Abstract: A camper suitable for mounting on a motor vehicle is disclosed and includes a generally rectangular frame which supports first and second living compartments. The frame carries means for releasably and adjustably securing it to the bumpers of the vehicle and supporting it thereon and these means are also capable of supporting the camper in a freestanding arrangement separate from the vehicle. The first and second living compartments are alternately collapsible and expandable so as to be converted from a traveling or storage mode to an occupancy mode. Additionally, the second compartment is capable of being telescoped into the first compartment when it is collapsed thereby rendering the overall structure extremely compact for purposes of transportation and also achieving the advantage of virtually eliminating any impairment of the visibility of the operator of the vehicle.

Abstract: A pivotable air deflector for a vehicle roof structure is adapted to removably receive a roof vent panel. The air deflector and roof vent panel pivot together as a unit between a closed position wherein the air deflector and roof vent panel are in substantial registry with the surface of the roof and an open, venting, forward-inclining position. The air deflector is held in the upward, forward-inclining position when the roof vent panel is completely removed from the vehicle to direct air currents away from the roof opening during movement of the vehicle.

Abstract: A load transport carriage, designed to be carried by a truck, having two pairs of wheels, one being a front pair which is located at a relatively higher level and the other a rear pair which is at a lower level. The wheels of the lower pair are hinged to a carriage frame that is pivotable and lockable in its upper position. Locking mechanism is provided for locking the carriage in an upright position, this locking mechanism including one or more feeler wheels which engage the rear of the truck as the carriage is moved onto the truck and which operate to adjust the length of an adjustable strut connected between the pivotal legs carrying the rear wheels and the carriage frame. The locking mechanism may be either a mechanical locking mechanism or a hydraulic locking mechanism involving a check valve which permits fluid to flow in only one direction into a piston chamber.

Abstract: A rear leaf spring support for vehicles having a frame which includes a pair of spaced apart side members tapering inward from a rear portion of the vehicle to a front portion of the vehicle is disclosed. A pair of shackle supports, one for each spring, are affixed the frame at the frame rear portion. A pair of front spring supports, one for each spring are affixed a lower flange of the frame vertically above a forward end of the spring. Each front spring support comprises an upper wall affixed a lower flange of the frame side member, an inner edge aligned with an inner edge of the shackle support integral with the upper wall, an outer edge spaced outward from the frame aligned with an outer edge of the shackle support integral with the upper wall, the inner and outer walls extending downward a distance parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A forward end of the spring is positioned between the inner and outer walls and pivotally attached thereto.

Abstract: A combination of several seals at the juncture of a vehicle door engaging a resilient sealing strip on the lower portion of the vehicle door.

Abstract: A vehicle comprising a sprung mass and unsprung masses, front and rear suspensions coupling said sprung mass through said unsprung masses so that said unsprung masses can move independently in a vertical direction with respect to said sprung mass. Each of said suspensions comprising a resilient element and levers, the ends of which are hingedly connected to an unsprung mass while their other ends are connected to said sprung mass. A unit for said resilient elements is arranged on said sprung mass; and a plurality of flexible elements, each coupling said unit for said resilient elements with an unsprung mass. The flexible elements are under tension in the entire range of the vertical movement of an unsprung mass with respect to said sprung mass due to pretightening of the resilient elements.

Abstract: A drop center livestock trailer is provided with a deck which is vertically adjustable within the trailer body to two separate positions for accommodating various forms of livestock and freight. A sectional gate structure which extends for either the full or a part of the inside trailer width is incorporated in the trailer for assuming a first position in which it acts as a gate limiting the movement of livestock in the trailer and a second position wherein it supports a ramp for facilitating the loading and unloading of the livestock. The ram is pivotally attached to one end of the movable deck and is supported by a lower section of the sectional gate structure. The ramp is allowed to drop from its normal horizontal to an inclined position by moving the lower section of the gate structure to an inclined position. Connected to the lower gate section is an upper gate section which is pivotally connected to the sidewalls of the trailer.

Abstract: A tracked agricultural tractor in which the frame of the driver's cab is mounted on the tractor body by a suspension including a pair of transverse suspension structures, a pair of rigid transverse support structures and first and second shock absorber means, can be driven at speed over rough ground without a substantial adverse effect on the driver's comfort, since the rolling and pitching oscillations of the cab relative to the tractor body are damped by the shock absorbers, and their amplitudes limited by stop elements acting between the suspension and the cab frame.

Abstract: A sliding roof panel for selectively covering or uncovering an opening in a vehicle is disclosed. The panel is supported by a pair of spaced apart parallel tracks disposed longitudinally above the vehicle roof on each side of the opening. The panel is movable from a first position wherein it is biased against the vehicle roof over the opening to a second position wherein the panel is raised above the vehicle roof and the supporting tracks to a third position wherein the panel is moved along the tracks uncovering the opening. A linkage actuated by a pivoting handle moves the panel from the first position to the second position. A cam operated interlock allows the panel to be moved from its first to its second position or from its second position to its first position only when the panel is vertically over the roof opening. The panel can be moved by hand from its first, to its second, and to its third position; and from its third to its second to its first position.

Abstract: A visor is mounted to a vehicle to selectively fill in the gap above and behind the rearview mirror which is not covered by the usual vehicle sun visors and includes a glare shield movably mounted between stored and in use positions. The visor includes a compartment for the storage of small objects such as sunglasses and has sockets for releasably holding the end posts of the conventional sun visors.

Abstract: A storage receptacle for a vehicle stores eyeglasses or like size objects against the headliner of the vehicle. A mounting member pivotally attaches the storage receptacle to the headliner and also serves to detachably support the end posts of the vehicle's sun visors.

Abstract: A resilient mount attaches the upper end of a MacPherson strut to vehicle body support structure. The mount comprises an annular mounting plate, an elastomeric ring, a central sleeve with an attached end plate, and a ball thrust bearing. The annular mounting plate, the central sleeve and the upper bearing ring of the thrust bearing are bonded to the elastomeric ring to form a subassembly. The mounting plate has a central cup-shaped portion which is embedded in the elastomeric ring and trapped between an enlarged head of the central sleeve and the end plate attached to it. The elastomeric ring has integral flexible lips at its lower end which retain the bearing elements and lower race ring and seal the ends of the thrust bearing.

Abstract: There is disclosed herein a vehicle suspension system suitable for use with both driving and steering wheels comprising a pair of trailing arms pivotably connected at one end to a frame assembly and having the other ends thereof movably supported by the cooperative effort of air springs and a leaf spring extending transversely between the trailing arms. The leaf spring has a center portion secured to the frame assembly so as to provide lateral support to each of the trailing arms as well as to cooperate with the air springs in supporting the frame assembly and associated vehicle body.

Abstract: A rear wheel suspension device comprises a radius rod extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle body, pivotally supported at one end and supporting the rear wheel axis at the other end, and a lower arm supporting at one end the rear wheel axle in cooperation with the radius rod and pivotally supported at the other end on the vehicle body, the radius rod extending substantially at 90 degrees to the lower arm. A resilient bush supporting the radius rod is formed to be relatively more resilient in the back-and-forth direction of the wheel, and a resilient bush supporting the lower arm in the transverse direction of the wheel is substantially rigid. With this arrangement, the movements of the rear wheel due to side forces in the toe-in and toe-out directions are suppressed for maintaining roadability, and at the same time the compliance in the back-and-forth directions of the rear wheel is enhanced for improved riding comfort.

Abstract: A servo controlled vehicle suspension which will reduce the dynamic forces imparted to the relatively high inertia structure when the relatively low inertia structure moves, as for example when the wheel of a motor vehicle encounters a bump or dip in a road. The suspension includes resilient sensing device, a pump and a valve, the valve being controlled by the sensing device to deliver oil from the pump to a chamber which expands as the low inertia structure (the wheel) moves downwardly when a dip is encountered, the valve however being controlled to open a drain port to allow oil contained in the chamber to discharge to drain with relatively little resistance when the low inertia structure encounters a bump, the arrangement being such as to reduce the variation in force between the structures.

Abstract: A collapsible baby carriage has a main framework including a pair of right and left main rods, a pair of right and left auxiliary rods pivotally connected to the intermediate portions of the main rods, and a plurality of sets of bendable connecting rods installed between the pair of main rods and between the pair of auxiliary rods. The main rods are disposed to extend from the rear upper region to the front lower region, with their upper portions serving as push rods and their lower portions serving as front legs. The auxiliary rods extend rearwardly downwardly from their respective pivots to serve as rear legs. Of the plurality of sets of connecting rods, the sets provided for the main rods are connected to first rods which transmit their bending motion, whereby the spacing between the main rods is changed.

Abstract: A drive arrangement for opening and closing a cover for an aperture in a vehicle roof via an electric motor acting upon an incompressible cable via an intermediate drive and drive pinion. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the electric motor is substitutable for a crank operated drive while avoiding limited available space associated problems by disposing an intermediate drive in a drive housing to which the electric motor is flanged to form a module which has the shape of a V as viewed from above, one leg of said V being formed by the electric motor and being disposed at right angles to the lengthwise axis of the vehicle, and the other leg of the V containing the intermediate drive and drive pinion.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an improved suspension for a group of wheels of a vehicle comprising longitudinal torsion bars coupled to the wheels outside longitudinal rails and to an elastic stabilizer bar by means of a connecting piece. According to the invention, the bar extends in a part beyond the torsion bar, which part is capable of abutting on an elastic stop placed between it and a fixed part of the structure when the load of the vehicle exceeds a certain threshold. The invention is more particularly applicable to automobile construction.

Abstract: A flank protection for the protection of passengers from impacts of lateral areas of motor vehicles comprises a vehicle body side wall having a window, such as a door, wherein reinforcement for preventing excessive penetration of the vehicle by other vehicles is located solely in lower areas of the side wall, particularly in an outer body part, while an upper side wall portion is formed of inner and outer body parts, preferably above a belt line of the vehicle, are composed of resilient portions that are yieldable to the absorption of outwardly directed reaction forces applied by an occupant against said body parts above said belt line.

Abstract: An improved molding assembly for a vehicle having a window opening with a flange in the plane of the opening and a window in the opening parallel to the plane thereof but spaced therefrom by a gap, the assembly including a wire carrier having anchoring tangs encapsulated in a decorative body and retention tangs projecting from the body and a bead of cured material in the gap retaining the window on the body. The wire carrier is mounted on the flange with the body overlying the gap and the retention tangs and anchoring tangs gripping the flange. The retention tangs are disposed in the gap and the cured material is flowed through and around interstices in the tangs to encapsulate at least a portion of the tangs in the cured material to retain the carrier and the body on the flange.