U.S. patent application number 10/603842 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-30 for elastomer hanger for an elastomer suspension.
Invention is credited to Bezi, Laszlo, Gartner, Udo, Lu, Gang, Molnar, Pal, Oseguera, Miguel, Rafas, Ludmilla, Remsei, Laszlo, Wolfe, Paul.
Application Number | 20040262460 10/603842 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33539812 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040262460 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Molnar, Pal ; et
al. |
December 30, 2004 |
Elastomer hanger for an elastomer suspension
Abstract
A hanger for an exhaust suspension has a mass dampener structure
having a dampener mass with a central passage, an elastomer spring
in the form of a sleeve received in the passage of the dampener
mass and spring has an arrangement for connecting the mass dampener
structure to a connecting pin. The mass dampener structure is
connected to a first ring portion by an arrangement including a
pair of elastomer arms. The elastomer spring is tuned to have a
stiffness greater than the remaining portion of the hanger.
Inventors: |
Molnar, Pal; (Budapest,
HU) ; Lu, Gang; (Windsor, CA) ; Wolfe,
Paul; (Clinton Township, MI) ; Oseguera, Miguel;
(Qro, MX) ; Gartner, Udo; (Wachtersbach, DE)
; Bezi, Laszlo; (Budapest, HU) ; Remsei,
Laszlo; (Szekesfehervar, HU) ; Rafas, Ludmilla;
(Budapest, HU) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SCHIFF HARDIN, LLP
PATENT DEPARTMENT
6600 SEARS TOWER
CHICAGO
IL
60606-6473
US
|
Family ID: |
33539812 |
Appl. No.: |
10/603842 |
Filed: |
June 25, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/60 ; 248/610;
267/140.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16F 1/3873 20130101;
F16F 1/3842 20130101; B60K 13/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/060 ;
248/610; 267/140.12 |
International
Class: |
E21F 017/02 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A hanger for an exhaust suspension, said hanger comprising a
first ring portion of an elastomer, said hanger comprising a first
ring portion of an elastomer material having a central aperture for
receiving a fastening element; a mass dampener structure having a
dampener mass with a central passage; first means for resiliently
connecting the mass dampener structure to the first ring portion;
and an elastomer spring being disposed in the central passage, said
spring having second means for connecting the mass dampener
structure to a member and having at least one axial opening for
adjusting the resilience of the spring, said first means being
connected to the mass dampener structure to form a serial
connection with the elastomer spring.
2. A hanger according to claim 1, wherein the first means is a pair
of elastomer arms extending from the mass dampener structure to the
first ring portion.
3. A hanger according to claim 2, wherein the pair of elastomer
arms have an arcuate shape.
4. A hanger according to claim 1, wherein the second means includes
a pin connected to the member being received in an axial central
opening of the elastomer spring with a fit that enables assembly by
hand but prevents sliding movement of the pin relative to the
elastomer spring.
5. A hanger according to claim 4, wherein the elastomer spring has
two axial openings for adjusting the resilience of the spring
member.
6. A hanger according to claim 5, wherein the two axial openings
lie on opposite sides of the axial central opening of the elastomer
spring and on a line extending from the central aperture of the
first ring portion through the passage of the dampener mass.
7. A hanger according to claim 5, wherein the stiffness of the
elastomer spring is larger than the stiffness of the remaining
portions of the hanger structure.
8. A hanger according to claim 1, wherein the spring member has two
axial openings for adjusting the resilience of the spring
member.
9. A hanger according to claim 8, wherein the spring member has a
greater stiffness in relationship to the stiffness of the remaining
portions of the hanger.
10. A hanger according to claim 1, wherein the dampener mass is a
metal ring.
11. A hanger according to claim 10, wherein the metal ring is a
steel ring.
12. A hanger according to claim 1, wherein the mass dampener
structure includes a covering of elastomer material bonded onto the
dampener mass, and the first means comprises a pair of arms
integral with the covering and extending to the first ring
portion.
13. A hanger according to claim 12, wherein the spring element is a
sleeve portion which is integral with the covering of the mass
dampener structure.
14. A hanger according to claim 1, wherein the elastomer spring has
a greater stiffness than the remaining portions of the hanger
structure.
15. A hanger according to claim 1, wherein the elastomer spring and
the first means are made of a peroxide molded
ethylene-propylene-diene monomer.
16. An elastomer exhaust suspension comprising a mounting member
for attachment to a vehicle frame; a connecting pin for connecting
to a member of an exhaust system; and a hanger comprising a first
ring portion of an elastomer material having a central aperture for
receiving a fastening element of the mounting member, a mass
dampener structure having a dampener mass with a central passage,
first means for resiliently connecting the mass dampener structure
to the first ring portion, and an elastomer spring being disposed
in the central passage, said spring having second means for
connecting the mass dampener structure to the connecting pin and
having at least one axial opening for adjusting the resilience of
the spring, said first means being connected to the mass dampener
structure to form a serial connection with the spring.
17. An elastomer exhaust suspension according to claim 16, wherein
the elastomer spring is a sleeve portion having an axial central
opening in addition to the at least one axial opening, the second
means includes the axial central opening of the sleeve portion
receiving the pin with a fit which enables insertion of the pin
into the central opening by hand and prevents sliding movement
between the pin and said sleeve portion.
18. An elastomer exhaust suspension according to claim 17, wherein
the connecting pin is provided with an integral washer and a head
for holding the pin axially within the central opening of the
sleeve portion.
19. An elastomer exhaust suspension according to claim 16, wherein
the firs; means are elastomer arms integral with the first ring
portion and integral with a covering bonded onto the dampener
mass.
20. An elastomer exhaust suspension according to claim 19, wherein
the elastomer spring is a sleeve portion which is integral with the
covering so that the covering, sleeve portion, elastomer arms and
first ring portion are of the same material.
21. An elastomer exhaust suspension according to claim 20, wherein
the same material is a peroxide molded
ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer.
22. An elastomer exhaust suspension according to claim 21, wherein
the spring member has a greater stiffness than the remaining
portions of the hanger structure.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is directed to a hanger for a
suspension arrangement utilizing the hanger, which hanger has
vibration dampening properties.
[0002] When mounting a power unit on a vehicle chassis, mounts
having elastomer material have been used. For example, see U.S.
Pat. No. 4,471,935, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by
reference thereto. In suspending a vehicle exhaust system from the
frame of the vehicle, various hanger arrangements have been
suggested. For example, a one-piece elastic support is suggested by
U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,324, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by
reference thereto. Another example of a resilient hanger structure
is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,909 and U.S. Pat. No.
6,070,849, whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference
thereto, along with European Patent Specification 0 320 088 B1 and
European Patent 0 529 250 B1. The hanger arrangement in each of
these patent documents provide various hanger structures which are
designed to have the desired amount of deflection and absorption
and/or isolation of vibration between an exhaust system and a
chassis of a motor vehicle.
[0003] It is desirable to form a hanger for an exhaust suspension
which avoids complicated assembly processes, has good absorbance
characteristics and enables utilizing the materials that would
reduce the cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] To obtain a hanger for an exhaust suspension which has
reduced cost, a good absorption characteristic with regard to
stiffness and avoids complicated assembly processes, an embodiment
is a hanger comprising a first ring portion of an elastomer
material having a central opening or aperture for receiving a
fastening element, a mass dampener structure having a dampener mass
with a central passage; an elastomer spring being disposed in the
central passage, said spring having means for connecting the mass
dampener structure to a member and having at least one axial
opening for adjusting the resilience of the spring, and means for
resiliently connecting the mass dampener structure to the first
ring portion, the means being connected to the mass dampener
structure to form a serial connection with the elastomer
spring.
[0005] In the illustrated embodiment, the dampener mass with the
central or center passage is formed by a metal ring, preferably a
steel ring. The means for resiliently connecting the mass dampener
structure to the first ring portion are preferably a pair of
elastomer arms which are connected on opposite sides of the mass
dampener structure and are integrally formed with the ring portion.
These arms are preferably vulcanized to the mass dampener structure
and, as illustrated, are integral with a covering vulcanized or
bonded on the metal ring forming the dampener mass and integrally
formed with the elastomer spring, which is a sleeve-like element
disposed in the center passage of the metal ring forming the
dampener mass. In the preferred embodiments, the material of the
elastomer sleeve or spring element, the covering and the arms, as
well as the first ring portion are the same and preferably a
peroxide-molded ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer.
[0006] When the hanger is used in an elastomer exhaust suspension,
the suspension includes a mounting member for attachment to a
vehicle frame and the means for connecting the mass dampener
structure to a member includes a connecting pin, which will be
attached to a portion of the exhaust system, such as an exhaust
pipe, and is received in an axially-extending opening of the sleeve
portion forming the elastomer spring with a fit which is soft
enough to enable insertion by a hand but is tight enough to prevent
or limit relative movement between the surface of the pin and the
inner surface of the opening in the elastomer spring. It is also
possible that the pin is bonded in the sleeve portion forming the
elastomer spring and that the sleeve portion and pin are inserted
in the passage of the metal ring forming the dampener mass with a
fit which is also soft enough to allow insertion by hand, but tight
enough to prevent rotation between the outer surface of the sleeve
portion and the inner surface of the passage.
[0007] Regardless of whether the sleeve portion forming the
elastomer spring is integrally formed with the covering and arms or
is a separate element, the stiffness is larger than the total
stiffness of the hanger structure. In other words, the spring
element or sleeve is the stiffest portion of the hanger.
[0008] Other advantages and features of the invention will be
readily apparent from the following description, the claims and
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elastomer exhaust
suspension in accordance with the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the elastomer exhaust
suspension of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a side view taken from the right side of FIG.
2;
[0012] FIG. 4 is an end view taken from the bottom of FIG. 2;
and
[0013] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view with portions in elevation
taken along the lines V-V of FIG. 2 with a pin, a portion of an
exhaust system and a portion of a vehicle frame.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] The principles of the present invention are particularly
useful in a hanger assembly, generally indicated at 10 in FIG. 1.
The hanger assembly includes a metal support or mounting member 11
for the elastomer hanging structure 20, which structure includes a
mass dampener structure 30. The hanger structure has, at an upper
part, a small, substantially ring-shaped portion 22 with an
aperture 24, as best shown in FIG. 5. A rivet 12 passes through the
aperture 24 to mount the hanger structure 20 in a metal support or
bracket 11, which can be mounted on the vehicle frame structure 61
by fasteners or bolts 62 extending through an aperture 13. The
hanger structure 20 also has a pair of arms 26, which are integral
with the ring-shaped portion 22 and are connected to the mass
dampener structure 30 at connecting points 28 on opposite sides of
the structure 30, which has a ring shape. As illustrated in FIGS. 1
and 2, the arms 26 have a curved shape and space the structure 30
from the ring portion 22. The arms 26 form spring elements which
form a means for resiliently connecting the mass dampener structure
to the first ring portion 22.
[0015] The mass dampener structure 30 includes a dampener mass 31
which, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, has a central passage, aperture
or opening 32. The dampener mass 31 is formed by a metal ring,
which is preferably a steel ring. The mass or ring 31 has a
covering 33 which is vulcanized onto the dampener mass 31 and which
has a sleeve portion 34 filling the aperture or central opening 32
of the ring-shaped dampener mass 31. This sleeve portion 34 acts as
an elastic spring element of the mass dampener structure 30. To
adjust the elastomer spring 34, two axial openings or apertures 36,
which are an upper and lower aperture, are provided around the
aperture 38 of the sleeve portion 34.
[0016] The hanger 20 has means for connecting the hanger to a
member, such as an exhaust pipe 60 of an exhaust system (see FIG.
5). This means is illustrated as a sleeve portion 34 receiving a
pin 50. The elastomer spring element or sleeve 34 is radially
pre-biased so that the pin 50 cannot move relative to the sleeve
34. Thus, the spring element 34 has a pre-bias to form a fit soft
enough to enable assembly of the pin by hand in the aperture 38,
but firm enough to prevent any sliding movement between the surface
of the pin and the inner surface of the aperture 38. To facilitate
this, the pin preferably is provided with a conical head at one end
and a washer-like shoulder 54 spaced inward from the head and
integral with the pin. As illustrated, the other end of the pin is
connected to the exhaust pipe 60. As mentioned hereinabove, the
means for connecting could also have the sleeve 34 bonded onto the
pin; in which case, the pin would not need the head 52 and the
washer-like shoulder 54 and then the pin with the sleeve 34 could
be inserted into the aperture or central passage 32. Again, the
sleeve would be designed to provide a fit which is soft enough to
allow assembly by hand, but firm enough to prevent relative
movement of the outer surface of the sleeve with the inner surface
of the opening 32.
[0017] As mentioned above, the arrangement of the arms and the
sleeve shows that the metal ring forming the dampener mass 31 is in
series with the spring formed by the sleeve 34 and the spring-like
elements of the arms 26.
[0018] As illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the structure 30 has indents or
recesses, such as 40. The hanger 20 has ribs, such as 29, adjacent
the connection of each of the arms 26 to the ring portion 22 and
ribs 41 on the outer surface of the arms. These ribs or projections
are part of the production feature. It is also noted that the
elastic portion or ring 22, the arms 26 as well as the covering 33
having the sleeve portion 34 can be integrally formed of the same
elastomer.
[0019] The elastomer exhaust suspension has the advantage of a
reduced transferal or amplification reaction of oscillations and,
thus, a reduced transmission of noise from the exhaust pipe 60 to
the vehicle structure, such as 61, of the car body. To achieve a
good absorbance characteristic, the stiffness of the spring element
34 of the dampener structure 30 has to be clearly larger than the
stiffness of the remaining portion of the hanger structure 20. In
particular, this stiffness relationship ensures that also higher
frequencies can be absorbed by a relatively soft suspension in a
cold state as well as in a warm state.
[0020] Another advantage of this type of serial connection of the
suspension means is the tunability of its absorbency on its
geometric form, in particular to achieve the stiffness
relationship, even with one and the same material, which
facilitates an adaptation to different loads. The serial connection
of the hanger 20 and the elastomer spring 34 via the arms 26
simplifies the exhaust suspension structure and reduces the cost.
The absorbance characteristics of peroxide molded EPDM
(Ethylene-Propylene-Diene-Monomer) compositions are sufficient for
usage with the exhaust suspension system of the invention. This
material choice leads to a greater cost reduction compared to the
normally-used material VMQ (Methyl-Vinyl-Silicone Rubber).
[0021] Although various minor modifications may be suggested by
those versed in the art, it should be understood that we wish to
embody within the scope of the patent granted hereon all such
modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of
our contribution to the art.
* * * * *