Adjustable damping system
First Claim
1. An expandable and adjustable damping system for a motor vehicle comprising:
- a plurality of dampers each having(a) a pressure cylinder forming a working chamber having first and second portions operable to store damping fluid,(b) means for electrically controlling the flow of damping fluid between said first and second portions of said pressure cylinder, and(c) a control module operable to control the damping characteristics of said damper, said control module being disposed proximate to said pressure cylinder;
means for generating a plurality of electrical control signals for controlling the operation of each of said control modules, said generating means being manually selectable between at least three pre-defined damping characteristics associated with said plurality of dampers; and
means for connecting each of said control modules to said generating means, wherein at least one of said control modules comprises(a) a driver transistor electrically coupled to one of said dampers, said driver transistor being operable to selectively deliver current to said one damper to thereby cause the damping characteristics of said one damper to change,(b) a first gate transistor for controlling the current delivered to the base of said driver transistor in response to whether a first input from said one damper is substantially different from a first input from said means for generating a plurality of electrical control signals, and(c) a second gate transistor for controlling the current delivered to the base of said driver transistor in response to whether a second input from said one damper is substantially different than a second input from said means for generating a plurality of electrical control signals.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An adjustable damping system (10) for motor vehicles is disclosed. The adjustable damping system (10) includes dampers (10) for damping road vibration. Each of the dampers (10) include a pressure cylinder (48) which forms a working chamber (50) which are operable to store damping fluid. In addition, the dampers (10) have a device (176) for electrically controlling the flow of damping fluid between each of the portions in the pressure cylinder (48). The adjustable damping system further includes a plurality of separate electronic control modules (34) which are operable to control the damping characteristics of the dampers (10). Finally, the adjustable damping system (10) includes a switch (32) for generating a plurality of electrical control signals.
94 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An expandable and adjustable damping system for a motor vehicle comprising:
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a plurality of dampers each having (a) a pressure cylinder forming a working chamber having first and second portions operable to store damping fluid, (b) means for electrically controlling the flow of damping fluid between said first and second portions of said pressure cylinder, and (c) a control module operable to control the damping characteristics of said damper, said control module being disposed proximate to said pressure cylinder; means for generating a plurality of electrical control signals for controlling the operation of each of said control modules, said generating means being manually selectable between at least three pre-defined damping characteristics associated with said plurality of dampers; and means for connecting each of said control modules to said generating means, wherein at least one of said control modules comprises (a) a driver transistor electrically coupled to one of said dampers, said driver transistor being operable to selectively deliver current to said one damper to thereby cause the damping characteristics of said one damper to change, (b) a first gate transistor for controlling the current delivered to the base of said driver transistor in response to whether a first input from said one damper is substantially different from a first input from said means for generating a plurality of electrical control signals, and (c) a second gate transistor for controlling the current delivered to the base of said driver transistor in response to whether a second input from said one damper is substantially different than a second input from said means for generating a plurality of electrical control signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An expandable and adjustable damping system in which a driver of an automotive vehicle having a plurality of wheels is able to manually adjust the suspension system to provide at least three ride characteristics, said adjustable damping system comprising:
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means for permitting said driver to select one of said at least three ride characteristics and generating a plurality of electrical control signals in response to said selection, said means for permitting said driver to select one of said at least three ride characteristics having a plurality of channels for propagating said electrical control signals; a plurality of distributed dampers each being operatively associated with one of said wheels of said automotive vehicle; and a plurality of control modules equal in number to said plurality of distributed dampers, each control module being operable to control a respective damper and electrically communicating with said respective damper and one of said channels, wherein at least one of said control modules comprises (a) a driver transistor electrically coupled to one of said dampers, said driver transistor coupled to one operable to selectively deliver current to said one damper to thereby cause the damping characteristics of said one damper to change, (b) a first gate transistor for controlling the current delivered to the base of said driver transistor in response to whether a first input from said one damper is substantially different from a first input from said means for generating a plurality of electrical control signals, and (c) a second gate transistor for controlling the current delivered to the base of said driver transistor in response to whether a second input from said one damper is substantially different than a second input from said means for generating a plurality of electrical control signals. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification