Vehicle suspension assembly

Land vehicles – Wheeled – Running gear

Patent

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

280719, B60G 300

Patent

active

048546062

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a vehicle suspension assembly with a transverse composite leaf spring comprising a composite leaf spring having a developing profile of increasing thickness and of decreasing width towards its ends, a wheel support connected on the one hand to the spring and on the other hand to the chassis by a wishbone or connecting arm, a shock absorber unit being provided between the wheel support and the body for damping the amplitudes.
An automobile suspension with a composite leaf spring is known, for example, from French Pat. No. 2,516,455, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,500. This spring is placed transversely under the chassis of a vehicle to which it is held in position by connecting components, symmetrically in relation to the axis of the vehicle. As a result of the particular features of the spring, obtained not only due to its shape but also due to its method of manufacture, it has been possible to abolish the coil springs of the shock-absorbing device ensuring the vertical return of the vehicle to its static position and to lighten or eliminate the wishbones connecting the wheel supports to the chassis, which transmit the braking forces and ensure the geometric positioning of the wheel axis. The shock-absorbing device is thus reduced to a damping strut only, ensuring the vertical guidance of the wheel axis and the damping of amplitude.
The attitude adopted by the composite springs in the working position is appreciably different from that which they adopt when they are under no stress whatsoever. The springs are more or less curved sharply in their plane of longitudinal symmetry and, when fitting them to a front or rear axle of a car, they need to be set up in order to be able to fix them to the connecting devices on the chassis and to the wheel supports. Tooling enabling a preload to be applied to the spring for its setting up is known and is used for fitting the springs to and removing them from the suspension components already fitted on the vehicle.
The location of the axles and the preload which must be applied to the coil spring or to the leaf spring do not allow an improvement of assembly times on production lines or during repair or maintenance work.
The subject of the present invention is a suspension assembly comprising a bearing structure, capable of being fixed to the chassis which holds the leaf spring in position to the ends of which are fixed the wheel supports, the said supports being themselves connected to the said structure by wishbones or connecting arm and shock absorbers.
The bearing structure consists of two mountings, connected at least provisionally by a beam, in which the leaf spring, wishbones and shock absorbers are held in position.
The explanations and figures given hereinafter as examples enable an understanding of how the invention may be embodied.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a first exemplary embodiment of a suspension according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a view form below of figure 1 in which the wishbone and the shock absorber have been removed on the right-hand side of the drawing to show the fixing of the spring.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a second exemplary embodiment of a suspension according to the invention.
FIGS. 4, 4A; 5, 5A; 6, 6A show three examples of the shock absorber layout in relation to the spring and to the wishbones or connecting arm.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an automobile suspension with a composite leaf spring 1, viewed respectively from the front and from underneath. As is known, this spring has a central part 2, of relatively thin and wide rectangular section united at its ends to parts 3, 4 having a developing profile of increasing thickness and decreasing width. This spring is held in position in connecting devices 5, 6 provided in the mountings 7, 8 constituting the bearing structure fixed to the chassis 9 of the vehicle.
According to the embodiment shown, the mountings 7, 8 are in the form of a "U" section with triangular sides. These mountings are fixed to or are an integral part of a frame in the shape of a beam 10 ensuring

REFERENCES:
patent: 2697613 (1954-12-01), Giacosa
patent: 2819768 (1958-01-01), Barenyi
patent: 4557500 (1985-12-01), Collard et al.

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for the USA inventors and patents. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Vehicle suspension assembly does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Vehicle suspension assembly, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vehicle suspension assembly will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-900368

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.