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US 4,706,989 AGranted
Rear independent suspension for automotive vehicle
AssigneeNissan Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsYoshitaka Iijima, Hiroshi Noguchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In order to enable the appropriate amount of understeer to be produced in a suspension wherein the rear wheel is steered to produce a toe-in effect by a lateral rod/knuckle arm arrangement, a device which in some embodiments is hydraulically controlled and in others is mechanical, permits distortion of the elastomeric bushes which form part of the suspension unit to produce a relatively large amount of understeer at high speeds and restricts the distortion at lower speeds to reduce the amount of understeer to a level suitable for that speed.
Claims10
In a vehicle having a chassis
- a rear suspension comprising:
- a rear suspension arm;
- hinge means for interconnecting said rear suspension arm to said chassis, said hinge means including an elastomeric bush which distorts when the vehicle is subject to a lateral force;
- a lateral rod pivotally connected at its inboard end to an essentially immovable portion of said chassis;
- a knuckle arm pivotally connected to the outboard end of said lateral rod;
- a spindle on which a rear road wheel of the vehicle is supported;
- means for mounting said spindle on said suspension arm so to be pivotal about an axis which permits the road wheel to be steered and the amount of one of the toe-in and the toe-out of the road wheel to be varied;
- said knuckle arm being connected to said pivotally mounting means for varying the orientation of said spindle with respect to said chassis upon the vehicle being subject to a lateral force in a manner which steers the road wheel;
- a sensor responsive to a vehicle operational parameter;
- and
- means responsive to said sensor for modifying the distortion of said elastomeric bush and thus varying the steering of said road wheel by said lateral rod and said knuckle arm.
8 more elements
In a vehicle having a chassis
- a rear suspension comprising:
- a suspension arm;
- hinge means for interconnecting said suspension arm to said chassis, said hinge means including an elastomeric bush which distorts when the vehicle is subject to a lateral acceleration;
- a lateral rod pivotally connected with said chassis;
- a knuckle arm pivotally connected to the outboard end of said lateral rod;
- a spindle on which a road wheel is supported;
- means for pivotally mounting said spindle on said suspension arm;
- said knuckle arm being connected to said pivotally mounting means for varying the orientation of said spindle with respect to said chassis upon the vehicle being subject to a lateral acceleration in a manner which steers the road wheel;
- a sensor responsive to a vehicle operational parameter;
- and
- means responsive to said sensor for modifying the distortion of said elastomeric bush and thus varying the steering of said road wheel by said lateral rod and said knuckle arm including
- a stopper member movably disposed adjacent said elastomeric bush;
- a device for selectively locking said stopper member in a predetermined location with respect to said elastomeric bush in a manner which limits the distortion of said elastomeric bush in a predetermined direction, said device being responsive to said sensor for releasing said stopper and permitting the same to move in said predetermined direction.
10 more elements
In a vehicle having a chassis
- a rear suspension comprising:
- a rear suspension arm;
- first and second hinge means for interconnecting said rear suspension arm to said chassis, said first and second hinge means having essentially coaxially aligned axes and including firrst and second elastomeric bushes respectively, said first and second bushes undergoing distortion in the direction of said axes when the vehicle is subject to a lateral force;
- a lateral rod pivotally connected at its inboard end to an essentially immovable portion of said chassis;
- a knuckle arm pivotally connected to the outboard end of said lateral rod;
- a spindle on which a rear road wheel of the vehicle is supported;
- means for mounting said spindle on said suspension arm so as to be pivotal about a king pin axis;
- said knuckle arm being connected to said pivotally mounting means for controlling the orientation of said spindle with respect to said chassis upon the vehicle being subject to a lateral force in a manner which varies one of the toe-in and toeout of the road wheel;
- a sensor responsive to a vehicle operational parameter;
- and
- means responsive to said sensor for varying the amount of distortion that said first and second bushes can undergo.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.