GB2443702A

GB2443702A - Suspension for vehicle with access apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2443702A
Application number: GB0622552A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Greenwood
Original assignee: LATERAL DESIGN CONCEPTS Ltd
Current assignee: LATERAL DESIGN CONCEPTS Ltd
Priority date: 2006-11-11
Filing date: 2006-11-11
Publication date: 2008-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 2026-11-11
Also published as: GB0622552D0; GB2443702B; WO2008059284A1

Abstract

A vehicle 1 adapted for disabled Access includes a tray 3, which is fixed to the floor of the vehicle and provides a lowered floor area. The vehicle includes at least one rear wheel hub 8 that is connected to the vehicle by a suspension system comprising at least two suspension arms. The suspension arms are pivotally connected at one end to the hub 8 and at the other to the tray 3. At the normal ride height, the pivot point 26 between the upper suspension arm 10 and tray 3 is located inwardly and downwardly of the pivot 22 between the arm 10 and hub 8.

Description

ACCESS APPARATUS

The present invention relates to a vehicle and, in particular although not exclusively, to a vehicle adapted for disabled access.

Modern, mass produced vehicles are aimed to satisfy the requirements of the general world-wide market. As a consequence, it is desirable to maximise the vehicles ground clearance: the height between the ground and the underside of the vehicle. When vehicles are retro fitted for disabled access, for example in order to fit an occupied wheelchair in the rear, it is often necessary to remove the floor from at least a portion of the vehicle and insert a lowered floor to provide a portion of the vehicle with increased internal head space. It is not always possible to fit a lowered floor in existing vehicles.

It is an object of the present invention to attempt to overcome at least one of the above or other disadvantages.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle adapted for disabled access.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle including: a lowered floor for providing disabled access; characterised in that the vehicle includes at least one rear wheel that is connected to the vehicle by a suspension system; and the suspension system includes at least a first arm, which is pivotally connected to the vehicle at one end and the hub at the other, wherein, at the normal ride height, the first arm's pivot with the vehicle is located inwardly and downwardly from the first arm's pivot with the hub.

The floor may comprise at least a partial area of the accommodation portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention a vehicle adapted for disabled access comprises at least one rear wheel that is connected to the vehicle by a suspension system wherein the suspension system includes at least a first arm, which is pivotally connected to the vehicle at one end and the hub at the other, wherein, at the normal ride height, the first arm's pivot with the vehicle is located inwardly and downwardly from the first arm's pivot with the hub.

According to a further aspect of the present invention a vehicle adapted for disabled access comprises a lowered floor and at least one rear wheel that is connected to the vehicle by a suspension system wherein the suspension system includes at least a first arm that is pivotally connected to the lowered floor.

Preferably the suspension system includes a second arm.

The second arm may be pivotally connected to the lowered floor. The lowered floor may comprise a tray. The first arm may be pivotally connected to the side of the tray.

The second arm may be pivotally connected to the underside of the tray.

Further features of the present invention are defined in the Claims appended hereto.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the following Figures, in which: Figure 1 is a rear view of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of Figure 1 showing a suspension system; Figure 3 is a schematic view of the suspension system; and Figure 4 is a schematic view of the suspension system showing the middle, high and low positions overlaid on the same schematic.

As shown in Figure 1, a vehicle 1 adapted for disabled access includes a tray 3 that is fixed to the floor of the vehicle. Above the tray 3, there is provided increased head clearance such that a wheelchair may be accommodated in the tray 3. Further, a wheelchair user may occupy the wheelchair whilst in the vehicle 1, without interference from the vehicle's roof. The vehicle 1 may be a standard car with front and rear axles and a chassis that defines a forward, driver portion and a rearward, passenger or land portion. Rearward wheels 5, 6 cooperate with the axles and each includes a suspension system.

A rear wheel suspension system is shown in Figure 2 with the wheel 5 removed for clarity. The wheel 5 attaches to a wheel hub 8 by a series of outwardly projecting bolts.

Upper 10 and lower 12 suspension arms 10, 12 are pivotally connected at points 22, 24, 26, 28 to the wheel hub 8 at one end and to the side and bottom of the tray 3 respectively at the other. When the suspension system is at a normal ride height, as shown in Figure 3, a line 14 drawn through the two pivot points at the ends of the upper suspension arm 10 extends inwardly and downwardly, whilst a similar line 16 drawn through the two pivot points at the ends of the lower suspension arm 12 extends horizontally.

The various parts will now be described in more detail.

The vehicle 1 may be any standard car, for example, a Kia.

To adapt the car for disabled access, the standard seats are removed from the rearward passenger portion and a rectangular recess is cut through a floor area of the passenger portion of the chassis. The rectangular recess is sized so that the tray 3 fits snugly within the recess.

The recess extends inwardly from a rear end of the vehicles' chassis and substantially along the length of the vehicle. In order to fit the tray 3 into the recess it is necessary to remove the standard petrol tank and replace it with an adapted tank designed to fit around the inserted tray 3.

The tray 3 comprises a generally rectangular shaped part with a floor 20 and three sides at a front and sides of the tray 3. The top edge of the three sides includes a lip that extends outwardly and at 90 degrees to the sides to provide support for the tray 3 from the vehicle 1. The floor 20 sides and lip are integrally formed. When the tray 3 is inserted in the hole, the underside of the lip abuts the floor area immediately adjacent to the hole.

The sides of the tray 3 extend through the thickness of the vehicle's floor, such that the tray's floor 20 is arranged substantially level to the vehicle's floor but spaced beneath the vehicle's floor. In other words, parallel but spaced apart from the vehicle's floor. The lip of the tray includes a plurality of holes through which rivets are inserted. The tray is secured firmly to the vehicle's chassis by means of the rivets and adhesive.

The fourth, rear most, side forms a ramp (not shown) and is formed separate to the tray. The ramp is pivotally connected to the tray 3 along a rearward edge thereof such that it can be moved between an inoperable position, where it extends upwardly adjacent to the inside of the vehicle's boot, and an operable position in which the ramp is downwardly angled to contact the ground to enable wheelchair access.

The aim of the suspension system is to absorb the unevenness of the road and to keep the wheel as upright as possible during cornering conditions. Accordingly, a multi link suspension system is used and comprises a forward suspension arm (not shown) and two rearward suspension arms. The forward suspension arm is pivotally connected to the wheel hub 8 forward of the wheels axis and the rearward arms are pivotally connected to the hub rearward of the wheels axis.

The hub 8 provides an upper 22 and lower 24 pivot point for the rearward suspension arms 10, 12. The upper suspension arm 10 is attached to the hub 8 at the upper pivot point 22. The upper suspension arm 10 is generally arcuate and is pivotally connected to the hub at a first distal end. The opposite distal end of the upper suspension arm 10 is pivotally connected to the out side of the tray 3 at pivot point 26. Pivot point 26 is formed on a vertical flange that extends from the tray 3.

The lower suspension arm 12 is pivotally connected at a first distal end to the hub 8 by the pivot point 24. The arm 12 is generally bow shaped or arcuate. The upper surface of the arm 12 provides a flattened surface for abutment with a suspension spring 25. The opposite distal end of the arm 12 is pivotally connected to the underside of the tray's floor 20. A cross-member 27 extends downwardly from the tray along an underside thereof in transverse orientation to the vehicle and provides the pivotal connection 28 for the lower suspension arm.

When the car is at ride height (marked by the suffix M) the relationship between the upper and lower pivot points 22, 24 on the hub 8 and the opposing pivot points 26, 28 respectively are shown in Figure 3. The line 14 is drawn through the pivot points of the upper suspension arm 10.

The line 16 is drawn through the pivot points of the lower suspension arm 12. The lines 14, 16 converge at the instantaneous centre, point M. A line 30 is drawn from the instantaneous centre, point CM, to the centre of the wheel tread when in contact with the ground. Line 32 denotes the centre line of the vehicle. Where line 30 intersects line 32 defines the roll centre of the vehicle.

The vehicle's roll centre determines some of the driving characteristics of the vehicle. For instance, when cornering, a lowered roll centre at the rear of the vehicle makes the vehicle less prone to over-steer. Over-steer is an undesirable characteristic in most vehicles as it causes the rear end to become unstable and, in excessive conditions, may cause the vehicle to spin.

Figure 4 shows how the suspension characteristics change as the wheel is moved up in the wheel arch of the vehicle, for example when passing over a round hump (denoted by the suffix B), and also as the wheel drops down, for instance when passing over a pot hole (denoted by the Suffix H) The wheelchair may access the lowered floor 20 by means of a ramp (not shown) or lifting apparatus (not shown) . The wheelchair and user are comfortably accommodated within the space above the tray, wherein an area of the passenger portion is provided with increased head clearance such that the wheelchair user is not inhibited by the vehicles roof.

The present invention provides a vehicle with a lowered floor area to enable disabled access to a passenger portion of the vehicle, whilst providing improved vehicle handling characteristics.

Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features

disclosed in this specification (including any

accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

Claims 1. A vehicle including: a lowered floor for providing disabled

access; characterised in that: the vehicle includes at least one rear wheel that is connected to the vehicle by a suspension system; and the suspension system includes at least a first arm, which is pivotally connected to the vehicle at one end and the hub at the other, wherein, at the normal ride height, the first arm's pivot with the vehicle is located inwardly and downwardly from the first arm's pivot with the hub.
2. A vehicle as claimed in 1 wherein the suspension system includes a second arm that is pivotally connected to the vehicle at one end and the hub at the other, wherein, at the normal ride height, the second arm's pivot with the vehicle is located level with the second arm's pivot with the hub.
3. A vehicle as claimed in 1 wherein the suspension system includes a second arm that is pivotally connected to the vehicle at one end and the hub at the other, wherein, at the normal ride height, the second arm's pivot with the vehicle is located inwardly and downwardly from the first arm's pivot with the hub.
4. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 2 or 3, wherein the first arm is located above the second arm.
5. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the lowered floor area comprises a tray mounted in a floor of the accommodation portion.
6. A vehicle as claimed in claim 5 wherein the tray extends from the rear of the vehicle.
7. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 5 or 6 wherein the tray includes at least two sides that extend between the floor of the accommodation portion and the lowered floor.
8. A vehicle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the sides include a top lip that extends outwardly from the tray.
9. A vehicle as claimed in claim 8 wherein the tray is mounted in the floor of the accommodation portion by engagement of the lip and said floor.
10. A vehicle as claimed in claim 9 wherein the tray is secured to the floor by means of rivets and adhesive.
11. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 5 to 10 wherein at least one of the arm's pivots with the vehicle is located on the tray.
12. A vehicle as claimed in any of claims 5 to 10 wherein both of the arm's pivots with the vehicle is located on the tray.
13. A vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein the first arm is located on a side of the tray and the second arm is located on the lowered floor.
14. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claims wherein the vehicle includes two rear wheels that are each connected to the vehicle by a suspension system in accordance with claims 1 to 13.
15. A vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in any of the accompanying drawings.