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Suspension for a four-wheeled vehicle

  • US 6,598,891 B2
  • Filed: 11/13/2001
  • Issued: 07/29/2003
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2000
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A suspension system for a vehicle having at least four wheels, each supported for suspension movement by a vehicle body, four damping elements each having a pair of relatively moveable members defining a respective first fluid chamber and interposed between a respective one of said wheels and said vehicle body for varying the volume of said first fluid chamber upon suspension movement of said respective one wheel, each of said damping elements having a respective first damping arrangement for damping the flow of fluid from the respective one of said first fluid chambers, a first conduit interconnecting a first pair of said first fluid chambers of two of said damping elements, a first control arrangement including a first flow controlling orifice for precluding fluid flow through said first conduit in response to a first suspension condition and for providing a damped flow through said first conduit in response to a second suspension condition, a second conduit interconnecting the second pair of said first fluid chambers of the remaining two of said damping elements, a second control arrangement including a second flow controlling orifice in said second conduit for precluding fluid flow through said second conduit in response to a first suspension condition and for providing a damped flow through said second conduit in response to a second suspension condition, a third conduit interconnecting a third pair of said first fluid chambers other than those paired by said first and said second conduits, a third control arrangement including a third flow controlling orifice in said third conduit for precluding fluid flaw through said third conduit in response to a first suspension condition and for providing a damped flow through said third conduit in response to a second suspension condition, a forth conduit interconnecting a fourth pair of said first fluid chambers other than those paired by said first, said second and said third conduits, and a fourth control arrangement in said fourth conduit including a fourth flow controlling orifice for precluding fluid flow through said fourth conduit in response to a first suspension condition and for providing a damped flow through said fourth conduit in response to a second suspension condition, at least a portion of the fluid disc laced from the first of the chambers of the respective damping element is displaced to an accumulator chamber associated with the respective damping element and forming at least portion of each control arrangement, there being a plurality of accumulator chambers each having a respective accumulator piston, said accumulator pistons being interconnected to each other for simultaneous movement for maintaining the same fluid displacement for each accumulator chamber upon the displacement of fluid from the first fluid chamber of the respective damping element.

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