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:
Feb. 20, 2018
Filed:
Jun. 29, 2016
GM Global Technology Operations Llc, Detroit, MI (US);
Robert P. Marble, White Lake, MI (US);
Gary Klein, Royal Oak, MI (US);
Charles C. Weddle, Fenton, MI (US);
Michael E. Mcguire, Milford, MI (US);
GM Global Technology Operations LLC, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
A damper assembly includes a housing that defines an interior chamber. A rod is supported by the housing, and is at least partially disposed within the interior chamber. A piston assembly is attached to the rod within the interior chamber. The piston assembly separates the interior chamber into at least a first fluid chamber and a second fluid chamber. The piston assembly includes an annular plate defining at least one orifice, which interconnects the first fluid chamber and the second fluid chamber in fluid communication. The piston assembly includes at least one valve disc that is disposed adjacent a first face of the annular plate. An SMA device is disposed in contact with the valve disc. The SMA device is changeable between a first state and a second state, at a transition temperature, to control a bending stiffness of the valve disc to adjust a damping rate.