Shock strut with managed damping and force characteristics

A fluid-operated shock absorber system providing active control of damping and force characteristics, comprising:

• a shock absorber including a cylinder and a piston received therein, the piston including a ram which is slidable within the cylinder and which divides the space within the shock absorber into first and second chambers which are filled with fluid;
• a fluid bypass passage connecting the first and second chambers;
• a damping valve disposed within the bypass passage, the valve having a damping valve member that is positionable in any of fully closed and fully open positions and intermediate positions therebetween so as to selectably and variably restrict fluid flow through the bypass passage;
• a supply valve coupled to the bypass passage and adapted to be coupled to a fluid supply such that fluid flowing from the fluid supply to the shock absorber passes through the supply valve and into the bypass passage;
• a return valve coupled to the bypass passage and adapted to be coupled to a fluid return such that fluid flowing from the shock absorber to the fluid return passes from the bypass passage through the return valve;
• a damping valve actuator adapted to move the damping valve member so as to selectively control the amount of flow restriction through the damping valve;
• at least one supply actuator adapted to move at least one supply valve member so as to selectively open and close the supply and return valves;
• and
• a controller adapted to control the damping and supply actuators so as to selectively control the damping valve and the supply and return valves in response to sensory input received by the controller so as to control the damping, length, and spring characteristics of the shock absorber.