Vehicle lean and alignment control system
First Claim
1. A vehicle with a lean and alignment control system, comprising:
- a frame having a central longitudinal axis and an upright axis that is adapted to be generally perpendicular to a surface on which the vehicle rests when the frame is in a neutral position with no net leaning loads applied;
a suspension comprising a plurality of arm assemblies connected to the frame;
a mechanical feedback mechanism forming an interconnection between the frame and the suspension;
wherein each arm assembly comprises;
a lower arm having an inboard end and an outboard end;
an upper control arm having an inboard end and an outboard end; and
an actuator mounted to the lower arm and motively connected to the upper control arm.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A frame and suspension for a vehicle provides automatic lean and alignment. The lean is determined by force sensors, the speed and/or the angle of turn and is provided by actuators in the suspension in accordance with a predetermined protocol in an electronic control unit (ECU). The protocol also provides shock absorption by rapidly tracking a contour of a surface on which the vehicle rides. The suspension is provided by a plurality of arm assemblies each including a lower arm, an upper control arm, and an actuator motively connected to the lower arm and to the upper control arm. The arm assemblies are pivotally connected to the frame on a common axis. The arm assemblies generally form parallelograms and are actuated in concert to remain generally parallel to each other through a range of angles to adjust the lean of the vehicle. The arm assemblies are also actuated independently of each other to accommodate variations in the contour. In one aspect, an actuator controlled by an ECU can be replaced by a mechanical actuator that can be activated manually such as by a driver'"'"'s own leaning weight.
47 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A vehicle with a lean and alignment control system, comprising:
-
a frame having a central longitudinal axis and an upright axis that is adapted to be generally perpendicular to a surface on which the vehicle rests when the frame is in a neutral position with no net leaning loads applied; a suspension comprising a plurality of arm assemblies connected to the frame; a mechanical feedback mechanism forming an interconnection between the frame and the suspension; wherein each arm assembly comprises; a lower arm having an inboard end and an outboard end; an upper control arm having an inboard end and an outboard end; and an actuator mounted to the lower arm and motively connected to the upper control arm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. In a vehicle, a method of tracking a contour of a driving surface to absorb shock, the method comprising:
-
automatically and independently raising and lowering a plurality of arms of the vehicle suspension to accommodate variations in the contour by a mechanical mechanism; providing feedback via the mechanical mechanism to an actuator; and raising and lowering the arms by the actuator according to the feedback; wherein the mechanical mechanism comprises a position indicating cam fixedly supported relative to at least one of the arms, and wherein the step of providing feedback further comprises feeding back a representation of a position of the at least one of the arms by way of the cam.
-
Specification