Robert Boschgmbh

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Daimler-benz Ag

Mercedes-benz Aktiengesellschaft

Dean C Karnopp

Yoshiyuki Yasui

Gerhard Heess

Dietrich Sahm

Anton Van Zanten

Walter Klinkner

Michael Wanner

David Beard

Diether Von Scarpatti

Dieter V Scarpatetti

A suspension system for motor vehicles has each wheel assigned a spring and a hydraulic unit and arranged in series with the latter. The ground clearance of the vehicle body can thus be altered wheel-by-wheel. A hydraulic feed system enables hydraulic fluid to be displaced between hydraulic units and allows pitching and rolling movements of the vehicle body to be counteracted.

Motor vehicle suspension system

In an apparatus for active motor vehicle suspension control, a fast-acting load leveler is included in the suspension system, with associated active or semi-active dampers and additional passive suspension and damper elements. As a result, a particularly good separation between wheel motions and vehicle body motions is attainable, in combination with good wheel motion damping properties and load leveling that maintains an adjustable vehicle height.

Apparatus for active motor vehicle suspensions

An apparatus for active control of body motions of a motor vehicle, to reduce undesired vehicle motion, to improve the rise and simultaneously adjust the level of the vehicle, while requiring very little energy overall, comprising three structural elements disposed in a parallel operative arrangement, namely an extremely soft compensation spring, which bears the majority of the static weight of the vehicle body; a final control element, the behavior of which is triggerable via an electronic control unit and which may be embodied pneumatically or hydraulically and in each case includes a spring element function that reacts in the manner of a substantially stiffer final control element spring; and as the third element, a semiactive damper, in which throttle valves for a tension and compression stage are triggered either in opposite directions or the same directions, depending upon which active or passive damping signals are to be processed.

Apparatus for active control of body motions in motor vehicles

The present invention is a motor-driven servo steering system for a motor vehicle having an actuator for superimposing steering intervention on the steering wheel power applied by the driver. Power provided by a power supply, for example an electric motor, is superimposed on the steering wheel power applied by the driver and thereby aids and boosts the steering wheel power. In addition to or instead of the boosting effect, the steering systems of the vehicle can be acted upon through steering signals that increase the road safety and/or the travel comfort. Because the system is responsive to steering wheel velocity, the system has a high inherent safety, where in case of power supply failure the driver has a direct mechanical access to the steering systems, without increasing the steering wheel torque required to be applied by the driver.

Motor-driven servo steering system

Device for adjusting the steering angle of vehicle wheels

The steering stability of a moving vehicle is maintained by measuring an actual yaw rate of the vehicle and determining a desired yaw rate of the vehicle and producing an output signal in response to a comparison of the actual and desired yaw rates. The steering angle of steerable wheels of the vehicle is controlled in response to the output signal in a manner tending to substantially conform the actual yaw rate to the desired yaw rate, thereby maintaining vehicle stability. The steerable wheels are steered by a steering wheel, and are independently steered by a motor in response to the output signal. That motor may comprise a fluid motor or an electric motor.

Steering control apparatus

In an apparatus for damping resilient wheel suspension systems in vehicles and the like having a piston/cylinder assembly, instantaneous, dynamic driving conditions are detected with sensors and serve to control the fluid flow through damping valves. The operative damping force at any time is controlled in such a way as to produce passive and active damping force components. Whenever the instantanteous course of motion requires a supply of energy from outside, the existing damping force is substantially nullified (semi-active damping). Separate options for acting upon the controlled pressure fluid are provided for the compression stage and tension stage; these options comprise the series circuit of two separate valves, one for each direction of motion (tension/compression stage). Four valves are thus present, with one each in the tension stage and one each in the compression stage for determining the active damping component and similarly one each for determining the passive damping component. The two valves for the passive damping component and the two for the active damping component are each externally adjustable.

Apparatus for damping resilient vehicle wheel suspension systems

Arranged between hydropneumatic supporting units of a vehicle levelling system is an active bypass and feed system, by means of which hydraulic medium can be displaced between supporting units of different axles or sides of the vehicle, at the same time bypassing a reservoir, in order to counteract pitching and rolling movements of the vehicle.

Hydropneumatic suspension system

An apparatus for damping movement courses of two bodies, in particular in a vehicle wheel/vehicle suspension system, having a piston sliding in a cylinder and dividing it into two work chambers, the two work chambers arranged to communicate with one another via respective oppositely acting check valves and via a variably asymmetrical damper valve adjustable in such a manner that upon a valve member movement the opening cross section for one flow direction decreases to the extent that it increases for the other flow, direction, such that whenever in comparison with the active damper system energy would have to be supplied from outside, the damper force is substantially reduced to the value of zero.

Apparatus for damping courses of motion

Steering and braking are coordinated and controlled according to a sensed yaw rate error or lateral acceleration error to increase vehicle stability without increasing braking distance. A desired yaw rate or lateral acceleration rate is computed from the vehicle velocity and the steering wheel angle. If the yaw rate or the lateral acceleration is excessive, indicating instability, and the brakes are being operated, then both steering and braking are controlled to reduce the yaw rate or lateral acceleration rate. In all other cases, steering control alone is performed. The yaw rate or lateral acceleration rate is reduced under steering control by adjusting wheel positions in a direction opposite the direction of yaw or lateral acceleration. The control system of the present invention is applicable to both two-wheel and four-wheel steering and braking. The yaw rate or lateral acceleration is further reduced under braking control by decreasing brake pressure on a side of the vehicle corresponding to the direction of yaw or lateral acceleration and increasing brake pressure on the opposite side of the vehicle. In the case of anti-lock brakes, pressure is not increased beyond a slip rate threshold. Rather than controlling brake pressure, the slip rate threshold itself may be controlled in like manner to reduce the yaw rate or lateral acceleration.

Steering and brake controlling system

The steering stability of a moving vehicle is maintained by measuring an actual yaw rate of the vehicle and determining a desired yaw rate of the vehicle. An output signal is produced in response to a comparison of the actual and desired yaw rates. The angle of steerable wheels of the vehicle is controlled in response to the output signal in a manner tending to substantially conform the actual yaw rate to the desired yaw rate, thereby maintaining vehicle stability. The steerable wheels are steered by a steering wheel, and are independently steered in response to the output signal. Alternatively, the steerable wheels are steered solely in response to the output signal.

Steering control methods and apparatus

An apparatus for damping movement courses of two bodies, in particular in a vehicle wheel/vehicle suspension system, having a piston sliding in a cylinder and dividing it into two work chambers, the two work chambers arranged to communicate with one another via respective oppositely acting check valves and via a variably asymmetrical damper valve adjustable in such a manner that upon a valve member movement the opening cross section for one flow direction decreases to the extent that it increases for the other flow direction, such that whenever in comparison with an active damper system energy would have to be supplied from outside, the damper force is substantially reduced to the value of zero.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling vehicle motion. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus for improving vehicle stability by controlling the brake torque of a vehicle during, for example, cornering manuevers. In accordance with the present invention, vehicle stability is improved by independently controlling brake torque in response to sensed yaw rate.

Brake controlling system

There is disclosed a disk brake assembly which includes a brake pad adapted to be urged by an electric motor into braking engagement with a brake disk rotatable with, for example, the wheel of a vehicle, the brake pad being supported for pivotal movement about an axis in the plane parallel to and spaced laterally from the face of the brake disk and exposed substantially at a right angle to a line tangent to the periphery of and in the plane of the brake disk and downstream from the brake pad in the direction of rotation of the brake disk whereby the frictional force between the brake pad and the brake disk has a component complementary to the force exerted by the motor to urge the brake pads against the brake disk.

Disk brake assembly

In an apparatus for damping courses of movement of two bodies or masses moving at variable velocities relative to one another and in their absolute positions, in particular for damping resilient wheel suspension systems in vehicles, in which a piston dividing a cylinder into two work chambers is dampingly affected in its particular movement direction (tension stage, compression stage) by controlled hydraulic throttle valves connected in series or in parallel with one another, parallel to the throttle valves, respective check valves opening in the opposite direction are provided, wherein the connections of all the valves remote from the work chamber connections are joined together and that a separate passive and (semi-) active damping effect be initiated. The necessary bandwidth of the frequency response of the electrohydraulic valves of apparatuses of this kind can be reduced drastically as a result.

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Davis, CA, United States of America

Dean C Karnopp