Internal damper sensors as well as damper assemblies and suspension systems including same

A damper assembly having a longitudinal axis, said damper assembly comprising:

• a damper housing including a side wall portion and an end wall portion that at least partially define a damping chamber containing a quantity of non-gaseous damping fluid;
• a damper rod assembly including a damper rod and a damper piston operatively connected to said damper rod, said damper rod assembly operatively engaged with said damper housing for reciprocal displacement relative thereto with said damper rod including a rod passage extending longitudinally therethrough;
• and,
• a sensor including a photon source and a photon receptor, said sensor supported on said damper piston with a conductor that is communicatively coupled with said sensor extending along said rod passage, said photon source operatively disposed in optical communication with said non-gaseous damping fluid in said damping chamber, said photon receptor operatively disposed in optical communication with said non-gaseous damping fluid in said damping chamber, said photon source operable to direct a photon through said non-gaseous damping fluid toward an associated target surface, and said photon receptor operable receive said photon reflected off the associated target surface through said non-gaseous damping fluid.

A suspension system operatively connected between an associated sprung mass and an associated unsprung mass of an associated vehicle, said suspension system comprising:

• a spring device operatively connected between the associated sprung mass and the associated unsprung mass, said spring device being a gas spring assembly that contains a quantity of pressurized gas;
• a damper assembly operatively connected between the associated sprung mass and the associated unsprung mass, said damper assembly having a longitudinal axis and including:
• a damper housing including a side wall portion and an end wall portion that at least partially define a damping chamber containing a quantity of non-gaseous damping fluid;
• a damper rod assembly including a damper rod and a damper piston operatively connected to said damper rod, said damper rod assembly operatively engaged with said damper housing for reciprocal displacement relative thereto;
• a photon source operatively disposed in optical communication with said non-gaseous damping fluid in said damping chamber;
• and,
• a photon receptor operatively disposed in optical communication with said non-gaseous damping fluid in said damping chamber;
• said photon source operable to direct a photon through said non-gaseous damping fluid toward an associated target surface, and said photon receptor operable receive said photon reflected off the associated target surface through said non-gaseous damping fluid;
• a control system communicatively coupled with at least one of said photon source and said photon receptor;
• and,
• a pressurized gas system including a pressurized gas source and a control device with said pressurized gas source in selective communication with said gas spring assembly such that said control system is operable to selectively transfer pressurized gas into and out of said gas spring assembly in response to determinations of a time difference between an emission of said photon from said photon source and a detection of said photon at said photon receptor.