Height control system and sensor therefor
First Claim
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1. A height control system for a vehicle comprising a suspension having an arm, with a portion thereof pivotally mounted to the vehicle, and an air spring positioned between the vehicle and another portion of the arm, and an air system for at least supplying pressurized air to the air spring, the height control system comprising:
- a valve to selectively fluidly connect the air spring to either the air system or the atmosphere for selectively introducing or exhausting air from the air spring to effect relative movement of the arm and the vehicle to adjust a height of the vehicle;
a sensor coupled that senses rotational movement of the arm and sends an out-put signal indicative of an amount of relative pivotal movement between the arm and the vehicle;
a controller coupled to the sensor and to the valve wherein the controller receives the sensor output signal and selectively actuates the valve in response to the output signal to adjust or maintain the height of the vehicle; and
wherein the sensor comprises at least one of the following;
a light sensor comprising a light emitter and an optical bridge, wherein the light emitter is coupled to and moves with the arm and wherein the optical bridge is coupled to the vehicle such that the light beam is moved to strike various positions on the optical bridge with varying intensities;
a capacitive sensor comprising a plurality of layers of stationary plates interleaved with a plurality of layers of moveable plates so as to form a capacitive sensor defined by at least four interleaved layers of plates.
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Abstract
A sensor for a height control system uses a transducer to detect changes in position of an arm relative to a vehicle and sends a proportional signal to a microprocessor that, in turn, actuates a pneumatic valve operably connected to an air spring between the arm and the vehicle. The transducer includes an optical bridge, a variable capacitor, or a flexible variable resistor.
15 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A height control system for a vehicle comprising a suspension having an arm, with a portion thereof pivotally mounted to the vehicle, and an air spring positioned between the vehicle and another portion of the arm, and an air system for at least supplying pressurized air to the air spring, the height control system comprising:
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a valve to selectively fluidly connect the air spring to either the air system or the atmosphere for selectively introducing or exhausting air from the air spring to effect relative movement of the arm and the vehicle to adjust a height of the vehicle; a sensor coupled that senses rotational movement of the arm and sends an out-put signal indicative of an amount of relative pivotal movement between the arm and the vehicle; a controller coupled to the sensor and to the valve wherein the controller receives the sensor output signal and selectively actuates the valve in response to the output signal to adjust or maintain the height of the vehicle; and wherein the sensor comprises at least one of the following; a light sensor comprising a light emitter and an optical bridge, wherein the light emitter is coupled to and moves with the arm and wherein the optical bridge is coupled to the vehicle such that the light beam is moved to strike various positions on the optical bridge with varying intensities; a capacitive sensor comprising a plurality of layers of stationary plates interleaved with a plurality of layers of moveable plates so as to form a capacitive sensor defined by at least four interleaved layers of plates. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A sensor for sensing the position of a first movable object relative to a second moveable object comprising:
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a light sensor having a portion coupled to one of the first and second moveable objects to sense rotational movement of the first and second movable objects relative to each other, and adapted to send a signal related to said rotational movement; said light sensor including an optical bridge having multiple spaced photosensitive cells and a light emitter that projects light onto the optical bridge and the optical bridge generates the output signal which corresponds to the intensity of the projected light across the optical bridge; a light diffuser panel disposed between the light emitter and the optical bridge; wherein the light emitter is coupled to one of said first or said second moveable objects such that movement of the moveable object correspondingly moves the light emitter to alter the location where the projected light contacts the optical bridge to change the light intensity seen by each photosensitive cell. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A sensor for sensing the position of a suspension assembly for a vehicle comprising:
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a light emitter coupled to a suspension arm for the vehicle and transmitting a signal related to the rotational movement of the suspension arm relative to a frame of the vehicle; an optical bridge having multiple spaced photosensitive cells; said light emitter transmitting a signal that impinges upon said optical bridge, said optical bridge generating an output signal which corresponds to the intensity of the projected light across the optical bridge related to the rotational movement of the suspension arm; wherein rotational movement of the suspension arm correspondingly moves the light emitter to alter the location where the projected light contacts the optical bridge to change the light intensity seen by each photosensitive cell. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification