Patent ID: 8641051

Claim:
A vehicle suspension system comprising: an air cylinder having: a housing assembly that at least partially defines a cavity and that is configured to be mounted to a first vehicle component, a piston rod that is moveably disposed in the cavity, the piston rod having a first end disposed in the cavity and a second end disposed opposite the first end, and a piston that is fixedly disposed on the piston rod and that separates the cavity into a first chamber and a second chamber, wherein the first and second chambers have first and second ports that permit air to enter and exit the first and second chambers, respectively; an air spring piston that is fixedly disposed on the air cylinder and that has an air passage that is fluidly connected to the second port; and an air spring having: an end plate that is configured to be mounted to a second vehicle component and that has an air spring port, wherein the second end of the piston rod is disposed proximate the end plate, and a flexible bellows that extends from the end plate to the air spring piston to at least partially define an air spring chamber, wherein the air spring port permits air to enter and exit the air spring chamber; wherein air is provided to the first chamber via the first port and exhausted from the second chamber to a surrounding environment outside the air cylinder via the second port and the air passage to increase a distance between the air spring piston and the end plate.