The present invention refers to a spring leg for the individually suspended steered front wheels of automotive vehicles having a shock absorber surrounded by a coil spring which rests via an upper spring cup on the piston rod of the shock absorber, the rod in turn being supported via a ball bearing in a rubber-mounted hood against the body of the vehicle.
One typical prior art device known as a MacPherson spring leg consists essentially of a shock absorber whose housing is connected at its lower end with the wheel mounting and at a distance therefrom connected via another supporting arm to the wheel suspension. At the upper end of the housing there is arranged a lower spring plate on which rests a coil spring surrounding the piston rod of the shock absorber. The piston rod extends from the upper end of the housing of the shock absorber and is provided at its upper end with a recessed collar in which there is seated the upper spring plate for the holding of the coil spring. Above that there is an axial ball bearing whose lower race lies on the upper spring plate and rests on an upper closure cap via a bushing which directly surrounds the piston rod. This upper closure cap is fastened to the piston rod by a nut which is screwed on a thread on the upper end of the piston rod. By means of this nut the upper closure cap is pressed against the collar in the piston rod via the bushing, the lower race of the axial ball bearing, and the spring plate.
The upper race of the axial ball bearing rotatably surrounds the bushing and rests on the inner edge of a hood which extends downwardly and approximately conically outward to approximately the inner part, also conically developed, of the upper spring plate. On the outside of this cap there is arranged a thick circumferential rubber element which rests on its outer side against an outer cap or is firmly connected thereto. This outer cap is of conical or cylindrical shape and is provided on its lower edge with a radially outward protruding flange by which it is firmly connected to the body, for instance, by means of bolts.
This known development of the upper end of the spring leg and its mount requires a relatively large amount of space, particularly in the vertical direction and also requires a considerable expenditure for the mounting since a large number of individual parts must be assembled and pressed together by means of the nut applied on top, against the force of the coil spring on the collar of the piston rod.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds