| 摘要 |
664,269. Vehicle suspensions. THOMPSON PRODUCTS, Inc. Feb. 28, 1949 [May 1, 1948], No. 5359/49. Class 108(ii) In a vehicle wheel suspension comprising upper and lower control arms connected by joints to a wheel carrier, the lower joint is provided with anti-friction bearings so arranged that the weight of the vehicle is taken by such bearing in compression. As shown in Fig. 1, the wheel carrier 10 is connected to upper and lower arms 15, 18 by ball joints 14, 17 of which the lower is arranged to support the weight of the vehicle through a coil spring (not shown). The lower arm 18 has integral therewith a ball socket 50 containing a hemispherical bearing member 55 which has an axial hole 55c. A hemispherical ball member 56a, secured by its tapered shank 60 in the wheel carrier 10, has a projecting axial pin 56d which enters the hole 55c, and is separated from the hemispherical bearing member 55 by a roller bearing 57. The hemispherical ball member 56a is retained by a complementary socket member 59 screwed into the bottom of the socket 50 and held in position by a cotter pin 54. During steering movements the bearing member 55 remains stationary, the pin 56d rotating therein. During vertical movements of the wheel carrier the whole ball assembly oscillates within its socket. A grease nipple 50a and a mud-excluding shield 58 may be provided. The upper arm 15 has integral therewith a socket 27 containing a hemispherical bearing shell 30 with a central hole 48, (see also Fig. 2). The ball 32, secured by its tapered shank 35 in the wheel carrier 10, has a projecting pin 47 which engages the hole 48, and is retained in the socket by a threaded member 38 as before. During steering movements, the ball rotates in the socket and in the hemispherical bearing shell 30, but during vertical movements of the wheel carrier, the bearing shell 30 is moved by the pin 47 on the ball. The modified form of ball joint is shown in Fig. 4, also adapted to take thrust, may replace the lower ball joint of Fig. 3. In this case thrust is taken by the anti-friction thrust bearing 69 interposed between the lower half socket 12 and the bottom of the cylindrical bore 71a. |
