Torque rod for vehicle suspension
AssigneeHendrickson USA, L.L.C.
InventorsMichael J. Keeler, Jeffrey R. Zawacki, Scott Allen Massa, Jason C. Fugitt, Matthew D. Kowalski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fabricated torque arm for use in a vehicle suspension, including a rod having a solid rectangular cross-section, the rod having a first end and an oppositely disposed second end, a first bushing hub, and wherein the rod is only a single piece cut from a metal plate or sheet, wherein the first bushing hub comprises cut tubing, wherein the first end of the rod has a radius that conforms to an outer surface of the first bushing hub, and wherein the first end of the rod is welded to the outer surface of the first bushing hub.
Claims14
A fabricated torque arm for use in a vehicle suspension, the fabricated torque arm comprising:
- a rod comprising a single piece of metal cut from a metal plate or sheet, the rod having a solid rectangular cross-section, and the rod having a first end of the rod, a second end of the rod, and a central portion of the rod between the first end of the rod and the second end of the rod;
- and
- a first bushing hub, wherein:
- the first bushing hub comprises cut tubing,
- the first end of the rod has a radius that conforms to an outer surface of the first bushing hub;
- the first end of the rod includes first and second fingers,
- a portion of the first bushing hub is disposed between the first and second fingers,
- the first and second fingers extend longitudinally more than halfway around the outer surface of the first bushing hub without encircling the first bushing hub, and
- the first end of the rod is welded to the outer surface of the first bushing hub.
A method of fabricating components of a torque arm, the method comprising:
- cutting, from a metal plate or sheet, a single piece of metal to form a rod, wherein:
- the rod has a solid rectangular cross-section, and
- the rod has a first end of the rod, a second end of the rod, and a central portion of the rod between the first end of the rod and the second end of the rod;
- cutting a tube to form a first bushing hub, wherein:
- the first end of the rod has a radius that conforms to an outer surface of the first bushing hub,
- the first end of the rod includes first and second fingers,
- a portion of the first bushing hub is disposed between the first and second fingers,
- the first and second fingers extend longitudinally more than halfway around the outer surface of the first bushing hub without encircling the first bushing hub;
- and
- welding the first end of the rod to the outer surface of the first bushing hub, wherein the first end of the rod is welded to the outer surface of the first bushing hub.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.