A regenerative shock absorber that include a housing and a piston that moves at least partially through the housing when the shock is compressed or extended from a rest position. When the piston moves, hydraulic fluid is pressurized and drives a hydraulic motor. The hydraulic motor, in turn, drives an electric generator that produced electric energy. The electric energy may be provided to a vehicle, among other things. The regenerative shock absorber may also provide ride performance that comparable to or exceeds that of conventional shock absorbers.

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.

System and method for improving braking efficiency by increasing the magnitude of a frictional force between a tire of a vehicle wheel and a road surface. Braking efficiency may be improved by controlling the normal force applied on the wheel, with an active suspension actuator, based on the wheel's slip ratio.

A regenerative shock absorber that include a housing and a piston that moves at least partially through the housing when the shock is compressed or extended from a rest position. When the piston moves, hydraulic fluid is pressurized and drives a hydraulic motor. The hydraulic motor, in turn, drives an electric generator that produced electric energy. The electric enemy may be provided to a vehicle, among other things. The regenerative shock absorber may also provide ride performance that comparable to or exceeds that of conventional shock absorbers.

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 control unit that controls control currents supplied to shock absorbers that generate damping forces according to the control currents determines coefficients of two functions that functionally identify an equivalent damping coefficient and an equivalent spring constant of each suspension based on relationships between the control current supplied to each shock absorber and the coefficients of the two functions that change according to the control current and a frequency of a relative vibration between a sprung and an unsprung of a vehicle, and calculates a relative displacement or a relative velocity between the sprung and the unsprung based on a vertical acceleration detected by a detection device and the two functions in which the coefficients are determined.

An isolator designed through the inclusion of a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) along and at or near an electromagnetic coil. A variety of factors can be balanced to produce an isolator that takes advantage of the radially axial coil. One non-limiting embodiment of the design uses a two-part coil bobbin geometry; wherein the axial center of the bobbin is a nonmagnetic material which allows passage of the magnetic field, while the end pieces are made of a high permeability material that limits the stray magnetic field and improves the magnetic flux density through the MRE by providing a pathway of least magnetic reluctance. The MRE changes stiffness and damping properties in response to the strength of the magnetic field, which can be controlled by changing the current through the electromagnetic coil. Feedback and feedforward control systems can allow for real time adaptation by the isolator in response to changing external stimuli. The isolator is useful for a variety of uses. Non-limiting examples are for reducing whole body vibrations for operators of trucks and heavy machinery, as well as for creating greater comfort for patients in ambulance gurneys and passengers in airplane seats.

System and method for improving braking efficiency by increasing the magnitude of a frictional force between a tire of a vehicle wheel and a road surface. Braking efficiency may be improved by controlling the normal force applied on the wheel, with an active suspension actuator, based on the wheel's slip ratio.

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.

Provided is an automatically controlled shock stiffening system. The automatically controlled shock stiffening system may include an electronic control unit receiving sensor input which automatically stiffens and softens a shock during operation. An override button is provided to immediately stiffen the shock in response to a user activating the override button. The system may include a main body with an oil flow aperture and a flow control system that operates to restrict the flow of oil between the reservoir and the shock. The automatically controlled shock stiffening system may be coupled between the reservoir and the bridge of the shock and operates to restrict flow of the oil in order to stiffen the shock immediately in response to activation of the override button.