US4729578A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Vehicle suspension system
Assignee: Mazda Motor Corp
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Filing: 1987-04-24
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Granted: 1988-03-08
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Expires: 2007-04-24
Abstract
Abstract A vehicle suspension system including a wheel hub on which a wheel is rotatably mounted, a pair of lateral link substantially transversely extending and disposed in a spaced relationship with each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the lateral link being pivotally connected to the vehicle body at the inner end and to the wheel hub at the outer end thereof so that the wheel hub can be swingably moved in the vertical direction relative to the vehicle body, in which at least one of the lateral link is divided into an inner and outer link members, the inner link member being connected to the outer link member by a connector including a precompressed resilient member constituted to be deflected in the axial direction of the lateral links when the compressive force is applied to the resilient member beyond the precompressed force so as to reduce the length of the lateral link member. There are produced different deflection properties between the two lateral links when the side force acts on the wheel to cause toe direction changes of the wheel.
Inventors
- 👤 Toshiro Kondo
- 👤 Tadanobu Yamamoto
- 👤 Takeshi Edahiro
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 04:55
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60G; B60G21/00; F; F16; F16F; F16F1/00; F16F1/36; F16F1/38; F16F1/387; B60G3/00; B60G3/02; B60G3/04; B60G3/06; B60G3/18; B60G3/20; B60G3/26; B60G7/00; B60G7/001; B60G7/003; B60G2200/00; B60G2200/10; B60G2200/14; B60G2200/144; B60G2200/1442; B60G2200/18; B60G2200/182; B60G2200/40; B60G2200/462; B60G2202/00; B60G2202/30; B60G2202/31; B60G2202/312; B60G2204/00; B60G2204/61; B60G2206/00; B60G2206/01; B60G2206/10; B60G2206/11; B60G2206/111; B60G2206/1114; F16F2236/00; F16F2236/04; F16F2236/045
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
163 words
A vehicle suspension system including a wheel supporting means on which a wheel is rotatably mounted, a pair of lateral link means substantially transversely extending and disposed in a spaced relationship with each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the lateral link means being pivotally connected to the vehicle body at the inner end and to the wheel supporting means at the outer end thereof so that the wheel supporting means can be swingably moved in the vertical direction relative to the vehicle body, in which at least one of the lateral link means is divided into an inner and outer link members, the inner link member being connected to the outer link member by a connecting means including a precompressed resilient member constituted to be deflected in the axial direction of the lateral link means when the compressive force is applied to the resilient member beyond the precompressed force so as to reduce the length of the lateral link member.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
163 words
A vehicle suspension system including a wheel supporting means on which a wheel is rotatably mounted, a pair of lateral link means substantially transversely extending and disposed in a spaced relationship with each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the lateral link means being pivotally connected to the vehicle body at the inner end and to the wheel supporting means at the outer end thereof so that the wheel supporting means can be swingably moved in the vertical direction relative to the vehicle body, in which at least one of the lateral link means is divided into an inner and outer link members, the inner link member being connected to the outer link member by a connecting means including a precompressed resilient member constituted to be deflected in the axial direction of the lateral link means when the compressive force is applied to the resilient member beyond the precompressed force so as to reduce the length of the lateral link member.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
69 words
A vehicle supension system in accordance with claim 1 in which the connecting means includes a piston member extending in the axial direction of the lateral link means at one end portion and a cylindrical member engaged with the piston member at the other end portion, the piston member being connected with one of link members and the cylindrical member being connected with the other of the link members.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
30 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 1 in which the lateral link means are connected to the vehicle body and the wheel supporting means through rubber bushes respectively.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
65 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with the claim 1 in which the supension sytem is constituted for rear wheels, one of the lateral link means being disposed at the front side of the center of the wheel in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the other of the lateral link means being disposed at the rear side of the center of the wheel.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
A vehicle supension system in accordance with claim 2 in which the connecting means is provided with stopper means at the back side of the piston member for preventing the piston member from disengaging from the connecting means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 5 in which the stopper means is cap means which is brought into meshing engagement with an end portion of the cylindrical member.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 5 in which the cylindrical member receives the piston member to allow a slidable movement therein.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
A vehicle supension system in accordance with claim 2 in which a precompressed resilient member is disposed between a bottom wall of the cylindrical member and a front wall of the piston member.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 8 in which the resilient member is a coil spring.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 8 in which the resilient member is a resilient rubber.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
A vehicle susupension system in accordance with claim 8 including restricting means for restricting a movement of the piston member to the cylindrical member within a certain extent.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 11 in which the cylindrical member is provided with a reduced portion smaller than the piston member in diameter the to thereby constitute the restricting means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
31 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 12 in which the restricting means is constituted by a stepped shoulder portion formed on the inner wall portion of the cylindrical member.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
28 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 11 in which a rear lateral link means of the two lateral link means is divided into two link members.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
66 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 14 in which a toe direction of the rear wheel changes in a manner of a toe-in movement produced under the side force smaller than a first value and larger than a second value wherein the second value is larger than the first value with a toe-out movement under the side force between the first and second values.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 4 in which a rear lateral link means of the two lateral link means is divided into two link members.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
49 words
a vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 16 in which the toe direction changes in a manner that a toein movement is produced under the side force smaller than a certain value and that a toe-out movement is produced under the side force larger than the certain value.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 4 in which a front lateral link means of the two lateral link means is divided into two link members.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
49 words
a vehicle suspension system in accordance with claim 18 in which the toe direction changes in a manner that a toeout movement is produced under the side force smaller than a certain value and that a toe-in movement is produced under the side force larger than the certain value.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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US4513990A
Cited
US4511160A
Cited
JPS60148707A
Cited
US4621830A
Cited
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1991-03-08 | 1991-09-07 | 1992-03-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1995-03-08 | 1995-09-07 | 1996-03-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1999-03-08 | 1999-09-07 | 2000-03-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |