CA1238660A - Rear offset axle suspension system for a vehicle - Google Patents
Rear offset axle suspension system for a vehicleInfo
- Publication number
- CA1238660A CA1238660A CA000481041A CA481041A CA1238660A CA 1238660 A CA1238660 A CA 1238660A CA 000481041 A CA000481041 A CA 000481041A CA 481041 A CA481041 A CA 481041A CA 1238660 A CA1238660 A CA 1238660A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- vehicle
- jounce
- casting
- tubular
- tubular axle
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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- Vehicle Body Suspensions (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A suspension system for the rear wheels of a motor vehicle includes a pair of leaf springs having their fore and aft ends pivotally mounted to the vehicle frame or body. The leaf springs flexibly support a tubular rear axle member forwardly and downwardly offset from the rear wheel spindles by a pair of left and right one-piece castings. Each casting has an outboard spindle mounting L-shaped angle portion and an inboard forwardly and downwardly offset collar portion joined by a canted bridging portion. The collars each receive one end of the tubular axle member. The casting include a jounce deflection stop-plate for engaging its associated frame bumper. Leaf springs are seated on each casting below the spindle axis and above the tubular axle member reducing the design height of the vehicle. The tubular axle portion and spindles are constrained to move equal distances during upward jounce deflection.
A suspension system for the rear wheels of a motor vehicle includes a pair of leaf springs having their fore and aft ends pivotally mounted to the vehicle frame or body. The leaf springs flexibly support a tubular rear axle member forwardly and downwardly offset from the rear wheel spindles by a pair of left and right one-piece castings. Each casting has an outboard spindle mounting L-shaped angle portion and an inboard forwardly and downwardly offset collar portion joined by a canted bridging portion. The collars each receive one end of the tubular axle member. The casting include a jounce deflection stop-plate for engaging its associated frame bumper. Leaf springs are seated on each casting below the spindle axis and above the tubular axle member reducing the design height of the vehicle. The tubular axle portion and spindles are constrained to move equal distances during upward jounce deflection.
Description
1~ 1238 REAR ~FFSET ~XLE ~USPENSION ~YSTEM ~O~ YEHICLE
BACKGROUND OF THE _INVENTION
The present invention relateR generally to rear axle leaf spring ~uspension ~yste~s for motor vehicles and more ~pecifically to a ~spension system with an offset rear axle.
Suspension ~ystems for rear, non-driven wheels of motor vehicles which ~mploy offset axles are known in the art. U.S. Patent No. 4,410,201 issued October 18, 1983 i~ exemplary ~f these prio~ art 6ystems. The rear axle leaf spring &uspension ~yste~ of the present invention i~ dir~cted at improving the known prior art systems in certain respects æuch as economy of manufacture and compactness of design, while providing a smooth relatively harsh-free ride.
It is accordingly an object of the present inYention to prouide an ~conomical, easily assembled rear wheel leaf spring suspension system for a motor vehicle with leaf ~prings supporting lateral, vertical and~ longitudinal load~ o~ the vehicle body together with a forwardly and downwardly offset ~traight tubular a~le me~ber ext~nding transversely to clear depending vehicle underbody components.
:
~ It is another object to provide a rear axle leaf : :
~pring ~UBpen~iOn ~y~t~ configured to achieve ~ r~uced vehicle design ~eight.
It is yet another object to provide in the off0et rear axle leaf ~pring su6pension systen ~ wheel ~upport apparatus having improved st.rength and reliability characteristics.
li According to ~ feature of the invention a forwardly offset axle system is provided in which a tubular transverse axle menber of constant circular cross-section is forwardly offset from the rear wheel ~pindles to pass between the vehicle gas tank and spare tire carrier supported on the under~ide of the body floor pan. A pair of mirror image axle castings support each en~ of the offset axle providing leaf spring and wheel spindle seating means in co~bination with a telescopic shock absor~er strut mounting and a jounce bumper stop plateO
BRIEF DESCRIPTIO~ OF THE DRAWINGS
_ _..,.. ...~_ These and other ob~ect6 and features will become apparent to those sXilled in the vehicle wheel suspensil:>n art upon readin~ the following description with reference to the accompanying drawin~s in which:
Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a rear a~le 6 pension ~ystem with part~ broken away embodying lZ38660 the invention;
~ ig. 2 i~ a perspective, exploded view of the rear wheel ~u~pension sy~tem of ~ig. 1;
Fig. 3 i~ a fragmentary frvnt elevational Yiew, partly in section, of the rear a~le suspension ~y~tem of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a frag~entary top elevational view, with parts broken away, of the rear axle suspension ~ystem o its present invention; and .
Fig. 5 i6 a fragmentary side elevational view of f the rear s~spension with lower rebound and upper jounce deflection positions ~hown in dashed lines.
DETAILED DESCR~PTION OF T~E PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to Fi~s. 1 and 2, there is shown a leaf spring suspension system 10 for the rear wheels 12 of a motor vehicle having a body partially indicated at 14. The suspension ~ystem i~ adapted to:be carried by the vehicle frame including æide frames or raîl~ 16 rei~forcing body flo3r pan 18.
:
As ~een in ~'ig. 2 the rear axle suspen~ion system 10 con~i~ts essentially of a pair of multi-leaf springs :_3_ ~ 3~
20, a non-driving rear axle ~ssembly 22 rot~tably ~upporting the rear road wheel~ 12, a pair ~f wheel support spindle~ 24 for mounting the wheel~ at the end6 of the off~et axle asse~bly and a pair of telescopic ~hock absorber ~trut6 26 of known design int~rconnected between the axle a~sembly and the motor vehicle body.
In the following description, it should be under6tood that becau6e of the symmetry of the su~pen~ion ~y~te~
ab~ut the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle, only ~ne of the pair of identical a~le and suspension components will be described.
I~e multi-leaf spring 20 has il resilient bushing 28 captured within an eye 30 at its front end. The bushing 28 is connected to a hanger 32 in a conventional manner by means of bolt 34. The hanger ~2 is ~uitably fastened to body floor pan 18 by bolts 36. At its aft end the multi-leaf spring ~0 is formed with an eye 38 receiving a first ~olt 40 of a shackel for~ed by a pair of parallel plates 42 and 44. The shackel is conneced to a bracket 45 by a second bolt 46 extending through bushing 48 of the bracket. The bracket 45 i8 secured to the vehicle body floor pan by means of bolts 49.
As best seen iQ Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the axle assembly 22 includes a transverse straight tubular ~ember 50 of constant or uniform circular cross~ection having a pair of left and right integral ca~tings 52 received on either end thereof. As the castings are mirror images lZ;~ iO
¦ of each other only one c~sting w~ll be described in ¦ detail along with its a~sociated ~ulti-leaf spring 20 ¦ ~nd shock absorber 26.
I
Ihe casting 52 include~; nn inboard collDr portion 54 and an outboard L-~haped D~em~er 55 having a vertically extending spindle mounting plate 56 integrally formed with an intermediate connecting body or bridge portion 58. The ca~ting collars 5~ ha~e transverse bores 59 sized to receive the end~ of the tubular axle mem~er 50 in a pres~ fit ~anner. The axle member 50 is al~o welded to the collar to com~lete the press fit connection. The bridge porti~n includes a first substantially horizontally di~posed plate 60 of the L-shaped member, integral with the vertical plate 56 and a triangular upstanding we~ 6?.
The horizontal plate 60 has a planar ~ounting ~urface 64 sized to seat an intermediate portion 65 of the leaf ~pring 20. Ihe lea~ spring is connected to the plate ~urface 64 by a pair of U-bolt clamping fixtures generally indicated at 66 retained by nuts 67. To prevent any longitudinal movement of the leaf spxings 20 relative to the casting 52 a threaded stud 68 extends vertically through aligned holes in the center of plate ~urface 64 and multiple leafs of ~pring 20. It will be noted that the leaf ~pri~g ~ay have either 4 or 5 leaf assemblies, in the preferred form, allowing the ~uspension to be load tailored to the vehicle weight.
_5_ I
1 ~3~1~6~
The bridge portion 5~ further c~pri~e~ an integral truss portion h~viny a flrst triangular shaped flanged truss portion 70 exte~ndin~ transver~ely and coexten~ive with the hori~ontal plate 60. The bridge portion incudes a second par~llelogra~ shaped tru6s portion 72 angled inwardly and forwardly fro~ portion 70 for juncture with he aft area of integral collar portion 54. In Fig. 4 the right hand casting 52 i6 ~hown with portions broken away indicating the inwardly and forwardly angled orientation of the parallelogram shaped truss portion 72. The truss portion 72 is joined 1.
to the transversely extending triangular shaped truss 70 at the inboard edge of the plate 60.
ll It will be noted in Figs. 3 and 4 that the casting plate 60 is joined to a horizontally dispo~ed jounce plate 74 by an inwardly and downwardly inclined upper flan~e plate 76 coextensive with the angled truss portion 72. The jounce plate 74 upper surface provides ,, a bumper stop limiting the upward travel of the axle suspension system upon contact with a frame bumper member 78. As seen in Figs. 2 and 3 the bumper member 78, formed of rubber or pla~ti~ material, is fixed to horizontal bight portion 80 of its associated &ide frame members 160 Each bumper me~ber 78 is secured by means of a locking tab 8~ r~Pceived in a corresponding bight ~lot (not ~hown) and ~ tonque portion 84 receiving a b~lt for threaded ~ttachmant to the bight portion 80.
lZ38660 Fig. 2 ahows each ~ r portion 54 for~ed with n depending bo~ 88 having a tran~verse bore for receiving a t~readed bolt 90. ~he lower end of shock ~bsorber ~trut 26 ha~ an eyelet 92 apertured to receive the bolt 90 pivotally securing the strut lower end to itB
associated casting intermediate its leaf ~pring 20 and the outboard end of collar 54. The upper end o~ the RtrU~ 26 has an eyelet 94 receiving a bolt 96 pivotally ~ecuring the ~trut to flange 98 on the underside of the body floor pan 18.
With reference to Fig. 5 it will be ~een that the rear axle suspension system of the pre6ent invention allows the axle assembly to travel from a lower rebound position to an upper jounce position. During this travel the forwardly offset tubular a~le ~ember 50, shown in its neutral full line position, moves fro~ a lower rebound deflected position 50' to an upper jounce deflected position 50". It will be noted that the syctem provides an uppermost jounce defleeted limi~
position wherein each casting jounce plate 74 contacts it associa~ed frame mounted bumper 78.
In Pig. 5 it will be ~een that the forwardly offset tubular a~le member 50 in its upper jounce deflected position is lon~itudinally spaced interme~iate fuel tank 100 and spare tire 102, both shown in phantom lines. This su~pension structure allows the rear wheel ~pin 24 to be po~itioned rearwardly and upwardly of ,1 .
the ~xle ~ember 50 providing a longer whee1 base di~en~ion for the vehicle. ln the preferred ~or~, the ca6ting design achieve~ ab~ut a four inch rear offset and a four inch vertically uE~ward offset for the rear wheel spindle~ 24 from the center of the tubular axle ~ember 50.
Further, applicant~ unique de~ign allows each leaf ~pring ~0 to be positioned vertically within the transverse confines of its corresponding spindle mounting flange 104. This compact arrangement permit6 the leaf ~pring intermediate portion 65 to be located vertically below the axi~ of the ~pindles 24 and above the tubular axle 50. As a re~ult the overall body structure is lowered relative to the axis of the spindle~ reducing the vehicle' 5 overall height. The tubular axle member 50 and end castings 52 reduces cost of the axle assembly over other conigurations such as I-section beams, for example.
The employment of the straight tubular axle hollow pipe membex 50, allows its ends to be readily press-fitted into casting collar bores 59. ThlS avoids other costly fabrication ~ethods ~uch as bending a tubular member as shown, for e~ample, in the above mentioned Iijima et al patent 4,410,201. It will be appreciated that the b~nt tube of the Iijima patent result~ in high ~hear ~res~ condition6 at the bend areas. ~urther, the Iijima a~le presents alignment proble~s during :L23~1~;60 ~anufac~ure and require6 th~t the ~xl~ be reinforced.
While only one embodiment of the inventive rear wheel nuspen~ion apparatu~ has been deRcribed, otherff are pos~ible without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
g ~
1~l
BACKGROUND OF THE _INVENTION
The present invention relateR generally to rear axle leaf spring ~uspension ~yste~s for motor vehicles and more ~pecifically to a ~spension system with an offset rear axle.
Suspension ~ystems for rear, non-driven wheels of motor vehicles which ~mploy offset axles are known in the art. U.S. Patent No. 4,410,201 issued October 18, 1983 i~ exemplary ~f these prio~ art 6ystems. The rear axle leaf spring &uspension ~yste~ of the present invention i~ dir~cted at improving the known prior art systems in certain respects æuch as economy of manufacture and compactness of design, while providing a smooth relatively harsh-free ride.
It is accordingly an object of the present inYention to prouide an ~conomical, easily assembled rear wheel leaf spring suspension system for a motor vehicle with leaf ~prings supporting lateral, vertical and~ longitudinal load~ o~ the vehicle body together with a forwardly and downwardly offset ~traight tubular a~le me~ber ext~nding transversely to clear depending vehicle underbody components.
:
~ It is another object to provide a rear axle leaf : :
~pring ~UBpen~iOn ~y~t~ configured to achieve ~ r~uced vehicle design ~eight.
It is yet another object to provide in the off0et rear axle leaf ~pring su6pension systen ~ wheel ~upport apparatus having improved st.rength and reliability characteristics.
li According to ~ feature of the invention a forwardly offset axle system is provided in which a tubular transverse axle menber of constant circular cross-section is forwardly offset from the rear wheel ~pindles to pass between the vehicle gas tank and spare tire carrier supported on the under~ide of the body floor pan. A pair of mirror image axle castings support each en~ of the offset axle providing leaf spring and wheel spindle seating means in co~bination with a telescopic shock absor~er strut mounting and a jounce bumper stop plateO
BRIEF DESCRIPTIO~ OF THE DRAWINGS
_ _..,.. ...~_ These and other ob~ect6 and features will become apparent to those sXilled in the vehicle wheel suspensil:>n art upon readin~ the following description with reference to the accompanying drawin~s in which:
Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a rear a~le 6 pension ~ystem with part~ broken away embodying lZ38660 the invention;
~ ig. 2 i~ a perspective, exploded view of the rear wheel ~u~pension sy~tem of ~ig. 1;
Fig. 3 i~ a fragmentary frvnt elevational Yiew, partly in section, of the rear a~le suspension ~y~tem of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a frag~entary top elevational view, with parts broken away, of the rear axle suspension ~ystem o its present invention; and .
Fig. 5 i6 a fragmentary side elevational view of f the rear s~spension with lower rebound and upper jounce deflection positions ~hown in dashed lines.
DETAILED DESCR~PTION OF T~E PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to Fi~s. 1 and 2, there is shown a leaf spring suspension system 10 for the rear wheels 12 of a motor vehicle having a body partially indicated at 14. The suspension ~ystem i~ adapted to:be carried by the vehicle frame including æide frames or raîl~ 16 rei~forcing body flo3r pan 18.
:
As ~een in ~'ig. 2 the rear axle suspen~ion system 10 con~i~ts essentially of a pair of multi-leaf springs :_3_ ~ 3~
20, a non-driving rear axle ~ssembly 22 rot~tably ~upporting the rear road wheel~ 12, a pair ~f wheel support spindle~ 24 for mounting the wheel~ at the end6 of the off~et axle asse~bly and a pair of telescopic ~hock absorber ~trut6 26 of known design int~rconnected between the axle a~sembly and the motor vehicle body.
In the following description, it should be under6tood that becau6e of the symmetry of the su~pen~ion ~y~te~
ab~ut the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle, only ~ne of the pair of identical a~le and suspension components will be described.
I~e multi-leaf spring 20 has il resilient bushing 28 captured within an eye 30 at its front end. The bushing 28 is connected to a hanger 32 in a conventional manner by means of bolt 34. The hanger ~2 is ~uitably fastened to body floor pan 18 by bolts 36. At its aft end the multi-leaf spring ~0 is formed with an eye 38 receiving a first ~olt 40 of a shackel for~ed by a pair of parallel plates 42 and 44. The shackel is conneced to a bracket 45 by a second bolt 46 extending through bushing 48 of the bracket. The bracket 45 i8 secured to the vehicle body floor pan by means of bolts 49.
As best seen iQ Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the axle assembly 22 includes a transverse straight tubular ~ember 50 of constant or uniform circular cross~ection having a pair of left and right integral ca~tings 52 received on either end thereof. As the castings are mirror images lZ;~ iO
¦ of each other only one c~sting w~ll be described in ¦ detail along with its a~sociated ~ulti-leaf spring 20 ¦ ~nd shock absorber 26.
I
Ihe casting 52 include~; nn inboard collDr portion 54 and an outboard L-~haped D~em~er 55 having a vertically extending spindle mounting plate 56 integrally formed with an intermediate connecting body or bridge portion 58. The ca~ting collars 5~ ha~e transverse bores 59 sized to receive the end~ of the tubular axle mem~er 50 in a pres~ fit ~anner. The axle member 50 is al~o welded to the collar to com~lete the press fit connection. The bridge porti~n includes a first substantially horizontally di~posed plate 60 of the L-shaped member, integral with the vertical plate 56 and a triangular upstanding we~ 6?.
The horizontal plate 60 has a planar ~ounting ~urface 64 sized to seat an intermediate portion 65 of the leaf ~pring 20. Ihe lea~ spring is connected to the plate ~urface 64 by a pair of U-bolt clamping fixtures generally indicated at 66 retained by nuts 67. To prevent any longitudinal movement of the leaf spxings 20 relative to the casting 52 a threaded stud 68 extends vertically through aligned holes in the center of plate ~urface 64 and multiple leafs of ~pring 20. It will be noted that the leaf ~pri~g ~ay have either 4 or 5 leaf assemblies, in the preferred form, allowing the ~uspension to be load tailored to the vehicle weight.
_5_ I
1 ~3~1~6~
The bridge portion 5~ further c~pri~e~ an integral truss portion h~viny a flrst triangular shaped flanged truss portion 70 exte~ndin~ transver~ely and coexten~ive with the hori~ontal plate 60. The bridge portion incudes a second par~llelogra~ shaped tru6s portion 72 angled inwardly and forwardly fro~ portion 70 for juncture with he aft area of integral collar portion 54. In Fig. 4 the right hand casting 52 i6 ~hown with portions broken away indicating the inwardly and forwardly angled orientation of the parallelogram shaped truss portion 72. The truss portion 72 is joined 1.
to the transversely extending triangular shaped truss 70 at the inboard edge of the plate 60.
ll It will be noted in Figs. 3 and 4 that the casting plate 60 is joined to a horizontally dispo~ed jounce plate 74 by an inwardly and downwardly inclined upper flan~e plate 76 coextensive with the angled truss portion 72. The jounce plate 74 upper surface provides ,, a bumper stop limiting the upward travel of the axle suspension system upon contact with a frame bumper member 78. As seen in Figs. 2 and 3 the bumper member 78, formed of rubber or pla~ti~ material, is fixed to horizontal bight portion 80 of its associated &ide frame members 160 Each bumper me~ber 78 is secured by means of a locking tab 8~ r~Pceived in a corresponding bight ~lot (not ~hown) and ~ tonque portion 84 receiving a b~lt for threaded ~ttachmant to the bight portion 80.
lZ38660 Fig. 2 ahows each ~ r portion 54 for~ed with n depending bo~ 88 having a tran~verse bore for receiving a t~readed bolt 90. ~he lower end of shock ~bsorber ~trut 26 ha~ an eyelet 92 apertured to receive the bolt 90 pivotally securing the strut lower end to itB
associated casting intermediate its leaf ~pring 20 and the outboard end of collar 54. The upper end o~ the RtrU~ 26 has an eyelet 94 receiving a bolt 96 pivotally ~ecuring the ~trut to flange 98 on the underside of the body floor pan 18.
With reference to Fig. 5 it will be ~een that the rear axle suspension system of the pre6ent invention allows the axle assembly to travel from a lower rebound position to an upper jounce position. During this travel the forwardly offset tubular a~le ~ember 50, shown in its neutral full line position, moves fro~ a lower rebound deflected position 50' to an upper jounce deflected position 50". It will be noted that the syctem provides an uppermost jounce defleeted limi~
position wherein each casting jounce plate 74 contacts it associa~ed frame mounted bumper 78.
In Pig. 5 it will be ~een that the forwardly offset tubular a~le member 50 in its upper jounce deflected position is lon~itudinally spaced interme~iate fuel tank 100 and spare tire 102, both shown in phantom lines. This su~pension structure allows the rear wheel ~pin 24 to be po~itioned rearwardly and upwardly of ,1 .
the ~xle ~ember 50 providing a longer whee1 base di~en~ion for the vehicle. ln the preferred ~or~, the ca6ting design achieve~ ab~ut a four inch rear offset and a four inch vertically uE~ward offset for the rear wheel spindle~ 24 from the center of the tubular axle ~ember 50.
Further, applicant~ unique de~ign allows each leaf ~pring ~0 to be positioned vertically within the transverse confines of its corresponding spindle mounting flange 104. This compact arrangement permit6 the leaf ~pring intermediate portion 65 to be located vertically below the axi~ of the ~pindles 24 and above the tubular axle 50. As a re~ult the overall body structure is lowered relative to the axis of the spindle~ reducing the vehicle' 5 overall height. The tubular axle member 50 and end castings 52 reduces cost of the axle assembly over other conigurations such as I-section beams, for example.
The employment of the straight tubular axle hollow pipe membex 50, allows its ends to be readily press-fitted into casting collar bores 59. ThlS avoids other costly fabrication ~ethods ~uch as bending a tubular member as shown, for e~ample, in the above mentioned Iijima et al patent 4,410,201. It will be appreciated that the b~nt tube of the Iijima patent result~ in high ~hear ~res~ condition6 at the bend areas. ~urther, the Iijima a~le presents alignment proble~s during :L23~1~;60 ~anufac~ure and require6 th~t the ~xl~ be reinforced.
While only one embodiment of the inventive rear wheel nuspen~ion apparatu~ has been deRcribed, otherff are pos~ible without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
g ~
1~l
Claims (2)
1. A rear axle suspension apparatus for the rear wheels of a motor vehicle, the vehicle having a body with laterally spaced apart left and right side frame members, each frame member having a jounce bumper supported on the underside thereof, the suspension apparatus comprising; left and right longitudinally extending leaf springs having their fore and aft ends pivotally connected on said body; a non-driving rear axle assembly rotatably supporting left and right road wheels on axially aligned spindle shafts; said axle assembly having a transversely extending tubular axle member and a pair of mirror image left and right castings, each said casting having an inboard portion attached to one end of said tubular axle member and an outboard L-shaped angle portion formed intergral with an intermediate bridge portion; said L-shaped angle portion including a vertical spindle mounting plate and a horizontal attaching plate seating the central portion of its associated leaf spring; each said attaching plate positioned to locate its leaf spring intermediate portion a predetermined distance above said tubular axle member and below the spindle shaft axis; each said casting having a substantially horizontally disposed jounce plate providing a jounce deflection stop for its associated side frame bumper; whereby said tubular axle member and said spindle shafts are constrained to move in substantially equal vertical paths throughout the travel of said axle assembly between its uppermost jounce and its lowermost rebound deflections so as to clear vehicle components supported on the underside of said body and reduce the height of said vehicle.
2. A rear axle suspension apparatus for the rear wheels of a motor vehicle, the vehicle having a body floor pan with laterally spaced apart left and right longitudinally extending side frame members on the underside of said floor pan, each frame member having a jounce bumper supported on the underside thereof, the suspension apparatus comprising, left and right longitudinally extending leaf springs having their fore and aft ends pivotally connected on the underside of said floor pan, left and right telescopic shock absorber struts, each said strut having its upper end pivotally attached to said floor pan outboard of its associated frame member, a non-driving rear axle assembly rotatably supporting left and right road wheels on axially aligned transverse spindle shafts, said axle assembly comprising a transversely extending tubular axle member of constant circular cross-section having its axis offset both downwardly and forwardly a predetermined distance from the axis of said spindle shafts, a pair of mirror image left and right one-piece castings, each said casting having an inboard collar portion and an outboard L-shaped angle portion, joined by an intermediate bridge portion, said L-shaped angle portion including a vertical spindle mounting plate and a horizontal leaf spring attaching plate, each said leaf spring attaching plate positioned a predetermined distance above said tubular axle member and below, the axis of said spindle shafts, each said collar portion having a transversely aligned bore fixedly receiving one end of said tubular axle member therein, each said casting having a substantially horizontally disposed jounce plate extending rearwardly from its associated collar portion providing a jounce deflection stop for its respective side frame bumper, means on each said casting intermediate its leaf spring attaching plate and the outbord end of its collar portion pivotally connected to the lower end of its associated strut, such that each said strut pivots in a longitudinal plane intermediate its respective leaf spring and side frame member, and whereby said tubular axle member and said spindle shafts are constrained to move in substantially equal paths throughout the travel of said axle assembly between its uppermost jounce and lowermost rebound deflections so as to clear vehicle components supported in the underside of said body and reduce the design height of said vehicle.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000481041A CA1238660A (en) | 1985-05-08 | 1985-05-08 | Rear offset axle suspension system for a vehicle |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000481041A CA1238660A (en) | 1985-05-08 | 1985-05-08 | Rear offset axle suspension system for a vehicle |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1238660A true CA1238660A (en) | 1988-06-28 |
Family
ID=4130448
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000481041A Expired CA1238660A (en) | 1985-05-08 | 1985-05-08 | Rear offset axle suspension system for a vehicle |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1238660A (en) |
-
1985
- 1985-05-08 CA CA000481041A patent/CA1238660A/en not_active Expired
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |