Coincident Axis Suspension for Compact Driven Wheel Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing independent wheel suspensions for non-steerable driven wheels in two-track vehicles require significant installation space due to the design of conventional wheel-guiding links and transmission arrangements, limiting space availability within the vehicle.
Innovation Solution
The independent wheel suspension design features links that extend essentially in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, with a connecting shaft and drive shaft axis of rotation coinciding, allowing for a concentric arrangement that minimizes space requirements, and incorporates a transmission system where at least part of the gear stages are located within the wheel rim, reducing the need for additional space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If conventional wheel-guiding links and transmission arrangements are used, then the suspension can perform its wheel-guiding function, but significant installation space is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the wheel-guiding link function and the transmission function into a single integrated structure. The connecting shaft serves dual purposes: it connects the two links for wheel guidance while simultaneously serving as the drive shaft for the transmission system. This consolidation eliminates separate components and reduces the overall installation space required.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission system is nested within the space enclosed by the wheel rim, with gear stages arranged concentrically around the connecting shaft. The first and second gear wheels are positioned within the wheel structure, utilizing the available radial space efficiently. This nesting approach allows the transmission to occupy minimal additional space beyond what is already required for the wheel assembly.
2Volume of moving object
If the axis of rotation of the connecting shaft coincides with the axis of rotation of the connecting member, then installation space is minimized, but the structural design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting shaft is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the connecting member between the two links for wheel guidance, serves as the drive shaft for the transmission system, and provides the axis of rotation for the gear wheels. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the overall structural design despite the coincident axes requirement.
Solution Approach 2:
The suspension system is segmented into functional modules: the connecting shaft assembly that handles both wheel guidance and power transmission, and the nested gear stages within the wheel rim. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized independently while maintaining the space-efficient coincident axis configuration.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a single-wheel suspension of a non-steerable driven wheel of a two-track vehicle, comprising two control arms which extend in a kinematic view in a vertical projection substantially in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and which due to the mounting thereof can each be pivoted in a substantially vertical plane, wherein a wheel bearing carrying the wheel is attached directly or indirectly to the first control arm, and the first end section of said first control arm is supported via a pendulum support, which in the construction position extends at least approximately in the vertical direction, or via an A-arm having a broadened base, on the vehicle structure, and wherein the other second control arm is supported with only one kinematic rotation degree of freedom in an articulated manner on the vehicle structure and is connected with only one kinematic rotation degree of freedom in an articulated manner to the first control arm between the wheel bearing and the attachment point of the pendulum support via a connecting member which constitutes a rotational axis, and wherein at least the first control arm is located, at least with the section thereof extending from the wheel bearing to the connecting member, inside the space delimited or described by a wheel rim, and wherein the wheel can be driven via a drive shaft and a gear mechanism which adjoins said drive shaft and is arranged at least partially inside the space delimited or described by the wheel rim and which comprises at least two transmission steps which are offset from each other in the axial direction of the wheel and formed by gear wheels. The rotational axis of a connection shaft connecting the second gear wheel of the first transmission step to the first gear wheel of the second transmission step coincides with the rotational axis represented by the connection element of the two control arms.