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US 10,240,656 B2Granted
Valve arrangement with improved failsafe operation
AssigneeOhlins Racing AB
InventorsBenny Ewers, Fredrik Larsson, Simon Ivarsson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A valve arrangement controls a flow of damping medium in a shock absorber. A radial column is provided with an axial failsafe flow such that the fail safe flow is not dependent on the exact axial position of the control valve member for creating the fail safe restriction, and less turbulence arise affecting the axial position of the control valve member. Thereby a valve arrangement is provided which has a more stable and reliable failsafe operation, resulting in a more dependable valve arrangement.
Claims15
A valve arrangement for a shock absorber, said valve arrangement comprising:
- a valve housing comprising a first and a second port;
- a pilot chamber being in fluid communication with said first and/or second port, wherein a pilot pressure is defined by a hydraulic pressure in said pilot chamber;
- a main valve member being axially movably arranged in said valve housing and being arranged to interact with a main valve seat of said valve housing in order to restrict a main fluid flow between said first and second ports in response to said pilot pressure acting on said main valve member;
- and
- a control valve member being movable in an axial direction relative said main valve member in response to an actuating force acting on said control valve member, said control valve member being resiliently loaded in an opposite direction to said actuating force by means of a biasing member,
- wherein said valve housing further comprises a geometrically defined axial stop for preventing said control valve member from moving axially past said stop in the biasing direction, and
- wherein the interface between said control valve member and said main valve member comprises a recess so that, when said control valve member is held against the axial stop by means of said biasing member, said interface between said control valve member and said main valve member forms a radial column restricting an axial failsafe flow of the damping medium, wherein the failsafe flow restriction is determined by the width of the radial column and is based at least in part on the adjustable position of said control valve member relative to said axial stop.
4 more elements
A valve arrangement for a shock absorber, said valve arrangement comprising:
- a valve housing comprising a first and a second port;
- a pilot chamber being in fluid communication with said first and/or second port, wherein a pilot pressure is defined by a hydraulic pressure in said pilot chamber;
- a main valve member being axially movably arranged in said valve housing and being arranged to interact with a main valve seat of said valve housing in order to restrict a main fluid flow between said first and second ports in response to said pilot pressure acting on said main valve member;
- and
- a control valve member being movable in an axial direction relative said main valve member in response to an actuating force acting on said control valve member, said control valve member being resiliently loaded in an opposite direction to said actuating force by means of a biasing member,
- wherein said valve housing further comprises a geometrically defined axial stop for preventing said control valve member from moving axially past said stop in the biasing direction, and
- wherein the interface between said control valve member and said main valve member comprises a recess so that, when said control valve member is held against the axial stop by means of said biasing member, said recess forms a radial column between the control valve member and the main valve member allowing an axial failsafe flow of the damping medium, wherein the failsafe flow restriction is determined by the width of the radial column, and
- wherein when said control valve member is held against the axial stop, the control valve member closes the pilot chamber so as to build up an enclosed pressure in the pilot chamber which holds the main valve member against said main valve seat and thereby blocks the main flow between said first and second ports.
5 more elements
A valve arrangement for a shock absorber, said valve arrangement comprising:
- a valve housing comprising a first and a second port;
- a pilot chamber being in fluid communication with said first and/or second port, wherein a pilot pressure is defined by a hydraulic pressure in said pilot chamber;
- a main valve member being axially movably arranged in said valve housing and being arranged to interact with a main valve seat of said valve housing in order to restrict a main fluid flow between said first and second ports in response to said pilot pressure acting on said main valve member;
- and
- a control valve member being movable in an axial direction relative said main valve member in response to an actuating force acting on said control valve member, said control valve member being resiliently loaded in an opposite direction to said actuating force by means of a biasing member,
- wherein said valve housing further comprises a geometrically defined axial stop for preventing said control valve member from moving axially past said stop in the biasing direction, and
- wherein the interface between said control valve member and said main valve member comprises a recess so that, when said control valve member is held against the axial stop by means of said biasing member, said recess forms a radial column between the control valve member and the main valve member allowing an axial failsafe flow of the damping medium, wherein the failsafe flow restriction is determined by the width of the radial column, and
- wherein said biasing means comprises a first failsafe spring member and a biasing spring member arranged in series with a spring base member there between.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.