Look ahead vehicle suspension system
First Claim
1. A suspension system used to reduce undesirable motion of a vehicle chassis that travels along a roadway having at least one roadway defect, the suspension system comprising:
- a front tire assembly;
a rear tire assembly;
a first adjustable suspension device that couples the front tire assembly to vehicle chassis;
a second adjustable suspension device that couples the rear tire assembly to vehicle chassis;
a transmitter, mounted on the vehicle chassis, that sends source signals toward the roadway;
a receiver mounted on the vehicle chassis, that receives reflections of the source signals from the roadway and, based thereon, generates reflection signals;
a processing circuit, communicatively coupled to the receiver, that analyses the reflection signals to identify the at least one roadway defect; and
the processing circuit responds to the identification of the at least one roadway defect by interacting with the first adjustable suspension device before the front tire assembly encounters the at least one roadway defect.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An active suspension system senses roadway defects and adjusts an active and controllable suspension system of the vehicle before tires come in contact with the defect. The active suspension system identifies a type of defect or debris, e.g., pothole, bump, object, etc., along with the size, width, depth, and/or height information of the defect to more accurately control operation of the suspension system to prepare for, or avoid contact with the roadway defects and obstacles. Imaging techniques are employed to identify the defect or debris. Operation of a serviced cruise control system is controlled to enhance passenger safety and comfort.
-
Citations
32 Claims
-
1. A suspension system used to reduce undesirable motion of a vehicle chassis that travels along a roadway having at least one roadway defect, the suspension system comprising:
-
a front tire assembly; a rear tire assembly; a first adjustable suspension device that couples the front tire assembly to vehicle chassis; a second adjustable suspension device that couples the rear tire assembly to vehicle chassis; a transmitter, mounted on the vehicle chassis, that sends source signals toward the roadway; a receiver mounted on the vehicle chassis, that receives reflections of the source signals from the roadway and, based thereon, generates reflection signals; a processing circuit, communicatively coupled to the receiver, that analyses the reflection signals to identify the at least one roadway defect; and the processing circuit responds to the identification of the at least one roadway defect by interacting with the first adjustable suspension device before the front tire assembly encounters the at least one roadway defect. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. Roadway analysis circuitry used in a vehicle traveling a roadway, the roadway having at least one characteristic, the vehicle having a plurality of adjustable suspension devices, the roadway analysis circuitry comprising:
-
a detector that translates electromagnetic waves reflected from the roadway having the at least one characteristic into roadway signals; processing circuitry, communicatively coupled to the detector, that analyzes the roadway signals from the detector; and the processing circuitry, based on the analysis, selectively sends control signals to at least one of the plurality of adjustable suspension devices. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A method performed by a processing circuit in an active suspension system of a vehicle that travels along a roadway, the roadway having at least one aspect, the method comprising:
-
receiving roadway signals that correspond to electromagnetic waves reflected off the roadway; analyzing the roadway signals to detect the at least one aspect; generating a first adjustment signal based on the analysis of the roadway signals; and delivering the first adjustment signal to the active suspension system. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. Roadway analysis circuitry used in a vehicle traveling a roadway having at least one surface defect, the vehicle having a response system, the roadway analysis circuitry comprising:
-
a detector that translates electromagnetic waves reflected from the roadway into roadway signals; processing circuitry that analyzes the roadway signals received from the detector; and the processing circuitry, based on the analysis, selectively sends control signals to the response system.
-
-
27. The roadway analysis circuitry of claim 27, wherein the response system comprising an adjustable suspension system;
- and the control signals comprising suspension adjustment signals.
- View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
Specification