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:
Apr. 11, 2000
Filed:
Dec. 04, 1996
Don H Sitter, Montgomery, AL (US);
Dale P Gilson, Bellflower, CA (US);
Dana Corporation, Toledo, OH (US);
Abstract
A bushing for a vehicle suspension system has a hollow cylindrical sleeve and a hollow cylindrical jacket, with first and second elastomeric members compressively preloaded into an annular space between the sleeve and the jacket. The elastomeric members, which are complementary in filling the annular space, are selected from different materials possessing different spring rates. The elastomeric members are preferably semicircular radial sections of an annulus. When the bushing is aligned in the vehicle suspension, the bushing exhibits at least one diameter where the bushing effectively has a first spring rate when the bushing is acted on by a force in a first radial direction and exhibits a different spring rate when the bushing is acted upon by a force in a second radial direction which is one hundred eighty degrees opposed to the first radial direction.