Recessed leaf spring suspension system
AssigneeRassini Suspensiones, S.A. De C.V.
InventorsBrent Collyer, Jose Guadalupe Ruiz Juarez, Juan Pablo García Osuna, Angel Fabian Mijangos, Eddy Alfaro Lopez, Juan Luis Zapata Nava
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A leaf spring suspension system for a vehicle includes an axle. The leaf spring suspension system includes a leaf spring having a top side, a bottom side, and a pair of side edges, wherein at least one of the side edges defines a pair of recesses extending inwardly from the side edge. The leaf spring suspension system also includes a clamping assembly operatively coupling the leaf spring to the axle, the clamping assembly comprising a pair of U-shaped bars, wherein a portion of the U-shaped bars is disposed within the pair of recesses of the leaf spring.
Claims13
A leaf spring suspension system for a vehicle comprising:
- an axle;
- a leaf spring having a top side, a bottom side, and a pair of side edges, wherein at least one of the side edges defines a pair of recesses extending inwardly from the side edge;
- and
- a clamping assembly operatively coupling the leaf spring to the axle, the clamping assembly comprising a pair of U-shaped bars, wherein a portion of the U-shaped bars is directly seated within the pair of recesses of the leaf spring, wherein the pair of recesses protrude inwardly from a side edge of the leaf spring and extend completely from the top side of the leaf spring to the bottom side of the leaf spring, each recess being defined by a recess wall, wherein a top region of the recess is defined by a scallop shaped wall extending away from the recess wall and connecting the recess wall to the top side of the leaf spring, and wherein a bottom region of the recess is defined by a scallop shaped wall extending away from the recess wall and connecting the recess wall to the bottom side of the leaf spring.
A method of designing a clamping assembly for a vehicle leaf spring suspension comprising:
- determining a width and thickness of a leaf spring;
- and
- determining a shape and dimension of a recess defined by a side edge of the leaf spring, the recess configured to have a portion of a leg of a clamp bar directly seated therein, wherein determining the shape and dimension of the recess defined by a side edge of the leaf spring, the recess extending completely from the top side of the leaf spring to the bottom side of the leaf spring and protruding inwardly from a side edge, is based on material stress limit calculations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.