WO1999020477A1 - Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement - Google Patents

Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1999020477A1
WO1999020477A1 PCT/SE1998/001902 SE9801902W WO9920477A1 WO 1999020477 A1 WO1999020477 A1 WO 1999020477A1 SE 9801902 W SE9801902 W SE 9801902W WO 9920477 A1 WO9920477 A1 WO 9920477A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
axle
spring
support members
suspension arrangement
air
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/SE1998/001902
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Roland Svensson
Original Assignee
Volvo Lastvagnar Ab
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
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=20408686&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=WO1999020477(A1) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Application filed by Volvo Lastvagnar Ab filed Critical Volvo Lastvagnar Ab
Priority to US09/529,950 priority Critical patent/US6312006B1/en
Priority to EP98950592A priority patent/EP1027222B1/en
Priority to BR9814085-0A priority patent/BR9814085A/en
Priority to DE69813277T priority patent/DE69813277T2/en
Publication of WO1999020477A1 publication Critical patent/WO1999020477A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • 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
    • B60G5/00—Resilient suspensions for a set of tandem wheels or axles having interrelated movements

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement, comprising a pair of support members for each axle, means for fixing the wheel axles between the ends of each support member, and spring elements disposed at or in the vicinity of the ends of the support members and joining the support members to a frame.
  • a commonly occurring wheel suspension arrangement with spring elements at either end of a support member has spring elements in the form of two identical air springs arranged symmetrically in relation to the axle position, i.e. the axle is arranged midway between two springs having the same spring force.
  • the various parameters determining the length of the support arm include the desired spring properties and the space required by other system components.
  • the purpose of the present invention is to achieve a wheel suspension arrangement of the type described by way of introduction, which makes it possible to reduce the total installation space required on the frame side, compared with known symmetrical wheel axle suspensions, at the same time as the problems with imbalance in previously known asymmetrical wheel axle suspension systems are eliminated.
  • the spring elements are selected so that the product of the spring force and the distance from the axle position to the point of attachment of the spring elements in the support member is at least approximately equal on both sides of the axle position, thus providing optimal spring properties.
  • Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle frame with one embodiment of a wheel suspension arrangement according to the invention for a wheel axle
  • Fig. 2 shows a corresponding perspec- tive view of an embodiment for two wheel axles
  • Fig. 3 shows a simplified and enlarged side view of a portion of the wheel suspension arrangement in Fig. 1.
  • Fig. 1, 1 and 2 designate the two rear portions of the left and right longitudinal frame beams, respectively, of a vehicle with air springs.
  • the frame beams 1 and 2 are joined to each other via transverse beams 3 and 4, and they support a rear axle suspension arrangement, generally designated 5, for a rear axle (not shown).
  • the rear axle suspension arrangement 5 comprises a pair of support members 6 and 7 for the rear axle.
  • the frame beams 1 and 2 rest via air spring elements 8 and.9 on the support members 6 and 7, which are connected to the frame beams 1 and 2 via longitudinal torque rods 10 and anti-roll bars (not shown) and shock absorbers (not shown).
  • the frame beams 1 and 2 are joined to the rear axle (not shown) via a V-shaped torque rod 13.
  • the plate 14 on the torque rod 13 can, for example, be screwed fast to the differential housing 15, shown in Fig. 3, of the rear axle 16.
  • Fig. 1 shows U-bolts 18 for securing a rear axle (not shown).
  • the front air spring element 8 is of greater diameter di, and subsequently has a greater effective cross-sectional area than the rear air spring element 9 of diameter d 2 . Assuming the same air pressure in the elements 8, 9, this will result in the front air spring element having a greater spring force Fj than the rear element having a spring force F 2 .
  • the air spring elements 8, 9 are of conventional construction and consist of a cylinder 20 of flexible material and a piston element 21, which is fixed to the edge 22 of the cylinder 20, the upper edge of which is jointed to a rigid plate 23 with a bracket 24, which is screwed securely, welded or riveted to the frame beam 1 or 2, respectively.
  • the cylinder of the front air spring element 8 has its centre axis at a distance aj from the centre axis of the rear axle 16, and the cylinder 20 of the air spring element 9 has its centre axis at a distance a 2 from the centre axis of the rear axle, a 2 being greater than ai .
  • a. ⁇ x Fi should be equal to or at least approximately equal to a 2 x F 2 , to eliminate imbalance during the spring action.
  • the asymmetry provides the advantage of better packing space for other system components.
  • the total installation area on the frame side is also reduced, and this in certain cases involves a reduction in weight of the total installation.
  • Fig. 2 differs from that shown in Fig. 1 by the addition of an additional wheel suspension 30 for a second wheel axle (not shown) is arranged in front of the wheel suspension 5.
  • the wheel suspension 30 differs from the wheel suspen- sion 5 only in that it is reversed relative to the wheel suspension 5.

Landscapes

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

Abstract

Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement with a support member (6), which supports the wheel axle (16) and is resiliently joined to a vehicle frame by means of an air spring (8, 9) at each end of the support member. The air springs are at different distances (a1, a2) to the axle. The spring force (F1) of the air spring (8) closest (a1) to the axle (16) has a greater spring force (F2) than the other air spring.

Description

Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement
The present invention relates to a two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement, comprising a pair of support members for each axle, means for fixing the wheel axles between the ends of each support member, and spring elements disposed at or in the vicinity of the ends of the support members and joining the support members to a frame.
A commonly occurring wheel suspension arrangement with spring elements at either end of a support member has spring elements in the form of two identical air springs arranged symmetrically in relation to the axle position, i.e. the axle is arranged midway between two springs having the same spring force. The various parameters determining the length of the support arm include the desired spring properties and the space required by other system components.
For space reasons there may be a need to have a relatively short distance between the axle and the spring element on one side of the axle to provide space for other system components, while there is no corresponding requirement for space on the other side. If the larger space requirement on one side of the axle is made the deter- mining dimension and the support member parts on either side of the axle are of equal length, then the deformation will be the same and balance will be obtained during the spring sequence, but at the same time this will result in a total length of the support member which is greater than what would be optimum if there were not differing space requirements on either side of the axle.
One method of avoiding this is to make the axle asymmetrical in relation to the spring mountings, as is known by EP-A-0 137 957. In this case the support member portion on one side of the axle has been extended relative to the support member portion on the other side of the axle, to provide space for a lifting device by means of which the wheel axle and thus the wheels can be raised from the road surface when the vehicle load is low. However, the air spring elements on either side of the axle are identical, i.e. they have the same spring force, and this results in imbalance during the spring action by uneven deformation in the spring elements due to moment arms of unequal length.
The purpose of the present invention is to achieve a wheel suspension arrangement of the type described by way of introduction, which makes it possible to reduce the total installation space required on the frame side, compared with known symmetrical wheel axle suspensions, at the same time as the problems with imbalance in previously known asymmetrical wheel axle suspension systems are eliminated.
This is achieved according to the invention by virtue of the fact that the wheel axles are fixed in an axle position asymmetrically between the outer ends of the support members, and that the support members of one axle are reversed in relation to the support members of the other axle, so that the spring elements located closest to the respective axle position are directed towards each other, the spring elements being so selected that the spring force of the spring elements located closest to the axle position is greater than the spring force of the other spring elements.
Preferably, the spring elements are selected so that the product of the spring force and the distance from the axle position to the point of attachment of the spring elements in the support member is at least approximately equal on both sides of the axle position, thus providing optimal spring properties.
The basic principle of the invention is particularly easy to apply to wheel suspensions with air springs, where the spring elements consists of cylindrical air cushions of elastic material. The spring forces of the air springs are adapted by selecting an area differential between the air cushions so that the difference between the effective cross sectional areas of the air cushions is inversely proportional to the differ- ence between the distances to the axle. The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples shown in the accompanying drawings, where Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle frame with one embodiment of a wheel suspension arrangement according to the invention for a wheel axle, Fig. 2 shows a corresponding perspec- tive view of an embodiment for two wheel axles and Fig. 3 shows a simplified and enlarged side view of a portion of the wheel suspension arrangement in Fig. 1.
In Fig. 1, 1 and 2 designate the two rear portions of the left and right longitudinal frame beams, respectively, of a vehicle with air springs. The frame beams 1 and 2 are joined to each other via transverse beams 3 and 4, and they support a rear axle suspension arrangement, generally designated 5, for a rear axle (not shown). The rear axle suspension arrangement 5 comprises a pair of support members 6 and 7 for the rear axle. The frame beams 1 and 2 rest via air spring elements 8 and.9 on the support members 6 and 7, which are connected to the frame beams 1 and 2 via longitudinal torque rods 10 and anti-roll bars (not shown) and shock absorbers (not shown). Furthermore, the frame beams 1 and 2 are joined to the rear axle (not shown) via a V-shaped torque rod 13. The plate 14 on the torque rod 13 can, for example, be screwed fast to the differential housing 15, shown in Fig. 3, of the rear axle 16. Fig. 1 shows U-bolts 18 for securing a rear axle (not shown).
As can be seen in the Figures, the front air spring element 8 is of greater diameter di, and subsequently has a greater effective cross-sectional area than the rear air spring element 9 of diameter d2. Assuming the same air pressure in the elements 8, 9, this will result in the front air spring element having a greater spring force Fj than the rear element having a spring force F2.
The air spring elements 8, 9 are of conventional construction and consist of a cylinder 20 of flexible material and a piston element 21, which is fixed to the edge 22 of the cylinder 20, the upper edge of which is jointed to a rigid plate 23 with a bracket 24, which is screwed securely, welded or riveted to the frame beam 1 or 2, respectively. The cylinder of the front air spring element 8 has its centre axis at a distance aj from the centre axis of the rear axle 16, and the cylinder 20 of the air spring element 9 has its centre axis at a distance a2 from the centre axis of the rear axle, a2 being greater than ai .
According to the invention, a.\ x Fi should be equal to or at least approximately equal to a2 x F2, to eliminate imbalance during the spring action. The asymmetry provides the advantage of better packing space for other system components. The total installation area on the frame side is also reduced, and this in certain cases involves a reduction in weight of the total installation.
The design in Fig. 2 differs from that shown in Fig. 1 by the addition of an additional wheel suspension 30 for a second wheel axle (not shown) is arranged in front of the wheel suspension 5. The wheel suspension 30 differs from the wheel suspen- sion 5 only in that it is reversed relative to the wheel suspension 5.

Claims

Claims
1. Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement comprising a pair of support members for each axle, means for fixing the wheel axles between the ends of each support member, and spring elements disposed at or in the vicinity of the ends of the support members and joining the support members to a frame, characterized in that the wheel axles (16) are fixed in an axle position asymmetrically between the outer ends of the support members (6), and that the support members of one axle are reversed in relation to the support members of the other axle, so that the spring elements (8) located closest to the respective axle position are directed towards each other, the spring elements (8,9) being so selected that the spring force (Fi) of the spring elements (8) located closest to the axle position is greater than the spring force (F2) of the other spring elements (9).
2. Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the product of the spring force (Fj,F2) and the distance (al5a2) from the axle position to the point of attachment of the spring element (8,9) to the support member (6) is at least approximately equal on both sides of the axle position.
3. Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the respective spring element (8,9) is an air spring comprising a cylindrical air cushion with a jacket (20) of elastic material, which at an upper end wall (23) of rigid material has means (24) for mounting in a vehicle frame, and a piston (21), which has an upper end fixed in an edge (22) of the jacket folded into the interior of the cushion, and which has means for fixing to the support member, and that the air spring (8), at its shortest distance (a{) from the axle position has an air cushion and a piston of greater cross-sectional area than the air cushion and piston of the other air spring.
PCT/SE1998/001902 1997-10-21 1998-10-21 Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement WO1999020477A1 (en)

Priority Applications (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US09/529,950 US6312006B1 (en) 1997-10-21 1998-10-21 Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement
EP98950592A EP1027222B1 (en) 1997-10-21 1998-10-21 Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement
BR9814085-0A BR9814085A (en) 1997-10-21 1998-10-21 Suspension arrangement for two-axle vehicle
DE69813277T DE69813277T2 (en) 1997-10-21 1998-10-21 TWO-AXLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENT FOR VEHICLES

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
SE9703832A SE513393C2 (en) 1997-10-21 1997-10-21 Wheel axle suspension for a vehicle
SE9703832-7 1997-10-21

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1999020477A1 true WO1999020477A1 (en) 1999-04-29

Family

ID=20408686

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/SE1998/001902 WO1999020477A1 (en) 1997-10-21 1998-10-21 Two-axle vehicle suspension arrangement

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US6312006B1 (en)
EP (1) EP1027222B1 (en)
BR (1) BR9814085A (en)
DE (1) DE69813277T2 (en)
SE (1) SE513393C2 (en)
WO (1) WO1999020477A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8544864B2 (en) * 2003-01-15 2013-10-01 Saf-Holland, Inc. Vehicle suspension assembly
US7934579B2 (en) * 2008-01-04 2011-05-03 Honda Motor Company, Ltd. Suspension assemblies having resilient member and vehicles including same
MX2012009332A (en) * 2010-02-12 2012-09-12 Volvo Group North America Llc A vehicle with a four bar link suspension system provided with improved roll characteristics.
US9108677B2 (en) * 2010-10-07 2015-08-18 Wrt Equipment Ltd End dump trailer
US9120363B2 (en) 2010-12-20 2015-09-01 Firestone Industrial Products Company, Llc Gas spring end members as well as gas spring and gas damper assemblies including same
US8801016B2 (en) * 2010-12-20 2014-08-12 Firestone Industrial Products Company, Llc Gas spring piston and gas spring assembly including same
SE1250276A1 (en) * 2012-03-21 2013-09-22 Scania Cv Ab Asymmetrical shaft installation
US10369855B2 (en) 2013-10-28 2019-08-06 Firestone Industrial Products Company, Llc Gas spring and gas damper assemblies, suspension systems and methods
US9180735B2 (en) 2013-12-02 2015-11-10 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. V-rod attachment assembly for vehicle suspension
US10752070B2 (en) 2015-07-01 2020-08-25 Firestone Industrial Products Company, Llc Clamping plates and gas spring assemblies as well as suspension systems and methods including same
CN106004299B (en) * 2016-06-03 2017-12-29 山东安博机械科技股份有限公司 A kind of single drive axle air suspension assembly
CN106042812B (en) * 2016-06-03 2018-01-19 山东安博机械科技股份有限公司 A kind of tandem axle air suspension assembly
US10967927B2 (en) 2017-09-22 2021-04-06 Link Mfg., Ltd. Mounting brackets for auxiliary suspension systems
WO2023283464A1 (en) * 2021-07-08 2023-01-12 Link Mfg., Ltd. Driven lift axles and associated systems and methods

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2903256A (en) * 1956-06-22 1959-09-08 Gen Motors Corp Air suspension
US4132432A (en) * 1976-10-01 1979-01-02 Raidel John E Air ride suspension assemblies
EP0137953A2 (en) * 1983-09-14 1985-04-24 Otto Sauer Achsenfabrik Keilberg Axle hoisting device for an air-sprung vehicle axle

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2998261A (en) * 1959-07-15 1961-08-29 Bartlett Trailer Corp Air suspension system for tandem axles
US4378935A (en) * 1979-03-08 1983-04-05 The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Rolling lobe airspring
US4756550A (en) * 1987-01-27 1988-07-12 Raidel John E Suspension assembly with compound parallelogram

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2903256A (en) * 1956-06-22 1959-09-08 Gen Motors Corp Air suspension
US4132432A (en) * 1976-10-01 1979-01-02 Raidel John E Air ride suspension assemblies
EP0137953A2 (en) * 1983-09-14 1985-04-24 Otto Sauer Achsenfabrik Keilberg Axle hoisting device for an air-sprung vehicle axle

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1027222B1 (en) 2003-04-09
EP1027222A1 (en) 2000-08-16
SE513393C2 (en) 2000-09-04
DE69813277D1 (en) 2003-05-15
SE9703832L (en) 1999-04-22
SE9703832D0 (en) 1997-10-21
BR9814085A (en) 2000-09-26
US6312006B1 (en) 2001-11-06
DE69813277T2 (en) 2004-01-29

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