A damping control device includes a control force generating device and a controller. The controller is configured to acquire road surface displacement related values related to a plurality of road surface displacements in a predetermined sampling zone, acquire an amplitude index indicating a magnitude of an amplitude of the sampled values, determine an operation delay period of the control force generating device based on the magnitude of the amplitude indicated by the amplitude index, calculate target control force for reducing vibration of a vehicle body based on the road surface displacement related values at a predicted passing position where a wheel is predicted to pass after an elapse of the operation delay period from a current time, and transmit, to the control force generating device, a control command for causing the control force generating device to regulate the control force to agree with the target control force.

A vehicle control device includes a vertical VSE, a riding comfort control logic, a planar VSE, a steering stability control logic, a command limiting unit, a control command selection unit. The command limiting unit acquires specifications related to a traveling of a vehicle such as, for example, a slip rate and a four-wheel independent braking/driving force control flag through a CAN. The command limiting unit limits a variable range of a damping force generated by a suspension device provided between a vehicle body and wheels of the vehicle based on the specifications related to the traveling of the vehicle to obtain a first command value. The command limiting unit outputs the obtained first command value to the control command selection unit.

A method for controlling vehicle motion is described. The method includes accessing a set of control signals including a measured vehicle speed value associated with a movement of a vehicle. A control signal associated with user-induced input is also accessed. The method compares the measured vehicle speed value with a predetermined vehicle speed threshold value to achieve a speed value threshold approach status, and then compares the set of values to achieve a user-induced input threshold value approach status. The method monitors a state of a valve within the vehicle suspension damper, and determines a control mode for the vehicle suspension damper. The method also regulates damping forces within the vehicle suspension damper.

A method for estimating damping characteristics of shock absorbers in an active or semi-active suspension involves providing a reference model of a nominal relation between a road severity index related to vertical acceleration values, and the mean driving current of the control valves of the shock absorbers, acquiring respective relative acceleration or speed data of at least the front wheels of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body, determining a value of the road severity index starting from relative acceleration or speed data of the front wheels of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body, acquiring values representative of the mean driving current of the control valve of each shock absorber, comparing acquired value of the mean driving current with an expected value of the nominal mean driving current determined as a function of the road severity index according to the reference model, and determining a degradation condition if the acquired value does not correspond to the expected value.

A multi-mode air shock is disclosed herein. The air shock includes an air spring having a primary air chamber, and a damper having an insertion end to telescope within the primary air chamber and a coupler to couple with a portion of a vehicle. An adjuster housing is fixedly coupled to an end of the air spring opposite of the damper, the adjuster housing having a secondary air chamber in communication with the primary air chamber and a mounting structure to couple with a different portion of the vehicle. There is a bulkhead with a valve to open or close the fluid communication between the primary air chamber and the secondary air chamber. The air shock also includes a tertiary air chamber in fluid communication with the secondary air chamber but not in fluid communication with the primary air chamber except via the secondary air chamber.

A suspension control system includes: a suspension, a damping force of which fluctuates in accordance with a control amount; and a control unit controlling the damping force by determining the control amount. The control unit executes a control amount correction process of determining the control amount by combining a base control amount and a correction control amount. The control unit executes the control amount correction process such that the damping force becomes smaller than a base damping force regardless of a stroke speed in the case where a requested damping direction is an upward direction, and executes the control amount correction process such that the damping force becomes larger than the base damping force regardless of the stroke speed in the case where the requested damping direction is a downward direction.

A device and a method of estimating damper force and damper velocity in an active suspension system. First and second pressure sensors sense pressures of a rebound chamber and a compression chamber of a damper in the active suspension system. A controller calculates damper force using the pressures and effective hydraulic pressure areas of the rebound chamber and the compression chamber and calculating damper velocity using pressure-fluid rate characteristics of first to third valve sets and the pressures of the rebound chamber and the compression chamber such that a sum of fluid rates is zero in a node connected between any one of the first to third valve sets and the rebound chamber or the compression chamber, the first to third valve sets being connected between the rebound chamber and an accumulator, between the rebound chamber and the compression chamber, or between the compression chamber and the accumulator.

A method for controlling vehicle motion is described. The method includes accessing a set of control signals including a measured vehicle speed value associated with a movement of a vehicle. A control signal associated with user-induced input is also accessed. The method compares the measured vehicle speed value with a predetermined vehicle speed threshold value to achieve a speed value threshold approach status, and then compares the set of values to achieve a user-induced input threshold value approach status. The method monitors a state of a valve within the vehicle suspension damper, and determines a control mode for the vehicle suspension damper. The method also regulates damping forces within the vehicle suspension damper.

A method for controlling vehicle motion is described. The method includes accessing a set of control signals including a measured vehicle speed value associated with a movement of a vehicle. A control signal associated with user-induced input is also accessed. The method compares the measured vehicle speed value with a predetermined vehicle speed threshold value to achieve a speed value threshold approach status, and then compares the set of values to achieve a user-induced input threshold value approach status. The method monitors a state of a valve within the vehicle suspension damper, and determines a control mode for the vehicle suspension damper. The method also regulates damping forces within the vehicle suspension damper.

A method for controlling a suspension system of a vehicle, as well as suspension systems, and a vehicle including a suspension system is provided. The suspension system may include at least one adjustable damping device that is controlled via a control signal, such as from a controller of the suspension system, in order to dynamically adjust the damping characteristic of the damping device. The control signal may be generated on the basis of at least one of current driving dynamics data and optically recorded information about an area of a ground surface.