Vehicle rear wheel suspension arrangement

Claim 1

A vehicle rear wheel suspension system, comprising: a. a torsionally rigid, substantially non-deformable metal structural member secured to the vehicle and extending transversely thereof; b. a pair of rearwardly extending rigid lugs fixed to each end of the structural member; c. a metal shaft extending between each respective pair of lugs substantially parallel to the structural member and secured at its opposite ends to the lugs; d. a hydraulic, shock absorbing displacer unit connected to each shaft and each displacer unit including a housing, a rigid casing member secured to the housing of each displacer unit and having a portion thereof disposed in surrounding relation to a central region of each shaft to connect the displacer units to a respective shaft; e. a wheel supporting arm connected to each shaft, said arms each having a transverse sleeve fixed to one end thereof and means at the other end thereof to mount a rear wheel of a vehicle, said sleeves disposed in surrounding relationship to a respective shaft at both sides of the central region of the shaft to pivotally mount the wheel supporting arms to the shafts with the arms extending rearwardly from the shafts; f. a pair of resilient, rubber-bonded-to-metal torsion bushes arranged on the shaft on opposite sides of the central region thereof and between the sleeve and shaft and fixedly connected at the outer surface to the sleeve and fixedly connected at the inner surface to the casing so that the wheel supporting arms are connected to the casings and thus the hydraulic displacer units via the bushes, whereby a controlled degree of pivotal movement is afforded for each arm and axial, torsional and radial loadings are absorbed; g. a crank rigidly attached at one end thereof to the sleeve of each arm and extending radially therefrom at the other end thereof; h. each said hydraulic displacer unit connected at one end thereof with the said other end of a respective crank and connected at the other end with the vehicle sprung structure, whereby the leverage imposed from said arm through said sleeve and crank to said displacer unit imposes a substantial static load on the suspension system; i. a rubber spring pad detachably secured to the vehicle sprung structure between the other end of the displacer unit and the sprung structure at a radius from the shaft similar to the swinging radius of a wheel carried by the arm; and j. a rubber-bonded-to-metal sandwich spring secured to the outer lug of each pair of lugs and to the vehicle sprung structure to attach the system to the vehicle and to provide a controlled degree of compliance movement of the arms.