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US 2010/0072760 A1Published application
Regenerative shock absorber system
AssigneeLevant Power Corporation
InventorsZackary Anderson, Zachary Jackowski, Ryan Bavetta
Life of this patent
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Abstract
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.
Claims62
A regenerative shock absorber comprising:
- a housing that includes a compression volume and an extension volume;
- a piston disposed in the housing and that in a first mode moves through at least a portion of a compression stroke to pressurize hydraulic fluid in the compression volume and that in a second mode moves at least partially through an extension stroke to pressurize hydraulic fluid in the extension volume;
- a hydraulic motor including a first port and a second port, the first port in fluid communication with the compression volume and the second port in fluid communication with the extension volume, wherein the hydraulic motor always moves in sync with the piston;
- a reservoir having a reservoir volume;
- one or more valves that in the first mode provide fluid communication between the second port of the hydraulic motor and the reservoir, and that in the second mode provide fluid communication between the first port of the hydraulic motor and the reservoir.
2 more elements
A regenerative shock absorber comprising:
- a housing that includes a compression volume and an extension volume;
- a piston disposed in the housing and that in a first mode moves through at least a portion of a compression stroke to move hydraulic fluid from the compression volume and that in a second mode moves at least partially through an extension stroke to move hydraulic fluid from the extension volume;
- a hydraulic motor including a first port and a second port, the first port in fluid communication with the compression volume and the second port in fluid communication with the extension volume;
- one or more valves that when in a bypass mode, provide fluid communication between the compression volume and the extension volume to bypass the hydraulic motor, allowing the piston to move without providing substantial damping.
1 more element
A regenerative shock absorber comprising:
- a housing that includes a compression volume and an extension volume;
- a piston disposed in the housing and that in a first mode moves through at least a portion of a compression stroke to pressurize hydraulic fluid in the compression volume and that in a second mode moves at least partially through an extension stroke to pressurize hydraulic fluid in the extension volume;
- a hydraulic motor having an inlet and an outlet;
- one or more valves that in a first mode provide a fluid path to the inlet of the hydraulic motor for hydraulic fluid that is moved from the compression volume and for hydraulic fluid to move toward the extension volume from the outlet of the hydraulic motor, and that in a second mode provide a fluid path to the inlet of the hydraulic motor for hydraulic fluid that is moved from the extension volume and for hydraulic fluid to move toward the compression volume from the outlet of the hydraulic motor, the one or more valves configured to allow the hydraulic motor to move out of sync with the piston;
- and
- wherein one or more of the regenerative shock absorbers are assembled into a suspension system of a vehicle, and wherein damping of the suspension system is provided primarily by the one or more regenerative shock absorbers.
3 more elements
A regenerative shock absorber comprising:
- a shock housing that includes a compression volume and an extension volume;
- a piston disposed in the shock housing and that in a first mode moves through at least a portion of compression stroke to pressurize hydraulic fluid in the compression volume and that in a second mode moves at least partially through an extension stroke to pressurize hydraulic fluid in the extension volume;
- a motor/generator housing;
- a hydraulic motor incorporated into the motor/generator housing and including a first port and a second port and an output, the first port in fluid communication with the compression volume and the second port in fluid communication with the extension volume;
- and
- an electric generator that is at least partially internal to the motor/generator housing, the electrical generator coupled to the output in a manner that lacks seals to reduce friction.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.