Adjustable hydraulic suspension damper
AssigneeAFCO Performance Group, LLC
InventorAlan Jeffrey Wilber
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hydraulic damper with one end connected to the body of a vehicle and a second end connected to a suspension system of a vehicle. The mechanism allows for multiple hydraulic-fluid metering valve positions to control piston resistance based on a variable pressure input using pressurized gas. The use of compressed gas to mechanically control a valve position allows changes to the piston resistance to be made quickly and to be increased or decreased as desired. The hydraulic damper features a control piston which in turn mechanically controls a valve needle within a hydraulic suspension piston. The position of the valve needle controls the damping characteristics of the suspension piston. When the control piston moves, the position of the valve needle is proportionally adjusted.
Claims20
A hydraulic damper with one end connected to a body of a vehicle and a second end connected to a suspension, comprising:
- a pressure tube defining an interior cavity, wherein hydraulic fluid fills at least a portion of the interior cavity of the pressure tube;
- a piston head slidably arranged in the interior cavity of the pressure tube and dividing the interior cavity into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein the piston head defines a hydraulic fluid flow path between the upper chamber and the lower chamber;
- a piston rod with one end connected to the piston head, wherein movement of the piston rod relative to the pressure tube causes the piston head to slidably move within the pressure tube and wherein the fluid flow path size controls the resistance as the piston moves;
- a valve needle arranged within the piston rod and configured to translate within a defined range, wherein at one end of the range the valve needle is in a closed position restricting the fluid flow path through the piston head, wherein at a second end of the range the valve needle is in a fully open position, and wherein as the valve needle moves from the closed position to the fully open position the fluid flow path size is continuously increased to allow an increase in fluid flow through the fluid flow path;
- wherein as the valve needle moves from the fully open position to the closed position, the fluid flow path size is continuously decreased to decrease the allowed fluid flow through the fluid flow path;
- and
- an air-controlled piston operatively connected to a compressed air source, wherein the air-controlled piston slides within a defined range in response to changes in the compressed air pressure applied, wherein the air-controlled piston is operably engaged with the valve needle, and wherein movement of the air-controlled piston moves within the air-controlled piston's defined range causes the valve needle to translate a correlated distance within the valve needle's defined range.
A method of dynamically controlling translation of a valve needle within a hydraulic damper connected between a body and a suspension of a vehicle, comprising:
- applying compressed air from a compressed air source to a portion of the hydraulic damper to control the position of a control piston;
- controlling the position of the control piston, wherein the control piston is operably engaged with the valve needle, wherein the valve needle is configured to translate within a defined range, wherein at one end of the range the valve needle is seated in a closed position restricting a fluid flow path between an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein at a second end of the range the valve needle is in a fully open position, wherein as the valve needle moves from the closed position to the fully open position the fluid flow path size is continuously increased to allow an increase in fluid flow between the upper chamber and the lower chamber, and wherein as the valve needle moves from the fully open position to the closed position the fluid flow path size is continuously decreased to decrease the allowed fluid flow through the fluid flow path;
- and
- wherein adjusting the position of the control piston adjusts the position of the valve needle directly proportional to the amount of movement of the control piston.
A hydraulic damper connected between a body of a vehicle and a suspension, comprising:
- a pressure tube defining an interior cavity, wherein hydraulic fluid fills at least a portion of the interior cavity of the pressure tube;
- a piston head slidably arranged in the interior cavity of the pressure tube and dividing the interior cavity of the pressure tube into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein the piston head defines a fluid flow path between the upper chamber and the lower chamber and wherein the fluid flow path size controls the resistance as hydraulic fluid moves through the piston head;
- a piston rod with one end connected to the piston head;
- a valve needle arranged to translate within a defined range within the piston rod, wherein as the valve needle moves in one direction the fluid flow path size is increased to decrease the resistance to hydraulic fluid moving through the fluid flow path and wherein as the valve needle moves in the opposition direction, the fluid flow path size is decreased to increase the resistance to hydraulic fluid moving through the fluid flow path;
- a control piston, wherein the control piston slides within a defined range in response to control inputs;
- and
- wherein the control piston is operably engaged with the valve needle, and wherein movement of the control piston causes the valve needle to translate a correlated distance to adjust the fluid flow path size.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.