Patent Application
20100127437
The present disclosure relates to suspension systems for motor vehicles, and more particularly to a tolerance eliminating assembly retainer for use in a jounce bumper assembly in a suspension system of a motor vehicle.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Jounce bumper assemblies may be used in suspension systems of motor vehicles. Such assemblies may require multiple components to be secured together. Due to variations in the manufacturing process and the high cost to produce components of exact dimensions, each individual finished component may not be the ideal dimensions according to design. If the dimensions of the component fall within a range of an allowed size difference, they may be within an acceptable dimensional tolerance and may be used in the assemblies. While a small dimensional difference in one component may not noticeably affect the assembly, the total dimensional difference that may result from multiple components of varying dimensional tolerances can lead to unwanted noise or loose assembly of the components.
The present invention provides a retainer for a jounce bumper assembly which eliminates noise and loose assembly of components by eliminating the total dimensional variation, or tolerance stack-up, of multiple components in the assembly. The retainer has a cavity to retain an end of the jounce bumper. The retainer also has distinctive interface clips to secure itself and the dust shield to a top mount of a motor vehicle. Thus, the retainer provides a unique way to securely attach the jounce bumper and dust shield to the top mount of a motor vehicle.
Due to the elastic properties of the interface clip, components of the assembly can be easily connected. Due to the tensile properties of the interface clip, once components are connected, the components are kept in tension and securely held throughout the tolerance range of the component dimensions. By securing the jounce bumper assembly in such a fashion, the retainer can reduce or eliminate loose assembly and noise between components due to tolerance stack-up. Use of the present novel retainer will also decrease manufacturing costs, as the retainer will allow for more lenient tolerance ranges of the various components in the assembly.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary 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 illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
With reference to
The top mount 22 includes a metal housing 24, an elastomeric body 26, a spring isolator 28 and a metal washer insert 30. An aperture in the metal insert 30 receives a necked down portion 32 of piston rod 18. Necked down portion 32 can be secured to metal insert 30 by nut 34.
Dust shield 36 extends from the bottom of top mount 22 to shock absorber body 38 that interfaces with striker cap 20. Dust shield 36 may be slip fit or clamped to shock absorber body 38 and prevents debris from getting into assembly 10.
With further reference to
With further reference to
With further reference to
According to a preferred embodiment, one or more retainer clips 42 can be coupled to top surface 46 at selected intervals around aperture 16 with projection 50 extending away from piston rod 18. In the case of a single clip, the clip would be a continuous solid flexible ring. The contact portion 66 of each retainer clip 42 defines a contact face diameter D around aperture 16, which is larger than the mating surface diameter of top mount 22, thus creating constant tension between the contact portion 66 and the mating surface diameters. Outboard portion 60 can be angled A1 outward between 5 and 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis 62. Inboard portion 64 can be angled outward between 5 and 45 degrees from an axis perpendicular to axis 62. Contact portion 66 can be angled between 5 and 45 degrees outward from the longitudinal axis 62. The angles of the outboard portion 60, inboard portion 64 and contact portion 66 can be selected for a specific application based upon tolerance stack-ups.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
