Vehicle cab suspension control systems are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the cab suspension control systems can include front cab-to-frame mounts that include controllable elastomer-based isolators that can provide real time variable damping to improve ride quality and/or road holding and reduce cab roll in response to, for example, input from one or more cab and/or frame mounted accelerometers, position sensors, etc. Embodiments of the control systems described herein can utilize a single vehicle controller (e.g., an ECU) to control all of the cab suspension components (e.g., semi-active damping technologies, air spring technologies, etc.) employed on a vehicle to provide a single suspension control solution that can provide improved ride performance, road holding, etc.

An axle/suspension system for a heavy-duty vehicle including a wheel and a sensor. The sensor is operatively connected to an air spring mounted on the axle/suspension system and is capable of detecting a condition of a road or the heavy-duty vehicle. The air spring has a stiffness capable of being altered in response to the sensor and to reduce resonant load variation on the wheel.

An air spring for a heavy-duty vehicle axle/suspension system comprising a piston, a bellows, and an intermediate chamber integrally formed with the bellows. The bellows has an upper portion, a top plate, and a bellows chamber and is connected to the piston by a band, a bead-in-groove connection, and/or a bayonet connection. The upper portion is reinforced to prevent the bellows chamber from increasing in volume. The intermediate chamber has an optimally sized top plate and a support structure and extends from the piston into the bellows chamber. The intermediate top plate is formed with means for restricted fluid communication between the bellows chamber and the intermediate chamber. The means for restricted fluid communication is not obstructed when it contacts the bellows top plate during jounce events. The support structure is optimized in relation to the top plate.

An apparatus for a vehicle is provided that has a spindle sleeve (12) with a spindle sleeve inner surface axis (14) that is coaxial with the axis of an axle (16). The spindle sleeve (12) has a spindle sleeve outer surface axis (20) that is oriented at an angle to the axis of the axle. A hub (28) is present that has a hub axis (30) that is coaxial with the spindle sleeve outer surface axis (20). A rotor (32) is coaxial with the hub axis (30) and brake calipers (34) are carried by the axle. A brake caliper positional correction device (36) is present and is carried by the axle (16) and has a correction surface (38) that carries the brake calipers (34). The correction surface (38) orients the brake calipers (34) such that the brake calipers (34) are properly positioned with respect to the rotor (32).

A bushing for use in an axle/suspension system of a heavy-duty vehicle. A beam supports an axle for pivotal movement with a hanger of the heavy-duty vehicle at a pivot connection. A bumper is fixed to the beam and contacts an engagement member of the heavy-duty vehicle to limit the relative pivotal movement of the beam and axle in one direction. A force is applied to the pivot connection in a force application direction that is angularly spaced from horizontal and vertical planes. The pivot connection includes a bushing to connect the beam and the hanger. The bushing includes an elastomeric bushing body with at least one void for decreasing rigidity of the bushing body in a substantially vertical direction. The one void is located in the bushing body angularly spaced from the force application direction. The bushing body is substantially solid along the force application direction.

A powered vehicle suspension assembly includes a mounting bracket configured to be attached to a powered vehicle frame rail, a trailing arm assembly including a substantially rigid trailing arm having a first end pivotably coupled with the mounting bracket and a second end, where the trailing arm assembly is configured to operably couple with a powered vehicle axle arrangement, a spring arrangement supported by the second end of the trailing arm, and a structural reinforcement cross-member configured to extend between and couple with a pair of powered vehicle frame rails.

Vehicle cab suspension control systems are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the cab suspension control systems can include front cab-to-frame mounts that include controllable elastomer-based isolators that can provide real time variable damping to improve ride quality and/or road holding and reduce cab roll in response to, for example, input from one or more cab and/or frame mounted accelerometers, position sensors, etc. Embodiments of the control systems described herein can utilize a single vehicle controller (e.g., an ECU) to control all of the cab suspension components (e.g., semi-active damping technologies, air spring technologies, etc.) employed on a vehicle to provide a single suspension control solution that can provide improved ride performance, road holding, etc.

Lift axle systems for use with trucks and other heavy duty vehicles are described herein. In some embodiments, lift axle systems configured in accordance with the present technology include upper and lower control arms on each side of the vehicle that operably couple an axle to a support system attached to the vehicle chassis. The upper control arm has a first end portion pivotally attached to a support system bracket at an upper bracket location, and a second end portion pivotally attached to the axle at an upper axle location. The lower control arm has a first end portion pivotally attached to the support system bracket at a lower bracket location, and a second end portion pivotally attached to the axle at a lower axle location. In some embodiments, the upper and lower bracket locations lie in a vertical plane that extends parallel to the vertical and longitudinal axes of the vehicle, and the upper axle location is spaced apart from the lower axle location in a lateral direction that extends parallel to the lateral axis of the vehicle.

A suspension arm A-shaped in a plan view includes legs receiving therebetween front and rear surfaces of a vertical member arranged in a travel direction of a working vehicle. The legs of the suspension arm and the surfaces of the vertical member each have a hole. An attaching structure includes: a cantilevered pin inserted into the hole of each of the legs and the corresponding hole of the vertical member to hold the leg of the suspension arm such that the suspension arm is pivotable; and a retaining mechanism provided to a frame to prevent the pin from coming off the vertical member. The pin includes a projection extending radially outward at a base end in an insertion direction. The retaining mechanism includes: a holding portion holding the projection in a rotation direction of the pin; and a cover portion covering the projection in the insertion direction of the pin.

A loading amount accumulation device includes a loading amount storage section 403 storing a loading amount, a loading amount calculation section 402 accumulating load weight data about a transport object in a working front to the loading amount, and updating the loading amount by the value after being accumulated, a difference calculation section 404 calculating a difference between a loaded amount of a vessel and the loading amount, an accumulation success/failure determination section 405 comparing an absolute value of the difference and a value Dth, determining that accumulation has failed when the absolute value is larger than the value Dth, and outputting a result, a loading amount correction section 406, when the failure is output as the result, performing correction so as to set the loaded amount data as the loading amount, and updating the loading amount by the corrected loading amount, and an output section outputting the loading amount.