Multi-path fluid diverter valve
First Claim
1. A damper system, comprising:
- a diverter valve including an inlet, a first outlet port and a second outlet port;
a damper including at least one of a compression chamber and a rebound chamber, wherein in a free flow mode of fluid flow, fluid from at least one of the compression and rebound chamber of the damper flows into the inlet and out through the first outlet port of the diverter valve to a hydraulic device, and wherein in response to an increase in fluid flow velocity above a predetermined velocity, the diverter valve at least partially closes the first outlet port and opens the second outlet port to operate in a diverted bypass flow mode;
wherein the second outlet port is a bypass that allows fluid to bypass the hydraulic device.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-path fluid flow control valve for a shock absorber that restricts fluid into a first path while opening fluid flow to a second path when a given fluid flow velocity is reached. Exemplary configurations of this diverter valve are disclosed such as a spring loaded disc valve with face sealing lands, and a spool valve with diametric sealing lands. Applications include active suspension dampers in order to limit maximum RPM into a hydraulic motor. For such a system, in one mode the diverter valve allows fluid to move unrestricted into the hydraulic motor. When fluid velocity reaches a tunable set point, in a second mode the diverter valve restricts flow into the hydraulic motor and bypasses it shuttling fluid into the opposite side of the damper. In some cases progressive damping valves are utilized in series or parallel to smooth damping characteristics during, before, and after transitions.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A damper system, comprising:
-
a diverter valve including an inlet, a first outlet port and a second outlet port; a damper including at least one of a compression chamber and a rebound chamber, wherein in a free flow mode of fluid flow, fluid from at least one of the compression and rebound chamber of the damper flows into the inlet and out through the first outlet port of the diverter valve to a hydraulic device, and wherein in response to an increase in fluid flow velocity above a predetermined velocity, the diverter valve at least partially closes the first outlet port and opens the second outlet port to operate in a diverted bypass flow mode; wherein the second outlet port is a bypass that allows fluid to bypass the hydraulic device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A diverter valve for a damper, comprising:
-
a first port comprising an inlet for fluid flow; a second port comprising a first outlet for fluid flow; a third port comprising a second outlet for fluid flow; a moveable sealing element that operates in at least two modes, wherein in a first mode the sealing element provides fluid communication between the first port and the second port, and in a second mode the sealing element provides fluid communication between the first port and the third port; a force element that biases the moveable sealing element to operate in the first mode; and a fluid restriction between the first port and the second port such that there is a drop in fluid pressure from the first port to the second port; wherein at least part of a first side of the moveable sealing element is in fluid communication with the first port, and at least part of a second side of the moveable sealing element is in fluid communication with the second port, such that a net pressure above a first threshold acting on the first side moves the sealing element to operate in the second mode. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A method comprising:
controlling a rotational velocity of a hydraulic pump/motor in an active suspension system by passively diverting at least a portion of fluid driving the hydraulic pump/motor so that a first portion of the fluid flows to the motor and a second portion of the fluid flows to at least one of a compression and a rebound chamber of an active suspension damper based on a fluid velocity. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
19. A method comprising:
controlling a rotational velocity of a hydraulic pump/motor by adjusting a rate of fluid driving the motor with a passive diverter that distributes the fluid among the pump/motor and at least one of a compression and a rebound chamber of an active suspension damper in response to fluid velocity flowing into the diverter exceeding a threshold fluid velocity.
Specification