Stabilizer Bushing Pedestal Geometry for Durability and Ride Comfort
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional stabilizer bushings face challenges in improving durability while maintaining ride comfort, as increasing rubber hardness leads to harder spring characteristics and potential durability issues due to elastic strain concentration.
Innovation Solution
The stabilizer bushing incorporates a rigid pedestal member with an axial convex surface and a circumferential concave surface, allowing for adjustable spring characteristics by varying the thickness dimension between the stabilizer bar and the pedestal member, thereby enhancing durability and ride comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rubber hardness is increased to improve durability, then durability is improved, but spring characteristics in the prizing direction become harder, adversely affecting ride comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The pedestal member is provided only in the attachment-side portion of the bushing body, creating local reinforcement where needed for durability while leaving other portions with softer characteristics for ride comfort. This localized structural modification allows different regions of the bushing to have different functional properties.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a pedestal member is assembled on the vehicle body side to adjust support position and improve stability, then support position stability is improved, but spring characteristics in the prizing direction become even harder and elastic strain concentration increases, making durability more difficult to ensure
Solution Approach 1:
The pedestal member is strategically placed only in the attachment-side portion rather than throughout the entire bushing body, providing localized support position stability while avoiding excessive reinforcement that would cause elastic strain concentration and reduce durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The height of the pedestal member is controlled to be within a specific range (1mm to 5mm) to optimize the balance between support position stability and durability. This parameter control ensures that the pedestal provides sufficient stability without creating excessive rigidity that would lead to strain concentration.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the thickness dimension of the bushing body is reduced in the axial center portion by the axial convex surface, then hard spring characteristics are achieved for stable holding, but the bushing body may become too thin, potentially affecting durability
Solution Approach 1:
The axial convex surface creates a localized thin-walled region in the axial center portion of the bushing body, providing hard spring characteristics for stable holding. The convex surface is designed with controlled dimensions to achieve the desired stiffness while maintaining sufficient material thickness for durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding dimension of the axial convex surface is controlled to be within a specific range (0.5mm to 2mm) to optimize the balance between achieving hard spring characteristics for stable holding and maintaining sufficient thickness for durability. This parameter control prevents the bushing wall from becoming too thin.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables stable holding of the stabilizer bar, improves durability by limiting deformation, and achieves a balance between hard spring characteristics in the vertical direction and soft spring characteristics in the prizing direction, enhancing ride comfort.
Implementation Method 1
a bushing body comprising a tubular elastic body... the stabilizer bushing elastically holds the stabilizer bar in position... hard spring characteristics will be achieved by the protrusion of the axial convex surface... soft spring characteristics with respect to displacement of the stabilizer bar in the prizing direction
Data Source
AI summary
A stabilizer bushing for elastically holding a stabilizer bar in position in a vehicle and including a bushing body made of a tubular elastic body. The bushing body includes a linear portion on an inner circumferential surface. The linear portion is to be in close contact with an outer circumferential surface of the stabilizer bar. A rigid pedestal member is arranged in an attachment-side portion of the bushing body. The attachment-side portion is to be attached to a vehicle body side. An inside surface of the pedestal member that is in close contact with the bushing body includes an axial convex surface protruding gradually inward from both axial ends toward an axial center across an entire axial length in a portion located on a radially outer side of the linear portion, and a circumferential concave surface curving in a circumferential direction.