Granted Patent B2

US 12,735,100 · App. 19/056,625 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Inventors: Varun Prasad (Frisco, TX); Bobby Wayne Hale (Bastrop, TX)

B62D7/18B60G7/001

Abstract

Claims (49)

1 . A steering knuckle for a vehicle, said steering knuckle comprising:

a vertical arm;

an upper mount positioned at said vertical arm, wherein said upper mount comprises an upper control arm;

a steering arm positioned at said vertical arm;

a lower mount positioned at said vertical arm, wherein said lower mount comprises a lower control arm;

a hub positioned at the bottom of said vertical arm, and

an access panel forming a removable enclosure configured to provide access to an interior of said steering knuckle;

wherein said access panel comprises a gear mechanism, and wherein said gear mechanism transfers motion from a vehicle's constant velocity (CV) shaft to a vehicle's wheel, wherein said gear mechanism is fully enclosed within said steering knuckle and comprises a gear train having at least one bevel gear set arranged to redirect rotational input from a transverse axis to a rotational axis of said hub;

wherein said upper control arm comprises dual upper control mounts, and wherein said lower control arm comprises dual lower control mounts, each spaced apart along said vertical arm;

wherein said hub mounts laterally outward and vertically below attachment points of said upper control arm and said lower control arm such that a center of said hub is positioned below a plane defined by said lower control arm, in order to keep the same distance between said upper mount and said lower mount, and said steering arm to maintain a factory geometry, and

wherein said hub is offset downward relative to said lower control arm to increase ground clearance without altering angular orientation of said upper and lower control arms.

2 . The steering knuckle of claim 1 , further comprises vertical ribs integrally formed with said vertical arm and extending from said upper mount and said lower mount to a rear portion of said hub, said ribs being oriented at an inward angle between 30-60 degrees relative to a vertical axis to create a point that distributes both vertical force and lateral force evenly between said upper control arm and said lower control arm through a common load transfer node positioned rearward of said hub.

3 . The steering knuckle of claim 1 , further comprises a power train unit, wherein said power train unit transfers power from internal mechanisms of said steering knuckle into said hub, wherein said power train unit is housed within said vertical arm and is fixed relative to said steering arm.

4 . The steering knuckle of claim 1 , wherein said power train unit houses a first splined input shaft and a second splined input shaft, wherein said first splined input shaft connects to said gear mechanism, and wherein said second splined input shaft has a shape matching with a factory hub setting and connects to said hub, and wherein said first and second splined input shafts are aligned along non-collinear axes to accommodate vertical offset of said hub relative to said lower control arm.

5 . The steering knuckle of claim 1 , wherein each of said upper mount and said lower mount comprises a caster alignment adjustment member having a connector, and wherein said caster alignment adjustment members adjust the alignment of said dual upper control mounts at said upper mount, and said dual lower control mounts at said lower mount, respectively, wherein each said connector comprises an eccentric or offset interface configured to vary caster angle without relocating said vertical arm.

6 . The steering knuckle of claim 1 , wherein the placement of said hub eliminates interference with calipers and other suspension components, by positioning said hub below and outward of a brake caliper mounting envelope.

7 . A steering knuckle for a vehicle, said steering knuckle comprising:

a vertical arm;

a steering arm positioned at said vertical arm;

an upper mount positioned at said vertical arm, wherein said upper mount comprises an upper control arm, and wherein said upper control arm comprises dual upper control mounts;

a lower mount positioned at said vertical arm, wherein said lower mount comprises a lower control arm, and wherein said lower control arm comprises dual lower control mounts; and

a hub positioned at the bottom of said vertical arm, and

an access panel forming a removable enclosure configured to provide access to an interior of said steering knuckle;

wherein said access panel comprises a gear mechanism, and wherein said gear mechanism transfers motion from a vehicle's constant velocity (CV) shaft to a vehicle's wheel, wherein said gear mechanism is fully enclosed within said steering knuckle and comprises a gear train having at least one bevel gear set arranged to redirect rotational input from a transverse axis to a rotational axis of said hub;

wherein said upper control arm comprises dual upper control mounts, and wherein said lower control arm comprises dual lower control mounts, each spaced apart along said vertical arm;

wherein each of said upper mount and said lower mount comprises a caster alignment adjustment member having a connector, and wherein said caster alignment adjustment members adjust the alignment of said dual upper control mounts at said upper mount, and said dual lower control mounts at said lower mount, respectively, and

wherein said hub mounts laterally outward and vertically below attachment points of said upper control arm and said lower control arm in order to keep the same distance between said upper mount and said lower mount, and said steering arm to maintain a factory geometry, and wherein said hub is positioned below said lower control arm to increase ground clearance while maintaining parallel alignment of said upper and lower control arms.

8 . The steering knuckle of claim 7 , further comprises vertical ribs to meet at the back of said hub at 45 degrees to create a point that distributes both vertical force and lateral force evenly between said upper control arm and said lower control arm as if said hub remained in its factory geometry.

9 . The steering knuckle of claim 7 , further comprises a power train unit, wherein said power train unit transfers power from internal mechanisms of said steering knuckle into said hub.

10 . The steering knuckle of claim 9 , wherein said power train unit comprises a first splined input shaft and a second splined input shaft, wherein said first splined input shaft connects to said gear mechanism, and wherein said second splined input shaft has a shape matching with a factory hub setting and connects to said hub.

11 . The steering knuckle of claim 7 , wherein the placement of said hub eliminates interference with calipers and other suspension components.

12 . A method of providing a steering knuckle for a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a vertical arm;

providing an upper mount positioned at said vertical arm, said upper mount comprising an upper control arm;

providing a steering arm positioned at said vertical arm;

providing a lower mount positioned at said vertical arm, said lower mount comprising a lower control arm;

providing a hub positioned at the bottom of said vertical arm;

mounting said hub laterally outward and vertically below attachment points of said upper control arm and said lower control arm in order to keep the same distance between said upper mount and said lower mount, and said steering arm for maintaining a factory geometry, wherein said mounting step includes positioning said hub below a lower control arm plane to increase ground clearance without altering control arm angles; and

providing an access panel forming a removable enclosure configured to provide access to an interior of said steering knuckle;

wherein said access panel comprises a gear mechanism, and wherein said gear mechanism transfers motion from a vehicle's constant velocity (CV) shaft to a vehicle's wheel, wherein said gear mechanism is fully enclosed within said steering knuckle and comprises a gear train having at least one bevel gear set arranged to redirect rotational input from a transverse axis to a rotational axis of said hub;

wherein said upper control arm comprises dual upper control mounts, and wherein said lower control arm comprises dual lower control mounts, each spaced apart along said vertical arm.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

providing an access panel forming a removable enclosure configured to provide access to an interior of said steering knuckle; and

transferring motion from a vehicle's constant velocity (CV) shaft to a vehicle's wheel via a gear mechanism,

wherein said gear mechanism comprises an enclosed gear train including at least one bevel gear set configured to redirect rotational motion from a transverse axis to a rotational axis of said hub.

14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising providing a power train unit for transferring power from internal mechanisms of said steering knuckle into said hub, wherein said power train unit is housed within said vertical arm and includes a first splined input shaft and a second splined input shaft arranged along non-collinear axes to accommodate vertical offset of said hub relative to said lower control arm.

15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

providing dual upper control mounts and dual lower control mounts at said upper control arm and said lower control arm, respectively; and

providing a caster alignment adjustment member at each of said upper mount and said lower mount for adjusting the alignment of said dual upper control mounts at said upper mount, and said dual lower control mounts at said lower mount, respectively, wherein each said caster alignment adjustment member comprises an eccentric or offset connector configured to vary caster angle without repositioning said vertical arm.

Continuity (3)

References Cited (10)