Patent ID: 9719574
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: B62K,F16F

Claim:
1. A method of operating a shock absorber for a bicycle, the shock absorber having a first component, a second component, and a damper device connecting the first and second components to one another, and wherein a relative motion between the first and second components is damped, the method which comprises: providing the damper device with at last one controllable damping valve having at least one field generating device configured to influence a field-sensitive medium for influencing a damping force of the damper device by generating a field intensity of the field generating device; providing a characteristic damper curve; periodically obtaining, in real time, a parameter for a current relative speed between the first and second components; deriving by way of the parameter a measure for a field intensity to be currently set from the characteristic damper curve in real time; driving the field generating device to be current-less in an absence of an event and energizing the field generating device with electric energy for damping only as an event occurs; and when an event occurs, generating with the field generating device the field intensity to be currently set in real time for setting in real time a damping force that results from the characteristic damper curve at the parameter for the current relative speed; wherein a closed-loop update speed is faster than 40 ms, so that a regulating speed including a period of time required for obtaining the parameter, evaluating resultant sensor signals, and setting the field and building up the damping force is faster than 40 ms.