Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Rainer Souschek

Thomas Gerhards

Daniel Mainz

Ralf Hintzen

Friedrich Peter Wolf-Monheim

Paul Zandbergen

Alberto Girelli Consolaro

Marc Simon

Edmund Halfmann

Nicole Zandbergen

Robert Spahl

Martin Saeger

Guenter Hans Grosch

Raphael Koch

Philipp Wolf

Michael Frantzen

Theo Kueppers

Wolfgang David

Tobias Ricke

Brian Chen

Jacopo Palandri

Alexandra Gatzweiler

Bjoern Reff

Pascal Brandt

An assembly includes a vehicle frame having a middle section, a front-section vehicle-forward of the middle section, and a rear section vehicle-rearward of the middle section. The middle section has frame rails spaced from each other and cross-beams extending from one frame rail toward the other frame rail. The frame rails each having a vehicle-forward end and a vehicle-rearward end. The assembly includes one or more electric-vehicle batteries. At least one of the batteries is in one of the cross-beams. The assembly includes two front nodes between and directly connected to the middle section and the front section and two rear nodes between and directly connected to the middle section and the rear section.

Vehicle frame including internal battery compartments

A bearing eye for a leaf spring for sprung support of a vehicle component on a vehicle body of a vehicle may include a through opening and a torsion spring therein, and a first catch. The bearing eye may provide pivotable mounting of the leaf spring on the vehicle body. The torsion spring is twistable relative to the bearing eye and connectable non-rotatably to the vehicle body. The first catch may project radially inwardly into the through opening, and the torsion spring has a second catch that projects radially outwardly into the through opening. The first and second catches may form a locking engagement which, depending on a degree of relative twisting between the bearing eye and the torsion spring, stops the relative twisting.

Bearing eye for a leaf spring and leaf spring having a bearing eye

The disclosure concerns a spring assembly with a leaf spring. The leaf spring extends in a vehicle longitudinal axis, supports a vehicle axle and is connected at least indirectly to a vehicle superstructure at a front end and at a rear end. In order to provide a wheel suspension with advantageous springing and damping behavior that is optimized with regard to weight and complexity, according to the disclosure it is provided that at least one damping region, which is at least partially fluid-filled, is integrated in the leaf spring.

Spring assembly for a vehicle suspension

An axle suspension for a vehicle includes a spring assembly with a leaf spring and a connecting arm, wherein the leaf spring supports a vehicle axle and, on an end side, is pivotably connected to a vehicle structure and pivotably connected to the connecting arm. In order to provide an optimized axle suspension with two-stage suspension, the spring assembly in a region of the connecting arm has a first stop element and the vehicle structure has a second stop element, which stop elements under normal load of the vehicle are spaced apart from one another and, when a limit load is exceeded, contact one another, whereby at least one stop element is elastically deformable.

Dual-rate leaf spring suspension for a vehicle

There is provided a control arm comprising a shell-like shell of a first material and a reinforcement of a plastic material, wherein the reinforcement has a flex-element which protrudes therefrom and which can be supported or guided by means of a vehicle structure in order in the event of jounce and/or rebound of the suspension to produce a resilient action equivalent to a conventional spring.

Suspension control arm with integrated resilient element

A wheel suspension link including a structure connection location for connecting the link to a vehicle structure and a wheel carrier connection location connecting the link to a wheel carrier. The structure connection location and wheel carrier connection location arranged on a link member extending along a link plane. The link member including a base member formed in a materially integral manner from a discontinuously reinforced plastic material. The link member including a reinforcement, containing continuous fibers, connected to the reinforced plastic material. In one embodiment, the reinforcement limited with respect to the link plane to a first region of the link member while the base member extends into a second region.

Wheel suspension link

A leaf spring assembly resiliently supporting a wheel carrier on a vehicle body of a motor vehicle. The leaf spring assembly including first and second spring leaves and a clamp having a clamping part exerting a clamping force whereby the first and second spring leaves are held together by the clamp. A bridging part arranged between the first spring leaf and the clamping part transmits at least part of the clamping force from the clamping part to the first spring leaf bridging the second spring leaf and reducing the clamping force exerted thereon.

Motor vehicle leaf spring assembly

A motor vehicle rear suspension includes left and right trailing links mounted, at respective forward ends thereof, to a vehicle body for pivoting movement about a transversely-extending axis. The trailing links extend rearward from the axis, and each has a wheel carrier attached thereto adjacent a rear end thereof. Left and right leaf springs are fixed, at respective forward ends thereof, to the vehicle body and extend rearward therefrom alongside and generally parallel with their respective trailing links. Rear ends of the leaf springs contact their respective trailing links and applying spring-force thereto.

Trailing-arm suspension with leaf springs

A suspension for a wheeled vehicle include an axle with a mid-section and an end comprising an upper portion and a lower portion defining a space therebetween, a leaf spring having forward and rear ends attached to vehicle structure and a mid-section retained in the space and secured between the upper and lower portions, and a closure element attached to the axle end and at least partially closing an outboard end of the space. The upper and lower axle portions may be formed integrally with the axle mid-section or may be a separately-formed component secured to the axle. The space tapers from a greater vertical dimension at the outboard end thereof to a smaller vertical dimension at an inboard end thereof, and the leaf spring mid-section is wedged into the space. An intermediate element is disposed between the mid-section and at least one of the upper and lower axle portions.

Leaf spring suspension for wheeled vehicle

The invention relates to a multi-link rear suspension for a motor vehicle, having at least one transverse leaf spring arranged on the motor vehicle to extend in the transverse vehicle direction and having ends which operatively act on left and right wheel carriers to cushion a vehicle structure of the motor vehicle with respect to the wheel-carriers. The transverse leaf spring also serves as a stabilizer, thereby replacing dedicated stabilizer. In order to provide a multi-link rear suspension which is optimized in terms of structural space and which is lightweight, the multi-link rear has exclusively transverse links for guiding the wheel-carriers.

Multi-link suspension for a motor vehicle

A suspension for a wheeled vehicle includes a leaf spring extending longitudinally relative to the vehicle and having first and second lugs protruding downward therefrom. The lugs are spaced from one another a length of the leaf spring to define a pocket therebetween. An axle passes perpendicularly beneath the leaf spring such that a portion of the axle is disposed in the pocket and is clamped between the lugs. The lugs may be fabricated integrally with the leaf spring.

Leaf spring suspension

The present disclosure provides a transverse link for a wheel suspension of a vehicle that includes at least one wheel-side attachment structure and at least one structure-side attachment structure. The wheel-side and structure-side structures are connected to each other by a connection structure which extends therebetween. The connection structure and/or at least one of the attachment structures is/are produced by a generative production method. At least one of the attachment structures is constructed as a generatively produced bushing which has an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve surrounding the inner sleeve. The sleeves are connected to each other by a fold-like structure. The present disclosure further provides a method for producing such a transverse link.

Transverse link for a wheel suspension of a vehicle and method for the production thereof

A motor vehicle having an auxiliary stowage compartment for transporting a compact scooter. The motor vehicle having an engine compartment, a passenger compartment, a luggage compartment in addition to the auxiliary stowage compartment. The auxiliary stowage compartment is accessible from the outside of the motor vehicle, and is opened and closed by a cover that is part of the outer skin of the vehicle wherein the additional stowage compartment is configured to receive a compact scooter.

Motor vehicle

A wheel suspension unit for a motor vehicle having a longitudinal link, having a first end for pivotable vehicle-side connection, a second end for connection to a wheel carrier, and a blade-like link portion resilient in the direction of the transverse axis (Y) and rigid transversely relative thereto. The wheel suspension reduces the number of components by providing a longitudinal link having a resilient portion resilient toward the longitudinal axis (X), wherein the longitudinal link is at least partially produced from a fiber-reinforced plastics material.

Vehicle wheel suspension

A suspension system for a laterally tiltable, multitrack vehicle may include a balancer system extending between first and second trailing arms. The suspension system may further include a rotary device acting between the trailing arms. One of the balancer system and the rotary device may be configured to provide a torque to influence a leaning angle of the vehicle and the other of the balancer system and the rotary device may be configured to suppress resonant vertical motion of the vehicle.

Growing community of inventors

Aachen, Germany

Rainer Souschek