Mazda Motor Corporation

Toshiki Morita

Shin Takehara

Takeshi Edahiro

Hiroyoshi Kumada

Mineharu Shibata

Shoichi Kamimura

Hirotaka Kanazawa

Fumio Kageyama

Shigefumi Hirabayashi

Kenji Hamada

Toshio Nakajima

Shin Tkkehara

Shin Takahara

A cylinder unit for adjusting a vehicle height of the vehicle body is interposed separately or independently between the vehicle body and each wheel. The supply and discharge of the operating fluid to and from each of the cylinder units is performed by generating a control signal indicative of the quantity of supplying and discharging the operating fluid to and from the flow rate adjusting valves. The control signal is determined so as to allow an actual angle of a roll of the vehicle body to agree with a target angle of the roll thereof. When the automotive vehicle is cornering, particularly rapidly, the control signal is corrected in such a manner that the larger the inner pressure of the cylinder unit, the smaller the quantity of the operating fluid to be supplied or to be discharged. Specifically, the correction is made so as to minimize the quantity of the operating fluid to be supplied to or to be discharged from the cylinder unit on the outer wheel side upon cornering, which has a higher inner pressure, and to maximize the quantity of the operating fluid to be supplied to or to be discharged from the cylinder unit on the inner wheel side upon cornering, which has a lower inner pressure.

Suspension system for automotive vehicle

A vehicle is provided with both a traction control system which reduces driving torque for driving wheels of the vehicle when the driving wheels slip, and an active suspension system which has a cylinder disposed between the vehicle body and each of the wheels of the vehicle and in which suspension properties can be changed by controlling feed and discharge of the hydraulic fluid to and from the cylinders. A control gain of the active suspension system is increased when the traction control system is operating.

Suspension-traction total control system

A suspension apparatus of an automotive vehicle controls a posture of the vehicle body by controlling supply and discharge of an operating liquid to and from a cylinder unit interposed at each of the wheels between a sprung weight and an unsprung weight. The pressure within a high-pressure line for supplying the operating liquid of a high pressure to the cylinder units is released to the reservoir tank at a faster speed when a trouble occurs which cannot normally perform a control of the posture of the vehicle body and at a slower speed when an ignition switch has been turned off.

Suspension apparatus of a vehicle

A vehicle suspension system has liquid pressure cylinder devices provided between the respective wheels and the vehicle body. Supply and discharge of hydraulic liquid to and from the liquid pressure cylinder devices is controlled according to the running condition of the vehicle. Each of the liquid pressure cylinder devices communicates with a pair of gas springs, each having a gas chamber and a liquid chamber parted from each other by a movable member. The liquid chamber communicates with the liquid pressure chamber of the liquid pressure cylinder device by way of a communicating passage, and the gas chamber is filled with gas. The initial pressure of one of the gas springs is higher than that of the other.

Vehicle suspension system

A suspension system for a vehicle has cylinder devices in which suspension characteristics are changed by controlling fluid supply/discharge to/from the cylinder devices. The fluid pressure in the cylinder devices is sensed, and warping of the vehicle body is computed based on the sensed pressures. Then the fluid supply/discharge to/from the cylinder devices is controlled so as to suppress the warping of the vehicle body by a warp control unit. The warp control unit is provided so as to change the ratio of the fluid supply/discharge to/from the cylinder devices of the front wheels to the fluid supply/discharge to/from the cylinder devices of the rear wheels.

Suspension system for a vehicle

Among two damping devices arranged in series between wheel side members and body side members, while in one damping device spring constant of a spring member is set low and damping coefficient of a damper member is set high, in the other damping device spring constant of a spring member is set high and damping coefficient of a damper member is set low. By this arrangement, difference in damping force between the area of low oscillation frequency and the area of high oscillation frequency can be made large, whereby running stability and comfortableness to ride in can be improved on a high level.

Suspension system for vehicle

A vehicle suspension system of the disclosure is provided with a cylinder device between a vehicle body member and a vehicle wheel member for the vehicle body member by which suspension characteristics are changed. The suspension characteristics are changed by controlling hydraulic fluid supply for the cylinder device, a vehicle height detecting device for detecting a vehicle height displacement, a vehicle height change rate detecting device for detecting a change rate of the vehicle height displacement, and a control device for receiving signals from both the vehicle height displacement detecting device and the vehicle height change rate detecting device to control the hydraulic fluid supply for the cylinder device. This hydraulic fluid supply is controlled in accordance with a vehicle height change rate gain in a manner that the change rate of the vehicle height displacement is suppressed a gain change device is also provided for changing the vehicle height change rate gain in accordance with a predetermined condition so as to change the control of the hydraulic fluid for the cylinder device. A desirable vehicle height displacement control can therefore, be accomplished.

A vehicle suspension system includes a cylinder device, provided between a vehicle body member and a vehicle wheel member for the vehicle body member, in which suspension characteristics are changed by controlling hydraulic fluid supply for the cylinder device. A vehicle height displacement detecting device detects a vehicle height displacement, and a vehicle height control device receives a signal from the vehicle height displacement detecting device to control the hydraulic fluid supply for the cylinder device to thereby obtain a target vehicle height displacement in accordance with a height control sensitivity. A sensitivity change device changes the height control sensitivity in accordance with a predetermined condition so as to change the supply of the hydraulic fluid for the cylinder device. A warp control cooperate and a height control are optimized.

A suspension apparatus of a vehicle has a cylinder unit interposed between a sprang weight and an unsprung weight, which changes a ride height of the vehicle body by supplying or discharging an operating liquid through a supply/discharge control valve. The supply/discharge control valve is controlled on the basis of a predetermined condition so as to control a posture of the vehicle body. There are further provided a rebound detecting means for detecting a rebound of each of the wheels and a pressure detecting means for detecting a pressure in the cylinder unit. When the rebound is detected by the rebound detecting sensor to be above a given value, if the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means is continued at a magnitude above a given value for a given period of time, it is judged that the supply/discharge control valve is in trouble.

A suspension apparatus of a vehicle has a cylinder unit interposed between a sprang weight and an unsprung weight, which changes a ride height of the vehicle body by supplying or discharging an operating liquid through a supply/discharge control valve. The supply/discharge control value is controlled on the basis of a predetermined condition so as to control a posture of the vehicle body. There are further provided a bump detecting means for detecting a bump of each of the wheels and a pressure detecting means for detecting a pressure in the cylinder unit. When the bump is detected by the bump detecting sensor to be below a given value, if the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means is continued at a magnitude above a given value for a given period of time, it is judged that the supply/discharge control valve is in trouble.

A suspension apparatus of a vehicle has a cylinder unit interposed between a sprang weight and an unsprung weight, which changes a ride height of the vehicle body by supplying or discharging an operating liquid through a supply/discharge control valve. The supply/discharge control value is controlled on the basis of a predetermined condition so as to control a posture of the vehicle body. There are further provided a bump detecting sensor for detecting a bump of each of the wheels, which occurs further from a state in which the wheel is bumped, and a pressure detecting sensor for detecting a pressure in the cylinder unit. When it is sensed by the bump detecting sensor that the bump occurs further from the bumping state, if the pressure detected by the pressure detecting sensor is continued in a lowering state for a given period of time, it is judged that the supply/discharge control valve is in trouble.

A suspension system for a vehicle has cylinder devices, in which suspension characteristics are changed by controlling fluid supply or discharge to or from the cylinder devices. In the suspension system, after sensing a vehicle height displacement, the fluid supply or discharge to or from the cylinder devices is controlled so as to set the vehicle height displacement to a desired value in a vehicle height displacement control. Also, the fluid pressure in the cylinder, devices is sensed, and a warping of the vehicle body is computed, based on sensed pressures. Then, fluid supply or discharge to or from the cylinder devices is controlled so as to suppress the warping of the vehicle body in a warp control. According to predetermined conditions, a warp gain coefficient in a warp control unit is changed, so that the vehicle height displacement control and the warp control are performed optimally.

A vehicle suspension system includes a cylinder device provided between a vehicle body member and a vehicle wheel member for the vehicle body member in which suspension characteristics are changed by controlling a hydraulic fluid supply for the cylinder device. A pressure detector detects a hydraulic pressure of the cylinder device for each of the vehicle wheel members, and a warp control unit computes a warping of vehicle body so as to control a hydraulic fluid supply for the cylinder device in a manner such that the warp of the vehicle body is suppressed. The warp control unit is provided with a front pressure ratio computing section for computing a front hydraulic pressure ratio between the cylinder devices for right and left front wheels, and a rear pressure ratio computing section for computing a rear hydraulic pressure ratio between the cylinder devices for right and left rear wheels so that the warp control unit controls the hydraulic fluid supply for the cylinder device based on the front and rear hydraulic pressure ratios. The front pressure ratio computing section produces a value of the hydraulic pressure ratio corresponding to a threshold limit value when the front hydraulic pressure ratio computed in the front pressure ratio computing section is beyond the threshold limit value. An understeer property of the vehicle can thus be obtained in a high lateral acceleration condition.

A suspension-steering control apparatus is provided with suspension-characteristic changing means for changing a suspension characteristic and a rear-wheel steering mechanism for steering rear wheels of a vehicle. The suspension characteristics is such that, for example, a magnitude of a damping force of a suspension or a rolling rigidity ratio of the rear portion of the vehicle body to the front portion thereof can be changed. The rear-wheel steering mechanism is controlled on the basis of a predetermined steering characteristic. The steering-characteristic is corrected in synchronization with alteration of the suspension characteristic.

Suspension-steering control apparatus

A hydropneumatic suspension system for a vehicle has a hydraulic cylinder-piston device connected between the vehicle body and each of the wheels, and a plurality of gas springs which exert a spring force according to the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber of the cylinder-piston device. Each gas spring has a fluid chamber and a gas chamber which are defined in a casing and are separated from each other by a movable partition wall, and the fluid chamber is communicated with the hydraulic chamber of the hydraulic cylinder-piston device. The upper end portion of the piston rod is supported by the vehicle body by way of a mount. The piston rod is provided with a fluid passage which axially extends through the piston rod and the lower end of which opens to the hydraulic chamber of the cylinder-piston device. A support member is fixed to the piston rod at an upper portion below the mount. The upper end portions of the casings of the gas springs are mounted on the support member and the fluid chamber of each gas spring is communicated with the fluid passage in the piston rod by way of a fluid passage formed in the support member.

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Hiroshima, Japan

Toshiki Morita