Patent Application
20170057351
This application represents a novel chassis whose frame is specifically designed to operate in conjunction with the suspension system, drivetrain, and steering system covered in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/059,062, 14/087,552, and 14/246,108, respectively.
Not Applicable
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Disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 14/059,062 is a type of double A-arm suspension configuration derived from Ford's twin I-beam front suspension system. This suspension system cooperates with the drivetrain disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 14/087,552 and the steering system disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 14/246,108. These three cooperative functions are installed on a frame, and thereby represent a chassis for a four wheel drive (4WD) vehicle. The frame possesses a ladder-type structure that lies in a single horizontal plane whereby the powertrain is positioned between the frame sides while the frame mounting points for the suspension control links are positioned below the frame sides.
In general, a vehicle's handling characteristics improve as the center of gravity height is decreased. Given that a significant portion of a vehicle's weight is due to the powertrain which in turn affects the center of gravity, then a vehicle's handling characteristics can be improved by decreasing the resting height of the powertrain. Predictably therefore, the handling of a vehicle constructed with the chassis represented by the cited applications can be improved by decreasing the resting height of the powertrain. Resting height refers to the distance that the powertrain resides above the ground.
Decreasing the resting height of the powertrain can be easily achieved by lowering the vehicle closer to the ground; e.g., by reducing the length or spring rate of the suspension springs, a technique widely adopted by sports cars. However such a technique also acts to decrease the ground clearance of the vehicle, an act contrary to the predominant characteristic of any off-road vehicle such as a 4WD vehicle.
Since the chassis represented by the cited applications is directed towards a 4WD vehicle, then a 4WD vehicle constructed with this chassis would acquire improved handling without compromising off-road capability if the resting height of the powertrain was decreased without sacrificing ground clearance. Accordingly, the present invention addresses this issue by offering a chassis design whose powertrain sits lower in the frame without sacrificing ground clearance than does the powertrain in the chassis represented in the cited applications.
The present invention addresses a chassis design derived from the chassis associated with the suspension system, drivetrain, and steering system covered in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/059,062, 14/087,552, and 14/246,108, respectively.
The present invention also addresses a chassis design that:
utilizes a suspension link configuration functionally identical to the one disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/059,062, whereby both the spring and damping processes are furnished by the segmented air shock absorber, this shock absorber being covered in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/854,055;
utilizes a drivetrain functionally identical to the one disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/087,552, except that an offset power coupler is also connected to the rear differential housing;
utilizes a steering system functionally identical to the one disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/246,108, except that the bellcrank is discarded;
employs a ladder-type frame constructed with a unique low slung middle section and high arched front and rear sections whereby the powertrain resides at the same level as the middle section, reverse power couplers are incorporated into the frame sides of the front and rear sections, and front and rear differential housings are located in the front and rear sections above the reverse power couplers, respectively, the ladder-type structure of the frame being common in the art and representative of one ordinarily built for utility vehicles and trucks;
improves upon the handling characteristics of the chassis associated with the cited applications by lowering the center of gravity while preserving off-road capability; a quality achieved by effectively lowering the powertrain in the frame without changing ground clearance, the lowering effect resulting from the present invention using a frame that locates the powertrain at the same level as the frame mounting brackets for the suspension links compared to the cited applications using a frame that locates the powertrain above the frame mounting brackets for the suspension links.
The chassis disclosed in this application refers to a frame that interactively operates with the suspension system, drivetrain, and steering system covered in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/059,062, 14/087,552, and 14/246,108, respectively. The suspension system refers to a hybrid comprised of elements from Ford's twin I-beam front suspension system and a double A-arm suspension system, and utilizes the segmented air shock absorber for both the spring and damping processes, this shock absorber being covered in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/854,055. The drivetrain includes a powertrain, reverse power couplers, front and rear differential housings, and offset power couplers. The steering system is based on a swingset design and includes a steering box, swingset arm, connector link, and tie rods.
Regarding the drawings, a chassis/frame for a 4WD vehicle is illustrated in detail. In a given drawing, certain parts are either not shown due to graphical limitations of the view or are not labeled in order to emphasize other parts.
Referring to
The driver and passenger frame sides each consist of five parts—a front part 14 and 18, middle part 15 and 19, rear part 16 and 20, and one and the other angled parts 17 and 21, respectively—the parts of the combined driver and passenger frame sides referring to the front, middle, rear, and one and the other angled sections of the frame. The front and rear sections occupy one horizontal plane while the middle section occupies a second horizontal plane whereby the plane occupied by the front and rear sections is above that occupied by the middle section. The front and rear sections are located at the front and rear ends of the frame while the middle section is located in the middle of the frame and refers to the section of the frame that is closest to the ground. One and the other angled sections serve to connect the front and rear sections to the middle section, respectively. The one angled section projects downward and outward from the front section to the middle section while the other angled section projects downward only from the rear section to the middle section. This way, the parts of the driver and passenger frame sides in the front section are closer to the longitudinal line than are those in the rear and middle sections, the front section being narrower to enable a smaller turning radius.
Referring to
The front driver or passenger upper and lower leading links 32 and 33 or 34 and 35 extend laterally from the front passenger or driver reverse power coupler 23 or 22 to the front driver or passenger knuckle 48 or 49, the front passenger or driver reverse power coupler 23 or 22 being proximate the front passenger or driver wheel (not shown), respectively; while the rear driver or passenger upper and lower leading links 32 and 33 or 34 and 35 extend laterally from the rear passenger or driver reverse power coupler 23 or 22 to the rear driver or passenger knuckle 50 or 51, the rear passenger or driver reverse power coupler 23 or 22 being proximate the rear passenger or driver wheel (not shown), respectively.
The first ends of the front or rear driver and passenger upper leading links 32 and 34 are affixed to flexible joints, the flexible joints are pivotally attached to mounting brackets 24 and 26, and the mounting brackets 24 and 26 are affixed to the middle of the front or rear passenger and driver reverse power couplers 23 and 22 above the output shafts; while, the first ends of the front or rear driver and passenger lower leading links 33 and 35 are affixed to flexible joints, the flexible joints are pivotally attached to mounting brackets 25 and 27, and the mounting brackets 25 and 27 are affixed to the bottoms of the front or rear passenger and driver reverse power couplers 23 and 22 below the output shafts, respectively. Also each shaft and mounting bracket 24, 25, 26, or 27 project inward towards the longitudinal line. The driver or passenger reverse power coupler 22 or 23 is incorporated into both the driver or passenger frame side front and rear parts 14 and 16 or 18 and 20, thereby the front and rear sections of the frame each include the driver and passenger reverse power couplers 22 and 23, respectively. The incorporation is implemented in a manner such that the middle and bottom of the driver or passenger reverse power coupler 22 or 23 are located substantially at the same levels as the top and bottom of the middle section thereby locating the mounting brackets 24 and 25 or 26 and 27 substantially at the same levels as the top and bottom of the middle section, respectively. The result is that the mounting brackets 24 and 25 or 26 and 27 are effectively located at the same level as the middle section (mounting brackets 24 and 25 are shown in
The front driver or passenger upper and lower trailing links 36 and 37 or 38 and 39 extend outwardly from the transmission cross-member 12 to the front driver or passenger knuckle 48 or 49 while the rear driver or passenger upper and lower trailing links 36 and 37 or 38 and 39 extend outwardly from the transfer case cross-member 13 to the rear driver or passenger knuckle 50 or 51, respectively.
The first ends of the front driver or passenger upper and lower trailing links 36 and 37 or 38 and 39 are affixed to flexible joints, the flexible joints are pivotally attached to mounting brackets 28 and 29 or 30 and 31, and the mounting brackets 28 and 29 or 30 and 31 are vertically affixed above and on the transmission cross-member 12, respectively. The first ends of the rear driver or passenger upper and lower trailing links 36 and 37 or 38 and 39 are affixed to flexible joints, the flexible joints are pivotally attached to mounting brackets 28 and 29 or 30 and 31, and the mounting brackets 28 and 29 or 30 and 31 are vertically affixed above and on the transfer case cross-member 13, respectively. Also each mounting bracket 28, 29, 30, or 31 projects outward away from the longitudinal line. The mounting brackets 28 and 29 or 30 and 31 are attached to (1) the transmission cross-member 12 in a manner such that the mounting brackets 28 and 29 or 30 and 31 are located substantially at the same levels as the top and bottom of the middle section or (2) the transfer case cross-member 13 in a manner such that the mounting brackets 28 and 29 or 30 and 31 are located substantially at the same levels as the top and bottom of the middle section. The result is that the mounting brackets 28 and 29 or 30 and 31 are effectively located at the same level as the middle section. A level refers to a horizontal plane, the plane being parallel to the longitudinal line.
The second ends of the driver or passenger upper leading and trailing links 32 and 36 or 34 and 38 are attached to the upper apex bracket while the second ends of the driver or passenger lower leading and trailing links 33 and 37 or 35 and 39 are attached to the lower apex bracket, respectively. The upper and lower apex brackets each contain a ball joint, and the ball joints are pivotally attached either to the top and bottom of the driver or passenger steering knuckle 48 or 49 or to the top and bottom of the driver or passenger non-steering knuckle 50 or 51, respectively.
Note: having the front and rear sections positioned above the middle section permits the use of longer reverse power couplers 22 and 23 without changing ground clearance compared to that in the cited application, thereby effectively increasing the vertical distance between the frame sides and mounting bracket 24, 25, 26, or 27 without changing ground clearance. This feature allows the suspension to have the same compression travel as that in the cited application without the need for apertures in the frame sides.
Referring to
The engine 53, transmission 54, and transfer case 55 are located in the front, middle, and middle sections all at the same level as the middle section, being secured to the frame with the engine mounting brackets 66, and transmission and transfer case cross-members 12 and 13, respectively. Meanwhile, the front and rear differential housings 56 and 57 are located in the front and rear sections at the same level as the front and rear sections, each being secured to the frame with driver and passenger differential housing mounting brackets 67 and 68, respectively. Since the middle section is positioned below the front and rear sections, then the engine 53, transmission 54, and transfer case 55 are positioned below the front and rear differential housings 56 and 57 resulting in a misalignment between the first and second output shafts of the transfer case 55 and the pinion shafts of the front and rear differential housings 56 and 57, respectively. Front and rear offset power couplers 58 and 59 are used to restore this alignment: first, the front or rear offset power coupler 58 or 59 is directly connected to the front or rear differential housing 56 or 57 such that the output shaft of the front or rear offset power coupler 58 or 59 is adapted to the pinion shaft of the front or rear differential housing 56 or 57, respectively; and second, the front offset power coupler 58 is projected downward and towards the driver side of the engine 53 such that the input shaft of the front offset power coupler 58 is aligned with the first output shaft of the transfer case 55 while the rear offset power coupler 59 is projected straight downward such that the input shaft of the rear offset power coupler 59 is aligned with the second output shaft of the transfer case 55, the rear offset power coupler 59 being absent in the cited application. The alignments refer (1) to the input shaft of the front offset power coupler 58 occupying the same line occupied by the first output shaft of the transfer case 55, the line being positioned between the engine 53 and driver frame side, the line being parallel to the longitudinal line and (2) to the input shaft of the rear offset power coupler 59 occupying the same line occupied by the second output shaft of the transfer case 55, the line being the longitudinal line. The alignments minimize the angles adopted by the flexible joints on the front and rear drive shafts 60 and 61, thereby ensuring that power is transmitted smoothly, efficiently, and free of vibration from the transfer case 55 to the front and rear offset power couplers 58 and 59, respectively.
Power is transmitted from the engine 11 to the transmission 12 then from the transmission 12 to the transfer case 13 in a manner typical in the art. The front drive shaft 60 has a front and rear ends, each end is affixed to a flexible joint whereby the flexible joint on the front end is attached to the input shaft of the front offset power coupler 58 and that on the rear end is attached to the first output shaft of the transfer case 55; the attachments enable power to be transmitted from the transfer case 55 to the front offset power coupler 58. Likewise, the rear drive shaft 61 has a front and rear ends, each end is affixed to a flexible joint whereby the flexible joint on the front end is attached to the second output shaft of the transfer case 55 and that on the rear end is attached to the input shaft of the rear offset power coupler 59; the attachments enable power to be transmitted from the transfer case 55 to the rear offset power coupler 59.
Power is able to be transmitted from the front and rear offset power couplers 58 and 59 to the front and rear differential housings 56 and 57 due to the output shafts of the front and rear offset power couplers 58 and 59 being adapted to the pinion shafts of the front and rear differential housings 56 and 57, respectively.
The first ends of the front driver and passenger short axle shafts 62 and 63 are pivotally attached to the flexible joint flanges on the driver and passenger sides of the front differential housing 56 and the second ends of the front driver and passenger short axle shafts 62 and 63 are pivotally attached to the input shafts of the front driver and passenger reverse power couplers 22 and 23 thereby enabling power to be transmitted from the front differential housing 56 to the front driver and passenger reverse power couplers 22 and 23; while the first ends of the front driver and passenger long axle shafts 64 and 65 are pivotally attached to the output shafts of the front passenger and driver reverse power couplers 23 and 22 and the second ends of the front driver and passenger long axle shafts 64 and 65 are pivotally attached to the front driver and passenger wheel hubs (not shown) thereby enabling power to be transmitted from the front passenger and driver reverse power couplers 23 and 22 to the front driver and passenger wheel hubs, respectively. The front driver or passenger wheel hub has a first and second sides such that the first side is rotatably attached to the driver or passenger steering knuckle 48 and 49 and the second side is attached to the front driver or passenger wheel, respectively.
The first ends of the rear driver and passenger short axle shafts 62 and 63 are pivotally attached to the flexible joint flanges on the driver and passenger sides of the rear differential housing 57 and the second ends of the rear driver and passenger short axle shafts 62 and 63 are pivotally attached to the input shafts of the rear driver and passenger reverse power couplers 22 and 23 thereby enabling power to be transmitted from the rear differential housing 57 to the rear driver and passenger reverse power couplers 22 and 23; while the first ends of the rear driver and passenger long axle shafts 64 and 65 are pivotally attached to the output shafts of the rear passenger and driver reverse power couplers 23 and 22 and the second ends of the front driver and passenger long axle shafts 64 and 65 are pivotally attached to the rear driver and passenger wheel hubs (not shown) thereby enabling power to be transmitted from the rear passenger and driver reverse power couplers 23 and 22 to the rear driver and passenger wheel hubs, respectively. The rear driver or passenger wheel hub has a first and second sides such that the first side is rotatably attached to the driver or passenger non-steering knuckle 50 and 51 and the second side is attached to the rear driver or passenger wheel, respectively.
Referring to
A steering box 40 with a long output shaft is attached to the inner part of the front driver frame side such that the output shaft projects downward towards the ground and lies alongside the front driver reverse power coupler 22 thereby locating the pitman arm 41 immediately above the front passenger upper leading link frame mounting bracket 26. This way the pitman arm 41 can be pivotally attached directly to the front passenger tie rod 45 and connector link 43, thereby obviating the need for a bellcrank and simplifying the configuration of the steering system. In the cited application, a draglink pivotally attaches the pitman arm 41 to the horizontal arm of the bellcrank while the vertical arm of the bellcrank is pivotally attached to the front passenger tie rod 45 and connector link 43.
Steering input originates at the steering wheel (not shown) and passes through the firewall (not shown) to the steering shaft via a steering column (not shown) in a manner common in the art. The steering shaft is pivotally attached to the input shaft of the steering box 40, thereby transmitting steering input from the steering shaft to the steering box 40. The output shaft of the steering box 40 is attached to the pitman arm 41. The pitman arm 41 is pivotally attached to the first ends of the front passenger tie rod 45 and connector link 43 while the second ends of the front passenger tie rod 45 and connector link 43 are pivotally attached to the passenger steering knuckle 49 and swingset arm 42, thereby enabling steering input to be transmitted directly from the steering box 40 to the passenger steering knuckle 49 and swingset arm 42, respectively. The swingset arm 42 is pivotally attached to the first end of the front driver tie rod 44 while the second end of the front driver tie rod 44 is pivotally attached to the driver steering knuckle 48, thereby enabling steering input to be transmitted from the swingset arm 42 to the driver steering knuckle 48.
The first ends of the rear driver and passenger tie rods 46 and 47 are pivotally attached to mounting brackets while the mounting brackets are attached to the rear passenger and driver reverse power couplers 23 and 22 above the rear driver and passenger upper leading link frame mounting brackets 24 and 26, respectively; the second ends of the rear driver and passenger tie rods 46 and 47 are pivotally attached to the driver and passenger non-steering knuckles 50 and 51, respectively. The rear driver and passenger tie rods 46 and 47 travel up and down in concert with the rear driver and passenger upper and lower leading links 32 and 33, and 34 and 35 without any lateral movement, the lack of lateral movement preventing the driver and passenger non-steering knuckles 50 and 51, respectively, from turning thereby locking them into a straight-ahead orientation.
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a vehicle chassis, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
