US 9,200,692 B2Granted

Leaf valve structure

AssigneesKayaba Industry Co., Ltd., Fine Sinter Co., Ltd.

InventorsHideki Yamada, Tomoharu Murakami, Tadashi Oikawa, Tomohito Amino, Yoshinori Nomura

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Abstract

A leaf valve structure according to this invention comprises an annular valve seat, and a leaf that is seated on the valve seat under a predetermined elastic supporting force against a pressure of a working fluid on an inner side of the valve seat. A recessed depression portion having an opening portion on both an inner periphery of the valve seat and a seating surface of the leaf is formed in the valve seat, thereby creating a site where the pressure of the working fluid on the inner side of the valve seat can act more easily on a seating surface between the valve seat and the leaf valve. Accordingly, an effect of a surface adsorption force applied to the leaf valve by the valve seat on a cracking pressure can be suppressed, and as a result, the leaf valve can be lifted under a stable cracking pressure.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A shock absorber comprising:

a fluid chamber,
a reservoir that supplies the working fluid to the fluid chamber in response to a reduction in a pressure of the fluid chamber, and
a check valve configured to allow the working fluid to flow from the reservoir to the fluid chamber and block a flow of the working fluid in an opposite direction,
wherein the check valve is constituted by a leaf valve structure, the leaf valve structure comprising:
a valve disk having a center;
an annular valve seat formed on the valve disk;
an annular groove formed continuously in a circumferential direction for 360 degrees in the valve disk;
a fluid passage formed in the valve disk and having an opening in the annular groove;
and
a leaf that is seated on the valve seat to close the annular groove, and wherein
the valve seat comprises an inner peripheral side valve seat that defines an inner periphery of the annular groove and an outer peripheral side valve seat that defines an outer periphery of the annular groove,
a recessed depression portion is formed in the outer peripheral side valve seat, the recessed depression portion having an opening portion on both an inner periphery of the outer peripheral side valve seat and a seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat on which the leaf is seated,
a size of the opening portion in the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat in a circumferential direction is set to be smaller than a whole circumferential length of the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat,
a size of the opening portion in the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat in a radial direction is smaller than a size of the fluid passage in the radial direction, and
the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat is also formed on a radially outer side of the opening portion in the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat with respect to the center of the valve disk.

12 more elements

A shock absorber comprising:

a fluid chamber,
a reservoir that supplies the working fluid to the fluid chamber in response to a reduction in a pressure of the fluid chamber, and
a check valve configured to allow the working fluid to flow from the reservoir to the fluid chamber and block a flow of the working fluid in an opposite direction,
wherein the check valve is constituted by a leaf valve structure, the leaf valve structure comprising:
a valve disk having a center;
an annular valve seat formed on the valve disk;
an annular groove formed continuously in a circumferential direction for 360 degrees in the valve disk;
a fluid passage formed in the valve disk and having an opening in the annular groove;
and
a leaf that is seated on the valve seat to close the annular groove, and
wherein the valve seat comprises an inner peripheral side valve seat that defines an inner periphery of the annular groove and an outer peripheral side valve seat that defines an outer periphery of the annular groove,
a recessed depression portion is formed in the outer peripheral side valve seat, the recessed depression portion having an opening portion on both an inner periphery of the outer peripheral side valve seat and a seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat on which the leaf is seated,
a size of the opening portion in the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat in a circumferential direction is set to be smaller than a whole circumferential length of the seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat,
a size of the opening portion in the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat in a radial direction is smaller than a size of the fluid passage in the radial direction,
the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat is also formed on a radially outer side of the opening portion in the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat with respect to the center of the valve disk, and
an area of the leaf that contacts the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat is set to be greater than an area of the leaf that faces the opening portion in the seating surface of the outer peripheral side valve seat.

13 more elements

A shock absorber comprising:

a fluid chamber,
a reservoir that supplies the working fluid to the fluid chamber in response to a reduction in a pressure of the fluid chamber, and
a check valve configured to allow the working fluid to flow from the reservoir to the fluid chamber and block a flow of the working fluid in an opposite direction,
wherein the check valve is constituted by a leaf valve structure, the leaf valve structure comprising:
a valve disk having a center;
an annular valve seat formed on the valve disk;
an annular groove formed continuously in a circumferential direction for 360 degrees in the valve disk;
a fluid passage formed in the valve disk and having an opening in the annular groove;
and
a leaf that is seated on the valve seat to close the annular groove, and
wherein the valve seat comprises an inner peripheral side valve seat that defines an inner periphery of the annular groove and an outer peripheral side valve seat that defines an outer periphery of the annular groove,
a recessed depression portion is formed in the inner peripheral side valve seat, the recessed depression portion having an opening portion on both an outer periphery of the inner peripheral side valve seat and a seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat on which the leaf is seated,
a size of the opening portion in the seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat in a circumferential direction is set to be smaller than a whole circumferential length of the seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat,
a size of the opening portion in the seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat in a radial direction is smaller than a size of the fluid passage in the radial direction,
the seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat is also formed on a radially inner side of the opening portion in the seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat with respect to the center of the valve disk and
an area of the leaf that contacts the seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat is set to be greater than an area of the leaf that faces the opening portion in the seating surface of the inner peripheral side valve seat.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/512,646Filed 24 Mar 2011
Priority: JP 2010-0860512 Apr 2010
Published: US 2012/0228071 A113 Sep 2012
Granted: 1 Dec 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

F16F 9/348
Special valve constructions ; Shape or construction of throttling passages: throttling passages in the form of annular discs or other plate-like…
F16F 2222/10
Special physical effects, e.g. nature of damping effects: adhesion
F16F 2230/36
Purpose; Design features: holes, slots or the like
Y10T 137/7858
Direct response valves [i.e., check valve type]: with means for selecting area of valve or seat