The invention is a damper that includes a hollow cylindrical housing, a hollow cylindrical piston, an annular electromagnetic orifice, a bulkhead, a chemically inert charging gas, a cylindrical metering pin, and a controller. The damper is an oleo-pneumatic damper using magnetorheological fluid that allows active damper control.

An apparatus and system are disclosed that provide position sensitive suspension damping. A damping unit includes a piston mounted in a fluid-filled cylinder. A vented path in the piston may be fluidly coupled to a bore formed in one end of the piston rod, creating a flow path for fluid to flow from a first side of the piston to a second side of the piston during a compression stroke. The flow path may be blocked by a needle configured to engage the bore as the damping unit is substantially fully compressed, thereby causing the damping rate of the damping unit to increase. In one embodiment, the piston includes multiple bypass flow paths operable during the compression stroke or the rebound stroke of the damping unit. One or more of the bypass flow paths may be restricted by one or more shims mounted on the piston.

An aircraft landing gear shock absorber assembly having an outer casing having a bore which extends through the outer casing. The bore has a first opening and a second opening. A rod is slidably coupled within the bore such that a first end of the rod projects out of the first opening of the bore, the first end of the rod being arranged to be attached to a wheel assembly. A closure is provided for the second opening of the bore. The bore has a reduced width portion relative to the second opening of the bore, and the rod includes a radially enlarged portion that is wider than the reduced width portion of the bore.

A method and apparatus for a shock absorber for a vehicle having a gas spring with first and second gas chambers, wherein the first chamber is utilized during a first travel portion of the shock absorber and the first and second chambers are both utilized during a second portion of travel. In one embodiment, a travel adjustment assembly is configured to selectively communicate a first gas chamber with a negative gas chamber.

A gas cylinder actuator with safety device, which comprises: a tubular containment jacket, two opposing heads for closing the tubular jacket, with corresponding sealing elements between the heads and the jacket, a first head provided with a through hole for the passage of a stem-piston, and a second head provided with a gas filling duct, a stem-piston, between the tubular jacket, the heads and the stem-piston there being a chamber for pressurized gas; the second head has a seat for the accommodation of a flow control element of the gas filling duct and corresponding sealing means, the flow control element comprising a tab for controlling a retracting stroke of the stem-piston, the control tab protruding from a body that has a lightened portion for triggering a controlled fracture or deformation in the event the control tab is crushed by the stem-piston.

A shock strut may comprise an orifice plate comprising a metering pin aperture and a percolation aperture. The percolation aperture may be configured to allow a gas to move from a first chamber to a second chamber in response to the shock strut moving from a retracted position to a deployed position.

A damper filled with a damping medium in use comprising an inner tube; a movable assembly comprising a piston assembly and a piston rod attached to said piston assembly, said movable assembly being slidably disposed within the inner tube, the movable assembly defining a first working chamber and a second working chamber within the inner tube, the piston rod being disposed in the second working chamber; an end member disposed at an end of the inner tube, the end member having an inner surface facing towards the first working chamber; an actuated valve assembly being provided in the end member, said valve assembly being configured to control a damping medium flow entering or exiting the first working chamber, wherein the movable assembly comprises a stem assembly, said stem assembly being slidably connected to and partially embedded in said movable assembly.

A position-relative damper assist system (1) for use with a vehicle, the position-relative damper assist system (1) comprising top and bottom mounting components (5,3), a piston assembly (9), an adjustment assembly (19), and a biasing assembly (21). The piston assembly (9) is operatively disposed between the top and bottom mounting components (5,3), and has a piston head (11) being displaceable within a chamber (13), and being provided with at least one fluid passage (15) for allowing fluid (17) of the chamber (13) to travel therethrough, in order to provide a corresponding damping effect. The adjustment assembly (19) cooperates with the piston head (11) of the piston assembly (9) for adjustably varying an effective cross-sectional profile of the at least one fluid passage (15) in order to in turn vary a corresponding flow rate of fluid (17) passing through said at least one fluid passage (15), and in turn vary the resulting damping effect. The biasing assembly (21) cooperates with the adjustment assembly (19) for selectively varying a configuration of the adjustment assembly (19) in response to a given input indicative of the positioning of the piston assembly (9) within a stroke distance (7), in order in vary the resulting damping effect in response to a corresponding displacement-profile (23) provided by the biasing assembly (21).

A method for servicing a dual-stage, mixed gas/fluid shock strut may comprise measuring a servicing temperature, charging a secondary gas chamber with compressed gas, wherein a secondary chamber pressure corresponds to the servicing temperature, pumping oil into a primary chamber of the shock strut, and charging the primary chamber with compressed gas.

A shock absorber having a plurality of pistons in a telescopic or nested configuration. The shock absorber has a first shaft with a first piston disposed within a cylinder filled with a hydraulic fluid. A second shaft is in turn disposed within the first shaft, the second shaft having a second piston extending beyond the position of the first piston. The second shaft is further coupled to a vehicle's suspension system. When undergoing a displacement, the second piston moves through the cylinder and compresses an external spring. After the second shaft has been fully extended, the first piston is then actuated, thereby also moving through the hydraulic fluid. As the pistons traverse through the cylinder, a volume of the fluid is pushed into a reservoir communicated to the cylinder. Both the first and second shafts are configured to move independently with respect to each other and to the cylinder.