Patent ID: 8584818

Claim:
A shock absorber comprising: a cylinder having a hydraulic fluid sealed therein; a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder; a piston rod which is connected to the piston and which extends to an outside of the cylinder; and a damping force generating mechanism adapted to generate a damping force by controlling a flow of the hydraulic fluid induced by sliding movement of the piston; the damping force generating mechanism comprising: an annular disk valve; an annular elastic seal member integrally provided on a rear surface of the disk valve; a cylindrical casing member having a bottom and having an inner peripheral surface to which the elastic seal member is slidably fitted to form a back pressure chamber at a rear side of the disk valve; and a shaft portion having a circular outer periphery, the shaft portion being disposed in a mutual center of the disk valve and the bottom of the casing member; the disk valve being secured to the casing member by being axially clamped at an inner peripheral portion thereof such that an inner peripheral portion of the disk valve is prevented from moving when the disk valve is opened; wherein a clearance is formed between the inner peripheral portion of the disk valve and the outer periphery of the shaft portion over substantially an entire circumference of the shaft portion, and the clearance is configured to allow misalignment between the centers of the disk valve and the shaft portion when the inner peripheral portion of the disk valve is clamped.