Stability enhancing system and method for enhancing the stability of a vehicle
First Claim
1. A stability enhancing system for a vehicle having a suspension system including a spring, the stability enhancing system comprising:
- a processor mounted on the vehicle;
a sensor mounted on the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the processor, the sensor configured to detect a dynamic condition of the vehicle;
a locking mechanism having an upper portion and a lower portion each directly connected to the spring and communicatively coupled to the processor, the locking mechanism being configured to inhibit the spring from releasing a stored energy when the locking mechanism is locked,wherein the processor is configured to obtain the dynamic condition from the sensor, to utilize the dynamic condition to determine whether a wheel lift event will occur, and to provide a lock command to the locking mechanism if the processor determines that the wheel lift event will occur.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A stability enhancing system for a vehicle having a suspension system including a spring is disclosed herein. The stability enhancing system includes, but is not limited to, a processor that is mounted on the vehicle. A sensor is mounted on the vehicle and is communicatively coupled to the processor. The sensor is configured to detect a dynamic condition of the vehicle. A locking mechanism is connected to the spring and is communicatively coupled to the processor. The locking mechanism is configured to inhibit the spring from releasing a stored energy when the locking mechanism is locked. The processor is configured to obtain the dynamic condition from the sensor, to utilize the dynamic condition to determine whether a wheel lift event will occur, and to provide commands to the locking mechanism to lock if the processor determines that a wheel lift event will occur.
55 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A stability enhancing system for a vehicle having a suspension system including a spring, the stability enhancing system comprising:
-
a processor mounted on the vehicle; a sensor mounted on the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the processor, the sensor configured to detect a dynamic condition of the vehicle; a locking mechanism having an upper portion and a lower portion each directly connected to the spring and communicatively coupled to the processor, the locking mechanism being configured to inhibit the spring from releasing a stored energy when the locking mechanism is locked, wherein the processor is configured to obtain the dynamic condition from the sensor, to utilize the dynamic condition to determine whether a wheel lift event will occur, and to provide a lock command to the locking mechanism if the processor determines that the wheel lift event will occur. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A stability enhancing system for a vehicle having a suspension system including a spring, the stability enhancing system comprising:
-
a processor mounted on the vehicle; a sensor mounted on the vehicle and communicatively coupled to the processor, the sensor configured to detect a dynamic condition of the vehicle; a data storage unit communicatively coupled to the processor, the data storage unit configured to store data relating a wheel-lift-threshold dynamic condition; a locking mechanism having an upper portion and a lower portion each directly connected to the spring and communicatively coupled to the processor, the locking mechanism being configured to inhibit the spring from releasing a stored energy when the locking mechanism is locked, wherein the processor is configured to obtain the dynamic condition from the sensor, to obtain the wheel-lift-threshold dynamic condition from the data storage unit, to compare the dynamic condition with the wheel-lift-threshold dynamic condition, and to provide a command to the locking mechanism to lock when the processor determines that the dynamic condition is greater than the wheel-lift-threshold dynamic condition. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method for enhancing the stability of a vehicle having a suspension system including a spring, the method comprising:
-
detecting a dynamic condition of the vehicle with a sensor; determining if the dynamic condition will cause an occurrence of a wheel lift event with a processor; and directly inhibiting the spring from releasing a stored energy with a locking mechanism having an upper portion and a lower portion each directly connected to the spring if it is determined that the wheel lift event will occur. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
Specification