Vehicle having suspension with continuous damping control

• US 9,662,954 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2013
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Polaris Industries Incorporated (Polaris Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Polaris Industries Incorporated (Polaris Inc.)
• Inventors: Scheuerell, Alex R., Brady, Louis James
• Primary Examiner(s): Beck, Karen
• Application Number:
  US14/074,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20140125018A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,300 Days
• Field of Search: 280 5519, 280 5513, 280 551, 280 55, 280 5515, 280 5507, 280124101, 280124102, 701 37, 701 38, 701111
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/016 characterised by their responsiveness, when the vehicle is travelling, to specific motion, a specific condition, or driver input B60G17/017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0165 to an external condition, e.g. rough road surface, side wind
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/08 Characteristics of fluid dampers adjusting fluid dampers in general F16F9/44 - F16F9/53
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2300/07 Off-road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2300/32 Track vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2300/322 Snowmobiles
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/102 vertical
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/204 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/252 vertical
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/33 Throttle position
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/39 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/40 Steering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/61 Load distribution
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/02 Retarders, delaying means, dead zones, threshold values, cut-off frequency, timer interruption
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/04 Means for informing, instructing or displaying
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/20 Manual control or setting means
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/70 Computer memory; Data storage, e.g. maps for adaptive control
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/014 Pitch; Nose dive
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/162 Reducing road induced vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/916 Body Vibration Control
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/94 : Electronic Stability Program (ESP, i.e. ABS+ASC+EMS)

Abstract

A damping control system for a vehicle having a suspension located between a plurality of ground engaging members and a vehicle frame includes at least one adjustable shock absorber having an adjustable damping characteristic. The system also includes a controller coupled to each adjustable shock absorber to adjust the damping characteristic of each adjustable shock absorber, and a user interface coupled to the controller and accessible to a driver of the vehicle. The user interface includes at least one user input to permit manual adjustment of the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber during operation of the vehicle. Vehicle sensors may also be coupled to the controller to adjust the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on sensor output signals.

Claims

1. A damping control system for a vehicle having a suspension located between a plurality of ground engaging members and a vehicle frame, the damping control system comprising:

a plurality of springs coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame;

a plurality of shock absorbers coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame, at least one of the plurality of shock absorbers being an adjustable shock absorber having an adjustable damping characteristic;

a controller coupled to each adjustable shock absorber to adjust the damping characteristic of each adjustable shock absorber;

a user interface coupled to the controller and accessible to a driver of the vehicle, the user interface including at least one user input to permit manual adjustment of the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber during operation of the vehicle, the user interface providing a plurality of selectable driving condition modes, each driving condition mode having different damping characteristics for the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on a type of road or off-road trail on which the vehicle is expected to travel, wherein the user input permits manual selection of one of the driving condition modes, the controller adjusting damping characteristics of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based upon the manually selected driving condition mode, one of the driving condition modes being a first road mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a stiff damping level to minimize transient vehicle pitch and roll through hard acceleration, braking, and cornering and another one of the driving condition modes being a second mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a less stiff damping level compared to the first road mode to allow for absorption of bumps encountered by the vehicle,

the at least one adjustable shock absorber includes a moveable piston located within a cylinder, and further comprising a position sensor to indicate a position of the piston of the adjustable shock absorber, the position sensor having an output coupled to the controller, the controller being programmed to stiffen a damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorbers near an end of a range of travel of the piston within the cylinder to provide progressive damping control.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the ground engaging members include at least one of wheels, skis, guide tracks and treads.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of springs include at least one of coil springs, leaf springs, air springs and gas springs.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of springs and the plurality of shock absorbers are coupled to an A-arm linkage of the suspension.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of springs and one of the plurality of shock absorbers are located adjacent each of the ground engaging members of the vehicle.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the vehicle has four wheels used as the ground engaging members, four springs, and four adjustable shock absorbers, with one spring and one adjustable shock absorber being located adjacent each of the four wheels.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an accelerometer coupled to the vehicle adjacent each ground engaging member, each accelerometer providing an output signal coupled to the controller and used to adjust the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber, the output signal indicating movement of the associated ground engaging member upon movement of the vehicle.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is integrated with a display on a dashboard of the vehicle.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one user input of the user interface is located on one of a steering wheel, a handle bar, or a steering controller of the vehicle to facilitate adjustment of the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber by a driver of the vehicle.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one front adjustable shock absorber is coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame at a front portion of the vehicle and at least one rear adjustable shock absorber is coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame at a rear portion of the vehicle, and wherein the controller controls damping characteristics of the front and rear adjustable shock absorbers independently based signals received from the user inputs of the user interface.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the user interface includes first and second manual user inputs for independently adjusting damping characteristics of the front and rear adjustable shock absorbers, respectively.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the user interface includes first and second display portions to display information related to damping characteristics of the front and rear adjustable shock absorbers, respectively.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the first and second user inputs are first and second rotatable knobs, and wherein rotation of the first and second knobs in a first direction reduces a damping level of the front and rear adjustable shock absorbers, respectively, to provide a softer ride and rotation of the first and second knobs in second direction, opposite the first direction, increases a damping level of the front and rear adjustable shock absorbers, respectively, to provide a stiffer ride.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the first and second manual user inputs include at least one of a touch screen control, a slide control, and a push button to adjust damping characteristics of the front and rear adjustable shock absorbers.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor selected from a vehicle speed sensor, a steering sensor, a chassis accelerometer, a throttle position sensor, a wheel speed sensor and a gear selection sensor, the at least one sensor having an output signal coupled to the controller, the controller using the sensor output signals to adjust the damping characteristics of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on driving conditions of the vehicle.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein first side and second side front adjustable shock absorbers are coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame at the front portion of the vehicle and first side and second side rear adjustable shock absorbers are coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame at the rear portion of the vehicle, and wherein the controller controls damping levels of the first side front adjustable shock absorber, the second side front adjustable shock absorber, the first side rear adjustable shock absorber, the second side rear adjustable shock absorber independently based signals received from the user inputs of the user interface and the at least one sensor.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller sets a damping characteristic adjustment range for the at least one adjustable shock absorber, the least one user input of the user interface providing manual adjustment of the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber within the damping characteristic adjustment range.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface also includes a display to display information related to the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the display information includes at least one numerical value related to the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the driving condition modes of operation is a rock crawl mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a soft damping level to allow for increased articulation of the ground engaging members during slow speed operation of the vehicle.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein one of the driving condition modes is a high speed harsh trail in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a damping level between normal trail mode damping level and rock crawl mode damping level.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein one of the driving condition modes is a whoops and jumps mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a damping level to provide stiffer compression but less rebound than the other driving condition modes.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of springs have an adjustable spring force.

24. The system of claim 1, further comprising a vehicle speed sensor having an output coupled to the controller, the controller being programmed to reduce a damping level of the at least one adjustable shock absorber as vehicle speed decreases and to increase a damping level of the at least one adjustable shock absorber as the vehicle speed increases.

25. The system of claim 1, further comprising a steering sensor having an output coupled to the controller, the controller selectively adjusting the damping characteristics of adjustable shock absorbers adjacent a first side of the vehicle and a second side of the vehicle independently based upon the steering sensor detecting a sharp turn of the vehicle.

28. The system of claim 1, further comprising a stability control system coupled to the controller, the controller adjusting damping characteristics of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on output signals from the stability control system to provide enhanced stability control for the vehicle.

29. The system of claim 1, further a vehicle loading sensor having an output coupled to the controller, the controller adjusting damping characteristics of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on output signals from the vehicle loading sensor.

30. The system of claim 1, further comprising a throttle position sensor having an output coupled to the controller, the controller increasing damping of at least one adjustable shock absorber adjacent a rear portion of the vehicle during acceleration of the vehicle to reduce vehicle squat.

31. The system of claim 30, further comprising a driver-selectable mode on the user interface to control a throttle map of the vehicle and settings for the damping characteristic of the at least one shock absorber simultaneously.

26. A damping control system for a vehicle having a suspension located between a plurality of ground engaging members and a vehicle frame, the damping control system comprising:

a plurality of springs coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame;

a plurality of shock absorbers coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame, at least one of the plurality of shock absorbers being an adjustable shock absorber having an adjustable damping characteristic;

a controller coupled to each adjustable shock absorber to adjust the damping characteristic of each adjustable shock absorber; and

a user interface coupled to the controller and accessible to a driver of the vehicle, the user interface including at least one user input to permit manual adjustment of the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber during operation of the vehicle, the user interface providing a plurality of selectable driving condition modes, each driving condition mode having different damping characteristics for the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on a type of road or off-road trail on which the vehicle is expected to travel, each driving condition mode further including a throttle map that defines a relationship between a throttle input and a throttle, and wherein the user input permits manual selection of one of the driving condition modes, the controller adjusting damping characteristics of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based upon the manually selected driving condition mode, the controller adjusting the throttle map based upon the manually selected driving condition mode, one of the driving condition modes being a smooth road mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a stiff damping level to minimize transient vehicle pitch and roll through hard acceleration, braking, and cornering and another one of the driving condition modes being a normal trail mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a less stiff damping level compared to the smooth road mode to allow for absorption of bumps encountered by the vehicle, the at least one adjustable shock absorber includes a moveable piston located within a cylinder, and further comprising a position sensor to indicate a position of the piston of the adjustable shock absorber, the position sensor having an output coupled to the controller, the controller being programmed to stiffen a damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorbers near an end of a range of travel of the piston within the cylinder to provide progressive damping control.

27. A damping control system for a vehicle having a suspension located between a plurality of ground engaging members and a vehicle frame, the damping control system comprising:

a plurality of springs coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame;

a plurality of shock absorbers coupled between the ground engaging members and the frame, at least one of the plurality of shock absorbers being an adjustable shock absorber having an adjustable damping characteristic;

a controller coupled to each adjustable shock absorber to adjust the damping characteristic of each adjustable shock absorber;

a user interface coupled to the controller and accessible to a driver of the vehicle, the user interface including at least one user input to permit manual adjustment of the damping characteristic of the at least one adjustable shock absorber during operation of the vehicle; and

a battery coupled to the controller, the controller being programmed to operate in a demonstration mode activated by a key of the vehicle to permit adjustment of the at least one adjustable shock absorber without starting an engine of the vehicle.

32. The system of claim 27, wherein the user interface provides a plurality of driving condition modes, each driving condition mode having different damping characteristics for the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on a type of road or off-road trail on which the vehicle is expected to travel, and wherein the controller permits selection of any of the plurality of driving condition modes and automatically adjusts damping characteristics of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based upon the selected driving condition mode without starting the engine of the vehicle when operating in the demonstration mode.

33. The system of claim 27, wherein the user interface provides a plurality of driving condition modes, each driving condition mode having different damping characteristics for the at least one adjustable shock absorber based on a type of road or off-road trail on which the vehicle is expected to travel, and wherein the user input permits selection of one of the driving condition modes, the controller automatically adjusting damping characteristics of the at least one adjustable shock absorber based upon the selected driving condition mode.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein one of the driving condition modes is a smooth road mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a stiff damping level to minimize transient vehicle pitch and roll through hard acceleration, braking, and cornering;

another one of the driving condition modes being a normal trail mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a less stiff damping level compared to the smooth road mode to allow for absorption of bumps encountered by the vehicle;

yet another one of the driving condition modes of operation is a rock crawl mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a soft damping level to allow for increased articulation of the ground engaging members during slow speed operation of the vehicle;

still another one of the driving condition modes is a high speed harsh trail in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a damping level between normal trail mode damping level and rock crawl mode damping level; and

a further one of the driving condition modes is a whoops and jumps mode in which the at least one adjustable shock absorber is set at a damping level to provide stiffer compression but less rebound than the other driving condition modes.