Active suspension system for vehicle seats
First Claim
1. A vehicle seat and active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat comprising:
- a plurality of seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the actuating members being adapted to control two or more different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to a vehicle and to support a load applied to the seat;
sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle and the seat actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; and
a control system to generate a counter movement of the seat actuating members in response to the sensor signals, producing seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby limiting seat movement relative to the ground.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An active suspension system for limiting movement of a vehicle seat in two or more directions, up to and including six directions, in response to vehicle movement. The active suspension system includes seat actuating members and sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle and/or the vehicle seat, and the seat actuating members. The seat actuating members also function to provide mechanical support for the vehicle seat. A control system accepts feedback from the sensors and responsively directs movement of the seat actuating members to limit seat movement in response to vehicle movement. A method for using an active suspension system to limit seat movement in response to vehicle movement also forms part of the present invention.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A vehicle seat and active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat comprising:
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a plurality of seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the actuating members being adapted to control two or more different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to a vehicle and to support a load applied to the seat; sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle and the seat actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; and a control system to generate a counter movement of the seat actuating members in response to the sensor signals, producing seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby limiting seat movement relative to the ground. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A vehicle seat and active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat in six directions comprising:
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a plurality of seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the actuating members being adapted to control six different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to the vehicle and to support a load applied to the seat; movement sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle and the vehicle seat; position sensors for monitoring movement of the seat actuating members; and a control system to generate a counter movement of the seat actuating members in response to feedback from the sensors, producing seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby limiting seat movement relative to the ground. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. A vehicle seat and low-profile, active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat comprising:
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a plurality of seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat to control six different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to a vehicle, the seat actuating members also providing mechanical support for a load applied to the vehicle seat; sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle, the vehicle seat, and the seat actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; an electronic control system for directing a counter movement of the actuators in response to the sensor signals, in order to produce seat movement relative to the vehicle movement and thereby limit seat movement relative to the ground; and wherein the seat actuating members are positioned below the vehicle seat and the overall height of the suspension system is less than about one foot. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A vehicle seat and low-profile, active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat comprising:
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a plurality of seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the seat actuating members being adapted to control two or more different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to a vehicle, the seat actuating members also functioning as a mechanical support for a load applied to the vehicle seat; sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle and the seat actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; a control system to generate a counter movement of the seat actuating members in response to the sensor signals, to produce seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby limit seat movement relative to the ground; and wherein the seat actuating members are positioned below the vehicle seat and the overall height of the suspension system is about less than one foot.
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26. A vehicle seat and active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat comprising:
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a plurality of seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the actuating members being adapted to control six different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to a vehicle, and to support a load applied to the seat; sensors for separately monitoring movement of the vehicle, the vehicle seat, and the seat actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; and a control system to generate a counter movement of the seating actuating members in response to the sensor signals, in order to produce seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby reduce seat movement relative to the ground.
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27. A vehicle seat and active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat comprising:
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a plurality of seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the seat actuating members adapted to control six different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to a vehicle, the seat actuating members also providing mechanical support for a load applied to the vehicle seat; sensor means for monitoring movement of the vehicle and the seat actuating means, the sensor means generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; and an electronic control system to generate a counter movement of the seat actuating members in response to the sensor means signals, to produce seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby limit seat movement relative to the ground.
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28. A vehicle cab and active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle cab in six directions comprising:
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a plurality of cab actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle cab, the actuating members being adapted to control six different aspects of movement of the cab with respect to the vehicle, the cab actuating members also providing mechanical support for a load applied to the vehicle cab; a plurality of sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle, the vehicle cab, and the cab actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; and an electronic control system to generate a counter movement of the cab actuator members in response to the sensor signals, to produce cab movement relative to the vehicle and thereby reduce cab movement relative to the ground.
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29. A method using a vehicle seat and active suspension assembly for limiting vehicle seat movement in response to movement of a vehicle on which the assembly is mounted, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the seat actuating members being adapted to control six different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to the vehicle, the seat actuating members also providing mechanical support for a load applied to the vehicle seat; providing a plurality of sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle, the vehicle seat, and the seat actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; providing a control system in electrical communication with the sensors and the seat actuating members; and wherein the control system receives and processes the sensor signals, and responsively directs a counter movement of the seat actuating members to produce seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby reduce seat movement relative to the ground.
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30. A vehicle seat and active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat comprising:
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six seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the actuating members being adapted to control six different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to the vehicle and to support a load applied to the seat; at least two rigid upper and lower platforms for mounting the six seat actuating members; sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle and the seat actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; and a control system to generate a counter movement of the seat actuating members in response to the sensor signals, producing seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby reducing seat movement relative to the ground.
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31. A vehicle seat and active suspension assembly for limiting movement of the vehicle seat comprising:
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seat actuating members operatively associated with the vehicle seat, the actuating members adapted to control six different aspects of movement of the seat with respect to the vehicle and to support a load applied to the seat; at least two rigid upper and lower platforms for mounting the seat actuating members, the upper and lower platforms being generally triangular-shaped; sensors for monitoring movement of the vehicle and the seat actuating members, the sensors generating signals indicative of vehicle movement; and a control system to generate a counter movement of the seat actuating members in response to the sensor signals, producing seat movement relative to the vehicle and thereby reducing seat movement relative to the ground. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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Specification