Abstract: An air spring system for a motor vehicle includes essentially a flexible member (4) having first and second ends. At a first end, the flexible member is closed off by the cover plate (8) as a connecting part and, at its second end, by a roll-off piston (10) as a second connecting part. To carry out a contactless distance measurement in accordance with the pulse/echo method in the interior space (6) of the air spring (2), an ultrasonic transmitter/receiver (14) is mounted on one of the two connecting parts (8, 10) and a reflector (16) is provided on the other one of the two connecting parts (8, 10). A separate reference reflector (18) is not used in order to simplify the construction and to save mounting space for the components. Instead, the reflector is configured as a two-step reflector. The one step functions as a target reflector (16) and the other step (26) functions as a reference reflector. A bumper (28) is preferably configured as a two-step target reflector (16).

Abstract: The invention is directed to an arrangement for making contactless distance and pressure measurements within an air spring. With a single arrangement, the exact elevation of the spring as well as the spring pressure can be determined. This permits optimal utilization of the axle loads of a multi-axle vehicle and permits adjustment of the distance between the chassis and the axle. In the arrangement, an ultrasonic configuration makes contactless distance measurements in accordance with the pulse/echo method. The arrangement includes a transmitter/receiver component (4) mounted on the chassis and a first reflector (24) defining a first reference distance (16) therebetween. The component (4) and a reflector (6) define a measuring distance (30). The reflector (6) is fixedly mounted to the axle. The transmitter/receiver component (4) is elastically supported by a suspension (10) in a pipe stub (8) fixedly mounted to the chassis.