Electronic controller unit for correction of motor vehicle suspension system damping rate sensing errors

• US 5,038,306 A
• Filed: 04/03/1990
• Issued: 08/06/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Michael A. Kellett
• Original Assignee: Michael A. Kellett
• Inventors: Kellett, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixon, Joseph L.
• Application Number:
  US07/469,430
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• Field of Search: 364/571.03, 364/424.05, 280/707, 188/276, 188/299, 188/278, 188/319, 73/1 R, 374/1, 374/172
• US Class Current: 702/105
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 18/008 with calibration coefficients stored in memory
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 3/0365 the undesired influence being measured using a separate sensor, which produces an influence related signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 1/006 used for thermal compensation

Abstract

An electronic controller unit particularly intended for use with intelligent suspension systems for motor vehicles incorporates a microprocessor for enabling operational calibration of each of a plurality of transducers associated therewith in such a manner as to take into account zero output level influencing factors to establish a compound calibration relationship for each transducer. A non-volatile memory stores each such calibration relationship and the microprocessor compares the instantaneous output of each transducer with its stored associated calibration relationship value for the ambient temperature prevailing at the time of the instantaneous output to produce a temperature corrected output value for each transducer.

Claims

1. Apparatus for optimizing the ride characteristics of a motor vehicle which includes a compliant suspension system having damping means for damping vertical motion of the motor vehicle, accelerometer means for sensing the rate of acceleration of the vehicle and adjusting means responsive to the accelerometer means for adjusting the damping means, the improvement comprising:

an electronic controller unit including;

transducer means responsive to temperature in the immediate vicinity of the accelerometer means, the transducer means including an output,

a non-volatile memory for storing data relating the output of the transducer means to a correction factor to be applied to the acceleration rate as sensed by the accelerometer means,

a microprocessor coupled to the transducer means, the non-volatile memory and the output of the accelerometer means for retrieving stored correction factors from the non-volatile memory based on the output of the transducer means and applying the correction factors to the acceleration rate sensed by the accelerometer means thereby generating a corrected acceleration rate, and

an output driver coupled to the adjusting means and to the microprocessor for applying the corrected acceleration rate to the adjusting means so as to correct for the effect of the temperature in the immediate vicinity of the accelerometer means.

2. The improvement of claim 1 further comprising an input buffer means coupled between the microprocessor and the output of the accelerometer means.

3. The improvement of claim 1 further comprising a data port coupled to the microprocessor for entering data into the non-volatile memory relating the output of the transducer means to the correction factor to be applied to the acceleration rate as sensed by the accelerometer means.