The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 31, 1996
Filed:
Mar. 19, 1996
William C Pierce, Muskegon, MI (US);
Gregory A Richardson, Muskegon, MI (US);
Nai Neway, Inc., Muskegon, MI (US);
Abstract
A retractable suspension (10) comprises a trailing arm (22) pivotally mounted to a vehicle frame (12), an air spring (30) mounted between the trailing arm and the frame, and a lifting device (32) mounted between the trailing arm and the frame. The lifting device (32) comprises a strut (60) pivotally mounted between the frame (12) and a lever arm (64) that is fixedly mounted to the trailing arm (22). The strut (60) applies a force to the lever arm (64) that imparts a moment to the trailing arm (22) to urge the trailing arm and attached wheels (14) to a retracted position. The force of the air spring (30) can be adjusted to counter the upward movement of the wheels (14).