Patent ID: 7192033

Claim:
A system for controlling the distance between a vehicle axle and a vehicle comprising: a sensor that senses a distance between the vehicle axle and the vehicle frame and generates a signal indicative thereof; said sensor comprising a transducer selected from the group consisting of: an optical sensor, a hall effect sensor, a magnetic sensor, a variable resistance sensor, ultrasonic sensor and combinations thereof; a housing including a wall that at least partially defines a chamber, said chamber including an inlet port, an operating port, and an exhaust port extending therethrough; a movable plate with a side which is sealable against the wall by pressurized air supplied to the chamber; a motor coupled to the plate via a gearing for selectively moving the plate in a first rotational direction and a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction based on, the signal, between a fill position in which the operating port is connected to the inlet port, and an exhaust position in which the operating port is connected to the exhaust port to selectively control the distance between the vehicle axle and the vehicle frame.