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US 2014/0190778 A1Published application
Inerting damper with regressive characteristics
OwnerBill J. Gartnerinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods for damping a vehicle suspension. Various embodiments of dampers in hydraulic flowpaths are adapted and configured to provide shock absorber reactive forces resulting more from the pressure drop needed to overcome the inertia of the hydraulic fluid. Further, various embodiments include valving that provides a regressive characteristic to the shock absorber reactive load characteristics.
Claims34
A method for hydraulically damping a suspension of a vehicle, comprising:
- providing a shock absorber including a piston attached to a rod and slidable within a chamber and sealingly dividing the chamber into first and second internal compartments, the rod being attached to one of the vehicle or the suspension;
- providing an inertial flowpath for hydraulic fluid adapted and configured to have substantially more pressure drop required to overcome the inertia of accelerating a flow of hydraulic fluid through the flowpath than the pressure drop required to overcome the viscous drag of flowing the same flow of hydraulic fluid through the flowpath;
- providing a valve with a first fluid port and a second fluid port and capable of switching from a first more viscously restrictive flowpath for hydraulic fluid between the first port and second port and to a second less viscously restrictive flowpath for hydraulic fluid between the first port and second port;
- pumping hydraulic fluid by the piston from one of the internal compartments through the inertial flowpath;
- pumping hydraulic fluid by the piston from the one internal compartment through the first restrictive flowpath of the valve if the fluid pressure at the valve first fluid port is less than a predetermined value or through the second restrictive flowpath if the fluid pressure at the valve first fluid port is greater than the predetermined value;
- and
- returning the pumped hydraulic fluid to the other internal compartment.
4 more elements
A method for hydraulically damping a vehicle suspension, comprising:
- providing a shock absorber operable in compression and rebound and including a piston attached to a rod and slidable within a cylinder, the cylinder being located within an enclosed housing, the rod being attached to one of the vehicle or the suspension and the housing being attached to the other of the vehicle or the suspension;
- providing a first hydraulic flowpath between the housing and the cylinder, one end of the first flowpath being in fluid communication with the one end of the cylinder and the other end of the first flowpath being in fluid communication with the other end of the cylinder, the first hydraulic flowpath being adapted and configured to provide substantially more inertial resistance to a flow of hydraulic fluid than the viscous resistance to the same flow of hydraulic fluid;
- providing a second hydraulic flowpath with the piston that provides fluid communication across the piston from the one end of the cylinder to the other end of the cylinder;
- flowing first hydraulic fluid through the first flowpath and not through the second flowpath when the piston stroking velocity is less than a predetermined value;
- applying a first corresponding reactive load by the shock absorber on the suspension during said first flowing;
- flowing second hydraulic fluid through the first flowpath and through the second flowpath in parallel when the piston stroking velocity is greater than the predetermined value;
- and
- applying a second corresponding reactive load by the shock absorber on the suspension during said second flowing, the second load being less than the first load.
5 more elements
A method for hydraulically damping a vehicle suspension, comprising:
- providing a shock absorber operable in compression and rebound including a piston attached to a rod and slidable within a cylinder from one end of the cylinder to the other end of the cylinder, a housing having a pair of fluid ports and an internal flowpath therebetween, one end of the cylinder being in fluid communication with one port, a valve providing fluid communication from the other end of the cylinder to the other port of the housing with either of a first more restrictive valve flowpath or a second less restrictive valve flowpath, the rod being attached to one of the vehicle or the suspension;
- flowing first hydraulic fluid through the first valve flowpath and the internal flowpath when the piston stroking velocity is less than a predetermined value;
- applying a first corresponding reactive load by the shock absorber on the suspension during said first flowing;
- flowing second hydraulic fluid through the second valve flowpath and the internal flowpath when the piston stroking velocity is greater than the predetermined value;
- and
- applying a second corresponding reactive load by the shock absorber on the suspension during said second flowing, the second load being less than the first load.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.