Patent ID: 6217047
Filing Date: 2001-04-17
Classification: B60G

Abstract:
A suspension system for a vehicle having a chassis supported on at least one forward pair of laterally spaced wheels and at least one rear pair of laterally spaced wheels, including:vehicle support means for supporting the chassis above each said pair of wheels, androll moment reaction means for providing location of the chassis about a substantially level roll attitude,said roll moment reaction means including a respective roll attitude control mechanism for each pair of at least two said pairs of laterally spaced wheels for passively controlling the position of the wheels relative to each other and the chassis, each roll attitude control mechanism being connected to at least one other roll attitude control mechanism by roll mechanism interconnection means,said roll mechanism interconnection means being arranged such that the roll moment reaction means resists roll of the vehicle chassis with respect to the wheels, whilst simultaneously permitting cross-axle articulation motions of the wheels,wherein at least one of the roll attitude control mechanisms includes at least one transverse torsion bar, the vehicle support means for at least one pair of wheels includes at least a first support means for supporting at least a portion of the load on said vehicle support means, said first support means providing substantially zero roll stiffness for the vehicle,the roll moment reaction means being separate from the vehicle support means thereby providing substantially zero load carrying capacity.