Air Suspension Lifting Mechanism

Technical Field

The present utility model relates to the field of vehicle suspensions, in particular to an air suspension lifting mechanism.

Background Art

Existing lifting mechanisms for semi-trailers adopt air suspension, wherein an axle is lifted or lowered via lifting airbags. When the vehicle travels under no-load conditions, one or two axles are lifted to reduce friction between tires and ground, effectively lowering tire wear, extending tire service life, reducing vehicle turning radius and cutting fuel consumption. When fully loaded, the lifted axles automatically drop down to guarantee driving safety.

Chinese Invention Patent Publication No. CN114179582A discloses an air suspension lifting structure and its assembling method. The air suspension lifting structure comprises a lower bracket and an upper bracket arranged inside the lower bracket. The lower bracket is composed of two symmetric transverse plates A connected by a connecting plate A with pin holes formed on transverse plates A; the upper bracket consists of two symmetric transverse plates B linked by a connecting plate B. Such structural design reduces dead weight while ensuring articulated fit among the upper bracket, lower bracket and fixing frame. Nevertheless, the connecting plate of this conventional structure is fixed directly onto the lifting airbag, and the upper and lower brackets abut against the connecting plate, resulting in inconvenient mounting and dismounting of the lifting airbag.

Accordingly, a new technical solution is required in the field to solve the above drawbacks.

Contents of the Utility Model

To eliminate the defect of inconvenient airbag assembly and disassembly caused by the connecting plate fixed directly to the lifting airbag with upper/lower brackets abutting the connecting plate in the prior art, the present utility model provides an air suspension lifting mechanism, including:
A lifting airbag;
A fixed bracket consisting of an inner fixed support and an outer fixed support fixedly connected to the inner fixed support; the inner fixed support is provided with a first connecting plate fixed to the lifting airbag, and the outer fixed support is fitted with a second connecting plate fixed to the lifting airbag;
A movable bracket composed of an inner movable support and an outer movable support fixedly connected to the inner movable support; the inner movable support is equipped with a third connecting plate fixed to the lifting airbag, and the outer movable support is fitted with a fourth connecting plate fixed to the lifting airbag.

The air suspension lifting mechanism of the utility model is assembled with the lifting airbag, fixed bracket and movable bracket. The fixed bracket is stationary relative to the lifting airbag; when the lifting airbag performs lifting action, the movable bracket rotates relative to the fixed bracket so as to drive leaf springs to complete axle lifting. The fixed bracket is split into inner and outer fixed supports installed with first and second connecting plates respectively, both bolted onto the lifting airbag for easy airbag fitting and removal. Similarly, the movable bracket includes inner and outer movable supports mounted with third and fourth connecting plates which are also fastened to the lifting airbag. The layout of four independent connecting plates separately connected with fixed/movable brackets and the airbag greatly facilitates mounting and disassembly of the lifting airbag.

Further, the first connecting plate is formed with first bolt holes for receiving matched first bolts; the second connecting plate is provided with corresponding second bolt holes, and the first bolts penetrate the first and second bolt holes to fasten onto the lifting airbag.

Further, the outer movable support is provided with a first fixing plate whose free end is detachably connected with the inner movable support.

Further, a limiting block for contacting leaf springs is detachably mounted on the first fixing plate.

Further, the lifting mechanism further includes a front bracket comprising a main body and mounting bolts fitted thereon; the fixed bracket is sleeved on the outer circumference of the mounting bolts, and the movable bracket is rotatably fitted around the mounting bolts.

Further, the fixed bracket is fitted with a limiting bar abutting the main body of the front bracket; both ends of the limiting bar are detachably fixed to the outer fixed support and inner fixed support respectively via connecting bolts.

Further, multiple connecting holes matching the connecting bolts are formed on the outer fixed support and inner fixed support.

Further, a positioning sleeve is arranged between the fixed bracket and mounting bolt, and an abrasion-resistant bushing is installed between the movable bracket and fixed bracket.

Beneficial Effects

Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the following advantages:

1. The first/second connecting plates connected to the fixed bracket and third/fourth connecting plates connected to the movable bracket are all fixed with the lifting airbag, significantly simplifying mounting and disassembly of the lifting airbag;

2. All components are connected via standard fasteners for convenient assembly and maintenance;

3. The limiting bar is fastened to the fixed bracket with connecting bolts, and multiple optional connecting holes allow position adjustment of the limiting bar to adapt to different types of front brackets.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the utility model are described below in conjunction with attached drawings:
FIG.1: Schematic structural view of the air suspension lifting mechanism;
FIG.2: Exploded view of the air suspension lifting mechanism;
FIG.3: Another exploded structural view of the air suspension lifting mechanism.

List of Reference Numerals

1. Front bracket; 11. Main body; 12. Mounting bolt;

2. Fixed bracket; 21. Inner fixed support; 22. Outer fixed support; 23. Positioning sleeve; 24. Limiting bar; 25. Connecting bolt; 26. Connecting hole; 27. First connecting plate; 28. Second connecting plate; 29. Second fixing plate;

3. Movable bracket; 31. Inner movable support; 32. Outer movable support; 33. Abrasion-resistant bushing; 34. Third connecting plate; 35. Fourth connecting plate; 36. First fixing plate; 37. Limiting block;

4. Lifting airbag.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Preferred embodiments of the present utility model are detailed below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art shall understand that the embodiments are only intended to explain the technical principle rather than limit the protection scope of the utility model.

It should be noted that directional terms including upper, lower, left, right, inner and outer herein are defined based on the orientation shown in the attached drawings merely for descriptive convenience, without imposing mandatory orientation restrictions on related components and shall not be construed as limitations to the utility model. The terms "first" and "second" are used only for differentiation without indicating relative importance.

Unless otherwise specified and restricted, terms such as mount, arrange and connect adopt broad interpretation: including fixed connection, detachable connection and integral forming; direct connection or indirect connection via intermediate parts as well as internal communication between two components. Persons skilled in the art may define these terms according to actual application scenarios.

To resolve the inconvenience of lifting airbag replacement caused by conventional plate-airbag fixed connection, the utility model provides an air suspension lifting mechanism composed of lifting airbag 4, fixed bracket 2 and movable bracket 3. The fixed bracket 2 consists of inner fixed support 21 and outer fixed support 22 fixed together; first connecting plate 27 on inner fixed support 21 and second connecting plate 28 on outer fixed support 22 are both secured to lifting airbag 4. The movable bracket 3 includes inner movable support 31 and outer movable support 32 in fixed assembly, wherein third connecting plate 34 on inner movable support 31 and fourth connecting plate 35 on outer movable support 32 are fixedly connected with lifting airbag 4.

As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the air suspension lifting mechanism comprises front bracket 1, fixed bracket 2, movable bracket 3 and lifting airbag 4. The fixed bracket 2 keeps stationary relative to front bracket 1, while the movable bracket 3 is capable of rotary movement around front bracket 1.

The front bracket 1 is formed with main body 11 and mounting bolt 12 penetrating the prefabricated bolt hole on main body 11 and locked by nuts; a fixing sleeve is arranged between mounting bolt 12 and main body 11 for surface protection.

As shown in FIG.2 and FIG.3, the inner fixed support 21 and outer fixed support 22 are separately disposed on two sides of front bracket 1 and sleeved onto mounting bolt 12 with positioning sleeve 23 sandwiched between outer fixed support 22 and mounting bolt 12. A cuboid limiting bar 24 is arranged between the inner and outer fixed supports and abuts against the bottom end of front bracket 1; both ends of limiting bar 24 are detachably installed via connecting bolts 25 passing through optional connecting holes 26. Three groups of connecting holes 26 are reserved on each of the inner and outer fixed supports to realize position adjustment of the limiting bar.

The first connecting plate 27 on inner fixed support 21 and second connecting plate 28 on outer fixed support 22 are fastened onto lifting airbag 4 via first bolts passing through aligned first and second bolt holes, with elastic washers fitted between bolt heads and the connecting plates. A second fixing plate 29 is arranged between inner and outer fixed supports for detachable assembly of the fixed bracket assembly.

The inner movable support 31 and outer movable support 32 are mounted on two sides of the fixed bracket and sleeved on mounting bolt 12. An abrasion-resistant bushing 33 is fitted between outer movable support 32 and outer fixed support 22 and wraps the outer circumference of positioning sleeve 23 to reduce rotational friction. The third connecting plate 34 and fourth connecting plate 35 are locked to lifting airbag 4 through matched fasteners respectively. A first fixing plate 36 bridges the inner and outer movable supports in detachable connection, and a limiting block 37 for contacting leaf springs is bolted on the first fixing plate 36.

Working Principle

When the lifting airbag 4 is inflated to perform lifting action, the limiting bar 24 props against the front bracket 1 to lock the fixed bracket against rotation. Driven by airbag expansion, the inner and outer movable supports rotate around the positioning sleeve 23 together with the abrasion-resistant bushing 33, and the limiting block 37 lifts up the leaf spring and corresponding vehicle axle to complete the lifting operation.

Although preferred embodiments of the utility model have been described with reference to attached drawings, the protection scope of the utility model is not limited to these specific implementations. Equivalent modification or replacement made by those skilled in the art without departing from the core principle of the utility model shall fall within the protection scope of this utility model.