US5058017A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System for control of vehicle suspension
Assignee: Hitachi Ltd
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Filing: 1988-11-02
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Granted: 1991-10-15
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Expires: 2008-11-02
Abstract
Abstract In an active suspension control system for a vehicle, a unit for adjusting the distance between each wheel and the body, i.e., a vehicle body height adjusting unit is added to the conventional suspension using a spring and a damper in combination. Since the amount of adjustment to be done by the body height adjusting unit is determined in accordance with the cause of generation of such a vibration of the vehicle as pitching or rolling, the suspension control system further comprises sensors for detecting pitching and rolling angles of the vehicle, respectively, a sensor, associated with each wheel, for detecting a relative displacement in the distance between each wheel and the body and an arithmetic unit, for example, a microcomputer for determining the amount of adjustement by the body height adjusting unit on the basis of the output of each sensor. The arithmetic unit discriminates a cause from predeterminedly sorted causes on the basis of the detected pitching angle, rolling angle and distance displacement and determines a target value of the distance between each wheel and the body, that is, an amount of adjustment by the body height adjusting unit on the basis of the discriminated cause and the distance displacement.
Inventors
- 👤 Masao Adachi
- 👤 Motohisa Funabashi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 21:45
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60G; B60G21/00; B60G21/08; B60G17/00; B60G17/06; B60G17/08; B60G17/015; B60G17/016; B60G2200/00; B60G2200/10; B60G2200/13; B60G2200/132; B60G2202/00; B60G2202/10; B60G2202/11; B60G2202/114; B60G2204/00; B60G2204/10; B60G2204/12; B60G2204/121; B60G2204/40; B60G2204/41; B60G2204/80; B60G2204/83; B60G2204/8302; B60G2400/00; B60G2400/10; B60G2400/104; B60G2400/106; B60G2500/00; B60G2500/30; B60G2600/00; B60G2600/22; B60G2600/26; B60G2800/00; B60G2800/01; B60G2800/012; B60G2800/014
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
385 words
A control system for a vehicle suspension system having a combination of a spring and a damper which is associated with each wheel, said control system comprising: first means for detecting at least one of a pitching angle and a rolling angle of said vehicle; second means, associated with each wheel, for detecting a relative displacement in the distance between each wheel and a body of said vehicle; means for discriminating a cause of pitching and rolling from among a plurality of predetermined sorted causes on the basis of the detected pitching angle, rolling angle and distance displacement; means for determining a target value of the distance between each wheel and the body on the basis of said discriminated cause and said distance displacement; means for adjusting the distance between each wheel and the body to said target value; means for receiving said at least one of the pitching angle and the rolling angle detected by said detecting means; said discriminating means including means for determining a plurality of regions corresponding to said sorted causes including a first region determined by a predetermined range of combinations of values of the pitching angle and said distance displacement, a second region determined by a predetermined range of combinations of values of the rolling angle of said vehicle and said distance displacement, and a third region determined by a predetermined range of combinations of values of one of the pitching angle and the rolling angle of said vehicle and said distance displacement that is not within the predetermined ranges of said first and second regions; means for determining whether a combination of the detected values of said pitching angle and said rolling angle detected by said first detected means and said distance displacement detected by said second detecting means is within one of said regions, wherein one of said sorted causes corresponding to said one of said regions is said discriminated cause; said first region corresponding to a first one of said sorted causes that relates to a motion change in the running of said vehicle and said second region corresponding to a second one of said sorted causes that relates to changes in a road surface encountered by said vehicle; and said target value determining means calculating target values in accordance with different target value determination equations.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
385 words
A control system for a vehicle suspension system having a combination of a spring and a damper which is associated with each wheel, said control system comprising: first means for detecting at least one of a pitching angle and a rolling angle of said vehicle; second means, associated with each wheel, for detecting a relative displacement in the distance between each wheel and a body of said vehicle; means for discriminating a cause of pitching and rolling from among a plurality of predetermined sorted causes on the basis of the detected pitching angle, rolling angle and distance displacement; means for determining a target value of the distance between each wheel and the body on the basis of said discriminated cause and said distance displacement; means for adjusting the distance between each wheel and the body to said target value; means for receiving said at least one of the pitching angle and the rolling angle detected by said detecting means; said discriminating means including means for determining a plurality of regions corresponding to said sorted causes including a first region determined by a predetermined range of combinations of values of the pitching angle and said distance displacement, a second region determined by a predetermined range of combinations of values of the rolling angle of said vehicle and said distance displacement, and a third region determined by a predetermined range of combinations of values of one of the pitching angle and the rolling angle of said vehicle and said distance displacement that is not within the predetermined ranges of said first and second regions; means for determining whether a combination of the detected values of said pitching angle and said rolling angle detected by said first detected means and said distance displacement detected by said second detecting means is within one of said regions, wherein one of said sorted causes corresponding to said one of said regions is said discriminated cause; said first region corresponding to a first one of said sorted causes that relates to a motion change in the running of said vehicle and said second region corresponding to a second one of said sorted causes that relates to changes in a road surface encountered by said vehicle; and said target value determining means calculating target values in accordance with different target value determination equations.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
A control system according to claim 1 wherein said target value determining means has means for calculating said target value which depends on said discriminated cause.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
85 words
A control system according to claim 1 wherein said means for adjusting the distance to the target value comprises an air compressor, valves for controlling a pressurized air flow from said air compressor, and an actuator interposed between each wheel and the body and operable to change its height in response to charge/discharge of air to thereby change the distance between each wheel and the body, and closure/opening of said valves is controlled in accordance with target values delivered from said target value determining means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A control system according to claim 1 wherein said means for detecting said distance displacement is a sensor for detecting a change in the stroke of said damper.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
A control system according to claim 4 wherein said first means for detection of the pitching and rolling angles is a gyroscopic attitude sensor.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
43 words
A control system according to claim 4 wherein said first means for detection of the pitching and rolling angles comprises an acceleration sensor and means responsive to an output of said acceleration sensor to calculate a direction of attitude change of said vehicle.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1994-10-14 | 1995-04-15 | 1995-10-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-10-14 | 1999-04-15 | 1999-10-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-10-14 | 2003-04-15 | 2003-10-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |