Patent ID: 8479894

Claim:
A shock absorber comprising: a cylinder having a hydraulic fluid sealed therein; a reservoir chamber provided in communication with an interior of the cylinder; a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder to define a rod-side chamber and a bottom-side chamber in the cylinder; a piston rod secured at one end thereof to the piston in the cylinder and projecting at the other end thereof to an outside of the cylinder through a rod guide; a damping force generating mechanism adapted to generate a damping force by movement of the piston; a check valve provided on the piston and adapted to open during a compression stroke of the piston rod; a cylindrical passage member provided between the bottom-side chamber and the reservoir chamber in the cylinder; a partition displaceably provided in the passage member to define in the passage member a variable chamber adapted to communicate with the bottom-side chamber, the variable chamber being variable in volume; a first urging member adapted to urge the partition toward the reservoir chamber; and a limiter adapted to limit movement of the partition toward the bottom-side chamber within a predetermined range, wherein as an extension stroke of the piston rod changes to a compression stroke, the partition starts to move at a timing that is earlier than opening of the check valve.