Surface Vehicle Vertical Trajectory Planning

• US 20140012467A1
• Filed: 06/20/2013
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ClearMotion Acquisition I LLC
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Knox, Lawrence D., Lackritz, Neal M., Parison, James A., Short, William R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,948,968 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/37
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0165 to an external condition, e.g. rough road surface, side wind
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0195 characterised by the regulation being combined with other vehicle control systems conjoint control of vehicle sub-units including control of suspension systems B60W10/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/821 Uneven, rough road sensing affecting vehicle body vibration
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/824 Travel path sensing; Track monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/16 GPS track data
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2500/20 Spring action or springs
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/182 Active control means
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/1876 Artificial intelligence
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/1877 Adaptive Control
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/1879 Fuzzy Logic Control
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/604 low pass
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/014 Pitch; Nose dive
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/0192 longitudinal with regard to vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/24 Steering, cornering
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/912 Attitude Control; levelling control
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/915 Suspension load distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 7/04 involving a vehicle which moves along the profile to be traced

Abstract

An active suspension system for a vehicle including elements for developing and executing a trajectory plan responsive to the path on which the vehicle is traveling. The system may include a location system for locating the vehicle, and a system for retrieving a road profile corresponding to the vehicle location.

Claims

1-145. -145. (canceled)

146. Apparatus for use in a surface vehicle operating on a path, said path comprising vertical disturbances, said apparatus comprising:

a controllable suspension for actively suspending a payload with respect to a vertical disturbance input, and;

a trajectory developing system operatively coupled to said controllable suspension, said trajectory developing system for developing a trajectory plan responsive to data specifically representative of said vertical disturbances.

147. Apparatus in accordance with claim 146, wherein said data is expressed as one of force, velocity, and acceleration.

148. Apparatus in accordance with claim 146, wherein said trajectory developing system comprises a device for smoothing said data to develop said trajectory plan.

149. Apparatus in accordance with claim 148, wherein said smoothing device comprises a low pass filter.

150. Apparatus in accordance with claim 148, wherein said smoothing device comprises a bi-directional low pass filter.

151. Apparatus in accordance with claim 146, said controllable suspension comprises a linear actuator.

152. Apparatus in accordance with claim 146, wherein said data comprises positive and negative values.

153. Apparatus in accordance with claim 146, further comprising:

a profile storage device for storing said data.

154. Apparatus in accordance with claim 153 wherein said profile storage device is located remotely from said surface vehicle.

155. Apparatus in accordance with claim 153, wherein said trajectory plan developing system is located remotely from said surface vehicle.

156. A method for operating an active suspension system in a surface vehicle, wherein the surface vehicle is operated over a surface having vertical disturbances, the method comprising:

determining the location of said surface vehicle; and

determining if there is a vertical trajectory plan corresponding to said location, said trajectory plan corresponding to data specifically representative of said vertical disturbances.

157. A method for operating an active suspension system in accordance with claim 156 and further comprising,

recording input signals from sensors;

and

modifying said vertical trajectory plan in response to the sensor input signals.

158. A method for operating an active suspension system in accordance with claim 156, wherein said determining the location of said surface vehicle includes using a global positioning satellite.

159. A method for operation an active suspension system in accordance with claim 156, wherein said determining the location of said surface vehicle comprises pattern matching.

160. A method for operating an active suspension system in accordance with claim 156, further comprising:

in the event that there is no vertical trajectory plan corresponding to said location, operating the active vehicle suspension as a reactionary suspension, and

developing a trajectory plan signals responsive to the operating the active vehicle suspension as a reactionary suspension.

161. Apparatus for use in a surface vehicle comprising:

an active suspension;

a locator system for determining the location of said surface vehicle;

a trajectory plan storage device, for storing trajectory plans corresponding to locations, said trajectory plans corresponding to data specifically representative of vertical disturbances on a surface on which said surface vehicle is traveling; and

a trajectory plan microprocessor for determining if said trajectory plans contain a trajectory plan corresponding to said determined location.

162. An active suspension in accordance with claim 161, wherein said locator system comprises a global positioning system device.

163. An active suspension in accordance with claim 161, wherein said locator system comprises a pattern matching system.