U.S. patent application number 11/061830 was filed with the patent office on 2005-07-07 for suspension seat and axle coupling.
Invention is credited to Melton, Patrick B., Oates, Jack Darrin.
Application Number | 20050146107 11/061830 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29249777 |
Filed Date | 2005-07-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050146107 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Melton, Patrick B. ; et
al. |
July 7, 2005 |
Suspension seat and axle coupling
Abstract
A suspension assembly is provided that includes a first
suspension member such as a rear axle housing having first and
second opposing sides. The housing includes spaced apart corners.
First and second seats are respectively adjacent to the first and
second opposing sides. Each of the seats has inwardly facing
surfaces interconnected by an intermediate surface with the
inwardly facing surfaces engaging the corners and the intermediate
surface spaced from the side. The intermediate surface and inwardly
facing surfaces of each seat form a continuous unbroken surface
with the inwardly facing surfaces facing one another. A fastener
such as a U-bolt or a pair of bolts secure the first and second
seat about the first suspension member to secure a second
suspension member to the first suspension member.
Inventors: |
Melton, Patrick B.;
(Horseshoe, NC) ; Oates, Jack Darrin; (Fletcher,
NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CARLSON, GASKEY & OLDS, P.C.
400 WEST MAPLE ROAD
SUITE 350
BIRMINGHAM
MI
48009
US
|
Family ID: |
29249777 |
Appl. No.: |
11/061830 |
Filed: |
February 21, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11061830 |
Feb 21, 2005 |
|
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10139989 |
May 7, 2002 |
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6857645 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
280/124.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60G 9/00 20130101; B60G
2206/32 20130101; B60G 2204/4306 20130101; B60G 2204/148
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
280/124.1 |
International
Class: |
B60G 001/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A suspension assembly comprising: a first suspension member
having an octagonal cross-section providing first and second sets
of opposing sides and flats interconnecting said first set of
opposing sides to said second set of opposing sides; first and
second seats engaging said flats; and a fastener assembly exerting
a clamping force on said first and second seats thereby applying
compressive forces to said first and second sets of opposing sides
with said first and second seats.
2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second
sets of opposing sides provide four long sides and said flats
provide four short sides, said four short sides shorter than said
four long sides.
3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said four short sides
are at approximately a 45 degree angle relative to said four long
sides.
4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first suspension
member is an axle.
5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second
seats are arranged respectively adjacent said first and second sets
of opposing sides, each of said first and second seats having
inwardly facing surfaces which are generally planar and
interconnected by an intermediate surface, with said inwardly
facing surfaces engaging said first and second flats and said
intermediate surface spaced from said first and second sets of
opposing sides.
6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said fastener
assembly secures said first and second seats about said first
suspension member to secure a second suspension member to said
first suspension member.
7. A suspension assembly comprising: an axle having an octagonal
cross-section; a suspension member; and seats securing said
suspension member to said axle.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 10/139,989 filed on May 7, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a connection device for a
suspension assembly, and more particularly, the invention relates
to an improved suspension seat and axle arrangement for securing
suspension components to an axle.
[0003] Suspension seats are used to clamp suspension components
together such as for clamping suspension spring brackets to a rear
axle housing. Typically, a pair of seats are arranged on either
side of the housing and a U-bolt is used to secure and clamp the
seats about the housing. The clamps frequently loosen over time,
which may damage the axle housing and related suspension components
unless the fasteners are tightened.
[0004] One solution to the above problem has been to weld the seats
to the housing. However, welding is a rather expensive process and
the weld may break. Another solution has been to utilize locating
features between the seats and the axle housing to ensure that the
axle and seats do not move relative to one another in the event
that the clamps loosen. The locating features add cost to the
suspension assembly and may require a weld or costly feature be
added to the axle housing. Finally, a design has been proposed to
concentrate the clamping forces in the corners of the axle housing
to introduce compressive forces in the sides of the housing.
[0005] However, the seat assembly is rather expensive and utilizes
five separate components to form the seat. Furthermore, the seat
components engage the sides of the housing which tends to introduce
clamping forces only in the vertical direction similar to the prior
art. The lower seat had utilized angled surfaces that engage a pair
of intermediate lower seat portions that are in contact with the
corners and portions of sides of the housing. Therefore, what is
needed is a more cost effective seat assembly that creates
compressive forces in the vertical and horizontal sides of the
housing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES
[0006] The invention relates to a suspension assembly including a
first suspension member such as a rear axle housing having first
and second opposing sides. The housing includes spaced apart
corners. First and second seats are respectively adjacent to the
first and second opposing sides. Each of the seats has inwardly
facing surfaces interconnected by an intermediate surface with the
inwardly facing surfaces engaging the corners and the intermediate
surface spaced from the side. The intermediate surface and inwardly
facing surfaces of each seat form a continuous unbroken surface
with the inwardly facing surfaces facing one another. A fastener
such as a U-bolt or a pair of bolts secure the first and second
seat about the first suspension member to secure a second
suspension member to the first suspension member.
[0007] Accordingly, the above invention provides a more cost
effective seat assembly that creates compressive forces in the
vertical and horizontal sides of the housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Other advantages of the present invention can be understood
by reference to the following detailed description when considered
in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention
suspension assembly seats; and
[0010] FIG. 2 is another cross-sectional view of the present
invention suspension assembly seats.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0011] A suspension assembly 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The
suspension assembly includes a first suspension member 12 that is
preferably a generally quadrilateral longitudinal member such as an
axle housing. The first suspension member 12 may include a pair of
vertical and horizontal sides 14 with corners 16 interconnecting
the sides 14. First and second seats 18 and 20 are arranged
opposite one another adjacent opposing sides 14. A fastener
assembly 24 is used to clamp the first and second seats 18 and 20
about the first suspension member 12 to secure a second suspension
member 22 such as an attaching bracket for a suspension spring. The
fastener assembly 24 may be a pair of bolts 26 and nuts 28 as shown
in FIG. 1 or a U-bolt 30 and nuts 28 as shown in FIG. 2.
[0012] Typically, prior art seat assemblies introduce compressive
forces in only the vertical sides of the axle. As a result, the
seats are more susceptible to becoming loose over time. To address
this, some prior art devices have utilized a multi-piece seat
assembly to introduce compressive forces in the horizontal sides in
addition to the vertical sides. However, the seat assembly does not
isolate the clamping force to the corners of the axle housing so
that virtually all of the compressive force is concentrated in the
vertical sides as is the prior art. To this end, the present
invention first and second seats 18 and 20 engage the corner 16 to
introduce vertical V and horizontal H compressive forces in the
sides 14 of the first suspension member 12.
[0013] The first and second seats 18 and 20 include inwardly facing
surfaces 32 with an intermediate surface 34 interconnecting the
inwardly facing surfaces 32 to form a continuous unbroken surface
36. That is, the first and second seats 18 and 20 each are a
unitary structure that include a pair of inwardly facing surfaces
32 that face one another. The inwardly facing surfaces 32 engage
the corners 16. For the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the corners may
be defined by a flat, and the inwardly facing surfaces 32 may also
be flat to better rotationally fix the first and second seats 18
and 20 relative to the first suspension member 12. The intermediate
surface 34 is spaced from the side 14. A more conventional first
suspension member 12 is shown in FIG. 2. The corners 16 of the
first suspension member 12 each have a radius. The inwardly facing
surfaces 32 may be of an angle that is more resistant to permitting
relative movement of the first and second seats 18 and 20 relative
to the first suspension member 12. It is to be understood, that the
inwardly facing surfaces 32 and intermediate surface 34 may be of a
shape other than those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0014] The invention has been described in an illustrative manner,
and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used
is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than
of limitation. Obviously, many modifications and variations of the
present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It
is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the
appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as
specifically described.
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