US3918739A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vehicle suspension
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1974-08-26
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Granted: 1975-11-11
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Expires: 1994-08-26
Abstract
Abstract A vehicle suspension is disclosed wherein upward deflection of a road wheel arm relative to the vehicle produces a reaction force that loads a torsion bar interposed between the road arm and sprung vehicle weight. The road arm is connected to the torsion bar via a linkage whose effective moment arm varies throughout the deflection stroke. The varying moment arm produces a varying loading rate on the torsion bar, which is helpful in providing a desired combination of soft ride (low spring rate portion of the curve) and high load range capability (steeply sloped portion of the curve). The invention has particular application in trailers and other vehicles subject to wide load variations (e.g., an empty truck versus a loaded truck).
Inventors
- 👤 Arthur C Kirkland
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 09:33
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60G; B60G11/00; B60G11/18; B60G2200/00; B60G2200/10; B60G2204/00; B60G2204/40; B60G2204/422; B60G2204/4222; B60G2204/423
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim
142 words
A vehicle suspension comprising a single torsion bar nonrotatably anchored to the vehicle at a first point along its length; a force arm anchored to the torsion bar at a second point along its length to produce wind-up movements of the torsion bar for enabling said bar to resiliently absorb varying vehicle load forces; a road wheel arm mounted on the vehicle for deflecting movement around a swing axis in accordance with vertical displacement of the road wheel relative to the vehicle; and motion-transmitting means between the road arm and force arm, whereby upward deflecting movement of the road arm causes the force arm to wind the bar at the aforementioned second point; said motion-transmitting means being constructed to produce a variable movement of the force arm per unit deflection of the road arm during the permissible stroke of the road arm.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
142 words
A vehicle suspension comprising a single torsion bar nonrotatably anchored to the vehicle at a first point along its length; a force arm anchored to the torsion bar at a second point along its length to produce wind-up movements of the torsion bar for enabling said bar to resiliently absorb varying vehicle load forces; a road wheel arm mounted on the vehicle for deflecting movement around a swing axis in accordance with vertical displacement of the road wheel relative to the vehicle; and motion-transmitting means between the road arm and force arm, whereby upward deflecting movement of the road arm causes the force arm to wind the bar at the aforementioned second point; said motion-transmitting means being constructed to produce a variable movement of the force arm per unit deflection of the road arm during the permissible stroke of the road arm.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
75 words
The suspension of claim 1 wherein the force arm takes the form of a cam that describes multiple moment arms around the torsion bar axis; said motiontransmitting means comprising a second cam that describes multiple moment arms around the road arm swing axis; said cams being engaged with each other so that the effective moment arm around the torsion bar axis decreases substantially as the effective moment arm around the road arm swing axis increases.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
201 words
A vehicle suspension comprising a single torsion bar non-rotatably anchored to the vehicLe sprung mass at a first point along its length; a force arm anchored to the torsion bar at a second point along its length to produce wind-up movements of the torsion bar for enabling said bar to resiliently absorb varying vehicle load forces; a road wheel arm rotatably mounted on the vehicle sprung mass for deflecting movement around a swing axis in accordance with verticle displacement of the road wheel relative to the vehicle sprung mass; and motion-transmitting means between the road arm and force arm, whereby upward deflecting movement of the road arm causes the force arm to wind the bar at the aforementioned second point; said motion-transmitting means comprising a pivotal link operatively trained between a first pivot connection on the road arm and a second pivot connection on the force arm; said pivot connections having movement directions that vary from essentially a right angular relation to essentially a parallel relation during the course of the road arm deflection stroke, whereby there is produced a variable movement of the force arm per unit deflection of the road arm during the permissible stroke of the road arm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
201 words
A vehicle suspension comprising a single torsion bar non-rotatably anchored to the vehicLe sprung mass at a first point along its length; a force arm anchored to the torsion bar at a second point along its length to produce wind-up movements of the torsion bar for enabling said bar to resiliently absorb varying vehicle load forces; a road wheel arm rotatably mounted on the vehicle sprung mass for deflecting movement around a swing axis in accordance with verticle displacement of the road wheel relative to the vehicle sprung mass; and motion-transmitting means between the road arm and force arm, whereby upward deflecting movement of the road arm causes the force arm to wind the bar at the aforementioned second point; said motion-transmitting means comprising a pivotal link operatively trained between a first pivot connection on the road arm and a second pivot connection on the force arm; said pivot connections having movement directions that vary from essentially a right angular relation to essentially a parallel relation during the course of the road arm deflection stroke, whereby there is produced a variable movement of the force arm per unit deflection of the road arm during the permissible stroke of the road arm.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-11-10 | 1979-05-12 | 1979-11-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-11-10 | 1983-05-12 | 1983-11-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-11-10 | 1987-05-12 | 1987-11-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |