Motor vehicle equipped with a pneumatic level control system

• US 8,219,262 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2006
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental AG
• Original Assignee: Continental AG
• Inventors: Stiller, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US11/919,014
• Publication Number:
  US 20090082922A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,285 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/70, 701/82, 701/91, 267136-141, 298/17.S
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0155 pneumatic unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/052 Pneumatic spring characteristics B60G17/048 takes precedence ; valves per se F16K
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/252 vertical
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/51 in suspension unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2500/205 Air-compressor operation
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/02 Retarders, delaying means, dead zones, threshold values, cut-off frequency, timer interruption
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/07 Inhibiting means

Abstract

Disclosed is a pneumatic level control system equalizer of a motor vehicle equipped with a battery and a generator supplying the battery, as well as a compressor driven by an electric motor and associated with the level control system equalizer, the electric motor of the compressor being only supplied with electric current by the vehicle battery and/or generator in certain conditions. The power requirements of the level control system equalizer can be pre-evaluated for a change of level and/or a filling of the pressure tank to be performed.

Claims

1. A pneumatic level control system (12) in a motor vehicle (10) having a vehicle battery (44) and a generator (46) supplying the vehicle battery (44), and an electrically operated compressor (18) with an electric motor (16), which compressor is assigned to the level control system (12), the electric motor (16) of the compressor (18) being supplied with power by the vehicle battery (44) and/or the generator (46) only under certain conditions,

wherein a controller controls operation of the level control system (12) based on an energy requirement of the level control system (12) for at least one pending operation is estimated in advance, wherein the at least one pending operation is performed by the pneumatic level control system (12) only when the present energy status of the vehicle battery (44) exceeds the energy requirement of the at least one pending operation by at least a first threshold value and a level of the vehicle is adjusted to an intermediate level, lying between a desired set level and the present vehicle level, such that the energy status of the vehicle battery (44) exceeds the first threshold value once the intermediate level has been reached in response to a determination that the at least pending operation exceeds the first threshold value.

2. The pneumatic level control system (12) as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one pending operation is a member of the group consisting of the level change of the motor vehicle and pressure accumulator filling.

3. The pneumatic level control system (12) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first threshold value is lowered by an amount of energy being supplied to the vehicle battery (44) to determine an energy charge required for the at least one pending operation.

4. The pneumatic level control system (12) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first threshold value is additionally determined taking into account an energy requirement of at least one further electrical energy consumer (48) of the motor vehicle (10).

5. The pneumatic level control system (12) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a second threshold value is set for the energy level of the battery, which value is greater than the first threshold value, and the pneumatic level control system (12) has only limited functionality when the energy level of the battery exceeds the first threshold value and is below the second threshold value.

6. The pneumatic level control system (12) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the level is adjusted to an intermediate level, lying between a desired set level and the present vehicle level, such that the energy status of the vehicle battery (44) exceeds the first threshold value once the intermediate level has been reached.

7. The pneumatic level control system (12) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the energy status of the vehicle battery (44) is determined and stored once the vehicle engine has been turned off,

a third threshold value is fixable with reference to the energy status for the energy requirement admissible for the level control system (12),

the sum of the energy consumed by the level control system (12) for the level changes to the portion of the vehicle and/or pressure accumulator filling operation(s) performed since the vehicle engine was turned off and of the energy requirement necessary for the pending level change to the portion of the vehicle and/or the pending pressure accumulator filling operation lies below the third threshold value.

8. The pneumatic level control system (12) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery voltage, the battery current or the battery power of the vehicle battery (44) is used as the threshold value.

9. A pneumatic level control method for a motor vehicle (10) having a vehicle battery (44) and a generator (46) supplying the vehicle battery (44), and an electrically operated compressor (18) with an electric motor (16), which compressor is assigned to the level control system (12), the electric motor (16) of the compressor (18) being supplied with power by the vehicle battery (44) and/or the generator (46) only under certain conditions, the method comprising the steps of

determining in advance an energy requirement of the level control system (12) for at least one pending operation,

determining a current energy status of the battery

determining a first threshold value for an energy level of the battery,

determining the energy status of the battery after performing the at least one pending operation,

performing the at least one pending operation by the pneumatic level control system (12) responsive to determining that the energy status after performing the at least one pending operation exceeds the first threshold value;

setting a second threshold value for the energy level of the battery, which value is greater than the first threshold value responsive to a determination that the energy value after performing the at least one pending operation is below the first threshold value, and

restricting the pneumatic level control system (12) to a limited functionality when the energy level of the battery exceeds the first threshold value and is below the second threshold value.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein at least one of the at least one pending operation is a member of the group consisting of level change of the vehicle and pressure accumulator filling.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising the intermediate step of lowering the first threshold value by an amount of energy being supplied to the vehicle battery (44) to determine an energy charge required for the at least one pending operation before determining that the energy status after performing the at least one pending operation exceeds the first threshold value.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising the intermediate step of raising the first threshold value by an amount of an energy requirement of at least one further electrical energy consumer (48) of the motor vehicle (10) before determining that the energy status after performing the at least one pending operation exceeds the first threshold value.

13. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprising the step of adjusting the level of a portion of the vehicle to an intermediate level between a desired set level of the vehicle and the present vehicle level, such that the energy status of the vehicle battery exceeds the first threshold value once the intermediate level of a portion of the vehicle has been reached.