Patent ID: 6250658
Filing Date: 2001-06-26
Classification: B60G

Abstract:
A suspension system for a vehicle having at least two wheels, each supported for suspension movement by a vehicle body, a first damping element having a pair of relatively moveable members defining a first fluid chamber and interposed between one of said wheels and said vehicle body for varying the volume of said first fluid chamber upon suspension movement of said one wheel, first damping means for damping the flow of fluid from said first fluid chamber, a second damping element having a pair of relatively moveable members defining a second fluid chamber and interposed between another of said wheels and said vehicle body for varying the volume of said second fluid chamber upon suspension movement of said other wheel, second damping means for damping the flow of fluid from said second fluid chamber, a conduit interconnecting said first and said second fluid chambers, and a control in said conduit for precluding fluid flow through said conduit in response to a first suspension condition and for providing a damped flow through said conduit in response to a second suspension condition, at least a portion of the fluid displaced from said first and second fluid chambers being displaced to respective first and second control chambers of said control, each of said first and second control chambers having a respective control piston, said pistons of said first and second control chambers being interconnected to each other for simultaneous movement for maintaining the same fluid displacement for each of said first and second control chambers upon the displacement of fluid from the first and second fluid chambers of the first and second damping elements, the movement of said control pistons being resisted by a second fluid control comprised of a third control chamber arrangement pressurized by simultaneous movement of said control pistons, a closed accumulator chamber and a third fluid control for controlling the flow between said third control chamber arrangement and said closed accumulator chamber.