown in Fig. 4, the upper metal fitting 7 and the lower metal fitting 8 are first overlapped while being positioned in the vertical direction, and the fixing portion 7b of the upper metal fitting 7 and the lower metal fitting 8 are welded and fixed by projection welding. Note that the inner member 5 and the vibration-proof member 6 are housed and arranged inside the main body 7a of the upper metal fitting 7 by vulcanization adhesion. Also, six embossed portions 8b for projection welding are formed in advance at welding position P of the lower metal fitting 8.

[0034] As mentioned above, the six welding positions P of the projection welding are located near the outer peripheral surface of the main body 7a of the fixed portion 7b and radially inward of the maximum outer diameter position (Y) of the lower end portion 10b of the retaining fitting 10.

[0035] After the upper fitting 7 and the lower fitting 8 are fixed by welding, as shown in FIG. 4, the hole edge portion 10e of the upper end portion 10a of the retaining fitting 10 is fitted onto the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 11 of the lower fitting 8 from below, as indicated by the arrow.

[0036] 2 and 5, the cylindrical portion 11 is bent downward by a press machine (not shown) so as to enclose the hole edge portion 10e and is then crimped. As a result, the upper end portion 10a of the retaining metal fitting 10 is crimped and fixed to the lower portion of the lower metal fitting 8.

[0037] Through this series of operations, the connection between the upper metal fitting 7 and the lower metal fitting 8 of the outer member 3 and the fixing operation of the retaining metal fitting 10 to the lower metal fitting 8 are completed.

[0038] As described above, according to this embodiment, when the retaining fitting 10 is crimped to the lower fitting 8, the hole edge portion 10e of the upper end portion 10a of the retaining fitting 10 is fitted from below into the cylindrical portion 11 of the lower fitting 8, and the cylindrical portion 11 is crimped, thereby making it possible to firmly fix the retaining fitting 10. Moreover, the cylindrical portion 11 is bent radially outward from below at a position opposite the vibration-isolating member 6 and crimped, so that its tip does not come into contact at all with the lower end 6a of the vibration-isolating member 6. This makes it possible to avoid interference between the tip of the cylindrical portion 11 and the vibration-isolating member 6 when the shock absorber 1 is in operation, thereby suppressing the occurrence of cracks or partial breakage in the lower end 6a of the vibration-isolating member 6. As a result, it is possible to provide greater freedom in the vibration-isolating characteristics of the vibration-isolating member 6 and to improve the durability of the upper mount.

[0039] Also, according to this embodiment, as described above, the assembly order is to first connect and fix the upper fitting 7 and the lower fitting 8 by welding, and then the hole edge portion 10e of the upper end portion 10a of the retaining fitting 10 is fitted onto the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion 11 of the lower fitting 8, and the cylindrical portion 11 is bent downward and crimped. Therefore, the welding position P between the upper fitting 7 and the lower fitting 8 can be freely selected without being restricted by the position of the retaining fitting 10, and an inner position close to the cylindrical portion 11 can be selected.

[0040] That is, in the conventional upper mount described in the above publication, first, tip portion 10d of upper end portion 10a of retaining metal fitting 10 is crimped to the hole edge of rod insertion hole 9 in lower metal fitting 8, thereby fixing retaining metal fitting 10 to lower metal fitting 8. After that, upper metal fitting 7 and lower metal fitting 8 are connected and fixed by welding.

[0041] 6 and 7, the welding position X between the upper fitting 7 and the lower fitting 8 must be set at a position outside the position (dashed line Y) of the outer circumferential surface of the lower end 10b of the retaining fitting 10 due to the presence of the retaining fitting 10. In other words, the welding point must be set at a position sufficiently away radially outward from the rod insertion hole 9 of the lower fitting 8. As a result, there is a risk that the bonding strength between the upper fitting 7 and the lower fitting 8 will decrease.

[0042] 4 and 5, the upper fitting 7 and the lower fitting 8 are welded and fixed, and then the retaining fitting 10 is fixed via the cylindrical portion 11 of the lower fitting 8, so that the welding position P can be set inside the position (dashed dotted line Y) of the outer circumferential surface of the lower end portion 10b of the retaining fitting 10. This makes it possible to increase the bonding strength between the upper fitting 7 and the lower fitting 8.

[0043] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and for example, it is possible to further change the outer diameter of the outer circumferential surface of the retaining metal fitting, and it is also possible to arbitrarily change the projection welding position P. In addition, the welding method is not limited to projection welding, and may be, for example, spot welding. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1. Shock absorber 2...Piston rod 3...Outer member 5…Inner member 6...Vibration-proof member 6a...Lower end 7…Upper bracket 7a…Main body 7b…Fixed part 8…Lower metal fitting 9...Rod insertion hole 10...Retaining bracket 10a...Top end 10b…lower end 10c...Through hole (fixing hole) 10d…Tip 10e…hole edge 11...Cylindrical part P: welding position in this embodiment X: Conventional welding position

Claims

1. an outer member that is disposed at an upper end of the shock absorber and has an upper metal fitting that is fixed to a vehicle body side and a lower metal fitting that is disposed below the upper metal fitting; an inner member that is housed within the outer member and fixed to an upper end of a piston rod of the shock absorber; a vibration-isolating member made of a rubber material interposed between the outer member and the inner member; a rod insertion hole formed through a lower metal fitting of the outer member and into which an upper end portion of the piston rod is inserted; a cylindrical retaining metal fitting that is fixed to an edge of the rod insertion hole by crimping; Equipped with An upper mount characterized in that a cylindrical portion for crimping extending downward is provided on the hole edge of the rod insertion hole, and the hole edge of the fixing hole at the upper end of the retaining bracket is crimped and fixed by the cylindrical portion while being fitted into the cylindrical portion from below.

2. 2. The upper mount according to claim 1, the upper metal fitting has a cup-shaped main body and a plate-shaped fixing portion integrally provided on the outer periphery of a lower end portion of the main body, while the lower metal fitting is formed in a flat plate shape and has the rod insertion hole formed through the center, an upper mount characterized in that a fixed portion of the upper metal fitting and a lower metal fitting are connected and fixed by welding, and the welding position is set at a position on an axial extension line of the outer peripheral surface of the maximum diameter of the retaining metal fitting or at a position more inward than the extension line.

3. 3. The upper mount according to claim 2, The upper mount is characterized in that the welding between the upper metal fitting and the lower metal fitting is projection welding.

4. an outer member that is disposed at an upper end of the shock absorber and has an upper metal fitting that is fixed to a vehicle body side and a lower metal fitting that is disposed below the upper metal fitting; an inner member that is housed within the outer member and fixed to an upper end of a piston rod of the shock absorber; a vibration-isolating member made of a rubber material interposed between the outer member and the inner member; a cylindrical retaining metal fitting disposed under the lower metal fitting and having an upper end portion thereof with a fixing hole through which an upper end portion of the piston rod is inserted; a rod insertion hole formed through the lower fitting and into which an upper end of the piston rod is inserted; a cylindrical portion for crimping that is integrally provided on an edge of the rod insertion hole and extends downward; A method for assembling an upper mount comprising the steps of: The upper metal fitting and the lower metal fitting are fixed in advance at predetermined positions by welding, A method of assembling an upper mount, characterized in that the retaining metal fitting is then fixed to the lower part of the lower metal fitting by crimping the cylindrical portion with the fixing hole of the retaining metal fitting fitted from below into the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion of the lower metal fitting.

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