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US 7,410,182 B1Granted
Control arm suspension system for a vehicle
AssigneePolaris Industries Inc.
InventorsTim Giese, Richard Harold Bates
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle suspension system including control arms and a spindle. The suspensions of the invention use control arms pivotably and rotatably coupled to a spindle to improve the structural and performance characteristics of the suspension system.
Claims26
A suspension system for a vehicle, comprising:
- a. an upper control arm connected to a frame of a vehicle;
- b. a lower control arm connected to the frame;
- c. a rotatable steering spindle, the spindle attachable to a ground engaging component upon which the vehicle rides, the rotation of the steering spindle for steering the vehicle;
- d. an upper coupling that pivotably and rotatably connects the spindle to the upper control arm;
- e. a lower coupling that pivotably and rotatably connects the spindle to the lower control arm, the spindle passing through the lower coupling.
2 more elements
A suspension system for a vehicle, comprising:
- a. an upper control arm operably connected to a frame of the vehicle;
- b. a lower control arm operably connected to a frame of the vehicle;
- c. a spindle pivotably and rotatably connected to the upper control arm by an upper coupling and pivotably and rotatably connected to the lower control arm by a lower coupling, the spindle attachable to a ground engaging component upon which the vehicle rides, the rotation of the spindle for steering the vehicle;
- d. upper and lower spindle protrusions extending from the spindle that each define spindle steering stops;
- e. protrusions extending from the upper control arm and the lower control arm that define control arm steering stops, the upper spindle protrusion interacting with the upper control arm steering stop to restrict rotation of the spindle when the suspension system is in jounce, the lower spindle protrusion interacting with the lower control arm steering stop to restrict rotation of the spindle when the suspension system is in rebound.
2 more elements
A suspension system for a vehicle comprising:
- a. an upper control arm operably connected to a frame of a vehicle, the upper control arm having a U-shaped perimeter when viewed from above;
- b. a lower control arm operably connected to the frame;
- c. a spindle pivotably and rotatably connected to the upper control arm by an upper coupling and pivotably and rotatably connected to the lower control arm by a lower coupling, wherein the upper coupling is within the U-shaped perimeter of the upper control arm.
A suspension system for a vehicle, comprising:
- a. an upper control arm operably connected to a frame of a vehicle;
- b. a lower control arm operably connected to the frame;
- c. a spindle pivotably and rotatably connected to the upper control arm by an upper coupling and pivotably and rotatably connected to the lower control arm by a lower coupling, the spindle passing through the lower coupling;
- d. an attachment point on the spindle for attaching a ground engaging component upon which the vehicle rides, wherein the aspect ratio of the spindle, defined as the distance between the lower coupling and the attachment point divided by the distance between the upper coupling and lower coupling is greater than 1.0.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.