The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 03, 1996
Filed:
Nov. 16, 1994
Paul H Turner, Boulder, CO (US);
Mike McAndrews, Santa Cruz, CA (US);
Rockshox, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A front fork for bicycles which has a shock absorbing system having both a spring type shock absorbing unit and a hydraulic shock damping unit with variable and adjustable damping characteristics that will allow a wide range of adjustments for adapting the suspension to widely differing circumstances of rider weight and riding experience and has a spring type shock absorbing system which can be interchangeably be used with both stacked elastomeric pad and coil spring type spring shock absorbing units. Stacked elastomeric pad arrangements are provided which allow the pad stack to be exchanged as a unit with another pad stack or with a coil spring and an adjustment mechanism allows the performance characteristics of a particular pad stack to be changed. Alternatively, a leaf spring arrangement can be provided formed of pairs of oppositely facing convex-concave carbon fiber composite leaf springs can be employed to produce a unit that is especially light in weight. Furthermore, the spring unit, whether coil, pad, or leaf type, is able to co-act with the upper end of a piston rod of a hydraulic damping unit.