A smart fluid damper includes a damper body defining a cavity with smart fluid. A piston head is disposed within the cavity and is slidingly displaceable. A flow control element is disposed within the cavity. The flow control element includes a main body having a central core, and an outer housing that surrounds the main body and is spaced apart therefrom to define a fluid passage between the main body and the outer housing. The fluid passage extends axially through the main body to permit fluid flow therethrough. The central core includes an energizable coil operable to apply a field. A plurality of field barriers are provided, each operable to locally block the field generated by the energizable coil such that the field cannot pass directly therethrough. The field barriers are configured to focus the field within the fluid passage.

A magnetorheological damper, wherein the damper comprises a housing that is at least partially filed with a magnetorheological fluid, and a magnetorheological valve disposed within the housing. The valve includes a magnetically permeable core having at least one coil reservoir formed therein, and at least one conductor coil, wherein each conductor coil is disposed around a portion of the core within a respective one of the coil reservoir(s). The valve additionally includes a fluid flow path adjacent the conductor coil(s). The fluid flow path is structured and operable to allow the magnetorheological fluid to flow adjacent the conductor coil(s). The valve further includes at least one coil cover, wherein each coil cover is disposed over a respective one of the coil(s) such that the respective coil is protected from exposure to magnetorheological fluid flowing through the fluid flow path.

A cylinder device that enables both prevention of leakage from a flow channel and improvement of assemblability. A shock absorber is filled with an electrorheological fluid as a hydraulic fluid. The shock absorber generates a potential difference within an electrode path and controls viscosity of the electrorheological fluid passing through the electrode path, thus controlling a generated damping force. A plurality of partition walls are disposed between an inner cylinder and an electrode tube. A plurality of spiral flow channels are formed between the inner cylinder and the electrode tube. The partition walls are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder. The partition walls have a sectional shape in which an electrode tube side is smaller in wall thickness than an inner cylinder side. The partition walls include a pointed tip on the non-attached side, which is oriented to a high pressure side of the flow channels.

A braking system, including a damper and a brake controller. The damper includes: a sealed gearbox including an inner chamber, at least one pair of engaged gears mated with the inner chamber of the gearbox, and a brake fluid storage box. The at least one pair of engaged gears include a driving gear. A first flowing channel and a second flowing channel are provided on both sides of the gearbox of the at least one pair of engaged gears, respectively. The first flowing channel and the second flowing channel include a first extracting outlet and a second extracting outlet, respectively, which are both disposed on the gearbox. The brake fluid storage box includes a first joint adapting to communicate with the first extracting outlet and a second joint adapting to communicate with the second extracting outlet. The brake controller includes at least one braking switch valve.

A chassis controller and method for controlling the damping of a human-powered two-wheeled vehicle having a controllable shock absorber and a control device and a memory device. A sensor device acquires measurement data sets relating to a relative movement of two connecting units of the shock absorber with respect to one another. A filter device pre-processes the measurement data sets. Multiple data sets are stored in the memory device. A data set, derived from a measurement data set acquired with the sensor device during the relative movement of the connecting units is stored and an analysis device analyzes a stored data set. A filter parameter set is determined based on the analysis, and a control data set is derived with the filter parameter set. The control device controls the shock absorber with the control data set.

A damper includes a coil that generates a magnetic field acting on magneto-rheological fluid flowing through a communication passage. A piston includes a concave portion formed on an outer peripheral surface of a piston core, a regulating member housed in the concave portion, an introduction flow passage that guides the magneto-rheological fluid in a first fluid chamber or a second fluid chamber into the concave portion such that the regulating member projects into the communication passage, and a fail valve that opens and closes the introduction flow passage. In the case where a current applied to the coil is a predetermined value or less, the regulating member projects into the communication passage.

A magnetorheological damper, wherein the damper comprises a housing that is at least partially filed with a magnetorheological fluid, and a magnetorheological valve disposed within the housing. The valve includes a magnetically permeable core having at least one coil reservoir formed therein, and at least one conductor coil, wherein each conductor coil is disposed around a portion of the core within a respective one of the coil reservoir(s). The valve additionally includes a fluid flow path adjacent the conductor coil(s). The fluid flow path is structured and operable to allow the magnetorheological fluid to flow adjacent the conductor coil(s). The valve further includes at least one coil cover, wherein each coil cover is disposed over a respective one of the coil(s) such that the respective coil is protected from exposure to magnetorheological fluid flowing through the fluid flow path.

A head unit system for controlling an object includes a head unit device that include shear thickening fluid (STF) and a chamber configured to contain the STF. The chamber further includes a set of gates between a front channel and a back channel. The set of gates includes a bypass opening set. The head unit device further includes a piston housed at least partially radially within the chamber. The set of gates is configured to control flow of the STF between the front channel and the back channel to control rotational movement of the object. An accessory module assists in control of the object.

A device for influencing the force of a seatbelt acting on an occupant of a passenger vehicle during a collision, for example. The device includes a rotary damper with a magnetorheological fluid as a working fluid for damping a rotational movement of a damper shaft of the rotary damper when winding or unwinding the seatbelt. The rotary damper has a displacing device with displacing components which engage into one another and which are wetted by the magnetorheological fluid. By using a paired controller, a magnetic field of a magnetic field source with an electric coil can be controlled and the magnetorheological fluid can be influenced in order to adjust the damping of the rotational movement of the damper shaft.

Vibration damper having an adjustable damping valve device comprising an actuator having a magnetic coil that applies a magnetic actuation force to an axially movable valve armature within a sleeve-like fixed return member that includes a conductive portion and an insulating portion. The return member cooperates with a pole disk that conducts a magnetic flux of the magnetic coil and on which an axial transfer of the magnetic flux for the actuating movement of the valve armature takes place. The insulating portion of the return member is adjoined in the direction of the pole disk by a second conductive portion and the valve armature axially overlaps the second conductive portion depending on the stroke.