An air suspension guide arm system

Abstract

The application discloses an air suspension guiding arm system and belongs to the technical field of vehicle suspension, which comprises an axle, one M-shaped plate spring arranged at each end of the axle, one air spring assembly arranged at the upper part of each end of the M-shaped plate spring, a supporting plate connected between the top ends of the two air spring assemblies arranged on the same M-shaped plate spring, a connecting plate vertically arranged between the middle parts of the two supporting plates, one shock absorber assembly hinged to each end of the M-shaped plate spring, and the piston rod end of the shock absorber assembly is hinged to the connecting plate. Compared with the Z-shaped plate spring, the M-shaped plate spring has a larger longitudinal movement interval, so that the air suspension guiding arm system with the M-shaped plate spring can more flexibly arrange the components in the automobile chassis.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of vehicle suspension technology, and specifically relates to an air suspension guide arm system. Background Technology

[0002] An air suspension system is a suspension system that uses air springs as elastic elements. By changing the gas pressure inside the air springs, the height of the vehicle can be changed. It is a suspension system with broad application prospects.

[0003] Traditional air suspension systems often use Z-type or L-type leaf springs as the guiding mechanism. Compared to the L-type leaf spring, which was first used, the Z-type leaf spring has advantages such as higher lateral stability, better road condition adaptability, and better comfort. Therefore, it is the most commonly used leaf spring in current air suspension systems.

[0004] However, due to the structural characteristics of Z-type leaf springs, they usually require a larger longitudinal installation distance during use, which restricts the chassis layout; and Z-type leaf springs have obvious stress concentration at bending points, which can easily lead to fatigue fracture after long-term use.

[0005] Based on this, this application addresses the shortcomings of Z-type leaf springs in air suspension systems by designing an air suspension guide arm system using M-type leaf springs. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide an air suspension guide arm system.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: An air-suspended guide arm system, including an axle; An M-shaped leaf spring is installed at each end of the axle, and an air spring assembly is installed at the upper part of each end of the M-shaped leaf spring. A support plate is connected between the tops of the two air spring assemblies located on the same M-shaped leaf spring, and a connecting plate is vertically installed between the middle of the two support plates. Each end of the M-type leaf spring is hinged to a shock absorber assembly, and the piston rod end of the shock absorber assembly is hinged to the connecting plate.

[0008] Preferably, the M-type leaf spring includes a first straight plate connected to the axle, with symmetrically arranged upward-convex arc-shaped plates at both ends of the first straight plate, and the end of the arc-shaped plate away from the first straight plate connected to a second straight plate.

[0009] Preferably, the M-type leaf spring consists of two symmetrical leaf spring components, with a clamping claw at one end of each component, and the two clamping claws are detachably connected after surrounding the axle.

[0010] Preferably, the gripper has a U-shaped structure.

[0011] Preferably, the ends of the grippers are provided with connecting seats extending outward along the length of the axle; after the two grippers of the M-type leaf spring surround the axle, the corresponding connecting seats are detachably connected by a first bolt.

[0012] Preferably, support plates are provided at the upper parts of both ends of the M-type leaf spring, and the air spring assembly is located on the upper part of the support plates.

[0013] Preferably, the air spring assembly, the support plate, and the M-type spring are connected by a second bolt.

[0014] Preferably, the bottom end of the shock absorber assembly is hinged to the corresponding support plate.

[0015] Preferably, two connecting blocks are provided at both ends of the bottom of the connecting plate, and the piston rod ends of the two shock absorber assemblies located on the same M-shaped leaf spring are respectively connected to the two ends of the same connecting block, and the piston rod ends of the shock absorber assemblies are hinged to the connecting blocks.

[0016] Preferably, the top end of the air spring assembly is connected to the support plate via a mounting bracket.

[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are: (1) In this invention, compared with the Z-type leaf spring, the M-type leaf spring has a larger longitudinal range of motion, which makes the air suspension guide arm system with the M-type leaf spring more flexible in arranging the various components in the car chassis. (2) In this invention, the M-type leaf spring forms a smooth and continuous wave-like structure through multiple bends, which allows the material of a longer section to share the load, effectively avoiding a sudden increase in local stress, making the stress distribution more uniform and improving the fatigue life of the leaf spring; (3) In this invention, a split M-type leaf spring structure that can be separated into two leaf spring components is designed to replace the traditional integrated M-type leaf spring structure: From the perspective of the overall layout of the vehicle chassis, compared with the traditional integrated M-type leaf spring, the use of separate M-type leaf springs further improves the space utilization of the air suspension guide arm system and helps with the installation and coordination between various components of the vehicle chassis. From a practical standpoint, the traditional one-piece M-type leaf spring suffers from plastic deformation due to its relatively long integrated structure during actual use, leading to a decrease in its damping performance. The split structure in this application allows the two separate leaf spring components to partially offset each other's forces during use, alleviating the problems of overload and deformation inherent in one-piece M-type leaf springs. Furthermore, by offsetting forces, the leaf spring can distribute the stress to different leaf spring components under the same working conditions, thereby increasing the overall service life of the leaf spring. (4) In this invention, the shock absorber assembly adopts an oblique spatial arrangement, with the connecting block on the upper end hinged to the connecting plate and the support plate on the M-shaped leaf spring hinged to the lower end, forming a stable triangular support with the M-shaped leaf spring. The axis of the shock absorber assembly simultaneously covers the motion components of wheel vertical bounce, axle longitudinal pitch, and vehicle body lateral tilt. Compared with the traditional vertically arranged shock absorber, it can not only attenuate vertical high-frequency vibrations, but also play a damping role in scenarios such as braking pitch, acceleration head-up, and cornering tilt, achieving multi-dimensional coordinated damping and greatly improving the damping efficiency in all scenarios. At the same time, the traditional shock absorber has a single force direction. When the vehicle experiences wheel bounce or vehicle body tilt, the shock absorber will be subjected to additional tilting force and additional torque, leading to shock absorber failure and greatly reducing the service life of the shock absorber. In this application, the bottom end of the shock absorber assembly is connected to the M-type leaf spring through a support plate, and the top end of the shock absorber assembly is connected to the air spring assembly through a connecting block, connecting plate, and support plate. During operation, it only bears pure axial tensile and compressive forces, without lateral loads or bending moments, resulting in less wear, lower failure rate, and significantly longer service life. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this application, are used to provide a further understanding of this application. The illustrative embodiments of this application and their descriptions are used to explain this application and do not constitute an undue limitation of this application.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the air suspension guide arm system of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic front view of the air suspension guide arm system of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the M-type leaf spring in this invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic front view of the structure of the M-type leaf spring in this invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic top view of the structure of the M-type leaf spring in this invention; Figure 6 This is a dimensioned view of the main view of the axle in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a dimensioned view of the main view of the M-type leaf spring in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 This is a dimensioned top view of the M-type leaf spring in an embodiment of the present invention; in: 1. Axle; 2. M-type leaf spring; 21. First straight plate; 22. Curved plate; 23. Second straight plate; 24. Clamp; 241. Connecting seat; 3. Air spring assembly; 31. Mounting seat; 4. Support plate; 5. Connecting plate; 6. Shock absorber assembly; 7. Support plate; 8. Connecting block. Detailed Implementation

[0020] It should be noted that the following detailed descriptions are illustrative and intended to provide further explanation of this application. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains.

[0021] It should be noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to this application. As used herein, the singular form is intended to include the plural form as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0022] In this invention, terms such as "upper," "lower," "bottom," and "top" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are merely relational terms determined for the convenience of describing the structural relationship of the various components or elements of this invention, and do not specifically refer to any component or element in this invention, and should not be construed as limiting this invention.

[0023] In this invention, terms such as "connected" and "linked" should be interpreted broadly, indicating a fixed connection, an integral connection, or a detachable connection; a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can determine the specific meaning of these terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances, and they should not be construed as limitations on the invention.

[0024] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0025] like Figures 1-5 As shown, an air suspension guide arm system includes an axle 1; An M-shaped leaf spring 2 is provided at each end of the axle 1. The M-shaped leaf spring 2 is perpendicular to the axle 1. An air spring assembly 3 is provided at the upper part of each end of the M-shaped leaf spring 2. A support plate 4 is connected between the tops of the two air spring assemblies 3 located on the same M-shaped leaf spring 2. A connecting plate 5 is perpendicularly provided between the middle of the two support plates 4. Each end of the M-type leaf spring 2 is hinged to a shock absorber assembly 6, and the piston rod end of the shock absorber assembly 6 is hinged to the connecting plate 5.

[0026] In this application, the M-type leaf spring 2 provides rigid support for the main load, while the air spring assembly 3 provides flexible buffering for the dynamic load. This achieves complementary stiffness characteristics between the two, which helps to solve the problems of poor comfort of single leaf spring suspension and weak load-bearing capacity of single air spring suspension.

[0027] Preferably, the M-type leaf spring 2 includes a first straight plate 21 connected to the axle 1. The two ends of the first straight plate 21 are symmetrically provided with upwardly convex arc-shaped plates 22. The end of the arc-shaped plate 22 away from the first straight plate 21 is connected to a second straight plate 23. The second straight plate 23 is higher than the first straight plate 21. When there is no external force, the first straight plate 21 and the second straight plate 23 are parallel.

[0028] In traditional Z-type leaf springs, the stress concentrates at the bending point during actual operation, leading to stress concentration and fatigue fracture. The M-type leaf spring 2 in this application, through multi-segment bending to form a smooth, continuous wave-like structure, allows longer sections of material to share the load, effectively avoiding sudden increases in localized stress and resulting in a more uniform stress distribution, thus improving the fatigue life of the leaf spring.

[0029] Under the same working conditions and with the same materials, compared with the Z-type leaf spring, the smooth and continuous wave-like structure of the M-type leaf spring 2 in this application effectively breaks the long cantilever effect and suppresses a large increase in displacement at the end, making the entire component more coordinated and evenly distributed in terms of deformation. This allows the M-type leaf spring 2 to adapt to more complex and harsher working environments, expanding the application scenarios of the air suspension guide arm system. In terms of overall layout, compared with the Z-type leaf spring, the M-type leaf spring 2 has a larger longitudinal range of motion, which allows the air suspension guide arm system with the M-type leaf spring 2 to arrange the various components in the vehicle chassis more flexibly. Preferably, the M-type leaf spring 2 consists of two symmetrical leaf spring components, with a clamp 24 provided at one end of each leaf spring component. The two clamps 24 surround the axle 1 and are detachably connected. In this application, the M-type leaf spring is divided into two parts from the middle of the first straight plate 21 to form two leaf spring components, with the clamps 24 located at the split point of the first straight plate 21.

[0030] Preferably, the gripper 24 has a U-shaped structure.

[0031] Preferably, the end of the gripper 24 is provided with a connecting seat 241 extending outward along the length of the axle 1; after the two grippers 24 of the M-type leaf spring 2 surround the axle 1, the corresponding connecting seats 241 are detachably connected by a first bolt.

[0032] In view of the structural characteristics of the M-type leaf spring 2, this application designs a split M-type leaf spring structure that can be separated into two leaf spring components, replacing the traditional one-piece M-type leaf spring structure.

[0033] From the perspective of the overall layout of the vehicle chassis, compared with the traditional integrated M-type leaf spring, the use of separate M-type leaf springs further improves the space utilization of the air suspension guide arm system and facilitates the installation and coordination between various components of the vehicle chassis.

[0034] From a practical standpoint, the relatively long length of a traditional one-piece M-type leaf spring during actual use can lead to plastic deformation, resulting in a decrease in its damping performance. The separate structure in this application allows the two separate leaf spring components to partially offset each other's stress during use, alleviating the problems of overload and deformation inherent in one-piece M-type leaf springs. Furthermore, by offsetting the stress, the leaf spring's load is distributed to different components under the same operating conditions, thereby increasing the overall service life of the leaf spring.

[0035] Preferably, support plates 7 are provided on the upper parts of both ends of the M-type leaf spring 2, and the air spring assembly 3 is located on the upper part of the support plates 7.

[0036] Preferably, the air spring assembly 3, the support plate 7, and the M-type spring 2 are connected by a second bolt.

[0037] Preferably, the bottom end of the shock absorber assembly 6 is hinged to the corresponding support plate 7, wherein the central axis of the hinge shaft between the shock absorber assembly 6 and the support plate 7 is parallel to the length direction of the axle 1.

[0038] Preferably, two connecting blocks 8 are provided at both ends of the bottom of the connecting plate 5. The piston rod ends of the two shock absorber assemblies 6 located on the same M-type leaf spring 2 are respectively connected to the two ends of the same connecting block 8. The piston rod ends of the shock absorber assembly 6 are hinged to the connecting block 8, wherein the central axis of the hinge axis between the shock absorber assembly 6 and the connecting block 8 is parallel to the length direction of the axle 1.

[0039] In this invention, the shock absorber assembly 3 is arranged in an oblique spatial configuration. The upper end is hinged to the connecting block 8 on the connecting plate 5, and the lower end is hinged to the support plate 7 on the M-shaped leaf spring 2, forming a stable triangular support with the M-shaped leaf spring 2. The axis of the shock absorber assembly 3 simultaneously covers the motion components of wheel vertical bounce, axle longitudinal pitch, and vehicle body lateral roll. Compared to traditional vertically arranged shock absorbers, it not only attenuates high-frequency vertical vibrations but also provides shock absorption in scenarios such as braking pitch, acceleration nose-up, and cornering roll, achieving multi-dimensional coordinated shock absorption and significantly improving shock absorption efficiency across all scenarios. Meanwhile, traditional shock absorbers experience only a single force direction. When the vehicle experiences wheel bounce or body roll, the shock absorber is subjected to additional roll forces and torques, leading to shock absorber failure and significantly reducing its service life. In this application, the bottom end of the shock absorber assembly 6 is connected to the M-type leaf spring 2 through the support plate 7, and the top end of the shock absorber assembly 6 is connected to the air spring assembly 3 through the connecting block 8, the connecting plate 5, and the support plate 4. When working, it only bears pure axial tensile and compressive forces, without lateral loads and bending moments, resulting in less wear, lower failure rate, and significantly longer service life.

[0040] Preferably, the top end of the air spring assembly 3 is connected to the support plate 4 via a mounting base 31, wherein the mounting base 31 and the support plate 4 are bolted together.

[0041] The working process of the air suspension guide arm system of this application is as follows: When the car encounters road undulations, the road impact force is transmitted to the axle 1 through the wheels. The axle 1 drives the M-type leaf spring 2 to undergo elastic deformation. The elastic characteristics of the M-type leaf spring 2 itself absorb the impact energy. At the same time, the air spring assembly 3 compresses or extends synchronously with the displacement of the axle 1. The compression or expansion of the gas inside its air chamber will assist the M-type leaf spring 2 to jointly buffer the impact force and achieve the attenuation of the initial vibration. During the operation, the elastic rebound of the M-type leaf spring 2 and the air spring assembly 3 will cause reciprocating vibration. At this time, the shock absorber assembly 6 converts the mechanical energy of the vibration into heat energy through the damping effect of the internal piston, thereby suppressing the continuous reciprocating vibration of the suspension and making the vehicle body quickly return to stability. In the above process, the M-type leaf spring 2 also has a guiding function. Relying on the high longitudinal stiffness and torsional stiffness provided by its wave-shaped double arch structure, it acts as the longitudinal guide arm of the suspension, effectively transmitting driving force and braking force, and strictly constraining the longitudinal and lateral displacement and torsion of the axle 1. The mounting seat 31 on the top of the air spring assembly 3 and the connecting block 8 of the shock absorber assembly 6 stably transmit the buffered and damped force to the vehicle body, ensuring accurate wheel positioning and preventing road impacts from being directly transmitted to the vehicle body.

[0042] Example: The air suspension guide arm system of this application is applied to a medium-sized freight truck with a rated weight of 50 tons. The specific parameters of the axle 1, M-type leaf spring 2, air spring assembly 3, and shock absorber assembly 6 are as follows: Axle 1: The material is ZG310-570 cast steel, and the cross-section of the rectangular section in the middle is square, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the side length L of the rectangular section is 128mm, and the diameter D of the cylindrical sections at both ends is 90mm. M-type leaf spring 2: The material is selected from 60Si2MnH high-strength spring steel, such as... Figure 7 , Figure 8 As shown, the total length L1 is 900mm, the width L2 is 120mm, the thickness L3 is 8mm, the bending radius R of the arc plate 22 is 80mm, and the central angle α corresponding to the arc plate 22 is 120°. Air spring assembly 3: It is a bladder structure with a nitrile rubber layer, a chamber volume of 50L, an effective working stroke of 120mm (80mm compression stroke and 40mm extension), an initial working air pressure of 0.8MPa, and a maximum pressure of 1.2MPa. Shock absorber assembly 6: adopts a two-way action cylindrical structure, the cylinder is made of 27SiMn seamless steel pipe, and the piston is made of 45 steel with chrome plating; the cylinder diameter is 80mm, the piston rod diameter is 30mm; the compression damping is 3000N·s / m, the rebound damping is 4000N·s / m; the maximum piston stroke is 150mm.

[0043] The air suspension guide arm system is used in medium-duty trucks with a rated weight of 50 tons for different operating conditions: Static load-bearing conditions: M-type leaf spring 2 bears 75% of the vehicle's static load (37.5 tons), and its multi-bend structure achieves uniform load distribution through elastic support; air spring assembly 3 bears the remaining 25% of the load (12.5 tons), and the air chamber pressure is maintained at 0.8MPa to ensure that the vehicle height deviation is ≤2mm; Small impact conditions (road surface gravel, impact energy ≤5kJ): The road impact force is transmitted to the axle 1 through the wheel, the air spring assembly 3 is preferentially compressed (compression amount ≤20mm), and the air chamber gas compression absorbs 60% of the impact energy; the M-type leaf spring 2 is partially bent to assist in buffering, and the shock absorber assembly 6 suppresses small vibrations with compression damping of 3000N·s / m, and the vibration decay time is ≤0.3s; Under high impact conditions (100mm drop pothole, impact energy ≥20kJ): Axle 1 drives M-type leaf spring 2 to bend to the maximum deformation of 80mm, bearing 80% of the impact load; air spring assembly 3 is simultaneously compressed to the maximum stroke of 80mm, absorbing the remaining 20% ​​of the energy; when M-type leaf spring 2 and air spring assembly 3 rebound after the impact, shock absorber assembly 6 quickly suppresses the vibration with rebound damping of 4000N·s / m, and the maximum bounce height of the vehicle body is ≤15mm; Steering roll condition: When the vehicle is turning, the body will roll due to centrifugal force, and the weight will be transferred to the outside of the curve. Therefore, the bending amount of the M-type leaf spring 2 on the pressure side of the suspension (i.e., the outside of the steering) will increase, while the bending amount on the stress-relieving side (i.e., the inside of the steering) will decrease. Its lateral stiffness limits the lateral displacement of the axle 1 to ≤10mm. The air spring assembly 3 achieves a single-sided air pressure increase to 1.0MPa through ECU control. Combined with the support force of the M-type leaf spring 2, the body roll angle is ≤5°, ensuring driving stability.

[0044] Therefore, when the air suspension guide arm system of this application is applied to a medium-sized freight truck with a rated weight of 50 tons, it has significant advantages such as uniform load distribution, multi-stage efficient shock absorption, and excellent anti-roll stability. The system can not only accurately control the vehicle height (deviation ≤2mm), but also achieve rapid vibration attenuation according to different impact energies (attenuation time ≤0.3s, maximum bounce height ≤15mm), and strictly limit lateral displacement (≤10mm) and roll angle (≤5°) during steering, thereby comprehensively ensuring the driving stability and safety of heavy-duty trucks under complex working conditions.

[0045] While the specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications or variations that can be made by those skilled in the art without creative effort based on the technical solutions of the present invention are still within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air-suspended guide arm system, characterized in that, Including axles; An M-shaped leaf spring is installed at each end of the axle, and an air spring assembly is installed at the upper part of each end of the M-shaped leaf spring. A support plate is connected between the tops of the two air spring assemblies located on the same M-shaped leaf spring, and a connecting plate is vertically installed between the middle of the two support plates. Each end of the M-type leaf spring is hinged to a shock absorber assembly, and the piston rod end of the shock absorber assembly is hinged to the connecting plate.

2. The air suspension guide arm system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The M-type leaf spring includes a first straight plate connected to the axle, with symmetrically arranged upward-convex arc-shaped plates at both ends of the first straight plate, and the end of the arc-shaped plate away from the first straight plate is connected to a second straight plate.

3. The air suspension guide arm system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The M-type leaf spring consists of two symmetrical leaf spring components. The two leaf spring components are provided with clamps at opposite ends, and the two clamps surround the axle for detachable connection.

4. The air suspension guide arm system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The grippers have a U-shaped structure.

5. The air suspension guide arm system as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The ends of the grippers are provided with connecting seats extending outward along the length of the axle; after the two grippers of the M-type leaf spring surround the axle, the corresponding connecting seats are detachably connected by the first bolt.

6. The air suspension guide arm system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Support plates are provided at the upper parts of both ends of the M-type leaf spring, and the air spring assembly is located on the upper part of the support plates.

7. The air suspension guide arm system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The air spring assembly, support plate, and M-type spring are connected by a second bolt.

8. The air suspension guide arm system as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The bottom end of the shock absorber assembly is hinged to the corresponding support plate.

9. The air suspension guide arm system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Two connecting blocks are provided at both ends of the bottom of the connecting plate. The piston rod ends of the two shock absorber assemblies located on the same M-shaped leaf spring are respectively connected to the two ends of the same connecting block. The piston rod ends of the shock absorber assemblies are hinged to the connecting blocks.

10. The air suspension guide arm system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The top of the air spring assembly is connected to the support plate via a mounting bracket.

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