Suspension damper having inertia valve and user adjustable pressure-relief

Abstract

A modern suspension damper, for example, a shock absorber or a suspension fork, including an inertia valve and a pressure-relief feature is disclosed. The pressure-relief feature includes a rotatable adjustment knob that allows the pressure-relief threshold to be externally adjusted by the rider “on-the-fly” and without the use of tools.

1 . A system comprising:
 a compression chamber having a volume reducing in response to operation of a suspension damper from an extended position to a compressed position;   a remote reservoir fluidically coupled to said compression chamber;   an inertia valve disposed in said remote reservoir, said inertia valve configured to allow fluid flow into a first fluid path in response to an acceleration of at least a portion of the suspension damper, said inertia valve comprising:
 an inertia mass moveable to an open position, in response to the acceleration of the at least a portion of the suspension damper, said inertia mass having an annular recess wherein said an annular recess provides fluid communication between an inertia inflow passage and an inertia outflow passage; 
   a blowoff valve to allow fluid flow into a second fluid path when a pressure in the compression chamber equals or exceeds a first pressure threshold; and   a pressure relief valve to allow fluid flow into a third fluid path when a pressure in the compression chamber equals or exceeds an adjustable second pressure threshold.