A shock absorber for a vehicle having a damper and a first and second springs mounted coaxially around the damper and a preload adjuster for partially compressing at least one of the springs independently of the compression stroke. In one embodiment the preload adjuster is remotely controllable. In another embodiment the shock absorber includes an additional mechanism for preloading at least one of the springs.

A shock assembly is disclosed. The assembly includes a damper chamber having an outer wall with a first inner diameter (ID). A secondary chamber within the damper chamber, the secondary chamber comprising an exterior wall with an external diameter (ED) less than the ID of the outer wall to form an annular region therebetween. A damping piston coupled to a piston rod, the damping piston disposed in the secondary chamber and axially movable relative to the secondary chamber, the damping piston to bifurcate the secondary chamber into a compression side and a rebound side. A valve to control a flow of a working fluid between the annular region and the secondary chamber.

A shock absorber for a vehicle having a damper and a first and second springs mounted coaxially around the damper and a preload adjuster for partially compressing at least one of the springs independently of the compression stroke. In one embodiment the preload adjuster is remotely controllable. In another embodiment the shock absorber includes an additional mechanism for preloading at least one of the springs.

A damper control system includes a controller configured to estimate a temperature of a damper fluid based on data relating to heat added to and heat removed from the fluid. At least one damper is operatively coupled to the controller, and the controller is configured to control a size of a damper flow path of the at least one damper based on the estimated temperature. Methods relate to controlling at least one damper based on an estimated temperature of a damper fluid.

Embodiments of the invention address the area of predictive suspension control system for a vehicle, particularly a two-wheel vehicle such as a motor cycle or a scooter. The system includes a stereo sensor unit which for generating image data, a computing unit which extracts a relevant image portion from the image data based on future vehicle path data, and calculates road unevenness on a future vehicle path of the vehicle based on the generated image data. A suspension control unit generates an adaptation signal for adapting the suspension based on the calculated road unevenness. The computing unit adapts a search direction of a stereo algorithm or a correlation area of the stereo algorithm based on a lean angle of the vehicle to generate the three-dimensional partial image data from the relevant image portion, and fits a road model to the three-dimensional partial image data to calculate the road unevenness.

A shock assembly is disclosed. The assembly includes a damper chamber having an outer wall with a first inner diameter (ID). A secondary chamber within the damper chamber, the secondary chamber comprising an exterior wall with an external diameter (ED) less than the ID of the outer wall to form an annular region therebetween. A damping piston coupled to a piston rod, the damping piston disposed in the secondary chamber and axially movable relative to the secondary chamber, the damping piston to bifurcate the secondary chamber into a compression side and a rebound side. A valve to control a flow of a working fluid between the annular region and the secondary chamber.

A shock absorber for a vehicle having a damper and a first and second springs mounted coaxially around the damper and a preload adjuster for partially compressing at least one of the springs independently of the compression stroke. In one embodiment the preload adjuster is remotely controllable. In another embodiment the shock absorber includes an additional mechanism for preloading at least one of the springs.

The present disclosure generally relates to an obstacle avoidance system with active suspensions. The obstacle avoidance system uses one or more active suspensions to lift or jump one or more corresponding wheels over an obstacle in the vehicle's path to avoid contact with the obstacle when the vehicle cannot practically drive over, steer around, or stop before hitting the obstacle.

A damper control device feeds back a pressure within an extension-side chamber to control an extension-side solenoid valve that adjusts the pressure within the extension-side chamber, and feeds back a pressure within a compression-side chamber to control a compression-side solenoid valve that adjusts the pressure within the compression-side chamber. The damper control device performs a compression-side reduction correction which reduces a compression-side current supplied to the compression-side solenoid valve during extension of a damper, and performs an extension-side reduction correction which reduces an extension-side current supplied to the extension-side solenoid valve during contraction of the damper.

A controller executes full extension suppression control or full compression suppression control of adjusting a damping force to be large when a piston being displaced through sliding in an inner tube approaches a full extension position or a full compression position. Moreover, a stroke from a neutral position of the piston in the inner tube to a full compression control start position is set so as to be longer than a stroke from the neutral position of the piston to a full extension control start position. A portion between the full extension control start position to the full compression control start position is set to a dead zone in which none of the full extension suppression control and the full compression suppression control are executed.