IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0752286
(2004-01-06)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Soles,Peter J.
- Kolp,Scott A.
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출원인 / 주소 |
- General Motors Corporation
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
6 인용 특허 :
7 |
초록
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Control arms used to support a swivel member retaining a wheel of a vehicle are attached to the body or frame rail of the vehicle by U-shaped attachment brackets having walls with lateral slots therein, each of which receives a mounting bolt therethrough. The mounting bolts pass through bushings in
Control arms used to support a swivel member retaining a wheel of a vehicle are attached to the body or frame rail of the vehicle by U-shaped attachment brackets having walls with lateral slots therein, each of which receives a mounting bolt therethrough. The mounting bolts pass through bushings in the ends of the control arms to pivot the control arms on the vehicle body or frame rail. Adjacent to the heads of the bolts are pairs of reaction surfaces that in one embodiment of the invention are pairs of opposed projecting surfaces on the attachment brackets. Separate tools are provided which have cams thereon each having a first peripheral cam surface for engaging one of the reaction surfaces and a second peripheral cam surface for engaging the other reaction surface. Upon loosening nuts threaded on the mounting bolts and rotating the cams with levers, socket wrench handles or other drives, the bolts shift laterally in the lateral slots enabling adjustment of the camber and caster of the wheels. In another embodiment, the reaction surfaces are opposite sides of a pin projecting from one of the flanges and the cam is a curved slot within a cam portion of the tool.
대표청구항
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We claim: 1. An alignment arrangement for adjusting alignment of a vehicle wheel, the alignment arrangement supporting on a vehicle body or frame member inboard ends of a control arm that has at an outboard end thereof an axle on which the vehicle wheel is mounted, the alignment arrangement compris
We claim: 1. An alignment arrangement for adjusting alignment of a vehicle wheel, the alignment arrangement supporting on a vehicle body or frame member inboard ends of a control arm that has at an outboard end thereof an axle on which the vehicle wheel is mounted, the alignment arrangement comprising: a) couplings at the inboard ends of the control arm, each coupling consisting essentially of: a bushing through the inboard end of the control arm, the bushing having an axial opening therethrough which receives a mounting bolt having a shank with a head at a first end and a nut at a second end; first and second walls fixed with respect to the body or frame member, the first and second walls having first and second lateral slots, respectively, therein, the first and second slots being of a selected width, for receiving the shank of the mounting bolt therethrough with the head facing the first slot and nut facing the second slot, bearing surfaces around the shank for bearing against the first and second walls when the nut is tightened on the shank; reaction surfaces on one of the walls, the reaction surfaces disposed adjacent to one of the slots, and b) a tool separate from the inboard end of the control arm, the tool comprising: a cam portion for engagement with the reaction surfaces on one of the walls when the tool is in operative cooperation with the control arm by being mounted on the head of the mounting bolt or the nut thereon, the cam portion of the tool having a fixed axis of rotation with respect to the bolt when engaging the reaction surfaces for shifting the bolt in the lateral slots in the walls upon rotating the tool to push against one of the reaction surfaces. 2. The alignment arrangement of claim 1 wherein the head of the bolt or nut is polygonal and the cam portion of the tool has a polygonal opening therethrough complementing the head or nut, wherein when the polygonal opening of the tool is placed over and around the head or nut, the axis of rotation of the bolt becomes the axis of rotation of the tool. 3. The alignment arrangement of claim 1 wherein the reaction surfaces comprise a pair of opposed surfaces facing one another and extending from one of the walls, the cam portion of the tool being positioned between the walls when the tool is engaged with the inboard end of the control arm, wherein when the tool is rotated in a first direction the mounting bolt and control arm move away from the vehicle body or frame member to adjust alignment of the wheel, and when the tool is rotated in a second direction the mounting bolt and control arm move toward the vehicle body or frame member to adjust alignment of the wheel. 4. The alignment arrangement of claim 3 wherein the cam portion of the tool has a socket portion therein for cooperation with a driving lug on a wrench handle or power tool. 5. The alignment arrangement of claim 3 wherein the tool comprises a gear with a first socket portion complementing the head of the mounting bolt and wherein the cam comprises a pair of cooperating racks disposed between the opposed surfaces of the reaction component, each cam having a row of teeth and an oppositely facing cam surface facing one of the opposed surfaces, the gear further having a socket portion for receiving a driving lug of a torque applying tool. 6. The alignment arrangement of claim 1 wherein the reaction surfaces are oppositely facing surfaces on a projection and wherein the cam portion of the tool is a curved slot in a rotational body, which curved slot receives the projection. 7. The alignment arrangement of claim 1 wherein the bearing surfaces are on washers disposed between the head of the bolt and one of the walls and between nut and the other wall. 8. The alignment arrangement of claim 1 wherein the bearing surfaces are radially extending surfaces on at least the head or the nut. 9. The alignment arrangement of claim 1 wherein the shank portion of the bolt is smooth where the bolt passes through the bushing and is threaded beyond the bushing to receive the nut. 10. The alignment arrangement of claim 1 wherein the control arm is a bottom control arm of a suspension having a bottom control arm and a top control arm. 11. The alignment arrangement of claim 1 wherein the control arm is a top control arm of a suspension having a bottom control arm and a top control arm. 12. An alignment arrangement for adjusting alignment of a pair of steerable vehicle wheels, the alignment arrangement being part of a suspension system supporting on a vehicle body or frame member two inboard ends of two control arms that have at outboard ends thereof axles on which the vehicle wheels are mounted, the alignment arrangement comprising: a) couplings at the two inboard ends of the control arms, each coupling consisting essentially of: a bushing through the inboard end of the control arm, the bushing having an axial opening therethrough which receives a mounting bolt having a shank with a head at a first end and a nut at a second end; first and second walls on brackets fixed with respect to the body or frame member, the first and second walls having first and second lateral slots, respectively, therein; the first and second slots being of a selected width for receiving the shank of the mounting bolt therethrough with the head facing the first slot and nut facing the second slot, bearing surfaces around the shank for bearing against the first and second walls when the nut is tightened on the shank, reaction surfaces on one of the walls, the reaction surfaces dispose adjacent to one of the slots, and b) a pair of tools separate from the inboard ends of the control arms, the tools comprising: cam portions for engagement with the reaction surfaces on the walls of the couplings when the tools are in operative cooperation with the control arms by being mounted on the heads of the mounting bolts or the nuts thereon, the cam portions of the tools having fixed axes of rotation with respect to the bolts when engaging the reaction surfaces for shifting the bolts in the lateral slots in the walls upon rotating the tools to push against the reaction surfaces. 13. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the bearing surfaces are on washers disposed between the heads of the bolts and one of the walls and between the nuts and the other walls. 14. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the bearing surfaces are radially extending surfaces on at least one of the heads and nuts. 15. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the shank portions of the bolts are smooth where the bolts pass through the bushings and are threaded beyond the bushings to receive the nuts. 16. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the control arms are bottom control arms of a suspension having bottom control arms and top control arms. 17. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the control arms are top control arms of a suspension having bottom control arms and top control arms. 18. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the first reaction surface is the edge of a notch through one of the walls. 19. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the brackets each have flanges thereon, one of which flanges is welded to the top of the frame rail the other of which flanges is welded to the side of the frame rail and has a surface thereon which provides one of the reaction surfaces engageable by a cam surface of one of the tools. 20. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the suspension system is a front wheel suspension system. 21. The alignment arrangement of claim 12 wherein the suspension system is a rear wheel suspension system.
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