Patent ID: 7628259

Claim:
An apparatus useful to regulate internal pressures in a shock absorber, said shock absorber comprising a fluid-containing cylinder and a working piston capable of moving back and forth within the cylinder in response to external forces, said apparatus comprising: a reservoir for receiving fluid from said cylinder upon being connected thereto; an anti-cavitation valve adapted to reduce fluid cavitation when said reservoir is connected to said cylinder, said fluid cavitation being caused by the movement of the working piston, and said anti-cavitation valve including: a valve body fixedly positioned within said reservoir, said valve body having opposite faces and a plurality of converging passageways that incline in a converging direction from one of the opposite faces to the other and a plurality of diverging passageways that incline in a diverging direction from the one of the opposite faces to the other, the converging and diverging passageways being separated from each other, and valving shims extending over said plurality of converging passageways and said plurality of diverging passageways, each of said valving shims being associated with either said converging passageways or said diverging passageways, each of said valving shims being movable with respect to the valve body in response to pressure within the reservoir, the anti-cavitation valve maintaining pressure between the working piston and the reservoir when the working piston transitions from one direction to another.