Shock absorber assembly
AssigneeN10Z Performance Shocks LLC
InventorPeter Russell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shock absorber is provided having a cylinder, a piston rod, a piston body, and a valve. The cylinder is configured to receive fluid. The piston body is connected to the piston rod and is configured to reciprocate within the cylinder between a compression chamber and a rebound chamber. The valve is provided by the piston body having a fluid flow port, a valve seat, a circumferential valving element, and a spring configured to urge the valve body into the valve seat. A primary damping valve and an auxiliary damping valve are also provided.
Claims34
A hydraulic fluid control valve, comprising:
- a valve seat provided in a housing;
- a valve body having an expansible piston chamber configured to communicate with the valve seat and further communicating with a fluid differential overflow source from a shock absorber operating the valve body to open and close relative to the valve seat responsive to loads on the shock absorber;
- a piston disposed for reciprocation within the expansible piston chamber of the valve body;
- a spring configured to urge the piston toward the valve body and into the piston chamber to reduce volume of the expansible piston chamber;
- at least one path fluidly connecting the expansible piston chamber and the differential overflow source allowing fluid to flow from the shock absorber to the expansible piston chamber at a first volumetric flow rate and allowing fluid to flow back from the expansible piston chamber to the shock absorber at a second volumetric flow rate that is greater than the first volumetric flow rate.
A hydraulic fluid control valve for a shock absorber, comprising:
- a valve seat configured to control flow of working fluid from a shock absorber;
- a piston housed within a bore configured to create a chamber with a bore end proximate the valve seat;
- an inlet fluid port configured to allow working fluid to communicate between the chamber and the shock absorber and move the piston relative to the bore end;
- a spring configured to urge the piston toward the bore end to impart differential load to urge the valve seat towards a closed position fluidically by directing the fluid volume within the chamber;
- at least one outlet fluid port configured from the chamber to the shock absorber;
- and
- a check valve provided over the outlet fluid port configured to expel the working fluid from the chamber.
A shock absorber valve, comprising:
- a body having an axial bore forming an annular valve seat at one end;
- an outer piston carried in the axial bore having an inner axial bore opposite the valve seat;
- an inner piston slidably received in the inner axial bore of the outer piston and cooperating with the inner axial bore to define a variable volume reservoir;
- a spring seated against the inner piston to urge the inner piston and the outer piston biased towards the annular valve seat;
- a compression fluid passage extending from proximate the annular valve seat through the outer piston to the variable volume reservoir;
- and
- a rebound fluid passage having a one-way check valve extending from the variable volume reservoir through the outer piston proximate the valve seat.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.