GB498391A - Improvements in or relating to spring units - Google Patents

Abstract

498,391. Vehicle suspensions ; shockabsorbers. RINGFEDER GES. July 5, 1937, No. 18674. Convention date, July 4, 1936. [Classes 108 (ii) and 108 (iii)] A spring or shockabsorbing device for use in an aircraft or a vehicle suspension comprises members adapted to be connected respectively to the chassis or the like and a road-wheel axle or the like, a housing or part of a housing being secured to one member and the other member being arranged to bear on one end of at least one helical or spiral spring wire which is closely surrounded by the housing, the other end of the wire being prevented from moving angularly relatively to the housing. On relative movement of the members the wire tends to unwind against the internal wall of the housing and is compressed tangentially. As shown in Fig. 3, the spring or shock-absorbing unit proper comprises a pair of intercoiled spring wires m, n adapted under the action of tangential end-forces P to be compressed within a cylindrical housing q which may be expandable radially outwards. In order to stress the springs equally throughout their length the cross-section may be decreased towards the centre of the spring proportionately with the otherwise decrease in the amount of stress. The housing also may vary in thickness. The housing may be divided into a number of rings, as shown in Fig. 10, in which also one or two end coils of the springs m, n are shown extending into sleeves q<1> which act as force-transmission members to stress the springs through the friction between the end coils and the sleeves. Fig. 7 shows another construction of unit in which springs r, s intercoiled in flat spirals are inserted between and adapted to be stressed by relative rotation of a shouldered sleeve u fixed to a shaft t<1> and an internallyshouldered housing z fixed to a second shaft. In a modification the housing has internal spiral ribs on which the springs bear. Fig. 11 shows the invention embodied in an independent wheel suspension comprising a wheel-supporting arm 1, suspended by members 12, 15 from a bracket 13, and a part-housing 10 fixed to the chassis, a portion of the arm being shaped to form a part-housing 3 enclosing end coils of the springs 4, 5 the major portions of which are engaged by rings 6, 7, 8, 9 completing the housing, and the other end coils of which are enclosed by the part 10. Instead of the arm, Fig. 11, the units described may be stressed by an inclined plane, screw means, or hydraulic means. The Specification also contains some theoretical discussion illustrated by graphs. Specification 423,278, [Group XXIV], is referred to.