Airspring and a method for making airspring flexible members

An airspring with a beadless, molded, non-uniform diameter, flexible membrane comprising:

• (a) an upper retainer;
• (b) a lower retainer axially spaced apart from said upper retainer;
• (c) a non-uniform diameter, beadless, air impervious, flexible membrane having a first and a second open end, at least one of said ends having a tapered neck portion with a radial wall thickness which decreases toward the axially extreme end of the neck portion, said membrane being joined with said upper retainer and said lower reainer to form a working cavity therebetween;
• and
• (d) an upper ring and a lower ring compressively engaging the membrane against the upper retainer and the lower retainer, thereby forming an airtight seal between the membrane and the upper and the lower retainers.

An air spring with a beadless, molded, non-uniform diameter, flexible membrane consisting essentially of:

• (a) an upper retainer;
• (b) a lower retainer axially spaced apart from said upper retainer;
• (c) a non-uniform diameter, beadless, air impervious, flexible membrane having a first and a second open end, at least one of said ends having a tapered neck portion with a radial wall thickness which tapers toward the axially extreme end of the neck portion, said membrane having as the sole reinforcement, a plurality of axially extending reinforcement layers which extend uniformly throughout said flexible membrane including said tapered neck portion, said membrane being joined with said upper retainer and said lower retainer to form a working cavity therebetween;
• and
• (d) an upper ring and a lower ring compressively engaging the membrane against the upper retainer and the lower retainer, thereby forming an airtight seal between the membrane and the upper and the lower retainers.

An airspring with a beadless, molded, non-uniform diameter, flexible membrane comprising:

• (a) an upper retainer;
• (b) a lower retainer axially spaced apart from said upper retainer;
• (c) a non-uniform diameter, beadless, air impervious, flexible membrane having a first and a second open end, at least one of said ends having a tapered neck portion with a pair of circumferential indexing ribs extending radially outward from said neck portion and spaced axially apart, said membrane being joined with said upper retainer and said lower retainer to form a working cavity therebetween;
• and
• (d) an upper ring and a lower ring compressively engaging the membrane against the upper retainer and the lower retainer, thereby forming an airtight seal between the membrane and the upper and the lower retainers, and at least one of said upper ring and lower rings being axially positioned between said pair of circumferential indexing ribs.