A method for a vehicle comprising at least one wheel suspension with at least one damper, wherein the at least one damper is such that it can adjust its damping resistance between a first damping mode and at least a second damping mode, wherein the second damping mode presents a larger damping resistance than a damping resistance of the first damping mode. The method comprises the steps: S1) identifying if the vehicle is in a first situation during driving of said vehicle which may lead to a subsequent impact force (F) on the at least one wheel suspension which is of a magnitude such that the at least one damper, when in its first damping mode, will reach a position where no further damping can be performed; and, if this is the case, S2) adjusting the damping resistance from the first damping mode to the at least second damping mode.

A suspension control system allows a state variable of a vehicle used for the damper damping force control to be computed at a high precision without regards to the caster angle given to the suspension geometry. A suspension control system for a vehicle provided with a variable damper that can adjust a damping force according to an input signal comprises a wheel rotational speed sensor for detecting a wheel rotational speed, a gain circuit for computing the unsprung load of each wheel according to the wheel rotational speed variation detected by the wheel speed sensor, a single wheel model computing unit for computing the sprung velocity and the stroke speed by inputting the unsprung load to a single wheel model representing the behavior of the vehicle, and a damper control unit for controlling a damping force of the variable damper according to the computed sprung velocity and stroke speed.

A suspension controller includes a target current setting unit, a current limitation setting unit, a current outputting unit, a current detector, and an estimated temperature calculator. The target current setting unit sets a target current value. The current limitation setting unit sets a current limitation value. The current outputting unit supplies a solenoid with a current that is based on the target current value, the current limitation value, and a power supply voltage. The solenoid controls a damping force of a suspension. The current detector detects a current value of the current supplied to the solenoid. The estimated temperature calculator calculates an estimated temperature of the solenoid based on the current value detected by the current detector so that the current limitation setting unit changes the current limitation value based on the estimated temperature.

A suspension controller includes a target current setting unit configured to set a target current value, a current limitation setting unit configured to set a current limitation value, a current detector configured to detect a current value of a first current supplied to a solenoid that is configured to control a damping force of a suspension, a duty ratio setting unit configured to set a duty ratio based on the target current value, based on the current limitation value, and based on the current value detected by the current detector; and a current outputting unit configured to supply the solenoid with a second current that corresponds to the duty ratio set by the duty ratio setting unit and to a power supply voltage. The current limitation setting unit is configured to change the current limitation value based on the duty ratio set by the duty ratio setting unit.

There is provided a damper that can reduce a shock when a piston speed reaches a high speed range from a low speed range without deteriorating a ride comfort while the piston speed is in the low speed range. In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in a damper D of the present invention, since a orifice (7) and an opening/closing valve (9) are arranged in parallel with a bypass passage (B) bypassing a damping passage (3), and a valve opening pressure of an opening/closing valve (9) is made lower than a valve opening pressure of a damping valve (5), a sudden change in an inclination of a damping force characteristic can be moderated at an inflection point of the damping force characteristic even if the damping force is increased while the piston speed is in the low speed range.

A method for a vehicle comprising at least one wheel suspension with at least one damper, wherein the at least one damper is such that it can adjust its damping resistance between a first damping mode and at least a second damping mode, wherein the second damping mode presents a larger damping resistance than a damping resistance of the first damping mode. The method comprises the steps: S1) identifying if the vehicle is in a first situation during driving of said vehicle which may lead to a subsequent impact force (F) on the at least one wheel suspension which is of a magnitude such that the at least one damper, when in its first damping mode, will reach a position where no further damping can be performed; and, if this is the case, S2) adjusting the damping resistance from the first damping mode to the at least second damping mode.

A shock absorber including a pressure tube, a piston assembly slidably disposed within the pressure tube, and a fluid transfer tube that extends about the pressure tube is provided. The piston assembly divides an inner volume of the pressure tube into first and second working chambers. An intermediate chamber between the pressure tube and the fluid transfer tube is arranged in fluid communication with the first working chamber. A valve assembly is disposed in fluid communication with the intermediate chamber and the second working chamber. The valve assembly controls fluid flow between the intermediate chamber and the second working chamber. At least part of the intermediate chamber is formed by a fluid transfer channel that extends longitudinally within the fluid transfer tube to provide a fluid flow path extending between the first working chamber and the valve assembly.

A suspension control system and a method for controlling a damper device of a bicycle include a damper device and a spring device for sprung damping of a relative motion between a first and a second component of the bicycle. The suspension device has a spring unit exhibiting a spring characteristic, and the damper device exhibits a damping characteristic. The spring characteristic of the spring unit is changed under the control of an electrically operated actuator, which in turn is controlled via an electric control device.

A damper control device controls a damping force of each damper interposed between a vehicle body and a corresponding one of a plurality of vehicle wheels of a vehicle. The damper control device includes: a good wavy road control calculation unit that obtains, for each damper, a good wavy road control instruction suitable for a good wavy road representing a wavy road surface; a bad wavy road control calculation unit that obtains, for each damper, a bad wavy road control instruction suitable for a bad wavy road that has more concavities and convexities than the good wavy road; and a final instruction calculation unit that obtains a final control instruction for each damper based on the good wavy road control instruction and on the bad wavy road control instruction.

There is provided a damper that can reduce a shock when a piston speed reaches a high speed range from a low speed range without deteriorating a ride comfort while the piston speed is in the low speed range. In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in a damper D of the present invention, since a orifice (7) and an opening/closing valve (9) are arranged in parallel with a bypass passage (B) bypassing a damping passage (3), and a valve opening pressure of an opening/closing valve (9) is made lower than a valve opening pressure of a damping valve (5), a sudden change in an inclination of a damping force characteristic can be moderated at an inflection point of the damping force characteristic even if the damping force is increased while the piston speed is in the low speed range.