Air spring damper for vehicle suspension

An air spring damper for the suspension of a vehicle body with respect to a support for a road wheel and for damping the natural frequency of the road wheel support and the lower natural frequency of the vehicle body comprising, an elongated reservoir tube having a pressurized air therein, means attaching a lower end portion of said reservoir tube to said road wheel support, a piston mounted for reciprocating jounce and rebound stroking movement within said reservoir tube, valve disk means operatively mounted in said piston and deflectable to restrict the flow of air therethrough to optimize damping of the natural frequency of said wheel support and provide diminishing dissipation of energy of wheel support frequency beyond said natural frequency and to further damp the lower natural frequency of said body, a piston rod attached to said piston and extending from said reservoir tube, elastomeric air spring means operatively mounted above said reservoir tube for rolling movement thereon, rod guide and rod guide bearing means slidably receiving said piston rod and closing the upper end of said reservoir tube, passage means within said piston rod for admitting pressurized air to said air spring means and said reservoir tube to effect the air spring suspension of said body with respect to said wheel support, and said passage means interconnecting the air spring means and said reservoir tube.

A suspension device for a vehicle comprising:

• (a) a damper having relatively movable telescopic parts including a rigid tubular member and a piston assembly mounted for stroking movement therein, a piston rod connected to said piston assembly and extending therefrom and through one end of said tubular member,
• (b) a resilient tubular rolling-lobe air spring member disposed around at least a part of the length of the rigid tubular member, said air spring having
• i a tubular inner wall portion with a first terminal end that defines a lower extremity of said air spring member,
• ii and a tubular outer wall portion spaced from the inner wall portion with a second terminal end that defines an upper extremity of said air spring member, and
• iii a rolling lobe portion interconnecting said inner and outer wall portions, said rolling lobe portion being movable on reciprocal movement of said piston and piston rod relative to said rigid tubular member,
• (c) first fastener means securing said first terminal end of said tubular inner wall in an air tight manner with respect to said rigid tubular member,
• (d) second fastener means securing said second terminal end of said tubular outer wall in an air tight manner with respect to said piston rod so that said air spring member forms a closed fluid pressure receiving chamber surrounding a major part of said damper for receiving air under pressure to thereby provide an air spring, said air spring yieldably resisting telescopic movement of said damper on admission of fluid pressure into said chamber,
• (e) fluid supply means for supplying pressure to and from said chamber, and
• (f) a radially resilient support tube having full time contact with said outer wall portion of said air spring member for the radial support thereof, said support tube including a lower constricted end portion which has a diameter less than the diameter of said tubular outer wall portions, said support tube terminating in a first end secured adjacent said second fastening means and in a second end extending beyond the travel range of said rolling lobe portion and remaining substantially undeflected to support an outer surface of said rolling lobe portion.

An air adjustable suspension spring and damper for a vehicle suspension and for operatively interconnecting sprung and unsprung vehicle masses comprising:

• (a) support tube means operatively connected to one of said vehicle masses,
• (b) a valved piston assembly mounted within the confines of said support tube means for stroking movement therein to restrict the flow of working fluid therethrough and thereby control the spring action of the vehicle suspension,
• (c) piston rod means connected to said piston assembly and extending therefrom through at least one end of said support tube,
• (d) a first tubular sleeve of radially resilient material for an air suspension spring,
• (e) fastener means operatively connecting said first tubular sleeve at one end thereof in an airtight manners with respect to said support tube means,
• (f) mounting means for connecting said piston rod to the other of said vehicle masses,
• (g) second fastener means for operatively connecting the other end of said first tubular sleeve to said mounting means,
• (h) a second tubular sleeve of radially resilient material including as lower constricted end portion that has a diameter less than the diameter of said first tubular sleeve, said second tubular sleeve having a first end secured with respect to one of said vehicle masses and encompassing a portion of said first tubular sleeve to provide full time engagement and resilient radial support of said first tubular sleeve when said first tubular sleeve is air pressurized and operating as a spring suspension, said second tube having a second end terminating in an undeflected end extending beyond said first tubular sleeve.

An air adjustable suspension spring and a suspension spring damper integrated therewith for operatively interconnecting sprung and unsprung masses of a vehicle comprising:

• (a) support tube means operatively connected to one of said vehicle masses,
• (b) a valved piston assembly mounted within the confines of said support tube means for stroking movement therein to restrict the flow of working fluid therethrough and thereby control the spring action of the vehicle suspension,
• (c) piston rod means connected to said piston assembly and extending therefrom through at least one end of said support tube,
• (d) a first tubular sleeve of a radially elastomeric material for an air suspension spring,
• (e) fastener means operatively connecting said first tubular sleeve at one end thereof in an airtight manner with respect to said support tube means,
• (f) mounting means for connecting said piston rod to the other of said vehicle masses,
• (g) second fastener means for operatively connecting the other end of said first tubular sleeve to said mounting means,
• (h) a second tubular sleeve of a radially elastomeric material having one end secured with respect to said vehicle mounting means and encompassing a portion of said first tubular sleeve to provide full time engagement and resilient support of said first tubular sleeve when said first tubular sleeve is air pressurized and operating as a spring suspension, said second tube having a second end terminating in an undeflected end extending beyond said first tubular sleeve, said second end having a diameter less than the diameter of the first tubular sleeve.