Pressure controlled suspension damper
First Claim
1. A suspension damper assembly for a vehicle suspension system comprising:
- a housing;
a pumping cylinder axially aligned inside said housing defining a pumping chamber having a piston stroking therein;
an intermediate cylinder defining an intermediate chamber with said pumping cylinder and an outer chamber with said housing;
suspension fluid disposed throughout each of said chambers;
a valve controlling the distribution of fluid between said chambers thereby controlling the amount of vibration damping inside said pumping chamber, said valve comprising;
a spring actuated member biased to restrict the flow of fluid between said outer chamber and said intermediate chamber;
an air chamber coupled to a source of pressurized air; and
a bellows disposed inside said air chamber exerting counter-force upon said spring relative to the air pressure inside said air chamber thereby increasing the amount of fluid flowing between said outer chamber and said intermediate chamber.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vibration damper for a vehicle suspension system includes a pumping cylinder concentrically aligned inside a housing defining a pumping chamber having a piston stroking therein for reducing the level of vehicle vibration. An intermediate cylinder defines an intermediate chamber with the pumping cylinder and an outer chamber with the housing. Suspension fluid flows throughout each of the chambers. A valve is operably connected to an air supply of a suspension system having an air pressure relative to a mass loaded on the vehicle. The controls the distribution of fluid between the chambers relative to the pressure of the air supply and controls the amount of vibration damping inside the pumping chamber relative to the mass loaded on the vehicle.
14 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A suspension damper assembly for a vehicle suspension system comprising:
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a housing;
a pumping cylinder axially aligned inside said housing defining a pumping chamber having a piston stroking therein;
an intermediate cylinder defining an intermediate chamber with said pumping cylinder and an outer chamber with said housing;
suspension fluid disposed throughout each of said chambers;
a valve controlling the distribution of fluid between said chambers thereby controlling the amount of vibration damping inside said pumping chamber, said valve comprising;
a spring actuated member biased to restrict the flow of fluid between said outer chamber and said intermediate chamber;
an air chamber coupled to a source of pressurized air; and
a bellows disposed inside said air chamber exerting counter-force upon said spring relative to the air pressure inside said air chamber thereby increasing the amount of fluid flowing between said outer chamber and said intermediate chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31)
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14. A suspension damper assembly for a vehicle suspension system having an air supply with an air pressure being relative to a mass loaded on the vehicle comprising:
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a housing;
a pumping cylinder concentrically aligned inside said housing defining a pumping chamber having a piston stroking therein for reducing the level of vehicle vibration;
an intermediate cylinder defining an intermediate chamber with said pumping cylinder and an outer chamber with said housing;
suspension fluid disposed throughout each of said chambers;
a valve operably connected to said air supply of said suspension system thereby controlling the distribution of fluid between said chambers relative to the pressure of the air supply and controlling the amount of vibration damping inside said pumping chamber relative to the mass loaded on the vehicle.
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28. A method of damping road vibration for a vehicle capable of carrying a load comprising the steps of:
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providing a suspension damper assembly for an air suspension system and having a piston stroking inside a pumping chamber with fluid disposed therein;
providing a valve operably connected to said suspension damper for controlling the amount of fluid disposed within the pumping chamber;
actuating the valve with air pressure derived from the air suspension system relative to the load carried by the vehicle.
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Specification