GB2333576A - An air spring for a motor vehicle - Google Patents

An air spring for a motor vehicle Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2333576A
GB2333576A GB9826290A GB9826290A GB2333576A GB 2333576 A GB2333576 A GB 2333576A GB 9826290 A GB9826290 A GB 9826290A GB 9826290 A GB9826290 A GB 9826290A GB 2333576 A GB2333576 A GB 2333576A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
piston
spring
air
chamber
motor vehicle
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB9826290A
Other versions
GB2333576B (en
GB9826290D0 (en
Inventor
Ralph William Hammond
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
MG Rover Group Ltd
Original Assignee
MG Rover Group Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by MG Rover Group Ltd filed Critical MG Rover Group Ltd
Publication of GB9826290D0 publication Critical patent/GB9826290D0/en
Publication of GB2333576A publication Critical patent/GB2333576A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2333576B publication Critical patent/GB2333576B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G11/00—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or kind of springs
    • B60G11/26—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or kind of springs having fluid springs only, e.g. hydropneumatic springs
    • B60G11/28—Resilient suspensions characterised by arrangement, location or kind of springs having fluid springs only, e.g. hydropneumatic springs characterised by means specially adapted for attaching the spring to axle or sprung part of the vehicle
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G3/00—Resilient suspensions for a single wheel
    • B60G3/18—Resilient suspensions for a single wheel with two or more pivoted arms, e.g. parallelogram
    • B60G3/20—Resilient suspensions for a single wheel with two or more pivoted arms, e.g. parallelogram all arms being rigid
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16F—SPRINGS; SHOCK-ABSORBERS; MEANS FOR DAMPING VIBRATION
    • F16F9/00—Springs, vibration-dampers, shock-absorbers, or similarly-constructed movement-dampers using a fluid or the equivalent as damping medium
    • F16F9/02—Springs, vibration-dampers, shock-absorbers, or similarly-constructed movement-dampers using a fluid or the equivalent as damping medium using gas only or vacuum
    • F16F9/04—Springs, vibration-dampers, shock-absorbers, or similarly-constructed movement-dampers using a fluid or the equivalent as damping medium using gas only or vacuum in a chamber with a flexible wall
    • F16F9/05—Springs, vibration-dampers, shock-absorbers, or similarly-constructed movement-dampers using a fluid or the equivalent as damping medium using gas only or vacuum in a chamber with a flexible wall the flexible wall being of the rolling diaphragm type
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2200/00—Indexing codes relating to suspension types
    • B60G2200/10—Independent suspensions
    • B60G2200/18—Multilink suspensions, e.g. elastokinematic arrangements
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2204/00—Indexing codes related to suspensions per se or to auxiliary parts
    • B60G2204/10—Mounting of suspension elements
    • B60G2204/12—Mounting of springs or dampers
    • B60G2204/126—Mounting of pneumatic springs
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2204/00—Indexing codes related to suspensions per se or to auxiliary parts
    • B60G2204/10—Mounting of suspension elements
    • B60G2204/12—Mounting of springs or dampers
    • B60G2204/129—Damper mount on wheel suspension or knuckle
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2206/00—Indexing codes related to the manufacturing of suspensions: constructional features, the materials used, procedures or tools
    • B60G2206/01—Constructional features of suspension elements, e.g. arms, dampers, springs
    • B60G2206/10—Constructional features of arms
    • B60G2206/124—Constructional features of arms the arm having triangular or Y-shape, e.g. wishbone
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2206/00—Indexing codes related to the manufacturing of suspensions: constructional features, the materials used, procedures or tools
    • B60G2206/01—Constructional features of suspension elements, e.g. arms, dampers, springs
    • B60G2206/40—Constructional features of dampers and/or springs
    • B60G2206/42—Springs
    • B60G2206/424—Plunger or top retainer construction for bellows or rolling lobe type air springs

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Vehicle Body Suspensions (AREA)
  • Fluid-Damping Devices (AREA)

Abstract

An air spring for a motor vehicle has a guide means in the form of a guide rod 17 engageable with a bore 19, 20 in a piston 12 supporting one end of a spring bellows 16 to ensure that the piston 12 remains normal with a longitudinal axis S-S of the spring bellows 16 during compression thereof. The guide rod 17 has one end connected to an air inlet port 9C in the support, and supplies air to a chamber 25 formed in the piston 12. A passageway 18 leads from the chamber 25 to the main gas spring volume.

Description

An Air Spring for a Motor Vehicle This invention relates to air springs and in particular to an air spring for a motor vehicle.
It is well known for example from DE-A-4325576 to provide an air spring for a motor vehicle comprising of an air filled spring bellows connected between a piston on one side and an end plate on the other side.
The end plate being arranged for attachment to part of the structure of the motorwehicle and the piston being arranged for attachment to part of the suspension linkage of the motor vehicle.
It is a problem with such prior art air springs that where large articulations of the suspension occur the spring bellows is deformed due to mis-alignment between the piston and the top plate resulting in chafing of the spring bellows and consequential reduction in service life.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved air spring for a motor vehicle.
According to the inventionthere is provided an air spring for a motor vehicle comprising a support attached in use to part of the body structure of a motor vehicle, a piston attached in use to a suspension link of the motor vehicle and an air-filled spring bellows connected between positions of attachment on support and the piston, wherein the piston has a chamber defined therein and a passageway leading from the main gas spring volume into the chamber, and a guide tube having one end connected to an air inlet port in the support and its other end slidably supported in the aperture, such that it serves to align the piston with the support and to feed air from the inlet port into the chamber.
Preferably the piston has at least one further aperture therein connecting the chamber to the main spring volume to allow air to pass between the chamber and the main spring volume.
Preferably the guide tube is connected to the support means by a resilient bush.
Preferably the piston is pivotally connected to the suspension link by a rotatable joint, which preferably includes a resilient bush.
Preferably the piston is formed in two parts which between them define the chamber such that the connection between the two parts can be adjusted to adjust the volume of the gas spring.
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing of which: Fig. 1 is a pictorial representation of a double wishbone rear suspension for a motor vehicle as viewed from above showing an air spring according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a pictorial representation of the suspension system when viewed in the direction of arrow A on Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a pictorial representation similar to that shown in Fig. 1 but viewed from below; and Fig. 4 is a cross-section through an air spring according to the invention.
With reference to the figures there is shown a rear suspension system for a motor vehicle comprising of a lower link or wishbone 2, an upper link or wishbone 3, a hub assembly 5, a shock absorber or damper 4 and a road spring in the form of an air spring 10.
The lower and upper wishbones 2 and 3 are pivotally connected at their inner ends to part of the chassis or body structure of the motor vehicle and at their outer ends are pivotally connected to brackets formed as part of the hub assembly 5. The lower wishbone 2 being rotatable about an axis X-X and the upper wishbone 3 being rotatable about an axis Z-Z.
The shock absorber 4 is rotatably connected at its upper end to part of the body structure of the motor vehicle and is rotatably connected at its lower end to the lower wishbone 2.
The air spring 10 comprises a flexible spring bellows 16 which is connected at its upper end to a first support means in the form of the top mounting plate assembly 11 and at its lower end to a second support means in the form of an air piston 12.
The top mounting plate assembly 11 comprises of a top mounting plate 9 having an annular mounting flange 9A for attachment by means of bolts 14 to part of the body structure of the motor vehicle and a truncated conical body portion 9B supporting at its upper end a resilient bush 24. The body portion 9B has an upper mount 21 for the spring bellows 16 attached to it adjacent to its juncture with the mounting flange 9A. To stiffen the structure a number of fillets 15 are attached between the mounting flange 9A and the body portion 9B. The top of the body portion 9B has an air inlet port 9C through it which is sealed off from the main gas spring volume by the bush 24.
The upper end of the spring bellows 16 is connected to the upper mount 21 by means of an annular retainer ring 22 which encircles the spring bellows 16 thereby trapping it against the upper mount 21. The connection of the bellows 16 to the upper mount 21 forming a first position attachment.
At its lower end the bellows 16 is attached at a second position of attachment to the air piston 12 by means of an annular spring ring 23. The air piston 12 defines a chamber 25 and is formed from a lower part 12A which has a base 26 and side wall 27, and an upper part 12B which fits into the top of the side wall 27. The upper part 12B has a guide bore 19 extending through its centre into the top of which is press fitted a PTFE bush 20 and a number of vent bores 18 extending through it connecting the chamber 25 to the main gas spring volume. The base part 12A is pivotally connected to the lower wishbone 2 by a rotatable joint 13, 13A, 13B.
The rotatable joint is formed by a spigot 13 attached to the lower wishbone 2 and a resilient bush 13A held within an outer sleeve 13B that is connected by means of the tube 18 to the piston 12. The spigot 13 has a longitudinal axis Y-Y that is parallel to the pivot axis X-X of the lower wishbone 2.
An elongate tube 17 is fastened at its upper end to the resilient bush 24, extending through a hole in the bush 24 so as to be connected to the inlet part 9C, and is slidingly engaged at its lower end with the PTFE bush 20, extending down into the bore guide 19. The tube 17 and the bush 20 forming a guide means that ensures that the air piston 12 is constrained to slide along a longitudinal axis S-S along which the spring bellows 16 is compressed during use. In addition the engagement of the tube 17 with the sleeve 20 ensures that the position of attachment of the bellows 16 to the piston 12 in the form of the annular spring ring 23 remains normal to the axis S-S during compression or extension of the bellows 16. In this way the guide means ensures that the spring bellows 16 undergoes pure compression and is not subjected to oblique or side forces that can result in rapid wear due to chafing of the spring bellows 16. The tube 17 also feeds air from the air inlet port 9C down into the chamber 25 in the piston 12, from where it then passes out into the main spring volume through the vent bores 18.
Because the chamber 25 is connected to the main volume of the gas spring it forms part of the total effective volume of the gas spring.
Because the piston 12 is formed in two parts it is possible to adjust the total volume of the chamber 25, and therefore of the gas spring, by adjusting the connection between the two parts 12A, 12B.
It will be appreciated that the air spring is applicable for use with many suspension arrangements and is not limited to a double wishbone system.

Claims (7)

  1. CLAIMS 1. An air spring for a motor vehicle comprising a support attached in use to part of the body structure of a motor vehicle, a piston attached in use to a suspension link of the motor vehicle and an air-filled spring bellows connected between positions of attachment on support and the piston, wherein the piston has a chamber defined therein and a passageway leading from the main gas spring volume into the chamber, and a guide tube having one end connected to an air inlet port in the support and its other end slidably supported in the aperture, such that it serves to align the piston with the support and to feed air from the inlet port into the chamber.
  2. 2. An air spring as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the piston has at least one further aperture therein connecting the chamber to the main spring volume to allow air to pass between the chamber and the main spring volume.
  3. 3. An air spring as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the guide tube is connected to the support means by a resilient bush.
  4. 4. An air spring as claimed in any foregoing claim in which the piston is pivotally connected to the suspension link by a rotatable joint.
  5. 5. An air spring as claimed in any foregoing claim in which the piston is connected to the suspension link by means of a resilient bush.
  6. 6. An air spring according to any foregoing claim wherein the piston is formed in two parts which between them define the chamber such that the connection between the two parts can be adjusted to adjust the volume of the gas spring.
  7. 7. An air spring for a motor vehicle substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
GB9826290A 1998-01-21 1998-12-02 An air spring for a motor vehicle Expired - Lifetime GB2333576B (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB9801135.6A GB9801135D0 (en) 1998-01-21 1998-01-21 An air spring for a motor vehicle

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9826290D0 GB9826290D0 (en) 1999-01-20
GB2333576A true GB2333576A (en) 1999-07-28
GB2333576B GB2333576B (en) 2002-01-09

Family

ID=10825549

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GBGB9801135.6A Ceased GB9801135D0 (en) 1998-01-21 1998-01-21 An air spring for a motor vehicle
GB9826290A Expired - Lifetime GB2333576B (en) 1998-01-21 1998-12-02 An air spring for a motor vehicle

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GBGB9801135.6A Ceased GB9801135D0 (en) 1998-01-21 1998-01-21 An air spring for a motor vehicle

Country Status (1)

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Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120061887A1 (en) * 2010-09-10 2012-03-15 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Air spring for a heavy-duty vehicle with damping features
CN102834640A (en) * 2010-04-10 2012-12-19 奥迪股份公司 Air spring
US9139061B2 (en) 2013-04-03 2015-09-22 Watson & Chalin Manufacturing, Inc. Vehicle suspension system with reservoir for air spring damping
US9157529B2 (en) 2011-05-17 2015-10-13 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Piston for an air spring of a heavy-duty vehicle
EP2990239A1 (en) 2014-09-01 2016-03-02 Broshuis B.V. Independent wheel suspension comprising pneumatic spring for a semi-trailer and semi-trailer equipped therewith
WO2016188685A1 (en) * 2015-05-28 2016-12-01 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag Transverse control arm
US9738131B2 (en) 2015-05-11 2017-08-22 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Air spring with damping characteristics for heavy-duty vehicles
US9744824B2 (en) 2015-03-25 2017-08-29 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Damping air spring and shock absorber combination for heavy-duty vehicle axle/suspension systems

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1163920A (en) * 1965-12-17 1969-09-10 Fichtel & Sachs Ag Improvements in or relating to Hydropneumatic Suspension Systems
EP0257779A2 (en) * 1986-08-13 1988-03-02 General Motors Corporation Air spring damper for vehicle suspension

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1163920A (en) * 1965-12-17 1969-09-10 Fichtel & Sachs Ag Improvements in or relating to Hydropneumatic Suspension Systems
EP0257779A2 (en) * 1986-08-13 1988-03-02 General Motors Corporation Air spring damper for vehicle suspension

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102834640A (en) * 2010-04-10 2012-12-19 奥迪股份公司 Air spring
CN102834640B (en) * 2010-04-10 2015-03-11 奥迪股份公司 Air spring
US20120061887A1 (en) * 2010-09-10 2012-03-15 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Air spring for a heavy-duty vehicle with damping features
US8540222B2 (en) * 2010-09-10 2013-09-24 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Air spring for a heavy-duty vehicle with damping features
US9157529B2 (en) 2011-05-17 2015-10-13 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Piston for an air spring of a heavy-duty vehicle
US9139061B2 (en) 2013-04-03 2015-09-22 Watson & Chalin Manufacturing, Inc. Vehicle suspension system with reservoir for air spring damping
EP2990239A1 (en) 2014-09-01 2016-03-02 Broshuis B.V. Independent wheel suspension comprising pneumatic spring for a semi-trailer and semi-trailer equipped therewith
NL2013397B1 (en) * 2014-09-01 2016-09-26 Broshuis B V Independent wheel suspension with air suspension for a trailer and trailers equipped with it.
US9744824B2 (en) 2015-03-25 2017-08-29 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Damping air spring and shock absorber combination for heavy-duty vehicle axle/suspension systems
US9738131B2 (en) 2015-05-11 2017-08-22 Hendrickson Usa, L.L.C. Air spring with damping characteristics for heavy-duty vehicles
WO2016188685A1 (en) * 2015-05-28 2016-12-01 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag Transverse control arm
US10576801B2 (en) 2015-05-28 2020-03-03 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag Transverse control arm

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9801135D0 (en) 1998-03-18
GB2333576B (en) 2002-01-09
GB9826290D0 (en) 1999-01-20

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)
746 Register noted 'licences of right' (sect. 46/1977)

Effective date: 20050706

732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)
732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)

Free format text: REGISTERED BETWEEN 20131128 AND 20131204

PE20 Patent expired after termination of 20 years

Expiry date: 20181201