Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Gerd Bitz

Dirk Ehrlich

Jürgen Siebeneick

Michael Harder

Werner Brinker

Matthew S Purdy

Wolfgang Stoff

Eckhardt Döhrer

A suspension is provided for non-steered wheels on a motor vehicle body. The suspension includes, but is not limited to a twist-beam rear axle with a Watt linkage. A top rocker arm of the Watt linkage is mounted on the motor vehicle body. The Watt linkage prevents the motor vehicle from oversteering during cornering. The damping bushes can be disconnected in part from wheel-guiding functions as the Watt linkage performs a major part of the wheel guiding functions, which leaves some freedom for designing the characteristics so as to significantly increase motoring comfort.

Twist-beam rear axle comprising an additional Watt linkage

A torsion-beam rear axle of a vehicle, more preferably motor vehicle, is provided with two rigid trailing arms, which with their one end are each mounted on a vehicle body in a manner capable of being swiveled and at the other end of which a wheel carrier is each attached for the rotatable mounting of a vehicle wheel about its wheel center axis, as well as with a torsionally soft cross-tie connecting the two trailing arms with each other. Each wheel carrier, by means of at least three elastic wheel carrier bearings is fixed to the trailing arm when viewed in forward driving direction of the vehicle, at least two wheel carrier bearings are arranged behind the wheel center axis, and at least one wheel carrier bearing is arranged in front of the wheel center axis in such a manner that through the two wheel carrier bearings arranged behind the wheel center axis to define a swivel axis for the swiveling of the wheel carrier relative to the trailing arm.

Torsion-beam rear axle of a vehicle

The present invention makes an improved braking system available. This comprises a brake pedal and/or a servo unit and also incorporates a hydraulic unit including an integrated electronic controller (for short: EBS) and a hydraulically actuated wheel brake associated with each wheel. Hereby, the wheel brakes are connected hydraulically to the electronic hydraulic unit as is also the brake pedal/servo unit. A brake cylinder for the wheel brake is arranged to be prefilled by means of a 'prefill' function in order to at least partly reduce the clearance gap. For the first time hereby, the braking system is provided with a switching device by means of which the 'prefill' function is arranged to be switched on or off in dependence on a selectable operating mode. Moreover, the invention proposes a method for electronically regulating the brakes utilizing such a braking system.

Braking system with EBS and prefill function and electronic braking control method

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Mainz, Germany

Gerd Bitz