NL1034171C2 - Wheel axle suspension. - Google Patents

Description

Short indication: Wheel axle suspension.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a wheel axle suspension according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such a wheel axle suspension is known from DE 296 15 286. With the known wheel axle suspension, the axle body is clamped directly against an abutment area of a resilient bearing member by means of a clamping plate located on the side of the axle body remote from the bearing arm and a pair of U-shaped clamping straps extending through the support arm and extending through holes in the clamping plate. The axle body is deformed at the location of the axle clamping into a non-round contour with flattened areas which abut the abutment area of the bearing arm. The resilient support arm has a constant width, i.e. the abutment area and the resilient part have the same width.

Because of material and weight and space saving in the construction, the support springs are generally made as narrow as possible, the support arm having a width and height such that the rolling movements of the vehicle can still be absorbed to a sufficient extent. In the case of the carrier spring according to DE 296 15 286 this has the consequence that the clamping of the axle body extending perpendicularly to the bearing arm takes place over only a limited length of axle body.

As a result of this, the axle body is locally heavily loaded due to the high clamping forces required to fix the axle. This is a problem, in particular with thin-walled tubular axle bodies, because those axle bodies are strongly deformed by the high forces, which is detrimental to the service life. It is known to increase the length of the axle body that is clamped in by using an axle path which is arranged between the bearing arm and the axle body and which is wider than the bearing arm. Such a construction is shown, for example, in FIG. 7 of DE 296 15 286, but has the disadvantage that more parts are required, resulting in a more complex assembly.

The invention has for its object to provide an improved wheel axle suspension.

This object is achieved by a wheel axle suspension according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that the bearing arm at the area of the abutment area is wider than in the area immediately preceding it, in particular between the abutment area and the hinge mounting.

The invention offers the possibility of lightly carrying out the bearing arm, while nevertheless clamping a sufficient length of the axle body to spread the load on the axle body through the clamping and thus locally excessively high load and deformation of the 1034171 -2-axle body while no additional components are required between the axle and the support arm.

US 2006/0163834 discloses another wheel axle suspension with a rigid bearing arm manufactured by means of casting or forging, which bearing arm is provided with a sleeve through which the axle body extends in mounted condition. The sleeve can consist of one part with the axle body having to be inserted in the axial direction, but the sleeve can also consist of two halves that are welded together by axial welding after the axle body has been inserted. The cuff is wider than the preceding part of the support arm. In contrast to the present invention, however, the sleeve is not designed for a clamp connection around the axle body, but is adapted to be welded to the axle body. The cuff is provided for this purpose with openings where a proplas or the like can be fitted which connects the cuff to the axle body.

The axle body preferably has a substantially circular cross-section at the location of the axle clamp. Axis bodies with a circular cross-section are better able to absorb torsional moments than hollow axes with a different cross-section, for example a square cross-section.

In a preferred embodiment, the support member surrounds the axle body by at least 180 °. The clamping force is hereby uniformly distributed over the circumference of the axle body and it is avoided that the axle body is distorted too much and deviates too much from a circular shape. As a result of this measure, relatively thin-walled axle bodies can be applied, which in itself results in a weight saving in the vehicle.

In a preferred embodiment, the bearing arm is provided with holes on either side of the axle at the location of the axle clamping for piercing clamping bolts or the stems of U-shaped clamping straps. As a result of this measure, a sling plate or clamping plate can be omitted on the side of the bearing arm remote from the axle, which results in a simpler assembly and a saving in weight.

The carrying arm is preferably designed as a flexible carrying arm. The rolling movements about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle are absorbed by these flexible arms.

In another possible embodiment, the carrying arm is designed as a rigid arm.

Such rigid arms are hinged to the suspension bracket via a resilient bush.

The carrying arm and the axle body are preferably secured relative to each other by means of a locking means. This locking prevents rotation of the axle body relative to the bearing arm as a result of torsional forces. Preferably, the axle body resp. the support arm provided with a protrusion -3- and wherein the support arm resp. the axle body is provided with a complementary recess for receiving the protrusion.

A second aspect of the invention relates to a wheel axle suspension assembly for suspending a axle on a vehicle according to claim 13.

According to the second aspect of the invention, it is provided that the bearing arm is manufactured for a large outer diameter of the axle body, for example 146 mm, but can also be used for axle bodies with a smaller diameter, for example 127 mm. This becomes possible according to the second aspect of the invention by arranging a shell part between the curved portion and the axle body with an inner diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the axle body and with an outer diameter that fits flush with the abutment surface of the curved portion of the axle body. support arm can be fitted. Furthermore, according to this aspect of the invention it is provided to provide the support part with a recess which is adapted to the outer diameter of the axle body. In this way, a universal support arm can be manufactured for different embodiments of wheel axle suspensions, while a specific support part and optionally a specific scale part are manufactured per embodiment variant.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing, in which: 1 shows a perspective view obliquely from above of a preferred embodiment of a support arm for a wheel axle suspension according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view obliquely from below of the carrying arm of FIG.

1, FIG. 3 shows a side view of an axle clamp with a round axle against the carrying arm of FIG. 1 is clamped,

FIG. 4 shows a side view of a wheel axle suspension according to the invention with an alternative embodiment of a support arm,

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of a support arm for a wheel axle suspension according to the invention, and

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a tray part that can be used with the carrying arm of FIG. 5.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a flexible support arm 1 is shown. The support arm 1 has a resilient part 2 which is provided with a fixing eye on the front, viewed in the direction of travel of the vehicle. The support arm 1 can be hingedly connected to a suspension bracket on the underside of a vehicle chassis by means of a pivot bolt. is -4- applied. Such a suspension bracket is also referred to as a spring hand and is generally known.

Adjacent to the resilient part 2 of the carrying arm, a curved part 4 is formed, which curved part 4 has a hollow surface 5 directed downwards in the shown example. Adjacent to the curved portion 4, an end portion 6 is formed which is adapted to mount an air spring against.

The resilient part 2 is preferably manufactured by rolling, but could also be produced by forging. The curved portion is preferably made by forging. Four boreholes 7 are provided in the curved part which serve to pierce clamping bolts. The bores 7 are countersunk with respect to the upper surface of the curved portion.

In FIG. 3 shows how an axle body 10 designed as a relatively thin-walled, substantially round tube is clamped against the bearing arm 1. Such a tubular axle body has, for example, an outer diameter of 146 mm and a wall thickness between 7 and 9 mm. Such an axle body is relatively easy to deform in the radial direction.

In FIG. 3 it can be seen that the axle clamping comprises a support part 20. The support part 20 has a recess 21 in which a part of the axle body 10 is received. In the mounted state, a part of the circumference of the axle body 10 is clamped against the inner wall 22 of the recess 21, which inner wall 22 is complementary to the outer contour of the axle body 10. The support part 20 is secured by means of bolts 23 bolt head 23a and a bolt shank 23b that are inserted through bores 7 in the bearing arm 1, and nuts 24 clamped against the underside of the axle body 10. As can be clearly seen in FIG. 3 lies more than 1800 of the circumference of the axle body 10 against the inner wall 22 of the support part 20. The inner wall 22 of the support part 20 and the abutment surface 5 of the curved portion 4 of the support arm 1 surround practically the entire circumference of the axle body 10 as shown in FIG. 3 clearly shows. This is advantageous when clamping relatively thin-walled shafts, because a all-round load takes place, as a result of which the axle body 10 is kept round at the location of the clamping.

The curved portion 4 of the support arm 1 is wider than the resilient portion 2. The width of the resilient portion 2 is such that sufficient resistance can be offered to the rolling movement of the vehicle. The curved portion 4 is wider, so that a lower surface pressure on the axle body is created, in particular when absorbing transverse forces.

According to the invention, the round hollow shafts can be clamped directly against the bearing arm without the intervention of an axle pad or other fitting piece. It is known from the state of the art to arrange an axle pad between the axle and the bearing arm, which axle pad is fitted on the side facing the axle fittingly against the axle body and is fitted on the side facing the bearing arm against the bearing arm. applied.

-5-

However, within the scope of the first aspect of the invention, it is provided that a so-called galvanized plate is arranged between the axle body and the bearing arm. This relatively thin galvanized plate offers cathodic protection against stress corrosion of the support arm, but has no function for fitting the axle body and the support arm properly.

FIG. 3 shows a special version of the front clamping bolts 23. The wood heads 23a of the front clamping bolts 23 are provided with fixing lips 25 to which a shock absorber 26 is hinged. The mounting lips 25 extend obliquely upwards and forwards from the bolt head 23a. Such bolts can also be used separately from the present invention.

The axle body 10 is preferably secured relative to the bearing arm 1. Several possibilities are available for securing. Securing preferably takes place by providing a recess or recess in the abutment surface 5 and arranging a protrusion on the axle body 10, for example in the form of a welded-on key 11, as shown in NL1022395. The protrusion and the recess form, in addition to securing against movement of the axle relative to the bearing arm by the action of torsional forces, for example by braking at the wheels of the vehicle, also a positioning means to ensure that the axle is correctly positioned during assembly. correctly and axially. Another possibility to secure against rotation is to provide a projection on the abutment surface 5, for example in the form of a ball segment. The shaft can be provided with a recess or depression as shown in EP 1 334 848 in the name of Schmitz Cargobull AG.

It is noted that in the example of FIG. 1-3, a resilient arm is shown, preferably made by rolling, the curved portion preferably being made by forging. However, it is very conceivable to suspend the shaft from rigid support arms that are manufactured by casting or forging, as described, for example, in US 2006/0163834. In addition, the shaft according to the invention, in contrast to what is shown in US 2006/0163834, is also clamped against a receiving area by means of a support part and clamping means.

Apart from the present invention, it is also possible not to lock the cast or forged support arm of US 2006/0163834, which is provided with a cylindrical sleeve with two sleeve halves welded together, with plug welding, such as US 2006/0163834, but instead providing the sleeve with a protrusion on the inside and providing the shaft with a recess or depression. The shaft can also be provided with a protrusion and the sleeve can be provided with a recess.

-6-

In addition to the possibility of securing the axle body 10 relative to the support arm, an embodiment is also conceivable in which the axle body 10 is secured in a comparable manner relative to the support part. A variant with securing the axle body 10 relative to both the bearing arm and the support part is also possible. This also applies to the embodiments shown in FIG. 4 and 5 are shown.

In FIG. 4, a wheel axle suspension is shown for suspending a round hollow axle 10 from a vehicle. The wheel axle suspension comprises on both sides of the vehicle a support arm 41 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to which the axle 10 is attached. The carrying arm 41 is hinged at the front in the direction of travel of the vehicle to a carrying bracket 42 arranged on the underside of the vehicle chassis 43. An air spring 44 is arranged at the rear between the carrying arm 41 and the chassis 43.

As with the embodiment described above, the axle body 10 rests directly against an abutment area 45 of the support arm 41. The abutment area 45 is substantially complementary to the outer contour of the axle body 10. At the abutment area 45 of the On the side of the axle body 10 facing away from the bearing arm 41, a support part 46 is provided which is provided with a recess to receive the axle 10. The support part 46 is clamped against the axle body 10 by means of clamping bolts 47 and nuts 48. The front clamping bolts 47 have an attachment lip 49 on their bolt head to which an end of a shock absorber 401 is attached. The other end of the shock absorber 401 is connected to the carrying bracket 42.

Arranged on the support part 46 is an arm 461 which extends obliquely forward and upward from the support part 46 and is connected at the end remote from the support part to the support arm 41. The connection of the arm 461 to the support arm 41 serves to load arm 41. The arm 461 can be made resilient.

FIG. 5 an alternative embodiment of a support arm is shown. The carrying arm 51 has a mounting eye 53 at the end to be mounted at the front, with which the carrying arm 51 can be attached to a carrying bracket by means of a hinge bolt. The supporting arm 51 has a resilient part 52. Following the resilient part 52 of the supporting arm 51, a curved part 54 is formed, which curved part 54 has an upwardly directed hollow abutment surface 55 in the example shown. The curved portion has a greater width than the resilient portion.

In FIG. 5, a support member 56 is also shown which is positioned opposite the curved portion and has a recess 57 to receive a portion of the circumference of the axle body. For the sake of clarity of the drawing, the axle body has been omitted in this figure. In the mounted state, a part of the circumference of the axle body is clamped against the inner wall 58 of the recess 57, which inner wall 58 is complementary to the outer contour of the axle body. The support part 56 is clamped against the top of the axle body by means of bolts -7- (not shown). The support part has mounting holes 561 for this purpose. As can be clearly seen in FIG. 5 lies more than 180 ° of the circumference of the axle body against the inner wall 58 of the support part 56. The inner wall 58 of the support member 56 and the abutment surface 55 of the curved portion 54 of the support arm 51 surround substantially the entire circumference of the axle body 10 as shown in FIG. 5 clearly shows. This is advantageous when clamping relatively thin-walled shafts, because a all-round load takes place, as a result of which the axle body 10 is kept round at the location of the clamping.

The support part 56 is provided with a mounting arm 59 which, when mounted, extends backwards from the support part 56. The mounting arm 59 is adapted to mount the underside of an air spring (not shown) against it. The top of the air spring is attached to the vehicle chassis. The air spring is thus active via the supporting part 56 on the hingedly mounted bearing arm 51.

The support part 56 is provided at the top with two fixing lips 562 which extend obliquely upwards and forwards. Between the mounting lips 562, in the mounted state, there is a mounting eye of a shock absorber, which mounting eye is hingedly connected to the mounting lips 562 by means of a bolt. The fastening tabs 562 could also be omitted and, for example, the ones shown in FIG. 3 with a bolt head 23a which is provided with a fastening lip 25 can be used.

Axis bodies with different outside diameters are used in practice. For instance, an axle body with an outer diameter of 146 mm is often used for trailers, while for example an axle tube of 127 mm is frequently used for trucks. According to the first aspect of the invention, as described above, the curved portion 54 with the hollow abutment surface 55 of the support arm 51 can be adapted to directly contact an axle body with a determined diameter, for example 146 mm or 127 mm.

According to a second aspect of the invention, it is provided that the bearing arm 51 is manufactured for a large outer diameter of the axle body, for example 146 mm, but can also be used for axle bodies with a smaller diameter, for example 127 mm. According to the second aspect of the invention, this becomes possible through a shell part 60 (see Figs.

6) to be provided between the curved portion and the axle body with an inner abutment surface 61 with an inner diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the axle body and with an outer abutment surface 62 with an outer diameter fitting against the abutment surface 55 of the curved portion 54 of the carrying arm 51 can be arranged.

The shell part 60 is preferably manufactured by casting. Further, according to this aspect of the invention, it is provided to provide the support member 56 with a recess 57 adapted to the outer diameter of the axle body.

-8-

Thus, the abutment surface 55 of the curved portion 54 of the support arm 51 is adapted, for example, to a shaft tube with an outer diameter of 146 mm. In the curved portion 54, a shell portion 60 with its outer abutment surface 61 is provided against the abutment surface 55 of the curved portion 54 of the support arm 51, which shell portion 60 has an inner abutment surface 61 with an inner diameter of 127 mm. The associated support member 56 has a recess 57 with an inner diameter of 127 mm. In addition to the recess 57, the shape and length of the arm 59 of the support part 56 can also be adapted to the specific variant of the wheel axle suspension. In this way, a universal bearing arm 51 can be manufactured for different embodiments of wheel axle suspensions 10, while a specific support part 56 is produced per execution variant. This achieves that the supporting arm 51 can be produced in large numbers, which reduces the production costs per supporting arm because the production line only has to be adapted to manufacture a single supporting arm 51. This is particularly advantageous when the carrying arm 51 is manufactured by means of relatively expensive operations such as rolling and forging, which will often be the case with flexible carrying arms.

The support part 56 is manufactured in several variants, depending on the embodiments of the specific wheel axle suspensions. The support part 56 with the molded-on arm 59 is preferably manufactured by forging or casting, while it is noted that for smaller production numbers, casting is cheaper than forging.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 5, a securing means is preferably provided between the support part 56 and the axle body, in particular when a shell part 60 is used.

It is noted that the invention is not limited to the specific examples shown in the drawing. Variations and combinations of elements from the various exemplary embodiments shown can easily be devised by a person skilled in the art and are considered to fall within the inventive concept.

1034171

Claims (14)

Wheel axle suspension for suspending a round hollow axle body (10) from a wheel axle on a vehicle, comprising on both sides of the vehicle a supporting arm (1, 41, 51) extending in longitudinal direction of the vehicle to which the axle body (10) is mounted, which carrying arm (1,41, 51) is hinged at the front in the direction of travel of the vehicle to a carrying bracket (42) arranged on the vehicle chassis (43), and an air spring (44) acting between the carrying arm (1, 41,42) and the chassis (43), wherein the axle body (10), in the mounted state, lies directly against an abutment area (5,45, 55) 10 of the support arm (1, 41, 51), which abutment area (5, 45, 55) is substantially complementary to the outer contour of the axle body (10), the side of the axle body remote from the abutment area (5, 45, 55) of the support arm (1, 41, 51) (10) a support part (20, 46, 56) is provided which is provided with a recess (21) around the axle body which support part (20, 46, 56) is clamped against the axle body by means of clamping means (23, 24, 15, 47, 48), characterized in that the supporting arm (1, 41, 51) the abutment area (5, 45, 55) is wider than in the immediately preceding area (2, 41a, 52). 2. Wheel axle suspension according to claim 1, wherein the axle body has a substantially circular cross-section at the location of the clamping. 3. Wheel axle suspension as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the bearing arm at the location of the axle clamping is provided on both sides of the axle with holes for piercing clamping bolts or the stems of U-shaped clamping straps. 25 Wheel axle suspension according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the support part surrounds the axle body by at least 180 °. 5. Wheel axle suspension as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the carrying arm is designed as a flexible carrying arm. Wheel axle suspension according to one of claims 1-4, wherein the carrying arm is designed as a rigid carrying arm. Wheel axle suspension according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrying arm is at least partially manufactured by rolling. 4ΛΧ L 4 1 1 -10- 8. Wheel axle suspension as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the bearing arm is at least partially manufactured by forging. 9. Wheel axle suspension as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the carrying arm is manufactured by casting. 10. Wheel axle suspension as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the carrying arm and the axle body are secured relative to each other by means of a locking means. 11. Wheel axle suspension as claimed in claim 10, wherein at the location of the axle clamping the axle body resp. the support arm is provided with a protrusion and the support arm resp. the axle body is provided with a complementary recess for receiving the protrusion. 12. Support arm for a wheel axle suspension, the support arm being embodied as described in one of the preceding claims. A wheel axle suspension assembly for suspending a axle from a vehicle, comprising: 20. a support arm (51) extending in use in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to which the axle is attachable, the support arm (51) hinged to a the carrying bracket mounted on the vehicle chassis can be connected, which carrying arm (51) has an abutment area (55) against which an axle body with a first outer diameter can be directly abutting, the abutment area (55) being formed substantially complementarily with the outer contour of the axle body with the relevant outer diameter, - a support part (56) which in use can be fitted on the side of the axle body remote from the abutment region (55) of the bearing arm, which support part (56) is provided with a recess (57) about the axis in on and which support part (56) is further provided with a mounting arm (59) which, when mounted, extends backwards from the support part (56), which mounting gs arm (59) is adapted to mount the underside of an air spring against, the top of the air spring being attached to the vehicle chassis, - clamping means around the abutment area (55) of the support arm (51) and the support part (56) against the 35. a shell member (60) that can be fitted between the abutment area (55) of the support arm (51) and an axle body, which shell member (60) has an outer abutment surface (62) adapted to fit against the axle body abutment area with the diameter adapted to the first diameter and having an inner abutment surface (61) adapted to abut a shaft body with a second diameter, the second diameter being smaller than the first diameter. A method of manufacturing an assembly according to claim 13, wherein the support arm (51) is manufactured by rolling and / or forging, and wherein the support member (56) is manufactured by casting or forging. 1034171