The present invention relates to mounting collars for suspension struts.

Suspension struts are commonly used in vehicle suspension systems. A typical such strut comprises a cylindrical body having an elongated cavity extending from one end, and an elongated rod which slidably engages in the cavity so as to be moveable back and forth between extended and retracted positions and has an end which is a sealing fit with the cavity so that the end of the rod seals the cavity. The cavity is filled with a dampening fluid such as oil or air, which resists and the movement of the rod either into or out of the cavity. A spring seat is then typically secured on the outside of the strut for receiving a loading spring, which creates a preload and restoring force on the suspension system.

Due to the standard design of the suspension strut, even though the exact position of the spring seat may be different for different vehicles, a generic strut can typically be used across of range of different vehicles by provision of an adjustable sprint seat, for example by providing a threaded engagement between the spring seat and the outside of the strut. This not only makes production cheaper for the manufacturer, as it can avoid the need to manufacture different struts for different vehicles, but it also makes it easier for end users to modify their vehicle suspension to the wider availability of custom parts and the cheaper cost.

However, in some vehicles, non-standard strut mounting systems are utilised which make after market medication more restricted and also increases costs for manufacturers. Figures 1a and 1 b should a typical such non-standard strut 1 which includes a mounting bracket 2 welded to its lower end for securing the body 3 of the strut to the chassis of the vehicle. The bracket 2 is formed by a pair of spaced apart plates 2a, 2b which define a channel 4 between them into which engages a mounting protrusion on the vehicle chassis, and clamping bolts are then inserted through the plates and the mounting protrusion to secure the body to the chassis. Even, then, if a manufacturer were minded to produce alternative struts for such vehicles, it would be necessary to design a different strut for each vehicle due to the fact that typically the configuration of the bracket - the spacing and location of the plates, the location of mounting holes in the plates the orientation of the plates on the body will typically vary on different vehicles, making it impossible to produce a generic strut.

According to the present invention there is provided a suspension strut mounting collar comprising a tubular body with a longitudinally extending internal passage having at least one open end such that, in use, an end of a suspension strut is engageable in said passage so that the tubular body extends substantially around the outer surface of the strut, retaining means for securing, in use, the body to the outer surface of the strut against at least longitudinal movement relative to the strut, and at least one mounting bracket extending laterally outwardly from the outside of the body for mounting, in use, the collar to a mount on a vehicle in which the suspension strut is to be installed, the collar further including an insert having a thread formed on its outer surface complementary to the thread formed in the passage such that the insert is screwingly engageable in the passage to form an adjustable stop within the passage which controls, in use, the maximum depth of engagement of a strut end engaged in said passage.

A suspension strut mounting collar in accordance with the invention has the advantage that it can be fitted to a generic suspension strut to enable it to be used in a vehicle which has non-standard fitting in the form of a securing bracket which attaches to a side of the strut, thereby enables a wider range of struts to be used. Furthermore, the manner of engagement of the collar on the strut provides for longitudinal and rotational adjustment to ensure accurate alignment with the vehicle mounting means.

The retaining means preferably comprising clamping means operable to compress the body and thereby, in use, clamp it around the suspension strut. In particular, the body preferably includes a longitudinally extending slit which penetrates the radial wall of the body to the inner passage, operation of the clamping means urging opposing circumferential end faces formed on the body on either side of the slit to be compressed towards each other so as to reduce the cross section of the passage and thereby, in use, clamp the body around a strut engaged therein. Each circumferential end face then advantageously has a radially outwardly extending clamping plate extending therefrom, the clamping plates having aligned bolt holes formed therein through which clamping bolts engage, tightening of the clamping bolts compressing the clamping plates, and hence the circumferential end faces of the body, towards each other.

Operation of the retaining means preferably also locks the insert against rotation relative to the body.

The insert preferably includes drive means such as drive slot or hole for enabling rotation of the insert relative to the body such as by engagement of a drive tool. In a preferred embodiment, the insert comprises a threaded disc. The drive means may then be a shaped hole in the middle of the disc.

The collar advantageously includes at least one clip on the at least one mounting bracket, the at least one clip including protrusions for receiving cables, conduits and the like. This enables routing of cables, conduits etc along the strut in a particular easy fashion when required. The at least one clip is prefrerably removeably fastened to the mounting bracket, in particular by means of mounting bolts. The at least one clip advantageously engages in a locating recess formed in the mounting bracket, and there is preferably a clip associated with each mounting bracket.

Preferably, the collar comprises two mounting brackets which extend substantially radially outwardly from the outer surface of the body spaced apart so as to define a longitudinal channel therebetween, the mount of the vehicle, in use, engaging in said channel and being secured to said two mounting brackets of the body.

Each mounting bracket preferably includes at least one bolt hole for receiving mounting bolts for securing the collar to a vehicle mount.

IN order that the invention may be well understood, there will now be described an embodiment thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 a is a perspective view of a suspension strut according to the prior art;

Figure 1 b is an end view of the suspension strut of Figure 1 ;

Figure 2 is a first perspective view of a suspension strut mounting collar according to the present invention; Figure 3 is an end view of the suspension strut mounting collar of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is another perspective view of the suspension strut mounting collar of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting collar of Figure 2;

Referring first to Figure 2, there is shown a suspension strut mounting collar 11 according to the invention. The collar 11 comprises an elongated tubular body 12, the through passage 13 in which is sized to match the outer diameter of a suspension strut on which it is designed to be mounted. The body 12 includes a slit 14 which extends the longitudinal length of the body 12 and which penetrates the annular wall of the body 12 so as to form a clamping opening by means of which the body can be compressed to clamp around the outer surface of a strut in a well known fashion. As shown in Figure 3, the spaced apart ends 12a, 12b of the body which are formed by the slit 14 each include a radially extending clamping flange 15a, 15b, each clamping flange preferably extending the length of the slit 14 and having bolt holes 16 which are aligned with each other for receiving clamping bolts by means of which the two flanges 15a, 15b can be compressed together and the slit 14 closed to compressed the body 12 around a strut and hence clamp it in place.

The inner cylindrical surface 17 of the through passage 13 has a female thread 7a formed therein which extends from one end of the body 2, which in use forms the lower end of the collar 1 , towards the other end. In the preferred embodiment, the female thread 7a extends the entire length of the through passage 13 but may extend only part way along. An insert 20, which in the illustrated embodiment takes the form of a disk shaped member as shown, for example, in Figure 5, is sized to be engageable in the end of the body 12 from the end which the female thread 17a extends from. The insert 20 has a male thread 21 formed on its outer cylindrical surface 20a which compliments the female thread 17a formed in the body 12 so that the insert 20 screwingly engages in the passage 13. The insert 20 includes a suitable drive means 22 to enable it to be rotated to screw into and out of the passage. In the illustrated embodiment, the drive means 22 is formed by a spare hole in the centre of the disk into which can be engaged a correspondingly sized square tool (not shown) but it will be understood that other drive systems can be used. The insert 20 forms a seat within the passage 13 for the end of a suspension strut on which the collar 11 is mounted. Adjustment of the position of the insert 20 within the passage 13 accordingly changes the position of the collar 11 along the strut and thereby enables the collar to be adjusted to the correct position for any particular vehicle. Tightening of the collar 11 by operation of the clamping bolts on the clamping flanges 15a, 15b, in addition to clamping the collar 11 around the outer surface of an inserted strut, will also clamp the body 12 around the insert 20, preventing it from unintentional adjustment. It will of course be understood that a locking inserted may also be used in conjunction with the insert 20 which is screwed in behind it to help prevent unintentional movement.

Referring again to Figure 5, the collar 11 further includes a pair of spaced apart mounting flanges 23a 23b which extend outwardly from the outer cylindrical surface of the body 12 and which define a channel 24 therebetween in which is engageable a mounting bracket formed on a vehicle with which the collar 11 is designed to be used. The mounting flanges 23a, 23b have aligned through holes 24 for receiving mounting bolts (not shown). When the collar 11 is properly positions against a mounting bracket on a vehicle, the through holes 24 align with through holes in the mounting bracket so that mounting bolts inserted therethrough will engage through both mounting flanges 23a, 23b as well as the mounting bracket, thereby securing the collar 11 to the bracket. Since the collar 11 is a slide fit on the strut, it can be rotated to any angular position and also have its longitudinal position adjusted before being clamped in place. The provision of the insert 20 further operates to transfer load applied to the strut to the collar 11 thereby significantly reducing the possibility of the collar 11 slipping during use.

Typically, cables and pipe are fed along or past the strut assembly, for example brake lines might be routed down the strut to connect to the brake system carried on the wheel hub which is at the bottom if the strut. IN order, then, to facilitate routing of such cables and pipes, the collar further includes a pair of retaining clips 25a, 25b, one associated with each mounting flange 23a, 23b. Each retaining clip has a pair of mounting holes or eyes 26 which are spaced apart to match the spacing of the holes 24 in the mounting flanges 23a, 23b so that each retaining clip 25a, 25b can be positioned against the outside of its associated mounting flange 23a, 23b, and the mounting bolts engaged through the eyes 26 thereof to secure the clips 25a, 25b to the body 12 at the same time as securing the collar 11 to the vehicle. In the illustrated embodiment, the outside of each mounting flange 23a, 23b has a recess 27 formed therein which complements the outer profile of the retaining clips 25a, 25b to facilitate locating of the clips 25a, 25b. Teeth 28 project from each clip 25a, 25b, between which pipes or cables can be inserted in a well known manner to retain them in place.

It will be understood that the clips may instead be designed to be secured to the clamping flanges 15a, 15b and the collar may be designs to include just a single clip or more than two clips. Furthermore, a single mounting flange may be used, in which case the bracket on the vehicle would abut against the single mounting flange instead of between the two spaced apart flanges.