Brakes – Internal-resistance motion retarder – With heat exchanger
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-03
2001-07-17
Oberleitner, Robert J. (Department: 3613)
Brakes
Internal-resistance motion retarder
With heat exchanger
C188S276000, C267S034000, C267S064150
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260677
ABSTRACT:
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to that damper with a vehicle height adjusting function which is built in a suspension of a vehicle such as a motor vehicle or the like.
2. Background Art
As this kind of damper, the applicants of the present patent application have earlier proposed in a Japanese Patent Application No. 115550/1998 an inverted type of damper comprising a damper main body and a damper rod which is inserted into the damper main body from a bottom side so as to be movable up and down. On an outside of the damper main body, a cylindrical case which is coupled to the damper rod is provided so as to be movable up and down. Between the damper main body and the case, there is formed a pressure chamber which is filled therein with a pressure medium (refrigerant) which varies between a liquid state and a gaseous state. An electric heater is provided inside the pressure chamber. By means of this electric heater the pressure medium is heated and evaporated to thereby increase the vapor pressure inside the pressure chamber. The damper rod is thus pushed down relative to the damper main body by the vapor pressure to thereby increase the vehicle height.
In this damper, the electric heater is formed into a cylindrical shape and the electric heater is contained inside the pressure chamber in a manner to enclose the damper rod.
In the damper of this prior application, however, there is a disadvantage in that the electric heater cannot be mounted or dismounted unless the case is removed, resulting in a poor ease with which the maintenance of the electric heater can be performed. Further, since the cylindrical heater is vertically disposed in the bottom portion of the pressure chamber, there is a disadvantage in that, in preventing the damper main body from interfering with the heater, the suspension stroke is limited.
In view of the above points, the present invention has an object of providing an improved damper over the above-described damper of the earlier application by making it possible to easily mount or dismount the heater, thereby improving the ease with which the maintenance can be performed, as well as to minimize the influence on the suspension stroke.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
In order to attain the above-described object, the present invention is a damper with a vehicle height adjusting function, the damper being of an inverted type which is provided with a damper main body and a damper rod which is inserted from a bottom side into the damper main body so as to be movable up and down, wherein a cylindrical case which is coupled to the damper rod is provided outside the damper main body so as to be movable up and down, wherein a pressure chamber containing therein, in a hermetically sealed manner, a pressure medium which varies between a liquid state and a gaseous state is provided between the damper main body and the case, and wherein an electric heater is provided inside the pressure chamber to heat and evaporate the pressure medium, characterized in: that the electric heater is formed into a bar heater; and that the bar heater is horizontally inserted into a bottom portion of the pressure chamber through a connector portion which is provided in the case such that a tail portion of the bar heater is fitted in a threaded manner into the connector portion.
According to the present invention, the bar heater can be easily mounted or dismounted through the connector portion and, therefore, the ease with which the maintenance of the electric heater can be performed is improved. Further, the bar heater is arranged to be disposed in the horizontal posture at the bottom portion of the pressure chamber. As a result, the space as seen in the vertical direction between the bar heater and the damper main body can be secured large enough, and the influence on the suspension stroke becomes smaller.
By the way, the damper is arranged to be mounted on the vehicle in a state inclined inward as seen in a width direction of the vehicle. Here, if the bar heater is provided so as to be positioned on an inner side, as seen in a width direction of a vehicle, relative to the damper rod in a state in which the damper is mounted on the vehicle, the bar heater will not be exposed to the liquid surface of the pressure medium even if the damper is inclined inward. The pressure medium in the liquid phase can therefore be surely heated and evaporated by the bar heater.
Further, if a spacer member having formed therein a recessed groove for containing therein the bar heater is provided on an inner bottom of the pressure chamber, the pressure medium in the liquid phase will stay in the recessed groove. Therefore, even if the angle of inclination of the damper varies in a state in which the liquid surface level is considerably low, the bar heater will not be exposed to the liquid surface of the pressure medium. As a result, the amount of filling the pressure medium into the pressure chamber can be reduced to the extent possible. The cost of the damper can thus be reduced and the cost to recover the pressure medium at the time of scrapping the damper can also be reduced.
Further, if the spacer member is made of a resin, the thermal insulating property can be secured. The heat of the bar heater will thus be hardly dissipated outside. As a result, the heating efficiency of the pressure medium can advantageously be improved.
By the way, when the ambient temperature becomes high, the vapor pressure of the pressure medium which is hermetically filled into the pressure chamber increases, and the vehicle height consequently becomes large. As a solution, it is considered to provide a jacket portion which comes into thermal contact with the pressure chamber. When the ambient temperature becomes high, a coolant is then caused to flow by a pump through the jacket portion. The pressure medium is thus cooled and condensed to lower the vapor pressure, whereby the vehicle height is prevented from becoming large at the time of high ambient temperature. This arrangement, however, requires not only the pump but also a heat exchanger for cooling purpose in which the coolant heated in the jacket portion is cooled. This results in a higher cost.
In such a case, if that piping member for the coolant which is connected to the jacket portion is combined with a suspension arm to which the damper rod is coupled, the suspension arm functions as a heat radiating fin which is thermally connected to the piping member. The coolant which has been raised in temperature in the jacket portion can be effectively cooled by the cooling effect of the running wind that flows along the surface of the suspension arm. In this manner, even if a special heat exchanger for cooling purpose is not provided, the coolant that has been cooled is caused to flow through the jacket portion. The vehicle height can thus be prevented from becoming large at the time of high ambient temperature.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2805854 (1957-09-01), Gaebler
patent: 4477062 (1984-10-01), Smeltzer et al.
patent: 5927071 (1999-07-01), Asanuma et al.
patent: 6170621 (2001-01-01), Nakahara et al.
patent: 6179098 (2001-01-01), Hayakawa et al.
Hayakawa Yukio
Nakahara Kiyoshi
Armstrong Westerman Hattori McLeland & Naughton LLP
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
King Bradley
Oberleitner Robert J.
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