Patent ID: 7658412

Claim:
A frame for a heavy-duty vehicle, said frame including: a pair of spaced-apart, parallel, elongated, and longitudinally-extending main members; at least a pair of transverse cross members extending between and being attached to said main members; at least a pair of hangers, each one of said hangers being attached to and depending from a respective one of said main members for suspending an axle/suspension system from said frame; and a component capable of yielding upon occurrence of an extreme event during vehicle operation, said yieldable component being selected from the group consisting of: a yieldable component being disposed above each one of said hangers and below the hanger's respective main member, said yieldable component extending between its respective hanger and main member, the yieldable component yielding upon occurrence of said extreme event; and at least one feature formed in each one of said hangers, said at least one feature causing its respective hanger to yield upon occurrence of said extreme event, whereby damage to at least one of said main members and said cross members caused by movement of at least one of said hangers during occurrence of said extreme event is minimized.