Vehicle drive/suspension system
OwnerWilliam L. Figura, Daniel Selleckinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention is directed to a vehicle drive/suspension system that has a chassis having a front and rear portion and a pair of sides. A drive axle has opposed end portions and extends between the sides. Each side has a pivotally mounted elongated rocker arm that is connected to the corresponding end portion of the drive axle. Pivot mounts and pivot plates are used for this attachment. The rocker arms have sprockets mounted to each end. These sprockets are chain driven by drive sprockets located at each end of the drive axle. Tension sprockets are slidably mounted onto each rocker arm. Also associated with each rocker arm is a damper, and a rubber stop member. It is preferred that the pivot location of each pivot mount is away from the center point of the rocker arm.
Claims23
A vehicle drive/suspension system comprising:
- a chassis having a front portion, a rear portion a first side and a second side;
- a drive axle having opposed end portions extending between said first and second sides;
- first and second elongated rocker arms, each having opposed end portions, said first and second rocker arms connected respectively to each of said opposed end portions of said drive axle and pivotally mounted to each of said first and second sides substantially at said opposed end portions of said drive axle;
- a sprocket rotatably fixed to each of said opposed end portions of said rocker arms;
- a rotatable drive sprocket connected to each of said opposed end portions of said drive axle;
- a drive link for each arm connected to rotate said sprockets in conjunction with said drive sprockets;
- and
- a tension sprocket mounted on each of said rocker arms and connected to said drive link.
A vehicle drive/suspension system comprising:
- a chassis having a front portion, a rear portion a first side and a second side;
- a drive axle having opposed end portions extending between said first and second sides;
- first and second elongated rocker arms, each having opposed end portions and a pivot point, respectively pivotally mounted to each of said first and second sides at said pivot points and connected to said opposed end portions of said drive axle, said pivot points being located at positions other than middle points along the length of said rocker arms;
- a sprocket rotatably fixed to each of said opposed end portions of said rocker arms;
- a rotatable drive sprocket connected to each of said opposed end portions of said drive axle;
- a drive link for each arm connected to rotate said sprockets in conjunction with said drive sprockets;
- and
- a tension sprocket mounted on each of said rocker arms and connected to said drive link.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.