Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Delco Electronics Corporation

Albert Victor Fratini, Jr

Kamal N Majeed

Donald E Schenk

Jack E Smith

Richard Edward Longhouse

Eric Lee Jensen

David Andrew Shal

John F Hoying

Edward John Bedner

Scott Wilson Badenoch

Scott A Stacey

Eldon Gerrald Leaphart

Richard Charles Swortzel

James W Hauser

Jay R Varner

In a vehicle with four corner suspensions, wherein during a transient turning maneuver, a body of the vehicle tends to compress two of the corner suspensions on a first side of the vehicle and expand two of the corner suspensions on a second side of the vehicle, wherein road inputs cause random compression and rebound of the four corner suspensions, a suspension control method comprising the steps of: sensing vehicle speed; monitoring steering wheel velocity; responsive to the vehicle speed and the steering wheel velocity, determining a signal indicative of a transient turning maneuver of the vehicle; responsive to the signal, determining compression damping commands for the two corner suspensions on the first side of the vehicle; responsive to the signal, determining rebound damping commands for the two corner suspensions on the second side of the vehicle; monitoring relative velocity of each corner suspension; applying the compression damping commands for the two corner suspensions on the first side of the vehicle when the relative velocities for those two corner suspensions indicate that they are in compression and terminating the compression damping commands for the two corner suspensions on the first side of the vehicle during the random rebounds of those two corner suspensions caused by the road inputs; and applying the rebound damping commands for the two corner suspensions on the second side of the vehicle when the relative velocities for those two corner suspensions indicate that they are in rebound and terminating the rebound damping commands for the two corner suspensions on the first side of the vehicle during the random compressions of those two corner suspensions caused by the road inputs.

Vehicle suspension control system and method

A chassis system control method comprising the steps of measuring rotational speed of a plurality of vehicle wheels; estimating, responsive to each wheel rotational velocity, a relative velocity between the wheel and a corresponding corner of a vehicle body; determining a chassis system control command responsive to the estimations; and applying the chassis system control command to control the chassis system responsive to the estimations, wherein need for body to wheel relative position and/or relative velocity sensors is eliminated.

Chassis control system for controlling a vehicle chassis system based on

A vehicle chassis system control according to the steps of: determining relative velocity between a corner of a vehicle body and a vehicle wheel responsive to a sensor signal from one of: (i) a relative position sensor mounted between the vehicle body corner and the vehicle wheel and (ii) a wheel rotational velocity sensor mounted to the wheel; estimating, responsive to the sensor signal, a body acceleration signal indicative of a vertical acceleration of the corner of the vehicle body; estimating, responsive to the sensor signal, a wheel acceleration signal indicative of a vertical acceleration of the vehicle wheel; estimating a dynamic normal force between the wheel and a road surface responsive to the estimated body and wheel accelerations; and providing the estimated normal dynamic force to a chassis system controller, wherein a chassis system actuator is controlled by a control command determined responsive to the estimated dynamic normal force.

Vehicle chassis control

A vehicle chassis system control for use in a vehicle with a first suspension that induces a phase shift on body motion components of wheel speed sensor signals from a first set of wheel speed sensors connected to a first set of wheels mounted to the first suspension, comprising the steps of: sensing first rotational velocities of the first set of wheels using the first set of wheel speed sensors; sensing second rotational velocities of a second set of wheels mounted to a second suspension using a second set of wheel speed sensors; estimating at least one modal velocity of a body of the vehicle responsive to the first and second rotational velocities, wherein the step of estimating comprises the sub-steps of: (a) imposing a relative phase shift between the first and second rotational velocities to compensate for the phase shift induced by the first suspension, (b) transforming the relative phase shifted first and second rotational velocities to a signal indicative of a modal velocity of the body of the vehicle using a comer to body modal transform, and (c) filtering at least one member of a set comprising (i) the first and second rotational velocities and (ii) the signal indicative of the modal velocity of the body of the vehicle, to isolate body frequency components of said at least one member; determining a chassis system control command responsive to the estimation; and applying the chassis system control command to a chassis system actuator to control the chassis system responsive to the estimation.

Vehicle chassis system control

A vehicle has a real time suspension control which requires, as inputs, a set of absolute body modal velocity signals. Accurate estimates of these signals are derived from relative position sensors at the body suspension points by converting the relative vertical position signals from these sensors to relative body modal (e.g. heave, pitch and roll) velocity signals and passing each of these signals through a second order low pass filter including an additional phase inversion for compensation of the 180 degree filter phase lag. Thus, the necessity of absolute body accelerometers is eliminated, for a significant cost reduction. In a vehicle having significant front to rear flexing or flexing within the front or rear suspension that can affect the accuracy of the estimated absolute body roll velocity, the normal roll velocity transformation equation is modified to include only the front or the rear pair of relative velocity signals.

Vehicle chassis control system

A sealing apparatus for a vehicle closure, such as a door, includes a vacuum system for deflating the vehicle weatherstrips or sealing members. A plurality of deflatable sealing members may be connected to a single vacuum source. The system includes a sensor/actuator for detecting motion of the individual vehicle closures and a flow control circuit including valve arrangements for selectively connecting a particular sealing member to the vacuum source. In response to detected closing motion of a particular closure, the sealing member associated with that closure is deflated to allow the closure to close and latch with relatively low effort. Once closed, the sealing member is vented to atmosphere and reexpands by resilient memory to full cross-section thereby providing a relatively tight interference seal. The closure motion sensor/actuator includes a flexible strip having a series of aligned, closely spaced apertures and a cooperating pawl and actuator lever for operating the valves.

Growing community of inventors

Kettering, OH, United States of America

Albert Victor Fratini, Jr