Position Of Thrust Member Relative To Chamber Patents (Class 188/284)
  • Patent number: 11946526
    Abstract: A shock absorber assembly with a coil spring and a shock absorber. The shock absorber includes a cylinder; a piston rod; a cylinder piston connected to the piston rod; a reservoir fluidly connected to the cylinder, the reservoir and the cylinder defining a fluid chamber for receiving a hydraulic fluid; a reservoir base valve separating the fluid chamber into a first portion and a second portion, the reservoir base valve defining passages fluidly connecting the first and second portions; a bypass channel fluidly connecting the first portion to the second portion; a bypass valve configured to selectively control fluid flow through the bypass channel; and a check valve disposed in the bypass passage and being configured to: permit fluid flow through the bypass channel from the first portion to the second portion, and impede fluid flow through the bypass channel from the second portion to the first portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: BOMBARDIER RECREATIONAL PRODUCTS INC.
    Inventor: Pascal Gagnon
  • Patent number: 11867254
    Abstract: A damper having a pressure tube, a piston, and a hydraulic compression stop assembly. The piston is arranged in sliding engagement inside the pressure tube. The piston divides the pressure tube into a first working chamber and a second working chamber and the piston is coupled to a piston rod that extends through the first working chamber. The hydraulic compression stop assembly is positioned in the second working chamber. The hydraulic compression stop assembly includes a sleeve, a plunger, a biasing member, and a pressure relief valve. The plunger is arranged in sliding engagement with the sleeve and can therefore move between an extended position and a retracted position. The biasing member biases the plunger towards the extended position and the pressure relief valve relieves excessive fluid pressure inside the hydraulic compression stop assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Tenneco Automotive Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Shivanand Sankaran, Wojciech Weglorz, Damian Slawik, Rafal Psota, Daniel Buczkowski, Thomas P. Mallin
  • Patent number: 11592073
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a variable load hydraulic control device comprising an inner tube able to be coupled to an upper tubular head to form an internal chamber and an external chamber, in addition to an inner casing, a floating piston, able to slide between the inner tube and the inner casing, a retaining ring, an upper spring, located between the floating piston and an extension of a washer located inside the upper tubular head, a lower spring, located between the floating piston and an extension of the inner casing, a control surface, a leak opening to communicate the external chamber and the internal chamber, wherein the static load of the hydraulic control device determines the position of the floating piston and the section of passage through the leak opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Kyb Europe GmbH, Sucursal En Navarra
    Inventor: Javier Lizarraga Senar
  • Patent number: 11506253
    Abstract: A rebound bumper for a shock absorber includes a first portion formed from a first material having a first spring rate and a second portion coupled to the first portion and formed from a second material having a second spring rate greater than the first spring rate. The first portion and the second portion are configured to fit on a piston rod between a piston and a rod guide assembly of the shock absorber. Also, the rebound bumper exhibits a displacement under load relationship with the first spring rate, the second spring rate, and a third spring rate greater than the first spring rate and less than the second spring rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: DRiV Automotive Inc.
    Inventor: Darrell Breese
  • Patent number: 11293509
    Abstract: The rebound spring structure includes: a rebound spring; a lower rebound collar configured to hold an end on one side of the rebound spring; and an upper rebound collar configured to hold an end on the other side of the rebound spring, the rebound spring structure being positioned around a rod configured to move relative to a cylinder. The lower rebound collar is held by a piston rod. The upper rebound collar is movably fitted to the piston rod. The upper rebound collar includes a recess on an upper disk part configured to restrict movement of the rebound spring to the other side, the recess being configured to facilitate movement of the upper rebound collar in a circumferential direction of the piston rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Muraguchi, Takao Yamamoto, Naoki Senou
  • Patent number: 11279199
    Abstract: A vehicle damper is described. The vehicle damper includes: a cylinder; a piston within the cylinder; a working fluid within the cylinder; a reservoir in fluid communication with the cylinder via the working fluid, the reservoir operable to receive the working fluid from the cylinder in a compression stroke; a valve in a flow path between the cylinder and the reservoir; and a remotely-operable valve having a position allowing the working fluid to significantly by-pass the valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Fox Factory, Inc.
    Inventor: John Marking
  • Patent number: 11181161
    Abstract: A damper having a pressure tube, a piston, a hydraulic compression stop assembly, and a base valve assembly is provided. The piston is arranged in sliding engagement inside the pressure tube and divides the pressure tube into first and second working chambers. The hydraulic compression stop assembly is positioned in the second working chamber and includes a sleeve and a plunger. The sleeve extends from the base valve assembly to define a sleeve cavity. The plunger extends from the piston and/or piston rod and is designed to slide into the sleeve cavity when the piston approaches a fully compressed position of the damper. The base valve assembly includes intake passageways and an intake valve. The intake valve is constructed as a one-way valve that permits fluid to flow in one direction into the sleeve cavity through the intake passageways.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: DRiV Automotive Inc.
    Inventors: Frederik Baldoni, Wim Knevels
  • Patent number: 11125297
    Abstract: An adjustment device for a flap assembly includes a housing having a longitudinal axis, two mounting spots spaced from one another along the longitudinal axis, an energy storage unit acting along the longitudinal axis and a friction damping unit acting serially in relation to the energy storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: SUSPA GmbH
    Inventor: Manfred Hofmann
  • Patent number: 11060538
    Abstract: An actuator (1) for an automated or automatic transmission has a cylinder housing (3), a piston unit (2), and a piston rod (13). The piston unit (2) is coupled to the piston rod (13) and is arranged movably in the cylinder housing (3) along a longitudinal axis (4). The piston unit (2) separates two pressure chambers (8, 9) of variable volume in the cylinder housing (3). The pressure chambers are configured to load the piston unit (2) with compressed air on both sides. The two pressure chambers (8, 9) are connected to a valve unit (14) for switching between pressurization and purging of each of the two pressure chambers (8, 9). An end stop clamping device for damping at least one end stop of the piston unit (2) is arranged in the actuator (1). A pneumatically and a mechanically operating damping stage are provided improve the end stop damping device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: WABCO GmbH
    Inventors: Romain Poux, Timo Gerlach, Dennis Reimann
  • Patent number: 10766330
    Abstract: In an air suspension system, starting of a compressor is facilitated in a condition in which there exists a pressure difference. There is provided an air suspension system in which air compressed by a compressor is supplied to a plurality of air chambers provided between a vehicle body side and a wheel side and configured to perform vehicle height adjustment in accordance with the supply and discharge of air. The compressor has a needle connected to a piston and extending in a moving direction of the piston, and an armature reciprocating the needle in the moving direction of the piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, LTD.
    Inventors: Shinji Seto, Masaki Koyama, Shuhei Nagata, Takashi Ogawa, Yosuke Tanabe, Takahiro Suzuki, Kan Kobayashi, Naofumi Harada, Yoshinori Kawai, Tomoyuki Ri
  • Patent number: 10730416
    Abstract: An energy-absorbing assembly includes an outer assembly with an outer hollow cylindrical member, and an inner assembly with an inner hollow cylindrical member having an end disposed in the outer member. The inner and outer assemblies are axially movably engaged with each other and define first and second cavities separated by a membrane: a first cavity inside the outer hollow cylindrical member and a second cavity inside the inner hollow cylindrical member. An adjustable-size orifice is disposed between the first and second cavities, and is configured to reduce diameter in response to a stroke motion of the energy-absorbing assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: AMI INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Akhil Rajagopal Kozhipuram, Mahesh Virupaxi Hosmani, Satya Swaroop Panda
  • Patent number: 10683906
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a hydraulic comprising a compression stop assembly located in a compression chamber and the compression stop assembly comprises a body; an axial member disposed slidably within said body; a covering member fixed on said axial member and provided with at least one compression flow channel and at least one rebound flow channel; a disengaging spring preloaded between said body and said covering member. The compression stop assembly further comprises a rotating member disposed pivotally with respect to said body and capable of covering at least partially said at least one compression flow channel depending on the angular position of said rotating member with respect to said at least one compression flow channel; and at least one cam configured to cooperate with said rotating member in order to change its angular position with respect to its axial displacement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: BEIJINGWEST INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Pawel Edward Kus, Piotr Andrzej Flacht, Piotr Stanislaw Suprewicz
  • Patent number: 10221913
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a hydraulic damper for a motor vehicle, comprising a tube with a slidably piston assembly attached to an end of a piston rod that is led outside the tube through a rod guide. A protective cap surrounds a portion of the tube. A partially axially elastic protective tube is attached to the cap and surrounds it and the piston rod. The cap is a unitary plastic component and has an annular flange provided with locking means attaching it to the protective tube. The cap has a plurality of spaced axial ribs separated by axial slots and joining a cylindrical section of the cap with the flange. A plurality of auxiliary ribs join the axial ribs and the annular area of the axial slots is larger than the total annular area of the axial ribs and the auxiliary ribs combined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: BEIJINGWEST INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Mateusz Jasinski
  • Patent number: 10174802
    Abstract: A hydraulic damper including a tube defining a chamber. The tube has a main section and a narrowed section. A main piston assembly is disposed in the main section and connected to a piston rod. A resisting mechanism is fixed to the piston rod. A secondary piston is moveable into the narrowed section. An inner surface of the secondary piston defines at least one radially internal channel. The piston rod defines an annular recess. The secondary piston includes a locking mechanism axially slideable within the annular recess. The secondary piston is axially moveable between a hydraulic stop engagement stroke wherein the secondary piston engages the resisting mechanism and restricts the flow of fluid through the radially internal channel, and a hydraulic stop disengagement stroke wherein the secondary piston is spaced from the resisting mechanism and allows the flow of fluid through radially internal channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: BEIJINGWEST INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Miroslaw Pawel Osika, Karol Jakub Pilawski, Jakub Pawel Schab
  • Patent number: 10144482
    Abstract: A front fork leg includes an inner chamber that absorbs by a gas spring a shock caused on a vehicle; an auxiliary gas spring chamber communicating with the inner chamber; an auxiliary piston provided in the auxiliary gas spring chamber; and a gas spring chamber side gas chamber sectioned by the auxiliary piston and communicating with the inner chamber, and the auxiliary piston moves to increase a volume of the gas spring chamber side gas chamber, as pressure inside the inner chamber increases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: SHOWA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kojiro Yoshida
  • Patent number: 10081408
    Abstract: An air spring structure has a first communication hole formed in a peripheral surface of a cylinder and a second communication hole formed in the peripheral surface at a position closer to an axle than the first communication hole. A piston has a sliding portion that comes into contact with an inner peripheral surface of the cylinder and partitions the cylinder into an inner chamber and a balance chamber. The sliding portion has an axial length shorter than an axial length between the first communication hole and the second communication hole. A communication member has a communication path formed so as to pass through the first communication hole and the second communication hole to allow the inner chamber and the balance chamber to communicate with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: SHOW A CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kojiro Yoshida
  • Patent number: 9926995
    Abstract: A strut includes a first end, a second end, a cylinder and a piston, wherein the piston is mechanically coupled to the first end and the cylinder is mechanically coupled to the second end. A fluidic chamber is formed between the cylinder and the piston. A first fluidic passageway fluidly couples the fluidic chamber and a fluidic reservoir, and a second fluidic passageway fluidly couples between the fluidic chamber and the fluidic reservoir. A check valve includes an open-biased moveable valve element coupled to a balance spring, and the valve element interacts with a valve seat to control fluidic flow through the second fluidic passageway. The valve element is responsive to urging of the balance spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventor: Eric D. Staley
  • Patent number: 9845131
    Abstract: An object is to provide a front fork including a stroke sensor as well as a damping force variable device, and allowing structure of the front fork to be simplified. A front fork of an embodiment includes a pair of a first leg and a second leg. The first leg includes a stroke sensor section that detects a stroke amount of the front fork as a distance between extension and compression of the front fork. The second leg includes a damping force variable device that controls a flow of a working fluid contained in the second leg to enable a damping force to be varied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: SHOWA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yosuke Murakami
  • Patent number: 9731574
    Abstract: A shock absorber includes a first portion and a second portion that reciprocate relative to one another. The shock absorber includes a gas spring chamber defined between an interior wall and a plunger. A seal including a lip portion minimizes gas pressure loss and friction between the two portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Eko Sport Inc.
    Inventors: Darek C. Barefoot, Eric Prinster, Scott Winans
  • Patent number: 9581217
    Abstract: A shock absorber includes a shock absorber body interposed between a vehicle body and a wheel, a cylinder connected to a wheel side and standing in a shaft center portion of the shock absorber body, a liquid chamber formed in the cylinder and filled with an operating liquid, an annular rod guide fixed to the cylinder and closing a liquid chamber's vehicle body side, a piston rod connected to a vehicle body side, penetrating a shaft center portion of the rod guide, and going into and out of the cylinder, an annular seal member held on a rod guide's inner periphery and in sliding contact with a piston rod's outer peripheral surface, and a relief portion formed on a piston rod's outer periphery and forming a gap between the piston rod and the seal member when the piston rod retreats from the cylinder by a predetermined amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: KYB Corporation
    Inventor: Takeshi Tomiuga
  • Patent number: 9556925
    Abstract: A vehicle damper is described. The vehicle damper includes: a cylinder; a piston within the cylinder; a working fluid within the cylinder; a reservoir in fluid communication with the cylinder via the working fluid, the reservoir operable to receive the working fluid from the cylinder in a compression stroke; a valve in a flow path between the cylinder and the reservoir; and a remotely-operable valve having a position allowing the working fluid to significantly by-pass the valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: Fox Factory, Inc.
    Inventor: John Marking
  • Patent number: 9546707
    Abstract: Provided is a hydraulic damper with a position dependent valve assembly (3) to prevent abrupt stop of a piston at the end of the compression stroke. The position dependent valve assembly (3) comprises a supporting member (31) partitioning damper (2) internal tube (22) and provided with an axial opening (312), an axial member (32) disposed slidably within said axial opening (312) of said supporting member (31), a rigid body (33) fixed on said axial member (32), a compression stroke disc assembly (35) and a rebound stroke disc assembly (34) fixed on said axial member (32).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2017
    Assignee: BeijingWest Industries Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Pawel Edward Kus, Radoslaw Pawel Grzesik, Piotr Andrzej Flacht, Lukasz Karol Firek
  • Patent number: 9091320
    Abstract: A jounce control damping system with an elongated housing containing a damping medium, a primary piston assembly, a moveable outer piston assembly, and a movable inner piston assembly disposed at least partially within the outer piston assembly. The primary piston assembly provides a first compression damping force. The inner piston engages the primary piston assembly and provides a second compression damping force when moved in a compression direction. After the inner piston assembly moves a given distance, the outer piston assembly is moved in the compressive direction and provides a third compression damping force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: THYSSENKRUPP BILSTEIN OF AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Justin D. Smith, Austin Z. Dvorak, Terrence J. Kane
  • Patent number: 9091318
    Abstract: A vibration damper includes a piston rod which is axially movable in a cylinder and at which is arranged a housing in which an auxiliary piston is axially movably supported, wherein the auxiliary piston is connected to a piston rod portion at which a main piston is arranged, wherein the auxiliary piston and the main piston are outfitted with damping valves which generate a damping force for both movement directions of the piston rod and piston rod portion, wherein the main piston divides the cylinder into a working chamber on the piston rod side and a working chamber remote of the piston rod, both of which working chambers are filled with damping medium, and the auxiliary piston divides the housing into two auxiliary chambers, wherein the auxiliary piston generates a damping force over its entire stroke path, which damping force is always greater than the damping force of the main piston at an identical stroke speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Dirk Litterscheid, Johannes Hoof, Reinhard Sonnenburg
  • Publication number: 20150139773
    Abstract: A conveyor assembly for transporting tubular onto a drilling rig includes a plurality of conveyor sections coupled together end to end. The conveyor sections are configured to receive and transport the tubular. Each of the plurality of conveyor sections includes a conveyor belt having treads for transporting the tubular along the conveyor section. The conveyor assembly also includes an actuation assembly configured to transition the plurality of conveyor sections between a first orientation and a second orientation. The conveyor sections are not aligned in the first orientation, and the conveyor sections are substantially aligned in the second orientation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2013
    Publication date: May 21, 2015
    Applicant: Tesco Corporation
    Inventor: Kevin James Nikiforuk
  • Patent number: 9010505
    Abstract: A shock absorber is provided. The shock absorber includes: a piston rod; an inner passage having an inlet port at an outer periphery of the piston rod; and a stopper installed at the outer periphery of the piston rod. The stopper is disposed to surround the inlet port of the inner passage, and an outer passage extending from an upper portion of the stopper to the inlet port is formed between the stopper and the piston rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Mando Corporation
    Inventor: Wan Sang Park
  • Publication number: 20150083534
    Abstract: Embodiments of a fluid damper are provided, as are embodiments of an Auxiliary Power Unit inlet system including a fluid damper. In one embodiment, the fluid damper includes a housing assembly containing first and second hydraulic chambers, which are fluidly coupled by way of a flow passage. A plunger is slidably disposed within the housing assembly and is moves through a range of translational positions in response to variations in damping fluid pressure when the fluid damper is filled with damping fluid. An annulus or other restricted flow path is fluidly coupled between the first and second hydraulic chambers and is at least partially defined by the flow passage and the plunger. The restricted flow path has at least one dimension, such as a length, that varies in conjunction with the translational position of the plunger.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2013
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Inventors: Tim Daniel Barber, Stella Silvana Dearing, Timothy Hindle
  • Publication number: 20150075930
    Abstract: A vehicle suspension damper for providing a variable damping rate. The vehicle suspension damper comprises a first damping mechanism having a variable first threshold pressure, a second damping mechanism having a second threshold pressure, and a compressible chamber in communication with a damping fluid chamber, wherein the second damping mechanism is responsive to a compression of said compressible chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Inventors: Joshua Benjamin YABLON, Dennis K. WOOTTEN, Robert C. FOX, David M. HAUGEN, Sante PELOT
  • Patent number: 8807299
    Abstract: A position-sensitive shock absorber is disclosed. The position-sensitive shock absorber includes a choking member positioned within the housing at a specific point along the stroke of the working piston that cooperates with the working piston to increase the resistance to fluid flow when the working piston reaches the specific point along its stroke thereby defining a second damping characteristic of the position-sensitive shock absorber from the specific point along the stroke of the working piston onward.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Bombardier Recreational Products Inc.
    Inventors: Pascal Gagnon, Sebastien Thibault
  • Patent number: 8776965
    Abstract: A shock absorber that absorbs a vibration using a working fluid charged into a first chamber and a second chamber comprises a tube body, an inserted body, a tip end of which is inserted into the tube body from an end portion of the tube body, and a partition wall portion that is provided on the tip end of the inserted body to be capable of sliding within the tube body and partitions an interior of the tube body into the first chamber and the second chamber. The shock absorber comprises a connecting portion that is provided within a partition wall portion sliding region of the tube body and connects the first chamber and the second chamber when the partition wall portion passes thereby.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Nobuhiro Noguchi
  • Patent number: 8776963
    Abstract: The present invention relates to devices for damping the movement of a body Co between two positions at the end of travel. The device according to the invention is essentially characterized in that it comprises two abutments B1, B2, a cylinder 10, a wall 11 closing off the end 12 of the cylinder 10, a piston 14 delimiting a chamber 16 with variable volume, a cylinder 20 with an external section at most equal to the internal section of the cylinder 10, a mounting unit for mounting the cylinder 20 in cooperation with the piston 14 so that the latter closes off the end 21 of this cylinder 20, a piston 24 delimiting a chamber 26 with variable volume, a first fluid Li filling the two chambers 16, 26, a communicating unit 30 for communication under pressure loss between the chambers 16, 26, an abutment 40 mounted in cooperation with the piston 24 so that this abutment 40 has a movement correlative with that of the piston 24, and a connecting unit 50 for connecting the cylinder 20 to the body Co.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Ratier Figeac
    Inventors: Hélène Bergonnier, Eric Delbos
  • Patent number: 8701846
    Abstract: A shock absorber includes a hydraulic compression stop. The hydraulic stop includes a pressure tube surrounding the pressure tube of the shock absorber and a piston in hydraulic communication with the interior of the pressure tube. The piston can be disposed within the pressure tube and can be attached to the pressure tube or to the shock absorber. The hydraulic stop can also include a hydraulic fluid chamber and the piston can be disposed within the hydraulic fluid chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Tenneco Automotive Operating Company Inc
    Inventors: Koen Reybrouck, M'Hand Nait Oukhedou, Simon Anne de Molina
  • Patent number: 8695765
    Abstract: A shock absorber comprises a damping cylinder pressurized by a system pressure and divided by a piston into a compression chamber and a return chamber. A resilient device is disposed in the return chamber. The resilient device comprises a pressurizing member or pressurizing medium disposed in an inner volume that is delimited from the return chamber. The resilient device acts upon the damping medium volume in the return chamber such that the pressure initially during a compression stroke does not fall below a predetermined minimum pressure. As long as the pressure in the return chamber is less than the pressure created by the resilient device, the device is able to absorb energy. When the pressure in the return chamber is greater than the pressure created by the resilient device, the device becomes inflexible. The resilient device compensates for pressure reduction in the return chamber that occurs under rapid damping movements and that can cause cavitation during a compression stroke.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Ohins Racing AB
    Inventors: Magnus Danek, Henrik Schiölde
  • Patent number: 8695766
    Abstract: A shock absorber includes first passages configured to communicate two chambers to flow a working fluid therebetween by movement of a piston, and a second passage configured to communicate with one chamber of the two chambers. The first passages have damping valves configured to suppress a flow of the working fluid generated by movement of the piston to generate a damping force. The second passage has a variable orifice having an area adjusted by an elastic member when a piston rod moves in an extension direction, a pressure chamber installed in series with the variable orifice, and a free piston configured to vary a volume of the pressure chamber by movement of the piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mikio Yamashita, Fumiyuki Yamaoka, Masaru Kouyama, Atsushi Maeda
  • Publication number: 20140000998
    Abstract: A shock absorber includes a piston assembly which includes separate flow paths. Each flow path is controlled by a valve assembly and each flow path is in parallel with the other two flow paths. One flow path will generate firm damping characteristics. A second flow path opens depending on either the frequency of the shock absorber movement or the amount of movement or stroke of the shock absorber. The third flow path includes an on/off control valve and generates a soft damping characteristic when the control valve is activated. The soft damping characteristic can be generated by a tunable bleed restriction or by a passive valve assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2013
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Applicant: Tenneco Automotive Operating Company Inc.
    Inventors: Gunther Bismans, Mark Nowaczyk
  • Patent number: 8579268
    Abstract: A damping device for a hatch in a military vehicle used during its closing and opening, said hatch being integral with hinges hinged with respect to an interface, wherein said device comprises a tubular body integral with the hinges and hinged between two bearings integral with the interface, said body enclosing two fixed damping means between which a rod is positioned, said rod being mobile in translation to activate one of the damping means during the opening of the hatch and the other damping means during the closing of the hatch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: Nexter Systems
    Inventors: Christian Duc, André Monchalin
  • Patent number: 8565965
    Abstract: A system for use in monitoring, measuring, recording, computing and transmitting the oxygen levels and identification of oxygen contamination within an aircraft telescopic landing gear strut. An oxygen sensor is mounted in relation to each of the landing gear struts as to monitor, recognize, measure and record the identification of oxygen within the telescopic landing gear struts. The amount of oxygen within each landing gear strut is measured and recorded and downloaded to the responsible aircraft maintenance department. By detecting the amount of oxygen in a strut, steps can be taken to purge the gas from the strut to minimize corrosion of strut components and to prevent internal combustion of the gas and oil in the strut.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Inventor: C. Kirk Nance
  • Patent number: 8485326
    Abstract: In the inside of a cylinder tube, there are provided a piston chamber and an adjusting chamber communicating each other, and these both chambers are filled with oil in a pressurized condition, and further, there are provided a piston moving in an axial direction in the piston chamber and a rod coupled to the piston. An elastic member is located in the inside of the adjusting chamber in a state that a reservoir tank is formed in the adjusting chamber by being compressed by pressurizing force of the oil, and impact is absorbed in such a way that the elastic member is caused to extend and contract by the oil flowing in/flowing out the reservoir tank by movement of the rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: SMC Corporation
    Inventor: Eiko Miyasato
  • Patent number: 8459417
    Abstract: The invention relates to a shock-absorber for aircraft landing gear, the shock-absorber having two elements mounted to slide telescopically one in the other and defining an internal volume that is filled with hydraulic fluid and with gas, the internal volume being separated into at least two chambers by a separation including at least one throttling orifice through which the hydraulic fluid passes from one chamber to the other while the shock-absorber is being compressed. According to the invention, the separation includes at least one degassing orifice to enable gas to be transferred from one chamber to the other when the landing gear is in the deployed position, the degassing orifice being offset vertically relative to the throttling orifice so as to be located above it when the landing gear is in the deployed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Messier-Bugatti-Dowty
    Inventors: Richard Masson, Stéphane Picard
  • Patent number: 8448760
    Abstract: A buffering, energy absorbing, system has tapered grooves within either the inner surface of a cylindrical main body or along the sides of a piston head to allow fluid flow, where the tapered grooves increasingly or decreasingly restrict the flow of fluid between the inside of the main body and an accumulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventor: Gary J. Houtsma
  • Patent number: 8418820
    Abstract: Disclosed is a hydraulic stopper of a shock absorber. The shock absorber includes a cylinder and a piston rod having a piston valve. The stopper includes a closing member at one side of the piston rod to protect the piston valve, a free piston movable between the closing member and the rod guide to define a fluid passage with the piston rod, a sealing member between the free piston and the cylinder, and a rebound spring between the free piston and the rod guide to elastically support the free piston such that the free piston comes into close contact with the closing member to block the fluid passage when the piston rod moves excessively upward. The stopper may generate buffering effect using oil pressure without being restricted by the length of a rod guide, applied to a general shock absorber, and permit components thereof to be shared with the general shock absorber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Mando Corporation
    Inventor: Eun Joong Kim
  • Patent number: 8393447
    Abstract: A vibration damper includes a damping medium filled cylinder in which a piston rod carrying a working piston is guided with freedom of axial movement, the working piston dividing the cylinder into two working spaces. The piston rod forms a housing having an inside wall, the housing having first and second working chambers separated by a separating piston, the first working chamber being connected to one of the working spaces to provide amplitude selective damping as the working piston moves in the cylinder. The separating piston is spaced from the inside wall to form an annular gap in which a pressure gradient develops when the piston rod moves, thereby causing the separating piston to move in the housing, the separating piston being radially expandable to close the gap when sufficient pressure develops in one of the working chambers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichafen AG
    Inventors: Wolfgang Breun, Marcus Kirchner, Hans Gonschorrek, Valentin Harwardt
  • Publication number: 20130032979
    Abstract: A damping strut for a bicycle has a hydraulic shock absorber having a damper volume filled with incompressible damping fluid, a pressure application device that detects the current displacement state of the damping strut, and at least one disk valve. When the damping strut is displaced, the damper volume changes so that the damping fluid flows, creating a damping force which counteracts the displacement, through the disk valve. A control piston is coupled to the disk valve in order to vary the degree of opening of the disk valve. Control piston pressure can be applied by the pressure application device with a compressible control fluid, dependent on the displacement state detected by the pressure application device, such that on detection of a pre-determined displacement state of the damping strut, the disk valve is pre-tensioned in the closing direction thereof, so that the damping force is increased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2012
    Publication date: February 7, 2013
    Inventor: Thomas RIPA
  • Patent number: 8342488
    Abstract: An improvement to damping cylinders in which the damping fluid needs to be separated from a gas is disclosed. In particular, an annular bladder is used. An annular bladder allows for a control shaft to extend at least a portion of the length of the damping cylinder. This configuration effectively and simply reduces most issues that result from when an IFP is used for the same purpose.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Fox Factory, Inc.
    Inventor: William M. Becker
  • Patent number: 8336684
    Abstract: A stop damper with a damper member including a receiving space inside which a piston is movably guided between an initial and an inserting position. The piston includes a bellows section and a sealing element, the sealing element resting on a sliding surface of the damper member and the bellows section being allocated to a rest section of the damper member at the initial position. To improve a damping characteristic of a stop damper, the rest section includes at least sectionwise a region that enlarges in the direction of the inserting movement of the piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Karl Simon GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Ulrich Bantle, Jürgen Eschle
  • Publication number: 20120305353
    Abstract: A damper includes a pressure-sensitive damping control circuit that selectively permits fluid flow from a first chamber to a second chamber. A piston varies a volume of the first chamber. A blow-off piston is movable between a closed position, wherein fluid flow through the control circuit is substantially prevented, and an open position, wherein fluid flow through the control circuit is permitted. The damper also includes a first source of pressure. A fluid pressure created by compression of the damper applies an opening force to the blow-off piston moving the blow-off piston in a direction toward the open position against a resistance force provided by the first source of pressure. The resistance force exceeds the opening force until the pressure created by forces tending to insert the piston rod into the first fluid chamber exceeds the pressure in the first source of pressure by a predetermined amount.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2012
    Publication date: December 6, 2012
    Inventor: Dustin F. Janes
  • Patent number: 8205729
    Abstract: A cylinder chamber filled with a liquid, a piston disposed inside the cylinder chamber, a piston rod connected to the piston, and an accumulator allowing the piston rod to generate a damping force by receiving the liquid from a compression side of the cylinder chamber are included, and on an internal periphery of the cylinder chamber, one line of a helical damping groove is formed within a stroke range of the piston, a groove width of the damping groove is constant over the entire length of the damping groove, a depth of the damping groove gradually decreases along a spiral toward the direction in which the piston rod is pushed in, and a length of the piston in a direction along the axis line is smaller than a pitch of the damping groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: SMC Corporation
    Inventors: Eiko Miyasato, Soichi Sato
  • Patent number: 8191692
    Abstract: In a cylinder apparatus in the form of a shock absorber, a spring seat is mounted within a cylinder, and clearance-fitted to a piston rod with a first lateral clearance for moving along the piston rod longitudinally of the cylinder. The spring seat includes a longitudinal extension at one longitudinal end for defining a space between the longitudinal extension and the piston rod. A rebound spring is mounted around the piston rod within the cylinder. The rebound spring has one longitudinal end fixed to another longitudinal end of the spring seat. An elastic member is retained in the defined space by the longitudinal extension of the spring seat, and clearance-fitted to the piston rod with a second lateral clearance for moving along the piston rod longitudinally of the cylinder, wherein the second lateral clearance is smaller than the first lateral clearance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignees: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Mori, Satsuki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 8181758
    Abstract: A damping device includes a cylinder in which a resilient member and a piston are received. A cover assembly and a seal member seal the cylinder and damping medium is filled in the cylinder. The piston includes a piston body, a connecting portion connected with one end of the resilient member, and a neck portion connected between the piston body and the connecting portion. The piston body has an opening penetrating through the piston body. A control valve is movably mounted to the neck portion to control the opening during operation. A piston rod has one end connected with the piston body and another end extending out from the cylinder. A damping member is located between the piston and the cover assembly. The traveling velocity of the piston is controlled by the control valve to close or to open the opening through which the damping medium passes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: King Slide Works Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hsiu-Chiang Liang, Ken-Ching Chen, Chun-Chiang Wang
  • Patent number: RE46067
    Abstract: A disc brake for a motor vehicle is provided. The disc brake includes a brake disc, a brake caliper configured to straddle the brake disc, a tappet carried by the brake caliper and arranged to push a brake pad against the brake disc, and a bellows provided between the brake caliper and the tappet to seal a gap between the brake caliper and the tappet. A layer of flexible thermal insulation material may be provided between the bellows and the tappet. The layer of flexible thermal insulation material is configured to protect an outer surface of the bellows facing the brake pad from exposure to heat. Alternatively, the bellows may include a layer of flexible thermal insulation material on which an elastomer layer is formed. The layer of flexible thermal insulation material is configured to face the brake pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC
    Inventor: Alf Siebke