International Truck Intellectual Property Company, LLC

Inernational Truck and Engine Corporation

Anthony D Sutton

Joseph Stork Smith

Michael Edward Stagg

Burnell L Bender

Steven W Fuller

Benjamin S Puterbaugh

Randall L Schreiber

Dale L Kuhn

Brian M Millard

Brandi L Grimm

A steering shaft () has an end toward a driver of the vehicle and is arranged to turn about an axis () to steer a vehicle. A hub () of a steering wheel assembly () is fastened to that end of the shaft. A spoke pattern of one or more spokes () extends away from the hub to a rim () that when grasped by the driver and turned, turns the shaft to steer the vehicle. With the rim turned to a position that steers the vehicle in a straight line of travel, the spoke pattern assumes a position of at least approximate symmetry with respect to a vertical plane through the axis. An escutcheon () covers the one or more spokes to prevent the driver from having an unobstructed view of the one or more spokes and is positionable within a range of positions relative to the one or more spokes. The escutcheon is secured in a position within that range that presents to the driver an appearance of having essentially exact symmetry with respect to the vertical plane when the rim is in the position that steers the vehicle in a straight line of travel.

Escutcheon for making a steering wheel spoke appear symmetric about a vertical plane through the steering wheel axis when a vehicle is being steered in a straight line

A control for raising and lowering a lift axle ( ) on a motor vehicle ( ) having an ignition switch ( ) for turning the motor on and off. The control has a circuit ( ) that is fed through the ignition switch when the ignition switch is on but not when the ignition switch is off and that has a first switch device ( F) that requires actuation to enable the lift axle to be lowered and a second switch device ( D) that, once the first switch device has been actuated to enable the lift axle to be lowered, is effective upon being actuated to cause the lift axle to be lowered. Placement of the vehicle transmission in reverse automatically raises the lift axle if it has been lowered.

Lift axle control

A hood isolator designed for a motor vehicle allows tighter clearances between the hood and cab mounting brackets of a motor vehicle while reducing stress on the hood front hood hinge. The hood isolator comprises a bracket with a mounting plate, a front plate and an intermediate plate therebetween. A receptor cup is located at least partially within the bracket. The receptor cup has a wall and an opening at one end. A connector extends from the receptor cup wall to the inside of the bracket and is preferably compressed between the wall and the bracket. An isolator arm has a head at one end and an opposite distal end. The head fits at least partially within the receptor cup through the opening. The isolator arm mounts to the vehicle opposite the head, while the bracket preferably mounts to hood with the mounting plate.

Hood locating isolator

Two and four point truck cab suspensions comprise combined spring/damping element units at at least the rear corners of the cab, and preferably at all four corners of the cab.

Truck cab suspension system

A truck cab suspension system provides improved lateral location of the cab and restrains the cab from detachment from the vehicle chassis during accidents. The suspension system offers simplification over the prior art by providing a lateral locating wheel set in a vertical travel between the chassis and the vehicle cab. The travel provides a backup link between cab and chassis. The locating wheel is cushioned to provide bumper like protection for lateral, and both up and down vertical shocks.

Truck cab suspension with lateral locating wheel

A cab body mounting ( ) in a vehicle has a frame-side bracket ( ) attached to a chassis frame side rail ( ) and a body-side bracket ( ) attached to a cab body rail ( ). An elastomeric bushing ( ) and a fastener ( ) associate brackets so as to allow limited motion between them accompanied by bushing deformation. Bracket ( ) has an upright wall ( ) that is spaced a distance from an end ( E) of rail ( ). A sufficiently large relative acceleration of the body on the frame, such as during a frontal impact, will cause an edge portion of bracket ( ) to abut wall ( ), which arrests further movement of the bracket in the fore-aft direction, and thereby shares the loading that is being imposed on the mounting due to the acceleration force. This occurs before the stress in the shank of fastener ( ) reaches the characteristic maximum allowable shearing stress for the fastener material.

Cab body mounting having a load sharing feature for limiting shearing stress in a fastener of the mounting

A suspension system for a vehicle tandem axle has air springs positioned adjacent the ends of the trailing and lead axles of the tandem axle. Pairs of air springs on each side of the vehicle are pneumatically connected to form a common reservoir. Displacement of the ends of the lead and trailing axles of the tandem axle are averaged to provide a controlling input to air spring pressurization controllers provided for each pair of air springs.

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Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America

Anthony D Sutton