Airspring height sensor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An airspring with an internal height sensor and a pair of rigid members comprising:
- a rigid piston;
a rigid upper retainer;
a flexible membrane sealingly attached to said piston and said upper retainer to form a working cavity therebetween;
a means for sensing the relative vertical distance between said piston and said upper retainer, said means for sensing including an infrared light emitting diode transmitter attached to one of said rigid members and capable of emitting radiation of a given wavelength, a photo diode receiver positioned within receiving range of said infrared light emitting diode transmitter capable of sensing the radiation of said given wavelength and providing a variable output signal, a reflector positioned on said second rigid member within a line of sight of said transmitter, a means for comparing said variable output signal with a predetermined height range, a means for controlling the relative distance between said piston and said upper retainer.
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Abstract
An airspring height control device is based on an infrared light emitting diode and photo transistor receiver combination to reflect a signal from a reflector located internally to an airspring. The variable output signal given off by the receiver is proportional to the distance from the transmitter/receiver to the reflector thus allowing a height controlling mechanism to respond to the signal and make the necessary adjustments.
71 Citations
27 Claims
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1. An airspring with an internal height sensor and a pair of rigid members comprising:
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a rigid piston; a rigid upper retainer; a flexible membrane sealingly attached to said piston and said upper retainer to form a working cavity therebetween; a means for sensing the relative vertical distance between said piston and said upper retainer, said means for sensing including an infrared light emitting diode transmitter attached to one of said rigid members and capable of emitting radiation of a given wavelength, a photo diode receiver positioned within receiving range of said infrared light emitting diode transmitter capable of sensing the radiation of said given wavelength and providing a variable output signal, a reflector positioned on said second rigid member within a line of sight of said transmitter, a means for comparing said variable output signal with a predetermined height range, a means for controlling the relative distance between said piston and said upper retainer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An airspring equipped with a height control device comprising:
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a piston spaced from an upper retainer; an infrared light emitting diode transmitter mounted at one of said piston and upper retainer and capable of emitting light of a given wavelength; a photo transistor receiver adjacent to said transmitter capable of detecting said light and sending a variable output signal; a reflector mounted at the other of said piston and upper retainer located at a distance from said transmitter and receiver to reflect the emitted light from the transmitter back to the receiver; means for translating said variable output signal to provide an interface with a height controlling mechanism; and said height controlling mechanism capable of controlling the distance between said reflector and the transmitter/receiver. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification