US 5,848,676 AGranted

Shock absorbing strut with an aluminum container for a motor vehicle

AssigneeFichtel & Sachs AG

InventorBruno Deigner

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A vibration damper for a motor vehicle is taught, which vibration damper has a cylinder tube in which a piston rod which is centered by a piston rod guide can move axially. A container tube encloses the cylinder tube, and the container tube is made of a material which has a significantly higher coefficient of thermal expansion than the material of the cylinder tube. Aluminum is an example if the container tube material. A compensation device compensates for the length difference between the cylinder tube and the container tube at temperatures below and above the temperature at which the vibration damper is manufactured. The container tube is characterized by the fact that preferably at least two expansion beads are formed in the wall of the container tube. The expansion beads compensate for thermal changes in length of the container tube and hold the cylinder tube under a bias with respect to the container tube over the entire range of operating temperatures.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A vibration damper for a motor vehicle, said vibration damper comprising:

an arrangement for connecting to a first portion of a motor vehicle;
an arrangement for connecting to a second portion of a motor vehicle;
a cylinder;
said cylinder having a length;
a piston, said piston being slidably mounted inside said cylinder;
said piston dividing said cylinder into two working chambers;
a piston rod being connected to said piston to move with said piston;
an outer tube surrounding said cylinder;
said outer tube having a longitudinal axis;
said outer tube having a length and an axial direction along the longitudinal axis;
a suspension spring support plate for supporting a vehicle suspension spring;
a first axial support;
said suspension spring support plate and said first axial support being separate components such that said suspension spring support plate being removable from said outer tube without removing said first axial support from said outer tube;
said first axial support comprising an arrangement for supporting said suspension spring support plate in the axial direction;
said first axial support being disposed on said outer tube;
said outer tube comprising a second axial support;
said second axial support comprising an arrangement for supporting said first axial support on said outer tube in the axial direction;
and
said first axial support being configured to produce a friction force between said first support and said outer tube upon a vehicle suspension spring exerting a spring force on said suspension spring support plate.

16 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.