US 6,419,250 B1Granted

One-piece forged steering knuckle assembly

AssigneeDana Corporation

InventorsPaul Pollock, Dave Moses, Dick Ryan, Dennis Mahoney, Peter Berg

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Abstract

A one-piece steering knuckle assembly for vehicles has a flanged body wherein the tie rod arm, hydraulic brake caliper bracket and, in some instances, the steering arm extend from the flanged body in a one-piece forged manner. There are enlarged bosses extending from the flanged body opposite the wheel spindle, the bosses having a bore which are axially aligned to receive a king pin. The flanged body, wheel spindle, tie rod arm and brake caliper bracket are all formed from a single steel billet as a one-piece heavy duty forging. Such a design eliminates the brake caliper/knuckle joint and the tie rod arm/knuckle joint, and thus, it results in savings in assembly time and weight.

Claims5

Dependent claims

A one-piece forged steering knuckle assembly for a vehicle, said knuckle assembly comprising:

a flanged body;
hydraulic brake caliper brackets constructed and arranged to receive a hydraulic brake assembly, said caliper brackets formed as a pair of caliper rails protecting from said flanged body defining a c-shaped member for directly engaging a brake caliper;
a wheel spindle extending from a first side of said flanged body;
upper and lower enlarged bosses extending from a second side of said flanged body opposite said wheel spindle, said bosses having a bore with said bores being axially aligned to receive a king pin;
and
a tie rod arm extending from said lower enlarged boss and away from said second side of said flanged body and spaced therefrom in a generally parallel manner,
said flanged body, wheel spindle, tie rod arm, enlarged bosses and brake caliper brackets all being formed from a single steel billet as a one-piece heavy duty forging.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.