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:
Sep. 21, 2004
Filed:
Mar. 15, 2002
John L. Bennett, Fraser, MI (US);
Mark C. Smith, Troy, MI (US);
Chihping Kuan, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
John K. Ma, Rochester, MI (US);
William C. Sullivan, Newark, OH (US);
Edward Jay Eshelman, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Dean Mark House, Pataskala, OH (US);
Tomaz Dopico Varela, Gahanna, OH (US);
Meritor Heavy Vehicle Technology, LLC, Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A suspension system includes a swing arm which pivots about a pivot axis. A hub assembly, hub gear box and input gear box are mounted to an independently pivoting swing arm. The pivot axis is located closer to the ground than a rotational axis defined by the hub assemblies and the input gear box. A coupling extends from the input gear box to receive an input driveline from a drive source such as vehicle engine. The coupling is located proximate the pivot axis to minimize relative movement during articulation of the swing arm. An axle housing extends between the input gear box and an opposite hub gear box to support a drive shaft and serves as a torsion bar.