SUSPENSION STRUT BEARING HAVING A CAP AND PRODUCTION METHOD

Abstract

A suspension strut bearing for a motor vehicle includes a cap, a guide ring rotatably mounted relative to the cap about an axis of rotation, and a bearing arranged between the cap and the guide ring. The cap has a profile with a rib structure open in a radial direction on a front face directed towards a body of the motor vehicle. In some example embodiments, the profile of the open rib structure is formed from multiple webs. At least one first web may be formed at least partially in a circumferential direction on the cap, and at least one second web may be formed at least partially in the radial direction on the cap.

Claims

1. A suspension strut bearing for a motor vehicle, comprising a cap and a guide ring rotatably mounted relative to the cap about an axis of rotation, and a bearing arranged between the cap and the guide ring, wherein the cap has a profile with a rib structure open in a radial direction on a front face directed towards a body of the motor vehicle.

2. The suspension strut bearing according to claim 1, wherein the profile of the open rib structure is formed from multiple webs, wherein at least one first web is formed at least partially in a circumferential direction on the cap, and wherein at least one second web is formed at least partially in the radial direction on the cap.

3. The suspension strut bearing according to claim 2, wherein the webs extend in the axial direction from the front face of the cap directed towards the body of the motor vehicle.

4. The suspension strut bearing according to claim 2, wherein the first web is formed circumferentially on the cap in the circumferential direction, wherein multiple second webs are formed radially inwards from the first web.

5. The suspension strut bearing according to claim 2, wherein the first web is formed circumferentially on the cap in the circumferential direction, wherein multiple second webs are formed radially outwards from the first web.

6. The suspension strut bearing according to claim 2, wherein the first web is formed on the cap in a meandering manner.

7. The suspension strut bearing according to claim 6, wherein the first web forms an end-face contact surface for axial contact with the body of the motor vehicle.

8. The suspension strut bearing according to claim 2, wherein the first web is formed on the cap in a circular manner.

9. The suspension strut bearing according to claim 1, wherein the cap is formed at least partially or completely from a polyamide material.

10. A method for producing a suspension strut bearing according to claim 1, wherein the rib structure of the profile open in the radial direction is formed on the cap of the suspension strut bearing by axial or radial demolding of a tool.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Further measures improving the present disclosure are shown in more detail below together with the description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures, wherein identical components or elements are provided with the same reference symbol. In the figures:

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a highly simplified sectional view of a suspension strut bearing according to the disclosure,

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a simplified perspective view of a cap of the suspension strut bearing according to a first exemplary embodiment,

[0023] FIG. 3 shows a simplified top view of the cap of the suspension strut bearing according to FIG. 2,

[0024] FIG. 4 shows a simplified top view of the cap of the suspension strut bearing according to a second exemplary embodiment,

[0025] FIG. 5 shows a simplified top view of the cap of the suspension strut bearing according to a third exemplary embodiment, and

[0026] FIG. 6 shows a simplified top view of the cap of the suspension strut bearing according to a fourth exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] According to FIG. 1, a suspension strut bearing 1 according to the present disclosure for a motor vehiclenot shown further herehas a cap 2, a guide ring 3 and a bearing 4 arranged between the cap 2 and the guide ring 3. The guide ring 3 is rotatably mounted relative to the cap 2 about an axis of rotation 10 and can therefore rotate relative to the cap 2. The cap 2 is designed such that a front face thereof, which faces away from the guide ring 3, contacts the body of the vehicle in a positionally fixed manner. Furthermore, the cap 2 is formed from a polyamide material in order to support the spring forces introduced into the suspension strut bearing 1 at the suspension strut of the body. The bearing 4 is designed as an axial ball bearing and is sealed by means of a seal 11, wherein the seal 11 is formed on the cap 2 and circumferentially comes into contact with the guide ring 3. Alternatively, the bearing 4 can also be designed as a sliding bearing.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the cap 2 from FIG. 1. FIG. 3 further shows a top view of the cap 2 from FIG. 1. According to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the cap 2 has a profile 5 with a rib structure open in the radial direction on a front face directed towards the body of the motor vehicle. The profile 5 of the open rib structure is formed from a first web 6 and multiple second webs 7. The webs 6, 7 of the profile 5 extend like elevations from the front face of the cap 2, which is directed towards the body of the motor vehicle, in the axial direction. Furthermore, multiple connecting clips 8 are formed in the axial direction on the front face of the cap 2 directed towards the body of the motor vehicle, and these connecting clips 8 are designed to connect the cap 2 to the strut bearing on the body and are arranged between the open rib structure. The first web 6 is formed circumferentially in a meandering manner on the front face of the cap 2 in the circumferential direction, and multiple second webs 7 are formed radially inwards from the circumferential first web 6. In the present case, the meandering circumferential first web 6 forms an end-face contact surface for axial contact with the body of the motor vehicle. The second webs 7 are essentially designed for radial contact with the body of the motor vehicle.

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the cap 2 according to a top view. This second embodiment merely has a different profile 5 for the open rib structure compared to the first embodiment. The profile 5 of the open rib structure is formed from a first web 6 and multiple second webs 7. The first web 6 is formed circumferentially in a circular manner on the front face of the cap 2 in the circumferential direction, and multiple second webs 7 are formed radially outwards from the circular circumferential first web 6. In the present case, the circular circumferential first web 6 forms an end-face contact surface for axial contact with the body of the motor vehicle together with the second webs 7. The second webs 7 are further designed for radial contact with the body of the motor vehicle.

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the cap 2 according to a top view. This third embodiment merely has a different profile 5 for the rib structure compared to the first embodiment. The profile 5 of the open rib structure is formed from a first web 6 and multiple second webs 7. The first web 6 is formed circumferentially in a circular manner on the front face of the cap 2 in the circumferential direction, and multiple second webs 7 are formed radially inwards and outwards from the circular circumferential first web 6. In the present case, the circular circumferential first web 6 forms an end-face contact surface for axial contact with the body of the motor vehicle together with the second webs 7. The second webs 7 are further designed for radial contact with the body of the motor vehicle.

[0031] FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the cap 2 according to a top view. This fourth embodiment merely has a different profile 5 for the open rib structure compared to the first embodiment. The profile 5 of the open rib structure is formed from a first web 6 and multiple second webs 7. The first web 6 is formed circumferentially in a circular manner on the front face of the cap 2 in the circumferential direction, and multiple second webs 7 are formed radially inwards from the circumferential first web 6. In the present case, the circular circumferential first web 6 forms an end-face contact surface for axial contact with the body of the motor vehicle together with the second webs 7. The second webs 7 are further also designed for radial contact with the body of the motor vehicle.

[0032] In all embodiments, the profile 5 of the rib structure open in the radial direction is designed in such a way that walls, which would delimit a cavity in the radial direction, are omitted. As a result, the profile 5 does not have any closed pockets or cavities around its circumference. This means that, in addition to the axial demolding of a production tool, a radial demolding of the production tool is also possible when producing the profile 5. This allows for an optimized design of the production tool, e.g., the moldings of the production tool that form the rib structure of the profile 5. These moldings can be designed to be more solid, and the cooling of the moldings can be designed to be more efficient in order to better dissipate waste heat during production. Furthermore, less material is required to form the cap, as the rib structure open in the radial direction lacks the wall in the radial direction. The open rib structure also allows splash water to flow off radially.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0033] 1 Suspension strut bearing [0034] 2 Cap [0035] 3 Guide ring [0036] 4 Bearing [0037] 5 Profile [0038] 6 Web [0039] 7 Web [0040] 8 Connecting clip [0041] 10 Axis of rotation [0042] 11 Seal