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News journalists report that a patent by the inventors Brouty, Cedric (Rouziers de Touraine, FR); Bussit, Sylvain (Monnaie, FR); Houdayer, Christophe (Semblancay, FR); Kumar G N, Hemanth (Bengalure, IN); Quenardelle, Pascal (Semblancay, FR); Soudee, Jean-Marc (Chambray-les-Tours, FR), filed on April 2, 2014, was published online on April 26, 2016.
The patent's assignee for patent number 9322435 is AKTIEBOLAGET SKF (Gothenburg, SE).
News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: "As a general rule, a motor vehicle suspension system comprises a suspension strut supporting an axle and a vehicle wheel. A suspension thrust bearing is disposed in the upper portion of the suspension strut, opposite the wheel and the ground, between a suspension spring and an upper support block attached to the body of the vehicle. The suspension thrust bearing includes at least one rolling bearing. The spring is disposed around a shock absorber piston rod, the end of which may be attached to the body of the vehicle.
"The suspension thrust bearing therefore enables transmission of axial forces between the spring and the body of the vehicle at the same time as allowing relative angular movement between the rolling bearing cup of the spring, which is mobile in rotation, and the fixed support block attached to the body. This relative angular movement may arise from turning a steerable wheel and/or compression of the suspension spring.
"A shock absorber bump stop, for example of rubber or elastomer, is generally mounted around the piston rod of the shock absorber and inserted in a bore in the lower cap and immobilized axially under the suspension thrust bearing.
"In the event of a shock to the suspension strut, the spring, the piston rod and the shock absorber bump stop are compressed axially and exert on the suspension thrust bearing a force that can exceed 60 kN. In particular, the shock absorber bump stop transmits an axial force against the suspension thrust bearing and is deformed radially. This radial deformation of the bump stop then exerts radial forces on the lower cap in which it is inserted, which can weaken the area of contact of the bump stop with the lower cap to the point of it breaking.
"It is this problem that the invention more particularly intends to address by proposing a new suspension thrust bearing that is simple and economical to manufacture and to assemble at the same time as guaranteeing high resistance of the shock absorber bump stop to transmitted shocks.
"To this end, the invention concerns a suspension thrust bearing including at least one rolling bearing forming an axial thrust bearing disposed on a lower cap. The lower cap includes a body with an annular rolling bearing portion for a spring and the tubular portion includes a bore in which a shock absorber bump stop is inserted.
"In accordance with the invention, an axial contact surface defined on the lower portion of the bore of the tubular portion against which the shock absorber bump stop when deformed exerts a radial force and the tubular portion includes a reinforcing insert located at the level of this axial contact surface.
"Thanks to the invention there is provided a suspension thrust bearing provided with a lower cap that is economical, robust and perfectly able to support forces encountered in normal use and forces caused by shocks transmitted by the shock absorber bump stop to the tubular portion.
"The invention makes it possible to avoid having recourse to costly techniques or materials, such as an entirely metal lower cap that does not lend itself well to centering rolling bearing races pressed from thin sheet metal, often of complex shape, and the rolling bearing engagement of which on the cap must be carefully designed and regular in order to avoid deformation and deterioration of the lower race. A metal lower cap also represents an additional cost because of the necessity of applying an anticorrosion treatment to it, for example by cataphoresis.
"Moreover, the suspension thrust bearing in accordance with the invention is suited to applications on different types of vehicles generating higher or lower axial and radial forces on the suspension, thereby making it possible to reduce greatly the cost of production of such a thrust bearing in that most of the component parts thereof may be made in one piece in one production operation and only the presence of an insert is specific for applications to very high forces applied in the event of shock."
As a supplement to the background information on this patent, VerticalNews correspondents also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent: "In accordance with advantageous but not obligatory aspects of the invention, such a rolling bearing device may incorporate one or more of the following features in any technically permissible combination: The suspension thrust bearing includes at least one rolling bearing comprising an upper race, a lower race and a rolling bearing chamber between the two races in which rolling members are inserted. The rolling members are balls. The rolling members are held apart circumferentially by a cage. At least one of the two races of at least one of the rolling bearings of the suspension thrust bearing consists of pressed sheet metal having a substantially constant thickness. The suspension thrust bearing includes an upper cap in direct contact with the rolling bearing, the upper cap being mounted on and fastened to a support block connected to the chassis of a vehicle. The upper cap includes a synthetic material body. The upper cap has a shape matching that of the upper race of the rolling bearing. The lower cap is made from a plastic synthetic material. The annular portion of the lower cap supports the bearing directly on the upper side. The annular portion of the lower cap includes a metal annular support part supporting the rolling bearing. The annular portion of the lower cap has a shape matching that of the lower race of the rolling bearing. The suspension thrust bearing includes axial retaining means between the upper cap and the lower cap so as to constitute with the rolling bearing a unitary assembly. The axial retaining means between the upper and lower caps consist in an axial skirt of the upper cap including at its extremity a hook interfering with an annular rib of the lower cap. The tubular portion of the lower cap includes in its bore an annular bead directed toward the interior side of the suspension thrust bearing, the bead cooperating and interfering with an upper annular rib of the shock absorber bump stop enabling axial retention of the bump stop in the lower cap of the thrust bearing. The insert is made from a material having a hardness greater than that of the material constituting the body of the lower cap, for example from metal. The reinforcing insert is buried in the lower portion of the lower cap, for example by molding the cap around the insert. The reinforcing insert of the tubular portion of the lower cap includes at least one axial portion. The reinforcing insert of the tubular portion of the lower cap includes a first axial portion on the interior side of the thrust bearing, a second axial portion on the exterior side of the thrust bearing, the two axial portions being interconnected by a radial portion. Such a shape enables spring properties to be imparted to the insert, thereby reinforcing the cap in the event of shocks from the shock absorber bump stop at the same time as damping the deformation and facilitating the return to the initial shape after the force. The radial portion connecting the two axial portions of the reinforcing insert is located on the lower side of the thrust bearing, globally imparting a U-shape to the insert. The annular bead includes a reinforcing insert enabling its reinforcement in the event of a force exerted by the shock absorber bump stop. The first axial portion of the insert located on the interior side of the suspension includes including a radial portion directed essentially toward the interior side of the thrust bearing. The radial portion is located in the annular bead.
"The invention also concerns a suspension strut equipped with a suspension thrust bearing as described above."
For additional information on this patent, see: Brouty, Cedric; Bussit, Sylvain; Houdayer, Christophe; Kumar G N, Hemanth; Quenardelle, Pascal; Soudee, Jean-Marc. Suspension Thrust Bearing Device and Suspension Strut Equipped with Such a Thrust Bearing. U.S. Patent Number 9322435, filed April 2, 2014, and published online on April 26, 2016.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| NK19/20R NTN | 19 | 27 | 20 |
| NK19/16R NTN | 19 | 27 | 16 |