US 12,110,944 B2
Cooler for a suspension damper
John Marking, El Cajon, CA (US)
Assigned to Fox Factory, Inc., Duluth, GA (US)
Filed by Fox Factory, Inc., Duluth, GA (US)
Filed on Jul. 17, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/932,501.
Application 16/932,501 is a continuation of application No. 15/873,796, filed on Jan. 17, 2018, granted, now 10,718,397.
Application 15/873,796 is a continuation of application No. 15/234,914, filed on Aug. 11, 2016.
Application 15/234,914 is a continuation of application No. 14/293,805, filed on Jun. 2, 2014, granted, now 9,416,841, issued on Aug. 16, 2016.
Application 14/293,805 is a continuation of application No. 13/411,086, filed on Mar. 2, 2012, granted, now 8,763,770, issued on Jul. 1, 2014.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/449,045, filed on Mar. 3, 2011.
Prior Publication US 2020/0347905 A1, Nov. 5, 2020
Int. Cl. F16F 9/02 (2006.01); B60G 13/08 (2006.01); B60G 17/08 (2006.01); F16F 9/42 (2006.01); F16F 9/46 (2006.01)
CPC F16F 9/42 (2013.01) [B60G 13/08 (2013.01); B60G 17/08 (2013.01); F16F 9/46 (2013.01); B60G 2400/05 (2013.01); B60G 2400/106 (2013.01); B60G 2400/204 (2013.01); B60G 2400/50 (2013.01); B60G 2400/52 (2013.01); B60G 2500/10 (2013.01); B60G 2600/18 (2013.01); B60G 2800/16 (2013.01); F16F 2228/066 (2013.01); F16F 2230/18 (2013.01)] 1 Claim
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A position-sensitive vehicle suspension damper comprising:
an internal cylinder containing a piston assembly comprising a piston and piston rod, said piston assembly dividing said internal cylinder into a compression portion and a rebound portion, said internal cylinder having a plurality of bypass openings;
a bypass cylinder disposed around said internal cylinder such that a bypass flow path is formed, said bypass cylinder having a plurality of cooling fins on an outer surface thereof, wherein said cooling fins cover said outer surface of said bypass cylinder;
a working fluid within said internal cylinder and said bypass cylinder; and
a floating piston movably mounted within said internal cylinder, said floating piston disposed between said compression portion and a compressible gas volume, wherein said compressible gas volume is pressurized with a pressurization port, wherein said plurality of cooling fins increase cooling of said damping fluid during both a compression stroke and a rebound stroke of said vehicle suspension damper for said damping fluid which flows through said bypass flow path, wherein, at least one of said bypass openings is covered by an expandable band positioned within an annular groove formed on an outer surface of said internal cylinder, said expandable band restricting flow of said damping fluid from said bypass cylinder into said internal cylinder such that said compression stroke will exhibit different damping characteristics than said rebound stroke, wherein said bypass openings are disposed along said internal cylinder and are axially separated, wherein said bypass openings are always open and fluidly couple said compression portion and said rebound portion to permit a portion of said damping fluid to bypass said piston such that position-sensitive damping is achieved, wherein said plurality of cooling fins are made from a material selected from the group consisting of: aluminum, copper, or alloys thereof, wherein said plurality of cooling fins is comprised of an assembly of multiple parts.