Patent ID: 8342300

Claim:
An energy absorber device for damping the movements of a load support relative to a stationary base, said load support being connected to the stationary base via a hydromechanical connection, the hydromechanical connection including automatic and self-contained setting means serving firstly to adapt under static conditions to the weight of the loads supported by the support, and secondly under dynamic conditions to subject a subassembly comprising the support and the loads to acceleration or deceleration values that are below a threshold value; the automatic and self-controlled setting means incorporating a hydraulic fluid throttling mechanism comprising: a weighted element, that is movable relative to a stationary portion of the hydromechanical connection, thereby loading a first calibrated return spring under the effect of acceleration above a predetermined value; and a moving core, that is movable relative to the stationary portion, thereby loading a second calibrated return spring, said core defining part of a control chamber in a high pressure chamber and, as a function of the position of the core, enabling direct throttling of hydraulic fluid from the high pressure chamber towards a low pressure chamber; said core being movable in translation, above the acceleration or deceleration threshold value, by the pressure difference between the high pressure chamber and the low pressure chamber, as a function of the combined position of the weighted element and of a flow rate limiter, the position of the flow rate limiter being representative of the weight supported by the subassembly comprising the support and the loads; said core acting, as a function of the relative positions of the core and of the weighted element, to enable the high pressure chamber to communicate with the low pressure chamber via at least one calibrated feed orifice and via an internal chamber of the weighted element; said internal chamber also presenting at least one additional orifice communicating with the control chamber and an exhaust orifice suitable for causing said internal chamber to communicate with the low pressure chamber; said exhaust orifice being associated with the flow rate limiter that enables the throttling section of the exhaust orifice to be adjusted as a function both of the position of the flow rate limiter in the internal chamber and also of the position of the weighted element relative to the stationary portion; said flow rate limiter being positioned in the internal chamber of the weighted element under the effect of the initial pressure that exists in the control chamber; said flow rate limiter movable, under the effect of a high acceleration, together with the weighted element independently of its prepositioning in the internal chamber; and said flow rate limiter loading a third calibrated return spring housed in the low pressure chamber and bearing against the stationary portion.