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. 19, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 16, 1999
Gary Lee Johnston, Pleasant Hill, OH (US);
Richard Edward Longhouse, Dayton, OH (US);
William Charles Kruckemeyer, Beavercreek, OH (US);
Michael Leslie Oliver, Xenia, OH (US);
Donelle Robert Mills, Dayton, OH (US);
Delphi Technologies, Inc., Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A monotube suspension damper including a cylinder tube having a fluid chamber and a gas chamber, a piston dividing the fluid chamber into a compression chamber and a rebound chamber, a primary fluid flow path across the piston including flow control valves which throttle fluid flow, a secondary fluid flow path across the piston parallel to the primary flow path including flow control valves which throttle fluid flow, and a tubular connecting rod on the cylinder tube connected to the piston. A valve spool is supported on the piston for linear translation between closed and open positions blocking and unblocking the secondary flow path. A control rod inside of the connecting rod is disposed between the valve spool and a flexible diaphragm exposed to pneumatic pressure in an expansible load leveling chamber between sprung and unsprung masses of the motor vehicle. As the pneumatic pressure in the expansible chamber varies, the control rod transfers flexure of the diaphragm to the valve spool to close the secondary flow path and increase the stiffness of the suspension damper as pneumatic pressure increases and to open the secondary flow path and decrease the stiffness of the suspension damper as pneumatic pressure decreases.