End cap assembly for air spring

An improved air spring including:

• (a) a pair of end members adapted to be mounted at spaced locations;
• (b) a flexible sleeve formed of an elastomeric material containing reinforcing cords and having open ends sealingly engaged with the end members forming a pressurized fluid chamber therebetween;
• (c) one of said end members having an end cap extending within one of the open ends of the sleeve and a clamp ring extending about said one sleeve end in clamped engagement with said end cap compressing the sleeve material therebetween, the clamp ring and end cap having mutually engaged annular snap lips axially clamping said ring and cap together in a sealed engagement with the intervening sleeve material;
• and
• (d) an annular curved projection formed on a mating surface of one of said end cap and clamp ring extending into a concave recess formed in a mating surface of the other of said end cap and clamp ring placing the sleeve in compressive shear throughout the spaced annular areas on opposite sides of said projection, and an intervening area within said recess between said annular compressive shear areas having a greater separation than the thickness of the sleeve material to permit the sleeve material to expand therein.

An improved air spring including:

• (a) a pair of end members adapted to be mounted at spaced locations;
• (b) a flexible sleeve formed of an elastomeric material containing reinforcing cords and having open ends sealingly engaged with the end members to form a pressurized fluid chamber therebetween;
• (c) one of said end members having an end cap extending within one of the open ends of the sleeve and a clamp ring extending about said one sleeve end in clamped engagement with said end cap compressing the sleeve material therebetween;
• and
• (d) a generally axially extending annular curved projection formed on the clamp ring extending into an axially aligned annular concave recess having a radial width sufficiently greater than the radial width of said projection forming two annular radially spaced areas surrounding said projection, each of said areas having a radial width less than the thickness of the sleeve material to radially compress the sleeve material between said projection and the end cap;
• and an annular expansion area between an extended end of the projection and a bottom of the recess having a greater axial separation than the thickness of the sleeve material to permit the sleeve material to expand therein.

An improved air spring including:

• (a) a pair of end members adapted to be mounted at spaced locations:
• (b) a flexible sleeve formed of an elastomeric material containing reinforcing cords and having open ends sealingly engaged with the end members forming a pressurized fluid chamber therebetween;
• (c) one of said end members having an end cap extending within one of the open ends of the sleeve and a clamp ring extending about said one sleeve end in clamped engagement with said end cap compressing the sleeve material therebetween;
• and
• (d) an annular curved projection formed on a mating surface of one of said end cap and clamp ring extending into a concave recess formed in a mating surface of the other of said end cap and clamp ring placing the sleeve in compressive shear throughout radial spaced annular areas on opposite sides of said projection, and an intervening area within said recess between said annular compressive shear areas having a greater separation than the thickness of the sleeve material to permit the sleeve material to expand therein, said spaced areas formed between side surfaces of said projection and side surfaces of the concave recess having a radial spacing approximately 50% of the thickness of the sleeve material.

An improved air spring including:

• (a) a pair of end members adapted to be mounted at spaced locations;
• (b) a flexible sleeve formed of an elastomeric material containing reinforcing cords and having open ends sealingly engaged with the end members forming a pressurized fluid chamber therebetween;
• (c) one of said end members having an end cap extending within one of the open ends of the sleeve and a clamp ring extending about said one sleeve end in clamped engagement with said end cap compressing the sleeve material therebetween;
• (d) an annular curved projection formed on a mating surface of one of said end cap and clamp ring extending into a concave recess formed in a mating surface of the other of said end cap and clamp ring placing the sleeve in compressive shear throughout the spaced annular areas on opposite sides of said projection, and an intervening area within said recess between said annular compressive shear areas having a greater separation than the thickness of the sleeve material to permit the sleeve material to expand therein;
• and
• (e) a third compression area formed between the end cap and clamp ring spaced radially outwardly from the two compressive shear areas.

An improved air spring including:

• (a) a pair of end members adapted to be mounted at spaced locations;
• (b) a flexible sleeve formed of an elastomeric material containing reinforcing cords and having open ends sealingly engaged with the end members forming a pressurized fluid chamber therebetween;
• (c) one of said end members having a disc-shaped end cap extending within one of the open ends of the sleeve and a clamp ring extending about said one sleeve end in clamped engagement with said end cap compressing the sleeve material therebetween;
• and
• (d) the end cap having an outer mating surface formed with a helical projection extending about said mating surface and forming an intervening annular helical recess, the clamp ring having an inner mating surface formed with a helical projection extending about said mating surface and forming an intervening annular helical recess, said helical projections of said end cap and clamp ring extending into the helical recesses of said clamp ring and end cap, respectively, placing the intervening sleeve in compressive shear throughout spaced annular areas on opposite sides of the helical projections and providing intervening expansion areas within said recesses having a greater separation than the thickness of the sleeve material to permit the sleeve material to expand therein.