Spring devices – Fibrous
Patent
1987-12-23
1989-12-12
Halvosa, George E. A.
Spring devices
Fibrous
267260, F16F 136
Patent
active
048862541
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to an elastic vehicle suspension leaf which has, at its ends, terminal pieces equipped with means of connection to the wheels.
The patent FR-A-2,516,455 makes known a vehicle suspension leaf consisting of a composite material with longitudinal fibers extending continuously from one end to the other. At its ends, this leaf has an evolute profile of approximately constant cross-section, the width of which decreases concomitantly with an increase in thickness. The means of connection to the wheel supports comprise a tubular metal insert having a seat, on which the end of the kingpin rests. To fasten this insert, it is necessary to perforate the leaf and consequently cut a certain number of fibers. The dimensions of the leaf therefore have to be increased in order to allow for the weakening caused by the fitting of the insert.
French Pat. No. 2,573,013 overcomes this disadvantage by providing a device intended for connecting the leaf to the wheel support, taking the form of a cage comprising two lateral trapezoidal flanges, of which the projection in a horizontal plane is in the form of a truncated V carrying the seat of the kingpin at its end. The two flanges are connected by means of a bar at the lower edge of their free ends and by means of a rest in the upper part adjacent to the seat. The end of the leaf is introduced between the bar and the rest and engages between the flanges. Adhesive bonding between the cage and the end of the leaf is provided if appropriate. Since the cage is held in a vertical plane by being wedged between the bar and the rest, a vertical force directed from the bottom upwards has to be exerted on the end of the cage in order to keep it in place. When the suspension leaf is installed on the vehicle, the stress to which it is subjected generates an appropriately directed force which keeps the cage or cages in place.
It is difficult to keep the cages in position as long as the leaf is not fastened to the vehicle. Moreover, the cage has to be machined with a high degree of accuracy, so that it can fit as closely as possible on the end of the leaf in order to prevent the lateral and vertical play detrimental to the long-term stability of the suspension.
The series production of composite suspension leaves results in components which have tolerances greater than the thickness of an adhesive joint in relation to the dimensions of the ends. These considerable variations prevent accurate machining of the cages to be fitted on them.
The terminal piece, as described above, is a heavy and esthetically unsatisfactory component. The patent JP-A-52.146,462, for example, provided for producing a lighter terminal piece from a material similar to that of the leaf. The end of the leaf is machined to a concave cylindrical surface, in which a cylindrical ring is partially seated and retained in a framework made of epoxy resin. Such a device cannot be used with leaves intended for withstanding a partial or complete anti-camber effect at their ends, without the risk that the end of the leaf will be torn off or dislocated.
The invention aims to rectify the abovementioned defects by providing an elastic leaf, the terminal pieces of which make it possible to compensate the dimensional variations of the ends of the leaf and to fasten them definitively and independently of the forces to which they are subjected, without the risk that the leaf will be dislocated.
The elastic suspension leaf according to the invention is notable in that it has, at its ends, terminal pieces comprising a rigid housing, the four faces of which define a trapezoidal inner volume, the small bases of two opposite faces being adjacent to the large bases of the other two faces, and the dimensions of the trapezia forming the four faces correspond to the dimensions of the lateral faces of the ends of the leaf, to which the terminal piece is fastened, so that the corresponding evolute part of the leaf engages therein and is blocked longitudinally there as a result of double interlocking, in order to absorb and distrib
REFERENCES:
patent: 3219333 (1965-11-01), Derschmidt et al.
Carpentier Jean-Claude
Michel Bernard
Sayers Kenneth H.
Bertin & Cie
Breiner A. W.
Halvosa George E. A.
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