Air supply system for active air suspension
First Claim
1. An air supply system for an active air suspension comprising:
- a plurality of air spring assemblies, each air spring assembly including a piston airbag and a primary airbag mounted around said piston airbag such that said piston airbag provides a rolling surface for said primary airbag;
a piston intake valve for each piston airbag;
a piston exhaust valve for each piston airbag;
a control valve for each primary airbag;
a supply reservoir to supply air to said piston airbags and said primary airbags; and
a compressor assembly including an intake and an output to supply air to said supply reservoir.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An air suspension includes a plurality of air spring assemblies that each include a piston airbag and a primary airbag mounted over the piston airbag. The primary and piston airbags each have a variable volume that is controlled independently of the other for active suspension control. Each piston airbag includes a piston intake valve and a piston exhaust valve. Each primary airbag includes a control valve that is operable to supply and exhaust air from the corresponding primary airbag. The control valves and piston intake valves operate independently of each other. A compressor supplies air to a supply reservoir which is used to supply air to the primary and piston airbags. The compressor includes a bypass loop that directs exhausted air to a compressor inlet when the compressor is running.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An air supply system for an active air suspension comprising:
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a plurality of air spring assemblies, each air spring assembly including a piston airbag and a primary airbag mounted around said piston airbag such that said piston airbag provides a rolling surface for said primary airbag; a piston intake valve for each piston airbag; a piston exhaust valve for each piston airbag; a control valve for each primary airbag; a supply reservoir to supply air to said piston airbags and said primary airbags; and a compressor assembly including an intake and an output to supply air to said supply reservoir. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of supplying air to an active air suspension comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a plurality of air spring assemblies, each air spring assembly including a piston airbag and a primary airbag mounted around the piston airbag such that the piston airbag provides a rolling surface for the primary airbag; (b) fluidly connecting a separate piston intake valve to each piston airbag to supply air to the piston airbag from a supply reservoir; (c) fluidly connecting a separate piston exhaust valve to each piston airbag; (d) fluidly connecting a separate control valve to each primary airbag to supply air to the primary airbag from the supply reservoir independently of supplying air to the piston airbags; and (e) supplying compressed air to the supply reservoir with a compressor assembly. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. An air supply system for an active air suspension comprising:
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a plurality of air spring assemblies, each air spring assembly including a piston airbag and a primary airbag mounted around said piston airbag such that said piston airbag provides a rolling surface for said primary airbag; a discrete piston valve bock for each piston airbag; a common valve block for said primary airbags; a supply reservoir to supply air to said piston airbags and said primary airbags; a compressor assembly that provides a high pressure air source to said supply reservoir and directly to said air spring assemblies; and a controller that communicates a control signal to said compressor assembly to independently supply air to said primary airbags via said common valve block and to each piston airbag via a respective discrete piston valve block. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification