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Automobile racing suspension systemRelated Patent Categories: Amusement Devices: Games, Including Means For Processing Electronic Data (e.g., Computer/video Game, Etc.), In A Chance Application, Lot Match Or Lot Combination (e.g., Roulette, Lottery, Etc.), Plural Lots (e.g., Keno, Etc.), Plural Matches Create Pattern (e.g., Bingo, Etc.)Automobile racing suspension system description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060046826, Automobile racing suspension system. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to automotive suspension systems, and more particularly, to suspension systems for sports and racing cars. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Automotive suspension systems 90 of the prior art utilize front and rear springs to suspend the weight of the vehicle. The suspension springs 92 used on typical cars and trucks are constructed in a variety of types, shapes, sizes, rates, and capacities, including leaf springs, coil springs, air springs, and torsion bars. These suspension springs 92 are used in sets of four for each vehicle, or they may be paired off in various combinations and attached by any of several different mounting systems and techniques. As best shown in FIG. 1, common suspension systems 90 of the prior art also contains shock absorbers and/or struts 94, and sway bars. Improvements in suspension and steering, increased strength and durability of components, and advances in tire design and construction have made large contributions to riding comfort and to safe driving. [0003] The suspension system 90 of the prior art has two basic functions, to keep the wheels of a vehicle in firm contact with the road surface and to provide a comfortable ride. One of the key components in a suspension system is springs. Under normal conditions, the springs support the body of the car evenly by compressing and rebounding with every up-and-down movement. This up-and-down movement, however, causes bouncing and swaying after each bump and is very uncomfortable. These undesirable effects are reduced by one or more shock absorbers 94. [0004] However, in the case of racing vehicles that run at high speed which typically utilize pushrod suspension systems, the conditions are very different. At speeds in excess of about 50 miles per hour, the impact is no longer a "push" but a sudden, violent thrust. Of all the methods currently in use to control an un-sprung wheel assembly given vehicle weight, road surface irregularity and lateral forces, the push-rod-to-compression-spring via fulcrum or rocker is the least effective and the most undesirable at speeds in excess of 50 mph. The reason is that the push rod impact first strikes a fulcrum causing a seizure moment on the center pin/pedestal journal. By the time the weakened impact encounters the static coil springs, another surface irregularity is encountered. As a result, the tires are forced to absorb both impacts. This causes undesirable stresses to both vehicle and driver. [0005] The stresses imposed on the vehicle and passengers are difficult to evaluate, they are inevitably harmful to overall structural integrity of the vehicle. In addition, those stresses are exerted at an approximately 45-degree angle to the outer section of the lower A-frame, which contributes to side drift and surface skid of the wheels. This type of situation can be particularly critical in performance of racing vehicles, primarily due to the fact that racing vehicles such as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (PRIOR ART) have a very low center of gravity, thus making them inherently susceptible to side drift and surface skid. [0006] FIG. 1 is a representative schematic view showing a common mechanism 80 of automotive suspension system of the prior art. FIG. 2 is a representative view showing a common assembly of suspension system 90 of racing vehicles of the prior art. [0007] The wheel assemblies are supported by upper and lower `A` shaped arms 88. The entire mechanism is a basic lever system that allows the spindles 86 to travel vertically up and down. When that occurs, they also have a slight side-to-side motion caused by the arc which the levers scribe around their pivot point. This side-to-side motion is known as scrub. Coil springs 82 has as its primary duty to absorb the loads and motion induced by the wheels' encounter with bumps, holes, and uneven surfaces, and to help keep the tires in firm contact with the pavement under a variety of operating condition. It is in the nature of a coil spring 82 to store the energy of the load or shock it absorbs, and then release that energy again by returning to its original shape and size. In practical application, in fact, coil spring 82 will not just return to its relaxed position, but will overshoot that, and continue to oscillate back and forth from a compressed condition to an extended condition through several diminishing cycles until the original energy absorbed is finally dissipated. Shock absorbers 84 which contain hydraulic fluid are motion damping devices that dampens the oscillations of coil springs 82 by expending energy through its own movement. ADVANTAGES AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] The present invention provides significantly more control of vehicles on wet surfaces, or where aerodynamic down-force or ground effects cannot be effectively utilized. Therefore, mechanical down-force should be maximized where possible, resulting in better cornering, driver control and comfort and minimized jarring, abrupt or otherwise violent wheel flutter on chicanes, curves or track corrugations and/or corrugated surfaces. [0009] The present invention comprises a suspension system with two parallel, helical pull-springs closely coupled to the highest, outermost point of the vertical linkage, having either a left or a right hand coil helix working in unison or sequentially. An object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a mechanism to control or provide greater security of un-sprung wheel assembly and lateral weight transfer. [0010] An object and advantage of the present invention is to keep the tires of high speed vehicles on the road surface for the greatest possible percentage of circuit distance. In airborne wheels which are un-controlled, surface protrusions and bumps in the road are most often the cause of upward vertical travel. Additionally, the forward speed of the vehicle has the natural tendency to lift the wheel assembly. Indentations ("potholes"), depressions at high speeds are encountered on the forward side and are therefore upward thrust. The result is undesirable vertical lift of the assembly and the present invention provides an appropriate intervention required for better and improved control and road handling. [0011] Another object and advantage of the present invention is to prevent high speed vehicles, which have low center of gravity, from side drift and surface skid. The prevent invention provides a counter-balanced stress that is directed at approximately a 45 degree angle to the outer section of the lower A-frame of a vehicle. The stress can be expressed as a vector having comparable magnitude and opposing direction as the forces on the vehicle caused by the road and racing the vehicle at high speeds, around curves, etc. [0012] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is an automotive racing vehicle suspension system coupled between a vehicle body and a rotatable wheel, the suspension system comprising: an upper wheel assembly control arm coupled at a proximal end to the vehicle body; a lower A-frame portion rigidly suspended at a proximal end below the upper wheel assembly control arm; a vertical link coupled between a distal end of the upper wheel assembly control arm and a distal end of the lower A-frame portion, the vertical link rotatably coupled to a hub assembly; a leaf spring attached to the upper wheel assembly control arm for providing resilient resistance to vertical motion above or below the upper wheel assembly control arm; at least one shock absorber coupled between the chassis and the lower A-frame portion for providing resilient resistance to motion between the upper wheel assembly control arm and the lower A-frame portion which causes a compressive force in the at least one shock absorber; and at least one pull-spring coupled between the upper wheel assembly control arm and the lower A-frame portion for providing resilient resistance to motion between the upper wheel assembly control arm and the lower A-frame portion which causes a tensile force in the at least one pull-spring. [0013] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one pull-spring is a helical coil spring. [0014] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one pull-spring is an elastic member. [0015] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one shock absorber is coupled between the proximal end of the upper wheel assembly control arm and the distal end of the lower A-frame portion. [0016] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one pull-spring is coupled between the distal end of the upper wheel assembly control arm and the proximal end of the lower A-frame portion. [0017] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one shock absorber is coupled between the distal end of the upper wheel assembly control arm and the proximal end of the lower A-frame portion. [0018] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the leaf spring is partial elliptic. [0019] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the leaf spring is quarter elliptic. [0020] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the leaf spring is slightly arched downward. [0021] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the leaf spring comprises plurality of leaf springs attached to the upper wheel assembly control arm for providing resilient resistance to vertical motion above or below the upper wheel assembly control arm. Continue reading about Automobile racing suspension system... Full patent description for Automobile racing suspension system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Automobile racing suspension system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. 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