Damper with tiered response

Abstract

A piston-and-cylinder-type damper operable to perform a compression stroke and a return stroke, comprising a casing containing damping fluid, an O-ring inside the casing, and a piston assembly having a contact surface facing the O-ring is provided. When a compression speed or force of the piston assembly is relatively low, the O-ring is disposed at a first position relative to the piston assembly defining a first pathway and a second pathway for the damping fluid to flow from a first chamber to a second chamber, and when the compression speed or force of the piston assembly is relatively high, the O-ring is disposed at a second position relative to the piston assembly blocking the first pathway and allowing the damping fluid to flow only through the second pathway, wherein the first passageway is defined between an outer perimeter of the piston assembly and an inner wall of the casing.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.