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:
Sep. 25, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 13, 1999
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota, JP;
Abstract
An actuator disposed within a piston rod of a variable-damping force shock absorber has coils mounted at an inner peripheral face of the piston rod, permanent magnets disposed facing a stator, and a cylindrical body supported rotatably about the piston rod axis. The permanent magnets are fixed to a side face of an upper portion of the cylindrical rotating body and an insert hole into which an upper end portion of a shaft is inserted extends through a lower portion of the rotating body. A female thread is formed in the insert hole, and engaged with a male thread formed on an outer peripheral face of the upper end portion of the shaft. A spool is mounted on a lower end portion of the shaft so that, as the rotating body rotates, the spool moves in the direction of the piston rod axis and thereby changes the opening of a communication passage between upper and lower chambers of a cylinder. The piston rod of the variable-damping force shock absorber has a reduced diameter.