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US 9,038,994 B2Granted
Air spring protector
AssigneeArvinMeritor Technology, LLC
InventorsChristopher S. Keeney, Edward J. Eshelman, Christine L. Lutz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An air spring for a vehicle suspension includes a resilient spring body that is partially surrounded by a protective cover. The protective cover protects the resilient spring body from rupturing when used in harsh vehicle conditions. The protective cover is comprised of a rigid or flexible armor material that is resistive to munitions, such as projectiles and razor wire, for example.
Claims22
An air spring for a vehicle suspension comprising:
- a resilient spring body to be supported on a suspension component, said resilient spring body defining a central axis extending along a length of said resilient spring body, and said resilient spring body having an outer circumferential surface surrounding said central axis and an inner circumferential surface that defines an interior cavity;
- a first support adapted to connect said resilient spring body to a vehicle frame member and a second support adapted to connect said resilient spring body to the suspension component;
- and
- a protective cover partially surrounding one portion of said outer circumferential surface of said resilient spring body to leave a remaining portion of said outer circumferential surface that is externally exposed, and wherein said one portion of said outer circumferential surface comprises one side of said resilient spring body that is to face away from a vehicle center and wherein said remaining portion of said outer circumferential surface comprises an opposite side of said resilient spring body that is to face inwardly toward the vehicle center, wherein said protective cover has a variable cross-section taken along a direction that is parallel to said central axis;
- wherein said protective cover comprises an impenetrable rigid cover having an internal surface that faces said outer circumferential surface of said resilient spring body and an external surface that is resistant to penetration by an object exerting an external force against said external surface;
- and
- wherein said impenetrable rigid cover includes a first cover portion mounted to said first support and a second cover portion mounted to said second support, said first and second cover portions being separate from each other and positioned in an overlapping relationship such that at least one of said first and second cover portions can slide relative to the other of said first and second cover portions, and wherein said first cover portion is defined by a first shape and said second cover portion is defined by a second shape that is different than said first shape.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.