Patent ID: 6095486
Filing Date: 2000-08-01
Classification: F16F,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A two-way controllable valve assembly, comprising:(a) a valve body having at least a portion of a magnetic circuit contained therein, said magnetic circuit being capable of carrying a magnetic flux,(b) a controllable passageway adjacent to said valve body and situated within said magnetic circuit,(c) a magnetorheological fluid including soft-magnetic particles dispersed within a carrier liquid contained in said controllable passageway,(d) a magnetic flux generator for generating a magnetic flux which is carried by said magnetic circuit and which is directed to act upon said magnetorheological fluid contained in said controllable passageway to generate rheology changes in said magnetorheological fluid within said controllable passageway thereby restricting flow of said magnetorheological fluid through said controllable passageway, and(e) means for providing asymmetric flow characteristics across said controllable valve assembly thereby creating a higher pressure differential across said controllable valve assembly in a first flow direction and a lower pressure differential across said controllable valve assembly in a second flow direction without having to rapidly switch said magnetic flux within said magnetic circuit thereby resultantly creating higher flow restriction in said first flow direction and lower flow restriction in said second flow direction.