Patent ID: 8118144
Filing Date: 2012-02-21
Classification: B60G,F16F

Abstract:
1. A suspension damper comprising: a housing bounding a main chamber, the main chamber comprising a first compartment and a second compartment; hydraulic fluid disposed within the first and second compartments of the main chamber; a piston rod selectively movable between an advanced position wherein a portion of the piston rod is advanced into the main chamber and a retracted position wherein the portion of the piston rod is retracted from the main chamber, wherein as the piston rod is moved from the retracted position to the advanced position fluid pressures of the hydraulic fluid within the first and second compartments of the main chamber both progressively increase and a portion of the hydraulic fluid passes from the first compartment to the second compartment through a passage within the housing; and a control valve at least partially disposed within the main chamber, the control valve at least partially bounding a gas chamber, the control valve being in pressure communication with the hydraulic fluid in both the first and second compartments so that the control valve generates resistance to the flow of the hydraulic fluid through the passage which resistance varies as the piston rod advances into the main chamber according to the pressure difference between a pressure within the gas chamber and the fluid pressure of the hydraulic fluid in the second compartment.