Claims
- 1. An air spring including:
a) first and second end members adapted to be mounted at spaced locations on first and second structures respectively, at least one of which is moveable in a generally axial direction with respect to the other; b) a flexible sleeve having a longitudinal axis and first and second open ends sealingly engaged with the first and second end members, respectively, forming a main fluid chamber within the sleeve for containing a pressurized fluid; c) the first end member being an integral one piece member including an end plate extending generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the flexible sleeve sealingly connected to the first open end of the flexible sleeve and a bracket extending outwardly from said end plate; said bracket having an upstanding wall generally perpendicular to the end plate and generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the flexible sleeve adapted to abut against the first structure, and a reinforcement extending between the upstanding wall and the end plate; and d) attachments for attaching said upstanding wall of the bracket to said first structure.
- 2. The air spring defined in claim 1 in which the reinforcement includes a curved wall extending between the end plate and upstanding wall
- 3. The air spring defined in claim 2 in which the curved wall forms a generally half-done shaped wall.
- 4. The air spring defined in claim 3 in which a plurality of reinforcing ribs extend between the half-dome shaped wall and the upstanding wall of the bracket.
- 5. The air spring defined in claim 1 in which the attachments include at least two hollow bosses formed on the upstanding wall for receiving bolts therethrough.
- 6. The air spring defined in claim 1 in which the end wall and bracket are formed as an integral one-piece member of a high strength plastic material.
- 7. The air spring defined in claim 1 in which the end plate includes a semi-circular wall and the reinforcement includes a generally half-dome shaped wall which is connected to the upstanding wall.
- 8. In combination, first and second spaced apart support structures and a fluid actuated member having first and second end members and a flexible sleeve extending between said end members forming an internal main fluid chamber, each of said end members being connected to a respective one of said support structures; said first end member including an end plate and a bracket having an upstanding wall extending generally parallel with a longitudinal axis of the flexible sleeve, a reinforcement extending between the upstanding wall and the end plate, and an attachment for mounting said upstanding wall on the first support structure.
- 9. The combination defined in claim 8 in which the upstanding wall of the bracket forms a general right angle with the end plate.
- 10. The combination defined in claim 8 in which the attachment includes at least a pair of fasteners extending between the first support structure and the upstanding wall of the bracket.
- 11. The combination defined in claim 10 in which a pair of bosses is formed on the bracket; and in which the pair of fasteners extend through holes formed in the first support structure and through the hollow bosses to form the attachment.
- 12. The combination defined in claim 8 in which the first support structure includes at least an L-shaped portion; and in which the end plate and upstanding wall of the bracket abut against a corresponding part of said L-shaped portion.
- 13. The combination defined in claim 8 in which the end plate is annular and terminates in an outer peripheral edge; and in which the flexible sleeve is sealingly clamped to said outer edge of the end plate.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of Standard Utility U.S. application Ser. No. 09/478,641 filed Jan. 6, 2000 which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/160,977 filed Oct. 22, 1999, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60160977 |
Oct 1999 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09478641 |
Jan 2000 |
US |
Child |
09990412 |
Nov 2001 |
US |