Tenneco Automotive Operating Company Inc.

Jelle Van De Plas

Mark Nowaczyk

Jan Vochten

Werner Bosmans

Frederic Baldoni

Ioannis Trikalinos

Victor Zuanazzi

Kenny Motte

A damper system for a vehicle including a pressure tube, piston assembly, and stroke dependent damper assembly. The stroke dependent damper assembly is coupled to a piston rod at a position below the piston assembly. The stroke dependent damper assembly includes a disc chamber that slidably receives a flexible floating disc. The disc chamber has proximal and distal chamber surfaces, which can include holes. The flexible floating disc is moveable between a first position where it contacts the proximal chamber surface and a second position where it contacts the distal chamber surface. The proximal chamber surface defines a proximal tapered cavity and the distal chamber surface defines a distal tapered cavity. The flexible floating disc is resilient and can flex into the proximal tapered cavity or the distal tapered cavity when it makes contact with the proximal chamber surface or the distal chamber surface.

Damper with flexible floating disc

A damper system for a vehicle including a pressure tube and a piston assembly. A stroke dependent damper assembly is coupled to a piston rod at a position below the piston assembly. A free floating piston positioned in an internal cavity of the stroke dependent damper assembly is longitudinally moveable between retracted, middle, and extended positions. A metering pin extends from the floating piston into a through-bore in a distal end of the stroke dependent damper assembly. An orifice is defined between an inner surface of the through-bore and an outer surface of the metering pin. Longitudinal movement of the floating piston changes the position of the metering pin in the through-bore, which changes the size of the orifice. Fluid flow through the orifice is restricted when the orifice size decreases, which slows down the movement of the floating piston as it approaches the retracted and extended positions.

Damper with internal hydraulic stop

A shock absorber has a pressure tube with a piston assembly slidably disposed within the pressure tube and attached to a piston rod. The pressure tube is disposed within a reserve tube and a working fluid reservoir is formed between the pressure tube and the reserve tube. The piston assembly divides the pressure tube into an upper working chamber and a lower working chamber. A base valve assembly controls a flow of working fluid between the working fluid reservoir and the lower working chamber. The base valve assembly includes a frequency dependent valve system that provides an increased level of damping for each compression stroke of the piston assembly during low frequency movements of the shock absorber. A lesser level of damping is provided for each compression stroke during high frequency movements of the shock absorber.

Shock absorber with frequency dependent passive valve

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Nieuwrode, Belgium

Jelle Van De Plas