Patent Application
20090102218
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle body mount and more particularly, to a body mount assembly with hydraulic damping capability.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Shock absorbing body mounts are well known in the automotive industry for securing and supporting the body of a vehicle to its frame. The purpose of a body mount is to provide a tunable isolation/support element in vehicles with a body on frame construction. The body mounts act as a cushion between the occupants and the noise, vibration and impacts from the road that are transmitted through the suspension and frame. Body mounts attach to brackets that are welded to the frame rails. The body/cab is bolted to the top of the mounts.
The present disclosure provides a body mount assembly for reducing vibration between a vehicle body and a frame. The body mount includes a hydraulic radial bushing including an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve coaxial with the inner sleeve and having hydraulic fluid disposed within the hydraulic bushing for providing hydraulic radial damping. A bottom retainer is positioned below a first end of the hydraulic radial bushing. An upper retainer is positioned above a second end of the hydraulic radial bushing. A flange bracket includes an axial sleeve portion coaxially surrounding the hydraulic radial bushing and a plate portion extending from an end of the axial sleeve portion and including mounting apertures adapted for mounting the flange bracket to the vehicle frame. A vertical isolator is disposed between the upper retainer and the frame bracket.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
With reference to
The body mount assembly 10 includes a hydraulic radial bushing 16 including an inner sleeve 18 and an outer sleeve 20 coaxial with the inner sleeve 18 and having a hydraulic damping system 22 disposed between the inner sleeve 18 and the outer sleeve 20. The inner sleeve 18 of the radial bushing 16 can be a cylindrical tube having a generally cylindrical inner wall surface and a generally cylindrical outer wall surface, although other shapes can be utilized. The outer sleeve 20 of the radial bushing 16 can include an axially extending cylindrical portion 20a spaced radially outward from the inner sleeve 18 by a predetermined amount. The outer sleeve 20 can also include a radially outwardly extending flange portion 20b extending from a lower end of the cylindrical portion 20a. A gap is defined between the inner sleeve 18 and the outer sleeve 20 of the radial bushing 16 and the hydraulic damping system 22 is provided within the gap between the inner sleeve 18 and the outer sleeve 20. With reference to
A bottom retainer 44 is positioned below a lower end of the hydraulic radial bushing 16. The bottom retainer 44 can be formed from metal or other material and can include a central aperture 46 for receiving a mounting bolt 48 of the body mount assembly 10. An elastomeric bumper portion 49 can be provided on an upper surface of the bottom retainer. An upper retainer 50 is positioned above a second end of the hydraulic radial bushing 16. The upper retainer 50 can be made from metal or other materials, and can include a central aperture 52 for receiving the bolt 48 therein. The upper retainer 50 can include a bent axial flange 54 disposed at a radially outermost portion of the upper retainer 50.
A flange bracket 56 includes an axial sleeve portion 58 co-axially surrounding the hydraulic radial bushing 16 such that the axial portion 20a of the outer sleeve 20 of the hydraulic radial bushing 16 is in close proximity to the axial portion 58 of the flange bracket 56. The flange bracket 56 also includes a plate portion 60 extending radially outward from an end of the axial sleeve portion 58 and including mounting apertures 62 for receiving mounting bolts 64 for mounting the flange bracket 56 to the vehicle frame 14. The axially extending portion 58 of the flange bracket 56 can have an end portion 58a disposed against the radially extending flange portion 20b of the outer sleeve 20 of the radial bushing 16.
A vertical isolator 70 can be located between the upper retainer 50 and the flange bracket 56. The vertical isolator 70 can have a generally cylindrical shape with a generally cylindrical inner surface 72 to receive the inner sleeve 18 of the hydraulic radial bushing 16. A plate/washer 76 can be molded into the lower portion of the vertical isolator 70 or otherwise disposed between a bottom surface of the vertical isolator 70 and the frame bracket 56. The vertical isolator 70 can be made from a microcellular urethane, or can be formed from other known vibration isolation materials.
It should be noted that the height and diameter of the vertical isolator 70 can be specifically tuned to a specific application. Furthermore, the size and shape of the fluid passages of the hydraulic radial bushing 16 can be varied in order to provide desired lateral and fore/aft vibration characteristics.
