Suspension system for a truck cab

• US 20060261639A1
• Filed: 01/05/2006
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: C.R.F. Societa Consortile Per Azioni
• Original Assignee: C.R.F. Societa Consortile Per Azioni
• Inventors: Butera, Francesco, Alacqua, Stefano, Biasiotto, Marco
• Granted Patent: US 7,232,180 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 296/190.70
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 33/0604 Cabs insulated against vibrations or noise, e.g. with elastic suspension resilient connections between superstructure sub-units B62D27/04; damping noise in general G10K11/00; for vehicles in general B60R13/08
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 9/145 involving only rotary movement of the effective parts wing closers or openers with fluid brakes of the rotary type E05F3/14
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 9/535 Magnetorheological [MR] fluid dampers springs comprising magnetorheological [MR] elastomers F16F1/361

Abstract

A suspension system for the cab of a lorry comprises a rotational damper preferably of a magneto-rheological type.

Claims

1. A suspension system for the cab of a lorry comprising:

at least one arm mounted oscillating on the chassis of the lorry and connected to the structure of the cab; and

elastic means and shock-absorbing means operatively set between the oscillating arm and the chassis of the lorry,

said system wherein said shock-absorbing means comprise a fluid rotational damper.

2. The suspension system according to claim 1, wherein said rotational damper is of the type that uses a magneto-rheological fluid, comprising:

an external casing;

a blade piston mounted oscillating in the cavity inside the casing, which defines two operative chambers that communicate with one another through passages made in the blade piston;

electrical-supply means for the generation of a magnetic field, associated to the blade piston; and

electronic-control means for activating said electrical-supply means according to the operating conditions of the vehicle.

3. The suspension system according to claim 2, wherein the aforesaid elastic means are constituted by a leaf spring having a part for attachment to the chassis of the vehicle and an end co-operating with said oscillating arm.

4. The suspension system according to claim 3, wherein it comprises a front suspension and a rear suspension, at least one of which being provided with the aforesaid rotational damper.

5. The suspension system according to claim 4, wherein the front suspension comprises a pair of longitudinal arms mounted oscillating about one and the same axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and connected at their free ends to the opposite ends of a transverse torsion bar, the structure of the cab of the vehicle being mounted so that it can turn about said torsion bar to enable tipping-up of the cab, each oscillating arm being rigidly connected to the blade piston of a respective rotational damper, and said leaf spring being set transverse to the longitudinal direction, with its central part anchored to the chassis of the vehicle and the opposite ends co-operating with the ends of the two oscillating arms underneath the latter.

6. The suspension system according to claim 4, wherein the rear suspension comprises a pair of oscillating transverse arms, mounted oscillating about two axes parallel to the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle and each rigidly connected to the casing of a respective rotational damper, the blade piston of each damper being rigidly connected to the chassis of the vehicle, said leaf spring being set transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, with its central part anchored to the chassis of the vehicle and opposite ends co-operating with said oscillating transverse arms.

7. The suspension system according to claim 3, wherein set between said leaf spring and the structure of the vehicle is at least one air spring for control of the orientation of the cab.