Patent EP0106697A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0106697A1
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Vehicle suspension system
Assignee: Mazda Motor Corp
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Filing: 1983-10-18
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2003-10-18
Abstract
Abstract A vehicle suspension system includes front and rear wheel suspension assemblies (1,2) for resiliently suspending the wheels of the vehicle. The front wheel suspension assemblies (1) and/or the rear wheel suspension assemblies (2) have a variable suspension characteristic which is controlled in response to changes in steering angle, the steering operation being changed in a direction toward an oversteer characteristic as compared with the steering characteristic during non-steering operation. Specifically, the suspension characteristic of the front wheel suspension assemblies and'or the rear wheel suspension assemblies is changed to make the ratio of the suspension rate of the front wheel suspension assemblies to those of the rear wheel suspension assemblies smaller during steering operation than during non-steering operation. Also, the steering characteristic of the vehicle may be further controlled such that the understeer characteristic of the vehicle is stronger at high speed than at low speed.
Inventors
- 👤 Ikuo C/O Toyo Kogyo Co. Ltd. Ishimitsu
- 👤 Takeshi Tanaka
- 👤 Yoshiaki C/O Toyo Kogyo Co. Ltd. Anan
- 👤 Toshimichi C/O Toyo Kogyo Co. Ltd. Tokunaga
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 15:31
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60G; B60G17/00; B60G17/015; B60G17/016; B60G17/0162; B60G2400/00; B60G2400/20; B60G2400/204; B60G2400/40; B60G2400/41; B60G2500/00; B60G2500/10; B60G2500/102; B60G2500/104; B60G2500/20; B60G2500/22; B60G2500/40; B60G2600/00; B60G2600/22; B60G2600/26; B60G2800/00; B60G2800/24; B60G2800/244; B60G2800/246; B60G2800/248
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
167 words
A vehicle suspension system comprising a set of front wheel suspension assemblies (1) for resiliently suspending the front wheels of a vehicle, a set of rear wheel suspension assemblies (20) for resiliently suspending the rear wheels of the vehicle, one or both sets of suspension assemblies having a variable suspension characteristic; and an adjusting means (la, le, 2a, 2e) for changing the suspension characteristic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies; characterized by a steering angle sensor (5) operable to detect the steering angle and generate a steering signal detection of a steering angle exceeding a predetermined level; and a controller (3) operable, on receipt of the steering signal, to send a control signal to the adjusting means so as to change the suspension characteristic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies in a manner such that the steering characteristic of the vehicle during steering operation is changed in a direction towards an oversteer characteristic compared with the steering characteristic during non-steering operation.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
167 words
A vehicle suspension system comprising a set of front wheel suspension assemblies (1) for resiliently suspending the front wheels of a vehicle, a set of rear wheel suspension assemblies (20) for resiliently suspending the rear wheels of the vehicle, one or both sets of suspension assemblies having a variable suspension characteristic; and an adjusting means (la, le, 2a, 2e) for changing the suspension characteristic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies; characterized by a steering angle sensor (5) operable to detect the steering angle and generate a steering signal detection of a steering angle exceeding a predetermined level; and a controller (3) operable, on receipt of the steering signal, to send a control signal to the adjusting means so as to change the suspension characteristic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies in a manner such that the steering characteristic of the vehicle during steering operation is changed in a direction towards an oversteer characteristic compared with the steering characteristic during non-steering operation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
159 words
A vehicle suspension system comprising a set of front wheel suspension assemblies (1) for resiliently suspending the front wheels of a vehicle, a set of rear wheel suspension assemblies (2) for resiliently suspending the rear wheels of the vehicle, one or both sets of suspension assemblies having a variable suspension characteristic; and an adjusting means (la, .1e, 2a, .2e) for changing the suspension characteristic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies characterized by a steering angle sensor (5) operable to detect the steering angle and generate a corresponding steering signal; and a controller (3) operable, on receipt of the steering signal, to send a control signal to the adjusting means so as to change the suspension characteristic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies in a manner such that the steering characteristic of the vehicle during steering operation is changed in a direction towards an oversteer characteristic compared with the steering characteristic during non-steering operation.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
159 words
A vehicle suspension system comprising a set of front wheel suspension assemblies (1) for resiliently suspending the front wheels of a vehicle, a set of rear wheel suspension assemblies (2) for resiliently suspending the rear wheels of the vehicle, one or both sets of suspension assemblies having a variable suspension characteristic; and an adjusting means (la, .1e, 2a, .2e) for changing the suspension characteristic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies characterized by a steering angle sensor (5) operable to detect the steering angle and generate a corresponding steering signal; and a controller (3) operable, on receipt of the steering signal, to send a control signal to the adjusting means so as to change the suspension characteristic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies in a manner such that the steering characteristic of the vehicle during steering operation is changed in a direction towards an oversteer characteristic compared with the steering characteristic during non-steering operation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
51 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the suspension charactersitic of the or each set of wheel suspension assemblies is changed such that the suspension rates of the front wheel suspension assemblies and those of the rear wheel suspension assemblies are changed relative to each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 3, wherein the controller (3) acts to control the operation of the adjusting means in a manner such that the steering characteristic of the vehicle has a relatively strong understeer characteristic during non-steering operation and a relatively weak understeer characteristic during steering operation.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
115 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 2 or claim 4, wherein the wheel suspension assemblies of the or each set comprise a damper unit (16, 26) having a variable damping rate, and the adjusting means comprises a damping rate adjuster (la, 2a) for changing the damping rates of the damper units, the controller (3) being operable to control the damping rate adjuster (la, 2a) upon receipt of the output signal from the steering angle sensor (5), in a manner such that the ratio of the damping rate of each of the front wheel damper units to that of each of the rear wheel damper units is smaller during steering operation than during non-steering operation.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 5, wherein the damping rates of the front wheel damper units (la) are decreased upon steering of the vehicle.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the damping rates of the rear wheel damper units (2a) are increased upon steering of the vehicle.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
124 words
A vehicle suspension system according to any of claims 3 to 7, wherein the wheel suspension assemblies of the or each set comprise a spring unit (ld, 2d) having a variable spring rate and arranged in parallel with its associated damper unit (lb, 2b) and the adjusting means comprises a spring-rate adjuster (le, 2e) for changing the spring rates of the spring units, the controller (3) being operable to control the spring-rate adjuster (le, 2e) upon receipt of the output signal from the- steering angle sensor, in a manner such that the ratio of the spring rate of each of the front wheel spring units to that of each of the rear wheel spring units is smaller during steering operation than during non-steering operation.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 8, wherein the spring units (ld, 2d) each comprise a pneumatic spring unit.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the spring rates of the front wheel spring units (ld) are decreased upon steering of the vehicle.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
A vehicle suspension system according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the spring rates of the rear wheel spring units (2d) are increased upon steering of the vehicle.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
61 words
A vehicle suspension system according to any of claims 3 to 11, further comprising a speed sensor (6) for detecting the speed of the vehicle and generating a speed signal, the controller (3) being arranged to receive both the steering signal from the steering angle sensor (5) and the speed signal from the speed sensor (6) for generating a control signal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
46 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 12, wherein the controller (3) acts to control the operation of the adjusting means in a manner such that the understeer characteristic of the vehicle is stronger at high speed travel of the vehicle than at low speed travel.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 13, wherein the suspension assemblies each comprise a damper unit (lb, 2b) having a variable damping rate.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
36 words
A vehicle suspension system according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the suspension assemblies each comprise a spring unit (ld, 2d) having a variable spring rate and arranged in parallel with its associated damper unit.
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