Velocity sensitive valve element for a shock absorber

Claim 1

A piston for an automotive shock absorber comprising: a piston having a first passageway axially extending therethrough and circumscribed by a first valve seat; flow control means for controllably opening said first passageway when said piston and flow control means have a pressure exerted thereon in a first direction; a second passageway axially extending therethrough radially outboard of said first passageway and bypassing said flow control means; a second valve seat circumscribing said second passageway; and an asymmetrically responsive pressure sensitive frustroconical valve biased at its outer diameter against said second valve seat by a coil spring and spring seat and constructed to: (i) close said second passageway in response to a pressure above a first predetermined level exerted on said valve in said first direction by resiliently flexing into contact with said first valve seat; (ii) remain open to a first extent to flow occurring through said second passageway when a pressure below said first predetermined level is exerted on said valve in said first direction; and (iii) axially shift in its entirety in a second direction against the force of said coil spring so that said outer diameter becomes unseated from said second valve seat so as to open to flow occurring through said second passageway to an extent greater than said first extent when pressure above a second predetermined level is exerted on said frustroconical valve.