Vehicle suspension system with flexible control arm
OwnerBenjamin V. Booherinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An elongate metal cross-member is connected to and extends transversely across a vehicle frame. A pair of elongate composite control arms are connected to opposite ends of the cross-member by mounting mechanisms which control and guide the flexing of the control arms to prevent failure thereof. Wheel hub assemblies are connected to the outer ends of the control arms. A shock absorber is connected between each one of the wheel hub assemblies and the vehicle frame to dampen oscillations. The control arms may be made of reinforcing glass or graphite fibers held together with a thermoset resin binder and formed by the pultrusion process.
Claims19
A vehicle suspension system comprising:
- a pair of elongate flexible composite control arms, each having an inner end and an outer end;
- means for rigidly mounting the inner end of each of the control arms to a corresponding side of a vehicle frame transverse to a longitudinal axis of the frrame for enabling controlled and guided upward and downward flexing of an outer portion of each of the control arms;
- a pair of wheel hub assemblies each connected to the outer end of a corresponding one of the control arms;
- and
- a pair of shock absorbers each connected between a corresponding one of the wheel hub assemblies and the vehicle frame.
A flexible control arm for a vehicle suspension system, comprising:
- an elongate generally planar flexible member made of a composite material, the member having a substantially uniform thickness, a width that tapers down from an inner end of the member to an outer end of the member, at least one mounting hole in the inner end of the member for rigidly mounting the inner end of the member to a side of a vehicle frame transverse to a longitudinal axis of the frame and at least one mounting hole in the outer end of the member.
A flexible control arm for a vehicle suspension system, comprising:
- an elongate generally planar member made of a composite pultrusion material, the member having a substantially uniform thickness throughout its length, a plurality of mounting holes in the inner end of the member for rigidly mounting the inner end of the member to a side of a vehicle frame transverse to a longitudinal axis of the frame and at least one mounting hole in the outer end of the member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.