Patent ID: 7108111

Claim:
A shock and vibration isolator that includes: a double acting mechanical spring assembly that deflects uniformly when placed under compression or tension, said mechanical spring assembly having a first spring rate when displaced over a first displacement range and at least one other second spring rate when deflected over a second displacement range; a fluid spring assembly that is mounted in parallel with the mechanical spring assembly to act in either compression or tension, said fluid spring assembly having a housing containing a fluid filled bore and a piston slidably mounted within said bore for dividing said bore into a first compartment and a second compartment; and a first flow control circuit for connecting said first compartment of the bore to an accumulator and a second flow control circuit for connecting said second compartment to said accumulator, wherein each flow control circuit contains a control orifice for exchanging fluid between the accumulator and the bore, wherein said mechanical spring assembly includes a tubular shell that contains an axially aligned array of coil springs that are wound about a linear arm that passes out of one end of said shell, said spring array being arranged to apply a given preload between the linear arm and the shell.