Side load compensating air suspension

摘要

A vehicle suspension strut incorporating an airspring around a hydraulic shock absorber is disclosed. The airspring design and orientation relative to the shock absorber axis creates a side acting force which counteracts the bending torque acting on the strut during operation in a vehicle and prevents binding of the shock absorber piston. The horizontal acting side load can be achieved by using an airspring piston eccentrically mounted on the shock absorber. Alternatively the airspring may be mounted offset and/or at an angle to the shock absorber axis. The flexible membrane of the airspring may also be cut in a plane oblique to the shock axis and mounted on the airspring piston to form asymmetric rolling lobes about the circumference of the piston.