Trailing arm suspension
AssigneeNeway Anchorlok International, Inc.
InventorGregory A. Richardson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention is a trailing arm suspension with a steerable axle assembly having a caster angle controlling the direction at which the axle steers. A lift axle suspension or a lockout device is provided to lift the wheels from a ground engaging position or to lock the position of the wheels, respectively, permitting the operation of the vehicle in a direction opposite the direction for which the caster angle is designed. Advantageously, the lift axle suspension is of a simplified design and the trailing arm configuration is V-shaped to better absorb lateral forces.
Claims23
A trailing arm suspension for a vehicle having a longitudinal axis and comprising a frame oriented generally parallel to the vehicle longitudinal axis and an axle assembly rotatably mounting ground engaging tires, the axle assembly adapted to be oriented generally transverse to the vehicle longitudinal axis, and the trailing arm suspension adapted to pivotally mount the axle assembly to the vehicle frame, the trailing arm suspension comprising:
- a hanger bracket adapted to mount to and extend downwardly from a vehicle frame;
- a first trailing arm having a first end pivotally connected to the hanger bracket for movement of the first trailing arm in a first plane at a first acute angle substantially greater than zero relative to the vehicle longitudinal axis when the trailing arm suspension is mounted to the vehicle frame and a second end adapted to mount to a portion of the axle assembly whereby the first trailing arm diverges in one direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle;
- a second trailing arm having a first end pivotally connected to the hanger bracket for movement of the second trailing arm in a second plane at a second acute angle substantially greater than zero relative to the vehicle longitudinal axis when the trailing arm suspension is mounted to the vehicle frame and a second end adapted to mount to a portion of the axle assembly, the second acute angle diverging in a direction opposite the one direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, whereby the second trailing arm diverges in a direction opposite the one direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle;
- and
- wherein the angular orientation between the first and second planes is the sum of the first and second acute angles.
A lift axle suspension for a vehicle having a vehicle frame, the lift axle suspension comprising:
- a hanger bracket having an upper end and a lower end and the upper end being adapted to mount to the vehicle frame;
- an axle assembly adapted to rotatably mount tires;
- an upper trailing arm having a first end pivotally connected to the hanger bracket and a second end pivotally connected to the axle assembly;
- a lower trailing arm having a first end pivotally connected to the hanger bracket and a second end pivotally connected to the axle assembly;
- a lift bag having a first end connected to one of the upper and lower trailing arms between the hanger bracket and the axle assembly and a second end connected to one of the hanger bracket and axle assembly, the lift bag being operable between a deflated position and an inflated position;
- and
- the hanger bracket, axle assembly, and upper and lower trailing arms define a parallelogram suspension having four comers formed by the pivotal connections of the first and second ends of the upper and lower trailing arms;
- whereby when the lift bag moves from the deflated position to the inflated position, the axle assembly is moved from a lowered position in which wheels on the axle assembly are adapted to be in ground engaging contact to a raised position in which the wheels on the axle assembly are adapted to be above ground engaging contact.
A lift axle suspension for a vehicle having a vehicle frame, the lift axle suspension comprising:
- a hanger bracket having an upper end and a lower end and the upper end being adapted to mount to the vehicle frame;
- an axle assembly adapted to rotatably mount tires and having a mounting plate;
- an upper trailing arm having a first end pivotally connected to the hanger bracket and a second end pivotally connected to the axle assembly;
- a lower trailing arm having a first end pivotally connected to the hanger bracket and a second end pivotally connected to the axle assembly;
- a lift bag having a first end connected to the lower trailing arm and a second end connected to the mounting plate, the lift bag being operable between a deflated position and an inflated position;
- and
- the hanger bracket, axle assembly, and upper and lower trailing arms define a parallelogram suspension having four corners formed by the pivotal connections of the first and second ends of the upper and lower trailing arms;
- whereby when the lift bag moves from the deflated position to the inflated position, the axle assembly is moved from a lowered position in which wheels on the axle assembly are adapted to be in ground-engaging contact to a raised position in which the wheels on the axle assembly are adapted to be in ground-engaging contact.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.