Adjustable rate air spring

An air spring for mounting between spaced components of a vehicle to absorb road shock imparted onto a wheel of said vehicle, said air spring including a pair of spaced end members and an intervening flexible sleeve extending therebetween for forming an air chamber, said sleeve having a pair of open ends;

• clamp means for sealingly clamping the open ends of the flexible sleeve against the spaced end members;
• a hollow interior formed in one of said end members providing an auxiliary fluid reservoir therein which communicates with the air chamber;
• an inflatable flexible bladder mounted within the hollow interior formed in the said one end member, said bladder forming a flexible membrane separating the air chamber from the auxiliary reservoir;
• and fluid supply means communicating with the auxiliary fluid reservoir for changing the volume of fluid within said reservoir to change the volume of air in the air chamber by moving the flexible membrane with respect to said air chamber to change the spring rate of the air spring.

An adjustable rate air spring including a pair of spaced end members and a flexible sleeve extending therebetween forming an air chamber, said sleeve having a pair of opposed ends, at least one of which is closed;

• one of said end members being a piston and the other of said members being an end cap;
• said flexible sleeve having a rolling lobe which moves along an outer wall of the piston, as the piston moves with respect to the end cap;
• said piston being formed with a hollow interior which forms an auxiliary reservoir;
• said piston having an entrance formed therein located between said auxiliary reservoir and the air chamber;
• the closed end of the flexible sleeve extends across the entrance of the auxiliary reservoir and provides a flexible membrane separating the air chamber from said auxiliary reservoir;
• air supply means communicating with the air chamber for supplying said chamber with pressurized air;
• and fluid supply means communicating with the hollow interior of the said one end member for changing the volume of fluid in the auxiliary reservoir thereby changing the volume of the air chamber by moving the flexible membrane with respect to the air chamber to change the spring rate of said air spring.

An adjustable rate air spring including a pair of spaced end members and a flexible sleeve extending therebetween forming an air chamber, said sleeve having a pair of opposed ends, at least one of which is closed;

• one of said end members being formed with a hollow interior which forms an auxiliary reservoir;
• an entrance formed in said one end member and located between said auxiliary reservoir and the air chamber;
• clamp means for sealingly clamping the closed end of the flexible sleeve against the said one end member whereby the closed end of the flexible membrane extends across the entrance of the hollow interior of the said one end member;
• air supply means communicating with the air chamber for supplying said chamber with pressurized air;
• and fluid supply means communicating with the hollow interior of the said one end member for changing the volume of fluid in the auxiliary reservoir thereby changing the volume of the air chamber by moving the flexible membrane with respect to the air chamber to change the spring rate of said air spring.

An adjustable rate air spring including a pair of spaced end members and a flexible sleeve extending therebetween forming an air chamber, said sleeve having a pair of opposed ends, one of said ends being closed and the other of said end being open;

• one of said end members being formed with a hollow interior which forms an auxiliary reservoir;
• an entrance formed in said one end member and located between said auxiliary reservoir and the air chamber;
• the closed end of the flexible sleeve extends across the entrance of the auxiliary reservoir and provides a flexible membrane separating the air chamber from said auxiliary reservoir;
• air supply means communicating with the air chamber for supplying said chamber with pressurized air;
• fluid supply means communicating with the hollow interior of the said one end member for changing the volume of fluid in the auxiliary reservoir thereby changing the volume of the air chamber by moving the flexible membrane with respect to the air chamber to change the spring rate of said air spring;
• and an annular clamping band compressing the flexible sleeve adjacent the open end thereof against the other of said end members for sealingly clamping said open end to said other end member.

An adjustable rate air spring including a pair of spaced end members and a flexible sleeve extending therebetween forming an air chamber, said sleeve having a pair of opposed ends, at least one of which is closed;

• one of said end members being a piston formed with a hollow interior which forms an auxiliary reservoir and the other of said members being an end cap;
• said piston having a substantially annular shaped body, with said hollow interior being formed in said body;
• an entrance formed in said piston and located between said auxiliary reservoir and the air chamber;
• clamp means sealingly clamping the flexible sleeve against an outer surface of said body, whereby the closed end of the flexible sleeve extends across the entrance to said hollow interior of the piston to form the flexible membrane separating the air chamber from said auxiliary reservoir;
• air supply means communicating with the air chamber for supplying said chamber with pressurized air;
• and fluid supply means communicating with the hollow interior of the said one end member for changing the volume of fluid in the auxiliary reservoir thereby changing the volume of the air chamber by moving the flexible membrane with respect to the air chamber to change the spring rate of said air spring.

An adjustable rate air spring including a pair of spaced end members and a flexible sleeve extending therebetween forming an air chamber, said sleeve having a pair of opposed ends, at least one of which is closed;

• one of said end members being a piston formed with a hollow interior which forms an auxiliary reservoir and the other of said end members being an end cap;
• said flexible sleeve having a rolling lobe which moves along an outer wall of the piston, as the piston moves with respect to the opposite end member;
• an entrance formed in said piston and located between said auxiliary reservoir and the air chamber;
• the closed end of the flexible sleeve extends across the entrance of the auxiliary reservoir and provides a flexible membrane separating the air chamber from said auxiliary reservoir;
• air supply means communicating with the air chamber for supplying said chamber with pressurized air;
• fluid supply means communicating with the hollow interior of the piston for changing the volume of fluid in the auxiliary reservoir thereby changing the volume of the air chamber by moving the flexible membrane with respect to the air chamber to change the spring rate of said air spring;
• and a passage formed in the piston communicating with the hollow interior and the fluid supply means for transferring fluid into and out of said hollow interior.

An air spring for mounting between spaced components of a vehicle to absorb road shock imparted onto a wheel of said vehicle, said air spring including a pair of spaced end members and an intervening flexible sleeve extending therebetween for forming an air chamber;

• a hollow interior formed in one of said end members providing an auxiliary fluid reservoir therein which communicates with the air chamber;
• said flexible sleeve having a closed end which extends across an entrance of the auxiliary reservoir and forms a flexible membrane separating the air chamber from the auxiliary reservoir;
• the said one end member having an annular wall which forms a portion of the auxiliary fluid reservoir;
• clamp means for sealingly clamping the closed end of the flexible sleeve against the annular wall surrounding said entrance to the auxiliary reservoir;
• and fluid supply means communicating with the auxiliary fluid reservoir for changing the volume of fluid within said reservoir to change the volume of air in the air chamber by moving the flexible membrane with respect to said air chamber to change the spring rate of the air spring.