The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 30, 2001
Filed:
Jun. 17, 1999
Douglas E. Ivers, Cary, NC (US);
Kenneth A. St. Clair, Cary, NC (US);
Lord Corporation, Cary, NC (US);
Abstract
An Adaptive Off-state (AO) control method (,) for use in conjunction with a suspension system (,) including a controllable damper (,) interconnecting relatively moveable members (,) to reduce the transmission of vibrational forces therebetween. Such suspension systems (,) are switchable between alternative on- and an off-state in accordance with a primary control method (,) and/or a secondary override control method (,). Sensors (,) monitor the parameters of the suspension system (,), such as the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of the moveable members (,). Damper command signals (,) are provided to the damper (,) in the on-state (,) to adjust the damping characteristics thereof. In the off-state, the damping signal in conventional systems is approximately zero or a constant relatively low magnitude. According to the present adaptive off-state control method (,), the off-state damping signal (,) to the controllable damper (,) is modulated over time to make the off-state damping a function of the system inputs. In a preferred embodiment, the modulation is a function of the real time or time-averaged input disturbances to the system (,). In an alternative embodiment, the modulation is derived from a user switch (,) that imparts a user variable Off-State Gain (OSG) to the off-state damping signal (,) based on operator perceived ride characteristics.