Suspension control device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle suspension control system comprising a vehicle-mounted camera system having a forward facing camera, the system being configured to repeatedly capture an image of the scene ahead of the vehicle, wherein the system is further configured to:
- identify topographical features in the scene;
identify the speed of the vehicle; and
automatically adjust suspension parameters of the vehicle in advance of the vehicle travelling over said topographical features by controlling the suspension to assume either a highway setting or one of a plurality of off-road settings different from said highway setting,wherein said automatically adjusting suspension parameters comprises selecting an off-road setting from said plurality of off-road settings such that both the nature of said features and an expected speed of the vehicle when it reaches said features are taken into account in combination when selecting the off-road setting.
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Abstract
A vehicle mounted time of flight camera provides repeating images of the scene ahead of a vehicle. Such images are processed to determine topographical features in the scene, and the vehicle suspension is commanded to adopt in advance a configuration appropriate to the nature of the topographical features.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A vehicle suspension control system comprising a vehicle-mounted camera system having a forward facing camera, the system being configured to repeatedly capture an image of the scene ahead of the vehicle, wherein the system is further configured to:
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identify topographical features in the scene; identify the speed of the vehicle; and automatically adjust suspension parameters of the vehicle in advance of the vehicle travelling over said topographical features by controlling the suspension to assume either a highway setting or one of a plurality of off-road settings different from said highway setting, wherein said automatically adjusting suspension parameters comprises selecting an off-road setting from said plurality of off-road settings such that both the nature of said features and an expected speed of the vehicle when it reaches said features are taken into account in combination when selecting the off-road setting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of adjusting suspension parameters of a vehicle comprising:
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providing a forward facing camera on a vehicle; repeatedly capturing an image of the scene ahead of the vehicle; identifying topographical features in the repeating image; determining the deviation of said features from a ground plane; determining the speed of the vehicle; and automatically adjusting suspension parameters of the vehicle in advance of the vehicle travelling over said topographical features by controlling the suspension to assume either a highway setting or one of a plurality of off-road settings different from said highway setting, wherein said automatically adjusting suspension parameters comprises selecting an off-road setting from said plurality of off-road settings such that both said deviation and an expected speed of the vehicle when it reaches said features are taken into account in combination when selecting the off-road setting. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A vehicle suspension control system comprising a vehicle-mounted camera system having a forward facing camera, the system being configured to repeatedly capture an image of the scene ahead of the vehicle, wherein the system is further configured to:
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identify topographical features in the scene; identify the speed of the vehicle; and automatically adjust suspension parameters of the vehicle in advance of the vehicle travelling over said topographical features by controlling the suspension to assume either a highway setting or one of a plurality of off-road settings different from said highway setting, wherein said automatically adjusting suspension parameters comprises selecting an off-road setting from said plurality of off-road settings such that both the nature of said features and an expected speed of the vehicle when it reaches said features are taken into account when selecting the off-road setting, and wherein the system is configured to select a different one of the plurality of off-road settings at a different expected speed.
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Specification