Adapter piece for connecting a damper tube and an air spring piston in a non-positive manner, air spring damper system, and method for producing an air spring damper system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11548343-B2
Application number	US-201916405230-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 7, 2019
Priority date	May 11, 2018
Publication date	Jan 10, 2023
Grant date	Jan 10, 2023

Abstract

An adapter piece may be employed to connect a damper tube and an air spring piston in a non-positive manner. The adapter piece may comprise a spring region. The adapter piece may also include a first ring region and a second ring region, and the spring region may be positioned between the first ring region and the second ring region. Further, an air spring damper system may utilize the spring region of such an adapter piece to connect a damper tube and an air spring piston in a non-positive connection. The damper tube may include a bulge with a supporting element positioned on the bulge. The adapter piece may lie on the supporting element.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An adapter piece for connecting a damper tube and an air spring piston in a non-positive manner, wherein the adapter piece comprises a spring region having multiple distinct spring part regions disposed in a single radial plane of the adapter piece, wherein the spring part regions are discontinuous in a circumferential direction, wherein each spring part region is cantilevered such that a line extending radially from a radially outermost portion of the spring part region through a radially innermost portion of the spring part region where the spring part region is supported on an inner wall of the adapter piece intersects a longitudinal axis that is perpendicular to the single radial plane and extends through a center of the adapter piece, wherein a base of each spring part region is integral with a remainder of the adapter piece, wherein each spring part region extends from the radially innermost portion of the adapter piece to the radially outermost portion of the adapter piece, wherein the base of each spring part region is disposed at the radially innermost portion of the adapter piece.

2. The adapter piece of claim 1 wherein a slot extends in the circumferential direction above and below the base of each spring part region, wherein a central portion of the inner wall of the adapter piece, which is located longitudinally between a pair of the slots associated with each spring part region, forms a closed loop.

3. The adapter piece of claim 1 consisting of exactly four of the multiple distinct spring part regions, wherein a different one of the multiple distinct spring part regions is disposed in each quadrant of the single radial plane.

4. The adapter piece of claim 1 wherein a radially-outward-facing surface of each of the multiple distinct spring part regions includes a depression or a hole.

5. The adapter piece of claim 1 wherein each of the multiple distinct spring part regions extends outwards in a different direction from a radially innermost wall of the adapter piece.

6. The adapter piece of claim 1 wherein each of the multiple distinct spring part regions is cantilevered and has five distinct sides that face different directions.

7. The adapter piece of claim 1 wherein each of the multiple distinct spring part regions has a first pair of opposing surfaces and a second pair of opposing surfaces, wherein a central axis of each spring part region occupies a space halfway between the first pair of opposing surfaces and halfway between the second pair of opposing surfaces and is nonintersecting with the first and second pair of opposing surfaces, wherein the central axes of the multiple distinct spring part regions are nonintersecting with a longitudinal axis that extends through a center of the adapter piece, wherein a first and a second of the multiple distinct spring part regions share the same central axis.

8. The adapter piece of claim 1 wherein each of the multiple distinct spring part regions has planar sides.

9. The adapter piece of claim 1 wherein longitudinally-extending walls of the adapter piece are disposed on both circumferential sides of each spring part region so as to separate each spring part region circumferentially.

10. An adapter piece for connecting a damper tube and an air spring piston in a non-positive manner, wherein the adapter piece comprises:
a spring region having multiple distinct spring part regions disposed in a single radial plane of the adapter piece, wherein the spring part regions are discontinuous in a circumferential direction, wherein each spring part region is cantilevered such that a line extending radially from a radially outermost portion of the spring part region through a radially innermost portion of the spring part region where the spring part region is supported on an inner wall of the adapter piece intersects a longitudinal axis that is perpendicular to the single radial plane and extends through a center of the adapter piece;
a first ring region;
a second ring region; and
cavities that open radially outward, wherein in an axial direction the cavities are disposed directly between and defined at least in part by the first and second ring regions,
wherein the spring part regions are disposed in the axial direction between the first and second ring regions, wherein a majority of each spring part region overlaps radially with the first and second ring regions.

11. The adapter piece of claim 10 wherein the spring region is elastic in the single radial plane.

12. The adapter piece of claim 10 wherein excluding an upper surface of the first ring region and a lower surface of the second ring region, the adapter piece is symmetric across the single radial plane and across at least one plane that is orthogonal to the single radial plane.

13. The adapter piece of claim 10 wherein the first and second ring regions are closed loops.

14. A method for producing an air spring damper system that includes a damper tube, an air spring piston, and an adapter piece for connecting the damper tube and the air spring piston in a non-positive manner, wherein a non-positive connection exists between the air spring piston and the damper tube via a spring region of the adapter piece, the method comprising compressing in a radially inward direction multiple, distinct, outward-facing spring regions of the spring region of the adapter piece that are cantilevered so as to extend from an inner wall of the adapter piece and so as to be unsupported from axially above and below during a relative assembly movement of the damper tube and the air spring piston such that after the relative assembly movement in an assembled state the multiple, distinct, outward-facing spring regions of the spring region extend between and are in direct contact with both the air spring piston and the damper tube, with contact between the multiple, distinct, outward-facing spring regions and the air spring piston being discontinuous in a circumferential direction.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the non-positive connection is formed between the damper tube and the air spring piston via the compression of the multiple, distinct, outward-facing spring regions of the adapter piece.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein prior to the compression of the multiple, distinct, outward-facing spring regions, the method comprises positioning the adapter piece
on a bulge of the damper tube, or
on a supporting element disposed on a bulge of the damper tube,
the adapter piece being moved relative to the air spring piston during the relative assembly movement, and being substantially stationary relative to the damper tube.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein compressing the multiple, distinct, outward-facing spring regions of the spring region of the adapter piece during the relative assembly movement comprises elastically deforming connecting portions of the adapter piece where each of the multiple, distinct, outward-facing spring regions is connected to a radially innermost portion of the adapter piece.

Assignees

• Thyssen Krupp Bilstein Gmbh
• Thyssenkrupp Ag

Inventors

• Fischbach Lars
• Gross Manuel

Classifications

• F16F9/0281

  Details · CPC title

• B60G11/27 Primary

  wherein the fluid is a gas · CPC title

• B60G2202/314

  The spring being a pneumatic spring · CPC title

• F16F1/028

  cylindrical, with radial openings · CPC title

• F16F9/084

  comprising a gas spring contained within a flexible wall, the wall not being in contact with the damping fluid, i.e. mounted externally on the damper cylinder · CPC title