Patent ID: 7374028

Claim:
A pressure-sensitive suspension assembly, comprising: a damper body having a longitudinal axis and at least partially defining a fluid chamber containing damping fluid; a piston rod, a portion of the piston rod movable along the longitudinal axis of, and within, the damper body, wherein during a compression stroke, portions of the piston rod move further into the damper body; a pressure-sensitive compression control valve assembly comprising: a) a partition separating the fluid chamber into a compression chamber and a reservoir chamber, the partition having at least one compression flow port, wherein during a compression stroke, the piston rod expels damping fluid from the compression chamber to the reservoir chamber through the at least one compression flow port; b) an intensifier piston, the intensifier piston having a first cross-sectional area and a second cross-sectional area, the second cross-sectional area being larger than the first cross-sectional area, and: i) the first cross-sectional area engaging the compression flow port to restrict compression fluid flow through the compression flow port and from the compression chamber to the reservoir chamber; and ii) the second cross-sectional area being acted upon by the pressure of the fluid contained within the reservoir chamber; at least one partially compressed spring assembly associated with the suspension assembly; at least one movable element associated with the suspension assembly, the at least one movable element having: a) a first portion having the compression force of the at least one spring assembly transmitted thereto; and b) a second portion contacting the fluid in the reservoir chamber, whereby the amount of force transmitted to the first portion of the movable element by the spring assembly is at least partially converted to a fluid pressure in the reservoir chamber by the second portion of the movable element; and whereby the resistance to fluid flow through the pressure-sensitive compression control valve is at least partially determined by the fluid pressure in the reservoir chamber.