Patent ID: 7097016

Claim:
A shock absorber comprising: a pressure tube forming a working chamber; a piston body slidably disposed within said working chamber, said piston body dividing said working chamber into an upper working chamber and a lower working chamber, said piston body defining a rebound passage extending through said piston body in communication with said upper working chamber; a piston rod attached to said piston body, said piston rod extending in an axial direction through one end of said pressure tube; a rebound valve assembly attached to said piston rod abutting said piston body, said rebound valve assembly comprising: a spacer slidingly received in the axial direction on said piston rod abutting said piston body; a nut threadingly received on said piston rod, abutting said spacer to urge said spacer in the axial direction into engagement with said piston body; a bleed disc disposed between said piston body and said nut, said bleed disc abutting said piston body to close said rebound passage; said bleed disc defining a slot extending directly between said lower working chamber and said rebound passage to define a continuously open bleed flow bypass between said upper and lower working chambers; a fulcrum disc disposed between said bleed disc and said nut, said fulcrum disc being smaller in diameter than said bleed disc to define a fulcrum point for said bleed disc; a spring retainer disposed between said fulcrum disc and said nut, said spring retainer being slidingly received over said spacer; and a coil spring disposed between said rebound retainer and said nut, said coil spring having a working height which produces a biasing load urging said bleed disc towards said piston body, said working height being defined by said spacer, said spring retainer being disposed within said coil spring to provide stability for said coil spring.