Patent ID: 6332624
Filing Date: 2001-12-25
Classification: B60G,B62D,F16F

Abstract:
An air-suspension system for use in a motor vehicle having a chassis and a vehicle component operatively mounted for moving along an oscillatory path relative to the chassis, said air-suspension system comprising:an air spring connectable between the chassis and the vehicle component and comprising an outer tube air-spring subassembly and a rolling tube air-spring subassembly movable relative to the outer tube air-spring subassembly along a stroke length;a control valve arranged inside the air-spring and having a compressed-air feed connection and a discharge connection, said control valve being selectively actuatable to a discharge position for discharging compressed air from said air spring via said discharge connection, a feed position for feeding compressed air to said air spring via said compressed-air feed connection, and a block position for blocking the flow of compressed air to and from said air spring; anda control element operatively arranged in said air spring for actuating said control valve in response to a relative position of said rolling tube air-spring subassembly and said outer tube air-spring tube assembly, wherein said control element comprises an effective length that is shorter than the stroke length of said air spring, and said control element is arranged in said rolling tube air spring subassembly and is axially movably arranged thereto; anda spring element arranged between said control element and a supporting surface of said rolling tube air-spring subassembly such that control element is movable toward said supporting surface of said rolling tube air-spring subassembly against an urgency of said spring element, wherein said control element is urged toward a releasable operative position relative to said rolling tube air-spring subassembly by said spring element.