Patent ID: 7481161

Claim:
A piston-cylinder assembly comprising: a piston at least partially disposed in a cylinder, the piston dividing an interior of the cylinder into two subchambers along a longitudinal axis defined by the cylinder; and a pressure-relief device disposed in at least a first subchamber and configured to counteract a pressure increase of a first fluid contained in the first subchamber resulting from a movement of the piston along the longitudinal axis in a direction toward the first subchamber, the pressure-relief device including: a pressure-relief chamber; and a partitioning arrangement dividing the pressure-relief chamber from a subspace of the first subchamber, the subspace being configured to accommodate the first fluid, wherein the partitioning arrangement is configured such that the subspace increases in volume in response to the pressure increase of the first fluid and the pressure-relief chamber decreases in volume in response to the pressure increase of the first fluid; wherein the partitioning arrangement includes a pressure-relief piston configured to move in relation to the cylinder and to decrease the volume of the pressure-relief chamber by moving away from a second subchamber of the cylinder; and wherein the pressure-relief piston is configured to counteract the pressure increase when the movement of the piston results from a relief of a pressure increase of a second fluid contained in a compression volume formed in a second subchamber prior to overcoming a holding resistance.