Spring devices – Vehicle – Mechanical spring and nonresilient retarder
Patent
1981-09-24
1988-08-16
Butler, Douglas C.
Spring devices
Vehicle
Mechanical spring and nonresilient retarder
267229, 267 361, 267158, 267160, 267182, 267 47, 280668, B60B 1100
Patent
active
047638850
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to means for damping dynamic loads in supporting structures, and more particularly, it concerns a spring and a vehicle suspension including such springs.
BACKGROUND ART
Springs and spring suspensions are widely known. In automotive vehicles, leaf springs comprising, as a rule, a plurality of resilient metal strips have gained the widest application. The main disadvantage of the leaf springs is that they constitute from 8 to 10% of the total mass of motor vehicles. Moreover, in order to absorb shocks caused by heavy loads, the number of strips in the spring must be increased, thereby affecting the damping capacity of the spring.
The progressive-rate springs possess the best damping capacity. For example, known in the art is a spring comprising a resilient strip provided with bent ends pivotally connected with a supporting structure (see German Pat. No. 543,638 published 8 Feb. 1932). However, to permit damping of large dynamic loads by means of such a spring, it is necessary to use a plurality of resilient strips in contact therebetween, each of which (similar to other prior art leaf springs) is capable of bending in the plane of its lowest rigidity, a plane which coincides with the plane of action of an external load. This spring is also characterized by a complex design, which is due to the necessity of using mounting members to ensure load induced contact between flat and bent strips. To gain load induced interaction between the above-described spring and the vehicle components joined therewith it is necessary to provide at least three devices, namely two supporting assemblies disposed at the spring ends and one assembly disposed at the middle portion to take up external loads.
Also known in the art is a flat U-shaped spring operating as a girder freely lying on two supports (see D. D. Churabo, Detali i uzly priborov, Moscow, "Mashinostroenie", 1965, p. 368, FIG. 24, 3a). This spring is also capable of bending under the action of external forces in the plane of its lowest rigidity, i.e. it can not withstand considerable loads (in the order of hundreds of kilograms forces) until an adequate increase in the thickness thereof, such an increase nevertheless leads to a decrease in the damping capacity and to an increase in the spring mass. To render such a spring operative at least three devices for load induced interaction with the vehicle components are to be provided, namely two supporting means at the leg portions, and one means disposed in the middle portion to take up external loads. Such springs have not found wide application in vehicle suspensions.
A spring is generally used as a resilient means of vehicle suspensions. A spring suspension may comprise a guiding means, and a damping means (damper).
Suspensions provided with leaf springs are bulky while those provided with coil springs are complicated. For example, the suspension disclosed in USSR Inventor's Certificate No. 87580, comprises road coil springs disposed within a housing which is fixed to the sprung portion of a vehicle, and guiding double-arm levers (two levers per wheel). Long arms of the levers are pivotally joined with a wheel axle of the vehicle. The fulcrum of each lever is also pivotally connected to the sprung portion of the vehicle while the short arm interacts with the above-mentioned springs.
The above-described suspension provides for a substantially rectilinear up and down movement of the wheels when crossing an obstacle, though it is also characterized by a complex design and significant mass. The complexity of such a suspension is due to the fact that resilient and guiding devices of each wheel are disposed within a separate housing mounted outside the frame of the vehicle and fixed to the frame either by means of a special girder structure (for front wheels), or by broad flanges (for rear wheels). Each of the housings contains two double-arm levers and three springs, two of which operate during the working stroke (when the wheel rises) and one spring provides a rebound effect (when
REFERENCES:
patent: 100626 (1870-03-01), Henry
patent: 1096570 (1914-05-01), Skulstad
patent: 1564299 (1925-12-01), Welsh
patent: 1643050 (1927-09-01), Blackmore
patent: 1958188 (1934-05-01), Drews
patent: 2748370 (1956-05-01), Baltosser
patent: 3177963 (1965-04-01), Mitchell
patent: 3192551 (1965-07-01), Appel
Article Detali i uzly priborov, Moscow, "Mashinostroenie", 1965, p. 368, FIG. 24 3a, D. D. Churabo.
Article "Elements and Units of Instruments--Design and Calculations" by D. D. Churabo, Mashinostroenie, Publishing House Moscow 1965, pp. 371 and 372.
Butler Douglas C.
Kievsky Inzhenerno-Stroitelny Institut
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