Active Wheel Suspension for Controlled Vehicle Body Rocking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Modern suspension systems in premium vehicles provide excessive comfort, leading to a lack of vertical stimulation, which can cause drowsiness in drivers and difficulty in rocking babies to sleep, posing safety risks.

Innovation Solution

An active wheel suspension system that introduces artificial vertical roll movements based on actual road excitation comparison, activated by the driver, to simulate road vibrations and enhance safety and comfort.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the active suspension system provides high driving comfort by reducing vertical vibrations, then the vertical stimulation for occupants is minimized, but this causes driver drowsiness and prevents babies from sleeping

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedriving safetyVSAvoiddriver drowsiness
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The suspension system dynamically adjusts its damping characteristics based on detected driving conditions and occupant states. When drowsiness is detected through monitoring systems, the controller modifies the damping forces to introduce beneficial vertical movements that stimulate the driver without compromising overall ride comfort during normal operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the damping parameters of the suspension actuators in response to detected conditions. By adjusting the damping coefficients and actuator forces, the system can transition between comfort-oriented and safety-oriented modes, introducing controlled vertical stimulations when driver alertness deteriorates.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Ease of operation

If the suspension system filters out all vertical road vibrations to maximize comfort, then occupants experience smooth rides, but babies cannot be rocked to sleep and drivers become monotonous

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedriving comfortVSAvoidlack of vertical stimulation
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The suspension system applies different damping characteristics to different parts of the vehicle. While the overall system maintains high comfort, localized adjustments are made to specific suspension actuators to create controlled vertical movements in occupied areas, providing stimulation where needed while maintaining comfort elsewhere.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces periodic vertical movements through the suspension actuators when stimulation is needed. These controlled oscillations simulate the rocking motion that helps babies sleep and provide sensory stimulation for drivers, applied periodically rather than continuously to maintain comfort during normal driving.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Reliability

If the active suspension completely isolates the vehicle body from road surface irregularities, then driving comfort is maximized, but the natural rocking motion that helps occupants sleep is eliminated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevehicle stabilityVSAvoidabsence of natural vibrations
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The active suspension actuators serve as intermediaries between the road surface and the vehicle body. Rather than completely isolating the occupants, the actuators selectively transmit and modify vertical movements, creating artificial rocking motions that simulate natural road vibrations and help occupants sleep while maintaining overall vehicle stability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Enhances road safety by preventing driver drowsiness and ensuring babies sleep by simulating road vibrations, while being cost-effective and compatible with existing premium vehicle technology.

Implementation Method 1

each wheel can be individually subjected to vertical forces and/or lifting movements by means of an active wheel suspension

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectActive suspension actuation:

Implementation Method 2

by means of a sensor system by means of which vertical excitation of the vehicle body can be determined

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectVibration detection: Vibration

Data Source

PatentEP4422890B1Method for operating a motor vehicle
Publication Date: 2026.02.04 AUDI AG

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for operating a motor vehicle, wherein the motor vehicle has an active wheel suspension, by means of which each wheel can be individually subjected to vertical forces and/or lifting movements. The invention is characterized in that an actual excitation of the bodywork of the motor vehicle is determined and the determined actual excitation is compared with a stored reference excitation, wherein, when the determined actual excitation is less than the stored reference excitation, the active wheel suspension is activated to produce a vertical rolling motion of the vehicle bodywork.