Magneto-rheological damping valve using laminated construction

A magneto-rheological damping valve comprising:

• a core element capable of acting as a magnetic circuit which carries a magnetic flux;
• a valve body surrounding the core element and a passage existing between the valve body and core element;
• an amount of magneto-rheological fluid positioned in the valve body and between the core element and valve body to flow within the passage, the valve body including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet for the fluid to flow into and out of the valve body;
• a magnetic flux generator positioned adjacent a portion of the core element and operable to generate a magnetic flux which acts upon the magneto-rheological fluid in the passage to affect the flow of fluid in the passage;
• the core element comprising a plurality of stacked laminations, the laminations forming a series of magnetic poles with gaps therebetween, the magnetic flux generator operable to generate a magnetic flux in the poles and valve body and across the gaps to affect the fluid flow in the passage and into and out of the valve body.

A magneto-rheological shock absorption system comprising:

• a shock absorber body;
• a piston coupled to a piston rod and movably mounted in the body;
• the piston comprising a core element capable of acting as a magnetic circuit which carries a magnetic flux and a case element surrounding the core element with a passage existing between the case element and core element;
• an amount of magneto-rheological fluid positioned in the shock absorber body and between the core element and case element to flow within the passage and facilitate the movement of the piston within the body;,
• a magnetic flux generator positioned adjacent a portion of the core element and operable to generate a magnetic flux which acts upon the magneto-rheological fluid in the passage to affect the flow of fluid in the passage;
• the core element comprising a plurality of stacked laminations, the laminations forming a series of magnetic poles with gaps therebetween, the magnetic flux generator operable to generate a magnetic flux in the poles and case element and across the gaps to affect the fluid flow in the passage and affect the movement of the piston in the shock absorber body.

A method for producing a magneto-rheological damping device comprising:

• forming a core element by closely stacking a plurality of individual laminations, the stacked laminations collectively forming a series of individual magnetic poles with gaps therebetween, the core element capable of acting as a magnetic circuit which carries a magnetic flux;
• surrounding a portion of the core element with a rigid case element to define a passage between the case element and core element;
• containing an amount of magneto-rheological fluid between the core element and case element to flow within the passage;
• forming a magnetic flux generator adjacent a portion of the core element for generating a magnetic flux which acts upon the magneto-rheological fluid in the passage to affect the flow of fluid in the passage;
• the magnetic flux generator being operable to generate a magnetic flux in the poles and case element and across the gaps to affect the fluid flow in the passage.

A method for producing a magneto-rheological damping device comprising:

• forming a core element by closely stacking a plurality of individual laminations, the stacked laminations collectively forming a series of individual magnetic poles with gaps therebetween, the core element capable of acting as a magnetic circuit which carries a magnetic flux;
• surrounding a portion of the core element with a case element to define a passage between the case element and core element;
• containing an amount of magneto-rheological fluid between the core element and case element to flow within the passage;
• forming a magnetic flux generator adjacent a portion of the core element for generating a magnetic flux which acts upon the magneto-rheological fluid in the passage to affect the flow of fluid in the passage;
• the magnetic flux generator being operable to generate a magnetic flux in the poles and case element and across the gaps to affect the fluid flow in the passage;
• and
• wherein said laminations are shaped to collectively form a series of arms projecting radially from a center axis of the core to form the poles, the method further comprising forming the magnetic flux generator to oppositely magnetically polarize at least two adjacent arms.

A method for producing a magneto-rheological damping device comprising:

• forming a core element by closely stacking a plurality of individual laminations, the stacked laminations collectively forming a series of individual magnetic poles with gaps therebetween, the core element capable of acting as a magnetic circuit which carries a magnetic flux;
• surrounding a portion of the core element with a case element to define, a passage between the case element and core element;
• containing an amount of magneto-rheological fluid between the core element and case element to flow within the passage;
• forming a magnetic flux generator adjacent a portion of the core element for generating a magnetic flux which acts upon the magneto-rheological fluid in the passage to affect the flow of fluid in the passage;
• the magnetic flux generator being operable to generate a magnetic flux in the poles and case element and across the gaps to affect the fluid flow in the passage;
• and
• forming a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet in the case element so that the device is configured to operate as a damping valve.

A method for producing a magneto-rheological damping device comprising:

• forming a core element by closely stacking a plurality of individual laminations, the stacked laminations collectively forming a series of individual magnetic poles with gaps therebetween, the core element capable of acting as a magnetic circuit which carries a magnetic flux;
• surrounding a portion of the core element with a case element to define a passage between the case element and core element;
• containing an amount of magneto-rheological fluid between the core element and case element to flow within the passage;
• forming a magnetic flux generator adjacent a portion of the core element for generating a magnetic flux which acts upon the magneto-rheological fluid in the passage to affect the flow of fluid in the passage;
• the magnetic flux generator being operable to generate a magnetic flux in the poles and case element and across the gaps to affect the fluid flow in the passage;
• and
• surrounding the core element, case element and fluid with a suspension housing such that the core element and case element are operable to move as a piston in the suspension housing.

A core element for a magneto-rheological damping device comprising:

• a plurality of closely stacked laminations, the laminations forming a series of individual magnetic poles with gaps therebetween;
• a magnetic flux generator adjacent a portion of the core element and operable to generate a magnetic flux which acts upon the magneto-rheological fluid;
• and
• a series of arms projecting radially from a center axis of the core to form the poles, at least two adjacent arms being oppositely magnetically polarized.