Shock absorber

Claim 1

A HYDRAULIC-PNEUMATIC CUSHION UNIT COMPRISING INNER AND OUTER TELESCOPED CYLINDERS DEFINING AN OUTER VARIABLE HYDRAULIC CHAMBER, SAID CYLINDERS DEFINING A SNUBBING CHAMBER THEREBETWEEN, THE INNER CYLINDER BEING CLOSED AT EACH END THEREOF, A FLOATING PISTON DISPOSED WITHIN THE INNER CYLINDER AND DIVIDING THE SAME INTO A PNEUMATIC CHAMBER AND AN INNER HYDRAULIC CHAMBER, A COMPRESSIBLE FLUID FILLING THE PNEUMATIC CHAMBER AND AN INCOMPRESSIBLE FLUID FILLING THE INNER HYDRAULIC CHAMBER, THE OUTER HYDRAULIC CHAMBER AND THE SNUBBING CHAMBER, ONE END OF THE INNER CYLINDER HAVING A METERING ORIFICE, THE OUTER CYLINDER BEING CLOSED AT ONE END THEREOF, A METERING PIN CARRIED BY THE CLOSED END OF THE OUTER CYLINDER AND ADAPTED TO EXTEND THROUGH THE METERING ORIFICE TO CONNTROL THE SIZE OF THE SAME, SAID INNER CYLINDER HAVING MEANS DEFINING A BEARING SURFACE HAVING A BEARING STOP AT EITHER END THEREOF, A SNUBBER BEARING SLIDABLY RECEIVED ON THE BEARING SURFACE AND BEING IN BEARING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE OUTER CYLINDER, BLEED PASSAGE MEANS IN SAID INNER CYLINDER ESTABLISHING FLUID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE HYDRAULIC CHAMBER AND THE SNUBBING CHAMBER, THE SNUBBER BEARING HAVING A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT SIZED ORIFICES THEREIN, EACH WHICH COMMUNICATES WITH SAID BLEED PASSAGE AT DIFFERENT POSITIONS OF SAID SNUBBER BEARING RELATIVE TO SAID BEARING SURFACE TO ALLOW A PREDETERMINED RATE OF HYDRAULIC FLUID FLOW IN ONE DIRECTION THROUGH THE FLUID COMMUNICATION, AND A LESSER RATE OF FLUID FLOW IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, SAID SNUBBER BEARING BEING HYDROSTATICALLY BALANCED TO PREVENT RADIAL STRESSING OF THE SAME BY THE HYDRAULIC FLUID.