Air spring with fabric restraining cylinder
AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
InventorMichael J. W. Gregg
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
There is disclosed a rolling lobe fluid spring (10) having an upper retainer (12) and a piston (14) with a tubular air impervious flexible membrane (18) sealingly attached thereto to form the airspring. A radially inextensible fabric restraining cylinder (40) is provided circumferentially around the outer periphery of the flexible membrane. The cylinder (40) shrouds the membrane (18) over at least the entire axial working stroke (WA) of the airspring. The cylinder (40) radially supports and protects the flexible membrane (18).
Claims5
A rolling lobe air spring having an axis and an axial stroke, said air spring comprising:
- (a) a rigid end cap:
- (b) a piston axially spaced apart from said rigid end cap having an outside peripheral surface:
- (c) a flexible membrane, said membrane being sealingly attached around the circumference of said rigid end cap on one end and around said rigid piston on said other end to form a working cavity therebetween, said flexible membrane forming a meniscus as the piston moves axially relative to said rigid end cap over the axial stroke of the air spring, said flexible membrane forming an inflated diameter when said working cavity is pressurized with fluid;
- and
- (d) a fabric restraining cylinder attached at one end to said rigid end cap at a first end and extending coaxially with said flexible member from said end cap over the axial stroke of said airspring, having a diameter less than said inflated diameter of said flexible membrane, and formed of circumferentially extending primary reinforcement cords which are substantially inextensible in the radial direction thereby restraining the radial extension of said flexible membrane when said working cavity is pressurized.
A fluid actuation device having an axis and an axial stroke, said device comprising:
- (a) a rigid end cap:
- (b) a piston axially spaced apart from said rigid end cap having an outside peripheral surface:
- (c) a flexible membrane, said membrane being sealingly attached around the circumference of said rigid end cap on one end and around said rigid piston on said other end to form a working cavity therebetween, said flexible membrane forming a meniscus as the piston moves axially relative to said rigid end cap over the axial stroke, said working cavity being filled with an incompressible fluid under pressure, forming an inflated diameter of said flexible membrane:
- (d) a fabric restraining cylinder attached to said rigid end cap at a first end coaxially surrounding said flexible member from said end cap and extending over the axial stroke of said device, and having a diameter less than said inflated diameter of said flexible membrane, and formed of circumferentially extending primary reinforcement cords which are substantially inextensible in the radial direction thereby restraining the radial extension of said flexible membrane when said working cavity is pressurized;
- (e) an external means for storing fluid energy;
- and
- (f) a channel connecting said working cavity with said means for storing fluid energy to allow the passage of said incompressible fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.