The invention relates to a vibration-damping coupling device for coupling together two elements that vibrate relative to each other, e.g. a vehicle exhaust mounting.
More precisely, the invention relates to a vibration-damping coupling device for coupling a vibrating structure element to a non-vibrating structure element, said device comprising:
Current vibration-damping coupling devices such as those described in Document EP-B1-0 816 734 comprise a device of the above-described type having a limiter element that is fastened removably.
In that type of device, the limiter is not fastened to the elastomer body, and therefore might become detached from the elastomer body, giving rise to degradation in the endurance of the elastomer body, or even to said body becoming torn under a traction force that is too large.
A particular object of the present invention is to mitigate that drawback.
To this end, according to the invention, a vibration-damping device of the type in question is characterized in that the limiter band is stitched to the elastomer body at least over one zone.
By means of these provisions, the limiter is assembled to the elastomer body in non-removable manner.
In various embodiments of the device of the invention, it is optionally possible to make use of one or more of the following provisions:
The invention also provides a manufacturing method in which the body and the limiter band are molded independently, the limiter band is positioned around the elastomer body, then the limiter band is stitched to the elastomer body, and finally the assembly formed by the band and by the elastomer body is put in place on the structure elements.
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention appear on reading the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
In the various figures, like references designate elements that are identical or similar.
As shown in
Each of the two fastening portions 12, 14 is formed of a circular opening into which a respective portion of the structure elements is inserted. Said openings 12, 14 are disposed at opposite ends from each other in the direction of movement in the elastomer body 10, and they are interconnected by two parallel branches 16, 18 extending in the direction of movement, and defining a central opening 20 formed so as to absorb the vibration.
As shown in
The device further comprises a flexible and oblong limiter band 22 surrounding the elastomer body 10 at a distance d. The band 22 is made of a material, such as Rayon webbing, which is less extensible than the material of the elastomer body 10, so as to limit the extent to which the two structure elements 11, 13 can move relative to each other.
The limiter band 22 is assembled to the elastomer body 10 by means of stitching 24 in order to hold the elastomer body 10 in non-removable manner inside the band 22.
As shown in
The stitching 24 shown in
Thus, when the elastomer body 22 is subjected to the movements of the structure elements, there is no risk of the limiter band 22 being detached from the elastomer body 10, regardless of the direction of movement.
In
The stitching is performed with nylon stitching thread, e.g. of the type used in seatbelts.
The invention also relates to a method manufacturing a vibration-damping coupling device of the invention, which method comprises the steps of molding the elastomer body 10, molding the limiter band 22 in an independent mold, positioning the limiter band 22 around the elastomer body, a step consisting in stitching the limiter band 22 to the elastomer body 10, and finally positioning the coupling device on the structure elements.
The invention is in no way limited to the described embodiments, which are given merely by way of example.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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FR 04 02147 | Mar 2004 | FR | national |