Compression-resistant shock absorber piston seal

A shock absorber comprising:

• a cylinder having a first chamber and a second chamber, at least one of said first chamber and said second chamber including a fluid;
• a piston having a valve body that separates said first chamber and said second chamber and being configured for reciprocal movement within said cylinder, said valve body defining at least one through-hole for enabling the fluid to move between the first and second chambers;
• a floating disc and a floating retainer each being movably connected to said valve body and movable relative to each other, said floating disc and said floating retainer defining a space between said floating disc and said floating retainer, said space having a cross-sectional area;
• and
• a compressible seal element having a non-compressed square cross-section seated in and filling said cross-sectional area of said space, said seal element being non-fixedly attached to and movable relative to said floating disc and said floating retainer, an entire first outer surface of said seal element engages an entire first inner surface of said floating disc and said floating retainer, an entire second outer surface of said seal element engages an entire second inner surface of said floating disc and said floating retainer, and a third outer surface of said seal element uniformly, slidingly engages and forms a seal with an inner wall of said cylinder during the reciprocal movement of said piston to enable continuous sliding reciprocal movement of the seal element relative to said inner wall of said cylinder while reducing wear on said seal element and increasing the life of said seal element during repeated reciprocal movement of said seal element.

A shock absorber comprising:

• a cylinder having a first chamber and a second chamber, at least one of said first chamber and said second chamber including a fluid;
• a piston configured for reciprocal movement within said cylinder and defining at least one through-hole for enabling the fluid to move between the first and second chambers;
• a floating disc and a floating retainer each movably connected to said piston and movable relative to each other, said floating disc and said floating retainer defining a space between said floating disc and said floating retainer, said space having a cross-sectional area, said floating disc and said floating retainer each including an inner surface;
• and
• a compressible seal element seated in said space and having a non-compressed polygonal cross-sectional area with four sides equal to said cross-sectional area of said space, wherein two opposing sides of said four sides are flat and equidistant from each other along an entire length of said two opposing sides, said seal element being non-fixedly attached to and movable relative to said floating disc and said floating retainer;
• wherein one of said two opposing sides of said seal element uniformly, slidingly engages and forms a seal with an inner wall of said cylinder during the reciprocal movement of said piston to enable continuous sliding reciprocal movement of the seal element relative to said inner wall of said cylinder while reducing wear on said seal element and increasing the life of said seal element during repeated reciprocal movement of said seal element.