Air suspension

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9969458-B2
Application number	US-201615005883-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 25, 2016
Priority date	Mar 26, 2015
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

An air suspension in an embodiment includes: a cylinder; a piston rod; a rod-side member disposed on the lower end side of the piston rod; a diaphragm; an axle-side attachment member having an upper end side of which is fixed to an opening at a lower end of the rod-side member, the axle-side attachment member including a fixing section for fixing the piston rod and an attachment hole joined to an axle; a gas passage formed in the axle-side attachment member, one end of the gas passage being opened to an upper end face of the axle-side attachment member and the other end of the gas passage being opened to a side section of the axle-side attachment member; and a valve section provided at the opening of the other end of the gas passage.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air suspension comprising:
a cylinder including, on an upper end side thereof, a vehicle-body-side attachment member joined to a vehicle body;
a piston rod including a piston on an upper end side thereof and inserted into the cylinder together with the piston;
a cylindrical rod-side member disposed on a lower end side of the piston rod and opened at an upper end of the rod-side member and a lower end thereof;
a diaphragm having an upper end of which is fixed to a side of the cylinder and a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member, the diaphragm forming an air chamber around the piston rod;
an axle-side attachment member having an upper end side of which is fixed to the opening at the lower end of the rod-side member, the axle-side attachment member which includes, on an upper end face thereof, a fixing section fixing a lower end of the piston rod and, on a lower end side thereof, an attachment hole joined to an axle;
a gas passage formed in the axle-side attachment member extending across an axis of the piston rod, one end of the gas passage being opened to the upper end face of the axle-side attachment member and the other end of the gas passage being opened to a side section of the axle-side attachment member;
a valve section provided at the opening of the other end of the gas passage; and
an annular groove that is provided at the side section of the axle-side attachment member so as to surround the gas passage and has a screw section formed on an outer periphery of the annular groove, wherein
the valve section includes:
a valve main body that is inserted into the gas passage and guides gas supplied from an outside to the gas passage; and
a valve cap that has a screw section on an inner periphery thereof that mates with the screw section of the annular groove so as to seal the valve main body.

2. The air suspension according to claim 1 , wherein the other end of the gas passage is opened to the side section of the axle-side attachment member between the fixing section and the attachment hole.

3. The air suspension according to claim 2 , wherein the gas passage is formed by an L-shaped through-hole including a bent section.

4. The air suspension according to claim 3 , wherein
the valve cap is attached in a state where at least a part of the valve cap is inserted into the annular groove.

5. The air suspension according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cover having a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member and an upper end of which is opened, the cylindrical cover covering an outer circumference of the diaphragm.

6. The air suspension according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cover having a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member and an upper end of which is opened, the cylindrical cover covering an outer circumference of the diaphragm.

7. The air suspension according to claim 2 , wherein
the valve cap is attached in a state where at least a part of the valve cap is inserted into the annular groove.

8. The air suspension according to claim 7 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cover having a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member and an upper end of which is opened, the cylindrical cover covering an outer circumference of the diaphragm.

9. The air suspension according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cover having a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member and an upper end of which is opened, the cylindrical cover covering an outer circumference of the diaphragm.

10. The air suspension according to claim 1 , wherein the gas passage is formed by an L-shaped through-hole including a bent section.

11. The air suspension according to claim 10 , wherein
the valve cap is attached in a state where at least a part of the valve cap is inserted into the annular groove.

12. The air suspension according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cover having a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member and an upper end of which is opened, the cylindrical cover covering an outer circumference of the diaphragm.

13. The air suspension according to claim 10 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cover having a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member and an upper end of which is opened, the cylindrical cover covering an outer circumference of the diaphragm.

14. The air suspension according to claim 1 , wherein
the valve cap is attached in a state where at least a part of the valve cap is inserted into the annular groove.

15. The air suspension according to claim 14 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cover having a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member and an upper end of which is opened, the cylindrical cover covering an outer circumference of the diaphragm.

16. The air suspension according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cover having a lower end of which is fixed to the rod-side member and an upper end of which is opened, the cylindrical cover covering an outer circumference of the diaphragm.

17. The air suspension according to claim 1 , wherein
the gas passage has a vertical portion extending in an axial direction of the piston rod and a horizontal portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction,
the vertical portion is longer than the fixing section in the axial direction.

18. The air suspension according to claim 17 , wherein
the vertical portion extends parallel to the piston rod in the axial direction.

Assignees

• Showa Corp

Inventors

• Yoshida Kojiro

Classifications

• B60G2206/424

  Plunger or top retainer construction for bellows or rolling lobe type air springs · CPC title

• F16F9/38

  Covers for protection or appearance · CPC title

• B60G17/0528

  Pressure regulating or air filling valves · CPC title

• B60G15/14 Primary

  the damper being connected to the stub axle and the spring being arranged around the damper · CPC title

• F16F9/342

  Throttling passages operating with metering pins {(F16F9/486 takes precedence)} · CPC title