This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. CN 201710659877.5, filed Aug. 4, 2017, the entire contents thereof being incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to stabilizer devices, in particular, to a stabilizer assembly for improving lateral stiffness of a vehicle.
A vehicle normally includes a chassis to support various parts of the vehicle. The chassis is configured to decrease vibrations during driving, and improve the stability of the vehicle. A front part of the chassis disposed at a front axle of the vehicle, also called a subframe, is used for supporting an engine of the vehicle. The subframe generally includes a stabilizer bar for enhancing the lateral stability. As a body of the subframe supports various different parts having complicated structures and the subframe has size limitation, a stabilizer bar is conventionally arranged at a position superimposed with the body of the subframe. For such subframe, the size of the body of the subframe should be large for mounting the stabilizer bar. In addition, the enforcement brackets disposed at two ends of the gap may not have desired supporting effects. There is a need for a lateral stabilizer assembly with a simple structure and sufficient lateral stability.
The present disclosure provides a stabilizer assembly which is easy in structure and simple to manufacture. Further, the stabilizer assembly has enhanced stiffness and lateral stability.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a stabilizer assembly for a vehicle is provided. The stabilizer assembly includes a base panel and a stabilizer bar coupled with the base panel. The base panel includes a middle panel and two side panels spaced apart each other and extending from an inner edge of the middle panel by a first distance in a direction substantially perpendicular to a lateral direction of the middle panel. The stabilizer bar is coupled with the two side panels. A middle portion of the stabilizer bar between the two side panels and the inner edge of the middle panel define a second distance, and the second distance is greater than the first distance.
In some embodiments, the stabilizer bar is coupled with the two side panels via two brackets, respectively.
In some embodiments, the stabilizer assembly further includes two bushings disposed between the stabilizer bar and the two brackets respectively, and each of the bushings surrounds at least a portion of the stabilizer bar.
In some embodiments, the bushings are rubber parts coupled on the brackets via vulcanization.
In some embodiments, the stabilizer assembly further includes two bearings fixed on the side panels, respectively, and each of the bearings is disposed between the stabilizer bar and one of the bushings.
In some embodiments, the stabilizer assembly further includes two flanges fixed on the stabilizer bar and adjacent to the two brackets.
In some embodiments, the two flanges contact with two bushings, respectively, to prevent lateral movement of the stabilizer bar.
In some embodiments, each of the side panels includes a first surface coplanar with an upper surface of the middle panel, and each of the brackets includes a first end portion, a second end portion opposite to the first end, and a middle portion between the first and second ends.
In some embodiments, both the first and second end portions of each of the brackets are connected on the first surface of the side panel.
In some embodiments, each of the side panels includes a second surface extending from the first surface and a connection portion extending from the second surface. The second surface is between the first surface and the connection portion and forms a first angle with the first surface, the connection portion forms a second angle with the second surface. The first and second end portions of each of the brackets are connected with the first surface and the connection portion, respectively.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a stabilizer assembly for a vehicle is provided. The stabilizer assembly includes a base panel disposed below an engine of the vehicle, a first bracket and a second bracket coupled with the base panel, and a stabilizer bar coupled with the base panel via the first and second brackets. The base panel includes a middle panel, a first side panel, and a second side panel spaced apart from the first side panel. The first and second panels extend from an inner edge of the middle panel by a first distance in a direction substantially perpendicular to the inner edge of the middle panel. The middle panel, and the first and second side panel define a gap area corresponding to a position of the engine. The first and second brackets are coupled with the first and second side panels respectively. The stabilizer bar is rotatable about a central axis of the stabilizer bar to deliver lateral loads between the first and second side panels. The stabilizer bar includes a middle portion between the first and second side panels. The middle portion is positioned substantially along a line that passes through distal ends of the first and second side panels or offset from the line toward a front of the vehicle.
In some embodiments, a central axis of the middle portion is below or coplanar to an upper surface of the middle panel.
In some embodiments, the base panel is a part of a chassis of the vehicle, and the base panel is coupled to a body of the vehicle at positions spaced away from the first and second end panels.
In some embodiments, the stabilizer bar includes two side bars connected with two ends of the middle portion, the two side bars are connected with shock absorbers of the vehicle via linkages, respectively.
In some embodiments, the stabilizer bar includes two side bars connected at two ends of the middle portion and disposed outside the first and second brackets, respectively. The middle portion includes a body and two transition portions extending from two ends of the body to the side bars, respectively.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Example embodiments will be more clearly understood from the following brief description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings represent non-limiting, example embodiments as described herein.
It should be noted that these figures are intended to illustrate the general characteristics of methods, structure and/or materials utilized in certain example embodiments and to supplement the written description provided below. These drawings are not, however, to scale and may not precisely reflect the precise structural or performance characteristics of any given embodiment, and should not be interpreted as defining or limiting the range of values or properties encompassed by example embodiments. The use of similar or identical reference numbers in the various drawings is intended to indicate the presence of a similar or identical element or feature.
The disclosed stabilizer assemblies will become better understood through review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the figures. The detailed description and figures provide merely examples of the various inventions described herein. Those skilled in the art will understand that the disclosed examples may be varied, modified, and altered without departing from the scope of the inventions described herein. Many variations are contemplated for different applications and design considerations; however, for the sake of brevity, each and every contemplated variation is not individually described in the following detailed description.
Throughout the following detailed description, examples of various stabilizer assemblies are provided. Related features in the examples may be identical, similar, or dissimilar in different examples. For the sake of brevity, related features will not be redundantly explained in each example. Instead, the use of related feature names will cue the reader that the feature with a related feature name may be similar to the related feature in an example explained previously. Features specific to a given example will be described in that particular example. The reader should understand that a given feature need not be the same or similar to the specific portrayal of a related feature in any given figure or example.
Referring to
The base panel 100 includes a middle panel 110 and two side panels extending from an edge of the middle panel 110 by a determined distance, such as a first side panel 120 and a second side panel 130. The base panel 100 may be a part of a chassis for supporting a body of the vehicle, and connected with the body of the vehicle at positions away from the first or second side panels 120, 130. Referring to
The first side panel 120 and the second side panel 130 may extend from the first edge 112 of the middle panel 110 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the lateral direction X. The first and second side panels 120, 130 are spaced apart and extending from the first edge 112 by a substantially same distance, i.e., a first distance A. It will be appreciated that the first distance A may be a distance between a line C and the first edge 112 of the middle panel 110. The line C connects ends 123, 125 of the first and second side panels 120, 130 which are spaced away from the middle panel 110. Referring to
In some embodiments, as shown in
Referring to
The stabilizer bar 300 may improve the lateral stiffness of the base panel 100. The middle portion 310 is arranged away from the middle panel 110 of the base panel 100. That is, the projection of the middle portion 310 in a vertical direction or a direction perpendicular to an upper surface 121 of the middle panel 110 is spaced apart from the first edge 112 of the middle panel 110 with the second distance B. In this way, the middle panel 110 may be formed with a smaller size and less materials, which reduces the total weight and manufacturing cost of the vehicle.
In addition, the stabilizer bar 300 is coupled to the first side panel 120 and the second side panel 130 without direct connection with the middle panel 110, and thus there is no need for placing fasteners on the middle panel 110 for fixing the stabilizer bar 300. In this way, more room is provided on the middle panel 110 for connecting with other parts of the vehicle, such as a torque converter, a steering device, and a transmission. Referring to
In some embodiments, the middle portion 310 of the stabilizer bar 300 includes a body 312a extending substantially parallel to the lateral direction X and two transition portions 312b bending outwards from two ends of the body 312a to the side bars 320. The transition portions 312b and the side bars 320 may form as vertical edges of the U-shaped stabilizer bar 300. When the body of the vehicle is tilted, the stabilizer bar 300 may twist against the tilting and provide lateral stability for the vehicle. In addition, the curved transition portions 312b increases a total length of the stabilizer bar 300 between the first bracket 210 and the second bracket 220, thus reducing a tension applied on the stabilizer bar 30X). In this way, the stabilizer bar 300 may be constructed with a smaller diameter.
In some embodiments, the stabilizer bar 300 may be coupled to the first side panel 120 and the second side panel 130 via the first bracket 210 and the second bracket 220 respectively. Two ends of the middle portion 310, may be received in the first bracket 210 and the second bracket 220, respectively, which restricts the movements of the stabilizer bar 300 in an up-down direction. During driving of the vehicle, lateral loads of the vehicle may be delivered from the first side panel 120 to the second side panel 130 via the middle portion 310 of the stabilizer bar 300, and vice versa.
In some embodiments, a bushing 400 is provided between the middle portion 310 of the stabilizer bar 300 and the first bracket 210 or the second bracket 220. Referring to
In some embodiments, the bushing 400 may be formed with flexible materials, such as rubber. The bushing 400 is used to reduce friction between the stabilizer bar 300 and the base panel 100 or the first or second brackets 210, 220, such that the usage life of the stabilizer assembly 10 may be increased. In addition, the bushing 400 may buffer movements of the stabilizer bar 300 relative to the base panel 100, thus reducing the noise vibration harshness (NVH) of the vehicle. In some embodiments, the bushing 400 may be rubber parts connected to the first bracket 210 or the second bracket 220 via vulcanization. In this way, the bushing 400 and the first bracket 210 or the second bracket 220 may be formed integrally, thus the manufacturing process may be simplified and the cost can be reduced.
In some embodiments, as shown in
Referring to
It should be appreciated that “external side of the first bracket 210” refers to a side of the first bracket 210 distal from the middle portion 310, and “internal side of the first bracket 210” refers to a side of the first bracket 210 adjacent to the middle portion 310. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, two flanges may be disposed at two ends of the middle portion 310 of the stabilizer bar 300 and adjacent to the internal sides of the first bracket 210 and the second bracket 220 respectively (not shown).
In some embodiments, the flange 330 may have an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the bushing 400 or even larger than the outer diameter of the first or second brackets 210, 220 (not shown).
In some embodiments, as shown in
With reference to
In some embodiments, as shown in
Referring to
Alternatively, in embodiments as shown in
It will be appreciated that connections between the first bracket 210 and the first side panel 120 are not limited to embodiments as shown in
In some embodiments, the first and second end portions 212, 214 of the first bracket 210 may be both connected on the second surface 124 of the first side panel 120 (not shown). In such embodiments, the second surface may have a relatively larger height to form sufficient support for the first bracket 210.
It will be appreciated that, the second side panel 130, the second bracket 220, and the connection therebetween are the same or similar to the first side panel 120, the first bracket 210, and the connection therebetween as described above, and will not be described in detail.
The stabilizer assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosure is simple in structure and easy to manufacture. Further, the lateral stability or stiffness of the vehicle may be improved, and thus transient operation of the vehicle may be enhanced.
The stabilizer assembly of the present disclosure may be used in a passenger vehicle, a commercial vehicle, or various other vehicles, such as agriculture machines, transportation ships, or airplanes. Those applications should be considered as included in the scope of term “vehicle” cited in this disclosure.
The disclosure above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in a particular form, the specific embodiments disclosed and illustrated above are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed above and inherent to those skilled in the art pertaining to such inventions.
The following claims particularly point out certain combinations and subcombinations regarded as novel and nonobvious. These claims may refer to “an” element or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof. Such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. Other combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of the present claims or through presentation of new claims in this or a related application.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201710659877.5 | Aug 2017 | CN | national |