Air spring

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10086850-B2
Application number	US-201515124133-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2015
Priority date	Mar 14, 2014
Publication date	Oct 2, 2018
Grant date	Oct 2, 2018

Abstract

Included are: a first supporting member; a second supporting member arranged to be spaced away from the first supporting member in a main load direction; an elastically deformable diaphragm forming a closed space by connecting the first supporting member and the second supporting member; a detection unit detecting a change of a relative distance between the first supporting member and the second supporting member, and producing a mechanical output of the change of the relative distance; and a controlling member capable of discharging air in an inside of the closed space S to an outside of the closed space S in response to the mechanical output from the detection unit. Thereby, an air spring having a mechanism for suppressing an abnormal rise of a vehicle height without deteriorating the diaphragm can be provided.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air spring comprising:
a first supporting member;
a second supporting member arranged to be spaced away from the first supporting member in a main load direction;
an elastically deformable diaphragm forming a closed space by connecting the first supporting member and the second supporting member;
a detection unit detecting a change of a relative distance between the first supporting member and the second supporting member without contacting the elastically deformable diaphragm, and producing a mechanical output of the change of the relative distance; and
a controlling member capable of discharging air in an inside of the closed space to an outside of the closed space in response to the mechanical output from the detection unit, wherein
the detection unit includes a wire routed between the first supporting member and the second supporting member, and
the mechanical output corresponds to a displacement of one end of the wire.

2. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein the controlling member includes a through hole allowing communication between the inside and the outside of the closed space, and an opening/closing member capable of opening and closing the through hole.

3. The air spring according to claim 2 , wherein the opening/closing member has a plug member configured to be movable relative to the through hole by the mechanical output.

4. The air spring according to claim 3 , wherein
the plug member has a first tapered portion formed in a tapered shape, and
the through hole has an inner circumferential surface including a second tapered portion that is in surface contact with the first tapered portion of the plug member in a state where the opening/closing member closes the through hole.

5. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein
the second supporting member includes an elastic member, and
the controlling member is provided in the elastic member.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Electric Industries
• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Haraguchi Hirokazu
• Nishimura Takehiro
• Okumura Yasufumi

Classifications

• F16F13/002

  comprising at least one fluid spring (F16F13/005, F16F13/02, F16F13/04 take precedence) · CPC title

• F16F9/05

  the flexible wall being of the rolling diaphragm type · CPC title

• F16F9/50

  Special means providing automatic damping adjustment, {i.e. self-adjustment of damping by particular sliding movements of a valve element, other than flexions or displacement of valve discs}(F16F9/53 takes precedence); {Special means providing self-adjustment of spring characteristics} · CPC title

• F16F2230/24

  Detecting or preventing malfunction, e.g. fail safe · CPC title

• F16F9/437

  Drainage arrangements · CPC title