Universal wishbone trailing arm

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9855809-B2
Application number	US-201615242320-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2016
Priority date	Aug 21, 2015
Publication date	Jan 2, 2018
Grant date	Jan 2, 2018

Abstract

A universal wishbone trailing arm and methods are provided for coupling a wheel to a vehicle chassis. The universal wishbone trailing arm comprises a wheel hub that fastenably receives the wheel. A cylindrical axle support supports one or more roller bearings whereby the wheel hub is rotatable. A first swing arm and a second swing arm extend forwardly from a joined swing arm. The cylindrical axle support is coupled to a rear of the joined swing arm. A first chassis mount hingedly couples the first swing arm to the vehicle chassis. A second chassis mount hingedly couples the second swing arm to an articulated mount which is configured to couple the second swing arm to the vehicle chassis. The articulated mount cooperates with the first second swing arms to change the camber of the wheel, such that a tracking of the wheels remains substantially unchanged during traveling over rough terrain.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A universal wishbone trailing arm for coupling a wheel to a vehicle chassis, comprising:
a wheel hub configured to fastenably receive the wheel;
a cylindrical axle support including one or more roller bearings whereby the wheel hub is rotatable;
a first swing arm and a second swing arm extending forwardly from a joined swing arm, the cylindrical axle support being coupled to a rear of the joined swing arm;
a first chassis mount configured to hingedly couple the first swing arm to the vehicle chassis; and
a second chassis mount configured to hingedly couple the second swing arm to an articulated mount configured to couple the second swing arm to the vehicle chassis.

2. The trailing arm of claim 1 , wherein the articulated mount is configured to cooperate with the first swing arm and the second swing arm so as to change a camber angle of the wheel, such that a tracking of the wheels remains substantially unchanged during traveling over rough terrain.

3. The trailing arm of claim 1 , wherein a centerline of the first and second swing arms, and a centerline of the wheel hub define a flat plane, above and below which flat plane the universal trailing arm is substantially symmetric.

4. The trailing arm of claim 3 , wherein the universal trailing arm is configured for use with either wheel in a rear suspension of a vehicle.

5. The trailing arm of claim 3 , wherein the universal trailing arm is configured for use with either wheel in a front suspension of a vehicle.

6. The trailing arm of claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical axle support is configured to receive a constant velocity (CV) joint coupled to the wheel hub so as to communicate engine-torque to the wheel.

7. The trailing arm of claim 6 , wherein the cylindrical axle support is configured to shield the CV joint from damage due to rocks and road debris encountered during off-road driving.

8. The trailing arm of claim 1 , wherein the first swing arm comprises a curved portion to provide clearance between the first swing arm and a sidewall width of the wheel.

9. The trailing arm of claim 1 , wherein the first and second chassis mounts are configured to allow the wheel to undergo a substantially vertical motion in response to the terrain over which the wheel is rolling while diminishing a transfer of the vertical motion to the vehicle.

10. The trailing arm of claim 9 , wherein one or more shock absorbers are coupled with the universal wishbone trailing arm so as to further diminish the vertical motion conveyed to the vehicle due to terrain.

11. The trailing arm of claim 10 , wherein the one or more shock absorbers are mounted within a recess disposed between the first and second swing arms, and along a midline of the universal wishbone trailing arm, such that substantially identical universal trailing arms may be used on a driver side and a passenger side of the vehicle.

12. A universal wishbone trailing arm for coupling a wheel to a vehicle chassis, comprising:
a first swing arm and a second swing arm extending forwardly from a joined swing arm;
a cylindrical axle support coupled to a rear of the joined swing arm; and
a wheel hub rotatably supported within the cylindrical axle support.

13. The trailing arm of claim 12 , wherein the first swing arm is further comprised of a first chassis mount configured to hingedly couple to the vehicle chassis.

14. The trailing arm of claim 12 , wherein the second swing arm is further comprised of a second chassis mount configured to hingedly couple to an articulated mount that is coupled to the vehicle chassis.

15. The trailing arm of claim 14 , wherein the articulated mount is configured to cooperate with the first swing arm and the second swing arm so as to change a camber angle of the wheel, such that a tracking of the wheels remains substantially unchanged during traveling over rough terrain.

16. A method for a wishbone trailing arm for coupling a wheel to a vehicle chassis, comprising:
fabricating a swing arm comprised of a forwardly extending first swing arm and a forwardly extending second swing arm;
coupling a cylindrical axle support to a rear of the swing arm; and
supporting a wheel hub rotatably within the cylindrical axle support.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein fabricating comprises configuring a first chassis mount to hingedly couple the first swing arm to the vehicle chassis, and wherein fabricating further comprises configuring a second chassis mount to hingedly couple the second swing arm to an articulated mount that is coupled with the vehicle chassis so as to maintain a tracking of the wheels during traveling over rough terrain.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein supporting comprises configuring the cylindrical axle support to receive a constant velocity (CV) joint that is coupled to the wheel hub so as to communicate engine-torque to the wheel, the cylindrical axle support being further configured to shield the CV joint from damage due to rocks and road debris encountered during off-road driving.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein fabricating further comprises disposing a recess between the first swing arm and the second swing arm, the recess extending along a midline of the wishbone trailing arm, such that one or more shock absorbers may be mounted within the recess and coupled with the vehicle chassis.

Assignees

• Gordon Robby
• Niemiec Mike

Inventors

• Gordon Robby
• Niemiec Mike

Classifications

• B60G2200/4622

  Alignment adjustment · CPC title

• B60G2204/416

  Ball or spherical joints · CPC title

• B60G2206/124

  the arm having triangular or Y-shape, e.g. wishbone · CPC title

• B60G3/145

  the arm forming the axle housing · CPC title

• B60G3/08

  the arm forming the axle housing · CPC title