A shock absorber includes a first end and a second end that reciprocate relative to one another. The shock absorber includes a gas spring chamber, a damping chamber, and a floating piston. The first side of the floating piston is in fluid communication with the gas spring chamber. The second side of the floating piston is in fluid communication with the damping chamber. The gas in the gas spring chamber applies pressure against the floating piston, which applies pressure to the substantially incompressible fluid in the damping chamber. This pressure transfer may be adequate to minimize or prevent cavitation.

A valve arrangement comprising a main valve member being axially movably arranged in a valve housing and arranged to interact with a main valve seat of the valve housing in order to restrict or regulate a pressure in a main fluid flow in response to a pilot pressure acting on the main valve member. A control valve member is axially movable within the main valve member in response to an actuating force acting on the control valve member. A pilot valve member is axially movable within the control valve member, and is arranged to interact with a pilot valve seat of the control valve member to restrict a pilot fluid flow out from a pilot chamber. The pilot valve member is resiliently loaded towards the pilot valve seat relative the main valve member or the valve housing, such that the resilient loading on the pilot valve member is adjustable in response to the actuating force.

The present invention relates to a removable insert system (R) for a telescopic fork leg (1) of a bicycle, said telescopic fork leg (1) comprising outer and inner legs (1b, a), wherein said removable insert system comprises a piston and piston rod arrangement (6, 8) comprising a piston rod (8) arranged at least partly within a first tube (7), said removable insert system (R)being removably arranged within at least one of said inner legs (1a) such that, when being mounted in said inner leg,the removable insert system is adapted to form a damping system (D) with said inner leg, and wherein said inner leg and said first tube are both acted upon by a flow of medium created by compression and expansion movements of the fork legs, said damping system further comprising medium flow passages (C1, C2) that are parallel in relation to each other, and that run between the upper and lower sides of said piston (6)The invention also relates to a damping cartridge kit (DC) for upgrading a telescopic fork leg of a bicycle, said cartridge kit comprising a removable insert system (R).

Solar tracker systems include a torque tube, a solar panel attached to the torque tube, and a damper assembly. The damper assembly includes an outer shell, a first chamber wall and a second chamber wall within the outer shell at least partially defining a chamber, and a piston to direct fluid through the chamber. A valve is within the chamber that includes a first axial end, a second axial end, and a seal positioned on the first axial end. The damper assembly further includes a biasing assembly that biases the valve into a first position within the chamber in which the seal is spaced from the first chamber wall. The valve is moveable within the chamber from the first position to a second position in which the seal contacts and seals against the first chamber wall to prevent the flow of fluid through the chamber.

A regulable vibration damper, which may be utilized in a vehicle chassis, for example, may comprise a cylinder barrel that contains hydraulic fluid in sealed-off fashion, a piston that is axially movable within the cylinder barrel along a cylinder barrel axis and that divides the cylinder barrel into two working chambers, and a piston rod oriented parallel to the cylinder barrel axis and that is connected to the piston. The piston may comprise at least two fluid leadthroughs that connect the working chambers. A first valve assembly for damping piston movement in a first actuation direction may be arranged at a first fluid leadthrough, and a second valve assembly for damping piston movement in a second actuation direction may be arranged at a second fluid leadthrough. In the piston, one or more bypass ducts with throughflow cross sections of different size for the two throughflow directions may form fluidic connections between the two working chambers that bypass the vestibules.

A damping force change mechanism includes an on-off valve located in a through hole of a piston rod. The on-off valve opens/closes a third hydraulic oil passage that allows a first oil chamber on a free piston side and a second oil chamber between a first piston and a second piston to communicate with each other. The on-off valve includes an expanded diameter portion in the first oil chamber extending outward in the radial direction. The expanded diameter portion faces the entire opening edge of the through hole and tightly contacts an end surface of the piston rod. The magnitude of a damping force is easily changed, and a damping force characteristic in a case in which the damping force is large is stabilized.

A damping force change mechanism includes an on-off valve located in a through hole of a piston rod. The on-off valve opens/closes a third hydraulic oil passage that allows a first oil chamber on a free piston side and a second oil chamber between a first piston and a second piston to communicate with each other. The on-off valve includes an expanded diameter portion in the first oil chamber extending outward in the radial direction. The expanded diameter portion faces the entire opening edge of the through hole and tightly contacts an end surface of the piston rod. The magnitude of a damping force is easily changed, and a damping force characteristic in a case in which the damping force is large is stabilized.

Provided is a shock absorber that includes a middle chamber formed by a piston, a first damping-force generating device that is provided between an upper chamber and the middle chamber and generates a damping force, a second damping-force generating device that is provided between a lower chamber and the middle chamber and generates a damping force, and a position-based state changing device that changes a state of a passage to a state in which the upper chamber and the lower chamber communicate with each other, a state in which the upper chamber and the middle chamber communicate with each other, or a state in which the lower chamber and the middle chamber communicate with each other depending on a position of the piston.

Provided is a shock absorber that includes a middle chamber formed by a piston, a first damping-force generating device that is provided between an upper chamber and the middle chamber and generates a damping force, a second damping-force generating device that is provided between a lower chamber and the middle chamber and generates a damping force, and a position-based state changing device that changes a state of a passage to a state in which the upper chamber and the lower chamber communicate with each other, a state in which the upper chamber and the middle chamber communicate with each other, or a state in which the lower chamber and the middle chamber communicate with each other depending on a position of the piston.

Pressure-sensitive vales are incorporated within a dampening system to permit user-adjustable tuning of a shock absorber. In one embodiment, a pressure-sensitive valve includes an isolated gas chamber having a pressure therein that is settable by a user.