Hydraulic damper

Claim 1

A hydraulic damper comprising: a cylinder receiving therein hydraulic liquid; a piston movable within said cylinder and partitioning the interior thereof into first and second liquid filled chambers; a piston rod extending through said first chamber and having an inner end secured to said piston and an outer end positioned exteriorly of said cylinder, said piston rod having an axial bore extending therethrough, said outer end having an interior counterbore receiving therein a seal means; an elongated adjusting rod positioned within said bore in said piston rod and defining therewith a passage, said adjusting rod contacting said seal means; a radial bore in said piston rod connecting said passage to said first chamber; an orifice member mounted on said inner end of said piston rod, said orifice member having therethrough an orifice connecting said passage to said second chamber; said adjusting rod having an inner end cooperating with said orifice member to define the size of said orifice; means, axially adjustably mounted on said outer end of said piston rod, for moving said adjusting rod axially within said bore, and thereby adjusting the size of said orifice; an annular guide positioned within said counterbore directly, biasingly engaging said seal means, said annular guide having in an inner circumference thereof an annular recess cooperating with said seal means to define first and second axially spaced stops; and a third stop on said adjusting rod for contact with said first and second stops to define maximum outer and inner positions, respectively, of said adjusting rod, thereby to define maximum and minimum sizes, respectively, of said orifice, and to define a maximum range of possible axial movement of said adjusting rod with respect to said piston rod.