Patent ID: 6942201

Claim:
An air spring assembly for mounting on and between first and second spaced apart components moveable with respect to each other, said air spring assembly comprising: first and second end members adapted to be mounted on said first and second spaced apart components respectively; a flexible bladder extending between and sealingly connected to said end members to form a pressurized air chamber therebetween; said first end member being a bead plate having an annular configuration with an annular outer end portion crimped about a bead formed on the end of the bladder to provide a connection sealingly connecting an end of the bladder to the outer end portion of the bead plate, said outer end portion of the bead plate having an annular flat wall portion for mounting said first end member against the first spaced apart component, and an upstanding substantially cylindrical wall extending between the flat wall portion of the bead plate and a recessed central portion and inwardly into the air chamber to effectively reduce the internal volume of said air chamber; and a plurality of spaced reinforcing gussets extending between the upstanding wall and recessed central portion of the bead plate.