Active Suspension Damping Layout With Shared Motor Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing damping arrangements for active suspension systems in motor vehicles require significant installation space due to separate control units for each damping system, limiting their compactness.
Innovation Solution
The electric motors of both damping systems are housed in a common housing with axially aligned axes of rotation and controlled by a compact common control unit, featuring separate circuit boards for low-voltage and high-voltage components, with a DC link capacitor extending between the motors, allowing for a compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate control units are used for each damping system, then control functionality is ensured, but installation space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate control units into a single common control unit that controls both electric motors (17a, 17b) of the damping systems. This merging reduces the overall installation space while maintaining the control functionality for both damping systems, directly resolving the technical contradiction between ensuring control functionality and reducing installation space requirements.
2Area of stationary object
If a common control unit is used for both damping systems, then installation space is reduced, but control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The common control unit is segmented into separate control circuits for each electric motor (17a, 17b). Each control circuit independently controls its respective motor, which simplifies the overall control architecture despite the unified housing. This segmentation approach reduces control complexity while maintaining the space-saving benefits of a common control unit.
Data Source
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AI summary
Damping arrangement for an axle of an active suspension of a motor vehicle, wherein a damping system interacts with each wheel of the axle, each damping system comprising: a damper having a double-acting hydraulic cylinder and a piston, a hydraulic pump and an electric motor for driving the hydraulic pump, a hydraulic unit comprising a hydraulic reservoir and valves, wherein the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic unit of the respective damping system interact with the respective hydraulic cylinder in such a way that, depending on the delivery direction of the hydraulic pump, movement of the piston in a first or in a second actuation direction is provided, wherein the electric motors of both damping systems are arranged with axially aligned axes of rotation in a housing and can be controlled by a common control device comprising electronic assemblies arranged on at least one circuit board.wherein at least one circuit board extends laterally next to the electric motors parallel to the axes of rotation of the electric motors, and wherein an intermediate circuit capacitor of the control device extends from a circuit board perpendicular to the axes of rotation of the electric motors into a free space between the electric motors.