A method of on-demand energy delivery to an active suspension system is disclosed. The suspension system includes an actuator body, a hydraulic pump, an electric motor, a plurality of sensors, an energy storage facility, and a controller. The method includes disposing an active suspension system in a vehicle between a wheel mount and a vehicle body, detecting a wheel event requiring control of the active suspension; and sourcing energy from the energy storage facility and delivering it to the electric motor in response to the wheel event.

A leaf spring structure is designed as a single piece to be able to change the spring rates of leaf springs under a load independently from the manufacturing material. The operating mechanism of the leaf spring allows for increasing the spring rates by deactivating the short spring, which remains between the point A and the point B, as a result of the interaction between the short spring and the long spring after a certain amount of vertical displacement in the leaf spring.

A method of on-demand energy delivery to an active suspension system is disclosed. The suspension system includes an actuator body, a hydraulic pump, an electric motor, a plurality of sensors, an energy storage facility, and a controller. The method includes disposing an active suspension system in a vehicle between a wheel mount and a vehicle body, detecting a wheel event requiring control of the active suspension; and sourcing energy from the energy storage facility and delivering it to the electric motor in response to the wheel event.

A shock absorber includes a first passage (92) through which a working fluid flows out from a chamber that is an upstream side to a chamber (23) that is a downstream side due to movement of a piston (21), a first damping force generating mechanism (41) provided in the first passage (92) to generate a damping force, a second passage (182) provided separately from the first passage (92), a second damping force generating mechanism (183) provided in the second passage (182) and opened to generate a damping force when a piston speed is lower than that of the first damping force generating mechanism (41), a third passage (512) provided separately from the second passage (182), a volume variable mechanism (186) provided in the third passage (512), a fourth passage (521) provided separately from the third passage (512), and a relief mechanism (522) provided in the fourth passage (521) and opened after the second damping force generating mechanism (183) is opened.

A damping valve includes a valve seat member, a first valve element stacked on the valve seat member, a second valve element provided between an inner circumference valve seat of the valve seat member and the first valve element, the second valve element being configured to open and close a hole of the first valve element, and a biasing member configured to bias the first valve element towards the second valve element, wherein a surface of the second valve element on an opposite side from the valve seat member is higher than the outer circumference valve seat of the valve seat member.

A system and method for utilizing an active valve customizable tune application is disclosed. The system includes a mobile device having a memory, an active valve tune application, and at least one processor. The processor initiates the active valve tune application, receives, from a database, an active valve suspension tune having a number of performance range adjustable settings, and receives user related input information. At least one of the performance range adjustable settings is modified based on the received input information to generate a modified active valve suspension tune. The system includes an active suspension of a vehicle, wherein the modified active valve suspension tune is implemented by the active suspension.

A damper assembly includes a pressure tube defining a first chamber and a piston movable within the first chamber. The damper assembly includes a reserve tube defining a second chamber. The damper assembly includes a cylinder end attached to the pressure tube, the cylinder end defining a passage in fluid communication with the first chamber and the second chamber. The damper assembly includes an orifice disc attached to the cylinder end and defining an opening in fluid communication with the passage. The damper assembly includes a check disc attached to the cylinder end, the check disc movable from a first position spaced from orifice disc to a second position abutting the orifice disc. Movement of the piston within the first chamber causes fluid flow between the first chamber and the second chamber via the passage of the cylinder end. The check disc and the orifice disc limit a rate of such fluid flow.

The present invention discloses an adaptive damping nonlinear spring-variable damping system and a mobile platform system, with the nonlinear spring-variable damping system applied to the mobile platform. The nonlinear spring-variable damping system is characterized in that the system comprises: an oil cylinder accommodating damping oil; a piston, accommodated in the oil cylinder and movable along the oil cylinder to make the damping oil flow; at least one connecting rod, connected to the piston; at least one spring, whose deformation process is constrained by the connecting rod; and a damping adaptive adjustment device, configured to be able to adaptively change the flow resistance of the damping oil according to the vibration of the mobile platform, so as to control the system damping; wherein, when the mobile platform vibrates, the connecting rod and the spring can subject the piston to a nonlinear spring force. The amplitude of the nonlinear spring-variable damping system, compared with the linear spring-damping system, is greatly suppressed.

A system and method for utilizing an active valve customizable tune application is disclosed. The system includes a mobile device having a memory, an active valve tune application, and at least one processor. The processor initiates the active valve tune application, receives, from a database, an active valve suspension tune having a number of performance range adjustable settings, and receives user related input information. At least one of the performance range adjustable settings is modified based on the received input information to generate a modified active valve suspension tune. The system includes an active suspension of a vehicle, wherein the modified active valve suspension tune is implemented by the active suspension.

A method and apparatus for a shock absorber for a vehicle having a gas spring with first and second gas chambers, wherein the first chamber is utilized during a first travel portion of the shock absorber and the first and second chambers are both utilized during a second portion of travel. In one embodiment, a travel adjustment assembly is configured to selectively communicate a first gas chamber with a negative gas chamber.