Independent
Page 74
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WHEEL SPRINGING
Tr HE Sunbeam Motor Car Co., Ltd., and Louis Coatalen, in specification No. 3/0,391, describe an interesting system of independent springing for the wheels of motor vehicles. The plan is mentioned as being equally applicable to either the front or the rear wheels of motor chassis.
A memb,r (A) carries the stub axle in the usual manner, but its only connection with the frame is by means of the members B and C, the former being hinged to the frame, whilst the latter is fixed to the lower part of a cross-member. The duty performed by C is that of a spring and tie between A and the frame cross-member. It will be realized that each wheel is free to rise or fall without hindrance on the part of the other. The drawing shows a spring of the divided-main-leaf type. One of the features of the design is that the hinge joints are of a flexible type, a cylinder of compressed rubber being interposed between the inner and the outer members of the hinge.
The arm (D) is hinged to the frame and forms a radius rod. It also acts as a torque member for the brake reaction. In the case of a front wheel this rod is hinged behind the axle, whilst in the case of a rear wheel the hinge is forward. The arm D is described as being ontswept from the frame to a position near the wheels but as no plan view is shown, no details of its construction are available. One of the main features pointed out in the specification is that all joints being flexible they are capable of yielding in all directions.
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