JPS6222013B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a shock absorber with an air suspension capable of adjusting vehicle height.

Some shock absorbers used in vehicles have an air spring in addition to a coil spring so that the vehicle height can be automatically adjusted by controlling the air supply pressure.

Air springs are normally placed at the top of the shock absorber, which is installed in an upright position, on the piston rod side, and apply a biasing force in the direction of rod extension. However, when installing a coil spring on the outside, the air spring The diameter of the spring winding to cover the outer circumference of the cover has become considerably large,
The diameter of the flange of the spring receiver increases, and the mounting and arrangement space becomes unreasonable, and there are other problems such as it becomes extremely difficult to connect the piping (hose) that connects the air spring to the air source.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems by inverting the shock absorber body, positioning the air spring below the spring of the coil spring, and arranging the coil spring so as to be offset from the outer periphery of the cover of the air spring. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a shock absorber that achieves the following. Another object of the present invention is to provide a shock absorber that protects the elastic membrane by preventing dust from entering the elastic membrane that defines the air chamber during inversion.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a monocylindrical gas-filled shock absorber body, in which a piston 3 is slidably housed inside a cylinder 2, and an oil chamber 4A.
and 4B. The piston rod 5 passes through a bearing 6 at the end of the cylinder, and a bracket 7B is attached to that end.

On the other hand, a mounting member 7A is also fixed to the top end of the cylinder 2, and the shock absorber body 1 is mounted on the vehicle (between the vehicle body and the axle) with the mounting member 7A facing upward.
mounted on.

As usual, install the piston rod side bracket 7.
If B is placed on the upper side in an upright position, then this embodiment can be said to be installed in an inverted position.

The oil chamber 4A located at the upper part is filled with gas to ensure a volume corresponding to the intrusion volume of the piston rod 5, thereby forming a gas layer 8.

Note that the piston 3 is provided with a damping valve (not shown), which provides resistance to the flow of hydraulic oil when the piston is operated on the extension side, for example, to provide a predetermined damping force.

Next, an air spring 10 is arranged around the outer periphery of the piston rod 5 and biases the rod toward expansion.

This air spring 10 is connected to the piston rod 5
An air chamber 13 defined by an elastic membrane (such as a diaphragm) 12 is provided inside a cover tube 11 fixed to an end of the cover tube 11 .

The elastic membrane 12 has one end clamped and fixed to the middle part of the inner circumferential surface of the cover 11, and the other end fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder 2 in the same way, so that the piston rod 5 can move in the extension side by a predetermined stroke. The middle portion is bent between the cover tube 11 and the cylinder 2.

A sealed air chamber 13 defined by the elastic membrane 12 is connected to an air supply source via a pressure regulating plug 15 attached to the cover cylinder 11, and is filled with air at a predetermined pressure.

Further, a cushion rubber 16 for preventing bottoming is disposed in the air chamber 13, and comes into contact with the end face plate 17 of the cylinder 2 near the maximum contraction of the piston rod 5 to absorb shock.

The tip end 18 of the cover cylinder 11 is extended to substantially the same position as the piston 3 so as to cover almost the end of the cylinder 2 at the most retracted position, and
A spring receiver 19 for a coil spring (not shown) that is mounted between the tip portion 18 and the vehicle body is integrally attached to the outside of the tip portion 18 .

Further, a dust seal 20 is attached to the inner periphery of the tip 18 to prevent dust including pebbles from entering through the sliding surface with the cylinder 2.

With the above configuration, this shock absorber is configured so that the piston rod 5 is on the lower side, that is, the mounting member 7A is connected to the vehicle body side bracket 7B to the axle side, and the spring receiver is attached to the spring receiver. The piston rod 5 is urged toward the extension side by a suspension spring (not shown) and an air spring 10 interposed between the piston rod 19 and the vehicle body.

When an impact from the road surface is applied while the vehicle is running, the piston 3 moves toward the oil chamber 4A while compressing the air spring 10, causing the piston rod 5 to contract, thereby transmitting the impact to the vehicle body. On the other hand, during the expansion side operation after contraction, the piston 3
The function of the damping valve provided in the oil chamber 4B restricts the flow of hydraulic oil from the oil chamber 4B to the oil chamber 4A side, thereby exerting a vibration damping effect.

By the way, in this invention, since the shock absorber main body 1 is in an inverted state, the cover cylinder 11 is on the so-called lower side of the suspension spring, and the base end of the cover cylinder 11 (the right end in the figure)
Since the coil spring is not covered by the coil spring, the winding diameter of the suspension spring does not become very large.Therefore, there is no need to install the shock absorber or the need for space. Piping such as this is easily transmitted.

In addition, the cover tube 11 is also used to prevent flying stones from the road surface.
Therefore, damage to the shock absorber body 1 can be prevented.

In the above embodiment, the single-cylinder gas-filled shock absorber main body 1 is exemplified as one in which the upper part of the cylinder 2 has an expanded diameter, but the gas chamber is separated by a straight type or a free piston. It will be easily understood that the present invention can be applied to any type of device.

Furthermore, in order to improve the heat dissipation of the shock absorber body 1, air from a compressor or the like may be circulated through the space between the cover tube 11 and the cylinder 2 for forced cooling.

As described above, in the present invention, since the shock absorber main body is in an inverted state, the cover tube is on the so-called lower side of the suspension spring, and the coil spring does not cover the base end of the cover tube. The winding diameter of the suspension spring is not very large, so there is no need to install a shock absorber or take up too much space, making the overall structure more compact. Also, piping of air tubes, etc. to the plug of the cover cylinder is easy, and the unsprung area is reduced. Since it is lighter, the tire's ability to follow the road surface is better, and by providing a dust tool that slides on the outer circumference of the cylinder, it is possible to prevent dust and rainwater from entering through the upper opening of the cover cylinder, and protect the elastic membrane. This also has the effect of ensuring smooth sliding properties.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figure is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1...Shock absorber body, 2...Cylinder, 3...Piston, 4A, 4B...Oil chamber, 5...
...Piston rod, 6...Bearing, 7A...
Mounting member, 7B... Bracket, 10... Air spring, 11... Cover tube, 12... Elastic membrane,
13... Air chamber, 16... Cushion rubber, 18... Tip, 19... Piston receiver, 2
0...Dust seal.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. The piston rod of the shock absorber main body is connected to the axle side, and the head of the cylinder is connected to the vehicle body side, while the base of the cover cylinder located on the outer periphery of the cylinder is connected to the tip of the piston rod. An inverted air spring is formed between the cover tube and the cylinder via an elastic membrane, and a spring receiver for a suspension spring installed between the cover tube and the vehicle body is formed at the upper end of the cover tube. A shock absorber characterized by having a contacting dust seal. 2. The shock absorber according to claim 1, wherein the shock absorber main body is a monocylindrical gas-filled shock absorber.