SPRING SYSTEM

• US 3,767,181 A
• Filed: 07/07/1971
• Issued: 10/23/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gerrit Johan Van Der Burgt, Jacob Schrier, Johannes T. Hart
• Original Assignee: Gerrit Johan Van Der Burgt, Jacob Schrier, Johannes T. Hart
• Inventors: Van der Burgt, Gerrit Johan, Hart, Johannes T., Schrier, Jacob
• Primary Examiner(s): Marbert, James B.
• Application Number:
  US05/160,332
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 267/136,152,175,176,177,166
• US Class Current: 267/136
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 11/00 Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or kind of springs single wheel suspension by pivoted arm resilient in itself B60G3/00; adjusting spring characteristic B60G17/00; springs per se F16F
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/02 Spring characteristics , e.g. mechanical springs and mechanical adjusting meansB60G17/005, B60G17/015 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2202/112 longitudinally arranged
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/127 with the mounting of springs or dampers moving so that the direction of the related force vector can be changed, thus contributing to a variation of the loading of the wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2500/20 Spring action or springs
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 3/00 Resilient suspensions for a single wheel pivoted suspensions arms per se, attachment thereof to sprung part of the vehicle, buffer means for limiting movement of arms B60G7/00; rigid axle suspensions B60G9/00; characterised by arrangement, location or type of springs B60G11/00
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 1/041 with means for modifying the spring characteristics F16F1/12, F16F3/06 take precedence; fluid regulation of coil spring characteristics in vehicle suspensions B60G17/0272
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 3/02 with springs made of steel or of other material having low internal friction

Abstract

A spring system is proposed which comprises a lever mechanism with a first point of application of a load and a second point of application of a spring force, the lever mechanism bringing about an effective transmission ratio between the displacement of the first point and that of the second point, which ratio is adjustable so that the compression of the spring system and hence distance of the load from a reference plane can be maintained constant. In a preferred embodiment the system comprises a bell crank lever which co-operates with guide means to perform a translatory and a rotary movement in response to a displacement of said first point, the action of said guide means being adjustable.

Claims

1. An adjustable spring system, comprising a frame, a lever mechanism pivotably mounted in said frame, in which said lever mechanism is adapted for supporting a load, spring means acting between said lever mechanism and said frame to counteract the displacement of the load, further comprising adjusting means for changing the effective transmission ratio between the displacement of the load and the displacement of the spring means, characterized in that said adjusting means are arranged in such a way that with variable loads the height of the load and at same time the natural frequency of vibration of the load and spring means are adjusted for maintaining a predetermined height of the load with a predetermined natural frequency of vibration.

2. A spring system according to claim 1, characterized by two separate levers pivotably mounted in the frame, and extending substantially parallel to each other, in which said levers have spaced pivots and in which the adjusting means comprise a pivoting connection between said levers and adjustable along said levers.

3. A spring system according to claim 1 in which the lever mechanism comprises one single lever on which the load and the spring means act with a constant distance between them and in which the adjusting means are adapted to displace the pivot point between the lever and the frame along the lever.

4. A spring system according to claim 1 in which the pivot point of the lever on which the load acts is mounted fixedly in the frame, and in wHich the spring means is mounted in a holder adjustable substantially longitudinally of the lever and in which the supporting surface in the frame for the spring means makes a variable angle with the lever.

5. A spring system according to claim 12, in which the spring means acts in the plane of the bell-crank lever and the reaction means is constituted by rollers in slots or by arms acting between the frame and the lever and pivoting relatively to these two parts, characterized in that the angle of the paths described by the guide points of the lever is adjustable by turning the position of the guide slot or by changing the place of a pivot of the reaction means, mounted in the frame.

6. A spring system according to claim 12, characterized in that the means for adjusting the reaction means are coupled with means for adjusting the length of the spring means.

7. A spring system according to claim 6, characterized in that the path of adjustment of the reaction means is such that the change in place of the reaction means is accompanied with a change in length of the spring means upon a change of the angular position of the bell-crank lever.

8. A spring system according to claim 6, wherein the spring force acting between the bell crank lever and the frame acts on a support point movable in the frame in the direction of the spring force, which point is displaced together with the displacement of the reaction means owing to a mechanical coupling.

9. A spring system according to claim 1, further comprising a spring directly interposed between the frame and the load, characterized in that the deformation of said directly inter-posed spring can be kept at a given value with changing magnitudes of the load by adjusting the effective spring tension of a spring system according to any one of the preceding claims.

10. A spring system according to claim 4, characterized in that the adjusting means are coupled with the adjustable holder by means of a pivoting rod.

11. A spring system according to claim 1 in which the force of the load acts on the center of a bell-crank lever, substantially parallel to the direction of the force of the spring means acting on one end of the bell-crank lever, and in which reaction means are active between the other end of the bell-crank lever and the frame and in which the reaction means are adjustable to change the direction of the reaction force between the bell-crank lever and the frame and in which the lever cooperates with guiding means to effect a translatory and a rotary movement as a result of a displacement of the load.

12. A spring system according to claim 11 in which the spring means disposed between the frame and the bell-crank lever act on a supporting point mounted for displacement in the frame in the direction of the force of the spring means, comprising a second lever mechanism connected with the adjusting means for the reaction means.

13. A spring system according to claim 11, wherein the load acts on an arm, pivotable about an axis perpendicular to the arm and to the direction in which the load acts, and in a point remote from the point where the load acts on the lever, and in which the bell-crank lever is mounted for pivoting movement about an axis parallel to one arm of the bell-crank lever and parallel to the arm on which the load acts and in which the spring means act on the end of the bell-crank lever and substantially parallel to the direction in which the load acts, and in which the reaction force between the frame and the bell-crank lever acts on a reaction lever pivotable about an axis parallel to the direction in which the load acts.

14. A spring system according to claim 1 in a vehicle in which a wheel is mounted on a wheel guiding arm, pivotably mounted in the vehicle frame, and in which there is disposed a spring means between the vehicle frame and the wheel guiding arm for supporting the load of an empty vehicle, further comprising an adjustable spring system according to claim 23 between the wheel guidinG arm and the vehicle frame for supporting any excess load in the vehicle.

15. A spring system comprising a frame, a bell-crank lever, bearing means for pivotably supporting the bell-crank lever in the frame, spring means between a supporting surface in the frame and a point at one end of the bell-crank lever, transmission means for transmitting to the bell-crank lever the force exercised by the load reaction means between the bell-crank lever and the frame for supporting the reacting force which results from the force of the load and the action of the spring means, further comprising adjusting means for displacing the reaction means between the bell-crank lever and the frame.

16. A spring system according to claim 15 in which the reaction means between the bell-crank lever and the frame act on the center of the bell-crank and in which the other end of the bell-crank lever is movably connected with a further lever pivotably mounted in the frame and on which end the load acts and in which this further lever is mounted substantially in the plane of the bell-crank lever and in which the adjust-ing means are active to displace the pivot point between the center of the bell-crank lever and the frame in the direction of the lever on which the load acts.

17. A spring system according to claim 15, charac-terized in that there is disposed a lever between the parts of the adjusting means which are connected with the frame and the pivot point in the center of the bell-crank lever.

18. A spring system according to claim 15, charac-terized by further spring means disposed between the bell-crank lever and the frame for compensating the action of the spring means when the spring system is adjusted.