Patent Application
20080236437
None
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to axle suspension mechanisms for vehicles, and more particularly to axle suspension system for enabling the vehicle to easily transition from snow mode to highway mode and vice versa.
Several axle suspension mechanisms have been developed in art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,265 to Hindin discloses a convertible rail-highway semi-trailer a mechanism for lifting and retaining a rail wheel-set axle unit or bogie in an elevated stored position in the highway mode when the highway wheels engage with the ground. The mechanism includes hooks pre-set to engage the bogie when the body has been lowered and to retain the bogie as the body rises when the air springs of the highway wheel-set axle unit are inflated to convert from the rail to highway mode. The mechanism also includes a device to keep the hooks disengaged from the rail bogie when the air springs of the rail bogie are inflated and the flanged railroad wheels engage the tracks and the highway wheels are in an elevated inoperative position. The mechanism is also provided with a valve device to prevent inflation of the rail bogie air springs when the latter is in its elevated stored position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,713 to Cripe discloses an air control system provided for a vehicle convertible between highway and railway modes of travel. Air springs suspend a rail wheel-set axle unit and highway wheel-set axle unit from the vehicle body so that the one wheel-set axle unit is stored in a raised inoperative position while the other is in the lowered operative position. During a transfer from the highway mode of travel to the railroad mode of travel, or vice-versa, a valved air control system selectively allows the wheel-set axle units to be positioned in either the raised or lowered positions. The air control system also comprises, in addition to the mode selection function, the highway braking function, the rail braking function, the parking brake and the emergency brake functions. Although both the above devices employ a mechanism for lifting a wheel-set axle unit, the present invention is different in that it adapts a vehicle for efficient driving on heavy snow roads.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,830,134 to Choi discloses a snow chain mechanism for easily applying and dismounting snow chains to the wheels of a vehicle. The mechanism comprises a chain assembly mounted with a plurality of chains rotated by a chain assembly driving unit mounted to an axle of a vehicle via a bracket. A control unit for controlling the chain assembly driving unit allows the chains to be positioned between the wheels and road bed when the driver commands the snow chain mechanism to operate once the vehicle has been started. However, the means for converting the vehicle between snow and highway modes differs from the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an axle suspension system for converting a vehicle from snow mode to highway mode and vice versa.
A further object is to provide an axle suspension system for a vehicle that is safe, improves fuel efficiency and increases engine life when the vehicle is used in snow mode. These and other objects of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the appended Summary, Description, and Claims.
The present invention is an axle suspension system to enable a vehicle to drive safely on normal highways as well as on roads with heavy snow. The system comprises of a movable two wheel axle unit, a pneumatic/hydraulic pump, a pair of pneumatic/hydraulic cylinder and axle suspensions for the movable axle unit. The axle unit is adapted to move up and down. The wheels of the movable axle unit are wrapped with a chain. The movable axle unit is connected to the frame of a vehicle, before the rear axle unit.
The pump is activated using an activation switch. A piston extending from each cylinder is connected to one of ends of the axle suspension. The upward motion of the piston causes the axle unit to be raised from the ground and vice versa. The rear wheels of the vehicle is lifted off the ground and the wheels of the movable axle unit touch the ground when the axle unit is at its bottommost position, enabling the vehicle to be driven smoothly on heavy snow road. At the topmost position, the wheels of the movable axle unit are lifted and the rear wheels contact the ground, facilitating riding on normal roads. The pump shuts down automatically after the axle unit reaches topmost and bottommost positions.
Referring to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of an axle suspension system for vehicles is illustrated and generally indicated as 10 in
Referring to
The pump 14 is securely held inside the hood and is controlled by an activation switch 24 located inside the truck cabin 42. The pump 14 is connected to each cylinder 16 through a conduit unit 26. The cylinder 16 is affixed to the truck frame 28 by bolts 30. The pistons 32 are in connection with the rear ends of the axle suspensions 18 of the movable axle unit 12. The front ends of axle suspensions 18 are connected to the frame 28. The piston moves up and down when the pump is activated.
Referring to
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All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.
