Dynamic Steering and Suspension Constraints for Vehicle Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional steering systems face challenges in preventing tire contact with a vehicle's body or chassis across varying ride heights and operational conditions, which can limit turning radius and increase the risk of damage, while also affecting user experience and vehicle performance.
Innovation Solution
The system dynamically adjusts steering angles and ride heights based on detected conditions, using sensors and operational drive domains to determine limited ranges that avoid interference between tires and other components, allowing for real-time adjustments to prevent damage and optimize performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical steering stops are used to limit steering angles, then tire contact with chassis is prevented, but turning radius is limited and maneuverability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic steering angle limits that adjust in real-time based on suspension compression state. When suspension is uncompressed, full steering range is permitted for maximum maneuverability. When suspension compresses indicating potential tire-chassis contact risk, the steering angle limit dynamically reduces to prevent contact. This resolves the contradiction by making the steering limit adaptive rather than fixed, allowing full maneuverability when safe and preventing contact when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors suspension compression state through sensors and uses this feedback to adjust steering angle limits. The feedback loop detects when suspension travel indicates proximity to tire-chassis contact and responds by modifying steering constraints. This feedback mechanism enables the system to maintain optimal maneuverability while dynamically preventing harmful contact, resolving the contradiction between operational freedom and safety protection.
2Reliability
If large clearances are designed to prevent tire contact under all conditions, then damage risk is reduced, but vehicle performance and handling are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than designing for static clearance under all conditions, the system dynamically assesses actual clearance risk through suspension state monitoring. When suspension is in normal range, full steering performance is enabled. When compression indicates potential contact, steering limits adjust preventively. This dynamic approach maintains high performance during normal operation while preventing damage only when necessary, resolving the contradiction between performance and protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the steering angle parameter dynamically based on suspension compression measurements. Instead of maintaining fixed conservative clearance, the steering angle parameter is adjusted in real-time according to actual vehicle state. This allows optimal performance parameters during normal operation and protective parameter reduction only when contact risk is detected, resolving the contradiction between performance optimization and damage prevention.
Data Source
AI summary
This application describes systems and techniques for adjusting one or more setting(s) of a vehicle based on detected condition(s) to avoid damage due to contact of the tires with a body, chassis, or other components of the vehicle. In some instances, the vehicle may determine a ride height of the vehicle, determine a limited range of steering angles based at least in part on the ride height, and control operation of the steering system of the vehicle based at least in part on the limited range of steering angles. In some instances, the vehicle may determine a steering angle of the vehicle, determine a limited range of ride heights based at least in part on the steering angle, and control operation of the suspension system of the vehicle based at least in part on the limited range of ride heights.