Air spring and method for folding over an air spring bellows of an air spring

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9399379-B2
Application number	US-201314399375-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2013
Priority date	May 8, 2012
Publication date	Jul 26, 2016
Grant date	Jul 26, 2016

Abstract

An air spring for chassis of vehicles, which is clamped with an air spring piston and an air spring cover between the chassis and vehicle body of a motor vehicle, includes an elastomeric air spring bellows which at least partially delimits a compressed air-filled working chamber and which, forming at least one rolling fold, rolls on the air spring piston. The air spring bellows is attached by clamping elements to the air spring cover and the air spring piston, including an external guide attached to the air spring bellows and spaced apart from the air spring cover and attached to the air spring bellows such that a partial piece of the air spring bellows is formed between the air spring cover and the external guide as a cardanic fold which permits deflection of the air spring bellows produced by forces acting perpendicular to the axis of the air spring bellows.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air spring for running gear assemblies of vehicles, which is clamped with an air spring piston and an air spring cover between the running gear assembly and a vehicle body of a motor vehicle, comprising:
an air spring bellows made from elastomeric material, which at least partially delimits a compressed air-filled working chamber and which, forming at least one rolling fold, rolls on the air spring piston, wherein the air spring bellows is attached by clamping elements at a first end to the air spring cover and at a second end to the air spring piston, and
an external guide, which is attached to the air spring bellows and spaced apart from the air spring cover and which is attached to the air spring bellows in such a way that a partial piece of the air spring bellows between the air spring cover and the external guide is formed as a cardanic fold which permits a deflection of the air spring bellows produced by forces acting perpendicular to the axis of the air spring bellows, wherein the air spring bellows has a folded-over ply at the first end, said folded-over ply being folded back over such a length that, after assembly of the air spring, the folded-over ply partially covers the external guide with an overlap,
wherein the external guide is attached to the air spring bellows in the region of the overlap of the folded-over ply by an external clamping element such that, at a portion of the external guide that overlaps with the external clamping element in a radial direction of the air spring bellows, an outer surface of the external guide contacts the folded-over ply and an inner surface of the external guide contacts the air spring bellows.

2. The air spring as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising means which enable the air spring bellows to be folded over at a defined point.

3. The air spring as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the air spring bellows has a predetermined bending point, at which the folding over takes place.

4. The air spring as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the predetermined bending point is provided as an encircling inner groove in the air spring bellows.

5. The air spring as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the encircling inner groove has a depth of at most half the thickness of the bellows.

6. The air spring as claimed in claim 2 , wherein a ring is provided in a positioned manner on an outer side of the air spring bellows, and the folding over of the air spring bellows takes place around said ring.

7. The air spring as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the folded-over ply is formed before a vulcanization of a bellows blank of the air spring bellows and the folded-over ply is provided in such a way as to be vulcanized onto the air spring bellows in the region of the air spring cover clamping.

8. The air spring as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising a separating element arranged between the air spring bellows and the folded-over ply, in the region of the overlap.

9. The air spring as claimed in claim 8 , wherein a separating film made of Teflon is provided as the separating element.

10. The air spring as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the folded-over ply is produced after a vulcanization of a bellows blank of the air spring bellows.

11. A method for folding over an air spring bellows of an air spring for running gear assemblies of vehicles, wherein the air spring bellows is attached by clamping elements at a first end to an air spring cover and at a second end to the air spring piston, and an external guide, which is spaced apart from the air spring cover and which is attached to the air spring bellows in such a way that a partial piece of the air spring bellows between the air spring cover and the external guide is formed as a cardanic fold which permits a deflection of the air spring bellows produced by forces acting perpendicular to the axis of the air spring bellows, comprising:
a folded-over ply at the first end of the air spring bellows is folded back over such a length that, after assembly of the air spring, the folded-over ply partially covers the external guide with an overlap, and the external guide is attached to the air spring bellows in the region of the overlap of the folded-over ply by an external clamping element such that, at a portion of the external guide that overlaps with the external clamping element in a radial direction of the air spring bellows, an outer surface of the external guide contacts the folded-over ply and an inner surface of the external guide contacts the air spring bellows.

12. The method for folding over an air spring bellows as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the folding over of the air spring bellows takes place at a defined point.

13. The method for folding over an air spring bellows as claimed in claim 12 , wherein a ring, around which the folding over of the air spring bellows takes place, is positioned on an outer side of the air spring bellows.

14. The method for folding over an air spring bellows as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the folded-over ply is formed before a vulcanization of a bellows blank of the air spring bellows and the folded-over ply is vulcanized onto the air spring bellows in the region of the clamping of the air spring cover, wherein a separating element is arranged between the air spring bellows and the folded-over ply, in the region of the overlap.

15. The method for folding over an air spring bellows as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the folded-over ply is produced after a vulcanization of a bellows blank of the air spring bellows.

16. A method for folding over an air spring bellows of an air spring for running gear assemblies of vehicles, wherein the air spring bellows is attached by clamping elements at a first end to an air spring cover and at a second end to the air spring piston, and an external guide, which is spaced apart from the air spring cover and which is attached to the air spring bellows in such a way that a partial piece of the air spring bellows between the air spring cover and the external guide is formed as a cardanic fold which permits a deflection of the air spring bellows produced by forces acting perpendicular to the axis of the air spring bellows, comprising:
a folded-over ply at the first end of the air spring bellows is folded back over such a length that, after assembly of the air spring, the folded-over ply partially covers the external guide with an overlap, and the external guide is attached to the air spring bellows in the region of the overlap of the folded-over ply by an external clamping element,
wherein the folding over of the air spring bellows takes place at a defined point which is a predetermined bending point.

17. The method for folding over an air spring bellows as claimed in claim 16 , wherein an encircling inner groove is introduced into the air spring bellows as the predetermined bending point.

Assignees

• Continental Teves Ag & Co Ohg

Inventors

• Gleu Jens Uwe
• Wehaus Holger

Classifications

• F16F9/38 Primary

  Covers for protection or appearance · CPC title

• Y10T29/49877

  of flexible wall, expansible chamber devices [e.g., bellows] · CPC title

• F16F9/0454 Primary

  characterised by the assembling method or by the mounting arrangement, e.g. mounting of the membrane (F16F9/0409, F16F9/0445 take precedence) · CPC title

• F16F9/0409

  characterised by the wall structure · CPC title

• B60G11/27 Primary

  wherein the fluid is a gas · CPC title