Damper with externally mounted semi-active system
AssigneeTenneco Automotive Inc.
InventorsKoenraad G. Reybrouck, Rudi J. Schurmans
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An automatic damper for an automobile automatic damper system which provides a compression valve operable to vary compressive damping characteristics of a damper, as well as a rebound valve operable to vary rebound damping characteristics of the damper. Use of the invention in cooperation with presently available electronic control modules and sensing algorithms provides a damper with either discrete valves or continuously variable valves for independently setting the rebound and compression damping characteristics of the damper.
Claims18
A damper comprising:
- a pressure cylinder;
- a piston reciprocally mounted in said pressure cylinder to define a compression chamber and a rebound chamber, said compression and rebound chambers operable to store damping fluid, said piston movable for reciprocally varying the volumes of said compression and rebound chambers;
- valve means provided on said piston for controlling flow of fluid between said compression and rebound chambers;
- a reservoir tube surrounding said pressure cylinder to define a reservoir between said pressure cylinder and said reservoir tube;
- a compression transfer tube disposed within said reservoir tube for providing fluid communication between said compression chamber and said reservoir;
- a rebound transfer tube disposed within said reservoir tube for providing fluid communication between said rebound chamber and said compression chamber;
- a compression valve in fluidic communication with said compression transfer tube and operable between open and closed positions to regulate fluid flow from said compression chamber into said reservoir in response to compressive motion of said piston toward said compression chamber, said compression valve further operable to prevent flow in response to rebound motion of said piston toward said rebound chamber;
- a rebound valve in fluidic communication with said rebound transfer tube and operable between open and closed positions to regulate fluid flow from said rebound chamber into said compression chamber in response to rebound motion of said piston toward said rebound chamber, operation of said rebound valve being totally independent from operation of said compression valve;
- a base valve carried in said cylinder in fluidic communication with said compression chamber and said reservoir, said base valve provided therebetween and spaced apart from said piston for controllably providing bi-directional fluid flow between said compression chamber and said reservoir;
- and
- a reservoir fluid aperture provided in said reservoir for establishing fluid flow from said reservoir into said rebound chamber in response to compressive motion of said piston toward said compression chamber.
A fluid damper comprising:
- a pressure cylinder;
- a piston reciprocally mounted in said cylinder to define a compression chamber and a rebound chamber, said compression chamber and said rebound chamber operable to store damping fluid, and said piston movable for reciprocally varying the volumes of said compression chamber and said rebound chamber;
- a reservoir tube surrounding said pressure cylinder to define a fluid reservoir between said pressure cylinder and said reservoir tube;
- first external valve means disposed in fluid communication between said compression chamber and said fluid reservoir, said first external valve means operable for controllably regulating damping fluid flow therebetween to provide a desired compressive damping of the fluid damper;
- and
- second external valve means disposed in fluid communication between said rebound chamber and said compression chamber, said second external valve means operable for controllably regulating damping fluid flow therebetween to provide a desired rebound damping of the fluid damper, operation of said second external valve means being totally independent from operation of said first external valve mans.
A method for regulating damping of a fluid damper having a damper fluid filled pressure cylinder, a reservoir tube surrounding said pressure tube to define a fluid reservoir, a piston reciprocally mounted in the cylinder to define a compression chamber and a rebound chamber, the compression chamber and the rebound chamber operable to store the damping fluid as the piston is movable therein for reciprocally varying the volumes of the compression chamber and the rebound chamber comprising the steps of:
- providing a first external valve means disposed in fluid communication between the compression chamber and the reservoir;
- providing a second external valve means disposed in fluid communication between the rebound chamber and the compression chamber;
- controllably regulating said first external valve means to provide a desired damping fluid flow from the compression chamber to the fluid reservoir to provide a desired compressive damping of the fluid damper;
- and
- controllably regulating said second external valve means independently from said first external valve means to provide a desired damping fluid flow from the rebound chamber to the compression chamber to provide a desired rebound damping of the fluid damper.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.