Trailer suspension apparatus

A wheeled vehicle for movement along a support surface, which comprises:

• a vehicle body including a vehicle frame and a planar floor supported by said frame;
• a wheel support member;
• a wheel mounted to said wheel support member for rotation about a horizontal rotation axis;
• attachment means for attaching said wheel support member to the vehicle frame to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis displaced from the rotation axis of said wheel to move said wheel vertically between a first, uppermost position and a second, lowermost position, the rotation axis of said wheel being vertically above the floor when said wheel support member is in its uppermost position;
• means for providing lateral support to said wheel connected between the vehicle and said wheel support member at a location displaced from said rotation axis and said pivot axis;
• and
• biasing means for biasing said wheel support member to an intermediate position between the uppermost and lowermost positions and permitting resisted movement away from the intermediate position, said biasing means including a resilient member positioned between opposed surfaces of said wheel support and the vehicle frame,
• wherein the resilient component and the pivot axis are both positioned to the same side of the rotation axis of the wheel relative to the forward direction of travel of the vehicle.

A wheeled vehicle for movement along a support surface, which comprises:

• a vehicle body including a vehicle frame and a planar floor;
• a wheel support member;
• a wheel mounted to said wheel support member for rotation about a horizontal rotation axis;
• attachment means for attaching said wheel support member to the vehicle frame to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis displaced from the rotation axis of said wheel to move said wheel vertically between a first, uppermost position and a second, lowermost position;
• means for providing lateral support to said wheel connected between the vehicle frame and said wheel support member at a location displaced from said rotation axis and said pivot axis;
• biasing means for biasing said wheel support member to an intermediate position between the uppermost and lowermost positions and permitting resisted movement away from the intermediate position;
• and
• a brake assembly including;
• braking means for braking the rotation of the wheel;
• an actuator;
• linkage means connected between said actuator and said means for braking for actuating said braking means in response to said actuator;
• and
• means for supporting said actuator on said wheel support member so that said actuator and said linkage means moves with said wheel support member as said member pivots about said pivot axis.

A wheel suspension system for mounting a wheel to the frame of a vehicle adjacent the floor of the vehicle, which comprises:

• a wheel support member;
• a wheel mounted to said wheel support member for rotation about a horizontal rotation axis;
• attachment means for attaching said wheel support member to the vehicle frame to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis displaced from the rotation axis of said wheel to move said wheel vertically between a first, uppermost position and a second, lowermost position, the rotation axis of said wheel being vertically above the floor when said wheel support member is in its uppermost position;
• means for providing lateral support to said wheel connected between the vehicle frame and said wheel support member at a location displaced from said rotation axis and said pivot axis;
• biasing means for biasing said wheel support member to an intermediate position between the uppermost and lowermost positions and permitting resisted movement away from the intermediate position;
• and
• a brake assembly including;
• braking means for braking the rotation of the wheel;
• an actuator;
• linkage means connected between said actuator and said means for braking for actuating said braking means in response to said actuator;
• and
• means for supporting said actuator on said wheel support member so that said actuator and said linkage means moves with said wheel support member as said member pivots about said pivot axis.

A wheel suspension system for mounting a wheel to the frame of a vehicle adjacent a floor of the vehicle having a longitudinal axis, which comprises:

• a wheel support member;
• a wheel mounted to said wheel support member for rotation about a horizontal rotation axis;
• attachment means for attaching said wheel support member to a vehicle frame to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis displaced from said rotation axis of said wheel to move said wheel vertically between a first, uppermost position and a second, lowermost position;
• biasing means for biasing said wheel support member to an intermediate position between the uppermost and lowermost positions and permitting resisted movement away from the intermediate position;
• and
• means for providing lateral support to said wheel including a stabilizer member connected at a first end to said wheel support member at a location longitudinally displaced from said pivot axis and pivotably connected at a second end to the vehicle frame at a location longitudinally aligned with said pivot axis.