DAMPING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INSTALLATION THEREOF

Abstract

A damping device for absorbing and/or damping vibrations of a vehicle part or isolating and/or damping a vibrating vehicle component includes a mass element, a fastening element for fastening the damping device to a vehicle part, and a spring device connecting the mass element to the fastening element to be capable of oscillation. The mass element or fastening element having a fastening device for fastening the spring device. The mass element and/or vehicle part comprises a supporting devices for supporting the spring device, wherein the spring device comprises a fastening device fixed to the fastening means and at least two supporting portions supported in opposite axial direction on the supporting device. The fastening device and supporting device are spaced apart in axial direction such that when supporting sections bear against the supporting device, the spring device is preloaded. The invention relates to a method of assembling a damping device.

Claims

1. A damping device for absorbing and/or damping vibrations of a vehicle part or for isolating and/or damping a vibrating vehicle component, the damping device comprising: at least one mass element, at least one fastening element for fastening the damping device to the vehicle part or to a vehicle part adjacent to the mass element, and at least one spring device that connects the mass element to the fastening element in a manner capable of oscillation, wherein the mass element or the fastening element have at least one fastening device for fastening the spring device and the fastening element has at least one fastening device for fastening the spring device, the mass element and/or the vehicle part comprises at least two supporting devices for supporting the spring device, the spring device comprises at least one fastening device fixed to the fastening means and at least two supporting portions which are supported in an opposite axial direction on the supporting device, the fastening device and the at least two supporting devices are spaced apart from one another in the axial direction such that, when the supporting sections bear against the supporting device, the spring device is prestressed.

2. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the spring device has a length between the fastening device and a support section in the non-assembled state which is greater than a distance between the fastening device and at least one support device of the at least two support devices.

3. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the support sections provide an axial overlap when in contact with the support elements.

4. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the supporting sections are spaced apart in the axial direction.

5. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the fastening device is fixed interlocking and frictionally to the fastening device.

6. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the fastening device has at least one regionally circumferential groove, and in that the fastening device has at least one projection corresponding to the circumferential groove.

7. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the supporting devices are formed as at least one shoulder or recess projecting at the mass element or at the fastening element.

8. The damping device according to claim 7, wherein at least one projection and at least one heel have an overlap in the radial direction to form an anti-loss device.

9. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the spring device comprises at least one axial stop and/or at least one radial stop which cooperates with the fastening element and/or the mass element to limit a deflection of the mass element relative to the fastening element.

10. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the spring device has an additional radial track on its outer side and/or inner side.

11. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the spring device is inserted into an opening of the mass element or of the fastening element, and in that at least a portion of the mass element or of the fastening element is inserted into a through-opening of the spring device.

12. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the support sections and the supporting device have a surface inclined with respect to a longitudinal axis of the damping device or a surface perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the damping device.

13. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the fastening device and each of the supporting sections are connected to each other via a spring section which is inclined with respect to a longitudinal axis of the damping device.

14. The damping device according to claim 1, wherein the spring device comprises at least one regionally sleeve-shaped rubber body, a regionally sleeve-shaped plastic body or a regionally sleeve-shaped metal body.

15. A method for assembling a damping device that comprises at least one mass element, at least one fastening element for fastening the damping device to the vehicle part or an adjacent vehicle part, and at least one spring device which connects the mass element to the fastening element in a manner capable of oscillation, the method comprising: providing or inserting the at least one spring device into an opening of the mass element or the fastening element, so that a fastening device of the spring device positively engages a fastening device of the mass element or the fastening element; and extending or pressing at least a section of the fastening element or of the mass element into a through opening of the spring device until a first support section of the spring device abuts against a first support surface of the mass element or the fastening element and a second support section of the spring device abuts against a second support surface of the mass element or the fastening element, or inserting at least a portion of the fastening element or of the mass element into a through opening of the spring device until a first support section of the spring device abuts against a support surface of the mass element or of the fastening element and a second support section of the spring device abuts against a second support surface of the vehicle part, and fastening the damping device to the vehicle part or a vehicle part adjacent thereto.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The following, damping devices, methods for mounting the damping devices as well as further features and advantages are explained in more detail on the basis of configuration examples, which are shown schematically in the figures.

[0039] FIG. 1 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a damping device according to a first configuration;

[0040] FIG. 2 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a mass element and a spring device prior to insertion into the mass element according to the first configuration;

[0041] FIG. 3 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of the mass element and the spring device inserted into the mass element and of a fastening element before insertion into the spring device according to the first configuration:

[0042] FIG. 4 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a damping device according to a second configuration;

[0043] FIG. 5 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a mass element and a spring device prior to insertion into the mass element according to the second configuration;

[0044] FIG. 6 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of the mass element and the spring device inserted therein and a fastening element before insertion into the spring device according to the second configuration;

[0045] FIG. 7 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a damping device according to a third configuration;

[0046] FIG. 8 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a damping device according to a fourth configuration;

[0047] FIG. 9 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a damping device according to a fifth configuration;

[0048] FIG. 10 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a damping device according to a sixth configuration;

[0049] FIG. 11 generally illustrates a perspective view of a damping device according to a seventh configuration with a sectional view;

[0050] FIG. 12 generally illustrates an enlarged view of the sectional view of FIG. 12;

[0051] FIG. 13 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a damping device according to an eighth configuration; and

[0052] FIG. 14 generally illustrates a cross-sectional view of a damping device according to a ninth configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] FIGS. 1 to 3 show a damping device (or damping apparatus) 10 according to a first configuration, which serves to absorb and/or damp vibrations of a vehicle part not shown.

[0054] The damping device 10 has a mass element 12, a fastening element 14 for fastening the damping device 10 to the vehicle part not shown, and at least one spring device 16 which connects the ground element 12 to the fastening element 14 in a manner capable of oscillation.

[0055] The mass element 12 is made of metal and in the present case has an approximately cylindrical shape. As can be seen in particular in FIG. 2, the mass element 12 has an opening 18 which extends from a first end 20 of the mass element 12 to a second end 22 of the mass element 12.

[0056] The mass element 12 also has a fastening device 23 which is formed from two projections protruding into the opening 18 in the region of the ends 20, 22. Each of the two projections 24 is adjoined by a trapezoidal recess 26, between which a semicircular recess 28 is arranged.

[0057] The fastening element 14 is designed as a sleeve 30 made of metal or plastic, in particular a fiber-reinforced plastic. The sleeve 30 has a central through-hole 32 through which a fastening element (not shown) can be passed in order to connect the damping device 10 to a motor vehicle part (not shown).

[0058] As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, sleeve 30 has a support device 33 approximately in the center, which is formed as a circumferential shoulder 34. The shoulder 34 has a first support surface 36 on the surface facing the first end 20 and a second support surface 38 on the surface facing the second end 22.

[0059] The spring device 16 is formed of two sleeve-shaped rubber bodies 40a, 40b. Each of the rubber bodies 40a, 40b has a through hole 41, a fastening device 42, a support section 46a, 46b, and a spring section 44a, 44b connecting the fastening device 42 and the support section 46a, 46b.

[0060] The fastening device 42 has a fastening section 43a, 43b that includes a circumferential groove 48 formed in the rubber body 40a, 40b.

[0061] The spring sections 44a, 44b are inclined with respect to a longitudinal axis L of the damping device 10, so that the spring sections 44 form tapered sleeve sections. The axial stiffness of the damping device 10, i.e. the stiffness in axial direction A, is set via the spring sections.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 3, in the assembled state the support sections 46a, 46b point in opposite axial directions A and face each other to form a receiving groove 50 for the shoulder 34 of the fastener 14. In the assembled state, an abutment surface 47 of the first support section 46a abuts the first support surface 36 and an abutment surface 47 of the second support section 46b abuts the second support surface 36.

[0063] Since the rubber bodies 40a, 40b have a length LF between the fastening section 43a, 43b and the support section 46a, 46b in the unmounted state which is greater than a distance AK between the fastening device 23, in particular the projections 24, and the support devices 33, in particular the shoulder 34, the rubber bodies 40a, 40b are compressed and thereby pretensioned when they rest against the support surfaces 36, 38. Due to the prestressing, the rubber bodies 40a, 40b exert a contact pressure on the support surfaces 36, 38, which fixes the fastening element 14 between the support sections 46a, 46b in a form-fitting and force-fitting manner.

[0064] Further, each of the rubber bodies 40a, 40b has an axial stop 52a, 52b formed as a bead 54. As can be seen in FIG. 1, a first axial stop 52a is arranged on the upper side or on the first end 20 of the mass element 12 and a second axial stop 52b is arranged on the lower side or on the second end 22 of the mass element 12. The axial stops 52a, 52b cooperate either with not shown collars of the sleeve 30 and/or with a not shown vehicle part in order to limit a deflection of the mass element 12 in axial direction A.

[0065] In addition, the rubber bodies 40a, 40b have a radial stop 56 which limits a deflection of the mass element 12 relative to the fastening element 14 in the radial direction R. Presently, the radial stop 56 is formed by an inner side 58 and an outer side 60 of the rubber bodies 40a, 40b. To limit deflection in the radial direction R, the inner side 58 rests against the sleeve 30 and the outer side 60 comes into contact with the inner wall of the opening 18 in the region of the semicircular recess 28.

[0066] As can also be seen in FIG. 1, the shoulder 34 and the projection 24 at the second end 22 form an overlap in the radial direction R. This overlap forms a loss prevention device 62 which prevents the ground element 12 from falling off in the event of damage to the rubber bodies 40a, 40b and absorbs the loads arising in the event of an accident.

[0067] In the following, a possible method for assembling the damping device 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is described. For this purpose, as can be seen in FIG. 2, the rubber bodies 40a, 40b are inserted into the opening 18 so that the grooves 48 engage positively around the projections 24 and the supporting surfaces 36, 38 face each other and form the receiving groove 50. The sleeve 30 is then inserted into the rubber bodies 40a, 40b by pressing the shoulder 34 into the receiving groove 50. Since the rubber bodies 40a, 40b have a length LF between the fastening section 43a, 43b and the supporting section 46a, 46b in the non-mounted state which is greater than a distance AK between the fixing device 23 and the supporting devices 33, the two rubber bodies 40a, 40b are compressed so that the supporting sectiongs 46a, 46b abut the supporting surfaces 36, 38 with pretension. Due to the pretension, the spring device 16 is fixed interlocking and frictionally to the ground element 12 and the fastening element 14.

[0068] In the following, further configurations of the damping device 10 are described, whereby the same reference signs are used for identical or functionally identical parts.

[0069] FIGS. 4 to 6 show a second configuration of the damping device 10, which differs from the first configuration in that the spring device 16 is formed from a single sleeve-shaped rubber body 64.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 5, the fastening device 42 is formed by a fastening section 43, which is arranged centrally and has the groove 48 for engaging around the fastening device 23 in a form-fitting manner. A respective spring section 44a, 44b projects from the fastening section 42 and is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis L of the damping device 10. Adjacent to the spring sections 44 are the support sections 46a, 46b.

[0071] Furthermore, as can be seen in FIGS. 4 to 5, compared to the first configuration, the ground element 12 has an approximately cylindrical opening 18 with only one projection 24 as a fastening device 23.

[0072] In addition, the fastening element 14 formed as a sleeve 30 differs from the first configuration in that the latter is provided at each end with a circumferential collar 66a, 66b, which form the support surfaces 36, 38.

[0073] In the configuration shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a length LF of the rubber body 64 between the fastening section 43 and the supporting sections 46a, 46b is greater than a distance AK between the fastening device 23 and the collars 66a, 66b in the non-mounted state. As a result, the rubber body 64 is compressed and prestressed when it rests against the collars 66a, 66b and thus exerts a contact pressure on the collars 66a, 66b, which fixes the fastening element 14 between the support sections 46a, 46b in a form-fitting and force-fitting manner.

[0074] To assemble the damping device 10 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the rubber body 64 is first inserted into the opening 18 of the ground element 12 in such a way that the groove 48 engages positively around the projection 24. Subsequently, the sleeve 30 is inserted into the rubber body 64, in particular pressed in, until the first collar 66a rests against the first support surface 36 and the second collar 66b rests against the second support surface 38. As a result, the rubber body 64 is prestressed and the support surfaces 36, 38 exert a contact pressure on the collars 66a, 66b.

[0075] In FIG. 7, a third configuration of the damping device 10 is shown, which differs from the second configuration in that the sleeve 30 does not comprise a collar at its end facing the second end 22, so that the second support section 46b comes into contact with the vehicle part when the damping device 10 is mounted with a vehicle part not shown, and the rubber body 64 is thereby compressed and sheared with pretension.

[0076] FIG. 8 shows a fourth configuration of the damping device 10, which differs from the other configuration in that the supporting device 33 is formed on the mass element 12 in the form of the shoulder 34 forming the supporting surfaces 36, 38, and the fastening device 23 is formed on the sleeve 30 in the form of the projections 24, in which the grooves 48 of the rubber bodies 40a, 40b engage.

[0077] FIG. 9 shows a fifth configuration of the damping device 10, which differs from the first configuration in that the rubber bodies 40a, 40b have radial rubber tracks 68a, 68b formed as radially outwardly projecting protrusions 64 that project into the semicircular recess 28 and contact the ground element 12. Radial rubber tracks 68a, 68b allow the frequency spread between radial and axial to be adjusted by the amount of stiffness between the rubber bodies 40a, 40b and the radial rubber tracks 68a, 68b formed as auxiliary springs. As a result, the damping device 10 is formed hard in the radial direction R and soft in the axial direction A.

[0078] In FIG. 10, a sixth configuration of the damping device 10 is shown, which differs from the fifth embodiment in that the radial rubber tracks 68a, 68b project radially in the region of the fastening sections 43a, 43b and rest against the sleeve 30.

[0079] FIGS. 11 and 12 show a seventh configuration of the damping device 10, which differs from the other configurations in that the fastening element 14 is formed as a container 70 with a bottom 72 and side walls 74, within which the mass element 12 is accommodated so that it can vibrate. Holes 76 are made in the side walls for mounting the spring device 16.

[0080] The mass element 12 is shaped like a cuboid for insertion into the container and has four recesses 78, with a pin element 80 protruding from each recess 78.

[0081] In the seventh configuration shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the spring device 16 has four sleeve-shaped rubber bodies 40a, 40b corresponding to the rubber bodies of the first embodiment. The rubber bodies 40a, 40b connect the mass element 12 to the container 70 in a manner capable of oscillation. For this purpose, one rubber body 40a, 40b is inserted in each case into a hole 76 of the side wall 74, so that the groove 48 engages positively around a hole edge 82 and the support section 46a, 46b bears against the bottom of the recess 78, which serves as a support device 33.

[0082] As can be seen in FIG. 12, the spring sections 44a, 44b surround the pin elements 80 so that the pin elements 80 abut the rubber bodies 40a, 40b in the region of the hole edge 82 and thus limit deflection of the mass element 12 relative to the container 70. In addition, the pin elements 80 together with the hole edges 82 form the loss prevention device 62, which acts in the radial direction R in the present case.

[0083] In the configuration shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a length LF of the rubber body 40a, 40b between the fastening section 43 and the support sections 46a, 46b is greater than a distance AK between the mounting device 23 and the bottom of the recess 78 in the unmounted state. As a result, the rubber body 40a, 40b is compressed and prestressed when it comes into contact with the mass element 12 and thus exerts a contact pressure on the mass element 12, which fixes the mass element 12 in a form-fitting and force-fitting manner between the support sections 46a, 46b.

[0084] In FIG. 13, an eighth configuration of the damping device 10 is shown, which differs from the first embodiment in that the ground element 12 is a vibrating vehicle component 84, such as a pump, a compressor, a control element or a power unit. The damping device 10 isolates and/or damps the vibrations of the vehicle component 84. For this purpose, the damping device 10 is attached via the attachment element 14 to a vehicle part not shown, which is adjacent to the vehicle component 84.

[0085] In FIG. 14, a ninth configuration of the damping device 10 is shown, which differs from the second embodiment in that the mass element 12 is a vibrating vehicle component 84, such as a pump, a compressor, a control element or a power unit. The damping device 10 isolates and/or damps the vibrations of the vehicle component 84. For this purpose, the damping device 10 is attached via the attachment element 14 to a vehicle part not shown, which is adjacent to the vehicle component 84.

[0086] Due to the constructive pretension between the spring device 16, the mass element 12, the fastening element 14 and/or the vehicle part, the connection of the spring device 16 at least on one connection side is only possible by support, so that at least one of the support sections 46a, 46b can only be placed on one of the support surfaces 36, 38. In addition, both support sections 46a, 46b are pressed against both sides of the support surfaces 36, 38 due to the design bias, so that a form fit on both sides is generated from the pure support, which secures the spring device 16 to the ground element 12 or to the fastening element 14. This makes the damping device 10 simple and cost-effective to manufacture.