Abstract:
In one embodiment, a dual purpose spring holder mounting bracket pivotally receives a rear suspension spring arm and also receives a tensioning member extending to a forwardly positioned mounting bracket.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/855,830, entitled “Spring Hanger for a Vehicle”, and filed Oct. 31, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference. 

   BACKGROUND 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , coach or motor home frames or chassis, such as frame  100 , typically have a pair of frame rails, such as frame rails  108 ,  110 , and a front and rear suspension assembly, such as front suspension assembly  120  and rear suspension assembly  130 , mounted to each frame rail. Front and rear suspension assemblies  120 ,  130  each include one or more mounts or brackets coupled to an associated frame rail, one or more movable suspension arms coupled to the mount or mounts, and one or more vibration dampening devices, such as shock absorption and/or piston-type air springs. 
   For example, front suspension assembly  120  includes a pair of brackets  122  ( FIG. 3 ) each secured to frame rail  110 , it being exemplary of frame rail  108 , suspension arms  124  coupled to a respective bracket and front axle (not shown), an air spring  126 , and a shock absorber (see  FIG. 1 ). 
   Overview 
   With reference to  FIG. 3 , each rear suspension assembly, with rear suspension assembly  130  being exemplary of such assemblies, comprises a mount, e.g., spring hanger bracket  132  and axle support bracket  134 , mounted to frame rail  110 . The spring hanger bracket  132  and to the axle support bracket  134  are fixed relative to each other. The rear suspension assembly  130  includes a suspension arm, or beam,  136  coupled to the spring hanger bracket  132  at a front end and the axle support bracket  134  at an opposite rear end. The suspension arm  136  is movable, e.g., pivotable, relative to the spring hanger bracket  132 . The rear suspension assembly  130  also includes an air spring  138  and a shock absorber  140  mounted to the frame rail  110  at a first ends and a rear axle assembly  139  ( FIG. 1 ), which includes rear wheels  141 . The rear axle assembly  139  is movable relative to the spring hanger bracket  132  ( FIG. 3 ) and axle support bracket  134  such that as the wheels travel over uneven surfaces, the air springs and shock absorbers expand and contract to dampen the vibrational effects caused by travel over such surfaces. 
   The expansion and contraction of the vibration dampening devices allows the suspension arm  136  to pivot about attachment point  142 . The components of the rear suspension assembly  130  can be selected and calibrated to provide desirable vibration dampening characteristics. For example, the length of the spring hanger bracket  132  and the location of the attachment points  142  can be predetermined to provide desirable and specific vibration dampening characteristics. As one example, the length X ( FIG. 7 ) of the spring hanger from the bottom of the lower frame rail to the beam pivot at  142  can be 11.35 inches, and the lengths Y and Z from the bottom of the frame rail to connection points for the tensioning member can, for example, respectively, be 8.51 inches and 11.51 inches. These dimensions can be varied. 
   Although not particularly shown, most motor homes or coaches include one or more storage compartments located below the frame rails and between the front and rear assemblies. The storage compartments can be used for storing any of various items, such as, for example, luggage, electrical equipment, generators and water pumps. 
   Typically, storage compartments are supported by at least two tension members, such as tension member  150  ( FIGS. 1-4 ), each mounted to one of the two frame rails, such as frame rail  110 , in a spaced apart manner relative to each other and the frame rails such that the compartments occupy a space  153  ( FIG. 2 ) defined generally between the frame rails and tension members (see  FIG. 3 ). Tension member  150  can be any of various elongate members configured to support a predetermined weight. For example, in some implementations, tension member  150  includes a bar  151 , such as a hollow or solid bar, having any of various cross-sectional shapes, such as circular or rectangular, and be made of any of various strong and durable materials, such as a steel alloy. 
   With conventional motor home frames, the front ends of each of the tension members are mounted in a spaced apart relationship relative to the frame rails via front and rear mounting brackets attached directly to the frame rails and extending downwardly generally transversely from the frame rails. For example, each frame rail includes a front mounting bracket, such as front mounting bracket  160  positioned nearer the front wheel assembly and a rear mounting bracket (not shown) similar to mounting bracket  160  positioned nearer, but forwardly of, the rear suspension assembly. A front end of each tension member is attached to a respective front mounting bracket and a rear end of each tension member is attached to a respective rear mounting bracket. In conventional coach chassis, both the front and rear tension member mounting brackets are mounted to the frame rails independent of the front and rear suspension assemblies. 
   The weight of the various items stored in the storage compartments places the tension members in tension and urges the ends of the tension members inwardly toward each other. The greater the overall weight of the items, the greater the inward draw of the ends of the tension members on the mounting brackets. Accordingly, the tension members are mounted to mounting brackets independent of the front and rear suspension assemblies so that the tensioning of the tension member does not affect the calibration of the suspension assemblies. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a chassis. 
       FIG. 2  is a side perspective view of the chassis of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of a portion of a chassis showing exemplary front and rear mounting brackets, an exemplary tensioning member extending therebetween and an exemplary rear suspension assembly with an arm pivoted to the rear mounting bracket. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a portion of an exemplary rear mounting bracket. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an exemplary rear suspension comprising an embodiment of a spring hanger. 
       FIG. 6  is a top view of the rear suspension of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 7  is a side view of the suspension of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 8  is a vertical sectional view taken along lines  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is a partially exploded view of an exemplary portion of the suspension of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view looking toward a front side of an exemplary view of a rear mounting bracket. 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view looking toward the back side of the rear mounting bracket of  FIG. 12 . 
       FIG. 12  is a view of the back side of the mounting bracket of  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 13  is a side view of the mounting bracket of  FIG. 10  looking toward the rear side of the mounting bracket. 
       FIG. 14  is a view of the front side of the mounting bracket of  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 15  is a top view of the mounting bracket of  FIG. 14 . 
   

   SUMMARY 
   By way of example, according to one specific embodiment, a chassis for a vehicle, such as a motor home, can comprise dual function spring mounting brackets, each one coupled to an associated frame rail adjacent to, but forwardly of the rear axle of the vehicle. Each spring mounting bracket supports a portion of an associated rear suspension (e.g., a suspension beam) and provides a mounting location for the rear end of a forwardly extending tensioning rod or member. A tensioning member mounting bracket can be supported by each spring mounting bracket at the mounting location. 
   In some implementations, the tensioning member can support a storage compartment of the vehicle located below the frame rails of the vehicle chassis. 
   The foregoing and other features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   According to one embodiment, rather than being attached to a front mounting bracket and a rear mounting bracket separate from the rear suspension assembly, tensions members, such as tension member  150 , are attached to a front mounting bracket  160  at a front end  152  and mounted directly to the spring hanger bracket  132  of the rear suspension assembly  130  at a rear end  156 . The rear suspension assembly  130  can be calibrated to include the tensioning effects of the tension member  150  when under any of various loads, such that the performance, e.g., vibration dampening characteristics, of the rear suspension assembly is not adversely affected by the loading or unloading of the storage compartments. 
   In one specific implementation, the first end  152  of tension member  150  comprises a first bracket coupling portion  154  and the rear end  156  of tension member  150  comprises a second bracket coupling portion  158 . The first and second bracket coupling portions  154 ,  158  are configured to matingly engage tension member mounts  179 ,  180  ( FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 ) secured to the front mounting bracket  160  and spring hanger bracket  132 , respectively. As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , in some embodiments, the tension member mount  180  is secured to the spring hanger bracket  132  at a location adjacent the suspension arm attachment point  142 , such as at approximately the same distance away from the frame rail  110 . 
   As shown in more detail in  FIG. 4 , bracket coupling portion  158 , being exemplary of bracket coupling portion  154 , includes a pair of spaced apart attachment plates  182 ,  184  secured, such as by welding, to the tension member bar  151  proximate the rear end  156  of tension member  150 . The plates  182 ,  184  can include apertures  186  that are alignable with apertures  188  formed in the tension member mount  180 , which is exemplary of tension member mount  179 . A fastener element, such as nut and bolt combination  190 , can extend through the apertures  186 ,  188  and be tightened to secure the second bracket coupling portion  158 , and thus the rear end  156  of the tension member  150 , to the tension member mount  180 , thereby coupling the tension member to the spring hanger bracket  132 . 
   Although the coupling portions shown include separate attachment plates secured to the tension member bar, in other implementations, the coupling portions can include attachment elements, such as tabs, integrally formed with the tension member bar. In some embodiments, the coupling portions and tension member mounts can be any of various mateable coupling elements attachable to each other using any of various conventional coupling techniques. 
   According to some implementations, attaching the tension members directly to the spring hanger brackets provides certain advantages. For example, by integrating the function of a second pair of mounting brackets into the spring hanger brackets, a separate pair of mounting brackets is not required to mount the tension members. As a result, fewer parts require assembly, thus the chassis can be manufactured more quickly and easily, and at a lower cost. 
   Since spring hanger brackets, such as spring hanger bracket  132 , are typically larger, stronger, and more robust than tension member mounting brackets, such as bracket  160 , the attachment point between the second end of the tension members and the frame is more robust than conventional attachment points. Also, mounting the tension members directly to the rear suspension assembly creates additional space below the frame rails for increasing the size and capacity of the storage compartments. 
     FIGS. 5-15  illustrate an embodiment in greater detail with components that are similar to the components of  FIGS. 1-4  being assigned the same numbers. 
   In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed spring hanger bracket may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only examples and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosure. We claim as our invention all variations that fall within the scope of the following claims.