AU2020248958B2

AU2020248958B2 - Axle fixation for a vehicle axle, and axle plate for same

Info

Publication number: AU2020248958B2
Application number: AU2020248958A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Rossen Iliev; Manfred Michels
Original assignee: BPW Bergische Achsen KG
Current assignee: BPW Bergische Achsen KG
Priority date: 2019-03-27
Filing date: 2020-03-12
Publication date: 2025-04-17
Anticipated expiration: 2040-03-12
Also published as: AU2020248958A1; CN113646192B; CN113646192A; DE102019107816A1; ES2952578T3; EP3946986A1; ZA202105893B; WO2020192832A1; EP3946986B1

Abstract

The invention relates to an axle fixation for a vehicle axle, comprising an axle link, an axle body, preferably a tubular axle body, which crosses the axle link on the lower or upper face of the axle link, an axle plate (9), and tension elements for pulling the axle body and axle link away from each other with the interposition of the axle plate (9). On the side facing the axle body, the axle plate (9) has a contour (5) which is designed to correspond to the outer contour of the axle body (1) at least in some regions, said outer contour lying opposite said contour, and on the side facing the lower or upper face of the axle link, the axle plate has a contact region (10) made of surface sections which contact the lower or upper face and between which an opening (15) is located. In order to achieve a lower travel height by changing the spacing of the axle fixation parts, the width of the opening (15) is greater than or equal to the width of the lower or upper face of the axle link in the contact region (10).

Description

Axle fixation for a vehicle axle, and axle plate for same

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to an axle fixation for a vehicle axle.

The invention further relates to an axle plate for arranging between an axle body and an axle link of a vehicle axle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The discussion of the background to the invention herein is intended to facilitate an understanding of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any aspect of the discussion was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.

Axle fixations for utility vehicle axles are disclosed in EP 0 590 528 Al, EP 1 249 356 B1 and DE 10 2012 103 961 Al in which an axle plate is arranged between the axle body and the axle link of the vehicle axle. Such axle fixations are primarily used when the axle link is configured as a spring link, i.e. it is deformable and thus has a certain inherent spring behavior. The deformable design of the axle link requires a material which provides fewer options in the design of the axle link than other link materials, such as for example cast steel. Instead, the axle link is substantially of a more or less uniform rectangular cross section. In order to connect such a cross section with the axle body of the vehicle axle, the axle plate is required as an additional element, the design thereof being firstly adapted to the axle link and secondly to the axle body. The axle plate which in technical jargon is also denoted as an "axle spring seat" is supported on its one side against the axle link and on its other side against the axle body.

Tension elements in the form of U-shaped curved members

pull the axle body and axle link against one another with

the interposition of the axle plate. Shells are

configured on the axle plate so as to face the axle body,

the shell contour thereof corresponding to the opposing

outer contour of the axle body. The axle plate has an

elongated support surface facing the axle link, the width

thereof being equal to the width of the lower face of the

axle link bearing thereagainst.

The axle plates disclosed in EP 0 590 528 Al and EP 1 249

356 B1 are of relatively large thickness in the vertical

direction since positive connecting elements in the form

of small frames which are welded to the axle tube are

also located inside the axle plates. These frames serve

for the improved transmission of forces acting in the

axle fixation. The known design, however, leads to a

vertical spacing between the axle body and the axle link,

by which the travel height of the axle fixation

increases. The travel height of the axle fixation is

understood to mean either the distance measured

vertically from the axle center of the axle to the lower edge of the longitudinal member of the vehicle frame, or the distance measured vertically from the axle center to the interface between the axle assembly delivered by the axle manufacturer and the existing vehicle frame.

In the case of an axle fixation for a vehicle axle with

an axle plate arranged between the axle body and the axle

link, it is desirable to achieve a lower travel height

by changing the spacings of the axle fixation parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one form of the invention there is provided

an axle fixation for a vehicle axle, comprising an axle

link, an axle body which crosses the axle link on the

lower or upper face of the axle link, an axle plate

between the axle body and the axle link, and tension

elements for pulling the axle body and axle link against

each other with the interposition of the axle plate

wherein

- on the side facing the axle body, the axle

plate has a contour which is designed to correspond to

the outer contour of the axle body at least in some

regions, said outer contour lying opposite said contour,

- on the side facing the lower or upper face of

the axle link, the axle plate has a contact region made

of surface sections which contact the lower or upper face

and between which an opening is located,

wherein the width of the opening is greater than

or equal to the width of the lower or upper face of the

axle link in the contact region.

- 3a

According to another form of the invention there is provided an axle plate for arranging between an axle body and an axle link of a vehicle axle, wherein - on the side facing the axle body, the axle plate has a contour which is designed to correspond to the outer contour of the axle body at least in some regions, said outer contour lying opposite said contour, - on the side facing the lower or upper face of the axle link the axle plate has a contact region made of surface sections which contact the lower or upper face and between which an opening is located, wherein the width of the opening is greater than or equal to the width of the lower or upper face of the axle link in the contact region.

According to another form of the invention there is provided an axle plate for arranging between an axle body and an axle link of a vehicle axle, comprising a support surface facing the axle link on the one side of the axle plate, a support surface facing the axle body on the other side of the axle plate, an opening passing through the axle plate and connecting the support surfaces, and comprising opposing side cheeks which are arranged on both sides of the support surface facing the axle link and which protrude over the support surface facing the axle link, wherein the width of the opening corresponds to the spacing of the side cheeks.

Common to the solutions is an axle plate for arranging

between the axle body and the axle link of the vehicle

axle, wherein the axle plate is provided with a support

surface facing the axle link on the one side of the axle

plate and with a support surface facing the axle body on

the other side of the axle plate. An opening in the axle

plate creates a connection between the support surfaces.

In particular, the axle plate has a contact region which

faces the axle link and which is for supporting against

the axle link, said contact region comprising separate

surface sections. The opening is located between these

surface sections. The opening is relatively large and of

such a width that it provides space for the entire width

of the axle link passing over the opening. This is

achieved either by the width of the opening being greater

than or equal to the width of the lower or upper face of

the axle link in the axle fixation region.

Alternatively, however, in the case of additional side

cheeks to the left and right of the contact region, the

width of the opening equals the spacing which the inner

faces of the side cheeks facing one another have relative

to one another. This is because the inner spacing thereof

is substantially equal to the width of the axle link.

With this design of the axle fixation and this axle plate,

a smaller travel height of the axle fixation may be

implemented, since the axle link is able to move very

close to the axle body and may even bear against the axle

body. Preferably, however, there is a certain, albeit

small, spacing between the axle link and the axle body.

These advantages may be achieved primarily in the case

of a round axle body, i.e. in an axle tube of circular

cross section, as is preferred and thus described in an

exemplary embodiment. However, even in a non-round axle

tube a reduction may be achieved in the spacing and thus

in the travel height.

In the axle plate, therefore, the width of the opening

between the surface sections is greater than or equal to

the width of the axle link supported on the surface

sections, and in particular is greater than or equal to

the width of that lower or upper face of the axle link

by which the axle link is supported against the surface

sections.

The axle plate may be provided with side cheeks on both

sides of the contact region, said side cheeks protruding

perpendicular to the contact region and above said

contact region. In this case, the side cheeks may define

the opening laterally. In this case, the side cheeks

respectively extend along the opening and preferably also

at least along a partial length of each of the surface

sections.

The side cheeks reinforce the axle plate, which is

particularly important since otherwise the axle plate would have too little material in the central region in which the axle body and axle link are at the closest point to one another, resulting in insufficient strength of the axle plate. Preferably, the surface sections together with the side cheeks form a channel for the vertical and lateral support of the axle link.

Preferably the shortest spacing between the support

surface facing the axle link and the lateral surface of

the axle body is less than 5 mm and particularly

preferably between 0.5 and 5 mm.

To reduce the travel height it is further proposed that

the shortest spacing of the lower or upper face of the

axle link, with which the axle link bears against the

axle plate, from the outer contour of the axle body is

no more than 7.5 mm, preferably between 3 mm and 7.5 mm.

To reduce the travel height it is further proposed that

the shortest spacing between the path of the support

surface facing the axle body and the path of the support

surface facing the axle link is up to 5 mm, preferably

up to 2 mm. This spacing may, however, be even lower and

as far as minus 1 mm, i.e. negative. This value is

produced in the case of overlap.

To reduce the travel height it is further proposed that

the axle body is a round axle body of circular cross

section. For the support thereof which is as flat as

possible, the contour is made up of shell contours

arranged on a uniform circle. The shortest spacing of

this imaginary circle from the plane defined by the surface sections is no more than 5 mm, preferably between

0.5 mm and 5 mm.

According to one embodiment of the axle fixation and the

axle plate, this axle plate is provided with a pin which

is arranged on one of the surface sections and which

engages in a corresponding recess in the axle link by a

positive connection.

The axle plate may also be provided with a fastening eye

for a shock absorber of the vehicle axle.

According to one embodiment of the axle fixation, an axle

shell is additionally arranged between the axle plate and

the axle body. This axle shell has an outer face supported

against the contour and an inner face supported against

the axle body, wherein projections configured on the

outer face or on the inner face engage in the opposing

surface on the contour or on the axle body by displacing

material. An additional positive connection is achieved

between the main elements of the axle fixation by the

additional axle shell. The projections configured on the

outer face or on the inner face of the axle shell dig

into the opposing surface by displacing material when the

tension elements are tightened, i.e. into the shell

shaped contour which is configured on the axle plate or

into the axle body. An additional positive connection is

achieved in the microscopic range.

The additional axle shell is preferably a correspondingly

deformed metal plate, wherein the projections are formed

from punchings of the metal plate.

Regarding the additional axle shell, it is further

proposed that this axle shell is provided with an opening

on a central section in the shell circumferential

direction. The width of this opening transversely to the

shell circumferential direction is greater than the width

of the lower or upper face of the axle link in the contact

region. The advantage of this embodiment is also in the

low travel height which is achievable. This is because

in principle the additional axle shell leads to an

increase in the spacing between the axle body and the

axle link. Since, however, the additional axle shell is

provided with the opening on its central section where

the axle body and the axle link come closest to one

another, the axle shell behaves in a neutral manner

regarding the spacing between the axle body and the axle

link which is important for the travel height.

According to a further embodiment, the additional axle

shell has a shell-shaped main section and support regions

bearing against the axle plate at both ends of the main

section, wherein the transitions to the support regions

are designed as kinks with a kink direction opposing the

bending direction of the shell-shaped main section.

The aforementioned advantages and additional embodiments

also relate equally to the axle plate itself which is

provided for arranging between the axle body and the axle

link.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages and details are revealed from the

following description of an exemplary embodiment, wherein

reference is made to the drawing, in which: fig. 1 shows in a side view an air-sprung utility vehicle chassis with, amongst other things, an axle link extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction and an axle body arranged transversely thereto, the vehicle wheels of the vehicle being mounted at the ends thereof; fig. la shows a detail of fig. 1 showing only the region of the axle fixation; fig. lb shows an axle plate in a perspective view; fig. 2 shows a perspective exploded view of the chassis parts of the chassis; fig. 3 shows in a perspective view only an axle shell which is one of the chassis parts of figures 1 and 2; fig. 4 shows a section through the axle shell in a region in which this axle shell is provided with sharp-edged projections on its inner or outer face, and fig. 5 shows a plan view of a region with these projections, with a viewing direction perpendicular to the outer face of the axle shell.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The chassis described hereinafter is primarily used in

air-sprung utility vehicles which have a long continuous

axle body 1 as a vehicle axle. Such vehicle axles are

primarily used in truck trailers and semitrailers. The axles are designed for high transportation weights in road use.

An axle link support 3A is fastened below the

longitudinal member of the vehicle frame or chassis of

the vehicle on each vehicle side. This axle link support

receives a pivot bearing of the axle suspension. An axle

link 2 on each vehicle side serves for guiding the axle

body 1, which extends transversely to the vehicle

longitudinal direction and in this case passes in a rigid

manner continuously from the one vehicle side to the

other vehicle side. The axle link in this case is a

suspension link which inherently exhibits a certain

spring behavior.

The axle link 2 has at its front end a support region

with a link eye which is a component of a pivot bearing

in the axle link support 3A. By means of a bolt 3B which

is a component of this pivot bearing, the axle link 2 is

held in a vertically pivotable manner in the axle link

support 3A fixed to the chassis.

To the rear in the direction of travel the axle link 2

is provided with a bearing surface for an air spring 3C.

The air spring 3C is supported against the longitudinal

member of the vehicle frame from below with an upper

terminal plate.

The axle body 1 is provided at each of its ends outside

the vehicle with an axle journal for mounting the vehicle

wheel and the brake drum or brake disk of a drum brake

or a disk brake.

Clamping forces which pull the axle link 2 against the

axle body 1 are generated by means of two threaded curved

members 4 with nuts 4a screwed on the threaded sections

thereof, wherein the curved member sections 4b of the

threaded curved member 4 are guided around the axle body

1 configured as an axle tube. However, this clamping is

not carried out directly but indirectly by the

interposition of a preferably cast or forged component 9

fixedly arranged on the axle link. The component 9 is

denoted here as the axle plate 9. The component is shown

in fig. lb in detail.

A support surface is configured on the side facing the

axle body 1 on the axle plate 9. This support surface is

designed as a contour 5 adapted to the circumferential

contour of the axle body 1. The contour 5 is made up of

two part-circular shells 6 in the illustrated axle plate

9. The radius of the shells 6 is equal to or deviates

only slightly compared to the radius of the circular axle

body 1 in the exemplary embodiment. In each case a short

contact region 9B which serves for supporting plate

sections of an additional axle shell, described in more

detail below, adjoins each of the shells 6 in the

circumferential direction.

The axle plate 9 also has a support surface facing the

axle link 2. This support surface is designed as an

elongated contact region 10 which is supported either

directly against the lower face 2A of the axle link 2 or

against a catch plate 29 of the axle link 2. The contact

region 10 is divided into a first surface section 11 and

a second surface section 12, a rectangular opening 15 being located therebetween on a longitudinal section free of support surfaces.

The width of the opening 15 measured transversely to the

longitudinal extent of the axle link 2 is greater than

or equal to the width of the lower face 2A of the axle

link 2 supported against the surface sections 11, 12.

This also applies relative to the width of the catch

plate 29 which is possibly present there and which is a

component of the axle link 2.

A side cheek 13A, 13B extends along each side of the two

part contact region 10. Each side cheek 13A or 13B extends

along the opening 15 and also at least partially along

the two surface sections 11, 12 of the contact region.

The side cheeks 13A, 13B are suitable for significantly

reinforcing the otherwise thin-walled axle plate 9. The

reinforcement is even greater due to a shell-shaped

lateral reinforcement 13C of the side cheek 13A which is

clearly visible in fig. lb.

The spacing of the inner faces of the side cheeks 13A,

13B facing one another is equal to the width of the

opening 15. Thus there is no step between the side walls

of the opening 15 and the inner faces of the side cheeks.

The side cheeks 13A, 13B together with the surface

sections 11, 12 form a channel. In this case the side

cheeks 13A, 13B are of such a height that they oppose the

side walls of the axle link 2 with a small spacing and

they form thereby a lateral support for the axle link 2

and contribute to positioning the axle plate 9 and the axle link 2 relative to one another transversely to the direction of travel.

For the same purpose of positioning, the axle plate 9 is

provided with a pin 9A which engages by a positive

connection in a corresponding recess in the side of the

axle link 2 facing the axle body 1, in this case in the

lower face 2A.

A spring plate 8 is supported from the other side against

the axle link 2, i.e. in this case against the upper face

2B thereof. The nuts 4a of the threaded curved members 4

which have been passed through openings in the spring

plate 8 are supported on the outside on the spring plate

8.

The clamping of the axle body 1 against the axle link 2

is not only carried out by the interposition of the axle

plate 9 but also by the interposition of an axle shell

20. The axle shell 20 is supported with its inner face

21 directly against the outer face of the axle body 1 and

with its outer face 22 directly against the curved

contour 5 on the axle plate 9.

The support of the outer face 22 of the axle shell 20 on

the axle plate is divided such that the axle shell 20 has

a curved central section by which it is supported against

the relatively curved contour 5 and it also has at its

ends significantly shorter support regions 25 which bear

against the contact regions 9B on the axle plate 9.

The central section of the axle shell 20 has a curved

shell shape which adapts to the contour of the axle body

1, which is configured here as a round axle body with a

diameter of more than 130 mm and preferably of 146 mm.

However, the axle body 1 does not have to be a round axle

body. Non-round axle body cross sections are also

possible. If the axle body 1 is of elliptical cross

section, for example, the axle shell 20 will also have

the corresponding elliptical curved path on its main

section and also the contour 5 with the two shells 6

configured on the axle plate 9.

The support regions 25, which in each case adjoin the

shell-shaped main section of the axle shell 20 via kinks,

serve as positioning aids during the assembly of the

chassis. This is because the support regions contribute

to a preliminary, defined locating of the position of the

axle shell 20 on the axle plate 9 during the assembly of

the chassis, by bearing against the contact surfaces 9B

of the axle plate 9.

The axle shell 20, including its support regions 25

configured at the ends, is an integral metal plate which

is produced by forming processes. On the curved partial

region the axle shell 20 is wider than in the region of

the support regions 25 thereof.

The axle shell 20 on its central section in the shell

circumferential direction is provided with an opening 27

having the width B (fig. 3), whereby only two webs 28

form connections between the one and the other part of

the metal plate body which makes up the axle shell 20.

The opening 27 increases the flexibility of the axle

shell 20 over the partial length on which the opening 27 is located. The axle shell 20 is thus able to nestle closely against the contour 5 consisting of the shells

6, and also against the axle body.

The width B of the opening 27 between the webs 28 measured

transversely to the shell circumferential direction is

greater than the width of the axle link 2 or the catch

plate 29 in the axle fixation region. The opening 27

results in the advantage that the axle shell 20 behaves

in a neutral manner regarding the spacing between the

axle body 1 and the axle link 2 which is important for

the travel height.

On a part of its total surface area the axle shell 20 is

provided with sharp-edged projections 21A on its inner

face 21 and further sharp-edged projections 22A on its

outer face 22. The projections 21A, 22A which are

designed as tips are able to penetrate into the opposing

surface by material displacement, in the case of

correspondingly high compressive forces as are generated

by means of the threaded curved member 4 and the nuts 4a

fixedly tightened thereon. The hard tips on the inner

face 21 dig into the comparatively less hard material of

the axle body 1. The hard tips on the outer face 22 dig

into the comparatively less hard material of the shells

6. In both cases it leads to a pronounced positive

connection.

The tips or projections 21A, 22A are punchings in the

metal plate from which the axle shell 20 is formed. The

punchings comprise openings 32 extending between the

inner face 21 and the outer face 22 and outwardly

projecting ridges on the edge of each opening 32, wherein these ridges form the projections. In terms of production technology, therefore, the ridges are the outwardly deformed edges of the openings 32 produced during the punching process.

A first subset of the openings 32 has the edges thereof

deformed to form ridges on the inner face 21, and thus

forms the projections 21A. The remaining second subset

of the openings 32 has the edges thereof deformed to form

ridges on the outer face 22, and thus forms the further

projections 22A.

In the exemplary embodiment according to fig. 4 and fig

5 all of the openings 32 have the shape of an equilateral

triangle, wherein preferably along all three edges of

this triangle outwardly projecting ridges and thus sharp

edged projections are located either on the inner face

21 or on the outer face 22.

The openings 32, however, do not have to be triangular

as illustrated but may also, for example, be round or

square or have the shape of polygons.

If during the shaping of the axle shell 20 punching tools

penetrate both from the inner face 21 and from the outer

face 22 into the plate material, ridges and thus tips are

produced on the one side and on the other side at the

same time.

In the exemplary embodiment equal numbers of openings 32

are punched from the one side and from the other side of

the metal plate, i.e. the number of openings 32 and the

ridges and tips 21A arranged around these openings on the inner face 21 is equal to the number of openings 32 and the ridges and tips 22A arranged around these openings on the outer face 22.

However, the number or the shape of the openings and

ridges on the two sides may also be different. For

example, the number of openings 32 and the ridges and

tips arranged around these openings on the inner face 21

may be greater than the number of openings 32 and the

ridges and tips arranged around these openings on the

outer face 22.

In any case, the projections 21A on the inner face and

the projections 22A on the outer face should be equally

distributed over the regions on which they are present.

Ass fig. 4 shows, the projections 21A and 22A should also

alternate with one another, in this case by their

arrangement in a checkerboard pattern.

It may be advantageous if the projections 21A, 22A are

not present over the entire surface but only in specific

regions 36, 37 of the axle shell 20. These regions 36,

37 are exclusively located on the curved partial region

of the axle shell 20. Moreover, when viewed in the

direction of the curved path of the axle shell 20, the

regions 36, 37 are located only upstream or downstream

of the opening 27. In this case, as fig. 3 shows, these

regions 36, 37 extend in each case as far as the edge of

the opening 27. The two regions 36, 37 have a greater

length in the longitudinal direction of the axle body 1

than in the width thereof viewed in the circumferential

direction of the axle shell 20.

The metal plate used for the production of the axle shell

20 has a material thickness which, when measured without

the projections 21A, 22A, is between 0.5 mm and 1 mm and

preferably between 0.7 mm and 0.9 mm.

A spring steel or a stainless steel is preferred for the

metal plate. If the metal plate is not a stainless steel

plate, for the purpose of corrosion protection a

galvanizing of the plate may be expedient after the

punching process.

The punching process may either take place successively

by a punching tool firstly being moved into the plate

from the one side and then from the other side.

Alternatively, however, the punching process takes place

simultaneously by a first punching tool being moved into

the plate from the one side and at the same time a second

punching tool being moved into the plate from the other

side, and thus all openings 32 and projections 21A, 22A

are formed at the same time.

The bending of the axle shell 20, with its central section

having the opening 27 and the support regions 25

protruding at right angles, may take place during the

course of the punching process or in separate bending

processes before or after.

The strength of the metal plate used for the axle shell

20 is greater than the strength of the materials into

which the tips 21A, 22A penetrate, i.e. the material of

the axle body 1 and the axle plate 9. The strength Rm of 2 the metal plate used is between 1200 and 1600 N/mm .

However, the strength Rm of the material of the axle body

1 is only, for example, 460 N/mm 2 and the strength of the

material of the axle plate 9 is only, for example, 520

N/mm 2 . Overall, therefore, the strength of the metal plate

used for the axle shell 20 is at least twice the strength

of the axle body 1 and the strength of the axle plate 9.

Unless the context requires otherwise, where the terms

"comprise", "comprises", "comprised" or "comprising" are

used in this specification (including the claims) they

are to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the

stated features, integers, steps or components, but not

precluding the presence of one or more other features,

integers, steps or components, or group thereof.

List of reference numerals

1 Axle body

2 Axle link

2A Lower face

2B Upper face

3A Support

3B Bolt

3C Air spring

4 Threaded curved member

4a Nut

4b Curved member section

Contour

6 Shell

8 Spring plate

9 Axle plate

9A Pin

9B Contact region

Support surface

11 Surface section

12 Surface section

13A Side cheek

13B Side cheek

13C Lateral reinforcement

Opening

Axle shell

21 Inner face

21A Projection, tip

22 Outer face

22A Projection, tip

Support region

27 Opening

28 Web

29 Catch plate

32 Opening

36 Region with projections

37 Region with projections

B Width

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. An axle fixation for a vehicle axle, comprising an

axle link, an axle body which crosses the axle link

on the lower or upper face of the axle link, an axle

plate between the axle body and the axle link, and

tension elements for pulling the axle body and axle

link against each other with the interposition of

the axle plate, wherein

- on the side facing the axle body, the axle plate

has a contour which is designed to correspond to the

outer contour of the axle body at least in some

regions, said outer contour lying opposite said

contour,

- on the side facing the lower or upper face of the

axle link, the axle plate has a contact region made

of surface sections which contact the lower or upper

face and between which an opening is located,

wherein the width of the opening is greater than or

equal to the width of the lower or upper face of the

axle link in the contact region

2. The axle fixation as claimed in claim 1, wherein,

the axle body is a tubular axle body.

3. The axle fixation as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

comprising side cheeks on both sides of the contact

region, said side cheeks protruding perpendicular

to the contact region and above said contact region

and in each case extending along the opening and at least along a partial length of the surface sections.

4. The axle fixation as claimed in claim 3, wherein the

side cheeks together with the surface sections form

a channel for the vertical and lateral support of

the axle link.

5. The axle fixation as claimed in any one of the

preceding claims, wherein a catch plate is a

component of the axle link, the lower or upper face

being configured thereon.

6. The axle fixation as claimed in any one of claims 1

- 5, wherein the shortest spacing of the lower or

upper face of the axle link from the outer contour

of the axle body is no more than 7.5 mm, preferably

between 3 mm and 7.5 mm.

7. The axle fixation as claimed in any one of claims 1

- 5, wherein the axle body is a round axle body, for

the support thereof the contour being made up of

shell contours arranged on a uniform circle, and in

that the shortest spacing of the circle from the

plane defined by the surface sections is no more

than 5 mm, preferably is between 0.5 and 5 mm.

8. The axle fixation as claimed in any one of the

preceding claims, comprising a pin which is arranged

on one of the surface sections and which engages in

a corresponding recess of the axle link by a

positive connection.

9. The axle fixation as claimed in any one of the

preceding claims, comprising an axle shell which has

an outer face supported against the contour and an

inner face supported against the axle body, wherein

projections configured on the outer face or on the

inner face engage in the opposing surface on the

contour or on the axle body by displacing material.

10. The axle fixation as claimed in claim 9, wherein the

axle shell is a deformed metal plate and in that the

projections are punchings of the metal plate.

11. The axle fixation as claimed in claim 9 or 10,

wherein the axle shell is provided with an opening

on a central section in the shell circumferential

direction, the width thereof measured transversely

to the shell circumferential direction being greater

than the width of the lower or upper face of the

axle link in the contact region.

12. The axle fixation as claimed in any one of claims 9

- 11, wherein the axle shell has a shell-shaped main

section and support regions bearing against the axle

plate at both ends of the main section, wherein the

transitions to the support regions are designed as

kinks with a kink direction opposing the bending

direction of the shell-shaped main section.

13. An axle plate for arranging between an axle body and

an axle link of a vehicle axle, wherein

- on the side facing the axle body, the axle plate

has a contour which is designed to correspond to the outer contour of the axle body at least in some regions, said outer contour lying opposite said contour,

- on the side facing the lower or upper face of the axle link the axle plate has a contact region made

of surface sections which contact the lower or upper

face and between which an opening is located,

wherein the width of the opening is greater than or

equal to the width of the lower or upper face of the

axle link in the contact region.

14. The axle plate as claimed in claim 13, comprising

side cheeks on both sides of the contact region,

said side cheeks protruding perpendicular to the

contact region and above said contact region and in

each case extending along the opening and at least

along a partial length of the surface sections.

15. The axle plate as claimed in claim 14, wherein the

side cheeks together with the surface sections form

a channel for the vertical and lateral support of

the axle link.

16. The axle plate as claimed in any one of claims 13

15, wherein the axle body is a round axle body, for

the support thereof the contour being made up of

shell contours arranged on a uniform circle, and in

that the smallest spacing of the circle from the

plane defined by the surface sections is no more

than 5 mm, preferably between 0.5 mm and 5 mm.

17. The axle plate as claimed in any one of claims 13

16, comprising a pin which is arranged on one of the

surface sections.

18. The axle plate as claimed in any one of claims 13

17, comprising a fastening eye for a shock absorber

integrally formed thereon.

19. An axle plate for arranging between an axle body and

an axle link of a vehicle axle, comprising a support

surface facing the axle link on the one side of the

axle plate, a support surface facing the axle body

on the other side of the axle plate, an opening

passing through the axle plate and connecting the

support surfaces, and comprising opposing side

cheeks which are arranged on both sides of the

support surface facing the axle link and which

protrude over the support surface facing the axle

link, wherein the width of the opening corresponds

to the spacing of the side cheeks.

20. The axle plate as claimed in claim 19, wherein the

shortest spacing between the path of the support

surface facing the axle body and the path of the

support surface facing the axle link is minus 1 mm

up to 5 mm, preferably up to 2 mm.

Fig. 1

3C

12 4a

4 6 5 15 4b 1 8 10

11 6 4 9 29 2 3A

O SAN

P 3B