Smart damping control valve

A control valve for a shock absorber or a suspension system, the control valve comprising:

• a valve housing defining a valve inlet and a valve outlet, wherein the valve inlet and the valve outlet are connected by a fluid passage;
• a valve assembly within the fluid passage, the valve assembly comprising a shuttle valve concentrically positioned with respect to a spool valve, the shuttle valve being axially movable relative to the spool valve to obstruct either of a fail-safe port or an operating port of the spool valve;
• a solenoid including a magnetic armature, the magnetic armature being axially displaceable at a plurality of positions and being adapted to vary an opening pressure of the valve assembly;
• wherein, in response to a first electrical current to the solenoid, the valve assembly defines a first opening pressure;
• wherein, in response to a second electrical current to the solenoid, the valve assembly defines a second opening pressure greater than the first opening pressure;
• and
• wherein, in the absence of an electrical current to the solenoid, the valve assembly defines a fail-safe opening pressure between the first opening pressure and the second opening pressure,
• the control valve further including:
• a first compression spring that is positioned to bias the spool valve in a first direction away from the solenoid,
• a second compression spring to bias the shuttle valve in a second direction, opposite of the first direction, and
• a third compression spring to bias the spool valve in the second direction, opposite of the first direction.

A control valve for a shock absorber or a suspension system, the control valve comprising:

• a valve housing defining a valve inlet and a valve outlet, wherein the valve inlet and the valve outlet are connected by a fluid passage;
• a valve assembly within the fluid passage and including a shuttle valve and a spool valve, the spool valve defining a fail-safe port and an operating port, each of the fail-safe port and the operating port extending radially from a central through-bore of the spool valve, the shuttle valve defining a plurality of flow passages extending axially therethrough, the spool valve being axially movable relative to the valve housing to selectively obstruct the valve outlet, the shuttle valve being axially moveable within the central through-bore of the spool valve;
• and
• a solenoid including a magnetic armature that engages the shuttle valve via a plunger to drive axial movement of the shuttle valve and ultimately the spool valve, the magnetic armature being axially displaceable at a plurality of positions for varying an opening pressure of the valve assembly, wherein the valve assembly provides a plurality of opening pressures corresponding to each of the plurality of positions of the magnetic armature, wherein:
• in response to a first electrical current to the solenoid, the shuttle valve is displaced relative to the spool valve, such that the valve assembly defines a first opening pressure;
• in response to a second electrical current to the solenoid, the spool valve is displaced relative to the valve housing, such that the valve assembly defines a second opening pressure greater than the first opening pressure;
• and
• in the absence of an electrical current to the solenoid, the valve assembly defines a fail-safe opening pressure between the first opening pressure and the second opening pressure.

A control valve for a shock absorber or a suspension system, the control valve comprising:

• a valve housing defining a valve inlet and a valve outlet, wherein the valve inlet and the valve outlet are connected by a fluid passage;
• a valve assembly within the fluid passage and including a shuttle valve and a spool valve, the spool valve defining a fail-safe port and an operating port, each of the fail-safe port and the operating port extending radially from a central through-bore of the spool valve, the shuttle valve defining a plurality of flow passages extending axially therethrough, the shuttle valve being axially moveable within the central through-bore of the spool valve;
• and
• a solenoid including a magnetic armature, the magnetic armature being axially displaceable at a plurality of positions for varying an opening pressure of the valve assembly, wherein the valve assembly provides a plurality of opening pressures corresponding to each of the plurality of positions of the magnetic armature
• the control valve further including:
• a first compression spring that is positioned to bias the spool valve in a first direction away from the solenoid,
• a second compression spring to bias the shuttle valve in a second direction, opposite of the first direction, and
• a third compression spring to bias the spool valve in the second direction, opposite of the first direction.