A damper assembly includes a damper with a pressure tube and a piston slidably disposed within the pressure tube. A first working chamber is defined on one side of the piston and a second working chamber is defined on an opposite side of the piston such that a volume of the second working chamber decreases during a compression stroke of the piston and the volume of the second working chamber increases during a rebound stroke of the piston. A bellow accumulator assembly is included and in fluid communication with the second working chamber. The bellow accumulator assembly includes a housing, a bellow accumulator disposed within the housing, a pressurized gas chamber defined between the housing and the bellow accumulator and an accumulator chamber defined between the bellow accumulator and the second working chamber.

An accumulator for a vehicle suspension damper, which includes an outer shell with an open end that connects to an accumulator port on the damper and a distal end, opposite the open end, which includes an end wall that extends radially inward to a gas charging port. A bellows assembly, which includes an annular bellows wall extending between proximal and distal plates, is positioned inside the outer shell to define a pressurized gas chamber inside the accumulator that is arranged in fluid communication with the gas charging port. The gas charging port includes a stem that extends inwardly from the end wall of the outer shell and the distal plate of the bellows assembly has an inner diameter that is received on the stem. The inner diameter of the distal plate is coupled to the stem of the gas charging port by a fixation component.

A method of assembling an accumulator for a suspension damper where the method includes the steps of forming an outer shell of an accumulator, assembling a bellows assembly by connecting distal and proximal plates to opposite ends of an annular bellows wall, and inserting the bellows assembly into the outer shell. The outer shell is formed such that it includes a distal end with an end wall and an open end opposite the distal end. The bellows assembly is inserted into the open end of the outer shell with the distal plate facing the end wall of the outer shell. The method proceeds with coupling the distal plate of the bellows assembly to a stem of a gas charging port on the end wall of the outer shell at a fixed axial position using a fixation component that engages the stem of the gas charging port.

A damper assembly includes a damper with a pressure tube and a piston slidably disposed within the pressure tube. A first working chamber is defined on one side of the piston and a second working chamber is defined on an opposite side of the piston such that a volume of the second working chamber decreases during a compression stroke of the piston and the volume of the second working chamber increases during a rebound stroke of the piston. A bellow accumulator assembly is included and in fluid communication with the second working chamber. The bellow accumulator assembly includes a housing, a bellow accumulator disposed within the housing, a pressurized gas chamber defined between the housing and the bellow accumulator and an accumulator chamber defined between the bellow accumulator and the second working chamber.

Presented herein, inter alia, are suspension system components having tuned accumulator sizing and/or stiffness. Such suspension system components are envisioned for use in a distributed active suspension system of a vehicle. In particular, through appropriate sizing of accumulators of a suspension system component of a vehicle, ride quality of the vehicle may be improved and so called “rough ride” issues may be precluded. Alternatively or additionally, various valves or alternative compliant mechanisms may be included in the suspension system component, so that desirable performance may be obtained for a range of operating conditions.

A bellows accumulator, in particular a pulsation damper, includes a bellows (3) arranged in an accumulator housing (1) and separating two media chambers (27, 28) from each other. Bellows folds (19) of the bellows can be moved at least partially along the inner wall (35) of the accumulator housing (1). The outside diameter of the bellows folds (19) is selected to be slightly smaller than the associated diameter of the inner wall (35) of the accumulator housing (1) in such a way that spaces (37, 41) are formed, which spaces together form a hydraulic damper for at least one medium.

The invention provides a metal bellows type accumulator having an outer shell provided in its one end with a pressure introducing passage in an opening manner, an axially expandable metal bellows including peak portions directed to an outer side in a radial direction and trough portions directed to an inner side alternately in an axial direction, having an axially fixed end to the outer shell and separating an inner chamber of the outer shell into a pressure introducing chamber and a gas chamber charged with cushion gas, and a support member arranged in an inner periphery of the metal bellows, fixed to the outer shell and constructed by a cushioning member. A clearance in a radial direction between the trough portions of the metal bellows and the support member is smaller than a clearance in a radial direction between the peak portions of the metal bellows and the outer shell.

Presented herein, inter alia, are suspension system components having tuned accumulator sizing and/or stiffness. Such suspension system components are envisioned for use in a distributed active suspension system of a vehicle. In particular, through appropriate sizing of accumulators of a suspension system component of a vehicle, ride quality of the vehicle may be improved and so called rough ride issues may be precluded. Alternatively or additionally, various valves or alternative compliant mechanisms may be included in the suspension system component, so that desirable performance may be obtained for a range of operating conditions.

An air spring assembly for a vehicle having a reservoir which is adaptable to meet different packaging requirements. The air spring assembly includes a damper body, at least one piston connected to the damper body, and a bellow connected to the piston, the bellow having a cavity. A top cap is connected to the bellow, and a fitting is connected to the top cap. A reservoir is connected to the fitting such that the reservoir is in fluid communication with the cavity. Air flows between the bellow and the reservoir as a result of movement of the piston and damper body during travel of the vehicle. The reservoir may be tube-shaped, having a consistent diameter, or a varying diameter. The reservoir may also be spherical-shaped, rectangular-shaped, square-shaped, or may be shaped to fit specific packaging requirements such that the reservoir may be positioned in any area of the vehicle.

An accumulator assembly includes a vessel having an upper portion and a lower portion. The accumulator assembly includes a flexible membrane extending between the upper portion and the lower portion. The membrane may divide the vessel into a first interior chamber and a second interior chamber. The accumulator assembly includes a receptacle located proximate the vessel. The receptacle may be in fluid communication with the second interior chamber. The accumulator assembly includes a plunger located at least partially within the receptacle.