Study on coupled shock absorber system using four electromagnetic dampers

Recently, the electromagnetic damper, which is composed of an electric motor, a ball screw, and a nut, was proposed. The electromagnetic damper has high responsiveness, controllability, and energy saving performance. It has been reported that it improved ride comfort and drivability. In addition, the authors have proposed a coupling method of two electromagnetic dampers. The method enables the characteristics of bouncing and rolling or pitching motion of a vehicle to be tuned independently. In this study, the authors increase the number of coupling of electromagnetic dampers from two to four, and propose a method to couple four electromagnetic dampers. The proposed method enables the characteristics of bouncing, rolling and pitching motion of a vehicle to be tuned independently. Basic experiments using proposed circuit and motors and numerical simulations of an automobile equipped with the proposed coupling electromagnetic damper are carried out. The results indicate the proposed method is effective.