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US 4,762,308 AGranted
Damping valve for air spring suspension systems
AssigneeThe Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
InventorWayne H. Geno
Life of this patent
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AssigneeThe Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
InventorWayne H. Geno
Estimating the term…
An air spring for motor vehicles to absorb road shocks includes first and second axially spaced end members with an intervening flexible sleeve forming a fluid pressure chamber therebetween. An improved two-way damping valve connects the pressure chamber to a fluid reservoir and provides damping for the air spring by restricting fluid flow in one direction, either into or out of the pressure chamber, without materially effecting the fluid flow in the opposite direction. The valve includes a flexible diaphragm formed of reinforced rubber having slots which provide one or more flaps. The diaphragm preferably is mounted on a rigid annular washer having a predetermined size center opening forming a damping orifice. The flaps are drawn automatically into the washer opening to restrict the fluid flow through the orifice when the fluid moves in one direction, with the flaps moving away from the orifice to permit free movement of the fluid therethrough when the fluid is moving in an opposite direction. In another embodiment the damping valve is mounted in a strut-type fluid shock absorber combined with an air spring.
An improved air spring of the type having first and second end members mounted in a spaced relationship and movable towards and away from each other, and a flexible sleeve connected to said end members and forming a fluid pressure chamber therebetween, wherein said improvement includes valve means for controlling the flow of a fluid into and out of the fluid pressure chamber upon movement of the end members towards and away from each other to provide damping, said valve means including a fixed predetermined sized orifice opening and a flexible diaphragm formed with at least one slot forming at least two flaps movable into and out of said orifice opening to vary the effective size of said opening for allowing greater fluid flow in one direction than in the other.
An improved suspension system for vehicles including:
An improved two-way valve for controlling the flow of a fluid into and out of a fluid pressure chamber of an air spring of the type having first and second end members mounted in a spaced relationship and movable towards and away from each other and having a flexible sleeve connected to said end members and forming said fluid pressure chamber with a fixed damping orifice communicating with the fluid pressure chamber;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.