Coil over shock absorber with spring seat load adjusted damping
First Claim
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1. A shock absorber assembly comprising:
- a dampening mechanism for varying a dampening rate, said dampening mechanism disposed within said shock absorber;
a shaft extending from within said shock absorber, said shaft including a first support;
a second support disposed on said shock absorber;
a spring disposed between said first and second supports;
a sensor disposed on one of said first and second supports to sense a load exerted by said coil; and
a controller in communication with said dampening mechanism and said sensor for changing said dampening rate in response to a change of said load exerted by said spring.
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Abstract
A coil spring over shock absorber assembly includes a dampening mechanism for varying a dampening rate. The coil spring mounted to the outside of the shock absorber includes an adjustable support to change spring preload in order to adjust for vehicle load and maintain vehicle ride height. A load sensor is positioned on one of the coil spring supports and communicates changes in the coil spring preload to a controller. The controller in turn adjusts a dampening mechanism disposed within the shock absorber to optimize the dampening rate of the shock absorber relative to the coil spring preload.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A shock absorber assembly comprising:
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a dampening mechanism for varying a dampening rate, said dampening mechanism disposed within said shock absorber;
a shaft extending from within said shock absorber, said shaft including a first support;
a second support disposed on said shock absorber;
a spring disposed between said first and second supports;
a sensor disposed on one of said first and second supports to sense a load exerted by said coil; and
a controller in communication with said dampening mechanism and said sensor for changing said dampening rate in response to a change of said load exerted by said spring. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of varying dampening properties of a shock absorber assembly comprising the steps of;
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a) measuring a force exerted by a spring supported between first and second supports with a sensor disposed on one of said first and second supports;
b) emitting a signal indicative of the force exerted by the spring;
c) receiving the signal indicative of spring force with a controller;
d) adjusting a dampening mechanism in response to said signals indicative of spring force. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification