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US 11,633,998 B2Granted
Suspension strut
AssigneeBAE SYSTEMS plc
InventorsLiam Bradley Widdrington, Andrew James Kittley, Philip Alner Wilby
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A suspension strut for a vehicle comprises: a first connector for connecting to a first point on the vehicle; a second connector for connecting to a second point on the vehicle; and a damper assembly adapted to provide a damping force as fluid flows through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point, wherein the damper assembly comprises a side wall and a damper aperture in the side wall, wherein the damper aperture is open throughout operation of the strut to allow fluid to flow through the damper assembly.
Claims20
A suspension strut for a vehicle, the suspension strut comprising:
- a first connector for connecting to a first point on the vehicle;
- a second connector for connecting to a second point on the vehicle;
- a damper assembly adapted to provide a damping force as fluid flows through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point, wherein the damper assembly comprises
- a side wall and a damper aperture in the side wall, wherein the damper aperture is open throughout operation of the strut to allow fluid to flow through the damper assembly, and a damper valve openable by fluid flowing through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point, the damper valve remaining closed as fluid flows through the damper assembly during relative extension between the first point and the second point, wherein the damper valve comprises
- a valve aperture provided in an axial face of the of the damper assembly,
- a plate configured to be located on the same axial face of the damper assembly, and
- a bias device, wherein the bias device biases the plate towards the valve aperture and axial face to close the valve aperture, and fluid flowing through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point causes the plate to move away from the valve aperture and axial face to open the damper valve, wherein the plate and the bias device are on opposing sides of the valve aperture;
- a piston;
- and
- a first chamber on a first side of the piston, and a second chamber on a second side of the piston, wherein the piston comprises a cavity on the second side of the piston, the cavity forming part of the second chamber;
- wherein displacement of the first point relative to the second point is resisted by a change in volume of the first chamber due to movement of the piston.
8 more elements
A damper assembly adapted to provide a damping force as fluid flows through the damper assembly during relative compression between a first point and a second point, the damper assembly comprising:
- a side wall and a damper aperture in the side wall, wherein the damper aperture is openable to allow fluid to flow through the damper assembly;
- and
- a damper valve openable by fluid flowing through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point, the damper valve remaining closed as fluid flows through the damper assembly during relative extension between the first point and the second point, wherein the damper valve comprises
- a valve aperture provided in an axial face of the of the damper assembly,
- a plate configured to be located on the same axial face of the damper assembly and located on a first side of the valve aperture, and
- a bias device located on a second side of the valve aperture that is opposite the first side, wherein the bias device biases the plate towards the valve aperture and axial face to close the valve aperture, and fluid flowing through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point causes the plate to move away from the valve aperture and axial face to open the damper valve.
3 more elements
A suspension strut for a vehicle, the suspension strut comprising:
- a first connector for connecting to a first point on the vehicle;
- a second connector for connecting to a second point on the vehicle;
- a rod connectable to the first point via the first connector;
- a cylinder connectable to the second point via the second connector, the cylinder movable with respect to the rod to effect displacement of the first point relative to the second point;
- a damper assembly located within a region of the rod, the damper assembly providing a damping force as fluid flows into the rod through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point, the damper assembly including
- a side wall and a damper aperture in the side wall, wherein the damper aperture allows fluid to flow through the damper assembly during operation of the strut, and
- a damper valve openable by fluid flowing through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point, the damper valve remaining closed as fluid flows through the damper assembly during relative extension between the first point and the second point, wherein the damper valve includes
- a valve aperture,
- a plate, and
- a bias device to bias the plate towards the valve aperture to close the valve aperture, and fluid flowing through the damper assembly during relative compression between the first point and the second point causes the plate to move away from the valve aperture to open the damper valve, wherein the plate and the bias device are on opposing sides of the valve aperture;
- a piston;
- and
- a first chamber on a first side of the piston, and a second chamber on a second side of the piston, wherein displacement of the first point relative to the second point is resisted by a change in volume of the first chamber due to movement of the piston.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.