Land vehicles – Wheeled – Running gear
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-28
2001-04-03
Culbreth, Eric (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Running gear
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209896
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to improvements to suspension assemblies for vehicles.
Known assemblies used to attach suspension components to one another and to other components in heavy duty truck suspension systems can be expensive and make installation and removal of the suspension components rather difficult. For example, suspension components attach the axle beam to the vehicle frame. Typically, the suspension components have been attached to the axle beam using several individual brackets which increases the cost and complexity of the suspension system.
Another example is the attachment assemblies used to attach torsion assemblies to supports. One prior art device has used split bushes which are clamped around a portion of the torsion assembly. However, this design is susceptible to wear due to ingestion of foreign particles into the assembly. Other prior art devices often require the disassembly of many components to remove the torsion assembly from the supports.
Prior art attachment assemblies used to attach control rods to supporting structures have been relatively expensive. Pins having a cylindrical end and a tapered end have typically been used to connect the control rod to a supporting structure. The cylindrical end is press fit into the supporting structure and the tapered end is received in a complementary tapered opening in an end of the control rod. The tapered end also has a threaded feature that secures the pin to the control rod end. The threaded feature and press fit make the attachment assembly of the prior art more costly and difficult to assemble.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES
The present invention provides several distinct improvements to attachment assemblies for attaching suspension components within a vehicle suspension assembly. First, a bracket assembly having an axle beam utilizes a one piece bracket to improve the structural rigidity of the axle beam and eliminates individual brackets by providing the attachment points for the control rods, brake chambers, and air springs.
Second, a torsion attachment assembly attaches the torsion assembly to suspension supports by utilizing a bushing that fits within a first cylindrical bore in the torsion assembly. A plug is received within a hole in the support and secured to the support by fasteners. A shaft extending from the plug fits within a second cylindrical bore in the bushing. In this way, the torsion assembly is free to rotate about the plug and the torsion assembly can be easily disconnected from the supports when the fasteners are removed.
Finally, a control rod attachment assembly utilizes a pin having tapered ends and a fastening device to secure a control rod end to a supporting structure. The tapered ends of the pin mate with tapered openings in the control rod end and supporting structure. The fastening device, having a bolt and nut, ensures that the tapered ends are firmly seated in the tapered openings by pulling the control rod end and supporting structure together.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3674285 (1972-07-01), Grosseau
patent: 3817550 (1974-06-01), Young
patent: 4171920 (1979-10-01), Kramer et al.
patent: 4256327 (1981-03-01), Leinweber
patent: 5149305 (1992-09-01), Gordon
patent: 5649719 (1997-07-01), Wallace et al.
Carlson & Gaskey & Olds
Culbreth Eric
Fleming Faye M.
Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems Limited
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