Patent ID: 7624850

Claim:
A damper assembly comprising: a linear motion to rotary motion conversion mechanism including; an outer tube member; an inner tube member reciprocally movable and at least partially disposed within said outer tube member, wherein said inner tube member is adapted for generally linear translation in a first and a second direction; a shaft rotatably mounted to and at least partially disposed with respect to said inner tube member; wherein translation of said inner tube member in one of said first or said second directions produces a rotation of said shaft; a damping mechanism including; a rotor fixed to said shaft wherein said rotor includes; a hub portion extending generally radially from said rotatable shaft, wherein said hub portion is formed from non-magnetic material and defines at least one orifice; and a drum portion extending generally axially from said hub portion; a coil sufficiently configured to generate an electromagnetic field in response to an applied current; a magneto-rheological fluid in contact with said rotor, said magneto-rheological fluid having a variable viscosity in the presence of said electromagnetic field; and wherein application of said electromagnetic field to said magneto-rheological fluid produces changes in the viscosity of said magneto-rheological fluid that in turn provides variable resistance to rotation of said rotor and translation of said inner tube member within said outer tube member; and wherein said at least one orifice defined by said hub portion is sufficiently configured to promote the movement of said magneto-rheological fluid within said damping mechanism.