TITLELOAD BOOSTER WHEEL ASSEMBLYABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREThe rear end of the truck frame (generally anauxiliary frame which is mounted for fore and aftmovement relative to the main truck frame) carries aload boosting rear wheel assembly. The wheels aremounted on a transverse axle which is supported by aforwardly extending wishbone, the front of which has aball and socket connection to a depending supportbracket. The rear portion of the wishbone is guidedfor vertical movement between the load carrying positionwhich is the downward position of the rear axle and anelevated position in which the wheels are raised to aninoperative position generally employed in off highwayoperations. The wishbone and, therefore, the wheelsare actuated to the downward position by air pressureapplied inside of the air bag assembly mounted betweena plate carried by the wishbone and a plate carried bythe frame. In order to obtain a very large motion ofthe rear wheel assembly, the air bag assembly is sub-stantially longer than those customarily employed inthe past and the midsection of the air bag assembly isprovided with a rigid annulus which, in turn, is guidedor constrained to linear motion, thus obviating thetendency of the air bag to go "out of column". Thewishbone is bent adjacent the ball and socket connectionso that the axle is raised relative to the ball andsocket. When the rear wheels are in the operating orload carrying position, the end plates of the air bagassembly are substantially parallel to help insure thatthe bag remains in column when under load. This isachieved by canting the upper end plate to match thebend of the wishbone to bring the plates into theparallel relationship. Since only one air bag is used,the loading on the wheels will remain equal as thewheels pass over uneven terrain.-2-
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