Vehicle strut insulator
View Patent ↗Disclosed is a vehicle strut insulator that includes first and second bushes ( 100 and 200 ) having different hardness characteristics. The first bush ( 100 ) having a relatively high hardness is disposed in a left-right direction of a vehicle that affects the handling performance, and the second bush ( 200 ) having a relatively low hardness is disposed in a forward-backward direction of the vehicle that affects the ride comfort. Accordingly, the vehicle strut insulator can satisfy both requirements for handling performance, ride comfort and road noise performance.
1 . A vehicle strut insulator comprising:
a first bush and a second bush having different hardnesses;
an insert plate directly coupled to the first and second bushes; and
an upper cup and a lower cup coupled to the first and second bushes through centers thereof,
wherein:
the second bush has grooves formed in respective upper and lower portions thereof; and
upper and lower portions of the second bush are in contact with the upper and lower cups through the grooves, respectively, to attenuate a large load transmitted through a coil spring.
2 . The vehicle strut insulator according to claim 1 , wherein:
the first bush is made of hard rubber having a hardness higher than a hardness of the second bush.
3 . The vehicle strut insulator according to claim 2 , wherein:
the first bush is made of rubber with low dynamic characteristics for desirable vibration isolation; and
the second bush is made of rubber with high damping force for desirable shock absorption.
4 . The vehicle strut insulator according to claim 3 , wherein the first bush has a total area greater than a total area of the second bush.
5 . The vehicle strut insulator according to claim 2 , wherein:
the first bush is disposed in a left-right direction of a vehicle and configured to affect handling performance; and
the second bush is disposed in a forward-backward direction of the vehicle and configured to affect ride comfort.
6 . The vehicle strut insulator according to claim 2 , wherein the first bush has upper and lower portions spaced apart from the respective upper and lower cups to attenuate a small load transmitted through a strut.
7 . The vehicle strut insulator according to claim 2 , wherein tapered boundaries are formed in the first and second bushes and are spaced apart from each other to prevent interference during deformation under an axial load.
8 . The vehicle strut insulator according to claim 2 , wherein the first bush has a central portion formed to overlap the upper and lower cups, thereby preventing the first bush from sliding relative to the upper and lower cups when a load is applied thereto.
9 . The vehicle strut insulator according to claim 2 , wherein the second bush has a central portion formed to overlap the upper and lower cups, thereby preventing the second bush from sliding relative to the upper and lower cups when a load is applied thereto.