Land vehicles – Wheeled – Running gear
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-20
2001-09-25
Swann, J. J. (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Running gear
C280S124165, C280S124177, C280S124147, C267S220000, C267S033000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293572
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns framing for a vehicle, and more particularly, to an improved rear frame structure for rear suspension components, primarily MacPherson type strut components which combine a shock absorber and a coil spring in a unitary assembly, the lower end portion of the strut component is operatively attached to a rear wheel support or spindle and the upper end of which is operably attached to the vehicle framing structure. The framing structure incorporates a pair of vertically oriented strut support towers spaced from one another laterally across the vehicle. A pair of laterally extending upper and lower cross beams extend between and are attached to the strut towers wherein a high degree of accuracy in tower spacing and alignment contributes to very accurate positioning thereof, particularly of the tower's upper end portions which are operably attached to the associated MacPherson suspension components. The subject arrangement provides an isolation structure between the suspension component's upper end portion and the framing structure for greatly reducing vibration and noise transmission during operation of the vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Prior to the present invention is was known to provide various reinforced rear framing structures and strut configurations have been designed to operatively mount the rear suspension components with the object of providing a comfortable ride and increased storage space within the vehicle body in the form of an enlarged luggage/cargo space.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,794, for A Support Column for an Automotive Vehicle Wheel Suspension Assembly, issued Oct. 11, 1983, discloses a rear frame structure with support columns or suspension strut towers that are connected at an upper end by a thin-walled upper rear shelf panel and at a lower end by a substantially flat floor panel. With this construction, the suspension strut towers are designed to support rear wheel suspension components but are not readily adjustable relative to any supports for establishing a high degree of accuracy in spacing or parallelism.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,214, for A Rear Body Structure for Automotive Vehicles, issued Sept. 27, 1994, opposing suspension strut towers are connected at their lower ends to special gusset constructions which are in turn connected to a floor cross member and are connected at their upper ends by gussets which are in turn connected to a panel-like rear shelve tray, thereby requiring additional means to stiffen the corners of a pass-through structure which reduces the opening size and the utility of the pass-through feature.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,025, issued Aug. 21, 1990 for Automobile Rear Body Structures, a rear deck, fenders, inner panels and rear wheel houses are joined to form a compartment for receiving external forces such as from road shock imparted through the rear wheel suspension struts.
The framing arrangements disclosed in the previous prior patents provide various constructions and improvements to the vehicle body structures, they incorporate additional parts, assembly operations, and expense to achieve a sufficient degree of accuracy to provide a stable suspension strut platform for mounting suspension components. More particularly, the prior constructions do not provide the isolation of the suspension component from the strut tower and framing structure as in the subject embodiment. Resultantly, the suspension springs and shock absorbers cannot operate with high efficiency to dampen road caused vibrations while still isolating the vehicle body from feedback from the suspension components.
In addition to the previously discussed prior art, the following patents are disclosed to more completely disclose the state of the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,415, issued Aug. 26, 1997 for “A Torque Box Assembly for a Vehicle”, a torque box for mounting a rear suspension trailing link is shown attached to a vehicle frame side rail and a body side rail for receiving external forces such as from road shock imparted through the rear wheel suspension.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/678,285, filed Jul. 11, 1996, entitled “Bracket With Floating Tap Plate for Connecting Vehicle Suspension to Body” a fastener for attaching a portion of a vehicle suspension to a vehicle body is disclosed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention provides an improved suspension isolation arrangement for a vehicle's rear framing structure having a pair of suspension strut towers spaced laterally across the vehicle and with an upper cross beam and a lower cross beam affixed to the strut towers for providing great rigidity. The suspension strut towers each provide a suspension support for an upper end portion of a suspension component, particularly a MacPherson type strut which is a combined shock absorber and coil suspension spring. Resultantly, the improved arrangement isolates the vehicle framing from vibrations and periodic road induced forces imposed on the suspension components due to road irregularities as encountered by a vehicle wheel and tire.
The framing structure's upper cross beam comprises a unitary member extending laterally across the vehicle between the upper end portions of two suspension strut tower units which are spaced in the lateral direction of the vehicle. The upper end portion of each strut tower unit serves to operably support one end of a suspension component, the other end of which is attached to a rear wheel carrying structure. The upper cross beam has a closed construction when viewed in cross-section which imparts great rigidity thereto. The opposite end portions of the upper cross beam are operably attached to the upper portions of the suspension strut towers. In cooperation with the above described rigid platform, the subject invention provides an improved isolation structure carried by the strut tower and end portion of the cross beam for mounting an active end of the associated suspension component or MacPherson type strut. This isolation arrangement greatly inhibits transmission of road related vibrations to the vehicle framing from the suspension component.
The upper end portion of each strut tower defines a yoke-like configuration defined primarily by a pair of spaced side walls. An end portion of the cross beam is cradled in each yoke and extends between the spaced side walls of the strut tower. In assembly of the vehicle, the ends of the cross beam are nestled in or floated in the yoke portions which allows a sliding adjustment of the end of the beam between the spaced side walls. This sliding adjustment permits the upper portion of each strut tower to be adjusted laterally into a desired accurate alignment with the vehicle and with respect to the other strut tower for creating a truly parallel arrangement. Subsequently, the overlying side walls of each strut tower are attached to the adjacent end portion of the upper cross beam preferably by a plurality of widely spaced spot welds so that the framing structure is rigidly interconnected and the strut towers are accurately positioned to the desired location.
Another feature of this invention is to provide an improved “closed loop” framing structure for a vehicle that defines rigid supports for rear suspension components such as a shock absorber or a combination shock absorber and spring, i.e., a MacPherson strut. The upper end portion of the MacPherson strut is attached to a vibration isolating structure which inhibits transmission of road induced vibrations from the MacPherson strut to the vehicle framing. In addition to the upper cross beam, the framing structure also has a lower cross beam which is cooperative with the vehicle's floor to which it is welded and forms a substantially closed structure when viewed in cross-section. At each end of the lower cross beam, a side frame rail is attached to the lower cross beam and to the lower portion of the suspension strut towers. Each side rail also extends forward from the strut tower to establish a solid attachmen
Corporon Max A.
Robbins Norman B.
Calcaterra Mark P.
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Swann J. J.
Zeender F.
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