GB2306412A - Suspension system for a steerable wheel of a vehicle - Google Patents

Suspension system for a steerable wheel of a vehicle Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2306412A
GB2306412A GB9618588A GB9618588A GB2306412A GB 2306412 A GB2306412 A GB 2306412A GB 9618588 A GB9618588 A GB 9618588A GB 9618588 A GB9618588 A GB 9618588A GB 2306412 A GB2306412 A GB 2306412A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
vehicle
wheel
steering
suspension
strut
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.)
Granted
Application number
GB9618588A
Other versions
GB2306412B (en
GB9618588D0 (en
Inventor
Peter Hewson
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
MG Rover Group Ltd
Original Assignee
MG Rover Group Ltd
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by MG Rover Group Ltd filed Critical MG Rover Group Ltd
Publication of GB9618588D0 publication Critical patent/GB9618588D0/en
Publication of GB2306412A publication Critical patent/GB2306412A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2306412B publication Critical patent/GB2306412B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G21/00—Interconnection systems for two or more resiliently-suspended wheels, e.g. for stabilising a vehicle body with respect to acceleration, deceleration or centrifugal forces
    • B60G21/02—Interconnection systems for two or more resiliently-suspended wheels, e.g. for stabilising a vehicle body with respect to acceleration, deceleration or centrifugal forces permanently interconnected
    • B60G21/04—Interconnection systems for two or more resiliently-suspended wheels, e.g. for stabilising a vehicle body with respect to acceleration, deceleration or centrifugal forces permanently interconnected mechanically
    • B60G21/05—Interconnection systems for two or more resiliently-suspended wheels, e.g. for stabilising a vehicle body with respect to acceleration, deceleration or centrifugal forces permanently interconnected mechanically between wheels on the same axle but on different sides of the vehicle, i.e. the left and right wheel suspensions being interconnected
    • B60G21/055—Stabiliser bars
    • B60G21/0551—Mounting means therefor
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G15/00—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or type of combined spring and vibration damper, e.g. telescopic type
    • B60G15/02—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or type of combined spring and vibration damper, e.g. telescopic type having mechanical spring
    • B60G15/06—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or type of combined spring and vibration damper, e.g. telescopic type having mechanical spring and fluid damper
    • B60G15/07—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or type of combined spring and vibration damper, e.g. telescopic type having mechanical spring and fluid damper the damper being connected to the stub axle and the spring being arranged around the damper
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2200/00—Indexing codes relating to suspension types
    • B60G2200/10—Independent suspensions
    • B60G2200/14—Independent suspensions with lateral arms
    • B60G2200/142—Independent suspensions with lateral arms with a single lateral arm, e.g. MacPherson type
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2200/00—Indexing codes relating to suspension types
    • B60G2200/40—Indexing codes relating to the wheels in the suspensions
    • B60G2200/46—Indexing codes relating to the wheels in the suspensions camber angle
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2202/00—Indexing codes relating to the type of spring, damper or actuator
    • B60G2202/30—Spring/Damper and/or actuator Units
    • B60G2202/31—Spring/Damper and/or actuator Units with the spring arranged around the damper, e.g. MacPherson strut
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2204/00—Indexing codes related to suspensions per se or to auxiliary parts
    • B60G2204/10—Mounting of suspension elements
    • B60G2204/12—Mounting of springs or dampers
    • B60G2204/122—Mounting of torsion springs
    • B60G2204/1224—End mounts of stabiliser on wheel suspension
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2204/00—Indexing codes related to suspensions per se or to auxiliary parts
    • B60G2204/10—Mounting of suspension elements
    • B60G2204/12—Mounting of springs or dampers
    • B60G2204/124—Mounting of coil springs
    • B60G2204/1242—Mounting of coil springs on a damper, e.g. MacPerson strut

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Vehicle Body Suspensions (AREA)

Abstract

The vehicle suspension comprises a suspension member 14 pivotally connected at its inner end to a body 16 of the vehicle 10 with a ground engageable wheel 12 carried by a wheel mounting 13 pivotally mounted at its other end. A resilient strut 18 incorporating a damper 20 is arranged between the wheel mounting 13 and the body 16 for controlling movement of the suspension member 14. A link 28 connects an anti-roll bar 30 with the strut 18 such that, during cornering, forces Tr and Tl applied by the anti-roll member 30 along the link 28 to the strut 18 will pass substantially through an axis of steering A for the wheel 12, and will minimise any induced steering of the wheel which could reduce the accuracy of the vehicle handling.

Description

A VEHICLE SUSPENSION The invention relates to a vehicle suspension and is particularly concerned with a suspension acted upon by an anti-roll member.
Where an anti-roll member is provided for a vehicle, it normally acts on a convenient point on the suspension to which a free end of the anti-roll member can easily be connected. However, forces induced by the anti-roll member, for example when travelling at speed around a shallow curve, will induce steering. This induced steering comprises the steering "feel" of the vehicle and can reduce the accuracy of the vehicle handling.
An object of the present invention is to provide a suspension which addresses the foregoing problem.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a vehicle suspension system comprising supporting means for attachment to a body of the vehicle and on which a steerable, ground engageable, wheel can be mounted, a resilient strut having an upper part for attachment to the vehicle body and a lower part connected to the supporting means, said upper and lower parts being movable relative to each other to allow movement of the supporting means relative to the body, and an anti-roll member, the system including a linking part which has one end connected to said lower part to connect the anti-roll member thereto whereby the linking part can transmit forces between the lower part and the anti-roll member along a line of action, said one end being spaced from the steering axis, and the linking part being arranged such that said line of action would, if extended beyond the linking part, pass through the steering axis when the wheel is in a straight-ahead position.
By arranging for the force to pass through the axis of steering, force applied by the anti-roll member (for example when travelling at speed around a shallow curve will not induce steering of the wheel or will minimise such induced steering and the steering "feel" of the vehicle will not be substantially affected.
Preferably the supporting means comprises a wheel mounting and a suspension member connected to the wheel mounting by a first pivot, the wheel mounting is connected to a lower end of the strut, and the strut is connected, in use, at its upper end to a second pivot such that the steering axis is provided by the first and second pivots The force applied by the anti-roll member may be applied along a line of action which lies at an acute angle to the axis of steering. In such a case, the line of action will have a force component at right angles to the axis of steering. However, as the force is applied through the axis of steering, the force components will not induce steering of the wheel.
Preferably, one end of the anti-roll member is connected to a link, the link being pivotally connected at one end to the anti-roll bar and pivotally connected at its other end to part of the suspension such that the force applied to the suspension by the anti-roll member is along a line passing through the link pivots.
The suspension system is preferably a front suspension system of a vehicle.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle having a suspension system according to the first aspect of the invention.
A vehicle suspension system in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig 1 is a diagrammatic view looking rearwardly of a vehicle showing part of a front suspension of the vehicle and Fig 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the suspension shown in Fig 1.
A vehicle 10 has front and rear ground engageable wheels, a single front wheel 12 being shown in the drawings in a straight ahead position. The wheel 12 is carried by a wheel mounting 13 mounted on a pivot 15 at one end of a suspension arm 14, the wheel mounting 13 and the suspension arm 14 together serving to support the wheel in the desired position relative to the vehicle body 16. The suspension arm 14 is pivotally connected at its inner end to a body 16 of the vehicle 10. A suspension strut 18 is arranged between the wheel mounting 13 and the body 16 and comprises a damper 20 having a body 22 and a piston rod 24. The damper body 22 is rigidly connected to the wheel mounting 13 and the piston rod 24 is connected to the body 16 by means of a pivot 26 arranged at the upper end of the piston rod 24 as viewed in the drawings.A helical compression spring 25 extends around the piston rod 24 in known manner.
An axis A passing through the pivots 15, 26 defines an inclined axis of steering for the wheel 12. A suitable steering mechanism (not shown) is provided on the vehicle.
The damper body 22 is connected via a pivot 27 to one end of a link 28. The other end of the link 28 is connected via a pivot 29 to one end of an anti-roll bar 30 of known kind on the vehicle 10. The other end of the anti-roll bar is connected to a link 28 of a suspension arrangement on the cpposite side of the vehicle which is a mirror image of that shown in the drawing. It will be noted that the link 28 is arranged at an acute angle t to the axis of steering A.
When travelling around a shallow bend at speed a certain amount of body roll will be induced which will cause the anti-roll bar 30 to apply an upward or downward force through the link 28 along a line of action L passing through the centres of pivots 27, 29 at angle t to the axis A. The line L passes through the centres of pivots 27, 29.
The upward or downward force will have a transverse component Tr or T1 depending upon the direction in which the force is applied. It will be noted that the line of action L passes through the axis of steering A with the wheel 12 in the straight ahead position. Therefore, the force applied by the anti-roll bar 30 will pass through the steering axis and will not induce steering movement to the wheel 12. In that way, the steering "feel" of the vehicle will not be substantially affected when roll is induced with the vehicle travelling at speed in a straight line or travelling at speed around a shallow curve where the forces Tr, T1 will pass close to the steering axis A.
When substantial steering lock is applied to the wheel 2, e.g. when steering around corners in built-up areas, the strut 18 will turn about the steering axis A and the pivot 27 will move towards one of two alternative broken line positions 27a, 27b shown in Fig 2. Any force Tr or T1 induced at that time will not pass through the axis A but as the vehicle will normally be travelling at low speed in such situations, there will be little effect on the steering "feel" of the vehicle.

Claims (7)

1. A vehicle suspension system comprising supporting means for attachment to a body of the vehicle and on which a steerable, ground engageable, wheel can be mounted, a resilient strut having an upper part for attachment to the vehicle body and a lower part connected to the supporting means, said upper and lower parts being movable relative to each other to allow movement of the supporting means relative to the body, and an anti-roll member, the system including a linking part which has one end connected to said lower part to connect the anti-roll member thereto whereby the linking part can transmit forces between the lower part and the anti roll member along a line of action, said one end being spaced from the steering axis, and the linking part being arranged such that said line of action would, if extended beyond the linking part, pass through the steering axis when the wheel is in a straight-ahead position.
2. A system according to claim 1 in which the supporting means comprises a wheel mounting and a suspension member connected to the wheel mounting by a first pivot, the wheel mounting is connected to a lower end of the strut, and the strut is connected, in use, at its upper end to a second pivot such that the steering axis is provided by the first and second pivots.
3. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the line of action lies at an acute angle to the axis of steering.
4. A system according to any preceding claim wherein the linking part comprises a link, the link being pivotally connected at one end to the anti-roll member and pivotally connected at its other end to the strut such that the line of action passes through the link pivots.
5. A system according to any preceding claim which is a front suspension of a vehicle.
6. A vehicle suspension system constructed and arranged substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
7. A vehicle having a suspension according to any preceding claim.
GB9618588A 1995-10-20 1996-09-04 A vehicle suspension Expired - Fee Related GB2306412B (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB9521586.9A GB9521586D0 (en) 1995-10-20 1995-10-20 A vehicle suspension

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9618588D0 GB9618588D0 (en) 1996-10-16
GB2306412A true GB2306412A (en) 1997-05-07
GB2306412B GB2306412B (en) 1999-03-17

Family

ID=10782689

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GBGB9521586.9A Pending GB9521586D0 (en) 1995-10-20 1995-10-20 A vehicle suspension
GB9618588A Expired - Fee Related GB2306412B (en) 1995-10-20 1996-09-04 A vehicle suspension

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GBGB9521586.9A Pending GB9521586D0 (en) 1995-10-20 1995-10-20 A vehicle suspension

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (2) GB9521586D0 (en)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6676145B2 (en) * 2002-01-03 2004-01-13 Meritor Light Vehicle Technology, Llc Movable upper suspension mount
DE102006055819A1 (en) * 2006-11-27 2008-05-29 Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn Wheel suspension for motor vehicle, has rod with stabilizer end connected with stabilizer, and wheel carrier end connected with wheel carrier, where rod is angularly arranged relating to vertical direction of vehicle in side view
US7384053B1 (en) 2003-09-03 2008-06-10 Trw Automotive Gmbh System for rolling angle reduction in motor vehicles
WO2009115873A1 (en) * 2008-03-19 2009-09-24 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Suspension device
CN108382152A (en) * 2017-02-02 2018-08-10 本田技研工业株式会社 Draft hitch
CN109789748A (en) * 2016-09-23 2019-05-21 Ntn株式会社 In-wheel motor drive unit suspension frame structure

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN106541986B (en) * 2016-11-08 2019-10-01 同济大学 A kind of double-crank transmission McPherson suspension line traffic control independent steering system

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0044579A1 (en) * 1980-07-22 1982-01-27 Dr.Ing.h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Wheel suspension for motor vehicle
EP0312997A1 (en) * 1987-10-19 1989-04-26 Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Double link type suspension system with stabilizer bar
US4923209A (en) * 1988-02-09 1990-05-08 Dr. Ing. H.C.F. Porsche Ag Wheel suspension for a powered front axle of a motor vehicle
GB2244461A (en) * 1990-05-29 1991-12-04 Daimler Benz Ag A motor vehicle front suspension

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0044579A1 (en) * 1980-07-22 1982-01-27 Dr.Ing.h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Wheel suspension for motor vehicle
EP0312997A1 (en) * 1987-10-19 1989-04-26 Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Double link type suspension system with stabilizer bar
US4923209A (en) * 1988-02-09 1990-05-08 Dr. Ing. H.C.F. Porsche Ag Wheel suspension for a powered front axle of a motor vehicle
GB2244461A (en) * 1990-05-29 1991-12-04 Daimler Benz Ag A motor vehicle front suspension

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6676145B2 (en) * 2002-01-03 2004-01-13 Meritor Light Vehicle Technology, Llc Movable upper suspension mount
US7384053B1 (en) 2003-09-03 2008-06-10 Trw Automotive Gmbh System for rolling angle reduction in motor vehicles
DE102006055819A1 (en) * 2006-11-27 2008-05-29 Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn Wheel suspension for motor vehicle, has rod with stabilizer end connected with stabilizer, and wheel carrier end connected with wheel carrier, where rod is angularly arranged relating to vertical direction of vehicle in side view
WO2009115873A1 (en) * 2008-03-19 2009-09-24 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Suspension device
CN109789748A (en) * 2016-09-23 2019-05-21 Ntn株式会社 In-wheel motor drive unit suspension frame structure
CN108382152A (en) * 2017-02-02 2018-08-10 本田技研工业株式会社 Draft hitch

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9521586D0 (en) 1995-12-20
GB2306412B (en) 1999-03-17
GB9618588D0 (en) 1996-10-16

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)
746 Register noted 'licences of right' (sect. 46/1977)

Effective date: 20050719

732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20090904