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US 12,115,822 B2Granted
Motor vehicle suspension gas spring
AssigneeTimoney Dynamic Solutions Limited
InventorEanna Pronsias Timoney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A high-pressure gas spring for vehicle suspension systems includes an integral gas damping system and an integral counter spring to reduce spring residual force at suspension rebound. The gas spring includes an inverted piston feature that reduces the overall length of the device. Additionally, there are other innovative features incorporated in the gas spring to improve performance, reduce cost and minimise weight.
Claims18
A vehicle suspension gas spring for mounting between a vehicle chassis and a vehicle wheel suspension member comprising:
- a cylinder closed at one end;
- a piston assembly slidably mounted within the cylinder and sealingly engaging with a bore of the cylinder to form a gastight seal between the piston and the cylinder bore;
- a piston rod attached to the piston and projecting outwardly of the cylinder, the piston rod passing through and being slidably mounted in an end cover of the cylinder;
- connector means for attachment of the cylinder to one of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member and for attachment of the piston rod to the other of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member;
- a gas working medium within the cylinder;
- and
- a first gas chamber formed by the swept volume of the cylinder and an associated second gas chamber communicating with the first gas chamber through a gas passageway which restricts the flow of gas therebetween;
- wherein:
- the piston and the piston rod each have a hollow interior and the second gas chamber is formed by the hollow interior of the piston and the hollow interior of the piston rod;
- a valve is mounted between the hollow interior of the piston and the hollow interior of the piston rod, the valve being operable to either connect or isolate the hollow interior of the piston and the hollow interior of the piston rod to vary the volume of the second gas chamber.
7 more elements
A vehicle suspension gas spring for mounting between a vehicle chassis and a vehicle wheel suspension member comprising:
- a cylinder closed at one end;
- a piston assembly slidably mounted within the cylinder and sealingly engaging with a bore of the cylinder to form a gastight seal between the piston and the cylinder bore;
- a piston rod attached to the piston and projecting outwardly of the cylinder, the piston rod passing through and being slidably mounted in an end cover of the cylinder;
- connector means for attachment of the cylinder to one of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member and for attachment of the piston rod to the other of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member;
- a gas working medium within the cylinder;
- and
- a first gas chamber formed by the swept volume of the cylinder and an associated second gas chamber communicating with the first gas chamber through a gas passageway which restricts the flow of gas therebetween;
- wherein:
- the second gas chamber is filled with an open cell foam material which may or may not be divided into a multiplicity of air passages.
6 more elements
A vehicle suspension gas spring for mounting between a vehicle chassis and a vehicle wheel suspension member comprising:
- a cylinder closed at one end;
- a piston assembly slidably mounted within the cylinder and sealingly engaging with a bore of the cylinder to form a gastight seal between the piston and the cylinder bore;
- a piston rod attached to the piston and projecting outwardly of the cylinder, the piston rod passing through and being slidably mounted in an end cover of the cylinder;
- connector means for attachment of the cylinder to one of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member and for attachment of the piston rod to the other of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member;
- a gas working medium within the cylinder;
- and
- a first gas chamber formed by the swept volume of the cylinder and an associated second gas chamber communicating with the first gas chamber through a gas passageway which restricts the flow of gas therebetween;
- wherein:
- the piston has a hollow interior forming the second gas chamber and the piston has a cover plate with one or more apertures to provide damping.
6 more elements
A vehicle suspension gas spring for mounting between a vehicle chassis and a vehicle wheel suspension member comprising:
- a cylinder closed at one end;
- a piston assembly slidably mounted within the cylinder and sealingly engaging with a bore of the cylinder to form a gastight seal between the piston and the cylinder bore;
- a piston rod attached to the piston and projecting outwardly of the cylinder, the piston rod passing through and being slidably mounted in an end cover of the cylinder;
- connector means for attachment of the cylinder to one of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member and for attachment of the piston rod to the other of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member;
- a gas working medium within the cylinder;
- and
- a first gas chamber formed by the swept volume of the cylinder and an associated second gas chamber communicating with the first gas chamber through a gas passageway which restricts the flow of gas therebetween;
- wherein:
- an additional below piston chamber formed by the piston base, the cylinder wall and the piston rod bearing plate is suitably sealed so as to be airtight to allow a build-up of pressure as the piston approaches rebound position.
6 more elements
A vehicle suspension gas spring for mounting between a vehicle chassis and a vehicle wheel suspension member comprising:
- a cylinder closed at one end;
- a piston assembly slidably mounted within the cylinder and sealingly engaging with a bore of the cylinder to form a gastight seal between the piston and the cylinder bore;
- a piston rod attached to the piston and projecting outwardly of the cylinder, the piston rod passing through and being slidably mounted in an end cover of the cylinder;
- connector means for attachment of the cylinder to one of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member and for attachment of the piston rod to the other of the vehicle chassis and the vehicle suspension member;
- a gas working medium within the cylinder;
- and
- a first gas chamber formed by the swept volume of the cylinder and an associated second gas chamber communicating with the first gas chamber through a gas passageway which restricts the flow of gas therebetween;
- wherein:
- an elastomeric sealing membrane is sealingly attached to the cylinder at the cylinder head end and is sealingly attached to the piston at the other end such that at maximum bump/jounce position of the piston the membrane is at its minimum extension and extends elastically when the piston moves to the maximum extension at full rebound position.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.