Disclosed herein are hydraulic actuators and methods for the operation of actuators having variable relative pressure ratios. Further disclosed are methods for designing and/or operating a hydraulic actuator such that the actuator exhibits a variable relative pressure ratio. In certain embodiments, the relative pressure ratio of the hydraulic actuator may be dependent on one or more characteristics (such as, for example, frequency or rate of change) of an oscillating input to the hydraulic actuator.

Disclosed in the present invention are an inertial regulation method of active suspensions based on terrain ahead of a vehicle and a control system thereof. According to the scanned terrain ahead of the vehicle, a center of mass trajectory and attitude history are calculated when the vehicle passes through the terrain ahead of the vehicle with passive suspensions. After smoothing the trajectory, the active suspension is controlled to make the vehicle drives according to the smoothed trajectory. During this period, a smoothness coefficient is adjusted to make each suspension stroke be limited within a limit stroke, and according to the supporting force and stroke of each active suspension calculated from a dynamics model, the impedance control based on force-displacement is carried out on an actuator of the suspension. The present invention can significantly improve the driving comfort and handling stability of the vehicle driving on an uneven road surface.

A vehicle suspension system includes: a road surface sensor provided in a vehicle body portion ahead of a front wheel to detect an unevenness of a road surface; an electromagnetic damper that applies a damping force and a propulsive force along a stroke direction to a vehicle body and the front wheel with the aid of a motor element; and an ECU. The road surface sensor includes: a first road surface sensor; and a second road surface sensor that overlaps the first road surface sensor in a vehicle width direction and is provided at a position behind the first road surface sensor. The ECU includes: a road surface height calculation unit that calculates a road surface height based on detection values from the road surface sensors and a movement amount of the vehicle; and a damper control unit that controls the motor element based on the calculated road surface height.

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.

Disclosed in the present invention are an inertial regulation method of active suspensions based on terrain ahead of a vehicle and a control system thereof. According to the scanned terrain ahead of the vehicle, a center of mass trajectory and attitude history are calculated when the vehicle passes through the terrain ahead of the vehicle with passive suspensions. After smoothing the trajectory, the active suspension is controlled to make the vehicle drives according to the smoothed trajectory. During this period, a smoothness coefficient is adjusted to make each suspension stroke be limited within a limit stroke, and according to the supporting force and stroke of each active suspension calculated from a dynamics model, the impedance control based on force-displacement is carried out on an actuator of the suspension. The present invention can significantly improve the driving comfort and handling stability of the vehicle driving on an uneven road surface.

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.

Disclosed herein are hydraulic actuators and methods for the operation of actuators having variable relative pressure ratios. Further disclosed are methods for designing and/or operating a hydraulic actuator such that the actuator exhibits a variable relative pressure ratio. In certain embodiments, the relative pressure ratio of the hydraulic actuator may be dependent on one or more characteristics (such as, for example, frequency or rate of change) of an oscillating input to the hydraulic actuator.

A pneumatic suspension system may include, for each wheel of a vehicle, a strut and an adjustment cylinder in fluid communication with the strut. Adjustment cylinders associated with an end of the vehicle may be mechanically coupled while keeping the cylinders isolated pneumatically. A suspension control system can control fluid flow at each of the adjustment cylinders to selectively engage or disengage an anti-roll feature. By allowing fluid flow at the adjustment cylinders, the struts are free to oscillate in response to forces at the associated wheel, e.g., caused by an uneven road. By inhibiting fluid flow at the adjustment cylinders, forces experienced at the struts can be transferred between multiple struts. In some examples, the fluid flow at the adjustment cylinders can be controlled to vary the travel distance of the struts, to selectively provide a stiffer or looser suspension.

Deployable step systems for accessing vehicle cargo spaces on vehicles equipped with a tailgate assembly having a door subassembly may include a bumper integrated step pad that is movable between a stowed position and a deployed position. In the stowed position, the step pad establishes a portion of the bumper, and in the deployed position, the step pad is rearward and vertically lowered relative to the bumper.

A powertrain for a vehicle may include a vehicle chassis, a rotatable vehicle drive axle, at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor having a rotatable motor shaft rotatable about an axis defined by the rotatable vehicle drive axle, a motor actuator connected to the at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor, and a control system in communication with the motor actuator. The control system may include a memory device in communication with the control system having instructions that when executed by the control system causes the control system to receive at least one input from at least one sensor and instruct the motor actuator to rotate the at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor based on the at least one input from the sensor.