Saar-Gummiwerk Gmbh

Erich Ihle

Bernhard Lindenmayer

Heinz Volker

An elastic, essentially plate-shaped track foundation consists of closed-pored foamed and crosslinked rubber material, preferably EPDM rubber. The foaming and crosslinking preferably is performed in one working step.

Elastic track foundation

This invention relates to an inexpensive and easily recyclable elastic suspension system for suspending dynamically stressed parts. A flexible spring element is attachable to a support such as exhaust systems in vehicles. The spring element has an elastic compact structure and is made of a closed-cell foamed material. The closed-cell foamed material may be rubber material having a desired volume. Adjusting the degree of foaming, foam structure and hardness of the foam material allows for adjustments of the area of linearity as well as the gradient of the spring characteristic to accommodate difference in stresses caused by the performance part embedded in the spring element. A retainer for at least partially enclosing the spring element is provided. The retainer may be a flexible and elastic strap enveloping the circumference of the spring element. The retainer may also be a rigid support plate with connectors to connect the retainer to the support. The retainer may be connected to the spring element mechanically or by welding or gluing together, or by other connections which are reversible. Those connections allow for easy separation and recycling of the retainer and the spring element.

Elastic suspension for attaching dynamically stressed performance parts

The invention relates to an elastic suspension for attaching dynamically stressed function parts, consisting of a metal retaining clip attached to a base plate, and a receptacle case that is positioned by way of links of a rubber-elastic material in a swinging manner within a section formed by the base plate and the retaining clip. The retaining clip consists of an elastic metal band that permits a level deformation of the retaining clip. The retaining clip of the elastic metal band no longer functions exclusively as a loss protector, but rather absorbs an essential part of the dynamic stresses itself. The deformation in the horizontal axis, i.e. the axis that is parallel to the base plate, is adaptable to the respective requirements by a suitable selection of elasticity and thickness of the metal band, as well as the starting geometry of the retaining clip in accordance with the elasticity and geometry of the rubber-elastic links, which significantly reduces the displacement paths that must be absorbed by the rubber-elastic links. The links thus may be designed shorter, so that the overall dimensions of the suspension can be reduced. The elasticity and geometry of the retaining clip are designed in such a way that up to 90% of the displacement path of the receptacle cases are absorbed by the elastic retaining clip. Because the tensile and pressure stresses to be absorbed are correspondingly reduced, the expensive silicon caoutchouc can be replaced with cheaper material such as HPMD.

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Wadern, Germany

Erich Ihle