Patent ID: 8439173

Claim:
A suspension component comprising: a piston rod configured to reciprocally translate within a pressure tube at least partially filled with a hydraulic oil; a compression valve assembly coupled to the piston rod and in slideable contact with an inner wall of the pressure tube; a secondary bleed valve coupled to the piston rod and adjacent to the compression valve assembly, the secondary bleed valve including a plurality of ports for accommodating flow of the hydraulic oil during displacement of the piston rod; a gas charge chamber provided within a first end of the pressure tube; a secondary nonlinear, solid annular spring adjacent to the gas charge chamber; and a floating piston assembly adjacent to the secondary nonlinear, solid annular spring; wherein the secondary bleed valve and the secondary nonlinear, solid annular spring provide substantially non-linear progressively increasing resistance when the velocity of the piston rod with respect to the pressure tube is above a threshold value; wherein the secondary nonlinear, solid annular spring has a height such that at a maximum compressed length of the suspension component, compression of the secondary nonlinear, solid annular spring does not substantially effect the static load on the suspension component; and wherein the secondary nonlinear, solid annular spring has a maximum height that is no greater than a ratio of a maximum displaced rod volume for the suspension component and an area of the floating piston assembly.