Abstract:
A spindle with cooling fins is disclosed. The spindle has raised cooling fins on an outside exterior surface. The fins create cooling channels which direct air upward when the vehicle is in motion. The redirected air passes over and around the brake and hub assemblies. This effectively dissipates heat from the brake and hub assemblies and will help to prevent overheating and premature failure of the parts.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/946,029 filed Jun. 25, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a steering knuckle for use on the front end of a vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
       [0003]    A typical spindle or steering knuckle is a component of the front suspension of a vehicle, which attaches the wheel and brake assemblies to the vehicle, and allows the wheels to travel vertically, turn, and rotate. Mounted on the steering knuckle are brake assemblies and hub assemblies on which the wheels of the vehicle are mounted. 
         [0004]    Braking generates heat which increases wear and may cause premature failure of the brake assemblies. Bearings within the hub assemblies are also prone to premature failure when overheating occurs. This problem is compounded when vehicles must operate in harsh conditions such as descending steep grades or operating in high temperature environments. Trucks are often at greatest risk to brake and wheel bearing overheating as they are required to slow or stop heavier loads. 
         [0005]    The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention provides a spindle or knuckle with cooling fins. The knuckle has raised cooling fins on an outside exterior surface. The fins create cooling channels which direct air upward when the vehicle is in motion. The redirected air passes over and around the brake and hub assemblies. This effectively dissipates heat from the brake and hub assemblies and will help to prevent overheating and premature failure of the parts. 
         [0007]    In certain respects, the present invention provides a steering knuckle for use on a vehicle suspension assembly comprising: a knuckle body having an interior face, an exterior face, a bore and at least one cooling fin on the exterior face, and at least a first ball joint boss extending from the knuckle body. 
         [0008]    In other respects, the present invention provides a suspension assembly for a vehicle comprising a knuckle including body, an upper boss, a lower boss, a bore and an exterior surface having at least one cooling fin; a hub assembly seated within the bore of the knuckle; a wheel assembly attached to the hub assembly; an upper ball joint connecting an upper control arm to the upper boss, and a lower ball joint connecting a lower control arm to the lower boss. 
         [0009]    In yet other respects, the present invention provides a method of cooling a brake assembly and a hub assembly of a vehicle comprising the steps of providing a knuckle having at least one fin which directs air towards the brake assembly and the hub assembly when the vehicle travels in forward direction, and causing the vehicle to move in a forward direction. 
         [0010]    These and other aspects will become more apparent from the following description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a suspension assembly of a vehicle. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an exterior face and cooling fins of a steering knuckle according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a spindle detailing the layout of the cooling fins according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a cross section of the spindle of  FIG. 3  along section line  4 - 4 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    The present invention provides a steering knuckle with improved cooling for a hub assembly and brake assembly mounted on an exterior surface of the steering knuckle. When a vehicle with spindles of the present invention installed is in motion, the cooling fins of each spindle catch air and direct the flow of the air upward through the channels created by the cooling fins. This forced air travels around the wheel hub assembly, brake rotor, brake caliper and brake pad, effectively cooling this equipment by dissipating heat away from the spindle assembly. As a result, the aforementioned components last longer than components installed on a conventional spindle. 
         [0016]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a suspension assembly  10  of a vehicle is shown. As used herein, the term “vehicle” refers to a wheeled conveyance that transports people or objects including cars, trucks, vans and buses.  FIG. 1  illustrates perspective view of the a suspension assembly  10  for a front end of a rear wheel drive vehicle showing the interior face  32  of the knuckle body  36 . A tire/wheel assembly  20  is connected to the remainder of the suspension assembly  10  via a steering knuckle  30 . As used herein, a “steering knuckle” or simply “knuckle” is a term that refers to a part of a vehicle suspension which connects a hub of a wheel to other components including, but not limited, to ball joints, a steering mechanism and a brake assembly. The hub assembly  40  of the tire/wheel assembly  20  passes through a bore  50  in the steering knuckle  30 . 
         [0017]    An upper ball joint boss  60  extends from a top portion of the steering knuckle  30  and connects to an upper control arm  80 . Ball joint  110  is used to connect the upper ball joint boss to the upper control arm  80 . In similar fashion, a lower ball joint boss  70  is connected to a lower control arm  90  with a lower ball joint  120 . Hub assembly bolts  100  are used to fasten the hub assembly  40  to the body  36 . 
         [0018]    Extending from a forward portion of the body  36  is a steering arm  130 . The steering arm connects to a tie rod  140  which moves to control the direction of the tire/wheel assembly  20 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of an exterior face  34  of the steering knuckle  30  according to one embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 2 , the steering knuckle  30  has been removed from the remainder of the suspension assembly  10 . With other components removed, the mounting hole  132  for mounting a tie rod to the steering arm  130  can be seen. Similarly, mounting holes  62 ,  72  within the upper ball joint boss  60  and lower ball joint boss  70  respectively can be seen. Bolt holes  102  for the hub assembly bolts  100  may be located on the hub assembly  100  seating surface  104 . The exterior surface  34  of the steering knuckle  30  is the outwardly facing portion of the knuckle  30  closest to the wheel. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the exterior surface  34  may have six raised cooling fins  150  projecting outwardly from the exterior surface  34 . Although the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  shows six cooling fins  150 , any number of cooling fins  150  may be used. When the steering knuckle  30  with cooling fins  150  is used on a vehicle and the vehicle travels in a forward direction, the cooling fins  150  direct air upwardly towards the hub assembly  100  and brake assembly (not shown). Although the brake assembly is not shown mounted onto the steering knuckle  30 , one skilled in the art would appreciate the brake assembly including brake pads would mount onto the steering knuckle  30  and be configured to interact with a disc or drum on connected to the hub or wheel. 
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the exterior surface  34  of the steering knuckle  30  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The cooling fins  150  may be concentrically arranged at varying radii about a common focal point  160 . The radius of each cooling fin in  FIG. 3  is indicated by a corresponding arrow extending from focal point  160 . Radii may range from about 3 inches to about 30 inches, for example, 8 inches to 14 inches depending on location of the focal point  160  and size of the steering knuckle  30 . Radial intervals of the cooling fins  150 , i.e., the distance between each fin, may be any suitable dimension it should be appreciated that the steering knuckle  30  shown in  FIG. 3  is designed to fit the right front wheel of a vehicle while the steering knuckle  30  shown in  FIG. 2  is configured for the left front wheel of a vehicle. 
         [0021]    A section view of the steering knuckle of  FIG. 3  along section line  4 - 4  is shown in  FIG. 4  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The cooling fins  150  have a height  162  above the exterior face  34  of the steering knuckle  30 . The height  162  is maximized to achieve the greatest amount of directional cooling while not interfering with other components such as the brake assembly, hub assembly and wheel. For most automobiles, a suitable height is about 0.1 inch to about 0.2 inch, for example, about 0.13 inch. As seen in  FIG. 4 , the cooling fins  150  also have a width  164 . The width  164  is configured to provide structural integrity for the cooling fins  150  without impeding air flow unnecessarily. A suitable width for steering knuckles  30  used on automobiles is about 0.15 inch to about 0.3 inch, for example, 0.25 inch. Although the cooling fins  150  have radial or chamfered corners, the cooling fins may be any suitable shape. 
         [0022]    While the above described configuration is considered effective an is the easiest to manufacture, other cooling fin configurations could be used to redirect air to the brake and hub assemblies as well. It is contemplated that a similar result could be achieved by raising the exterior face  34  and directing air through channels within the exterior face  34 . 
         [0023]    Whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present invention may be made without departing from the invention.