SUSPENSION ADJUSTMENT ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A suspension strut assembly comprises a suspension strut 10 formed by a strut housing 10a having first and second ends and an outer surface, and a strut rod 10b which is telescopically engaged in the first end of the strut housing 10a. A thread 11a is formed on a sleeve 11 which is slideably engaged on the outside of the strut housing 10a. An anti-roll bar collar 13 is screwingly engaged on the outer surface of the strut housing 10a. The collar 13 has a plate 13a extending outwardly thereof for engaging with an anti-roll bar. An annular spring seat 14 is also screwingly engaged on the outer surface of the strut housing 10b between the collar 13 and the first end of the strut housing 10a. The collar 13 and spring seat 14 are each windable along the housing 10a to vary their longitudinal positions on the housing 10a.

Claims

1. A suspension strut assembly comprising: a suspension strut formed by a strut housing having a first end, a second end, an outer surface and an external male thread on the outer surface of the strut housing and extending at least partially between the first and the second end, a strut rod which is telescopically engaged in the first end of the strut housing; and an anti-roll bar collar having a plate extending radially outwardly thereof for engaging, in use, with an anti-roll bar, and an annular spring seat, each of said anti-roll bar collar and said annular spring seat being mounted on the outer surface of the strut housing so as to be moveable therealong, each of the anti-roll bar collar and the spring seat has an internal female thread complementary to the external male thread of the housing and is threadingly engaged with the external thread of the housing so as to be windable thereon to move each of the collar and spring seat longitudinally along the strut housing, wherein said threaded engagement preventing longitudinal sliding movement of the collar and spring seat along the strut housing, the spring seat being located on the housing between the collar and the first end of the housing.

2. (canceled)

3. A suspension strut assembly according to claim 1, wherein the male thread of the strut housing is formed directly on the outer surface thereof.

4. A suspension strut assembly according to claim 1, wherein the male thread of the strut housing is provided on a cylindrical sleeve which is slideably engaged onto the strut housing from the first end thereof.

5. A suspension strut assembly according to claim 4, wherein the strut housing includes a lip or flange which forms a seat for the sleeve to locate the longitudinal position of the sleeve on the strut.

6. A suspension strut assembly according to claim 4, further including inter-engaging locating means on the sleeve and the strut housing which engage to lock the sleeve to the housing against relative rotational movement when the sleeve is engaged on the lip or flange.

7. A suspension strut assembly according to claim 6, wherein the inter-engaging locating means comprises a longitudinally extending rib formed on the outer surface of the housing which engages in a longitudinal slot formed in the sleeve to non-rotatably lock the two together.

8. A suspension strut assembly according to claim 1, further including locking means associated with the collar which operates to lock the collar against movement relative to the housing in at least one direction.

9. A suspension strut assembly according to claim 8, wherein the locking means comprises one or more locking screws such as a grub screw provided in the collar.

10. A suspension strut assembly according to claim 8, wherein the locking means takes the form of a locking ring which is screwingly engaged with the male thread of the strut housing and is engaged on the strut housing between the collar and the second end of the strut housing.

11. A kit for forming a suspension strut assembly according to claim 1, comprising: a suspension strut formed by a strut housing having a first end, a second end, an outer surface and an external male thread on the outer surface of the strut housing extending at least partially between the first and the second end; a strut rod which is telescopically engaged in the first end of the strut housing; an anti-roll bar collar having a plate extending radially outwardly thereof for engaging, in use, with an anti-roll bar; and an annular spring seat, each of said anti-roll bar collar and said annular spring seat being mounted on the outer surface of the strut housing so as to be moveable therealong, each of the anti-roll bar collar and the spring seat has an internal female thread complementary to the external male thread of the housing and is threadingly engaged with the external thread of the housing so as to be windable thereon to move each of the collar and spring seat longitudinally along the strut housing, said threaded engagement preventing longitudinal sliding movement of the collar and spring seat along the strut housing, the spring seat being locatable on the housing between the collar and the first end of the housing.

12. An anti-roll bar collar for a kit according to claim 11, comprising a collar having an inner circumferential surface having a female thread formed thereon and sized to threadingly engage, in use, with the male thread formed on the outer surface of a strut housing so as to be longitudinally moveable therealong, said threaded engagement preventing, in use, longitudinal sliding movement of the collar along the strut housing, and a plate extending radially outwardly thereof for engaging, in use, with an anti-roll bar.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order that the invention may be well understood, there will now be described some embodiments thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional OEM suspension strut assembly according to the prior art;

[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an aftermarket suspension strut assembly according to the prior art;

[0018] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a suspension strut assembly according to the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a threaded sleeve which forms part of the strut assembly of FIG. 3;

[0020] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 4;

[0021] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an anti-roll bar mounting collar which forms part of the strut assembly of FIG. 4;

[0022] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an adjustable spring seat which forms part of the strut assembly of FIG. 4;

[0023] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a locking ring which forms part of the strut assembly of FIG. 4;

[0024] FIG. 9 is a perspective view from a first angle of the strut assembly of FIG. 4 connected to an anti-roll bar in an installed configuration; and

[0025] FIG. 10 is a perspective view from a second angle of the strut assembly of FIG. 4 connected to an anti-roll bar in an installed configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Referring first to FIG. 2, there is shown an example of an aftermarket suspension strut assembly according to the prior art. A suspension strut 1 is provided which has a lower strut housing 1a and an upper strut rod 1b which telescopically extends from and retracts into the strut housing, said movement being dampened by a viscous fluid which is contained within the housing 1a in a known manner. The outer surface of the housing 1a has a threaded portion 2 formed thereon proximate its upper end on which is screwingly engageable a spring seat ring 3 for supporting a lower end of a suspension spring 4. An anti-roll bar mounting bracket 5 in the form of a radially extending plate it welded to the outer surface of the housing 1a below the threaded portion 2, the location of the plate being set depending on the design of the vehicle on which it is to be used.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows a solution according to the present invention Like the prior art assembly of FIG. 2, the strut 10 of the assembly of FIG. 3 is formed by a lower strut housing 10a and an a upper strut rod 10b which is telescopically extendable out of and retractable into the strut housing 10a in a conventional manner. The strut housing 10a furthermore has a male thread 11a associated with its outer surface and extending from an upper end of the housing 10a along a substantial portion of the housing 10a. More particularly, in the illustrated embodiment, a threaded cylindrical sleeve 11, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, which has the male thread 11a cut into its outer surface is slidingly engageable over the strut housing 10a. The lower end of the sleeve 11 engages with a flange formed on the strut housing to seat it on the housing 10a at the correct longitudinal position. As shown in FIG. 4, the internal through opening of the sleeve 11 has an enlarged portion 11c extending from its lower end which locates with the flange on the strut housing 10a. The sleeve 11 furthermore has a slot 11b extending longitinally upwards from the bottom end which is sized and shaped to engage a longitudinal rib formed on the outer surface of the strut housing 10a to non-rotatably lock the two parts together when they are engaged. Whilst the illustrated embodiment shows the thread being formed on a separate sleeve, it would also be possible for the thread to be cut directly into the outer surface of the strut housing 10a.

[0028] The assembly further comprises a collar 13, shown in FIG. 6, which has a wing 13a extending radially outwardly from its outer surface, the wing 13a forming a mounting bracket for an anti-roll bar end of a vehicle. The collar 13 has a thread 13b formed in its inner surface which is complementary to the male thread associated with the outer surface of the strut housing 10a such that the collar 13 is screwingly engageable with the housing 10a so as to be windable up and down therealong to adjust its position along the housing 10a. IN this way, the height of the wing 13a on the strut can be adjusted to match the height requirement of the anti-roll bar end of any vehicle. The collar may be provided with locking means such as a locking screw or the like, operable to lock the collar 13 to the housing 10a against further rotational movement once the collar is in the correct position for the vehicle. However, once the anti-roll bar end is connected to the wing 13a as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 it will be prevented from rotating and hence the locking means is not essential.

[0029] Screwingly engaged with the thread 11a of the strut housing 10a above the collar 13 is a threaded spring seat 14 shown in FIG. 7 and below the collar 13 is a lock ring 15 shown in FIG. 8. Like the collar, both the spring seat 14 and lock ring 15 have a female thread cut into their inner cylindrical surface which complements the male thread 11a of the strut housing 10a so that each can be wound up and down the sleeve 11 to adjust their vertical position on the strut housing 10a. The locking ring 15 operates to lock the collar against further downward movement which could result from the torsional load which is applied by the anti-roll bar. This is achieved by the locking ring 15 being wound up the strut into abutment with the bottom of the collar 13 when the collar 13 is in its correct position, the locking ring 15 acting as a stop for the collar 13. Optionally, an upper locking ring, positioned between the collar 13 and the spring seat 14, could be provided to provide an upper stop for the collar 13. The spring seat 14 could also be designed with a moveable flange on it against which the bottom of the spring abuts, allowing the spring seat to be located in abutment with the top of the collar to act as an upper stop, the adjustable flange then being moved to the desired position for the bottom of the spring. It will be understood that instead of being threaded onto the strut housing 10a, the locking ring could be a slide fit thereon and include locking means such as locking screws to secure it in place.

[0030] The spring seat 14 provides the lower support for the suspension spring which will carry the weight of the vehicle on it, and due to the weight being applied axially on the spring seat, unintentional rotation is not an issue and hence a lock ring for the spring seat is generally not warranted although it could be provided if desired.

[0031] FIGS. 9 and 10 show the strut assembly of the invention installed in a vehicle with a suspension spring 16 engaged on the spring seat 14 (in this case an adjustable spring seat which has an adjuster plate screwingly engaged on a threaded outer surface of the spring seat) and an anti-roll bar end 17 attached to the mounting bracket formed by the wing 13a using a conventional mount.

[0032] The assembly is installed by first fitting the sleeve 11 onto the strut housing 10a and then screwing the locking ring 15 onto the sleeve 11 followed by the collar 13 and finally the spring seat 14 supper most. The suspension spring 16 is then engaged over the strut rod 10b and engaged with the spring seat 14 before the upper and lower ends of the strut are engaged with between the vehicle body and lower suspension arm of the vehicle in a conventional manner. The collar 13 is then wound up or down the sleeve 11 as required to position the wing 13a correctly for engagement with the anti-roll bar end 17. This may be achieved by rotating the collar itself or by rotating the strut and sleeve 11 together whilst keeping the collar 13 still. Once the collar is correctly positioned, the locking ring 15 is then wound up into abutment with the underside of the collar 13. The spring seat is then be wound up or down to attain the required ride height for the vehicle.

[0033] It will be understood that whilst the invention has been described with a single spring arrangement, multiple spring systems such as those discussed above in the prior art may also be used. Similarly, if desired, it would be possible to replace the threaded engagement between the collar, spring seat and locking ring with a different engagement system such as locking screws or the like to lock the parts to the strut housing to prevent movement therealong once they have been positioned correctly.