Smart fluid damper

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11015672-B2
Application number	US-202016783221-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 6, 2020
Priority date	Nov 1, 2017
Publication date	May 25, 2021
Grant date	May 25, 2021

Abstract

A bicycle with a suspension system for a wheel of the bicycle, the suspension system including a smart fluid damper for dampening a movement of the wheel relative to the frame. The smart fluid damper includes a flow control element disposed within a cavity of the damper and configured to apply a field to a smart fluid within a fluid passage extending through the flow control element. The flow control element includes field barriers proximate the fluid passage to locally block and/or divert the field such that the field cannot pass therethrough. The field barriers are arranged to cause the field to criss-cross the fluid passage at multiple axial intervals along the fluid passage, thereby focusing the field within the fluid passage.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A bicycle, comprising:
a frame to which a wheel is rotatably mounted; and
a suspension system disposed between the frame and the wheel to permit displacement of the wheel relative to the frame, the suspension system comprising a smart fluid damper, the smart fluid damper comprising:
a cavity retaining a smart fluid therein, and a piston having a piston head slidingly displaceable within the cavity along a piston axis; and
a flow control element disposed within the cavity, the flow control element including a fluid passage defined axially therethrough between a main body and an outer housing, the fluid passage permitting fluid flow therethrough from one axial side of the flow control element to the other, the main body including an energizable coil operable to apply a field to the smart fluid in the fluid passage, and field barriers each operable to locally block the field generated by the energizable coil such that the field cannot pass therethrough, a first group of the field barriers being mounted to the main body of the flow control element and axially spaced-apart along the main body, a second group of the barriers being mounted to the outer housing of the flow control element and axially spaced-apart along the outer housing, the first and second groups of the field barriers configured to focus the field within the fluid passage.

2. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the first and second groups of the field barriers are disposed in an axially alternating staggered configuration across the fluid passage.

3. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the flow control element is stationary within the cavity of the damper body.

4. The bicycle as defined in claim 3 , wherein the cavity includes a first cavity portion and at least a second cavity portion separate from the first cavity portion, a fluid bridge extending between the first and second cavity portions and providing fluid communication therebetween, the piston head being slidingly displaceable within the first cavity portion and the flow control element being fixedly positioned in the second cavity portion.

5. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the axially-spaced apart field barriers of the first group of the field barriers each have a unique axial position along the main body, and the axially-spaced apart field barriers of the second group of the field barriers has a unique axial position on the outer housing, the axial positions of the field barriers of the first group being different from the axial positions of the field barriers of the second group.

6. The bicycle as defined in claim 5 , wherein a first one of the field barriers is disposed on one of the main body and the outer housing, another one of the field barriers being immediately axially adjacent to the first one of the field barriers being disposed on the other of the main body and the outer housing.

7. The bicycle as defined in claim 5 , wherein an axial distance is defined between the axial position of each field barrier of the first group and the axial position of each field barrier of the second group, the axial distances remaining constant.

8. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the flow control element is displaceable within the cavity of the damper body.

9. The bicycle as defined in claim 8 , wherein the flow control element is mounted to the piston head and is slidingly displaceable therewith along the piston axis.

10. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the core of the piston body includes a permanent magnet.

11. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein at least the core of the piston body is made from a ferromagnetic material.

12. The bicycle as defined in claim 11 , wherein the ferromagnetic material is AlNiCo.

13. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the smart fluid is a magnetorheological (MR) fluid, the energizable coil being operable to apply a magnetic field to the MR fluid in the fluid passage.

14. The bicycle as defined in claim 13 , wherein the energizable coil is operable to apply the magnetic field to the MR fluid to permit the MR fluid to flow through the fluid passage in only one direction.

15. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein the smart fluid is an electrorheological (ER) fluid.

16. The bicycle as defined in claim 1 , wherein each field barrier has an axial thickness, a width of the fluid passage being measured along a direction transverse to the complete axial length of the main body, the thickness of each barrier being greater than the width of the fluid passage.

17. A bicycle comprising a suspension system for a wheel of the bicycle, the suspension system including a smart fluid damper for dampening a movement of the wheel relative to the frame, the smart fluid damper including a flow control element disposed within a cavity of the damper and configured to apply a field to a smart fluid within a fluid passage extending through the flow control element, the flow control element including field barriers proximate the fluid passage to locally block and/or divert the field such that the field cannot pass therethrough, the field barriers arranged to cause the field to criss-cross the fluid passage at multiple axial intervals along the fluid passage, thereby focusing the field within the fluid passage.

18. The bicycle as defined in claim 17 , wherein the field barriers are staggered on either side of the fluid passage.

19. The bicycle as defined in claim 17 , wherein the field barriers include a first group of field barriers and a second group of field barriers, the first group of field barriers mounted to a main body of the flow control element and axially spaced-apart along the main body, the second group of field barriers mounted to an outer housing of the flow control element across the fluid passage from the first group of field barriers and axially spaced-apart along the outer housing.

20. The bicycle as defined in claim 19 , wherein the first group of field barriers and the second group of field barriers are disposed in an axially alternating and staggered configuration across the fluid passage.

21. The bicycle as defined in claim 17 , wherein the smart fluid damper is a magnetorheological (MR) fluid damper and the smart fluid is an MR fluid, the flow control element configured to apply a magnetic field to the MR fluid within the fluid passage extending through the flow control element, to allow the MR fluid to flow from one side of the flow control element to the other within the cavity.

Assignees

• Univ Fraser Simon

Inventors

• Naserimojarad Mohammad Mehdi
• Moallem Mehrdad
• Arzanpour Siamak

Classifications

• F16F2222/06

  Magnetic or electromagnetic · CPC title

• F16F9/537

  specially adapted valves therefor · CPC title

• F16F2224/045

  magnetorheological · CPC title

• F16F2224/043

  electrorheological · CPC title

• B62K25/28 Primary

  with pivoted chain-stay · CPC title