Patent ID: 8746663

Claim:
An elastic spring element ( 9 ) of adjustable stiffness, the elastic spring element ( 9 ) comprising: (a) an elastomeric damping element ( 15 ), and (b) an elastomeric pressure element ( 16 ), where (i) the damping element substantially comprises an elastomer core and elastomer layers ( 1 , 2 ) and is limited at a bottom thereof by a lower terminal plate ( 13 ) and at a top thereof by the pressure element ( 16 ), and the damping element has, in an interior thereof, one or more non-elastic intermediate plates ( 14 ) which are arranged parallel to the lower terminal plate and are separated from one another by the elastomer layers ( 2 ) and which have a cylindrical hole ( 3 ) which is arranged in accordance with a vertical axis of the spring element and is filled by the elastomer core ( 1 ), and (ii) the pressure element ( 16 ) has a shape of a pressure-stable bowl ( 4 ), which has in its base a central hole which is congruent with the adjacent cylindrical hole ( 3 ) of the damping element, and is filled by a compressible elastomer material ( 5 ) and a pressure piece ( 6 ), where the pressure piece ( 6 ) in a non-pretensioned state of the spring element forms a part of an upper horizontal limit ( 12 ) thereof and is either surrounded at sides and a bottom thereof by, or is embedded in, the compressible elastomer material ( 5 ) which is in direct contact with the elastomer core ( 1 ) of the damping element ( 15 ), so that pressure mediated, via the pressure piece ( 6 ), is transmitted to the damping unit ( 15 ), and a change of spring length of the damping element ( 15 ) is thus achieved by compression of the elastomer core ( 1 ), depending on the pressure exerted.