Motor-Driven Pump Active Suspension for Fuel Efficiency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing active suspension systems for vehicles require expensive proportional control valves and hydraulic pumps connected to the engine, leading to excessive energy consumption and reduced fuel efficiency due to constant engine operation.
Innovation Solution
A motor-and-cylinder-based pump system with ball screws and pistons, using on/off valves instead of proportional control valves, which is driven only when necessary to supply fluid to actuators, reducing energy consumption and manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hydraulic pump connected to the engine is used to supply fluid to actuators, then the suspension system can maintain vehicle height and stability, but the pump is constantly driven generating excessive hydraulic pressure and consuming unnecessary energy, reducing fuel efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is operated periodically based on sensor feedback rather than continuously. The control unit activates the pump only when fluid pressure drops below a predetermined level, as detected by sensors monitoring the actual vehicle height. This periodic operation eliminates unnecessary energy consumption while maintaining suspension reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
A feedback control system is implemented where sensors detect the actual vehicle height and send signals to the control unit. The control unit compares the detected height with the target height and activates the pump only when correction is needed, creating a closed-loop control system that optimizes energy usage while maintaining vehicle stability.
2Measurement precision
If proportional control valves are used to control fluid flow to actuators, then precise control of vehicle height is achieved, but the system becomes complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces expensive proportional control valves with simpler, less costly components. Instead of using complex proportional valves for precise fluid flow control, the invention employs basic control valves combined with a feedback-controlled pump system, achieving the same precision at lower cost and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical proportional control valve system with an electronically controlled pump system. The control unit electronically manages pump operation based on sensor feedback, substituting complex mechanical flow control with simpler electronic control mechanisms.
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
The system improves fuel efficiency by generating only necessary hydraulic pressure and simplifies the configuration, reducing manufacturing costs and energy consumption while maintaining vehicle stability and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
a first ball screw and a second ball screw configured to be disposed on one side and the other side of the cylinder, respectively, and to be rotated based on the driving of the motor, and a first piston and a second piston configured to linearly reciprocate inside the cylinder based on the rotation of the first ball screw and the second ball screw
Data Source
AI summary
An active suspension apparatus for a vehicle includes a pump configured to adjust movements of a fluid and actuators configured to receive the fluid from the pump and to compensate displacements of coil springs connected to wheels of the vehicle, in which the pump supplies the fluid contained in a cylinder to one of the actuators of left wheels of the vehicle and the actuators of right wheels of the vehicle based on the driving of a motor.