Muffled self-aligning bearing in decoupling belt tensioning units

Abstract

A belt tensioner (1) for a belt drive for auxiliary units in an internal combustion engine, including a tensioner housing (2), a tensioner lever (3) and a plain bearing for radially mounting the tensioner lever (3) in the tensioner housing (2) in order to allow the tensioner lever (3) to pivot; a bearing partner associated with the tensioner lever (3) is in sliding contact with a second bearing partner associated with the tensioner housing (2). One of the two bearing partners is suspended in a radially elastic manner on the associated part that supports the bearing partner in a rotationally fixed manner.

Claims

1. A belt tensioner for an auxiliary unit belt drive of an internal combustion engine, the belt tensioner comprising: a tensioner housing, a tensioner lever, a sliding bearing for pivoting radial support of the tensioner lever in the tensioner housing, a first bearing partner associated with the tensioner lever located in sliding contact with a second bearing partner allocated to the tensioner housing, one of the first or second bearing partners is mounted in a radially elastic manner on an associated one of the tensioner lever or the tensioner housing in a rotationally fixed manner.

2. The belt tensioner according to claim 1, wherein the rotationally fixed one of the first or second bearing partners has a two-part construction, including a base body that is separate from a sliding device.

3. The belt tensioner according to claim 2, wherein the sliding device is formed as an intermediate ring, and the base body and the sliding device from the tensioner housing.

4. The belt tensioner according to claim 2, wherein the sliding device is held rotationally locked on the base body but displaceable in a radial direction relative to the base body.

5. The belt tensioner according to claim 2, further comprising an elastic damping component located between the base body and the sliding device, and the elastic damping component is formed from a more elastic material than at least one of the base body or the sliding device.

6. The belt tensioner according to claim 3, wherein the intermediate ring is rotationally locked with a non-positive fit, material fit, or positive fit connection on the base body of the tensioner housing.

7. The belt tensioner according to claim 6, the connection is a positive fit connection that is produced by intermeshing of a projection in a recess.

8. The belt tensioner according to claim 7, wherein the projection includes multiple projections formed as tabs that each engage in corresponding ones of the recesses formed as openings.

9. The belt tensioner according to claim 7, wherein the tabs are offset by 180, 120, or 90 relative to each other.

10. The belt tensioner according to claim 1, wherein the first or second bearing partner is mounted in the radially elastic manner using an elastic floating arrangement including is realized by an O-ring or a spring.

11. A belt tensioner: a tensioner housing, a tensioner lever, a sliding bearing for pivoting radial support of the tensioner lever in the tensioner housing, the sliding bearing including a first bearing partner associated with the tensioner lever and a second bearing partner allocated to the tensioner housing, the first or second bearing partners being in sliding contact with one another, and an elastic damping element located radially between one of the first or second bearing partners and an associated one of the tensioner lever or the tensioner housing.

12. The belt tensioner of claim 11, wherein the one of the first or second bearing partners adjacent to the elastic damping element is rotationally fixed and radially moveable.

13. The belt tensioner of claim 12, wherein the rotationally fixed one of the first or second bearing partners has a two-part construction, including a base body an intermediate ring.

14. The belt tensioner of claim 13, wherein the intermediate ring is rotationally locked on the base body and displaceable in a radial direction relative to the base body.

15. The belt tensioner of claim 14, wherein the intermediate ring is rotationally locked with a positive fit connection on the base body.

16. The belt tensioner of claim 11, wherein the elastic damping element comprises an O-ring or a spring.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is explained in more detail below with the help of a drawings. Shown are:

(2) FIG. 1 a perspective representation of a belt tensioner according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 another representation of the belt tensioner from FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 an injection-molded base plate that shows a tensioner lever of the belt tensioner of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a perspective representation,

(5) FIG. 4 a portion of the tensioner housing that is formed as a closing disk and acts as a base body,

(6) FIG. 5 an intermediate ring that interacts with the base body and assumes the function of a sliding device,

(7) FIG. 6 a partially represented longitudinal section representation through a first embodiment of a belt tensioner according to the invention,

(8) FIG. 7 a schematic representation of the reaction of a damper when lifting/dropping the intermediate ring on the closing disk in the molded state,

(9) FIG. 8 the schematic reaction of the damper when lifting/dropping the base plate, in the lifted state, that is, non-deformed state of the damper/O-ring, wherein the impact of the molded base plate on the closing disk is softened such that the intermediate ring is used in a vibration and thus noise-damping manner due to a damper, namely the O-ring,

(10) FIG. 9 an alternative cross-sectional shape of the damper, such that in addition to an O-ring made from plastic, rubber, or another material, a V-ring like design is also realized such that by pretensioning the lips the radial force is also increased to a certain extent, that is, a quasi-pretensioned damper device can be used,

(11) FIG. 10 a variant in which an elastomer injection molding of the intermediate ring is used so that the elastomer injection molding is inserted between the closing disk and the intermediate ring, in addition to an adapter plate, and

(12) FIG. 11 another solution in which, in addition to the solution with the intermediate ring, noise damping is realized with insert parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) The figures have a merely schematic nature and are used only for understanding the invention. The same elements are provided with the same reference symbols. Features of the individual embodiments can also be interchanged with each other.

(14) In FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a belt tensioner 1 according to the invention is shown. It has a tensioner housing 2 and a tensioner lever 3 that can be displaced in the radial direction relative to the housing. A tensioning roller 4 is connected to the tensioner lever 3, namely so that the roller can rotate.

(15) In FIG. 2, the tensioner lever 3 is formed according to the construction of a base plate 5 that has an injection molded area 6. This component is also shown larger in FIG. 3.

(16) In FIG. 4, the tensioner housing 2 (the shown component is the closing disk 11) is shown how it is arranged next to the tensioner lever 3 according to FIG. 2.

(17) In FIG. 4, recesses 7 are arranged offset relative to each other by 120 and have a rectangular formation. Projections 8 of an intermediate ring 9 engage in these formations/recesses 7.

(18) Coming back to FIG. 2, an adapter plate 10 should be noted that holds the base plate 5 between the tensioner housing 2 formed as closing disk 11 and the adapter plate 10.

(19) The projections 8 of the intermediate ring 9 project radially outward. An elastic damping component 12 is inserted between the intermediate ring 9 and the closing disk 11.

(20) In FIG. 6, the belt tensioner 1 is shown in an arrangement adjacent to an alternator housing 13. In the embodiment presented there, a bearing partner is the tensioner lever 3, which has the base plate 5 that is provided with an injection molding 14 in the injection molding area 6. The injection molding 14 is formed of plastic, namely polyamide, preferably PA46.

(21) The tensioner housing 2 has a base plate, namely the closing disk 11 and a sliding device, namely the intermediate ring 9. In between, the elastic damping component 12, according to the design of an O-ring 15, is inserted. Adjacent to the O-ring 15 is the adapter plate 10. Radial forces act along the arrow 16. The base plate 5 is formed of a metal, preferably an aluminum alloy or a steel alloy; preferably it is constructed as a deep-drawn plate. The O-ring 15 is tensioned in the axial direction and in this way deformed into an oval shape.

(22) The closing disk 11 and/or the intermediate ring 9 is/are made from metal, in particular, an aluminum alloy or steel. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the radial forces 16 can also be designated as resultant forces (F.sub.res).

(23) In FIG. 9, a V-shaped construction of the elastic damping component 12 is realized, wherein lips 17 project at an angle to each other.

(24) In FIG. 10, the injection molding 14 can be seen easily, which is formed as an elastomer injection molding.

(25) In FIG. 11, a sliding bearing socket 18 is used that is present next to a bearing sleeve 19. A friction disk 20 is also used.

(26) List of Reference Symbols

(27) 1 Belt tensioner

(28) 2 Tensioner housing

(29) 3 Tensioner lever

(30) 4 Tensioning roller

(31) 5 Base plate

(32) 6 Injection molding area

(33) 7 Recess

(34) 8 Projection

(35) 9 Intermediate ring

(36) 10 Adapter plate

(37) 11 Closing disk

(38) 12 Elastic damping component

(39) 13 Generator housing

(40) 14 Injection molding

(41) 15 O-ring

(42) 16 Radial force

(43) 17 Lip

(44) 18 Sliding bearing socket

(45) 19 Bearing sleeve

(46) 20 Friction disk