Motor vehicle equipped with a system for controlling the camber of the wheels of the vehicle on a bend

• US 6,467,783 B1
• Filed: 07/17/2000
• Issued: 10/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin
• Original Assignee: Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin
• Inventors: Vernier, Davy, Piffard, Olivier, Gogu, Gregore, Blondelet, Michel, Serra, Loïc
• Primary Examiner(s): English, Peter C.
• Application Number:
  US09/617,892
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: B60/G.326, B60/G 2.105, 280/124.103, 280/124.106, 280/124.111, 280/124.112, 280/124.113, 280/124.135, 280/124.136, 280/124.138, 280/124.139, 280/124.142, 280/124.143, 280/5.521
• US Class Current: 280/124.106
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 21/007 means for adjusting the wheel inclination
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 21/05 between wheels on the same axle but on different sides of the vehicle, i.e. the left and right wheel suspensions being interconnected
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2200/144 with two lateral arms forming a parallelogram
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2200/46 camber angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/143 on the vehicle body or chassis
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/15 Mounting of subframes
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/422 Links for mounting suspension elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/82 left and right unit on same axle
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/8302 Mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2206/605 Flexible constructions
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 3/20 all arms being rigid

Abstract

A motor vehicle fitted with a system for controlling the camber (θ) of the wheels of the vehicle on a bend, including, for each wheel of at least one front axle and/or rear axle of the vehicle, a suspension having a pair of suspension upper and lower arms, articulated at their outboard ends to a hub carrier and attached at their inboard ends to the body of the vehicle. The lower and upper arms of each pair are articulated at their respective inboard ends to a pivot transfer lever which is, in turn, mounted on the body by an articulation, the axis of rotation of which is contained in a longitudinal and vertical plane of the vehicle, the pivot transfer lever being capable of pivoting in such a way as to incline the wheels on the appropriate side.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle having a system for controlling the camber of at least one pair of front or rear wheels of the vehicle running on a bend, said vehicle comprising:

a body;

front and rear axles each having a pair of hub carriers, each hub carrier carrying one wheel of said pair of front or rear wheels of the vehicle; and

for each wheel of at least one of said front and rear axles, a suspension means for linking a corresponding one of said hub carriers to said body, each of said suspension means having a pair of suspension arms including an upper arm and a lower arm, each of said upper and lower arms having an outboard end articulated to said corresponding one of said hub carriers and an inboard end articulated to a pivot transfer lever, the inboard end of said upper arm being articulated at a first point of said pivot transfer lever and the inboard end of said lower arm being articulated at a second point of said pivot transfer lever located below said first point, said pivot transfer lever being mounted on said body by an articulation device defining an axis of rotation which extends in a longitudinal and vertical plane of the vehicle at a level below said second point of the pivot transfer lever, said pivot transfer lever being capable of pivoting about said axis of rotation in such a way as to incline the wheel carried by said corresponding one of said hub carriers toward a right or left side of the vehicle depending on whether the vehicle is running on a bend to the right or to the left.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said pivot transfer lever has an upper free end and a lower end, and wherein the inboard end of said upper arm is articulated approximately at the upper free end of said pivot transfer lever, the inboard end of said lower arm is articulated at an intermediate point on the pivot transfer lever, between its lower and upper ends, said pivot transfer lever being articulated to said body of the vehicle approximately at the lower end of said pivot transfer lever.

3. A vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the ratio between the distance (l) separating the lower end and the intermediate point of said pivot transfer lever and the distance (L) separating the upper and lower ends of said pivot transfer lever, is chosen so that a centrifugal force applied to said body of the vehicle will automatically, by reaction, cause said pivot transfer lever to incline itself toward the inside of the bend.

4. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein two pairs of suspension arms associated respectively with two transversely opposed front or rear wheels of said front or rear axle of the vehicle are articulated to two separate pivot transfer levers, said pivot transfer levers being articulated on said body at points spaced apart in a transverse direction of the vehicle, said two pairs of suspension arms and said two separate pivot transfer levers forming a suspension which is symmetric with respect to a central, vertical, longitudinal plane of the vehicle.

5. A vehicle according to claim 4, wherein said two separate pivot transfer levers are connected together by a connecting rod to form, with said pivot transfer levers and said body, an articulated parallelogram.

6. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein each hub carrier of said front axle is linked to said body by one said pair of suspension arms, and the suspension arms of said pair are connected at their outboard end to the corresponding hub carrier by ball joint connections, a steering rod being connected to said corresponding hub carrier, and a damper connecting said body to the upper arm of said pair of suspension arms.

7. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein each hub carrier of said rear axle is linked to said body by one said pair of suspension arms, and the lower arm of said pair is connected to the corresponding hub carrier by a connection with just one axis of articulation parallel to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a damper connects the upper arm of said pair of suspension arms to said body.

8. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said control system comprises an elastic link with limited torsional deformation, connecting said pivot transfer lever to said body at said articulation device, so that said elastic link returns said pivot transfer lever to an approximately vertical and longitudinal plane of the vehicle when the vehicle is running in a straight line, and limits the inclination of said pivot transfer lever with respect to said plane, when the vehicle is running on a bend, the inclination of said pivot transfer lever on a bend being brought about by reaction to a centrifugal force applied to the vehicle body.

9. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said control system comprises an actuator carried by said body of the vehicle and connected to said pivot transfer lever, said actuator being capable of influencing the angular position of said pivot transfer lever on a bend.

10. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said suspension means comprises a suspension spring means mounted between one of said suspension arms and said body of the vehicle, said suspension spring means being articulated with respect to said one suspension arm.

11. A vehicle according to claim 10, wherein said suspension spring means is articulated with respect to said body.

12. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein two pairs of suspension arms associated respectively with two transversely opposed front or rear wheels of said front or rear axle of the vehicle are articulated to said pivot transfer lever which is common to said two pairs of suspension arms and which is located centrally between said two pairs of suspension arms.

13. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said pivot transfer lever is articulated with respect to said body of the vehicle in such a way that rotation of said pivot transfer lever with respect to said body is about an instantaneous axis of rotation separate from mechanical articulation points of said pivot transfer lever, said instantaneous axis of rotation of said pivot transfer lever being located below the level of said mechanical articulation points.

14. A vehicle according to claim 13, wherein said instantaneous axis of rotation of said pivot transfer lever is horizontal.

15. A vehicle according to claim 13, wherein said instantaneous axis of rotation of said pivot transfer lever is inclined in order to induce a steering effect.

16. A vehicle according to claim 13, wherein said articulation device comprises a pair of rods, each rod of said pair of rods having a lower end articulated to said pivot transfer lever and an upper end articulated to said body of the vehicle, and the two rods of said pair of rods converging downward at a point corresponding to said instantaneous axis of rotation.

17. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said axis of rotation, defined by said articulation device, is placed at a level below the ground.

18. A motor vehicle having a control system for controlling the camber of at least one pair of front or rear wheels of the vehicle running on a bend, said vehicle comprising:

a body;

front and rear axles each having a pair of hub carriers, each hub carrier carrying one wheel of said pair of front or rear wheels of the vehicle; and

for each wheel of at least one of said front and rear axles, a suspension means for linking a corresponding one of said hub carriers to said body, said suspension means having an outboard end articulated to said corresponding one of said hub carriers and an inboard end pivotally attached to said body;

wherein each suspension means is articulated to said body with a degree of freedom in rotation about an axis parallel to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle in order to vary the camber of the associated wheel;

wherein said suspension means inclines said associated wheel with respect to ground toward the inside of the bend under effect of a centrifugal force applied to said body; and

wherein each said suspension means has at least one suspension arm having an outboard end articulated to said corresponding one of said hub carriers and an inboard end articulated to a point of a pivot transfer lever, said pivot transfer lever being mounted on said body by an articulation device defining an axis of rotation which extends in a longitudinal and vertical plane of the vehicle at a level below said point of the pivot transfer lever, said pivot transfer lever being capable of pivoting about said axis of rotation in such a way as to incline the wheel carried by said corresponding one of said hub carriers toward a right or left side of the vehicle depending on the vehicle running on a right or left bend.

19. A vehicle according to claim 18, wherein said control system comprises an elastic return means for urging said associated wheel in an approximately vertical and longitudinal plane of the vehicle when said vehicle is running in a straight line, and for limiting the inclination of said associated wheel with respect to ground when the vehicle is running on a bend.

20. A vehicle according to claim 18, wherein said axis of rotation, defined by said articulation device, is placed at a level below ground level.