Road vehicle suspension device

摘要

921,677. Adjusting vehicle height; road vehicle spring suspensions. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION. Aug. 2, 1961 [Sept. 12, 1960], No. 28045/61. Classes 108(2) and 108(3). A road vehicle suspension device comprises a piston-cylinder damper 20 with a flexible tubular diaphragm 62 forming a rolling seal fixed between cylinder 46 and a tubular member 25 rigid with the piston 32 to form an air-tight chamber 54 and a valve mechanism 80 operable by air pressure to permit charging of the chamber 54 with air and manually to permit release of air from the chamber until the pressure falls to a certain value. Damping is provided by valves 24, 43 in piston 32 and by valve 40 which restricts fluid flow from the inner chamber 41 to the reservoir chamber 47 but permits relatively unrestricted return flow. The valve mechanism 80 (Fig. 4), comprises valves 85 and 101 and a removable cap 97. The valve 85 comprises a valve disc 92 on a stem 91 which is depressed against the bias of spring 95 by the pressure of air from an air line fitted in place of the cap 97 when charging chamber 54 or manually to release air from valve chamber 81 and hence chamber 54. Valve 101 maintains a minimum pressure in chamber 54, dependent on the bias of spring 107. When charging the chamber 54 the pressure differential between chambers 81 and 54 bows resilient disc 102 downwards permitting air flow through passages 105 and 103 and line 76 to the damper 20. A pair of dampers in Fig. 1 are used with a pair of laminated springs 17 at the rear of a vehicle and act as auxiliary air springs the air pressure in which is altered to maintain the vehicle level when the load is changed.