Patent ID: 8567754

Claim:
A tunable suction valve comprising a tunable valve assembly and a valve seat, said tunable valve assembly being substantially symmetrical about a longitudinal axis and comprising a valve body, guide means, and a plurality of viscoelastic elements; wherein said valve body comprises a peripheral valve seat interface and a peripheral groove spaced apart from a central annular reservoir; wherein said plurality of viscoelastic elements comprises a reservoir element at least partially constrained as it is disposed in said annular reservoir, and a groove element disposed in said peripheral groove, said viscoelastic groove element comprising a circumferential tubular area; wherein said at least partially constrained viscoelastic reservoir element has at least a first predetermined assembly resonant frequency substantially replicating a measured resonant frequency; wherein said circumferential tubular area comprises at least one shear thickening material having at least a second predetermined assembly resonant frequency similar to said first predetermined assembly resonant frequency; wherein said valve seat comprises a curved mating surface and said valve body peripheral valve seat interface has a correspondingly greater curvature; and wherein the correspondingly greater curvature provides a rolling contact seal which forces the peripheral valve seat interface to rotate slightly during seating and which causes a concave flexure of the valve body.