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US 2013/0277937 A1Published application
Suspension for vehicle
AssigneeArctic Cat Inc.
InventorsDustin Keller, John Seal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A suspension system for a vehicle includes two trailing arms and three lateral links to maintain a wheel in or nearly in a vertical position throughout a relatively large travel distance. The trailing arms can be an upper and a lower trailing arm that form a linkage to limit the caster movement of the wheel throughout the travel distance. The three lateral links form two linkages that maintain proper orientation of the wheel: a first linkage to limit the camber movement of the wheel, and a second linkage to limit the tracking, or toe, movement of the wheel. The trailing arms and lateral links provide a relatively large travel distance.
Claims37
A suspension system for a vehicle including a chassis, the suspension comprising:
- a first trailing arm rotatably coupled to the chassis;
- a second trailing arm rotatably coupled to the chassis, wherein the second trailing arm is spaced apart vertically from the first trailing arm;
- a first lateral link rotatably coupled to the vehicle and extending laterally outwardly from the vehicle;
- a second lateral link rotatably coupled to the vehicle and extending laterally outwardly from the vehicle, wherein the second lateral link is spaced apart longitudinally from the first lateral link;
- a third lateral link rotatably coupled to the vehicle and extending laterally outwardly from the vehicle, wherein the third lateral link is spaced apart vertically from at least one of the first or second lateral links;
- and
- a knuckle configured to carry a wheel, the knuckle being rotatably coupled to the first trailing arm, the second trailing arm, the first lateral link, the second lateral link, and the third lateral link.
4 more elements
A suspension system for a vehicle having a chassis, comprising:
- a knuckle having wheel mounts for coupling to a wheel;
- a first angled trailing arm rotatably attached to the knuckle;
- a second angled trailing arm rotatably attached to the knuckle, wherein:
- the first and second angled trailing arms individually include a first portion rotatably attached to the chassis and extending longitudinally from the chassis, an elbow portion, and a second portion extending laterally outwardly from the elbow portion to the knuckle and being rotatably attached to the knuckle;
- and
- the first angled member is spaced apart vertically from the second angled member;
- a first lateral link extending laterally outwardly from the chassis and rotatably attached to the chassis and to the knuckle;
- a second lateral link extending laterally outwardly from the chassis and rotatably attached to the chassis and to the knuckle, wherein the first lateral link is spaced apart longitudinally from the second lateral link;
- and
- a third lateral link extending laterally outwardly from the chassis and rotatably attached to the chassis and to the knuckle, wherein the third lateral link is spaced apart vertically from at least one of the first or second lateral links.
7 more elements
A suspension system for a vehicle having a chassis and three orthogonal axes:
- a longitudinal axis, a lateral axis, and a vertical axis;
- the suspension system comprising:
- a knuckle for rotatably carrying a wheel at least generally parallel with the longitudinal and vertical axes;
- a first trailing arm rotatably coupled to the knuckle at a first knuckle attachment point at a first end of the first trailing arm and to the chassis at a second end of the first trailing arm, wherein the first trailing arm rotates mostly about an axis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;
- a second trailing arm rotatably coupled to the knuckle at a second knuckle attachment point at a first end of the second trailing arm and to the chassis at a second end of the second trailing arm, wherein the second trailing arm rotates mostly about the axis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and wherein the second knuckle attachment point is spaced apart vertically from the first knuckle attachment point;
- a first lateral link rotatably coupled to the knuckle at a third knuckle attachment point, wherein the first lateral link rotates mostly about an axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis;
- a second lateral link rotatably coupled to the knuckle at a fourth knuckle attachment point spaced apart longitudinally from the third knuckle attachment point, wherein the second lateral link rotates mostly about the axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis;
- and
- a third lateral link rotatably coupled to the knuckle at a fifth knuckle attachment point spaced apart vertically from at least one of the third or fourth knuckle attachment points, wherein the third lateral link rotates mostly about the axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis, and wherein movement of the first trailing arm, the second trailing arm, the first lateral link, the second lateral link, and the third lateral link define a travel path for the wheel.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.