Shock absorber and vehicle

Abstract

 A shock absorber (11) and a vehicle (10) including the shock absorber (11) are provided. For absorbing an impact of a sliding door of the vehicle (10) caused by moving the sliding door from a non-open position to an open position the shock absorber (11) comprises a base body (25), a first impact element (19), and a second impact element (20) arranged behind the first impact element (19) in an impact direction (18). Between the first impact element (19) and the second impact element (20) a gap (22) is arranged.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a shock absorber for absorbing an impact of a sliding door of a vehicle caused by moving the sliding door from a non-open position to an open position as well as to a vehicle including such a shock absorber.

[0002] Shock absorbers for the aforementioned purpose are known in the prior art. Shock absorbers prevent a just opened sliding door from bouncing back. The known shock absorbers have ability for absorbing impact energy of around 12 to 13 Joule.

[0003] It is an objective of the present invention to provide a shock absorber for a vehicle and a vehicle with improved means for absorbing a higher value of impact energy.

[0004] According to the present invention, this objective is achieved by a shock absorber as claimed in claim 1 and by a vehicle as claimed in claim 8. The depending claims contain further developments of the invention.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention a shock absorber for absorbing an impact of a sliding door of a vehicle caused by moving the sliding door from a non-open position to an open position is provided. The shock absorber comprises a base body, a first impact element, and a second impact element arranged behind the first impact element in an impact direction. Between the first impact element and the second impact element a gap is arranged.

[0006] By this measure, the shock absorber has a spring rate with a progressive characteristic. Light and middle strong impacts of the opening sliding door are absorbed only by the first impact element. For stronger impacts the second impact element is arranged additionally. Due to the gap between the first and the second impact element the performance of the first impact element is not impaired by the second impact element. Thus, the first reaction to an impact at the shock absorber can be designed soft. Nonetheless, the shock absorber can provide a high absorbability.

[0007] In a further development of the inventive shock absorber the first impact element is formed by an impact ring and the gap is formed by a ring hole of the impact ring.

[0008] The ring is an easy and robust solution for generating a gap between the first and the second impact element.

[0009] In a still further development of the inventive shock absorber the impact ring comprises an impact head. In particular, the impact head may be a thickening of the ring.

[0010] By this measure, the impact ring is reinforced. Thus, the ring has a higher fatigue resistance.

[0011] In a still further development of the inventive shock absorber the second impact element is formed by an impact bulge, which is arranged within the ring hole. In particular, the impact bulge exhibits a bulge top, which is arranged in the centre of the ring hole.

[0012] By this measure, the course of the spring rate of the shock absorber is prevented from a decreasing sector. Thus, the shock absorber is able to work efficiently. Thus, the shock absorber can be designed with a shorter total length along the impact direction.

[0013] In a further development of the inventive shock absorber the shock absorber is made from one piece.

[0014] By this measure, the fatigue resistance of the shock absorber is increased.

[0015] In a further development of the inventive shock absorber the shock absorber is made of butyl rubber material.

[0016] This material provides better characteristics than the usually used ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber.

[0017] According to a second aspect of the present invention a vehicle is provided. The inventive vehicle comprises at least one inventive shock absorber. In particular, the vehicle may comprise two shock absorbers. A first shock absorber may be arranged in an upper track of a sliding door of the vehicle and a second shock absorber may be arranged in a lower track of the sliding door.

[0018] Thus, the benefits of the inventive shock absorber will also be present in the inventive vehicle. The energy of an opening sliding door can be absorbed by the at least one shock absorber. The sliding door will not bounce back even if the door was opened with a higher momentum.

[0019] Further features, properties and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description of embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1

shows an example of an inventive vehicle.

Figure 2

shows a first embodiment of an inventive shock absorber.

Figure 3

shows a second embodiment of an inventive shock absorber.

[0020] The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows an example of an inventive vehicle 10.

[0021] The vehicle 10 in Fig. 1 is shown without a rear sliding door for illustrating a door cut-out 12 of the vehicle 10. In particular, the vehicle 10 is a van or a minivan or a multi-purpose vehicle. The rear sliding door may be guided in an upper track 13 and a lower track 14 and a rear sliding rail 15 as it is usual in the state of the art. The sliding door is movable essentially in longitudinal direction of the vehicle 10 from a front position to a rear position and vice versa. The rearmost position is the open position. Moreover, the rear sliding door includes support means by which the rear sliding door is connected to a body 26 of the vehicle 10.

[0022] Fig. 1 shows an upper mounting position 16 and a lower mounting position 17. These two positions are the preferred positions for mounting an inventive shock absorber 11. The upper mounting position 16 is located at the rear end of the upper track 13 and the lower mounting position 17 is located at the rear end of the lower track 14. It is also conceivable that the shock absorber 11 is arranged at the rear sliding rail 15.

[0023] In the open position of the rear sliding door the support means of the rear sliding door are in contact with the shock absorbers 11. The shock absorbers 11 prevent the rear sliding door from bouncing back in forward direction by absorbing the impact energy. In particular, the inventive shock absorber 11 is adapted for absorbing energy of up to 16 Joule.

[0024] A first embodiment of the inventive shock absorber 11 is shown in Fig. 2 and a second embodiment of the inventive shock absorber 11 is shown in Fig. 3. The shock absorber 11 comprises a base body 25. To the base body 25 a first impact element 19 and a second impact element 20 are attached. In an impact direction 18 the first impact element 19 is arranged in front of the second impact element 20. Between the first impact element 19 and the second impact element 20 a gap 22 is present. In an installed state of the shock absorber 11 the impact direction 18 equates the opening direction of the rear sliding door.

[0025] While the shock absorber 11 is receiving impact energy at first the first impact element 19 will be deformed without affecting the second impact element 20. By deforming the first impact element 19 the gap 22 will be reduced. After closing the gap 22 the second impact element 20 will receive the impact energy together with the first impact element 19. The deformation is an elastic deformation.

[0026] The base body 25 of the shock absorber 11 may comprise means by which the shock absorber 11 can be fastened to the vehicle 10, for example a mounting hole 23.

[0027] The second impact element 20 may be an impact bulge 20. The impact bulge 20 is attached to the base body 25. In particular, the impact bulge 20 may be formed integrally with the base body 25. The impact bulge 20 includes a bulge top 24. The bulge top 24 shows towards the impact direction 18 and may have a convex form.

[0028] The first impact element 19 may be an impact ring 19. The impact ring 19 is attached to the base body 25 in the impact direction behind the impact bulge 20 and surrounds the impact bulge 20. The impact ring includes a ring hole 22. The ring hole 22 may form the gap 22 between the impact ring 19 as first impact element 19 and the impact bulge 20 a second impact element 20. The bulge top 24 may be arranged in the centre of the ring hole 22.

[0029] The impact ring 19 may comprise an impact head 21. At the impact head 21 the impact ring 19 exhibits a larger thickness. The impact head shows towards the impact direction 18.

[0030] Preferably, the shock absorber 11 may be made from one piece. In particular, the shock absorber 11 may be made of a butyl rubber material

List of reference numerals

[0031] 

10

Vehicle

11

Shock absorber

12

Door cutout

13

Upper track

14

Lower track

15

Rear sliding rail

16

Upper mounting position

17

Lower mounting position

18

Impact direction

19

Impact ring

20

Impact bulge

21

Impact head

22

Ring hole

23

Mounting hole

24

Bulge top

25

Base body

26

Vehicle body

Claims

1. A shock absorber (11) for absorbing an impact of a sliding door of a vehicle (10) caused by moving the sliding door from a non-open position to an open position, wherein the shock absorber (11) comprises a base body (25), a first impact element (19), and a second impact element (20) arranged behind the first impact element (19) in an impact direction (18), wherein a gap (22) is arranged between the first impact element (19) and the second impact element (20).

2. The shock absorber (11) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first impact element (19) is formed by an impact ring (19) and the gap (22) is formed by a ring hole (22) of the impact ring (19).

3. The shock absorber (11) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the impact ring (19) comprises an impact head (21).

4. The shock absorber (11) as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the second impact element (20) is formed by an impact bulge (20), which is arranged within the ring hole (22).

5. The shock absorber (11) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the impact bulge (20) exhibits a bulge top (24), which is arranged in the centre of the ring hole (22).

6. The shock absorber (11) as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein the shock absorber (11) is made from one piece.

7. The shock absorber (11) as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the shock absorber (11) is made of butyl rubber material.

8. A vehicle (10) including at least one shock absorber (11) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

Drawing