EP0426338A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Vehicle suspension apparatus
Assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
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Filing: 1990-10-19
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-10-19
Abstract
Abstract Suspension apparatus provides a real time suspension tuning control for a motor vehicle. An actuator (12) is connected to exert a variable force between the vehicle body (10) and each wheel (11). A controller (15) derives a control signal for the actuator from a linear combination of vehicle state variables derived from sensed vehicle variables, the linear combination having gains determining the relative contribution of each state variable to the control signal. The controller further stores in memory a plurality of alternative sets of gains, each stored set of gains comprising gain values suitable for producing an individual suspension performance. The controller (12) is responsive to one of the sensed vehicle variables in real time to select between the alternative sets of gains in deriving the control signal. The suspension turning characteristics are thus easily and quickly changed in emphasis between isolating, wheel control and body attitude control in real time vehicle operation.
Inventors
- 👤 Kamal Naif Majeed
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 12:06
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60G; B60G17/00; B60G17/015; B60G17/018; B60G2202/00; B60G2202/40; B60G2202/41; B60G2202/413; B60G2202/42; B60G2400/00; B60G2400/10; B60G2400/102; B60G2400/106; B60G2400/20; B60G2400/204; B60G2400/206; B60G2400/25; B60G2400/252; B60G2400/40; B60G2400/60; B60G2500/00; B60G2500/10; B60G2600/00; B60G2600/02; B60G2600/14; B60G2600/16; B60G2600/18; B60G2600/60; B60G2600/604; B60G2600/70; B60G2600/76; B60G2800/00; B60G2800/01; B60G2800/014
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
150 words
Suspension apparatus for use in a motor vehicle having a body (10) supported at each of a plurality of suspension points on a support (11), the apparatus comprising a plurality of actuators (12), each adapted to exert a variable substantially vertical force between the vehicle body (10) and a respective support (11) in response to a control signal; characterised by a controller (15) adapted to obtain a control signal for the actuator (12) from a combination of vehicle state variables obtained from sensed vehicle variables, the contribution of each state variable to the control signal being determined by a respective gain value associated therewith; a memory (64,65) containing a plurality of alternative sets of gain values, each set comprising gain values suitable for producing an individual suspension performance, wherein the controller comprises means responsive to one of the sensed vehicle variables to select between the alternative sets of gain values.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
150 words
Suspension apparatus for use in a motor vehicle having a body (10) supported at each of a plurality of suspension points on a support (11), the apparatus comprising a plurality of actuators (12), each adapted to exert a variable substantially vertical force between the vehicle body (10) and a respective support (11) in response to a control signal; characterised by a controller (15) adapted to obtain a control signal for the actuator (12) from a combination of vehicle state variables obtained from sensed vehicle variables, the contribution of each state variable to the control signal being determined by a respective gain value associated therewith; a memory (64,65) containing a plurality of alternative sets of gain values, each set comprising gain values suitable for producing an individual suspension performance, wherein the controller comprises means responsive to one of the sensed vehicle variables to select between the alternative sets of gain values.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
Suspension apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the combination of vehicle state variables is a linear combination.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
Suspension apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vehicle state variables comprise a vertical support velocity (x i ) of a respective wheel and one or more body related variables.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
Suspension apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle body related variables comprise body heave velocity (H), roll velocity (R) and pitch velocity (P).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
92 words
Suspension apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the memory (64,65) contains a set of isolation gain values suitable for minimising vehicle body motions for a comfortable ride quality, and a set of support gain values suitable for minimising vertical support motion; and the controller comprises means responsive to the vertical support velocity to select the set of support gain values when vertical support velocity exceeds a support velocity reference value, and to select the set of isolation gain values when the support velocity is less than the support velocity reference value.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
90 words
Suspension apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the memory (64,65) contains a set of body gain values suitable for maintaining body attitude, and a set of support gain values suitable for minimising vertical support motion, and the controller comprises means responsive to the vertical support velocity to select the set of support gain values when vertical support velocity exceeds a support velocity reference value, and to select the set of body gain values when the wheel velocity is less than the support velocity reference value.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
66 words
Suspension apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the memory (64,65) contains a set of isolation gain values suitable for vehicle body motion for a comfortable ride quality and the controller comprises means responsive to body velocity to select the set of isolation gain values when the body velocity is less than a reference body velocity and the support velocity is less than the reference support velocity.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
72 words
Suspension apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the controller is adapted to select a first set of gain values suitable for controlling a sensed vehicle variable when one of the sensed vehicle variables exceeds a first predetermined reference value, and to select a second set of gain values when a sensed vehicle variable is less than a second predetermined reference value below the first predetermined reference value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
15 words
Suspension apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein each support is a substantially unsprung wheel.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
EP0114757A1
Cited
EP0246772A1
Cited
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