Leaf Spring Blocking Portion Axle Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle suspension systems with single leaf springs lack safety as they fail to maintain the vehicle axle's longitudinal position if the leaf spring breaks, posing safety risks during operation.
Innovation Solution
A suspension system design where the leaf spring has a narrower rear end portion that can slide longitudinally but a wider blocking portion forward of the rear end, preventing rearward movement if the leaf spring breaks, ensuring the axle remains partially secured and allowing safe stopping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a single leaf spring is used to reduce weight and cost, then weight and manufacturing cost are reduced, but safety is compromised because the axle cannot be maintained in the longitudinal direction if the leaf spring breaks
Solution Approach 1:
The leaf spring is designed with non-uniform width along its length. The blocking portion has a greater width than other portions, creating a local structural feature that prevents rearward movement of the axle if the spring breaks, while maintaining overall lightweight design
Solution Approach 2:
The wider blocking portion is pre-positioned on the leaf spring at a location forward of the rear end portion. This preliminary structural feature ensures that if a break occurs, the axle is automatically prevented from moving rearward beyond a certain point, providing safety without requiring additional components
2Reliability
If the leaf spring rear end portion width is increased to prevent rearward movement, then safety is improved, but the ability to accommodate axle vertical movements is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The leaf spring features localized width variation: the rear end portion maintains a smaller first width to allow longitudinal sliding and accommodate vertical movements, while a blocking portion forward of the rear end has a greater second width to prevent excessive rearward movement, thus resolving the contradiction between safety and adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The leaf spring is effectively segmented into different functional zones with different widths. The rear end portion with smaller width handles longitudinal movement and vertical accommodation, while the blocking portion with larger width provides safety restraint, allowing both functions to coexist
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a suspension system of a vehicle axle, comprising: a leaf spring (11); a rear attachment device (24) configured to be secured to a vehicle frame (2) and comprising two parallel walls (40) spaced apart along a transverse direction by a distance (d). A rear end portion (14) of the leaf spring (11) is received in the rear attachment device (24), between said walls (40), and is capable of sliding longitudinally relative to the rear attachment device. The leaf spring rear end portion (14) has a first width (w1) which is smaller than the distance (d), and the leaf spring (11) has a second width (w2) which is greater than the distance (d), at least in a blocking portion (30) of the leaf spring (11) located forward of the rear end portion (14).