Jaguar Land Rover Limited

Land Rover Group Limited

Rover Group Limited

Land Rover

Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

William Burdock

David Andrew Clare

Dennis Lausecker

Syed Asad Ali

James Kelly

Anesh Mistry

Paul Malcolm Darnell

Luke Birch

Sam Brown

Jan Pieter Prins

Derek Leslie Jones

John Anthony Kellett

Anthony Francis Spillane

Philip Guest

Konrad Kral

Keith Gary Reginald Parsons

Stephen Williams

Kevin Trevor Talbot

Jim Kelly

Mark Pask

Phillip James Green

Adrian Michael Griffiths

Ben Harrison

Jing Shen Tang

Robert Patching

Jonathan Larsson

A control system () for controlling an active suspension system () of a vehicle (), the control system comprising one or more controller (), wherein the control system is configured to: determine () that an entry condition is satisfied; in dependence on satisfaction of the entry condition, transmit () a request to the active suspension system to create clearance beneath a first wheel (FL, RR) of the vehicle but not create clearance beneath a plurality of other wheels (FR, RL) of the vehicle.

Methods for creating clearance beneath vehicle wheels

A control system () for controlling an active suspension system () of a vehicle (), the control system comprising one or more controller (), wherein the control system is configured to: obtain () information indicative of relative traction levels between different wheels (FL, FR, RL, RR) of the vehicle; and in dependence on the information, control () the active suspension system to increase normal force through a wheel (FR) of the vehicle having relatively high traction compared to one or more other wheels (FL, RL, RR) of the vehicle, and decrease normal force through a wheel (FL) of the vehicle having relatively low traction compared to one or more other wheels (FR, RL, RR) of the vehicle.

Traction-dependent variation of wheel-to-surface normal force

A control system () for controlling an active suspension system () of a vehicle (), the control system comprising one or more controller (), wherein the control system is configured to: detect () a ramp () approached by an overhang of the vehicle; and in dependence on detecting the ramp, control () the active suspension system to modify a relative ride height between a leading ride height at a set of leading wheels (FL, FR) of the vehicle and a trailing ride height at a set of trailing wheels (RL, RR) of the vehicle, to increase a ramp angle (α, β) of the vehicle relative to the ramp.

Vehicle ramp angle control

A control system () for controlling an active suspension system () of a vehicle (), the active suspension system comprising suspension actuators (), the control system comprising one or more controller (), wherein the control system is configured to: in dependence on an activation signal (), provide () a control signal to the active suspension system to cause the suspension actuators of the active suspension system to repetitively pulse vertical force through wheels (FR, FL, RR, RL) of the vehicle in a controlled pattern determined by the one or more controller, to vary wheel-to-surface contact patch forces, wherein the pattern comprises repetitively pulsing vertical force through at least one of the wheels at a first phase and through at least one other of the wheels at a second phase.

Wheel-to-surface contact patch force variation

Aspects of the present invention relate to a method and to a control system for controlling an active suspension of a vehicle, the control system comprising one or more controllers, the control system configured to: obtain information indicative of a change of gradient of a driving surface in a direction of travel; and control the active suspension to adjust relative ride height between a front and rear of a vehicle body of the vehicle above the driving surface beneath the vehicle in dependence on the change of gradient.

Vehicle active suspension control system and method

The invention resides in a system and method for determining the manner in which a vehicle is driven. The system comprises a processor comprising an input configured to receive dynamic ride data from at least one on-board vehicle dynamic ride sensor, wherein the processor is configured (i) to calculate an output signal which is indicative of whether the dynamic ride data exceeds at least one dynamic ride data threshold value for a predetermined period of time; and (ii) to compare the output signal with at least one output threshold to determine the manner in which the vehicle is driven. The processor comprises an output configured to send a control signal to one or more vehicle components, wherein the control signal is indicative of the manner in which the vehicle is driven.

Vehicle handling

The present invention relates to a system for determining whether to inhibit lowering of the ride height of a vehicle when the vehicle speed exceeds a speed threshold value. The system includes a processor having an input configured to receive ride attribute data from at least one on-board vehicle ride attribute sensor, the ride attribute data being indicative of the roughness of the surface over which the vehicle is travelling, and a data memory configured to store at least one predetermined ride attribute threshold value for the or each ride attribute sensor. The processor is configured to calculate a ride attribute parameter in dependence on the received ride attribute data for the or each ride attribute sensor. The processor is also configured to compare the or each calculated ride attribute parameter with the corresponding at least one predetermined ride attribute threshold value to determine whether the vehicle is travelling on a smooth surface or a rough surface, and to inhibit lowering of the ride height when it is determined that the vehicle is travelling on a rough surface.

System and method for determining whether to adjust the ride height of a vehicle

A vehicle control system has a plurality of subsystem controllers including an engine management systema transmission controllera steering controllera brakes controllerand a suspension controllerThese subsystem controllers are each operable in a plurality of subsystem modes, and are all connected to a vehicle mode controllerwhich controls the modes of operation of each of the subsystem controllers so as to provide a number of driving modes for the vehicle. Each of the modes corresponds to a particular driving condition or set of driving conditions, and in each mode each of the functions is set to the function in mode most appropriate to those conditions.

Vehicle control

A vehicle control system has a plurality of subsystem controllers including an engine management system, a transmission controller, a steering controller, a brakes controllerand a suspension controller. These subsystem controllers are each operable in a plurality of subsystem modes, and are all connected to a vehicle mode controllerwhich controls the modes of operation of each of the subsystem controllers so as to provide a number of driving modes for the vehicle. Each of the modes corresponds to a particular driving condition or set of driving conditions, and in each mode each of the functions is set to the function in mode most appropriate to those conditions.

A vehicle air suspension system includes a control unitwhich is arranged to produce a running measure of the level of cross articulation of the two axlesand, if it exceeds a certain level indicating that the vehicle is on rough terrain, to open respective interconnectionsbetween the suspension unitson opposite ends of each axle so as to reduce the resistance to that articulation. The interconnections are arranged to close when the vehicle speed increases so as to provide roll control.

Vehicle suspensions

A vehicle roll control system uses two accelerometers ( ) on the vehicle to detect body roll and then filters out higher frequency roll movements as indicative of a rough road surface. The system also monitors vehicle speed, and increases roll stiffness in response to measured increase in vehicle speed, but decreases roll stiffness in response to detected rough road surfaces.

Vehicle roll control

A vehicle air suspension system includes a control unit which is arranged to produce a running measure of the level of cross articulation of the two axles and, if it exceeds a certain level indicating that the vehicle is on rough terrain, to open respective interconnections between the suspension units on opposite ends of each axle so as to reduce the resistance to that articulation. The interconnections are arranged to close when the vehicle speed increases so as to provide roll control.

An active vehicle roll control system is disclosed in which a roll bar ( ) has two halves ( ) which can be rotated relative to each other by a control unit ( ) in order to actively control vehicle roll. The control unit ( ) receives signals from lateral accelerometers ( ). In order to determine accurately when the vehicle is experiencing zero lateral acceleration, the control unit ( ) averages the signal from each accelerometer ( ) continuously and uses the average signal as an indication of the straight ahead position. The averaging algorithm defines a window of low lateral accelerations to be used, and a gain to be applied to the acceleration signals, each of which is speed dependent so that the averaging process is not affected by abnormal vehicle movements.

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Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom

William Burdock