Suspension system of vehicle
First Claim
1. A suspension system for use in a vehicle including a body, left and right front wheels, and left and right rear wheels, the system comprising:
- a front-wheel-associated cylinder device which controls a relative displacement between the left and right front wheels in upward and downward directions, and which includes a housing and a piston fitted in the housing to divide an inner room of the housing into a first fluid chamber and a second fluid chamber;
a rear-wheel-associated cylinder device which controls a relative displacement between the left and right rear wheels in the upward and downward directions, and which includes a housing and a piston fitted in the housing to divide an inner room of the housing into a first fluid chamber and a second fluid chamber which correspond to the first and second fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated cylinder device, respectively;
a first-chamber-associated passage which connects between the respective first fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices;
a second-chamber-associated passage which connects between the respective second fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices;
at least one fluid accommodating device which is connected to the first-chamber-associated passage at a first connection point (CP1), and is connected to the second-chamber-associated passage at a second connection point (CP2), and which can accommodate an amount of a working fluid present in the first-chamber-associated and second-chamber-associated passages and the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices, the first-chamber-associated passage including two portions located on opposite sides of the first connection point, respectively, the second-chamber-associated passage including two portions located on opposite sides of the second connection point, respectively;
a first-chamber-associated valve device which is selectively placed in a communication position to communicate the respective first fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices, with each other, and a shut-off position to shut off the communication between said respective first fluid chambers;
a second-chamber-associated valve device which is selectively placed in a communication position to communicate the respective second fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices, with each other, and a shut-off position to shut off the communication between said respective second fluid chambers; and
the first-chamber-associated valve device being provided in one of the two portions of the first-chamber-associated passage that is nearer than the other portion to a first cylinder device as one of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices, the second-chamber-associated valve device being provided in one of the two portions of the second-chamber-associated passage that is nearer than the other portion to a second cylinder device as the other of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In a suspension system (20) for use in a vehicle including a body, left and right front wheels (10), and left and right rear wheels (12), a front-wheel-associated cylinder device (52) which controls a relative displacement of the left and right front wheels, and a rear-wheel-associated cylinder device (62) which controls a relative displacement of the left and right rear wheels are associated with each other with a working fluid. A first-chamber-associated valve (190) is provided in a first-chamber-associated passage (90) which connects between respective first chambers (74) of the front-wheel-associated cylinder device and the rear-wheel-associated cylinder device, such that the first-chamber-associated valve is located between the first chamber of the front-wheel-associated cylinder device and a first fluid accommodating device (200).
35 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A suspension system for use in a vehicle including a body, left and right front wheels, and left and right rear wheels, the system comprising:
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a front-wheel-associated cylinder device which controls a relative displacement between the left and right front wheels in upward and downward directions, and which includes a housing and a piston fitted in the housing to divide an inner room of the housing into a first fluid chamber and a second fluid chamber; a rear-wheel-associated cylinder device which controls a relative displacement between the left and right rear wheels in the upward and downward directions, and which includes a housing and a piston fitted in the housing to divide an inner room of the housing into a first fluid chamber and a second fluid chamber which correspond to the first and second fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated cylinder device, respectively; a first-chamber-associated passage which connects between the respective first fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices; a second-chamber-associated passage which connects between the respective second fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices; at least one fluid accommodating device which is connected to the first-chamber-associated passage at a first connection point (CP1), and is connected to the second-chamber-associated passage at a second connection point (CP2), and which can accommodate an amount of a working fluid present in the first-chamber-associated and second-chamber-associated passages and the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices, the first-chamber-associated passage including two portions located on opposite sides of the first connection point, respectively, the second-chamber-associated passage including two portions located on opposite sides of the second connection point, respectively; a first-chamber-associated valve device which is selectively placed in a communication position to communicate the respective first fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices, with each other, and a shut-off position to shut off the communication between said respective first fluid chambers; a second-chamber-associated valve device which is selectively placed in a communication position to communicate the respective second fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices, with each other, and a shut-off position to shut off the communication between said respective second fluid chambers; and the first-chamber-associated valve device being provided in one of the two portions of the first-chamber-associated passage that is nearer than the other portion to a first cylinder device as one of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices, the second-chamber-associated valve device being provided in one of the two portions of the second-chamber-associated passage that is nearer than the other portion to a second cylinder device as the other of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A suspension system for use in a vehicle including a body, left and right front wheels, and left and right rear wheels, the system comprising:
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a front-wheel-associated cylinder device which controls a relative displacement between the left and right front wheels in upward and downward directions, and which includes a housing and a piston fitted in the housing to divide an inner room of the housing into a first fluid chamber and a second fluid chamber; a rear-wheel-associated cylinder device which controls a relative displacement between the left and right rear wheels in the upward and downward directions, and which includes a housing and a piston fitted in the housing to divide an inner room of the housing into a first fluid chamber and a second fluid chamber which correspond to the first and second fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated cylinder device, respectively; a first-chamber-associated passage which connects between a pair of first fluid chambers as the respective first fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices; a second-chamber-associated passage which connects between a pair of second fluid chambers as the respective second fluid chambers of the front-wheel-associated and rear-wheel-associated cylinder devices; and at least one of (A) a first-chamber-associated valve device which is selectively placed in a communication position to communicate the pair of first fluid chambers with each other, and a shut-off position to shut off the communication between the pair of first fluid chambers, and (B) a second-chamber-associated valve device which is selectively placed in a communication position to communicate the pair of second fluid chambers with each other, and a shut-off position to shut off the communication between the pair of second fluid chambers, wherein the at least one of (A) the first-chamber-associated valve device and (B) the second-chamber-associated valve device comprises a mechanical valve which is mechanically switched between a communication position to communicate a corresponding one pair of (C) the pair of first fluid chambers and (D) the pair of second fluid chambers, with each other, and a shut-off position to shut off the communication between the corresponding pair of fluid chambers, with a cylinder pressure based on respective pressures of respective working fluids in the corresponding pair of fluid chambers. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification