Vehicle height adjustment system providing uniform height control

Abstract

This height adjustment system includes: a source of pressurized working fluid; several fluid pressure actuated wheel suspension units, each of which resiliently pushes a one of the wheels of the vehicle downwards with respect to the body thereof, according to the amount of pressurized working fluid supplied to it; a passage means for conducting supply of working fluid from the source to the wheel suspension units; several valve means, provided at intermediate points of the passage means, for controlling flow of working fluid therethrough; and a flow divider means which has an inlet and two outlets, one of the outlets being communicated to a first set of the wheel suspension units for a first set of the wheels of the vehicle and the other of the outlets being communicated to a second disjoint set of the wheel suspension units for a second disjoint set of the wheels of the vehicle. This flow divider is incorporated at an intermediate point of the passage means, provides a branch point of the passage means, and receives supply of pressurized working fluid at its inlet and divides this supply between its two outlets in a ratio which is substantially independent of the pressures at these two outlets. Optionally, this flow divider may be controllable with regard to the ratio in which it divides the fluid input to it through this inlet between these two outlets.