Abstract:
A mounting assembly for a rotating arm, such as a control arm of an independent suspension. The mounting assembly includes a pin which passes through a cylindrical bore in one end of the arm. The pin is gripped at each end by a clamping block. Each block has a main pin-gripping opening for one end of the pin, and the opening has an initial size which allows the end of the pin to pass easily through the opening. However, when the clamping block is tightened, such as by mounting the block to a support, the opening is made smaller so as to grip the end of the pin. The arrangement allows easy removal of the pin and therefore easy replacement of the control arm of a vehicle suspension.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to large vehicles having independent suspensions, such as those which are typically used in military applications and in large municipal vehicles, such as fire trucks. In particular, the invention relates to a frame and independent suspension assembly which allows a vehicle to have better stability by lowering the center of gravity, and better visibility because of the lower drivetrain and lower hoodline. 
     Military and other emergency vehicles must be designed to extremely demanding specifications. The vehicles must be capable of driving over or through obstacles which only a tactical or emergency driver would attempt. The vehicles must be able to endure corrosive, partially submerged and frequently dirty environments, such as standing water, chemicals or deep mud. 
     In addition, it is desirable for such vehicles to provide maximum forward visibility for the operator and maximum load carrying capacities. One step which has been taken in the design of heavy duty vehicles has been to utilize C-shaped channels as the main frame members. The use of two widely-spaced beams provides a space where various engine, transmission and other essential components can be mounted. Making more space available along the center line of the vehicle frame allows heavy components to be more effectively mounted at lower elevation which, in turn, lowers the vehicle&#39;s center of gravity. Vehicles with low centers of gravity have improved stability. A lower center of gravity in a vehicle provides improved resistance to overturning as the vehicle traverses rough terrain or maneuvers around obstacles at high rates of speed. The improved visibility that results from a lowering of a vehicles drive train and hoodline allows for safer operation of the vehicle. While the present invention has particular application in the context of frame members which are C-shaped, the invention may be used with frame members having other shapes, such as tubular shapes (rounded and rectangular) and other structurally advantageous shapes. 
     The present invention provides a mounting assembly for a rotating arm, such as a control arm of an independent suspension. The present invention provides for easy removal of a pin in the mounting assembly, which in turn allows for easy replacement of the control arm of a vehicle suspension. These and other advantages are accomplished by using a pin which passes through a cylindrical bore in one end of the arm. The pin is gripped at each end by a clamping block. Each block has a main pin-gripping opening for one end of the pin, and the opening has an initial size which allows the end of the pin to pass easily through the opening. However, when the clamping block is tightened, such as by mounting the block to a support, the opening is made smaller so as to grip the end of the pin. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood upon a reading of the following specification, read together with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of weldments and portions of an axle constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the weldments shown in FIG. 1 with other suspension components shown adjacent thereto; 
     FIG. 3 is a third perspective view of the weldments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a side-elevational view of a front left-hand weldment of the present invention as configured with no anti-sway bar; 
     FIG. 5 is an end view of the weldment shown in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the weldment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5; 
     FIG. 7 is side-elevational view of a rear left-hand weldment of the present invention as configured for use with an anti-sway bar; 
     FIG. 8 is an end view of the weldment shown in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the weldment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8; 
     FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a lower control arm constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a bushing assembly of the control arm of the present invention taken along line  11 — 11  in FIG. 11A; 
     FIG. 11A is a top view of a bushing assembly of the control arm of the present invention; 
     FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of an anti-sway bar assembly made in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 13 is an end view of the spring guide bushing shown in FIG. 14 made in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  14 — 14  in FIG.  13  and showing a bushing for a spring guide; and 
     FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-section through a spring guide made in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows the front portion of a vehicle and its suspension support in relation to a frame rail  2  of a vehicle. A left-hand or first side plate  10  is mounted beneath a left-hand frame rail (not shown), and a right-hand or second side plate  12  is mounted beneath a right-hand frame rail  2 . Several bolts are used to connect each of the side plates  10  and  12  to its respective frame rail. A differential  15  with a differential drive connection  14  is connected to each of the side plates  10  and  12 . As further shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, it is clear that the main side plates  10  and  12  are joined together by the lower plate  20 , bar  22  and differential  15  at the lower portions of the side plates  10  and  12 . The side plates shown in FIGS. 1 through 6 are for a suspension which is not equipped with an anti-sway bar. 
     Referring now to the first plate  10  shown in FIGS. 1 through 6, it is comprised of three main components which are welded together. Those components are: a longitudinally extending main plate member  51 ; a leading end plate  48 ; and a trailing end plate  50 . Longitudinally extending plate member  51  includes four sections: an upper vertical plate section  52 ; a horizontal plate section  54 ; a lower vertical plate section  56 ; and a lower lip  58 . The upper vertical plate section  52  and the lower vertical plate section  56  are in an off-set and generally parallel relationship. Extending from the outer face of the upper vertical plate section  52  are three pockets including a shock absorber pocket  38  formed by gusset plates  40  and a bearing plate  42 , a jounce bumper pocket  61  formed by gusset plates  40  and  46  and jounce bumper plate  62 , and a coil spring pocket  39 , defined by the end plate  48 , gusset plate  46  and coil spring bearing plate  47 . A lifting lug  44  may be welded to the bearing plate  47  for use in lifting the complete vehicle. The lower vertical plate section  56  has an opening  70  so that a half-shaft  16  can extend from the differential  15  to the wheel end  18  (see FIG.  1 ). 
     As is most clearly shown in FIG. 2, the elements of the suspension system are connected to the outer portions of the first side plate  10 . The shock absorber  24  extends from the bearing plate  42  to the lower control arm  32 . Similarly, the suspension coil spring  26  extends from the lower control arm  32  to the bearing plate  47 . In addition, inside the suspension coil spring  26 , a spring guide  28  extends from the lower control arm  32  into the spring guide bushing  30  which is bolted to the coil spring bearing plate  47 . An upper control arm  34  is connected by a ball joint  37  to an upper portion of the steering knuckle  41 . The upper and lower control arms  34  and  32 , respectively, are held in place by four control arm mounting assemblies  94 , an example of which is more clearly shown in FIG. 10 discussed below. The locations of the control arm mounting assemblies for a left-hand side plate  10  can best be seen in FIG. 4 wherein upper control arm attachment locations  68  and lower control arm attachment locations  66  are at upper and lower portions of the vertical mounting plate  56 . An ear  78  is used to support various system lines, i.e., hoses or wires, etc., which lead to the wheel end  18 . A stiffening flange  60  extends from the outer edge of the end plate  50  to provide the plate  50  with increased resistance to buckling. 
     FIGS. 7,  8  and  9  show a left-hand side plate  10   a  for use with an anti-sway bar. In describing the anti-sway bar equipped left-hand side plate  10   a,  the same reference numerals used to indicate portions of the side plate  10  are used for components which are the same. For example, a coil spring bearing plate  47  extends between an end plate  48  and a gusset  46  to define a pocket  39  for a coil spring (not shown in FIG.  7 ). The left-hand side plate  10   a  includes upper control arm mounting locations  68  and lower control arm mounting locations  66 . Gusset plates  40  and shock absorber bearing plate  42  define a shock absorber pocket  38 . However, an element which is part of the left-hand side plate  10   a,  which is not included in the front side plate  10  is a bushing pocket  76  and an opening  74  through which extends an anti-sway bar  112 , more details of which are shown in FIG.  12 . 
     FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a lower control arm assembly. The lower control arm  32  has two control arm mounting assemblies  94 , one of which is shown in exploded form on the left side of FIG.  10 . The lower control arm  32  has a longitudinal axis and a cylindrical bore at one end of the lower control arm  32  The cylindrical bore has an axis transverse to the lower control arm longitudinal axis. The control arm mounting assembly  94  includes a pin  96  and two bushing assemblies  98  (more detail of which is shown in FIG.  11 ). The ends of the pin  96  are clamped by the blocks  36  as the blocks  36  are attached to the lower vertical plate section  56  of a side plate. Each of the blocks  36  has a central opening and is circumferentially discontinuous about its central opening. The pin  96  has a length greater than the sum of the lengths of the bushings  98  whereby the pin  96  when passing through the bushings  98  has exposed ends grippable by the clamping blocks  36 . The pin  96  can have a threaded bore at each end. The clamping blocks  36  each have aligned holes enough which bolts may pass, with tightening of the bolts causing the slots  97  to close and the blocks  36  to grip the pin  96 . The aligned holes may be unthreaded. A thrust washer  108  is disposed between each bushing assembly  98  and a block  36 . A screw  110  and washer  111  are used to properly pre-load the bushing  98  before installation. These fasteners are threadably engageable in the threaded bore of the pin  96  The lower control arm  32  includes a spring mount  90  through which there extends a spring pivot pin  91  and a sleeve bearing  95 . A spring seat  84  with a threaded hole  85  for receiving the spring guide  28  straddles the spring mount  90 . A small dowel pin  89  retains the pin  91  in the spring seat  84  and causes the spring seat  84  to rotate the spring pivot pin  91  within the sleeve bearing  95  A pair of seals  93  prevent contaminants from entering the sleeve bearing  95  within the spring mount  90 . FIG. 10 also shows a ball joint assembly  82 , which is housed within a socket  80  on the outer end of the lower control arm  32 . 
     FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the bushing assembly  98  which is part of the control arm mounting assembly  94 . The bushing assembly  98  includes an inner sleeve bearing  106 , an intermediate metal sleeve  104  and an outer elastomeric sleeve  102  which has a flange  107  at one end and annular ribs and grooves on the outside surface thereof. A seal  100  engages a shoulder formed on the outer edge of the intermediate sleeve  104 . The bushing assembly  98  fits snugly into a bore formed at the inside end of each leg of the lower control arm  32 . As the block  36  is tightened into position against the lower vertical plate section  56  of a side plate, the pin  96  is gripped by the block  36  as a result of the closing of the gap formed by the slot  97  in the block  36 . A slot in each block  36  of a control arm mounting assembly allows for easy removal of a pin  96  from the assembly  94 . Arranging the slots  97  so that they face down makes it harder for water and mud to flow into the pin/block joint. 
     FIG. 12 shows the anti-sway assembly which forms a part of the present invention. An anti-sway bar  112  has a splined end  114  and extends through the opening  74  in the upper vertical plate section  52  of a side plate  10   a.  The anti-sway bar  112  is supported by a bushing  116 . The bushing  116  is contained in a pocket  76 , the top portion of which is formed by a removable plate  124 . One end of the plate  124  is inserted into a slot  77  formed in a gusset plate  40 , and the other end of the plate  124  is held in place by bolts. A pair of collars  118  maintain the position of the anti-sway bar  112  in the bushing  116 . A pair of seals  119  prevent contaminants from entering the bushing  116 . The splined end  114  of the anti-sway bar  112  is engaged in and clamped by an end of the arm  120 . A vertical link  122  connects an end of the arm  120  to a lug of the steering knuckle  41 . 
     FIGS. 13 and 14 show the spring guide bushing  30  which is attached to the coil spring bearing plate  47  on the front side plates  10  and  12 . The spring guide bushing  30  includes a tapered bore or opening  31  through which a spring guide  28  extends. The taper allows the spring guide  28  to articulate slightly within the bushing  30 . Mounting ears  33  facilitate the connection of the bushing  30  to the bearing plate  47 . The bushing  30  is mounted in the orientation shown in FIG. 2 so that the narrower end of the tapered opening  31  is upward, i.e., the bushing  30  extends down into and through the opening in the bearing plate  47 . The rear spring is stable enough by itself not to need a guide. The spring guide  28  is shown in FIG.  15 . The spring guide  28  has a threaded end  27  which threads into the threaded hole  85  in the spring seat  84 . 
     (See FIG. 10.) A stop  35  is welded to the body of the spring guide  28  to limit the threaded engagement of the threaded end  27  and the spring seat  84 . At the opposite end of the spring guide  28  a drive socket  29  is incorporated to facilitate the threaded engagement of the spring guide  28  into the spring seat  84  with a common wrench. It should be noted that the diameter of the spring guide  28  is substantially smaller than the inside diameter of the coil spring  26  through which it extends. The result is a non-contact spring guide. The spring guide  28  is free to slide within the tapered opening  31  in the spring guide bushing  30  as the wheel of a vehicle moves up and down. The alignment of the spring seat  84 , however, is maintained so that buckling of the coil spring  26  is prevented, even in instances where there is a large compression of the spring as a result of relative movement of the wheel and the frame. 
     Having described a number of features, discoveries and principals embodied in the foregoing examples, it is intended and will be understood by those skilled in the art, that a number of modifications, alternatives and variations thereof may be made while still incorporating the spirit and scope of the inventions as claimed below.