Patent ID: 6199673
Filing Date: 2001-03-13
Classification: B60G,F16F

Abstract:
A damper comprising:a housing with cylindrical walls;a piston assembly reciprocating within said housing, said piston assembly including a piston shaft with a first end and a second end, and a piston attached to said first end of said piston shaft, said piston being formed from a leading disk and a trailing disk offset by a spacer;said spacer comprising projections forming longitudinally oriented surfaces inwardly from a periphery of said leading disk and said trailing disk;at least one of said longitudinally oriented surfaces including a first groove;said trailing disk including a second groove extending from said first groove to a periphery of said trailing disk; anda toroidal seal with an inner surface slidably engaging said longitudinally oriented surfaces and an outer surface slidably engaging an interior of said cylindrical walls of said housing, whereby when said piston assembly is extended from said housing, said toroidal seal is urged toward said leading disk thereby inhibiting airflow through said first groove thereby damping movement of said piston assembly and wherein when piston assembly is driven into said housing, said toroidal seal is urged toward said trailing disk thereby allowing airflow through said first groove and said second groove thereby reducing damping of movement of piston assembly;wherein said leading disk and said trailing disk are free of sealing engagement with said interior of said cylindrical walls of said housing and wherein said outer surface of said toroidal seal sealingly and slidably engages said interior of said cylindrical walls of said housing;wherein said projections extend along a portion of a radius of said leading disk and said trailing disk; andfurther including a third groove in said leading disk, said third groove extending from said first groove to a periphery of said leading disk, said third groove having air flow resistance greater than an air flow resistance of said second groove.