ASSEMBLY FOR RECEIVING A SUSPENSION SPRING OF A SUSPENSION STRUT, AND ASSOCIATED SPRING SEAT

Abstract

An arrangement for mounting a suspension spring of a spring strut for a motor vehicle may include a spring plate that is arranged on a damper tube of a vibration damper of the spring strut such that an end side of the suspension spring is supported on the spring plate. A protective element for protecting a piston rod of the vibration damper may also be attached to the spring plate. The spring plate may include features that help minimize or even eliminate contact between the protective element and the damper tube. For example, the spring plate may include tongues that extend from a ring-shaped main structure of the spring plate, wherein inner sides of the tongues may lie against the damper tube and outer sides of the tongues may guide the protective element.

Claims

1-8. (canceled)

9. An arrangement for mounting a suspension spring of a spring strut for a motor vehicle, the arrangement comprising: a spring plate positioned on a damper tube of a vibration damper of the spring strut such that an end side of the suspension spring is supported on the spring plate, wherein the spring plate comprises plastic; and a protective element for protecting a piston rod of the vibration damper, the protective element attached to the spring plate, wherein the spring plate further comprises guide means for guiding the protective element and preventing contact between the protective element and the damper tube, wherein the guide means comprises tongues that are integrally formed on a ring-shaped main structure of the spring plate, wherein inner sides of the tongues lie against the damper tube, wherein outer sides of the tongues form a guide for the protective element.

10. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein the ring-shaped main structure of the spring plate and the guide means of the spring plate are integrally formed.

11. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein the tongues are integrally formed on a face side of the ring-shaped main structure so as to extend axially from the face side.

12. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein the outer sides of the tongues comprise guide strips by way of which the protective element can be guided.

13. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein an inner side of the ring-shaped main structure of the spring plate comprises a supporting shoulder that is of complementary form with respect to a tube shoulder of the damper tube.

14. A spring plate for arrangement on a damper tube of a vibration damper of a spring strut for a motor vehicle such that an end side of a suspension spring of the spring strut is supportable on the spring plate, wherein the spring plate comprises a plastics material and is configured to be attached to a protective element for protecting a piston rod of the vibration damper, wherein the spring plate comprises guide means for guiding the protective element and preventing contact between the protective element and the damper tube, with the guide means comprising tongues that are integrally formed on a ring-shaped main structure of the spring plate, wherein inner sides of the tongues are configured to lie against the damper tube, wherein a guide for the protective element is formed on outer sides such that the contact between the protective element and the damper tube is prevented by the guide means.

15. The spring plate of claim 14 wherein the tongues are integrally formed on a face side of the ring-shaped main structure so as to extend axially from the face side.

16. The spring plate of claim 14 wherein the outer sides comprise guide strips by way of which the protective element can be guided.

17. A spring strut comprising: a piston rod; a protective element that surrounds the piston rod and protects the piston rod from at least one of contaminants or moisture; a suspension spring; and a spring plate that is positioned on a damper tube and supports an end of the suspension spring, wherein the spring plate is attached to the protective element and guides the protective element around an outside of the damper tube so as to eliminate or at least minimize contact between the protective element and the damper tube.

18. The spring strut of claim 17 wherein the spring plate comprises tongues extending from a ring-shaped main structure.

19. The spring strut of claim 18 wherein the tongues are parallel to a longitudinal axis occupied by the piston rod.

20. The spring strut of claim 18 wherein inner sides of the tongues face the damper tube and outer sides of the tongues form a guide for the protective element.

21. The spring strut of claim 18 wherein the tongues and the ring-shaped main structure are integrally formed.

22. The spring strut of claim 18 wherein outer sides of the tongues comprise guide strips for guiding the protective element.

23. The spring strut of claim 18 wherein the spring plate is plastic.

24. The spring strut of claim 17 wherein the end of the suspension spring supported by the spring plate is a first end, the spring strut further comprising a damper bearing that supports a second end of the suspension spring and is securable to a frame of a motor vehicle.

25. The spring strut of claim 24 further comprising a stop buffer disposed within the protective element and fastened to the damper bearing, wherein when the piston rod is compressed into the damper tube the stop buffer abuts a cap attached to the damper tube.

26. The spring strut of claim 17 wherein an inner side of the spring plate comprises a supporting shoulder that is of complementary form with respect to a tube shoulder of the damper tube.

Description

[0022] FIG. 1 shows, in a cross-sectional view, a spring strut 100 with a vibration damper which is shown with a damper tube 11 and with a piston rod 13. The spring strut 100 furthermore comprises a suspension spring 10 which, by way of one end side, is supported via a spring plate 1 on the damper tube 11 of the vibration damper, and the suspension spring 10 is mounted by way of a further end side on a damper bearing 23. By way of the damper bearing 23, the spring strut 100 can be attached for example to the frame of a motor vehicle.

[0023] To protect the piston rod 13, a protective element 12 is provided which is in the form of a corrugated bellows, and the protective element 12 surrounds the piston rod 13 and seals off the region of the piston rod 13 such that no contaminants and no moisture can pass to the piston rod 13.

[0024] A stop buffer 24 is arranged in the interior region of the protective element 12 and is fastened to the damper bearing 23, and when the piston rod 13 is retracted into the damper tube 11, that is to say during a compression movement of the spring strut 100, the stop buffer 24 can abut against a cap 25 which is attached to the end side of the damper tube 11.

[0025] According to the invention, the spring plate 1 is designed for the attachment of an end side of the protective element 12, and, by way of the end side, the protective element 12 is connected to the spring plate 1 by way of a connecting point 26. The spring plate 1 comprises a ring-shaped main structure 16, and the spring plate 1 comprises guide means 14 which are, by way of example, in the form of tongues 15, and the tongues 15 are integrally formed on a face side of the ring-shaped main structure 16 so as to extend axially from said face side.

[0026] The tongues 15 are designed such that, in an arranged state of the spring plate 1, said tongues lie against the outside of the damper tube 11. In this way, contact between the inner side of the protective element 12 and the outer side of the damper tube 11 is prevented, and the tongues 15 serve as guide means 14 by way of which the protective element 12 is guided around the outside of the damper tube 11. Consequently, for the guidance of the protective element 12, the connecting point 26 for the attachment of the protective element 12 to the spring plate 1 is situated, as viewed in the longitudinal direction 27, between the guide means 14 and the ring-shaped main structure 16.

[0027] The suspension spring 10 is supported, so as to impart an axial force in the longitudinal direction 27, via a spring receptacle 22 on the spring plate 1, such that the spring plate 1 is acted on in the longitudinal direction 27 with a spring force. For the support of the spring plate 1 on the damper tube 11, the spring plate 1 comprises a supporting shoulder 20 which is of complementary form with respect to a tube shoulder 21 which is formed in the damper tube 11. The spring mount 22 for the mounting of the suspension spring 10 on the spring plate 1 is in the form of a shoulder on the ring-shaped main structure 16 of the spring plate 1, and the ring-shaped main structure 16 comprises hollow chambers 28 such that the spring plate 1, while maintaining a high stiffness, in particular for the stiffening of the spring mount 22, comprises a low weight, in particular by virtue of the spring plate 1 additionally being formed from a plastics material.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows the spring strut 100 as per FIG. 1 in a non-sectional view, which spring strut extends in the longitudinal direction 27, and the longitudinal direction 27 simultaneously forms a longitudinal direction of the damper tube 11 of a vibration damper which is a constituent part of the spring strut 100. The protective element 12 in the form of a corrugated bellows is arranged over the piston rod (not visible) of the vibration damper, and a suspension spring 10 is arranged between the damper bearing 23 and a spring plate 1, which suspension spring surrounds the protective element 12. The spring plate 1 is designed for the mounting of the protective element 12, and a connecting point 26 attaches the lower side of the protective element 12 to the spring plate 1.

[0029] The spring plate 1 comprises a ring-shaped main structure 16, and the main structure 16 comprises a spring mount 22 in which the end side of the suspension spring 10 is seated. The connecting point 26 for the attachment of the protective element 12 is in this case situated within the suspension spring 10 and thus, as viewed in the longitudinal direction 27, already lies in a position facing toward the damper bearing 23 in relation to the main structure 16 of the spring plate 1.

[0030] The ring-shaped main structure 16 comprises hollow chambers 28 for the purposes of reducing the weight of the spring plate 1, which is formed from a plastics material. FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the spring plate 1.

[0031] FIG. 3 shows a spring plate 1 for arrangement on the damper tube of a vibration damper in order, for the purposes of forming a spring strut, to support a suspension spring on the damper tube. For this purpose, the spring plate 1 comprises a ring-shaped main structure 16 with a spring receptacle 23, and the ring-shaped main structure 16 comprises hollow chambers 28 for the purposes of reducing the weight and for the purposes of simultaneously maintaining a high level of stiffness and for the purposes of supporting the spring mount 22.

[0032] The ring-shaped main structure 16 of the spring plate 1 is adjoined by guide means 14 in the form of tongues 15. If the spring plate 1 is fitted onto the damper tube of the vibration damper, the inner sides 17 of the tongues 15 lie against the outer side of the damper tube, and, by way of the outer side 18, the protective element can be guided for the purposes of protecting the piston rod of the vibration damper. For improved guidance, the outer sides 18 of the tongues 15 comprise guide strips 19.

[0033] The guide means 14 are integrally formed on a face side of the ring-shaped main structure 16 so as to extend axially from said face side, wherein the face side with the guide means 14 is situated opposite the face side which comprises the hollow chambers 28 for the purposes of stiffening the main body 16.

[0034] The invention is not restricted in terms of its embodiment to the preferred exemplary embodiment specified above, rather, numerous variants are conceivable which make use of the presented solution even in the case of fundamentally different embodiments. All of the features and/or advantages that emerge from the claims, from the description or from the drawings, including structural details or spatial arrangements, may be essential to the invention both individually and in a wide variety of combinations.

LIST OF REFERENCE DESIGNATIONS

[0035] 100 Spring strut [0036] 1 Spring plate [0037] 10 Suspension spring [0038] 11 Damper tube [0039] 12 Protective element [0040] 13 Piston rod [0041] 14 Guide means [0042] 15 Tongue [0043] 16 Ring-shaped main structure [0044] 17 Inner side [0045] 18 Outer side [0046] 19 Guide strip [0047] 20 Supporting shoulder [0048] 21 Tube shoulder [0049] 22 Spring mount [0050] 23 Damper bearing [0051] 24 Stop buffer [0052] 25 Cap [0053] 26 Connecting point [0054] 27 Longitudinal direction [0055] 28 Hollow chamber