Compact shock absorber

Abstract

A shock absorber including an inner tube closed at its rearward end and open at its forward end and having a plurality of ports formed at longitudinally spaced locations along its side wall, a piston rod and piston head assembly slidably received in the inner tube with the rearward end of the piston head spaced from the closed rearward end of the inner tube and the piston rod projecting forwardly out of the open forward end of the inner tube for impact by a moving object, an outer tube comprising the outer casing of the shock absorber and surrounding the inner tube, a plurality of longitudinally spaced interior grooves in the outer tube respectively registering with the ports in the inner tube and skewed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shock absorber, and an annular accumulator chamber defined forwardly of the inner tube between the inner periphery of the outer tube and the outer periphery of the piston rod. A pair of longitudinally extending flats are provided at diametrically spaced locations on the exterior surface of the inner tube and these flats coact with the adjacent inner periphery of the outer tube to define a pair of longitudinal passages for routing the cushioning fluid from the interior grooves of the outer tube axially forwardly to the accumulator chamber so as to complete the closed fluid loop within the shock absorber.