FI129794B - A method and a support leg for lifting a vehicle with active suspension - Google Patents
A method and a support leg for lifting a vehicle with active suspension Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- FI129794B FI129794B FI20215653A FI20215653A FI129794B FI 129794 B FI129794 B FI 129794B FI 20215653 A FI20215653 A FI 20215653A FI 20215653 A FI20215653 A FI 20215653A FI 129794 B FI129794 B FI 129794B
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- Prior art keywords
- support leg
- vehicle
- air spring
- height
- lever
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G17/00—Resilient suspensions having means for adjusting the spring or vibration-damper characteristics, for regulating the distance between a supporting surface and a sprung part of vehicle or for locking suspension during use to meet varying vehicular or surface conditions, e.g. due to speed or load
- B60G17/015—Resilient suspensions having means for adjusting the spring or vibration-damper characteristics, for regulating the distance between a supporting surface and a sprung part of vehicle or for locking suspension during use to meet varying vehicular or surface conditions, e.g. due to speed or load the regulating means comprising electric or electronic elements
- B60G17/017—Resilient suspensions having means for adjusting the spring or vibration-damper characteristics, for regulating the distance between a supporting surface and a sprung part of vehicle or for locking suspension during use to meet varying vehicular or surface conditions, e.g. due to speed or load the regulating means comprising electric or electronic elements characterised by their use when the vehicle is stationary, e.g. during loading, engine start-up or switch-off
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60S—SERVICING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, SUPPORTING, LIFTING, OR MANOEUVRING OF VEHICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60S9/00—Ground-engaging vehicle fittings for supporting, lifting, or manoeuvring the vehicle, wholly or in part, e.g. built-in jacks
- B60S9/02—Ground-engaging vehicle fittings for supporting, lifting, or manoeuvring the vehicle, wholly or in part, e.g. built-in jacks for only lifting or supporting
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G11/00—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or kind of springs
- B60G11/26—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or kind of springs having fluid springs only, e.g. hydropneumatic springs
- B60G11/27—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or kind of springs having fluid springs only, e.g. hydropneumatic springs wherein the fluid is a gas
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G17/00—Resilient suspensions having means for adjusting the spring or vibration-damper characteristics, for regulating the distance between a supporting surface and a sprung part of vehicle or for locking suspension during use to meet varying vehicular or surface conditions, e.g. due to speed or load
- B60G17/02—Spring characteristics, e.g. mechanical springs and mechanical adjusting means
- B60G17/04—Spring characteristics, e.g. mechanical springs and mechanical adjusting means fluid spring characteristics
- B60G17/052—Pneumatic spring characteristics
- B60G17/0521—Pneumatic spring characteristics the spring having a flexible wall
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G9/00—Resilient suspensions of a rigid axle or axle housing for two or more wheels
- B60G9/003—Resilient suspensions of a rigid axle or axle housing for two or more wheels the axle being rigidly connected to a trailing guiding device
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2500/00—Indexing codes relating to the regulated action or device
- B60G2500/30—Height or ground clearance
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2800/00—Indexing codes relating to the type of movement or to the condition of the vehicle and to the end result to be achieved by the control action
- B60G2800/20—Stationary vehicle
- B60G2800/205—Stationary vehicle jacking-up for changing tyre or vehicle inspection
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Vehicle Body Suspensions (AREA)
Abstract
The method of lifting a vehicle with active suspension uses a support leg (300) with a height adjustable body (301) and utilizes the vehicle’s active suspension adjustable between a low position and a high position, where the distance between the vehicle’s chassis (206) and an axle (204) is smaller in the low position than in the high position. The method comprises a compression step (101), in which the vehicle’s air suspension is adjusted to a low position by compressing an at least one air spring (201) resulting in an increased distance between the ground (202) and the bottom surface of the air spring (201), said air spring (201) having a top side attached to the chassis (206) and a bottom side attached to a lever (203) rotatable around the axle (204), a positioning step (102), in which the support leg (300) is positioned under the air spring (201), a height adjustment and locking step (103), in which height of the support leg (300) is first adjusted and then locked to match the distance between the ground (202) and the lever (203) under the air spring (201) as closely as possible, and an expansion step (104), in which the vehicle’s air suspension is adjusted to a high position by expanding the at least one air spring (201), thus forcing the vehicle’s axle (204), tire (205) and chassis (206) to rise.
Description
A method and a support leg for lifting a vehicle with active suspension Technical field The invention relates to a method of lifting a vehicle with active suspension as defined in claim 1. The invention also concerns a support leg and use of the support leg for lifting a vehicle with active suspension in accordance with other independent claims.
Background To perform various types of maintenance tasks on a vehicle, such as replacing a tire, a vehicle, including its tires, needs to be lifted above the ground during the maintenance. A common way to lift a vehicle is by using a mechanical rotating screw jack, such as a house or a scissor jack. A rotating screw jack is operated by turning a crank inserted into one end of the jack. When the crank is turned, the screw turns, transferring the rotational motion into a linear vertical motion and raising the jack. Another common way to lift a vehicle is by using a hydraulic jack, such as a floor or a bottle jack. A hydraulic jack is operated by moving a pump plunger to create a pressure through a hydraulic liquid to a lifting cylinder, thus raising the cylinder and the vehicle. Hydraulic jack can magnify the applied force, thus N reducing the exerted work compared to a mechanical jack.
N S A problem associated with known lifting jacks is that either manual labour or a S 30 power supply and a motor is reguired for performing the work. Some jacks may z be plugged into the 12 V power supply of the vehicle, thus removing the need N for an additional external or integrated power supply for the jack. However, the O 12 V powered jack still comprises a motor for converting electrical power into = mechanical power. Manual operation of a jack can be time consuming and N 35 inefficient, whereas motor powered jacks are more complex, resulting in higher cost, weight, size and increased number of parts that might need maintenance.
A further problem associated with known lifting jacks, in particular with the hy- draulic bottle jacks, is a low, non-adjustable height of the bottle jack as well as a limited lifting range due to which the bottle jack is typically raised from the ground by placing it on a brick or other flat surface, which increases the risk of buckling.
Summary An object of the present invention is to provide an alternative and improved method of lifting a vehicle with active suspension.
The characterizing features of the method according to the invention are given in claim 1. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved support leg and a use of the im- proved support leg for lifting a vehicle with active suspension.
The character- izing features of the support leg and the use of the support leg according to the invention are given in the other independent claims.
The method according to the invention for lifting a vehicle with active suspen- sion uses a support leg with a height adjustable body and utilizes the vehicle's active suspension adjustable between a low position and a high position, where the distance between the vehicle's chassis and an axle is smaller in the low position than in the high position, where said method comprises: - a compression step, in which the vehicle's air suspension is adjusted to a low position by compressing an at least one air spring resulting in an increased distance between the ground and the bottom surface of the air spring, said air spring having a top side attached to the chassis and a bottom side attached to a lever rotatable around the axle, N - a positioning step, in which the support leg is positioned under the air N spring, S - a height adjustment and locking step, in which height of the support leg S 30 is first adjusted and then locked to match the distance between the z ground and the lever under the air spring as closely as possible, and N - an expansion step, in which the vehicle's air suspension is adjusted to O a high position by expanding the at least one air spring, thus forcing the = vehicle's axle, tire and chassis to rise. & 35 The support leg according to the invention for use in the method for lifting a vehicle defined above comprises:
- a height adjustable body comprising at least two parts that are movable with respect to each other along a central axis, where said central axis is perpendicular to the ground when the support leg is in use, and - a mounting head attached to the top of the body and rotatable around an axis perpendicular to the central axis. The current invention further discloses the use of the support leg defined above for lifting a vehicle by utilizing the vehicle’s active suspension.
With the method and the support leg according to the invention, a vehicle can be lifted by utilizing the vehicle's active suspension and the geometry of the axle, where the support leg assists the lifting process by countering the down- ward force from the active suspension system. Utilization of the vehicle’s active suspension provides the work needed to lift the vehicle, without needing to exert manual labour or use any additional power supplies or motors other than the vehicle itself. The method according to the invention speeds up mainte- nance tasks, such as change of a tire. The method and the support leg accord- ing to the invention further make the maintenance work safer, removing the risk of jack buckling.
The method according to the invention enables lifting of a vehicle without the conventional lifting jacks, instead replacing the jack by a simpler, lighter and cheaper support leg, which is easy to transport, takes less space and is more durable.
The support leg according to the invention provides a versatile tool that can N also be used in circumstances where a weight needs to be supported at a N certain height. The support leg can, for example, be used for supporting a tow- S ing bar or a trailer once it is disconnected from the towing vehicle.
S 30 z According to an embodiment of the invention, the positioning step further com- N prises an adjustment of a mounting head, which is attached to the top of the O body of the support leg and is rotatable around a horizontal axis, parallel to the = ground when the support leg is in use, said adjustment comprising rotating the N 35 mounting head until the top surface of the mounting head is parallel to the bottom surface of the lever under the air spring and the body of the support leg is perpendicular to the ground. This ensures a stable and secure positioning of the support leg, where the contact surface between the support leg and the lever is maximized and the support leg is perpendicular to the ground, maxim- izing the load that the support leg can support.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the positioning step further com- prises aligning a hole in a mounting head of the support leg with a mounting bolt protruding from the bottom surface of the lever under the air spring to pre- vent lateral movement between the support leg and the vehicle. This increases the safety as the support leg is restricted to a fixed position, preventing it from sliding out laterally during maintenance of the vehicle. According to an embodiment of the invention, the positioning step further com- prises using a magnet located in a mounting head of the support leg to attach the support leg to the bottom surface of the lever under the air spring. Attaching the support leg with the help of a magnet enables quicker, more accurate and more secure alignment of the support leg. In particular, when the positioning step comprises aligning a hole in the mounting head with a mounting bolt, alignment can be time consuming. A magnet can help to automatically align a hole with a mounting bolt. Use of a magnet in the positioning step further sim- plifies adjustment of the mounting head, since the mounting head and the sup- port leg automatically move into the correct position when the support leg is attached to the air spring with a magnet. According to an embodiment of the invention, the height adjustment and lock- ing step comprises: - moving at least two parts of the height adjustable body of the support N leg relative to each other until a height is found such that a pair of holes N on the at least two parts of the height adjustable body align and the S support leg height is closest to the distance between the ground and S 30 the lever under the air spring, and =E - locking the height selection by inserting a locking pin through the N aligned holes. O The height adjustment and locking step enables the support leg to be used N with various vehicles where the distance from the ground to the air spring is N 35 different. The height adjustment enables to match the support leg's length as closely as possible to the distance from the ground to the vehicle, thus increas- ing the height to which the vehicle can be raised. The height adjustment further removes the need for additional props, such as a brick or other flat surface, that are commonly used together with a bottle jack, thus also removing the risk of bottle jack buckling.
5 According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting head of the support leg further comprises a magnet for quick attachment of the support leg to the vehicle. The magnet further increases the versatility and ease of use of the support leg, resulting in a more secure and quicker attachment of the support leg to the part of the vehicle that needs to be supported.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting head of the support leg further comprises at least one hole for receiving a mounting bolt, protruding from a lever to which an air spring of an air suspension of the vehicle is at- tached, for preventing lateral movement between the support leg and the ve- hicle when the support leg is in use and the vehicle is lifted. According to an embodiment of the invention, one of the parts of the height adjustable body comprises a plurality of holes and another part comprises at least one hole such that when the at least two parts are moved relative to each other, the holes can be aligned at a plurality of different heights, the support leg is further provided with a locking pin, where the locking pin can be inserted through the aligned holes to lock a selected height of the support leg. Brief description of the drawings Embodiments of the invention are described below in more detail with refer- N ence to the accompanying drawings, in which
N O Fig. 1 shows as a flowchart the method according to the invention, s 30 I Fig. 2 shows a side view of a part of a vehicle for three time moments of a = method according to an embodiment of the invention, 2 2 Fig. 3 shows two perspective views of a support leg according to an embodi- S 35 ment of the invention.
Detailed description A flowchart in figure 1 illustrates steps of the method according to the invention, comprising a suspension compression step 101, a support leg positioning step 102, a support leg height adjustment and locking step 103 and a suspension expansion step 104. Figure 2 illustrates the method of lifting a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention via a sequence of three figures illustrating a sideview of a por- tion of a vehicle before the compression step 101 in figure 2A, after the com- pression 101, positioning 102 and height adjustment and locking 103 steps in figure 2B, and after the expansion step 104 in figure 2C.
According to the embodiment of figure 2, the vehicle to be lifted by the method comprises an air suspension system with an air spring 201 attached between the chassis 206 of the vehicle and a lever 203. The lever 203 comprises a first arm 203a, a fulcrum 203b and a second arm 203c.
The fulcrum 203b allows the lever 203 to rotate around an axle 204. The second arm 203c of the lever 203 is attached to the bottom surface of the air spring 201. The first arm 203a of the lever 203 is attached to the chassis 206. In regular operation, the vehicle has its tires 205 on the ground 202 with a distance between the chassis 206 and the axle 204 controlled by the active suspension.
The active suspension can be adjusted to a high position by expanding the air spring 201, which moves the bottom surface of the air spring 201 as well as the second arm 203c of the lever 203 down, simultaneously moving the first arm 203a of the lever 203 up, raising the vehicle's chassis 206 up and increasing the distance be- N tween the chassis 206 and the axle 204. Suspension can be adjusted to a low N position by compressing the air spring 201, which pulls the bottom surface of S the air spring 201 up and allows the chassis 206 to move down.
S 30 E According to the embodiment of figure 2, the method of lifting a vehicle with N active suspension uses a support leg 300 with a height adjustable body 301 O and utilizes the geometry of the axle 204 comprising the lever 203 rotatable = around the axle 204 and attached to the vehicle's chassis 206 at the first arm 203a and to the air spring 201 at the second arm 203c, further utilizing the active suspension of the vehicle adjustable between a low position and a high position, where the distance between the vehicle’s chassis 206 and the axle
204 is smaller in the low position than in the high position. The first step of the method, the compression step 101, comprises adjusting the vehicle's air sus- pension to a low position by compressing an at least one air spring 201 result- ing in an increased distance between the ground 202 and the bottom surface of the air spring 201. Compression of the air spring 201 simultaneously lowers the chassis 206 and raises the second arm 203c of the lever 203 along with the bottom surface of the air spring 201. Since the bottom surface of the air spring 201 is connected to the second arm 203c of the lever 203, the first arm 203a of the lever 203 and thus the chassis 206 attached to the first arm 203a of the lever 203 moves down when the second arm 203c of the lever 203 moves up. Compression of the air spring 201 results in an increased distance between the ground 202 and the bottom surface of the air spring 201. The air spring 201 could be compressed maximally or to a lesser extent sufficient to raise the tire 205 off the ground 202 in the following steps of the method.
During the second step of the method, the positioning step 102, a support leg 300 is positioned under the air spring 201 as shown in figure 2B. According to an embodiment of the invention, the positioning step 102 further comprises adjusting a mounting head 302, which is attached to the top of the body 301 of the support leg 300 and is rotatable around a horizontal axis, par- allel to the ground 202 when the support leg 300 is in use. During the position- ing step 102, the mounting head 302 is rotated until the top surface of the mounting head 302 is parallel to the bottom surface 203d of the lever 203 un- der the air spring 201 and the body 301 of the support leg 300 is perpendicular to the ground 202 as shown in figure 2B.
N N According to an embodiment of the invention, the positioning step 102 could S be simplified by using a magnet 303 located in a mounting head 302 of the S 30 support leg 300. The support leg 300 could then be guickly attached with a E magnet 303 to the air spring 201.
O O For increased safety, according to a further embodiment of the invention, a = mounting head 302 of the support leg 300 may comprise a hole 304 for a mounting bolt protruding from the bottom surface 203d of the lever 203 under the air spring 201. In such case, the positioning step requires careful alignment of the hole 304 and the mounting bolt for preventing lateral movement between the support leg 300 and the vehicle. The mounting bolt could be a bolt that is used to attach the air spring 201 to the lever 203. Preferably, more than one hole 304 is provided for one or more mounting bolts of the air spring 201.
In the third step of the method 103 according to the invention, the height of the support leg 300 is adjusted to match the distance between the ground 202 and the lever 203 under the air spring 201 as closely as possible as shown in the embodiment of figure 2B, and locking the support leg’s 300 height. According to an embodiment of the invention, the height is adjusted by moving two parts 305, 306 of a height adjustable body 301 of the support leg 300 with respect to each other until a height is found such that a pair of holes 307, 308 on the two parts 305, 306 of the height adjustable body 301 align and the support leg 300 height is closest to the distance between the ground 202 and the lever 203 under the air spring 201. If the height locking is not continuous, as in the current embodiment comprising holes, the height could be first adjusted to match the distance between the ground 202 and the lever 203 under the air spring 201 and then reduced until a locking position is reached. Height can then be locked by inserting a locking pin 309 through the aligned holes 307, 308. The height adjustable body 301 may, however, comprise three or more parts and be pro- vided with two or more locking pins with the height adjustment and locking performed in a similar manner as described above.
In the last step of the method, the expansion step 104, the vehicle's suspen- sion is adjusted to a high position by expanding the air spring 201, thus utilizing the geometry of the axle 204 and forcing the vehicle's axle 204, tire 205 and chassis 206 to rise as shown in the embodiment of figure 2C. When the air N spring 201 expands, an upward force is exerted to the chassis 206 above the N air spring 201, a downward force is exerted onto the second arm 203c of the S lever 203, which is supported by the support leg 300 preventing the downward S 30 motion of the air spring 201 and resulting in the lifting of the chassis 206, the E axle 204 and the tire 205 above their starting height of figure 2A and above the N ground 202. According to the embodiment where the support leg 300 com- 3 prises a rotatable mounting head 302, the mounting head rotates during the = expansion of the air spring 201, keeping the mounting head 302 top surface N 35 parallel to the bottom surface 203d of the lever 203 under the air spring 201 throughout the expansion.
According to the invention, the support leg 300 for use in the above described method of lifting a vehicle comprises a height adjustable body 301 comprising two parts 305, 306 that are movable with respect to each other along a central axis, where said central axis is perpendicular to the ground 202 when the sup- port leg 300 is in use. The height adjustable body 301 could comprise three or more parts 305, 306 that are movable with respect to each other along the central axis. The support leg 300 further comprises a mounting head 302 at- tached to the top of the body 301 and rotatable around an axis perpendicular to the central axis.
According to an embodiment of the invention, height of the height adjustable body 301 is adjustable from the shortest configuration to at least 1.5 times the height of the shortest configuration. Height of the height adjustable body 301 could be 25-35 cm when adjusted to the shortest configuration and 40-60 cm when adjusted to the tallest configuration. Preferably, height of the height ad- justable body 301 is adjustable from at most 30 cm in the shortest configuration to at least 50 cm in the tallest configuration. Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the support leg 300 for use in the above described method for lifting a vehicle. According to the embodiment of figure 3, the mounting head 302 can be attached to the top of the body 301 with a hinge 310. When the support leg 300 is in use, the mounting head 302 is ro- tatable around a horizontal axis, parallel to the ground 202. Preferably, when in use, the mounting head 302 is rotatable around an axis parallel to the axle
204. According to a further embodiment, the mounting head 302 is also rotat- able around an axis perpendicular to the axle 204.
N N According to an embodiment of the invention, the central axis extends along S the longest dimension of the support leg 300. S 30 z The body 301 of the support leg 300 could have a cross section, such as rec- N tangular, square, circular, triangular or other, where the cross section is in the O plane perpendicular to the central axis of the support leg 300.
N | 35 Preferably, the mounting head 302 of the support leg 300 has a larger cross section than the body 301 of the support leg 300. The cross section of the mounting head 302 can be of any shape, such as circular, rectangular,
triangular or other. Preferably the cross section of the mounting head 302 is rectangular. According to an embodiment of the invention, the support leg 300 further com- prises a base 311 at the bottom of the support leg’s body 301. The outer pe- rimeter of the base 311 is preferably larger than the outer perimeter of the cross section of the body 301 of the support leg 300. The cross section of the base 311 could be of any shape, such as rectangular, circular, triangular or other.
The support leg 300 is made of a durable, high strength material such as steel, an alloy of steel, such as stainless steel, titanium or an alloy of titanium, alu- minium or an alloy of aluminium. Preferably, the support leg 300 is made of a steel alloy.
At least one of the parts 306 of the support leg’s 300 body 301 is hollow. The at least one other part 305 may be hollow or solid. As shown in figure 3, the mounting head 302 further comprises a recess for receiving a magnet 303. Preferably, the recess comprises a magnet 303 for quick attachment of the support leg 300 to the vehicle. The mounting head 302 can comprise more than one magnet 303. The mounting head 302 can be attached to a metal bottom of an object to be supported by the help of the magnets 303. The metal bottom could be the bottom 203d of the lever 203 under the air spring 201. The metal bottom could further be the bottom surface of a towing bar or a trailer. The metal bottom 203d could be made of a steel alloy. The bottom of the lever 203 under the air spring 201 could contain metal N areas corresponding to where the magnets 303 should be attached, thus aid- > ing the guick alignment process. <Q S 30 — According to an embodiment of the invention, during the positioning step 102 z of the method, the support leg 300 is attached to the bottom surface 203d of N the lever 203 under the air spring 201 with the aid of a magnet 303. If the O support leg 300 comprises a rotatable mounting head 302, using magnet 303 = attachment automatically aligns the surface of the mounting head 302 to the N 35 bottom surface 203d of the lever 203 under the air spring 201 and the height of the support leg 300 can then be adjusted by extending the support leg 300 downwards.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting head 302 further comprises a hole 304 for receiving a mounting bolt protruding from the bottom surface 203d of the lever 203 under the air spring 201 for preventing lateral movement between the support leg 300 and the vehicle when the support leg 300 is in use and the vehicle is lifted.
The mounting bolt could be a bolt that is used to attach the air spring 201 to the lever 203. Preferably, the mounting head comprises more than one hole 304 for receiving one or more mounting bolts.
The number of holes 304 in the mounting head 302 can be equal or more than the number of mounting bolts.
According to an embodiment of the invention illustrated in figure 3, one of the parts 305 of the height adjustable body 301 comprises a plurality of holes 307 and the other part 306 comprises at least one hole 308 such that when the two parts 305, 306 are moved relative to each other, the holes 307, 308 can be aligned at a plurality of different heights.
According to the embodiment, the support leg 300 is further provided with a locking pin 309, where the locking pin 309 can be inserted through the aligned holes 307, 308 to lock a selected height of the support leg 300. Figure 3A shows the locking pin 309 in a locked position and figure 3B shows the locking pin 309 in an unlocked position.
Ac- cording to a further embodiment, the locking pin 309 and the holes 307, 308 could comprise threads so that the locking pin 309 can be screwed in through the aligned holes 307. In this embodiment, the cross section of the body 301 of the support leg 300 can be of any shape.
Preferably, the cross section is rectangular.
The height adjustable body 301 could comprise three movable parts 305, 306 where the height adjustment and locking mechanism is ar- N ranged similarly as above and the height adjustable body 301 is provided with > two locking pins 309. <Q S 30 According to another embodiment of the invention, the two parts of the height =E adjustable body 301 contain screw threads such that when one of the parts is N rotated, the height of the height adjustable body 301 can be increased or de- 3 creased depending on the direction of the rotation.
The locking is automatically = achieved as long as no rotational motion is exerted onto the support leg 300. N 35 In this embodiment, the cross section of the body 301 of the support leg 300 is circular.
According to the invention, the support leg 300 is used for assisting the lifting of a vehicle when the vehicle's active suspension is used. The support leg 300 could be used by placing it under the air spring 201 of an air suspension of a vehicle according to the method described earlier.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the support leg 300 could be placed below a vehicle to support its weight, e.g., after the vehicle has been lifted by other means, such as by traditional lifting jacks.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the support leg 300 could be placed below a towing bar or a trailer to support the trailer when it is discon- nected from the towing vehicle.
The method, the support leg 300 and the use of the support leg 300 according to the invention is suitable for lifting a heavy vehicle having an active suspen- sion and an axle configuration allowing lifting by the method. A heavy vehicle is a vehicle with a total weight, including the vehicle and the load, above 3,500 kg. In particular, the heavy vehicle could be a freight truck, a trailer, a bus, or a special purpose vehicle such as a crane truck and a fire truck.
The suspension could be any active suspension, such as hydraulic or hydro- pneumatic and the spring could be any corresponding spring that can be ac- tively controlled, such as a pressurized air spring 201, a hydraulic piston or other.
The support leg 300 could be placed under the active spring 201, or alterna- N tively anywhere under the chassis 206 of the vehicle if the vehicle has an active N suspension system that can perform work to pull the axle 204 and the tire 205 S Up.
S 30 z It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the invention is not N limited to the embodiments described above, but may vary within the scope of O the appended claims.
Claims (8)
1. A method of lifting a vehicle with active suspension, using a support leg (300) with a height adjustable body (301) and utilizing the vehicle's active sus- pension adjustable between a low position and a high position, where the dis- tance between the vehicle's chassis (206) and an axle (204) is smaller in the low position than in the high position, said method comprising: - a compression step (101), in which the vehicle's air suspension is ad- justed to a low position by compressing an at least one air spring (201) resulting in an increased distance between the ground (202) and the bottom surface of the air spring (201), said air spring (201) having a top side attached to the chassis (206) and a bottom side attached to a lever (203) rotatable around the axle (204), - a positioning step (102), in which the support leg (300) is positioned under the air spring (201) and a magnet (303) located in a mounting head (302) of the support leg (300) is used to attach the support leg (300) to the bottom surface (203d) of the lever (203) under the air spring (201), - a height adjustment and locking step (103), in which height of the sup- port leg (300) is first adjusted and then locked to match the distance between the ground (202) and the lever (203) under the air spring (201) as closely as possible, and - an expansion step (104), in which the vehicle’s air suspension is ad- justed to a high position by expanding the at least one air spring (201), thus forcing the vehicle’s axle (204), tire (205) and chassis (206) to rise. N
2. The method of lifting a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the positioning N step (101) further comprises an adjustment of a mounting head (302), which 3 is attached to the top of the body (301) of the support leg (300) and is rotatable 2 30 around a horizontal axis, parallel to the ground when the support leg (300) is I in use, said adjustment comprising rotating the mounting head (302) until the N top surface of the mounting head (302) is parallel to the bottom surface (203d) 2 of the lever (203) under the air spring (201) and the body (301) of the support = leg (300) is perpendicular to the ground (202). & 35
3. The method of lifting a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the positioning step (102) further comprises aligning a hole (304) in a mounting head (302) of the support leg (300) with a mounting bolt protruding from the bottom surface (203d) of the lever (203) under the air spring (201) to prevent lateral movement between the support leg (300) and the vehicle.
4. The method of lifting a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the height adjustment and locking step (103) comprises: - moving at least two parts (305, 306) of the height adjustable body (301) of the support leg (300) relative to each other until a height is found such that a pair of holes (307, 308) on the at least two parts (305, 306) of the height adjustable body (301) align and the support leg (300) height is closest to the distance between the ground (202) and the lever (203) under the air spring (201), and - locking the height selection by inserting a locking pin (309) through the aligned holes (307, 308).
5. A support leg (300) for use in the method for lifting a vehicle according to any of the preceding claims, said support leg (300) comprising: - a height adjustable body (301) comprising at least two parts (305, 306) that are movable with respect to each other along a central axis, where said central axis is perpendicular to the ground when the support leg (300) is in use, and - amounting head (302) attached to the top of the body (301) and rotat- able around an axis perpendicular to the central axis, the mounting head (302) comprising a magnet (303) for quick attachment of the sup- port leg (300) to the vehicle. N
6. The support leg (300) according to claim 5, wherein the mounting head (302) N further comprises at least one hole (304) for receiving a mounting bolt, pro- 3 truding from a lever (203) to which an air spring (201) of an air suspension of 2 30 the vehicle is attached, for preventing lateral movement between the support I leg (300) and the vehicle when the support leg (300) is in use and the vehicle N is lifted. 3 N
7. The support leg (300) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein one of the parts N 35 — (305) of the height adjustable body (301) comprises a plurality of holes (307) and another part (306) comprises at least one hole (308) such that when the at least two parts (305, 306) are moved relative to each other, the holes (307,
308) can be aligned at a plurality of different heights, the support leg (300) further being provided with a locking pin (309), where the locking pin (309) can be inserted through the aligned holes (307, 308) to lock a selected height of the support leg (300).
8. The use of the support leg (300) according to any of claims 5 to 7 for lifting a vehicle by utilizing the vehicle's active suspension.
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Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| FI20215653A FI129794B (en) | 2021-06-04 | 2021-06-04 | A method and a support leg for lifting a vehicle with active suspension |
| PCT/FI2022/050373 WO2022254091A1 (en) | 2021-06-04 | 2022-06-01 | A method and a support leg for partially lifting a vehicle with active suspension |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| FI20215653A FI129794B (en) | 2021-06-04 | 2021-06-04 | A method and a support leg for lifting a vehicle with active suspension |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| FI20215653A1 FI20215653A1 (en) | 2022-08-31 |
| FI129794B true FI129794B (en) | 2022-08-31 |
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ID=82020093
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| FI20215653A FI129794B (en) | 2021-06-04 | 2021-06-04 | A method and a support leg for lifting a vehicle with active suspension |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| FI (1) | FI129794B (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2022254091A1 (en) |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2570334A (en) * | 1948-06-11 | 1951-10-09 | Frank J Erjavec | Vehicle jacking device |
| FR1216104A (en) * | 1958-02-26 | 1960-04-22 | Daimler Benz Ag | Automotive car with air elastic suspension |
| EP3653455A1 (en) * | 2018-11-19 | 2020-05-20 | Franzoni S.r.l. | Automatic leveling device for a road vehicle |
-
2021
- 2021-06-04 FI FI20215653A patent/FI129794B/en active IP Right Grant
-
2022
- 2022-06-01 WO PCT/FI2022/050373 patent/WO2022254091A1/en active Application Filing
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| FI20215653A1 (en) | 2022-08-31 |
| WO2022254091A1 (en) | 2022-12-08 |
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