The present invention relates to a damping stopper having both a damping function and a stopper function. The damping stopper of the present invention is installed in a steering device and the like in the field of automobile equipment, for example, or used in the field of industrial equipment and the like.
Heretofore, a damping stopper 51 illustrated in
When the shaft 71 is displaced axially relative to the housing 61 in the state of
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 4255832
However, there is concern in the damping stopper 51 of the above-described configuration that, when the elastic body 53 is compressed and deformed, the elastic body 53 is caught in a gap c between the housing 61 and the metal fitting 52 to be broken.
In order to prevent the breakage due to the catching of the elastic body 53, it is considered that a metal fitting 54 is connected also to the tip side of the elastic body 53, so that the elastic body 53 is compressed and deformed between the pair of metal fittings 52 and 54 as illustrated in FIG. 3 as an reference example, in the example of
However, the metal fitting 54 has high friction in view of the material, and thus is hard to smoothly slide relative to the end surface portion 73 on the shaft 71 side.
Therefore, when the damping stopper 51 of
Therefore, the use of the damping stopper 51 of
In view of the above-described points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a damping stopper which can be used not only in a mechanism in which a housing and a shaft are displaced axially relative to each other but in a mechanism in which a housing and a shaft are displaced axially relative to each other and are rotated relative to each other.
In order to achieve the object, a damping stopper of the present invention is attached to a space portion between an end surface portion provided on housing side and an end surface portion provided on shaft side which is displaced axially relative to the housing and is rotated relative to the housing and has a metal fitting held on one of the end surface portions, an elastic body connected to the metal fitting, and a sliding member connected to the elastic body, in which the sliding member contacts the other end surface portion so as to be able to contact/separate from the other end surface portion and the sliding member is slidable and rotatable relative to the other end surface portion when the shaft is rotated in a state where the sliding member contacts the other end surface portion.
In order to prevent the occurrence of a twist in the elastic body when the shaft is rotated relative to the housing, a situation may be created in which the rotation torque of the shaft is hard to be transmitted to the elastic body when the damping stopper is attached to the housing side, and a situation may be created in which the elastic body is easily rotated together with the shaft when the damping stopper is attached to the shaft side. Therefore, the present invention is configured so that the sliding member is connected to the elastic body and the sliding member is brought into contact with a mating component (shaft or housing) from such a viewpoint.
More specifically, when the damping stopper is attached to the housing side, the sliding member contacts the shaft side to relatively slide and rotate. Therefore, a situation is created in which the rotation torque of the shaft is hard to be transmitted to the elastic body.
When the damping stopper is attached to the shaft side, the sliding member contacts the housing side to slide and rotate. Therefore, a situation is created in h the elastic body is easily rotated together with the shaft.
The sliding member is preferably one containing a resin component having low friction as compared with a metal fitting.
The present invention can provide a damping stopper which can be used not only in a mechanism in which a housing and a shaft are displaced axially relative to each other but in a mechanism in which a housing and a shaft are displaced axially relative to each other and are rotated relative to each other because a sliding member is connected to an elastic body.
The present invention includes the following embodiments.
(1) In the present invention, materials (for example, polyacetal, polyamide, and the like) slidable with low friction are applied as a substituent for a conventional metal ring so as to enable the sliding with a mating component, and thus the present invention can be applied to a mechanism in which a housing and a shaft are rotated relative to each other.
(2) The present invention can achieve energy absorption or a hitting sound reduction when a mating component collides or vibrates also in a mechanism in which a housing and a shaft are rotated relative to each other.
(3) The present invention has performance capable of absorbing/reducing the energy or the vibration also in a mechanism in which a housing and a shaft are rotated relative to each other by applying a material slidable with low friction to a ring in a damping stopper containing an elastic body. Moreover, it will enable a reduction in energy and vibration not only for simple input in the axial direction or the rotation direction but for composite input.
Hereinafter, examples of the present invention are described with reference to the drawings.
As illustrated in
The damping stopper 11 has a plate-shaped annular metal fitting 12 fixed to the housing 61 and held on the end surface portion 63 on the housing 61 side, an annular elastic body 13 connected to the metal fitting 12 and containing a rubber-like elastic body, and a sliding member 14 connected to the elastic body 13.
The sliding member 14 is formed into an annular shape by a resin component having low friction as compared with a metal fitting. As specific examples of resin materials, polyacetal, polyimide, or the like can be mentioned. The sliding member 14 contacts the shaft 71 so as to be able to contact/separate from the shaft 17 and the sliding member 14 is smoothly slidable and rotatable relative to the shaft 71 when the shaft 71 is rotated in a state where the sliding member 14 contacts the shaft 71. Therefore, the sliding member 14 has a plate-shaped end surface 14a which is perpendicular to the axis, and freely to contact and slide on the end surface portion 73 on the shaft 71 side.
When the shaft 71 is displaced axially (arrow C) relative to the housing 61 in a state where the damping stopper 11 of the above-described configuration is attached to the housing 61 side as illustrated in
When the shaft 71 is rotated (arrow D) during the displacement or after the displacement of the shaft 71, the rotation torque is transmitted to the sliding member 14 from the shaft 71 but the sliding member 14 smoothly slides and rotates relative to the shaft 71. Therefore, a twist does not occur in the elastic body 13, and thus the occurrence of breakage and a durability reduction due to the occurrence of the twist in the elastic body 13 can be prevented.
As an attachment structure of the damping stopper 11, the damping stopper 11 may be fixed to the shaft 71 side and, more specifically, the damping stopper 11 may have the plate-shaped annular metal fitting 12 fixed to the shaft 71 and held on the end surface portion 73 on the shaft 71 side, the annular elastic body 13 connected to the metal fitting 12 and containing a rubber-like elastic body, and the sliding member 14 connected to the elastic body 13.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2016-047812 | Mar 2016 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2017/008874 | 3/7/2017 | WO | 00 |