Valve switching controls for adjustable damper
First Claim
1. A method for damping motion of a body of a vehicle during travel of the vehicle, wherein at least one shock absorber is coupled between a sprung portion and an unsprung portion of the vehicle, and wherein the shock absorber has a plurality of independently controllable digital valves, each said digital valve being movable between a first position permitting a flow of fluid therethrough, and a second position which does not permit a flow of fluid therethrough, the method comprising:
- generating a target damping state for the shock absorber;
transmitting the target damping state to a damper module associated with the shock absorber; and
using the damper module to compare the target damping state to a present damping state of the shock absorber, and to generate a control operation that selectively controls one or more selected valves of the plurality of digital valves to achieve the target damping state.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A damper system and method for a vehicle includes a shock absorber and a damper module. The shock absorber includes a plurality of digital valves. The shock absorber is operable at one of multiple damping states based on a valve state of the digital valves. The damper module is coupled to each of the digital valves and controls each of the digital valves to a desired state based on a damper setting. The damper module determines a target damping state, where the target state is one of the multiple damping states. The damper module performs a switch operation to control the valve state of the plurality of digital valves to a given desired state when the target damping state is different from a present damping state.
290 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for damping motion of a body of a vehicle during travel of the vehicle, wherein at least one shock absorber is coupled between a sprung portion and an unsprung portion of the vehicle, and wherein the shock absorber has a plurality of independently controllable digital valves, each said digital valve being movable between a first position permitting a flow of fluid therethrough, and a second position which does not permit a flow of fluid therethrough, the method comprising:
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generating a target damping state for the shock absorber; transmitting the target damping state to a damper module associated with the shock absorber; and using the damper module to compare the target damping state to a present damping state of the shock absorber, and to generate a control operation that selectively controls one or more selected valves of the plurality of digital valves to achieve the target damping state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for damping motion of a body of a vehicle during travel of the vehicle, wherein at least one shock absorber is coupled between a sprung portion and an unsprung portion of the vehicle, and wherein the shock absorber has a plurality of independently controllable digital valves, each said digital valve being movable between a first position permitting a flow of fluid therethrough, and a second position which does not permit a flow of fluid therethrough, the method comprising:
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receiving signals from at least one sensor associated with the vehicle; using the signals to generate a target damping state for the shock absorber; transmitting the target damping state to a damper module associated with the shock absorber; using the damper module to compare the target damping state to a present damping state of the shock absorber; using the damper module to determine a control operation for controlling at least one of the plurality of digital valves to implement the target damping state; and using the damper module to control the at least one of the plurality of digital valves in accordance with the control operation, to thus cause a select one of a plurality of available damping states to be implemented using the plurality of digital valves, and wherein the select one of the available damping states at least substantially matches the target damping state. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification