EP0186984A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Hydraulic damper
Assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
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Filing: 1985-12-06
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-12-06
Abstract
Abstract An adaptive ride air suspension strut (10) includes an internal actuator (102) disposed within a hollow piston rod (26) which is operatively connected to a computer-type control system (161) through an electrical bulkhead (114) and high pressure seal (140) by electrical cables (134) leading upwardly therefrom through a wire routing and sealing type dress cap (146) fitted to the hollow end (46) of the piston rod to guide and direct the cables to a plug (160) electrically connected to the control system.
Inventors
- 👤 Andrew Michael Spisak
- 👤 Robert Louis Adduci
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 13:18
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60G; B60G17/00; B60G17/015; B60G17/0152; F; F16; F16F; F16F9/00; F16F9/32; F16F9/44; F16F9/46; F16F9/463; B60G2204/00; B60G2204/10; B60G2204/20; B60G2204/202
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim
336 words
A hydraulic damper for connection between sprung and unsprung portions of a wheeled vehicle to damp ride motions of the vehicle, in which a first tubular member (22) has a hydraulic fluid therein and is adapted to be operatively connected to one of the said portions of the vehicle, a piston (24) is operatively mounted in the first tubular member (22) and has damping control means (98) movable to selected positions therein to selectively vary and control the flow of fluid therethrough when stroking within the first tubular member (22), to control the damping characteristics of the damper, a hollow piston rod (26) is operatively connected to the piston (24) and extends upwardly through the end of the damper for connection to the other of the said portions of the vehicle, and actuator means (102) is operatively mounted within the hollow piston rod (26) for moving the damping control means (98) between the said selected positions thereof, characterised in that, in an arrangement in which the actuator means (102) is electrically energizable and selectively operable by control means (161) that is connected to supply electrical energy to the actuator means (102) by conductor means (134) which extend through the hollow piston rod (26), a dress cap (164) that is adapted to be affixed to the top end (46) of the hollow piston rod (26) includes a central top portion (165) and a plurality of inner retainer portions (162,164) extending downwardly therefrom which fit within the top end (46) of the piston rod (26), cable guiding bar means (166) extending outwardly of the central top portion (165), and an outer skirt portion (168) attached to the bar means (166) and disposed radially outwardly of the top end (46) of the piston rod (26), the outer skirt portion (168) having locking tab means (174,176) thereon for engagement with complementary configurations (180,182) in the top end (46) of the piston rod (26) to positively lock the dress cap (164) to the top end (46) of the piston rod (26).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
336 words
A hydraulic damper for connection between sprung and unsprung portions of a wheeled vehicle to damp ride motions of the vehicle, in which a first tubular member (22) has a hydraulic fluid therein and is adapted to be operatively connected to one of the said portions of the vehicle, a piston (24) is operatively mounted in the first tubular member (22) and has damping control means (98) movable to selected positions therein to selectively vary and control the flow of fluid therethrough when stroking within the first tubular member (22), to control the damping characteristics of the damper, a hollow piston rod (26) is operatively connected to the piston (24) and extends upwardly through the end of the damper for connection to the other of the said portions of the vehicle, and actuator means (102) is operatively mounted within the hollow piston rod (26) for moving the damping control means (98) between the said selected positions thereof, characterised in that, in an arrangement in which the actuator means (102) is electrically energizable and selectively operable by control means (161) that is connected to supply electrical energy to the actuator means (102) by conductor means (134) which extend through the hollow piston rod (26), a dress cap (164) that is adapted to be affixed to the top end (46) of the hollow piston rod (26) includes a central top portion (165) and a plurality of inner retainer portions (162,164) extending downwardly therefrom which fit within the top end (46) of the piston rod (26), cable guiding bar means (166) extending outwardly of the central top portion (165), and an outer skirt portion (168) attached to the bar means (166) and disposed radially outwardly of the top end (46) of the piston rod (26), the outer skirt portion (168) having locking tab means (174,176) thereon for engagement with complementary configurations (180,182) in the top end (46) of the piston rod (26) to positively lock the dress cap (164) to the top end (46) of the piston rod (26).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
203 words
A hydraulic damper according to claim 1, characterised in that the first tubular member (22) comprises a cylinder tube which is supported within an outer support tube (16) adapted to be operatively connected to one of the portions of the vehicle, the hollow piston rod (26) comprises a hollow cylindrical piston rod, the retainer portions (162,164) of the dress cap (164) comprise a pair of arcuate retainer portions, a pair of grooves (144) are formed in the wall of the hollow piston rod (26) at the top end (46) thereof, the cable guiding bar means (166) comprises a pair of cable hold-down bars that extend radially outwardly from the central top portion (165) for locking into the grooves (144) for guiding the cables (134) to the actuator (102), the skirt portion (168) is carried by the ends of the bars radially outwardly of the retainer portions (162,164) and the piston rod (26), and the locking tab means (174,176) of the outer skirt portion (168) comprises a pair of locking tabs adapted to snap-lock into the complementary configurations (180,182) in the hollow piston rod (26) to prevent rotation of the outer skirt portion (168) or axial removal thereof from the hollow piston rod (26).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
139 words
A hydraulic damper according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that an upper cylindrical seal (140) of resilient material is deflectable to closely fit into the upper end (46) of the hollow piston rod (26) immediately below the retainer portions (162, 164) of the dress cap (146), the cylindrical seal (140) has a plurality of cable-receiving holes (138) therethrough through which the cables (134) extend, the cylindrical seal (140) has sealing means (142) on the periphery thereof for sealing engagement with the inner wall surface of the hollow piston rod (26), and the dress cap (146) is releasably fixed to the hollow piston rod (26) to position the cylindrical seal (140) and to close the end of the hollow piston rod (26) and guide the cables (134) outwardly from the upper end (46) of the piston rod (26).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
98 words
A hydraulic damper according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the hollow piston rod (26) has a cylindrical passage extending axially therein and operatively connected to the piston (24), the dress cap (146) is adapted to be releasably locked to the open end (46) of the hollow piston rod (26), and the complementary configurations (180,182) in the hollow piston rod (26) comprise a pair of keeper openings for engagement by the locking tab means (174,176) to positively lock the dress cap (146) to the top end (46) of the hollow piston rod (26).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
69 words
A hydraulic damper according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the locking tab means (174,176) comprise spring-like fingers which are formed on opposite sides of the skirt portion (168) and have radial projections (174,176) thereon for engaging the complementary configurations (180,182) in the hollow piston rod (26) to prevent axial and rotational movement of the dress cap (146) relative to the piston rod (26).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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