Patent ID: 8348027

Claim:
A damping force control type shock absorber comprising: a cylinder having a fluid sealed therein; a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder; a piston rod connected at one end thereof to the piston, an other end of the piston rod extending to an outside of the cylinder; a main valve adapted to generate damping force by controlling a flow of fluid induced by sliding movement of the piston in the cylinder; a pilot chamber adapted to apply a pressure therein to the main valve in a direction for closing the main valve; an inlet passage adapted to introduce the fluid into the pilot chamber; a pilot passage adapted to communicate between the pilot chamber and a downstream side of the main valve; a control valve provided in the pilot passage to open and close the pilot passage, the control valve having a valve body urged by an urging member in a direction for opening the pilot passage, and an actuator adapted to move the valve body in a direction for closing the pilot passage by thrust from a solenoid; and a fail-safe valve provided in the pilot passage at a downstream side of the valve body, the fail-safe valve comprising an annular disk valve having an outer peripheral portion that is capable of being restrained, the fail-safe valve adapted to close the pilot passage by the valve body abutting against an inner peripheral portion of the fail-safe valve, when the valve body is urged by the urging member and moves in the direction for opening the pilot passage, the inner peripheral portion of the fail-safe valve adapted to be spaced apart from the valve body to open the pilot passage when the pressure in the pilot chamber reaches a predetermined pressure.