Hydraulic damper assembly and a piston for a hydraulic damper assembly

A hydraulic damper assembly comprising:

• a housing disposed on a center axis extending between a first end and a second end defining a fluid chamber extending along said center axis for containing a working fluid;
• a main piston slidably disposed in said fluid chamber dividing said fluid chamber into a first chamber and a second chamber, said first chamber extending between said first end and said main piston and said second chamber extending between said second end and said main piston;
• a piston rod extending along said center axis and attached to said main piston for moving said main piston between a compression stroke and a rebound stroke;
• an additional piston, located in said fluid chamber, coupled to said piston rod and axially spaced from said main piston to provide an additional damping force during said compression stroke and said rebound stroke;
• said additional piston including a main body defining a compression channel and a rebound channel for allowing fluid to flow through said additional piston during said compression stroke and said rebound stroke, respectively;
• said additional piston including a plurality of fingers spaced from one another and extending outwardly from said main body;
• and
• at least one retainer axially spaced from said additional piston having a central hole for receiving said plurality of fingers, wherein said central hole is in fluid communication with one of said compression channel and said rebound channel.

An additional piston for displacement in a housing of a hydraulic damper assembly, said additional piston comprising:

• a main body extending about a center axis defining a compression channel and a rebound channel for allowing a fluid to flow through said additional piston during a compression stroke and a rebound stroke, respectively;
• said main body including a bottom portion and a top portion engaging one another to establish said main body and define a hollow extending between said bottom portion and said top portion;
• and
• a rebound retainer defining a first central hole and a plurality of passages radially spaced from said first central hole, said first central hole being in fluid communication with said compression channel and said plurality of passages being in fluid communication with said rebound channel;
• said rebound retainer including a collar extending about said center axis to define a cavity for receiving said main body;
• and
• wherein said cavity is in fluid communication with said rebound channel, said hollow, and said plurality of passages.

An additional piston for displacement in a housing of a hydraulic damper assembly, said additional piston comprising:

• a main body extending about a center axis defining a compression channel and a rebound channel for allowing fluid to flow through said additional piston during a compression stroke and a rebound stroke, respectively;
• said main body including a bottom portion and a top portion engaging one another to establish said main body and define a hollow extending between said bottom portion and said top portion;
• a rebound retainer defining a first central hole and a plurality of passages spaced radially outwardly from said first central hole, said first central hole in fluid communication with said compression channel and said plurality of passages in fluid communication with said rebound channel;
• said rebound retainer including a collar extending about said center axis to define a cavity for receiving said main body;
• and
• a valve stack disposed in said cavity for controlling fluid flow through said additional piston, wherein said rebound retainer includes at least one vane extending radially inwardly from said collar to limit deflection of said valve stack.

A hydraulic damper assembly comprising:

• a housing disposed on a center axis extending between a first end and a second end defining a fluid chamber extending along said center axis for containing a working fluid;
• a main piston slidably disposed in said fluid chamber dividing said fluid chamber into a first chamber and a second chamber, said first chamber extending between said first end and said main piston and said second chamber extending between said second end and said main piston;
• a piston rod extending along said center axis and attached to said main piston for moving said main piston between a compression stroke and a rebound stroke;
• an additional piston, located in said fluid chamber, coupled to said piston rod and axially spaced from said main piston to provide an additional damping force during said compression stroke and said rebound stroke;
• said additional piston including a main body defining a compression channel and a rebound channel for allowing the working fluid to flow through said additional piston during said compression stroke and said rebound stroke, respectively;
• a securing member attached to said piston rod for securing said additional piston to said piston rod, said securing member defining an outer groove extending radially inwardly toward said center axis;
• and
• a piston ring located in said outer groove between said additional piston and said securing member, wherein said piston ring is radially spaced from said securing member to allow said piston ring to move radially between an expanded position and a compression position, with said expanded position being defined as said piston ring being spaced from said housing and said compressed position being defined as said piston ring being in engagement with said housing to align said additional piston with said housing,
• wherein said securing member is a bolt having a stem portion for threadedly engaging said piston rod and said outer groove is defined on an outer surface of said bolt.