Patent ID: 8844911
Filing Date: 2014-09-30
Classification: F16F

Abstract:
1. An air spring comprising: a roll-off piston having an end wall and an annular side wall extending from said end wall; said annular side wall defining a diameter of said piston and defining a roll-off surface; said annular side wall and said end wall conjointly defining a roll-off edge; an air spring flexible member having a flexible member wall made of elastomeric material; said flexible member wall having a lower end and a bead formed at said lower end to define a lower opening of said air spring flexible member facing toward said roll-off piston; said end wall having a conical seat formed thereon for receiving said flexible member wall thereon at said bead so as to permit said flexible member wall to roll off on said roll-off surface during operation of said air spring; said flexible member wall having a reinforcement layer and said bead having an annularly-shaped reinforcement core; said reinforcement layer being formed to include a loop around said reinforcement core and said loop having an end ahead of said roll-off edge within said diameter of said piston so as to cause the flexible member wall to be less stiff beyond said roll-off edge than ahead of said roll-off edge when said air spring flexible member is in a deflected state whereby a more reliable deflection of said air spring is provided in all operating states; and, said bead having an upper end facing away from said end wall and said flexible member wall extending from said upper end and, when said air spring flexible member is in a completely expanded state and also during operation, a tangent of said flexible member wall and said end wall conjointly defining an angle lying in a range of 45° to 90° at the location whereat said flexible member wall projects away from said bead.