Active Suspension Pre-Tilt Control for Anticipatory Acceleration Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current active suspension systems in vehicles do not effectively provide anticipatory motion feedback to occupants, leading to discomfort during acceleration, particularly in autonomous and shared mobility vehicles where passenger comfort and anticipation of movements are crucial.
Innovation Solution
A control system that modifies the vehicle's suspension angle relative to its wheels before acceleration, using feedback mechanisms such as audible, haptic, and visual cues, to anticipate and prepare occupants for upcoming accelerations, thereby enhancing comfort and reducing motion-related discomfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the active suspension modifies the vehicle body angle before acceleration commences, then occupant comfort is improved through anticipatory motion feedback, but the device complexity increases due to additional control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The control system modifies the vehicle body angle in advance before acceleration commences, based on predictive information about upcoming acceleration events. This preliminary action allows occupants to anticipate motion changes, reducing discomfort caused by sudden accelerations while maintaining a manageable control system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that provide perceptible motion feedback to occupants through controlled suspension angle modifications. This feedback loop enables the control system to adjust suspension characteristics in real-time based on detected acceleration patterns, improving comfort without requiring overly complex hardware additions.
2Loss of information
If the suspension angle is modified at a higher rate before acceleration, then motion feedback is more perceptible to occupants, but the risk of occupants mistaking return rotation for another acceleration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system employs periodic action by modifying the suspension angle at controlled rates before acceleration and then returning to the original angle after acceleration completes. This rhythmic pattern of angle modification and return provides clear temporal separation between anticipatory feedback and actual acceleration events, preventing occupant confusion while maintaining perceptible motion feedback.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the active suspension provides anticipatory angle modification for all acceleration magnitudes, then occupant comfort is consistently improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system applies parameter changes by adjusting the suspension angle modification based on the magnitude of anticipated acceleration. For low-magnitude accelerations below a threshold, no angle modification is applied. For higher-magnitude accelerations, the system proportionally adjusts the angle modification parameters, optimizing energy consumption while maintaining comfort improvements for significant acceleration events.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the present invention relate to a method and to a control system for controlling an active suspension of a road vehicle comprising a vehicle body and a plurality of wheels, the control system comprising one or more controllers, the control system configured to: receive information indicative of a requirement for positive or negative vehicle acceleration in a first axis; and control the active suspension to commence modifying an angle of the vehicle body relative to the plurality of wheels about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis in dependence on the receiving an indication, before commencement of the vehicle acceleration.