Abstract:
A jounce bumper assembly is provided including a retainer to secure a dust shield and a jounce bumper to a top mount. The retainer has a base portion adapted to engage an end of the jounce bumper. The retainer further includes a retainer clip adapted to retain mating surfaces of the dust shield and top mount in tension thereby eliminating or reducing noise and loose assembly due to tolerance stack-up of the jounce bumper assembly.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates to suspension systems for motor vehicles, and more particularly to a tolerance eliminating assembly retainer for use in a jounce bumper assembly in a suspension system of a motor vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. 
         [0003]    Jounce bumper assemblies may be used in suspension systems of motor vehicles. Such assemblies may require multiple components to be secured together. Due to variations in the manufacturing process and the high cost to produce components of exact dimensions, each individual finished component may not be the ideal dimensions according to design. If the dimensions of the component fall within a range of an allowed size difference, they may be within an acceptable dimensional tolerance and may be used in the assemblies. While a small dimensional difference in one component may not noticeably affect the assembly, the total dimensional difference that may result from multiple components of varying dimensional tolerances can lead to unwanted noise or loose assembly of the components. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    The present invention provides a retainer for a jounce bumper assembly which eliminates noise and loose assembly of components by eliminating the total dimensional variation, or tolerance stack-up, of multiple components in the assembly. The retainer has a cavity to retain an end of the jounce bumper. The retainer also has distinctive interface clips to secure itself and the dust shield to a top mount of a motor vehicle. Thus, the retainer provides a unique way to securely attach the jounce bumper and dust shield to the top mount of a motor vehicle. 
         [0005]    Due to the elastic properties of the interface clip, components of the assembly can be easily connected. Due to the tensile properties of the interface clip, once components are connected, the components are kept in tension and securely held throughout the tolerance range of the component dimensions. By securing the jounce bumper assembly in such a fashion, the retainer can reduce or eliminate loose assembly and noise between components due to tolerance stack-up. Use of the present novel retainer will also decrease manufacturing costs, as the retainer will allow for more lenient tolerance ranges of the various components in the assembly. 
         [0006]    Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of a jounce bumper assembly constructed according to the principles of the present disclosure; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a retainer of a jounce bumper assembly according to the principles of the present disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the retainer shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a more detailed view of a retainer clip of  FIG. 3 ; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating an alternative retainer engaged with a jounce bumper and a dust boot according to the principles of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. 
         [0014]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , a jounce bumper assembly  10  is shown. The jounce bumper assembly  10  includes a jounce bumper  11  and a retainer  12 . Retainer  12  has a generally cylindrical base portion  14  with a central aperture  16  to receive a piston rod  18 . It should be noted that retainer  12  may have any suitable geometry and is not limited to a cylindrical base portion. Piston rod  18  extends through a striker cap  20 , through an aperture  11   a  in jounce bumper  11  and through aperture  16  of retainer  12  into a top mount  22  of a motor vehicle. 
         [0015]    The top mount  22  includes a metal housing  24 , an elastomeric body  26 , a spring isolator  28  and a metal washer insert  30 . An aperture in the metal insert  30  receives a necked down portion  32  of piston rod  18 . Necked down portion  32  can be secured to metal insert  30  by nut  34 . 
         [0016]    Dust shield  36  extends from the bottom of top mount  22  to shock absorber body  38  that interfaces with striker cap  20 . Dust shield  36  may be slip fit or clamped to shock absorber body  38  and prevents debris from getting into assembly  10 . 
         [0017]    With further reference to  FIG. 2 , the retainer  12  has a generally cylindrical base portion  14  and a plurality of retainer interface clips  42  extending from the base portion  14  adjacent aperture  16 . The retainer  12  can be formed as a unitary one-piece member from an engineering plastic material. As shown in  FIG. 4 , retainer clips  42  each include a base  44  coupled to a top surface  46  of base portion  14 , a leg  48  extending from the base  44  and extending axially from top surface  46 , and a retaining projection  50  extending radially outward a distal end of leg  48 . 
         [0018]    With further reference to  FIG. 3 , base portion  14  of retainer  12  defines a cavity  40 . Cavity  40  includes a large diameter portion  52  at an innermost end and a small diameter portion  54 . Large diameter portion  52  is adapted to accept a flange  56  on a male end of jounce bumper  11  and is retained in cavity  40  by a shoulder  58 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the retainer  12 ′ can alternatively be provided with a radially protruding flange  52 ′ on an outer surface that is adapted to be supported in a cavity  70  by a flange  72  in a female end  74  of a jounce bumper  11 ′. 
         [0019]    With further reference to  FIG. 4 , projection  50  includes an outboard portion  60  angled outward from a longitudinal axis  62  of leg  48  and an inboard portion  64  angled outward from an axis perpendicular to axis  62 . A contact portion  66  is adjacent the inboard portion  64 . Outboard portion  60  is adapted to reduce the force needed to insert the clips  42  into the top mount  22 . The angle of outboard portion  60  allows a dust shield  36  or top mount  22  to slide into a seated position on contact portion  66 . Inboard portion  64  is adapted to increase the amount of force needed to disassemble dust shield  36  and top mount  22  from the retainer clip  42  once seated against contact portion  66 . The vertical length L of contact portion  66  can be greater or equal to the tolerance stack-up in the assembly. 
         [0020]    According to a preferred embodiment, one or more retainer clips  42  can be coupled to top surface  46  at selected intervals around aperture  16  with projection  50  extending away from piston rod  18 . In the case of a single clip, the clip would be a continuous solid flexible ring. The contact portion  66  of each retainer clip  42  defines a contact face diameter D around aperture  16 , which is larger than the mating surface diameter of top mount  22 , thus creating constant tension between the contact portion  66  and the mating surface diameters. Outboard portion  60  can be angled A 1  outward between 5 and 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis  62 . Inboard portion  64  can be angled outward between 5 and 45 degrees from an axis perpendicular to axis  62 . Contact portion  66  can be angled between 5 and 45 degrees outward from the longitudinal axis  62 . The angles of the outboard portion  60 , inboard portion  64  and contact portion  66  can be selected for a specific application based upon tolerance stack-ups. 
         [0021]    The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.