Air spring

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9759282-B2
Application number	US-201314122454-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 1, 2013
Priority date	Jul 30, 2012
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

An air spring includes a top plate, a bottom plate disposed with a distance in a main load direction from the top plate, and a diaphragm made of elastically deformable rubber and connected to the top plate and the bottom plate to form a closed space therebetween. A modulus of elasticity of a material constituting a connection section which is disposed in the top plate and the bottom plate and connected to the diaphragm is greater than a modulus of elasticity of the rubber constituting the diaphragm and smaller than a modulus of elasticity of aluminum.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air spring comprising:
a first support member;
a second support member disposed with a distance in a main load direction from said first support member; and
a diaphragm made of elastically deformable rubber and connecting said first support member and said second support member to form a closed space therebetween,
in at least one member of said first support member and said second support member, a modulus of elasticity of a material constituting a connection section connected to said diaphragm being greater than a modulus of elasticity of said rubber constituting said diaphragm and smaller than a modulus of elasticity of aluminum,
wherein said at least one member includes a main body and a lightweight section having a smaller mass per unit volume than said main body,
said lightweight section is disposed in a recessed portion provided in said main body and is separated from said diaphragm, and
said main body constitutes said connection section, and
wherein said lightweight section is made of a honeycomb material, and
said lightweight section is disposed between a center axis of said main body and said connection section in a direction parallel to a plane perpendicular to the center axis.

2. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein the modulus of elasticity of the material constituting said connection section in said at least one member is not less than 1 GPa and not more than 40 GPa.

3. The air spring according to claim 2 , wherein said connection section is made of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP).

4. The air spring according to claim 3 , wherein fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) constituting said connection section is formed through a press molding method.

5. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein said lightweight section is made of a foamed material.

6. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein said lightweight section is made of engineering plastic.

7. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein
said connection section is made of fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) excluding carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and
said lightweight section is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP).

8. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one member includes said connection section and a reinforcement section made of a material having a greater modulus of elasticity than said connection section.

9. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein a member made of metal is disposed on at least one of a surface of said first support member facing said second support member and a surface of said second support member facing said first support member.

10. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein ,a member made of resin is disposed on at least one of a surface of said first support member facing said second support member and a surface of said second support member facing said first support member.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Electric Industries

Inventors

• Ura Yasuhiko
• Haraguchi Hirokazu
• Sawa Takayuki
• Yoshida Jun

Classifications

• F16F2224/0241

  Fibre-reinforced plastics [FRP] · CPC title

• F16F2230/24

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

• F16F9/05 Primary

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

• F16F9/04

  in a chamber with a flexible wall {(producing hollow articles of plastics, e.g. air bellows, B29D22/00)} · CPC title