Vehicle suspension

Abstract

Vehicle suspension, with: a leaf spring; a shackle configured to hold the leaf spring to a frame; a lever shackle configured to be rotated by connecting to the shackle; and an elastic element configured to be pressurized by a rotational displacement of the lever shackle.

Description

Reference to Related ApplicationThe present application claims the benefit under 35 USC §119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0044338 filed on Apr. 1, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein for all purposes.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of InventionThe present disclosure relates to a technology for a vehicle suspension using a leaf spring.2. Description of the Prior ArtA vehicle suspension improves ride comfort by assisting the upward and downward movement of a wheel relative to a frame between the wheel and the frame using a spring and a damper.The conventional suspension with a leaf spring has a configuration in which an axle is connected to an intermediate portion of the leaf spring by a clamp in a state in which spring bosses forming both ends of the leaf spring are mounted on a frame, thereby supporting wheels installed at both ends of the axle.Typically, one of the spring bosses at the two ends of the leaf spring is supported on the frame so as to be easily rotated while the other thereof is capable of being rotated and moved in a front-rear direction while being supported on the frame via a shackle to compensate for a change in the span of the leaf spring.When the rigidity of the leaf spring is adjusted based on a loaded state, the height of a vehicle equipped with the leaf spring at the time of loading can be maintained appropriately. However, in the unloaded state, the vehicle height is excessively high, and ride comfort is impaired due to excessively high spring rigidity. When the rigidity of the leaf spring is adjusted based on the unloaded state, smooth riding comfort can be ensured while it is difficult to provide a sufficient vehicle height during loading.The above is intended merely to aid in understanding the background of the present disclosure, and is not intended to mean that the present disclosure falls within the scope of the related art already known to those skilled in the art.Brief Description of the InventionThis Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are described further below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to serve as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.In a general aspect, there is provided a vehicle suspension including a leaf spring, a shackle configured to hold the leaf spring to a frame, a lever shackle configured to be rotated by connecting to the shackle, and an elastic member configured to be pressurized by a rotational displacement of the lever shackle.The lever crochet may include a shackle connector configured to connect a spring eye of the leaf spring to a shackle mounting bracket of the frame, and a push lever configured to extend from the shackle connector and to pressurize the elastic member.An eye through shaft may be rotatably inserted into the spring eye of the leaf spring, wherein a first side of the eye through shaft may be supported on the shackle and a second side of the eye through shaft may be supported on the shackle link of the lever shackle.The vehicle suspension may further include a bracket through shaft, the bracket through shaft is configured to extend through the shackle mounting bracket, and the eye through shaft is integrally provided on the shackle parallel to the bracket through shaft, and the shackle connecting piece of the lever shackle may be rotatably inserted into the bracket through shaft and the eye through shaft.The elastic member may be installed at a position where the elastic member is further pressurized by the pressing lever as a span of the leaf spring becomes shorter.The elastic member may be installed at a position where the elastic member is compressed by the pressing lever as a span of the leaf spring becomes shorter to press the elastic member.The elastic member may be inserted into and fixed to a spring mounting bushing installed on a spring bracket fixed to the frame.The push lever of the lever crochet may be configured to bend and extend in a direction perpendicular to the shackle link, and when the shackle link is rotated about the bracket through shaft, an end portion of the push lever may be arranged to press the elastic member inserted into the spring mounting bush.The lever crochet may be installed at a rear side of the leaf spring of a vehicle having the vehicle suspension, wherein the shackle link of the lever crochet may be long in a vertical direction based on the bracket through shaft and the push lever extends from an upper end of the shackle link toward a rear side of the vehicle, and the elastic member may be fixed to an upper rear side of the bracket through shaft of the vehicle through the spring bracket and the spring mounting bush.The lever crochet may be configured to form a movable gap between the lever crochet and the elastic member when a vehicle having the vehicle suspension is in an unloaded state, and to pressurize the elastic member when the movable gap disappears as the vehicle approaches a loaded state.The elastic member may have a first spring stiffness greater than a second spring stiffness of the leaf spring.Brief Description of the DrawingsFIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle suspension according to the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram showing a principal part of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing main components of FIG. 2 ; FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an operation of the vehicle suspension of the present disclosure in the unloaded state; FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the operation of the vehicle suspension of the present disclosure when loaded; FIG. 6 is a diagram that superimposes and compares FIGS. 4 and 5 ; and FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing spring stiffness according to displacement of the vehicle suspension of the present disclosure.In the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise described or indicated, the same or similar drawing reference numerals may be understood to refer to the same or similar elements, features, and structures. The drawings may not be to scale, and the relative size, proportions, and representation of the elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe following detailed description is intended to aid the reader in obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatus, and / or systems described herein. However, having understood the disclosure of this application, various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the methods, apparatus, and / or systems described herein will be apparent. For example, the sequences of acts described herein are merely examples and are not limited to those set forth herein, but may be changed as will be apparent upon understanding the disclosure of this application, except for acts that necessarily proceed in a particular order.The features described herein may be implemented in various forms and are not to be construed as limited to the examples described herein. Rather, the examples described herein are merely intended to illustrate some of the many possible ways of implementing the methods, apparatus, and / or systems described herein that are apparent after understanding the disclosure of this application.Advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods for achieving the advantages and features will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein, but is implemented in various forms. The embodiments of the present disclosure are provided such that the present disclosure will be fully set forth and those skilled in the art can fully understand the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the appended claims. The terms used in the present specification are for explanation of the embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.Terms such as "first", "second", "A", "B", "(a)", "(b)", or the like may be used herein to describe components. These terms are not to be understood as defining an importance, order, or sequence of a corresponding component, but are merely intended to distinguish the corresponding component from another component or components. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and also the second component may be referred to as the first component.Throughout this specification, when a component is described as being "connected" or "coupled" to another component, it may be directly "connected" or "coupled" to the other component, or one or more other components may be interposed therebetween. On the other hand, when an element is described as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there may be no other element therebetween.In a description of the embodiment, in a case where an element is described as being formed on or under another element, such a description includes both a case where the two elements are formed in direct contact with each other and a case where the two elements are in indirect contact with each other, with one or more other elements being disposed between the two elements. In addition, when an element is described as being formed on or under another element, such description may also include a case where the one element is formed on an upper side or a lower side with respect to another element.The singular forms "a", "an", and "the / s" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is further understood that the terms "comprises / comprising" and / or "includes / containing" as used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.Accordingly, the present disclosure has been developed in consideration of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the related art, and the present disclosure is intended to provide a vehicle suspension that can provide dual spring rigidity in the unloaded state and when loaded in a vehicle equipped with a leaf spring, so that smooth ride comfort in the unloaded state and sufficient vehicle height when loaded can be ensured.Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, an embodiment of a vehicle suspension of the present disclosure includes a leaf spring 1, a shackle 3 that holds the leaf spring 1 on a frame 2, a lever shackle 4 that is installed to be rotatable by being connected to the shackle 3, and an elastic member 5 that is installed to be pressurized by a rotational displacement of the lever shackle 4.That is, the present disclosure is configured such that the lever crochet 4 is rotated by the connection with the shackle 3 according to the span change of the leaf spring 1 due to the up and down movement of the wheel W, so that additional spring rigidity is provided by the elastic member 5.The lever crochet 4 is installed so as to form a movable gap G between the lever crochet 4 and the elastic member 5 in the unloaded state, and to pressurize the elastic member 5 while the movable gap G disappears during the loading.Moreover, the elastic member 5 has a spring rigidity greater than the spring rigidity of the leaf spring 1.Moreover, the suspension of the present disclosure provides only the spring rigidity due to elastic deformation of the leaf spring 1 itself for the wheel W in the unloaded state, and provides the spring rigidity of the elastic member 5 for the wheel W in the loading.Here, when the spring rigidity of the leaf spring 1 of the suspension of the present disclosure in the unloaded state is provided in a degree by which the ride comfort of the vehicle can be improved and the spring rigidity of the elastic member 5 in the loading is provided in a degree by which an appropriate vehicle height can be obtained, the suspension of the present disclosure provides a smooth ride comfort of the vehicle in the unloaded state and an appropriate vehicle height in the loading, so that two suspension characteristics appropriate for a state of the vehicle, namely, depending on whether or not the vehicle is loaded, can be provided.As a reference, "unloaded state" herein may be understood to correspond to an "unloaded state" according to Article 2 of the regulations for automobile safety standards, so that "unloaded state" may be regarded as a state in which no charge is charged on the vehicle, and "loaded" may be understood as a "loaded state" of the same regulations, so that "loaded" may be regarded as a state in which a maximum charge amount is charged on the vehicle. In one example, "during charging" may refer to the vehicle weight gain as the vehicle approaches the maximum amount of charge.In the present embodiment, the lever crochet 4 includes a shackle connecting piece 9 connecting a spring eye of the leaf spring 1 and a shackle mounting bracket 7 of the frame 2, and a pressing lever 11 formed to extend from the shackle connecting piece 9 to press the elastic member 5.That is, when a change occurs in the span of the leaf spring 1, the shackle link 9 serves to produce a rotational displacement together with the shackle 3, and the push lever 11 uses the rotational displacement produced by the shackle link 9 to eliminate the movable gap G and to pressurize the elastic member 5, so that the spring rigidity is exerted on the wheel W by the elastic member 5.An eye through shaft 13 is rotatably inserted into the spring eye of the leaf spring 1, one side of the eye through shaft 13 is held on the shackle 3, and the other side of the eye through shaft 13 is held on the shackle connecting piece 9 of the lever shackle 4.That is, in the present embodiment, the shackle 3 is provided only on one side of the leaf spring 1, and the other side is configured such that the shackle connecting piece 9 of the lever shackle 4 takes the role of the shackle 3.Of course, as in the prior art, it is also possible that in a state where the shackle 3 is provided on both sides of the leaf spring 1, the shackle connecting piece 9 of the lever shackle 4 is installed in a state where it overlaps the shackle 3 on one side.In the present embodiment, a bracket through shaft 15 extending through the shackle mounting bracket 7 and the eye through shaft 13 are integrally provided on the shackle 3 in parallel, and the shackle connecting piece 9 of the lever shackle 4 is rotatably inserted into the bracket through shaft 15 and the eye through shaft 13.Thus, the mounting of the shackle 3, the lever shackle 4 and the leaf spring 1 can be carried out very easily, so that an excellent mounting ability is ensured.For illustration, as shown in FIG. 3, a mounting sleeve 17 is connected to the bracket through shaft 15 and the eye through shaft 13 to allow more uniform and less noise rotational movement.As the span of the leaf spring 1 becomes shorter, the elastic member 5 is installed at a position where the elastic member 5 is further compressed (i.e., further pressurized) by the pressing lever 11. That is, the elastic member 5 can be further pressurized by the compression caused by the pressing member 11.That is, as illustrated in FIG. 5, since a left spring eye of the leaf spring 1 is fixed in a state of being able to rotate only, when the wheel W moves upward relative to the frame 2 of the vehicle due to a payload, the leaf spring 1 is deformed into an arc shape, thereby shortening the span. Thereby, the shackle 3 and the lever crochet 4 are rotated clockwise, and when the lever crochet 4 is rotated, the pressing lever 11 of the lever crochet 4 eliminates the movable gap G and pressurizes the elastic member 5.For illustration, FIG. 6 shows a comparison between the unloaded state in FIG. 4 and the loaded state in FIG. 5, and shows the loaded state as a broken line.In the present embodiment, the elastic member 5 is inserted into and fixed to a spring mounting bush 21 installed on a spring bracket 19 fixed to the frame 2.In addition, the push lever 11 of the lever crochet 4 is bent and extends in a direction perpendicular to the shackle link 9, and an end portion of the push lever 11 pressurizes the elastic member 5 inserted into the spring mounting bush 21 when the shackle link 9 is rotated about the bracket through shaft 15.That is, in the present embodiment, the lever crochet 4 is installed at a rear side of the leaf spring 1 of the vehicle, the shackle joint 9 of the lever crochet 4 is disposed to extend vertically based on the bracket through shaft 15, the push lever 11 extends from an upper end of the shackle joint 9 toward a rear side of the vehicle, and the elastic member 5 is fixed to an upper rear side of the bracket through shaft 15 through the spring bracket 19 and the spring mounting bush 21.Here, the elastic member 5 may be made of a material such as urethane.As described above, the elastic member 5 provides a spring rigidity greater than the spring rigidity of the leaf spring 1, whereby as the displacement of the wheel W moving upward toward the frame 2 increases, the spring rigidity K 1 of the leaf spring 1 gradually increases, as illustrated in FIG. 7. When the lever crochet 4 starts to press the elastic member 5, a spring rigidity K2 of the elastic member 5 acts, and thus an excellent ride comfort can be provided in a range in which the spring rigidity K1 of the leaf spring 1 acts, and an appropriate vehicle height can be obtained despite the payload in a range in which the spring rigidity K2 of the elastic member 5 acts.According to the present disclosure, a vehicle suspension in a vehicle equipped with a leaf spring can provide a double spring rigidity when the vehicle is unloaded and when loaded, so that a smooth ride comfort in the unloaded state and a sufficient vehicle height in loading can be ensured.Various embodiments of the present disclosure do not list all available combinations but serve to describe a representative aspect of the present disclosure, and the descriptions of various embodiments may be applied independently of each other, or the descriptions of two or more embodiments may be combined.Several embodiments have been described above. Nevertheless, it is to be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, suitable results may be achieved when the described techniques are performed in a different order and / or when components in a described system, architecture, apparatus, or circuit are combined in a different manner and / or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents.Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.Although the present disclosure includes specific examples, it will be understood that, upon understanding the disclosure of this application, various changes in form and details may be made in these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples described herein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects in each example are to be considered applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved when the described techniques are performed in a different order and / or when components in a described system, architecture, apparatus, or circuit are otherwise combined and / or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure is not defined by the detailed description, but by the claims and their equivalents, and all variations within the scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included in the disclosure.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedKR 10-2024-0044338

[0001]

Claims

A vehicle suspension, comprising: a leaf spring; a shackle configured to hold the leaf spring to a frame; a lever shackle configured to be rotated by connecting to the shackle; and an elastic member configured to be pressurized by a rotational displacement of the lever shackle.The vehicle suspension of claim 1, wherein the lever crochet comprises: a shackle connector configured to connect a spring eye of the leaf spring to a shackle mounting bracket of the frame; and a push lever configured to extend from the shackle connector and to pressurize the elastic member.The vehicle suspension of claim 2, wherein an eye through shaft is rotatably inserted into the spring eye of the leaf spring, wherein a first side of the eye through shaft is supported on the shackle, and wherein a second side of the eye through shaft is supported on the shackle link of the lever shackle.The vehicle suspension according to claim 3, further comprising: a bracket through shaft, wherein the bracket through shaft is configured to extend through the shackle mounting bracket, and the eye through shaft is integrally provided on the shackle and parallel to the bracket through shaft, and wherein the shackle connecting piece of the lever shackle is rotatably inserted into the bracket through shaft and the eye through shaft.The vehicle suspension according to claim 4, wherein the elastic member is installed at a position where the elastic member is further pressurized by the pressing lever as a span of the leaf spring becomes shorter.The vehicle suspension according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the elastic member is installed at a position where the elastic member is compressed by the compression lever as a span of the leaf spring becomes shorter to pressurize the elastic member.The vehicle suspension according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the elastic member is inserted into and fixed to a spring mounting bush fixed to a spring bracket fixed to the frame.The vehicle suspension according to claim 7, wherein the push lever of the lever crochet is configured to bend and extend in a direction perpendicular to the shackle link, and wherein when the shackle link is rotated about the bracket through shaft, an end portion of the push lever is arranged to press the elastic member inserted into the spring mounting bush.The vehicle suspension according to claim 8, wherein the lever crochet is installed at a rear side of the leaf spring of a vehicle having the vehicle suspension, wherein the shackle link of the lever crochet is long in the vertical direction on the basis of the bracket through shaft and the push lever extends from an upper end of the shackle link toward a rear side of the vehicle, and wherein the elastic member is fixed to an upper rear side of the bracket through shaft of the vehicle through the spring bracket and the spring mounting bush.The vehicle suspension according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the lever crochet is configured to form a movable gap between the lever crochet and the elastic member when a vehicle having the vehicle suspension is in an unloaded state, and to pressurize the elastic member when the movable gap is removed as the vehicle approaches a loaded state.The vehicle suspension according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the elastic member has a first spring stiffness greater than a second spring stiffness of the leaf spring.

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